Thursday, April 7, 2011

Orange Mascarpone Cake

 
Ever follow one of those recipes all the way through and then feel like changing it up a bit last-minute? Like when the recipe calls for a round pan that's 22cm but you decide, "Hey! Why not change it up a bit and go for a 20cm square pan instead? Those few cm won't make THAT much of a difference!" And once you happily implement that brilliant plan of yours, you find out that the cake didn't rise enough and you're stuck with one lonely, not-so-high layer of cake? Yeah, that. 





If there's one thing that I love about baking, it's that I am constantly on a learning curve. No matter how many years I've been involved with the art of trying to get a cake baked just right, there's always something new that I might just pick up along the way. There's always going to be mistakes made, whether you're having an off day or just don't seem to be getting it right. Eventually, with baking, one must learn to be patient and that it's all about trial and error. I won't ramble anymore about that, let's get back to this cake.



"Not to worry!" I optimistically thought to myself. So, I decided to wing it and try out my best shot at fixing this problem without making it too obvious. The simple idea of cutting the cake in half and stacking it on top of each other turned out to be quite a strategic plan. Rather than the 3-layered cake that I had initially hoped for, I ended up with a 2-layered, almost rectangular shaped cake. It seems silly, but it was a teeny proud moment of mine to be able to salvage something without adding anything fancy to it.  






The best part? No one even noticed.





For the cake:

185g butter, softened
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
⅓ cup (40g) almond meal
½ cup (125ml) orange juice
350g raspberries
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur*
  • Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease deep 22cm-round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper.
  • Beat butter, rind and caster sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in sifted flour, almond meal and juice, in two batches. Pour mixture into pan.
  • Bake cake about 50 minutes. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
  • Meanwhile, make mascarpone cream.
  • Reserve 12 raspberries. Split cake into three layers. Place on layer of cake on serving plate; spread with half of the mascarpone cream, then top with half of the raspberries. Repeat layering process, finishing with layer of cake. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.
  • Serve cake with reserved raspberries and sifted icing sugar, if desired.
For the mascarpone cream

1 cup (250g) mascarpone cheese
⅓ cup (55g) icing sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur*
⅔ cup (160ml) thickened cream**

  • Combine mascarpone, sifted icing sugar, rind and liqueur in medium bowl. 
  • Beat cream until soft peaks form; fold into mascarpone mixture.

*I used natural orange extract instead
**I used whipping cream instead

    Happy Baking!

      14 comments:

      1. I would never have noticed myslef if you didn't say! I've never seen a rectangular/ square layer cake but I think it's a fabulous idea. And your mascarpone frosting looks so yummy and thick. When i made mascarpone frosting for the picnic cake, it wasn't hard/ stiff like yours. Could it be the whipping cream?

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      2. Delicious! Think I'm going to make this one!

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      3. @Sukaina: The whipping cream added lots of texture to the cream as the mascarpone can break down very easily! Thank you so much, glad you like it :)

        @Sarah: Hope it goes well, happy baking!

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      4. Looks incredible as with the rest of your (b)cakes! Think I might actually have to attempt one of these as they look so drool-worthy!

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      5. Looks SOOO delicious!!! And yay! You're posting again! <3

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      6. Changing the size of the pan will affect the cake's texture is news to me too ... But looking at the cake there's nothing to complain :)

        Najla Koya (Foodie Corner)

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      7. I make those little changes as well and just a little it makes me feel that I will create something new even by just changing the pan. Mascarpone scare me but it looks oh so yummy.

        abigail-nappytales

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      8. Yas, when you bake, you need to invite me over for a bite! This looks divine!

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      9. Love it <3
        beware, I may kidnap you and make you bake yummies for me :D

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      10. this looks too yummy yasmin! you should live near my neighborhood.

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      11. @Samir: Gotta see some of your creations soon!
        @Sally: What a compliment, so glad you think so :)
        @Sid: Missed blogging, exams/uni can be a killer!
        @Najla: Didn't think it would affect it that much but thankfully pulled it through! :)
        @Abigail: Do not be scared of mascarpone, it tastes SO good so you won't regret it :D
        @Kari: Feel free to stop by whenever ;)
        @Hana: I'm at your service, hun :D
        @Rajani: Would be lovely to have a neighbor that makes beautiful food, mixed with the most interesting spices!

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      12. This is such a great idea! I think square cakes should be the new trend -its easy to cut and store and looks so classy!

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      13. yumm yumm ! nice blog :D love the pictorial presentation :)) happy baking red panda !
        do check out my blog

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