french cake

With layers of nutty meringue and rich whipped filling, the classic French cake dacquoise - pronounced dah-kwahz- is so impressive.

Hazelnut and coffee dacquoise with chocolate glaze

(1 1/2 cups) caster sugar

1.25 gm cream of tartar

(3/4 cup) hazelnut meal

(3/4 cup) almond meal

milliliters (1/4 cup) warmed milk

instant coffee

unsalted butter,

(3 2/3 cup) icing sugar mixture

pkt Premium Chocolate Melting Pieces

27.80 gm glucose syrup

250 milliliters (1 cup) thickened cream

Recipe video above. Madeleines are sweet little French sponge cakes that are as delightful to look at as they are to eat. Flavoured with a hint of lemon and with the signature shell shape, these adorable mini butter cakes make for a lovely afternoon tea, or a pretty finish for any meal. Best served hot and fresh out of the oven. Keep the batter in a piping bag, then 10 minutes in the oven is all it takes!

Madeleines

+ 1 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)

tsp baking powder

eggs (, at room temperature (Note 1))

sugar

salt

tbsp vegetable oil ((or other neutral oil))

tbsp milk (, full fat (low fat ok too))

tsp vanilla extract

lemon

/ 9.5 tbsp unsalted butter (, melted, warm (not hot))

Canola oil spray ((or other neutral oil))

Icing sugar / powdered sugar ((optional, for dusting))

Sift flour: Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

Whisk eggs and sugar: Whisk the eggs and sugar vigorously for 2 minutes until it becomes paler in colour and it&#039;s foamy (or 1 minute on speed 6 with handheld beater).

Mix flour in 3 parts: Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, whisking gently in between until combined.

Add everything else except butter: Add salt, oil, milk, honey, vanilla and lemon. Mix until combined.

Add butter: Add butter, mix gently with a rubber spatula until combined. The batter is fairly thin but should leave a faint ribbon briefly on the surface (see video).

Cover and refrigerate: Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and leave it in the fridge overnight (minimum 6 hours).

Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan) for at least 30 minutes.

Piping bags - Pour the madeleine batter into 2 piping bags (or 1 large) either fitted with a round tip nozzle around 0.7 - 1.2cm (0.3 - 0.5&quot;) wide, or snip the end off. (You can refrigerate until required at this stage, or freeze 2 months).

Spray and fill pan: Spray the madeleine pan with oil. Fill each hole almost to the top (2just 1m from the rim).

Bake: Bake for 10 minutes until light golden.

Serve warm! Unmold straight away. Pile onto serving platter. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately, while hot!

Baking (next day):

Caramelized plums flipped over a delicate and moist cake that soaks up all the delicious plum juices!

Plum Tarte Tatin Recipe (Cake Tatin)

plums prune plums

granulated sugar, divided

eggs, room temperature

sour cream (or 1/3 cup plain yogurt)

tsp grated lemon zest

+ 2 tbsp all purpose flour, sifted

tsp kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously butter an...

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously butter an 8 to 9-inch round dish (either a deep cake pan or a glass pyrex round dish). Rinse your plums before cutting each in half, removing the pits. Place the plums, flat side down, in your pie dish. Try to fit them in as neatly as you can without shoving in too many plums. Set aside.

To a small saucepan, add 1/3 cup of...

To a small saucepan, add 1/3 cup of water and 1 cup of the granulated sugar. Turn the heat onto medium high, allowing the mixture to come to a simmer. Do NOT stir the sugar mixture. Instead, swirl the mixture in the pan every so often. Do not take your eyes off the mixture; remove as soon as it turns a golden amber color.

Evenly pour the amber sugar mixture over all...

Evenly pour the amber sugar mixture over all of the plums. Let the liquid on the plums set. In the meanwhile, get started on your cake batter.

Cream the unsalted butter and remaining 3/4 cup...

Cream the unsalted butter and remaining 3/4 cup of sugar until fluffy. Add in the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract; mix just until combined. Add in the eggs, one at a time, stopping the mixture as soon as the eggs are incorporated.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking...

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. With the mixer running on medium low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stop the mixer as soon as it's all blended in; you don't want to over mix the batter. Use a rubber spatula to scrape up any batter from the bottom and sides of the bowl and give the entire batter a good stir.

Pour the cake batter onto the sugar-set plums,...

Pour the cake batter onto the sugar-set plums, evenly spreading out the batter. Bake the cake at 325°F for about 35 to 40 minutes on the lower middle rack. Once it looks like the entire cake has pretty much set except for a small part in the center, increase the heat to 350°F to bake for another 5 minutes. You'll see the center begin to set and the top of the cake become golden. Test the cake with a toothpick inserted in the center, it should come out clean or with just a tiny crumb or two.

Let the cake rest in its pan for...

Let the cake rest in its pan for 5 minutes. Place a very large piece of parchment paper or wax paper over a flat serving plate before flipping the cake out onto the paper. The juices of the plums will probably run down the sides of the cake, which is why it's good to use the sheet of paper underneath. After about 1/2 an hour or so when the cake's juices aren't so runny, you can slide the cake off the sheet and onto the plate, or just leave as is. This is also the point in which you can dust some powdered sugar on top of the cake if you like.

The most basic sponge cake you can make to create a variety of cakes – the easy genoise sponge cake. It is made of a few ingredients and baked in just one cake pan, which cuts down your cooking time significantly.

Genoise sponge

eggs (at room temperature)

120 g white granulated sugar

g all-purpose flour

ml milk (at room temperature)

unsalted butter (melted)

g vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 340F or 170C and prepare a 6” by 4” (15cm by 10cm) round cake pan by covering the bottom with a piece of parchment paper. The sides of the pan should stay untouched! No oil spray, no butter, no butter or flour, no parchment paper – nothing.

In a heat-proof bowl, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Place over a pot with slightly simmering water. Heat the mixture, stirring consistently, until warm to the touch and all sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Place the mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer and a bowl) and start whipping, increasing the speed gradually for 7-10 minutes or until the mixture becomes very pale, has tripled in volume, and is thick enough to leave a ribbon on the surface. When done, switch the mixer to medium-low and whip for one minute.

Sieve in the flour and salt and carefully fold with a rubber spatula until no dry ingredients are left.

In a small bowl add the oil, melted butter, and milk. Mix and add 2-3 tablespoons of the egg and flour mixture. Mix again until homogenous in consistency.

Add the milk mixture to the main batter and fold with the rubber spatula until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 mins or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the surface of the cake bounces back if you gently press it.

Remove from the oven and let the cake cool down until you can safely touch the pan.

Run a knife against the wall of the pan to release the cake. Place on a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Then, slice into 3 even cake layers and assemble the cake – or cover the unsliced sponge with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Alternatively, cut and serve with powdered sugar, fresh berries, jam, or any other sauce you like.

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Hazelnut and coffee dacquoise with ...

Madeleines

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Top 4 french cake recipes from across the web

The most viewed french cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Hazelnut and coffee dacquoise with ...

Madeleines

Plum Tarte Tatin Recipe (Cake Tatin...

Genoise sponge

The most viewed french cake recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine