Chocolate Truffle Cake

Winter is "birthday/anniversary season" in our house.  It starts at the end of November, when Abby's birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving.  Our wedding anniversary is in mid December and my birthday is on Christmas.  Then we have daughters' birthdays just after New Year, on Valentine's Day and on the 2nd of March.  Bruce's birthday is mid-February and both of my parents birthdays, plus both of his siblings have birthdays in there as well.  So along with the REGULARLY SCHEDULED BIG HOLIDAYS,
we celebrate all of our birthdays from the end of November until March 2nd.  So I am posting dessert recipes as you all begin your New Year Resolutions to eat more healthy.  Sorry!!!  Save this for when you are not eating as healthy; like your summer birthday.

We get tired of birthday cake (really any sweets after the long holiday season) so I have fruit tart.  Some of us choose just ice cream and some pie.  Rachel chose to celebrate her birthday with this rich (once a year) Chocolate Truffle Cake.  It really is just a flourless cake.
It's easy to make and has only 5 ingredients; 6 if you count the raspberry sauce.

Don't skip the pan preparation or your cake will not come out......EVER.  I lent a pan once to a friend to make this cake and she returned it with dimples and dents all over the bottom of the pan after trying to bang the cake out with knife handles and who knows what else.  She never did get the cake out in one piece and I had to throw the pan away.  It was pretty amazing looking but so out of shape it was unusable.

I like to strain my eggs after beating them to remove the chalazae ( the little twisty white things that center the yolk in the shell).  They will ruin the smooth texture of the cake but you can leave them in if you want.

Your batter will be grainy at first ( like a brownie ) but keep whisking and the sugar will melt and 

the batter will become smooth like this after a bit.

Pour your batter into the pan and smooth the top.  I like to give the pan a few "whacks" on the counter to bring any air bubbles up to the surface before baking.  

Excuse the poor lighting.  It was dark!!! All of my photos need some better lighting.  You can put a candle in it for "The Birthday" (and you might want to center your cake a bit better than I did.

I serve this with a sauce made from my homegrown raspberries (albeit frozen at this time of year) and some unsweetened whipped cream.

You'll only need a small piece.  This is rich, flourless cake!

Chocolate Truffle Cake

8 ounces of dark sweet or semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup of butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoons

1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

5 eggs, beaten until foamy

Ganache:

12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup of heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Prepare an 8-inch cake pan.  Out of parchment paper, draw and cut a circle for the bottom of the pan.  Measure the sides of the pan and cut strips to completely cover the sides of the pan plus 1 inch for overlap.  Butter the bottom and sides of the pan lightly.  Push the strips against the side of the pan, overlapping the ends slightly.  Push the circle into the bottom and smooth it out.  Make sure the parchment strips and circle completely line the pan.

Cake:

Melt the chocolate and stir until smooth.  Remove from the heat and cool for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the butter, bit by bit; beat with a wire whisk until smooth and incorporated.  Add the sugar, beating 1 minute with the wire whisk.  Add the eggs and beat until the batter is well mixed.  Pour into the pan and set the pan into a slightly larger pan.  Pour hot water into the larger pan so it is about 1 inch deep. 

Bake for about 1 ½ hours until the cake is cooked through.  Cool for 1 hour.  The cake should fall in the middle. 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Ganache:

Boil the cream and take it the pan off the heat.  Add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted.  Refrigerate it until it is spreadable.  I do this while the cake is cooling. 

Invert the cake onto a plate and remove the parchment.

Spread the ganache on top and sides of the cake and refrigerate it until serving.

Take the cake out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving and put a pool of raspberry sauce under a slice of drizzle some on top of a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

Raspberry sauce (optional):

Put about 4 cups of raspberries (fresh or frozen) into a pan.  Add about ¼ cup of water.  Heat until boiling.  Cook for a few minutes and then strain through a mesh strainer, pushing the pulp through but leaving the seeds in the strainer. Discard seeds and add sugar as desired.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

*This sauce is great over any cake and even poured over fresh fruit.  I serve it over breakfast grapefruit.

Chocolate Cheesecake

We had 3 of our daughters and 3 friends home Sunday afternoon.  We watched this together and then had a lovely dinner.  While the pulled pork was in the oven there was a little time for recreation.

When Rachel was living in Jerusalem she learned to slack line.  She bought her own gear after she returned to the U.S.  She's been concentrating on her schooling but she's quite impressive on that slack line.

This is how you teach someone to slack line.  Brooke's doing pretty well for her first attempt.  It's a bit like gymnastics...you need a spotter.

 And then she was all alone on the line.  Thank goodness that line is just a little way off the ground.

After all that hard work, chocolate cheesecake was the reward.

And what a reward it was.  This was a new recipe for me and it's a keeper; the best chocolate cheesecake I've ever made.  You can find the recipe here.  A very tiny sliver of a portion is all you need.  It's rich!  Do you like the "fancy china"?  No one could wait for me to bring out the better plates.  My tip for you...cut the slices with a piece of dental floss.  Nice straight cuts.   I keep a dedicated box of floss in my pastry drawer in the kitchen.

It tasted divine even on the paper plates.  Imagine how pretty it would look on nicer ones. 

The ganache on the top was divine, by the way. It got a bit smudges from the aluminum foil that was covering it while it chilled in the refrigerator but no one complained.   Everyone went home with a "doggie bag (or plate in this case)" with an extra slice of cheesecake for later.

The rest of the cake went into the freezer.  I'll probably need to hide it way in the back.  Out of sight...out of mind.  At least for a few weeks.

Oops...off to buy a birthday cake.

I've been baking a long time and very rarely have an outright disaster.  I can usually read a recipe and take steps to divert a problem or pick another recipe.

Not this time.  There were no clues or warnings that this might happen.  I used the proper tools and ingredients; measured them correctly.  I wonder who proof read/tested this recipe?  No one.

The first sign of a problem.....the batter rose in the first 10 minutes.  Look at the odd center.

Oh....oh.  Thank goodness for the tray underneath the pans.

It was supposed to be a gingerbread cake.  It tastes and looks terrible.  Not even going to waste the cream cheese icing.  Not even going to try to correct the recipe at a later date.  Cake and recipe are both now in the garbage can.

When I have a flop....it's a BIG FLOP.

Plum Cake

I was reading some one's blog the other day and saw this Marion Burros plum torte (cake).  I'll be darned if I can remember whos' blog I was reading.  If it's yours, slip me a note and I'll credit it.  I made Marion's cake years and years ago and had all but forgotten about this recipe.  Thankfully I was reminded, since I have buckets of wild plums that we picked last weekend sitting around, needing to be made into something.  So..... I made a couple of cakes (remember; lots of plums).  It's fast, easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry.  No plums (I'm so sorry)?  Substitute any stone fruit.

I serve this cake a'la'mode; top it with a really good vanilla bean ice cream.  The plums are tart, the cake is so slightly sweet, and the sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on the top warms the cake up.  It's the perfect fall dessert; homey and comforting, served warm or cold.  

 I made two and froze them. I might have to make a few more if the plums hold out.

Marian Burros Original Plum Torte

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup unbleached flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

24 halves pitted purple plums

Sugar and cinnamon for topping.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream sugar and butter in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs, and beat well.

3. Spoon the batter into a spring form of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, or to taste.

4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired (but first, double-wrap the tortes in foil, place in a plastic bag, and seal). Or cool to lukewarm, and serve.

5. To serve a torte that has been frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.

Yield: 8 servings.

Weekend in Review

Remember this?  I put it on the floor to measure it because it was getting so big and I would really hate to make it too big.  That would just be bad; if it didn't fit.  Ha!!!  Right.

Turns out it isn't even close to being big enough for the space.  I'm quite sure that the room is growing.  I can hardly lift it but I have A LONG LONG WAY to go. (Please excuse the sheet hanging on the bed below the comforter.  I store my antique quilts on this bed covered with a large cotton sheet and it seems as if the sheet was showing).

We took a little side trip to Topaz, a Japanese internment camp a few hours away.  It's long gone but there was a great little museum in a nearby town.  It just made me sad.  I know WWII was a scary time for Americans but to say it was a horrible injustice to imprison Japanese-American citizens is somehow inadequate. 

Our town had a Plen Air Arts Festival, contest and studio tour, and I bought this beautiful local honey at my friend Vickie's farmers market. 

I made some cupcakes to eat at the monthly extended-family dinner and two of The Daughters came home. It was a good weekend. 

I hope yours was good too.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box of chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker)

1 small box (4 oz.) of chocolate instant pudding mix

¾ cup of canola oil

¾ cup of milk

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes until blended. Scoop into cupcake papers and bake for 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

Let cool and frost with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

*For high altitudes: add 1 more egg and ¼ cup of all-purpose flour to the dry mix.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces of softened cream cheese

4 ounces of softened butter

2 cups of powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

½ cup of cocoa powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients until light and fluffy. 

Linked to Friday Potluck.

Lemon Meringue Cake

Every year our church  throws a lawn party and invites the entire neighborhood.  It's a great way to get to know our neighbors and it's one BIG PARTY.  There is a greased pole with money attached,  and other activities like face painting, fish ponds, games, a bounce house, pony rides, music (this year it's a banjo player), popcorn and snow cone machines, a cake walk and dinner of course.  The party goes on until dark.  The cake walk is popular but the kids tend to eat their cake by the fistfuls and many cakes never made it home.  This year they decided to give out sugar cookies for prizes at the cake walk and to draw names for the cakes instead.  What a great idea! 

I was asked to bring a "county fair-like cake that displayed well".  And I thought it might be even better if the cake tasted great and this cake does.  It's similar to a pound cake so don't be alarmed by the weight of it; it's supposed to be heavy.  The buttermilk makes for a tender moist crumb and the coconut cream is subtle.  And I can't even begin to describe how amazingly good the lemon filling is.   It's my favorite part of the cake. 

The tart lemon curd is a nice contrast to the sweet icing.  The shredded coconut adds a nice textural element.  This cake is one of our favorites and was my contribution to the cake table.  I altered the batter recipe from Foster's Market Cookbook.  The rest of the cake is a "play" on a lemon meringue pie.  And as always, you'll want to adjust the cake for your individual altitude (it's easy; I always adjust for my high altitude), as this recipe is written for sea level.

I made 8-inch cakes instead of the 9-inch cakes as per the recipe so I had extra batter and made a small loaf cake as well.   I cut the loaf into two halves and sliced those into 2 layers.  If you freeze the layers for 1 hour before cutting they won't crumble and break; it will make the slicing so much easier.  One recipe of batter made two miniature two-layer cakes and one 8-inch four-layer cake. 

Here...I cut you a piece from one of the small cakes.  Have you got a fork at the ready?  (OK, so WE ate the small one before the dinner, I'll admit it).  SOMEONE (not naming any names) wasn't very happy that the cake was going to a new home.  In fact he asked how he could win it in the raffle and was happy when I pulled a very small cake from the refrigerator for us.

Lemon Meringue Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

½ teaspoons of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

12 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cup of granulated sugar

6 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups of buttermilk

¼ cup of  *canned coconut cream (such as Coco Lopez)

1 cup of Lemon Curd (recipe follows)

1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut to garnish the sides of the cake

1 recipe of Seven-Minute Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour two 9-inch cake pans and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and stir to mix. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and stir by hand to mix well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and coconut cream. Stir just until all the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not over mix.

With an electric mixer whip the egg whites in a separate bowl for 2-3 minutes, until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.

Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake 40 - 45 minutes until the cakes are golden brown and no crumbs stick to a test wooden skewer or pick after you insert one into the middle of the cakes.. Cool the cakes 10 – 15 minutes and remove from the pans. Cool and slice each layer in two.

Place the first layer onto a serving plate and spread with 1/3 of the lemon curd.   Repeat with the remaining three layers. Spread the Frosting on the top and sides. Carefully press the shredded coconut on the sides of the cake.  I like to torch the top of the meringue as well, but you don't need to.  It's still pretty.

*Canned coconut cream is often found in the market aisle with the drink mixers or possibly in the Latin section of your supermarket.

Bonnie’s Pucker-Up Lemon Curd:

2 cups of granulated sugar
12 large egg yolks
1 cup of lemon juice

2 Tablespoons of lemon zest, yellow part only

4 ounces (1 stick or ½ cup) of butter, cut into pieces
½ tsp. of pure vanilla extract


Wash and zest the lemons. Juice them. In a heavy-bottomed, non-aluminum pan mix the egg yolks with the granulated sugar. Whisk in the lemon juice. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat until it coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter cubes. Strain.  Add the lemon zest and mix well. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

This curd can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or frozen for 3 months. The texture will be slightly softer after defrosting.

Seven-Minute Frosting:

2 large egg whites

1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

¼ cup of cold water

1 Tablespoon of Light Corn Syrup (Karo)

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Combine the egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup in a double boiler set over simmering water over low heat. Beat with a hand-held electric mixer 3 - 4 minutes

 on low speed. Increase speed to high and mix 3 - 4 minutes longer, until icing is shiny and forms soft peaks.

Remove from heat, add the vanilla, and beat on high until the mixture becomes thick.

This cake is best served the day it is made as the icing will form a "crust" the next day but the cake is still fabulous.  I've never had anyone turn down a day-old piece.

*Cook's Note:  If you decorate your cake with flowers/herbs, make sure that they they are impeccably clean and have not been treated with any kind of pesticide, even if they are not intended to be eaten.