Raymond mentioned that Karen Krasne was a local chef, that he knew her, and that he also tasted some of these creations in her bakery. He was more than willing to join me if I wanted. It took us two more emails before we had a list of cakes and a baking date for the first one.
Our first endeavor?
Behold the Lemon Praline Cake Torte. A torte made from a sponge cake (Génoise) soaked with mild-tangy lemon syrup, covered in exquisite lemon buttercream, and with a French meringue (think macaroon) center for a crunchy surprise. All of this is encased in a hazelnut and almond praline shell.
2 days of baking and eight steps later, and I’m happy as a clam. My baking guru is jumping with joy. Sometimes you do need to make a complicated cake to be right with the world.
Raymond posted his experiences, and it’s a great recap, so I’m going to direct you to his post so you can read all about it in more detail and check out his décor, much better than mine. As for me, here are my quick thoughts on each of the steps:
Step 1: GENOISE – I had no issues with this step. The cake came together beautifully, the instructions were clear, and her timing was spot on: “Whip the mixture on high speed until light in color and tripled in volume, 7 to 10 minutes,” and in 7 minutes, my batter was tripled in volume and light in color! I love it when recipes do what they need to do.
Step 2: LEMON SIMPLE SYRUP—None. Easy-peasy.
Step 3: LEMON CURD—fasted lemon curd on the east coast! Having done this before in other recipes (I’m looking at you Lemon Canadian Crown) I prepared myself to be stirring over the stove for a longgggg time. It turns out that after about 4 minutes, this was done and it was so delectable, I had to stop myself from licking the bowl, spoon, and saucepan. I dreamed about it for 24 hours while it was in the refrigerator.
Step 4: ITALIAN MERINGUE—Again, this was a revelation for me, I have made so many Italian Meringues, and I always braced myself for a “sure-to-happen” burn from the hot sugar syrup. But again, it all came together beautifully and within the noted time frame. High five to you, Ms. Krasne!
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