LIQUEUR CAKES
Published in: Barefoot Contessa

4 Cakes
8 eggs
2 2/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean OR 1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup melted butter -- cooled to room temperature

Syrup:
3 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/8 cup water 1 3/4 C liqueur of choice (see below)

Optional Liqueurs & Toppings:
1/3 cup toasted almonds (for Amaretto cake)
2 tablespoon grated orange zest (for Grand Marnier Cake)
1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (for Frangelico cake)
rum and brandy while not really liqueurs -- also work well in these cakes

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 4 loaf pans.

Split open vanilla bean and scrape seeds into cream. Drop pod into cream and heat until scalding. Let cool.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt until well blended.

Sift the flour and baking powder together. Whisk the sifted dry ingredients into the egg/sugar mixture just until blended. Remove (and discard) the
vanilla bean pod from the cream, and whisk cream into the batter. Gently mix in the melted butter, pour batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for
50-60 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

While cake is baking, prepare syrup by combining sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan. Stir mixture over medium-high heat until it comes to
a simmer. Continue to heat (WITHOUT FURTHER STIRRING or your finished product will have sugar crystals!) until mixture comes to a full boil. Cover
(also important to avoid those nasty sugar crystals) and continue to boil until all sugar is dissolved and liquid is clear, about a minute. Remove from
heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. Stir in liqueur.

After removing cakes from the oven, allow them to cool in pan for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn cakes out, then
immediately return cakes to pans. Use a thin wooden skewer to poke numerous holes into the cake, about 1 inch apart. The holes should go all the way
from the top to the bottom of the cake. Pour 1/4 syrup mixture over each cake and, if desired, sprinkle with optional toppings. Let cool until the
cakes have absorbed the syrup. Remove from pans.

Recipe Notes: If giving these cakes as gifts, use disposable aluminum foil loaf pans and give the cake in the pan.

My Notes: I also added 1 teaspoon lemon zest to the cake batter. When finished and almost cooled, I made a Lemon glaze to drizzle over the cakes.
(juice of one lemon and 1 cup confectioner's sugar whisked together)

These cakes make wonderful gifts or are great to serve to guests in your own home. You can store them up to two weeks in a cool place. They also freeze
exceedingly well, which is a good excuse to make extra so you can have them anytime.

Makes 4 Loaves (8 inch X 3 3/4 inch)

http://www.terryanddave.com/Terry

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