Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts

LSU Tiger Stripe Bundt Cake with Southern Buttermilk Icing

The LSU fans at your gameday party will be cheering even louder than they do in Death Valley once you slice into this surprising LSU Tiger Striped Bundt Cake.

From the outside it just looks like a simple southern pound cake, but pull out a slice and reveal the purple and gold tiger strips marbling throughout the cake. A tangy southern buttermilk icing (died purple, of course!) will taste almost as sweet as a championship win.

Rooting for another team or want to serve this during a holiday or birthday party? Just swap the colors for any two that you love. (You can also add a third by dividing the batter in threes.) Note that no matter what colors you choose, I recommend you use gel food coloring instead of the liquid kind because the colors are more vibrant and it won't affect the texture of your cake or your icing. You can find gel food coloring at most baking and craft stores, or online on Amazon.

This cake can be made a day or two in advance. Store it at cool room temperature under a cake dome, or wrap loosely with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge. This cake serves 12 generously, but can also be cut into smaller slices for a larger party or tailgate. 

Pair this cake with my LSU Spiked Blueberry Vodka Lemonade Cocktail!

LSU Tiger Stripe Bundt Cake with Southern Buttermilk Icing

Yields 1 bundt cake (about 12 servings)

Ingredients
For the cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup butter, melted
5 large eggs
1 cup cold whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilaa extract
1/8 teaspoon violet gel food coloring (such as Wilton gel colors)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoons yellow gel food coloring
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest

For the buttermilk icing
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3-5 tablespoons buttermilk
2 oz cream cheese, softened
violet gel food coloring

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-15 cup bundt or tube pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In the base of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine sugar, melted butter, and eggs, and whip for five minutes until frothy and pale yellow. Add the milk and vanilla and mix in until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix only until fully combined and smooth.

Remove about 1/3 of the batter to a separate bowl. Add the violet food coloring and thee almond extract to this third of batter (thee smaller amount) and mix until the color is even. Set aside.

Repeat with the larger amount of batter, the yellow food coloring, orange extract, and orange zest. Mix until even.

Pour 1/3 of the yellow batter into the prepared bundt pan. Top with dollops of the purple batter. Repeat layering the remaining batter. Do not swirl the batter—it will settle into the tiger pattern during baking.

Bake about 1 hour, or until the cake is fully set, has pulled away from the edges slightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes before turning over onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make the buttermilk icing: Use an electric mixer to whisk together confectioner’s sugar, salt, almond extract, softened cream cheese, and 3 tablespoons of buttermilk. Whisk until smooth, adding more buttermilk a teaspoon or so at a time until it reaches desired consistency. Dye with the violet gel food coloring.

Once cake has cooled, turn over and trim the bottom to make a flat surface, then place onto a serving platter. Drizzle with icing. Let icing set 20 minutes before serving.

Store at room temperature under a cake dome.
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Flourless Walnut Fig Cake

Flourless cakes are one of my favorite desserts for dinner parties and celebrations (seriously--I shared a few of my other faves at the end of this post!). This super easy and naturally gluten-free Flourless Walnut Fig Cake is made using freshly ground walnuts as the "flour." It produces a nutty and flavorful cake that is both gorgeous and super satisfying.

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Pink Prosecco Cake with Chocolate Truffle Frosting

I celebrated my 35th birthday this past weekend with this sparkly gold & pink dream of cake. It's a classic moist vanilla cake made with prosecco and Chambord raspberry liqueur baked into the batter.

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Basically a Brownie Cake

This one-pot deep dark chocolate cake is my favorite kind of cake. Simple. Elegant. Easy and unfussy, yet somehow dramatic, memorable, craveable. The recipe is essentially a brownie recipe (hence the name), though the results are a little more delicate than a proper brownie. Think of it as the ultimate, fudgiest brownie that is better eaten with a fork than straight out of your hand.

I think of this one as a perfect dinner party cake because it hits my three dinner party dessert requirements:

1. It's best made a day or two in advance (though you can certainly eat it a few hours after baking, too!).

2. It's unfussy to make, but incredibly easy to dress up into an elegantly impressive celebration dessert. Dust the top with some powdered sugar and sprinkle of edible flowers. Or add a sweep of creme fraiche and a mountain of fresh berries. If you really want a showstopper, bake two then layer with whipped ganache frosting.

3. And finally, it is rich in flavor, but still light enough to not overwhelm after a big meal.

What more could you ask for? 

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Bacon Fat Cake

Baking this Bacon Fat Cake was one of the first things I did this year. Literally, on January 1st I baked a cake made with a lot of bacon fat, which felt like a golden, lush, gorgeously rich way to start a new year.

I'm not really sure why I've held off on posting the recipe for nearly an entire year, except that it happens sometimes (I have piles and piles of hoarded recipes!).

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Orange Cranberry Pecan Coffee Cake

There's something about cranberries that instantly puts me in the festive spirit--does that happen for you, too? Today I want to share a sweet recipe that will be one of your secret weapons when entertaining your Thanksgiving guests. 

This one features fresh cranberries, which are my forever fave. This time of year, I always make a point of buying a few extra bags each time I shop--some to use right away, and some to pop in the freezer to enjoy later! They're such a quick and easy way to add color, flavor, and a little holiday twist to all your favorite recipes.

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Cinnamon Blueberry Pecan Breakfast Cake

I bake a lot of cakes, but this Cinnamon Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake is one of the best things I've ever made. It's ridiculously simple, but there's something about the combination of the fresh summery blueberries, nutty pecans, and warm cinnamon that makes it particularly satisfying during these in-between weeks. It's not quite Fall yet, but you can feel summer drifting away. There are still some crazy hot days ahead, but the attitude has changed.

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Any Berry Cake

My fridge is perpetually full of berries during the summer months. I can't resist buying them, even when I know I already have a few pounds of them waiting at home.

Hence the need for a simple berry cake like this one. The easy batter, rich with olive oil, cream, and fresh lemon zest, is the perfect base for handfuls of your favorite berries.

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Flourless Orange Cauliflower Cake

I know...I know...this sounds totally insane (and maybe even a little bit gross?), but trust me on this! Everyone who has ever tasted this cake can not believe how good it is. And no, you definitely can not taste the cauliflower in it. I promise that all you'll taste is oranges, almonds, and sweet cake goodness.

This flourless orange cauliflower cake was one of the recipes I featured on a TV cooking segment about cauliflower recipes that I did on PIX11 Morning News here in NYC earlier this month. On the show, I covered everything from Cauliflower Fried Rice and Cauliflower Buffalo Wings, to this sweet cake.

Needless to say, the cake was the hit.

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Easy Coconut Blueberry Cake

We were originally going to go out for my dad's birthday last night, but he wasn't feeling well so we made it a casual night in instead. We all went over to my parents' house (Hudson, too!), ordered take-out and hung out in the kitchen eating and laughing until well past midnight.

When my mom told me about the change of plans that afternoon, I realized that I at least had the time to bake up a quick cake to bring along. I had to work with what I had, so took a look in the fridge and pantry and pulled together this easy Coconut Blueberry Cake. It's a variation of a cake I've made a lot of times using buttermilk, but with a few easy switches.

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Chocolate Chip Fig Cake with Saffron

This Chocolate Chip Fig Cake is the autumnal version of my Simple Summer Cake. (So I guess that makes this a Simple Fall Cake?) A moist and not-too-sweet yogurt cake with hints of almond and saffron studded with ripe fresh figs and tons of chocolate chips.
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Simple Summer Cake

Everyone needs a simple summer cake recipe in their baking repertoire. This lovely cake is mine. (And maybe it'll become yours, too?)

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Naked Strawberry Almond Cake with Honey Rose Cream Cheese Frosting

My dad's birthday and Easter fell on the same weekend this year, so it called for a major cake.

This is my major cake. A big tall stack of cake goodness that looks as inviting and gorgeous as it tastes.

You start off with a simple almond cake. It's moist and rich with almond flavor thanks to the generous amount of almond paste (nearly a full pound!) in the batter. It bakes into two layers that you then split and layer with the good stuff.
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Almond Yellow Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

What is it about yellow cake with chocolate frosting that just makes it so damn perfect?

Growing up, my mom was never much of a baker. There were a few memorable cakes that she made, but for the most part, I knew that if I wanted cake, I would have to bake it myself.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ahh...sticky toffee pudding. The name was enough to make me a fan even before I tried it.

I was in Edinburgh for my best friend's wedding the first time I ordered it. It was August and when we stepped out of the airport that first morning I realized that I had packed all the wrong things.

I'd known that the UK would be a bit cooler than NY, but wasn't aware of just how much cooler that would be. It was gray and raining and I was freezing, so our first plan of action involved purchasing an entire new wardrobe of thick wool sweaters, tights, closed walking shoes, and a trench coat. Once we'd checked into the apartment we'd rented, I shoved the breezy maxi dresses, light cardigans, and strappy sandals to the bottom of my suitcase.

But all the sweaters and coats did very little to keep me warm in the pervasive dampness. The weather made me feel constantly cold and cranky, and consequently, all I wanted to do while there was eat rich, cozy things. Fortunately, that is one thing that Scotland does very well. I fell in love with the food: bubbling pots of lamb stew, double-cream on scones, piping hot and fat chips fresh out of the fryer, bacon sandwiches, banoffee pie, haggis, absolutely all of it!

And for dessert? Sticky toffee pudding!

A hot square of cake served in a puddle of steaming toffee sauce, perhaps with a bit of cream or custard on the side, was the icing on the admittedly already rather rich cake. I ate it everywhere I saw it while I was there, and have done the same ever since. If there is sticky toffee pudding on the menu, you better believe that I will be ordering it.

If you're wondering about the details, it's as simple as this: a moist date cake topped off in a buttery brown sugar caramel sauce (butterscotch, basically).

There are many variations with some cakes that seem very moist and pudding-like (like a bread pudding) and others that are a bit more like a cake. This one is something in between. I also added cozy touch by steeping the dates in tea instead of regular water.


I was inspired by a Russian-style cake that my husband's aunt made us one year, and thought the touch worked well with the dates. If you don't like tea, you can skip it and just use an equivalent amount of hot water. It's served hot, either freshly made, or reheated gently before serving.

It's one of those desserts that just feels old timey and comforting, and like something straight out of a novel.

It's a perfect winter dessert, and the kind that can be made in advance and reheated as needed. I hope you'll give it a try.

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other cozy winter sweets you might like:


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Thanks so much for reading





Sticky Toffee Pudding
Serves 12

Ingredients
For the cake
12 ounces medjool dates
2 cups brewed hot tea (choose a basic black tea or something like English Breakfast.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

For the sauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cub heavy cream
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon), for serving

Directions
Remove the pits from the dates, then chop coarsely. Place in a bowl and top with the hot tea. Let soak for at least 30 minutes, or until dates are soft.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line an 8x8” square baking pan with parchment paper.

Pour the dates and tea into a blender and puree until smooth.

Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until melted and slightly toasted (it will smell nutty). Pour this melted butter into the date puree in the blender. Add the sugar and molasses, and puree again for one minute. Add the eggs, salt, and baking soda, and puree until smooth.

Pour the date and egg mixture from the blender into a large bowl and add the flour. Stir until smooth and evenly combined, then pour into the prepared baking pan and bake about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake bakes, make the sauce. Combine the butter, cream and brown sugar into a medium saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Use a whisk to stir as it cooks, about 5-7 minutes or until thick.

To serve, top squares of the cake with the toffee sauce. Sprinkle with a bit of salt on top, if desired.

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Syrup-Soaked Almond Semolina Cake

In New York City, ordering food is a pretty common thing. Even though I love to cook, I also really love craving something like zucchini fries or basil fried rice or blackened salmon, clicking a few buttons online, and having that very specific thing arrive 20-40 minutes later.

One of my favorite things to order for delivery is a delicious Syrup-Soaked Semolina Cake from a middle eastern restaurant in our neighborhood.

The truth is, it's unfortunately not a great restaurant. The rest of their dishes are executed with a pretty obvious lack of care and skill, but that cake is killer.

Made from a slightly crumbly combination of semolina flour and ground almonds, the cake is delicate and nutty--almost reminiscent of a great sweet cornbread.

The best part is the syrup. The cake arrives soaked in an ambrosial honey and orange-blossom syrup that invades each crumbly bite and seriously makes me swoon.

I love this semolina cake so much that I will regularly order some of that mediocre food, just so I can get the dessert. (Because they won't deliver just a single $2 piece of cake.)

I did once order 5 pieces of cake in order to meet the $10 delivery minimum, but that was kind of ridiculous, and not one of my prouder moments since I just spent that whole night in a cake coma.

Learning how to make the cake at home was a much better move, and this version comes pretty close to the one made by that restaurant.

Please note that like with most traditional desserts, there are dozens of variations of semolina cake from many countries throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa. Some are made with ricotta cheese or yogurt, others without the nuts, and the syrups vary in flavor, too.

This is just one way to do it, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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Loved this Syrup-Soaked Almond Semolina Cake recipe? Here are three other cake recipes you might like:
 

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Thanks so much for reading!

Syrup-Soaked Almond Semolina Cake
Makes 1 9-inch loaf cake

Ingredients
1 1/3 cup semolina flour (either fine or coarse will work—or use an equal mix of both)
3/4 cup almond meal or ground almonds
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the syrup
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey (use orange blossom honey, if you have it!)
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5” loaf pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper so that it overhangs on the sides.

Whisk together the semolina, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the melted butter, beaten eggs, coconut milk, and extracts, and stir well until evenly combined. Pour into the prepared baking pan and let rest 10 minutes before baking for 25 -35 minutes or until dark around the edges and slightly cracked on top. Remove from baking pan and let cool on a rack.

While the cake bakes, prepare the syrup. Combine the water, sugar, honey, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes, or until reduced by a quarter. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Place the cooled cake in a shallow baking pan and pour all the syrup over the top and sides. Leave the cake to absorb the syrup, occasionally spooning some from the pan over the cake (like basting a turkey!) until it is nearly all absorbed. 


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Flourless Fennel Almond Cake

Flourless Fennel Almond Cake (Gluten-Free)
I've been hanging onto this Flourless Fennel Almond Cake recipe for a couple months. I first was inspired to make it a couple months ago, when all my best college friends and I gathered in Cincinnati for our friend's wedding.

We all live scattered around the country, so any reason to come together is always also a reason to eat together and drink together and shop and laugh and dance and basically cram in a year's worth of activities in the short time we have together.

On our first night during this trip, we made plans for a big group dinner at an awesome Cincinnati restaurant called Metropole. They seated us at a big communal table right by the kitchen, and we proceeded to order nearly the entire menu (both food and drinks!).

Flourless Fennel Almond Cake (Gluten-Free)
We drank and ate and laughed and probably annoyed all the other patrons with our volume (sorry, folks!).

Among the many good things we ate that night, one of my favorites was the flourless fennel almond cake that I ordered for dessert. Just a few bites into it and I was already determined to recreate it as soon as I got home.
Homemade Fennel Syrup

And here it is!

Flourless Fennel Almond Cake (Gluten-Free)
I based this recipe on one of my favorite flourless cakes, which is made with pureed boiled clementines.

I basically swapped in an equivalent amount of pureed roasted fennel, then topped the whole thing off with an anise and fennel-infused syrup. If you're a fan of licorice and anise-flavored things, you will probably love this--let me know if you give it a try!


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Loved this Flourless Fennel Almond Cake recipe? Here are three other flourless cake recipes you might like:
 
And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!



Flourless Fennel Almond Cake
Serves 10

Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb with fronds
6 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 1/4 cups of ground almond meal
1 1/2 teaspoons anise seeds, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure anise extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

For the syrup

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon anise extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and line a springform baking pan (this is a sticky cake; you NEED a springform pan).

Remove fronds from fennel bulb (reserve) and chop bulb into thick wedges. Drizzle with oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized.

Transfer to a food processor or blender along with the eggs and sugar, and puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl.

Lower oven heat to 350 degrees.

Stir in the almond meal, anise seeds, extracts, salt, and baking powder into the fennel and egg mixture and stir well until evenly combined.  Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until set. Let cool in pan 20 minutes before removing sides and letting cool completely.

While cake bakes and cools, make the syrup: Combine the reserved fennel fronds, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes or until liquid thickens into a syrup. Strain syrup (discard fronds), and stir in anise extract and salt.

Brush warm syrup over cooled cake, allowing it to soak in. If desired, garnish cake with a few sprigs of fennel leaves or some additional toasted anise seeds.

Serve cake at room temperature.
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Chocolate Honey Layer Cake with Salted Honey Flour Buttercream & Raw Cocoa Nibs

Chocolate Honey Cake with Honey Buttercream & Raw Cocoa Nibs
My husband Eugene is in a cake club at work. He and a group of other guys in his office pool together money that they then spend on monthly birthday cakes celebrating the guys in the group. The bakery options near his office are kind of limited, so they usually end up buying cakes from a popular financial district bakery called Financier, cleverly named for both the delicious little golden cakes, and their Wall Street clientele.

This month, the birthday boy (David) announced that he was tired of the options at Financier, and so Eugene offered to bring a cake from one of the bakeries in our neighborhood.

While he asked me about the options near us, I noted that if he wanted, I could actually just make them the cake myself. David agreed and sent over a short list of his favorite flavors, including chocolate and honey.

I decided to make a chocolate honey layer cake with honey flour buttercream.

The flour-based frosting is actually one that I'd been wanting to try for a while, and the thing that inspired the recipe. It's kind of an amazing thing as the process is totally different than regular buttercream. Instead, a flour-thickened pudding is made as the base, then cooled and whipped with butter until light and fluffy.

The result is a a super creamy and buttery frosting that's much less sweet than the typical powdered sugar concoctions. Another benefit of the flour buttercream is that it lets you play around with different flavors and infusions.

The original recipe for this honey buttercream came from the Baked cookbook, but, with only 3 tablespoons of honey, I didn't think their recipe had enough honey flavor. I ended up substituting 1/2 cup of the sugar with more honey just to make it super...um...honey-er?

Whatever the word, the results are awesome! If you're a honey-flavored dessert lover, you'll be very much into this frosting.

One other thing I noted is that the flavor actually tastes best at room temperature, so if you refrigerate it, let it warm up on a counter for at least 2-3 hours before serving. It honestly makes a WORLD of a difference.

I also urge you not to skip the finishing touches! The crunchy cocoa nibs work beautifully against the honey flavors of the buttercream and the sprinkle of flaky salt (I love maldon) gives it an added level of flavor reminiscent of salted caramel.

All around, seriously good stuff!

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other birthday cake ideas you might like:


And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!



Chocolate Honey Cake with Salted Honey Buttercream & Raw Cocoa Nibs
Makes 1 10-inch layer cake (12-15 servings)

Cake recipe adapted from Epicurious. Buttercream recipe adapted from Baked Expolorations via O Magazine

Ingredients
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup honey + 1/4 cup honey, divided
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cocoa nibs and flaky sea salt, for garnish

Directions

Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and line two 10" round baking pans with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together chocolate chips and coffee. Set aside.

Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.

In the base of an electric mixer beat eggs for 3 minutes until light. Mix in 1/2 cup honey, melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla, followed by the chocolate and coffee mixture.

Add the dry ingredients and gently mix in just until completely combined. Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake about 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool layers in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Make the frosting:
In a heavy saucepan, whisk together sugar and flour. Add the honey, milk, and heavy cream, and set over medium heat, stirring until ingredients are smooth and evenly combined. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously until sauce thickens and becomes pudding-like (about 12 minutes). Lower heat to low and continue to stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla. Let cool completely at room temperature (about 1 hour).

Once the flour mixture is cool, place the 1 1/2 cups butter in a stand mixer and beat until light and creamy. With the mixer still running, slowly pour in all the flour mixture and continue to beat until it is fluffy and smooth. Add the remaining honey and beat a bit longer until evenly incorporated.

Frost the cooled cakes with the honey buttercream, then decorate the tops with cocoa nibs and garnish with flaky salt. Serve the cake room temperature or store, covered, in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator at least 2-3 hours before serving so cake has a chance to reach room temperature (it tastes best at room temp!). Cake can be left unrefrigerated for up to about 6 hours.
Note: Both cake and frosting can be made in advance and refrigerated. Let frosting come back to room temperature before assembling cake.

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French Almond Paste Cake

I'm not sure if this is true for everybody, but my cake cravings tend to increase dramatically during the winter.

It's like all I want are warm mugs filled with tea and a slice of something sweet and simple. I'm not talking about elaborate layer cakes with fillings and swoops of frosting (though those are lovely, too). I mean simple cakes. Plain cakes with just a one lovely single layer and perhaps a simple garnish--some toasted nuts, a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of sugar.

I like them dense and buttery, but not too sweet. The sort of thing that you could enjoy with tea or coffee in the middle of the afternoon, but then still go on with your day successfully. (Versus trapped in a sleepy sugar coma.)

It's what I had in mind when I made this beautiful French Almond Paste Cake. It's adapated from a recipe by David Lebovitz, although I played around with the amounts a bit. I doubled the almond paste, using two full tubes of the stuff, and cut down on the sugar.

For my version, I actually used coconut palm sugar, which is one of my favorite things ever. It's unrefined and nutty and not too sweet, and the thing that gives this cake this old fashioned shade of honey-brown.

Note that if you use regular sugar (which you absolutely can!), your cake will come out much lighter in shade. Both are delicious and recommended--it's really just up to what you prefer (or happen to have on hand).

This is one of those cakes that tastes better the next day, so I recommend making it at night and saving it for the next afternoon or morning, if you're impatient like I am.

It's just the thing for these dreary winter afternoons.

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other almond cake recipes you might like:


And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading!


French Almond Paste Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Almond Cake

Ingredients
1 cup coconut palm sugar OR granulated white sugar (if you like a sweeter cake, increase this to 1 1/4 cups)
14oz almond paste, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all purpose flour, divided in half
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sliced almonds, for garnish
2 tablespoons raw sugar, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a springform pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine sugar, almond paste, salt, and half the flour. Process until ingredients are combined and the texture of breadcrumbs or clumpy sand. Add the butter and process 2-3 minutes until creamy, then add the six eggs and both extracts, and puree for another 2-3 minutes until completely smooth (the batter will be loose). Add the remaining flour and baking powder, and pulse a few times, just until evenly combined.

Pour into the prepared baking pan, and cover with sliced almonds and raw sugar.  Bake 45 - 60 minutes, or until the cake has set in the center and risen, darkened to a golden brown, and developed a few cracks on top. You should be able to press gently on the cake and have it pop back up. Let cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the edges and remove the sides.

Let cool completely before transferring to a serving plate.
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Easy Vanilla Bean-Orange Angel Food Cake

What do you say we break a few rules together?

Angel food cake is usually one of those fussy cakes I prefer to completely avoid. Anything that requires special pans and beating and sifting or other extra steps beyond "dump ingredients into a bowl" is just usually way more than I want to bother with.

And yet...I've also always been a big fan of these sweet and soft white fluffy clouds of cake. At the grocery store, I have a tendency to pause by them, resisting the urge to poke and squeeze them. And left to my own devices, I will eat the entire thing.

I mean...it's basically just air, you guys. Don't judge.

I recently went on a citrus curd-making binge (more about that soon), making enormous batches of passion fruit curd and lime curd for no particular reason other than "I like it."

(Life lesson: that is ALWAYS reason enough.)

This left me with buckets of egg whites that had to be used up, and so the angel food cake came to be!

And though all the recipes said I had to do things like "sift flour and sugar three times" or "use a nonstick tube pan" and "fold in gently one tablespoon at a time," I said "oh to hell with all that!" because I just wanted my cake.

So this is what I did: I do not own a tube cake pan and have no plans to buy one, so I just used 2 9x5 loaf pans.

The loaf pans were nonstick, which is allegedly a BIG no-no, except that if you line them with foil it does double duty of making them not-nonstick AND making it really easy to remove the cake from the pan.

The recipes said I had to sift the flour and the sugar three times, but I was not interested in that, so instead I just whisked them together and poured them into the mixer in a slow steady stream. They incorporated right in without deflating the eggs or boring me to tears.

Awesome!

The one thing I DID do was let the pans cool upside-down. This was easy as I just rested them on cans and jars of peanut butter.

The cakes came out perfectly. One to photograph and share. And another to eat all by myself.

Because it's JUST AIR, you guys...

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Vanilla Bean-Orange Angel Food Cake
Makes 2 9x5” loaf cakes

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups egg whites, room temperature (from about 10 large eggs; do not use boxed or powdered egg whites)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract
1 vanilla bean, scraped OR 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place an oven rack on the lowest rung. Line two 9x5 loaf pans with foil so that it overhangs on the sides. Do NOT grease the pans.

Whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.

Place the egg whites in a the base of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed for 30 seconds just until it starts to look foamy. Add the cream of tartar and lemon juice, and raise speed to high. Beat until egg whites form soft white peaks.

While the mixer beats, slowly add the sugar in a long steady stream. The egg whites will continue to thicken and turn shiny and white. Beat in the extract and vanilla bean seeds, then lower the mixer to the slowest setting and slowly add the flour in another long steady stream.

Turn off mixer as soon as all the flour is in. Use a spatula to give it one or two quick folds to make sure the flour is all incorporated, then divide into the two prepared loaf pans.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until puffed and slightly golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and cool upside down by balancing edges of pan on two cans or jars.

Once completely cool, remove from pan, peel off foil, and serve.




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