use real butter

Tonight, I played with some leftovers I had from last weekend’s strawberry everything cake. I hate throwing food out, hate to waste food. That means Jeremy gets to enjoy random little desserts and experimental assemblages. Tiny 6-inch or 4-inch cake pans come in very handy whenever there is extra cake batter. I had a 6-inch round in the freezer of the strawberry chiffon cake, some extra strawberry buttercream and strawberry jam in the fridge.

I cut the round into horizontal thirds. Then I layered cake, smeared some jam, then a layer of buttercream. Repeat then top with third layer of cake… No soaking syrup this time (too lazy). I trimmed the round to a square so I could get some practice cutting right angles. Let’s just say I still need practice. I didn’t have enough strawberry buttercream to frost the whole thing, but enough to crumb coat. It went into the freezer for a few hours while I figured out what to do. I eventually decided to glaze it.

dark chocolate glaze goes on

The glaze cooled too quickly because our windows were open and the cake was still frozen (easier to work with when cutting). I wound up frosting the thing with glaze which doesn’t have the same effect as glazing with glaze. I guess that’s why it’s called a glaze and not frosting…

square cakes leave more room for screw ups

chocolate-dipped strawberry (cake)

I wasn’t sure if the combination would be good because I tend to like my fruity confections unadulterated with chocolate. I forgot how nice a strawberry cradled in a delicate shell of chocolate can be. This chocolate pairs well with the strawberry although I wouldn’t glaze any thicker - in fact, I might be tempted to glaze thinner next time.

*EDIT: Added recipe

Chocolate-dipped Strawberry Cake

1 strawberry chiffon cake (9-inch or whatever you want)
1-3 cups strawberry swiss meringue buttercream (depending on size of cake)
strawberry jam
chocolate glaze

strawberry chiffon cake
makes 2 9×3 rounds
this recipe originally intended for baking at 5300 ft.

14.5 oz cake flour
8.75 oz confectioner’s sugar
6.75 oz whole milk
6 oz canola oil
3.25 oz eggs
0.5 oz baking powder
13 oz egg whites
9.5 oz granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 oz strawberry purée

Oven 375F. Prep pan by butter bottom and sides. Place parchment in pan and butter the parchment. Sift dry ingredients (except granulated sugar) into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients (except the 13 oz of egg whites and granulated sugar) in the large bowl until combined. Whip whites and granulated sugar to medium peaks. Fold into batter gently. Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and remove from pan. Let cool on a rack. Wrap the cakes in plastic and freeze (one will be for later use of your choice). After two hours, remove one cake from freezer and cut into 3 layers with a sharp serrated knife.

strawberry swiss meringue buttercream

8 oz egg whites
16 oz sugar
1 lb butter, room temperature
1/2 cup strawberry purée

Combine egg whites and sugar in a Kitchenaid mixing bowl. Whisk constantly over a bain marie until 140F is reached. Place on mixer with whisk and whip until still. Turn down whip speed to 3rd and whip until cool to the touch (this takes a while - should be cooler than your hand). Change to a paddle and gradually add soft butter by tablespoon pieces. Mix to emulsify. Once desired consistency has been reached, add purée.

chocolate glaze
halve this recipe if you are making the 6-inch cake

6 oz heavy cream
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, softened

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring heavy cream to boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, gently stirring until incorporated. Blend in the butter while still gently stirring (don’t incorporate air). Temperature should be around 110-115F.

assembly
Set first cake layer down, then spread a thin layer of jam and then spread a layer of buttercream. Repeat again and then top with the last layer of cake. Trim to desired shape (square or leave round). Crumb coat the cake with buttercream. Refrigerate for an hour. Remove cake from refrigerator and set on a rack over a pan or wax paper (to catch the drips). Pour warm glaze over the cake from the center and radiate outward until entire cake is glazed.
*End Edit

Figs are not only delicious on their own or with prosciutto, but they are also fantastic with balsamic vinegar! Case in point, I put some in our salad tonight:

salad of goodness

I love fresh figs.

Found a recipe that uses a lot of egg yolks (8!) besides tiramisu and crème brûlée. It’s a three-truffle recipe in Chocolatier - a hazelnut espresso chocolate torte of sorts. It looks fanfreakingtabulous as well as like a lot of work. Chocolate genoise, chocolate ganache, hazelnut meringue, espresso pastry cream… So I guess whenever I make buttercream or chiffon cake, I’ll make that simple little thing as well.

What to do with fresh figs? I bought about two dozen of these babies the other day because I really do like fresh figs. Most of the recipes call for cooking them, and I think that’s a bit of a shame because I really like them raw.

figs are delicate when ripe

Well the California board of fig growers had one suggestion for raw figs - prosciutto. Honestly, I like prosciutto with just about anything and also with nothing. Sounded like a nice and easy starter for dinner tonight which was a repeat of eggplant parmigiana using that second eggplant and yes - covering with foil for the first 35 minutes makes the cheese melt much nicer - so do that and then uncover for the last 10 minutes to crisp it up.

perfect with prosciutto

It’s a hands down winning combination in my book. Too bad fresh figs have such a small window of availability. And you don’t need all that much prosciutto to go with a fig quarter (we didn’t eat all of that prosciutto). It paired beautifully with a fruity sauvignon blanc too. I could have eaten just that for dinner.

No - not the way Cartman refers to… I’m talking about literally making brownies.

Never really satisfied with that earlier experiment of fudgy versus chewy brownies, I was flipping through some old issues of Chocolatier the other day and found brownie recipes worthy of a kitchen test. In my youth (back in 1994) I subscribed to Chocolatier because I liked baking with chocolate. I found I was mostly in over my head with that magazine. I tried again in 2000 and the same thing happened. Mind you, their other publication is Pastry Art and Design, if that’s any hint. I’m glad I hung on to those issues though, because now that I have perused the recipes, the three truffle (most difficult) ratings look to be on par with the more advanced stuff I did in pastry class. I mean to say - they are now within my ability level, and that feels pretty good!

I’ve always had a hate-hate relationship with brownies because the majority of recipes call for cocoa powder and little to no solid chocolate. I personally don’t consider those to be brownies. I don’t really like brownies, but I have this notion in my head of what a real brownie is: dense, dark, moist, heavy, very chocolaty… decadent. So I tried three recipes today: rocky road, dark chocolate, and cream cheese. Cream cheese brownies are actually a recipe from Baker’s chocolate, but I made an adjustment for our elevation which improved the brownies tremendously over the last several attempts.

Chocolatier is written for pastry people - for people who pay attention to detail and are a little (or a lot) obsessive about it. DON’T whisk the eggs and sugar too much or the incorporated air will destroy the texture. DO sift your dry ingredients TWICE and DON’T overmix. DON’T mix the chocolate and butter while hot. DO exercise patience and let the brownies cool completely and DO refrigerate them in the pan for two hours before cutting. Most folks would dig in the minute they’re out of the oven, but most folks aren’t worried about presentation and delivery. I’m not most folks.

marshmallows dusted in flour and cocoa

rocky road brownie batter ready for the oven

dark chocolate brownie batter - thick and glossy the way it should be

cream cheese brownie batter

I like brownie batter to be thick and loaded so that you have to cram it into the corners of the pan because it won’t go of its own accord. My elevation adjustments leave out leavening, reduce the sugar, and add a little flour. I made four batches of brownies (a double of the cream cheese) and they all came out great. I think they could use a little more cooking, but that’s a tough call because the edges get a little dried out and I think a good edge is more important that a slightly gooey center.

cream cheese brownie, dark chocolate brownie, rocky road brownie

rocky road is made with macadamia nuts

So preliminary taste testers Jeremy, Tom and Kellie, and Marcus and the kids (as I refuse to eat a single one right now) seem to like them all. However when forced to rank them, Jeremy’s favorite is the rocky road. Tom sort of mmm mmm mmmm and mmm’d through all three types so that was a little inconclusive.

Since I modified the Rocky Road recipe from Chocolatier’s Chunky Coconut and Macadamia Nut Brownies (November 2000), I’ll give you my version for sea level:

Rocky Road Kick Ass Brownies

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
10 large marshmallows, cut into 8ths
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to tepid
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid (use gentle heat)
4 large eggs
2 cups superfine sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (plus extra for topping)

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9×9x2-inch pan with butter or nonstick spray. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt on a sheet of wax paper. Toss the marshmallow pieces with 2 tsp of the sifted mixture (you will need to pull the sticky guys apart to coat each one individually). Whisk melted butter and melted chocolate in mixing bowl until well-combined. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs for 1 minute. Add sugar and whisk for 45 seconds until just incorporated (do not whisk in air). Blend in the butter-chocolate mixture. Blend in the vanilla. Sift the flour mixture over the wet ingredients and slowly stir it in until flour is absorbed. Stir in the marshmallows and mac nuts. Pour batter into baking pan and smooth. Sprinkle extra mac nuts on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until set. Cool brownies completely in pan. Refrigerate brownies for 2 hours. Cut brownies into serving sizes.