Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (18 page)

CHOCOLATE SPONGE LAYERS

½ cup sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

⅓ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

7 eggs (graded large)

⅓ cup strained confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Generous pinch of salt

Adjust rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round layer-cake pans. Line the bottoms with baking-pan liner paper or wax paper cut to fit. Butter the paper and dust the sides of the pans with flour, invert and tap lightly to shake out excess. Set the pans aside.

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

Separate 6 of the eggs; leave 1 whole.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer add the confectioners sugar to the egg yolks and beat just to mix, then scrape the sides with a rubber spatula to incorporate all the sugar and beat at high speed for 2 minutes—no longer. On low speed gradually add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with the spatula and beating only until mixed. Add the vanilla and the 1 whole egg and beat only to mix. Remove from the mixer. (Scrape the mixture thoroughly off the beaters using your index finger.)

In a clean bowl (the small-size bowl of the electric mixer is large enough) with clean beaters beat the egg whites with the salt until they hold a definite shape, but they must not be stiff or dry.

One at a time, fold three large spoonfuls of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Transfer the chocolate to a larger bowl. Then fold in about one-quarter of the remaining whites. (The whites will have dried a bit while standing—whisk them briefly with a wire whisk; it will soften them and make them creamier.) Fold in the remaining whites.

Place half of the mixture in each of the prepared pans and level the tops with the spatula.

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes (that’s all it takes) until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 2 or 3 minutes. With a small, sharp knife cut around the sides to release.

Cover each pan with a rack and invert. Quickly remove the pan and the paper lining, cover with another rack and invert again. (These should not be left standing upside down on a rack or they will stick to it.) Let stand until cool. The layers will be ¾ inch thick.

Prepare the following rum syrup and the buttercream.

RUM SYRUP

⅓ cup water

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons dry instant coffee

3 tablespoons light rum

In a small saucepan stir the water and sugar over high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the coffee and rum, and set aside.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons light rum

2 egg yolks

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 from the hot water and set aside uncovered to cool slightly.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Mix in the vanilla, rum, and the melted chocolate. Then add the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now beat at high speed for a minute or two until the color lightens to a pale caramel shade and the mixture is very smooth and light.

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

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

With a pastry brush, brush half of the prepared Rum Syrup over the cake on the plate (the cake will absorb it quickly).

Spread the buttercream about ¼ inch thick over the layer. Cover with the other layer right side up and brush with the remaining syrup.

If you plan to decorate the cake, reserve a scant ½ cup of the buttercream. If not, use it all. Spread the buttercream over the sides and then the top of the cake; with a small, narrow metal spatula smooth the sides and, with a long spatula, smooth the top.

OPTIONAL
:
Cover the top of the cake with a scant ½ cup of small Chocolate Shavings (see page 263), sprinkling them less densely toward the edges of the cake, and leaving about ½ to ¾ inch unsprinkled around the very edge—the buttercream rosettes will not stick to shavings.

Fit a 10-inch pastry bag with a #3 (small) star tube. Fold down a deep cuff on the outside of the bag, place the reserved buttercream in the bag, unfold the cuff, and twist the top of the bag closed.

Press out the buttercream to form a border of small rosettes touching one another around the top rim of the cake.

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

Refrigerate for at least a few hours. But do not serve directly from the refrigerator—the buttercream will be too firm. Remove from the refrigerator about an hour or so before serving. The buttercream should be close to room temperature when the cake is served.

Devilish Cake

12
P
ORTIONS

This is a dark, two-layer sour-cream cake with a thin layer of deliciously bittersweet chocolate filling and icing. It is a very old recipe from New England where it has been made by a Maine sail-making family for generations.

½ cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)

¾ cup boiling water

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups granulated sugar

2 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Adjust rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round layer-cake pans. Dust them with flour, invert over a piece of paper and tap to shake out excess. Set pans aside.

In a small bowl mix the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla, salt, and sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

In a small bowl stir the baking soda into the sour cream. On low speed add the flour to the egg mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream in two additions, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition. Then add the cocoa and beat only until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Shake the pans a bit, and rotate them slightly to level the tops.

Bake for 30 minutes until the layers barely begin to come away from the sides of the pan, or the tops barely leave an impression when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Do not overbake or the cake will be dry.

Cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Cover each layer with a rack and invert, remove pans, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layers right side up on the racks to cool.

Place four strips of wax paper around the outer edges of a cake plate. Place one layer of cake upside down on the plate; check to see that the papers touch the cake all around. If you have a cake-decorating turntable or a lazy Susan. Place the plate on it.

Prepare the icing.

CHOCOLATE ICING

4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup minus 1 tablespoon milk

1 cup strained confectioners sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Place the chocolate in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until the chocolate is melted. Add the butter, milk, and sugar, and stir until the butter is melted. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Beat the egg in a small bowl only to mix. Very gradually stir a few spoonfuls at a time of the hot chocolate into the egg. Stir constantly until you have added about one-third to one-half of the chocolate. Then stir the egg into the remaining hot chocolate. Add the vanilla and salt.

Transfer the mixture to the small bowl of an electric mixer. Place the small bowl in the larger mixer bowl. Fill the remaining empty space between the two bowls about halfway with ice and water. (If you are using a mixer on a stand it should be adjusted to the setting for the small bowl.)

Beat at high speed, scraping the bowl constantly with a rubber spatula, for only 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture thickens very slightly—do not let it harden.

Pour about one-third of the icing over the bottom layer and spread it smoothly—it will be a very thin layer.

Cover with the second layer of cake, placing it right side up so that both bottoms meet in the center. Pour the remaining icing over the top. Spread it over the top and sides.

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

Chocolate Merry-Go-Round

12
P
ORTIONS

This is just a delicious white sponge cake with a wonderful rich, dark chocolate buttercream, but the method of putting the two together is most unusual—it will be an eight-layer cake but the layers will go vertically instead of horizontally. Although I think that all baking is an art, this one is a little more artsy-craftsy than the usual—but not difficult.

This should be made very early in the day of the night you plan to serve it, or made the day before-it must be served very cold. It may be frozen.

You will need two 10½ × 15½ × 1-inch jelly-roll pans.

SPONGE CAKES

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons tasteless salad oil

5 eggs (graded large), separated

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350. Butter two 10½ × 15½ × 1-inch jelly-roll pans. Line each pan with piece of wax paper to cover the bottoms and the sides. Butter the paper and set aside.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

Measure the orange juice and the salad oil into a glass measuring cup (you should have ¼ cup) and set aside.

Place the egg yolks, vanilla, and ½ cup (reserve ½ cup) of the sugar in a small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at high speed until the yolks are pale lemon-colored.

On low speed add half of the dry ingredients, then the liquids, and then the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition.

Transfer to a larger mixing bowl.

Place the egg whites and the salt in a clean, small electric mixer bowl. With clean beaters beat at high speed until the whites hold a very soft shape. Reduce the speed to moderate and gradually add the reserved ½ cup sugar. Then increase the speed again and beat only until the whites hold a definite shape, but not until they are stiff or dry.

Fold two or three large spoonfuls of the whites into the yolks. Fold in two or three more spoonfuls. Then add all the remaining whites and fold in.

It is important for the layers to be the same thickness; measure 3 cups (which is half) of the batter into each pan. The batters must be spread as smoothly as possible; watch the corners—be careful they aren’t thinner—and there should be no hollows in the middles. The layers will be very thin.