Chocolate Cream Cake with Chocolate Frosting

*** Made from scratch a hearty cake with an intense chocolate flavor in the icing for a man's birthday. Just make sure to cut those slices thinner for women to enjoy. Cream cakes are tasty desserts of the past but tend to be heavy by modern standards. But oh, the flavor! :)




Photo by Tommy Simmons, Food Editor @ The Advocate


From Denny: Our local newspaper's food editor has decided to learn how to bake cakes. She is brave to chronicle her baking journey as it happens in real time. This is her first cake.

Most of us these days bake with cake mixes which are lighter versions of cakes our mothers and grandmothers used to bake. The difference is usually in the type and amount of flour utilized.

When I was eleven years old I made my first simple white cake recipe but doubled the dose of butter by mistake. It was awesome! My Cinderella style evil stepmother, a real killjoy personality, fussed about the expense of an extra stick of butter. I didn't see her in the kitchen trying to help guide the process as she hated kids, even her own grandkids. Of course, the funny part was the cake was a huge hit at the dinner table with the rest of the family. I've kept that recipe of beginner's luck with me all these years because the story still makes me smile.

So, when I see an adult food writer brave the cold cruel world of criticism to learn how to bake, well, I just have to support her! :) Tommy Simmons goes on to talk about this cream cake as "so dense and sturdy it would not dream of crumbling." A good cake for a beginner as it's easier to get these kinds of cakes out of the cake pans after baking.

She learned all the basics a novice learns about baking like not to leave the baked cakes in the pan for too long or you practically "have to get a crowbar to pry the cooled layers from the cake pans. The problem was I had left the cakes in the pans overnight." Been there and done that mistake! :) The reason for that issue is because the greased pans had oil that solidified, holding the cake in place.

An easy fix to that problem is to reheat your oven and pop the baked cakes back into the oven for anywhere for 2 - 5 minutes at 300 degrees F. to melt the oil on the sides of the pans to release the cake. Once the metal of the pan is reheated, but the cake is not hot or warm to the touch, the job is done. You don't really want to re-bake the cakes. You could also reheat the bottoms of the pans over the stove burner though I've found you can still encounter issues with the sides of the pans not releasing well so I use the oven method.

How do you know the cake is ready to be released from the pan? Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then shake gently, you will feel a little give from the cake which means the oil has softened. That's when it's time to invert the cake onto the cooling rack.

Food editor Simmons goes to to remark that the cake's flavor improves the second day. Such is the case with most cream cakes. That's why they are still so popular in south Louisiana and the American South in general. They are forgiving cakes, easy to make and store well in the refrigerator.

Simmons did not enjoy the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa in the frosting as she found it too assertive and downright bossy for her favorite chocolate taste. She thought it was too much chocolate. When she bakes this cake in the future she made a mental note to herself to substitute Hershey's Cocoa, the regular one.

As an experienced cake baker who adores chocolate what I would do is use the lighter version of cocoa for the layers and use a thinner layer of the dark chocolate icing just for the top. You just divide the icing by 2/3 and 1/3, using the 1/3 as the dark chocolate. Or to keep it really simple just make two chocolate icing recipes, one light and one dark. Icing keeps well and you know you are going to be making another cake in need of icing very soon! :) Besides, Simmons advised you to make two recipes of the icing to have enough volume to properly ice the cake anyway.

Any time you have an assertive taste for a cake, it's best to use it in moderation. Lemon cakes are like that too. When using lemon curd, just use it on the filling and use a lighter lemon taste for the icing.





Cream Cake With Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting

From: “Cake Keeper Cakes” by Lauren Chattman and “The Fannie Farmer Baking Book” by Marion Cunningham

Serves: 12 to 16

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbl. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 large eggs, room temperature
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tbl. vanilla extract
2 cups whipping cream, not whipped, room temperature
Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)


Directions:

1. Grease and flour 4 (8-inch) layer-cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Beat eggs and sugar together in large bowl until mixture is thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir in vanilla.

4. Alternate adding flour mixture with the cream to the egg mixture. Don’t overbeat at this stage. Beat for about 1 minute just to make sure everything is combined.

5. Distribute batter evenly among the 4 cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cake layers cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. When cooled, you can slice each layer in half crosswise if you like thin cake layers and then frost and stack to assemble the cake. To store, seal the cut surface with plastic wrap and cover the whole cake with additional plastic wrap or a cake cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature.





Hershey’s “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting

From: Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa can label

Makes: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa (very intense chocolate flavor, you may want to just use Hershey's Cocoa, the regular one, for the normal level of chocolate flavor if you are not used to deep dark intense chocolate flavors.)

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, if desired


Directions:

1. Melt butter and stir in cocoa.

2. Alternate adding confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beating to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.

3. Stir in vanilla.

4. Frost between cake layers, sides and the top of the cake.

5. Press chopped pecans onto top of cake.

Note from Tommy Simmons: Double the frosting recipe so you have plenty of frosting. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


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Tummy Warming Desserts for The New Year

From Denny: Celebrity chef Ed Brown is back again to help us keep on the pounds. Oh, what a man! :) Seriously, we adore bread pudding of any variety here in south Louisiana. It stars daily at in-store lunch or deli menus since French bread is still a big hit here, embedded into the traditional French culture stemming from New Orleans. And, just this last weekend I saw the grocer putting out fresh clementines, a delightful citrus for which Chef Brown has a recipe too.

Oh, and when I'm out of fruit for a bread pudding, I often substitute our other fav fruit: chocolate chips. I'm especially a huge fan of Ghiradelli brand double chocolate chips from San Francisco, California. The double chocolate means there is more chocolate in relation to sugar. My complaint about most chocolate chips is there is so much sugar you can barely taste the chocolate and Ghiradelli puts out the smoothest most awesome taste.

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Cranberry bread pudding

From: Chef Ed Brown

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 vanilla bean, split and scrape insides, reserve pod for another time
• 3 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 French baguettes (day-old best), cut into 2-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen fine)
• 2 teaspoons soft butter

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• In a large nonreactive bowl, combine vanilla, milk, cream, cinnamon, lemon, sugar, salt and eggs, whisk until well blended.

• Add the bread slices, raisins and cranberries, toss and soak for 40 minutes.

• Butter a 12-inch (ovenproof) ceramic deep pie dish with soft butter.

• Transfer bread and egg mixture to dish, be sure to have the fruit well distributed.

• Cover dish with aluminum foil, place in oven for 1 hour, removing the foil the last 15 minutes.



Clementines with Grand Marnier

From: Chef Ed Brown

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 15 each clementines, peeled, segmented
• 2 cups simple syrup
• 1 cup Grand Marnier
• 6 each mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons Grenadine

DIRECTIONS

Combine all except Grenadine and refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving. Serve in a glass pedestal. Just before serving drizzle Grenadine on top.



*** ALSO: 5 Recipes: Lemon Chicken, Portobello Fries and Sides

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Recipe: Atlantas Pricci Restaurants White Chocolate Panna Cotta

From Denny: How many of you like panna cotta? We enjoy this light but tasty dessert at our house often - and it's so easy to make! We love variety and today's recipe is just the ticket.

You can go whole hog and try your hand at making this dessert trio or you could just make the panna cotta with a crushed favorite cookie for a crust to save time.

"This dessert trio from Pricci, White Chocolate Panna Cotta With Pistachio Biscotti and Blood Orange Gelee, is part of a romantic meal they created for Valentine's Day. It can be made a day or two before serving."

Hands on time: 45 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

FOR PISTACHIO BISCOTTI:

Makes: about 20 cookies
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 3 hours (includes baking and cooling time)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus more for tops of cookies
Pinch salt
1/2 cup finely ground unsalted pistachios
1 cup all-purpose flour

FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA:

Makes: 3 1/2-cup servings
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 3 hours (includes chilling time)

1/2 packet gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR BLOOD ORANGE GELEE:

Makes: 6 2-tablespoon servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 3 hours (includes chilling time)

1/2 packet gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup blood orange juice (from 2-3 blood oranges)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon limoncello

Instructions:

FOR PISTACHIO BISCOTTI: (Take care handling these shortbread cookies; they crumble easily.)

In a stand mixer or food processor combine the butter, sugar and salt until creamy. Add the pistachios and flour and mix until just combined. Divide the dough into 2 pieces; shape each into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

Roll a disk of dough between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1/4-inch thickness (do not roll too thin, or the cookies will break). Use a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut into shapes slightly larger than the molds you will use for the panna cotta. Cut into desired shape and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle the cookies generously with sugar and bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the parchment. Store in an airtight container.

FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA:

Combine gelatin and water and set aside. In a medium saucepan combine cream, milk and sugar. Heat until steaming but do not boil. Add the white chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in gelatin and vanilla. Strain the mixture, then pour it into ramekins or molds. Chill, covered, until set, about 3 hours.

FOR BLOOD ORANGE GELEE:

Combine gelatin and water and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice, lemon juice and sugar to a simmer. Turn off the heat; stir in the gelatin and limoncello. Strain into a small pan or dish. Chill until completely set, then cut into 3/4-inch cubes.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Assemble immediately before serving: Place a Pistachio Biscotti on each of 2 dessert plates. Run a small sharp knife around the inside wall of two of the panna cotta molds and unmold a White Chocolate Panna Cotta onto each of the cookies. Arrange a few cubes of Blood Orange Gelee around each plate.

Note: You will have extra of each dessert. Each element can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Total time includes baking, cooling and chilling time for the three components of the recipe.

Nutrition:
Pistachio Biscotti, per cookie: 90 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 1 gram protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 6 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 12 milligrams cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium.

White Chocolate Panna Cotta, per serving: 416 calories (percent of calories from fat, 75), 3 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 36 grams fat (22 grams saturated), 110 milligrams cholesterol, 57 milligrams sodium.

Blood Orange Gelee, per serving: 38 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium.


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Recipe: Chewy Peanut Brownie Bars

From Denny: Lately, I've noticed how many of you out there in blog land are looking for recipes that combine peanut butter and chocolate and today I found a yummy easy recipe at Jif. There is something magical about the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate! This would be an awesome make and take for your kids at school or for entertaining during the sports season.

Chewy Peanut Brownie Bars

Prep Time: 45 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Yield: 50 bars

CRUST

• 1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 large egg


FILLING

• 1 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


GLAZE

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (1 oz.) square unsweetened chocolate
• 7 1/2 teaspoons water
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Combine all crust ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Press mixture evenly over bottom of ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.

2. BEAT corn syrup and peanut butter in small bowl at low speed until well blended. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Spread filling evenly over crust to within 1/2 inch of edges.

3. BAKE 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are firm and center is just firm to the touch. Cool completely.

4. MELT 1 tablespoon butter with chocolate and water in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Using wire whisk, stir in powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; blend until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled brownies. Allow glaze to set. Cut into bars.

Note for High Altitude baking(above 3500 ft.):

1. ADD 1/4 cup flour to dry brownie mix. Bake as directed above.

Recipe: Famous Chefs Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo by procsilas @ flickr

From Denny: When these pastry chefs come out with a new line of something, dark chocolate chips in this case, why don't they ever post a photo of the finished product on the TV show where they are doing the promotion or the network leave a video showing the process...? Oh, well, today we have to just enjoy this fun poster; it did make me grin. :)

It's interesting this chef uses both pastry and bread flour to make our traditional cookie recipe we love so much! Of course, if you don't want to make giant cookies, this recipe will probably yield a gazillion of them! More to share with friends! :)

The dainty polite version of our beloved chocolate chip cookie Image by esthereggy via Flickr

From: Chef Jacques Torres

Yield: 26 giant cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound butter
• 13 ounces sugar
• 1 pound light brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 14 ounces King Arthur pastry flour
• 14 ounces King Arthur bread flour
• 1/2 ounce salt
• Less than 1/2 ounce baking powder
• Less than 1/2 ounce baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 pounds Jacques Torres 60% cocoa content dark chocolate, cut in small pieces

DIRECTIONS

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees. Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until it reaches a light and creamy texture. Add the eggs, one at a time. When mixed, turn the mixer to slow speed and add the rest of the ingredients. When the mixture is thoroughly combined, bake on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan for about 14 minutes (light brown, a little underbaked).

TIPS

Jacques does not use cups and teaspoons so he suggests starting with the weights if you need to convert the recipe. His secret is in the butter, flour and chocolate ingredients.

Video: 3 Easy Family Favorite Dessert Recipes

From Denny: The Today Show had hundreds of entries for this competition! They were looking for family recipes handed down through the generations and found some good ones that will appeal to a lot of people. These are also fast easy recipes, enjoy! Wait until you see the last one with chocolate, easiest one of all.

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