Posts in cake

while i like to think of myself as cautiously optimistic, i most definitely have a sunny disposition when it comes to life. so i'm sure it won't come to a shock to you that i LOVE valentine's day.

yeah yeah, it's hallmark manufactured holiday designed to sell candy and flowers, blah blah. you could look at it that way. or, you could look at it as a special day to be a little extra grateful for the love in your life. your parents, your kids, your besties, your pets. they all love you. celebrate it!

this morning i celebrated with my sixteen students, zee, the front desk girl who works with me in the mornings on tuesdays and thursdays, and this amazing sponge cake.

start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. sift together the flours, baking powder and salt and set it aside. if you like, you can take the extra time to cut hearts or other fun shapes with your grapefruit and blood orange slices. it's your loaf. go wild.

in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand blender, combine the egg yolks and half the sugar.

blend on high until pale yellow and thick. about 5 minutes.

pour the egg and sugar mixture into medium bowl land set it aside. clean the bowl and whisk.

add in the egg whites and whip on high until soft peaks form. about 2-4 minutes.

with the mixer on high, pour in the remaining sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. about 3-5 minutes more. you will know they are ready when you can flip your bowl upside down and nothing moves.

while your eggs are whipping, combine your butter, honey, zest and vanilla beans in a small bowl. mix well.

then, using your rubber spatula, fold a large scoop of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture so it becomes light.

then add the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and fold it all together. just till it is no longer streaky.

fold in your flour mixture.

fold in your butter, honey mixture. spray your loaf pan with baking spray.

pour your batter into the loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes, until the to begins to set.

pull the loaf out, place your grapefruit and blood oranges slices as you like and pop it back in the oven for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

the top should be golden brown.

remove the loaf pan onto a raised cooling rack (you don't want the bottom to steam) and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. remove the sponge from the pan, slice and serve. you can store it in an airtight container for a few days.

xo, a

vanilla + citrus sponge cake serves: 8 prep time: 25 minutes bake time: 40 minutes
cool time: 10 minutes
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted. .5 cup all purpose flour. .25 cup cake flour. .75 tsp baking powder. .5 tsp fine salt. 1 tbs honey. 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or you can sub .5 tsp vanilla extract). 3 large egg yolks. 7 egg whites. 1 cup granulated sugar. 1 blood orange zested and sliced thin. 1 small grapefruit zested and sliced thin. 1 9x4 loaf pan. rubber spatula. mixer or hand blender. baking spray.
start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. sift together the flours, baking powder and salt and set it aside. if you like, you can take the extra time to cut hearts or other fun shapes with your grapefruit and blood orange slices. it's your loaf. go wild.
in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand blender, combine the egg yolks and half the sugar.
blend on high until pale yellow and thick. about 5 minutes. pour the egg and sugar mixture into medium bowl land set it aside.
clean the bowl and whisk.
add in the egg whites and whip on high until soft peaks form. about 2-4 minutes.
with the mixer on high, pour in the remaining sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. about 3-5 minutes more. you will know they are ready when you can flip your bowl upside down and nothing moves.
while your eggs are whipping, combine your butter, honey, zest and vanilla beans in a small bowl. mix well.
then, using your rubber spatula, fold a large scoop of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture so it becomes light.
then add the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and fold it all together. just till it is no longer streaky. fold in your flour mixture. fold in your butter, honey mixture. spray your loaf pan with baking spray.
pour your batter into the loaf pan and bake for 15 minutes, until the to begins to set. pull the loaf out, place your grapefruit and blood oranges slices as you like and pop it back in the oven for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. the top should be golden brown.
remove the loaf pan onto a raised cooling rack (you don't want the bottom to steam) and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. remove the sponge from the pan, slice and serve. you can store it in an airtight container for a few days.

cake, egg white, baked, honey, sweet treats, grapefruit, dessert, grapefruit zest, sponge cake, brunch, egg yolk, baking, blood orange, butter, treats, eatAngela SamuelsFebruary 14, 2017blood orange, sweet treats, eggs, baking, cake, baked, dessert, grapefruit, baker, vanilla, sponge cake, egg yolk, brunch, egg white, citrus, vanilla bean, holiday, sweetsComment

dragon fruit cheesecake

these days, i'm hitting some sort of food store at least seven times in a week. some days, i'm in four or five stores. and at a certain point, it all starts to blur together. so a trip to the farmer's market is always a welcome treat. 

i'm always on the hunt for new food to play with. when i was in barcelona years ago, i remember their large outdoor market being filled to the brim with these dragon fruit. it was really early on in my foodie journey and i had no clue what to do with them. 

fast forward five years to the irvine farmer's market and this little guy.

but of course, i've never actually used dragon fruit so it took a week of staring at it on my counter before i came up with something good. i needed something to really display the beauty of the fruit. enter deliciously simple cheesecake. together they make the perfect pair.

start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. line the bottom of your spring form pan with a round piece of parchment paper.

in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans and butter. mix it together until it forms a loose ball.

place the crust into the spring form pan and spread it along the bottom and about an inch up the side.

poke the crust with a fork and bake it off until lightly golden. about 15 minutes.

while the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on a medium speed until creamed together.

with the mixer on a low speed, add in one egg at a time and then the vanilla. when everything is combined, turn off the mixer.
press all the ingredients down the sides of the bowl, and then mix again until well combined and smooth.

reserve about .25 cups of your cheesecake filling.

half your passion fruit and scoop out the flesh. place it in a blender and puree.

combine the dragon fruit and cream cheese filling in a small bowl.

too small...

our your filling into the baked crust. use your dragon fruit cream cheese filling to create your desired pattern. i used a spoon to place 1 inch sized drops around the cake and then used a toothpick to create hearts by swiping the pick through the middle of the circle. when you have your desired design. bake the cake till set, about 30-35 minutes. you will know it is done when the center no longer jiggles.

allow the cake to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

xo, a

dragon fruit cheesecake
serves: 10-12
prep time: 10 minutes
bake time : 45 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
ingredients: 1 dragon fruit. 1 cup all purpose flour. 1 cup finely chopped pecans. .5 cup butter, melted (1 stick). .25 cup packed brown sugar. 1 lb cream cheese (2 8oz packages). 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs. 1 tsp vanilla. parchment paper. spring form baking pan.
start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. line the bottom of your spring form pan with a round piece of parchment paper.
in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, pecans and butter. mix it together until it forms a loose ball.
place the crust into the spring form pan and spread it along the bottom and about an inch up the side.
poke the crust with a fork and bake it off until lightly golden. about 15 minutes.
while the crust is baking, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on a medium speed until creamed together.
with the mixer on a low speed, add in one egg at a time and then the vanilla. when everything is combined, turn off the mixer.
press all the ingredients down the sides of the bowl, and then mix again until well combined and smooth.
reserve about .25 cups of your cheesecake filling. half your passion fruit and scoop out the flesh. place it in a blender and puree. combine the dragon fruit and cream cheese filling in a small bowl.
pour your filling into the baked crust. use your dragon fruit cream cheese filling to create your desired pattern. i used a spoon to place 1 inch sized drops around the cake and then used a toothpick to create hearts by swiping the pick through the middle of the circle. when you have your desired design. bake the cake till set, about 30-35 minutes. you will know it is done when the center no longer jiggles.
allow the cake to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

dragon fruit, baked, baking, brown sugar, butter, cake, cream cheese, dessert, eggs, pastry, sugar, sweet treats, cheesecake, treatsAngela SamuelsDecember 6, 2016dragon fruit, cheesecake, cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, pecan, baked, dessert, sweet treats, flour, baking, cheesecake'Comment

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