We met up at the wine bar, sharing fancy meat & cheese trays and our fave fries along with lots of laughs and a love of hats. I made some sweets.
There were meringues
and truffles
and little cakes
iced almond cakes
for the cake
1 1/2 sticks butter (at room temperature)
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond paste
6 eggs (separated)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep rimmed 17" x 12" pan by buttering, lining bottom with parchment and then buttering and dusting parchment with flour.
In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
Using an electric mixer, meat almond paste and 1 1/4 cups of the sugar until well blended. Add butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture in three parts alternating with milk. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until frothy. While mixer is running, add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and fold in gently. Fold in remaining whites gently.
Spread batter evenly onto baking sheet. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning pan half way through cooking time. Transfer pan to rack to cool completely. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or overnight.
for the glaze
1 cup apricot jam
In a small saucepan, heat apricot jam to thin it and then push through sieve. Brush a thin layer of the jam over the top of the chilled cake. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set.
for the icing
8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
gel food coloring of choice
Turn out cake and cut into 1 1/4" squares. Place cakes on rack resting in baking sheet to catch icing drips.
Mix all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Pour icing over cakes and decorate as desired. Allow icing to set a bit before placing in paper cups for serving.
