Cooks Nation

Hazelnut-Praline Layer Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
Nonstick spray
2 cups cake flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Frangelico
1/2 cup roasted, skinned, and finely chopped hazelnuts (roasted in a 350-degree oven for 6 minutes, then chopped; roasted-hazelnut flour can be substituted)

Praline buttercream:
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup praline paste or filbert paste (available from New York Cake & Baking Center, 56 West 22nd Street)
3/4 cup roasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

Cooking Instructions

Cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees. Lightly coat two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick vegetable spray. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of baking parchment. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together three times. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and sugar at high speed for 15 seconds, until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Continue beating on high until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes more.

With the mixer on its lowest setting, beat in a third of the flour mixture. Beat in half the buttermilk and all the Frangelico, then the hazelnuts and another third of the flour mixture. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and then the remaining flour. Spread the batter in the prepared pans and bake about 20 to 25 minutes, until cake is golden brown and the center springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester comes out clean. Set the pans on a rack to cool. Turn out the cakes when cool enough to handle. (If the cakes are refrigerated for 2 hours at this stage, they will be easier to handle and frost.)

Praline buttercream: Put 1/2 cup water and the sugar in a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Over high heat, bring the temperature to 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). In the meantime, in the completely clean and dry bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until creamy, foamy, and barely able to hold very soft peaks. With the mixer running on slow, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Continue to whisk on high speed until mixture is fluffy, firm, and cooled to room temperature; gradually beat in the butter and then the praline paste. When the cakes are cold, trim the tops with a large serrated knife. Split each cake into two layers. Spread a 1/4-inch layer of the buttercream between each layer. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream, and then coat the sides of the cake with the chopped hazelnuts.

Optional: Decorate top of cake with whole hazelnuts, blackberries, or raspberries to form a row around the edge.

Hazelnut-Praline Layer Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
Nonstick spray
2 cups cake flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Frangelico
1/2 cup roasted, skinned, and finely chopped hazelnuts (roasted in a 350-degree oven for 6 minutes, then chopped; roasted-hazelnut flour can be substituted)

Praline buttercream:
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup praline paste or filbert paste (available from New York Cake & Baking Center, 56 West 22nd Street)
3/4 cup roasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

Cooking Instructions

Cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees. Lightly coat two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick vegetable spray. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of baking parchment. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together three times. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and sugar at high speed for 15 seconds, until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Continue beating on high until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes more.

With the mixer on its lowest setting, beat in a third of the flour mixture. Beat in half the buttermilk and all the Frangelico, then the hazelnuts and another third of the flour mixture. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and then the remaining flour. Spread the batter in the prepared pans and bake about 20 to 25 minutes, until cake is golden brown and the center springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester comes out clean. Set the pans on a rack to cool. Turn out the cakes when cool enough to handle. (If the cakes are refrigerated for 2 hours at this stage, they will be easier to handle and frost.)

Praline buttercream: Put 1/2 cup water and the sugar in a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Over high heat, bring the temperature to 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). In the meantime, in the completely clean and dry bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until creamy, foamy, and barely able to hold very soft peaks. With the mixer running on slow, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Continue to whisk on high speed until mixture is fluffy, firm, and cooled to room temperature; gradually beat in the butter and then the praline paste. When the cakes are cold, trim the tops with a large serrated knife. Split each cake into two layers. Spread a 1/4-inch layer of the buttercream between each layer. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream, and then coat the sides of the cake with the chopped hazelnuts.

Optional: Decorate top of cake with whole hazelnuts, blackberries, or raspberries to form a row around the edge.

I am trying to locate on the internet recipes for sandwiches named after famous people and places. I think this may have been a NYC thing. I seem to remember sandwiches being named after Woody Allen, Marilyn Monroe, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, etc. Can anyone help me out?

I hope these links can help u try them:-

http://busycooks.about.com/od/organizingandbasics/a/foodnames_2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foods_named_after_people

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/SandwichHistory.htm

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Sandwich

ENJOY

How come famous chefs like Racheal Ray, Giada, Nigella and others can’t figure out the secret recipe of Mcdonald’s or KFC by tasting only??

It’s the Chef Code of Honor that they don’t reveal recipes. I’ve had to sign contracts stating that I would and could not give out any recipe for the Company/ Corporation that I was employed by. This is how they make their money by spending years of testing and research trying to figure out their best recipe to sell to the public. It’s the same for Beer,Wine, Pizza’s,Etc. You might have a chance at getting close to the recipe by looking at the ingrediants, but its trial and error from there on out. It come down to the kind of person you are. If your best friend told you to keep a secret and not to tell anyone, would you?

I live in Italy and there is a lot of Italian food available (duh) but not much else. It’s great but every night after 10 years is a lot of pasta LOL

I go crazy without variety and cook a lot of ethnic food at home, from Afghan to Thai, and Mexican on a weekly basis.

But I’d like to find recipes for famous chain foods from the US so I can try a taste of something I miss.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Wow, all of you are so helpful how do I pick a best answer?????

Here are two sites that specialize in cloned recipes from restaurants. Many of them are available for free, but some you may have to buy. I have tried several with mixed results, but you can judge for yourself. Sign up for the weekly recipe service (free) and you can check out new recipes weekly.

such as KFC coleslaw, and other places that serve famous dishes?

www.copykat.com
www.topsecretrecipes.com
www.bigoven.com
and so on
If you google copycat recipe’s it will give you a longer list.
I really like topsecretrecipes.com as they have the largest list of restaurants, only draw back is, it costs .79 per recipe…

what is your famous dish that you are most proud of??

share your ideas!

I fix this every Christmas Eve – it’s a real hit, and not hard to make.

Special Occasion Stuffed Crown Pork Roast

Crown Roast Rub ingredients:

3 large garlic cloves
2 shallots quartered
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pepper

Blend rub ingredients in a food processor until blended well and almost paste like. Rub on crown roast and let set at room temperature for 2 hours. I also like to put a few cuts with a knife in the roast and push some of the rub about 1/2 inch inside the roast.
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Special Occasion Stuffed Crown Pork Roast
RecipeYield 12 servings
Total cooking time 3 to 3 ½ hours

7 pounds crown pork roast
1 ½ cans of Oceanspray whole cranberry sauce
½ cups butter
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
8 cups white bread cubes
2 apples – peeled, cored and chopped in smallish pieces
1 egg (if using fresh bread, you may want to delete the egg)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place roast on a rack in an open roasting pan, rib ends down. Bake at 375 degrees F for 2 hours. Roast will only be partially cooked.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add cranberry sauce, the salt, pepper, bread cubes, apples, egg and poultry seasoning. Toss well.

After 2 hours, remove roast from oven. Turn rib ends up and fill cavity with cranberry apple stuffing. Put any extra stuffing in a baking dish and place it in the oven to cook at this time (do not cover the dressing at this time). Insert meat thermometer between two ribs in the thickest part of the meat, making sure that end of thermometer does not touch any bone.

Return stuffed roast to oven and continue roasting at 375 degrees F for about 1 ½ hours or until internal temperature of the meat reaches 155-160 degrees. Note: If stuffing in roast becomes too brown, cover it with aluminum foil, if the stuffing in the baking dish becomes too brown, cover it with a lid or aluminum foil. Remove roast when reaching desired temperature, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes.