Chocolate Cake with French Buttercream

Here is Lauren's graduation cake. It's two 9" x 13" rectangles with a 9" round (I just happened to have in the freezer) on top.

I got this recipe from Len's mom, but it is very close to the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa box. It's dark and moist.

Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 - 1 cup cocoa, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup boiling water
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

• Mix dry ingredients. Add eggs and oil and beat until thoroughly combined. Add boiling water and beat at medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla; batter will be very thin.
• Pour into greased and floured 9" x 13" pan. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes, then flip out onto cooling rack. Flip again to put the top up.

Notes:

• To make 24 cupcakes, scoop scant 1/3 cup batter into each paper lined cup. Bake 15-20 minutes.
• As I made 4 batches this weekend, I realized what a great cake mix this is. Next time you're making it, fill one or more bags with additional dry ingredients, and you'll save a lot of time (and mess) when baking your next cake!

The icing: I adapted this recipe from one in a Wilton wedding cake book. It's rich rather than super-sweet, and soft rather than stiff. I had to tweak and tweak to get the saltiness right (none made it too bland), which is why there are two kinds of butter.

French Buttercream (makes about 2 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk (any fat level)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) regular butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

• Place sugar, flour, and salt in saucepan and mix thoroughly; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat and stir constantly (I use a whisk.) until bubbling and very thick. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Cool to room temperature.
• Turn mixer to low speed and add butter in chunks (about 1 Tbsp each). Add vanilla and beat at medium-high speed until smooth. You'll have to beat for a long time; it will look curdled and you'll think it's never going to get smooth.
• Chill icing for a few minutes before decorating (I spread it at room temp.). Iced cake must be refrigerated until a few hours before serving time.

Notes:

• Even when the icing looks smooth there may be small bits of butter in it. You can't tell by looking, so put a little sample on your tongue to feel for creaminess.
• This icing is ivory rather than white. It does not take food coloring well (curdles/streaks), so I use a powdered sugar icing for decorating.
• This icing is also very soft at room temperature; it's mostly butter. It's hard to keep a well defined shape when decorating because of the heat of your hand, so I use it for dots or lines rather than shells.
• Because it's mostly butter, the icing is firm at refrigerator temperature. This is handy for covering--just chill for a little while and then the cake can be covered with plastic wrap without muss. You must take the cake out of the fridge about two hours before serving or you'll think you're eating butter rather than buttercream.
• Leftover icing can be frozen. Transfer to the fridge before using. Either add with the butter into a new batch or just rebeat your leftover by itself. It will curdle even worse than a fresh batch, but will eventually be fluffy and smooth. All that rebeating will make it pretty warm, too.

Decorating notes:

The graduate silhouette is made from store-bought fondant (white). I kneaded in food coloring (wearing gloves!), then rolled it out and cut with a sharp knife. I found the pattern online, printed it, traced onto waxed paper, and cut it out before laying on the fondant. The fondant is easy to work with, and edible, if not actually tasty. The children called it edible play-dough.

The squiggles are called "Cornelli Lace". I think this is the first time I've used a monochromatic scheme--usually it's pink over yellow or blue over white, etc. I used a relatively large (#5) round tip for this cake. Just pipe strings of icing, wiggling up, down, and around. Make sure the strings never touch or cross each other. Simple but slow. Since this is done with the French buttercream, warming was a potential problem. I tried to keep just a small amount of icing in the bag so I could frequently add cooler blobs.

The blue icing used for writing and the shell border was ordinary powdered sugar frosting.

Tools of the Trade: Cherry Pitters

For pitting soft cherries like the sour ones on our tree I use this heirloom tool made by Opa with, yes, a hairpin. I insert the metal loop in the dimple where the cherry stem used to be. I push it down alongside the pit, and pull the pit back out the top. It's a simple, neat solution.
If you don't have a tool-making grandfather available, just unfold a large paperclip. The narrower end is just right for the pits in our small fruit.

For firm cherries (think Bing), the pit is pushed out. The cherry (or olive) rests in the bowl at the bottom, dimple side up.

Squeeze the handle and the post pushes the pit right out through the bottom of the cherry. It is SO easy, the fruit stays in great shape, and nothing is left clinging to the pit.

I am not generally a fan of one-trick kitchen gadgets (banana tree, garlic holder, mushroom brush), but this tool was I gift I still love and make room for. Fresh cherries have a short season, and for most of us it's no big deal to eat them and spit out the pits. But what about cherries for your toddler? Or would you ever bother putting cherries in fruit salad or serving them at a party? I've done both. Besides, it's really fun to pop out those pits. Everyone wants a turn. ;-)

I was just looking for this pitter online, and found one that even has a splash guard! Mine is unguarded, so I do hold it down in the sink or a bowl when pitting, because there is much splashing of potentially staining juice.

Moosewood Fudge Brownies

These are currently my favorite brownies. They are fudgy rather than cakey, and are still moist the next day (if any are left). They are intensely chocolate compared to the ones I used to make with cocoa or any made with a mix. Two other pluses: QUICK and EASY.

The recipe was first published in Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook (1977). I'm using the version from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts (by the Moosewood Collective, 1997).

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour

• Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
• Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla.
• Stir in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Add flour. Stir or fold in with spatula just until combined.
• Spread in greased 8" x 8" pan and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted halfway towards the center no longer comes out gooey. It may have moist crumbs attached. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Notes:

• I use regular (not unsalted) butter because there is no salt in the recipe.
• This is of course easy to double. Spread into a 9" x 13" pan.
• Don't use a 9" square pan; an 8" square is much closer to half a 9" x 13".
• It's no mistake--there is no leavening (baking powder). That's one reason they're not cakey.
• These are yummy as is, but my children prefer them sprinkled with SEMISWEET mini m &m's, which I am now having trouble finding in the grocery store.
• I like them sprinkled with nuts, although the amount shown above is a bit too much (big chunks). I do think it's better to put the nuts on top so nut-phobes can avoid them and so they get a bit toasty (and thus more flavorful) during baking.
• The recipe suggests adding instant coffee (which I haven't tried) or cinnamon. I used 1/2 tsp of high quality cinnamon last time, but couldn't taste it. It must take a lot to compete with all that chocolate!
• Did you notice that only one bowl gets dirty?
• There is no need to adjust the temperature for glass vs. metal pans. I lowered the temp for a glass pan a few batches ago, and they took FOREVER to bake.

UPDATE (April 2010): For a Mexican/Aztec style brownie, add some heat and sweet spiciness. Today I made the recipe above, but included 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper (smoky and warm) and 2 tsp cinnamon (even better than the China Cassia linked to above). Delicious! I consider this an adult (sophisticated) flavor, but some of the children who tasted samples also enjoyed it.

Tea Party Tips

I recently hostessed a tea party for eight little girls, so I thought I'd share some helpful ideas for planning and preparation.

Afternoon tea can have up to three courses: savory (in our case, sandwiches), scones, and sweets/pastries. My assistant (Thank you, Lauren!) and I made 4 types of sandwich and preplated them for our guests. We had some extra on platters to pass for second helpings. These were made ahead, but not until the morning of our tea.

For the sandwiches we used Pepperidge Farm very thin white sandwich bread. I thought about making bread in my special Pampered Chef flower- and heart-shaped bread tube pans, then decided that was over the top (even for me). So Lauren made peanut butter sandwiches, which were popular enough for us to make more during the party. Although you wouldn't make those for a grown-up tea, cucumber sandwiches are required. I peeled and sliced the cucumbers very thin. A little mayo, salt, and pepper went on the bread (every piece) before stacking the slices. These were wrapped and refrigerated until serving time. The pb s'wiches were wrapped and left at room temperature. Crusts were cut off after assembly, but I suppose you could do that first as well.

We used burrito sized tortillas to make the wraps. I've never built these before, so it may not have been done in the most efficient way. I cut the roundness off the tortillas, and then Lauren filled them. The first were spread lightly with Ranch dressing and then layered with turkey, provolone, and tiny diced (and deseeded and spun dry) tomatoes. We rolled and then cut each wrap into 4 sections; they looked prettiest on their sides. Important discovery: there's no need to fill your wrap to the very end, as some filling tends to get pushed to (or out of!) the end. Then ham and American cheese were simpler to assemble. A bit pedestrian, I think, but they worked well for our audience. Some girls had several. (I also facilitated some sandwich trading--not proper manners, perhaps, but I do hate to waste food.) I have my scone recipe and technique down to a science. My innovation for this event was to mix, knead, roll, and cut the dough a week ahead. I froze it on its parchment-paper-covered baking sheet, then thawed and baked it on party day. Fresh and easy!
This course was preplated like the others. We served each scone with strawberry jam (Smucker's makes a great low sugar one with no artificial sweetener.) and whipped unsweetened cream (almost butter...).
After a break, the girls were ready for dessert. A friend made the chocolate covered strawberries. We cut the other pastries into small, interesting shapes. A fancier option would be to make things that were already small, like tarts or shaped cookies.I had fun with the birthday cake. I baked a 6" sour cream butter cake (and cupcakes with the leftover batter) at least a week ahead. I sliced it into three layers using unwaxed dental floss. The floss is wrapped around the cake then crossed. Check the placement and pull both ends; like magic the floss meets itself inside and cuts an even layer.

I filled the layers with chocolate ganache. This is so simple to make: heat heavy whipping cream in the microwave until it bubbles, then add an equal amount of chocolate. I usually use Nestle chocolate chips, but better chocolate would be even tastier. (Another tip: to make bittersweet, mix 3 parts semisweet with 1 part unsweetened chocolate, e.g. 1/2 cup chocolate chips plus 1 oz. unsweetened.) Cool until spreadable. Ganache can be stored for a long time in the fridge or freezer if you can keep yourself from sucking a spoonful every afternoon.

I frosted the cake with French buttercream, then chilled it. Next I wrapped it in plastic and froze it (in a container) until the night before the party, when I put it back in the fridge. It sat at room temp for a few hours so the icing could soften. Then I decorated it simply with frosted roses that I've had on hand for too long.We have a climbing rose that grows tiny blooms. Now and then (every few years?) I'll pick some to frost. I lightly whip an egg white with a fork, just until it is frothy. Then I brush the petals with the egg and sprinkle generously (over a bowl) with superfine sugar. I set them to dry on waxed paper. The paper is on a cooling rack and has holes poked in it for the flower stems to rest in. After drying, the flowers last a long time, although the color fades. These are 2 or 3 years old! The sugaring process works for other flowers, too. It's easy to look up which are edible. I use only home grown, though, so I am sure there are no pesticides. The roses are edible but not tasty; at least on party guest ate hers. :-)For the tea itself, I heated water on the stove and then brewed DECAF in china pots at the last minute. It stayed hot long enough. By the time we needed more heat it was time to make more tea anyway. Tea was served with sugar cubes, cream, and lemon wedges.

As the guests arrived they decorated gingerbread cookies to take home. These were of course baked ahead; I find they can last many days at room temperature. They probably could have been frozen, although I would worry about the stacks getting stuck together. I set up the island ahead of time with cookies, waxed paper work stations, icing, and sprinkles.

Placecards were made of large, unmarked index cards. I hot-glued silk flowers on and Marianna wrote the names.

The cookies were to be taken home in cute buckets, so we lined them with matching tissue and tied on labels (also index cards with silk flowers).

Here's an idea of how to schedule tasks for a nice party. I didn't follow this plan exactly, but it's my best advice:

Far in advance:

• Send invitations.
• Select menu.
• Hire a helper for the morning of party day and at least part of the service time. You may want a helper for clean up time as well, especially if you hand wash your china, crystal, and silver.
• Bake cake, ice, and freeze.
• Bake and freeze other pastries.
• Bake or buy sandwich bread and freeze.
• Mix and roll scone dough; freeze.
• Gather/borrow equipment (sugar tongs, extra teapot) and food (sprinkles, sugar cubes) that is pantry stable but not on hand yet.
• Prep placecards or party favors.

Up to a few days ahead: buy food and flowers.

The day before:

• Thaw anything that's frozen. Most bready foods thaw and store best at room temp.
• Set the table, or at least gather linens, china, crystal, etc.
• Bake/prep any desserts or pastries that weren't freezable.

The day of:

• Dress up and wear your apron. You aren't likely to have time to change at the last minute.
• Make sandwiches and wraps.
• Bake scones.
• Color icing and set up cookie stations.
• Set up other activities (napkin folding,etc.).
• Set table.
• Wash and wedge lemons.
• Cut/set out pastries.
• Decorate cake, if needed.
  

At the last minute:

• Set out sandwich course.
• Brew tea.
• Set out sugar, cream, and lemon wedges.
• Pour cold water.
• Whip cream.
• Smile!
• Prepare for lots of tidying and washing up. ;-)