whipped cream

Tortamisu and Vallarta Torte – Office Baby Shower

| Uncategorized

This is a very belated post, but a couple months ago, I made two cakes for an office baby shower! One with espresso for a pick-me-up, and one with tequila for a bit of relaxation. Neither of which were soaked enough to have any of those effects of course, but I was amused when someone pointed this out to me.

The first is a Tortamisu, from Extraordinary Desserts. According to  Extraordinary Desserts’ website:

“Our unique version of Tiramisu consists of espresso soaked ricotta cake layers and Italian mascarpone rum cream. This house favorite is finished with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa.”

I didn’t have chocolate paillettes, so I simply coated the sides with toasted cake crumbs, and then chocolate jimmies. I would have preferred real chocolate, but the jimmies still did the trick, at least as far as texture goes. This cake was delicious and decadent but not too heavy or sweet.

 

The second is the Vallarta Torte, also from Extraordinary Desserts. I don’t think this cake is currently available in store, so I don’t have an official website description of it, but it is made of sponge cake layers soaked with a tequila simple syrup, and filled with layers of lime curd and lime curd pastry cream.

The outside is coated with lime curd whipped cream and toasted coconut chips. My execution of this cake wasn’t stellar, but fortunately the whipped cream and coconut chips covered the imperfections! This cake was light and refreshing, and a great contrast to the Tortamisu.

Each of these cakes was quite an undertaking, and the two of them together resulted in a pretty late night, but I’m happy I was able to pull them off.

0 comment

Passion Fruit Cake – New Beginnings

| Uncategorized

Passion fruit is one of my favorite fruits, and has sentimental meaning to me as well. I made this passion fruit cake to commemorate the closing of one chapter of my life, and to toast new beginnings.

This cake has layers of ricotta pound cake brushed with a passion fruit simple syrup, and a whipped cream / passion fruit curd filling layered with fresh strawberries and kiwi.

I also made a cupcake version using the passion fruit curd as the filling, and the whipped cream / passion fruit curd mix as the topping. If you need to find passion fruit puree or concentrate, your local mercado should carry some.

 As for this following cupcake . . .

This cupcake isn’t one of my creations—it’s Kara’s passion fruit cupcake—but it has special meaning for me. Nearly 4 years ago, a beautiful sparkling ring was given to me on this cupcake. It was a magical, memorable evening, and there have been many magical, memorable moments since.

My dear baking assistant and I now officially part ways after nearly 7 years together, but I have no doubt we’ll be sharing laughter and memories in the future, over Milo, cupcakes, and life’s many other bonbons.

We began and ended our relationship with a leap of faith, and a deep sense of trust. While I wouldn’t wish the heartache we went through upon anyone, I do wish everyone could experience a friendship as meaningful as ours. Love you, always.

0 comment

Sesame Caramel Rice Fritters & Tres Leches Cupcakes – Belated Cinco de Mayo

| Uncategorized

I didn’t get a chance to make these for Cinco de Mayo like I had planned to, but I made them happen anyway over the past week.

Rice Fritters with Sesame Caramel
(see recipe from Food Network)

If you search for Cinco de Mayo desserts, churros, or variations of fried dough dipped in sugar, are likely to turn up. I thought these rice fritters would be slightly more interesting and challenging, so I decided to give them a try. Delicious, and well-worth the effort! But perhaps no healthier than churros (they are deep-fried afterall) . . .

Tres Leches Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche
(adapted from Saveur Magazine, see also theurbanbaker.com)

Ingredients
Makes 24 cupcakes

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • 1 ½ tablespoons dark rum
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 12-oz. can evaported milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

  1. Heat ¾ cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan until it boils/simmers. Pour over white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit for a couple minutes before stirring with a spatula until the white chocolate is melted and smooth.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
  3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
  4. Beat the egg whites with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Continue beating while adding the sugar.
  5. Separately beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Using the paddle attachment, add the flour mixture and whole milk, alternating between the two and ending with the flour.
  6. Add the rum and vanilla and beat briefly until smooth.
  7. Folk in the egg whites.
  8. Scoop batter into cupcake liners, and bake for 16-18 minutes until slightly golden. Be careful not to overbake. Since the cake will be soaked in tres leches, it will ultimately be “moist” in any event, but the cake texture is spongy and can get stiff.
  9. After baking, let cool slightly (~30 minutes), and then poke holes in the top of the cupcakes with a knife, making sure to penetrate to the base.
  10. Peel off the paper liners. Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream, and spoon the mixture over the warm cupcakes (3-5 tablespoons should do the trick, with the excess sitting in the cupcake pan to ensure that the bottom of the cupcakes are moistened). I wouldn’t worry about oversoaking.
  11. Cover the cupcakes with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled and the liquid is absorbed (at least 4 hours).
  12. Spread/drizzle dulce de leche on top of the cupcakes, and top with whipped cream.

Home-made dulce de leche is quite easy. It is essentially caramelized condensed milk. Some recipes prepare it directly in the can by placing the can in a boiling pot of water. I decided to go with the oven method (see, e.g. David Lebovitz’s recipe):

Pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow pie pan or baking pan. Place that pan in a larger roasting dish / baking pan that has a lid. Fill the outer pan with water until near the top of the inner pan. Cover with lid and baking at 425° F for 75-90 minutes. Check occasionally in case you need to add more water. A darker crust/layer will form on the top of the condensed milk / dulce de leche. Whisk the dulce de leche until it is smooth (you may need to strain out pieces of crust). Voila!

0 comment

1 2 3 4