Cakes Vs. Pies

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie

Ingredients
for 10 servings

5 granny smith apples, sliced
2 cans cinnamon roll
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray a pie dish with nonstick oil.
2. Peel and cut the apples into thin slices and place in a bowl.
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch to apples and stir.
4. Cut each cinnamon roll in half and roll out with flour until thin.
5. Layer the bottom of the pie dish with the flattened cinnamon rolls to create a bottom crust.
6. Add the apples and layer the rest of the rolls on top to create a closed crust, pinch any holes together with your fingers.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
8. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
9. Allow the pie to cool and drizzle with icing.
10. Enjoy!

3-Part Mirror Glaze Cake

White Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients
for 1 cake

8 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups heavy cream, for the eggs
1 ½ cups white chocolate, over 30% cocoa butter
2 cups heavy cream, chilled, for whipping

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with a hand mixer until frothy and airy, then mix in the sugar slowly.
2. Beat until lemon-colored and fluffy.
3. Heat the cream in a pot over medium heat until steaming but not boiling, then slowly mix in half of the cream with the eggs – being sure to not cook the eggs by pouring too much cream inside before it’s mixed.
4. Pour the warm creamy egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the cream and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon without dripping off too much.
5. Mix in the white chocolate until smooth, then transfer the mix to a bowl and press cling film into the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill completely.
6. Once the white chocolate mixture is set, beat the cold cream in a large bowl until stiff peaks. Be careful not to overmix, it’s safer to undermix than the over mix.
7. Carefully fold in the white chocolate mixture into the cream, a little at a time, until folded in completely.
8. Set aside for later use.
9. Enjoy!

Mirror Glaze

Ingredients
for 1 cake

1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 1 can
15 gelatin sheets
26 oz white chocolate, chopped, over 30% cocoa butter
gel food coloring, of choice

Preparation

1. Boil the water, sugar, and condensed milk in a pot for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
2. Bloom the gelatin in 8 cups (2 liters) of cold water for 5 minutes, then wring the gelatin sheets of excess water and mix into the sugar mixture.
3. Pour the liquid over the chocolate, letting it sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the chocolate to soften.
4. Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the chocolate and the liquid, making sure that you are not blending in air bubbles by lifting up the blender too high. It’s okay to go slow, just make sure it’s all blended with as little bubbles as possible, which will show up in the final product.
5. Sieve the mix into a large jug or vertical container to remove any excess bubbles. If there are still bubbles, continue to sieve back and forth. A trick to remove air bubbles from the surface is to manually pop them with a toothpick or to press cling film into the surface and remove the bubbles.
6. Separate the glaze into different containers and color them to your desire.
7. We used red and white for this cake. Blend the coloring with the glaze until the color is distributed evenly, then cover each container with the cling film, pressing the film into the glaze to ensure that there is no skin when you are ready to use the glaze.
8. When you are ready to use the glaze, make sure each one is around 90-96°F, then pour the colored glazes back into one container. Swirl them if you’d like, then glaze your cake!

Mirror Glaze Cake

Ingredients
for 1 cake

1 white chocolate mousse, 1 recipe
18 oz strawberry jam, seedless
2 round vanilla cakes, prepared with box instructions and trimmed to 1 cm, 1/2 inch thick
mirror glaze, 1 recipe

Preparation

1. Spread the jam evenly into the bottom of a round 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan, then place one of the cake rounds on top. Freeze completely.
2. In a 9-inch by 3-inch (23 cm 8 cm) by silicone round cake mold, pour ⅔ of the chocolate mousse then tap the mold on the table to release any air bubbles.
3. Place the frozen cake & jam disc on top of the mousse, jam-side down. Press the cake down slightly, then cover it with the rest of the mousse.
4. Place the 2nd cake round on top, pressing down until the mousse rises to the level of the cake.
5. Carefully transfer to a freezer and freeze overnight. It is vital that the cake is 100% frozen through.
6. Place a can on top of a baking sheet, then carefully unmold the cake onto the can. Make sure to work quickly and that the glaze is already prepared.
7. When the mirror glaze is between 90 and 96°F, pour the glaze over the cake in a circular motion, making sure to start in the center and work your way outwards.
8. You only have one chance to glaze the cake, since the glaze will start to set due to the cold temperature of the cake, so do not pour a 2nd round of glaze after the first one.
9. Enjoy!

Blueberry Slab Pie

Ingredients
for 12 servings

4 8 inch refrigerated pie crusts
5 cups blueberry
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon Lemon zest

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200˚C.
2. In a bowl, mix the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside.
3. On parchment paper, stack 2 pie crusts on top of each other. Roll out to 17 inches by 12 inches (43 cm by 30 cm). Cut diagonally into strips.
4. Roll out another 2 pie crusts. Place in a 15x10x1 inch (38x25x2.5 cm) baking sheet.
5. Spread out blueberry mixture into the crust, then form a lattice top with the pie crust strips. Tuck the crust inward around the edges, and bake for 35 minutes.
6. Serve warm with ice cream.
7. Enjoy!

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Bundt Cake

Ingredients
for 8 servings

16 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box chocolate cake mix, prepared accordingly to box instructions
10 chocolate sandwich cookies
GLAZE

8 oz high quality chocolate, 60% cocoa content or higher, chopped finely
2 cups heavy cream

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth.
3. Pour half of the cake batter into the bottom of a greased bundt cake pan, smoothing it with a spatula.
4. With an ice cream scoop, scoop the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the cake batter, making sure that it does not touch the sides of the cake pan.
5. Place a chocolate sandwich cookie on top of the cream cheese scoops, making a circle around the ring of the pan.
6. Pour the rest of the cake batter on top of the cookies, smoothing it evenly.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, then cool completely.
8. Invert the cake onto a wire rack set on top of a baking tray.
9. To make the glaze, microwave the chocolate and the cream together in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the glaze is smooth and glossy.
10. Pour the glaze over the cake, letting the excess drip off the wire rack and onto the baking tray.
11. Once the glaze has set, slice the cake, and serve,
12. Enjoy!