Happy 2nd Birthday to {TWD}! Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake and Tarte Tatin

{edit: thanks to my daughter, ALE, for taking these pictures of the cake!}

On January 1 the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group turned two years old! You can read a bit about the group's history on this post written by the group's founder Laurie Woodward of the blog Slush. A milestone like this deserves a celebration! For the anniversary recipe, we had a choice of two recipes, the Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake or the Tarte Tatin. I've never missed a recipe since joining the group in July of 2008, so I baked both the tart and the cake.


Part 1: Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake

My mother's birthday is on Christmas Eve, and I was excited to have a great excuse to make the assigned birthday cake! I made a full recipe, as we had plenty of people to help eat the cake.

n.o.e.'s notes, birthday cake:

- You can find the recipe for the cake by clicking here - our founder Laurie graciously agreed to host the anniversary week, which means she got to type that whole chocolate cake recipe and post it on her blog.

- The recipe calls for two 9" round cake pans that are at least 2" deep. I don't have pans that size/depth, so I used two 8" square pans, which are equivalent in area. The square pans aren't very deep, so I crossed my fingers and hoped that the cake wouldn't overflow the rims of the pans.

- The cake can be made with cocoa only or with additional melted dark chocolate. Even though I measured, chopped and melted the chocolate, at the last minute I decided not to add it in. I've baked plenty of dark, dense chocolate cakes and tortes in the course of TWD, and this week I was intrigued by the prospect of a cocoa cake - that is the recipe's name, after all!

- Dorie frosts the birthday cake with a chocolate malt frosting. I didn't have the proper kind of malt, so I chose a chocolate frosting recipe from Cooks Illustrated (click here and scroll down, the frosting recipe is in the cake directions). True to usual CI style, the method was unusual, but luckily not difficult. The recipe made a ton of frosting, so I'm guessing it was meant for a three layer cake. Consequently I was able to pile a luxurious amount of the fluffy frosting on the cake. I've never made frosting swirls, and I discovered they aren't all that easy to do. I kind of like the exuberant look of the finished cake.


the verdict, birthday cake:

I am glad to have a subtle chocolate layer cake in my baker's toolbox. The layers were light in color, which made me think the cake would be dry, but it wasn't. The cake was soft and light, and matched well with the fluffy frosting. I'm sad to say that somehow in all of the excitement of Christmas I forgot to take a picture of a slice of the cake.

In the interest of full disclosure, I think the birthday girl might have preferred a denser, more fudgy cake, but that being said, she happily enjoyed a second piece!

Part 2: Tarte Tatin

The prospect of baking a tarte tatin was exciting and a little daunting. It is one of those desserts that you don't know how it turned out until you unmold it just prior to serving. Nothing like a little pressure! Fortunately I prepared the tart as a dessert just for my husband and me.

n.o.e.'s notes, tarte tatin:

- Dorie's baking recipes are typically quite specific, but for this classic dessert, Dorie outlines a basic method and gives variations and options. Click here for the recipe.

- I baked half recipe of the tarte tatin, in a 6" cast iron skillet.

- For most of the apples, I used some wonderful, tart, local cooking apples that I got from the farm box. I supplemented with half a Fuji and half a Macoun (had those in the fridge).

- Dorie's instructions are to cook the caramel until dark in color, approximately 15 minutes. I cooked mine for over 20 minutes but the caramel was a pale golden color. I turned the heat a bit higher and got a lovely deep caramel.


- The crust can be puff pastry, pie crust, or tart crust. A few days earlier I'd baked some tarts using Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough (you can find the tart crust recipe if you click here and then scroll down) so I made extra to have on hand for the Tarte Tatin.

- Dorie says to roll the dough about an inch wider than the skillet because the dough will shrink as it cooks. My tart dough did not shrink as it baked; instead the overhanging crust fell off and onto the cookie sheet that was under my skillet. The dough was golden brown in less than half the alloted time.

- Unmolding the tart is a little tricky. Dorie says to act quickly and confidently, and so I tried to do. Two of my apples stuck to the pan, but were easily re-placed. The tart was not centered on the serving plate, but luckily it slid fairly easily. The biggest disappointment is that most of the apples were a bit scorched, but neither of us cared very much about the blackened spots on the apples.

the verdict, Tarte Tatin:

We have loved every tart in Dorie's book so far, and this one is no exception! I served the warm tart with ice cream, and it was quite good. The tart apples paired with the stong caramel to make a wonderfully deep rich flavor. It was so unusual that my husband took a bite and asked me, "Are these apricots or pears?"

Despite Dorie's admonitions that the tart is only good the day it is baked, I heated the leftover tart in the microwave and we loved it as much, if not more, then right from the oven.