Nordic Ware is Love

So, this week is all about Nordic Ware. And it's time for me to come clean...I love these pans. They are so beautiful, it's hard to eat the cakes that I bake in these pans. Sadly, though I could wax long and eloquently about my love of Nordic Ware, I do not have the time. So, I'm throwing up the White Chocolate Bundt recipe mentioned in the article and will follow tomorrow with the Gingerbread recipe.

Hope you have as much joy from these as I have.

“White Chocolate Lemoncello Cake With Fresh Berries and Mascarpone Cream”

By Andrea Gaskin, grand-prize winner of Nordic Ware's "Bundts Across America" contest

Preparation Instructions:
Cake
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup lemon zest (4-5 lemons)
4 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/4 cup lemoncello (lemon liqueur)
Lemoncello Syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemoncello
Mascarpone Cream
½ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
½ cup powder sugar, sifted
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
½ pint blueberries
½ pint raspberries
Mint leaves, for garnish

Baking Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray with flour (ie Baker’s Joy). Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in an electric mixer, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the eggs and the egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing between each addition. Add the lemon zest and white chocolate.

In a 1-cup glass measuring cup combine the buttermilk and lemoncello. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Once cooled, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

To prepare the lemoncello syrup: Combine the sugar with water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemoncello. Spoon the syrup over the warm cake.

To prepare the mascarpone cream: Whisk the softened mascarpone cheese with the lemon zest in a large bowl. In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cold heavy cream on medium speed while slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Fold ¼ of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Then fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Combine the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serving Recommendations:
To serve: Cut a slice of cake and place on a dessert plate. Spoon some berries on the cake and top with a dollop of mascarpone cream. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.