Eat Cake: A Novel (29 page)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

⅓ cup Grand Marnier

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl toss the chocolate chips and Grand Marnier until the chips are moistened and shiny. Add the 1½ teaspoons flour and toss until evenly coated.

2. In a medium bowl lightly combine the eggs, ¼ cup sour cream, and orange flower water or vanilla.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and orange zest and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and remaining ¾ cup sour cream. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1½ minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in three batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a wire cake tester
inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center.
The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven
.

5. Shortly before the cake is done, prepare the syrup: Heat the sugar, orange juice, and Grand Marnier until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, place the pan on a rack, poke the top all over with a wire tester, and brush on ½ the syrup. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or cardboard round. Brush with the remaining syrup and cool completely before wrapping.

6. Serve room temperature with a light dusting of powdered sugar, if desired

1 cup butter, at room temperature, plus additional for greasing pans

2 cups sifted sugar

3½ cups cake flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

8 large white eggs, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

Pinch of salt

1 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

½ cup raisins, finely chopped

6 dried figs, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon brandy or sherry (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with butter. Line the bottom with parchment. Grease parchment.

2. To make cake: Beat butter and sugar into a bowl at high speed until fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix milk and extracts into a measuring cup. Add flour mixture into butter mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk. Beat after each addition.

3. In a bowl, beat egg whites at a high speed until stiff. Fold into butter mixture. Divide batter among pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and cakes pull away from pan sides. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes before turning out.

4. To make frosting: Combine sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with salt in a bowl until frothy. Continue
to beat and add hot syrup in a thin stream. Keep beating at high speed until the frosting forms stiff peaks. Mix in the nuts, raisins, figs, vanilla, and liqueur together and stir.

5. Spread the frosting between each layer and over the rest of the cake.

ACTIVE TIME:
1
HR START TO FINISH:
2
HR

2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup whole milk

2½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup confectioners sugar

Lemon curd (recipe follows), chilled

Garnish: candied violets

ACTIVE TIME:
20
MINUTES START TO FINISH
1¼
HOURS

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

½ cup sugar

3 large eggs

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 cup old-fashioned oats (not instant), also called coarse oatmeal or Irish oatmeal

1¼ cups oatmeal stout or other dark stout beer, such as Guinness

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

½ cup tightly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup sweetened condensed milk

½ cup old-fashioned (coarse) oats

½ cup lightly toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Two hours before you plan to put the cake in the oven, combine the oatmeal and the stout and in a small, non-reactive bowl; cover with plastic wrap and chill.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch springform or other 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch-high sides. In the bowl of an electric mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and both sugars until well combined and somewhat fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and orange zest.

3. Drain the chilled oat mixture, reserving the stout. Into a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the reserved stout in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Take care at this point not to overmix; just make sure the flour is moistened and all ingredients are evenly distributed. Fold in the oats and scrape the batter, which will be quite thick, into the prepared pan. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched, and the wooden skewer inserted there comes out clean. Remove the sides of the springform pan and cool the cake completely on a rack before topping.

4. To prepare the Chewy Oat Topping, preheat the broiler. Combine all the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl and scatter over the cooled cake in its pan, pressing the mixture onto the surface evenly. Place the pan under the broiler and cook, watching closely, until the topping is bubbling and
golden. This sweet stuff can burn quickly, so don’t leave the pan under the heat and walk away! Cool the topped cake for at least 10 minutes. Slide slender spatula under cake to remove it from pan bottom and slide cake to serving plate, then serve warm or at room temperature. Good with vanilla or orange ice cream.