Bon Appetit Desserts (40 page)

GLAZE
: Bring prune juice and margarine to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cool glaze until thick but still pourable, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Line plate with foil. Dip walnuts halfway into glaze. Arrange on foil and refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Meanwhile, cut around pan sides to loosen torte. Remove pan sides. Set torte on rack. Pour glaze over and spread to coat completely. Arrange walnuts, chocolate half at outer edge, around top of cake. Refrigerate until glaze is completely set, at least 3 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover loosely with foil or cake dome and keep refrigerated.

Cut torte into wedges and serve.

Raspberry Ganache Marjolaine

Marjolaine is a classic French gâteau with a rectangular shape and multiple layers of nutty meringue and buttercream. This rendition features layers of raspberry ganache and hazelnut meringue. The absence of flour and the use of ground nuts, egg whites, and chocolate makes this a sophisticated gluten-free cake and Passover-friendly dessert (as long as you use “kosher for Passover” vanilla and almond extracts). Because it does use dairy ingredients, serve the marjolaine at a meatless Passover meal.
8 servings

2¼ cups heavy whipping cream

21 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

½ cup raspberry preserves

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons kosher Concord grape wine

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, husked, divided

½ cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon potato starch

4 large egg whites, room temperature

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1½-pint container raspberries

GANACHE
: Bring cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in preserves, butter, and wine. Cover and chill overnight.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

MERINGUE
: Preheat oven to 275°F. Trace five 10×4-inch rectangles on 2 sheets of parchment paper. Invert parchment onto 2 baking sheets. Coarsely grind 1 cup hazelnuts in processor. Combine with ½ cup sugar and potato starch in medium bowl.

Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy. Add lemon juice, both extracts, and salt; continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff and glossy. Gently fold in hazelnut-sugar mixture.

Place 1 cup meringue on parchment in center of 1 rectangle. Spread with small spatula to fill in rectangle. Repeat with remaining meringue and parchment. Bake until meringues are golden brown and just dry to touch, about 25 minutes. Cool on baking sheets. Carefully peel off paper (meringues will deflate slightly).

Place 1 meringue rectangle on 10×4-inch cardboard rectangle. Spread ½ cup ganache over meringue. Repeat layering with 3 more meringue rectangles and 1½ cups ganache. Top with remaining meringue rectangle. Spread top and sides of marjolaine with ¾ cup ganache. Chill marjolaine until firm, about 1 hour.

Rewarm remaining ganache in heavy medium saucepan over very low heat just until melted, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Place marjolaine on wire rack set over baking sheet. Spread some ganache over sides of marjolaine. Pour remaining ganache over top; smooth with spatula if necessary. Let stand at room temperature until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

Chop remaining 1 cup hazelnuts. Gently press hazelnuts onto sides of marjolaine. Decorate top with raspberries. Chill marjolaine 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Halloween Candy Cake

Peanut lovers will fall hard for this creation: roasted peanuts in the cake and topping, creamy peanut butter and peanut butter cups in the filling, and peanut butter candies on top. And with the fall colors of the candy topping, this would be a fun Halloween treat. The cake layers can be assembled a day ahead, but the whipped cream frosting will begin to weep if made too far in advance, so frost and decorate the cake a couple of hours before serving it.
12 servings

1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour

6 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

½ cup heavy whipping cream

5 1.8-ounce packages Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, finely chopped

1½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

3 2.1-ounce Butterfinger candy bars, cut into ¾-inch wedges

⅓ cup Reese’s Pieces

CAKE
: Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Grind nuts and flour in processor until fine. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until mixture whitens and triples in volume, about 4 minutes. Fold in nut mixture. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack.

FILLING
: Blend peanut butter, butter, and sugar in processor until smooth. With machine running, add cream through feed tube and blend until mixture is light and fluffy.

Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen. Invert cakes onto work surface. Using serrated knife, cut each cake into 2 layers. Place 1 cake layer on platter, cut side up. Spread with ⅓ of filling and sprinkle with ⅓ of chopped peanut butter cups. Top with second cake layer, cut side down. Continue layering with remaining filling, peanut butter cups, and cake, ending with cake, cut side down.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

TOPPING
: Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until almost stiff. Transfer ½ cup to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Spread remaining whipped cream over top and sides of cake. Press nuts around base of cake, forming 1½-inch-high border. Cover top of cake with Butterfinger candy bars, leaving ½-inch border. Spoon reserved whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip; pipe stars around top edge. Garnish with Reese’s Pieces.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 hours ahead. Chill. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Heart Layer Cake with Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse

A chocolate-cinnamon mousse filling and chocolate glaze spiced with the flavors of chai tea give this cake a surprising, exotic twist. Begin preparing the cinnamon cream a day ahead since it needs to chill overnight. Cherry jam and kirsch moisten and flavor the cake layers.
4 servings

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided

⅓ cup unbleached all purpose flour

⅓ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

⅔ cup cherry jam

2 tablespoons kirsch (clear cherry brandy)

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), finely chopped

½ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon chai-spiced tea leaves or Lapsang Souchong black tea leaves (from 1 tea bag)

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

CAKE
: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 8×2-inch heart-shaped cake ring on sheet of foil. Wrap foil around sides of ring, folding, pressing, and crimping firmly to adhere (to prevent batter from leaking out). Brush foil and inside of ring with 1 tablespoon melted butter; dust with flour. Place on baking sheet.

Sift flour, cocoa, and salt into medium bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water). Whisk until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from over water. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until thick and billowy and heavy ribbon falls when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Sift half of flour mixture over; fold in gently. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Transfer ¼ cup batter to small bowl; fold in remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter. Gently fold butter mixture into batter; do not overmix or batter will deflate. Pour batter into ring.