Vanilla Bean Cake With Bourbon Soaked Peach Compote And Spicy Caramel Popcorn Recipes

ONE-BOWL PEACHES AND VANILLA BEAN BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Generously spray 10- or 12-cup fluted tube cake pan.
• In large bowl, beat all Cake ingredients except peaches with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Sprinkle peaches on top of cake batter.
• Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; turn upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate, and remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Place cake on serving plate.
• In medium bowl, beat 2 oz cream cheese and the butter with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste until smooth. Spread mixture on top of cooled cake.

VANILLA BEAN CAKE

Steps:

• For the vanilla bean cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms and sides with parchment. Set aside.
• Mix together the milk and half-and-half, set aside. Sift together both flours and baking powder; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Sprinkle in the sugar and salt and beat on medium speed until light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix until just combined. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl frequently. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined; don't overbeat.
• Transfer the batter to the cake pans and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs, about 30 minutes. Let cool at 10 minutes before turning out of the pans onto a rack to cool completely.
• For the lemon curd: In a heat-safe mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, lemon zest, eggs and salt. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and stir in the lemon juice. Gradually add the cubed butter and stir until everything is incorporated. Continue to stir over low heat until the curd thickens and becomes lighter in color and a bit fluffy, about 10 minutes. The curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F.
• Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Put plastic wrap directly on the surface of the lemon curd to avoid a skin from forming and refrigerate.
• For the Italian meringue buttercream: Combine 3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high, attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan and cook until the mixture reaches reach 248 degrees F.
• While the sugar syrup is heating, combine the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip, slowly sprinkling in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, until you reach medium peaks. When the sugar syrup reaches temperature, pour it very carefully down the side of the bowl of egg whites and continue to whip until you have a white, glossy meringue. Replace the whip with a paddle attachment, add the butter in chunks and beat until the buttercream comes together. Beat in the vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
• For the strawberry filling: Grind or crush the strawberries into a fine consistency, set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese. Add 1 pound of the Italian meringue buttercream and mix just until combined. Add the strawberries and mix just until combined.
• To assemble the cake: Put a layer of cake in the center of a platter. Add a thin layer of lemon curd, then a layer of the strawberry buttercream filling. Add the second layer of cake. Spread with a thin layer of lemon curd, and then a layer of the vanilla Italian meringue buttercream. Top with a final layer of cake and ice the entire tier with the vanilla Italian meringue buttercream.

BRANDIED PEACH COMPOTE CAKE

Steps:

• For Vanilla Sugar:
• Combine sugar and vanilla bean in processor. Blend 2 minutes. Sift to remove vanilla pieces. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store airtight.)
• For Compote:
• Combine 1/4 cup vanilla sugar, water, brandy, preserves and raspberries, if using in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add peaches. Bring to boil; reduce heat and cook until peaches are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer peaches to strainer set over bowl. Boil syrup until very thick and reduced to scant 1/3 cup, adding any juices that continue to drain from peaches, about 13 minutes. Strain syrup into small bowl; mix in peaches. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• For Cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine cake meal and potato starch in small bowl; whisk to blend. Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup vanilla sugar in large bowl until thick, about 2 minutes. Beat in margarine, then nondairy creamer and brandy. Beat in dry ingredients. Using clean dry beaters, beat whites and salt in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup vanilla sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into yolks mixture in 3 additions. Transfer 1 cup batter to small bowl. Cover; chill. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Spoon reserved 1 cup batter in 1-inch band around edge of cake. Arrange peaches close together in spoke pattern in center, pressing ends into batter at edge. Spoon 2 tablespoons peach juices over fruit. Bake until band at edge is firm, about 35 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack; let stand up to 8 hours.
• Cut around pan sides to loosen cake; release sides. Garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.

VANILLA BEAN CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Separate eggs; let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line two greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment and grease the paper; set aside. , Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into creamed mixture; discard bean. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of egg whites into the batter, then fold in remaining whites. Transfer to prepared baking pans., Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Beat with an electric mixer until ganache is double in volume, about 2 minutes., For buttercream, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cream of tartar. Place egg whites in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water; stir in the sugar mixture. , Constantly whisk egg mixture until mixture reaches 120-130°. (Do not overheat.) Stirring gently, keep the egg white mixture at 120-130° for 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a mixing bowl. With a whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture on high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed; beat 5 minutes longer or until cool and stiff. Transfer to a large bowl., In the same mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat butter, shortening and vanilla until light and fluffy. With a spatula, stir a fourth of the egg white mixture into creamed mixture until no white streaks remain. Fold in remaining egg white mixture until combined. If frosting is not completely smooth, attach paddle beater to mixer and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with half of ganache. Top with another cake layer. Spread with apricot preserves; top with sliced strawberries. Place third cake layer on top; spread with remaining ganache. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread buttercream over top and sides of cake. Top with additional sliced strawberries.