Chefie’s World

It was a thousand days ago that Joseph, our Manila Bulletin coordinator of articles asked me to do a spread on Christmas cakes ranging from easy to a medium difficulty. Of course, since it is the season of giving, I didn’t negate his request. I came out with desserts all kitchen tested, scrumptiously tasted and more. I made for the easy ones; Strawberry Crisp and Pineapple Miracle since most of the layered cake where difficult to do for the first time baker. Then we made Pistachio Cream Cake, Chocolate Tablea Cake, Cranberry Cheesecake, Sticky Mango Pudding and Dulce de Leche Walnut Pie.
I am recreating the recipes that were featured there so that you can do the same in your home before Christmas or New Year. Enjoy and keep baking!

Chocolate Table Cake with Butter Caramel Frosting

Ingredients:

150 gms chocolate tablea, finely chopped
¾ cup hot water
¾ cup butter
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 pcs eggs
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9 inch round pan.
Mix chocolate tablea and hot water. Stir until melted.
Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time.
Sift dry ingredients then add alternately with the chocolate mixture.
Pour into pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cool well.

Butter Caramel Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
¾ cup heavy cream, warm
½ cup butter, cubed
1 tbsp vanilla flavoring

Procedure:

Moisten sugar with lemon juice. Put in a sauce pan and cook until amber in color.
Brush off sugar crystals on the side of the pan. When sugar is in color, pour in heavy cream and continue cooking until thick. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cool well.
Beat butter until creamy and slowly add caramel sauce. Use this to frost cake.

Basque Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 pc orange, zested and juiced ( 1/3 cup )
3 pcs eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
¾ cup butter, melted and cooled

Pastry Cream:

1 cup fresh milk
5 tbsps sugar
3 pcs egg yolks
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup blueberry jam or any type of preserve or jam

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 9 x 3 round pan with baking paper.

For the pastry cream: Heat ¾ of the milk and 2 tbsps of the sugar until bubbles form on the sides of the sauce pan. While waiting, whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar until blended. In another bowl, mix remaining milk with cornstarch then pour this into the yolk mixture. Temper yolk mixture with some of the warm milk, then pour this back to the tempered mixture. Bring to boil until mixture is thick. Pour in vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a bowl, surface covered. Chill well.

For the cake: Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Make sure you have 1/3 cup of fresh orange juice. Beat eggs and sugar until it doubles in volume. Add in orange zest, juice and vanilla/ Add in dry ingredients alternately with the melted butter. Mix until well combined.

Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spread the chilled pastry cream and spread out to within 1 inch of the sides of the pan. Smoothen well. Add blueberry jam over pastry cream and spread out, the same way as the pastry cream. Pour the remaining batter on top, spread out till the edges of the pan, covering pastry cream and blueberry jam.
Bake until golden brown around 50 minutes. Cool well. Run a steel spatula around the cake pan and invert on a serving platter. Remove baking paper and return to its original position. Serve.

Pine Apple Miracle

Ingredients:

4 pcs red delicious apples, peeled, seeded and quartered
Juice half a lemon
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 ½ cups water
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
1 can crushed pineapple – 567 grams
1 box yellow cake mix
½ cup butter
1/3 cup butter, sliced

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a sauce pan, put apples, lemon juice, sugar, brown sugar and water. Boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cinnamon powder. Set aside.
Drain crushed pineapple. Set aside.
Rub butter in yellow cake mix. Set aside.
In a baking glass pan, lay cooked apples, then add crushed pineapple. Spread yellow cake mixture. Lay sliced butter on top and pat. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. May serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Pistachio Nut Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 pcs eggs
½ cup corn oil
¼ tsp almond extract
2/3 cup chopped pistachio nuts

For Topping:

1/3 cup pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp cardamom powder
90 gms butter

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
For the topping: Mix flour, sugar and cardamom. Cut in butter using fingers or pastry cutter. Rub in butter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
Stir together all purpose and cake flours, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another, stir sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir sour cream mixture into dry ingredients, beat until smooth and creamy. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle half of the topping. Cover with the other half of the batter. Sprinkle nuts, press onto batter then cover with remaining topping. Bake until golden brown around 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/3 cups crushed graham crackers
1 ½ tbsps sugar
½ tbsp cinnamon powder
7 tbsps melted butter

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine crushed graham, sugar and cinnamon powder.
Pour in melted butter and mix until well moistened. Press into a 8 inch removable bottom pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool well.

Cranberry Mixture:

1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsps sugar
Water to moisten

Procedure:

Boil cranberries, sugar with water. Let cool and chop finely.

Filling:

Ingredients:

450 gms cream cheese, soft at room temperature
¼ cup sour cream
2/3 cup heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 tsps vanilla extract
3 pcs egg yolks
2 pcs eggs

Procedure:

Make sure that beating this mixture is kept to a minimum or else the final product will have lots of air bubbles.
Rub lemon zest to sugar. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese until very soft. Add sugar and stir, pour in sour and heavy cream. Add in egg and egg yolks with vanilla extract. Mix well, if lumpy, strain the mixture. Pour over crust, add in cranberry mixture and swirl. Then bake at bain marie at 350 F for 45 – 60 minutes.

Sticky Mango Pudding

Ingredients:

200 grams dried mangoes, coarsely chopped
2 ½ cups water
3 ¼ cup all purpose flour
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
3 pcs eggs
½ tsp molasses
¼ cup mango nectar

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with paper.
Mix chopped mangoes and water in a sauce pan and boil. Turn the heat off and add in baking soda. Set aside.
Stir flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
Cream butter until smooth and fluffy. Add sugar and mix until light. Add eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla and mix. Alternately add dry ingredients with the mango mixture in three additions and mix until of smooth consistency. Pour mixture into a pan and bake until firm about 40 – 45 minutes. Let cool completely in a pan. Turn cake insto cooling rack and remove baking paper. Make sauce.

Sauce:

2 cups brown sugar
¼ cup butter
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup mango nectar
2 tsps brandy
¼ tsp mango flavor

Procedure:

Mix first five ingredients together, let boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add in mango flavoring. Pour over cake. Bake until sauce is bubble and cake is heated through, around five minutes. Cool briefly before serving. Cut into squares.

Dulce de Leche Walnut Pie

Crust:

1 ½ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, cut into cubes and cooled
¼ cup shortening, cooled
7 tbsps cold water

Filling:

½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dulce de leche
½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
3 pcs eggs
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 tsps vanilla

Procedure:

For the crust: Mix flour and salt together. Rub in butter and shortening into the dry ingredients. When it has formed into a coarse meal, add water just until moistened.
Pat and fold. Cover with plastic film and rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients of the filling together.

Roll out crust then press into pie container, rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
Fill with dulce de leche mixture and bake for 40 minutes.
Cool well and serve.

Strawberry Crisp

Ingredients:

8 pcs argellanas
200 gms white chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp strawberry flavor

250 gms fresh strawberries, sliced

1 ½ cups heavy cream, whipped

Procedure:

Melt white chocolate over bain marie. Add heavy cream and butter. Pour in strawberry flavor.

Lay argellanas. Pour in white chocolate mixture. Add in heavy cream and decorate with sliced strawberries.

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Desserts, Food, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.