Royalty Cakes #CakesAndDecors

Ingredients:

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
8 egg yolks
2 1/2 c. sifted cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
Royalty Filling

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored and add to creamed mixture. Beat well.
Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in lemon extract.

Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove layers from pans and let cool completely. Spread Lord Baltimore Filling between layers and on top of cake. Yield: One 3 layer cake.

Filling:

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. orange juice
2 tsp. lemon juice
12 candied cherries, chopped
1/2 c. macaroon crumbs
1/2 c. almonds, chopped & toasted
1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Procedures:

(1) Combine sugar, syrup and water in a small saucepan; cook over low heat until mixture reaches soft ball stage (240 degrees).

(2) Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until soft peaks form. While beating at medium speed of electric mixer, slowly pour hot syrup mixture in a thin stream over egg whites. Beat 1 minute.

(3) Combine remaining ingredients; fold into filling. Yield: Enough for one 3 layer cake.

Banoffee Pie #CakesAndDecors

A creamy cold vanilla ice cream in the middle of a delicious warm tart that's amazing to all.


Ingredients:

150 g unsalted butter (cold) , plus extra for greasing
1 orange
200 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
100 g ground almonds
6 large free-range eggs
1 x 500 g tub of good-quality vanilla ice cream
4 tablespoons dulce de leche , or caramel sauce
300 g caster sugar
2 large ripe bananas
1 lime
1 tablespoon Camp coffee syrup

Procedures:

(1) Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Lightly grease a deep, 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin.

(2) To make the pastry, finely grate the orange zest into a food processor, add the cold butter, the flour, almonds and 1 egg, then blitz until it comes together into a ball of dough, wrap in baking paper and chill for 30 minutes.

(3) Roll out on a clean flour-dusted surface until just under ½cm thick, then loosely roll up around the rolling pin and unroll over the tart tin, easing it in and pushing it carefully into the sides. Trim off any excess, patch up any holes, then prick the base with a fork, cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (use any leftovers for mince pies). When the time’s up, line the pastry case with quality clingfilm (non- PVC), then fill with rice, making sure you pack it right out to the sides. Bake blind for 15 minutes, remove the clingfilm and rice and bake for another 5 minutes, or until lightly golden, then leave to cool. Soften your ice cream in the fridge.

(4) Once the pastry case is cool, spread the dulce de leche or caramel across the base, scoop over the ice cream and freeze until frozen solid – you could get it up to this stage a day in advance. Turn the oven up to 220°C/425°F/gas 7. To make your meringue topping, separate the remaining 5 eggs (keep the yolks for another day).

(5) In a free-standing mixer, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of sea salt until they form soft peaks. Place the sugar and 80ml of water in a pan on a high heat. Use a sugar thermometer to monitor it getting up to 110°C, then reduce the temperature to low. Let it gently bubble until it gets up to 120°C. Remove from the heat and let the bubbles settle for 30 seconds, then very gradually pour it into the egg whites, whisking constantly on a low speed. Leave it whisking for 10 minutes to cool and thicken the mixture. Meanwhile, peel and slice the bananas, finely grate over the lime zest and squeeze over the juice, then toss together.

(6) Get your tart out of the freezer, arrange the bananas over the ice cream, then pile on the meringue in nice peaks. Use a fork to ripple through drips of Camp coffee. Bake on the bottom of the oven for just 4 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly golden, leaving the ice cream frozen inside. Remove from the tin, and serve.