Candy Cane Cake

 

Ingredients

• 1  cup  sifted cake or pastry flour
• 1 3/4  cups  sugar
• 12  egg whites, at room temperature
• 1  teaspoon  cream of tartar
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 8  ounces  peppermint candy canes
• 2  cups  heavy whipping cream

 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Sift together flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Sift again and set aside.

2. In a large bowl or standing mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts. Continue beating until egg whites are firm but not dry.

3. Sift one-third of the flour-sugar mixture onto the egg whites and, with a rubber or silicone spatula, gently fold the mixture into the egg whites. Add remaining flour in two batches, folding gently after each addition. Turn batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake until browned and firm to the touch, 50 to 60 minutes.

4. Invert cake (in pan) on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a long, thin, sharp knife between cake and pan to loosen, and remove cake.

5. Put candy canes in a large sealable plastic bag. Crush them into small pieces with a meat pounder, rolling pin, or the bottom of a small frying pan. Sift crushed candy with a fine-mesh strainer and reserve candy dust for another use (see Notes). Set crushed candy aside.

6. In a large bowl, beat cream with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar until soft peaks form. Frost cake with whipped cream using a spatula to form swirls and peaks. Sprinkle frosted cake with crushed candy canes. (To get candy on the sides, hold your hand about 1 in. from the cake and gently toss crushed candy at the sides.) Serve immediately, using a serrated knife to cut slices.

 

Yield

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Black Pearl Layer Cake

Black Pearl Ganache

• 6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature

Ginger Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Cake

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Frosting

• 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Additional black sesame seeds

For Black Pearl Ganache:
Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream, ginger, and wasabi to boil in small pot. Pour hot cream over chocolate; cover with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes. Whisk cream and chocolate until smooth. Mix sesame seeds and corn syrup in small bowl to coat; stir into chocolate mixture. Let cool to lukewarm. Stir in butter. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight to set.

For Ginger Syrup:
Place 1 cup water, sugar, and ginger in small saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer 2 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend.

Strain syrup into small bowl. Chop ginger. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate ginger and syrup separately.)

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk 2 cups boiling water, cocoa powder, and reserved chopped ginger in medium heatproof bowl. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with cocoa mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter among prepared cake pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely. (Cakes can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)

For Whipped Cream Frosting:
Beat cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar, vanilla, and ginger. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops off cakes to create flat surface. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on plate. Brush top with 1/3 cup ginger syrup. Spread half of ganache over top of cake. Place second layer, cut side up, atop first layer. Brush with 1/3 cup syrup; spread with remaining ganache. Top with third cake layer. Brush with remaining syrup. Spread sides and top with whipped cream frosting. Sprinkle top with black sesame seeds. Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Bajan Black Cake

For the fruit:

• 1 3/4 cups whole raw almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups dried cherries, coarsely chopped
• 1 3/4 cups prunes, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dark rum, such as Myers’s, plus 4 tablespoons for brushing
• 1 1/2 cups raisins, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups ruby port
• 1 1/4 cups currants
• 3/4 cup candied orange peel, coarsely chopped

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup burnt sugar

For the fruit:

1. Combine all ingredients in a 3-quart container with a tightfitting lid and mix well. Cover tightly and store in a dark, cool, dry place for 1 week.

For the cake:

1. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with butter; set aside.
2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
3. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and return the mixer to medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, letting each mix in fully before adding the next. Add vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and return the mixer to low speed.
4. Add flour mixture, macerated fruit and nuts along with any unabsorbed liquid, and burnt sugar, and mix until just combined. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans (the pans will be completely full).
5. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean (the cake centers will be very moist), about 2 hours.
6. Let cool 30 minutes in the pans on a wire rack. Turn cakes out onto the rack, and brush each with 2 tablespoons dark rum. Cool completely before slicing and eating, or aging.
7. To age, store each cooled cake in a resealable plastic bag at room temperature for up to 2 months. A dark cupboard or pantry is ideal, but do not refrigerate, as the moisture level will change the texture.

Twinks

 

3 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Cream

Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Butter and flour the wells of the baking pan; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg yolks on medium speed, adding sugar a little at a time, until mixture is thick and light in color, about 5 minutes. In a separate large bowl, whisk egg whites until medium peaks form. Fold whites into yolk mixture until well incorporated. Sift flour and baking powder into batter, and fold just until incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract.

Divide batter evenly among the baking pan wells and bake until cakes spring back when touched, a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and cakes are golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes; then loosen from the sides by running a knife along the edge of the pan. Invert onto a rack, remove cakes, and cool completely.

Once cakes are cool, flip each over, and with a straw or the end of a spoon make three incisions running the length of the cake. Scoop Vanilla Cream into a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip (or snip the corner off of a small plastic bag).

Place the tip into each incision, and press cream into the incisions until full. When cakes are completely full, turn them back over and serve.