Almond Praline Cake

Praline is not easily available in India and thus not many people know about it. Praline is simply a confectionary made from various nuts in sugar syrup. The nuts can be whole or they can be finely chopped or grounded to powder. They can also be any chocolate cookie containing nuts in any form. In Belgium the praline means a hard chocolate shell with liquid filling. In French cooking Parline is usually almonds and sugar which in USA they may contain cream or milk to make them soft and creamy. But any way you cook the parline, we all love eating it in various bakery products.

This cake is rich in calories and can serve a dozen people so it is a big cake and since it contains lots of nuts, thus is shelf life is quite long. It usually take little over 3 hours to make and the end result is wonderful.

1. Castor Sugar: 225 Grams or 7 Oz.
2. Unsalted softened Butter: 225 Grams or 7 Oz.
3. Eggs: 4
4. Almond Praline: 3 Tbsp. ( recipe given below)
5. Milk: 1 Tbsp.
6. Baking Powder: 1 Tsp

. For Making Praline:

1. Castor Sugar: 250 grams or 8 Oz.
2. Almonds With skinned: 250 grams or 8 Oz.

For Praline butter cream icing:

1. Water: 125 ml or 4 Fl Oz.
2. Castor Sugar: 350 Grams or 12 Oz.
3. Egg Yolk ( yellow): 7.
4. Vanilla Extract: 1 Tsp.
5. Butter Unsalted: 350 grams or 12 oz.
6. Almond Praline: 6 Tbsp.

Two sandwich tins of 8 inch or 20 cm diameter each.

1. Take the sandwich tins and Butter its sides and floor.
2. Now put parchment paper on the floor of both the tins neatly.

For Praline:

1. Take a pan with heavy base.
2. Put Castor Sugar in the pan and sprinkle almonds over it.
3. Now put the heat to low until sugar melts.
4. Do not use spatula to stir sugar but move the contents in the pan by swirling by moving the pan so the sugar is melted evenly.
5. Take a baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
6. When sugar caramel is deep in colour then pour it in baking tray.
7. Allow it to cool down to room temperature.
8. Now your praline is ready. It is hard and can be easily broken up.
9. Now break the praline in small pieces and put them in a food processor and make it in to a powder.

1. Mix cream and butter in a large bowl till you have a soft mixture.
2. Add Sugar.
3. Beat sugar and butter mixture till the mixture is now fluffy.
4. Add one egg and beat it good.
5. Do same with remaining eggs. Add one by one.
6. Now add baking powder and flour in it.
7. Stir gently.
8. Add 3 Tbsp of crushed praline and mix lightly.
9. Add milk to soften.
10. Now divide this mixture in two equal parts.
11. Put them in to two tins.
12. Pre heat the oven to 180 centigrade.
13. Bake it for 25 minutes and check if the cake is made. Simply put a skewer in the center of cake and if it comes out clean it means it is cooked. If not cooked then cook for another 5 minutes.
14. Allow it to cool inside the oven for 5 minutes and then take them out and keep them in open to bring them to room temperature.

1. Take a medium sized sauce pan.
2. Add water and sugar in it.
3. Put it on heat and bring it to boil.
4. Stir till all the sugar dissolve in water.
5. Turn up heat and boil this sugar syrup for another 5 minutes or till thread consistency of the sugar syrup is formed.
6. Now beat the egg yolks and mix syrup in eggs very gently.
7. Take it off the heat and continue to beat the egg syrup mixture till all the syrup is added to the eggs.
8. Let it cool to room temperature.
9. Now the mixture is ready. Its consistency should be stiff and egg beater should be able to make figure of 8 from it.
10. Now in another bowl beat the butter till it is soft.
11. Add egg sugar mixture in the butter very slowly, one tbsp at a time and continue beating preferably by electric mixer.
12. Now stir in vanilla extract.
13. Add 6 Tbsp of Praline powder.
14. Now take the cakes out of the tins.
15. Now divide both cakes in to two horizontally.
16. Now spread butter icing on the inside of all 4 portions of the cakes and sandwich together.
17. Stick each layer of cake on top of another.
18. Now take a brush and remove all the crumbs from the cake.
19. Start icing from the top and then sides.
20. Sprinkle the remaining Crushed Praline on top and sides.