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Archive for the ‘Dessert’ Category

Pumpkin Bread

When the air turns cool and Fall is in the air, you know what time it is. It’s anything Pumpkin time. I came across this recipe, tried it out and just had to share it with you. It’s very delicious, light and soft in texture, not heavy and dense like some recipes.

The size loaf pans (8 x 4 inch) used in this recipe is not a size that I have (mine are 9 x 5 in). You could just watch the baking time closely or you could buy some 8 x 4 inch foil pans at the grocery store, which is what I did, and it worked out perfectly.

Pumpkin bread freezes really, well up to circa 3 months. Just thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Since this makes two loaves, I brought one loaf into work and the other I sliced up and placed a piece of waxed (or parchment) paper in-between slices and wrapped all of it up good before placing in freezer. That way I can just pull out however many slices I want to thaw and 15 sec in the microwave will give you a warm, delicious slice of Pumpkin bread to enjoy.

Pumpkin Bread, make 2 loaves

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (260 grams)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter (170 grams), room temperature

2 cups sugar (420 grams)

2 large eggs

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (Libby’s) (425 grams)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans (20 x 10 cm), set aside.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg), set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat softened butter and sugar until blended. Add eggs one at the time and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add pumpkin and beat until incorporated, it may look grainy which is ok. Add flour mixture in 2-3 increments and mix on low speed until incorporated.

Divide batter evenly and pour into prepared loaf pans. Bake 65-75 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let loaves cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto baking rack to cool completely.

Source: Once Upon a Chef

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Swirled Black-Bottom Cupcake

Black-bottom cupcakes are seriously delicious and super moist, hence no frosting needed at all on these little babies. Funny name though and think it comes from the cupcake originally having the cream cheese encased in chocolate, sort of like a peanutbutter cup. Here I made half of the cupcakes with the  cream cheese center and the other half with a swirling effect. You pick what you like the best and enjoy.

Making Black-Bottom Cupcakes

Black-Bottom Cupcakes, makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

For the filling:

8 oz cream cheese, low fat, at room temperature (226 g)

1/3 cup sugar (75 g)

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 oz semi-sweet chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (60 g)

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (195 g)

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder(33 g)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (190 g)

1 cup water (225 ml or 2.25 dl)

1/3 cup vegetable oil (75 ml or 0.75 dl)

1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12 cup muffing pan with cupcake liners, set aside.

Make the filling:

Beat together cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) and set aside.

Make the cupcakes: 

In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl mix together brown sugar, water, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and stir in wet ingredients. Stir only until smooth, careful not to over-stir.

Fill each cupcake liner half-way with chocolate batter, leaving a small amount of batter in the bowl which you will need later on. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese batter into center of each cupcake, trying to not let cream cheese batter touch the sides of cupcake liner. Divide cream cheese batter evenly among all 12 cupcakes. Using the remaining chocolate batter, spoon batter over cream cheese to seal it off. Cupcakes will be 90% full which is ok. If you wish to swirl the batter, insert a butter knife only about 1/2 inch into each cupcake moving the knife around in an abstract pattern to create the swirling effect.

Bake for 25 minutes until the cupcakes are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed.

Black-Bottom Cupcake

Source: Smitten Kitchen via David Lebovitz

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Lagkage – Danish Layered Cake

There are no real rules on how to make a Lagkage (layered cake) but typically it starts with 3 to 6 cake layers. I used 4 cake layers and the recipe I link to here makes one cake which is sliced into two cake layers. I also have another recipe here which makes one cake that is sliced into 3 cake layers, but the methode is a little more involved. These cake layers incidentally freezes really well which makes for easy Lagkage making. Filling can be anything your heart desires and I chose a combination of Kagecreme, jam, whipped cream with fresh raspberries and crushed meringue cookies. The Kagecreme I used is a powder mixed with milk which is whipped into a cream, so basically it’s like a pudding. I have not tried using a vanilla pudding mix but I would think you could use it as long as it’s not too thin. Or you could choose to make a super delicious custard but it does take a little extra time. The meringue cookies was store bought but you can also bake them yourself as long as they are completely dried out and not sticky in the middle.

Hindbærlagkage

Layered Cake With Raspberries (10-12 servings)

Ingredients:

4 round cakes

1 package vanilla flavored KageCreme (or homemade custard)

raspberry jam, seedless

1 pint heavy whipping cream (473 ml)

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

2-3 big handfull broken-up meringue cookies (or Danish macaroons)

12 oz fresh raspberries, crushed (340 g)

Directions:

Prepare KageCreme according to package directions or make your custard and set aside.

Stir up raspberry jam to loosen it.

Beat heavy whipping cream with confectioners sugar until it starts to thicken. Set aside a few raspberries for decorating, then crush the remaining raspberries using a fork. Add crushed raspberries to whipped cream. Crush meringue cookies into small pieces and add to whipped cream. Fold crushed raspberries and meringue cookies into whipped cream.

Select your serving platter. Cut 4 pieces of waxed paper (or parchment paper)and arrange on serving platter so all edges of the platter is covered with waxed paper. Place first cake on top of waxed paper. Spread with a thin layer of raspberry jam. Spread a generous layer of KageCreme (or custard). Place the second cake on top. Spread a layer of whipped cream. Place third cake on top. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam. Spread a generous layer of KageCreme (or custard). Place fourth cake on top. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top and around the sides of cake. Decorate with the reserved fresh raspberries. Finally pull out the waxed paper from beneath the cake leaving a clean edge on the serving platter. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Pumpkin Pie

Every year I tell myself, that this year I am going to make a Pumpkin Pie myself. But every year I resolve to to a store-bought pie which is pretty good and so quick and easy. But if you make the pie crust ahead-of-time and store it in the freezer then it’s really not too much trouble making the pie yourself, not to mention, how wonderful this Pumpkin pie taste. The filling has an added wonderful orange flavor which really compliments the pumpkin and it is light in texture. I was contemplating making my own pumpkin puree as well but was concerned with getting the correct water content in the puree and possibly ending up with a soggy pie crust, so I opted for the canned puree, which is just fine. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

For pie crust (makes two pie crusts)

350 grams all-purpose flour ( 12.3 oz or 2 1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

226 grams unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (8 oz or 2 sticks)

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water (60-120 ml)

For the filling

15 oz canned pumpkin puree (425 grams)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoon grated orange zest

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons dark rum

Directions:

For the pie crust: Cut up butter and place in refrigerator until ready to use. Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, process of combine. Add cold butter to flour and pulse until butter is the size of small peas. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup ice water in a steady stream through feed tube, only until dough starts to clump together when pinched. Careful not to overmix. Turn dough onto countertop and quickly work it together into a ball. Divide into two equal portions and flatten each portion into a 5 inch (12 cm) disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. At this point you can also freeze dough for up to 1 month. Defrost dough in refrigerator overnight before using.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to fit into a 9 inch (23 cm) pie dish. To prevent dough from sticking to countertop keep lifting and rotating dough. Roll dough onto rolling pin and lift dough into pie dish. Gently press dough into place, do not pull dough as this will cause shrinkage. Trim dough with a knife around the outer edge, fold excess dough inward to form an edge and crimp edge to create a scalloped look if desired. Chill dough before blind baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). After dough has chilled, place pie dish onto a baking sheet. Using a fork prick holes in the bottom and sides of dough. Line pie with parchment paper and fill 3/4 full with pie weights or dried beans. Bake crust for 15 minutes. Remove parchment paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes.

For the Filling: Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, orange zest, eggs, cream, milk and rum,  making sure egg whites are broken up. Pour filling into pre-baked pie shell and cover pie edges with foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted 1 inch from outer edge comes out clean. Place baked pie on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. Store leftovers in refrigeator. Enjoy!

Source: Pie Crust – Joy of Baking. Pumpkin Filling – BarefootContessa, Foolproof.

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Nutella Gelato

Nutella Gelato

Nutella, what’s not to like. I practically grew up on this stuff 😘 So why not incorporate it into a silky smooth, perfect Nutella Gelato. Guaranteed to keep you cool and perfectly happy on these late summer days.

Nutella Gelato

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (16 fl oz or 473 ml)

2 cups heavy cream (16 fl oz or 473 ml)

1/4 cup sugar (1.7 oz or 50 g), plus an additional 1/4 cup sugar (1.7 oz or 50 g)

4 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup Nutella (6.2 oz or 175 g)

Directions:

Combine milk, cream and 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan, heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

Place egg yolks and 1/4 cup remaining sugar in a bowl and beat until thick and pale yellow. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine.

While beating, drizzle 1/2 cup of the warm milk into the egg mixture, this will temper the eggs. Then pour egg mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Pour custard mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Add nutella and stir until completely dissolved. Chill mixture completely before pouring into ice cream maker and follow manufacture’s directions to freeze. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

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Eton Mess

Eton Mess

Eton Mess gets its unique name from Eton college in England where it is the traditional dessert served at their annual cricket game. To me this dessert is also perfect for a summers evening and if you are having visitors over, it takes no time at all to assemble.

You can make this dessert even easier if you use store-bought meringue cookies, but in case you are unable to find the cookies at your local store, I have included a Meringue recipe here. The recipe calls for superfine sugar, but if you don’t have that on hand you can simply just place regular granulated sugar in a food processor and process for 60 seconds, and voila, you have superfine sugar.

Eton Mess – makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

450 gram fresh strawberries (approx 16 oz)

1-2 tablespoons sugar

240 milliliter heavy whipping cream (8 fl oz or 1 cup)

meringue cookies

shaved chocolate, for decoration

Directions:

Rinse strawberries, remove tops and cut into halves or quarters. Sprinkle strawberries with sugar and set aside to macerate for at least 30 minutes.

Beat whipping cream until it starts to thicken, but is still soft. Break meringue cookies into bite size pieces.

Layer strawberries, whipped cream and meringue cookies into your serving glass, finishing off with shaved chocolate. Served immediately and enjoy!

Meringue Cookie (makes 80 cookies)

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

150 gram superfine sugar (5.3 oz)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

food color, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Place egg whites in a bowl and beat until foamy. Add cream of tarter and beat on medium-high speed until egg whites hold soft peaks. Continue to beat and add sugar, a little at a time, until meringue hold stiff peaks. Beat in vanilla extract and food color (if desired).

Take a small amount of meringue and dap it on the underside corners of the parchment paper, to anchor the paper in place. Load meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip of your choice and pipe 1 1/2 inch (about 4 cm) rounds of meringue onto parchment paper. You can pipe the meringue pretty close together since it will not spread out during baking, like a cookie might. Alternatively, you can simply just spoon small mounds of meringue onto parchment paper. Bake meringue in the middle of oven for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating baking sheets halfway during baking. Turn oven off and let cookies sit with oven door closed for several hours or overnight, to finish drying.

Source: adapted from Joy of Baking

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Black Magic Chocolate Cake

Black Magic Chocolate Cake

I have been reading a lot about this cake on social media and it got so much praise that I simply had to give it a try. And I have to say that the rumors about this cake is true. This is an outrageously super duper delicious chocolate cake, and what’s more, it is pretty easy to make, and what’s even more, you can easily make and assemble this cake the day before you intend to serve it.

Just a note about springform pans. If the batter is thin, like the one in this recipe, the springform pan can leak a little. To prevent a mess you can a wrap a little foil around the outside of the pan, or you can simply just lay foil on the baking rack below the pan.

Black Magic Cake (serves 8-10)

Ingredients:

For the cake:

275 g all-purpose flour (9.7 oz or 4.5 dl)

425 g sugar (15 oz or 5 dl)

90 g unsweetened cocoa (3.2 oz or 2 dl)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

8.5 fl oz fresh brewed cooled coffee (2.5 dl)

8.5 fl oz milk (2.5 dl)

4.2 fl oz vegetable oil (1.25 dl)

For the frosting:

17 fl oz heavy whipping cream (5 dl)

185 g sugar (6.5 oz or 2 dl)

52 g unsweetened cocoa (1.8 oz or 1 dl)

1 tsp vanilla sugar

Directions:

To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 9 inch round spring-form pans with baking spray and line bottom of pans with parchment paper, set aside.

Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside. Combine eggs, cooled coffee, milk and vegetable oil in a bowl and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, start mixer on slow to combine and then increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, dough will be very thin.

Divide dough into two equal portions and pour dough into prepared pans. Bake pans one at the time, or if baking both at the same time, rotate pans halfway through baking. Bake on middle rack for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely in pans.

To make frosting: combine cream, sugar, cocoa and vanilla sugar in a bowl and beat until you have a thick mousse consistency.

Assembly: remove cooled cakes from pans. If cakes have a slightly curved top, you can level cakes by cutting tops off using a serrated knife. Place one cake onto serving dish and spread half of the frosting out over the cake. Place second cake on top and spread out the remaining frosting. Place cake in refrigerator until ready to serve. Cake can easily be baked and assembled 1 day ahead of time. Enjoy!

Source: frydlearning.dk

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Fastelavnsbolle with Remonce and Raspberry Cream

Fastelavnsbolle with Remonce and Raspberry Cream

It is that time of year again, time for Danish Fastelavn. I have written about the details of this fun children’s holiday before and I have baked the traditional Fastelavnsboller which you can see here and here, but this year I figured I would make a quick and easy, yet equally delicious, version of my previous recipes. So this is a short-cut to Fastelavnsboller made with store-bought croissant dough which is filled with remonce and baked. The filling is a raspberry cream but you can use any filling you desire. I hope you enjoy this short-cut.

Fastelavnsboller short-cut

Fastelavnsboller short-cut

Fastelavnsboller (makes 6)

Ingredients:

1 store-bought roll croissant dough

1 egg, for glazing rolls

1 tbsp cold water

For the Remonce:

50 g butter, room temperature

50 g Marcipan

50 g sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

For the Raspberry Cream:

2 dl heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp confectioners sugar

2 tbsp raspberry jam

red food coloring, optional

For decorating:

confectioners sugar

1 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make Remonce: beat butter, marcipan, sugar and vanilla sugar until smooth and creamy (4-5 minutes). Set aside.

Unfold croissant dough and cut into 6 equal squares. Drop a teaspoonful of Remonce on each square. Fold corners into middle, pinch seams shut, turn over and gently form into a round roll using your hands. Place seam side down onto a prepared baking sheet. Beat 1 egg with water and brush rolls with egg wash. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet.

To make Raspberry Cream: combine whipping cream and confectioners sugar, beat to a soft whipped cream (beaters are starting to leave tracks in cream). Add raspberry jam and red food coloring (optional), stir to combine. Load cream into a piping bag with a decorative piping tip (or you can use and cut the tip off a zip-lock bag).

Cut top off baked roll, pipe cream onto the bottom roll and place lid on top. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and crushed freeze dried raspberries. Enjoy!

Source: Odense Marcipan

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Romkugler

Romkugler

Romkugler is a classic Danish dessert which is always on my “to indulge in” list when I go back home for a visit. I love these little balls. They used to be made from left-over cake in the bakery to avoid waste, but I imagine nowadays cakes are probably made specifically for this purpose. So next time you have some left-over cake (yeah right, who has left-over chocolate cake) toss it into the freezer, and then when your ready, make Rum Balls. Your family will love you for it.

It took me a little while to figure out the best process for making the sprinkles stick. The original recipe did not use chocolate to make the sprinkles stick, and without the chocolate, they just don’t stick very well. First I tried dipping the ball into the melted chocolate, but it was too much chocolate and it took way too many sprinkles to cover the ball. Then I simply just dipped the ball into the chocolate halfway, and used my fingers to smir a thin chocolate coating all over the ball. Then I tossed it into the sprinkles, and the sprinkles stuck perfectly to the ball. Traditionally the sprinkles are chocolate sprinkles, but it can be any kind, any color sprinkles, coconut or chopped nuts, whatever you like. You can also use real rum instead of imitation rum but I think the flavor is much better with the imitation rum.

Romkugler

Romkugler

Romkugler – Danish Rum Balls (makes approx 25)

Ingredients:

200 g (7 oz) left-over chocolate cake

50 g (1.75 oz) marzipan

1 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa

100 g (3.5 oz) semi-sweet chocolate, divided

1 tablespoon raspberry preserves, seedless

1 tablespoon imitation rum

100 g (3.5 oz) sprinkles

Directions:

Give chocolate a quick chop, divide into half (two 50 gram portions) and set aside.

Using a food processor or a hand-mixer, process left-over cake, marzipan and cocoa until crumbly. Melt the first half portion of chocolate in microwave or over a water-bath until smooth. Add melted chocolate, raspberry preserve and imitation rum to cake crumbs, mix until combined. Roll into small balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Melt the second half of chocolate in microwave or over a water-bath until smooth. Take one ball at the time, dip halfway into melted chocolate and using your fingers, smear chocolate around ball to make it sticky. Toss ball into sprinkles and turn to cover with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls. Place balls onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate. Store in covered Tupperware container, keep refrigerated. Enjoy!

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Ding Dong

Ding Dong

These cakes taste a lot like the famous Ding Dong, minus the chocolate covering. I must admit that the cakes were taste tested repeatedly and that they passed the “delish” mark. The chocolate cake is soft and moist and the cream is a silky Marshmallow frosting. I also added a thin layer of jam and/or Nutella which turned out really good. The cakes are pretty easy to make. I would say the only tricky thing is when you go to punch out the cake rounds, make sure to press the cutter into the cake slowly, otherwise the cake edge will tear. Store cakes in refrigerator, but for best results, remove them from the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before serving. I know you’ll really enjoy these little tasty treats.

Ding Dong

Ding Dong

Chocolate Cake (makes one 17 x 11 inch sheet cake)(43 x 28 cm)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (265 g or 9.3 oz)

2 cups sugar (425 g or 15 oz)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (52 g or 1.8 oz)

2 sticks unsalted butter (224 g or 7.9 oz)

1 cup boiling water (236 ml or 8 fl oz)

1/2 cup buttermilk (118 ml or 4 fl oz)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (224 g or 7.9 oz)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

One 7 oz jar of marshmallow creme (198 g)

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted (230 g)

2-4 tablespoons light cream

For assembly:

strawberry, apricot, raspberry jam or nutella

Maraschino Cherries

Directions:

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 17 x 11 inch (43 x 28 cm) baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and salt, set aside.

In a small saucepan melt butter. Add cocoa and stir until well blended. Heat water in microwave until boiling. Add water to butter mixture, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. While mixing, pour hot butter mixture into flour, continue to mix until combined.

Combine buttermilk, beaten eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour/butter mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before assembling cakes.

To make frosting:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and marshmallow creme. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners sugar. Add cream and beat to combine. Scrape down sides of bowl. With mixer on high speed, beat creme for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. If necessary, add more confectioner sugar or creme to get the right piping consistency.

To assemble cakes:

Use a cookie cutter of your choice (I used a mixture of 2 and 2 3/4 inch ovals [5 1/2 and 7 cm]). Once the cake has cooled completely, use your cookie cutter to punch out cake rounds. To avoid braking the cake edges, press cookie cutter into cake very slowly. Place half of cake rounds onto serving platter. Spread your favorite jam or nutella over cake and pipe frosting on top. Place second cake on top of frosting. Pipe a small amount of frosting on top of second cake and top with a cherry. Store in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator 20-30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Source: Cake – Tasty Kitchen, Frosting – Joy of Baking

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