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« on: August 17, 2011, 01:12:57 PM »
Umpa this one would be AMAZING if you could convert it for me. This is from the show Masterchief. It looked amazing! The only thing is my son is deathly allergic to any treenuts so we can't use almond flower in baking. I have posted the "How To" by Ben Starr straight from his web site. Do you think it can be done??
Ben Starr's Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This is the cake that I get demands for every October at my annual Fall Dinner Party, where I serve a 5 course meal with each course based on pumpkin. Regardless of what unique, delicious pumpkin dessert I have planned, people always email and call ahead to ask if I’m doing my Pumpkin Carrot Cake. I can’t let them down.
This is also the cake that Gordon Ramsay loved on MasterChef, and that Graham Elliot said gave his mouth an orgasm.
This is one of the most delicious cakes you’ll ever eat. It has a definite carrot cake flavor, but it’s a lot more moist and spicy.
I normally make this as a 3 layer cake using 9" cake pans. On MasterChef I sliced each layer in half, resulting in a 6 layer cake. (To better facilitate the slicing, freeze the cake rounds for 30 minutes to stiffen them up, then carefully rotate the cake as you slice back and forth with a long bread knife. A lazy susan helps, but isn't necessary.)
2 sticks butter, softened (do NOT use margarine)
Whip until the butter is light and creamy. Then add:
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup brown sugar
Cream the butter and sugars together until they are light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes, preferably 5.
Then add:
3 large egg yolks
Blend on medium speed for 3 more minutes. Then add:
1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is okay, or microwave sweet potatoes or butternut squash in season, and puree)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend on medium speed for 3 more minutes. You should have a thick, airy, lightly-colored batter. Then fold in:
2 cups grated carrots
In a separate bowl, combine:
2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour (I use 8 oz AP flour and 4.5 oz cake flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ginger
1 Tablespoon ground cardamom
1/4 tsp each nutmeg, allspice, cloves
1 teaspoon salt
(To kick this recipe up a notch, lightly toast your spices in a skillet over medium heat for a few seconds to bloom the flavor, then add to the flour.)
Stir around with your fingers until they’re well mixed. Then sift at least twice through a sifter or strainer. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on slowest speed until combined.
In a separate bowl, (or THOROUGHLY wash your mixer bowl to remove all traces of fat) beat:
6 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tarter (optional, but recommended)
To stiff peaks. Start out on high speed, and as the whites begin to change color from foamy yellow to a whiter color, lower the speed to medium low and whip VERY slowly, adding the maximum amount of air without damaging the protein structure of the whites. Once you have reached stiff peaks, stop immediately. (It's better to be just shy of still peaks than past stiff peaks where the white separate into curds when you scoop them.) Stir 1/3 of the whites into the batter to lighten the batter. Gently fold the remaining 2/3 into the cake batter until you can't see any clumps of white left.
Divide it equally into parchment-lined, greased and floured cake pans. (I spray my cake pans with canola oil, add a round of parchment or wax paper, spray again, and then liberally flour them, shake the flour around, and dump it out.)
Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 30 minutes (or 50 minutes for deep 6” rounds) or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (I spray the tops of my cakes with water before putting them in the oven, and toss a few ice cubes in the bottom of the oven at the same time, to make the cakes bake flatter without peaking in the center.)
Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then dump upside down (gently!) onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
I like to chill my cakes before I frost them. They hold up better. 45 minutes in the freezer is usually perfect, but make sure the cake is fully cool before putting it in your freezer or you may thaw out other things in the freezer. While the cake is cooling, make up the frosting.
FROSTING:
***Please note this makes enough frosting for a 6 layer cake. You can halve the recipe if you are only making 2 or 3 layers.***
16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese (or mascarpone, or lebni/labneh...a Middle Eastern kefir yogurt cheese)
2 sticks butter, softened
Cream together cheese and butter with a hand or stand mixer on high speed until it’s light and fluffy. Then slowly begin to add:
1-2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) depending on how sweet you like the frosting
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. I like to start with low speed right after I’ve added sugar to keep it from flying everywhere, then increase the speed as it gets incorporated. Continue adding sugar in small batches and mixing thoroughly until the frosting reaches the desired sweetness level. Then add:
2 teaspoons vanilla
Beat on slow speed until the vanilla begins to get mixed in, then beat on the highest speed possible for 2 minutes to ensure a light and fluffy frosting.
Frost the cake liberally. Don’t worry too much about crumbs getting into the frosting,so it’s not critical to have a perfectly clean frosting job.
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I'm going to try making the other recipes on the box and see how those turn out...should be interesting.