Baking a Chocolate-Chocolate Truffle Cake

It is quite long ago that I did a posting on baking, so here we go......

The real name of this cake is Devil’s food cake but I did not like the name at all!

The little ones has a movie called Punchinello and The Most Marvellous Gift, it’s a movie for little children and the little boy, called Punchinello’s favourite cake is a Chocolate-Chocolate Truffle Cake. So I decided to name the cake a Chocolate-Chocolate Truffle Cake.

 Yes I did bake this cake!!

 This rich, deeply flavoured cake can be frosted with chocolate frosting, such as buttercream or whipped ganache, to reinforce the chocolate effect, or a contrasting frosting, such as a kirsch flavoured buttercream, white chocolate mousse, white chocolate whipped ganache, or mousseline, to balance the chocolate.

 Makes 2 round layer cakes (9 by 1 inch)

Or 1 round layer cake (9 by 2 inch)

 Ingredients:

Butter and flour for the cake pans

1 cup cake flour (if using spelt flour 1 1/3 cups)

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, sliced at room temperature

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup sour cream

¾ cup sugar (or xylitol)

3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 280 degrees C.

Butter and flour one or two cake pans. (We used two)

 In a bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

 Combine the butter, chocolate, and sour cream in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

 Stir until smooth, remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate has melted.

 In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth

 Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

Sift the dry ingredients over the chocolate-egg mixture while folding with a rubber spatula. 

 

 My mom always takes the pictures of my baking, with Michael in the Ergo baby carrier, and by accident Michael’s face got covered with flour! He didn’t even notice, he was fast a sleep.

Isn’t he just so cute?

 Pour the mixture into the prepared pans.

 

 Bake 1-inch-thick cakes for about 25 minutes or a 2-inch-thick cake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake springs back to the touch or q toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

 Let the cake cool for 5 minutes and turn then out onto a cake rack.

I decorated the cake with buttercream and whipped ganache.

 To make chocolate buttercream:

Add 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate or 1 ounce bitter unsweetened chocolate per one cup buttercream.

 Chocolate makes the buttercream firmer, because it hardens when cool; bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate also makes buttercream less sweet.

 Cut each cake into half and put the first one on your cake stand.

 Put your first layer of buttercream on the bottom layer.

 Add the layers, with buttercream in between, till the cake looks like this.

 Now start spreading the chocolate whipped ganache al over the cake.

To make chocolate curls, slide the back side of a pastry tip along the chunk of chocolate while pressing down firmly.

Sprinkle the curls on top of the cake, and on the cake stand, so that it looks like this.

Tip:

My mom has a very nice way to cut a cake.

Take a sharp, long knife and cut a little circle in the middle of the cake.

Like this

Then cut slices around the circle.

This cake is not so sweet as many of the chocolate cakes in restaurants.

It is a delicious cake.

My dad does not really like sweet chocolate cake, but this chocolate cake he loved!

So did Daniel!

Bon apatite

Baking and Decorating An Angel Food Cake

For my mom’s birthday we baked an Angel Food cake out of the Baking book.

We had family the Sunday morning before my mom’s birthday (her birthday was on the Monday) and we had friends for supper so my mom suggested we bake the Angel Food cake

Angel Food cake, which is sponge cake made only with egg whites (no yolks), must be baked in an ungreased tube pan.

It can be made with a handheld mixer, but a stand mixer makes it easier.

Here is the recipe:

Makes one 9-inch tube cake

15 egg whites (2 cups)

Pinch of cream of tartar, unless using a copper bowl

1 cup sugar (we used Xylitol)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 3/4 cups spelt flour (or 1 1/4 cup cake flour)

Preheat the oven to180 C or 350 F.

TIP:
Separate the eggs like this:

Hit with a metal spatula or knife, quick not to soft or to hard

Like this

Carefully open the egg

Let the egg white fall in a small plate, do NOT let the egg yolk fall in too.
When egg yolk mixed with egg white, the fat in the egg yolk, will prevent the egg white to stiffen when beaten.

Beat the egg white and cream of tartar (if using) with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, with a handheld mixer for about 8 minutes, or until medium peaks form.

Add the sugar (or Xylitol) in a steady stream and beat for about 2 minutes more in a stand mixer, or 5 minutes more with a handheld mixer, or until medium to stiff peaks form. Don’t over beat it-its better to under beat the egg whites slightly than to over beat them.

Sprinkle the lemon juice over the egg white mixture

And sift over the flour.

Alternate between adding flour-about one-forth at a time-and folding until the flour is no longer visible.

Carefully transfer the batter to the ungreased tube pan.

We had too much batter for our tube pan, so we put the excess batter in another cake pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a paring knife or skewer comes out clean and the top of the cake feels firm and spring back to the touch.

Turn the tube pan upside down and set over the neck of a bottle to cool, for 45 minutes. Our tube pan has three little pieces of metal which extend above the top of the pan, so that you do not have to set it over the neck of a bottle.

To remove the cake from the tube pan, roll it on its side and slide a knife or small spatula around the inside of the tube pan against the outside wall and around the tube in the middle. Invert the cake onto a cake rake and lift off the cake pan.
We had quite a challenge getting the cake out of the normal round cake pan, but we managed!

For decorating, we made a Butter Cream Filling and Dark Chocolate Ganache.

First spread a thin layer of butter cream over the Angel Food cake, and put it in the fridge to harden, for at least 4 hours.
Make sure you put on a very thin layer Butter Cream, because this is what can happen with a thick layer:

The butter cream melted and the slightly warm chocolate ganache kept falling off. (See the middle)

Chocolate Ganache

When it’s hot, Ganache has a consistency of rich chocolate sauce; when cold, it sets into a firm glaze. For this reason, Ganache can be used both as a sauce and as a glaze for cakes.

When Ganache is whipped, it becomes fluffy and pale and makes a perfect frosting.

Recipe:

Makes 1 ¾ cups or 2 cups when whipped, enough for 2 layers

225g (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream to a simmer.

And pour it over the chocolate.
Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, or long enough to melt the chocolate.

Stir the ganache with a rubber spatula for 1 minute and then switch to a whisk and stir until smooth and the consistency of sour cream. If you are using the ganache to ice a cake, let it cool for 4 or 5 minutes before you use it (or set it over an ice water bath to cool quickly), so it thickens and adheres better to the cake. If you are using it as sauce, use it right away.

Put it on a cake rake under a site pan and start decorating the cake.

Here is the cake we baked in the normal cake pan with the excessive batter and it was just as pretty.

Bon Appetite!

Decorating my Basic French Sponge Cake

After I’ve baked my Basic French Sponge Cake, I could choose to cover it or layer it with various frostings, fillings and glazes.

A glaze is usually a thin coating applied hot to the outside of a cake, while a frosting is thicker and richer and is spread in between the layers and sometimes also on the outside.

Most of us are in the habit of using only one filling for our cakes, but a cake can be made more dramatic by using two or more.

For the Basic French Sponge Cake (Genoise), bakers usually brush each layer generously with flavoured simple syrup, making the cake very moist, even wet, because genoise is often somewhat dry.

I’ve decided to try my hand at buttercream fillings. I’ve cut the two layers genoise into 4 layers and put a Professional-style Buttercream and Italian Meringue Buttercream between the layers.

Buttercream Fillings

Making professional-style buttercream and Italian meringue buttercream are almost identical. The professional-style buttercream is based on egg yolks and the Italian meringue buttercream based on egg white, whisked with hot sugar syrup, cooked to the softball stage, continually beating the mixture, until cool and then beat in the cold butter.

Tip!

A stand mixer works best to beat the egg yolk and egg whites, because it require a lot of beating to get them to quadruple in volume and to stabilize them before adding the syrup. A handheld mixer will also work, but you’ll need to at least double the beating time.

Since a hot sugar syrup is added to the egg yolk or egg whites, the eggs should be slightly warmed, so the syrup don’t cool to quickly, when the beaten eggs are added and cause it to harden into little pellets.

Cooking Sugar Syrup to the Soft Ball Stage

When sugar (we used Xylitol but want to try with Palm sugar –Juggeri, too) and water are boiled together, the sugar becomes more concentrated. Stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar.

Bring the syrup to a simmer and brush down the sides, using a brush dipped in cold water, to prevent crystals from forming. As the bubbles in the simmer syrup get larger, start testing for the soft ball stage. Use a spoon to put a small amount of the hot syrup into some ice water, then pinch the syrup between your thumb and forefinger.

You will notice the syrup going through stages, when put in ice water:

First stage: the sugar will dissolve in the water – so continue boiling.

Second stage: it will form a thread between your two fingers, continue boiling and test again.

Third stage: it become thick enough to roll into a soft ball with the consistency of chewed gum.

Fourth stage: the sugar hardens completely when you stick it in the water, you’ve cooked the syrup too much – it has reached hard crack stage. In that case, add a few tablespoons of water to the hot syrup and start testing again.

Professional-Style Buttercream

1 cup Xylitol (We used Xylitol, because we did not have enough Palm Sugar.)

4 egg yolks, slightly warmed

280g cold butter cut in cubs
2 tablespoons Flavouring (I’ve used chocolate liqueur)

Put the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

While the syrup is cooking, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the yolks on high speed for about 5 minutes or until they have quadruple in volume and are very pale.

While the egg yolks are beating, check the syrup for the soft ball stage. If the syrup is ready before the egg yolks, add 1 tablespoon of water to the syrup and keep simmering.

When the syrup and yolks are ready, turn the mixer to high speed and pour the syrup into the yolks between the whisk and the sides of the bowl. It is important to keep the syrup from touching the whisk or the bowl because it will harden into little globules, which will break off into the buttercream. (Don’t worry, a few are unavoidable!)

Continue beating the egg yolk-sugar mixture until it is just slightly warmer than room temperature.

Turn down the mixer speed to medium and add the butter cubes, a small handful at a time. Wait until each batch is absorbed before adding more. Beat for about 5 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.

I’ve beaten in chocolate liqueur flavouring.

Put the buttercream aside and make the Italian Meringue Buttercream.

Italian Meringe Buttercream

200 ml xylitol

¼ cup water or more as needed

4 egg whites slightly warmed

Pinch of cream of tartar, unless using a copper bowl

280g butter, cubed or sliced

2 tablespoons Flavouring, if your want to (I’ve used coffee liqueur)

Put 150 ml of the xylitol and the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar (if using) with a stand mixer on medium speed or a handheld mixer on high speed for 1 minute. Switch to high speed and beat with a stand mixer for about 4 minutes or with a handheld mixer for about 10 minutes, or until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.

Add the remaining 50 ml xylitol and beat for 1 minute more.

Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar (if using) with a stand mixer on medium speed or a handheld mixer on high speed for 1 minute. Switch to high speed and beat with a stand mixer for about 4 minutes or with a handheld mixer for about 10 minutes, or until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.

Add the remaining 50 ml xylitol and beat for 1 minute more.

Test the sugar syrup for the soft ball stage. It the syrup is ready before the egg whites are stiff, again add a tablespoon of water, then start testing again. If the egg whites are stiff before the syrup is ready, turn the mixer to low speed – don’t stop beating.

With the mixer on high speed, pour the syrup in a steady stream between the whisk and the bowl. Beat the egg whites for about 7 minutes or until very stiff.

Simply add the butter, a handful at a time, to the meringue and beat on medium to high speed until the butter disappears. Wait until each batch of butter is worked in before adding more.

I’ve flavoured the Italian meringue buttercream with coffee liqueur.

Cut the cake into 4 layers

I first put on the professional-Style Buttercream then the Italian Meringue Buttercream.

Then I put on another layer of Professional-Style Buttercream and for the toping a layer of Italian Meringue Buttercream

For the finishing touches I grated lint chocolate over the top.

Bon apatite!