Cake

INGREDIENTS 2/3 cup salted butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup brandy 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 eggs 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon table salt Coarse sea salt, to taste INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 325 degrees In a saucepan, bring the butter, sugar and brandy to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir (with a wooden spoon) in 2 cups of chocolate chips until melted. Cool mixture slightly. Stir in vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually add the chocolate mixture and mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then gradually add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture. Stir in any remaining chocolate chips. Spread into a greased baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. Careful not to burn your balls! Let cool just enough that it won’t burn your hands. Meanwhile set up a small plate or cutting board with some of the sea salt on it. Scrape up the brownie mix, working around the edges. You don’t want to use the hard edges for the balls. Begin shaping 1″ balls out of the mix, give or take in size. Roll the balls in the salt. Do this very lightly, a little sea salt goes a very long way. If you do happen to oversalt, just brush the excess salt crystals off. Too much salt is bad, mmmkay?

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FROSTING: 3/4 cup/180 milliliters heavy cream 2 teaspoons loose Earl Grey tea 1/4 cup/30 grams confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup/115 grams mascarpone or softened cream cheese (see Tip) FOR THE CAKE: 1/2 cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan 1 1/2 cups/190 grams all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey tea 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest (from 1 large orange) 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup/120 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature 1/4 cup/45 grams chopped dark chocolate INSTRUCTIONS Prepare the frosting: In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup/120 milliliters heavy cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the tea, remove from the heat, cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Strain the tea through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, and chill the remaining cream until completely cold, at least 1 hour. Prepare the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, tea, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest and beat to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the flour mixture on low, until just combined, then beat in the milk. (Don’t overmix.) Add the chocolate and fold it in using a spatula. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake just until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then tip the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. To finish the frosting, add the remaining 1/4 cup/60 milliliters cream and the confectioners’ sugar to the tea cream. With an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream mixture until medium-stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat just until stiff peaks form. (Do not overmix.) Top the cake with the frosting to serve. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days; let come to room temperature before serving. Tip If using cream cheese instead of mascarpone, because it has a thicker consistency, whip the cream cheese with the confectioners’ sugar first, then add the whipped tea cream. ...

INGREDIENTS For the cake 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini 1 1/4 cups sugar 5 eggs 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sour cream 1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting) 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt For the frosting 3/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature 2 cups powdered sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream Fruit for the cake 1 pint strawberries, cleaned, stemmed and sliced 4 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced 2 mangoes, peeled and sliced 1 pint blueberries (Or whatever you like and is in season) INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 350.° Grease and flour a 10-inch round cake pan. In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat together shredded zucchini, eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream and 1/2 tablespoon vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture. Continue to beat until well-combined. The batter should be fairly wet and easy to pour. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50 to 70 minutes. It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely for a few hours. While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. While continuing to beat, gradually add the powdered sugar. Keep mixing until it’s all incorporated and smooth. In a separate bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold cream and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla into frosting. Be careful not to over mix. Cut the cooled cake, making either two or three layers. Spread a layer of frosting over each inner layer. Then add a layer of fruit on top of the frosting. Stack the layers of cake together. Evenly frost the top of the cake (traditionally, the sides are not frosted). Arrange the fruit in circles all over the top of the cake.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE POUND CAKE 1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) butter, softened 1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese 3 c. sugar 5 large eggs 3 tbsp. lime juice 3 c. all-purpose flour Zest of 1 lime FOR THE GLAZE 1 c. powdered sugar 1 tsp. lime juice 2 tbsp. water 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract Zest of 1 lime INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in sugar, then gradually add in eggs 1 to 2 at a time, beating on low until combined. Mix in lime juice, then flour. Fold in lime zest. Grease 4 mini loaf pans and pour in cake batter until each one is about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, 43 to 45 minutes. (If you don’t have mini loaf pans, you can grease and fill a bundt pan and bake 70 to 73 minutes.) Let cool for 15 minutes. Make the glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, lime juice, water and vanilla. (If the glaze is too thick, add extra water, about a teaspoon at a time.) Pour on top of cooled pound cake, then top with lime zest and serve.