Bite Size Lemon Tea Cakes Food

BITE-SIZE LEMON TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease 2 mini muffin tins.
• Combine white sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon extract, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Add flour; beat until batter is just moistened.
• Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk, and 3 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract together in a bowl to make glaze.
• Dip tops of cakes in the glaze; place cakes on the wire racks until glaze is set, at least 1 hour.

MOIST LEMON TEA CAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice, extracts and lemon zest. Add flour; beat just until moistened., Fill greased miniature muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 325° for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Dip tops of cakes into glaze; place on waxed paper to dry.

BITE-SIZE CHEESECAKES ON LEMON-PEPPER-CORNMEAL CRUSTS

Steps:

• To make the confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch-wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You should have several 1-inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each 1 into long strips, about 1/4-inch by 3 inches each.
• Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil, add all the lemon rind, and boil 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time. Combine the sugar and 2 cups of water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender, about 1 hour.
• Drain in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
• To make the crust: Cream the butter until soft and smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix at low speed until almost blended. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead briefly, just until the dough comes together. Form into a disk and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Flour a work surface. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick and prick all over with a fork. Use a cutter to cut out rounds of pastry that are slightly larger in diameter than your mini-muffin cups. Transfer the pastry rounds to a sheet pan and chill 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Butter 2 mini-muffin tins and then lay a large piece of heavy duty plastic wrap over the tin. Push the plastic wrap down into each cup (this is to line it very well). Do not worry, the plastic wrap will not burn or melt in the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• To make the filling: Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the sugar and mix. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour and salt. Divide the filling among the lined cups, filling each one all the way up. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then chill.
• When ready to serve, cut the plastic wrap so you can remove each cup of cheesecake individually. Lift each one out of the cup and invert onto a cornmeal crust. Peel off the plastic wrap. When all the cakes have been assembled, top each one with a tiny mound of chopped lemon confit and serve.

BITE SIZE CHEESECAKES WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND A CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Confit: Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each lemon to expose the flesh. Cutting from top to bottom and following the contours of the fruit, cut off the peel and white pith in 1-inch-wide strips. Scrape off any pulp adhering to the strips, but leave the pith intact. You should have several 1-inch wide strips of lemon peel and pith. Cut each one into long strips, about 1/4-inch by 3 inches each.
• Meanwhile, boil a kettleful of water. Pour about 2 cups of the boiling water into a small saucepan, bring back to a boil, add all the lemon rind, and boil 30 seconds. Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold running water. Repeat 2 times more, using fresh boiling water each time. Combine the sugar and 2 cups of water in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the blanched rind and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender, about 1 hour.
• Drain in a strainer (reserve the sweet, lemony syrup for sweetening drinks, if you like). Arrange the strips on a wire rack, using your fingers to gently spread them out so that they do not touch each other. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
• Crust: Cream the butter until soft and smooth in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix at low speed until almost blended. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead briefly, just until the dough comes together. Form into a disk and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Flour a work surface. Roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick and prick all over with a fork. Use a cutter to cut out rounds of pastry that are slightly larger in diameter than your mini-muffin cups. Transfer the pastry rounds to a sheet pan and chill 30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Butter 2 mini-muffin tins and then lay a large piece of plastic wrap over the tin. Push the plastic wrap down into each cup (this is to line it very well). Do not worry, the plastic wrap will not burn or melt in the oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Filling: Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the sugar and mix. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour and salt. Divide the filling among the lined cups, filling each one all the way up. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then chill.
• When ready to serve, cut the plastic wrap so you can remove each cup of cheesecake individually. Lift each one out of the cup and invert onto a cornmeal crust. Peel off the plastic wrap. When all the cakes have been assembled, top each one with a tiny mound of chopped lemon confit and serve.

BITE-SIZE LEMON TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease 2 mini muffin tins.
• Combine white sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon extract, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Add flour; beat until batter is just moistened.
• Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk, and 3 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract together in a bowl to make glaze.
• Dip tops of cakes in the glaze; place cakes on the wire racks until glaze is set, at least 1 hour.

LEMON CAKE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Coat a 9 x 12-inch baking sheet with 1-inch high sides with nonstick spray; line with parchment paper and spray again.
• Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, blend egg yolks, oil, water, lemon extract, and zest. Gradually whisk flour mixture into yolk-oil mixture until smooth.
• Beat egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until frothy. Gradually add 1/8 cup sugar to the whties and continue beating until they-re shiny and hold firm peaks as beaters are lifted out. Whisk 1/3 of the beaten whites into the batter to lighten it; gently fold in the remaining whites with a whisk.
• Pour batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Tilt the pan to evenly spread the batter (don't use a spatula--it can deflate the whites), then bake the cake 12-13 minutes, or until just set. Cool to room temperature, remove from pan, peel off paper, and cut into 1 1/2-inch rounds. (Don't cut rounds too big, or assembled cakes will be floppy when picked up).
• Whip cream and lemon curd together for the lemon cream, beating to soft peaks. Dollop 1 tablespoon cream on each cake round.
• Top cakes with berries, dust with powdered sugar, then garnish with mint. Serve or chill up to 2 hours.