Miniature Almond Cakes With Sugared Cherries And Kirsch Cream Recipes

ALMOND CAKE WITH KIRSCH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Dust pan with flour; tap out excess. Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until light and creamy. Add almond paste, 1 piece at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in kirsch, almond extract and salt. Mix flour and baking powder in small bowl; add to batter. Beat just until blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
• Bake cake until top is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
• Transfer cake to platter. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

MINI ALMOND CAKES WITH CHOCOLATE OR CHERRY

Steps:

• Make the chocolate ganache, if using: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat cream until bubbling (or place the cream in a glass measuring cup and heat it in the microwave). Remove from heat, add chocolate and let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Transfer chocolate to a small container (preferably metal) and freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Scoop and roll into 3/4-inch balls. Note that the ganache is very soft and can be messy to handle, but getting perfectly round balls isn't necessary. Place in refrigerator until needed. Ganache balls can be prepared up to 1 week ahead.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin.
• Using a food processor or blender, mix almond flour, confectioners' sugar and salt until powdery, about 30 seconds. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth, 30 seconds longer. Pulse in butter, cornstarch and baking powder. Scrape mixture into a large bowl.
• Using a beaters or an electric mixer, whip egg whites until very foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar while beating eggs until stiff peaks form.
• Using a spatula, gently and carefully fold a third of the egg whites into almond mixture to lighten it. Then, fold in the rest of the whites just until no streaks remain.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Pull balls of ganache from refrigerator, if using, and place 1 ball in center of each cake, pushing it down halfway into batter. Or spoon 1 teaspoon cherry jam on top of each cake; do not push down. Return to oven and bake until light brown and a toothpick inserted into cake (and not the chocolate or cherry) comes out clean, another 8 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, preferably within 8 hours of baking.

GLAZED ALMOND MINI CAKES

Steps:

• Set an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease the bottom of an 8-by-12 inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment. Then grease and flour the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.
• For the cake: sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the salt and stir to combine.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 1 cup of butter and sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, as needed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on medium speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine. On low speed, mix in half of the flour mixture, then mix in the milk. Mix in remaining flour mixture until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, then unmold and cool completely.
• To make the cake filling, using a serrated knife, cut the cake into an 8x8-inch square. Set aside. Crumble the portion of the cake that was removed and reserve 2 1/2 cups. Add the remainder of the cake crumbs to a large mixing bowl along with the remaining 1/4 cup melted butter, jam and almonds. Mix well (your hands are the best tool here) to make a spreadable filling.
• To assemble the cake, use a serrated knife to split the cake crosswise into 2 halves. Arrange both halves so they're facing cut-side up. Brush the cake with about 2/3 of the cooled almond syrup. With a small offset spatula, gently spread the jammy filling over the entire bottom half of the cake and top with the top half of the cake, cut side down. Press gently to adhere. Flip the cake so the flat bottom is now facing up, to create a flat top. Freeze the cake until firm, 1 hour.
• With a serrated knife, cut off the rough sides on the frozen cake and cut into 16 squares. Set the cake on a cooling rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Coat the cakes 1 at a time by pouring the icing around the edges and letting it drip down to coat the sides, then fill in the top. (Set the bowl over hot water and stir if it begins to thicken before you are done.) Top with sprinkles or non pareils before the icing begins to set.
• Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat and cook to dissolve the sugar, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the almond extract and stir to combine. Cool completely.
• Melt the chocolate chips or candy melts in a double boiler and stir until smooth.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the confectioner's sugar, corn syrup, hot water and vanilla. Mix on low speed until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and continue to mix to make a very smooth, pourable icing, about the consistency of molasses. Add food coloring as desired.