Equipment
9 inch (23 cm) springform cake pan
Electric Mixer
Ingredients
5 large eggs (room temperature)
¾ cup granulated white sugar (150 grams)
1 ¼ cups cake flour (150 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
Topping
Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 340ºF/170ºC. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform cake pan and line the base and sides with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.
Sieve the flour and set aside.
Using an electric mixer and the whisk attachments, beat the eggs with the sugar at maximum speed for about 15 minutes until frothy and thick.
Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Once the eggs have been whipped, stop the electric mixer.
Mix in the sieved flour a little at a time using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula. Take care to slowly incorporate it with gentle movements from the bottom up.
Pour the mixture into the previously buttered and lined springform pan. This cake can also be used to make Tiramisu.
Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
DO NOT open the door during the first 20 minutes of cooking.
Use a cake tester to check on the cake after 20 minutes. When the tester is dry, turn off the oven.
Leave the cake in the turned-off oven with the door open for 5 minutes (this will prevent the sponge cake from undergoing a thermal shock and deflating too much as it cools). Remove the pan to a wire rack and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour. Run a thin spatula around the edge of the pan.
Remove the sponge cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before serving or storing.
If well wrapped in plastic wrap the sponge cake lasts 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or it can be frozen.
Cut the cake into wedges and serve with strawberry topping and whipped cream.
Cannoli Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter
2 sticks (8 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ricotta Cream
2 cups ricotta cheese, preferably whole-milk
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup toasted, slivered almonds
1/4 cup rum
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper and grease the paper.
Make the cake batter: In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then add the lemon zest and juice.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Remove the bowl from the machine and stir in the dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
Fill each prepared cake pan with half of the batter. Place the pans in the center of the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake emerges clean for 30 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks until cool enough to handle, then turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the ricotta until smooth. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon Mix to blend.
In a separate bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat the heavy cream until fairly stiff.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the cream into the ricotta mixture.
Assemble the cake: Place one layer of the cake on a dessert platter.
Brush some of the rum on the first layer and top with a third of the ricotta filling. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips evenly over the ricotta cream.
Place the second cake squarely on top and gently press the two layers together.
Brush the second cake with rum and spread the remaining ricotta over the sides and top of the cake..
Sprinkle the chocolate chips and almonds evenly over the top of the cake. Refrigerate until serving time.
TORTA DI MELE (TUSCAN APPLE CAKE)
Ingredients
2 x large apples, peeled, finely chopped
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup honey
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment cut to fit the bottom of the pan.
Toss the chopped apples into a bowl with the lemon juice and zest.
Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of sea salt in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, extra virgin olive oil, and eggs together to combine.
Mix the extra virgin olive oil mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth thick batter.
Fold the apples into the batter. then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean when tested. Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar before slicing. You can serve it with honey yogurt. {Mix 2 tablespoons of honey with 1 cup of Greek plain yougurt}
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Lamb Cake
Ingredients
1 pkg store-bought pound cake mix
3/4 to1 cup water (use 1/4 cup less than the package directions-my cake mix calls for 1 1/4 cups of water)
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Whipped Cream Frosting, recipe below
1 lamb mold
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare the lamb mold by coating it with vegetable oil. Let sit for a few minutes then wipe clean with a paper towel.
Then grease (use a solid shortening) and flour the lamb mold, making sure to get all the creases.
Place the front of the mold on a baking sheet.
Prepare the cake batter according to the cake mix directions.
Fill the mold to the top for the front of the cake, do not fill the backside of the mold.
Place the back of the mold on the front and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake tests are done. (Test with a toothpick through a vent hole in the mold.)
Remove the mold from the oven, wait 10 minutes and remove the back of the body mold.
Stand the cake up and gently remove the front of the mold. Have clean towels rolled up and ready to support the head of the cake, while placing a rolled-up towel in the back of the cake to support that part also.
Place a dab of icing on a plate and stand the cake in an upright position. Frost and decorate with jelly beans, raisins, cherries, or chocolate chips for the eyes and nose.
(Best results cool cake in the refrigerator before frosting, this makes a firmer surface for the icing.) Place green-tinted coconut around the base of the lamb; add jelly beans and a colorful bow at the neck, if desired.
Whipped Cream Frosting
This is a great whipped cream recipe because it does not weep after it sits on the cake.
Ingredients
1 (8 ounces) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
Decorations: jelly beans, coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, food coloring
Directions
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth.
While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl a couple of times while you continue whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak.
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
12 buns
Ingredients
1 tablespoon instant yeast
2 cups bread flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons.wheat gluten
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
Powdered sugar icing, recipe below
Directions
Combine the flour, wheat gluten, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix with a paddle attachment to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Add the sourdough starter, milk, butter, and vanilla. Mix together until a dough forms. Add the raisins, and mix them into the dough.
Switch to the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth — about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat the top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double — about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased 13×9 inch baking dish.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until double — about 30 minutes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 20 minutes or cooked in the center and golden brown in color.
Cool on wire rack. Be sure the buns are completely cool before adding the frosting or the frosting will melt over the buns.
Powdered Sugar Icing
Combine the following ingredients to make a thick frosting.
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
With a spoon, drizzle icing in a cross pattern over each bun.
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 box (15.25 oz) red velvet cake mix
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 box (3.4 oz) chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
4 large eggs
For the topping
1 pint of fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into thin slices
¼ cup strawberry jelly
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a fluted tube cake pan with non-stick baking spray with flour.
Stir the cake mix, flour, and pudding mix together in a mixing bowl. Add the sour cream, oil, water, and eggs. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 15 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow cooling in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Serve the cake sliced with strawberries and whipped cream.
The toppings can be prepared ahead of serving time. Refrigerate until needed.
Heat the jelly in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until it is melted. Stin in the sliced strawberries. Set aside to cool.
Whip the v\cream with powdered sugar.
I used fresh pineapple instead of canned because my market had a buy one, get one promotion on cubed fresh pineapple last week. I put the pineapple in my processor and pulsed it until it was the consistency of crushed pineapple. Don’t over-process or you will have juice. The fresh pineapple worked just fine. This very moist cake is good for breakfast, as is, or you may serve it for dessert with sweetened whipped cream,
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups crushed pineapple with juice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and thoroughly grease a bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sour cream, and sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely combined.
Whisk in flour until just incorporated. Slowly stir in the crushed pineapple with a spatula.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
Let cake cool to room temperature. Run a thin spatula or knife about the outside of the pan and around the tube. Turn the cake over onto a serving plate.
Italian Cheesecake
serves: 10 to 12
Italian cheesecake is one of the easiest Italian desserts to make and is always a big hit.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup amaretto crumbs from about 5-6 cookies
5 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups drained whole milk ricotta, at room temperature
1 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons dark rum
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Powdered sugar and strawberries for optional topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine the butter and cookie crumbs together and pour into the baking pan, Press the crumbs over the bottom until firm.
In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and salt at high speed until creamy and doubled in volume for about 5 minutes.
Add ricotta, mascarpone, rum, and lemon and orange zest. Mix on medium until smooth and fluffy, about another 2 minutes.
Put springform pan on a baking sheet and pour batter into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake until edges are set and lightly golden but the center is still a bit jiggly about 75 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about one hour. With a thin metal spatula, go around the cake in the pan to keep it from sticking to the pan as it cools. Cover the pan and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a serving plate. Cover the top with powdered sugar and strawberries cut in half.
Cherry Topped Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee
Vanilla Frosting, store-bought or recipe below
1 cup dried cherries, rehydrated, see below
Green sprinkles
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 cake pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
Add the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl or electric mixer and combine.
In another bowl add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat together until well combined. Scrape down the sides as needed.
Slowly pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Continue to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is mixed well. The batter will be very thin.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 5 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted and comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Spread the frosting over the cake. Decorate with cherries and green sprinkles.
To rehydrate the cherries:
Place the cherries in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur. I used Tuaca a fine spirit with subtle notes of vanilla and citrus, Pour enough boiling water over the cherries to cover them. Let sit for 15 minutes and then drain. Dry the cherries on a paper towel.
To make the vanilla frosting:
ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
In a small bowl, beat together butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy.
Apple-Pie Cake
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light-brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 pounds tart apples, such as Granny Smith
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Sweetened Whipped Cream for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of the pan. Spray again.
Peel apples, cut into thin slices and place in a bowl. Toss apple slices with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ cup brown sugar, and lemon juice, and put them in the prepared pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in the pan.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, mix flour, baking powder, butter, ½ cup brown sugar, eggs, milk, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon just until the batter is smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples in the prepared pan.
Put the pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown on top and a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and let the cake cool in the pan to set. Remove the pan rim and turn the cake over on a serving plate (apples will be on top).
Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
Blueberry Loaves
Makes two loaves that are good for breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
1 cup soft unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 small to medium very ripe banana, mashed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Optional Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper cut to fit.
Combine the berries with the ¼ cup flour and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the 3 cups flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl combine the yogurt, banana, milk and lemon juice
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the yogurt mixture. Add the flour to the egg mixture mixing just until combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pans dividing the mixture in half. I weigh the baking pans as I add the batter to each pan so that they are equal.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes, then remove the loaves from pan and cool on a rack.
For the glaze:
Stir the sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Drizzle over the Blueberry Loaves.
