A Week of Baking

Last week could be classified as the baking week.  It started with making mushroom pie for dinner early in the week and culminated in cakes for Saturday and Sunday dinners.  (I did chicken out of also making Tarte Tatin for Saturday as well, mostly because being a mother of a then 7 week old child I could not spend all day baking.)

The cakes required a lot of planning and baking ahead, since I never have more than 2 hours at a time for any activity, and I was not going to give up my precious fewer than 6 hours of night time sleep.

The Saturday cake was inspired by the Miroir aux Fruits, or Fruit Mousse Miroir cake, from the Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts book.  I say "inspired" because I changed just about every single component called for by the recipe--sheet genoise instead of Biscuit Joconde, no egg whites in the fruit mousse, raspberry  instead of apricot jam for the mirror.  One of the wonderful things about this cake is that you are supposed to freeze it as part of the preparation.  So it is perfect for the very occasion when you do not want to be cooking on the day of the "event".

I tried to reproduce the "look", and I might have achieved it if I managed to make enough mousse. That would be something to look forward to next time.

Taste wise, my raspberry mirror mousse cake was definitely a success, which you could not say about the Sunday cake.

Sunday cake was planned to be a true cake in the American style--multiple layers, lots of frosting, etc.  However, I went a bit overboard.  I have used all the components of this cake in other combinations with success--super moist chocolate cake, ganache, swiss meringue buttercream, raspberry puree.  However, all of these wonderful things together made such a rich cake, that it almost felt like we were eating a little bit of cake with a lot of sweet butter.  Nick and I "struggled" for 2 days, but tossed almost half the cake in the end.

To redeem myself I made just the chocolate cake yesterday, which Nick and I have been enjoying without any filling or frosting.

Grandma Jo's Chocolate Quick Cake

Grandma Jo, Nick's great grandmother
whose full name was Anna Josephine

Even though this cake seems to have been popular in Nick’s family while he was growing up, I only made it once before, a few years back—too long ago to remember exactly what I did.

Inconveniently, the recipe omits two small but important details: the size of a baking dish to use, and how intensely to beat the eggs.

I compared the amounts of the ingredients to other recipes of known volumes and gave the recipe a couple test runs. Now I can attest that the batter fits nicely into two 9” round pans for a two layer cake.

In an effort to spread the pleasure of cake over a longer period of time (by freezing some of it), I have also baked the batter in two 6” round pans. The baking takes longer, and the cakes are higher. You can freeze one, and slice the other one for a small two layer cake.

• 1 1/2 cups flour (186 g)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (39 g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350F, and butter the baking dish. (I also lined the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.)
3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg. (I did use a hand held mixer).
4. Add buttermilk (I beat the mixture a little more).
5. Mix in oil and vanilla
6. Gently mix in the dry mixture above. (I did not use a mixer at this point. If you do opt for the mixer at this point, stay at the lowest speed possible.)
7. Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes for 9” pans, or at 325F for 40 to 45 minutes for 6” pans.

My Chocolate Quick Cake recipe card comes complete with a recipe for the cake frosting on the back.

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 square chocolate (probably 1 ounce)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp hot water
• vanilla (optional)

1. Melt butter with chocolate 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, and beat all until smooth

In the name of full disclosure, I have never made the frosting above. My note that a square is an ounce of chocolate is just a guess.

So far I have been using a simple ganache frosting instead.

• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 1/3 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1. Heat the cream in a small pot until just boiling 
2. Take the pot off the heat, and mix in the chocolate until smooth
3. Cool until the mixture thickens, but is still easy to spread.

The above amount is just enough for a 6” inch cake, but should be doubled for a 9” inch cake.

Nick and I also enjoyed the cake frosted with the ganache, but filled with rapberry preserves.

Chocolate Truffles - First Attempt

I have been dreaming of making chocolate truffles, and tonight I finally decided to try it.  I followed the Basic Ganache Truffles recipe by Coco&Me.  The jury is still out on how my truffles taste (we have not tried them yet), but one thing is certain:  making truffles is a very messy business.

Chocolate Truffles by the Spoonful

Like many women, I love chocolate, and chocolate truffles hold a special place in my heart. The bitter taste of cocoa powder on my tongue turns sweet as I bite through the rich chocolate center. Only special occasions deserve such special desserts.

When I was little, living in the Soviet Union, I remember both my mother and my grandmother hiding chocolates. They did not hide them from me. Rather they saved these difficult-to-obtain chocolate covered wafers to serve them to guests.

While there is no shortage of chocolates in the United States, I still save the particularly fancy desserts for a special occasion. Several years ago, when someone gave me a box of chocolate truffles, I put it away. I wanted to treasure it until a particular gathering warranted such a fancy dessert. Unfortunately, no occasion seemed important enough, and nearly a year later the treasured truffles still lingered in the back of my pantry.

It is indecent to serve a year old dessert to anyone, let alone special guests. So one night when other chocolate supplies have dwindled in our house, I opened the box on my own. Instead of pretty balls of chocolate ganache covered with cocoa powder, thick brown liquid spilled out of the box. I almost threw this chocolate mess away, but I could not bare to part with it. Instead, I indulged in liquid chocolate truffles for the next several months—one spoonful a night.

Eating chocolate truffles with a spoon is not something people imagine often, and even Nick found it a bit odd. So next time someone presented me with a box of truffles I was determined to use it while the truffles were still in a solid state.

Alas, it was not meant to be. A few days ago, I opened the box only seven months after receiving the gift, and it revealed the familiar sweetly bitter thick chocolate liquid. So I am back to eating my liquid chocolate truffles every night, this time out of a glass jar—still one spoonful at a time.