Tangerine butter cake

Looking for a simple cake recipe, I found this golden and delicious cake - it is the perfect companion for a cup of tea; it was a great way to use up the sweetened condensed milk left from the cheesecake making, as well a a wonderful way to put to good use some tangerines I'd had in the fridge for more than one week.

Tangerine butter cake
slightly adapted from Dan Lepard's column at the Guardian

Cake:
2 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided use
100g unsalted butter, melted
125g condensed milk
finely grated zest of 2 tangerines
½ cup (120ml) tangerine juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Icing:
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar
finely grated zest of 1 tangerine
about 1½ tablespoons tangerine juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°C. Lightly butter a 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until frothy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons of the sugar then beat until a soft meringue forms. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, condensed milk, the remaining sugar, egg yolks, tangerine zest and juice and vanilla until smooth. Sift together the flour and baking powder over the batter and beat until smooth. Fold through the meringue quickly and evenly. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold. Remove the paper and cool completely on the rack.
Icing: sift the sugar into a small bowl and stir in the zest. Gradually add the juice, stirring until a pourable consistency (add more juice or water if necessary). Pour over the cake and set aside for 30 minutes to set.

Serves 6-8

White chocolate cheesecake with passion fruit sauce

The sour² cake I published the other day was just the beginning of a passion fruit frenzy: not only because I love the fruit but also because I got hypnotized by its amazing smell and brought home too many at once. :D

I’m always inclined to mix white chocolate with citrus flavors because the acidity seems to cut through the sweetness like no other flavors do – that is why I could not resist Valli Little’s gorgeous cheesecake, but me being me, I slightly adapted the recipe to make mini versions of it. :D

White chocolate cheesecake with passion fruit sauce
slightly adapted from the always amazing Delicious - Australia

100g shortbread biscuits
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
75g white chocolate
2 gelatin leaves
2 tablespoons whole milk
250g cream cheese, softened
½ can (198g) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup passion fruit pulp
1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water

Lightly butter four 1-cup capacity mini cake pans with removable bottoms.
For the base, place the cookies in a food processor and blitz until ground. Add the butter, pulse to combine, then press into the base of the cake pans. Chill for 30 minutes.
Filling: place chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water), stirring until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just below boiling point then remove from the heat. Squeeze excess water from the gelatin leaves and add leaves to the hot milk, stirring until dissolved. Set aside.
Whiz cream cheese, condensed milk and milk mixture in a food processor until smooth. Add chocolate and pulse to combine. Whisk cream to soft peaks, then fold into chocolate mixture. Pour over cookie base. Chill for 6 hours or overnight.
Syrup: pulse the passion fruit pulp in a food processor a few times to separate the pulp from the seeds. Strain, reserving seeds and juice. Set aside.
Place sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, swirling the pan occasionally and brushing down the sides with a damp pastry brush, for3-4 minutes until a golden caramel. Add passion fruit juice and 2 tablespoons cold water (be careful as it may spit), reduce heat to low and stir until smooth and syrupy. Cool slightly, then stir in some of the reserved seeds (to taste). Chill until ready to serve.
Serve the cheesecake drizzled with passion fruit sauce.

Makes 4

Apple berry almond tart, baking failures and "Munich"

I’ve trashed Steven Spielberg once or twice already (despite loving “Jaws” and the Indiana Jones trilogy), but last week I saw an excellent movie directed by him: “Munich”. It’s a very long movie (almost 3 hours long), but it keeps you hooked every step of the way – it’s like those books you feel like taking to the shower with you because you can’t put them down. The cast is packed with favorites of mine (Bana, Craig, and the glorious Hinds and Rush), and I was surprised by a wonderful Mathieu Kassovitz , whom I’d always associated to the beautiful “Amélie” – because of his powerful performance in “Munich” I’ve added “La Haine” to my “to watch” list.
I might find some of Spielberg’s movies quite cheesy – “Hook”, anyone? – but I must admit that very few directors know how to perfectly place the camera and move it around like he does; he should stick to adult movies (and stop ruining them at the end, like he did with “Schindler’s List”).

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Dan Lepard’s recipes have become my go-to strategy when I want to avoid baking failures – after making one of Lisa Yockelson’s cakes and throwing it in the garbage (her cake recipes are always so great, I do not know what happened there), I felt like making something different; I decided for a tart and went straight for one of Lepard’s recipes – better safe than sorry, right? ;)
The tart turned out delicious and the combination of apples, almonds and berry preserves was a match made in heaven.

Apple berry almond tart
from Lepard’s column at the Guardian, and also from his absolutely great cookbook (one of my all time favorites)

¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
2 ½ tablespoons (25g) corn starch, packed
pinch of salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) granulated sugar
1 egg, separated
½ cup (50g) ground almonds
1 tablespoon Amaretto (or brandy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large Granny Smith apple
125g any dark berry preserves – I used blackcurrant
3 tablespoons flaked almonds

Combine the flour, corn starch and salt into a large bowl with 75g of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Rub together just until the lumps of butter disappear, add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of ice water, and work to a smooth, soft dough. Wrap, chill for 1 hour, then roll out and line a lightly buttered 20cm fluted tart pan with a removable bottom*. Prick the dough all over with a fork and freeze for 40 minutes. – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Line the pastry with baking paper and cover with dried beans/baking weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the paper and beans/weights and bake for 10 minutes longer. Keep the oven on.

Beat the remaining 50g of butter, the ground almonds and remaining sugar with the egg white and the Amaretto and vanilla until smooth. Peel, core and finely dice the apple, and stir it through the almond cream. Spread the jam over the base of the tart case, cover with almond cream and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is nicely puffed and golden.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 30x10cm (12x4in) tart pan

Serves 6-8

Lemon cake with passion fruit syrup

I've admitted that this blog has had its share of lemon tarts and bars, so I won't even mention the massive amount of lemon cakes, right? :D
Lemon cakes are my favorite cakes, and I pretty much always have lemons around, therefore it's an easy choice for me. This time, however, I've more than satisfied my constant cravings for sour flavors by topping a lemon cake with a passion fruit syrup: sour². :D

Lemon cake with passion fruit syrup
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine

Cake:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (224g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream*
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
2 ½ cups (350g) all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Passion fruit syrup:
1/3 cup (80g) passion fruit pulp, with the seeds
1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120ml) water

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 23cm (9in) round cake pan, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Cake: in the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat to combine. Mix in the sour cream, lemon zest and juice, flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes** before removing to a rack over a plate.
Syrup: combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 4-5 minutes or until it thickened and syrupy. Pour over the cake. Cool before slicing.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

** the cake was too tender, so I cooled it in the pan for 15 minutes before unmolding it

Serves 8-10

Spiced chestnut financiers

Financiers are one of my favorite things to bake: they are so cute and petite, I love anything almond and always have more than enough egg whites in the freezer. So while baking with my chestnut flour I immediately thought of a financier version made with it, which turned out interesting with a hint of cinnamon; however, unlike the financiers made with almond meal, the flavor in these did not develop with time, so they're best eaten the day they're made (and taste really good with a dollop of cherry jam).

Spiced chestnut financiers
adapted from the great Simply Bill

½ cup (50g) chestnut flour
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (68g) icing sugar + a bit extra for dusting
3 tablespoons (30g) all purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 egg whites
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and flour twelve 2-tablespoon capacity financier molds.
In a large bowl, sift together the chestnut flour, icing sugar, all purpose flour, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the egg whites until just combined. Stir in the melted butter.
Pour the batter in the pans. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden - the financiers should spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and store in an airtight container.

Makes 12