Florentine Frozen Dome Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Moisten large piece of cheesecloth with water; squeeze out excess. Line 1 1/2-quart bowl with cheesecloth. Mix liqueurs and grappa in small bowl. Cut pound cake crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice diagonally in half, forming two triangles. Lay cake triangles in single layer on baking sheet; brush with liqueur mixture. Line bottom and sides of prepared bowl with cake triangles (wet sides facing in) in sunburst pattern. Reserve extra triangles for top.
• Stir 2 ounces chocolate in metal bowl set over small saucepan of simmering water until chocolate melts. Cool just to room temperature. Beat cream and powdered sugar in large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold in 3 ounces chopped chocolate and nuts. Spread half of mixture over cake, covering completely and creating well in center. Fold cooled melted chocolate into remaining whipped cream mixture; spoon into center well of filling. Cover filling with remaining cake triangles (wet side down), trimming to fit if necessary. Cover with plastic. Chill at least 5 hours and up to 1 day.
• Invert cake onto plate. Remove cloth. Sift cocoa powder over and serve.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.
• Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
• Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
• Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
• Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)
• For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
• For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler.
• Place the ham and muffins on a baking sheet. Tip: If your baking sheet is not large enough to hold everything at once, place a wire on top of the pan and arrange the remaining ham and English muffins on top of it.
• Broil for 2 minutes, until the English muffins are toasted and the ham starts to crisp.
• Remove the English muffins and ham from the oven. Slice the ham lengthwise, into ⅛-inch (3 mm) wide strips.
• Cover a small bowl, about 3 inches (7-cm) in diameter, with plastic wrap. Place a ham strip across the middle (the edge of the strip should come slightly over the lip of the bowl). Continue placing ham strips across the bowl, overlapping them in a spiral pattern. Repeat with three more small bowls and the remaining ham strips.
• In a large pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until the garlic starts to brown. Add the spinach and stir until wilted to half its original volume, 3-4 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and stir for another minute. Remove from heat.
• Make the hollandaise sauce: In a blender, combine the eggs yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and cayenne pepper. Blend on high for 5 seconds. Reduce the blender speed to low and pour in the melted butter in a thin, steady stream. Blend for 30 more seconds. Cover and keep warm.
• Fill a deep pan with enough water to cover 4 small, heat-safe bowls. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and use a pair of tongs to place the bowls in the water. Carefully drop an egg into each bowl. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the yolks are cooked to your desired firmness. Using tongs, remove the bowls from the water and drain.
• Place a poached egg inside each small bowl with the spiralized ham slices and top with spinach. Fold the ham slices over the spinach and place a buttered English muffin half on top. Place a plate over the bowl and invert. Remove the bowl and plastic wrap.
• Serve with hollandaise sauce and chives.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets with shortening and dust with flour.
• Stir cream and sugar together in a bowl. Stir in orange peel, flour, and almonds until combined. Drop batter in teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, keeping each cookie well apart from each other.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• Spread bottoms of cooled cookies with melted chocolate using a spatula, or spear cookies on a fork and dip bottoms into chocolate. Let dry, bottoms-up, on waxed paper.

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 6-cavity round silicone baking mold with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the chocolate cake mix, milk, eggs, egg yolk, and canola oil until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared molds, filling about ⅔ of the way.
• Set the mold on a baking sheet, then bake about 14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then release from the molds and let cool completely on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
• Make the ganache: Add the white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter to a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 60-90 seconds, until melted and smooth. Add the green gel food coloring and stir to combine. Let the ganache cool until it starts to thicken slightly, 3-4 minutes.
• Pour the ganache over the top of each cake. Let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the freezer for 10 minutes, until hardened. Add the remaining green ganache to a piping bag fitted with a small tip.
• Add 1 cup of vanilla frosting to a medium bowl with a few drops of purple food coloring and stir together, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Add about ¼ cup of frosting to 2 separate small bowls. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to a bowl and a few drops of black food coloring to the other and stir to combine. Transfer to piping bags fitted with small round tips.
• Cut 6 white candy melts in half.
• Set a cake on a small cake board. Pipe a bit of purple frosting onto the front of a cake and press on a whole white candy melt to adhere. Stick 2 halves of a candy melt into the top of the cake for ears. Pipe blue frosting onto the center of the whole white candy melt, then pipe a smaller dot of black frosting on top for the eye. Pipe green ganache over the eye a for a unibrow. Pipe purple frosting around the bottom edge of the cake. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• 1 At least 20 minutes before you are ready to whip the cream, place a large bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer in the refrigerator. Line a 2-quart round bowl or mold with plastic wrap. Cut the cake into slices no more than 1/4-inch thick. Cut each slice in half diagonally, forming two triangular pieces, and lay them all on a platter. 2 In a small bowl, mix together the rum and liqueur, and sprinkle the mixture over the cake. Place as many cake pieces as needed side by side-pointed-side down-in the bowl to form one layer. Cover the remaining inside surface of the bowl with the remaining cake, cutting the pieces to fit as needed. Fill in any gaps with cutup pieces of cake. Set aside the remaining cake for the top. 3 Prepare the filling: Remove the bowl and beaters from the refrigerator. Pour the cream into the bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Whip at high speed until the cream holds its shape softly when the beaters are lifted, about 4 minutes. Gently fold in the chocolate and almonds. 4 Spoon the cream mixture into the mold, being careful not to disturb the cake. Place the remaining cake slices in a layer on top. Cover securely with plastic wrap and freeze the mold 4 hours up to overnight. 5 To serve, remove the plastic wrap and invert a serving plate on top of the bowl. Holding the plate and bowl together, invert them both. Lift off the bowl. Remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Place the berries around the cake. Cut into wedges to serve. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour then add the cherries, flaked almonds, pistachios and orange zest.
• Scoop 10 flat tbsp of the mixture onto the baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. You will need to do these in batches. Bake for 10 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 2 mins until firm enough to lift onto a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Turn the florentines over on the wire rack. Spoon chocolate onto the base of each florentine and gently spread to the edges. When the chocolate is firm enough to hold its shape, use a fork to draw wavy lines across the chocolate. Leave to set and then store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 150°C.
• Put the sifted flour, baking powder, oil, milk, grated orange rind, saffron, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl and beat together thoroughly until all the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth and thick.
• Grease a shallow rectangular baking pan and pour in the mixture.
• Bake for half an hour.
• Sprinkle plenty of icing sugar on top.
• If you prefer it sweeter, you can slice the cake in two (horizontally!) and fill it with whatever you like (whipped cream, chocolate icing, etc).