Almond Camo Cake Recipes

ALMOND CAMO CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving excess on the long sides of the pan for easy removal of the cake.
• Add the granulated sugar, butter and cream cheese to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, until incorporated. Pour in the almond and vanilla extracts and whip until combined.
• Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk to the batter and beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remainder of the flour mixture and milk and beat on low speed until the batter is smooth and homogenous. Divide the batter equally among 4 small mixing bowls.
• Use the gel food coloring to create 4 colors: Light green (3 drops neon green plus 1 drop black); dark green (3 drops leaf green plus 1 drop black); gray (2 drops black); and dark brown (3 drops dark brown).
• Use small (2-tablespoon) ice cream scoops to drop dollops of the colored batters in random order into the prepared loaf pan. (The dollops should be small to create a camouflage pattern.)
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
• For the maple cream sauce: Add the cream cheese, maple extract and 2 tablespoons water to a small saucepan over medium heat and let melt until combined (add more water if too thick). Remove from heat, then stir in confectioners' sugar until it has a nice creamy consistency. Drizzle over top of the cake and slice to serve.

ALMOND HONEYCOMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Thoroughly butter a 12 1/4-by-11 2/3-inch honeycomb pull-apart dessert pan, making sure to cover all the detailed nooks and crannies. Lightly dust the pan with all-purpose flour (sifting the flour over the top of the pan works best; tap out excess).
• Beat the butter, salt and 1 3/4 cups of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until well combined (the butter does not need to be fluffy), about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until incorporated (the mixture will first appear loose and broken, but will eventually come together). Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and beat into the butter mixture; reserve the pod for another use.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the almond flour until combined. Add the all-purpose flour and beat on low until combined. Add the whiskey and beat on low until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Tap the pan firmly on the counter a few times to force batter into the edges of the pan.
• Bake the cake until golden brown, the edges begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center and edges of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate; carefully remove the pan and very lightly brush away any excess flour from the top of the cake.
• Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel wide strips from half of the orange (about 6 strips).
• Boil the cardamom pods in 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture is very fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the honey and the orange peels. Let sit for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a mesh sieve into a small glass measuring cup; discard the solids. The mixture should be very thin and slightly warm; gently re-heat if necessary. Slowly drizzle the mixture over the warm cake, allowing the cake to soak up the honey before adding more. Let the cake cool, about 1 hour.
• Just before serving, heat the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon water in small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup honey until combined, then remove from the heat and drizzle over the top of cake, allowing the honey to slowly drip over the sides and into each honeycomb.