Sherry Soaked Almond Cake With Mixed Berries Food

MASCARPONE-FILLED CAKE WITH SHERRIED BERRIES

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.
• Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
• Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.
• Macerate berries:
• Bring Sherry and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Make cream and assemble cake:
• Beat mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until mixture just holds stiff peaks.
• Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove top half and reserve. Put bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with all of cream and replace top half. Serve with berries.

MIXED-BERRY CHIFFON CAKE WITH ALMOND CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For almond cream filling: Pour half and half into medium saucepan.
• Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean and bring cream to simmer.
• Remove from heat; cover and steep 15 minutes.
• Blend sugar and flour in medium bowl.
• Whisk in eggs, then warm half and half mixture; return to same pan.
• Add almond paste.
• Whisk over medium heat until almond paste dissolves and custard boils, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Add white chocolate and butter; whisk until melted and smooth.
• Press plastic wrap onto custard; chill 3 hours.
• Remove vanilla bean.
• Beat cream to peaks; fold into custard in 3 additions.
• Cover; chill at least 6 hours.
• (This part can be done 2 days in advance--keep chilled.) For cake: Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Butter and flour two 10-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides.
• Sift flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt into large bowl.
• Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup lukewarm water into dry ingredients; beat in oil, egg yolks, both extracts, and peel.
• Using clean dry beaters, beat whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form.
• Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry.
• Fold whites into batter in 3 additions.
• Measure 4 2/3 cups batter into 1 prepared pan and 3 1/3 cups batter into second pan.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes for thinner cake and 30 minutes for larger cake.
• Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes.
• Cut around cakes and turn out onto racks; cool completely.
• Place thinner cake on 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom.
• Spread with 1/2 cup preserves, leaving 1/2-inch plain border.
• Spoon 1 1/2 cups filling in dollops atop preserves; spread evenly.
• Chill until filling is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Cut larger cake horizontally in half.
• Place 1 half, cut side down, atop chilled filling.
• Spread with 1/2 cup preserves, leaving 1/2-inch plain border.
• Spoon 1 1/2 cups filling in dollops atop preserves; spread evenly.
• Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down.
• Cover cake and remaining filling; chill 3 hours.
• For almond cream cheese frosting:.
• Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, and both extracts in large bowl to blend.
• Beat in 3/4 cup remaining filling.
• Spread 1 cup frosting thinly over sides and top of cake.
• Spread cake with remaining frosting, building high rim around top edge.
• (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill.).
• Mound berries on top of cake.
• Brush top of berries with warm jelly to glaze.
• Serve immediately, or chill up to 6 hours.

ALMOND SHERRY BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
• In large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, sherry, oil, pudding mix and nutmeg.
• Mix at low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary.
• Mix at medium speed 3 minutes, again scraping bowl as necessary.
• (Or beat by hand about 5 minutes.).
• Pour half the batter into bundt pan.
• In a medium bowl mix first 4 streusel filling ingredients until crumbly.
• Sprinkle evenly over batter in bundt pan.
• Pour in remaining cake batter.
• Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack 15 minutes.
• Unmold from pan and cool completly on rack.
• To make the glaze, mix together the sugar, butter and sherry.
• Add hot water slowly until desired consistency.
• Brush completely cooled cake with sherry glaze and garnish with almond slices.

MIXED BERRY ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
• Add almond paste, sugar and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat on high for three minutes.
• Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to almond mixture and beat until just combined. Pour 2 1/4 cups of batter into prepared pan, gently smoothing to edges.
• Evenly sprinkle berries across batter. Drop spoonfuls of remaining batter on top of berries and sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently slide a knife around the inside edge of pan and release springform circle. Lightly dust with powdered sugar. finish cooling on rack or serve slightly warm. This cake is equally delicious served cold.

ALMOND CAKE WITH FRESH BERRIES

Steps:

• CAKE:.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Butter an 8-inch round cake pan that is 2 inches deep.
• Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper.
• Put the almond paste, sugar, 1 stick of butter and the vanilla in a food processor and process for 10 seconds.
• Add the eggs, milk, and salt and process for 5 seconds.
• Add the flour and baking powder and process for 5 to 10 seconds, until smooth.
• Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes.
• Let cool.
• THE SYRUP:.
• Combine the syrup ingredients in a small bowl.
• Stir to dissolve the sugar.
• ASSEBMLY:.
• Remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a serving platter.
• Using a spoon or pastry brush, moisten the cake with the syrup.
• Scatter the berries on top of the cake and around it.
• Spoon on the diluted apricot jam and garnish with the mint leaves.
• Serve with the sour cream or crème fraiche.
• *You can make this cake early in the day. Or make several cakes, wrap, well and freeze. Defrost, still in their wrappings, in the refrigerator.

SHERRY-SOAKED ALMOND CAKE WITH MIXED BERRIES

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter tube pan with 3 1/2-inch-high sides. Finely grind toasted almonds in processor. Blend in flour and baking powder. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in almond paste a few pieces at a time. Add vanilla extract and beat until mixture resembles paste. Add 3 whole eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 3 egg yolks. Stir in dry ingredients. Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat 3 egg whites in medium bowl to soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold white into batter in 2 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan (batter will fill pan less than halfway). Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 1 hour. Pierce top of cake all over with wooden skewer.
• For syrup:
• Combine cream Sherry, sugar and butter in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Mix in almond extract. Let syrup stand until just cool. Brush half of syrup over cake in pan. Let cake stand 1 hour. Turn cake out onto platter. Reheat remaining syrup just until butter melts. Pierce more holes in cake. Brush syrup over cake. Let cake stand 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover cake and let stand at room temperature.) Cut cake into wedges. Garnish with dollops of sweetened whipped cream and berries and serve.