How to place nuts on top of the cake so that they stay symmetrically?
I am making a Christmas plum cake and I like to decorate the top of the cake with cashew nuts. I place them in a circle, touching each other and touching the wall of the pan. But after baking is done, nuts have moved about, destroying the nice circle. I also tried by arranging them in circle touching the wall but not touching each other. Still not maintaining circle. And I can see factory made cakes of same type having cashew nut decorations. How can I get the decorations proper?
Best Answer
Many cakes have the nuts applied after cooking, held down with some sort of glaze. That will keep them where you put them so long as the top is reasonably flat. It will also prevent them burning, as nuts are often used to top cakes that cook for quite a long time.
If nuts are going to be baked on top of a cake, I'd expect to need a dense recipe that doesn't rise much, as the rising will be what causes them to move. The classic Dundee cake (which uses almonds) is such a cake.
This Dundee cake recipe takes an interesting approach: the nuts are added when the cake is part way through cooking. You couldn't do this with a sponge cake, or it would sink, but a more robust cake, cooked slowly, apparently works.
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How do you stick nuts to a cake?
add flour+leaveners in parts, alternating with caramel syrup. add egg whites that are whipped to firm peaks. add the dry fruits with a little flour to avoid sinking. pour in cake pan and arrange nuts on top.How do you keep your nuts from sinking in a cake?
Shake the bag well so that the flour lightly coats the nuts and carrots. Fold them into the batter last, before you put the cake in the oven. The flour helps suspend the nuts and carrots in the batter so they don't sink to the bottom.How do you keep nuts crispy in a cake?
You can toast your nuts in the oven or on the stovetop, too. The oven process is simple: spread out a layer of nuts on a baking sheet and pop it into a 350\xb0F oven for 15 minutes, giving it a good shake at the 10-minute mark.How do you decorate the top of a fruitcake?
Decorate fruitcake with candied fruit and nuts. Brush on a clear glaze and allow to dry for a shiny, natural-looking top. Brush fruitcake with glaze and top with almond paste. Use glaze and almond paste as above and cover with frosting.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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