More Basics of Cake: Almond Cake with Cookies and Cream Cheese Filling and Icing (An Original Recipe).

Happy New Year to all my readers.  My sincerest apologies first for not having an entry for the past two months. With my responsibilities of maintaining my medical career plus the fact that my family just recently paid me a visit, the balancing act was tedious enough not to pay attention to my blog. But I haven't forgotten all of you and so here goes.

An original recipe. Almond Cake with Cookies and
Cream Cheese Icing.

This recipe is an original.

In this entry, I would again discuss more about the basics of cake.  I mentioned that with proper proportion of butter to sugar, flour/solids and milk/liquids, one can achieve the cake batter that is right in sweetness, moisture and structure.  With that, plus applying the right techniques of incorporating these ingredients such as creaming, adding of eggs and the sequencing of the rest will ensure that the cake batter is a success.

Case in point, I was looking at my pantry when I discovered I have leftover almond flour from making French Macaroons (I could discuss this some other time, I never thought it was so simple yet the people at Bizou charge and arm and a leg for them, cost three dollars each in NYC and two euros in Paris - what a rip off!!!), and Hershey's cookies and cream bars from last April's Easter Sunday celebrations.  Not to mention, I still have quite an amount of cream cheese from making icing for my red velvet cake.  (Cream cheese, by the way, keeps very well frozen.  When thawed, one would not even know the difference that it came from the freezer.)  Just as my Banana Cake few weeks back, I devised this recipe using the proportions as discussed and turned out this Almond Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Milk and Cookies filling.

 I have some of this - Almond Flour. It's a leftover from
my French Macaroon recipe.

And some of these - Cream Cheese.

And this. An Easter Sunday leftover.

As always, my testers are my colleagues from the hospital.  The cake was simply gone within the hour.

Proportions: remember the 1 stick butter: 1/2 cup sugar:1/2 cup liquids:1 cup flour/solids:1-2 egg formula?  Look at the recipe and see how these numbers translate.  Keep this in mind.  The next time you see an ingredient in the pantry that you could think of making as a cake, translate this along with the other ingredients in these proportions and surely, the cake will turn into a success.

Almond Cake with Cookies and Cream Filling and Cream Cheese Icing.

For the cake:

• The butter and sugar that makes the cake moist and sweet:
• 2 sticks (therefore, 1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• The flour and solids that provide structure:
• 1 cup sifted Almond flour (Note: Almond flour can be bought in the non gluten aisle.  It is peeled blanched almonds pulverized to a flour-like consistency.)
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Combine the two together in a bowl and add:

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder (Note: Since we are going to use baking powder and not baking soda, we do not need vinegar to catalyze the exothermic reaction which releases the gas for the leavening effect.)

In a pyrex measuring cup, combine:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• Also, you need:
• 2 eggs.

Procedure:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  To this, add eggs one at a time, mixing well together until homogeneous.
2. In this mixture, add first the flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder then the milk and vanilla in two or three portions, stirring each time until well incorporated.
3. Divide the resulting batter in four 8 inch round pans, the bottom lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes in a 325F oven.  Do not open the oven door prematurely unless you are sure that the cake is ready for testing with a toothpick which should come out clean.
4. Remove the pans and let the cake cool prior to frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting.

• 3 blocks (equivalent to 1 1/2 cup) butter
• 3 cups cream cheese
• 6 whole bars of Hershey's cookies and cream flavored chocolate bars
• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2-3 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure.

1. Using a food processor, chop the chocolate bars into little pieces about the size of small pebbles.  Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and whipped.
3. To this, add the sifted powdered sugar mixing well.
4. Divide the icing into two portions.
5. In one portion, add the cookies and cream candy pieces and mix well.

Now, set up the whole cake!

1. Lay on a cake circle the first cake and spread a third of the cookies and cream with cream cheese icing mixture. Lay on this the second cake layer and do the same as well with the third to top with the final cake layer.  Place the whole set up in the refrigerator to cool a bit and solidify the structure.
2. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and trim the sides until the sides are even in preparation for the final icing.
3. Spread the plain cream cheese icing on top and sides in the usual fashion, evening the surfaces.  Cool the cake further in the refrigerator to set everything and serve when ready.