We've been pretty busy renovating our flat here, so finding time to bake hasn't been easy and I'm presuming things will be a whole lot worse tomorrow when they take out the kitchen work surfaces!
I've been occupying myself by reading lots of cupcake books and the other week I finished reading Julie and Julia, a book about Julie Powell, a woman who is nearing thirty and decideds to cook 524 recipes from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I'm well past the 30 mark but something made me think that this baking mission is probably the easier and cheaper option than hers.
Anyway, yesterday I decided to try my hand at one of the French recipes and yes, you guessed it I baked a cake. Mastering the Art of French Cooking does not contain the easiest recipe format but after reading through it a few times I managed to whip up the most scrumptious Chocolate and Almond Cake for a family birthday ... Well worth a try, but I did opt to send it away with the guests as I could have easily devoured the whole thing in one night!
Reine De Saba
[Chocolate and Almond Cake]
“This extremely good chocolate cake is baked so that its center remains slightly underdone; overcooked, the cake loses its special creamy quality. It is covered with a chocolate-butter icing, and decorated with almonds. Because of its creamy center it needs no filling. It can be made in the same manner as the preceding cakes, starting out with a beating of egg yolks and sugar, then proceeding with the rest of the ingredients. But because the chocolate and the almonds make a batter so stiff it is difficult to fold in the egg whites, we have chose another method, that of creaming together the butter and sugar, and then incorporating the remaining items.
For an 8-inch cake, Serving 6-8 people
A round cake pan 8 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches deep
4 ounces or squares semisweet chocolate melted with 2 Tb run or coffee
A 3-quart mixing bowl
A wooden spoon or an electric beater
¼ lb. Or 1 stick softened butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
A rubber spatula
1/3 cup pulverized almonds
¼ tsp almond extract
½ cup cake flour, scooped and leveled, turned into a sifter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Butter and flour the cake pan. Set the chocolate and run or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.
Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.
Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in the almonds, and almond extract. Immediately stir in one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.
Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2 ½ to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into the area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.
TO SERVE
Use the chocolate butter icing and press a design of almonds over the icing.
Glacage au Chocolat
[Chocolate Icing]
“This simple chocolate icing is butter beaten into melted chocolate, and forms a tender coating over a white or chocolate cake, or over a thoroughly chilled butter-cream icing.
For an 8-inch cake
2 ounces (2 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 Tb rum or coffee ( I used Kaluha :) )
A small covered pan
A larger pan of almost simmering water
5 to 6 Tb unsalted butter
A wooden spoon
A bowl with a tray of ice cubes and water to cover them
A small flexible-blade metal spatula or a table knife
Place the chocolate and rum or coffee in the small pan, cover, and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water. Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth. Lift chocolate pan out of th hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife.
