Mini Sponge Cakes With Mandarin Blueberry Filling And Whipped Cream Recipes

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 half sheet trays (each 18 by 13 inches) with cooking spray and line each with parchment paper then spray the parchment generously.
• Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, cake flour and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the whole eggs until smooth and set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Sprinkle in the granulated sugar and whip on high speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks, about 1 minute. Gently fold in half of the egg whites into the flour mixture until combined, then fold that mixture into the remaining egg whites and fold until fully incorporated. Fold in the melted butter.
• Divide the batter equally between the 2 prepared sheet trays and spread evenly--it will not reach all four sides of a pan and that's okay. Bake, rotating 180 degrees halfway through baking, until the edges of the cakes are lightly golden and the surface springs back when touched, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in the sheet trays to room temperature.
• For the buttercream: Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer, start whipping together the butter, powdered sugar and salt. Mix in a little bit of the milk at a time so the mixture is not too dry. Add the vanilla. Turn up the mixer speed and whip until the buttercream is smooth. If the buttercream is too wet, mix in a bit more powdered sugar; if it's too stiff, mix in a bit more butter. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined.
• Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Re-whip if the buttercream is cold.
• Divide the buttercream equally between 2 small bowls. Add the pink gel color to one of the bowls and whisk well to combine. Add the blue gel color to the other bowl and whisk well to combine. Transfer each buttercream to its own piping bag fitted with a star tip.
• For assembly and decorating: Working with 1 cake at a time, gently turn out onto a cutting board and remove the parchment. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cutter, cut each cake into 36 rounds. Pipe the pink buttercream around the edges of 8 cake rounds. Pipe the blue buttercream around the edges of another 8 cake rounds. Place 1 teaspoon of the jam in the middle of each frosted cake round. To stack the cakes, place any frosted cake round on top of another frosted cake round then top with a plain cake round. Repeat to create a total of twenty-four 3-layer mini cakes. Drizzle the melted candy melting wafers over the cakes, pipe a buttercream rosette on top of each and decorate with sprinkles and/or sugar flowers.

Steps:

• Make the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan. Beat the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, the vanilla and lemon zest in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale, fluffy and doubled in volume, 3 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan with a few inches of water to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Combine the egg whites and salt in a large heatproof bowl and place on top of the saucepan (do not let the bowl touch the water). With clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 more minutes. If the mixture gets too hot, remove the bowl from the pan.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula in four batches, sifting in the flour in alternating batches. It's OK if some streaks remain -- do not overmix. Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl and whisk in the melted butter, then gently fold back into the batter. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the centers spring back when pressed, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan on a rack, then loosen with a paring knife and remove to the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Place a fine-mesh sieve in a medium bowl and set in a larger bowl of ice water. Whisk 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, the egg yolks and cornstarch in a separate medium bowl until smooth. Heat 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes, then continue whisking for 30 more seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Immediately strain into the bowl set in the ice water and let cool, stirring occasionally, until lukewarm. Remove from the ice water, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until completely cooled. When ready to assemble the cakes, whisk in the lemon curd, limoncello and lemon juice. Whip the heavy cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the filling.
• Make the lemon syrup: Combine the water, sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. Stir in the limoncello. Let the syrup cool.
• Fill the cakes: Trim the domed tops of the cakes to make them level (this will be the bottom). With a paring knife, cut a 1 1/2-inch-wide hole in the cakes; scoop out some of the inside to make a cavity, reserving the scraps. Brush the insides with some of the lemon syrup, then fill with the lemon filling, reserving the rest of the filling for the glaze. Close the hole with the cake scraps. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup until all the syrup is used.
• Glaze the cakes: Place the cakes trimmed-side down on a rack set on a baking sheet. Whisk 5 to 6 tablespoons milk into the reserved lemon filling until pourable. Spoon over each cake to completely cover. Transfer to a platter and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Garnish the cakes: Beat the heavy cream and sugar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe around and on top of each cake. Top with candied lemon peel.