1 cup of flour (I use a little bit (maybe a 1/2 cup) of almond flour too)

1/2 cup of butter

2 Tbsp. water

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of water

1 tsp. almond flavoring

1 cup flour

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350.  Measure 1^st cup of flour into bowl.  Cut in butter.  Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp water; mix with a fork.  Round into ball; *then you can kindof do what you want. Make 2 strips, or a big round circle, etc.

 Mix second amount of butter and water.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat; add flavoring.  Beat in flour, stirring quickly to prevent lumping.  When smooth, add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth.  Spread over evenly over pastries (in whatever form you have them; 2 strips or circle, etc.).  Bake about 60 min. (Puff has a tendency to shrink while cooling, leaving a custardy portion in the center).  Frost with a confectioners’ sugar icing and sprinkle with chopped nuts (or without the nuts). 

Confectioners’ Sugar Icing:

Some powdered sugar (Maybe a cup or 2) – it doesn’t need to be sifted, but makes a smoother icing if it is.

A tiny amount of milk (1 or 2 tsp at a time, until it’s the right consistency)

A little bit (maybe a tsp?) almond or vanilla extract. (I always use almond)

I made this as cupcakes and skipped the chocolate curls. I modified the baking time to about 24 minutes. These also freeze well. I froze them (with frosting) for a week and they tasted great. 

Planning Tip: Can be made through Step 4 and refrigerated airtight 3 days or frozen 2 weeks. Frosting can be refrigerated 3 days. Curls can be stored in a cool place 1 week.

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/3 cups boiling water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened
21/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
8 oz white chocolate, melted as pkg directs, cooled to room temperature
3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 oz cream cheese, softened
5 Tbsp stick butter, softened
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

Garnish: Chocolate Curls (directions follow)

1. Position racks to divide oven in thirds. Heat to 350°F. Coat three 9-in. or 8 x 2-in. round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with wax paper.

2. Stir cocoa and boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth; let cool.

3. Meanwhile mix next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat next 4 ingredients with mixer on high speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add cool cocoa; beat until blended. Scrape bowl. On low speed, beat in flour mixture just to blend, scraping bowl once. Spoon into prepared pans; smooth surfaces. Stagger pans on oven racks.

4. Bake 24 to 31 minutes (depending on pan size) until a wooden pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Run knife around edges; invert on rack, remove paper and cool completely.

5. Frosting: Beat ingredients on low speed to blend. Increase speed to high; beat 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

6. To assemble: Place 1 cake layer on serving plate, bottom side up. Spread with 1/3 the Frosting. Repeat with remaining layers, swirling frosting on top. Garnish with Chocolate Curls.

Chocolate Curls Line mini loaf pan or make a 31/2 x 2 x 11/4-in. pan with a double thickness foil. Melt 4 oz white chocolate, pour into pan; chill until firm. Peel off foil. Soften at room temperature 30 minutes. Pull a swivel-blade vegetable peeler along side of bar to form curls (if curls break, soften chocolate more). Repeat with 4 oz milk chocolate.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened

2 tsp Almond extract

Beat egg and sugar. Add flour mixed with baking powder, alternate with butter. Add almond extract.

When thoroughly mixed, place in greased round cake pan, press into shape with a fork. You can top with almond slices if you have them handy or brush with egg white to give it a golden shine.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until tooth pick tests done.

You can make it fancy by putting it in a tart pan so you have a nice fluted edge and it will also come out more as a bar.

Don’t be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, as doing so will make a dry, tough cake. If you can’t find buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of plain, low-fat yogurt. When topping the cake, take care to not push the crumbs into the batter. This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. If doubling, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes. Cooled leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Serves 8 to 10

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. 2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish. 3. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary. 4. Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Following photos below, break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.