Dueling Chocolate Chip Cookies

It. Is. On.

(NOTE: Elizabeth will write in black. Ann will make commentary in green.)

Before I get to reporting The Hitting and The Biting and The Slapping, let me explain how our duel began. This being the Year of Cookies, we wanted to start off with the quintessential cookie. America's favorite: the chocolate chip cookie. We thought it would be fun to make different recipes on the same day, and compare them for deliciousness.

CHOOSING:

We decided NOT to use nuts (gasp!) so that we could taste the purity of the classic CCC (that's what experts call chocolate chip cookies. You didn't know? Non-expert.)

We found CCCs in nearly every baking cookbook I own. Here are just a few that we looked at:

(Spoiler alert: we chose the top two cookbooks on the right.)

We read through many, many recipes. Both of us wanted a classic taste, but we wanted to use different ingredients and mixing techniques from what the other sister was using. After all, what good is a duel if you're going to end up with the exact same cookie?

In the end, I chose a CCC recipe that I found in Flour: A Baker's Collection of Spectacular Recipes, by Joanne Chang (she calls it a "Chocolate Chunk Cookie." Show off). Flour is a bakery and cafe in Boston. No, I have not been. Yes, I am angry about it.

I loved Chang's decision to stick with a classic---the cookie is based on the Nestle Toll House bag version, which she describes as "an amazingly swell cookie." She changed it up a bit by using bread flour (for extra chewiness) and by using dark chocolate and milk chocolate chunks. Still, the method and technique are classic, and the ingredients are ones that I have on hand any day of the week. And that's what I wanted: classic and easy. I didn't want cayenne-spiced specialty chocolate in a cinnamon dough. Dipped in white chocolate. Served by an owl monkey. Okay, yes to the owl monkey. No to the rest.



(Here I leave room for Ann's stupid choice and even stupider reasons)

Okay, first off, I have to state how difficult it was for us to take our angry face pictures, not because it's hard for us to make angry faces, but because we had to get so close to each other. Being that close to someone is weird!

I picked a recipe from Alton Brown's baking cookbook, I'm Just Here for More Food. Why did I pick this one? Honestly, I can't remember. Listle took forever to post this because she's "busy" and "has four kids" and her "husband" is an "emergency doctor" and has a weird "schedule" and she's the Young "Women's" President. Blah blah blah. Some of us are in SCHOOL, Elizabeth. Some of us are in school. Anyway, I think I picked it because I knew that melted butter would result in a different kind of cookie. According to people on the internet, melted butter results in a more tender, moister (sorry, Mrs. H-B), and less chewy cookie. I like chewy cookies, but this seemed like the easiest way to see a difference from cookies that use the creaming method, which requires softened butter and sugar. Alton calls the method on this "The Muffin Method", since you're supposed to just barely mix everything together. Alton seems to be pretty reliable in his recipes, so I went with him.


MIXING AND BAKING:

My dough being mixed. Light and fluffy and gorgeous.

Melted butter for Ann's dough.

This was probably the most fundamental difference in the two recipes.

Ann and I tried several times to get that egg dripping just perfectly. We should work for National Geographic!

(Don't tell Listle, but I already do.)

Dueling dough

Showdown at high noon. These dough balls clearly hate each other.

BAHAHA! Ann loses a dough ball due to her antics.

THE RESULTS:

My cookies worked. Ann's were lousy. What more is there to say?

My cookies: Excellent chew. Delicious flavor.

Ann's cookies: Sad. Crumbly.

To be fair, my cookies were also overbaked - the recipe called for a much longer baking time than was required, so these were way way way crisp. A lot of stuff I'd read online said that melted butter cookies are thinner and crispier than softened butter, so I have no idea what happened with this. Sad sad Ann.

THE NEXT DAY:

Chang recommends that the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight. She writes, "This allows all of the liquid from the egg and butter to absorb fully into the flour, creating a cookie with better flavor and a nicer texture." I didn't do a side by side taste test of fresh cookies (the day-old cookies were, of course, a day old), but they did seem to taste better. I was mostly shocked by the color difference. Can you spot the day-old cookie in this pile?

If you can't, you are blind. (Actually, it's a lot more clear on the original high-resolution photo.) It's the one that is so much lighter than the others. This did not have to do with bake time. The darker color of the cookies that were made from refrigerated dough was due to the flour fully absorbing the other liquids. Here's another shot:

Cookie baked after 12+ hour refrigeration on the right.

Ann's dough didn't fair so well after refrigeration:

Ann's dough, with my kids' hands in it ("Look mom! It's sand!")

We weren't able to make dough balls with it. We used it as an ice cream topping.

THE WINNER:

Elizabeth. As expected before the recipes were even chosen. Yep.

Boo hoo hoo!!!! She's right....she's right!!!!!!

Post script:

So I wanted to try the cookies again to see if there was some fluke that made them not work at all the first time. I made them the next weekend, and I had the exact same result. Although I didn't overbake them at all (I think I may have even taken them out after ten minutes), they still held their dough ball shape and were crumbly. However, the flavor of the cookies was so great - they had plenty of salt, which I will swear is the key to a good CCC!!!! Much like calling CCC's by their full names, non-experts also put too little salt in their cookies, and they're just substandard. These were salty and delicious, even if they didn't have the texture I was going for. So Listle still wins, but I will live to beat her another day!

RECIPES:

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

from Flour by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks/228 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (165 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (140 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (150 grams) bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
9 ounces (255 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 ounces (70 grams) milk chocolate, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon) cream together the butter , granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. (This step will take 10 minutes if using a handheld mixer or a spoon.) Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scraped down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bowl and the paddle again to make sure the eggs are thoroughly incorporated.

In a medium bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, and salt until well mixed. Add the semisweet and milk chocolates and toss to combine. On low speed (or with the wooden spoon), slowly add the flour-chocolate mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and then mix just until the flour mixture is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed.

For the best results, scrape the dough into an airtight container and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 3 to 4 hours) before baking. When you are ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Drop the dough in 1/4-cup balls onto a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center. Don’t let them get brown through and through. Part of their appeal is the chewiness of the slightly underbaked centers. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The unbaked dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Yield: 24 cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie #10
from I’m Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees*.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the melted and cooled butter, sugars, egg yolks and vanilla until combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in the butter mixture and fold the ingredients together just until combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold to combine. Do not overmix.

For individual cookies, use a spoon or a disher and dish out your cookies, 2 inches apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. *

Bake for 12-15 minutes (Start checking at 10).
Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or paper towel-lined counter top.

*As soon as you put the cookies or cookie cake into the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees.

Ann's September Cake: Birthday Cakes!

Hooray for September because it's the official birthday month of Year of Cake! Or rather the sisters of Year of Cake. Although Listle didn't choose to highlight her birth through cake (rather surprising since she's all about birthdays), I thought that my birthday party would be a perfect time to make a high-impact cake.

My sister-in-law Charna sent me a blog post about one woman's birthday cake for herself - she made the infamous Alton Brown coconut cake. It was funny when I read the post because I knew exactly the recipe she was talking about - he makes the cake completely from scratch, including processing fresh coconut . I had kind of had this cake in the back of my mind from the beginning of the year, as some kind of elusive pipe dream, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make it. It would be a birthday gift to myself! Because of course an extremely labor-intensive cake is a great gift (did you see in the original post? It took five hours to break down two coconuts!).

Alton Brown gives detailed instructions on how to easily remove the coconut husks. After a trip to the hardware store for a really long nail, I was ready.


I started out by draining out the coconut water, I baked the coconuts for a little while and then allowed them to cool. This was supposed to cause the husks to crack and separate from the flesh with a little prying...but nothing happened. So I baked them again and waited. Again, nothing. I tried prying at the shells, tapping them with a hammer to crack them...nothing. After my boyfriend Ol' Blue Eyes worked me through a little bit of a meltdown, I took the hammer and pounded them into tiny pieces.


I should note that I started this process several days before the party, and more than once I determined that it wasn't worth the effort and that I would just use store-bought coconut. Each time I decided that was lame and that I love making a cooking project into an adventure, so I would continue on. And then I tried peeling the skin off the flesh.


The recipe said to use a vegetable peeler to get the skin off, but it was wretched. It took forever, and it peeled in a really awkward way, almost pilling like an old sweater on the peeled surface as I tried to handle it. It was grossing me out, and after one piece, I realized that although I had a full day to make the cake in preparation for the party, I would not have a happy birthday if I spent all of it messing with this dang coconut. Sometimes it's good to know when to let go.

Thus I moved to Plan B, which involved using a recipe from a book I'd checked out called Southern Cakes, which features an entire chapter on only coconut cakes. The author includes a recipe similar to Alton Brown's, starting from the raw coconut, but also had several other promising options with store-bought coconut. I picked a simple, standard cake and went to work.

From this point, everything went pretty easily. I bake the coconut cakes on Friday and assembled a layer cake just before the party. The only mishap at this point was that my attempt at a meringue frosting failed, but I blame that more on the fact that I was running around to get things set up for my birthday party at the same time as trying to make frosting. It was bound to fail. My dear friend Cheriiiil stepped in and did a 7-minute frosting instead, as per the suggestion of the author, and the day was saved.

At some point, I decided to make a second cake, but I really can't remember if there was a specific reason or if it was just because I wanted to make sure we had enough for the multitudes that were coming for my party. I maybe had wanted a chocolate feature. Or I was trying to use up some ingredient I had in my fridge. In any case, I made a banana cake with chocolate frosting. Again, I made the cakes Saturday morning and then frosted them as the party was starting. The frosting ended up being pretty thin, so I threw the cake into the freezer to help it set up faster so we could serve it. When I retrieved it, this had happened:

Can you see it? The cake had slid whilst in the freezer and then set with the top layer hanging off the side of the first. Everyone got a good laugh over my terraced cake.

Both cakes were really, really good. I wish I hadn't been rushing so much at the end so I could have really taken my time to make them look great, but the cakes themselves were moist (sorry, Maria), had a great texture and were really flavorful. I confess that I didn't get much of either because of the antics of my party (it was a massive karaoke party), but I would definitely make both again. The coconut cake used coconut water as its liquid, which gave a lovely flavor to the entire cake, instead of just using it as a garnish to the frosting. The banana cake reminded me of a similar loaf cake that my host mom used to make, or when I used to eat bananas with Nutella - banana and chocolate is always a great combination (when it's real banana, of course). I would maybe have liked a bit fluffier frosting, but that can easily be fixed for next time.


These cakes, along with the red velvet cake and lemon pie courtesy of Melyngoch, made for a very, very good party.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Classic Coconut Cake
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, or water from a fresh coconut plus enough milk added to make 1 cup
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line bottoms with parchment, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and use a fork to mix together well. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating, until the mixture is light and evenly combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time, until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Add one third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat well at low speed. Add half the milk to the batter, beating well. Continue beating as you add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour, beating well each time until the batter is very thick and smooth.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing evenly, and place them in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Seven-Minute Frosting and garnish:
1 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flaked or shredded sweetened coconut (or both)

Bring about 3 inches of water to an active simmer in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl that will fit snugly over the saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar. Beat with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is pale yellow and very foamy.

Place the bowl over the simmering water, and beat at high speed for 7 to 14 minutes or more, until the frosting becomes white, thick, and shiny, and triples in volume. Continue beating until the frosting forms firm peaks and loses some of its shine. Remove the frosting from the heat, add the vanilla, and continue beating for 2 minutes more.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side up, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges, and then sprinkle with shredded coconut. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake. Sprinkle and pat flaked and shredded coconut all over the cake.


Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes more, until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in half the flour until it just disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed bananas, and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pans.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and evaporated milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark, shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a smooth, thick frosting.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side down, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake.

Ann's July Cake - Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Summer cake means ice cream cake! This was one of the first ideas I'd had for Year of Cake, and I'd been super looking forward to it all year. I researched ice cream cake for a long time, but only came up with molded ice creams. I definitely wanted something with a cake element - and felt like it was pretty essential to the recipe, this being the Year of CAKE, not the Year of Ice Cream Shaped to Look Like Cake. I wanted something similar to what I'd get if I bought an ice cream cake from the store, but the recipes I found weren't helping. Finally, I found a recipe on the Food Network website that looked fun.

First I made the cake, which ended up being one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had - rich and dark and super moist (sorry, Maria). As I split the cake into layers, I kept sneaking cake pieces, so I may at some point consider making this recipe again just for the cake.


Next, I softened some chocolate ice cream and stirred it until it was spreadable. So pretty!

This was poured on top of the cake and then refrozen. I did this over the course of a couple of days - I think the cake was one night, and the rest of it a second night. I confess that I probably didn't freeze each layer as much as I should have, but I had people over for Enrichment to observe me make this cake so it had to get done.

Next I softened peanut butter and poured it over the chocolate ice cream, added the second layer of chocolate cake, and refroze it. Then, the same method with the vanilla ice cream.


Finally, it all went into the freezer for one last freeze. When it came out, I cut it in half lengthwise and stacked them on top of each other to create multiple layers, and I melted some chocolate to go on top as per the picture on the website:
Yeah... well... mine didn't quite turn out like that:

I don't think I let the chocolate melt enough, and in my defense, the cake was starting to melt and I really needed to get it served. On the other hand, I really should have made this when it had time to freeze properly. Oh well. Look how pretty it is sliced!


It would be interesting to see how this cake tasted if everything had been frozen correctly, but I did enjoy that the ice cream melted into the cake and it all kind of melded together. Chocolate and peanut butter combinations seem to always equal happy eaters, so everyone seemed to love this cake. Unfortunately for me, I started a diet the day after I made this, so I still have tons of it in my freezer if anyone wants some.


Ice Box Cafe Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake
Adapted from a recipe courtesy the Ice Box Cafe, via www. foodnetwork.com

Chocolate cake:

1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of milk
1 cup water
1 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt

Ice cream cake:

1 pint chocolate ice cream
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 pint vanilla ice cream
Chocolate cake

To make the chocolate cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Choose between a 10 by 3-inch round or a rectangular shaped baking pan and spray it with baking grease or butter and then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine the oil and the sugar in mixer until well blended. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and continue to mix until well blended. Add the milk and the water.

Sift all of the dry ingredients and then add them to the wet ingredients in three batches allowing each batch to be thoroughly absorbed.

Pour the batter in prepared pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a skewer is clean when removed. Allow to cool before unmolding. Once chocolate cake has cooled, unmold, and refrigerate overnight to allow it to cool thoroughly.

To make the ice cream cake: Cut the chocolate cake horizontally to make 2 layers out of the 1 layer and slide 1 of the layers onto a plate or cake board attempting not to break the layers.

Line the same pan used to bake the chocolate cake in plastic wrap (the plastic will help you remove the ice cream cake from the pan once it is set, so make sure to use a large enough piece and slide 1 of the half layers of chocolate cake into the pan). Make sure that it rests firmly in the bottom of the pan and if the plastic wrap has slipped in, adjust so that it spills over the sides of the pan.

Empty a pint of chocolate ice cream, or your favorite brand, into a mixer and soften until it is easily spread, do not let it become runny. Pour the ice cream into mold over chocolate layer and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Return to freezer until set, approximately 2 hours.

Soften 2 cups of creamy peanut butter in the microwave without letting it get runny, approximately 2 minutes. Then pour the peanut butter over the chocolate ice cream. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the peanut butter evenly over the chocolate ice cream. Place the second half of the chocolate cake layer over the peanut butter and pat down firmly. Return to freezer until set, approximately 2 hours.

Empty a pint of vanilla ice cream or your favorite brand, into a mixer and soften it until it can be easily spread. Pour into mold over chocolate layer and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Return to freezer and allow to set overnight.

To unmold, simply invert over cake board or plate, place a warm towel over the pan for a couple of minutes. The cake should slide out without any problems, grab a hold of the ends of the plastic wrap, and give it a tug if it is stubborn. Invert back so that vanilla ice cream is on top. Decorate with melted chocolate or whipped cream.

If you chose a rectangular shaped mold, cut lengthwise and stack on top of each other for a dramatic presentation. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

Ann's April Cake - Rigo Jancsi

My choice for my April cake centered entirely on one fact: my mom was coming into town. My mother, who prefers to be called Shmee, adores chocolate. I know that most women are known for loving chocolate, and would do anything for it, blah blah blah, but I've never met someone that loves it as much as my mom. She has shelves of chocolate-related books, antique chocolate tins, a vast collection of chocolate wrappers that her children have collected for her (sometimes contributing the chocolate as well...but not always), and once told her grandmother that she loves chocolate pudding more than her own mother. I've always been pretty certain that if she had a choice between me or chocolate, I would be the losing party. Okay, maybe not that, but I DO know that she would be pretty okay with taking chocolate from me, her beloved third most loved child. Anyway, so when she made plans to come visit me, I knew that I would need to make my April cake in honor of her, and it would have to have some serious chocolate cred.

I used Greg Patent's A Baker's Odyssey again partly because I liked the idea of doing some kind of super European cafe torte but also because I still had it checked out from the library. I settled on Rigo Jancsi, which, according to the author, is "one of Hungary's most famous desserts." It is made up of chocolate cake, chocolate filling, and a chocolate glaze. Of all the possible cakes I looked at, this was the most straightforward chocolate one I could find, unadulterated by nuts or fruit or plain whipped cream. Apparently, this cake is named after a famous gypsy violinist who ran away with the young wife of an elderly Belgian duke. I'm not sure how this applies to the cake, but that's what the book says.

First I made the cake, which is a very thin chocolate sponge cake. There are lots of eggs separated and whipped to make the cake light and spongy. This meant lots of steps and dirty bowls, but Shmee very kindly washed dishes as I used them so I didn't get so overwhelmed. Unfortunately, my crappy oven burned the bottom of the cake so I had to carefully slice off the burned parts.


While that cooled, I made the whipped cream and then melted chocolate which I tempered with the cream and then added slowly into the remaining cream to make a chocolate filling. (Actually, I think Shmee added the chocolate while I got ready for church. Thanks, Shmee!). Patent warns that if the cream is too cold, the chocolate won't incorporate correctly and will remain little dark flecks in the cream - this isn't what you're looking for, but still tastes good. I think this happened a little bit to our filling, but it still looked pretty good. Then I melted the more chocolate down with sugar and water to make the glaze. Whew! That's a lot of steps, and I still had to assemble it.

You bake the cake in a half-sheet pan and then split it in half to make almost a square, and sandwich the filling in between the two cake halves. Pretty much as soon as the filling went down, it started oozing out the sides, which was quite frustrating. Clearly, this wouldn't be the elegant cafe dessert that I envisioned, but it would still taste great - the chocolate filling melted and merged with the sponge cake, tasting rich and decadent, while the glaze hardened while refrigerated, which gave a nice contrast from the light chocolate cream. If you ate it slowly, the glaze would melt in your mouth to complete the chocolate high. I kind of forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but here it is halfway gone:

Chocolaty, no? This makes a lot of cake, so we had everyone over for a big dessert party. Everyone raved about the cake, but, being the true chocolate aficionado that she is, I think that Shmee enjoyed it the most of all.

Rigo Jansci
from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent

Cake:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
10 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup apricot preserves, strained (I forgot to include this)


To make the cake, adjust an oven rake to the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a half-sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out the excess.


Melt the butter into a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and coo to tepid or room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour and cocoa powder to combine well.

Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer or hand mixer on high until thick and lemon colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Beating on medium speed, gradually add 1/3 cup of the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes more, until the yolks are very pale in color and form a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is raised. Scrape the yolks into a large wide bowl. Wash the beaters.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt on medium speed until they increase in volume and form soft peaks when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, then beat until the whites look creamy and form stiff shiny peaks that curl slightly at their tips.

With a large rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Add the dry ingredients and fold them in. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites and fold them in gently. Do not be too thorough at this point - it's fine if some streaks of white show. Fold in the remaining whites until thoroughly incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan - be gentle so as not to deflate it - and carefully level it with the spatula.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and springs back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs sticking to it. Do not overbake, or the cake will be too dry. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately run the tip of a small sharp knife around the sides of the cake to release it. Lay a sheet of parchment over the cake, cover with a large wire rack, and invert the two. Working quickly, remove the pan and peel off the paper. Cover the cake with another large wire rack and invert again. Remove the top rack and parchment, and let the cake cool completely.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Take care that no water gets into the chocolate, or it will "seize" and be impossible to work with. Remove the pan from the water and cool the chocolate to room temperature. It should still be liquid.

Combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and vanilla in a large bowl, and whip until the cream is slightly thickened but pourable. Gradually fold about 1/4 of the cream into the cooled chocolate, then fold the chocolate into the remaining cream. Beat on medium speed just until the filling is thick and holds a definite shape; do not beat until stiff or the filling may separate and look curdled. If the temperatures of the chocolate and cream are about the same, the chocolate cream will be perfectly smooth and homogeneous; if the cream is a bit too cold, the chocolate may form small granules, giving the cream a speckled look. If this happens, it's fine - the filling will still be delicious. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake.

To make the glaze, in a small heavy saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid comes to a low boil. The liquid should look perfectly clear. The sugar must be fully dissolved, or the glaze will be grainy. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir with a whisk until the chocolate is dissolved and the glaze is completely smooth. Let stand, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is thick enough to spread - a few minutes at most.

To assemble the cake, cut the cake crosswise in half. Put one layer onto a serving tray or a large flat platter. Use a pastry brush to coat the top with the apricot preserves. Pile the chocolate filling on top and spread it evenly, sculpting the sides with a narrow metal spatula so that they are smooth and squared off. Turn the second layer upside down and set it on top of the filling; press gently to make sure the cake sticks to the cream filling. Pour on the prepared glaze and spread it evenly over the top with a small offset spatula; do not let the glaze drip down the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

About 30 minutes before serving, dip a sharp knife into hot water, shake off the excess water, and score the glaze into 20 squares, dipping the knife into hot water again as necessary. Score deeply enough so that the knife just reaches the cake layer. Then cut individual portions, at the scoring lines. Let stand 30 minutes.

To serve, decorate with flowers if desired and arrange on plates.