Daring Bakers' Challenge June 2012 - Battenberg Cake

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

 

This is my take on the traditional Battenberg cake.  In honor of my home state’s (and my favorite) flower, I call it the Black-Eyed Susan Battenberg Cake - you know, 'cause it's black and orange. 

Let’s allow the photos to do the talking today. 

Black-Eyed Susan Battenberg Cake (adapted from the Daring Kitchen)

1 ¼ c self-raising flour*

¾ c butter, softened & cubed

¾ c sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

½ c ground almonds

¾ t baking powder

½ t vanilla extract

¼ t orange extract

Zest of half an orange

¼ t almond extract

¼ c cocoa

* In place of self-raising flour, add 1 ½ t baking powder and ½ t salt for every cup of flour.

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, then line with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle with foil.

Beat together flour, butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds, baking powder, and vanilla extract just until combined.

Place half of the batter into another bowl and stir in orange zest and extract.  If desired, add gel food coloring to create the perfect orange hue.

In the original bowl, stir almond extract and cocoa into the remaining batter.

Spread the orange batter in one half of the pan and the chocolate batter in the other side, making sure batter is in each corner.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake springs back from a light touch. 

After the cakes have cooled, cut each one into two long strips, making sure all four pieces are even.

Crumb coat each strip of cake and stick together in a checkerboard pattern.

Dust a flat surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll marzipan into a rectangle.

Wrap the cake in marizpan.

Slice off the ends to reveal the gorgeous cake and enjoy!

Tropical Nazook

There are sooo many fabulous recipes out there I want to try (thank you, Pinterest for leading me to a plethora of fabulous blogs and baking sites) that I hate to repeat myself. However, when you find a particularly tasty recipe, a little repetition is in order.  And I did shake things up just a bit.

Since I was headed to the beach last weekend to celebrate 50 bazillion* family birthdays, I decided to create a tropical version of nazook (remember April’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge?) with lime, coconut, and macadamia nuts.

The result was a subtle, but scrumptious dessert – if I do say so myself.

Tropical Nazook (adapted from April 2012 Daring Bakers’ Challenge, hosted by Jason at DailyCandor.com)

Pastry dough

3 c flour, sifted

2 ½ t (1 package) active dry yeast

1 c sour cream

1 c butter, room temperature

Filling (this is where I got creative)

1 c flour

1 c sugar

½ c shredded coconut

½ c finely chopped macadamia nuts

zest of 1 lime

¾ c butter, room temperature

2 t coconut extract (or vanilla)

Glaze

¾ c powdered sugar

Juice and zest of 1 lime

½ to 1 T milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and yeast.  Add butter and sour cream and combine to form a dough. Then with dough hooks, knead for about 10 minutes. You can add a little more flour if the dough remains sticky.

Cover and refrigerate dough 3-5 hours or overnight.

To make the filling, combine all ingredients until the mixture looks like clumpy, damp sand.

 

When the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°.

Divide the dough into quarters and form each of the quarters into a ball. Lightly flour your working surface.

One at a time, roll the dough into a large rectangle. You want the dough to be thin, but not transparent.

Evenly spread one-quarter of the filling mixture over the dough.  Leave about a 1-inch margin on the long ends of the rectangle, but spread the filling to the edges of the short ends.

From a long side, slowly roll the dough into a long log, being careful to keep the filling evenly distributed. Gently press down the log to flatten it slightly and slice into 10 pieces.

Place the slices on an ungreased baking sheet and bake about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to cooling racks.

Once the pastries have cooled, make the glaze.  In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest.  Stir in ½ to 1 T milk, to desired consistency.

Drizzle glaze over the pastries and enjoy!

 

* Okay, technically only four birthdays and Father’s Day, but that’s still a whole lotta presents to haul to the ocean.  AND, a happy birthday to my beautiful cousin who turned 21 this week!