Cake Time

This past week brought two occasions for cake baking, a fundraiser planning meeting and a long weekend with friends in Rhode Island. For the first cake, I stuck with a staple, a cake I've been making for years with great success: a chocolate-covered gingerbread cake. The second cake was brand new, a flourless chocolate cake with a cinnamon-ricotta dollop. I went for a flourless cake since our host for the weekend had recently gone gluten-free. Both cakes come from epicurious, with some additions/alterations by kitchenplay.

And sadly, I can't find my camera cord, hence no pictures right now. :(

UPDATE: Camera cord has finally been recovered! Pics below!

Chocolate-Covered Gingerbread Cake from Epicurious


from kp: I double the cake recipe and bake it in a bundt pan. Cooking time is more like 45 minutes as a result. I keep the glaze recipe the same and drizzle it on the cake, rather than frost the whole thing.

Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

Glaze

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch square metal baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Mix warm water and baking soda in small bowl until baking soda dissolves. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, eggs, and fresh ginger in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with water mixture in 2 additions, beating until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on rack 20 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto rack; cool. Peel off parchment.

For glaze:
Bring first 3 ingredients to simmer in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla; stir until smooth. Let stand until cool but still pourable, about 20 minutes.

Place cake on rack set atop baking sheet. Reserve 1/2 cup glaze. Pour remaining glaze over cake, spreading with spatula to coat top and sides. Chill cake and reserved glaze until reserved glaze is just firm enough to pipe, about 1 hour.

Transfer reserved glaze to pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain tip. Pipe 5 diagonal lines atop cake, spacing evenly. Cluster crystallized ginger atop lines. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Flourless Chocolate Cake from Epicurious
from kp: I doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9-inch round pan. It didn't change the cooking time. I served it with a cinnamon-ricotta dollop (recipe below).

• 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Cinnamon-Ricotta Cheese by kitchenplay

Ricotta cheese (about 1 cup)
Sugar (about 2 tbls)
Cinnamon (about 1 tbls)
Nutmeg (about 1 tsp)
Smidge of salt

Blend together all ingredients to taste with an electric mixer or by hand. Serve with flourless chocolate cake.

Love Cake

This is just too cute... from Britain's Rocky and Balls...

Persian Love Cake... the Results

My new nickname is Love Cake, primarily a result of the success of the Persian Love (cup)Cakes I made this weekend.

I will definitely make this again; I've never had a cake quite like it. Especially warm out of the oven, they were so light and airy. The orange blossom substitution went well. The only thing I would change is the distribution of the cardamom seeds. I'll grind them a bit with a mortar and pestle next time, so they are more evenly distributed among the cupcakes. And I didn't get around to candying the rose petals, but I really liked how the chopped pistachios looked on top. (Photos by Lizzie Rothwell)

cupcakes playing backgammon (photo at left)

Persian Love Cake

Part 3 in the Valentine's Series

***

This Saturday I am attempting another grand cake making adventure. Though partly because of last year's debacle and partly because of my recent cupcake obsession, I plan on making them in cupcake form.

It's a Persian Love Cake. It combines saffron and cardamom and looks beautiful. (Photo by Mark Thomas for Bon Appetit)

The only thing is, it also includes rose water. I don't like rose water. My adult palate is starting to appreciate it, but too much of it in something and I become ill. As such, I'm going to take the suggestions of a few of the reviewers on Epicurious and substitute orange blossom water.

I'm posting the recipe now and I'll let you know how they turn out over the weekend. If anyone else is inspired to make it, let me know how it goes.

Persian Love Cake
from Epicurious

Candied rose petals

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Petals from 2 organic roses

Cake

• 1 cup cake flour
• 14 tablespoons baker's sugar or superfine sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds (removed from about 5 green cardamom pods)

Frosting

• 2 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon rose water
• 2 tablespoons natural unsalted pistachios

Preparation

For candied rose petals:
Whisk egg whites in small bowl until foamy. Using pastry brush, brush rose petals on both sides with egg whites; sprinkle on both sides with sugar. Dry on nonstick rack at least 6 hours or overnight.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper; butter parchment. Sift flour, 7 tablespoons baker's sugar, baking powder, and salt into large bowl. Whisk yolks and next 4 ingredients in small bowl until smooth. Add yolk mixture to dry ingredients; whisk until smooth. Beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 7 tablespoons baker's sugar; beat until whites resemble thick marshmallow fluff. Fold whites into batter in 3 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until cakes are golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks, peel off parchment, and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)

For frosting:
Combine 1/2 cup cream and saffron in small saucepan. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 20 minutes. Chill until cold.

Beat remaining 2 cups cream, powdered sugar, and rose water in large bowl until soft peaks form; strain in saffron cream. Beat until peaks form.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Garnish cake with rose petals and pistachios.