Almond Nutella Cake

The Art.
    The time has come for me to admit that I have a Nutella addiction. Nutella's entire "part of a healthy breakfast" ad campaign is completely lost on me. If there is a jar of Nutella in my pantry, I'm not going to scrape it over some whole wheat toast and wolf it down with a glass of orange juice as they suggest. I will eat it by the spoonful until I fall into a diabetic coma on the couch like a respectable human being. I am very good at coming up with excuses to eat it, and it was upon one such occasion that Almond Nutella Cake was born. This cake features my staple yellow cake layered with a light Nutella mousse and frosted with rich almond buttercream. The cute flower decorations are a technique developed by my youngest sister, who is nothing less than inspiring with her cake decorating. I love these almond flowers because they are so simple to make and the colors remind me of autumn chrysanthemums.

The Science.
     Unfortunately, some individuals suffer from hazelnut allergy and can't enjoy sitting on the couch with a jar of Nutella. How these people go through life I'll never know, but they are certainly braver than the rest of us. There are two culprits to blame in regards to this allergenic condition. First, there is the IgE antibody. This antibody flows through your bloodstream and generally does a lot of good things, like recognizing parasites. However, in some individuals IgE goes rogue and recognizes certain foods, such as hazelnuts, as allergens and causes severe reactions [1]. The other culprit is the Cor-a family of proteins, which can be bound by IgE and recognized as allergens. A scientific group has recently found that heating hazelnut flour to high temperatures (called autoclaving) denatures the Cor-a proteins. This changes their conformation in such a way that they cannot be recognized by IgE, thus diminishing their allergenic effects [2]. With such a technique in hand, people that are usually allergic to hazelnuts can consume autoclaved hazelnut products. In the future, everyone could enjoy autoclaved Nutella's sugary spell and only have to worry about a diabetes-related death, not anaphylactic shock.

The Recipe.

Moist Yellow Cake:
    Recipe here. Follow the directions, except use three 8-in round cake pans, coated with baking spray and lined with waxed paper. To make a perfect lining, trace around the bottom of the pan onto the waxed paper, and cut the circle out (see photo below).
    Divide batter evenly into the three pans, lift and drop onto the counter a few times to release bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. If your cake layers have high crowns, you can press them down as I described here. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks. Peel off waxed paper, cool until room temperature.

Nutella Mousse:
1 cup 40% heavy whipping cream
1 jar (370g) nutella, divided

    Whip cream over an ice bath with chilled beaters until stiff peaks form. Add Nutella, reserving 3 tablespoons for decorating. Beat until thoroughly combined and refrigerate until needed

Almond Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups salted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

    In a medium bowl, whip butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat in milk and almond extract.

Cake assembly:
    Place one cake layer on an 8 inch cardboard cake round. Spread half of the Nutella mousse over the cake, to within 1 inch of the edge. Place second cake layer on top, then cover with the other half of the mousse. Place third cake layer on top, and put cake in the freezer for at least 45 minutes.

    To make a perfectly smooth coat of icing on this cake, we will first put a crumb coat on it. Using an offset spatula, place a large dollop of icing on top of the cake. Scrape the icing over the cake, making a very thin, smooth layer.

    Use the excess icing to spread over the sides of the cake, sealing the edges of the cake layers and making the sides flat. The crumb coat should be thin and translucent, serving the function of providing a smooth surface on which to spread the decorative icing. Place the cake back in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, tint the remaining icing a buttery yellow. I used equal amounts of Wilton Icing Colors Golden Yellow and Brown.




    Take the cake out of the freezer and place on top of an inverted cake pan. This raises the cake off the countertop so you can spread the icing all the way to the bottom. Spread an even layer of tinted icing on top of the crumb coat with a large spatula.  Make the icing as smooth as possible. To get rid of any ridges, heat the spatula over a candle flame and use it to gently smooth the icing.



Almond flower decorations:
   Spoon the remaining Nutella into a plastic sandwich bag and snip off the bottom corner to create a piping bag. For each flower, press six slivered almonds into the icing in a ring. Fill the center of the flower with Nutella.

Cover and store finished cake in the refrigerator before serving, up to three days.


1. Flinterman, A. et al. "Hazelnut allergy: from pollen-associated mild allergy to severe anaphylactic reactions." Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2008, 8:3 (June 2008).
2. Lopez, E. et al. "Effects of autoclaving and high pressure on allergenicity of hazelnut proteins." Journal of Clinical Bioinformatics, 2012, 2:12 (22 May 2012).




 

Blooming Rose Cupcakes

The Art.
     So many cupcake toppers include rose decorations, but they usually require advanced skills with buttercream or fondant. I love this decorating technique because it is so stunning, yet doesn't require much decorating skill or special tools. In addition, covering a cupcake in real rose petals gives it an ethereal and romantic quality that simply can't be matched. While newbies can use this decorating technique, making the sugared rose petals will take some time and patience. In the end, you'll find it's worth it.
    I completed the rose theme with rose-flavored angelfood cake, topped with a billowy meringue icing.  The delicate texture and airiness of these cupcakes perfectly compliments the rose flavor. For presentation, I made a bouquet from the leftover flowers and wove ribbons around the plates.

The Science.

Structure of beta-Damascenone

    Rose scent is the most highly coveted floral scent in the perfume industry. The fragrance is exceedingly complex, varying from plant to plant and from season to season. Rose petals produce scent by releasing volatile compounds, which are made up of various terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, and fatty acid derivatives [1,2]. These compounds evaporate into the air and insects are drawn to the blooms, thus increasing the plant's pollination. Beta-Damascenone is an aromatic compound named after Rosa Damascena, and is the most common additive for rose flavor and fragrance. Through genetic manipulation, scientists have discovered several genes expressed in rose petals that are responsible for producing fragrance, exposing a link between bloom pigmentation and increased scent [2]. Sadly, most roses sold for floral arrangements have been bred for bloom color and size, and usually have little fragrance.

The Recipe.

Sugared Rose Petals:
One dozen organic roses in desired color
1 egg white
1 cup sugar

     Make sure your roses are grown organically and are not coated with anti-fungals after harvest. Gently pluck petals from 6 roses, discarding any browned or disfigured petals.  Rinse with water and pat dry. 

    Using a paintbrush, paint a thin layer of egg white on each petal, then dust with sugar, knocking off the excess.  Place on paper towels and allow to dry 1-2 hours. Store in the refrigerator in a single layer, and use petals within 24 hours.

Rose-flavored Angelfood Cupcakes:
1/3 cup cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
5 large egg whites*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-2 teaspoons rosewater




    Preheat oven to 300^oF. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Sift flour twice, then sift together with 1/4 cup sugar. Sifting several times aerates the flour so the cake will be lighter. In a large bowl, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy. Add salt and cream of tartar and beat until peaks barely form. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and rosewater, mixing until soft peaks form. Gently fold in a third of the flour/sugar at a time, stirring until incorporated after each addition. Fill cupcake tin to the top with batter. Lift and drop the pans onto the counter a couple times to release air bubbles. Bake on center rack until tops are springy and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25  minutes.** Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack until room temperature. Can be stored in an air-tight container in the freezer for two weeks. Yields 12 cupcakes.
*Save all of your egg yolks for the Bavarian cream recipe I'll give you later.
**If you have raucous children, pets, or significant others, tie them to a tree outside while the angelfood bakes.  The air in the beaten egg whites is what makes angelfood rise, so loud clatters will cause the cake to fall. Also, don't slam the oven door or bang pans around. Then you'll have no one to blame but yourself when your cupcakes fall, and you will have tied your loved ones to a tree for nothing (an act that is much easier to explain to social services while they're eating a fluffy cupcake).

Seven-Minute Meringue Icing:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 large egg white
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon rosewater

    Bring one inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.  Combine all ingredients in a large metal bowl, then set over saucepan to create a makeshift double-boiler.  Blend on high speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Wear an oven mitt on your hand that is stabilizing the bowl, to protect it from the steam. Remove from heat, add rosewater. Beat until icing is cool and billowy with stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.

Assembly:
    Frost cupcakes with a generous dollop of meringue icing and spread with spatula. Begin inserting rose petals into the icing around the edge of the cupcake. Work inward in a spiral until you reach the center.

I found that inserting 5 large petals on the periphery and 3-4 smaller ones in the center looked nice. Altering the angle at which you insert the petals will determine whether the cupcake looks more like a rosebud or a fully bloomed rose. Cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator one day.

1. Flament, I. et al. "Volatile constituents of roses: characterization of cultivars based on the headspace analysis of living flower emissions. In: Teranishi R, Buttery RG, Sugisawa H (eds) Bioactive volatile compounds from plants." American Chemical Society (1993): 269-281.
2. Yan, Huijun et al. "Isolation and identification of a putative scent-related gene RhMYB1 from rose." Molecular Biology Reports 38.7 (2011): 4475-82.