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Posts Tagged ‘chocolate cake’

devil’s food cake verrine

02 Sep

Chocolate talks to me.  Dessert talks to me.  This is an unforgettable dessert I served at one of my simchas.   A Verrine is layers of different textured foods in a glass (sweet or savory).  This is the ultimate chocolate dessert – basically a deconstructed take on a devil’s food cake including four components: a dense chocolate cake, creamy chocolate mousse, a rich chocolate sauce and a crunchy, salty cocoa nib streusel.  If you are short on time (who isn’t?), you can use any devil’s food cake mix for this recipe.

This recipe is from Elizabeth FalknerC from Fine Cooking magazine.

Serves twelve.

For the Cake:
  • 4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter or margarine; more for the pan
  • 3-1/2 oz. (1 cup) cake flour (if you don’t have, use 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons flour)
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 2 oz. (2/3 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. table salt
  • 1/2 cup hot freshly brewed coffee
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (use 1 Tbsp lemon juice and add soy or parve milk to make 1/2 cup)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
For the Mousse:
  • 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 3 oz. milk chocolate, coarsely chopped (if making parve use all bittersweet chocolate)
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 Tbs. honey or light corn syrup
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream or parve equivalent
For the Streusel:
  • 6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 5 oz. (1 cup plus 2 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 oz. (3/4 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1-1/2 oz. cocoa nibs (about 1/3 cup) (I haven’t been able to find this in my area. You can omit if this is the case.)
  • 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
For the Sauce:
  • 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream or parve equivalent
  • 2 Tbs.  light corn syrup
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 2 Tbs. dark rum (not extract)
Make the Cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Butter an 8x8x2-inch square cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, and butter the parchment.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt onto a piece of parchment. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and the coffee over medium heat to melt the butter. Transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk in the buttermilk, egg, and yolk and then the flour mixture until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto the rack, remove the parchment, and cool completely.  (Cake may be frozen for later use.)

Make the Mousse

Melt the bittersweet and milk chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk the yolks and the syrup over the water bath just until warm. Remove from the heat and whisk briefly to cool.

With an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip the egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-high speed, whip the cream in another medium bowl until soft peaks form.

Whisk the yolk mixture into the melted chocolate. Whisk in a spoonful of the whipped cream. With a rubber spatula fold in the remaining whipped cream and then the egg whites. Refrigerate. (The mousse can be made up to 4 hours ahead.)

Make the Streusel

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir the flour and cocoa powder. With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture in three increments, including the cocoa nibs and salt with the final addition. Mix until the dough comes together. (The dough can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and press the dough into the pan in a 1/4-inch-thick layer.

Bake at 325°F for 8 minutes and then rake with a fork to break into medium clumps. Bake for 7 minutes more and rake again to create small pieces. The streusel will look sandy and will crisp as it cools. (The streusel can be made 1 day ahead or frozen for longer.  Use extra streusel over ice cream.)

Make the Sauce

Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Put the cream, syrup, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, pour over the chocolate, and stir to melt.

Assemble

Divide the warm chocolate sauce among twelve 8-oz. glasses. Cut the cake into 1-inch cubes and put 4 in each glass. Drizzle 1/2 tsp. of the rum on the cake cubes. Scoop a spoonful or a quenelle (oval shaped scoop) of mousse into each glass. Sprinkle about 2 Tbs. of streusel on top of the mousse, and serve.

Make Ahead Tips

The cake can be baked 1 day ahead. The streusel dough can be refrigerated for a week, and baked up to 1 day ahead. The mousse can be made up to 4 hours ahead.

Photo: Scott Phillips

 
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Posted in baking recipes, dessert recipes, recipes

 

chocolate-beet layer cake

22 Sep

A recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking Magazine featuring a chocolate layer cake that includes roasted beets, sounded so intriguing, I had to try it! The results were great and no one was able to guess the “secret ingredient”. The cake was moist, had just the right amount of chocolate flavor, and boasted a texture that was denser than a Devil’s Food Cake, yet much lighter than a brownie. I made the Parve version of this cake but hope to try the dairy version one day soon. I suppose canned beets can be substituted for fresh, roasted ones.

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE
2 medium beets, trimmed
1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
6 oz. unsalted butter or margarine, softened;
more for the pans
9 oz. (2 cups) flour; more for the pans
2 oz. (2/3 cup) natural cocoa powder such as Hershey’s (not Dutch process)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

FOR THE FROSTING
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 oz. (3/4 cup) natural cocoa powder such as Hershey’s
3/4 cup heavy cream or parve whipping cream
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

PREPARE THE BEETS
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the beets on a piece of foil large enough to wrap them. Drizzle with the vegetable oil and turn to coat well. Enclose the beets in the foil and roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 1-2 hours. Let cool.

MAKE THE CAKE
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans generously with softened butter. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment and spray with cooking spray or coat with margarine. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
Peel and finely grate enough of the beets to yield 3/4 cup. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the margarine and sugar on medium-low speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the grated beets and the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and carefully add half of the flour mixture; mix until fully incorporated. Add 1 1/4 cups hot water and the remaining flour mixture. Return to medium-low speed and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.
Bake the cakes, rotating halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans on a rack for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto racks and peel off the parchment. Let the cakes cool completely.

MAKE THE FROSTING
Melt the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Stir in the cream, espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Refrigerate, stirring every 10 minutes, until soft peaks form and the frosting is completely cool, about 1 hour.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Place one of the cakes on a cake plate and spread a generous 1/2 cup frosting evenly over the top. Top with the second cake and spread a generous 1/2 cup frosting over it. Frost the sides with the remaining frosting.

MAKE AHEAD
The beets can be roasted up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. The cake can be assembled up to 2 days ahead. Cover with a cake dome and store at room temperature.

 
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