Cream Puff Christmas Tree Cake Solo Dolce Recipes

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil over medium heat. Add flour and salt; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny., Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2-in. apart onto greased baking sheets. (You will need about 62 puffs to make the tree.) Use a moistened finger to smooth any peaks., Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool., For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and rum extract if desired until stiff peaks form., Insert round tip #7 into a pastry or resealable plastic bag; fill with the whipped cream. With a sharp knife, cut a small slit in the side of each puff. Insert pastry tip into slits; fill each puff with whipped cream. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours., For icing, combine confectioners' sugar and enough cream to achieve desired consistency. Stir in food coloring if desired., To assemble tree: Separate puffs according to size and shape, choosing the flattest ones for the bottom layer and the smallest ones for the top. Spread the bottom of 18 puffs with icing. Place on the serving platter, forming a 9-in.-diameter solid circle. , For the second layer, spread icing on the bottoms of 18 puffs, then position above the space of the base layer of puffs. , Continue building tree in this manner using about 14 puffs in third layer, about seven puffs in fourth layer, about four puffs in fifth layer and one puff on top., To decorate: Insert round tip #7 into a pastry or resealable plastic bag and fill with remaining icing. Drizzle over tree. Trim with cherries if desired., The completed tree may be loosely covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets., Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Cut a small slit in the side of each puff to allow steam to escape. Cool puffs., For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold in creme de menthe. Pipe about 1 tablespoon into each puff. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours., For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat. Using a whisk, stir in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to make desired consistency for dipping. Stir until smooth and no lumps appear. , To assemble tree: Separate puffs according to size and shape, choosing the flattest ones for the bottom layer and the smallest ones for the top. Dip the bottoms of the 21 flattest puffs into glaze. Place on a 10-in. round serving platter, in concentric circles forming a solid circle., For the second layer, dip bottoms of 15 puffs into the glaze, then position on base layer. Continue building tree, using about 11 puffs in third layer, about 6 puffs in fourth layer, about 4 puffs in fifth layer and 1 puff on top., Drizzle remaining glaze over tree, thinning with hot water if necessary., Loosely cover tree with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray 2 9 x 13-inch rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.
• in a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer on medium speed to cream together the butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and almond extract until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer running on medium speed, add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating between each addition until fully incorporated.
• Add a third of the flour and continue mixing until just incorporated. In a small bowl, combine the milk and rum, if using. Add half of the milk mixture to the batter and mix until nearly combined. Continue alternating additions of the flour and milk, using a rubber spatula to finish bringing the batter together.
• Divide the batter between the prepared baking sheets, spreading evenly all the way to the edges. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cakes are pale golden brown and the edges begin to pull from the sides of the pans. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Fill a large pot with 1 inch of water. Set a large heat-safe bowl over the pot, making sure the bottom is not touching the water. Add the egg whites, sugar, and salt to the bowl and whisk together until homogenous. Turn the heat to medium and continue whisking until the mixture thickens. When you lift the whisk, the mixture should fall into the bowl in ribbons that hold their shape for a moment before disappearing.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and place on a towel on a flat surface. With an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed, whip the egg white mixture until doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and, with the mixer running, add the butter, a cube at a time. As you add the last piece of butter, the mixture will look broken; don't worry! Continue mixing until the mixture smooths out again, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix until just incorporated.
• Assemble the cakes: Invert a cake onto a cutting board with a piece of parchment on top and peel away the parchment from the bottom of the cake. Carefully flip the cake over so the flat side is on the bottom again. Spread the filling evenly over the cake, then invert the remaining cake on top of the filling. Peel off the parchment from the top of the cake. Transfer the cutting board with the cake to the freezer and freeze until the cake is hardened, but not completely frozen, about 1 hour.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the cake from the freezer. Use the Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter to cut out 8 cakes and place on the prepared baking sheet. Discard (or snack on) the cake scraps. Chill the cakes in the refrigerator while you prepare the decorations.
• Add the candy melts to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave according to the package instructions until melted.
• Dip each cake in the melted candy, using a fork to flip until completely coated. Carefully lift the cake out of the candy and gently scrape the bottom across the side of the bowl to remove any excess. Return the coated cake to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cakes.
• Sprinkle the cakes lightly with the green sanding sugar, and then decorate with the red cookie icing. Refrigerate until the candy shell hardens, about 5 minutes.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine sun-dried tomato pesto and goat cheese in a small bowl and stir well.
• Unroll 1 puff pastry sheet onto the prepared baking sheet. Cut away 2 strips at the bottom of the sheet to form a tree trunk, about 1 inch wide and tall. Cut diagonally to the top of the puff pastry sheet to create a long triangular shape, removing excess pastry on either side.
• Spread a thin layer of the pesto mixture over the pastry, all the way to the sides. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Pecorino-Romano cheese on top.
• Roll up the second puff pastry sheet and place at the tip of the triangle. Unroll carefully towards the bottom. Press down lightly and carefully cut away the sides to match the first triangle. Remove excess pastry.
• Cut 2/3-inch thick branches into the sides of the triangle from both sides, leaving a space lengthwise in the center all the way from the trunk to the tip. Twist the branches away from you, trying to get in 2 turns on the lower branches. Continue moving up the tree, twisting away from you as you go.
• Brush the entire tree with beaten egg. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of Pecorino-Romano cheese and dried oregano.
• Bake in the preheated oven until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet slightly.