cake – Audrey's 74 A blog by Giulia Doyle Tue, 31 Jan 2017 21:28:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.17 Tiramisu Layer Cake /2015/04/28/tiramisu-layer-cake/ Tue, 28 Apr 2015 13:03:48 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3654 Tiramisu Cake Giulia DoyleMy husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. Originally I had all kinds of big plans, but it turned out that it was the same day as our daughter’s first communion and the same weekend we had three guests bunking with us. Let me tell you – seven people and one full bath is not my favourite thing!

Unfortunately for him, his birthday was reduced to a smoked fish and bagel lunch and this cake. A cake that’s been floating in my mind for quite some time. I seem to be drawn to making layer cakes out of things that normally aren’t – like this banana bread layer cake. And if you are a long-time reader, you’ll know why I chose to make a tiramisu cake – just as I tweaked a classic tiramisu a couple of years back into a tropical version.

So here it is – the non-boozy version of a tiramisu cake – fit for a birthday. I used this yellow cake recipe, but reduced the cooking time to 22 minutes because of the 3 layers. Then I assembled the pieces as described in the recipe below.

Feel free to add some booze to the ladyfingers for a little something extra and if you want it to taste more of coffee, drizzle the yellow cake layers with coffee as well!

Oh and I think he still had a great day, despite it not being all about him.

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Mascarpone Frosting and Chocolate Ganache and Ladyfinger Layer

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 nine inch 3 layer cake

Bake yellow cake layers (3) and let cool completely. Add first layer of cake to cake stand or plate. Frost with mascarpone frosting, layer with soaked ladyfingers, add some more frosting. Add second layer of cake and repeat frosting and ladyfinger layer. Top with final layer of cake. Add a thin layer of frosting all over the cake. Put in fridge for 30 minutes so frosting can stiffen. Once cold, add more frosting all over the cake and smooth as best as you can. Cool a little more while you make the chocolate ganache. Take the cake out of the fridge, pour ganache on centre of cake and let it gently drip over the edges. Let ganache get solid before serving cake. *Drizzle cake layers with extra coffee if you want a stronger flavour.

Ingredients

  • 1 tub of mascarpone
  • 1 cup of powdered sugar
  • 2 cups of whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 packs of ladyfingers
  • 1 cup of espresso (or more if you want to drizzle some on the cake layers)
  • 1 100g bar of good quality chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 2/3 cup of whipping cream

Instructions

  1. For frosting:
  2. Combine mascarpone and sugar with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add whipping cream and whip at medium-high speed until the cream turns to a whipped cream consistency. Don't over-whip the mixture. Adjust sweetness to your liking.
  3. For Ladyfinger layer:
  4. Soak each ladyfinger in espresso before adding it to frosted cake layer
  5. Chocolate Ganache:
  6. Heat cream in small saucepan until piping hot but not boiling. Take off heat and stir in chocolate pieces. Stir until fully melted. Wait until slightly thickened for perfect pouring texture.
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Tiramisu Cake Giulia DoyleTiramisu Cake Giulia Doyle

 

]]> Easter Lemon Cookies and Lemon Loaf with Land of Nod /2015/04/01/easter-lemon-cookies-and-lemon-loaf-with-land-of-nod/ Wed, 01 Apr 2015 12:30:03 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3598 Easter Giulia DoyleReady for a little Easter fun – some whimsy and punches of colour? Well, the Land of Nod Easter paper goods are wonderful – just a little cheeky and with a punch of neon colour. I loved everything they sent me.Easter Giulia Doyle Easter Giulia Doyle
To go with all the fun plates, cups, garland, baskets and bunny ears, I decided to make lemon sable cookies dipped in chocolate with the fun Meri Meri Easter cookie cutters. Not only are these cookies fun, but the recipe is easy to make, versatile and dipping things in chocolate is always a good idea.
Easter Giulia Doyle Easter 5To add to our small dessert table we also made a lemon loaf cake. Again, easy to make in advance, keeps well, simple to transport and just as perfect as a dessert or a breakfast indulgence. You could also use the recipe for muffins and use the cupcake liners and toppers available.

I had a lot of fun putting this little table together for the Land of Nod. Check out the recipes on the blog post I wrote for them.
Easter Giulia DoyleEaster Giulia DoyleI was sent the Meri Meri Party Supplies by the Land of Nod to write a review post on their blog. I was not paid or compensated to write a post on my blog. All opinions are my own.

]]> Applesauce Cake for Valentine’s /2015/02/09/applesauce-cake-for-valentines/ Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:10:52 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3528 Applesauce Cake Giulia DoyleA couple of weeks back I had a bowl full of wrinkly apples that weren’t going anywhere. I decided to make applesauce by simply simmering the cored (peels left on) apples in a couple of tablespoons of water and apple juice until they were soft. Then I ran it through the blender and had perfect applesauce. I had so much applesauce though that I had to think of other things to make – so I made applesauce cake for our dinner guests. It was soft, moist, filled with wintery spices and not too sweet. My kids couldn’t keep their hands off it!

This past week I found a heart shaped cake pan that I didn’t remember I had. So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, I decided to make the applesauce cake again, but this time in little single serving hearts. Not too sweet, but a nice treat for a very sweet day! Perfect for breakfast or dessert. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Applesauce Cake for Valentine’s

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups homemade Applesauce, or store-bought chunky applesauce
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.
  2. In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Mix in applesauce.
  3. Generously coat a nonstick heart shaped pan, muffin pan bundt cake pan with cooking spray. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (but slightly wet), 20 to 30 minutes for muffins or hearts, 50-60 minutes for bundt cake.
  4. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto a cutting board or baking sheet; invert cake(s) onto rack, top side up. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired. I made a heart stencil with paper.

Notes

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

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Applesauce Cake Giulia Doyle

 

 

]]> Happy Birthday /2014/10/15/happy-birthday/ Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:47:45 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=3276 Giulia Cake 3

clockwise from top left: unknown, Molly Yeh,  Chic Vintage Brides, Sweetapolita

It’s my birthday today! And it’s a big milestone one. I’m a little torn about birthdays these days. I can take them or leave them. I’m not particularly panicked about this milestone one that I’m having right now, but to be honest, I think I wouldn’t mind being 39 a while longer ;). It is crazy to look back at my thirties tough – so many things changed, big life changes, grown-up decisions – lot’s of happy moments and reaching a place where I feel secure in who I am and what’s important to me.

In order to celebrate, I decided to share 40 cakes made by a bunch of other talented people today. There are so many amazing cakes to be found, many of them have inspired cakes I’ve made myself, such as this, this, this and this. Enjoy!

]]> Raspberry Lemonade Cake and a Give-away /2013/08/05/raspberry-lemonade-cake-and-a-give-away/ Mon, 05 Aug 2013 09:56:53 +0000 http://www.audrey74.com/?p=1480 Raspberry Lemon Cake Audrey's

Give-away sponsored by Pinhole Press

It’s summer road-trip time! We are on our way back today from a small trip to Toronto, where we attended a lovely wedding. We won’t be resting long though, because on Saturday we’re off to Cape Cod to enjoy a week at the ocean. Yipppyyyy!

Not only do I have a perfect road-trip worthy cake for you today, but I also have a great give-away from Pinhole Press ! Even though I spend most of my time on the computer and I use electronic calendars and task lists that are synched to my phone; there are a couple of places where I like paper and pen. One of those are grocery lists and the other are packing lists. Pinhole Press allowed me to create customized notepads. Now, I can have lovely photo memories right there with me when completing all those planning tasks. You can imagine that I love to use some of the photos I take throughout the year and have them in print. These cute note pads are a perfect way for me to keep memories visible every day.Raspberry Lemon Cake Audrey'sIn addition to the notepads I also ordered some wall decals. They are amazing! The quality of print is exceptional and the flexibility of the decals is perfect if you are in a temporary space, want to move things around, or like us, need something in a narrow staircase where frames would come crashing down. Again, a perfect way to keep some of our vacation photos front and centre, reminding us of wonderful times together.

This give away is now closed. Congratulations Jordana! We’ll be in touch.

Would you like to have some personalized notepads? Or some amazing decals? Just comment below by Friday, August 9th and you could win US$ 35.- towards anything you’d like at Pinhole Press.

Winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted by email. Open worldwide, except Quebec residents – see why here.

You can also use the code audreys for 10% off your order until August 31, 2013.

Once you’ve commented below to enter the give-away, you might want to make this cake for your next potluck, BBQ or road trip? This cake explodes in lemony flavours and has the sturdiness to be packed up in some wax paper and transported most anywhere you want a treat. You can make it in a bundt pan as I did, or a loaf pan works as well.

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Raspberry Lemonade Cake - adapted from Martha Stewart

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

Serving Size: 1 bundt cake or 2 loaves

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
  • 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup of raspberries
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1-2 cups of icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour two 4 1/2-by-8-inch (6-cup) loaf pans.
  2. In a small bowl (or liquid measuring cup), combine buttermilk with lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
  5. Add raspberries to a small saucepan with sugar. Heat until soft. Puree in food processor and push through sieve to remove seeds. Reserve some raspberry juice for glaze.
  6. Divide batter evenly between pans; add raspberry puree and swirl a little with a fork. Smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 1 hour and 10 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Cool 15 minutes in pan. Turn out cakes onto a rack; cool completely before glazing.
  7. Make glaze by combining 2-4 tablespoons of raspberry juice (from puree) with icing sugar until you get the consistency you like. You want it to drip but not be too watery. Add lemon juice if you want.
  8. Set rack with cakes over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides; let dry, about 30 minutes.
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I expanded on this Martha Stewart recipe.Raspberry Lemon Cake Audrey's

Pinhole Press generously supplied the notepads and wall decals in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to write the post.

]]> Three Kings Cake /2013/01/06/three-kings-cake/ Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:44:24 +0000 http://audrey74.com/?p=202 Three Kings Cake - Audrey's

When we were kids, my sister ALWAYS found the piece of Three Kings Cake that had the little plastic king in it; she got to wear the crown and be the king for the day. I’m not exaggerating when saying it was always; every single year from the day she was born – a good 14 years, and then I moved out. It was frustrating to say the least. But even if you don’t get the little king and are allowed to behave like a king or queen – the effort of making this yeast based sweet bread is worth it. It’s a nice little breakfast treat – a little sweet, but not too sweet. Even better if you live in a country where you can buy it.

We tried it this year – my kids are 5 and 3 – so when my little guy didn’t get the king he was quite disappointed, while his sister jumped with joy after she found it. We had to keep the peace by letting both of them wear the crown. I like keeping some of these Swiss traditions – there might not be many people here in Ottawa making a Three Kings Cake – but I think we’ll keep on doing it.

Do you celebrate Three Kings Day (Ephiphany)?

I used this recipe (in German) – while it was quite nice, I think I’ll try a different one next year.

Updated: January 6, 2014 with English translation

Print
Three Kings Cake

Ingredients

  • 500 g Flour
  • 2.5 dl Milk
  • 50 g Butter
  • 1 Pk.Yeast
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4-5 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 100 g Raisins
  • Almond slivers
  • Rock sugar

Instructions

  1. Warm milk and butter. Beat one egg.
  2. Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar and combine. Make an indentation and pour in warm butter/milk mixture. Add the beaten egg. Combine until you have a smooth dough.
  3. Add raisins and mix well. Beat dough on counter a couple of times so the dough turns out fluffier.
  4. Cover bowl with damp towel and let rise in warm area for 1 hour.
  5. Once risen, take dough out of bowl and cut into 10 pieces. Combine 3 of them into one large ball and add the other seven around it once shaped as a ball.
  6. Add plastic king (or whole almond) to one of the smaller balls. Add a round cake form (just the ring) to a parchment lined baking sheet. Assemble all pieces within the cake ring.
  7. Let rise again in a warm area for 45 mintues. Take other egg and beat it with a little milk or cream. Brush top of cake with egg mixture, sprinkle with almonds and sugar.
  8. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and remove from cake pan.
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]]> Layered Ice Cream Cake /2012/12/16/layered-ice-cream-cake/ Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:45:24 +0000 http://audrey74.com/?p=69 Layers of pound cake and different flavours of ice cream and sorbet are the basis for this pretty ice cream cake. With a little patience and time (to ensure that each layer freezes solid) you can create a nice and tasty desert.

We made this to celebrate my grandfather’s birthday. He likes ice cream, he likes cake – why not combine the two and create a nice surprise?

Adapted from this Martha  Stewart recipe.

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]]> Pear and Plum Sharlotka /2012/12/12/pear-and-plum-sharlotka/ Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:37:46 +0000 http://audrey74.com/?p=109

I really like fruit in cake, I prefer it to pie and I particularly like it when the recipe is so easy you can make it in your sleep. I appreciate that I can make it with ingredients readily available in your pantry and that you can adapt it to any fruit you want. The origin of the recipe is a Russian Apple Sharlotka, but I do find similarity to a Swiss Apfelkuchen or Zwetschkenkuchen (Plum pie). Plums in cake or pie always remind me of back home and fall. This time I combined some ripe pears and added plums for colour and a bit of tartness. It turned out beautifully – so much so that people wanted seconds and I had more for breakfast.

Pear and Plum Sharlotka (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

  • Butter or nonstick spray, for greasing pan
  • 6 large pears pealed and a handful of pitted prune plums
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
  • Powdered sugar, to finish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Peel, halve and core your pears and pit your plums, then cut the pears into medium-sized pieces. (The nicer you cut the pieces the nicer the slices will look.) Pile the fruit directly in the prepared pan.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Pour over fruit in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed fruit. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out free of batter. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter.

Serve warm or cooled, dusted with powdered sugar.

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