Vanilla Cake

Ingredients:
 Plain / all purpose flour
 Eggs
 Baking powder
 Milk, full fat
 Sugar
 Oil
 Vanilla extract

Whip the eggs and sugar – Beat the eggs with sugar for a whole 7 minutes until thick and glossy, it
changes from yellow to white, and tripled in volume (just over double depth in the bowl).

Gradually add flour – Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then add into egg mixture in 3
lots, mixing for just 5 seconds on Speed 1 in between. This should make the flour just incorporated – don’t
worry if there are some bits not mixed in.

Hot melted butter in milk – use a microwave or stove to heat milk with the butter until it melts. Believe it
or not, HOT milk helps with aeration in this cake. I doubted it, so I tried with cooled melted butter in milk
and found it did not rise as well.

Mix some batter into hot milk – this serves two purposes: a) bring down the temperature of the hot milk
so it won’t “cook” the eggs (ie. tempering); and b) it lightens up the density of the hot milk (see above – it
becomes foamy) so it blends together faster when added to the rest of the whipped egg
mixture. Remember, minimal beating is key so we don’t knock out the cake-rising-bubbles we created in
Step 1.

Slowly pour milk mixture back into whipped eggs over 20 seconds on Speed 1. Scrape down sides of
bowls, then mix for 10 seconds on Speed 1 – the batter should now be smooth;

Pour into 2 cake pans lined with parchment/baking paper

{Optional} Knock out big air bubbles by dropping the cake pans on the counter 3 times. This won’t
affect the cake-rising bubbles created in Step 1. But it makes large bubbles in the batter rise to the surface
and burst.

Bake 30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. The cake
will have a slight dome but it flattens when it cools.

COOL upside down for level cakes (so you have neat, straight layers in a layer cake) on a cooling rack.
If you don’t mind a slight dome surface / specifically want to show the beautiful golden brown surface (eg
if making a cake dusted with icing sugar / powdered sugar, or a glaze), then cool it right side up; and

Decorate! Frost with your favourite frosting, smother with cream, fresh berries, swirl with chocolate fudge
frosting or simply dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of yogurt or cream!
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients

 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus

more for pan

 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

 ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 1 teaspoon baking soda

 1 teaspoon salt

 ½ cup milk

 ½ cup sour cream (4 ounces)

 1 ½ cups sugar

 4 large eggs

 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
FOR THE GLAZE
1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 14-cup Bundt pan. In a large bowl,
whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix milk and sour cream in a glass
measuring cup.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to
5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla. Reduce speed
to low; add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and
ending with the flour; beat until just combined.
3. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester
comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make the glaze: Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a
small saucepan; pour over chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes. Add butter, and mix until
smooth. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Pour glaze over cake.
 Lemon-Mascarpone Crepe Cake
Ingredients

Crepes

 1 ¾ cups whole milk

 4 large eggs

 ½ stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus

about 3 tablespoons for cooking crepes

 1 cup all-purpose flour

 6 tablespoons finely ground cornmeal

 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions  ½ teaspoon salt

1. Crepes: Combine all ingredients in a Lemon

blender. Puree until smooth and thoroughly combined,
Curd
about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up
to overnight.

2. Vigorously stir batter until smooth again. Melt 1/2 teaspoon butter in a 10-inch nonstick
skillet over medium heat. Tilt skillet at a 45-degree angle, pour 1 ounce batter (slightly more
than 2 tablespoons) into skillet, and immediately swirl and shake skillet in a circular motion
to evenly distribute batter in a thin film across bottom. Cook until edges of crepe turn
golden, about 45 seconds. Carefully flip crepe, and cook just until set, about 30 seconds.
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Melt another 1/2 teaspoon butter, and continue
cooking crepes in the same manner, mixing batter with a spoon or ladle between crepes and
stacking cooked crepes on top of one another (you should have 20 to 22 crepes). Let crepes
cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3. Lemon curd: Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light
and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, and add whole egg. When thoroughly combined, gradually
add egg yolks, then lemon juice (the mixture will appear curdled). Transfer mixture to a
small saucepan, and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick enough to coat
the back of a wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover surface of curd with
plastic wrap, and let cool completely in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.

4. Assembly: Whisk together 1 1/4 cups cream and 3 tablespoons sugar until soft peaks form.
Fold a third of the whipped cream into lemon curd with a rubber spatula until thoroughly
combined. Gently fold cream-curd mixture into remaining whipped cream until thoroughly
combined.

5. For a neat presentation, make a frame on a 12-inch cake plate with 2-inch-wide strips of
parchment. Place 1 crepe in center of plate (the outer edge of plate should be covered with
parchment), and spread 3 tablespoons curd mixture evenly over crepe. Repeat layering with
remaining crepes and curd mixture, ending with the last crepe.

6. Whisk together remaining 1 1/4 cups cream, the mascarpone, the remaining 3 tablespoons
 Walnut Honey Cake
Ingredients
 3 ounces walnut halves (about ¾
cup)

 Unsalted butter, room temperature,

for pan

 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus

more for pan

 1 cup raw honey, plus 2 to 3

tablespoons more for glaze

 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

 3 large eggs, room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread walnut halves in a
single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven until fragrant, tossing
occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate; let cool. Pulse nuts in
a food processor until finely chopped, about 10 times. Set aside.

2. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch spring-form pan; set aside. In a large bowl,
combine honey and applesauce; whisk until honey is mostly dissolved. Add
eggs, and whisk until fully combined.

3. Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Stir
into honey mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold in walnuts.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until golden brown on top and a
cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

5. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool until sides of cake begin to pull away
from pan, about 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and place on a serving
plate. While cake is still warm, use an offset spatula to gently spread
remaining honey on top as a thin glaze. Serve warm.