Chocolate Sheet Cake (4/26)

I'm not one for particularly cold foods. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for ice cream and salad (separately), but when food is generally designed to be hot I prefer it that way. Cold chicken, cold pizza--count me out. And I consider myself to be fairly moderate about this. Lily enjoys her food at about scalding.

That being said, I ate this cake cold and I've never regretted it.




I hurriedly made this before work because it was the last day for my favorite boss. I had no inspiration. I scrolled listlessly for anything to make and thankfully I had the good sense to unearth this recipe. Of course, anything remotely smelling of "homemade" at my work has the tendency to disappear within seconds, so the safe thing to do is leave it in the walk-in refrigerator until ready to unveil. That meant putting my fresh cake straight into the cold box, which was how it was served, and boy, was it ever good. Make this cake.







Chocolate Sheet Cake
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
1 stick butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan or the microwave. Stir in cocoa powder, then add boiling water. Let simmer for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Pour over flour mixture and stir lightly to cool.

Combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla extract. Stir into batter and mix until just incorporated. Pour onto half-sheet pan and bake 18-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make frosting. Melt butter over medium-low heat, stir in cocoa and remove from heat. Thoroughly mix in milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Stir in pecans and pour immediately over cake.

Cut into squares and serve. Cold if you like, but I doubt it'll last that long.

Chocolate Cake (3/24)

I've mentioned before that I get hit by baking cravings. That means I'll just be sitting around minding my own business when a chocolate cake might come up from behind and punch me. It's pretty awesome. I decided on a whim to make this cake with no clear idea of how it was going to get et, and in the middle of the ordeal I get a call from my mom telling me it's my uncle's birthday that night and we're all coming over for dinner. I love my life!



This recipe uses Ina Garten's famous chocolate cake. The cake is soft, rich and oh so chocolatey, with two thick layers sandwiching an oozy strawberry filling. I omitted the coffee in the cake recipe because hey, I'm just not that into coffee flavor in baked goods. Instead I used hot water, which serves the purpose just fine. The idea from the filling came from Katie of Chaos in the Kitchen, which was itself adapted from Deb of Smitten Kitchen. The frosting is a basic chocolate ganache, which was good, but I recommend using a softer, sweeter frosting.

Start by combining dry ingredients (sift the cocoa powder; I use Dutch-processed Valrhona and that stuff gets clumpy).


Give a quick whir.


I never have buttermilk on hand and use this awesome buttermilk powder whenever a recipe calls for it. Just whisk 1/4 cup of powder with 1 cup of water...


Et voilà!


Add remaining wet ingredients (except water) and give them a stir.


Slowly add wet ingredients to dry. When incorporated stir in hot water until just combined, then divide batter evenly into cake pans and bake at 350F for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring strawberries, sugar and cornstarch to a boil until thickened and allow to cool completely.


For the ganache, heat cream in a saucepan to boiling and pour over chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir continuously until thick.

Following Joy the Baker's frosting tips, place 1 layer on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting, creating a dam around the edges to try to hold in your runny filling. (She makes it look a lot easier.)


Put way too much filling on the cake and watch a lot of it spill over.


Frost the second layer and carefully place upside-down on first layer, creating a frosting sandwich with the filling.


Use remaining ganache to frost top and sides of the cake, ignoring the mess, and insist that your family eat it.


Moral of the story: If the urge to make a cake hits you, accept it. Embrace it. Eat it. Or, You Never Know When it Might Be Your Uncle's Birthday.


Ingredients

Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot water, almost boiling

Filling:
1 bag frozen strawberries, partially thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch

Ganache:
100 grams heavy cream
125 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the water and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

While the cake is baking, make filling. Give the thawed strawberries a rough chop. In a saucepan, bring strawberries, sugar and cornstarch to a boil, stirring constantly, until thick. Cool completely before spreading over cake layer.

Make ganache by heating cream in a saucepan until boiling. Pour over chocolate and keep stirring until thick and spreadable.

When ready to assemble, prepare first cake layer by spreading about 2/3 cup ganache on top, creating a raised dam around the edge to hold in the filling. Spoon filling onto first layer. Frost second layer thinly, just to protect it from the filling, and place upside-down over first layer. Frost top and sides of cake. Cut a fatty slice and enjoy.

In which I attempt to impress my coworkers (10/5)

I'm not really the decorating type. I can appreciate a well-topped cake or cookie, but put a piping bag into my hands and I turn into Clumsy Clara. It may have to do with lack of practice, since I hate cleaning out decorating tips and piping bags/frosting can get pretty messy, but it mostly is because I am fairly lacking in the art gene. This is all an attempt to justify this monstrosity I brought in to work:


Allow me to explain.

One of my favorite bosses at work, Richard*, got transferred to another store because that's just what the company does, shifts full-timers around every few years. I made a cake to mourn his passing...you know, to another store. I don't have photos of the inside but the cake is layers of chocolate cake with cookie dough ice cream and an Italian buttercream frosting. It's cracked because I am impatient, the cake was freaking huge and I clearly do not have a sense of aesthetics. But there you have it.

*name changed to protect identity...wait. Shit.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake
adapted from Baking Bites

Note: I've made this cake several times, with various ice cream flavors. The key is making absolutely sure the ice cream layer is firm enough. The great advantage of my work is the giant walk-in freezer where I can store this guy (or any other guys) before serving time, but make sure you have enough room in your freezer! I'm not sure how I can impress upon you the horror that is a gallon of bright green mint chip soup on your counter top. It's not pretty.

Ice Cream Layer
1 gallon high-quality cookie dough ice cream

Line a 10×15-inch cake pan with plastic wrap. Lightly grease.
Soften ice cream until it is easy to scoop, then spread it into an even layer in the prepared pan.
Freeze for at least 6 hours, or until very firm. VERY FIRM.
Once it is firm, the pan can be removed and the layer can be stored in plastic wrap.

Chocolate Cake (make 2)
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot water

-Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 10×15-inch cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Leave some paper overhanging the edges of the pan.
-In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
-Pour hot water (not quite boiling) over batter and stir until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
-Bake for about 25 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
-Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment paper to transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely. That means all the way. Not even lukewarm. Do not remove parchment paper.

Repeat recipe to make a second cake.

Real Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Note: don't worry about the raw eggs here. Cooking the sugar and incorporating it into the egg whites at that temperature will effectively cook them to a safe level.

1 lb (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened and cut into one inch pieces
3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 vanilla bean

-In the bowl of a stand mixer, place egg whites, with cream of tartar and 1/4 cup sugar nearby.
-Heat 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high until sugar is dissolved. When sugar reaches 230F on a candy thermometer, turn mixer on medium high.
-When egg whites are frothy, add cream of tartar. Gradually add the 1/4 cup sugar. When egg whites begin to form soft peaks, turn the mixer down to medium low and begin to drizzle in the boiling sugar mixture (which should be at approximately 245-250F, firm ball stage).
-When all of the hot sugar is added, turn the mixer up to medium high and beat until the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. Add the butter one lump at a time and continue beating until mixture is smooth and fluffy, approximately 12-20 minutes. It will look rather like ricotta cheese for a while - just keep beating!
-Once it is smooth, scrape vanilla bean and mix in the vanilla specks (or use 1-2 tsp vanilla extract).
-Keep at room temperature - do not refrigerate before it has been spread on a cake or cupcakes. If you need to refrigerate it then reheat it gently over a bain marie or double boiler until softened, but it should be OK in the open for a few days.

Makes enough to frost one 2 layer, 8, 9 or 10 inch cake.

Assembly
2 cake layers
1 ice cream layer
1 recipe vanilla buttercream frosting

Place one cake layer on a large serving platter or cake board, using parchment paper to help move the cake without breaking it. Peel off parchment once cake is in place.
Top cake with ice cream layer and top ice cream layer with remaining cake layer.
Freeze for at least an hour, until firm and cold.
Meanwhile, make buttercream frosting.
Frost chilled cake with a thin layer of frosting and freeze until ready to serve. I tell you, frosting this cake is a bitch. I haven't figured out a good way to frost the ice cream layer, so the sides are not the prettiest. One day!

Makes 1 cake. Serves about 30.

Golden Vanilla Pound Cake (9/18)

I've loved pound cake ever since my little Vietnamese grandmother kept a foil tin of the Sara Lee stuff in her fridge. It was always kind of odd seeing it there next to the beef stew and fish sauce, just behind the pickled carrots. I'd open the fridge door and hunt for it. When I finally found it I'd peel back the little metal tabs around the edges and pick up the knife left inside, cut myself a thick slice, and eat it cold.

I'd like to think my tastes have evolved since then, but I doubt it.



I made this as an afterthought the same day I made the sugar cookies and forgot to take an after photo! I left the batter covered in the fridge and baked it the next day. It was compact and sweet with a crackly sugar crust from that vanilla glaze.


This is from King Arthur Flour, where I got the recipe.


Golden Vanilla Pound Cake
from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
Cake
7 ounces(3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature*
7 3/4 ounces (1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

Topping
7/8 ounce (2 tablespoons) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon water

*Note: Bring eggs to room temp by leaving them, unshelled, in a bowl of lukewarm water for 15 minutes.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" x 2 3/4" loaf pan, or a 12" x 4" x 4" tea loaf pan. To avoid overflow, be SURE to use the correct size pan! This will also work in a 9" bundt pan, which requires a shorter baking time so start checking after 55 minutes.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, salt, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; the mixture may look slightly curdled/grainy. After you've added the final egg, beat at high speed for 3 minutes. The batter will still look a little curdled, but will have gained a bit of volume.

Sprinkle in the flour gradually, with the mixer going at low speed. Mix just until combined. The batter will be smooth and thick (not pourable). Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water. Stir till the mixture is syrupy. At first it'll seem very stiff, but will become "drizzlable" as you stir.

Drizzle the topping over the batter.

Set the cake on a baking sheet, for easiest handling and as a precaution against potential overflow (which shouldn't happen if you use the correct size pan). Bake it for 60 to 70 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The center should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. If you prefer a lighter crust, tent the cake with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes or so of baking.

Remove the cake from the oven, and after 15 minutes loosen the edges, and turn it out of the pan to cool on a rack.

Serve with strawberries and honey or store in refrigerator and eat by the slice, crouched in the kitchen.