Cakes

Italian Spumoni Cake

May 13, 2017 by Marisa 28 Comments

Delicious flavors of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni, is revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress.

Crumbly cake layers of strawberry, chocolate and pistachio are stacked together while separated by strawberry preserves and pistachio cream. Frosted with a vanilla scented buttercream, sprinkled with some crushed pistachios and then decorated with spumoni flavored french macarons for a truly celebratory dessert.

Every once in a while hubby will surprise me with the latest Bake From Scratch Magazine, packed full of drool worthy baked goods that can easily be replicated at home. A true baker’s delight in every sense of the word.

This latest issue has some of the loveliest naked cakes or rather nearly naked cake recipes and the one that caught my eye was the Spumoni Cake. I love it for its pretty trifecta of colors which takes me back to those lazy hot summer days, happily sitting outside while enjoying some yummy spumoni ice-cream.

Although I’m not a baker by profession and have only ever baked a few layered cakes in my lifetime, I found this cake not difficult at all to put together and I’m sure you will too.

While you’ll basically be baking three separate layers, it’s really one cake batter divided among three separate bowls.

One bowl will have strawberry preserves folded into the batter, the second bowl will have cocoa mixture folded in while the third bowl gets some delicious pistachio paste.

You’ll want to begin assembling the cake directly on its serving platter lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper joined at the center. You then simply pull out the 2 sections when you’re done frosting for easy clean up.

Since decorating this beautiful Italian Spumoni Cake is where the fun really begins, do know that you can truly use your imagination here so feel free to add your special touch.

Although, the original recipe called for freeze dried strawberries to garnish the cake, they were really hard to find and I had absolutely no luck in finding them. However, I did come across some adorable french macarons looking simply perfect and I new they would adorn this cake quite beautifully.

I used a little dab of buttercream on one side of the macaron so that they adhered to the cake and I must say they added such a lovely touch to the overall look! Who would not want to sink their teeth into a slice of this delicious goodness…right?

Actually, hubby and I did just that! Day after day and just until there was not a crumb left. But please don’t judge, you would have done the exact same thing, I’m sure of it!

Worth mentioning here is how this cake actually tastes better the following days. Partially due to the preserves and pistachio paste nestled between the layers which keeps the cake very moist and also enhances the flavors of this visually stunning cake. As a result, this cake is an excellent make ahead dessert for those busy and extremely chaotic occasions which we all have from time to time.

Pistachio cream can also be made ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can therefore really pace yourself by making a few steps ahead of time which is always a win win in my book.

Most of all have fun.

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Italian Spumoni Cake

All the flavors of the ever popular Italian ice-cream better known as simply Spumoni, is revisited in a three layered spectacular Italian Spumoni Cake that is sure to impress.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE LAYERS
1 cup unsalted butter softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
240 grams or 1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberry preserves divided
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pistachio paste recipe below
vanilla buttercream recipe below
chopped pistachios for garnishing
macarons to decorate spumoni colors, chocolate, strawberry and pistachio OPTIONAL
PISTACHIO PASTE
2 cups roasted pistachios
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 water
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt I used fine sea salt
9 cups confectioner's sugar icing sugar
6 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

CAKE LAYERS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease and flour 3 (9 inch ) round cake pans.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together at medium speed just until fluffy.
This should take about 3 to 4 minutes and if your using a stand mixer, you'll want to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the milk while starting with the flour mixture and ending with the flour mixture.
Beat just until combined between each addition.
Beat in the vanilla extract.
Divide the batter evenly among 3 separate bowls.
In the first bowl, fold in a 1/2 cup of well stirred strawberry preserves and the remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.
Combine the cocoa, 1/4 cup of boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl.
Fold the cocoa mixture into the second bowl of cake mixture.
In the third bowl of cake mixture, fold in a 1/2 cup of pistachio paste.
Spoon the cake batters into the prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Test to see if its done by inserting a wooden skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then the cakes are ready.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE LAYERS
Place the strawberry cake layer onto your serving platter and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream all around the inside edge of the strawberry cake layer, creating a border.
Spread the remaining 1/2 cup strawberry preserves over the strawberry cake layer making sure to stay between borders.
Carefully place the chocolate cake layer over the strawberry layer and pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around the inside edge, creating a border.
In a small bowl stir very well together 1/2 cup of the vanilla buttercream with the remaining pistachio paste and spread this over the chocolate layered cake while staying within the border.
Carefully top the pistachio cake layer over the chocolate cake layer.
Spread the remaining vanilla buttercream over the top and sides of the 3 layered cake. (I used a buttercream icing smoother to create the naked cake look)
Garnish with chopped pistachios and chocolate, strawberry, pistachio macaron cookies if desired.
PISTACHIO PASTE
Grind pistachios as fine as you can using a food processor or better yet a spice grinder if you have one.
Stir together the grind pistachios and honey in a small bowl.
Stir in 1/4 cup of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the paste has a consistency of peanut butter.
Pistachio paste can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container at room temperature up to one week.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
Place the butter in a large bowl and beat at medium speed just until creamy.
Beat in the vanilla and the salt.
Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar.
Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until smooth.
Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time until the buttercream frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

Notes

Recipe is adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine.

Mini Strawberry Grapefruit Cheesecakes

June 30, 2016 by Marisa 35 Comments

These mini strawberry and grapefruit cheesecakes, showcases one of Quebec’s more delectable fruits. They are wonderfully sweet and pair perfectly with the juicy pink grapefruit segments. Both fruits are macerated together and then nestled atop the mini cheesecakes to provide a truly refreshing and stunning appearance.

You will love the ease with which this recipe comes together. It is fairly simple to prepare and the cheesecakes can be baked ahead of time! As an added bonus, they are sure to impress!

Once baked the mini cheesecakes need to be properly chilled for at least 4 hours, so do plan ahead.

If using the more delicate sweet strawberries I would not recommend preparing the fruit ahead of time as it renders the strawberries with a lackluster appearance. For ultimate freshness, I prepared my fruit mixture just before serving.

With the red and white colors of the Canadian flag, these mini strawberry grapefruit cheesecakes make a delicious celebratory dessert for Canada Day or just about anytime one is craving a sweet little morsel!

Have a safe and fun filled Canada day everyone!

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Mini Strawberry Grapefruit Cheesecakes

These mini strawberry grapefruit cheesecakes are delectable, creamy little morsels crowned with a mixture of sweet and bittersweet fruits

Course: Dessert

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

CRUST
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
CHEESECAKES
2 packages cream cheese softened (250 grams each)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 grapefruits peeled and skin removed cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

For the Crust
Preheat the oven to 350* F (180 *C)
Place paper liners in 12 cup muffin tin.
For the crust, combine the graham crackers, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of melted butter in a small bowl.
Divide equally into the 12 cup muffin tin, pressing the mixture down into each muffin cup.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (on middle oven rack) until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, lower the oven temperature to 325*F (170*C).
For the Cheesecakes
In a food processor blend together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Add the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract and process until the mixture is creamy.
You will need to scrape down the sides a few times to get the mixture blended well.
Divide the mixture equally over the prepared crust.
Bake for about 25 minutes or just until the cheesecakes are firm to the touch. Do not over bake the mini cheesecakes.
Let the cheesecakes cool and then refrigerate them for 4 hours or until they are well chilled.
Top with strawberry, grapefruit mixture just before serving.
Strawberry Grapefruit Mixture
In a medium size bowl, combine the sliced strawberries, grapefruit and sugar.
Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes to macerate and then drain.

Notes

Adapted from Ricardo Magazine

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

April 16, 2016 by Marisa 25 Comments

I have shared a couple of doughnut recipes here on the blog before and both of the deep fried variety. Such as these Zeppole, Ricotta Doughnuts and more recently my Castagnole Fritte. However, my chocolate zucchini doughnuts featured today are of a completely different variety. They are baked not fried and with the addition of grated zucchini and finely chopped walnuts.

These chocolate zucchini doughnuts have a cake like texture and are super moist made more so after being dunked in a decadent chocolate glaze.

This is a simple snacking cake recipe given to me by a friend which I have tweaked and converted into doughnuts. I think it’s a fun way of giving an old recipe new life. If you love easy to make desserts and have an extra zucchini hanging out in your fridge then these doughnuts are for you.

One will barely notice the zucchini in the doughnut because it just melts into the batter as it bakes, which is a great thing if there are finicky eaters in the family. It is one more wonderful way to hide the vegetables, in my opinion, when cooking or baking.

I used 2, 3 inch round doughnut hole pans for this recipe which yields 24 doughnuts. Each pan has 6 doughnut ring shapes which I let cool and resprayed with non-stick baking spray between batches.

Alternately, you may use a 9 inch square baking pan and bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 40 minutes or till a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. You will only need half the quantity of chocolate glaze if opting to bake it in a cake form.

A few notes to help you along: Use the 6 to 8 minutes bake time as a general guideline and always check to see if they are done at the minimum amount of time as not all ovens are the same. Mine is a gas oven and my baked goods are usually ready at the minimum amount of time requested in most recipes.

Do use a piping bag or resealable plastic bag, snipped at one end, to fill the doughnut pans for perfectly round shaped doughnuts.

Fill only half way through (the doughnut rings) as the batter doubles in size once baked.

Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for a few minutes before loosening them around the edges and inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Last but not least top the doughnuts with lots and lots of sprinkles 🙂

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2 from 1 vote

Chocolate Zucchini Doughnuts

These chocolate zucchini doughnuts with walnuts, have a cake like texture. They are baked, dunked in a decadent chocolate glaze and topped with sprinkles.

Course: Dessert

Servings: doughnuts

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

DOUGHNUTS
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 whole cup milk
1 cup grated zucchini from 1 small zucchini
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Chocolate Glaze
2 cups icing sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons whole milk
chocolate sprinkles or any other of your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 2 inch doughnut pan with a nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large size bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add in the eggs, vanilla and beat until well combined.
Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stating and ending with the flour mixture.
Add in the zucchini and the nuts. Stir till combined.
Spoon the doughnut batter into a large resealable plastic bag. Snip off one corner of the bag and pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling the doughnut rings only half way through.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
When ready, let the doughnuts rest in the pan for a few minutes then gently loosen around the edges and carefully invert onto a cooling rack.
Cool and spray the doughnut pans with nonstick spray between batches.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
In a large bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and whole milk.
To coat the doughnuts with the chocolate glaze you can either dunk them in the glaze, letting any excess drip off or simply spoon the chocolate glaze over the doughnuts.
Place the doughnuts on a wire rack with a cookie sheet underneath to catch any drippings.
Top with the sprinkles of your choice.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

October 10, 2015 by Marisa 53 Comments

Dazzle family and friends this Thanksgiving weekend with a simple to make yet show stopping Pumpkin Cake Roll! It has all the wonderful aromas of Fall with fragrant spices such as ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon.

A Canadian Thanksgiving meal tends to emphasize the culture of the person or family preparing the feast. My kitchen is no exception, with a mix of my Italian heritage and Canadian influence. I proudly embrace both as it is who I am, an Italian-Canadian! Which ever way one celebrates it is certainly an opportunity to give thanks for all the good in our lives and enjoy memorable meals with loved ones 🙂

This pumpkin cake roll has a beautiful density to it that softens while chilling in the fridge with it’s cream cheese filling, making it a perfect make ahead dessert. It should be chilled for at least two hours and up to 48 hours. Go ahead bake it the day before and free up some much needed oven space for your Turkey, Ham or any other meat of your choice for a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
powdered sugar (icing sugar)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1, 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. This step will allow cake to release from the baking sheet effortlessly ( do not skip this step). Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, salt, the ground nutmeg and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375*F.

In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs on high speed for about 5 minutes until thickened. Lower to medium speed and gradually add the sugar, beating until it is light in color and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin and the lemon juice. Next, beat in the flour mixture just until combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan using an offset spatula. Sprinkle the finely chopped walnuts evenly over the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched. Meanwhile, lay out a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle generously with icing sugar. This will ensure that the cake does not stick to the dish towel and will give the cake a pretty appearance. When the cake is done, immediately loosen the edges with a knife and invert it onto the clean kitchen towel (nuts side down) and peel off the parchment paper.

Starting at the short end, roll the cake in the towel and transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes to set the shape.

For the filling, in a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium speed until it is smooth and then gradually beat in the powdered sugar.

Unroll the cake and spread the filling in a thin layer within 1 inch of the borders. Firmly roll up the cake using the towel to help if needed. Cover the pumpkin cake roll and chill for 2 to 48 hours. When ready to serve, dust with more with icing sugar, trim off edges and slice into equal portions.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!! 🙂

Makes 10-12 servings.

Recipe adapted from BHG Magazine.

Blueberry Bundt Cake

June 25, 2015 by Marisa 17 Comments

Blueberry Bundt Cake a, wonderfully dense and moist cake baked in a rose shaped Bundt pan for a lovely sculpted look and scented with the sweet aroma of orange zest.

This Blueberry Bundt Cake is perfect for a Sunday brunch, potlucks and elegant enough for special occasions.

A huge advantage when baking with a bundt pan is the beautiful decorative shape, allowing nothing more than a light simple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar to enhance the look of your cake.

To ensure easy unmolding of your cake with all the fancy designs intact, use a good cake release product. Here I used one from Wilton which allowed me to release the cake effortlessly. Another good alternative is to brush the inside of your pan with vegetable shortening and then dust with flour.

What I was not successful with was using a cooking spray. I am not sure why I decided too but my first time using it was a disaster. Half the cake was stuck in the bottom of the pan and would not unmold, hence the delay in this post! Mind you, it was perfectly edible and my husband had no problem polishing it off…lol ! So I went searching the following day for a good cake release product and a few other ingredients to bake my cake all over again. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp coarsely grated orange rind
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice
4 cups fresh blueberries

Glaze:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Grease a 10 inch (3 liter) Bundt cake pan or an angel food cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar just until fluffy. Next beat in the egg yolks one at a time and then the grated orange rind.

In a smaller bowl, use clean beaters to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside.

In yet another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and the salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the orange juice. You will make 3 additions of flour and 2 of juice. The batter will be slightly stiff.

Next, stir 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the batter mixture and fold in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula. Fold in 2 cups of the blueberries and scrape the cake batter into your prepared pan. Smooth out the top and give the pan a light tap on your counter to release any air pockets.

If you are using a regular Bundt pan or angel food pan, bake at 350F (180C) for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the cake on a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 minutes. If using a cast aluminum Bundt pan as I did, preheat the oven at 325F (160*C) and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes.

Glaze: Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of orange juice in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute while stirring. As another alternative, you can just as easily use your microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it does not boil over. Let it cool a little.

Loosen the cake from the pan and invert onto a serving platter. Brush the cake with the orange glaze and let it cool.

Once cooled, fill the center of the cake with the remaining blueberries and dust with icing sugar 🙂

Yields 12 servings.

Adapted from Canadian living Magazine.

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