I tried these cakes with my mum and my daughter last
Christmas. They are tremendously energising, perfect for winter time when I
always feel the physical need to eat chocolate and other rich things.
Black
and white donut cake
This is composed of two cakes with rich textures
blended together, to make a typical winter treat. I didn’t have a ring-shaped
tin so I used a 23 cm cake tin with a glass in the middle to make the hole.
For the white cake you need:
200 g of flour, 150 g of caster sugar, 100 g of
ground almonds, 50 g of butter, 2 eggs, half a glass of milk, 1 tsp of baking
powder, half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda.
For the black cake you need:
200 g of flour, 150 g of dark muscovado sugar, 100 g
of ground walnuts, 50 g of butter, 2 eggs, half a glass of milk, 1 tsp of
baking powder, half a tsp of bicarbonate of soda, 2 tbsp of liquor.
Prepare the two cake separately. Soften the butter using
a wooden spoon, add the sugar and the yolk of the eggs. Then almonds (or
walnuts, and the liquor) and half of the flour. Mix the baking powder and
bicarbonate of soda with the milk and add it to the mixture with the rest of
the flour. Finally whip the egg whites until stiff and combine them to the
mixture. Grease the cake tin and the glass, pour the mixtures in, alternating
white and dark to give a marble effect. Bake for 50 minutes, at 180 °C. When
cool, dust with icing sugar.
Dark
chocolate and hazelnut cake
This is an ideal treat for icy weather.
You need: 200 g of flour, 150 g of light brown
sugar, 70 g of butter, four eggs, 150 g of melted dark chocolate, 100 g of
ground hazelnuts, half a glass of milk, one tsp of baking powder and half a tsp
of bicarbonate of soda; to decorate: 50 g of white chocolate, 50 g of dark
chocolate and 100 g of chopped hazelnuts.
Beat the butter soft and add the yolks of the eggs
and sugar. Melt the dark chocolate and stir it in, then add the ground
hazelnuts and half of the flour. Combine the baking powder and the bicarbonate
of soda with the milk and pour in the mixture. Finally whip the egg whites
until stiff and combine them to the mixture together with the rest of the
flour, mix well till smooth. Pour into a round greased tin and bake for half an
hour to forty five minutes at 180°C (check bake by poking it with a skewer
until it comes out clean). Melt the white and dark chocolate in separate pans
and mix the chopped hazelnut half in one and half in the other. When the cake
is cool spread the white and dark chocolate in patches or patterns on the top.
Chill before serving to let the top set.
Apple
Strudel
This is a classical recipe of a traditional Austrian
pudding very popular in Italy as well, especially in northern Italy near the
Austrian border. The dough is simple while the exquisite flavour is
concentrated in the filling made of apples and dried fruit.
For the dough you need:
350 g of flour, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 2 eggs, 150 ml
of lukewarm water, a pinch of salt.
For the filling you need:
800 g of Golden Delicious apples, 2 tsp of ground
cinnamon, the grated zest and the juice of a lemon, 100 g of breadcrumbs, 50 g
of pine nuts, 2 tbsp of liquor, 50 g of raisins, 100 g of sugar.
For the finish: 100 g of melted butter and icing
sugar to dust.
Mix all the ingredients for the dough in a bowl,
knead it for five minutes and let it rest for half an hour in a bowl covered
with a tea towel.
Prepare the filling by first peeling and coring the
apples, cutting them in pieces and then adding the zest and juice of the lemon.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and let it rest for a while.
Roll out the dough in the shape of a rectangle,
spread half of the butter on the dough and pour the apple mixture in the middle
of it. Roll up the sides of the pastry to wrap the filling and seal it. Brush
the rest of the melted butter on top and bake
for 45 minutes at 180 °C.
When cool, dust with icing sugar.
White
chocolate and almonds donut cake
This is a lighter cake compared to the others as I
used sunflower oil instead of butter.
You need: 250 g of flour, 4 eggs, 170 g of sugar, 4
tbsp of sunflower oil, 100 g of ground almonds, 100 g of ground white
chocolate, half a glass of milk, 1 tsp of baking powder, half a tsp of
bicarbonate of soda, some vanilla drops; to decorate: 100 g of white chocolate
plus one tbsp of milk and some flaked almonds.
Beat the yolk of the eggs with the sugar in a large
bowl till mixture becomes pale. Add the ground almonds, the sunflower oil, the
ground white chocolate and some vanilla drops. Combine the baking powder and
the bicarbonate of soda with the milk and pour this in the mixture. Finally add
the flour and the whipped egg whites (whipped till stiff). Bake for half an
hour to forty five minutes at 180°C until a skewer comes out clean. When cool,
melt a 100 g of white chocolate in a pan with a tbsp of milk and pour it on top
of the cake, then sprinkle some flaked almonds.
