CHOCOLATE & CHERRY AMARETTO CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Day Before: Pour the cherries into a medium sized bowl with a lid and add 1/4 to 1/2 a bottle of amaretto, stir gently not to break the cherries but bled the amaretto in well. Place them into the refrigerator for 6- 24 hours: Longer is better!
• 2. The Cake: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 3- 9" Round pans with baking spray and set them aside.
• 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and amaretto until it is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl blend together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and espresso; mix together well.
• 4. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to the creamed mixture until everything is well incorporated. Pour the batter evenly into the 3 prepared pans and bake for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
• 5. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before removing for the pans. Note: If you add more amaretto, just use a little less buttermilk to balance the moisture.
• 6. The Icing: break the chocolate into pieces and place it into a glass bowl. Microwave for one minute intervals, stirring between until it is all melted (usually 3x does the trick) set the chocolate aside. Cut the butter into 48 tablespoon pieces, place in a bowl and set aside so that it can become room temperature. Note: because you are using two butters you may have to soften them up a little more by placing them in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
• 7. In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, egg whites,cream of tartar and salt. Carefully combine them but do not beat them. Place the mixing bowl over a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes or until the egg & sugar mixture is warm not hot to the touch. Place the mixing bowl on to the mixer and whisk on high until the meringue holds a stiff peak.
• 8. Turn the mixer down to medium and begin to add the butter one piece at a time scraping down the sides often. Note:make sure each piece is well blended before adding another or you will end up with huge clumps of butter in your icing.
• 9. Add in the chocolate, vanilla, espresso powder and amaretto and beat for another minute or until everything is mixed in well, scrape the sides to get all of the chocolate and butter off the sides of the bowl.
• 10. To assemble the cake, place a dollop of icing and place your first layer bottom down onto the dollop, lightly frost the layer and add 2 layers of boarder: I usually use a piping bag to do this; I refer to it as the great wall. Spoon the cherries evenly into the pocket you have formed; fill the whole space but do not use too much liquid. Place the second cake layer, bottom down over the cherries like a cap and very gently press down to seal the cherries into the pocket you have created. Frost the entire cake. Using a pastry bag with a star tip, add a ring of stars close together to form a pool on top of the cake, spoon in the rest of the cherries making sure you do not put too much liquid. Decorate the sides with sliced almonds or dried cake crumbs....be creative. Enjoy!
• 11. Notes: The smallest bottle of amaretto available is 750ml, or a nip, use about a 1/4 to 1/2 a bottle to soak the cherries depending on how many cans you use. cover the cherries and gently stir them to be sure the amaretto is mixed in well.

FRESH STRAWBERRIES & AMARETTO CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Place almonds in a food processor; cover and pulse until almonds are finely ground. Add flour, confectioners' sugar and salt; pulse until blended. Add butter and shortening; pulse until butter and shortening are the size of peas. While pulsing, add just enough ice water to form moist crumbs. Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in. thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. deep-dish plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Fill with dried beans, uncooked rice or pie weights., Bake at 425° for 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 5-7 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, mash 1 cup strawberries with the lemon juice. Add water. In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in mashed berry mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in food coloring if desired. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until cooled slightly, stirring occasionally., Fold in the remaining sliced berries; transfer to crust. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until set., In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add the sour cream, confectioners' sugar and amaretto; beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over filling. Top with additional strawberries and almonds if desired.

STRAWBERRY-AMARETTO CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease and lightly flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Place almonds in food processor or blender. Cover; process until almonds are finely ground.
• In large bowl, beat almonds and remaining cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pans.
• Bake and cool as directed on box for 8- or 9-inch rounds.
• In chilled large bowl, beat amaretto cream ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on serving plate. Spread with 1/2 cup amaretto cream; arrange sliced strawberries evenly on top. Top with second cake layer, rounded side up. Frost side and top of cake with remaining amaretto cream. Just before serving, garnish with strawberry halves. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

AMARETTO MERINGUE

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together egg whites and sugar until combined.
• Set bowl over (but not touching) simmering water; continue whisking until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture has reached 140 degrees on a instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Return bowl to electric mixer and beat on high speed until thick, about 3 minutes. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes more. Add amaretto liqueur and beat until just combined.

AMARETTO STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Combine the strawberries with the amaretto in a serving container and stir together. Crush about 1/4 cup of the strawberries with a fork, and mix again.
• Let the mixture stand for about 30 minutes before serving (if you are planning to let it stand any longer than that, cover and refrigerate). Serve over yogurt or frozen yogurt in dessert bowls.
• strawberries
• The season for good, locally grown strawberries is fleeting, unless you live in California. Though it's possible to buy them nearly all year, mass-produced strawberries are the equivalent of flavorless hothouse tomatoes. There's nothing like the real thing, freshly picked.
• I'm fortunate to live in the Hudson Valley region of New York state, where both cosmopolitan and rural pleasures abound. Thriving small farms yield lush seasonal produce, with many outlets for picking your own. I love to take my sons to pick our own produce-it's a great way to appreciate the connection between the land and the kitchen. We especially like to pick berries. The first time we picked strawberries, one of my boys kept putting his head in the bucket to take a deep breath, saying, "It smells so relaxing!" As he grows older, I'm sure that the scent of strawberries will spur pleasant memories.
• nutrition information
• Calories: 55
• Total Fat: 0g
• Protein: 0g
• Carbohydrate: 8g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 1mg

AMARETTO STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Wash and hull strawberries; drain. In a large bowl, marinate strawberries in Amaretto liqueur overnight. Serve over ice cream and sprinkle with slivered almonds.

STRAWBERRY AMARETTO CAKE RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans Mix flour and baking powder together and set aside In a large bowl, beat sugar, pudding and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition Combine milk an Amaretto and add alternately with the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Fold in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the pureed strawberries. Divide batter equally into three 9-inch round cake pans Bake for 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks To make the filling: Beat whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract on high with electric mixer until stiff Fill each layer with 1/3 of the whipped cream and 3/4 cup sliced strawberries. Frost sides of cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Pipe an edge of frosting around cake top Spread remaining whipped cream on cake top. Top with quartered strawberries **CREAM CHEESE FROSTING** 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract In separate bowl, combine sugar and butter; mix well. Add to cream cheese. Stir in vanilla extract and beat until smooth

AMARETTO CHERRIES WITH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Drain cherries, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Place cherries in a 3-qt. slow cooker., In a small bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir in reserved juice until smooth. Stir into cherries. Cook, covered, on high 7 hours. Drizzle amaretto over cherry mixture., For dumplings, in a small bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. In another bowl, whisk milk and melted butter. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened., Drop by tablespoonfuls on top of hot cherry mixture. Cook, covered, 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean. If desired, serve warm with ice cream.