Mrs Kostyras Spice Cake Recipes

MRS. KOSTYRA'S SPICE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and spices three times.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
• To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; spoon glaze over cupcakes, and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

MRS. KOSTYRA'S SPICE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, salt, nutmeg, mace, and cloves three times.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto a plate, remove pan, and invert cake again onto the rack, so it's top side up.
• Using a toothpick, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Brush top and sides of cake with glaze while the cake is still warm; let cool.
• Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, place on a serving platter, and serve.

COUNTRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Dough:Sift together flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Sift again. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Add butter; pulse until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add egg yolks and sour cream; pulse until dough just begins to come together. If dough is too dry, add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough comes together. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm but pliable, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center. Lightly butter a 10-inch round springform pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 15-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into bottom and up side of pan. With a paring knife, trim dough to about 1/2 inch below the rim. Crimp edges with the tines of a fork. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
• Line dough with parchment. Fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake until crust is firm and dry, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove parchment and beans; let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Filling:In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs and egg white on medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in granulated sugar to combine. Add farmer cheese, sour cream, lemon and orange zests, raisins, and vanilla; mix until fully combined. Transfer to cooled crust.
• Bake until set at edges but still slightly wobbly in center, 50 to 55 minutes (if cake is browning too quickly, tent edges of crust with foil). Transfer to wire rack; let cool completely. Refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours; serve.

MRS. KOSTYRA'S BABKAS

Steps:

• Butter three kugelhopf molds (each 1 1/2 quarts and 8 inches in diameter); set aside. Butter a large bowl; set aside. Heat milk and butter in a saucepan over medium-low, stirring, until butter is melted.
• Sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk together 4 eggs, the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thick, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, liqueur, zests, yeast mixture, and milk mixture; whisk 1 minute more. With a wooden spoon, gradually stir in up to 10 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until a sticky dough forms. Stir in dried fruits and almonds.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead, dusting with flour if it seems sticky, until smooth and soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to buttered bowl. Loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down dough. Loosely cover with buttered wrap; let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more.
• Punch down dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 1 minute. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each piece into an 18-inch-long rope. Fit each rope into a buttered mold; press end of rope into dough to seal. Loosely cover with buttered wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together remaining egg and the cream in a small bowl. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in molds on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Unmold onto rack, and let cool completely, larger sides down.

MRS. KOSTYRA'S LADY BALTIMORE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-by-2-inch round pans; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt three times; set aside.
• Prepare cakes: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk and the water, and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Set batter aside.
• In a clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold gently into reserved batter until well combined.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and return to the rack to cool, top sides up.
• Prepare filling: Transfer 1 cup frosting to a medium bowl. Add figs, raisins, and nuts. Stir to combine, and set aside.
• Assemble cake: Place one layer on a serving plate; spread with filling. Place the second cake layer on top. Spread frosting over the sides and top of the cake.