Black and White Chocolate Layer Cake

Dorie Greenspan's book Baking From My Home to Yours includes several Big Cakes, as it should.  Those time-and-equipment-intensive layer cakes, each composed of multiple different elements, alternately inspire and terrify me.  If this were just an average book on my shelf, I might select one of these layer cakes if I had something that I wanted to celebrate (with cake) and I had the time at my disposal to bake it.

In the course of baking through the entire cookbook as part of the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group, with recipes announced monthly as assignments for the group, however, these cake recipes periodically popped up like little landmines. Boom - a cake recipe was chosen, and suddenly I would find myself scrambling around for a layer cake occasion and meshing the cake's steps and my schedule.

It's a little easier now that I'm catching up on the recipes that I missed from the early days before I was a TWD member, and posting them in the original order, because I know which recipes are coming and when.  I have a list of all the recipes and the original posting dates [which you can see on my Tuesdays With Dorie page] so now I can plan ahead to fit baked good to appropriate event.  The Black and White Chocolate Cake was chosen as the TWD baking assignment four years ago today, and I prepared a mini version several weeks ago for my book group meeting.

n.o.e.'s notes:

-  The founder of TWD, Laurie of the blog Slush, posted the recipe on her blog in February, 2008.

-  I baked a half recipe in two 6" cake pans.  The cake layers are a vanilla buttermilk, and the cake is filled with a dark chocolate mousse and frosted with a white chocolate whipped cream.

-  I measure my ingredients by weight whenever possible, and I know that Dorie's cup of all purpose flour is 4.8 ounces or 136 grams.  This recipe calls for cake flour, though, and I had no idea how much to use by weight.  Internet sources varied wildly on weight of 1 cup of cake flour, anywhere from 3.5 oz to 4.25 oz.  I went with the heaviest because Dorie uses a "heavy cup" for regular flour (4.75 oz).  Also that's what it came out to when I double checked the measurement with my measuring cup.

-  There was no buttermilk in my fridge, so I used pourable yogurt from Traderspoint Creamery for my cake batter. (Nope, they don't pay me to mention their product, same with any brand I mention on my blog.)

-  In the cake batter I also used some wonderful duck eggs from my farm box.

-   For the white chocolate, I used a mixture of Callebaut and Ghiradelli.

-   For the dark chocolate, I used a mixture of 61% el Rey and 72% Trader Joe's.

-   This recipe used 8 bowls, 4 sauce pans, 2 cake pans, 1 cookie sheet, 1 cooling rack, 2 sieves, 4 silicone scrapers, an arsenal of table knives, 2 measuring cups, a knife, and assorted measuring spoons. To be fair, some of the bowls were prep bowls where I pre-measured ingredients, but this was a sink-ful of dishes for a little cake!

-  Constructing a cake with even layers, frosting it neatly and cutting it cleanly so that the filling doesn't smear into the layers is beyond my ability, but it must be possible because the picture of the cake slice in the book is absolute perfection!

the verdict:

The cake was well-received at my book group, but in this after-holidays time of year, most of the members were limiting carbs, or limiting sweets, or on diets, so the pieces they cut from the cake were mighty small.  I ended up with a good bit left over, and I can report that it keeps extremely well in the fridge.  Because it is not sugary-sweet, it is great any time of day, and makes for a lovely breakfast in a pinch.

The cake layers are tender and moist with a charming touch of vanilla.  The chocolate pastry cream was fantastic as a slightly-bitter filling, and the whipped cream frosting provided a creamy sweetness and just a hint of white chocolate flavor.

With this cake, I've finished all of the layer cakes in Dorie's book.  Here are my posts from the others:
Perfect Party Cake
Devil's Food "Wite Out" Cake (the "Cover Cake")
Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake (variations)
Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake
Bill's Half-Sized Carrot Cake

Dorie's Lemon Pound Cake

The actual name of recipe is Perfection Pound Cake, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours, and it was baked by the  Tuesdays With Dorie baking group four years ago this week.  I wasn't a member of the TWD group then, and now that the group has finished baking through the book I am catching up on the ones I missed by baking the recipes chosen early in the group's history.

"Perfection" in the title of the recipe sets a mighty high bar.  Going into my baking session I was dubious.  Not because I don't trust Dorie's recipes; I do.  If I were to bet that anyone could make an extravagant claim for a baking recipe and prove it to be true, my money would be on Dorie.  But I had read some accounts of this cake from various bakers over the years, and reports indicated that the cake tended to turn out "dry."  That's a common hazard for a pound cake.

I've been to enough Southern funerals to have tasted a goodly number of pound cakes.  Many are dry, to be sure, but I have garnered some outstanding pound cake recipes.  My absolute favorite comes from the cookbook put together by my children's elementary school as a fundraiser.  I haven't blogged that one, and I now realize that I need to remedy that.

The day I baked this cake I stood in front of my mixing bowl and contemplated added a little something to the cake batter to ensure that it wouldn't turn out dry - a dollop of sour cream or yogurt sounded like a good plan to me, but I squelched that thought and baked Dorie's recipe as she wrote it.  I wanted to know if it really is perfection!

n.o.e.'s notes:

-  You can find the recipe for this cake on Michelle (now the Brown Eyed Baker)'s old blog, here.

-  I cut the recipe in half and stuck right to the recipe.  I couldn't resist having some fun, though, and used a cute little silicone pan that I had bought at IKEA back in the fall.

-  Dorie gives the option for a lemon variation, and that's what I chose.  I figured that lemon would give the cake a boost in case it fell short of perfection.  To adapt the recipe from the basic pound cake, rub grated lemon zest into the granulated sugar with your fingertips before adding the sugar to the butter.

-  My little cake rose nicely and developed that signature pound cake crack on the top.  It was so small and cute - like a little muffin pound cake.  I think I might have left it in the oven a minute too long.

the verdict:

Well, I have to be honest here: my cake did not rise to the lofty heights of perfection.  But it was a good pound cake.  My tasters and I enjoyed the lemon flavor and the fact that it wasn't overly sugary (which can happen in a pound cake.)  Was it dry you ask? My answer is: I don't think so.  This was an issue of some discussion with my tasters and we couldn't quite decide if it was dry.  But at the same time it was not what I'd call a moist cake.  I think if I had taken it out of the oven a minute or two earlier it would have been better.  As it was the cake paired nicely with strawberries, and if I'd had any whipped cream on hand it would have been nearly perfection!

[note: my friend Leslie of Lethally Delicious is baking on the same TWD catch-up schedule and your can read her opinion of the pound cake on her post.]

Rich Vanilla Ice Cream a la Chez Panisse

This weekend the Berkeley, California restaurant Chez Panisse is celebrating the 40th anniversary of when it served its first meal. Far from being any ordinary restaurant, Chez Panisse, under the direction of its founder Alice Waters, was the standard bearer for fresh, local, and organic food, back at a time when those were exotic concepts.

Although I certainly cannot celebrate in person, I'm having a little virtual anniversary celebration right here on my blog, featuring a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from an old cookbook in my collection, Chez Panisse Desserts. I have the 1985 hardcover edition of the book, but it's available in softcover. I've included the recipe, below.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe, as I made it, is at the end of this post, below.

- While I won't say I exactly changed the recipe, I made a few minor enhancements to boost the vanilla flavor. First, I used vanilla sugar for part of the sugar in the recipe. Vanilla sugar is about the easiest thing in the world to make: when you scrape the seeds out of vanilla pods, just rinse if necessary, then dry on the counter before popping them into a jar of regular sugar. The pods will infuse the sugar with a lovely flavor of vanilla.

- In addition to the recipe's directions to use vanilla seeds and infuse the custard with the pod, and my addition of vanilla sugar, I also added about 3/4 tsp of vanilla extract before churning. I learned that trick from David Lebovitz. His view is that several types of vanilla, especially extract with its alcohol base, give various experiences of the flavor: "Remarkably, alcohol also changes the way your senses ‘taste’ flavors, so I add a bit of vanilla extract to recipes even if I’ve infused them with vanilla beans."

- Incidentally, Lebovitz has a close connection with Chez Panisse. He worked in the kitchen there for 13 years, beginning as a line cook and ending up as the pastry chef, before leaving in 1999. Lebovitz is attending the 40th anniversary festivities this weekend, and has written a charming post about Chez Panisse.

- I also added a tiny pinch of salt.

the verdict:

This was the creamiest, most intensely vanilla-ish vanilla ice cream I've ever made. It had great texture and flavor, and held up well in the freezer.

the recipe:

Chez Panisse Vanilla Ice Cream
adapted from Chez Panisse Desserts by Lindsey Remolif Shere
makes: 1 quart

1 vanilla bean
1 cup half and half ( I actually used 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk since I was out of half and half)
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks (I used about 105 grams of yolk)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sugar, rubbing the mixture between your fingers until the sugar is fragrant.

2. Add the vanilla, sugar, vanilla pod, half and half, or milk and all the cream to a sauce pan. Warm the mixture, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

3. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl until just mixed. Gradually pour the hot mixture into the egg yolks in a steady stream, whisking constantly.

4. Pour all back into the sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly into a custard and coats the back of the spoon.

5. Strain the custard into a storage container, add back the pod to the custard, and chill in the fridge until cold.

6. Add the vanilla extract, remove the vanilla pod, and freeze in an ice cream maker.

Splendid Vanilla Ice Cream and Meeting Jeni

Ice cream week on my blog continues:

I first learned of Jeni's ice cream from Tim Gaddis, the cheesemonger at the specialty market Star Provisions. Tim tweets as @Timthecheeseman, and his dairy cases hold many wondrous products, including ice cream from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, based in Columbus, Ohio.

Soon after, my bloggy buddy Di, who lives in Austin, Texas, began singing the praises of Jeni's ice cream, which she sampled on a family vacation to Ohio, and of Jeni's recipes. (At last count Di has made 9 or 10 flavors!)

So when I saw this tweet from Tim on Tuesday:

ICE CREAM TASTING!!!!! and book signing today at Star Provisions 4-6pm w/ @jenisicecreams

I mentally re-arranged my plans for the day so that I could stop by. It wasn't too hard; luckily Star Provisions is just a couple of miles from my house. I came in a few minutes after 4 to find that Jeni was doing a demonstration. She was in the darkest corner of a large room not known for being light, so photography was difficult. Additionally my good camera had gone to Yosemite with my brother, so I was left with a point and shoot. All to say "excuse the quality of these photos."

A woman standing near me already had the book and was very enthusiastic about Jeni's method. "The base is very versatile. Very neutral in flavor," she enthused.

Jeni did a wonderful job of introducing her operation, her ice cream, and her book. She has devised an unusual formula for her ice cream base. As she spoke, it became clear that every part of the recipe has a specific job and reason for being there, often related to texture or stability.

Jeni's story is interesting. Originally an art major, Jeni went from selling ice cream solo at a market in Columbus to today's operation with several shops, numerous other places that carry her ice cream (including Anthropologie stores) and 250+ employees. Even though the company has grown, everything - production, packing, labels - is still done by hand.

I loved the way Jeni described her relationship with local fruit growers and dairy. She uses milk from grass fed cows - raw milk that can be traced back to particular cows. She pasteurizes the milk one time, at very low temperatures. You and I might like the nutritional benefits from her methods, but from Jeni's perspective, everything she does contributes to one goal: flavor.

After hearing Jeni speak, sampling some of her ice cream (delicious!), and buying some of her books (she signed them in hot pink Sharpie!), I was so excited that I came home and immediately started making a double batch of vanilla ice cream.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- Jeni's ice cream is different, in that it is not custard-based. No eggs. Nor is it a plain Philadelphia-style either. Jeni makes her base by heating milk, cream, sugar and a bit of corn syrup, then thickening with cornstarch (similar to how a pudding is made) before whisking the hot thickened liquid into some cream cheese. The whole mixture is chilled; Jeni instructs us to put the ice cream base in a zippered plastic bag placed in an ice bath. Once cooled, the base can be churned in an ice cream maker. Jeni demonstrated by making vanilla ice cream in a small 1 quart Cuisinart ice cream maker (which was raffled off to an audience member!)

- You can find the vanilla ice cream recipe here.

- Jeni uses Ugandan vanilla beans, but I used some beautiful ones that I'd ordered online recently. I usually rub the vanilla seeds into the sugar to keep them from clumping together but this time I forgot. As it turned out, with all of the whisking in this recipe, the seeds separated and were dispersed nicely.

- Instead of corn starch you can use tapioca starch, and instead of corn syrup you can use tapioca syrup.

- I really made a serious mistake in preparing this ice cream. I started out fine, mixing up and setting aside the slurry, whisking and setting aside the cream cheese, and then heating the rest of the ingredients. But things went off the rails when I forgot to add the slurry to thicken the base. By the time I realized it, I had already added the cream cheese and put it all in a zipper bag in an ice bath. Then I remembered the corn starch slurry. What followed was a frantic session of dumping the liquid back into the pan and reheating it with the slurry to try to thicken it. That wasn't particularly successful; the cream cheese and some of the cornstarch preferred to stick to the bottom of the pan.

- Another, more minor problem, was the zipper bag. When I first put the ice cream base in the bag, it sprang a leak and I had to quickly put it all into another bag. I then emptied the bags in an effort to fix my ice cream base, and when it came time for the ice bath (again) I skipped the plastic bag method. I chilled the base in my usual manner: poured it into a metal bowl set into a bigger bowl of ice water, cooled for a bit then placed into the fridge to cool further. When the base was below 50 degrees I churned it.

yes, I realize this is the third post in a row where ice cream is pictured in a square plastic container!

- Although I'm pretty sure that the majority of the cornstarch thickener and the cream cheese was left on the bottom of my saucepan because of my mistakes in following directions, the ice cream churned up surprisingly well.

- The double batch of ice cream base filled my 2 qt ice cream maker pretty completely, and as it churned, the ice cream expanded over the brim. There would have been even more volume had I not left some of the base by the wayside as I transferred and re-transferred it from pan to bag and back again and then lost some in the bottom of the saucepan. Next time I'll make no more than 1.5 recipe.

the verdict:

To begin with, I couldn't believe how white this vanilla ice cream was. I suppose this was from the lack of egg yolks. All of the ingredients I used were white (and no vanilla extract) although Jeni told us that the milk she uses is from grass-fed cows and it's yellow.

As for taste, the ice cream has a fresh, clear flavor. The corn syrup and cream cheese keep it from being thin or icy, in fact the texture is actually a bit fluffy. It's quite different from the muddled, rich, taste of a custard-based vanilla ice cream. My vanilla-ice-cream-loving husband really enjoyed the ice cream, which is a good thing, seeing as we have 2 quarts of it!

Now I can't wait to try some of the other flavors in the cookbook!

Double Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and rumor has it that it was one of those round number ones. Instead of cake, I decided to make him his very favorite dessert: vanilla ice cream. I've made many different vanilla ice cream recipes, and wanted this one to be something special, so I turned to Fine Cooking's Double Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream. I had actually bought the June 2009 issue of Fine Cooking magazine because of the ice cream article featuring David Lebovitz ice cream creations, including this recipe. But I forgot about it until my friend Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook mentioned that she made this ice cream recently (I don't think she's blogged it yet, though). I knew it would be perfect for my husband's birthday.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- You can find the recipe in Fine Cooking, here.

- I made 3/4 recipe.

- I used a "bourbon" variety of vanilla bean, which sounded appropriate for this recipe. I ordered the vanilla beans here.

- For the bourbon, I dipped into my husband's bottle of Maker's Mark, which has been gathering dust carefully saved for lo, these many years.

the verdict:

This was a delicious version of my husband's favorite ice cream flavor. It had plenty of vanilla punch, and the hint of bourbon added another flavor dimension. Everyone in the family enjoyed this birthday ice cream treat.

Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia style

It's been awhile since I last posted ice cream, but I don't want to wait a minute longer to share a wonderful and easy vanilla ice cream. I used the recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (which, by the way, is a "must-have" if you plan to make your own frozen treats.) The best thing about this ice cream is that it is Philadelphia-style, that is, an ice cream made without an egg-yolk custard base. Although it does require heating cream to dissolve the sugar and steep the vanilla bean, there's no tricky tempering of eggs and absolutely no thermometer involved.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe calls for a whole vanilla bean, but the beans I have seemed quite long and, call me stingy, but I didn't want to devote an entire bean to a batch of ice cream. I used half of a nice fresh bean - about 2g. worth.

- Lebovitz gives the option of using 3 cups of cream or 1 cup milk with 2 cups of cream. While I know that the all-cream version is bound to be even more wonderful, I was afraid to spoil our taste for the slightly more healthy version with milk so I just went straight to the milk + cream option.

- The first time I made this, the scraped vanilla seeds were very clumpy so I ran the vanilla and cream mixture through a very fine mesh strainer but lost a good many of the tiny seeds in the straining process. My blogging ice cream guru Wendy of Pinkstripes suggested rubbing the scraped vanilla seeds into the sugar and adding them together to the cream to steep. On subsequent batches that's exactly what I've done.

- David Lebovitz says that even when he uses a vanilla bean, as in this recipe, he still adds some vanilla extract because it is his theory that the alcohol in the extract conveys different dimensions of vanilla's flavor. I measured in the requisite amount of vanilla extract and then I added some vanilla bean paste (just a tiny bit), trying to replace some of the lost seeds and make up for the smaller vanilla bean that I'd used!

the verdict:

Vanilla is my husband's very favorite ice cream flavor, and this recipe has become his nightly dessert. I've made custard based vanilla ice cream, but not only is Philadelphia-style easier, we actually prefer way it cleanly conveys the essence of the cream and the taste of the vanilla. I'm pretty sure I'll need to keep a quart of this in my freezer at all times.

This is our stand-by vanilla ice cream.