Gifts from Your Kitchen Recipes
Miniature Amaretto Cakes
Yield: 8 miniature cakes or 20 cupcakes, 4 gifts
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup Amaretto, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
- Generously grease and flour* eight 4 inch fluted tube pans or twenty 2 1/2 inch muffin pans.
- Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Stir together flour, baking powder and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium high speed about 6 minutes or until mixture is very light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition, scraping bowl often. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Amaretto, the lemon peel and vanilla extract. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on medium-low speed just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes for 4 inch pans, 22 minutes for muffin pans, or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly.
- Prick fluted top and sides of each cake or top and sides of each cupcake generously with tines of a fork.
- For syrup, in saucepan combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Stir in remaining Amaretto. Cool 5 minutes.
- Dip top and sides of each cake or top and sides of each cupcake into syrup. Place on wire rack above a baking sheet. Spoon or brush remaining syrup over tops of cakes. Cool. Wrap cakes individually in plastic wrap; chill up to 3 weeks. (Or, transfer to a tightly covered container and chill up to 3 weeks.)
- For giving, place the individually wrapped cakes in a tissue-paper-lined box. Or place on foil-covered cardboard and over-wrap with cellophane.
Notes
* For best results, use our Pan Release!