Coffee Cardamom And Hazelnut Cake Food

COFFEE, CARDAMOM AND HAZELNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Lightly grease a 20.5cm round, loose-bottomed, deep cake tin and line with baking parchment. For the cake, using a pestle and mortar, bash the cardamom pods to break the husks. Pick out black seeds and discard husks. Grind seeds until fine.
• Using a freestanding mixer or handheld electric whisk, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs (if mixture looks as if it's curdling, mix in a few tbsp of the flour). Whisk in espresso/coffee.
• Sift in flour and add ground cardamom and hazelnuts. Fold in with a large metal spoon. Scrape into prepared tin, level gently and bake for 55-60min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in tin for 5min, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the coffee syrup. Heat espresso/coffee, sugar and 50ml water in a small pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bubble until syrupy, about 5min. Set aside to cool.
• For the icing, beat butter using a freestanding mixer or handheld electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk on a low speed until combined. Add the espresso/coffee and mix to combine.
• Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Use 1/3 of the icing to sandwich the halves back together and place cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread remaining icing over the top, drizzle over coffee syrup and scatter over the roasted hazelnuts. Serve in slices.

HAZELNUT LATTE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Generously butter two 20cm sandwich tins (ideally about 4.5cm deep or deeper) and line the bases with baking parchment. Put the hazelnuts into a food processor with 2 tbsp of the sugar, then pulse until finely chopped. Don't expect them to go as fine as ground almonds and avoid over-processing, as this can make the nuts greasy.
• Put the butter, milk and coffee powder into a small pan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Set aside.
• Now start the sponge. Crack the eggs into the bowl of a tabletop mixer, add the rest of the sugar and beat for 5-10 mins (or beat with an electric hand mixer in a large deep bowl for 15-20 mins) or until thick and billowy, and the mixture leaves a trail that holds for a couple of seconds. It is really important that the mixture has thickened, almost doubling in size, in order to achieve a light sponge.
• Mix the cornflour, plain flour and 1/2 tsp salt, and sift onto the whisked mixture. Using a large metal spoon, fold in very carefully. Sprinkle in the ground nuts, then fold these in too. Pour the warm milk mix around the edge of the bowl, and fold this in. Don't rush the folding, and continue with a light lifting and cutting motion until ribbons of liquid stop appearing. Divide the batter between the tins, then bake for 25 mins until risen to the middle and a burnished gold.
• Loosen the sides of the cakes with a palette knife, then cool in the tins on a rack for 20 mins (the cakes will level off, and possibly go a bit wrinkly, but that's normal). Carefully remove from the tins and cool, paper-side down.
• Make the syrup and the frosting while you wait. Put the sugar and 4 tbsp water into a small pan. Bring to the boil and leave for 1 min then take off the heat. Stir in the coffee and alcohol. Beat the mascarpone, hazelnut chocolate spread and coffee together with a wooden spoon, until silky and even.
• To assemble, cut the cold cakes horizontally across the middle, using a long serrated knife. With a pastry brush, dampen the cut surfaces all over with the syrup. Use it all. Put one cake layer onto a plate or stand, cut-side up. Spoon on 3 generous dollops of the frosting, then spread to the edges with a palette knife. The frosting should be about 5mm deep. Repeat with the next two layers. When you come to the final layer, place it cut-side down, so that the top of the cake is smooth. Paddle the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. The layer on the top can be thin. Clean the knife then use it to press a neat ring of nuts into the frosting on the side of the cake. Brush any excess away.
• For the topping, put 3 tbsp of the cream, 1 tsp icing sugar and 1 tbsp milk into a small bowl. Put the rest of the cream, milk and sugar, plus most of the dissolved coffee into a larger bowl. Whip the white cream, then the coffee cream, until they look like soft cappuccino froth, thick but still able to flow from a spoon. Pour most of the coffee cream onto the cake and push it out to cover the top. Whisk a little more coffee into what is left, so that it turns a few shades darker.
• To decorate with a characteristic latte 'tree' shape, load a pointy teaspoon with a little of the white cream. Start at the base of the tree, just right of the centre of the cake. Push the spoon into the coffee cream and let the white cream flow slowly. As it flows, drag the spoon then pull it gently away, to make a leaf-like shape. Repeat with more white cream on the left to make another leaf, then repeat 3-4 times, working up the cake top graduating from large to small leaves. Use the same technique to sweep a couple of arc shapes around the edge of the pattern.
• Use the dark cream to add detail to each leaf - you can paint this on with the tip of a teaspoon or a clean cocktail stick. Use a cocktail stick to drag the points of each leaf up and outwards. Draw a line down from the top of the 'tree' to the bottom to finish. The cake will keep for up to 2 days. Loosely cover any cut edges but avoid covering the cake directly as you could damage the decoration. Serve from the fridge or at cool room temperature.

CHOCOLATE, CARDAMOM & HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until golden, then leave to cool slightly and blitz to a fine consistency in a food processor. Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods and grind using a pestle and mortar.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base of a 23cm spring-form cake tin. Use a microwave to melt the chocolate with the butter in 30-sec bursts until glossy and smooth. Leave to cool slightly.
• Using an electric whisk, in a very clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Then, without cleaning the beaters, whisk the yolks with the sugar in a separate bowl until pale and voluminous.
• Combine the chocolate with the egg yolk mixture, then incorporate the cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, the cardamom seeds and hazelnuts. Add a spoonful of egg white to the batter, stirring it through to loosen the mix, then fold in the rest, taking care to keep in as much air as possible. Gently pour into the tin and bake for 35 mins. Leave to cool in the tin, then dust with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraîche.

HAZELNUT CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Position the oven racks so that they are evenly spaced and one rack is in the center. Preheat the oven to convection bake at 325°F. Spread the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes as the oven preheats. Cool and chop. Coat a 10-inch tube pan with nonstick spray and dust with flour.
• With an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until blended. Mix the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together and add to the egg mixture, beating at low speed until smooth.
• In a small bowl, stir the chopped nuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar together.
• Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the nut mixture. Top with the remaining batter, then with the remaining nut mixture. The top layer of nut mixture will sink into the cake as it bakes.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and dry. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a serving plate.

SPICY CARDAMOM COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Cake: Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy.
• Beat eggs in one at a time.
• Add vanilla.
• Stir in the baking powder, soda, salt, and Cardamom.
• Stir in the floor one cup at a time, adding sour cream and milk as you go along.
• Topping: In a separate bowl mix together the"topping" ingredients.
• To Assemble: You can bake this in a few different style pans.
• A bundt cake pan would work well.
• I used two tall round 8" cake pans.
• Oil your pans well.
• Pour the batter in your pans- be sure to leave some room at the top as these cakes should rise.
• Sprinkle the top with your topping.
• Alteration: Instead of sprinkling the topping over the cake, you might prefer to pour half your batter in the pan, create an inside layer by sprinkling in some of your topping and then pour the remaining batter in your pan and sprinkle the rest of the nut mixture over the top.
• You can always whip up some more topping if you need to!
• To Bake: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• This is a dense cake and will bake for about an hour (in a bundt cake pan).
• Keep checking on it by inserting a knife in the top.
• If it comes out clean, it's done.
• To Serve: Let the cake cool for a while (at least half an hour).
• Turn the cake over and slide onto a plate (if you have used a bundt cake pan).
• If you used a cake pan, loosen the edges of the cake pan with a knife, gently easing the cake up out of the pan.
• If you need to, turn the cake over and gently tap it out of the pan, once the cake is out of the pan you can turn it back over onto a plate for presentation.

CARDAMOM STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cardamom pods on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let cool completely. Finely grind cardamom in a spice grinder. Pass through a large-mesh sieve; set aside.
• Make the streusel: Whisk flour, brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, and the salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
• Coat a 10-inch nonstick angel food cake pan with cooking spray; set aside.
• Make the cake: Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, the cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the yogurt. Mix in vanilla.
• Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with 2 1/2 cups streusel. Top with remaining batter. Squeeze remaining streusel into large and small clumps; sprinkle on top of batter. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan by slightly raising removable center piece; invert onto baking sheet, and then reinvert onto wire rack to cool completely.