Too Pretty To Eat: 3 Amazing Dessert Recipes From D.C.'s Best Bakers
Whether you want to impress someone special or just treat your friends/coworkers/neighbors to something delicious, there's no secret weapon as powerful as an insanely good dessert that looks like you went to pastry school. We're talking eye candy, here — literally. To hook you up, we convinced some of the city's best bakers — from professional pastry gurus to part-time domestic goddesses — to share their recipes for some of the most gorgeous treats we've ever seen. Baking for a health-conscious date? A dozen deserving colleagues? Your fashion-loving besties? Yep — one (if not all) of these recipes will definitely make it into your after-dinner arsenal.
Photo: Courtesy of Apollinas
Fashion-forward baker and blogger Apollina Spoto whipped up this citrus cake with lemon curd filling, inspired by Stella McCartney's spring '11 collection, and we're in awe. Light and perfect for spring, this confection is covered with slices of fresh citrus fruits, which is handy for those of us who aren't exactly artistes with the frosting.
Stella Cake
For the citrus cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pans
Grated zest of two oranges
Grated zest of two lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
For the lemon curd filling:
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the fresh orange-lemon frosting:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
16 ounces confectioners’ sugar (about 3 3/4 cups), sifted
Pinch of salt
For the decoration:
Blood oranges or small grapefruits, regular oranges, lemons, and limes, cut in slices and halved. (On the edges, you can drape the whole slices of fruit.)
Fresh mint For the cake:
Heat oven to 350°F. Butter two 10" round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter again, and dust with flour. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, about two to three minutes. Mix in grated orange and lemon zest. Beat in vanilla, then add eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three parts and the milk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined — don’t over-mix. Divide batter between cake pans, leveling the top of each. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes for a 10" pan. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.
For the lemon curd:
You can find lemon curd at most grocery stores and specialty markets, or you can make your own. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add the butter. Set the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise, about 15 minutes (but it might take longer — keep whisking!) Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper directly on the surface of the lemon curd and refrigerate until completely cool, at least two hours and up to two days.
For the frosting:
Beat the butter and lemon zest on high until light and fluffy, about three to five minutes. Add the orange juice. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add sugar, then salt, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Transfer one of the cooled cakes to a plate and spread with the lemon curd. Top with the remaining cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Then frost the cake and decorate with the fresh mint and sliced fruit.
Photo: Courtesy of Apollinas
Fashion-forward baker and blogger Apollina Spoto whipped up this citrus cake with lemon curd filling, inspired by Stella McCartney's spring '11 collection, and we're in awe. Light and perfect for spring, this confection is covered with slices of fresh citrus fruits, which is handy for those of us who aren't exactly artistes with the frosting.
Stella Cake
For the citrus cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pans
Grated zest of two oranges
Grated zest of two lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
For the lemon curd filling:
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the fresh orange-lemon frosting:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
16 ounces confectioners’ sugar (about 3 3/4 cups), sifted
Pinch of salt
For the decoration:
Blood oranges or small grapefruits, regular oranges, lemons, and limes, cut in slices and halved. (On the edges, you can drape the whole slices of fruit.)
Fresh mint For the cake:
Heat oven to 350°F. Butter two 10" round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter again, and dust with flour. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, about two to three minutes. Mix in grated orange and lemon zest. Beat in vanilla, then add eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three parts and the milk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined — don’t over-mix. Divide batter between cake pans, leveling the top of each. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes for a 10" pan. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.
For the lemon curd:
You can find lemon curd at most grocery stores and specialty markets, or you can make your own. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Add the butter. Set the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise, about 15 minutes (but it might take longer — keep whisking!) Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper directly on the surface of the lemon curd and refrigerate until completely cool, at least two hours and up to two days.
For the frosting:
Beat the butter and lemon zest on high until light and fluffy, about three to five minutes. Add the orange juice. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add sugar, then salt, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Transfer one of the cooled cakes to a plate and spread with the lemon curd. Top with the remaining cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Then frost the cake and decorate with the fresh mint and sliced fruit.
