Salted Almond Praline Cake Food

SALTED ALMOND PRALINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C).
• Liberally butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment, then the sides of the pan with 2-inch strips; butter the parchment.
• Place the almonds on a baking tray and toast them until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and creamy. Add vanilla, butter, flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix well. Pour into the prepared cake pan.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
• Reset the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• 10 minutes before the cake is done, place butter, sugar, and milk in a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for five minutes then add the almonds. Spread the almond mixture on top of the cake, even it out with a spatula, and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt.
• Return the cake to the oven and bake the cake for another 10 minutes. The top should be bubbly and golden.
• Cool briefly on a wire rack. Use a very sharp knife to cut around the edge of the cake before it is cold, as the praline topping sets very quickly.
• Turn it out onto the rack to finish cooling.

ALMOND PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
• Butter a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Spread toasted almonds in an even layer on pan. Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, brushing down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Once sugar is dissolved, cook without stirring until sugar is deep amber. Add lemon juice; immediately pour over almonds, coating with a thin layer. If caramel doesn't cover all the nuts, tilt pan slightly to distribute, or stir in nuts with a wooden spoon, being careful not to touch caramel or hot pan. Cool completely. Gently twist pan to release praline. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

SALTED ALMOND PRALINE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F. Prepare Almond Crust. In saucepan combine 8 ounces of the cream cheese and white chocolate. Stir over low heat until melted. In bowl beat remaining cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in melted mixture until combined. Beat in egg and yolk until combined. Pour into crust.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until center in nearly set when gently shaken. Cool on rack 30 minutes. Loosen crust from side of pan, but do not remove. Chill at least 2 hours. Remove tart from pan. Top with whipped cream, Salted Almond Praline, and berries. Salted Almond Praline
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil. Set aside. In a small bowl combine almonds, sugar, melted butter, water, cinnamon, and sea salt. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Break into shards or bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Almond Crust
• Preheat oven to 325°F. In a food processor combine broken cinnamon graham crackers, almonds, and sugar. Cover and process until finely ground. Add butter. Process just until combined. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch fluted tart pan that has a removable bottom. Chill for 15 minutes. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned; cool.

ALMOND PRALINE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE FROSTING AND CHOCOLATE BARK

Steps:

• For ganache filling:
• Simmer cream and sugar in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Chill until just spreadable, about 6 hours.
• For almond cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with parchment paper; dust pans with flour. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Using heavy-duty mixer, blend brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat in almond paste 1 piece at a time, then beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Fold in dry ingredients. Divide batter among pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack.
• For almond praline:
• Line baking sheet with foil. Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until deep amber, swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush occasionally. Mix in nuts. Pour onto foil; cool. Peel foil off praline. Chop praline coarsely. DO AHEAD Praline can be made 1 day ahead; store airtight at room temperature.
• For mascarpone frosting:
• Beat all ingredients in large bowl just to soft peaks (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).
• Run knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out; peel off paper. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread half of ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with third cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Cake can be made 1 day ahead; cover with cake dome and chill. Store remaining praline airtight at room temperature.
• For chocolate bark:
• Line baking sheet with foil. Melt chocolate in small bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from over water. Drizzle all but 1 tablespoon chocolate over foil in thick (about 1-inch-wide) zigzag lines (chocolate will pool in spots). Sprinkle 3 tablespoons praline over chocolate; chill bark until firm, about 1 hour.
• Press praline around bottom 2 inches of cake; sprinkle more atop. Peel foil off bark; break into pieces. Press edges into frosting atop cake. Remelt 1 tablespoon chocolate over simmering water, stirring often. Using spoon, drizzle chocolate over cake. DO AHEAD Chill up to 4 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.

ALMOND PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Butter a 10 × 15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Spread the toasted almonds in an even layer on the pan. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Once the sugar is dissolved, cook without stirring until the sugar is a deep amber color.
• Add the lemon juice; immediately pour mixture over almonds, coating with a thin layer. If the caramel doesn't cover all the nuts, tilt the pan slightly to distribute, or stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon, being careful not to touch the caramel or the hot pan. Cool completely.
• Gently twist the pan to release the praline. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

ALMOND PRALINE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with foil. In a dry heavy saucepan cook sugar over moderately low heat, stirring slowly with a fork (to help sugar melt evenly), until melted and pale golden. Cook caramel, without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden. Add almonds, stirring until coated well, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Working quickly, with a metal spatula spread mixture onto foil about 1/4 inch thick and cool until set, about 3 minutes. Chill praline on foil until hard, about 15 minutes. Chop praline. Praline may be made 1 week ahead and kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

SPICED PRALINE MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
• Spread the almonds out on a small rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place 1/4 cup/50 g of the sugar in a small saucepan with the water and stir to combine. Cook over high heat for about 4 minutes, until it has turned a light golden brown; do not stir, just gently shake the pan to help the sugar dissolve. Add the almonds and cook for 1 minute, so the nuts are coated and the caramel turns dark, without burning. Pour the mixture onto one of the lined baking sheets and set aside until cool.
• Once cool, break the praline into smaller pieces, place in a food processor and process to form a rough powder. Remove from the machine, place in a shallow bowl and combine with the spices, orange zest and salt. Set aside.
• Spread the remaining sugar out on the second lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 7 minutes, until the sugar is hot. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 275°F/130°C. As soon as the sugar is out of the oven, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment in place and beat on high speed until they begin to froth up. Carefully add the hot sugar to the egg whites, 1 tbsp at a time, and continue beating for 7-8 minutes until the mixture is completely cold. At this point it should be silky and thick and keep its shape when you lift a little bit from the bowl.
• . Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Use an extra-large serving spoon to scoop up some meringue, and use another large spoon to help shape it into a rough ball the size of a large apple. Sprinkle some praline over half the meringue ball, then place on the baking sheet, repeat with the rest of the mixture, spacing the balls as far apart as possible, as they will increase in size.
• Place the meringues in the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours. Check that they are done by lifting them from the baking sheet and gently tapping to make sure the outside is completely firm and the center is only a little soft. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheet to cool.
• Storage
• These will keep for up to 10 days. If you are not hanging them on the tree, wrap them loosely in aluminum foil and keep at room temperature.