Warm Almond Cherry Cake Martha Stewart Food

RUSTIC CHERRY TART WITH RICOTTA AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Line a large mesh colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and place over a larger, deeper bowl. Place ricotta in colander; transfer to refrigerator. Let ricotta drain at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lower third. Roll out dough into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick) on a piece of parchment. Transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet; freeze 10 minutes or chill 30 minutes. Stir together egg yolk and cream; brush on dough. Sprinkle with sanding sugar and almonds. Bake until deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. (Tent edges with foil if they begin to overbrown.) Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, toss together cherries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Just before serving, spread crust with ricotta. Top ricotta with cherry mixture, using a slotted spoon (reserve juices for serving, if desired). Sprinkle tart with lemon zest, cut into squares, and serve immediately.

TINY CHERRY AND ALMOND TEA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 30 cups of 2 mini-muffin tins with butter, and dust lightly with flour.
• Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When it begins to sputter, reduce heat to medium. Cook, swirling skillet occasionally, until butter has lightly browned. Skim foam from top, and remove skillet from heat.
• Whisk together flour, ground almonds, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add egg whites, and whisk until smooth. Stir in kirsch. Pour in butter, leaving any dark-brown sediment in skillet, and whisk to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes.
• Ladle 1 tablespoon batter into each buttered muffin cup, filling about halfway. Push a cherry into each, keeping stem end up. With a small spoon, smooth batter over cherries to cover. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and cakes are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen, and unmold. Cakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature overnight.

SPRING SHOWER ALMOND PETITS FOURS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-by-17- inch rimmed baking sheet, and line with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
• Put 3/4 cup sugar and the almond paste into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium-high. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.
• Put egg whites into the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of egg-white mixture into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture.
• Spread evenly into prepared sheet. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack; let cool completely. Unmold; remove parchment.
• Cut cake in half crosswise. Spread one half with preserves; top with remaining half. Refrigerate 1 hour. Trim cake, and cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour glaze over each petit four, spreading over top and sides to coat completely. Reuse glaze, straining to remove any solids, if needed. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes. Garnish with blossoms.

CHERRY PIE WITH ALMOND CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower thirds. In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon flour, granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in cherries and vanilla. Brush crust with egg white and fill with cherry mixture.
• In a food processor, pulse together remaining 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add brown sugar, butter, and almonds; pulse until large pieces form. Scatter crumble over cherry filling.
• Bake on middle rack, with a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on lower rack to catch drips, until topping and crust are golden, 45 minutes. Tent pie loosely with foil; bake until juices in center are bubbling, 30 to 45 minutes more. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cover and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days.

EASY CHERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the base and sides of a 20cm deep cake tin. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one by one. Fold in the almond extract, flour, ground almonds and baking powder, followed by the cherries and milk.
• Scrape into the prepared tin, scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake for 1 hr-1 hr 15 mins. Cool the cake in its tin before serving.

HOT MILK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter and flour two 9-inch round baking pans; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs and sugar. Beat until very thick and the batter falls from the whisk in a thick ribbon, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
• Meanwhile, heat milk and butter until simmering in a small saucepan. Add to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream as you continue beating until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined (or remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in dry ingredients until just combined). Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides of the pans, 55 to 60 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using an offset spatula or a knife, loosen cakes from pans. Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Re-invert one cake layer onto a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer, spread frosting over the sides and top of cake to cover, and serve.

CRANBERRY, ALMOND, AND CINNAMON TART

Steps:

• Put fresh cranberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and the water into a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring to dissolve sugar, until cranberries have just softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to an 8-by-2-inch springform pan, pressing crust into bottom and up sides. Trim excess flush with rim. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick tart crust all over with a fork. Cut a 12-inch round of parchment, and place on top of chilled crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, and brush crust lightly with egg white. Return to oven, and bake until pale golden, about 25 minutes. Refrigerate remaining egg white. Let crust cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spread jam over bottom of tart crust.
• Beat butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to medium. Slowly add ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt, and beat until just combined. Spread mixture over jam-covered crust.
• Bake tart until filling is set and has darkened slightly, 45 to 50 minutes. (If top darkens too quickly, cover loosely with foil.) Remove tart from oven, brush top with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven, and bake for 5 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and top with candied cranberries. Serve warm.