Crepe Suzzette

Alhambra Cake

I know that Alhambra is a city near Pasadena, CA, now, I also know that Alhambra is also one of the classic cakes. This cake can be summed up in 3 words - Chocolate Lover's Delight. It is also a cousin of Sacher Torte. I personally like the Alhambra better. The components for this cake include - hazelnut sponge cake, 8'' (in this case), coffe rum syrup, chocolate glaze, pistachios, chopped and toasted, and marzipan shaped roses. This cake is very rich, so a small slice can fill you up. Based on the reviews I got on this cake, it's definitely worth the time and the effort.

Carrot Cake

People either love or hate this cake. For people that hate this cake, they mainly do so because they cannot imagine eating a vegetable for dessert. Me, on the other hand, grew up eating carrots as a dessert item, so I was excited to discover and of course, eat the carrot cake. I was greatly excited to make this cake for some reason, I have never been happier making a dessert. Anyhow, the cake turned out great. I liked it and the people that tried it liked it.

Carrot Cake
Recipe Source - California School of Culinary Arts (CSCA)

Ingredients
Bread Flour 9 oz
Baking Powder 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda 3/4 tsp
Cinnamon, Ground 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Nutmeg, grated fresh to taste
Ground Ginger to taste
Salt, Kosher 1/2 tsp

Sugar, granulated 14 oz
Oil, vegetable 6 oz
eggs, whole 4 each

carrots, peeled and grated 1 lb
walnut pieces (toasted) 2.5 oz

Method:
Prepare a 10'' cake pan. Spray the bottom, line with parchment and spray lightly on top.
Using a paddle attachment in an electric mixer bowl whip together sugar + oil + eggs. Next dry ingredients - sift flour + baking powder + baking soda + cinnamon + nutmeg + ginger + salt on a parchment paper. After the eggs mixture is emulsified add flour to the mixture all at once and mix till only 'til everything is blended. Take the mixture off the stand and add carrots and walnut pieces. Once everything is well mixed, add the batter to the cake pan. and bake at 325 F in the oven until the center comes out clean when skewer tested. It takes approximately 1.5 hrs to bake it.

For Cream Cheese Icing
Recipe Source - CSCA

Ingredients
Butter, unsalted, softened 16 oz
Sugar, powdered 16 0z
Cream Cheese, softened 1lb 8 oz
Vanilla extract 1 tbsp

In an electric stand mixture cream together butter and sugar. Add cream cheese and mix well. Add the vanilla extract. Be careful to not cream too much. The icing should be smooth and still be pliable as oppose to melty and runny.

Gingerbread Cookies

I know these aren't nearly close to being a decent gingerbread cookies in terms of the decoration, but let me tell you, these cookies are very close to being the perfect gingerbread cookies when it comes to their taste. They also happen to be my favorite holiday cookie. I guess I have a soft spot for all things spicy. These cookies have a lot of character to them despite their cardboardy and somewhat homely appearence. These cookies were pretty easy to put together and I actually have a recipe that I can include, so here you go:

Gingerbread
Recipe Source -California School of Culinary Arts (CSCA)

Ingredients
8 oz butter
7 oz sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
18 oz flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp ginger
2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnmaon
3/4 tsp b soda
1/2 tsp salt

Method:
Creamed method..cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add molasses, scrape down sides. Sift all dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture. Dough will be somewhat stiff. Turn out a plastic wrap, flatten and chill over night. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut and bake at 350 for about 10 mins. Do not overbake.

Dobos Torte

Dobos Torte is a hungarian cake, pronounced "Dobosh Torta" is named after the cakes resemblence of a drum machine. The cake was a great fun to make; however, assembling the caramel wedges on the top of the cake takes some tact. The 4 main components of this cake include: the Dobos sponge, chocolate french buttercream, caramel and brandy simple syrup in which each layer of sponge is soaked.

This cake is not easy to whip up and takes some planning and involves great deal of work to assemble, so I'm not sure if I will make this cake again. It is served best at room tempreture.