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.

Mother's Day Cake - Holy Cow Cake

While we wait for Ann to post *loud sigh* (Oh quit your hollering, people! Of COURSE I'm being ironic! It took me 2 months last time, for crying out loud), I thought I'd post the Mother's Day cake Jeff and the kids made me.

I specifically asked for this cake. The recipe had appeared in our local paper (the Akron Beacon Journal) and I thought it sounded like chocolatey creamy peanut-buttery goodness.

I was wrong.

It was kinda nasty. WAY too sweet, way too goopy, and just not yummy. Jeff and Adam only ate a few bites, and even though Ella, Julia, and I had a full piece, the next day none of us wanted any more. I took some to a friend who likes sweet stuff and I thought I'd eventually be in the mood for the remaining cake, but I never was. The rest went into the garbage.

Goodbye, Holy Cow Cake. I loved the idea of you.




Holy Cow Cake

Cake

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
3 large eggs

Topping

1 jar (8 ounces) caramel topping
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
4 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each), crushed
1 container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 38 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Immediately poke holes in the top of the cake with a drinking straw or chopstick.

4. Prepare the topping. Place the caramel topping and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon this mixture over the warm cake so that it can seep down into the holes. Measure out half of the crushed candy bars and sprinkle the pieces over the cake.

5. Place the whipped topping and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and combined, 1 minute. Spread the mixture over the top of the candy. Sprinkle the remaining candy pieces on top.

6. Place the pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill the cake for about 20 minutes before cutting it into squares and serving.

Store this cake, covered in waxed paper, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Source: The Cake Mix Doctor

Elizabeth's April Cake - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I don't believe it! I razzed Ann like the devil (Prince of Darkness and Razzing) when she didn't post her March cake for weeks and weeks. Now here I am posting my April cake in mid-June! Argh. We moved 6 weeks ago, and just barely got the Internet (I hate you, Verizon!), and so I'm behind. Still, if Ann doesn't post immediately after I post this cake, I will resume my roll as Threatener-In-Chief straight away, paying no attention to the obvious hypocrisy. (Especially since she had to threaten me incessantly during the Year of Pies.)

In April I made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake! I loved it, and I don't even like Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Go figure!

I searched for a recipe that was NOT America's Test Kitchen, because a woman's gotta branch out, ya know? But finding a good recipe wasn't quite as easy as I thought. The recipes I found on the Internet either were cake mix-based (too yucky), contained wacky ingredients (too different), or were made by Gale Gand (too creepy). I just wanted a standard, delicious recipe. Is that too much to ask? Americana, people, Americana!

I finally came upon this one from the "kitchens" at Food Network. No celebrity chef, just the network chefs (that explains the absence of wacky ingredients).

This cake was so stinkin' yummy and fun to make. I used fresh pineapple, natch.

The overlapping pineapple circles

The only tough part was the flip --- Will it come out of the pan or won't it? ---- and Jeff helped me with that part since the pan was heavy.

After adding some fresh cherry halves (I just happened to have some), here is the final masterpiece:

The best part was that Jeff ate a piece even though he didn't want to AT ALL (hates cooked fruit and wet cake areas). True love.... He said it was much better than he thought. The body of the cake itself was fabulous, and the fruit on top complemented it well.

A word of warning, though: this cake is not necessarily a crowd-pleaser, so don't make it to surprise someone on his or her birthday or anything. Some people LOVE pineapple-upside down cake, and others hate it. I took this to a party, and even though it was the ONLY dessert there (besides fruit), only 7 or 8 people tried a piece. The kids wanted nothing to do with it, and the adults at this get-together were pretty white-bread. The people who took a piece went out of their way to find me and rave about it, so you can just shut up if you're sitting there thinking snarky thoughts about my cake! (That means you, Ann.)

Pineapple-Upside Down Cake

Topping:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for preparing the pan
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 3/4 small fresh pineapple, peeled

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Cut out a circle of parchment or wax paper and place it in the bottom of a 9 x 2-inch round cake pan. Lightly butter the sides of the pan.

To make the topping: Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's browned and has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the brown sugar and rum. Pour the butter-sugar mixture into the cake pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture out so it to covers the bottom of the pan.

Quarter the pineapple lengthwise, core, and slice it into about twenty 3/8-inch-thick slices. Arrange some of the pineapple slices in a slightly overlapping ring around the inside of the pan, leaving the center open. Place 3 of the slices in the center in a triangle pattern. Press the slices into the butter-sugar mixture.

To make the cake: Using a sieve over a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix at a low speed until just incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.)

Add the eggs one at time, waiting for each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Raise the speed to medium and mix briefly until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour the batter onto the pineapple-lined pan. Bake the cake, rotating the pan once during cooking, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely before serving.

• Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

Ann's March Cake - Torta di Limone

A few months ago I heard a piece on NPR about a book that focused on baking traditions of immigrants in the United States. Oooo folklory food traditions - yes please! (You can listen to the piece yourself here.) So the author, Greg Patent, recorded sweet and savory bakery recipes from 30 countries, and he included several interesting cake recipes that went way beyond the typical American cake. I wanted to make something kind of simple, so I chose Torta di Limone - Italian lemon cake. What makes it interesting is that the fat in the cake comes from olive oil. I was kind of nervous on how this would turn out, but went for it.

The recipe was really simple and easy to make. In fact, it was finished mixing in just a few minutes, and baked quickly. I let it cool and sprinkled on some powdered sugar, and put it on my most beautiful possession, my cake stand.
The cake was very moist, but was very thin and dense. I was a little worried that I would break the 1-inch rule, but I think I was okay.
As far as the taste went....it tasted like lemon, olive oil, and sugar. Basically everything that was in the cake. I can't quite decide if I liked it...at least, I liked it for one piece and then felt fine with that. It was good...but it almost would have been better without the powdered sugar on top and served as a savory accompaniment to fish or something like that. Hmmm...that's something to think about....

Torta di Limone
from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent

2 large eggs
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
7 tablespoons whole milk
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
9 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of two lemons
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment. Grease the parchment and dust the pan with flour.

2. Put the eggs, in their shells, into a small bowl, cover them with hot water, and let stand for 5 minutes. Dry the eggs and crack them into a medium bowl. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and olive oil just to combine well, then add to the eggs and whisk briefly.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the batter and whisk gently only until the batter is smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back when gently pressed in the center. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run the tip of a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it. Cover the pan with another wire rack and invert the two. Lift off the pan and remove the paper. Cover the cake with a wire rack again to cool completely right side up.

5. Dust the torta with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Gratuitous Picture of the Cutest Boy Ever

Elizabeth's March Cake - Carrot Cake with Walnuts

Ella posing.
She thinks all photos should taken with a straight face.

I LOVE CARROT CAKE!!! I go crazy for it. I adore it. But when there are raisins in it, I loathe it. I wouldn't eat carrot cake with raisins even if it were wrapped in bacon, covered in guacamole, and served on a chocolate platter.

For March, I made a carrot cake WITHOUT raisins. It was divine! It didn't even need guac.

The unadorned cake.

Tasty frosting.
There should have been 1.5 times or 2 times the frosting.

Our friends Dave and Katie came over with their kids for Pizza and Game Friday. They had unprompted seconds of the cake, so I think they liked it!

The 5 kids.....not so much.

(You can't see it, but not one of these pieces has more than a single bite out of it. It's kinda funny actually. I mean, the kids are jumping around, screaming and dancing for cake, and then it's served to them and they're like, "Um...no thanks." Hehehe. I finally got my kind of cake. Long live Year of Cakes!)

A slice of cake in all its lusciousness!
Adam reading Shel Silverstein in the background.



Carrot Cake with Simple Cream Cheese Frosting, by Cook's Illustrated.
Makes one 13 by 9-inch cake. Published March 1, 2003.

If you like nuts in your cake, stir 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter along with the carrots.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake
2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8	teaspoon ground cloves
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	pound medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled
1 1/2	cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2	cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
4	large eggs
1 1/2	cups vegetable oil , safflower oil, or canola oil
Cream Cheese Frosting
8	ounces cream cheese , softened but still cool
5	tablespoons unsalted butter softened, but still cool
1	tablespoon sour cream
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4	cups confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

Instructions

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

3. Shred carrots using large holes of box grater (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

4. When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment ( or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

February Cake Book Review: Honey Cake by Joan Betty Stuchner

Honey Cake, by Joan Betty Stuchner, is geared toward preteens, but it was still a fun CAKE BOOK for February!

Copenhagen is the setting for this Holocaust-era story about a boy named David who must help his parents deliver messages for the Jewish resistance. David's father is a baker, but his mother's honey cake is said to be superb.

The cake doesn't play a large role in the book, as I thought it might. I thought the cake might trick a soldier, or the cake might hide a note, or the cake might explode, or the cake might be scalding hot in a German's tender mouth. But it wasn't to be. The cake was just a symbol for keeping their home life as normal as possible, despite the conflict and tension on the streets around them. Blah, blah, blah. The box on the front of the book is not even a cake box! What!? Talk about a deceptive title!

Still, every so often I love a book that I can read in an hour and a half, and this one fit the bill. And it was (kindof) about cake! Too bad the cake wasn't as sneaky as I was hoping.