CAKES WITH FRUIT

Orange Date Bundt Cake

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large egg
grated zest of 1 medium orange
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 chopped dates

Glaze
1 cup powder sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 TBSP grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and lightly flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed about 1 minutes, until fluffy. Add the sugar and cream on medium-high speed about 30 seconds. Add the eggs all at once and continue creaming for one minute. Add the orange zest and vanilla; beat until combined. Add about half the flour, the baking soda, and the salt; mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Add the buttermilk and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Add the rest of the flour and mix until just combined. Gently stir in the dates.
Spoon the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan about 10 minutes. Invert it onto a rack and cool at least 20 minutes before glazing. Transfer cake to a serving plate.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

White Chocolate Mousse Cake
4 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 1 TBSP pieces, plus 1 TBSP melted
12 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup all-purpose flour
6 large egg whites
Preheat oven to 325F
Lightly coat three 9 x 1 ½- inch round cake pans with some of the 1 TBSP melted butter.(I personally made mini ones using 41/2 inch diameter cake rounds. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, then lightly coat the paper with more melted butter.
Melt the chocolate and butter on top of a double boiler.
Place egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on high until lemon-colored and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the melted white chocolate and beat on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high for 45 seconds until soft peaks form, then add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 45 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add about a third of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold to incorporate, using a rubber spatula. Add the remaining egg whites and fold until the mixture is uniform in color. Immediately divide the batter into prepared pans, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula.
Bake on the top and center racks of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean , about 21-22 minutes(about 25 for the minis because they are thicker). Halfway through rotate the pans 180 degrees and switch racks. Remove cake from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Invert the cake layers onto cake plates. Carefully peel away the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake layers uncovered.

Cranberry Icing
1 ½ cups fresh whole cranberries
1 ½ lbs(6 sticks…yes 6) unsalted butter, cut into 1-TBSP pieces, softened
3 TBSP Grand Marnier(optional)
2 ½ cups powder sugar, sifted
Place cranberries on a baking sheet and bake in a 325F oven for 8 minutes, until they start to burst. Then put them in a bowl and place in fridge.
Place butter in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low for 1 minutes, then increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides. Add the cranberries and mix on low speed for 15 seconds, increase to medium speed and mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. Add the orange liqueur, then gradually add the powder sugar while mixing on the lowest speed until combined, about 1 ½ minutes. Scrape down again. Beat on medium-high for 1 minute until very soft and fluffy. Remove bowl from mixer, and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the icing until thoroughly combined.
To assemble the cake:
Remove the cake layers from fridge. Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip. Transfer 1 cup of the icing to the pastry bag and set aside at room temperature. Use an icing spatula to evenly spread 1 cup of the remaining icing over the top of one of the cake layers, to the edge. Use a wide utility turner to remove the second layer from the cake plate and place it on the icing. Spread another cup of icing over that layer to the edge. Top with the last layer. Gently press the layers into place. Using a sharp knife to trim away any rough edges around the cake. Spread the remaining icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
Using the pastry bag, pipe a ring of 8 to 10 evenly spaced cranberry icing stars along the outside edge of the top of the cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.
Heat blade of a knife under hot water and wipe dry before cutting each slice. Slice the cake while still cold, then keep slices at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Warm Pear Ginger Upside-Down Cake

Topping:
½ cup salted butter
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 ripe pears,
2 TBSP finely chopped candied ginger
To make the topping: Chop pears into a dice, leaving the skins on; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil. Take off of heat and whisk just to combine and pour into prepared pan.(This recipe calls for a 9 or 10-inch cake pan with sides that are at least 2 inches tall.) Sprinkle pears all over the pan and then followed by candied ginger. Set aside.
Cake:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ cup milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP finely chopped candied ginger
To make the cake: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat for another 30 seconds. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. To the butter mixture, add the flour mixture in 3 increments, the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, beating on low speed between each addition. Stir in the vanilla and candied ginger. Pour the batter evenly over the pears. Bake(at 350F) for about 45 minutes if using a 10-inch pan and about 55 minutes for a 9-incher. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and immediately invert onto a large cake plate. Let cool for about 15 minutes.

Pear-Nutmeg Creme Caramel

Caramel
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup pear nectar/juice
Custard
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp nutmeg(fresh)
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
Directions:
Caramel
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the juice and sugar in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Tilt pan to ensure that sugar is dissolved. Do not stir the mixture or the sugar will crystallize. Increase heat to high and cook until sugar turns amber in colour.
Pour liquid caramel into six 3-inch (6 ounce) ramekins, dividing equally and tilting ramekins to cover the bottoms with the caramel.
Custard
Over medium heat, bring milk and cream just to a boil in medium saucepan with salt, nutmeg and vanilla. Remove from heat and cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved.
Stir together eggs and egg yolk in a medium bowl until well blended. Add warm milk and stir. Strain the mixture over a large measuring cup or clean bowl and pour or ladle over caramel-lined ramekins.
Transfer ramekins to a baking pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in preheated oven until a tester comes out clean when inserted in the centers and the crème caramel jiggles as one, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove ramekins from bath. Let cool to room temperature.