Cocoa-marzipan pound cake and a trailer that changed my mind

This morning I found out that there will be a TV show about Commissioner Gordon's life way before Batman and I have to say that the idea did not seem very interesting to me at first; however, after I watched the trailer, I changed my mind completely (again, the joy of a perfectly put together trailer!).

I cannot wait to see how the villains will be portrayed, and I got especially impressed by Robin Taylor – I don’t think that I have watched anything with him, but that crazy look on his face, the nose and the hair look so perfect for Penguin the he won my heart over. I’ll just forget that Jada Pinkett Smith managed to suck in less than five seconds onscreen and consider this a perfect trailer. :)

And if I’m willing to forget one or two details that aren’t so great on what I’ve seen of Gotham, I won’t do the same with the almond paste I have in my freezer: there was some left from making Sarah Carey’s cookies, so I used it in David Lebovitz’ cake – as you can see, just as a TV show my kitchen is packed with celebrities. ;)

Cocoa-marzipan pound cake
slightly adapted from here

1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (200g/7 ounces) almond paste – I used homemade, recipe here
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Amaretto
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature
½ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F. Butter two 21cm (8½in) loaf pans and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat almond paste and sugar until almond paste is broken up into very fine pieces. Add butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in Amaretto and vanilla.
Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then the milk. Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
Divide batter between the prepared pans and smooth tops of the cakes.
Evenly sprinkle tops with sliced almonds. Bake cakes for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely in the pans over a wire rack.

These cakes will keep up to 3 days at room temperature, or if double-wrapped, can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Makes 2 loaves– a piece of advice from me: don’t halve the recipe – just make the two cakes. They’re so delicious one will be gone so fast you’ll regret not making the two loaves. :D

“Jamaretti” cookies

It is no secret that the list of recipes I want to try is an endless thing, but sometimes because of the large amount of recipes it is hard to choose just one (or two). I usually use the contents of the fridge and cupboard as a guide, but sometimes not even that is enough – I just need something more specific.

When inspiration doesn’t seem to be striking any time soon I turn to the lovely and fun Sarah Carey, and while I watched her make these cookies I thought of the jar of raspberry jam sitting in my cupboard and the homemade almond paste stashed in my freezer – that was when I knew exactly what I would be baking on the weekend. :D

These are delicious and dead easy to make; too bad I didn’t have apricot jam around – I am sure the cookies would taste amazing with it, too.

“Jamaretti” cookies
from the lovely Sarah Carey on Martha’s website

Cookies:
2 ¼ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup jam (apricot, blackberry, or raspberry) – I used raspberry

Icing:
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar
2-3 teaspoons whole milk

Cookies: whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a food processor, pulse almond paste and sugar until smooth. Add butter, eggs and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add flour mixture and pulse until dough forms (here I added 30g of flour because my dough was much too soft). Divide into 4 equal pieces, wrap in plastic, and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll each piece into a 25cm (10in) log. Transfer logs to prepared sheets 10cm (4in) apart, then flatten to about 5cm (2in) across. Bake until just dry, 12-15 minutes.
Remove from oven; with the handle of a wooden spoon, make a trench down each log. Spread 2 tablespoons jam into each trench. Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes more. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over logs. Let glaze harden, 20 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut logs on the diagonal into 2.5cm (1in) slices (cut the cookies using the knife like a guillotine - don't use a sewing motion).
Store in airtight containers, up to 1 week.

Makes about 3 dozen – I cut my cookies slightly thinner and got 45

Frangipane ripple lemon cake and directors I avoid

The posters for “Nymphomaniac” were released days ago and everyone is talking about them; I have zero interest in watching the movie because I did not like “Antichrist” and “Melancholia”. Many people I know tell me I should watch “Dancer in the Dark” because they’re sure I would love it but I really don’t feel like it – those other two movies made me quit Lars Von Trier, if not for good, for a real long time. The same happened with Michael Haneke – I felt so sick and miserable after watching “Funny Games U.S.” that up to this day I haven’t watched “Amour” yet – and several people I know have told me that the movie is great and that they’re sure I would love it, but I guess I’ll wait another couple of years to do that as I have the feeling I’ll cry my eyes out with Emmanuelle Riva.

While I’ll avoid those directors’ films like the plague, there are others whose work drawn me immediately (can’t wait to watch “Girl Gone” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”, for example). And when it comes to baking the feeling is the same: I shy away from Jamie Oliver’s baking recipes most of times (that banana bread scarred me for life), while I’ll gladly try any recipe by Martha Stewart – they work every time and taste great. Here, I’ve paired Martha’s lemon cake with another baking force’s frangipane filling, the amazing Flo Braker, and it was a match made in food heaven: the cake turned out delicious and moist. One piece of advice, though: just make sure both the bowl you’re mixing the batter in and the Bundt pan are big enough because this cake is huge. :)

Frangipane ripple lemon cake
adapted from two great sources: Martha Stewart's Cakes and Baking for All Occasions

Frangipane filling:
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe here
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened

Cake:
3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ¼ cups (450g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 3 large lemons
1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons limoncello (optional; if using, add another tablespoon of flour to the 3 cups listed on the recipe)
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream*
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Make the filling: in a food processor, combine the almond meal, almond paste and sugar and process until well mixed. Add the egg and butter and process until smoothly blended. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cake batter (my food processor is broken, so I made the filling using an electric mixer).

Now, the cake: preheat oven to 180°C/350°C. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar and zest on medium-high until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in lemon juice, vanilla and limoncello (if using).
With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
Remove the frangipane from the refrigerator. Spoon about 2 cups of the cake batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Spoon half of the frangipane in dollops over the center of the batter, and then spread it over the cake batter avoiding the center tube and sides of the pan. Spoon half of the remaining batter evenly over the filling. Spoon the remaining frangipane over the batter, spreading it evenly. Spread the remaining batter over the top and spread evenly.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 55-60 minutes (if cake browns too quickly, tent loosely with aluminum foil). Let cake cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. (To store, wrap cake in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days.) Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 10-12

Almond citrus drizzle cake

Many, many posts ago one of you left me a not very happy comment about how biased I am towards certain actors/actresses; I’m sorry, but I can’t help it: when I like something – or someone – I really like it/them.

I have my preferences and they usually dictate what I watch, listen to, eat. That is why it’s no surprise that upon receiving this absolutely delicious cookbook the first recipe I tried from it was this citrus loaf – the idea of drenching a cake with orange and lemon juice is already a favorite around here, but this time there is an obscene amount of almond paste in the cake, which made it moist beyond words.

Unlike actors, actresses and directors, I don’t usually play favorites with recipes, but this one certainly deserves an award for Best Cookbook Debut Ever. :)

Almond citrus drizzle cake
slightly adapted from the great Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple

Cake:
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) all purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (224g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup almond paste, room temperature – I used homemade, recipe here
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tablespoon limoncello (optional)

Drizzle:
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pan, line with baking paper and butter the paper as well - I used this pan but there was still some better left; I baked it in a 1-liter capacity loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream butter, sugar, lemon and orange zest until creamy. Add the almond paste and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the limoncello (if using). On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated – finish mixing by hand with spatula. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool over a wire rack while you make the drizzle: in a small bowl, combine all the ingredients. Immediately pour over hot cake (don’t wait longer or the sugar will dissolve in the juices), gradually, waiting for some of the drizzle to be absorbed by the cake before pouring more. Cool in the pan, then carefully unmold and remove the paper.

* by the time I finished preparing the cake batter I found it too liquid; I then mixed in ½ cup (70g) all purpose flour

Serves 6-8

Almond filled brioche with plum compote + "House of Cards"

After I finished watching the fourth season of “Breaking Bad” – I hope season 5 arrives soon here in Brazil – I immediately began watching “House of Cards”: I’d been wanting to watch the series ever since I first read that David Fincher was developing something for TV – I’m a huge fan and will watch anything this guy makes.

As usual, Fincher doesn’t disappoint: the series is fantastic – script, music, and the cast, everything in perfect tune. All the actors are giving excellent performances, but Kevin Spacey is the soul of the series – I might be biased because he’s one of my all time favorite actors and is part of movies I deeply love, but to me he’s kicking some serious ass as Frank Underwood, which might be one of the best characters ever played.

If the world were a fair place there would be 10 Kevin Spacey or 10 Bryan Cranston for each Robert Pattinson out there. :D

And if the world were really a fair place I would be able to eat brioche for breakfast every day, especially this almond filled version, very tender and so delicious, with a spoonful of homemade plum compote. Yum. :)

Almond filled brioche
adapted from two wonderful books: How to Bake and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Brioche:
500g strong white bread flour + extra for dusting (I used all purpose flour)
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
10g dried yeast
140ml whole milk, warm
5 medium eggs*
250g unsalted butter, very soft

Filling:
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe here
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the milk and eggs and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then on a medium speed for a further 6–8 minutes, until you have a soft, glossy, elastic dough. Add the softened butter and continue to mix for a further 4–5 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically to ensure that the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be very soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 7 hours, until it is firm and you are able to shape it. In the meantime, make the filling: place the butter, almond paste, flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, almond extract and orange flower water in a food processor and process until smooth.
Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.
Take your brioche dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead 3-4 four times, then roll it out onto a 35x20cm (14x8in) rectangle. Spread the almond filling evenly on top of the dough, then roll it like a cylinder, beginning with the longer side. Cut into 9 slices then arrange them about 2.5cm (1in) apart onto the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
When the brioche is proved, bake for 20-25 minutes or until brioche is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I only had large eggs at home, so I used 4; noticing that the dough was a bit dry, I added the 5th egg

Makes 9

Plum compote
own creation

250g plums, halved, stones removed, each half sliced into quarters
3 tablespoons granulated sugar - my plums were really sour; adjust the amount of sugar depending on the plums you have on hand
½ tablespoon lemon juice
pinch ground cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons water

Place the plums, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until plums are tender and juicy. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Serves 2-4

Lebkuchen

These delicious and beautiful cookies should have been included in last year’s holiday series – at least that was my idea – but here they are, a year later.
My birthday is in November and Martha’s book was a gift from a very dear friend – after receiving it I immediately started looking for cookies with a Christmassy feel and the lebkuchen seemed perfect. However, I somehow kept forgetting to buy all the necessary ingredients – me and my poor list making skills – and when I finally got the dates but forgot the apricot jam I simply gave up and ended up baking the almond spice wafers from the same cookbook (which, by the way, are fantastic).

So now, without further delay, I bring you the cookies I would love to eat from now up until next Christmas, nonstop. :D

Lebkuchen
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share (Martha Stewart Living Magazine)

Cookies:
¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
100g blanched whole almonds toasted + more untoasted for decorating the cookies
1/3 cup diced candied orange zest
4 dates, pitted and chopped
85g (3oz) almond paste, crumbled into small pieces – I used homemade, recipe here
1/3 cup apricot jam
3 large eggs
¾ cup (131g) packed light-brown sugar

Glaze:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk

Cookie: whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pulse almonds in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add candied orange zest and dates, and pulse until finely chopped. Add almond paste, and pulse to combine. Add jam, and pulse. Add eggs and brown sugar, and pulse. Add flour mixture, and pulse. Transfer dough to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F (I baked my cookies at 180°C/350°F). Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (¼ cup), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 7.5cm (3in) inches apart. Place 3 almonds close together on top of each cookie. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk, and brush over cooled cookies. Let stand until set. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* the batter was too liquid (even after one night in the refrigerator) and after testing it by baking one cookie – which spread like crazy – I added more flour to the batter; that way I ended up using 170g flour total

Makes 18 – I used a 3-tablespoon capacity ice cream scoop and got 15 cookies

Almond and raisin cake

I love movies with strong female characters – you know I like them complex – and last week, besides Saoirse Ronan’s amazing Hanna, I got to know Jennifer Lawrence’s brave Ree. The fantastic “Winter’s Bone” is another example of the theory I wrote about a couple of posts ago: the story is perfectly told and directed, and the performances are excellent. Jennifer Lawrence, talented as hell, is the back bone of the movie but all the other actors (most of which, I’ve read, are from the area where the movie was shot and had never acted before) are great, too – John Hawkes, brilliant as Teardrop, makes me want to watch “Martha Marcy May Marlene” even more (as soon as it gets here).

Lately I have thought twice before recommending movies to people I know – because most of them turn to me later on to tell me how much they hated them – but I do not feel this way writing on the blog, maybe because those of you reading me for a while now already know the kind of movie I’m interested in. I’m not the romantic-comedy-happy-ending kind of girl. So if you are anything like me I am sure you’ll love “Winter’s Bone”.

***

I baked Flo Braker’s tea almond cake a couple of weeks ago and after that I started obsessing with almond cakes in general (the one on “Tartine” is next on my list); therefore, when I saw this almond and raisins cake on Gina DePalma’s wonderful “Dolce Italiano” I immediately marched to the kitchen to prepare it. The cake is very tasty, with great texture, but I think that an extra handful of raisins would make it even better.

Almond and raisin cake
slightly adapted from the delicious Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen

½ cup (120ml) Marsala wine
½ cup (77g) golden raisins
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (25g) almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
100g (3 ½oz) almond paste – I used homemade
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22cm (9in) round cake pan*, line the bottom with baking paper, butter the paper as well and dust it all with flour, tapping out the excess.
Combine the Marsala with the raisins in a small saucepan and place over medium heat until the wine just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the almond past until smooth.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. On low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, beating well. Scrape the bowl again. Add the milk, beat well, then beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Switch to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds. Switch to low speed again and add the raisin and the wine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack. Cool completely.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) cake pan (7cm high)

Serves 8-10

Frangipane ripple chocolate pound cake

I love almonds – they’re my favorite nut. But for far too long I avoided recipes that called for almond paste because I’ve never seen the ingredient around here. Then it suddenly hit me: if I made eggnog from scratch for a pound cake recipe, why not almond paste? I do not know why it took my brain so long to come to that conclusion. :)

The homemade almond paste – recipe from this gorgeous book – is smooth, delicious and can be kept in the freezer for a good while. And if you’re not convinced of making your own almond paste yet, take a look at this chocolate cake. ;)

Speaking of avoiding things, I’ve heard some people are avoiding "The Artist" because it’s: a) a silent movie, b) a b&w movie, c) a silent and b&w movie. I feel sorry for those people, really do. Because they’re missing a spectacular film, so beautifully made, with fantastic performances – I left the theater completely in love with both Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin – and a great story. Something I’d never seen before, so moving and entertaining at the same time. But what do I know, right? I’m just a girl who likes to bake (frangipane ripple) cakes. :)

Frangipane ripple chocolate pound cake
from the always delicious and never failing Baking for All Occasions

Frangipane filling:
1/3 cup (33g) almond meal
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe follows
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened

Cake:
260g cake flour*
¾ cup (68g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
280g (10oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temperature

Make the frangipane: in a food processor, combine the almond meal, almond paste and sugar and process until well mixed. Add the egg and butter and process until smoothly blended. Cover and refrigerate while you make the cake batter.
Make the cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C/325°F if the pan has a dark finish). Butter and flour a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl again.
Remove the frangipane from the refrigerator. Spoon about 2 cups of the cake batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Spoon half of the frangipane in dollops over the center of the batter, and then spread it over the cake batter avoiding the center tube and sides of the pan. Spoon about 1 ½ cups of the batter evenly over the filling. Spoon the remaining frangipane over the batter, spreading it evenly. Spread the remaining batter over the top and spread evenly.
Bake the cake for about 60 minutes or until risen, the top springs back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.
Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if desired.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-15

Homemade almond paste
from the beautiful Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World

1 cup (100g) ground almonds
1/3 cup (46g) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg white, lightly whisked
½ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let paste come to room temperature before using it.

Makes ¾ cup dense, smooth paste