Hello my foodies, I share with you my recipe for the trendiest cake of the year 2018, it was everywhere on social networks, the number cake which has become one of my favorite cake design. I discovered it on the account of @adikosh123, I fell on the charm of this cake which is very simple to make, delicious and very visually beautiful. It has become a must for birthdays. I give you my basis for making a number cake after you adapt it to your taste. Let's go!!!!!!!!! For the shortcrust pastry : Approx. for a 20 cm figure of 2 floors For a 20 cm pie 150 g soft butter (to be taken out of the fridge 1 hour in advance) 250 g flour 90 g icing sugar 40 g of almond powder, hazelnuts according to your taste (I rarely use them). 1 beaten egg 1 pinch of salt STEPS SHORTBREAD DOUGH RECIPE Sift flour and icing sugar separately Mix in a large bowl the soft butter, icing sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, beaten egg, almond and hazelnut powder. Add the sifted flour and work the dough with your fingers until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough. Form a ball of dough, wrap them in cling film and place them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 180°. Spread the ball to the thickness that suits you on a floured worktop. Cut out your numbers for your number cakes or place the dough in the pie pan. Put the shortbread back in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the dough to harden again. Bake them for 15 - 20 minutes on rotating heat. Council: You can make the dough the day before or two days before. I use a robot to make it but it can be made by hand without any problem. Flour your rolling pin well For a number cake, I spread the dough with a thickness of 3 mm. Leave your dough to rest in the fridge for a minimum amount of time so that it solidifies and allows for easier spreading. Once your shortbread is ready, let it cool down. It is possible to make your number cakes with puff pastry or with a cake base. To garnish my number cakes, I use whipped mascarpone cream and it's just a delight, the whipped mascarpone is a light cream that provides a good balance, it combines perfectly with the shortbread dough. Can you garnish with a simple ganache or chocolate ganache for example, it's all so good. Recipe mascarpone cream whipped cream Ingredients: -200 g mascarpone -320 g whole liquid cream (30% fat) -6 tablespoons icing sugar -3 spoonfuls of vanilla grains (you can flavour your cream but be careful if you add a liquid flavour) faculative. In a bowl, put the mascarpone and 1/4 of the cream (do it on purpose do not bother). Mix them a little with a spatula so that the mascarpone relaxes. Add the rest of the cream and whip the mixture at high speed. Trust the consistency of your preparation, it must rise, it must no longer be liquid and it must have the texture of a cream Once the cream starts to rise, add the icing sugar and vanilla and continue beating. In all, it is necessary to beat the cream for at least 6-7 minutes to obtain a nice consistency that will hold up during poaching and will support the weight of the shortbread cookie from above! Do the bird beak test: when you lift your whip or whip, the cream stays on it, does not run and forms a bird beak. Once the cream is whipped up, put it in your pocket with a smooth round socket (if you don't have any, it doesn't matter, for a round socket like that, without a socket it also works) and if you don't use it right away keep it cool. Attention: I advise you to use it immediately so that it does not fall back and keeps its beautiful smooth texture. That's why I advise you to prepare it last. My advice: You can also place your bowl and whisks directly in the freezer, 20 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to whip the cream too much, it could turn sour and turn into butter. Leave your whipped mascarpone cream in the fridge until serving. NUMBER CAKE EDITING Place the two shortbread biscuits that represent the base of the cake on your plate or board. Poach some rounds of whipped mascarpone cream on top. To make them look nice, hold your right pocket above the shortbread about 1 cm above the shortbread so that they don't crush. Once the poaching of the whipped mascarpone is finished, pocket small dots of ganache between each dot of whipped cream. In fact, fill in the little holes Place one of the shortbread biscuits on top and repeat the same poaching, then the ganache. Start again with the second digit on top Once the poaching is finished, let your imagination guide you to decorate your number cake. I often decorate them with fruits for example with red fruits and a raspberry coulis that I place on the bottom shortbread that adds a touch of freshness and it's so good. There are many combinations to decorate a number cake. Some decoration ideas/inspirations for your number cakes PS: Click on the pictures to discover the instagram of the pastry chefs of each cake. The number cake can be declined in different forms. Some inspiration number cakes in different forms. In the shape of letters. In the form of a ring for a marriage proposal Heart-shaped for Valentine's Day. In the shape of a broken heart for a separation or divorce. Shaped like a Christmas tree. In a Christmas bauble A very original wedding cake for a wedding. PS: Click on the pictures to discover the instagram of the pastry chefs of each cake. Don't forget to leave a comment if you liked the article or if you have any questions. Tag us on instagram Amourducake if you made a number cake. 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