Blackout Cake

Hello! I'm sure returning readers will notice the dramatic change in header. As much as I liked my ravenous fox, I wanted something simpler, and I was kind of sick of the lettering. Also no more "magical" bakeshop. Sorry folks, seek your elixirs and concoctions elsewhere.

For posterity's sake, here is the old header:

I'm fiddling around with the design of the rest of the blog, trying to figure out how to replace the words/links in the sidebar and navigation bar with little hand drawn words and foxes. I'll let you in on a secret: I'm no great shakes at computer stuff. (I'm 25, btw, I guess I should be good at computers.) So if anybody knows how to do the custom buttons, for heaven's sake please let me know- its proving difficult.

So soon I'm going to gift you with a post that includes a list of the frostings you should definitely have in your repertoire. Silly me, I used to think frosting was just powdered sugar and vanilla and butter beaten together, (this was after I realized that there is life beyond canned frosting, which I am not knocking- rainbow chip frosting is soooo gooood). It turns out that there are so many options and techniques when it comes to frosting! I've written about most of them before so I can just link to those posts, but there's one I've neglected to tell you about. I've been holding out on you, it's true, but no more I say! I'm here to tell you about BLACKOUT CAKE with DENSE SMOOTH DELICIOUS Blackout frosting.

The point of a blackout cake is to be incredibly dark like impenetrable night. It's often called a "Brooklyn" blackout cake, presumably because there are blackouts in Brooklyn...? Hold on, let me google this.

Oh, there's lots of info on this. Apparently the cake was developed by Ebinger Bakery in Brooklyn, NY during WWII when there were, in fact, blackout drills. Every residence had to cover their windows so no light escaped and enemy planes couldn't see where to bomb-specifically where to bomb boats leaving the harbor. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling and frosting finished with chocolate cake crumbs on top. Yum, right? Info came from this site.

This frosting is not pudding, it's much denser, with an intensely chocolate flavor. It's made with eggs, so it's very rich and the frosting stays soft even when kept in the refrigerator. This is a plus at the restaurant because all the cakes are kept in a chilled case. Basically, its brownie batter without the flour. So it tastes freaking AMAZING. I first saw it on the Oprah website, a recipe from the Chocolate Room in Brooklyn. Which I've been to and had hot chocolate, by the way. Here is my version of a Blackout Cake.

You will make the Martha One Bowl Cake from the Mocha Chocolate Cake post while the frosting is cooling.

Blackout frosting, adapted from the Chocolate Room cafe via Oprah

20 oz dark chocolate, chopped. (or chips)

3 1/4 sticks butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

dash salt

8 eggs

instant thermometer or candy thermometer.

Pour a couple of inches of water in a pot and heat over medium heat. Place the chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl and set it over the simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolate are melted and completely combined. Set aside.

Crack the eggs in another heat proof bowl, then add the sugar and salt and whisk thoroughly. Place the bowl over the same simmering water and heat, whisking constantly, until the temperature reaches 160 on an instant thermometer. This is the only tricky part- keep whisking or it is HIGHLY LIKELY that the eggs will start to curdle. If the eggs do curdle a little, all is not lost- you can blend the eggs with a blender or an immersion blender to make them smooth again.

Strain the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture using a fine-mesh strainer. Whisk to combine. Let the frosting cool slightly (it will be very runny) and then put it in the fridge for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until it is thick and spreading consistency. Taste it often- this frosting is finger-lickin good.

Swirl onto your cake and enjoy every bite.

Toasted Coconut Cake

I have never made a coconut cake before last week, and since then I have made three. I've never made one before this because, while I love the flavor and smell of coconut, the texture of shredded coconut makes my skin crawl and my teeth itch.

this cake was made with the Bon Appetit recipe x 1.5

My new friend Laura likes coconut cake, though, and it was her birthday so I gave it a shot. I used this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, and it was very good. I loved using cream of coconut in the cake- it kept it very moist for days while the leftovers sat on the table slowly being nibbled away. It featured cream cheese frosting flavored with a bit of cream of coconut. (not to be confused with coconut milk).

I used farm fresh eggs from Eric's friend at work for Laura's cake.

But then, inspired by the whole coconut bit and an article in my new Food and Wine magazine, I tried out another coconut cake for the restaurant. This cake was more angelfood-like, but was brushed with rum syrup (slurp!), and had light and airy italian meringue buttercream frosting.

I'll leave to you coconut fanatics to decide which cake is better, because both got rave reviews. It probably depends if you go for light and airy or dense and moist.

Towering Coconut Layer Cake adapted from Tyler Florence for Food and Wine magazine

Layers:

10 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tbs vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 1 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup AP flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 t kosher salt or 1/2 t regular salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray 4 9-in cake pans and line with parchment rounds.

Using an electric mixer, mix the butter, sugar and eggs on high until the mixture is fluffy and tripled in volume. Gradually beat in the oil until fully incorporated.

In another bowl, sift the flour, salt and cornstarch. Fold these dry ingredients into the egg mixture until smooth.

Spread the batter evenly between the 4 cake pans, smoothing the top, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on racks.

Make the Rum Syrup:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbs spiced rum (i used white rum, it still tasted good)

Stir the sugar and water together in a small saucepan over high heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Let cool then stir in the rum.

Make the Coconut frosting:

1 1/2 sugar

1/2 cup water

6 large egg whites

4 sticks (1 pound) butter, room temperature

1 1/2 tbs coconut extract

2 cups coconut flakes (I used sweetened), toasted.

In a saucepan, stir the water and sugar together over high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then stop stirring and let boil until the syrup reaches 228 degrees on a candy thermometer. If you don't have such a thermometer, just boil until you can see the faintest tinges of gold starting in the syrup. This as always worked for me.

A few minutes into the boiling, start whipping the egg whites in a perfectly clean stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. Beat until stiff peaks form. When the syrup is ready, while running the mixer on medium high, gradually beat in the hot syrup. When it's all in, reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and beat until the egg whites have cooled to room temperature.

At this point, beat in the butter, a couple tablespoons at a time until it's all encorporated. If the mixture looks like its curdling, power through, it should come together in the end with enough beating. Mix in the coconut extract.

To assemble to cake:

Brush each layer with the Rum Syrup, spread each with about 1 1/4 cup frosting and stack. Frost the outside of the cake and then press the toasted coconut to the sides of the cake. If desired, you can also sprinkle toasted coconut between the layers, too. If you like coconut, that is.

If you don't like coconut flakes, you can just eat the interior like I did.

Lemon Raspberry Cake

This cake is a real hit at the restaurant; I make it once a week. I love how the red raspberry filling pops with color next to the white frosting and cake. Eating this cake feels like summer, so make it soon as a farewell tribute to this hottest of seasons.

And really, though those of you up north may be mourning the end of summer, I am still dying from heat here. Last weekend we stole up to North Carolina and Virginia for a few days, and the crisp air there hinted at fall in a way that is torturing me still. I am so ready for the trees to change color, for the necessity of cardigans, for halloween, for my birthday, for woodsmoke, for pumpkins...

Excuse me, what was I talking about? Oh yes, back to the summery Lemon Raspberry Cake. It's very good. The frosting is fluffy and and not too sweet, the same one that's on the Golden Summer Cake, with the addition of lemon juice.

Lemony Layers (from the Baked cookbook)

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup AP flour

1 T bakng powder

1 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temp

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 T vanilla extract

grated zest of one lemon

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups ice water

3 large egg whites, room temp

1/4 t cream of tartar (or lemon juice or vinegar)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line three 8 in cake pans with parchment rounds.

Sift together the flours, baking powder and soda, and salt.

Cream the butter and shortening together in an electric mixer using the paddle attachment on medium speed, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and beat another 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and add the egg, beating until just combined.

Using low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the ice water. Scrape the bowl and mix for a few more seconds.

Using a spotless bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks (not stiff peaks) form. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Divide the batter among the three pans and bake for 30-40 minutes (keep an eye on it, if your pans are 9 in instead of 8 then they'll bake faster). Test with a toothpick or thin knife. Let cool for 20 min and turn out onto racks to cool completely.

Lemony Frosting:

1 pound butter, softened

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 to 1 pound confectioner's sugar, to taste

juice from three lemons

Combine the first three ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip the the whisk attachement for at least ten minutes, until the frosting is smooth and creamy and light. Add the lemon juice and whip until combined.

To assemble cake, spread the lemon frosting on each layer, topping each one with raspberry jam or filling. Finish with swirly peaks of lemon frosting on the top.

It's the perfect birthday cake for those who don't care for chocolate. (Whoever those people are).

White Chocolate Cake with Chai Frosting

This is my second attempt at a Chai-flavored Cake.

I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe for White Chocolate Whisper Cake from The Cake Bible for the layers. I knew I wanted to used chai latte mix for the frosting, and I was inspired by this blog to add french vanilla instant pudding mix too. It changed the texture a bit- made thicker and it seemed to cling to itself. This was plus, as so many frostings just want to creep down the sides of your cake.

Rose is pretty much a scientist when it comes to cakes- all her recipes are very exact and must be followed exactly or they won't work. The Cake Bible is a great resource, but alas there are no pictures. I find it hard to work from a book with absolutely no pictures. Is this bad?

Grease and flour (or line with parchment paper) 2 9-in cake pans. As you can see, my cake has three layers. This is because I tripled the recipe and made two cakes with three layers each.

Preheat to 350.

Ingredients:

6 oz white chocolate

3/4 t salt

1 T plus 1 1/2 t baking powder

1 cup plus 3 T sugar

3 cups cake flour, sifted

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 c milk, divided

4 1/2 large egg whites

9 T unsalted butter, softened

Melt the white chocolate (in either the microwave or in a double boiler- careful not to burn) and set aside.

Whisk together 1/4 cup milk, egg whites and vanilla. In your mixer bowl, sift together the sugar, cake flur, baking powder and salt. Mix on low for 30 seconds.

Add the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup milk. Mix on low until all the ingredients are moistened. Then, mix on medium for a minute and a half to develop the batter's structure.

Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition and scraping down the bowl.

Add the melted chocolate and beat to incorporate.

Divide the batter into your two pans and smooth the surface. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tested inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool on racks in pans for 10 minutes before inverting cakes onto the racks to cool completely. If the tops are overly rounded, you might want to let them cool right side up so that the bottom isn't put under stress, which may cause splitting.

Frosting:

1 lb unsalted butter

Most of a small package of instant french vanilla pudding

1/2-1 cup chai latte mix (start with less and adjust along with the powdered sugar for taste and consistency)

2-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter. Slowly add the pudding mix, then the chai and finally the powdered sugar. Adjust as your taste requires.

Next time, I think I will infuse the chai flavors into a plain white or vanilla cake by soaking tea bags in the milk, and then use white chocolate frosting. I think in general I prefer spicy cakes with light, creamy frostings playing a supporting role, rather than this cake, where the frosting took center stage.

Tres Leches Cake

The sad cake pictured above was the one and only time that my Sky High cake book failed me. I was excited by the prospect of a layered tres leches cake- I'd never seen one before.

And it turns out, there may be a good reason for the absence of layered tres leches cakes. This one failed, for sure. All the egginess sank to the bottom of the layers, becoming a hard, plastic-like shell. What's worse, I spent an hour stirring dolce de leche on the stove, and it turned out grainy and was only meant to be whipped into the cream for the frosting. The recipe is definitely fixable, but I won't have time to mess with that mess for a long time.

Anyway, I decided to go with one of the more traditional recipes, all of which consist of a basic sponge cake soaked in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream or half and half, all covered in sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon. Hard to go wrong there.

I sifted through many, many recipes, trying very hard not to make the Pioneer Woman's recipe, because seriously, a million bloggers out there have blogged about the recipe. But in the end, you can't argue with a million bloggers all claiming that Ree Drummond's Tres Leches Cake is the reason they get out of bed in the morning. So I tweaked it and made it- several times. For me, for the restaurant, and for a potluck. And it was very good. But I have a feeling that any good sponge cake recipe could yield you very similar results, if you'll forgive me for saying so.

I never cease to be astounded by the magical and versatile properties of eggs. I feel an egg post coming on soon...

And really, this cake is awesome in general. It's like the best parts of cake and custard combined.

Tres Leches Cake adapted from the Pioneer Woman

1 cup flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

5 eggs

1 cup sugar, divided (3/4 and 1/4 cups)

1 t vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

Cinnamon, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9X13 in pan.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks in your mixer with 3/4 cup sugar until thick and pale. Stir in the vanilla and the milk. Stir the egg mixture gently into the flour mixture.

Wash the mixer bowl, and beat the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the whites into the batter, trying not to lose the volume. Don't over mix. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. It's done when the knife or toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool. At this point you can transfer it to a pretty dish that has a rim, or you can keep it in the baking dish. Stab the cake all over with a fork. Combine the three milks in a spouted containing and mix well. Slowly, in stages if necessary, pour the milk mixture over the cake. It should all absorb into the cake eventually. It is best to refrigerate it overnight to allow complete assimilation of cake and milk.

The next day, beat the heavy cream and the 1/2 cup of sugar in your mixer at high speed until thick. Don't over whip, or it will get grainy and eventually turn into butter.

Spread the whipped cream over the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve. Enjoy.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a shot of the finished, sliced cake. But if you feel the need for in-depth photo documentation of the whole process, check out the Pioneer Woman's site- she always documents every single step and detail of her dishes.

Cranberry-Cherry-Chocolate Chunk Cake

I wonder if others share my affinity for cranberries in baked goods. Fresh cranberries, not dried. I love the tangy, bright flavor nested in sweet cake next t0 smooth chocolate. This cake sports not only cranberries, but cherries too.

It's a pretty easy cake when you need a cake and don't have time to wait for the layers to cool and make frosting. Like when the dinner rush at the restaurant starts in an hour and there's no dessert in the case. It tastes best slightly warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cranberry-Cherry-Chocolate Cake, inspired by the Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake, found on Smitten Kitchen

1 cup AP flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

3 eggs, room temp (let sit in hot water for a few minutes)

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped cranberries

1 cup chopped cherries (I used frozen for both fruits)

3/4-1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottom of a 9-in springform pan with parchment.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Using a mixing with the paddle attachment, whip the eggs until pale and thick. This will take 5 plus minutes.

While the whipping action is happening, brown the butter. Cut the stick into pieces and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally (more often towards the end) until the butter turns brown and smells nutty. The butter will continue cooking after you turn off the heat, so don't wait too long to take it off. You can always dip the bottom of the pan in cool water to stop the cooking process if it's getting too dark.

Add the sugar to the eggs while whipping, whip a couple more minutes then turn to low. Alternate adding the flour and butter to the egg mixture. Mix until just barely combined- don't over mix. Watch out for butter pockets in the bottom of the bowl.

Pour into the spring form pan, and sprinkle the top with the chocolate, cranberries and cherries, alternating to ensure even distribution. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 30-50 minutes.

Let cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (And Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze)

A few weeks ago, peanut butter re-entered my life in full force. It's always had it's place, you know, in peanut butter and banana sandwiches and peanut butter banana cakes, but that peanut butter torte bumped it up several notches in my dessert roster. And this cake? It sealed the deal.

(First of all, let me say if you're going to put sour cream in a cake, you've got my attention.)

The chocolate sour cream cake in this recipe is moist and tender, and just about melts into the peanut butter frosting inside your mouth. It's like the cake and frosting are one; meant to live in symbiotic cake bliss...

And (as if you needed more convincing) this cake doesn't even require a mixer!

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting adapted from Sky High (buy this cook book.)

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 T distilled white vinegar

1 t vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Line the bottoms of three 8-in round cake pans with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in the oil and sour cream (at this point it tastes like thick brownie batter mmmmmm). Gradually whisk in the water, then the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs until thoroughly mixed. Divide among the cake pans.

Bake for 35 minutes (more like 25 if you're using 9-in pans), and use a knife to test the middle.

Let cool on racks. (I like to wrap mine in plastic wrap once they're cool and pop in the freezer until I'm ready to frost. It makes the frosting behave; it stiffens on the cold layers. This is especially important as this week was the first really hot, humid week we had here. The cake almost died in transportation.)

Make your Peanut Butter Frosting:

(ok, I lied a little bit. This part is best done with a mixer).

Ingredients:

12 oz softened cream cheese

1 stick softened butter

5 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat a few minutes more before adding the peanut butter, then beat until completely blended.

Frost your cake, and top with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze:

Ingredients:

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

3 T smooth peanut butter

2 T light corn syrup

1/2 cup half and half

In a heat-proof bowl set over boiling water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter and corn syrup. Heat, stirring often, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the half and half.

This part can be messy....Carefully pour the glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides in attractive drips. You might want to do this on a rack over a baking sheet. It's best to refrigeratethe cake for a half hour or so before cutting or moving, just to let it set up.

Nom nom nom nom.

Raspberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

I had to think of a quick cake to make for the restaurant last week, and this is what I came up with. It's very good, but next time I will use fresh or frozen raspberries instead of the jam.

The cake is a variation of the Blueberry Buttermilk cake I made previously, found originally on Smitten Kitchen.

I doubled the original recipe, swirled in Raspberry Jam, and added white chocolate.

Raspberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

2 cup AP Flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 stick butter, softened

1 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 t sugar, divided

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup well shaken buttermilk

1 cup fresh raspberries, or 1/4-1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2-1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle. Line the bottom of a 9 or 10-in round cake pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Cream the butter and the 1 1/3 cup sugar in your mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and the eggs.

Gradually add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating and beginning and ending with the flour.

Set aside aside 1/2 cup of the batter and mix it with the raspberry jam. Mix the remaining batter with 1/2-1 cup white chocolate chips. Pour the white chocolate batter into the cake pan, then swirl in the raspberry mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, and check first by pressing the middle of the cake with your finger. If it bounces back, check with a knife. (if you check too soon with a knife, the cake could fall). If the knife comes our clean, you're done!

Let the cake cool and remove from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired, and serve. Enjoy!

Chai Spice Cake

I want this post to be mostly informative about frosting flavored with honey: don't do it.

It will pretend like it's going to hold it's shape and then slowly melt all over your counter, fridge, whatever. One could, for instance, use honey frosting to drape over a cake, letting it drip down the sides like ganache. That would be an appropriate usage for honey frosting. But unless you feel like scraping it all off and trying to piece back together the cake that has to be at the restaurant an hour ago, don't use it to completely frost a cake.

But isn't a chai spice cake a good idea? I used a recipe from Sky High.

1 1/3 cups milk

6 unsweetened chai tea bags, like Tazo

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 t vanilla

2 2/3 cake flour

2 cups sugar

4 1/2 t baking powder

3/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground cardamon

1/2 t salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line the bottoms of 3 8-in round cake pans with parchment paper.

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over med-low heat (watch it, don't let it boil over). Add the tea bags, draping the strings over the outside of the pot. Remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and squeeze all the liquid from each back into the pot. Let the milk mixture cool.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and 1/3 cup chai milk. Whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Beat on low to mix. Add the softened butter and remaining chai milk and mix on med-low to blend; then turn up the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in three additions, scraping down the bowl between each and mixing only to incorporate.

Divide the batter among your pans and bake for 25-28 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Honey Ginger frosting was a great idea, but use less honey than more if you're trying it. The book recommends using powdered sugar, cream cheese, honey, butter and fresh grated ginger.

I am now inspired to make my own chai mixture. Also I LOVE cardamom.

Grasshopper Cake

My Baked Cookbook hit another one out of the park. The inspiration for this cake is the mint-chocolate grasshopper pie, made with marshmallows and creme de menthe (ew?) which is inspired by the mint-chocolate grasshopper drink, bright green, with the main ingredient again being, creme de menthe.

I thought this cake sounded like a better use of the liquor, and the flavor did not disappoint. I enjoyed making the frosting- it's like making a pudding and whipping butter in. The chocolate ganache helps balance out all the mint, and made a lovely garnish.

First, make your favorite chocolate recipe, or used the Baked recipe I posted for the Sweet and Salty Cake.

For the Creme De Menthe Buttercream

2 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup AP Flour

2 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cups heavy cream

4 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into pieces

2 T creme de menthe (OR 1 T vanilla and some green food coloring)

2 1/4 t peppermint extract

Baked suggests using chocolate wafer cookies for garnish, too.

In a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally. (Be careful the milk mixture doesn't burn on the bottom). Cook until the mixture has come to a boil and thickened, 10-20 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce speed to low and add the butter, one T at a time; mix thoroughly until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the creme de menthe and peppermint extract and mix until combined.

Chocolate Ganache

6 oz dark chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 T creme de menthe

1/2 t peppermint extract (I omitted the flavorings)

Bring the creme to a boil in a saucepan, then pour over the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Let the cream sit for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Add the flavorings.

Put chocolate ganache on each cake layer, and top with frosting. Assemble the layers. I added more creme to the ganache to make a thinner chocolate to pour over the top and then threw on some chocolate chips.

So, so tasty.

Chocolate Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

This is a recipe by Sky-High Cakes. The chocolate cake is very good and moist, and easy. There aren't really any tricky tricks like melting chocolate to make it gruesome. It is a good recipe for the chocolate cake and vanilla frosting combination.

For the cake:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup hot water

3 cups packed brown sugar (helps keep it moist)

2 2/3 cup cake flour (I used 2 1/4 AP flour and the rest cornstarch because I was out of cake flour. It worked very well, according to my little test cupcake.)

1 1/2 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

2 sticks plus 2 T unsalted butter, softened.

3 eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla

3/4 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter and line 3 8 or 9-in round cake pans with parchment circles.

Place the cocoa powder in a medium bowl and add the hot water. Whisk til smooth and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, blend to mix. Add the butter and the dissolved cocoa and beat briefly to blend. Then raise the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. (See? So easy. No "add in alternating additions" stuff).

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and cold water until blended and added gradually to the batter, scraping the bowl as needed. Divide the batter among your three pans and smooth the tops.

Bake for 35-40 min (it will be less if you use 9-in pans, so check early). It's done when the tester comes out almost clean.

Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan and then cool completely on wire racks

Make your brown sugar frosting.

boiling the sugar and water

To me, brown sugar frosting sounds homey and rich and maybe a little caramelly, but it mostly tasted like regular vanilla buttercream. Next time I'm going to try using dark brown sugar, or maybe even muscovado sugar to give it more depth. Or I could try making brown sugar caramel frosting. Or adding a spice like cinnamon, or even some citrus zest. The possibilities are endless.

Brown Sugar Buttercream:

5 egg whites

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but not mushy.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook until the temperature reaches 238 F on a candy thermometer.

A few minutes into the boiling of the sugar, start beating the eggwhites; beat until soft peaks form and then, while the whisker is whisking, slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup. Beat at med-high until the sides of the bowl aren't hot anymore.

Drop the speed to medium-low and add the butter one tablespoon at a time. When all the butter is added, raise the speed to medium and beat the frosting until smooth. Don't worry if it appears to curdle, just keep beating.

I froze my layers a couple hours beforehand, which always makes frosting easier. It makes refrigerating between the crumb coat and the final coat almost unnecessary, especially with this type of frosting.

To decorate, I sprinkled turbinado sugar on top and piped chocolate ganache around in loopy loops.

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

Every week I'm supposed to make 3 cakes for the restaurant; two layered, iced cakes, and one uniced cake.

I'm really enjoying making the uniced cakes. They are way less stressful than the frosted cakes, and I love a cake you can eat warm. I usually try some combination of fruit and often chocolate like here, here and here. These are the types of cake that you can eat slice after slice and not feel you've over-indulged! (you decide if this is good or bad.)

Today I present to you Ina Garten's Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake (from Barefoot Contessa Parties!), found on Leite's Culinaria. This extremely moist cake boasts bright orange flavor and smooth, sweet chocolate, and can be baked in loaves, bundt pans or cupcakes. This cake could be yours for your very own this weekend!

four naked oranges and a pile of zest

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 extra-large eggs (I used most of 5 large eggs)

1/4 cup orange zest (from 3 or 4 orange)

3 cups AP flour, plus 2 T, separated

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 t vanilla

2 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks

For the syrup:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup sugar

For the ganache (optional):

8 oz good-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 t instant coffee (optional)

mmm fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 3 cups of flour, baking soda, powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the vanilla, orange juice and buttermilk. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures, alternating in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Toss the 2 cups of chocolate with the 2 tablespoons of flour (to make sure it doesn't sink through the cake to the bottom). Stir the chocolate into the cake batter, then pour into the pan, smooth the top and pop into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until a tester comes out clean.

I did not wait long enough to remove my first cake...I've realized my lovely bundt pan retains heat longer than usual, so I now I wait about 3 hours before attempting to remove it. Your pan might be different than mine...the recipe recommends only waiting 10 minutes before removing.

The upside of this was that we got to eat the first cake at the restaurant and it was to die for.

prematurely removed cake wreckage.

It is best to apply the syrup while the cake is warm. Make the syrup by boiling together the 1/4 cup OJ with the 1/4 cup sugar and spoon or brush over the cake.

Beautiful, whole, chocolate-speckled orange cake.

Let the cake cool completely. If desired, melt the chocolate, cream and coffee together and pour over the cake. I think it is plenty chocolatey without the ganache.

Sweet and Salty Cake

A GEM of a cake, from Baked.

I was near Charleston last weekend for a Fuchs family girls' weekend. My mom and I drove down together, and we stopped in Charleston on the way. I remembered hearing that Baked has a branch there, but it took me completely by surprise to come across it in the street. I literally sprinted to it, thinking "Spicy Brownie. Spicy Brownie. Spicy Brownie."

Unfortunately, the South's taste buds are not exactly attuned to the spicy-sweet combo. The ladies behind the counter said they tried selling it when they first opened, but no one was interested. They did, however, have a Sweet and Salty Brownie, which was a dense, chocolately brownie married with salted caramel and sea salt.

It was so good it made my eyebrows contract and my mouth hang open in shock and delight. The sea salt joins with the salted caramel and makes the dark chocolate unfold a million different love letters in your mouth. It's an experience, people.

So this week, I opened my Baked cookbook zoomed in on the Sweet and Salty Cake. It did not disappoint. See NOTES before starting.

Chocolate Layers

3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups hot water

2/3 cup sour cream

2 2/3 cup AP flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup firmly pack dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Butter 3 8-in round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter said parchment and flour it, too. When I made this I was skimming the recipe and I just buttered and floured the pans...this cake definitely needs the parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water and sour cream. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together for 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for 5 minutes more. Add the eggs, one at a tie, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat for 30 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. (mine only took 30 min, so check early. I took it out when there were just a few crumbs sticking the knife I stuck in the middle). Let the pans cool for 20 min before removing the cakes and allowing to cool completely.

UPDATE: I now substitute light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses for the dark brown sugar for a lovely moist cake.

Salted Caramel

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 t fleur de sel (sea salt. I used celtic sea salt, but you will get different results with different varieties. Don't use table salt, please.)

1 cup sugar

2 T light corn syrup

1/4 sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the fleur de sel. heat slowly over low heat until the salt is dissolved. Do not boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/4 cup water and the corn syrup. Stir them together and the heat over high heat without stirring until a candy thermometer reads 350 degrees or until the mixture is dark amber.

NOTE: It is better to undercook than overcook caramel, because overcooked caramel tastes bitter. Bear in mind that it will cooking for a bit after you remove it from the heat, and you can even have a bowl of ice-water ready to dip the pan in to stop the cooking process.

Let the mixture cool for 1 minute, then add the cream mixture to the caramel.

NOTE: It is best to slowly pour the cream into the caramel, whisking all the time. This will ensure a smooth, fully combined caramel.

Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp. Refrigerate it in a covered container until you're ready to use it.

Whipped Caramel Chocolate Ganache

1 pound dark chocolate (60-70%cacao), chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

2 T light corn syrup

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool, cut into 1/2 in pieces.

Put the chocolate in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, bring the cream to a simmer over very low heat.

Meanwhile, keeping an eye on the cream so it doesn't burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water with the cup of sugar and the cornsyrup, stirring together. Heat on high without stirring until an instant read or candy thermometer reads 350 or until the mixture is dark amber, 6-8 minutes (see NOTES above). Remove from heat and let cool one minute.

Slowly add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Slowly stir for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel in little circles until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix on low until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat at high speed until fluffy.

NOTE: I had some problems with this frosting being kind of loose at room temperature. I ended up frosting it in shifts with freezer time in between (late for work, too, as always). When I frosted the cupcakes I added a couple cups of confectioner's sugar, and this helped the situation a lot and didn't affect the taste too much. So give yourself time for cooling and whipping and freezing if necessary.

To assemble the cake, spread the caramel across each layer and sprinkle with sea salt. Freeze the layers for a few minutes to stiffen the caramel. Spread 3/4 cup ganache each over two of the layers and assemble the cake. Coat the cake with a "Crumb Coat" of frosting and refrigerate for 15 minutes to stiffen up. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining ganache. Garnish with more sea salt.

Serve the cake at room temperature with lots of MILK.

Let me know how yours turns out!