Passover Honey Nut Cake In Soaking Syrup Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 7 inch round layer cake pan (if you do not have one, you can use a round foil pan of the same size available in the supermarket bake aisle).
• In a medium sized bowl, using a wire whisk, beat the sugars, oil, and eggs. Beat very well until the mixture is thick and a pale yellow. Stir in orange juice, zest, salt, cinnamon, cake meal, and nuts. Turn Batter into prepared cake pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is light brown and set. (Cool at least twenty minutes before adding Syrup). Meanwhile prepare Soaking syrup.
• Soaking Syrup:.
• In medium saucepan, heat the sugar, honey, orange juice, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Heat to dissolve sugar and simmer 5-10 minutes until mixture becomes yrupy. Cool well.
• Pour Syrup over cooled cake, poling holes in cake with a fork, to permit syrup to penetrate cake. Allow to stand 2 to 4 hours to absorb syrup. You might prefer to refrigerate the cake so that while it is absorbing liquid, it is also firming. Also, The chilled cake offsets it innate sweetness and makes it easier to cut. Serve it on muffin liners, Splayed out as pastry or confection cups, or on pastry doilies.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 7-inch round layer cake pan (if you do not have one, you can use a round foil pan of the same or similar size available in the supermarket baking aisle).
• Cake:
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, using a wire whisk, beat the granulated and brown sugars with the oil and eggs until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Stir in the remaining batter ingredients. Turn the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is light brown and set. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Soaking Syrup.
• Soaking Syrup:
• In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients. Heat to dissolve the sugar and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture becomes syrupy. Cool well.
• Pour the cooled syrup over the cooled cake, poking holes in the cake with a fork, to permit the syrup to penetrate. Allow it to stand for 2 to 4 hours to absorb the syrup. I prefer to refrigerate this cake so that while it is absorbing the liquid, it is also firming up. Also, chilling the cake offsets its sweetness and makes it easier to cut. Serve it on splayed muffin liners.

Steps:

• To make the sponge:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets by greasing them and lining with parchment.
• Sift the matzo cake meal, potato starch and salt together, set aside. In a mixer whip the eggs and sugar, for about 8 minutes.
• The eggs should be very light in color and a thick foam. At the very end, add the vanilla and zest.
• Sift the dry ingredients over the egg foam.
• Very gently, but thoroughly, fold the dry ingredients into the egg foam.
• Pour the batter into one of the prepared pans and spread evenly with a spatula.
• Bake the cake for about 18 minutes or until golden and dry when poked with a cake tester. Repeat with the second cake layer.
• To make the buttercream:
• In a small pot, fitted with a candy thermometer, heat 2 cups sugar, water and cream of tartar to 242 degrees F. This will take several minutes, so get your eggs started.
• Whisk together the eggs, yolks and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat the eggs on medium high speed until light in color and thick.
• Once the sugar has reached 242 degrees F, add it very carefully and slowly to the eggs, while the beater is going on slow speed. Be sure to pour the syrup along the edge of the bowl, not directly onto the beater or it will splatter. Continue beating the egg mixture on medium-high speed until the eggs have cooled, about 8 minutes.
• Once the eggs are cooled, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time. The mixture will go through a stage when it looks soupy and curdled, but keep adding the butter and it will come together. After all the butter is added, mix in the vanilla.
• The buttercream will be smooth and glossy.
• Divide 1/3 of the buttercream into a separate bowl and add the poppy seed paste.
• To the remaining buttercream, add the melted chocolate.
• If you are not going to use the buttercream right away, cover it and leave it at room temperature for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to use it, give it a good stirring or put it back in the mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until smooth.
• To make the soaking syrup:
• In a small saucepan heat the sugar, water and zest over medium heat until the sugar has fully dissolved.
• Cut each sheet of cake into 4 equal pieces (they will be about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long).
• Lay the first layer of cake on the serving platter and brush with the soaking syrup. You want to dab the syrup on, but don't overly saturate the cake or it will be soggy.
• Spread a thin layer of the poppy seed buttercream over the soaked layer.
• Repeat with 5 more layers and then finish with the 7th layer of cake. This will leave you with one extra. Since my cake is not traditional anyway, you should feel free to use up that last layer. If you want to keep it to seven layers, then I suggest you use that lonely extra layer as a snack.
• If your layers need squaring up, just trim them with a sharp serrated bread knife.
• Stir the chocolate buttercream to make sure it is smooth and cover the entire cake in a nice even layer.
• It is okay if it isn't perfectly smooth, because we're going to add some rough stripes to the outside.
• Take a small blob of buttercream on the end of your spatula,
• and starting at the end of the cake, on the bottom, spread that blob in a stripe along the cake. Repeat over and over again, but alternate which side you start on. Repeat this on the top as well.
• You will end up with rough stripes all over the cake, which gives the cake some texture.
• Using a sharp chef's knife, scrape the smooth side of a bar of chocolate with the blade, so that the chocolate curls up. If the chocolate is very cold and brittle, try sitting it in the sun for a few minutes and the curls will come more easily. Cover the top with the chocolate shavings.