Almond-Hazelnut Layer Cake w/Buttercream and Raspberries-Gluten Free

Tea time is the time to show off your baking creation. Almond-Hazelnut Layer Cake with Buttercream and fresh Raspberries is the one.

                         You need:
== For Cake Layer                      
 = 1 cup of Ground Almonds (Take 1 cup of Whole almonds. Grind them, it will give you more than one cup. Measure and save the rest for sprinkling)                             
= 2/3 cup of Ground Hazelnuts ( The same as with Almonds)                             
= 2/3 cup of Demerara organic sugar     
= 7 Eggs Whites
= 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
= 1 teaspoon of Vanilla powder                      
 = Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180C)
     ~ 1. Finely grind Almonds and Hazelnuts in a blender.

     ~ 2. Measure 1 cup of ground Almonds and 2/3 cup of ground Hazelnuts.

     ~ 3. Place nuts into the bowl, add Vanilla powder and Cinnamon and mix all together.

     ~ 4. Grind to the powder 2/3 cup of Demerara sugar in the blender.

     ~ 5. Separate Egg Whites from egg yolks. Save Egg Yolks for a Buttercream.

     ~ 6. Add a pinch of salt into the Egg Whites. Whip them.

     ~ 7. Add gradually ground Demerara sugar powder to the egg Whites and whip until glossy and hold soft peaks.

     ~ 8. Gently fold (portion by portion) with a spatula the ground nuts into the whipped egg Whites.
Be careful not to flatten the mixture.

     ~ 9. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cake mixture into the plastic bag.

      ~ 10. Spread cake mixture evenly with a thin metal spatula.

   Bake for 25-30 minutes till lightly browned. When the cake layer is ready, chill at least 1 hour.

              == For Filling
= 340-400g fresh Raspberries and handful of ground Almonds/Hazelnuts mixture.

                          == For Buttercream
= 7 Egg Yolks
=  420 g of Organic Unsalted Butter
= 10 and 1/2 of Table spoon of Water
= 3/4 cup of Coconut sugar
= 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
= 1/2 teaspoon of Almond extract

 ~ 1. Place Coconut sugar into  a small saucepan.

 ~ 2. Add 10 and a half of Table spoons of cold Water and mix all together.

 ~ 3. Put the saucepan on the stove (Medium Heat) and bring sugar/water to boil. Stir the mixture.If the syrup boils rapidly, reduce the heat. When the sugar has dissolved completely, you can increase the heat again. While it is boiling, the consistency of the syrup becomes more dense.

  Boil till the syrup reaches the soft ball stage. How to check the soft ball stage? =>Prepare a cup with cold water and drop coconut sugar syrup into the cup.

 When you touch the syrup drop, it will form a soft ball. The syrup is ready.

 ~ 4. While the syrup is boiling, mix the egg Yolks.

 ~ 5. Gradually, pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl INTO the egg Yolks.

~ 6. Beat constantly at high speed of mixer till the mixture becomes thick.

 ~ 7. Then gradually add the soften butter into the cool egg Yolks/syrup mixture.

 ~ 8. Beat till smooth and creamy.

 ~ 9. Add Vanilla and Almond extracts and beat again. Done. Light and fluffy Buttercream. One good thing about Buttercream is that it can be stored in a refrigerator for 1 week or in a freezer for up to 3 months.

 == Putting the Cake all together.
~ 1. Cut in half the cake layer. One half is for the bottom and the other half is for the top of the cake.

 ~ 2. Cover the bottom of the cake with the Buttercream and sprinkle with ground Almonds/hazelnuts mixture.

 ~ 3.Arrange the raspberries over the Buttercream in parallel rows.

 ~ 4. Place Butercream into a plastic bag, cut a little hole at the end of the plastic bag and squeeze the Buttercream between the raspberries.

 ~ 5. Spread the Buttercream neatly and evenly between the raspberries. Spread the cream over the raspberries as well. Use small knife or spatula. Do not smash the raspberries.

~ 6. Top with the other half to cover the cake and lightly press the cake layer so that it sticks to the Buttercream.

 ~ 7. For the top spread I used 1 Table spoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of "Red Beet crystals" from "Salus" ( Absolutely wonderful product.  You will get not only a great tasting and great magenta color but the goodness of beets as well)

 ~ 8.  So, just mix well butter and  the Red Beet crystals and spread over the top of the cake.

~ 9. Sprinkle ground Almonds/Hazelnuts on the top.If you have some chocolate. Shred the chocolate through  the small holes of a box grater. Sprinkle on the top of the cake too.

 And that is it. This cake should be chilled 1 hour till the Buttercream sets. After that cut the cake on slices.

 It is better to bake the cake on the day before serving.

Enjoy:)

    

Chestnuts Whipping Cream

Chestnuts Whipping Cream is a very rich cream and can be used for any light cake.
       You need:
= 1 and 1/3 Cup of Roasted Chestnuts
= 500ml 35% Organic Whipping Cream
= Raw Agave syrup to your taste
= Blender.

    == To grind Chestnuts
~ Place roasted Chestnuts into the  Blender and grind them to a fine particles.

 ~ Replace to an empty bowl

 == To make the Whipping Cream
~ Pour 35%  Organic Whipping cream into the Blender

  ~ Add Agave Syrup to your taste

 ~ Blend it to make the whipping cream.

 ** Do not over blend it. The cream will separate and turn to butter.
~ Replace the Whipping Cream into a bowl

 == Combine ground Chestnuts with the Whipping Cream

 ~ Combine them nicely, not vigorously, like you folding Chestnuts into the Whipping Cream
It is done:)
I like this Cream for Yule Log.

      Picture of the day. Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

Preparing Chestnuts.

The edible Chestnuts are sweet and starchy but with a very hard shells can be prepared in 2 methods.
        = To Roast
~ Preheat oven to 400F (200C)
~ Wash chestnuts.
~ Make one short cut in the middle of the flat surface of a chestnut. I found that is not necessary to make a cross cut on chestnuts, as they will open anyway while roasting.

 ~ Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. They are done, when the shells of chestnuts split open.

 ~ Important => Peel chestnuts when they are hot but manageable. If chestnuts cool it is difficult to peel them and you have to reheat them again.
 ~ With roasting, the chestnut is partly cooked but dry.

        == To Boil.
~ Place chestnuts in a cooking pot and cover with cool water. Bring water with chestnuts to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
~ Important => Drain chestnuts few at a time to peel, do not let them cool completely, as it is difficult to peel and you have to boil them again.
Chestnuts are a great accompaniment for meat and poultry, soups and for cakes.
Enjoy and be Healthy;)

Almond Milk - Lactose free

Almond Milk is a wonderful alternative for people with lactose intolerance. It is a very refreshing drink, source of Potassium and Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium.

 It is the wholesome drink if you prepare it by yourself. Unfortunately, commercial varieties of "Almond Milk" have additional ingredients inside of the product to extend the shelf life.

 Nevertheless, it is very simple and much healthier to make the Almond Milk.
==All you need is Almonds, Water (Room Temperature) and Blender. The proportion is 1:3. It means, 1 part of Almond, and 3 Parts of Water.
= 1. Soaking Almonds. Take 1/3 Cup of Almonds and add Water (Room temperature).
 Leave them Overnight. The soaking is literally brings Almonds alive: carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars, proteins -> into free amino acids, fats-> into free fatty acids. On the top of that all enzyme inhibitors, phytates, oxalates are literally washed away and deactivated. This process calls predigestion and helps much easily to assimilate nuts for us. Almonds actually taste much better, than just dry. ("Almond milk" from grocery does not have this predigestion process)

 = 2. Next day, drain off Water and rinse Almonds.

 = 3. Add Water. I usually use the same cup for measurement, that I measured Almonds. I place soaked Almonds into the cup and add water 3 times more than Almonds. Just align your eyes with the water level. You do not have to be precise to take a measurements.

 = 4. Transfer water with almonds to the Blender.

 = 5. Blend till the mixture becomes homogenous.

 = 6. Take a bowl and a cheesecloth.

= 7. Strain the milk into a bowl through a piece of cheesecloth.

= 8. Squeeze the cheesecloth tightly to extract as much liquid as possible from the Almonds.

 = 9. Almond Milk with a creamy consistency and a touch of Amaretto like taste is done.

= 10. Almond Milk can be used for sauces, creams, stews or ice creams. It can be added to a cup of coffee or tea.
Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

P.S. Snowing

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce linked with Thanksgiving and Christmas is a wonderful addition to any poultry and desserts, like Chestnut Cake or Bread & Apple Pudding. It can be used as a spread for breakfast and enjoyed the goodness of Cranberries all year long.   

               You need:
                       = 3 cups fresh or frozen Cranberries
                       = 1 cup of water
                       = 1/3 cup of Raw Agave syrup

         ~ Wash Cranberries
         ~ In a saucepan mix Cranberries with water and raw Agave syrup

                  ~ Bring to boil

 ~ Boil (about 7 minutes) gently until the skin of Cranberries pop up on all berries.

 If the sauce is done, but some of the berries are still soft but whole, use a Potato Musher to mix and mush all the berries at the same time. You can do it right inside of the saucepan you cook.

 ~ At the end I added Orange zest of 1/2 Orange.

~ Mix, 30 seconds more to simmer. It is Done:)

         ** You can play with the Cranberry sauce to suit you taste.
>> For a more tart sauce, decrease any sugar you use by at least 1/3
>> For a thicker sauce, decrease Water at the minimum by 1/3
>> Spices works very well with the sauce as well, especially if you serve this sauce with Chestnut  cake or Bread pudding. --> Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves.
If you serve the Cranberry sauce with  poultry, as duck, goose, turkey, you can add Horseradish to make a strong but lovely zesty taste.
I usually add spices at the Middle of cooking, but Horseradish at the Beginning of cooking sauce.
>> Also, you can substitute water with fresh squeezed Orange juice and decrease the amount of sugar, as Orange juice gives additional sweetness.
>> You can add Orange or Lemon peels, Raisins or Apples before cooking and cook them together. It gives additional flavor and texture.
                                      Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

Looks Yammy...