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What Makes A Good Fruit Cake Taste Good Recipe - Yahoo Recipe Search
YummlyThis traditional French cake (there’s a similar Sicilian version), is simplicity at its finest, though the preparation is a little strange. Oranges are boiled whole, then puréed in their entirety and mixed with eggs to create an incredibly moist, rich cake with a sunny orange flavor. Perfect for brunch or any time you’ve got some fragrant fruit on hand. _Whole oranges? What about the pith! Or the seeds? Won’t it be bitter?_ This cake has that exquisite French quality of not being bothered by silly things like rules or limitations— with delicious results. While the pith and the seeds of citrus are notably bitter, boiling them for an extended period of time mellows that away until all you taste is bright, clean orange. And you don’t lose any of the nutrients in the fruit. The humble ingredients and effortless techniques (boil water, push buttons on a food processor, grease a cake pan, open and close the oven door a couple times) lets anyone envision themselves in a rustic French farmhouse, casually throwing together a delicious treat from a few simple, fresh ingredients. _Five eggs? Isn’t that a lot?_ Some versions of this recipe call for a full half-dozen! Using five eggs produces a cake that is moist and almost custardy, and inadvertently packs a lot of protein into a decadent dessert— having a slice with breakfast or brunch isn’t unreasonable at all. _Orange, eggs, sugar and a little flour— this sounds a lot like a soufflé?_ It’s very similar, at least in the ingredient list! Except this recipe is the easy, somewhat lazy, no-muss no-fuss version. Traditional soufflé technique calls for separating the egg whites and beating them until they form stiff peaks, then carefully folding them into the rest of the batter (which would merely contain citrus zest and a little juice). A soufflé could never support the weight of an entire orange’s fiber. The texture of this cake is closer to a fallen, dense soufflé-custard hybrid— and requires no elaborate technique to prepare. _Can I use any oranges for this? What about those tiny clementines?_ Any regular-sized orange will be delicious in this recipe: Naval oranges will taste bright and turn it a glorious sunrise color, a cake from blood oranges will be more complex and may turn a little pink, and Cara Cara oranges will produce a clean, nearly candy-like sweetness. Smaller varieties won’t work so well— the ratio of peel and pith to pulp throws off its balance and produces a not so good cake. _That isn’t much flour. Is it really enough?_ The little bit of flour helps provide structure for the batter as it cooks, and ensures a more evenly baked cake without having to use a bain marie (water bath around the cake pan). Any more flour and it would change the crumb and make a leavening agent necessary. _Jägermeister? In a cake? Is that a joke?_ While many people think of this spirit as existing in a “Shots!” milieu, full of inebriated guys and gals throwing it back right before the night takes a raucous turn, it’s actually a multifaceted liquor with a lot of botanicals (including super sweet orange peel from Ghana). In this cake, it blends in gently and gives the orange flavor a depth and fascinating complexity it won’t have otherwise. If you want to double down on orange, substituting Grand Marnier will make the flavor pop, but not quite as interesting. Keeping the liquor cabinet closed? The cake will still be bright, delicious, and sing of oranges with every bite. _The water left behind after boiling the oranges smells amazing. Do I have to throw it out?_ It makes a great cup of black tea, or a wonderful base for chai to sip while you’re waiting for the cake to bake. You could also toss in a cinnamon stick or few slices of fresh ginger while the oranges boil for a home that smells like a holiday. _Recipe adapted from the original source by Tory Davis. Photo by Miha Matei Photography_Food52There’s certain, let’s say, obsessive trait that is common to chefs and producers. I prefer to call it passion. It was no surprise that at one point in my career I toyed with the idea of recreating myself as a pastry chef. In my off time I took any pastry and baking class I could get my hands on. I baked wedding cakes for friends as their wedding gift and took it a step further by baking my own wedding cake. What was I thinking? Right, that passion thing. It is no accident that a highlight of co-producing an NPR radio series was sharing recipes with guest Nora Ephron. Although I can cover a skyscraper sized a cake with sugar flowers and lace piping, at the end of the day the best tasting cake is my mother Sally’s pound cake. You know the cake. The ever-satisfying comfort cake and a sure thing for any holiday, housewarming or Shiva . My family calls it Sally’s Pound Cake. Disclosure -it’s not her recipe, but, over time and enough claiming it became Sally’s Pound Cake. At one point it was called Sally’s Golden Feathery Pound Cake but I thought that was taking it too far. The recipe was shared with her by an acquaintance Sis – it didn’t take long before Sis was out of the pound cake picture and it was all Sally’s. It’s so 60’s that Presto flour is an ingredient – Presto can still be found in any grocery store worth it’s salt. It is the little black dress of pound cakes. Simple and elegant on it’s own, but, accessorized with fruit, cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce it is a grand finale for any dinner party. It is the thing that memories are made of when day old and toasted with a slather of butter and good conversation. I mix the batter in her green Pyrex bowl and bake the cake in the same tube pan she used . You should use your Kitchen Aid, but, for me that would be less Zen. After all, it’s a sentimental cake. It has lots of butter and lots of heart.Food52It’s apple season! A fruit that honestly I'm pretty tired of; but, they are around and they are abundant and when they’re good they’re good. This cake has all the fall hits; cinnamon, cardamom, maple syrup, flannels. Apples are a tough one for me. When they see heat, they become leathery and almost unsightly inedible to me. The great thing about this cake is that it sauces itself, dressing the apples and keeping the cake moist. When it comes to the spices to use; use whatever you want. Obviously cinnamon is everywhere in the fall and for pretty good reason, it’s warming and it goes a long way when cooked with. A spice that I find to be often swept under the rug is cardamom. Cardamom is a seed, native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is more citrusy and herbal which compliment apples like Wayne compliments Nicki. The type of apple that you use really doesn’t matter, but what does matter is that it is not the best apple you can find. Like all fruit in baking, you really want to find fruit that is a little dinged up. Really good in season fruits and vegetables should just be eaten raw. Galas are aplenty and everywhere so they are really I think the best choice. Some contenders; Honey Golds, fujis, red delicious. I would honestly stay away from baking with granny smith and honey crisps. They should be eaten raw, honey crisps just like a normal apple and granny smiths shaved thinly on a salad. Maple Syrup. Real maple syrup is gross. Sorry I actually do make the rules because it’s my recipe. Use it if you want but I won't be. Corn syrup is also gross, which is the bulk of mass consumer maple syrup. Find one in the middle that you like and go for it. No cake is better than pie, but it is faster than pie. The great thing is that this tastes like fall apple pie in a quarter of a time. Serve it with vanilla ice cream (the best ice cream, don't come for me). It’s a good time and so is fall.EpicuriousUnder all the whipped cream icing of the Black Forest cake are three layers of chocolate génoise soaked in kirsch. My father finished his génoise by hand, using a huge whisk with widely spaced wires to fold the flour and then the butter into the batter with big, efficient strokes so it would not deflate. On a daily basis, he would grab one of us kids to help. He sifted the flour, cocoa, and salt onto a sheet of parchment paper. When he was ready, my brother or I would hold the parchment paper folded above the bowl and tap the flour over the batter while Dad folded it in, telling us to tap faster or slower. As with many fancy cakes, the assembly is easy; it just takes lots of words to describe. Once you have baked the cake, you have completed the part that needs the greatest attention. The cake s flavor develops as the kirsch soaks into the layers. Give the finished cake a minimum of four hours in the refrigerator before serving, but it s even better made a whole day in advance. My recipe uses home-preserved sour cherries. But if you want to make this cake and did not start in June during cherry season, you still have plenty of options. You can use fresh or frozen fruit or shop for jars of preserved sour cherries such as morello and amarena cherries. Depending on what you find, the syrup will contain more or less sugar, so be sure to taste first and adjust your ingredients accordingly. (See the Note on the next page for details on substitutions.) A good Black Forest cake should be very moist and have a distinct kirsch flavor. So be sure to use good-quality kirsch.EpicuriousUnder all the whipped cream icing of the Black Forest cake are three layers of chocolate génoise soaked in kirsch. My father finished his génoise by hand, using a huge whisk with widely spaced wires to fold the flour and then the butter into the batter with big, efficient strokes so it would not deflate. On a daily basis, he would grab one of us kids to help. He sifted the flour, cocoa, and salt onto a sheet of parchment paper. When he was ready, my brother or I would hold the parchment paper folded above the bowl and tap the flour over the batter while Dad folded it in, telling us to tap faster or slower. As with many fancy cakes, the assembly is easy; it just takes lots of words to describe. Once you have baked the cake, you have completed the part that needs the greatest attention. The cake s flavor develops as the kirsch soaks into the layers. Give the finished cake a minimum of four hours in the refrigerator before serving, but it s even better made a whole day in advance. My recipe uses home-preserved sour cherries. But if you want to make this cake and did not start in June during cherry season, you still have plenty of options. You can use fresh or frozen fruit or shop for jars of preserved sour cherries such as morello and amarena cherries. Depending on what you find, the syrup will contain more or less sugar, so be sure to taste first and adjust your ingredients accordingly. (See the Note on the next page for details on substitutions.) A good Black Forest cake should be very moist and have a distinct kirsch flavor. So be sure to use good-quality kirsch.Food and WineBaked ricotta may be my favorite dessert—it's light, not too sweet, easy to make, and, most importantly, it's downright delicious. And if that's not enough, the thin, pudding-like cake tastes even better when you bake it ahead of time. It also provides an ideal platform for seasonal produce (like the rhubarb here), so you can make it all year round and never grow tired of it. You can even play around with the flavorings (swap in orange or lime zest for the lemon, add rum in place of vanilla, use maple in place of honey, and so on) according to your tastes and the fruit accompaniment. Really, the only element that you need to be strict about is finding good-quality fresh ricotta.In Italy, where ricotta originated, the fluffy, fresh cheese was traditionally made by curdling whey, a byproduct of Pecorino and mozzarella cheesemaking, and then draining the fresh curds to create a pillowy, spoonable cheese. Today, most ricotta producers both in Italy and domestically augment the whey with milk or cream to create a creamier-tasting cheese. Many commercial producers also abridge the draining step, adding stabilizers to prevent the cheese from separating, leaving a much wetter, blander-tasting product. When shopping for ricotta to highlight in this dessert (or anywhere you want a better-tasting end result), it's worth the trouble and added expense to track down a brand made with nothing more than whey, cream, or milk; vinegar or rennet (which help form the curds); and maybe a little salt. Galbani is a good, readily accessible brand. If you're shopping at a well-stocked cheese shop, you may find ricotta labeled “basket-drained,” which refers to a traditional method of ensuring the cheese isn't wet and waterlogged. And if you're really lucky, you'll find sheep's milk ricotta, prized for its richness and tantalizing sweet-tangy flavor. If top-quality ricotta is new to you, take a moment to taste it in its natural state before adding it to a recipe; you’ll immediately understand what the fuss is all about. Indeed, if you want an even simpler dessert than this baked ricotta, spread a little of the uncooked ricotta on a slice of toasted walnut bread and drizzle with honey. Or mix in a little cocoa powder and sugar, and you've got an instant chocolate pudding.Versions of this baked ricotta dessert exist all across the Mediterranean, but many include flour, more eggs, and more sugar, making them closer to an American-style cheesecake. I prefer this more restrained approach that creates a cake about the height of a thick pancake, because it's lighter, simpler, and it's a better showcase for the sweet taste of the fresh cheese, lightly perfumed with honey. The way I cook the rhubarb prevents the stalks from collapsing into a compote-like mush. Instead, by baking the rhubarb in a low oven, the stalks poach in their own juices, holding their shape. (Bonus: They can cook alongside the ricotta cake.) Adding lemon juice to already tart rhubarb may seem misguided, but the lemon snaps the flavors into bright focus. I like to tuck in a piece of star anise and cinnamon into the dish before baking to provide a whisper of spice; if you want more, add a pinch of their ground counterparts instead. Both the ricotta cake and rhubarb taste best when left to cool before serving, or even with a light chill, making this the perfect start to a season of warm-weather eating.Food.comThis mousse is very nice for any time of day, it's not too sweet, but definatly sweet enough for a desert, you can try adding things such as Whipped cream and fruit, a fruit sauce, or even just some extra sugar for a different taste, very easy to make, and even the kids can help out with the whisking. I got this recipe out of a manga book called Kitchen Princess by Natsumi Ando and Miyuki Kobayashi. Extra note from recipe: "Yogurt is made with fermented milk, Dairy bacteria is good for your stomach and insestines and works to regulate your immune system." And remember, as long as you keep the basic recipe the same, you can do what ever you like with thisa, some suggestions I got from my family when I served it to them was perhaps in a cannoli or in-between cake layers.Food52Here we go again, posting more dessert recipes when it is supposed to be “resolution month”! Don’t we ALL say “no more sweets EVER after Christmas, EVER?” Relate? I know, guilty as charged! I do break code with this recipe because of the simplicity, both in preparation and flavor (and because I honestly can’t resist some sweets in January). I make this torta anytime of the year and feel good about indulging, not heavy on sugar or flour and the texture of the fruit is magnificent. I know I am prejudice but Italians really are brilliant and I LOVE their choices of desserts, enhancement at the end of a meal NOT complete gluttony. ONE of the many many reasons I am so very proud of my heritage….so tough to be so perfect…LOL I came up with this yummy dessert after an Italian friend of mine told me about a torte di mele that her mother made back home in Milan. It sounded SO amazing and I knew I could figure a way re-create something close…at least I hoped since I hadn’t actually tasted or seen her version. What did I have to lose? Certainly, my January resolution….. Whether it was luck or not I’ll never know but what came out of the oven was something close to sugar cookie crust topped with soft, sweet apples…..I then finished it with raw sugar and a little cinnamon. I might have been able to pass it off as breakfast of champions but that might be pushing it. Nonetheless, it was spectacular…..really spectacular. So, it you didn’t make any resolutions or simply don’t care, make this and then eat it warm with a little vanilla gelato or mascarpone whip cream…you will thank me, I promise.Food.comI'm always looking for low calorie recipes duet to my ballet, and my parents are very supportive. My mom just remembered a recipe that my grandma (I call her 'tata', hence the name I gave it...) used to make, and I altered it to make it even more low calorie. It's baking in the oven right now, and it looks good! I'll let you know how it turned out! I also added ground lemon peel and a few sqeezes of lemon juice to taste; you can add any fruits, etc. I also put in some food coloring to add some fun. This is a good 'base' cake. Preparation and cooking time is approximated as I didn't keep track of that while making the cake. Cooking time does not include cooling. According what I calculated, the whole recipe is appx. 510 calories, so one serving if you cut it into 8 slices would be appx. 63.75 calories. Yay! An edit, after having tried it again: it does taste a bit eggy, feel free to expiriment and change the eggs a bit. I do like it, though, and the second time it turned out better than the first. It was amazing with pudding on top of it, and the whole pan got eaten up by friends. I will be making this many times and I will put up any improvements when I do encounter them.
