COFFEE CAKE WITH PECAN PRALINE
I've been seeing a lot of pretty pound cakes on Instagram lately and I was quite inspired to make one myself. Although I had wished for a more oozy core for the cake, I am still pretty satisfied with this nutty praline centre! I had to figure out how to create a core for these pound cakes, and I kinda had an idea to poke it with a straw BUT it wasn't that straightforward. Sometimes, the filling wouldn't pipe easily into the cake, sometimes it does but the liquidy core gets "absorbed" by the cake and then there's no more "core". Anyway, I found out that freezing the cake would prevent the liquid-core from being absorbed. So that works! BUT it means that I have to wait to DEFROST the cake before eating it. A TORTUREEE AND HONESTLY, AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. So I zap it in the microwave before, let cool and slather the cream on.
Anyway note to myself or whoever who's gonna try this, I would bake these in mini loaf tins though so that the ratio of the praline to cake will be better! But this was a good enough experiment for me to apply this method to all my future cakes.
Nobody asked...but DIDCHU KNOW I don't drink coffee?! Because it makes me nauseous and all headachy. It smells so good but I can't drink it as it is. BUT somehow when it's in cake or cream, omgzxz. I love it so much. LIKE TIRAMISU?!?! Or coffee ice cream, coffee cream cakes, HEAVENLY! So when I made this coffee whip cream, I couldn't stop eating it and I thought somehow maybe I've changed and am no longer "allergic" to coffee. Then, I made myself a cuppa and...OMG BLEARGGHHHHH. It still tasted terrible as a naked drink. VOMIT. Okay, back to sticking to coffee cakes. Oh wells.
Steps available in igstory/post @thebakerslustCOFFEE CAKE WITH PECAN PRALINE AND COFFEE CREAM
160g sugar
113g butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
210g flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp instant coffee
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 175'c.
In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee in milk and set aside
In a standmixer, cream butter with sugar till pale.
Then add eggs into the standmixer bowl, one at a time; making sure it's well-mixed before adding the other egg.
Add salt and vanilla into the batter, mix well.
In batches, stir in flour + baking powder. Alternate this with the coffee milk mixture.
[i.e. pour in some flour +baking powder into the batter >> mix >> add in some coffee mixture to the batter >> mix >> remaining flour >> mix >> remaining coffee mixture]
7. Pour into your loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes or till cooked/browned.
8. Once slightly cooled, poke a reusable straw through the centre of the cake and let it continue to cool with the straw in the middle. Then, remove straw and wrap the coffee cake in clingwrap and freeze it for about 4 hours.
Praline
100g pecans
2 tbsp honey
Toast pecans in oven at 170'c for about 15 minutes or till fragrant/toasty.
Put pecans and honey in a food processor, and process for about 15 minutes until well-blended and of a flowy consistency (see consistency in igstory)
Transfer praline into a piping bag.
Coffee cream
180g heavy cream
3 tbsp instant coffee powder
3 tbsp icing sugar
Stir to dissolve instant coffee powder into heavy cream
With a standmixer, whisk heavy cream and icing sugar till stiff peaks.
Fridge it until ready to slather on the cake.
Assembly
Remove coffee cake from freezer and cover one end of the hole with cling wrap, pipe the praline into the coffee cake. Wrap it up and freeze it to set the praline for about 2 hours or so.
Before serving, defrost the cake at room temperature (for 2-3 hours) OR zap it quickly in the microwave for about 45 secs - 1 min? (at least till cake isn't FROZEN and slightly soft to the touch, like a real cake should be)
Once done (if microwaved, let cool first) using acetate wrap, surround the coffee cake with it and then top the cake with the coffee cream. Dust the top with cocoa powder.
Then, open your mouth WIDE AND EAT IT!