12.02.2010
11.30.2010
11.24.2010
11.19.2010
L.C.C.
This is the little black dress of chocolate cakes.
A go-to, dependable recipe that I know will always emerge looking great and tasting splendid. Suitable for any occasion, it can be dressed up or down and would be just as perfect for a Sunday dinner as for a wedding.
A go-to, dependable recipe that I know will always emerge looking great and tasting splendid. Suitable for any occasion, it can be dressed up or down and would be just as perfect for a Sunday dinner as for a wedding.
Plus, it’s terrifically easy to make.
The recipe is one of Ina Garten’s that I came across on the Food & Wine website a few years ago. Having made it countless times since, my printout long ago marked with smudges of batter and cocoa powder, I've learned a few things from past failings and triumphs:
• Make sure to let the cake cool in the pan for the noted 30 minutes before removing to rack to cool completely.
• If the raw egg in the frosting recipe makes you nervous, it works just fine without it (though the density of the frosting is looser, softer).
• The coffee in both the cake and the frosting add a lovely depth, but if you don't have any on hand (or don't care to make any), both turn out fantastic without it. Just make sure to replace the 1 cup of hot coffee in the cake recipe with 1 cup of hot water.
Have any of you made this cake before? Any other tips, comments, or suggestions to offer?
11.15.2010
Collecting Cake
I have a pretty big collection of cake-related miscellany. This is the first post (of many) highlighting some of my favorites.
Click on the images to enlarge.
The cover:
The introduction:
Sample interior:
Click on the images to enlarge.
The cover:
The introduction:
Sample interior:
11.11.2010
Stunning cakes inspired by great works of art
From the Fall 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings
The cake:
The inspiration: Josef Albers
Homage to the Square (With Rays)
The cake:
The inspiration: Paul Cézanne
Basket of Apples
The cake:
The inspiration: Damien Hirst
Controlled Substances Key Painting (Spot 4a)
The cake:
The inspiration: Gustav Klimt
Adele Bloch Bauer
The cake:
The inspiration: Jackson Pollock
Autumn Rhythm (number 30)
The cake:
The inspiration: Rachel Ruysch
Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase
The cakes:
The inspiration: Wayne Thiebaud
Cakes
The cake:
The inspiration: Van Gogh
Still Life Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers
The cake:
The inspiration: Josef Albers
Homage to the Square (With Rays)
The cake:
The inspiration: Paul Cézanne
Basket of Apples
The cake:
The inspiration: Damien Hirst
Controlled Substances Key Painting (Spot 4a)
The cake:
The inspiration: Gustav Klimt
Adele Bloch Bauer
The cake:
The inspiration: Jackson Pollock
Autumn Rhythm (number 30)
The cake:
The inspiration: Rachel Ruysch
Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase
The cakes:
The inspiration: Wayne Thiebaud
Cakes
The cake:
The inspiration: Van Gogh
Still Life Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers
11.08.2010
The Art of Cake: Laura Letinsky
To Say It Isn't So (8)
To Say It Isn't So (19)
Untitled #1, The Dog and the Wolf series
To Say It Isn't So (7)
Learn more at:
Women in Photography
Yancey Richardson Gallery
Artnet
11.02.2010
10.26.2010
Baked Explorations and Whoopie Pies
As a devoted follower of Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, owners of the Baked bakeries and writers of the indispensable cookbook of the same name, I could not wait to get my hands on their newest project, Baked Explorations.
"A tribute to beloved American desserts," Baked Explorations is a lovely book full of classic treats such as Cornmeal Griddle Cakes and Mississippi Mud Pie, as well as "abandoned desserts" like Boston Cream Pie and Pecan Tassies.
In the few short weeks since I brought it home, I've made their Honey Corn Muffins, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Chocolate Whoopie Pies. All have proved delicious and easy to make with standard pantry staples. The only exception was the Whoopie Pies: I'd run out of canola oil and didn't want to make fresh coffee, so I used blood-orange olive oil and hot water as substitutions.
Chocolate-Blood-Orange-Olive-Oil Whoopie Pies (gently altered from the original)
Makes about 30 small pies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper
For the cookies:
• In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup Valrhona cocoa powder and 2 tsp. instant espresso. Add 1 cup hot water (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup hot coffee and 1/2 cup hot water) and whisk to mix. Set aside to cool a little.
• In another bowl, whisk together 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda. Set aside.
• To the cocoa/coffee mixture, whisk in 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar and 3/4 cup blood-orange olive oil (original recipe calls for canola oil). I get mine from Stonehouse. Mix well, then add in 1 large egg, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
• Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until incorporated.
• Using a small ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, drop mounds of dough, about 1 inch apart, on the parchment-covered baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes until they just begin to crack on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool completely while making the filling
For the filling (I like less filling, so I cut, from the original recipe, the eggs from 5 to 3 and the sugar from 1 1/2 cups to 3/4 cup):
• Set out 2 sticks of refrigerator-cold unsalted butter, cut up into small chunks, to let warm a bit.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the whites of 3 eggs with 3/4 cup sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat, attach to the mixer, and, with the whisk attachment, beat until the bowl is cool to the touch and you have a nice, billowy, white meringue.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter, a few chunks at a time, until all is incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix for five minutes. Don't worry if the buttercream starts to fall apart—it will come back together.
• Mix in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. salt until well incorporated
To assemble:
Using a small offset spatula, or the like, spread a dollop of the buttercream on one cookie, top with another. Repeat with remaining cookies.
"A tribute to beloved American desserts," Baked Explorations is a lovely book full of classic treats such as Cornmeal Griddle Cakes and Mississippi Mud Pie, as well as "abandoned desserts" like Boston Cream Pie and Pecan Tassies.
In the few short weeks since I brought it home, I've made their Honey Corn Muffins, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Chocolate Whoopie Pies. All have proved delicious and easy to make with standard pantry staples. The only exception was the Whoopie Pies: I'd run out of canola oil and didn't want to make fresh coffee, so I used blood-orange olive oil and hot water as substitutions.
Chocolate-Blood-Orange-Olive-Oil Whoopie Pies (gently altered from the original)
Makes about 30 small pies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper
For the cookies:
• In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup Valrhona cocoa powder and 2 tsp. instant espresso. Add 1 cup hot water (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup hot coffee and 1/2 cup hot water) and whisk to mix. Set aside to cool a little.
• In another bowl, whisk together 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda. Set aside.
• To the cocoa/coffee mixture, whisk in 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar and 3/4 cup blood-orange olive oil (original recipe calls for canola oil). I get mine from Stonehouse. Mix well, then add in 1 large egg, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
• Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until incorporated.
• Using a small ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, drop mounds of dough, about 1 inch apart, on the parchment-covered baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes until they just begin to crack on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool completely while making the filling
For the filling (I like less filling, so I cut, from the original recipe, the eggs from 5 to 3 and the sugar from 1 1/2 cups to 3/4 cup):
• Set out 2 sticks of refrigerator-cold unsalted butter, cut up into small chunks, to let warm a bit.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the whites of 3 eggs with 3/4 cup sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat, attach to the mixer, and, with the whisk attachment, beat until the bowl is cool to the touch and you have a nice, billowy, white meringue.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter, a few chunks at a time, until all is incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix for five minutes. Don't worry if the buttercream starts to fall apart—it will come back together.
• Mix in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. salt until well incorporated
To assemble:
Using a small offset spatula, or the like, spread a dollop of the buttercream on one cookie, top with another. Repeat with remaining cookies.
10.21.2010
Wedding Cakes!
After months of planning and crafting and hair-pulling, I’m now a fully-licensed married woman and, thankfully, may resume my normal life.
It was a beautiful wedding followed by a wonderful party, and there were seven cakes.
Yep, seven.
The important thing is different for all. For some it’s the dress, for others, it’s the music. For me, it was the cake. This was verified by the fact that, after I got engaged, the first question asked—even before “when’s the big day?”— was “are you going to bake your own wedding cake?”
Was I?
And I get just one?
A great Gastronomica article on the history of the wedding cake mentions an old superstition: “The bride who bakes her own cake is asking for trouble.” While I certainly didn’t want trouble, I knew it wouldn’t be my wedding if I didn’t bake something. Yet I also knew that, for me, baking a cake for 150 people while actually being the one getting married would be more than trouble—it would be cause for a breakdown.
As I was sure I’d find many more reasons to fall apart over the coming months, a compromise was made: I would bake “something” and a professional would bake “something.” Those “somethings” turned into seven: four Orange Flower Water Cakes that I baked (ahead of time and froze) and three wonders made by my girl-crush, Betsy of Nine Cakes: an Almond Cake with Pear Buttercream, a Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Buttercream, and a Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Maple Buttercream...
Photo by Jen Causey
Trouble? Hardly any.
Breakdowns? Two.
It was a beautiful wedding followed by a wonderful party, and there were seven cakes.
Yep, seven.
The important thing is different for all. For some it’s the dress, for others, it’s the music. For me, it was the cake. This was verified by the fact that, after I got engaged, the first question asked—even before “when’s the big day?”— was “are you going to bake your own wedding cake?”
Was I?
And I get just one?
A great Gastronomica article on the history of the wedding cake mentions an old superstition: “The bride who bakes her own cake is asking for trouble.” While I certainly didn’t want trouble, I knew it wouldn’t be my wedding if I didn’t bake something. Yet I also knew that, for me, baking a cake for 150 people while actually being the one getting married would be more than trouble—it would be cause for a breakdown.
As I was sure I’d find many more reasons to fall apart over the coming months, a compromise was made: I would bake “something” and a professional would bake “something.” Those “somethings” turned into seven: four Orange Flower Water Cakes that I baked (ahead of time and froze) and three wonders made by my girl-crush, Betsy of Nine Cakes: an Almond Cake with Pear Buttercream, a Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Buttercream, and a Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Maple Buttercream...
Photo by Jen Causey
Trouble? Hardly any.
Breakdowns? Two.
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