My Birthday is coming up again on December 31st…..Hooorrraaayyy

My Birthday is December 31st and I can’t wait for the New Years Count Down.
I was born a little before midnight, my Mother said it’s because I hated brussel sprouts, which she had plenty of that day and it caused her to go into labor and here I came.

What business did she have anyway eating brussel sprouts on Christmas?

I have no idea, Gosh if she didn’t have those brussel sprouts I would of made it to January 1st and the Hospital always gives you a lot of gifts when you hit January 1st. DAMN

I am going to make this Holiday special like I always do each and every year.

I am going over Grandma’s house and I’m making her the best Cake ever.

The Christmas Cranberry, Pear and Walnut Torte with Cream Cheese-Orange Frosting.

Hmmmmm hmmmmm, this cake takes me hours to make but people just can’t get enough when they try it.

I found this Christmas Cranberry, Pear and Walnut torte with Cream cheese-orange frosting in the Bon Appetit’s December 1999 Magazine.

Every year my family insist that I bring “TWO” or else I can’t get in the door when I go to visit them.

The cake is one recipe but then the “Cream cheese orange frosting” and the “Poached pears with cranberry puree” is another.

The 1st time I made the cake it took me 7 long agonizing hours.

My kitchen was a total mess and I had a lot of dishes to wash.

It took my family 2 seconds to devour it and they did it in my face. SHAMEFUL.

Of course this same discussion is presently going on here at:

http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/cool-new-bc-twitter-plug but today you are one lucky bastard because I am actually going to take the time and list the ingredients here for your viewing pleasure, just in case you wanted to try the recipe for yourself….enjoy

If anyone is looking for me you can always find me cooking up a storm http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/cooking-with-chef-jeunelle 

Now I may not be Julia Childs but I can still boil rice.

Christmas Cranberry, Pear and Walnut Torte with Cream Cheese-Orange Frosting Ingredients & Preparation.

• 2 3/4 cups chopped toasted walnuts
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, lukewarm

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Butter and flour waxed paper; tap out excess flour.

Blend 2 cups walnuts and flour in processor until walnuts are finely ground. Add breadcrumbs, orange peel, spices and salt. Using on/off turns, process just until blended.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs in large bowl until frothy. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Continue beating until mixture is thick and triples in volume, about 6 minutes.

Fold flour mixture and melted lukewarm butter alternately into egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture (do not overmix or batter will deflate). Divide batter between prepared cake pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer pans to racks; cool 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; cool completely. Remove waxed paper.

Toss cranberries with remaining 1/2 cup sugar in small bowl to coat. Transfer berries to plate. Cover and freeze. (Can be prepared ahead. Wrap each cake layer separately in plastic. Freeze cake layers and sugarcoated cranberries up to 1 week.)

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of torte. Press remaining 3/4 cup walnuts onto torte sides. Arrange poached pears in concentric circles atop torte. (Torte can be frosted 1 day ahead. Cover torte; chill. Let torte stand 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.)

Rewarm cranberry puree in small saucepan over medium heat. Brush some puree over pears. Transfer remaining puree to bowl. Eggs provide the leavening in this spiced cake, and melted butter keeps it tender.

Garnish torte with frozen sugarcoated cranberries. Serve torte with puree. yield: Makes 10 servings.

Cream Cheese-Orange Frosting Ingredients & Preparation.

• 1 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and orange peel in large bowl until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting is light and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate until frosting is firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.) yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Poached Pears with Cranberry Purée Ingredients & Preparation.

• 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice

• 2 large firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges

Combine berries, sugar and juice in heavy large skillet. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Puree in processor until smooth. Strain into same skillet. Bring puree to simmer over medium heat. Add pear wedges and stir to coat. Simmer until pears are just tender, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove pears from skillet, shaking excess puree back into skillet, and transfer pears to paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve puree. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover pears and puree separately and refrigerate.) yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

The end result should look like this….Oh Boy Oh Boy

I challenge you to try this receipe out for yourself and let me know how you liked it.

I also challenge you to find a better Christmas cake and drop me the recipe here in the comments, I would love to try it and I would let you know what I think of it too.