Almond Praline Cake With Mascarpone Frosting And Chocolate Bark Recipes

Steps:

• Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Put chopped almonds In a skillet. Cook, stirring often over medium high heat, until golden brown. Remove from heat.
• In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt chocolate chips and shortening until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 the toasted almonds. Spread onto the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining almonds, and chill 30 minutes, or until solid. Break into bite-size pieces to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a baking sheet, and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
• Butter a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Spread toasted almonds in an even layer on pan. Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, brushing down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. Once sugar is dissolved, cook without stirring until sugar is deep amber. Add lemon juice; immediately pour over almonds, coating with a thin layer. If caramel doesn't cover all the nuts, tilt pan slightly to distribute, or stir in nuts with a wooden spoon, being careful not to touch caramel or hot pan. Cool completely. Gently twist pan to release praline. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Pour into four 8-oz. ramekins or custard cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with almonds; set aside. , In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Spoon over almonds. , Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of ramekins to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert plates. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make praline:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a baking pan toast nuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until almonds are lightly colored and hazelnut skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove any loose hazelnut skins (do not worry about skins that do not come off) and cool completely.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. In a small heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals that cling to side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden. Swirl pan until syrup is deep golden and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and pour praline onto baking sheet, spreading evenly. Cool praline completely and break into pieces. Transfer praline to a sealable plastic bag and with a rolling pin coarsely crush.
• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) and line bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
• Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan combine cocoa powder, butter, oil, and water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until smooth, and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and sugar, whisking until smooth, and transfer to a bowl. Cool chocolate mixture completely and whisk in egg. Sift flour and baking powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in buttermilk and pour batter into cake pan, spreading evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert cake onto rack. Discard paper. Cool cake completely and transfer to a plate. In a bowl stir together mascarpone and sugar. Spread mixture over top of cake and generously sprinkle with praline.

Steps:

• For ganache filling:.
• Simmer cream and sugar in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Chill until just spreadable, about 6 hours.
• For almond cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with parchment paper; dust pans with flour. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Using heavy-duty mixer, blend brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat in almond paste 1 piece at a time, then beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Fold in dry ingredients. Divide batter among pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack.
• For almond praline:.
• Line baking sheet with foil. Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until deep amber, swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush occasionally. Mix in nuts. Pour onto foil; cool. Peel foil off praline. Chop praline coarsely. DO AHEAD Praline can be made 1 day ahead; store airtight at room temperature.
• For mascarpone frosting:.
• Beat all ingredients in large bowl just to soft peaks (do not overbeat or mixture will curdle).
• Run knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out; peel off paper. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread half of ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining ganache over; sprinkle with 1/4 cup praline. Top with third cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Cake can be made 1 day ahead; cover with cake dome and chill. Store remaining praline airtight at room temperature.
• For chocolate bark:.
• Line baking sheet with foil. Melt chocolate in small bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from over water. Drizzle all but 1 tablespoon chocolate over foil in thick (about 1-inch-wide) zigzag lines (chocolate will pool in spots). Sprinkle 3 tablespoons praline over chocolate; chill bark until firm, about 1 hour.
• Press praline around bottom 2 inches of cake; sprinkle more atop. Peel foil off bark; break into pieces. Press edges into frosting atop cake. Remelt 1 tablespoon chocolate over simmering water, stirring often. Using spoon, drizzle chocolate over cake. DO AHEAD Chill up to 4 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.