Category: Dessert

A couple of months ago, Mikki and I were watching the Great British Bake Off Masterclass on Netflix and they were making this fun Mary Berry’s Tiramisu Cake. So I thought this would be perfect for Mikki’s birthday. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 4 large eggs
• 100g extra-fine sugar
• 100g King Arthur self-rising flour, sifted

Filling:

• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 150ml boiling water
• 100ml brandy
• 3 x 250g tubs full-fat mascarpone cheese
• 300ml heavy cream
• 3 tbsp confectionary sugar, sifted
• 65g dark chocolate grated

Top decoration:

• 100g dark chocolate, melted in double boiler
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a baking cookie sheet with soft butter and line with parchment paper.
• To make the sponge, whisk eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl slow at first then at higher speed for five minutes so that the mixture is pale and thick.
• Sift the flour and then fold it gently using a rubber spatula, try to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
• Pour the mixture slowly onto the baking sheet and tilt to cover the surface.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown and springs to touch. Cool for five minutes in the sheet and then transfer to wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Start the filling, dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water and add the brandy. Leave to cool.
• When the sponge has cooled, peel the parchment paper and cut in half. Then use the square baking pan as a guide to cut the sponge. For each square piece of sponge cut horizontally using a serrated knife, start at each corner towards the middle. This should give you four equally thick sponge pieces. Keep the leftover pieces in case you need to fill in gaps.
• Line the square pan with long pieces of parchment paper in both directions so that it’s easy to take out at the end.
• Meanwhile mix the mascarpone cheese in a mixing bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Slowly add the cream and icing sugar to make a creamy, spreadable frosting. Use as much or little cream as you would like.
• Start layering with the first square piece of sponge at the bottom of the square pan. Brush on some of the coffee brandy mixture. Then spread some of the mascarpone frosting over the soaked sponge. Then add some of the grated chocolate.
• Then add the second square sponge on top, and repeat the process, then third square and repeat the process.
• Place the fourth square sponge on top and spoon over the remaining coffee mixture. Using a palette or butter knife to spread a thin layer of the frosting over the top of the cake.
• Wipe the knife and spread the rest of the frosting in a thicker layer over the cake. Chill for an hour in the fridge, cover with plastic wrap.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove.
• Remove the cake from the fridge and lift the cake from the pan using the parchment paper, place on a large cake plate.
• Dust with cocoa powder, then decorate with steaks of melted chocolate.

Perfect moist chocolate cake for a birthday or dinner party!

 

Ina Garten’s double chocolate layer cake

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/double-chocolate-layer-cake

Ingredients

CAKE

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (I used a Nespresso lungo with hot water)

FROSTING

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (1 used a large tsp instead)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In a Kitchen Aid with a paddle or bowel with mixer mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a different bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool. Peel off the parchment.

In a double boiler on the stove melt the chocolate. Stir until completely melted, then set aside to cool.

In a Kitchen Aid with a paddle or bowel with mixer beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl. At low speed, slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar, about 1 minute. In a small bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in 2 teaspoons of hot water. Slowly beat the coffee and the cooled chocolate into the butter mixture until just combined.

Set a cake layer on a plate with the flat side facing up (make sure the cake is cooled down). Evenly spread one-third of the frosting over the cake to the edge. Top with the second cake layer, rounded side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.

It is difficulty to find anyone who doesn’t appreciate a baked apple dessert. This is an Austrian apfelstrudel with a raspberry coulis for a twist. Strudel can be traced back to the 17th century, gaining popularity during the Habsburg Empire. Even though an apple strudel (apfelstrudel) is most widely known, there are various types including sour cherry, apricot, plum and raisin. Enjoy!

Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced into small pea size pieces

1/4 cup ice water

Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (40 g)

2/3 cups fine bread crumbs

½ cup of brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces

2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing the dough

Powdered sugar for dusting

Raspberry Coulis

3 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons water

1/3 cup of fresh raspberries

To make the dough place the flour, salt, and sugar in a small food processor. Pulse a few times, then add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times. Add the ice water and pulse until the dough comes together. Knead into a ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

For the filling, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them until they are golden. Remove and let them cool.

Peel the apples, core them and dice into small pieces. Now add 2 tablespoons of butter to the same sauce pan and add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cool the apples till they caramelize, about 5 minutes, keep them on the firmer side (not too soft). Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a clean and lightly floured surface into a rectangular shape. Brush half the dough some melted butter. Spread the breadcrumbs over one side and then add the apple mixture. Fold in the long sides of the rectangle and then start to roll the dough. Place the strudel onto a sheet of parchment paper with the seam-side down.

Put the dough onto a baking sheet and brush it with the remaining melted butter.

Baking the strudel for 35-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

To make the raspberry coulis, add the raspberries, sugar and water to the small food processor and puree till smooth, may need more or less water. Then using a fine mesh strainer pour and press the mixture through to remove the seeds. Place the coulis at the base of the bowl with the apfelstrudel on top and cover with powdered sugar.

My wife is Austrian, so obviously I had to attempt to make a Linzer torte. This is an Austrian torte, originating from the city of Linz. It is a crumbly pastry with jam and nuts, usually hazelnuts but I used almonds. The jam can be redcurrant, raspberry or apricot. The cake is usually covered by a lattice of dough strips. The torte is a holiday classic around Christmas and thought to be one of the oldest cakes in the world. Enjoy!

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ground clove

¼ tsp of salt

1 stick of cold unsalted butter

½ cup of granulated sugar

½ tsp of lemon zest

½ cup ice cold water

Filling

2 cups seedless raspberry jam

½ cup of ground slivered almonds

Glaze

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 1 square cake pan then line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.

In a food processor add 2 cups of flour, salt, sugar and butter. The butter should be cold and cut into small cubes. Pulse with mixture 10-12 times. Now add the cinnamon, clove and lemon zest and pulse 3-4 times. Then add 1/2 cup of the water and mix till it forms a dough ball. Place the dough into saran wrap and cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then process the almonds till ground and put aside.

After 30 min divide the dough roughly ¾ and ¼ portions. Roll out the ¾ portion of the dough to fit the inside of the square pan. Press evenly and firmly over the bottoms and then about 1 inch up the sides with your fingers.

Roll the remaining ¼ portion of dough between two pieces of waxed paper and then cut to make strips for the lattice.

Now sprinkle the ground almonds over the dough in the pan. Add the raspberry jam to cover the dough. Arrange strips crisscrossing them on an angle to make a lattice top with diamond-shaped openings. I alternated three in each direction to weave the lattice.

To add a little finish, mix egg yolk and water. Brush it all over lattice top and border. Sprinkle with almonds, if desired. Bake the torte for 45 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Then use a small, sharp knife and cut into squares. Add powdered sugar if desired.

A perfect dessert for a busy schedule!

Tiramisu translates as “pick me up”