Amaretti and raspberry cake

When I was deciding what cake to make for my friend's birthday last week I wanted something a little lighter, a little less intense. I'm still feeling aftershocks from Christmas overindulgence. I wouldn't describe this cake as light exactly, but the fruit does help offset the richness a little.

I was try to replicate the flavour of amaretti cookies, which have a strong, slightly bitter almond flavour. Use a really good quality almond extract, some of the cheaper (artificial) almond extracts are too wimpy and bland.

Almond and vanilla cake

adapted from

Baked

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups ice water

3 egg whites

Mix flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter and the shortening. Add the sugar and the vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the egg and just combine. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture and water in turns. Scrape the bowl to ensure everything is mixed properly.

In a clean bowl, beat the eggs until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into the batter until just combined.

Divide batter between two 6 inch cake pans lined with parchment (I make a few cupcakes with any leftover batter) and bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake come to room temperature then c

ut into very thin layers.

Freeze cake layers, wrapped well in cling wrap.

Amarretti frosting

adapted from smitten kitchen

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 egg whites

2 1/3 cups butter

1/2 vanilla bean innards

1 tsp almond extract

In a very clean, dry, heat proof bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Set bowl over a large saucepan of simmering water, whisking constantly. When the sugar granules dissolve, remove the pan from the heat and wipe the water from the bottom of the bowl. Pour egg mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer whip the eggs until they about double in size. Add the butter, a little at a time. The mixture will very likely break and start to look like a scrambled leaky mess. Keep whipping, it should come back together.

Raspberry filling

1 cup raspberry jam

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

juice of one lemon

a little water

Put everything into a saucepan and cook on medium heat. Mash the raspberries a little so they are still a little chunky. Let cool.

ombre frosting

Test pattern: I like to practice new frosting designs

on a piece of parchment before I try it on a cake.

Assembly

Spread a layer of raspberry filling onto a cake layer, top with another cake layer spread with frosting. Alternate cake layers with either filling until you run out of cake layers. Chill cake for 30 minutes.

Frost the cake with a thin quick layer of frosting to seal in the crumbs. Don't worry about making this layer too pretty. Chill again for 30 minutes.

Put about 1/3 cup frosting in a small bowl, add 1-2 drops red food colouring mix well. Repeat with more frosting, adding a little more colouring each time. You want to end up with three different shades of pink to red. Pipe a line of the darkest colour frosting around the bottom of the cake, smooth with an offset spatula. Work your way up the cake, adding lighter shades of frosting as you move up. Blend the edges between the different colours to give a softer fade. Use remaining white frosting to touch up the top of the cake.

Caramel is a tricky filling for macarons; it's a little too gushy on its own. Caramel flavoured frostings are often a little anemic and flavourless. I tried to make these strongly flavoured, deeply caramely and pointedly salty. You can reduce the salt if your sucré-salé tastes lean a little more to sucré. I like to taste the salt.

Macarons are notoriously finicky but there are a few things that seem to help them turn out more consistently.

Cooking notes:

When making macarons, it is important to use absolutely clean and dry bowls, whisks, spatulas. If a drop of water or grease gets into the egg whites, they will not whip up properly.
If you are using whole eggs, separate them in advance, preferably a day in advance, and store them in the fridge an airtight container. Bring to room temperature before using.
I prefer to use boxed egg whites, which don't need to be aged and avoid wasting lots of yolks.
I recommend that you make a size template to work from on a sheet of white paper. Trace 1.5 inch circles, evenly spaced, onto a piece of paper. Place it under the parchment before piping the macaron shells to follow for size and spacing.
The resting phase after piping the batter helps the macarons form feet properly by drying them out slightly. This way the whole outer skin lifts away when baking and allows feet to form .
Folding the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites is called macaronage. It is important not to under or over mix the batter. Under mixing will result in macarons which are not smooth and have a texture too much like a traditional meringue. Over mixing will result in a too loose, runny batter.

Macaron shells:

adapted from canelle et vanille

100 grams egg white
50 grams granulated sugar
110 grams almond flour
190 grams powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla powder, or innards of 1/2 vanilla bean
vanilla salt (flaky salt mixed with a generous pinch of vanilla powder)

Mix together almond flour, vanilla powder and powdered sugar and sift or whisk thoroughly to avoid clumps. Set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl whisk egg whites on high speed. Add granulated sugar a little at a time. Mix until the eggs form stiff peaks.

Fold almond mixture into meringue gently. Keep an eye on the texture of the batter. You are aiming for flowing not runny. It is correct when a spoonful of batter slowly smooths itself when dropped on a plate. If it doesn't smooth into a glossy dome it needs more folding; if it smooths out very quickly, it is probably over mixed.

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip with batter. Pipe onto parchment paper, following your template. Pipe the batter slightly smaller than the template; they will spread slightly. Sprinkle vanilla salt over piped cookies. Leave them for about an hour to dry.

Bake for 10 minutes in a 300 degree oven, turning once to brown evenly. If the shells stick to the parchment paper, cook for a couple more minutes.

Salted Caramel adapted from Chubby Hubby

200 grams sugar
200 grams cream
150 grams butter
generous pinch of fleur de sel, or two or three
pinch of vanilla powder

Melt sugar in a medium pot over medium high heat, stirring constantly. When the sugar has melted and reached a nut brown colour, remove from heat and slowly add cream. The caramel will bubble vigorously and maybe seize a little. Lower heat and stir pot until sugar melts again. Add the butter, salt and vanilla and stir until butter melts. Chill caramel in the fridge before adding to frosting.

Salted caramel buttercream:

1/3 cup butter
3 cups icing sugar
1-2 tbs milk
salted caramel

Slowly cream together sugar and butter, adding milk a tablespoon at a time, to make a stiff buttercream. When combined, turn mixer up to high speed and cream for a couple more minutes until fluffy. Add salted caramel a little at a time. The aim is to add as much caramel as possible without making the buttercream too runny. It's a balance; add a little caramel at a time, whip and then add a little more.

Pipe frosting onto macaron shells and sandwich together. They are best after a day resting in the fridge. Let the macarons come to room temperature before serving.