Peach Bellini Cake

Today, I want to mention the importance of clearly written instructions in a recipe. The main reason is that writing out things (which may seem the long way) can really make a difference between a successful recipe and a failed one. For instance, you can write "beat in 4 eggs" or you can write "beat 4 eggs till pale in color about 5 minutes". Clearly, the second instruction is the better way to go.

Which brings me to this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, but the texture of the cake was dry and dense. It was almost like it did not rise at all. My baking powder is in date, I am thinking that beating the eggs longer may have made for a less dense cake. This post is one of those recipes that have no comments and no indication that it has ever been tested. I was disappointed, but as I mentioned before, untested is a bit of a risk. The cake does need some tweaks when it comes to texture. Outside of the texture problem, the cake and the icing does have good flavor.

The cake gets its flavor from peach schnapps and champagne. The frosting is a buttercream with pureed peach.  If those flavors inspire you enough to make the cake and experiment on improving the texture, the recipe is below. The flavor still has my interest, but the due to the texture problem I would not make this recipe as originally stated again.

Peach Bellini Cake

Cake /Ingredients (adapted from Recipe Goldmine)
1/2 cup champagne
1/2 cup peach schnapps
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, room temp
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar

Buttercream/Ingredients (adapted from Southern Living Magazine)
32 oz powdered sugar
1 large peach, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Start by beating together the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer (see note above concerning this step). Once blended, mix in the oil, peach schnapps, champagne and almond extract. Set aside.

Using another bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Then fold into the wet mixture until just blended. Transfer to prepared pans, dividing the batter equally between the two pans.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cakes rest in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack and remove parchment. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, start by pureeing the peach in a blender. Set aside. Using a stand mixer cream butter until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Sift in 16 ounces of powdered sugar and beat until blended. Then add the puree, mixing until incorporated. Lastly, sift in the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.

Place one cake layer on cake plate and frost the top surface. Top with the other cake layer and frost sides and top. Refrigerate to help set the frosting.

                            **LAST YEAR:Cashew Butter Blondies**

Roman Holiday Cream Cake

If you could see my liquor cabinet you would think having a cocktail or two is part of a daily routine. In reality, most of it is for the sake of baking. Recently I found myself in a outlet liquor store- that's right - outlet.  There were grocery carts at the front and it seemed like endless aisles of varieties to choose from.  I did not go to the cool case section with the beer, but I am sure it covered the all the beer brewers on the planet.

There are a lot of delicious recipes out that us booze as an ingredient but I was drawn to this recipe of a cake infused with almond liqueur. I have always enjoyed Italian cream cake and the addition of the almond liqueur proved to be a delicious benefit. Fluffy cake studded with chunks of pecans and coconut topped with a cream cheese amaretto icing.. it is quite a nice addition to afternoon tea as well as a sweet ending to a meal.

Besides the wonderful taste, this cake has such an elegant appearance it gives quite an impression. Now let's get down to baking!

Roman Holiday Cream Cake
adapted from Big Oven

Ingredients/Cake
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup almond liqueur
5 eggs, separated
1 cup or 2 sticks butter (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar

Ingredients/Frosting
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 sticks or  3/4 cup butter (room temp)
12 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup amaretto
4-5 cups powdered sugar
Whole pecan halves ( for decoration, optional)

Prepare 3 nine inch round cake pans by buttering interior and lining the bottom with parchment.  Butter the face up side of the parchment.  Dust the whole interior of each with flour.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl cream together butter and 2 cups of the sugar.  Once mixture is fluffy, add 1 egg yolk and beat 30 seconds on medium high speed.  Continue to add each egg yolk and beat until all have been incorporated into the batter.

Pour egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using a clean dry batter blade, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Then, while the mixer is still running, slowly pour in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until you reach the stiff peak stage.  Then set bowl aside.

Using a small bowl, stir together both extracts, baking soda and buttermilk. Set this bowl aside also.

Divide out 1/3 of the sifted ingredients and fold into the creamed butter batter.  Stir in 1/4 cup of almond liqueur and 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture.  Then fold in 1/2 of the remaining sifted ingredients.  Add the remainder of the buttermilk and almond liqueur, stir and finish by folding in the last bit of sifted ingredients.

Add the egg whites to the batter and carefully fold in, using a spatula.  Lastly, stir in the coconut and pecans.

Pour the batter evenly into each of the round cake pans.  Place all three in the oven to bake for about 40 minutes or when tester indicates done.  Once done, remove from oven and let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes.  Invert cakes onto rack and let completely cool prior to frosting.

For the frosting, place butter, vanilla extract and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth.  Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into batter and mix until all is evenly distributed.  Then stir in the almond liqueur.  Add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat again.  Should it be too thick, add some more almond liqueur.  Once the desired consistency is reached, fill and frost the cooled cake. Decorate as desired, placing the pecan halves around the top edge of the cake making a complete circle.  

Tips and Notes:
1. I had to mix up another 1/3 of the frosting recipe to finish covering the cake.  How much frosting
    you need is personal preference.
2. It states to store the cake in the fridge, but be sure that it is at room temperature when serving.
3. Measuring your batter and dividing by three will insure that each layer will be consistent in height.
                                 **LAST YEAR: Brandy Apple Cake**

Elixir Wage Cake

Back in the 15th Century in Britain the labor force was under a truck system. The truck system was a manner in which payment was made for services in the form of commodities.  This in turn meant that those commodities had to be exchanged for the actual true needs of the laborer.  Also, the place of exchange would be a company owned store that controlled the value.

However, when it came to farm workers and cider, the average wage was 4-5 pints a day.  This system soon was became a way to rate a laborer. The more a man could drink, the more valuable he became. So a man that put away 2 gallons a day was considered a great worker.  Then in 1887 came the Truck Act which put a stop to payment in commodities and the drink fest came to a close.

Perhaps payment in the form of hard cider was a bad thing, but I decided that this particular cake would make for a nice company bonus!  This spicy cake takes a whopping 1 1/2 cups of hard cider.  Along with that, you include dark brown sugar and some apple juice.  The rich moist crumb of the cake is delicious enough on its own, but I couldn't just leave it at that.  Hard cider does deserve an apple chaser, so I included a tunnel of apples as well.

Elixir Wage Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/apple tunnel
1 cup dried apple pieces, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Ingredients/Cake Batter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups hard cider (open can or bottle and leave sit overnight, covered, to get flat)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

To make the filling, fill a saucepan with the apples, water, orange juice and apple juice in a medium size saucepan and place over medium heat and stir.  Let mixture come to a simmer and then cover and let cook for about 10 minutes.  You want the apples to become very soft and a lot of the liquid to be absorbed.  Then add the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Simmer uncovered, stirring constantly for about 5-8 minutes, the water should now be very thick and syrupy.  Remove and set aside to cool to room temperature.  After it reaches room temperature, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease the inside of a 10 cup bundt pan.  Then dust with flour.   Sift together baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Then beat in vanilla extract and salt.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds and then do the same with the second egg.  Using a wooden spoon, fold 1/3 of the sifted ingredients into the batter.  Then add 1/2 cup apple juice and 1/2 cup hard cider, stir until blended.  Add 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture and blend with wooden spoon.  Pour the last of the hard cider (1 cup) into the bowl and mix.  Follow with the rest of the sifted ingredients and blend until no dry streaks remain.

Now, to fill the cake pan.  I used 3 cups for the first layer, but you can see how much sinking the apples did.  I would say put 5 or 6 cups of batter into the pan.  Then take out the apple mixture and spoon it around in a circle in the center of the batter, making sure none touches the edges.  Spoon the rest of the cake batter on top and smooth out evenly.

Place pan in oven and bake for about 55 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Place pan on a rack and let cool for 20 minutes.  Then invert and let completely cool before slicing.

Tips and Notes:
1.  Cake is better the next day because the spice flavor develops more.  I liked mine served slightly warm.
2.  The sinking factor is unpredictable,  but the apples may land dead center even if you place them on top of all the batter before baking-the process does need some experimenting for placement..
3.  Caramel sauce would be a great accompaniment.
                         **LAST YEAR: Triple Quake Bars**
                                 

Lower East Side Nut Cake

This recipe is one that I have had for quite some time and just now got around to making it.  The two things that drew me to it was the inclusion of matzo meal as well as the raspberry filling.

Before I made this, I wanted to be sure I did everything to insure that this was a success. I got a buttercream icing recipe and scaled it down to make the crumb crust, I did not want this thing tearing as it was iced.  However, it needed very little crumb coating since the cake was only  1 1/2 inch in height and had a layer of raspberry on top underneath the icing.  Also, instead of just purchasing raspberry jam, I got raspberry filling (I used Solo brand) and I used the whole can instead of 1/4 cup as stated in the recipe.

I really did like how it turned out.  It was a dainty, nutty cake and the raspberry was a great pairing of flavor.  The only issues I had was that I should have ground the hazelnuts more and the chocolate ganache frosting took a long time to set up.  Next time, I may use chocolate instead of chocolate chips, which may help with the consistency. Also, note that this recipe recommends using two 9 inch square baking pans.

Lower East Side Nut Cake
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients/Cake
1/4 cup cream
2 tbs hazelnut liqueur
2 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, separated
1 cup finely chopped roasted hazelnuts
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup matzo meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt and one pinch for egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup raspberry cake filling or seedless jam (see note above)

Ingredients/Ganache Frosting
4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
chocolate buttercream crumb coat (optional)
1 pint raspberries for decorating

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare pans by spraying with non stick coating.  Then line the inside bottom of each pan with parchment paper.

Place flour, salt, baking powder and 1/2 cup of sugar in a sifter and sift all into a large bowl. Then sift again for 2 more times.  Then whisk in the chopped nuts and the matzo meal.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and add egg yolks, oil, liqueur, cream and butter.  Stir with a wooden spoon until all is blended.

In a separate bowl add egg whites, salt and cream of tartar.  Beat with electric mixer until foamy and just starting to form peaks.  Add 1/4 cup of sugar and beat for 1 minute.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Stir in 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk batter.  Then fold in the rest of the whites until no white streaks remain.  Divide batter evenly and pour into each pan, spreading until even.  My batter was a little over 2 cups for each pan.

Bake cakes until lightly tan on top and top springs back when lightly touched.  This should take about 20 minutes.  Remove pans and place on cooling racks until completely cool.  Cake should pull away from edges while cooling.  Once cool invert pans and let layer release from pan.  Then place one layer on a cake plate, parchment side up.

Remove parchment and trim top to level if needed.  Then spread with half of the raspberry mixture.  Remove parchment on other layer of cake and flip over on top of the other layer.  Trim to level if needed. Spread the remaining raspberry on top of the cake, leaving a small border to insure raspberry does not drip down sides.  If using a crumb coat, smooth it on the exposed sides of the cake and the top edge then place in fridge for 30 minutes to set.  If no crumb coat, still place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make frosting, place chopped chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. Then pour cream into a small sauce pan and place over medium high heat.  Once it reaches scalding, remove and pour cream over chocolate and stir until all the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Let cool for 30 minutes or until it is thick enough to spread.

Remove cake from fridge, frost the sides and top of the cake with the ganache frosting.  Then place raspberries on top for decoration.  Place in fridge for another 30 minutes to have it all completely set.  Then run a knife under hot water, wipe off and cut cake into pieces for serving.

Chocolate Irish Potato Mini Cakes

With all the holidays coming up, I am looking for more individualized desserts instead of big pies or cakes.  This particular recipe is actually for a 12 cup bundt cake, but I halved the recipe and made these little cakes.

The interesting thing is that the moist texture comes from the mashed potatoes.  You definitely need to use real mashed potatoes, not instant.  Also, this recipe has Irish Cream liqueur in it.  Not just a few tablespoons but a whole cup, which makes these extra special.  I would say they tasted like little brownie cakes with  a zing of Irish cream.

The original recipe for the whole bundt cake is below.  Should you decide to make mini cakes, cupcakes or try any other deviation from the whole cake, the baking time should be adjusted.  I have not stated the time for mine because I consider my pan to be out of the norm.  The cavities are bigger than mini muffins but not as big as cupcakes.

Chocolate Irish Potato Cake
adapted from 365 Great Chocolate Desserts

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4  one ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 tbs espresso powder or instant coffee
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup Irish Cream liqueur
powdered sugar (optional, for dusting cake)

Make sure that the melted chocolate as well as the mashed potatoes have cooled before starting on this cake.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 12 cup bundt pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Take another bowl out and cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the espresso powder or instant coffee (whichever one you decided to use), melted chocolate and mashed potatoes.  Beat until all is smooth and evenly distributed.  This should take about 2 minutes.  Add an egg to the batter and beat for 30 seconds.  Continue with this process until all the eggs are incorporated into the batter.

Fold half of the flour mixture into the chocolate batter, making sure no dry streaks remain.  Then blend in the cup of the Irish cream.  Lastly, fold in the rest of the flour mixture until the all ingredients are well combined.  Spoon evenly into prepared cake pan.

Place pan in oven and bake until tester comes out clean.  Baking time should be about 45-50 minutes.  Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then invert cake onto a rack to finish cooling.  If you have elected to dust with powdered sugar, do this step prior to cutting and serving. 
                                **LAST YEAR: Annie's Banana Cookies**

Georgia Tunnel Cake

The one thing I really like about this cake is that it is versatile.You can make it without the filling and let peach schnapps soak into the cake while warm or you can prepare it with the tasty cinnamon nut filling.  Either way, it makes for a wonderful dessert.

My first trial resulted in too much filling and too much batter.  Second time around I used a 12 cup bundt and half the filling recipe.  It yielded much better results, even though I still had a little batter left, which you can use to make some cupcakes.  That way if you are bringing this cake to a party or giving it, you still will be able to have a taste without cutting into the cake.

The cake part is a moist crumb with chunks of peaches in it.  The filling part is a cinnamon walnut mixture which is much like a pie filling.  The flavors really compliment each other, so I will be making this again.

My sister says she is making a request list of things on my blog she would like to see on a dessert table for around the holidays, so we will see if this ends up on the list!

Georgia Tunnel Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Filling
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 beaten eggs

To make the filling: Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, stir in sugar, salt and corn syrup.  Continue to stir as mixture cooks and sugar dissolves.  The sugar is completely dissolved when there is no gritty consistency at the bottom of the pan.  Remove pan from heat and place in fridge on a pot holder or trivet to cool.

In a large bowl whisk together vanilla, eggs and salt until combined.  Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Continue to check the temperature of the sugar mixture periodically.  Remove the bowl once it reaches a lukewarm temperature.  Stir it a few times and then pour it into the vanilla/egg mixture.  Use a spatula to get all the sugar mixture out and mix the ingredients together until evenly distributed.  Then fold in the cinnamon chips and the nuts.

Pour the mixture onto prepared baking sheet and place in oven for 5-7 minutes.  The mixture will foam up a little while baking and you should make sure it does not become hard like candy. Remove and let the filling cool.  The filling should become thick and be able to be spooned up without any watery drips.

Ingredients/Cake
4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tbs butter
7 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peach schnapps
3 cups chopped peaches

To make cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 12 cup bundt pan and then dust with bread crumbs.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.  Then beat in the vanilla extract and set aside.

Sift the flour and the baking powder together in another bowl.  Then take out a small bowl and whisk the peach schnapps with the milk.

Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar batter until no dry streaks remain.  Stir in half of the peach schnapps slurry.  Repeat the process, ending with the flour mixture.  Lastly, fold in the peaches.

If you are using the filling, put half of the cake batter into the pan and even it out.  Then spoon filling mixture into the center of the batter, being careful not to let it touch the sides of the pan.  After the filling is all used, pour the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out.  If not using the filling,  just pour all of the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Let bake for 45-55 minutes or until tester comes out clean and batter is pulling away from the sides of the pan.  Remove pan from oven and place pan on rack to cool.  If you have not filled the cake, you might opt to pour 1/4 cup of peach schnapps on the cake and cover so it will sink in and not evaporate.  Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto a rack to finish cooling.  Below is a picture of a slice of this cake, but note that this was the recipe before I cut back on the amount of filling.

                             **LAST YEAR: Jumbo Harvest Squash Muffins**

Cranberry Invasion Cake

Well I still have that large bottle of creme de noyaux, so I decided to make a cake with it.  I thought that the almond flavor would go well with some cranberries.  My biggest peeve about swirled cakes, breads and coffee cakes is that there is so little of that swirl included, you can barely taste it.  I set about making a cake with a big flavorful swirl in it as you can see.

This picture is actually my the first draft of the recipe.  If you notice, there is a lot of crumbs on the plate.  That is actually almonds.  One of the changes I made is that the almonds go in with the cranberry mixture, that way they are in the cake and not apt to fall off, like in this picture.   There were some other trials and errors, but I will save you all that detail.

The cake is better served the next day.  With time, the flavor of the creme de noyeau develops more.  The burst of cranberry flavor with the almond cake is exactly what I was looking for in taste as well as texture.  Now on to the final recipe that I arrived at:

Cranberry Invasion Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Cranberry Filling
1 1/2 cups cranberries
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted almonds (optional)
3/4 cup water

Ingredients/Cake
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup creme de noyaux
1 cup sour cream
1 tbs vegetable oil
red food coloring

Prepare a 10 cup bundt pan by brushing all the inside with melted butter and then dusting with bread crumbs.  Set aside.

To make the filling, place all ingredients (except for the almonds) in a medium size sauce pan.  Put saucepan over medium high heat and stir.  Cook filling for 15 minutes or until thickened.  Filling mixture should reduce down to 1/3 of the original mixture.  This is basically a cranberry sauce, so it will thicken quite a bit when cooled.  Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and let cool completely before using. 

Now, you can start making the cake.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees or if you are using a dark pan, 325 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  This should take about 2 minutes.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds.  Then beat in the additional egg.  Pour in the creme de noyaux and the vegetable oil.  Beat on low speed until evenly distributed.  At this time, put in 2 drops of food coloring and beat.  Continue with this process until desired color is met.

Fold 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the batter.  Then blend in 1/2 cup of sour cream. Repeat this task, ending with the dry ingredients, until completely mixed together.  Be careful not to over work the batter.

Spoon 1/2 of the cake batter into the pan and smooth it out even.  If using almonds, mix them into the cooled cranberry filling.  Carefully spoon the filling on top of the cake batter in the pan.  The trick is to get it even but not touch the edges of the pan.  If you touch the edge with the filling, that section will most likely stick and you will have difficulty getting your cake out of the pan.

After you have used up all the filling, spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out. Place cake in oven and bake for about 50-55 minutes or until done.  Cake is done when tester comes out clean and it is golden brown on top.

Let cake cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.  Then invert on to rack to finish cooling.  If you have some difficulty, slide a butter knife around the edges and then try to invert cake.  Once cooled, you can dust with confectioners sugar or drizzle with glaze (click here for recipe).
                            **LAST YEAR: 18 hour Guinness Burgers***