Cinnamon Almond Cake

 

 

 

When I think of Christmas, I think of warm, rich aromas. What could be more "Christmasy" than cinnamon and almond together.  A rather plain cake, but small cinnamon-almond slices are enough.

 

 

cinnamon almond cake

Cook time: 20 prep + 30-40 min cook

Serves:8-10

recipe courtesy of Nigella

Ingredients:

8 egg whites 

150g castor sugar 

few drops of almond essence

zest of 1 orange

125ml mild olive oil 

150g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

100g flaked almonds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

icing sugar, to decorate

1 22cm springform cake tin

   Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and grease the springform cake tin (or use a special baking spray) and line the base with baking parchment.
2. In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are opaque and start to hold their shape, then slowly add the sugar, whisking until it’s all incorporated and the mixture is thick and shiny. Add the almond essence and the orange zest. Then, in about 3 goes each, alternately whisk in the oil and the ground almonds (mixed with the baking powder) until they are both smoothly incorporated into the meringue.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then mix together the flaked almonds and cinnamon and sprinkle them over the top of the cake.
   Bake for 35-40 minutes (though start checking at 30), by which time the top should have risen and be set and the almonds become golden, and a cake tester should come out clean, barring the odd almondy crumb.
4. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its tin on a wire rack. Once it is no longer hot, spring open the sides of the tin, but don’t try to remove the cake from the base until properly cool.
   When you are ready to serve, push the icing sugar through a sieve and over the cake to create a snowy effect, and take to the table.

baked caramel cheesecake

So I bumped into an ex-colleague of mine the other day, started chatting, and realised that we both loved to cook. She proceeded to show me pictures of her marvellous creations of what she had recently baked. Wow, she's good! Needless to say, I asked her for a few recipes and this was one of them.
So it was National Braai Day yesterday, and my list of "things to bring" to a little braai was dessert, and of course cheesecake being one of my TOP 5 cakes, there was no question of what I would bake.
After reading the ingredients I was expecting a sickly sweet, rich  "cut me a very thin slice" kinda cheesecake, but I was remarkably surprised. This turned out to be a lovely and light cheesecake with a hint of caramel flavour. Thank you Jeane-Marie for sharing this recipe with me.

Baked Caramel Cheesecake

Recipe type: Cake, Baked goods

Cook time:  ± 70 minutes

Serves: 8 (1x 22cm Cake)

Ingredients:

crust

200gr packet of Nuttikrust biscuits, finely crushed

50gr melted butter

5ml ground cinnamon

filling

125ml sour cream

500gr cream cheese

1 tin caramel condensed milk / Caramel Treat

3 extra large eggs

30ml custard powder

30ml brandy

Instructions

Crust:

Combine all the ingredients and press onto the base of a greased, loose-bottomed cake tin.

  

Filling:

·         Beat the sour cream, cream cheese and caramel condensed milk together.

·         Add the eggs one at a time, beating well until smooth and there are no lumps.

·         Blend together the custard powder and brandy, and beat into the cheese mixture.

 

     Pour the filling onto the biscuit crust and bake at 160 for 45 minutes.

·         Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 20 – 30 minutes or until set.

·         If it doesn’t seem to set at this point, don’t worry – it will set as it cools. Let the cake cool in the tin, it “cracks”  slightly if it’s still hot.

·         Store in the fridge.

the ultimate lemon tart

One of my absolute favourites. Lemon in food - LOVE! So when i came across this recipe, I knew I had to try.

I was expecting the "ultimate" as the name suggested; a light pastry with the tartness and sweetness of the lemon filling (this reminded me of my childhood and my Mom's Lemon Meringue Pie) and that's just what I got! I loved this recipe and will most certainly bake it again. I served it as a desert after a dinner party, accompanied with a vanilla cream, but it would be great for an afternoon tea. I hope you enjoy.

The ultimate Lemon Tart (Recipe adjusted from the simply-delicious food blog)

Recipe type: Tart, Pastry, Baked goods,

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  50 mins

Total time:  1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 1x 28cm tart

Ingredients

for the sweet shortcrust pastry

• 125g cold butter, cubed
• 200g flour
• 50g icing sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg yolk
• 2T ice water

for the filling

• 250ml cream
• 125g sugar
• 4 Jumbo, free range eggs
• 125ml lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, combine the butter, icing sugar, flour and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Pulse until the mixture resembles rough bread crumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk and with the blender running, pour in the water, spoon by spoon until the mixture comes together in a ball.
4. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 180°c. Roll the chilled pastry out on a floured surface and press into the 28cm tart case.
6. Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes then remove the baking paper and baking beans and return the pastry back to the oven for another 10 minutes to finish baking.
7. Remove and set aside while you make the filling. Turn the oven down to 100°c.
8. For the filling, heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan, do not allow to boil.
9. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.
10. When the cream is hot, slowly pour into the eggs, whilst continuously whisking.
11. Pour in the lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.
12. Strain the mixture into a jug and carefully pour into the baked tart cases.
13. Bake the tart for 50 minutes until the edges are set and the centre is still slightly jiggly.
14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge to cool completely.
15. When you are ready to serve, slice the tart and serve with a dusting of icing sugar.

Notes: 

The pastry. This was an awesome recipe. The lemon zest gave it life. It was light and crispy - perfect for the lemon filling.

The Finished product !