Tag: Cakes

Dutch Apple Tart
If I close my eyes and think of home, I see candle lights and bookshelves, I hear laughter and my husband playing the piano, I smell fresh baked apple and cinnamon tart… From a recipe very much like this one. Crunchy and flaky golden perfection with a hint of vanilla sweet and salt and inside cinnamon fragrant melting apple slices.

This is a recipe for a classic Dutch Apple Tart. I tell you what, the Dutch do love their apple tarts! You may find them everywhere. Served warm or cold, served just on their own or with a ball of delicious vanilla ice-cream, looking posh or looking rustic… However they may catch your eye, you should definitely give them a try.

Making one at home is fairly easy. All you need is to prepare a crust pastry, roll the dough and shape the form. Fill the crust pastry with a mixture of apples, cinnamon and brown sugar and cover with pastry again. If you might feel adventures, you may mix apples and pears, add sultanas soaked in rum, or sprinkle almonds or walnuts inside the filling of the tart. Whatever takes your fancy, be yourself and enjoy a delicious golden slice!
Ingredients

For 20cm springform

250g flour

125g sugar

150g butter

2 eggs

1 lemon

500g apples

50g brown sugar

5og dry bread crumbs

1tsp cinnamon

2tsp corn flour

8g vanilla sugar essence Dr. Oetker

salt
Method

Make the dough:
1. Combine the flour, sugars, vanilla, salt and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. With the mixer running, toss in the butter and mix until thoroughly combined. With the mixer running, add one egg and mix until it forms wet crumbs.
2. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead together. Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the top of the tart. Roll the remaining 2/3 of the dough into a 16″ round. Lift the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll over the pan. The dough will probably break apart but just piece it together to line the pan.
Assemble the tart:
1. Cut each apple into quarters and slice each quarter into 1/4 thick slices. Toss the sliced apples with the granulated brown sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the bread crumbs into the bottom of the tart shell and then pour the apples over the bread crumbs. The pan will be about 2/3 – 3/4 full.
2. Brush the inside of the tart shell from the apples the to top with egg wash. Roll the remaining dough into a 10″ round. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough into 1″ wide strips. Arrange the strips in a lattice pattern over the apples (see how to weave a lattice here). Trim the excess dough from the tart and brush the top of the crust with egg wash. Sprinkle the top of the tart with granulated sugar.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Bake for about 50 minutes until the apples in the middle are tender and the juices are bubbling. Cool completely in the pan.
4. To unmold the tart, run a knife around the edge to make sure the crust isn’t sticking and then release the pan.

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January 31, 2020
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Birthday cakes are my favourite type of cakes. They call for festive extravagance, abundance of flavour and taste and most of all kitchen fun and creativity. I have been looking forward to making something special for my dearest one. He wished for a carrot cake, but instead of making one I opt for cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Not only that, I gave the piping bag to my family and let each one decorate their own cupcake. Birthdays are all about having fun, right?

These delicious carrot cake cupcakes are amazing. Very light and moist, they lack the density of the classic carrot cake.. and I must say, I really like them this way. But the favour is where all the magic happens – I use only organic carrots (they are sweeter, more moist and more aromatic), cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon – all the smells of cozy Christmas. The original recipe does not require for walnuts and raisins, but in our home, they do make a difference and we would never miss them.

The cream cheese frosting is such a simple one, yet adding a vanilla bean paste, a pinch of salt and cinnamon makes it a glorious accompaniment to the rich and aromatic carrot cupcakes! Before I know it, a second helping is in order… or did I notice third! A lovely family treat for making even the most simple occasion special.
Ingredients

1 and 1/3 cups white flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon EACH: ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves

2/3 cup light-brown brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or use 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots (~3 medium sized carrots)

handful of raisins

handful of chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

250 full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (do not use low fat)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or use 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar
Method

1. Preheat oven to 175C degrees. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, using hand mixers, beat together the brown sugar, white sugar, and eggs until combined. Mix in applesauce and vanilla extract. With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in vegetable oil and mix until combined. Finely shred the carrots (on the small side of your grater (picture above) and measure to ensure you have 1 and 1/2 cups. Add the dry ingredients right on top of the wet ingredients and the shredded carrots right on top of that. Add raisins and walnuts. Stir until just combined being careful to not overmix.
3. Pour batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. You should use all of the batter between the 12 cavities. Bake in preheated oven about 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin several minutes then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
For the frosting:
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Using a hand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Mix in vanilla extract, sea salt and cinnamon. With mixer running on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar and beat until well blended and smooth. Chill the frosting while the cupcakes finish cooling.
5. Frost completely cooled cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

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September 27, 2019
Birthday Cake in Number Shapes
My dearest one has become 50. He still looks young and gorgeous in my eyes, but I cannot stop but wonder where does time fly. Marking the occasion, my husband’s 50 year anniversey was quite a family event. We shared all our love with him in small and big ways, but most of all, my making this spectacular birthday cake together with my step-daughter.

We first print A4 number shapes finding variety of template options freely available online. Then we make four delicious almond flour cookies and once chilled, layer them 2×2 filled with cream cheese filling and we decorate the topping with flowers and fruits.

It is amazing how easy this cake turns out to be. Once mastering the basics, the same technique could be used in making all sorts of cookie shapes and impressing and delighting any of your quests.
Ingredients

(Cookie Template Size A4)

For the cookies

500g flour

100g almond flour

2tsp Vanilla extract

300g Butter (room temperature)

1 large egg

1 dash of salt

200g powdered sugar

4 tsp of cold water (in case your cookie dough is too crumbly)

For the filling

450g heavy cream (cold)

10g Agar-agar

90g water

350g cream cheese (room temperature)

200g powdered sugar

2tsp Vanilla extract

For decoration

raspberries

strawberries

mango

Blueberries

Blackberries

4 – 6 flowers
Method

For the cookies:

1. Sift flour, powdered sugar and almond flour. Discard lumps.
2. Add butter to dry ingredients and combine with hands until the dough resembles crumbly sand.
3. Briefly stir vanilla extract and egg together than pour into dough. Combine with hands.
4. Separate cookies into 1 X 300g and 3X 250g portions and pack in wrap. Allow to cool in fridge for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
5. After an hour, roll out one cookie dough at a time. If the cookie dough is too crumbly, add 1 – 2 tablespoons of cold water. Roll out the dough on a flat surface (covered with parchment paper), which can then fit into your freezer.
6. Cut out the desired number from the cookie dough.
7. Place cookie in freezer for 10 minutes.
8. Put cookie in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 9 – 11 minutes.
9. Allow to fully cool and repeat the same process for remaining numbers. You will need 2 of each number. The defined measurements suffice for 4 cookies (2 X 2).

For the filling:

1. Pour powdered sugar into heavy cream and whisk until stiff peacks, pour in vanilla extract and combine well. Then place in fridge.
2. Mix water and agar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then cook in microwave or in a pot.
3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese until soft.
4. Fold in heavy cream into cream cheese until creamy consistency. Pour in hot agar and mix well.
5. Immediately pour into pastry bag and begin decorating the cookies (or cake).

For decoration:

1. Pipe large drops onto the first cookie until fully covered.
2. Place the second (same number) cookie on top and pipe large drops onto that cookie as well.
3. Distribute fruit and flours along the center of the cream decorated cookies.

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October 3, 2018
Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl Bundt Cake
Chocolate cake is already delicious but what about combining it with vanilla cheese cake? Hmm… the combination is divine… Several days ago, I have promised to bring a cake at the office. The options of what to prepare are always more then enough, but for this particular occasion I have been considering as much the flavour as the logistic transportation practical side. As a result, this delicious chocolate cheesecake swirl bundt cake has emerged delighting all the senses.

Preparing the cake was easy and simple. Keeping it away from my family has been a real struggle and temptation, something to remember and avoid in the future whenever I can. Why did I not even consider to prepare two cakes instead of one? With the cake intact and graciously arriving at the office in one piece it made me happy to see the joy it brought to my colleagues and that even before noon not a single slice was left.
Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling

6oz cream cheese, softened (from 8-oz package)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 Vanilla

Cake

1 1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ dark chocolate cake mix

1/4 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Topping

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1 Vanilla

2 to 3 teaspoons milk

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Coffee Chocolate beans
Method

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt cake pan, or spray with baking spray with flour. In small bowl, beat 6 oz cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Beat in granulated sugar, vanilla, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 egg until smooth; set aside.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1/4 cup flour, the water, oil and 2 eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes; stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour into pan.

3. Spoon cream cheese filling over batter, keeping it away from edge of pan. Run table knife through batter in large zigzag pattern once around pan.

4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack; remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

5. In small bowl, beat 2 oz cream cheese and 2 teaspoons milk using whisk. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. If too thick, add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. Spoon icing over cake.

6. In small microwavable bowl, microwave whipping cream uncovered on High 30 seconds or until cream just beings to simmer. Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut off small corner of bag; drizzle over white icing. Decorate with coffee chocolate beans.

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September 10, 2017
Speculoos Cake
It is mid September and the summer days start to whisper of the coming autumn. We cuddle lovingly at home with a cup of tea, glowing candles, warm blanket and a book close by. Home sweet home. Our travelling business agendas keep us far from home and when the weekend comes being home is a joy and celebration. We treasure these simple moments in many ways. Sharing hours among the mundane taking care and the things that bring delight. Sometimes it is a walk in the woods, sometimes it is delicious dinner, sometimes a favourite cake. Speculoos are traditional cookies offered all year round, but especially around St. Nicolas on the 6th of December in Belgium. A couple of years ago a Belgian company transformed this delicious flavour into a paste, that nowadays can be easily found in every store all over the world – called Speculoos Paste or Cookie Butter. This is the main ingredient our weekend cake today – delicious and spicy, soft and flavoursome Speculoos Cake.

Ingredients

250g self-raizing flour

220g butter

250g caster sugar

2 vanillas

4 eggs

4 tbsp of Speculoos Paste

4 Speculoos cookies

Method

1. Soften the butter.

2. Whisk the softened butter, the sugar and the vanilla. Gradually, one by one, add the eggs continuously whisking. Whisk in the flour adding a little bit at a time. Add four table spoons of Speculoos paste and whisk again until smooth.

4. Grease and flour a backing dish. Poor over the cake mixture. Smooth evenly. Brake four speculoos cookies in half and dip each cookie half in the cake mixture.

5. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes on 175C. When ready, take the cake out of the oven and let it rest for 2min in the form, then take it and turn it upside down on a plate. Serve warm with a spoon of vanilla ice cream, or cold.
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September 10, 2017
Banoffee Cake
A recent trip to Germany has expanded my culinary horizons adding one more show-stopping cake recipe book to our library. This time, the challenge has been set even higher, embracing the hidden secrets shared by a renown German fine patisserie chef Noemie Strouk in her culinary book “Baking with a wow-effect“.

Wow-effect it is… Browsing through the tempting looking pages I leave my husband to make the final choice of what he might wish for me to prepare, as honestly speaking any single cake looks absolutely more then fine to me. His choice is a Banoffee cake and the challenge is on.

The original recipe requires first to bake a cookie base for the cake, but considering an alternative version we decide to make the base from speculoos cookies in a similar way as preparing a cheese cake. The flavour combination between the speculoos cookies the banana and the caramel with the light and fluffy mascarpone cream topping ends as being absolutely sublime. Simple, elegant, light and so easy and quick to prepare… fine dinning “wow” it really is.
Ingredients

200g Speculoos cookies

100g butter

50g salty butter

125g crystal sugar

190g cream

pinch of salt

2 bananas

300g cream

50g mascarpone

Vanilla sugar Dr. Oetker (8g)

30g powder sugar

Chocolate curls

Hazelnut bresilienne

Dry cornflower petals

2tsp cacao powder
Method

1. Prepare the speculoos cake base: Blend the speculoos cookies into a fine dust. Melt 100g butter. Mix the butter and the cookie dust together into a sticky mess. Place baking paper on the base of a 22cm cake form. Press the cookie and butter mixture into a flat disk in the cake form and let it chill for half an hour in the refrigerator.

2. Prepare the caramel: Place 125g crystal sugar in a pot with a thick bottom. Place it over medium fire and let the sugar caramelize (do not touch). Once the caramel starts to get a golden colour and all the sugar has dissolved add a little bit from the cream (do not poor all the liquid at once as it will start to rise). Add 190g cream in three or four times stirring continuously. Cut the salty butter into pieces. Add the butter to the caramel one piece at time stirring continuously until the caramel start to thicken. Once all the butter has been added set aside and let it cool completely on room temperature. Once cooled add a pinch of salt and stir the caramel.

3. For the cream topping: In a cool glass bowl add together the cold 300g cream, 50g mascarpone and vanilla sugar. Mix together with a mixer initially on slow speed until the cream starts to thicken then on high speed. Add the powder sugar and mix until thick.

4. To assemble the cake: Take the cake form out of the fridge. Open the ring and let only the cookie base remain. Cut two bananas into rings and arrange them on top of the speculoos cookie cake base. Drizzle over caramel. Using a piping bag, pipe the mascarpone cream on top of the cake. Dust cacao powder on top and decorate with chocolate curls, hazelnut bresilienne and dried cornflower petals.

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August 6, 2017