Wedding Cake for Courtney

Cakewalk was supposed to be the test kitchen for Courtney's wedding cake, but none of the chocolate cake recipes we tried were up to our standards. Beatty's Chocolate Cake, held accross the internet to be the chocolatiest, moistest chocolate cake of them all, tasted to us only mildly chocolately with a nice but unremarkable texture. it seems that to maintain the structural integretity of a chocolate cake, there's only so much pure chocolate you can pack in (a flourless cake would not hold up as a layer cake). Unwilling to settle, we scrapped the pure chocolate cake plan and turned to an alternative: the chocolate stout cake. a friend made a delicious version for cakewalk, and we have made it in cupcake form in the past. the guinness adds a depth of flavor that makes up for the lack of chocolate intensity, and keeps the crumb airy and moist. we added another layer of flavor complexity by adding chai spices to the cake and upped the chocolate with a layer of ganache. finally, i decided to avoid the Buttercream Problem altogether by option for a mousse topping, which both holds its shape better and created a nice light contrast to the heavy chocolate base. i was quite proud of the final flavor combination.

the most important and trying part of this cake, however, was the decoration. there are stunning examples of henna-decorated cakes online, masterpieces that i cannot believe were made by human hands. i decided to keep it simple and to use a paintbrush, as i have never developed any piping skills. the final result was pretty lumpy and unprofessional up-close, but quite lovely at a distance and in the dim light of courtney's evening wedding. despite the hours of cramping wrists and sugar-tongue, it made me want to do it all over again. i will surely be dedicating a good deal of time to researching more effective techniques in preparation for my brother's wedding this august!



Chocolate Chai Cake


CAKE:

4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
~1 tbs cinnamon
~1 tbs cardamom
~1 tbs ginger

2 cups unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
2 cups stout (such as Guinness)

4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream


Preheat to 350°. Line and grease two 8" cake pans.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Cool slightly, then stir in the stout.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and fold in, being careful to get all of the streaks of flour incorporated. Divide batter equally between the pans and bake about 30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. cool in pans for a bit, then invert to a rack and cool completely.

My strategy for stacking the cake was to line a 9" springform pan with tall pieces of parchment so that they stuck up a few inches above the top of the pan to make walls, taping them to make a smooth circle shape. This also left a bit of space around the edges for the mousse to fill in.

GANACHE:

8 oz chocolate
1/2 cup cream


Heat the cream (don't boil), add the chopped chocolate, let sit for a minute, then stir.

Spread over the first layer of cake, put in the freezer for a while to harden a bit, then place the second layer on top.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHAI MOUSSE:

2 cups prepared strong chai, sans sugar
8 oz White chocolate
½ c milk
2 1/2 teaspoon gelatin powder
5 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

CAKEWALK

The List:

2 Chocolate Cake w/ White Frosting & Sprinkles
Black Forest Cake (chocolate cake brushed with cherry liqueur and topped with ganache, whipped cream, and cherries)
Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting & Ganache
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (chocolate cake frosted with nutella and topped with chopped hazelnuts)
Reese's Cheesecake
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Strawberry Cake
Lemon Cheesecake
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Mexican Hot Chocolate Flourless Cake


Reese's Cheesecake



2 cups oreo crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
5 eggs, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 bag mini peanut butter cups

1/2 cup peanut butter
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat to 350°. Stir together the oreo crumbs and melted butter - add more butter if you can't make crumb lumps with your fingers. Press into the bottom of a spring form pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time. Add sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and cream and mix. Pour half of the mixture into the crust, add a layer of reese's cups, then top with remaining cheesecake mixture. Bake for about an hour, until the edges are set but the middle is still a bit jiggly - if you cook it too long it will crack. Cool slightly then put it into the refrigerator for at least an hour.

For the topping: heat the cream (don't boil). Add in the chopped chocolate, let sit for a minute, then stir. Pour over the cheese Chop up the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler (or microwave). Cool slightly then add all but 1 tablespoon of cream. Stir and then pour over the cheesecake. Put in the freezer while you prep the peanutbutter. Melt the peanutbutter briefly in the microwave, then pour in a decorative pattern over the chocolate. Top with more reeses if you want (they'll melt into the cake if you put them on before cooling the ganache). refrigerate for at least 4 more hours before slicing. enjoy!



Raspberry Cheesecake


this also makes a good standard plain cheesecake if you leave out the raspberry swirl, and a good lemon cheesecake if you add in more lemon juice and zest.



2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt

10 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tbsp. sugar

32 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons AP flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup cream
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

for the raspberry puree: place the thawed berries and sugar in a sauce pan and simmer to reduce by half. Strain or puree until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and butter, adding more butter if necessary to make the crumbs squishable. Press into the bottom and sides of a springform pan and bake 10 minutes.

Beat together the creamcheese, sugar, and flour. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Remove ½ cup of the filling and mix it with the raspberry puree. (If you want a more flat cheesecake than my bumpy example, mix a greater proportion of the cheesecake batter with the raspberry puree to get a more consistent texture throughout). Pour the cheesecake filling over the cooled crust, pour raspberry filling in a swirl on top, and use a toothpick to make a pattern. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven. Bake for 60 - 90 minutes or until the edges are firm and the center is still wobbly.

Let cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing. enjoy!



Mexican Hot Chocolate Flourless Cake


i think this was my favorite thing we made (though i didn't get to taste everything). i am a sucker for the spice-and-chocolate combo, but it is also awesome without - the cake is like the best brownie you've ever had, crispy and crunchy on top and gooey-fudgy in the middle.



16 ounces good quality bittersweet (not semi-sweet) chocolate, roughly chopped
4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 cups sugar
12 eggs
2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1+ tbs cinnamon (optional)
a few dashes cayenne, to taste (optional)

Preheat to 350. Line and grease a springform pan.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler. Turn off the burner but keep the bowl over the heat and whisk in the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat and add the eggs one at a time, whisking constantly to prevent them from cooking. Sift the cocoa powder and spices into the chocolate and mix.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a crust has formed on the top but a fork still picks up some gooey crumbs. Cool and enjoy!

Aushak: Afghani Leek Dumplings

This is a vegetarian adaptation of an Afghani dish that i stumbled upon while browsing food porn. The original version stars a very rich meat sauce, so if you try to serve this to some Afghanis they may well be highly disappointed. This version is light and herbal, a very nice summer dinner. Some recipes call for all leeks and some for all scallions, so either is probably fine - we used a mixture.

Aushak

1 butternut squash

1 package wonton wrappers OR 1 recipe pasta dough, rolled as thin as you can get it and cut into circles
2 bunches scallions, minced
1 leek, finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes

16 oz yogurt
1 lemon
some mint, sliced
some pine nuts, toasted

Start by prepping the squash: preheat your oven to 400. Chop the squash in half and rub the cut sides with a bit of oil, brown sugar, salt, and pepper, then cover with tin foil. Bake until soft but not falling apart, maybe 20 minutes? I've never timed it.

While the squash bakes, make your dumpling filling by sauteing the leeks and/or scallions with the red pepper flakes in a bit of olive oil. you don't want to turn them to mush, just cook them a few minutes to make them less crunchy. let cook, then make the dumplings by putting a bit of filling on 1/2 of each circle, folding it over, and sealing the edges with water.

When the squash is ready, take it out and let it cool for a few minutes, then carefully dice it into cubes.

Mix the lemon juice and yogurt to taste, plus a little bit of water to make it runny and sauce-like.

Boil your dumplings, layer them on a plate, and top them with yogurt sauce, cubed butternut, toasted pine nuts, and mint. Enjoy!


1. Thinly slice the green parts of the scallions only reserve white and light green parts for another use). Place in a bowl with the red pepper flakes and olive oil.
2. Get out the wonton wrappers and a bowl of water. Lightly moisten the edge of the dough with some water, then place a teaspoonful of the scallion mixture in the center and fold up the dumpling, pressing the edges firmly to seal. Place on a patter and continue to work making dumplings, until you use up all the filling or lose patience. Do not let the dumplings touch each other or they may stick, separate layers with some wax paper. Can be done 1 day ahead of time.
3. Let yogurt come to room temperature. Add the lemon juice and salt and thin the yogurt so that it is a pourable consistency. This will depend on your yogurt, but I usually add 1/2 cup up to 1 cup of yogurt. Choose a large serving platter and spread a thin swipe over yogurt over the bottom of the platter.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, let it boil gently and not too vigorously. Add the dumplings, 4-5 at a time, and boil just for 1-2 minutes, or until the dough is tender. Transfer to the platter, trying not to let the dumplings crowd together or they will stick together. Drizzle a little bit of yogurt between layers of dumplings to prevent sticking.
5. When platter is full, drizzle the top with some more yogurt, and top with diced candied pumpkin, mint, and pine nuts. Serve immediately.

b) 2 lbs chopped peeled pumpkin or butternut squash, olive oil, 3/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cube pumpkin into 2 inch chunks, toss with oil to coat, then roll in sugar to coat. Cover dish in foil and bake in oven until tender, about 30 minutes. Use as desired in either of the recipe variations above.

Spinach-Artichoke Ravioli & Tiramisu

after having this ravioli-based dinner party, i had an awesome idea. i thought to myself, how can i capture the deliciousness of home-made ravioli without the hours of labor cutting, filling, and sealing each individual ravioli? then it came to me: one huge fucking ravioli. will report back as soon as the first prototype has been constructed.

this was the first time i made genuine tiramisu in like 5 years and oh my god it is still my favorite dessert and homemade is so much better than anything i've ever had in a restaurant. i would love to have been there on the day when one chef was like, man this custard is pretty alright i guess, but is there some way we could make it even richer? could we add like some whipped cream in here? and maybe some cheese? and then zabaglione was born. this food is aproximately 5,000 calories per square inch, so make sure you invite over a lot of friends to share.


Spinach Pasta Dough

1/2 block frozen spinach
2 tbs olive oil
2 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs

defrost your frozen spinach and then squeeze or press it to get out as much water as possible. either finely chop it or (preferably) puree it in a food processor with the olive oil. whisk it together with the eggs. put the flour in a big bowl, make a well in the middle, and pour in the spinach-egg mixture. gradually incorporate the two. once it's formed a loose ball, transfer to a floured surface and knead it for a really really long time, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking. you'll know it's ready when it's very smooth and springs back when you press it with your fingers. let it rest for at least ten minutes before rolling it out.

Artichoke Ravioli Filling

1 can artichoke hearts, finely chopped
1/4 cup ricotta (drain the water if its watery)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch scallions, finely chopped (optional)
salt & pepper

Mix it all together (a food processor will do the trick if you don't want to do all of that chopping - but don't puree it to mush), then saute it for just a few minutes. let it cool and get to work on your ravioli.



Classic Tiramisu