Almond Pralines n Custard Layer Cake

Festive baking

Normally i take a lot of time to finish one post, but when I posted this pic on facebook after eid, i got a lot of requests for the recipe, and so for a change i'm finishing this one a little faster.

I went for a purely white cake for Eid this time, (mainly b'coz we went on a chocolate overdose for my son't birthday, and didn't want to make anything chocolaty for some time).

So i was really confused as to what to make on Eid (can't think straight when there is no chocolate involved), thought of a cheese cake, or lemon squares, or muffins, and i kept on searching the net for ideas, finally zeroed in on a combination.

So most of the recipe is just combining simple ingredients to get a lovely light custard filled, sponge.

Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:-

3 eggs

⅓ cup sugar

7 tbsp flour

1.5 tbsp unsweetened vanilla custard powder

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp boiling water

for the caramel syrup:-
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

for the custard filling:-
750 ml milk
4 - 5 tbsp sugar (don't make the custard to sweet, as we are soaking the cake in syrup and adding pralines)
40 g custard powder (add more if required, the end result should b like a pudding)

for the almond praline:-
1/2 cup toasted almonds or any other nut
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter

For topping:
1 packet of whipped cream powder or whipped cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 º C and line a square or rectangular baking tray with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer beat the eggs and sugar until very thick and four times the initial volume. When the beaters are lifted they should leave a trail of egg on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Fold in the sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking powder very gently. And then fold in the water.

Spread mixture on parchment paper, evenly. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes until the center is springy to touch. 
i made double the quantity of sponge, given in the recipe to get four layers of sponge cake (approximately 6" by 10" ), but i didn't mix the batter all at once, because an egg sponge batter deflates pretty quicky, which would have resulted in the last layers of cake not rising properly. instead i first mixed a batch with three eggs and finished baking them, and then mixed another batch.

for the caramel syrup:- heat the sugar and 1/2 cup of water on medium high flame, stir until the sugar is just dissolve and then leave undisturbed(no stirring, but you can swirl the pan) till the mixture turns amber, remove from heat and add another 1/2 cup of water, mix well and bring to boil until the mixture is properly combined and liquid  cool to room temperature. (and prepared my syrup a day ahead)

for the Almond praline:-  toast a 1/2 cup of almonds at 150 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes until you start getting a nice toasted smell.
add the butter and sugar in a shallow pan and heat till melted ( do not stir ), when the sugar starts to caremelize, add the almond and mix till all the almonds are well coated, spread on a tray lined with foil paper and cool. once completely cooled and hardened. chop in a food processor.

for the custard :- heat milk and sugar, till it comes to a boil add the custard powder dissolved in a little milk and simmer till it thickens to the required consistency, chill in a covered container.

To assemble:-

soak the first layer of sponge with caramel syrup and spread the custard filling on it, sprinkle with chopped almond praline.

cover with the second layer of sponge cake and repeat the same procedure. use up all the layers of sponge. spread chilled whipped cream on the top layer, and sprinkle with slight larger pieces of the almond praline.

chill for a few hours before serving, to set perfectly.

A perfect dessert for anybody who loves white cakes instead of chocolate