About that chocolate cake recipe
The recipe is from Epicurious and I've pasted it here. My notes on the changes I made follow the recipe.
Giant Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache and Edible Flowers Bon Appétit | June 2009
by Lori Longbotham
Baking the cake in one 12-inch round pan creates a dessert with presence. Assorted edible flowers make an easy, great-looking garnish. (Rhi: If I were doing this for a party, I'd go with fresh berries, preferably raspberries and blackberries, but that might be just me.)
Yield: Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ganache:
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
Edible flowers* (for decoration)
Special equipment:
1 12-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides
(Rhi: Or a 9 x 13 inch pan, also 2 inches high.)
Preparation For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round. Spray parchment paper with nonstick spray. Dust pan with flour, tapping out any excess.
Sift 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Sift cocoa into another medium bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over cocoa; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add butter to egg mixture and beat until blended. Beat in cocoa mixture. Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients and beat on low just to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.
Place chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Bring cream and sugar to boil in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Carefully pour hot cream mixture into bowl with chocolate. Let stand 1 minute. Whisk until melted and smooth. Chill ganache until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour. (Rhi: Seriously. See my notes below on this.)
Carefully invert cake onto large cake plate. Gently remove parchment paper. Spread ganache over top and sides of cake and allow ganache to set, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before decorating.
Decorate cake with edible flowers. Cut into wedges and serve.
* Available at some supermarkets and at farmers' markets. Use only those flowers that have been grown without pesticides.
Rhi's notes:
On the cake:
I don't own a 12" pan, but a 9 x 13 does just fine for this and cooks in the same time, although I always start checking a few minutes early and then at 3 minute intervals. (I hate wasting good chocolate by burning it!)
I added about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of espresso powder to the cocoa and boiling water. You can't taste cinnamon in the cake, but it seems to make the chocolate taste even better.
And yeah, let it sit overnight before frosting it. This is a *really* moist cake.
On the frosting:
As for the ganache/frosting, I added about 1/2 tsp of Cointreau to it; I've been known to use straight brandy, too, or kahlua. Again, the alcohol just seems to help the chocolate flavor.
As for the bit about 'let the ganache sit for an hour'? Don't.
I let it sit for five or fifteen minutes, then started pouring it onto the top of the cake and spreading it. I waited another fifteen minutes -- on the counter all this time, not in the fridge, and this was in both May and a really hot, humid August -- to let it thicken up some more, then I poured it around the edges and frosted it onto the sides. A couple hours left it set sufficiently that I could put plastic wrap over it. Aluminum foil, I regret to say, tried to stick to the frosting.
And the whole thing tastes much better at room temperature than straight out of the fridge.
Enjoy!
Original post on Dreamwidth | Leave a comment on DW | Read
comments on DW
Giant Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache and Edible Flowers Bon Appétit | June 2009
by Lori Longbotham
Baking the cake in one 12-inch round pan creates a dessert with presence. Assorted edible flowers make an easy, great-looking garnish. (Rhi: If I were doing this for a party, I'd go with fresh berries, preferably raspberries and blackberries, but that might be just me.)
Yield: Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ganache:
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
Edible flowers* (for decoration)
Special equipment:
1 12-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides
(Rhi: Or a 9 x 13 inch pan, also 2 inches high.)
Preparation For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper round. Spray parchment paper with nonstick spray. Dust pan with flour, tapping out any excess.
Sift 2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Sift cocoa into another medium bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over cocoa; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add butter to egg mixture and beat until blended. Beat in cocoa mixture. Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients and beat on low just to blend. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.
Place chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Bring cream and sugar to boil in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Carefully pour hot cream mixture into bowl with chocolate. Let stand 1 minute. Whisk until melted and smooth. Chill ganache until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour. (Rhi: Seriously. See my notes below on this.)
Carefully invert cake onto large cake plate. Gently remove parchment paper. Spread ganache over top and sides of cake and allow ganache to set, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before decorating.
Decorate cake with edible flowers. Cut into wedges and serve.
* Available at some supermarkets and at farmers' markets. Use only those flowers that have been grown without pesticides.
Rhi's notes:
On the cake:
I don't own a 12" pan, but a 9 x 13 does just fine for this and cooks in the same time, although I always start checking a few minutes early and then at 3 minute intervals. (I hate wasting good chocolate by burning it!)
I added about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of espresso powder to the cocoa and boiling water. You can't taste cinnamon in the cake, but it seems to make the chocolate taste even better.
And yeah, let it sit overnight before frosting it. This is a *really* moist cake.
On the frosting:
As for the ganache/frosting, I added about 1/2 tsp of Cointreau to it; I've been known to use straight brandy, too, or kahlua. Again, the alcohol just seems to help the chocolate flavor.
As for the bit about 'let the ganache sit for an hour'? Don't.
I let it sit for five or fifteen minutes, then started pouring it onto the top of the cake and spreading it. I waited another fifteen minutes -- on the counter all this time, not in the fridge, and this was in both May and a really hot, humid August -- to let it thicken up some more, then I poured it around the edges and frosted it onto the sides. A couple hours left it set sufficiently that I could put plastic wrap over it. Aluminum foil, I regret to say, tried to stick to the frosting.
And the whole thing tastes much better at room temperature than straight out of the fridge.
Enjoy!
Original post on Dreamwidth | Leave a comment on DW | Read
comments on DW