Cooks Joy

For this month’s “We Knead to Bake“, Aparna decided to go festive and chose this rich delicious cake. Although the cake in itself is simple to make the lack of the spring form pan and some ingredients caused me to have cold feet. The baking group was pretty helpful and patiently answered my questions. You bake the cake/bread, however, you choose to call it and then slice it. Then, you spread the yummy custard on the lower half and place the other half on it. The custard recipe given to us was eggless and it used custard powder instead. Sadly the stores in my area had no clue as to what custard powder is and I decided to go with the egg based custard instead. No regrets there since the custard was absolutely rich and we could not stop eating it. This picture below is of the cake before slicing. I almost thought that everything is completely ruined and I will not be able to slice this thin cake at all, but I was completely wrong. We were able to slice it like bread once it cooled down. Phew. What a relief that was .
If you have sliced almonds from the store that cuts down a lot on prep work. Again, I did not have it and gave that task to K who patiently sliced the almonds as neatly as possible. Overall the cake was done with some nervousness at each stage, but the feedback from friends and family made it all worth it. The eggs and butter in the cake made it moist and the sweetness was just right. The crunchy caramel topping and the custard should not be missed as they complete the cake with its richness. Off to the recipe. Custard recipe from here.

My Notes
1. The caramel adds a lot of taste to the cake. Do not skip the parchment as the caramel sticks a lot and it will become hard to remove the cake from the pan.
2. Once cooled, it will be easy to slice the cake into two. We made it stand vertically and sliced it through.

1 year ago: Carrot Banana Cupcakes
2 years ago: Toor Dal Idli

PLEASE CLICK ON COLLAGES TO VIEW BIGGER IMAGES.

Pictorial
1. Warm milk and keep aside. Whisk egg yolks and sugar. Add corn starch and salt; mix well.

Add the milk by teaspoonfuls whisking continuously. Once half the milk has been added, the rest can be added in a steady stream. Keep whisking.2. Take the mixture and heat on a medium flame. Keep whisking continuously and you will start to see it thicken.

Turn off the stove and add the butter and vanilla extract. Mix and allow to cool. 3. If you have store bought sliced almonds skip this step.

Boil water and turn off the stove. Add the almonds to it and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Rinse the almonds and peel. Air dry for about 30 minutes and then slice them thinly.4. Make the dough by mixing all the dough ingredients. Allow the dough to rise. (It does not rise a lot).

Flatten the dough and place in an 8 inch spring form pan lined with parchment. I have used a 9 inch cake pan lined with parchment. Allow to rise again for about 45 minutes.5. While it is rising prepare the topping. Melt the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla in a vessel. Keep stirring and the mixture will start to bubble up.

Allow to cook for 3 minutes until it turns to a light beige color. Add the almonds and mix well. Turn off the stove and allow the mixture to cool. It will become very thick.6. The dough has risen.7. Take bits of the topping using a spoon and place the topping on the dough. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 to 35 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.8. Out of the oven. Allow to cool.9. Slice the cake and place the cooled custard over it and spread well. Place the other half on it and slice and serve.
Yummm .Enjoy!
Linking to Bake Fest #26 hosted here, Yeastspotting and We Knead to Bake.