The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets Read Online Free Page A

eggs, and sour cream and beat until smooth. Set aside.
    Reserve 12 raspberries. Purée the remaining raspberries and framboise in a blender until smooth. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full with the cream cheese mixture and drop generous teaspoonsful of the raspberry purée on top. With a toothpick, create a swirled pattern on top.
    Place the muffin pan in a large, shallow roasting pan with enough hot water to come about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake until the cakes are puffy and barely set in the center, 35 to 40 minutes.
    When done, allow to cool for 2 hours. Transfer the cheesecakes, still in the pan, to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
    To serve the cheesecakes, remove each one from the pan and garnish with a reserved raspberry.
    SHAKE IT UP: Substitute hazelnut liqueur for framboise.
    “Bottoms Up” Pineapple-Tequila Cake
    M AKES
8 TO 10
SERVINGS
    WHO DOESN’T SMILE SHEEPISHLY AT the old George Carlin quote, “one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor”? I certainly learned the hard way that a little tequila can go a very, very long way. Fortunately, good tequila is as flavorful as it is alcoholic. This cake contains only three tablespoons of booze, but it packs a wallop of tequila taste. A big piece will leave you stuffed, but happily hangover free.
    FOR THE PINEAPPLE TOPPING:
    4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
    ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
    1 tablespoon gold tequila
    ½ small pineapple, peeled, quartered, and sliced
    FOR THE CAKE:
    1½ cups all-purpose flour
    1½ teaspoons baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened
    ¾ cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    2 tablespoons gold tequila
    ¾ cup well-shaken buttermilk
    Preheat the oven to 350°F.
    TO MAKE THE PINEAPPLE TOPPING , place a 9-inch nonstick metal cake pan on the stovetop over low heat. Add the butter to the pan and let it melt, stirring occasionally. Add the brown sugar and the tequila and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the pineapple slices over the sugar mixture. Set aside.
    TO MAKE THE CAKE , whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
    In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the tequila. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and beating just until incorporated after each addition.
    Pour the batter into the pan over the pineapple. Bake until the cake is set and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
    Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes and then run a knife around the edges. Set a plate upside down over the cake and flip the cake, inverting it onto the plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.
    SHAKE IT UP: Substitute dark rum for the tequila.

    Brandied Pear Cake with White Chocolate Chunks
    M AKES
8
SERVINGS
    WHEN I WAS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL , I was a waitress at a popular Italian trattoria in Brooklyn. At the end of the night, we each got to have a glass of wine and, if we were lucky, a piece of yesterday’s chocolate-pear cake, which was the restaurant’s signature dessert.
    I never managed to get my hands on the chef’s recipe, but I’ve done my best to reinvent it here, substituting white chocolate for the dark, and—in honor of that much loved and much needed shift drink—a healthy dose of brandy.
    FOR THE BRANDIED PEARS:
    2 tablespoons sugar
    ¼ cup brandy
    2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
    2 medium-firm, ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch chunks (about 2 cups)
    FOR THE CAKE:
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
    3 large eggs
    ⅔ cup sugar
    ½ cup chopped white chocolate or white