Creme Brûléed Chocolate Bundt Cake

This recipe sounded amazing: chocolate chiffon cake, liqueur soaked raspberries and a creme brûlée topping.  And it did turn out quite amazing.   The cake turned out moist and chocolaty despite it sinking a bit while cooling. The raspberries were soaked with a thick blackberry vodka (but they probably could have used the liqueur).  And the creme brûlée sauce was just fantastic made with rich egg yolks and cream and vanilla beans for that true, strong vanilla flavor.  I am currently trying to figure out how else I can use that sauce; what other recipes need that extra love?

I borrowed a blow torch (and a bundt pan and the liqueur- thanks Sorrel!) for this one but was bit low on butane so it was only partially properly creme bruleed.  It did not seem to add too much to the overall flavor and was not missed on those parts that escaped the blow torch.

I would make this one again, if I only liked cake.

Please check out my fellow bloggers creations this week. 

And here's Rhiannon…

Poppy Seed Torte

About a month ago, I missed the recipe for Poppy Seed Torte.  I have to admit I was blocked by the requirement to buy 2 cups of poppy seeds.  Seriously, 2 cups.  But then one day, about two weeks ago,while busily hustling around a part of town I usually do not visit,  I spied a spice store.  I immediately thought about those poppy seeds.  I compromised with myself and bought one cup, planning to half the recipe.  (And by the way, this spice store sold white and blue poppy seeds which apparently the only difference is a bleaching or whitening of the seeds.  They naturally are all blue.)

And I must say the only reason I kept thinking about poppy seeds was due to the rave reviews I had read on the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll; everyone seemed to like this one.  I was intrigued despite my usual indifference for most cakes.

The recipe originally calls for apricots to be poached.  Since apricots have since fallen out of season, I chose pears as a substitute.  No problem there except maybe a little less appealing to the eye.  The poppy seeds were ground up and mixed with cake crumbs and then this combination was mixed with alternating cake batter and meringue.  No problems there either (just a lot of dishes).

I can't say that I liked this one, despite my heightened anticipation of it.   It wasn't too sweet, which I liked, but the flavor seemed off or lacking.  Maybe it was the pear substitution or maybe my poppy seeds had turned without me realizing it.  The texture was terrific, so maybe it needs a second trial but then again, I would have to find more poppy seeds.

This blog participates in Tuesday with Dorie.  This week was a rewind week; check it out.

And Rhiannon...

Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes

This recipe was a trial in following directions.   It started with prepping the pans/ ramekins.  I rubbed them with butter, not melted butter.  I used muffin tins and 1/2 cup ramekins, instead of full cup ramekins (I don't have any).  I must have put 3-4 TB of batter in each container because 2 TB seemed like a ridiculously small amount of batter especially with a half of a plum on top. And I squished that half plum down a bit in the batter because I felt like it, even though the recipe warned to keep the plum afloat so as not to sink.  

I think I should just follow instructions.  

The cakes were difficult to remove (the pans could have used melted butter).   I was not sure how long to bake them due to the size difference.  And those plums sunk bringing the extra batter down with it.

But then again, they were quite tasty despite my lack of obedience. 

So next time, I would follow the directions more closely except for the sugar sprinkled on top. I would use regular sugar on top and less of it.  The recipe calls for brown sugar, and I felt the molasses flavor came through too much and masked some of the plum flavor, which was delicious.  There is always room for some intelligent disobedience.  Rhiannon knows this.

Vanilla Poundcake

This was super simple and super delicious.  We recently traveled north to Alaska to spend time with family, and I brought this recipe along.  It turned out to be a good idea as it was perfect for feeding a crowd and there was no harm in turning the oven on (temperatures in the 60's).   I wound up making two loaves of a more traditional poundcake shape as I did not have a tube pan.   We ate the first round with raspberries in syrup and ice cream and munched on the leftovers all by themselves the next night.  And the picture below shows the small piece left two days later that I wound up toasting.  The best?  The final toasted one, three days old. 

Rhiannon on the 4th of July

Mocha Brownie Cake

This sounded like my kind of cake… a brownie cake.  As previously mentioned in this blog (with every cake recipe), I am not a cake fan.  I am a huge brownie fan however.  So, if there is a cake out there I might like, a brownie cake just might be it.  (I am slightly exaggerating as there are a few cakes out there I have enjoyed and would even eat again (Rhubarb Upside Down cake is one of them).  This cake, however, was more cake and less brownie.  A great one for cake lovers.  A tolerable one for brownie lovers.

It has some redeemable qualities worth mentioning:

- the ganache frosting/ filling is delicious and super easy to work with (I will dog-ear the recipe for this alone.)

- the recipe comes together easily

- the ganache has coffee in it

- the recipe outlines a simple and effective way to assemble a layer cake which was new to me, utilizing the spring form pan used to bake it

- there is never a bite without the ganache

I must confess that this may have been a bit more brownie-like had I baked the cake for less than the stated time.  As it was, the first time I checked it, the cake was already done and possibly a bit dry, but this was hard to tell given all that delicious ganache which lent moisture to every bite.  I will be curious to see how my fellow bakers baked this one up.  Check theirs out at Tuesdays with Dorie.

Rhiannon- a cake eater

Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

Oops.  There will be no picture of the finished product this time, only a few steps in the making.  But, I absolutely had to take a picture of some of the ingredients required for this recipe.  I have never been a cheesecake aficionado (much like regular old cakes),so I have never actually made one.  I was simply astounded at the ingredient list: sour cream, mascarpone, cream cheese, chocolate.  All for one cake.   For some reason this was more shocking to me than the butter baby we used for croissants. Nonetheless, I forged ahead knowing that it was bound to be rich and in all likelihood, great.

The great part of this recipe wound up being the making of it.  It went so easily, so smoothly.  Much easier than a regular, traditional cake. 

The product, on the other hand, was just ok.  Now, to be fair, I am not sure if it was because I don't love cheesecakes or if it was indeed the recipe.   You'll have to check out my fellow bloggers' posts to see what they all thought.   

And Rhiannon's picture is also amiss until next time…

Vanilla Chiffon Roll

I was a bit perplexed heading into this recipe.  The picture in the Baking with Julia cookbook shows a chocolate filled cake roll somewhat similar to the above picture, yet the title said "Vanilla" not "Chocolate".  Hmmm.  Somehow I could not get my head wrapped around the idea of a chocolate chiffon cake that was really vanilla?  And I must say, since I am not much of a cake person nor a mousse person, the idea of a mousse filled cake did not sound all that appealing to me.

Regardless I forged ahead. And I am glad as this recipe did not disappoint even for a non-cake person.  And it was super fun to roll up a full sheet cake, kind of like playing with play-dough but way better tasting. 

I made the mousse filling a day ahead of the cake.  As a result, the recipe did not feel overwhelming.  Had I done it all in one day, I think the dishes alone would have been overwhelming.  (And how many times can one recipe call for a stand mixer?) I put the whole thing together and cooled it overnight in the fridge.  In the morning, all I had to do was dust it  with cocoa and we were off to brunch, with goodies in hand.

the chilled cake roll

And Rhiannon liked this one too.

To see the other bakers' blogs in the Tuesday with Dorie baking group, click the link.

Savarin

Reading through this recipe I thought it would take just a bit of time: the rise times were short and so was the bake time.  But that is just like me, to underestimate the time something takes.   We had a birthday party to go in the afternoon and I had been gone most of the morning.  I thought I could squeeze this cake in, in between lunch and showers and naps and a birthday gift...  first rise, no problem, second rise, I was counting the minutes until I could shove it in the oven in time for us to leave for the party. It was so flat coming out of the oven, but I didn't have time to think about just then.

I came back to the cake later that night and sampled it (thus the wedge removed from the circle- I figured I could fill it in with whipped cream later).  It tasted awful; it tasted rushed.  It tasted yeasty.  But I thought maybe it could be salvaged by simple syrup.  I thought wrong.  I didn't bother with the berries (why waste good berries on this?) and the whipped cream.  Besides it was 10pm. A gross underestimation of time needed.

I am not sure what went wrong, but most likely I rushed that second rise time and I could have used more dough for my larger bundt pan.  Seeing as we will likely do Babas in the future, I am in no hurry to repeat this recipe now.  

Looking at my last 2 posts, it appears I am hopelessly busy, but I'm not.  I'm just choosing poor times to   make these recipes or rather underestimating the time and commitment they take.  Maybe I need to just add an hour on to every recipe to be realistic.  It will be just like what I have done to estimate leaving times with two toddlers. Want to leave at 9? Start getting ready to leave at 8...

Eating berries meant for the Savarin!

This post is part of the Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia group.

Madeleines

Prior to making these this past weekend, I have eaten Madeleines only once.  There is a cute, little, serious restaurant in town here that bakes them up to order in the mornings.  A year ago, I went there with the sole purpose of ordering those Madeleines.  I remember them being deliciously fresh baked but underwhelming treats.    The same goes for this home-baked version.  They worked, they were fresh, but I could take them or leave them.

This was my second go at a genoise batter.  My first was a disaster (French Strawberry Cake) so I was a bit intimidated to try it again.  But I DO have my new mixer and I was certain to cool my melted butter down this time.  It all worked.  The basic genoise pattern goes like this.

Sift the dry, sifted stuff (flour, salt, some sugar).

Whip the eggs and yolks with the sugar until they are tripled in volume.

Gently fold in the dry ingredients in 3 sessions.

Then incorporate melted butter by first mellowing it with some of the already-mixed batter before fully incorporating it.

Then it is ready.

For this recipe it was ready to be filled into the Madeleine plaques and chilled overnight.  Now, according to the recipe book, this was supposed to be baked right away, but listening to some of our expert Madeleine bakers in the group, chilling the batter is the only way to get the characteristic puffed shell shape, so I chilled it.  I also prepped my Madeleine plaque with two coats of melted butter, instead of butter and flour for the same reason.   Like I said, it all worked.  I had beautiful, puffed Madeleines that released easily from their pan.

I truly wished I liked them more.  They would be a terrific tea party cake (when do I ever have tea parties?).  Thank goodness I borrowed the Madeleine plaque from a friend, because I am not sure when I would use it next.

For the full recipe and other Baking with Julia bloggers' experiences, see Katie and Amy of Counter Dog and Tuesdays with Dorie respectively.


And Rhiannon:

Nectarine Chiffon Upside Down Cake

Food is always better when shared, right?  I was able to bake and share this cake with some dear, dear, family friends that were in town this past weekend.  (Too bad I undercooked it- and they were too nice to say so.)   Attempting this cake after my previous flop with the French Strawberry Cake was a bit nerve wracking but I made none of those mistakes and instead just cooked it 5-10 minutes too few, as mentioned above.  Other than that, the recipe was a success.  And it did taste good, gooey mess and all, maybe that's why no one complained.

Here are the basic steps:

Make and bake the streusel filling.

Prep the pan with melted butter, sugar, and nectarines.

 Make the batter by mixing dry with most of the wet ingredients, save the egg whites which are whipped and folded in separately.

Bake and wait.  (Here is where it fell in and collapsed a bit due to being undercooked; good thing we had to flip it.)

Enjoy with friends.

For the full recipe see our hosts' Marlise's and Susan's pages.

And here is Rhiannon in my tupperware drawer keeping busy while we baked.