I love apples an especially apple cakes

Groovy apple cake

We have several apple trees in our garden and especially one has given us lots of apples this year.

It is a Belle de Boskoop – a very good cooking apple.

To day I made an everyday cake with lots of apples in it.

For 1 big cake:

4 eggs

3/4 Cup (150 g) sugar – I used cane sugar

1 tsp. vanilla powder

1/3 Cup (75 g) melted butter

3/4 Cup (100 g) flour

4 TBSP (50 g) potato starch

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup (50-75 g) shredded marzipan (almond paste)

2 pounds apples (peeled, cored and cut in thick wedges)

A little sugar and cinnamon for topping

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C).

Beat the eggs and sugar thick and creamy and add the melted (not hot) butter.

Sift the flour, potato starch and baking powder together and fold it into the eggs together with the marzipan.

Pour the batter into a prepared 9 inch cake tin and stick the apples in. Sprinkle a little sugar mixed with a little cinnamon on top and pop the cake into the oven for about 1 hour. Check with a toothpick if it is done and let it rest in the tin 15 minutes before unmolding.

Serve warm or cold as it is or with whipped cream or sour cream (crème fraiche) on the side.

Happy November!

Mathildes Birthday Party

We celebrated Mathilde s 15 year birthday in advance with a family dinner Sunday evening.
As Mathilde s wildest dream is to have a Mac Book Pro, I made a Mac Cake with slots and everything.
I know the cake is too high to be a real Mac book – because I made two layers instead of one!
It tasted real good and came with a promise to be converted to a real Mac Book next summer when Mathilde graduates from the 10. Grade.

Cake
(2 layers)
300 g (11 oz) dark chocolate
300 g (21/2 stick) butter

225 g (13/4 cup) flour
75 g (1/2-3/4 cup) cocoa
11/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

6 eggs
475 g (21/2 cup) sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Caramel filling:
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar
85 g (3/4 stick) soft butter
11/2 dl (1/2 cup + 2 TBSP) whipping cream

Butter cream icing:
200 g (13/4 stick) butter
400 g (21/2 cup) icing sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP milk

Decoration:
680 g (24 oz) rolled fondant (sugar paste)
Edible silver powder
1 TBSP vodka
Black food color

Make the cake:
Melt chocolate and butter together.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together.
Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla together.
Add chocolate/butter mixture to the eggs and fold in the dry ingredients.
Fill the batter in 2 prepared pans (Mac book size) and bake them for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees F (180 C). Turn them out on a wired rack and let them cool.

Make the Filling:
Melt the sugar in a pot until golden. Remove from the heat and add 1 TBSP butter. Add the cream and put the pot back on the heat. Boil to 108C/225 F.
Pour the caramel in to a bowl, cover and let it cool to room temperature.
Beat the butter into the caramel cream.

Finish the cake:
Spread the caramel cream onto one cake layer and place the other on top. Beat the butter cream icing together and spread in all over the cake; top and sides.
Roll out the fondant to fit the cake and position on the cake. Smooth and shape the fondant on the top and sides of the cake and trim of excess fondant at the base.
Cut an apple in paper, brush it with a little water and place on cake.
Dissolve the silver powder in the vodka and paint it on the fondant icing with a brush. Remove paper-apple.
Color excess fondant with black color and make slots for the Mac. Brush with a little water and place on cake.

Blueberry and Coconut cake

We celebrated my husband’s birthday last Sunday and I made this monstrous cake.
It tasted wonderful – but it ruins your appetite.

Blueberry and Coconut cake
Serves 16

Cake:
21/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup soft butter
13/4 cup sugar2 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP lime rind (finely grated)
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
11/2 coconut milk
11/2 cup desiccated coconut

Cream:
1 vanilla pod
3 TBSP powder sugar
11/2 cup crème fraiche 38% fat (or double cream)
3/4 cup double cream

Filling:
3 cups preserved blueberries

Frosting:3/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP syrup or molasses
2 TSP water
3 egg whites
2 TBSP sugar

Decoration:
Desiccated coconut, roasted

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl whip butter and sugar creamy and add vanilla and lime rind. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time. Add flour and coconut milk alternately and fold in the coconut. Fill the batter in 3 prepared pans and bake them for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees F (180 C). Turn them out on a wired rack and let them cool.

Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Mix them with the powdered sugar and add crème fraiche and cream. Beat until soft peaks form.
Layer the cakes with the vanilla cream and the preserved blueberries.

Place sugar, syrup and water in a saucepan and let it boil 5 minutes.
Beat the egg whites with sugar until soft peaks form. Add the boiling sugar syrup and continue beating until the frosting is fluffy and no longer warm (5-8 minutes). Spread it on the cake and decorate with roasted coconut.

Banana cake for the potato holidays.

This week all children in Denmark are home from school because of the potato holidays.

In ancient times the kids had to help at home harvesting the potatoes. Nowadays I think most of them use the extra time in front of the computer or TV.

Anyway, Mathilde and I made a comforting banana cake with butterscotch icing – a recipe I have from my mom.

It is easy to make and very good for kids of all ages:)

Banana cake with butterscotch icing

Cake:
150 g butter (2/3 cup)
150 g sugar (3/4 cup)
2 eggs
3-4 ripe bananas
1 dl milk (6 TBSP)
275 g flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla powder

Icing:
75 g butter (1/3 cup)
50 g brown sugar (4 TBSP)
11/2 TBSP milk
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
100 g powdered sugar (3/4 cup)

Beat butter and sugar creamy and add the eggs one at a time.
Mash the bananas and add the milk.
Sift all dry ingredients and stir them into the batter together with the mashed bananas.
Fill the batter in a prepared cake pan (22 cm/9 inch).
Bake the cake in the middle of the oven at 180 degrees C/375 degrees F for 45-60 minutes.
Insert a skewer into the baked cake and make sure it comes out clean and dry.
Let the cake sit in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing the pan. Let the cake cool on a rack.

For the icing; Bring butter, brown sugar and milk to a boil and remove it from the heat. Stir in sifted vanilla and powdered sugar until it becomes thick and smooth. Spread the icing on the cooled cake.

Plum and blueberry cake

Our garden is boosting with plums and berries - so I just had to bake a cake today:









Plum and blueberry cake

2 large eggs
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
5-6 ounces walnuts (chopped)
1/2 cup plum butter or apple butter
3 TBSP melted butter

1 pound plums
1/4 pound blueberries
3 TBSP cane sugar

Beat eggs and sugar until thick. Sift the flour together with the baking powder and add the walnuts. Fold the walnut-flour into the egg cream and add plum butter and melted butter.
Spread the batter into a pan (14x10 inches) lined with baking paper.
Wash the fruit and slice the plums into wedges. Arrange the plums on the batter along with the berries and sprinkle the sugar over the fruit. Bake the cake at 360 degrees F (180 C) for 45-60 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan.

Party with Red currants

This week I used the last red currants in my garden. I couldn't quite decide whether to make a cake or a tarte - so we made both:)



Spiral cake with red currants
The cake is made as a spiral, so the layers become vertical. It´s fun to make – my daughter Mathilde made this one.

For 1 cake for 8-10 persons:
Berries:
1 pound red currants
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP potato starch or corn starch

Cake:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Cream:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Crème fraiche /sour cream 38% (or just use 2 cups whipping cream)
4 TBSP icing sugar
1/2 vanilla pod

Remove the stalks from the red currants, wash and drain. Place them in a pot. Add sugar and 3 TBSP water, bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for about 3 minutes - stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove the pot from the heat and thicken with the potato flour stirred into 3 TBSP cold water. Let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it increases in volume, stiffens slightly and becomes pale yellow, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Sift the flower, cinnamon and baking powder together.
Very carefully, fold in the sifted flour with a rubber spatula until the flour is no longer visible. Spread the batter onto 2 or 3 pans with baking parchment paper - about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake the cakes 8-10 minutes and turn them over on pans or towels dusted with sugar. Place damp towels on top of them and let them cool.

Beat cream, crème fraiche, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together until it is light and fluffy.

Remove the baking paper from the cakes and cut them in 6-9 stripes about 4 inches wide. Spread the red currants on the stripes and on top of that spread the thick vanilla cream. Roll one strip around itself and place it in the center of a round serving platter. Now, one at a time, wrap the remaining strips around the center strip until all is used. Put the cake in the fridge at least 1 hour.

Decorate with washed red currants dusted with sugar and fresh mint leaves.



Tarte with red currants and raspberries

Crust:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 stick cold butter (1/2 cup)
1 egg yolk
1-2 TBSP cold water

Berries:
10 oz red currants
7 oz raspberries
Cream:
2 eggs
5 tbsp cane sugar
1/2 cup cream

icing sugar for decoration

Crust: Mix the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the butter and let it run until it forms small crumbs. Add egg yolk and cold water and form the dough to a disc. Cover it with foil and let it rest in the fridge for one hour.

Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick (dust board with flour as needed) and press into a pie pan. Poke holes across the bottom, line with parchment paper and add pie weights or dried beans. Prebake the crust in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Take the crusts out, remove the baking weights and let it cool.

Filling: Remove the stalks from the red currants, wash and drain. Arrange red currants and raspberries on the dough. Beat eggs together with sugar and cream and pour over the berries.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!

This years Christmas present

Chocolate Panforte

A rich sweet Christmas cake filled with lots of almonds, hazelnuts and dried fruit.

(2 cakes)
150 g hazelnuts (1 heaped cup)
150 g almonds (1 heaped cup)
225 g dried figs (1/2 pound)
225 g dried apricots (1/2 pound)
150 g dried dates (1/3 pound)
90 g semolina flour (3/4 cup)
1 dl cocoa (1/2 cup)
1 orange
1 lemon
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsk ground coriander
1/4 tsk ground black pepper
200 g cane sugar (1 cup)
225 g honey (1 cup)
100 g melted dark chocolate (3 ounces)
Confectioners' sugar

Roast the hazelnuts on a pan or in the oven 10 minutes and place them in a clean cloth. Rub the skin off of with the cloth.

Soak the almonds in boiling water for 3 minutes and nip the skins of.

Cut all the dried fruit into small pieces and mix them with the nuts, the flour, the cocoa, the grated orange and lemon rind and all the spices.

Put the sugar and the honey in a pot and stir it over the heat until the sugar has melted. Cook it without stirring about 5 minutes – until it reaches 120 degree C (248 degree Fahrenheit).

Pour it into the fruit and nuts and mix it well. Ad the melted chocolate and pres the “dough” in to 2 cake pans buttered and lined with baking paper.

Put the pans in the oven at 150 degree C (300 degree Fahrenheit) for 1 hour.

Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the paper. Dust the cakes on both sides with confectioners' (powdered/icing) sugar.

Cool the cakes and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or paper and store in a cool, dry place.
Well wrapped the cakes will keep at least 1 month.