use real butter

Daring Bakers: My darling DBers, I had to punt this month’s challenge. Between surgery, recovery, several visitors, and the fall shoot, I completely blanked on the lavash. See you next month, kids!

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Yes, drive-by shootings, but I am talking about the good kind. We have been logging several hundred miles, getting out of and back into the car, clambering up steep slopes, hiking, lodging all manner of thorns and seeds in our hair and clothes, and walking narrow road shoulders along cliffs to see and capture the glorious fall in Colorado. We aren’t getting much sleep and I can’t process the really stunning images properly on the laptop - so all of that will have to wait until we get back home. In the meantime, I will share a few photos from the past two days.

favorite road sign

at the big shoot this morning

golden up and down

spectacular reds

Our days have been of the feast and famine nature. We got up this morning at 4:45 and scarfed down a slice of carrot cake at 6:00 am before shooting pre-dawn. We didn’t get lunch until 4:00 pm and then had dinner at 8:00 pm because the sun doesn’t wait, the weather doesn’t wait, and there is a lot of ground to cover. We’re resting up tonight in the hopes of getting more than 5 hours of sleep. It is absolutely breathtaking out here.

I’m not going to leave you without a recipe, but I’ll have to answer the last post’s comments when I get home. A few months ago, I ordered approximately 140 vanilla beans at a great price based on a recommendation from the awesome Jaden.

my vanilla stash

i’ll bet you brilliant people know where this is headed

Upon receiving my order in the mail, I began to grasp the folly of my ways. I couldn’t possibly use these up in a timely manner. Best to share the love with people who would give these beans a good home. Even with my remaining beans, I didn’t touch them for a while because I got ill and even *forgot* to use them instead of vanilla extract because I wasn’t in the habit of using whole beans yet.

steep the beans and seeds in the cream

oooh, sunshiny egg yolks

When I first began making ice cream recipes from David Lebovitz’ awesome The Perfect Scoop, I went for some fruity concoctions, but eventually gravitated toward the custard-based recipes. The standard supply of ice cream flavors in our freezer is a rotation of matcha green tea, chocolate, and/or coffee. Those are Jeremy’s three favorites and I don’t generally eat the stuff because it makes my tummy hurt. After making the buttercream frosting for Jeremy’s birthday cake, I had leftover egg yolks. Time for ice cream.

tempering egg yolks with hot cream

strain the custard

At last, I remembered that I had a wad of vanilla beans languishing in my pantry. A great opportunity to try one out. I announced to Jeremy that I was going to make vanilla ice cream. I noticed the lack of glee in his expression and couldn’t discern if that might be because he wasn’t thrilled with vanilla or because he had overdosed on so much cake the entire week preceding.

that isn’t dirt, it’s pure vanilla bliss

just out of the ice cream machine

It didn’t matter if Jeremy wasn’t enthused about the vanilla ice cream before, because when he tried it out of the ice cream machine he declared it was The Best Vanilla Ice Cream he had ever tasted. That in itself might not mean much, but he had it for dessert every night until we left on this shooting trip. That’s quite the compliment, but I have to pass the kudos along to Mr. Lebovitz who has renewed my faith in homemade ice cream with his bomb-proof recipes. Uh… yum!

you’ll never say “plain” about vanilla again

Vanilla Ice Cream
from the Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar (wups! I used 1 cup, but it still tastes GREAT!)
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of cream, and salt in medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover and remove from the heat. Let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs yolks. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and stir it constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour custard through strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill the mixture completely in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean (rinse it and reserve it for another use) then freeze the mixture according to the ice cream maker’s instructions.

When we first moved in together, Jeremy used to complain about how much time was spent preparing meals. He really liked the idea of bachelor chow, sort of like Kaweah’s dry kibbles - same thing every meal. No hassle, no fuss, no mystery. He still talks about it like some concept that would free up a few hours a day, that is until I mention sushi, or pan-seared scallops, or crab, or chocolate or… I can see the appeal of chow, to get more hours in the day. But the problem for me is that I would miss the prep more than the eating. I didn’t used to think so, but after spending months cooking and baking things I couldn’t eat during chemo, I realized that for as much as I love to eat the food, I love the making of it even more. I wonder among foodies if they love the cooking or the eating more?

Case in point. Today I made Jeremy’s (belated) birthday cake. I’ve been wanting to make this for a while, but between the heat of summer, health issues, and getting stuff done in between health issues - I haven’t had a chance. Today we had rain (and snow in the high country!) with temps flirting with the 30s. Nice.

melting unsweetened chocolate

whipping eggs, butter, and sugar into the fluffiest of batters

This is Marcel Desaulnier’s Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake from one of my favorite cake books: Death by Chocolate. I’ve made it several times at sea-level, but the degree of involvement made me reluctant to try it at elevation until now. I just can’t stand tanking a recipe because of elevation, but I especially hate to tank a recipe that requires multiple components and almost 1.5 pounds of good quality dark chocolate. I replaced the cake flour with all-purpose flour and reduced the leavening by 75%. Seemed to work just fine (the cake is delicious on its own).

incorporating dry ingredients and sour cream

into the oven we go

Although the instructions for the batter may seem tedious, I highly recommend following them because the additional beating transforms the batter into a light and fluffy mix. Seriously. I had no troubles with the cake (with my adjustments) except that my oven isn’t completely level and well - that’s me being a lazy bum who’d rather trim it off than try to level the stupid oven… No worries.

remove the cakes from their pans after cooling

chocolate, chopped unsweetened chocolate, and espresso powder for buttercream frosting

Instead of the buttercream frosting that Marcel gives us, I reverted to my trusty Swiss meringue buttercream frosting (ha, you thought I was going to say Swiss army knife? I like those too). Same ingredients, different technique. I’ll list both in the recipe below.

tried and true: swiss meringue

make that chocolate espresso swiss meringue buttercream frosting

Layered cake assembly is becoming a no-brainer for me and I go on auto-pilot. My problem usually comes when it is time to decorate. I generally go with simple edible decorations. I like to tell folks that I like simple because simple is elegant (tis true). Well, that’s only half the story. I like simple because that’s about the limitation of my decoration skills. I have a gazillion piping tips and only know how to use about 3 of them. Go Jen!

layers of cake, buttercream frosting, and chocolate espresso ganache

applying the crumb coat

Once the cake was done and photographed, we hurried over to our neighbor’s house with half of it. Marcus’ parents are visiting (they are so cute!) and I know they enjoy desserts - so it was a good excuse to get rid of a large portion of cake. I had to warn the adults that there was a good deal of espresso in the cake, so if they’re wondering why the kids are talking 100 mph… Next, we took a quarter of the cake to our other neighbors and good friends, Tom and Kellie. They love the goodies I bring and I love giving them the goodies. Back at home, Jeremy could finally sit down to enjoy a slice of his birthday cake. And it’s also a celebration of something else… something I’ll be able to share with you all in a week! [No no no, don’t even THINK that I’m preggers. Batteries not included in my biological clock and we are perfectly happy and sane that way.]

ready to pipe ganache and buttercream

that is one buzzing birthday cake

Some people might be upset about having their birthday cake given away to the neighborhood, but I don’t want to *kill* Jeremy. After all, he hasn’t finished the last cake and he told me this evening as we walked arm in arm in the dark back to our house that he just can’t put away that much cake the way he did in his youth. Well, my dear man is still as slim and handsome as the day he caught my eye sixteen years ago. But in those sixteen years I have discovered that beyond his charming good looks, he is the finest man I’ve ever met - someone who is always there for me, always curious about the universe, always kind to small children and animals, always making me laugh and smile, always astounding me with his sensitivity and insight, always thinking, always paying attention, always caring. Happy Birthday, my beloved Jeremy. Thank you for being amazing.

caffeine, butter, sugar, and love

Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake
modified from Death by Chocolate by Marcel Desaulniers

chocolate cake
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsps unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsps unsalted butter, melted (for pan prep)
2 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour at 8500 feet elevation)
2 tsps cake flour (for pan prep)
2 tsps baking soda (I used 1/2 tsp baking soda at 8500 feet elevation)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups light brown sugar, very tightly packed
4 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream

espresso ganache
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsps unsalted butter
2 tbsps granulated sugar
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp instant espresso powder

chocolate espresso buttercream
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tsps instant espresso powder
1 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
5 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar

Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate in the top half of the double boiler and heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Lightly coat the insides of 2 9×2-inch cake pans with melted butter. Flour each pan with 1 tsp cake flour, shaking out the excess. Combine together in a sifter the remaining 2 cups of flour, the baking soda, and salt. Sift onto wax paper and set aside. Combine the brown sugar and 8 tablespoons of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on low for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on high for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and beat on high for another 1.5 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating on high for 30 seconds after adding each egg. Scrape down the bowl after each addition, then beat on high for 2 more minutes. Add the melted chocolate and the vanilla. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl. Heat 1 cup water to a boil in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan. While the water is heating, operate the mixer on low while adding a third of the sifted flour and 1/2 cup sour cream; allow to mix for 30 seconds. Add another third of the flour and the remaining sour cream and mix for another 30 seconds. Add the remaining sifted flour and the boiling water and mix for an additional 30 seconds before removing the bowl from the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter, until it is smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans, spreading it evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes at room temperature. Invert onto cooling racks and refrigerate uncovered until needed. (I didn’t refrigerate mine).

Ganache: Heat the heavy cream, 2 tablespoons butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Place 8 ounces semisweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder in a stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and espresso. Let sit for 10 minutes, then stir until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.

Buttercream: Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, and 2 teaspoons espresso powder in top half of double boiler. Allow to heat for 8 to 10 minutes, transfer to a stainless steel bowl and stir until smooth. Set aside until needed.

Marcel’s method: Place 1 pound of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat the butter on low for 2 minutes then on medium for 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the butter to a large stainless steel bowl. Set aside until needed. Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place 5 egg whites and 1 cup sugar in the top half of the double boiler. Gently whisk the egg whites until the reach a temperature of 120°F, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the heated egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Remove from mixer. Fold melted chocolate into the butter, using a rubber spatula to thoroughly combine. Fold in the whipped egg whites until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Jen’s method: Place egg whites and sugar in a Kitchenaid mixing bowl. Set bowl over 1 inch of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk gently until mixture reaches 140°F. Remove from heat and set on Kitchenaid mixer with balloon whisk. Whisk on speed 4 until stiff. 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, fold in cooled chocolate until well incorporated.

Assembly: Trip off domed tops of the two cakes. Slice each cake horizontally into 2 equal layers. Place the top layer of a cake onto the bottom of a closed springform pan. Evenly spread 1 1/2 cups of buttercream over cake in the pan. Place a layer of cake over the buttercream and gently press into place. Pour 1 1/4 cups of the ganache over the cake layer, spreading evening to the edges. Refrigerate remaining ganache. Place the top layer of the second cake on the top of the ganache and press into place. Spread 1 1/2 cups buttercream evenly over this layer. Place the remaining bottom cake layer, cut side down, onto the buttercream and gently press into place. Cover the entire cake and pan with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour. Fill a pastry bag fitted with star tip with 1 1/2 cups buttercream. Remove the cake from the freezer. Cut around inside edges to release the cake. Using a cake spatula, evenly spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Fill a pastry bag fitted with star tip with remaining ganache. Decorate the cake as desired. Refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting and serving (I didn’t do this). Bring slices to room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Sometimes I’m bad at following instructions and other times I’m great at it. For instance, in the past several months, many wonderful bloggers have tagged me for various blogging awards. The gist of the blogging award is to display it in a post or on your blog, write whatever it is the award/meme wants you to write, pass it along to other recipients, and name the one who bestowed it upon you. I used to try and keep up with these, but after a while I just couldn’t. As they piled up, I was less and less inclined to get around to them. So I hope all of the nice people who passed awards on to me aren’t offended, but I don’t see these making it to post at all. Thanks for thinking of me, really. I just find the whole award business to be one of those “we’re all going to break our arms patting each other on the back” deals.

chopped valrhona semisweet chocolate

processed into fine crumbs

I’ve also completely ignored calls for me to rest. This is the eleventh time in ten months I’ve had to recuperate from surgery, chemo, radiation, or GI infection. I’m pretty familiar with what my body needs and doesn’t need, what it can and cannot do. The whole notion of rest is a nice one, but there are times when you need to use your muscles or else you are going to lose your muscles. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and run a 100-mile overland race, but it does mean I will get up and about and do what I feel I am capable of doing.

That said, I am very good at following the directions of doctors, coaches, (most) professors, instructors, and anyone working at McGuckin Hardware in Boulder. Dr. McHottie (my ER surgeon - that’s not his real name, but Mollie inspired the nickname) has instructed me to use my judgment and increase activity slowly and cautiously. Yessiree.

sugar and espresso powder

pouring espresso syrup into the chocolate

Jeremy’s birthday was a few days ago, but I wasn’t in any shape to bake him a cake. Good thing neither of us gets our panties in a wad over special dates - especially missing them - otherwise this would have been a year rife with stupid spats and temper tantrums. Because both of our birthdays are in September, we just treat the whole month as a lazy celebration of sorts. So today I got back to baking and I tried a flourless chocolate cake recipe as a nice warm up for Jeremy’s birthday cake.

blend until smooth

add butter

The last time I made a flourless chocolate cake (Boca Negra from Baking with Julia) I had issues with the cake setting because of my elevation. That was frustrating considering it was right before a dinner party. This time, I decided to try a version intended for high altitude, thanks to Susan G. Purdy. It’s pretty easy to make (assuming you don’t let the sugar syrup boil over like I did) and she gives directions for both sea-level and several other elevations.

pour batter into cake pan

decorate

The flavor will depend on the quality of the chocolate you use. I opted for Valrhona 61% and I think the cake is pleasantly chocolaty, yet not too sweet, and enhanced with that hint of sharpness from the espresso. The texture at room temperature is silky and creamy. If you chill the slice, the mouth feel is more gooey and rich. Quite lovely topped with some fruit and barely sweetened freshly whipped cream.

now there’s a happy slice

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Truffle Cake
Pie in the Sky by Susan G. Purdy

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tsps instant espresso powder
1/2 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into tbsp pieces
4 large eggs, room temperature

Sea level: Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the cake pan at the ready.

8500 feet: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Place a roasting pan in oven and pour boiling water in to a depth of 1/2 inch.

All altitudes: Butter a 9×2 round cake pan. Place parchment paper on the base and brush butter over the paper. Put chocolate in the bowl of food processor and process for a minute until reduced to fine powder (I could only process it into fine crumbs). In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, and espresso powder. Stir over medium heat until sugar and coffee dissolve. Bring syrup to point where you see little bubbles at the edges just before reaching a full boil (watch it carefully, it can boil over in seconds). Remove from heat. With processor running, slowly pour hot sugar syrup through the feed tube into the chocolate. Process for about 10 seconds to melt all the chocolate. Stop the processor, scrape down the bowl, and pulse a few more seconds. With machine running, add soft butter 2 pieces at a time, allowing them to melt completely (about 20 seconds) before adding more. When all the butter is added, pulse several times and scrape down the bowl to make sure the mixture is smooth. Break the eggs into a measuring cup with spout. Beat the eggs lightly then slowly pour them through the feed tube into the chocolate mixture, pulsing every few seconds to blend. Pulse just enough to incorporate without blending in too much air. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Sea level: Boil a kettle of water. Set the cake pan in the roasting pan and place both on the oven shelf. Pour the boiling water carefully inot one corner of the pan to a depth of 1/2 inch. Bake for 30 to 38 minutes or just until the batter no longer sticks to your fingertip when you touch the top of the cake.

8500 feet: Carefully set the cake pan in the middle of the roasting pan of preheated water. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake for 25 to 33 minutes or just until the batter no longer sticks to your fingertip when you touch the top of the cake.

All altitudes: Remove both pans from oven (take care not to splash water). Lift the cake out of the roasting pan and set it on a wire rack to cool for 20 to 30 minutes until the pan bottom feels just comfortably warm to the touch. When cake is cooled, run a knife along the cake side to loosen it from the pan. Cover the top of the cake with plastic wrap and top the plastic wrap with a cake circle. Invert the cake pan and let the cake slide out with a gentle downward shake. Lift off the pan and peel off the parchment. Center a second plate over the cake and invert again. Remove the top plate and plastic. Decorate and serve or refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving.