Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (17 page)

When J. Edgar Hoover came to dinner at my parents’ home this is the cake my mother served for dessert. Mr. Hoover liked it so much he threatened an F.B.I. investigation if he didn’t get the recipe. I was assigned to deliver it by hand the following morning.

It is two dark and delicious chocolate layers quite easy to make, filled and covered with whipped cream.

1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¾ cups granulated sugar

4 eggs (graded large or extra-large), separated

1¼ cups milk

My mother made this, as I do, in two 10-inch layer-cake pans. They are not generally available at hardware stores but they are at specialty kitchen equipment shops, and they do make a beautiful cake. If you do not have that size it may be made in two 9-inch pans.

If you are using 10-inch pans, adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds: For 9-inch pans adjust one rack to the center of the oven; preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter the pans, line the bottoms with baking-pan liner paper or wax paper cut to fit, butter the paper, dust all over with flour, invert and tap lightly to shake out excess. Set the prepared pans aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat to mix well. Add the egg yolks and beat to mix well. On low speed add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. (Use a small amount for the first dry addition.) Add the milk very gradually, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula while adding, and beat only until each addition is incorporated. Remove from the mixer.

In a small, clean bowl with clean beaters beat the egg whites until they hold a definite shape but not until they are stiff or dry.

Add the whites to the chocolate mixture and fold together only until they are incorporated.

Pour half of the batter into each of the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

If you have used 10-inch pans, place one pan on each rack, staggering the pans so one is not directly
over the other. If you have used 9-inch pans, they may both fit on the one rack in the center. (However, if your oven is small, you may have to use two racks even for 9-inch pans.)

Bake until the layers begin to come away from the sides of the pans; it will take about 45 minutes in 10-inch pans, a little longer in 9-inch pans.

As soon as the layers are removed from the oven, with a small, sharp knife cut around the sides to release. Let stand for 4 or 5 minutes, then cover each layer with a rack, invert, remove pan and paper lining, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layers right side up to cool.

Prepare a large, flat plate by placing four strips of wax paper around the outer edges. Place one layer upside down on the plate, checking to be sure that the papers touch it all around.

If you have a cake-decorating turntable or a lazy Susan, place the cake plate on it.

Prepare the whipped cream.

WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup strained confectioners sugar

Optional: about 4 ounces (1 cup), or more, almonds, thinly sliced

In a large, chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip the above ingredients until the cream is firm enough to hold its shape.

Spread about one-third of the cream about ½ inch thick over the layer on the plate. Carefully place the other layer right side up (the two flat sides meet in the middle) on the whipped cream. Spread the remaining cream over the sides and top of the cake; it may be spread smoothly or lifted into swirls and peaks.

This does not need any decoration but it lends itself to whatever. It is especially attractive and delicious if the cream is spread smooth and the sides are coated with toasted sliced almonds as follows.

To toast the almonds: Place about 1 cup of thinly sliced almonds in a shallow pan in a 350-degree oven and stir occasionally for 10 minutes or so until the almonds are golden brown. Cool completely.

Place a few spoonfuls of the almonds in the palm of your hand; turn your hand close to the sides of the cake, leaving the almonds on the whipped cream. Many of them will fall down onto the plate—O.K. They may be lifted with a small metal spatula or a table knife and replaced on the cream.

Or use more almonds and sprinkle them on the top, too.

Remove the four strips of wax paper by pulling each one out toward a narrow end.

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

NOTE
:
My mother always used the almonds, and she either made the following strawberry version or served strawberries on the side. The strawberries, if they were served on the side, were sliced thick and sprinkled with just a bit of granulated sugar and kirsch. (The strawberries should be prepared about an hour or so before serving to absorb the flavors and give off a bit of their juice.)

Strawberry Chocolate Layer Cake

This is a variation of the F.B.I. cake.

Quickly wash and then hull 1 or 2 pints of strawberries and drain them thoroughly on paper towels. Reserve the largest berries for the top of the cake. For the filling, cut some berries in halves or quarters if they are very large. Press them down into the filling; if necessary, cover with a bit more cream so they are barely covered. Place the reserved large berries, pointed ends up, in the whipped cream, either in a circle around the rim of the cake or all over the top.

Cocoa Sponge Cake

12 TO 16
P
ORTIONS

This recipe is not for beginners. It makes a large and impressive, dark and delicious, three-layer sponge cake (it is baked in one large pan and then sliced into layers), filled and covered with a rich and extravagant chocolate buttercream. It may be made that day or the day before, but it must be refrigerated for several hours before serving. It may be frozen before or after it is iced—if it is frozen after it is iced, it should be thawed for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator before it is unwrapped.

You will need a 10 × 3- or 10 × 3½-inch round cake pan or spring-form pan. The pan cannot be shallower than that or the cake will run over. The cake itself, before it is sliced into layers, is a generous 3 inches deep.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

⅔ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

8 eggs (graded large), separated, plus 4 egg whites (you will use 4 yolks for the buttercream)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 10 × 3- or 10 × 3½-inch spring-form pan. Line the bottom with a round of baking-pan liner paper or wax paper cut to fit, butter the paper, and dust the inside of the pan with flour. Invert over a piece of paper and tap lightly to shake out excess flour. Set the pan aside.

Sift together the flour and the cocoa and set aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks with 1 cup (reserve 1 cup) of the sugar at high speed for only a minute or two. Mix in the vanilla. Transfer the mixture to the large bowl of the mixer. On low speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed. The mixture will be very thick. Scrape the beaters and remove from the mixer. (You will need the large bowl now for the egg whites; if you do not have an extra one, transfer the chocolate mixture to any large mixing bowl.)

Place the 12 egg whites in a large, clean electric-mixer bowl. Add the salt. With clean beaters start to beat until the whites are foamy. Add the cream of tartar through a fine strainer and beat at high speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Reduce the speed slightly and gradually add the reserved 1 cup sugar. Then, on high speed again, continue to beat until the whites hold firm peaks or are stiff but not dry.

The next step will be a bit of a challenge. The chocolate mixture will probably be stiffer than any you have ever had to fold beaten whites into. So here’s how. Use a wooden spatula. Add about ½ cup of the whites and stir them in. (Use a rubber spatula occasionally to scrape the heavy chocolate off the wooden spatula.) When the whites are incorporated, stir in another ½ cup of the whites. Repeat this step four or five times altogether, stirring in about 2 to 2½ cups of the whites in order to thin the chocolate gradually until it is thin enough for the rest of the whites to be folded in.

Now change to a rubber spatula and, in three or four additions, fold in the remaining whites. (The trick is to thin the chocolate gradually or you will wind up with a lumpy batter.)

Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 to 40 minutes until the center of the top springs back sharply when lightly pressed with a fingertip and the cake comes away from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then cover it with a rack, invert pan and rack, remove the pan and the paper lining. (If the cake sticks, let it stand upright for about 5 minutes more and then invert again—when it is ready it will come out easily.) Cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the cake right side up. Let stand until completely cool, or overnight if you wish.

If the top of the cake is very uneven it may be cut level (if it sinks much in the middle, you
should
cut the top to make it smooth), but the cake may be iced with either side up, and the icing will hide minor irregularities. Use a long serrated bread knife and carefully cut the cake into three layers.

Place four strips of wax paper around the outer sides of a large flat cake plate. Place the bottom layer on the plate checking to see that the wax paper touches the cake all around.

If you have a cake-decorating turntable or a lazy Susan, place the cake plate on it.

Prepare the following buttercream.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 tablespoon dry instant coffee

2 tablespoons boiling water

4 egg yolks

2 cups strained confectioners sugar

Pinch of salt

12 ounces (3 sticks) sweet butter, at room temperature

Break up the chocolate and place it in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside uncovered to cool.

Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and set aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks with the sugar and the salt for 4 or 5 minutes at high speed, it will be very pale and thick. On low speed gradually add the dissolved coffee and then the chocolate, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating until smooth. Add the butter about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Then beat until the color lightens.

With a long, narrow metal spatula spread the buttercream about ¼ inch thick between the layers and then spread it over the sides and top. It may be spread smooth or swirled into peaks.

Or some of it may be used with a pastry bag fitted with a star-shaped tube to decorate the cake. Or the cake may be decorated, if you wish, with any of the chocolate decorations (see pages 262 through 267).

Remove the wax paper strips by slowly pulling each one out toward a narrow end.

Refrigerate for at least a few hours or overnight.

Gâteau au Chocolat

10
P
ORTIONS

This is a dark, bittersweet chocolate sponge cake made in two thin layers with a rich, pale chocolate buttercream filling and icing. It may be decorated to look fancy and professional—or it may be left quite plain. It may be made just a few hours before serving or it may be refrigerated overnight.