Italian Almond Cookies

These cookies have a soft cake texture, made with almond paste, filled with apricot jam and coated with dark chocolate. They are not too sweet, easy to eat and simply delicious. Plus they look great. A nice addition to coffee or tea anytime of the day. The steps to make them are simple, once the layers have been 'glued' together with the apricot jam they have to be weighted down overnight, and then they're pretty much done. Try them.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment put:
12oz almond paste
1C sugar and mix till smooth.
Add 2C soft butter and paddle, then add:
6 yolks, paddle on high for 4 minutes until fluffy.
Slowly add 2 3/4C all purpose flour and 1t salt, mix till combined.

In a separate mixer add 6 egg whites, whisk on medium high, when it starts frothing slowly add 1/3C sugar, whisk into a meringue, medium peaks. Fold this into the almond mixture until no streaks remain.

Divide the batter evenly in 3 bowls, color 1 with red food coloring, 1 green food coloring and the other as is. It takes a good amount to get deep colors, brown food coloring was added to the red and the green to get a deeper color.

Spray 3 13x9" sheet pans, line them with parchment paper.
With a large offset spatula even out the batter. Bake about 12 minutes at 350F. Let them cool fully.

Flip the green one first onto a large sturdy cutting board, or a larger sheet tray lined with parchment, spread a thin layer of apricot jam onto that, then flip the white layer, repeat with the jam, lastly flip the red layer. Wrap the whole cake with plastic wrap to not dry out. Cover it with a sheet tray and weigh it down over night with cans, or anything heavy. Place in the fridge.

Next day, melt 8oz of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave and pour half of it over the cool red layer. Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Flip the cake over and spread the other half of melted chocolate over the green layer. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to cool the whole cake. It will be more sturdy to cut and will stick together.

Now with a large serrated knife cut the trim off of the edges, and then cut 1/4" strips, and cut those strips into 1" cookies, repeat. You can wrap the cookies and freeze them if there are too many, they will stay nice and fresh.
In the photos above we doubled the ingredients giving us thicker layers, up to you. Enjoy.

Cream Puff Tower Cake

This cake may look complicated, but it's surprisingly easy, and it's definitely a show stopper. The cake is a vanilla chiffon sponge, very light and airy, filled with a light vanilla buttercream, soaked with orange curacao, and topped with caramel sauce. The cream puffs are then 'glued' with caramel, giving the puffs a crunch, more caramel sauce is poured over the tower, it is then decorated with berries and dusted with powdered sugar. This cake is sure to please. The combination of the soft sponge cake eaten with the crunchy cream puffs is really delicious.

First make the chiffon sponge:

In a mixer put:
240g oil
12 yolks
30g vanilla paste
600g sugar

whisk till light in color and fluffy.

Now sift:
24g baking powder
8g salt
600g cake flour and add them on low till combined.

In a separate mixer whisk the whites till they are at medium peaks and add them to the batter in 3 batches, folding them in until you can't see any egg white ribbons.
Grease 2 10" cake pans, line the bottom with parchment circles, and bake for about 45 minutes at 350F.
Test with a skewer, they must be done all the way or the middle will sink.
Cool and cut in half. Soak with orange curacao.

Vanilla buttercream:

In a saucepan put:
3C sugar
1C water and make sure the sugar is covered
1/4C corn syrup to help prevent crystallizing of the sugar
Put on a stove top, let it bubble away until the sugar has reached 240F.

In the mean time in a mixer on high add:
6 whole eggs, whisk till light in color and thicker. When the syrup is at 238F pour it slowly into the eggs as they are mixing on high until all the syrup is in there. Continue mixing on high until the bowl is not hot anymore, then start adding 2.5lbs of soft butter cut in small chunks, add them gradually until each chunk has been mixed in. The whole thing will thicken and will come together. Add vanilla extract at the end, about 3T. Put it in a piping bag and use this as the cake filling, and to decorate around the edges of the cake.

Cream puffs:

In a saucepan put:
335g water
148g butter
23g sugar
5g salt

Bring to a boil then with a wooden spoon stir in:

220g flour

stir vigorously until it is a ball about 1-2 minutes,
put this into a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, start it on medium high, until it is not steaming anymore, reduce to medium and start adding 6 whole eggs, one at a time until each one has been combined.
Put the batter in to a piping bag, and on a lined sheet tray pipe little 1" balls. 1/2" apart. Chill them, then egg wash them, then bake at 350F for 20 minutes. You can choose to fill them with whipped cream when cool, or leave them plain.

Caramel sauce:

In a saucepan put:
150g corn syrup
400g sugar
1 vanilla bean sliced open
cover with 1/2C water and bring to a boil until it has reached a medium amber color;
pour in slowly 2C heavy cream and let it all dissolve and boil again, then add 1/2 stick of butter at the end, stir well. Cool. Put a layer of this on top of the cake, and build the cream puff tower on top of this.

Caramel:

In a saucepan add:
2C sugar
cover with 1/2C of water, make sure there is no sugar on the edges of the pot and the water is covering it nicely. Boil for about 15-20 minutes until it has reached a light amber color. Take it of the heat, and make sure your hands are covered with 2 layers of rubber gloves. This will be very hot. Take each cream puff, one at a time and dip it into the caramel, then place it on the cake, one at a time, but do it fast creating a tower as the caramel hardens quickly, but this is basically the glue.

To finish it off pour some more caramel sauce over the top of the tower, dust it with powdered sugar, and build berries in between the cream puffs, and the bottom of the cake to complete the look.

Delicious Red Velvet Cake

It's such a simple cake, yet customers can't seem to get enough of it. Maybe it's the combination of light chocolate with cream cheese.. either way, they sell out every time.
The cake is light and moist, and the icing is not overpowering or too sweet, they go together so perfectly.

This recipe will be enough for 2 10" cakes, and about 20 cupcakes, so if you want less, make half. We just make so much of it, and these can be baked, then frozen, they will still be delicious.

In a mixing bowl put:

2C vegetable oil
4 eggs
3C sugar
2t vanilla extract
2C buttermilk and paddle.

In a small bowl put:

3t baking soda
4t white vinegar. It will bubble, mix and add to the other ingredients that are paddling.

Now add all the dry in another larger bowl:

4T unsweetened extra dark cocoa powder
5C cake flour
2t salt

and put this into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
Let it mix lightly on low speed and add:

1C hot water. Mix. Now add red food coloring. About 1/8C, but pour it in slowly, let it mix, you want a deep red color.

Pour it into greased cake pans and cupcake pans. Bake at 350F, about 15-20 minutes for cupcakes, 35-45 minutes for cakes.

Now for the cream cheese icing:

34oz (4 packs) cream cheese

paddle this till it is smooth and not chilled

then add 2 sticks of soft butter
2T vanilla extract
3C powdered sugar. Paddle together till smooth. Pipe on top of the cakes, or use as a filling for cakes.

Here is a kid's birthday cake that was made with red velvet

The decor is made with fondant, including the bow, which was made a day prior over a round bottle and left to dry.
When making a cake, it is good to brush the individual cake layers with simple syrup, which is equal parts sugar to water ratio and boiled till all the sugar has been dissolved.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

This is a super moist cake, with a delicious stout finish on your tongue, it goes perfectly with chocolate. We made a Guinness chocolate sauce to pour over it, and topped it with whipped cream.. real easy to eat. It tastes best warm, but any way you can get it is fine! No machinery necessary, simply use a pot and a whisk. Easy.

Over low heat, in a medium saucepan melt:

2 sticks unsalted butter
1C Guinness stout

When it has melted whisk in:
3/4C unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Take off the heat and cool a little.

Then in to the same saucepan whisk in:
3/4C sour cream
2 eggs.

Then whisk in:
2C all purpose flour
1 1/2C sugar
1/2T baking soda
3/4t salt. Mix until combined. Then pour in to individual greased molds.
Bake at 350F for about 12-15 minutes.

For the sauce:

In a saucepan add 1C cream. Simmer and pour over 8oz 60% chocolate. Stir until melted, then add 1/4C Guinness. Pour over the cake.

Mini Boston Creme Pies

These delicious cakes are definitely a crowd pleaser, best eaten with a fork, for the perfect bite and no squish factor. The creamy pastry cream, light sponge and dark chocolate ganache are irresistible. Very fast to make, especially because they are individual cakes. The ganache and pastry cream are best made one day before, then putting them together is a breeze.

Makes 10 mini pies.

Pastry cream:

In a pot put:

1/2C whole milk

1/4C heavy cream

1t vanilla extract. Simmer on medium heat.

In the meantime in a bowl whisk:

1 egg

3T sugar

1T all purpose flour

1 1/2t cornstarch

pinch of salt. Whisk well till smooth.

When the milk has simmered, slowly pour it in to the egg mixture whisking constantly, then pour the whole mixture in to the pot. Whisk constantly until thickened. It should barely bubble, then quickly pour it in to a sieve with plastic wrap under it. This will take out any cooked egg if there is any. Fold the plastic wrap around it, sealing it, and cool in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, or just leave it overnight. Now make the chocolate ganache.

Ganache:

In a pot on medium heat put:

1/2C heavy cream

4T light corn syrup (this will add a glossy shine)

1t vanilla extract

and a pinch of salt. Simmer.

Then pour the hot cream over:

60z of semisweet chocolate, or bittersweet if you prefer it darker. Stir till smooth and melted, and until it has all come together. Set aside and cool for about 30 minutes. It should be able to be out in to a pastry bag without oozing and hold its shape. When it has thickened nicely, put it in to a pastry bag with a round tip. Do this right before decorating so it can be stirred.

Sponge:

Put 10 cupcake liners in to a muffin tin.

Pre heat oven to 350F.

In a bowl add:

3 yolks

2T whole milk

1t vanilla extract. Whisk.

In another mixing bowl add:

6T soft unsalted butter

3T oil

1/2C sugar

pinch of salt. Beat on low speed until smooth. Then add to that:

2t baking powder

1C all purpose flour. Mix on low speed.

Then add:

1/4C whole milk

2T heavy cream and the yolk mixture. Beat on medium speed until combined and fluffy.

Divide into the liners.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the skewer comes out clean and they are golden brown. Cool.

Now take off the liners, turn them upside-down and cut the cakes in half horizontally (see below).

Cut a hole on one corner of the plastic wrap filled with the cold pastry cream and squeeze blobs on to the large part of the cake. Divide it evenly.

Put the ends back on to the cake and turn the cakes around.

Finish with piping on the chocolate ganache. Make sure to divide evenly. These are best eaten the day of, or 1 day after, since the pastry cream will not be as good.

Easter Egg Carrot Cake

It's almost Easter! This year we decided to make large Easter cakes, made with carrot cake. Our carrot cake is super moist and delicious containing, pineapple, carrots, rum raisins, toasted walnuts, and filled with cream cheese icing, not too sweet, just perfect. We decorated the cake with fondant and a gum paste bow. A beautifully festive cake for a family occasion.

Carrot cake for an 8" cake pan:

In a large mixing bowl add:

2 eggs

3/4C dark brown sugar

3/4C oil

1t vanilla extract. With a whisk, mix until combined briefly.

Add: 1C whole wheat flour

1/2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/2t salt

1t ground cinnamon

1/2t ground ginger. Mix till smooth.

Fold in at the end:

2C peeled, shredded carrots

1/2C toasted, roughly chopped walnuts

1/2 raisins, soaked in 1/8C dark rum and heated briefly in a pan for them to absorb (optional)

1/2C drained chopped pineapple (canned or fresh, chop it in a food processor, or buy it shredded)

Mix it all together, and pour it in to a greased 8" cake pan. Make sure there is parchment paper at the bottom of the pan, or it will not come out. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes-60. With a skewer check that it comes out clean, but don't over bake. Cool fully. Then cut the edges of the cake making it oval in shape. On top of that put a layer of cream cheese icing (recipe below), then put the cut edges on top of the icing, making the cake a 3D egg shape. Then cover the whole cake with icing. It will be flakey, so apply gently. Try to cover all the nuts and raisins, since they will show through the fondant.

Cream cheese icing:

Cream 2 sticks soft unsalted butter with

2t vanilla extract

add 1C confectioner's sugar till smooth, 

then add 16oz (2C) spreadable cream cheese, mix till smooth. Apply.

We used bought fondant and gum paste for the egg design. Always try to roll the fondant as thin as you can, 18" is good. The thinner it is the better it looks. Always roll it with sifted powdered sugar.

The carrot cake was baked in an 8" cake pan, then the edges were cut to make the cake oval, and the sides were placed on top of the cake to form an egg shape. Then it was covered with cream cheeses icing.

The bow laces were pinched together and placed around a thick bottle, then left to dry for a few hours to harden.

Fondant was placed over the cream cheese icing, and some silk leaves were placed under the cake as decoration.

The finished Easter egg cake with a festive bow.

Here you can see the carrot cake with the cream cheese icing. Shredded pineapple was added, as well as raisins soaked in dark rum, and toasted walnuts.

Trés Leches Cake with Macerated Strawberries and Cream

A simple and elegant dessert, that looks beautiful, and tastes out of this world. We've been researching this traditional Mexican pastry lately, and we've created the most delicious recipe with the best flavor and texture. The cake was soaked with condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk and dark rum. It was served with macerated strawberries in cinnamon, and sweetened whipped cream. The combination of all of these flavors is absolutely heavenly. We guarantee you'll love it.

Spray an individual mold pan (we prefer individual molds over one large cake, since it will bake faster, soak faster = eating faster!), and dust it lightly with flour, tap out the excess.

Sponge:
In a small bowl put:
1C all purpose flour
1/2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/4t salt

In a blender put:
1/2 stick melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/4C sugar
1/4C vegetable oil
1/4C whole milk
1t vanilla extract
Blend till lemon colored, about 2 minutes.
Pour the mixture in to the flour mixture and whisk till smooth.

Divide the batter in to the molds, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake at 350F for about 12 minutes. Check with a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean they are ready.
Take the cakes out of the molds, cut off a small amount of cake from the bottom so that they can stand up straight (since they will really puff up in the oven and have a muffin top), and place them into a 9x9 casserole dish.
With a wooden skewer make 5 holes in each cake.

Soaking liquid:

In a large bowl add:

1 can condensed milk (14oz)

1 can evaporated milk (12oz)

1/2C whole milk

1T vanilla extract

1/2C dark rum

Whisk. Now pour half of the liquid over the cakes very slowly. Soak for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes turn the cakes over, pour the rest of the liquid over the cakes very slowly. Sit for another 10-25 minutes.

They should be fully soaked through. The sponge will be soaked nicely without being mushy.

Macerated strawberries:
Wash and cut about 8 large strawberries. Cut them into quarters, then lay them sideways and cut smaller pieces.
Add 1T sugar in to a bowl
1/2t ground cinnamon
1t vanilla extract
Mix together with the strawberries and a sugar-strawberry sauce will form. Let them sit for 10 minutes minimum.

Now whip 1C heavy cream in to a mixing bowl,
add 1t vanilla extract and
1T powdered sugar. Make stiff peaks.

Put everything together on a large plate, starting with a ring of whipped cream on the plate first, put a cake on top, some more cream, and the strawberries over that. EAT!