Marsala Walnut Cake Recipes

APRICOT AND WALNUT ROLL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line the bottom with parchment paper, allowing it to extend slightly over the short sides. Butter paper, and set sheet aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg yolks on medium speed until light, about 4 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and beat until thick and creamy, about 3 more minutes. Stir in vanilla extract.
• Into a small bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt. With machine running, gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture. Beat just until smooth.
• Place egg whites in the clean bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk egg whites on medium speed until they are stiff but not dry, about 3 minutes. Fold a third of stiffened egg whites into batter to lighten; then gently fold in remaining whites, being careful not to flatten batter by overmixing. Lightly fold in walnuts.
• Spread the batter evenly on prepared pan, covering all corners. Bake about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and loosen edges of cake with a knife. Invert the pan onto a clean towel that has been liberally dusted with confectioners? sugar. Peel off parchment paper. With a serrated knife, trim about 1/2 inch of the browned and hardened edges off cake.
• Using a brush, soak warm cake with Marsala or sherry, and spread the jam evenly on top. Starting from one of the shorter sides, carefully roll the cake gently but firmly. Place rolled cake on a serving platter, seam side down, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. When ready to serve, use a serrated knife to slice roll into 1-inch-thick servings.

MASALA-CHAI CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• To make the cake, add the tea bags to a mug of the boiling water and let them steep for 5 minutes before discarding the bags. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and cardamom. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, add the muscovado sugar, eggs and tea, mixing until combined before stirring in the oil. Tip in the carrots and fold them in so they're evenly distributed. Fold in the flour mixture until just incorporated, making sure there are no pockets of flour hiding near the bottom.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cakes are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans, then turn them out onto a rack.
• To make the frosting, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until pale and smooth. Beat in the cream cheese until combined.
• To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake stand. Spoon one-third of the frosting on top and push right to the edges. Place the second cake topside down in order to give you a flat top. Add the rest of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula. Scatter the walnuts on top of the cake.

MARSALA WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• 1 Place the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 2-inch round baking pan. 2 In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 3 In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs until foamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until thick and pale yellow. Beat in the oil and Marsala. Fold in the dry ingredients until blended. Stir in the walnuts. 4 Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 5 Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before serving. Store covered with an inverted bowl at room temperature up to 3 days. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MARSALA COOKIES

Steps:

• 1 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets. 2 In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour 1/2 cup of the sugar into a small bowl and 1/4 cup of the Marsala into another. 3 In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until well blended. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of Marsala, the oil, and the vanilla extract. With a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients. Knead briefly until well blended and shape the dough into a ball. 4 Divide the dough into 6 sections. Cut one section into 8 pieces. Roll each piece between your palms into a 4 × 1/2-inch log. Shape the log into a ring, pinching the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough. 5 Dip the top or bottom of each ring first in the wine, then in the sugar. Place the rings sugar-side up and 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Have ready 2 wire cooling racks. 6 Transfer the baking sheets to the racks. Let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to the wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.