Category: Dessert – Cake

Servings: 8-10
Preheat: 350°
Source: Fine Cooking, Winter 2004 p. 18b
I get the best results stirring this batter with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. This cake is delicious on its own but even better topped with ganache.

Ingredients
4½ ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 ounce ( ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and warm
1¼ cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup hot water
1 cup warm ganache (optional; see the recipe below)

Directions
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of an 8×2- or 9×2-inch round cake pan or line it with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift only if the cocoa remains lumpy after whisking. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs and vanilla; stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Pour the hot water over the batter; stir just until it’s incorporated and the batter is smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes for a 9-inch pan; 35 to 40 minutes for an 8-inch pan. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 1 0 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert the cake (peel off the parchment if necessary). Invert it again onto the rack and let cool completely.

Once cool, set the rack over a baking sheet or foil. Pour the warm ganache over the cake and use an icing spatula to spread it over the top of the cake and down the sides. Let set for about an hour before serving.

Ganache

Yields 1½ cups.
You’ll have a bit of this ganache left over after icing the cake; use it as a sauce for ice cream or another dessert. It keeps for a week in the refrigerator. Rewarm gently.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream; more as needed
Granulated sugar (optional)

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk gently until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. (if using a 70% bittersweet chocolate, the ganache might be a bit thick; add more cream, a tablespoon at a time, to thin it. You might also want to add a couple of teaspoons of sugar when you add the hot cream.)

Servings: 16
Preheat: 325°
Source: The Savory Way – Deborah Madison
My friend Dorée and I both love almond cakes more than any other. This is her recipe for a handsome, rich cake filled with the flavor of almond. She uses almond paste both blended into the batter and broken up into pieces that are stirred in just before baking, leaving pure pockets of almond throughout the cake. Almond aficionados will want it both ways, but it’s perfectly delicious without the final addition.

This recipe is very easy to make and is also very easy to cut in half, making a smaller 1-pound cake.

Serve the almond cake with coffee, tea, or a dessert wine. Berries, peaches, and nectarines, sliced and sugared, are also delicious served alongside or with Compote (see below), with or without a spoonful of crème Anglaise. In fall and winter I like to serve this cake with the Preserved Figs with Star Anise and Bay (page 404) or Quince Compote (page 361).

Ingredients
Commercial almond paste usually comes in 8 oz cans.
You can also make your own with the recipe on page 394.
If you’re planning to use it in both ways, you’ll need a whole pound.
Makes 1 lg bundt cake, serving 12 to 16
unsalted butter and flour for the cake pan
½ lb almond paste
1¼ cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 cup unbleached white flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1¼ tsp salt
1½ lb additional almond paste (optional)
powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a bundt pan or a 9-inch springform pan. Combine the ½ pound almond paste and the sugar in a food processor and work until well blended. Add the butter and continue to process until blended; then add the eggs, one at a time, the sour cream, and the flavorings. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, soda, and salt. Add it to the batter a third at a time, gently stirring in each cupful. For the extravagant touch, break another ½ pound -or less- almond paste into pieces and fold them into the batter. Turn the batter into the baking pan and bake the cake in the middle of the oven until the cake is golden on top and springy to the touch, about 1 hour.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand to cool slightly; then turn it out onto a serving plate. When cool, dust it with sifted powdered sugar. This cake will keep well, wrapped tightly, for several days

Servings: 8-10
Source: Fine Cooking June/July 2003 pg 51

Ingredients
FOR THE CHOCOLATE BISCUITS:
10 oz (ab 2¼ cups) all-purpose flour
1½
ounces (ab ¼ cup plus 3 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder, such as Droste
¼ cup granulated sugar; plus about 3 Tbsp for sprinkling
1½ Tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp table salt
4½ oz (9 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into sm pieces
6½ oz semisweet chocolate, grated or finely chopped (the food processor works well); more for garnish
1¼ cup heavy cream; plus about 3 Tbsp for brushing
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
FOR THE STRAWBERRIES:
5 cup 1/8-inch-thick strawberry slices (from about 3 pints)
1 to 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
1½ cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
¾ tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions
Make the biscuits: Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Toss with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or a fork until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas. Add the grated chocolate and toss to combine. Combine the cream and vanilla in a liquid measure. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the cream into the well. Mix with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened and just combined; it should look shaggy and still feel a little dry. Gently knead by hand five or six times to pick up any dry ingredients remaining in the bottom of the bowl and to create a loose ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into an 8-inch square, ¾ to 1 inch thick. Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and trim about ¼ inch from each side to create a neat, sharp edge (a bench knife or a pastry scraper works well, or use a large chef’s knife, being sure to cut straight down). Cut the dough into 9 even squares (about 2½ inches square) and spread them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. With a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, brush each biscuit with a thin layer of cream and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until the biscuits look a little dry and are mostly firm to the touch (they should spring back slightly when gently pressed), 18 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries: Toss the berries with 1 tablespoon sugar and taste. If they’re still tart, sprinkle with another 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit at room temperature until the sugar dissolves and the berries begin to release their juices, at least 30 minutes but no more than 2 hours.

Whip the cream: Pour the cream into a cold mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and, using a whisk, continue to beat by hand until the cream is softly whipped or until the whisk leaves distinct marks in the cream; it should be soft and billowy but still hold its shape.

Assemble the shortcakes: While the biscuits are still warm, split them in half horizontally with a serrated knife. For each serving, set the bottom half of a biscuit on a plate. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the berries and their juices over the biscuit. Add a generous dollop of whipped cream and cover with the top half of the biscuit. Top with a small dollop of cream and any garnish the recipe calls for.

Garnish with some grated chocolate and a berry or two and serve.

Make-ahead tips

FOR THE BISCUITS: I prefer to serve the biscuits warm-not hot-from the oven, but you can make them several hours in advance. (You can even bake the biscuits a day ahead, or freeze them for up to three months, although their texture will suffer slightly.) Just before serving, reheat the prepared biscuits in a 200°F oven until warmed through.

FOR THE BERRIES: You can slice the berries hours ahead of time and refrigerate them. Half an hour before assembling the shortcakes, toss the berries with the sugar and let them sit at room temperature.

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: Underwhip your cream and refrigerate it, covered, until ready to serve. Then use a whisk to finish whipping.

Servings: —
Preheat: 325°

Ingredients
1/2 lb butter
4 eggs
2 2/3 cup cake flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 pk. of choc. chips (8 Ounces) grated or 1 box of semi-sweet squares grated

Directions
Preheat Oven to 325° Bake for 45 Minutes

Separate eggs, beat egg whites and refrigerate

Cream yolks, butter, sugar and vanilla Add milk, flour and 3/4 of the chocolate shavings Fold in egg whites

Pour batter in 9 X 13 pan and then put remaining shavings on.

Servings: 4
Source: fine cooking may 2007
Chocolate mousse can turn any meal a special occasion, and this simple made by folding whipped egg whites ganache-comes together so quickly can elevate even a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients
½ cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp bourbon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chop (¾ cup)
4 lg egg whites*, preferably at room temp
Pinch table salt

Directions
Bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan and remove the pan from the heat (don’t just turn off the burner). Stir in the bourbon and vanilla. Add the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes without stirring. Whisk the chocolate and cream until smooth and then transfer the ganache to a large bowl. Don’t refrigerate.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites and the salt with a hand mixer on high speed just until they form stiff peaks when you lift the beaters.

With a rubber spatula, fold about one-quarter of the beaten whites into the ganache to lighten it. Then gently fold in the remaining whites, taking care not to deflate them. Divide the mousse among the chilled bowls and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but preferably 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Serving suggestion: Top the mousse with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraîche and sprinkle with cocoa powder, if desired. Garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries.

*The egg whites in this recipe are not cooked, but we don’t recommend using pasteurized egg whites, because they tend to separate after they’re folded into the ganache.

Servings: 8-10
Preheat: 350°
Source: Fine Cooking May 2004
This mousse-like cake really does melt in your mouth. It can be baked up to a day before serving and stored lightly wrapped at room temperature. If you don’t have a 9×3-inch cake pan, use a 9×2-inch pan (a standard size sold in supermarkets) and construct a parchment collar so the cake has room to rise. Cut two 6X16″” strips of parchment. Fold the two strips lengthwise to get two 3X16″” strips. Butter one side of each strip. Line the inside edge of the pan with the strips, nestling them into each other, with folded edge on the top and the buttered side facing in.

For this cake, it’s worth splurging on the best chocolate you can buy. We like Callebaut.

Ingredients
11 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz (12 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 lg eggs, separated, at room temp
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 oz (¼ cup) all-purpose flour
¼ cup bourbon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp kosher salt
FOR SERVING:
I cup heavy cream
1 to 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions
Position an oven rack on the middle rung and heat the oven to 350°F.

Butter a 9×3-inch cake pan (or line a shallower one as directed below). Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and butter the parchment. Set the cake pan in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate it.

Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

With an electric mixer (a stand mixer with the whip attachment or a hand mixer), beat the egg yolks with the brown sugar on medium speed until very pale, thick, and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed, add the chocolate mixture, and mix just to combine. Add the flour, mixing just to combine and scraping the bowl as needed. Blend in the bourbon and vanilla. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a clean mixing bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt on high speed until they hold soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. With a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then gently fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and add enough warm tap water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the top feels set, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the water bath and run a paring knife around the inside of the pan (or the inside of the parchment collar) to loosen the cake and then let the cake cool completely in the cake pan on a rack. When the cake is completely cool, loosen the sides once more with a paring knife, Cover the cake with a serving plate and invert the cake onto the plate. The bottom of the cake is now the top. Peel off the parchment. (Don’t worry if the surface looks a little ragged; you’ll be dusting with confectioners’ sugar).