Cake! - Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday.

We all seem to need something a little decadent to ease us through the day. And cake definitely fits the bill. Here are six cake recipes to help you through the day, including Rhubarb-Strawberry Refrigerator Cake and World’s Best Chocolate Cake. Enjoy!

CRAZY CAKE #1

No idea where this originally came from. This recipe, as well as the next three, are in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking

1/3 C oil

1 1/4 C flour

2 oz. unsweetened Chocolate

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 C sugar

3/4 C water

Place in 9" square pan in order give & beat with fork until smooth (about 2 minutes). Scrape bottom & sides after 1 minute of beating. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 C chocolate bits. Arrange walnuts over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

COFFEE CAKE

1 C flour

1 1/2 T shortening

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 T sugar

3 T cold water

2 tsp. baking powder

1 T (rounded) raisins

Sift & measure flour. Combine dry ingredients & work in shortening. Add egg & water; stir gently. Add raisins. Spread dough on small greased pie tin. Sprinkle sugar & cinnamon on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CAKE

We moved to a new house in Connecticut when I was 15. One of its charms was a good-sized garden; a large patch of rhubarb threatened to overrun the entire garden. While Dad claimed most of the garden (as "John’s Pea Patch"), Mom decided that the rhubarb was hers. This is one of the many rhubarb desserts we had that year. I'm not sure where Mom found the recipe, so, unfortunately, I can't give credit to wherever it came from.

Note: Unfortunately, the recipe calls for 2 packages of strawberry gelatin, which isn't a vegetarian food. Here is a link to one way to get around the entire gelatin issue, as well as this link for TheKitchn. Give these links a look. I figure I'm going to go through both and experiment with their suggestions at tweeting this recipe. Keep an eye out in future posts...

6 C rhubarb, cut in 1/2" pieces

1 tsp. vanilla

3 dozen lady fingers, split

1/2 C sugar

whole fresh strawberries

2 pks. (3 oz. each) strawberry gelatin

2 C heavy cream, whipped

Combine rhubarb, sugar & 1 C water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil 6-8 minutes until soft. Drain 1 C syrup & save. Put rhubarb & remaining syrup in blender. Make pulp (3 1/2 C). Bring pulp to boil. Pour over gelatin & stir until dissolved. Chill until slightly thickened but not firm. Fold in whipped cream. Add vanilla. Line 9" springform pan (3" deep) with ladyfingers. Alternate layers of rhubarb mix & ladyfingers, ending with rhubarb. Chill overnight, or until firm. Top with glaze & strawberries.

Glaze: Mix reserve syrup & 1/4 C sugar. Bring to boil & stir in 1 1/2 T cornstarch. Blend with small amount of water. Boil & cook, stirring until thickened & clean. Add a few drops of red food coloring. Cool.

Crazy Cake #2

2 C sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking powder

1 C milk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 C cocoa

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C shortening or oil

3 C flour

1 C boiling water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease & flour 9” square pan & 9" round pan. Into large mixing bowl, put all ingredients, except water, in order listed. Do not stir. Add boiling water & mix well. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake about 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool at least 1 hour before frosting.

To shape heart: Place square cake upside down on large tray. Place one corner at top in diamond shape. Cut round cake in half. Turn upside down. Straight sides will join top of diamond to form heart.

Buttercream Frosting for Crazy Cake

3/4 C butter or margarine, softened

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

6 T milk

1 1/2 pounds (6 3/4 C) sifted confectioners’ sugar

Place butter, milk, salt & vanilla in mixing bowl. Add 1/2 of the sugar, mixing slowly. Gradually add the rest of the sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light & fluffy. Frosting will be off-white. Color some for trim. (From Parade Magazine, 2/11/79)

STRAWBERRY COUNTRY CAKE

This is from Ina Garten, star of The Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa. Total Time: 1 hr 15 min; Prep: 30 min; Cook: 45 min; Yield: 2 (8-inch) cakes; Level: Intermediate

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-country-cake-recipe.html?oc=linkback.

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling for each cake:

1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans. Then line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the lined pans.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature. If using 1 cake, wrap the second well and freeze.

To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with 1/2 the whipped cream and scatter with sliced strawberries. Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with strawberries.

WORLD’S BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is from Yotam Ottolenghi in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. The recipe begins, “The recipe for this cake, adapted from "Sweet" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, first appeared in an article written about Ms. Goh when she ran her cafe, the Mortar & Pestle, in Melbourne, Australia. Rather intimidatingly for her, the headline for the article was "World’s Best Chocolate Cake." It could actually be called lots of things: “world’s easiest cake,” possibly, requiring nothing more than one large bowl to make it all in. Or “most versatile cake,” given that it can be served without icing and just a light dusting of cocoa powder, or dressed up to the nines, as it is here, with a thin layer of chocolate ganache and served with espresso cinnamon mascarpone cream. In the Ottolenghi shops in London, it is smaller and goes by the name Take-Home Chocolate Cake, designed to be shared by four people after a meal. This larger version is no less delicious, and keeps well for four to five days. As with any baking project, you should weigh your ingredients in grams for the best results.”

Yield: 12 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus cooling.

This was featured in “Yotam Ottolenghi on Creating Recipes for His Cookbook ‘Sweet’” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks plus 1 1/2 tablespoons), at room temperature and cut into 3/4-inch cubes, plus extra for greasing the pan

7 ounces dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids), chopped into 3/4-inch pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour (see note)

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons, for dusting

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Chocolate Ganache (Optional):

7 ounces dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids), broken or chopped roughly into 3/4-inch pieces

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Espresso Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream (Optional):

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

3/4 cup mascarpone

Scraped seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod

2 1/2 teaspoons finely ground espresso

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/170 degrees Celsius. Grease a 9-inch/23-centimeter round springform pan with butter and line with parchment paper, then set aside.

Make the cake: Place butter, chocolate and hot coffee in a large heatproof bowl and mix well until everything is melted, combined and smooth. Whisk in sugar by hand until dissolved. Add eggs and vanilla extract and whisk again until thoroughly combined and smooth. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a bowl and then whisk this into the melted chocolate mixture. The batter here is liquid, but don’t think you have missed something; this is how it should be.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs attached. The top will form a crust and crack a little, but don’t worry, this is expected. Leave the cake to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, then set aside until completely cool.

Make the chocolate ganache, if desired: Place chocolate pieces in a food processor, process until fine and set aside. Combine cream and corn syrup in a small pan and place over medium-high heat. As soon as bubbles begin to appear (just before it comes to a boil), remove from the heat. Get the food processor running again, with the chocolate still inside, and pour in the hot cream in a steady stream. Process for 10 seconds, then add butter. Continue to process until mixture is shiny and smooth. (You can also make the ganache by hand; just make sure the chocolate is chopped fairly finely before adding the cream mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until almost melted, then add the butter. Stir again until the ganache is smooth.)

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the ganache into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, with the plastic actually touching the top of the ganache. Set aside until it has set to the consistency you want. If you want a thin layer to spread over the cake, it can be poured over while liquid so that you get an even, light and shiny coating. For a thicker ganache with a spreading consistency, leave it for about 2 hours at room temperature. (The ganache can be stored at room temperature, providing it’s not too warm, for 3 days or kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen, although it will lose a bit of its shine when defrosted.)

Make the espresso cinnamon mascarpone cream, if desired: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft peaks form.

Peel the parchment from the cake and discard. Transfer to a serving platter and spread the ganache, if using, on top of the cake. Slice into wedges, divide the cake among plates and, if using, spoon the mascarpone cream alongside. With or without icing, the cake will keep well for 4 to 5 days in an airtight container.