The Icing on the Cake

I promised you cake, didn't I?

Conveniently, Bob's birthday is the same as my blog-iversay, so I made him a cake which also secretly serves as the Mignardise celebration cake.

Oh what a cake it was!

And I say "was" because there's not a crumb left. We (four of us) ate that cake, slice by slice, then sliver by sliver, until there was nothing left.

I've made this cake many times before, but for some reason it tasted even better this time. Or maybe I just forgot how good it is.

Or it could have been the frosting, which was new to me, but an old family favorite of Bob's.

Or maybe the fact that is was a double celebration cake.

Whatever.

It's so moist, dark, rich and chocolate-y without being too sweet. And not at all complicated.

It comes from one of my all-time favorite bakeries, Rosie's.

Judy Rosenberg had to go ahead and write a cookbook so that we could have her deliciousness any time we want in the privacy of our own homes.

Note that some of the ingredients say "room temperature". I used to dismiss this advice because I could never remember to take them out of the fridge in time. But after reading this article, I have seen the error of my ways and I am now reformed. It really does make a difference.
Also, even though there's coffee in the cake, you won't taste it. It just makes the chocolate richer.

Rosie's Famous Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

(sift first, then measure)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup hot, strong brewed coffee

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a fork, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 345 degrees. Lightly grease two 8" layer cake pans with butter or cooking spray for baking. Or line with parchment circles.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water, then turn off the heat.

Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, blend the hot coffee, sour cream and vegetable oil with a whisk.

With the mixer on low speed, add the coffee mixture in a stream to the dry ingredients and mix until blended, about 35 seconds. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix on medium-low speed after each addition until smooth, about 15 seconds. Scrape the bowl each time. Add the chocolate and mix until the batter is uniform in color, about 10 seconds more.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Tap each one gently on the counter to remove air bubbles. Place on the center rack of the oven.

Bake until the cake springs back to the touch and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-38 minutes. Do not wait for a crust to form.

Cool the layers in the pans on a rack before removing.

Penuche Icing

Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter in a medium sauce pan.

Add 1 cup brown sugar and boil over low heat for 2 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup whole milk and bring to a boil again.

Remove from the heat and add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp.vanilla.

Add more milk as necessary to make a the right consistency for spreading.

The Sweet Benefits of Blogging

Funny thing about blogging...you get into because you have something to say that you think people might want to read. Or you start because you feel so strongly about something - like food. And maybe you actually enjoy writing for yourself, not a client, and you're brave enough to share it with everyone out there willing to give you five minutes.

One thing I never anticipated when I began blogging was the new blogosphere friends I would make. I don't know, I guess it just never occured to me. Really, all you have to do is a make a nice comment on someone's blog and the next thing you know, you're pals, in a sense. It's whole community and I must say, I'm really enjoying it. It's a lagniappe of blogging!

One of my first blog friends was Jain at onceinabluemoon. I don't even remember how we connected. Well, last week I got an email from Jain, asking if I would like to join a private, group cooking blog she does just for fun. It's called WFD & more (What's For Dinner). Only members can read and comment. It's like being asked to join the cool kids at the lunch table. Of course I said yes and now I have a whole new group of blog pals.

The group does a bi-monthly event called Darling Bakers, where everyone bakes, or makes, something from the chosen category. This week it was cupcakes. I was expected to whip up a batch, photograph them and show them on WFD by Saturday. Of course I rose to the occasion.

I took my inspiration from that which surrounds me completely - snow. Everywhere you look, it's white. Chocolate is normally my flavor of choice (that'll have to wait til mud season), but I wanted to keep the whole thing light and airy, like meringue and marshmallow. I don't have much experience with sugar art or cake decorating, but I do have a box of Snow Village pieces that has yet to be put away after Christmas. Instant decorations! Sure, they're not edible, but they look pretty.

True confessions: I used a cake mix for the cupcake itself (oh like you wouldn't).  I just wanted to get them made quickly so I could get to the decorating part. I made the marshmallow icing from a recipe in the wonderful book by Judy Rosenberg, Rosie's All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed No-Holds-Barred Baking Book. If you don't have it, you should. She's the Rosie of Rosie's Bakery in Boston. Everything in the book (and the bakery) is crazy delicious and not too hard to make.

Here it is:

Marshmallow Frosting

2 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsps. sugar

3 Tbsps. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Put the egg whites, sugar and corn syrup in the top of a double boiler placed over rapidly boiling water. Beat with a hand-held mixer until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.

2. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer (whisk attachment if possible) on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 30 seconds. Use immediately.

Hey kids, remove decorations before consuming.