Tiramisu cake

I made this cake as a present for a house-warming party. It was a first time I made tiramisu in a cake form, so I modified my classic recipe a little bit to make it work. I added gelatine to keep it stay and for the stronger texture.

Ingredients:

2 ready made round sponges (21cm diameter and about 3-4cm thick)
1,5 package lady-fingers biscuits
1 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (I used Dutch-processed)

Tiramisu cream:
250g mascarpone,
250ml heavy cream,
3 eggs,
100ml Kahlua (any coffee liqueur or Irish Cream would work well)
1 leaf gelatine (you can add 1 more leaf for stronger texture or for the summer time),
1/2 cup caster sugar,
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla essence,


Soak gelatine leaf in cold water. Set aside.
Put the mascarpone in a small bowl and gently fold in the liqueur and vanilla seeds (or vanilla essence). Set aside.
Put the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar on a double boiler and whisk until sugar dissolved and mixture is hot on touch. Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy then gently fold in the mascarpone mixture.
Whip the cream until soft peaks and fold in the mascarpone mixture.
Drain the water from the gelatine and dissolve it in microwave or over a double boiler.
Whip the egg whites until soft peaks, continuing whipping slowly add the dissolved gelatine and whip until glossy. Slowly fold in the mascarpone mixture.


Syrup:

100ml strong espresso,
4 tbsp sugar,
50ml Kahlua.

Mix all ingredients and stir until sugar dissolved. Allow to cool.

To assemble:
Put one circle of sponge on the bottom of 23cm spring-form cake pan. Arrange lady-finger biscuits around the sides of the pan. Moist the sponge with prepared syrup then cover with the half of mascarpone cream. Cover with second sponge, moist it with the syrup then cover with the remaining mascarpone cream. Dust over with the cocoa powder. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes and Cake

I made those cupcakes for our St. Patrick's Day lunch which we have every year in our company. I always bring something sweet. So this year I decided to make green cupcakes. Yum!

Orange and almond cupcakes:
100 gr. butter at room temperature,
1 egg,
5 egg yolks (keep egg whites for butter cream),
1 1/2 cups sugar,
grated zest of 1/2 orange,
1 tsp orange essence,
100 ml cream,
100 ml milk,
2 cups plain flour,
1 cup ground almonds,
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp green food colouring.

Preheat oven to 170C. Prepare a muffin pan and cases.

Whip the butter until light and fluffy, add sugar and beat until pale. Add egg and egg yolks one at the time beating well after each addition.

Mix cream, milk, orange essence, food colouring and orange zest. In a different bowl mix almonds, flour and baking powder.

Add liquid and flour mixtures to the butter and eggs each in three batches starting and finishing with the flour.

Divide the butter between muffin cases and bake for about 20 min.


Swiss meringue butter cream (Recipe by Martha Stewart):  
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.

2.Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.

And finally, the cake! 
Made from the same butter and the same butter cream. Just covered with fondant and decorated with shamrocks. I'm not really good in this sort of cake decorations, but I think it's still cute. No?