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.

The real chocolate macarons

This is the real stuff – no nonsense (no artificial flavors or colors added).

French Chocolate Macarons

Cookies:
1 cup almond flour
11/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 TBSP cocoa
3/4 cup egg whites (about 5)
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Filling:
3/4 cup whipping cream
5 ounces dark chocolate

Heat the oven to 360 degrees F (180 C).

The cookies: Sift the almond flour, the confectioners' sugar and the cocoa.
Beat the egg whites with the salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the whites form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the whites form stiff and glossy peaks. Gently fold in the almond mixture with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe out 1-inch-diameter mounds about 2 inches apart on baking sheets with baking paper.

Bake, one sheet at a time: Put the baking sheet in the hot oven (360 degrees F) and turn down the heat to 285 degrees (140 C). Bake 12-15 minutes, until the tops are cracked and appear dry. Repeat with remaining baking sheets/cookies.

Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The filling: Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until smooth, let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, covered until the filling is firm enough to hold its shape.

Spread the chocolate filling on the flat side of half of the macarons. Top with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing together gently to form sandwiches.
The macarons can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

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.