Simple Chocolate Icing

Here is the icing I used with Lucille Williams' Never Fail Cake:

Simple Chocolate Icing
(Ghirardelli's card No. 13, no date)

3/4 cup ground chocolate (I only had cocoa powder, so this is what I used)
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla. Cook in double boiler until it thickens, stirring constantly. Cool a bit and add flavoring.

This makes a fluid icing that forms a smooth, fudgy shell over the cake, dripping attractively down the sides until it hardens. It turned out to be just the amount of sweetness that the cake needed. I don't recommend whisking before spreading, as this caused bubbles in the icing that later popped and made my cake's surface a bit moon-like. I think it would be ok to pour this on when the cake is still a little bit warm. I encouraged drips down the side by pulling a little bit of icing away from the center with a spatula. If the icing cools too much before it's time to ice, try putting it back on the double boiler to warm, and stirring gently with a silicone spatula.

PS- While I was visiting this week, I asked Grandpa if he knew who Lucille Williams was. No clue. So while she has gone on to bigger and better things, her cake will live on via the internet.

Another One from the Vault

Gold Medal "Kitchen-tested"
FUDGE CAKE
(A Prize Chocolate Cake)
4 tbsp. butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs

2 cups Softasilk cake flour OR
1 3/4 cups GOLD MEDAL "Kitchen-tested" Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Method
(Oven 350)
1. Cream butter, add sugar gradually, and cream thoroughly
2. (By the way, separate the eggs, set aside whites.) Blend in the well-beaten egg yolks.
3. Sift flour before measuring
4. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.
Beat just enough to make the batter smooth (about 5 seconds).
5. Blend in the melted chocolate, vanilla and nuts
6. Fold in the egg whites, beaten until stiff but not dry
7. Pour into well greased and floured layer pans or large loaf pan and bake

Bake 45 minutes for layers, 50 to 55 minutes for loaf
Two 9 inch layer pans or one 8 x 12 inch loaf

Note: This cake has a delicious fudge-like flavor and consistency, and is complete without icing. If you prefer it iced, however, use a cooked fudge icing, a chocolate butter icing, a cooked white icing or any type desired.

I desired the Simple Chocolate Icing from Ghirardelli, which is also from "the vault" and happens to be a cooked fudge icing. I like these cooked fudge icings, especially over a rich cake, because I can just pool it in the center of each layer and encourage it to drizzle attractively down the sides without fretting over crumbs. A sprinkle of nuts and you're done. Looks fancy, not that hard. I'm proud to say that I'm a person who can now make a birthday cake or pie without sweating over it. It most definitely won't be perfect, but it will be delicious!

I didn't have walnuts when I made the cake layers at home, but Grandpa (who by the way, spotted the clue and knew that there was a cake surprise in store for him) happened to have walnuts on hand in the freezer, so he suggested we sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the icing on each layer. Delicious! We served it with fresh sliced strawberries and cold glasses of milk. Happy Birthday!


PS- That little whisk-broom thing is a cake tester I received as a gift. Just a bundle of little tiny skewers for sticking into cakes. At the rate I'm going, it will last a lifetime.

Adorable Little Cake

This cute little cake is from Bon Appetit. I made it for my special guys for Valentine's Day using milk chocolate. This one was made for me by my adorable husband for my birthday using 70% chocolate for the cake and 62% for the icing. Besides using three bowls, it's really a simple and fool-proof cake.

Here is the recipe from their website (apparently they are a little formatting-happy over there):

Top Tier Devil's Food Cake with Sour Cream-Fudge Frosting

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ounce high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona *or Scharffenberger if substituting dark), chopped
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

• 8 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona *or Scharffenberger if substituting dark), chopped
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
• Organic roses (for garnish) *optional- we decorated simply with shaved chocolate

Special Equipment

• 2 5-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides *I used large ramekins. The first time, I trimmed using a large biscuit cutter to adjust for the shape of the ramekin, the second cakes required no adjusting. You can make one tall, 4-8 layer cake (if you halve the 4" layers) or two four-layer cakes in this size.

• Test-Kitchen Tip

  Five-inch cake pans are available at some kitchenware stores and restaurant supply stores and online from cheftools.com and amazon.com.

Preparation

Cake

• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter two 5-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; butter parchment. Combine cocoa powder and milk chocolate in medium bowl. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water over; whisk until mixture is smooth. Whisk in buttermilk.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and cocoa mixtures; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, 28 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks; peel off parchment. Turn over; cool on racks.

Frosting

• Place chocolate in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Add butter and stir until melted, then add sour cream and corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Let frosting stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 20 minutes.
• Using serrated knife, trim top of cakes to make level. Cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on platter. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with second cake layer, cut side down. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with third cake layer, cut side up. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread 1/3 cup frosting over top and sides. Chill until frosting is set, about 30 minutes. Keep remaining frosting at room temperature.
• Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.
• Arrange roses atop cake and serve.