Giada De Laurentiis reveals how to make her go-to lemon angel food cupcakes, apricot oat bars, and chocolate amaretti cookies.
Lemon Curd Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 large lemons
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Cupcakes Ingredients
- 1 (1 lb.) box angel food cake mix
- 1 cup water
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Mascarpone Frosting Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsps. mascarpone, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsps. milk, chilled
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- silver or pastel dragees, Jordon almonds, or yellow sanding sugar to decorate
Preparation
For the curd: Whisk together the yolks, lemon zest, juice, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon or spatula, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring until the constitency of the curd is smooth. Tranfer the curd to a heat-proof bowl and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming. Refrigerate the curd until firm and chilled, about 1 hour.
For the cupcakes: Place two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the cake mix, water, lemon zest and juice. Beat the mixture on low speed to for 30 seconds to incorporate the ingredients then increase the speed to medium for 1 minute until the mixture is light and fluffy. Use a scoop or spoon to fill the liners 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden brown and the cracks on top feel dry. Cool the cupcakes completely before filling and frosting, about 30 minutes.
For the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, mascarpone, milk, and vanilla until smooth and shiny.
To fill the cupcakes, use a small spoon to push a shallow hole in the center of each cupcake. Fill the center with 1 teaspoon of the lemon curd. Drizzle the cupcake with some of the glaze to cover the top. Sprinkle with the decoration of your choice. Allow the cupcakes to set, in the refrigerator, for at least 30 minutes.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 20 minutes
Filling Ingredients
- 1 (13 oz.) jar apricot jam or preserves (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 8 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
Crust Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 packed cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 3/4 cup old-fashion oats
- 1 cup (4 oz.) coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-by-2-inch metal baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
For the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the jam and apricots. Set aside.
For the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and stir until incorporated.
Using a fork or clean fingers, lightly press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread the filling over the crust leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the pan. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until light golden. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Yield: 24 bars
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 35 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 (7 oz.) package almond paste
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond slivers, for decorating
- 1/4 cup white sanding sugar, for decorating
Preparation
Place two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Break the almond paste into small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processer. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and salt and process until the almond paste is very finely chopped and incorporated with the salt and sugar. Add the egg white and vanilla and process until a smooth dough forms, about 30 seconds. Using a small scoop or spoon, dollop 1 tablespoon of the batter for each cookie onto the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Top each cookie with a few almond slivers and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake the cookies for 13 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking, until the cookies have risen and cracked slightly but are still soft in the center. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets. Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes