A seventies cake for a seventies chick - Black Forest Victoria Cake

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Retro. That’s me. And that being the case, it was only fitting that my birthday cake of choice would also be, like me, of a seventies vintage, the Black Forest Gateau. I don’t care if it’s naff, the combination of chocolate, cream and cherries is, quite frankly, lush, and I thumb my nose to all you dinner party aficionados who think it a gastronomic crime to serve this after your prawn cocktail and your duck a l’orange… (I lurve duck a l’orange by the way…)

I was flicking through some cookery books for an idea as to what to indulge myself with (and force upon others) for my birthday and when the book fell open on this cake I thought to myself, bingo… I have all the ingredients, so no visit to the supermarket (a dangerous business when you are in the midst of ‘healthy eating’ and feel like eating your own arms…) and I like chocolate. And cherries. And cream. And more chocolate. If I am abandoning my current pastime of living virtuously, albeit temporarily, then this is a beautiful way to do it.

This recipe is from ‘Gorgeous Cakes’ by Annie Bell. A completely apt title if you ask me. I made some adaptions, like adding some vanilla extract and salt to the chocolate cake mix, for chocolate likes vanilla and needs salt for that chocolatey ‘hit’. I brushed the warm cakes over with some kirsch because I don’t believe that you can ever have too much of a good thing, and I sweetened the cream with some vanilla and a little icing sugar. Because I can.

The other nice thing about Black Forest Gateau is that you can make it look as pretty as a picture. It didn’t need the 42 candles that should have gone on it. Just as well really as I imagine that such an amount of candles constitutes some kind of fire hazard.

Black Forest Victoria, adapted from ‘Gorgeous Cakes’ by Annie Bell

Makes a 1 20cm cake with sides of 9cm deep, (but I divided the mixture into three 18cm sandwich tins)

Ingredients:

For the cake -

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g golden caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

1tsp vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

25g cocoa powder, sifted

4 medium eggs

100ml milk

Pinch of salt

10 – 15ml kirsch, for brushing over the cake

For the filling –

Half a jar of black cherry jam

1 tbsp kirsch

350ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

To decorate:

Approx 50g of grated chocolate (Should have used dark chocolate, chose to use milk due to fussy children!)

Cherries (I used some from a jar)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c and prepare tins by greasing and then lining the bottoms with greaseproof paper.

The original recipe recommends putting all the ingredients together and creaming them until combined. Rightly or wrongly I did it the way mama taught me, that is, creaming the butter with the sugar, then added the syrup, the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, putting a spoonful of flour into the mix after each egg to stop the mixture from splitting. Then I added the flour alternately with the milk and mixed to only just combined. Lastly, I added the salt and then for the final mix together I used a spatula to ensure that all the mixture was combined.

Pour the mixture into the tin(s). If using the sandwich tins then bake for about 20 mins, until the cake is firm to the touch and has shrunk away from the sides of the tin. If baking in the recommended tin, bake for about 55 mins or until a toothpick placed into the centre of the cake comes out clean).

Once the cakes come out of the oven and whilst still warm, brush a little of the kirsch over the top of the cake(s). If you are making one cake then you will need to cut the cake into layers.

To make the filling: Whip up the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until it forms pretty stiff peaks which will hold whilst piping. Do not overbeat.

Put the jam into a bowl and loosen with the kirsch. Grate the chocolate.

To assemble. Once cool, spread jam over the layer and then pipe some cream on. Place the next layer onto the cake and then repeat the process.

On the top layer, brush the jam over the top and then cover the jam with grated chocolate. Once the top is completely covered in chocolate, pipe the top decoratively. Adorn the cake with pitted cherries.

Don your bell bottoms and Cuban heels and then serve to all and sundry.

Lola makes Nutella Nests

 

 

Well, here we are, Good Friday and all that and I could have bothered myself to make hot cross buns but to be honest, it was all a bit too involved. But, I felt compelled to do something seasonal and as the Easter holiday is nearing its sad end and I probably won't be able to blog 'til, oh, I don't know...end of May maybe. So, I involved one of my creative muses, Lola, and four ingredients - Menier chocolate, Nutella, Cadbury's Mini Eggs and Crunchy Nut Cornflakes to rustle up something that kinda suggested Easter.

 

During our recent move I amazingly found an untapped jar of Nutella nestling at the back of the cupboard and what's more it was edging towards its best before date. If I'd have opened it, very soon afterwards you would have found me stood in the kitchen trying to get the last of it out of the bottom with a teaspoon. At least this way I used half the jar of it without being the one totally responsible for eating it.

 

I figured that if I melted some dark chocolate it would counteract some of the sweetness of the Nutella and I did start off with that in mind and then I thought 'Sod it, it's Easter...' so in the end I put it there because I thought it might help with the solidifying process of the nests, once mixed and assembled.

 

Anyway, the success of these was rapid and compelling. Within an hour these had been demolished by the kids, not me. Luckily they had gone before I got to them.

 

Nutella Nests

 

Makes approximately 12

 

Ingredients:

 

100g dark chocolate

100g Nutella

150 - 200g cornflakes (I used Crunchy Nut Cornflakes because it is what I had in the cupboard)

A bag of mini eggs

 

Method:

 

 

 

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not allow the bowl to touch the simmering water.

 

 

 

Once melted, add the Nutella and mix to combine

 

 

 

Put the cornflakes into another bowl, then add the molten chocolate to them. Stir carefully to combine.

 

 

 

Using a non stick shallow cupcake/fairy cake pan (grease it with some unflavoured oil if need's be) spoon the mixture into the indentations, pressing the mixture into the sides to create a 'nest' effect.

 

 

 

Place two or three mini eggs into the centre.

 

Put the nests into the fridge to harden up. They won't fully harden because of the Nutella. Once cohered, carefully release the nests from the pan.

 

 

 

Keep any that are not eaten in the fridge, as they will become soft quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Untried but trusted and in praise of the Barefoot Contessa: Chocolate Pudding Cream Tart

 

 

So there I was, trying to be kind and suggesting to Phill that when we were invited around to his sister's house for something to eat that I make a pud. And it was more an offer than my actually having something in mind that I wanted to make necessarily. So, when I actually got round to thinking about it I actually started to wonder about what I really was going to make. It had to be something the kids would eat, I had to transport it 40 miles and I wanted to make it in advance, with stuff that I had in the cupboard. And it had to look the part. I love setting myself easy tasks such as this.

 

But, when I am in a spot cooking wise, there is a kind of mantra that I like to repeat to myself to solve my problems. Just what would Ina do? The fact is, whilst I can trace my interest in cooking back to the dim and distant, it was only watching Ina Garten on the UK Food Channel that really got me hooked. Firstly I loved her house and whilst one shouldn't covet another person's goods I could really see myself breezing about in a kitchen like hers. She also conjured up good stuff to eat that looked so easy and tasty and if she didn't get round to doing that she assembled it 'cos when it all comes down to it, it isn't worth the faff. And, she makes cocktails by the pitcher...

 

So, I consulted Ina, and I decided to use 'How Easy is That?' which I have to confess is one of her cookbooks I haven't used as often as say, 'The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook' which is actually very nearly destroyed, and 'Barefoot in Paris' because of my 'francais' fixation. One thing I can always say about Ina Garten recipes is that they work out. I may have been extraordinarily lucky but everything I have chosen to cook from any of her books has been spot on, which can't be said for some other cookbooks which I won't mention here. You do get the feeling that these recipes have been tested to within an inch of their lives, which is why my 'What would Ina do?' thought dropped into my consciousness.

 

In the end I chose 'Chocolate Pudding Cream Tart', a rich, chocolatey custard encased (on this occasion) in digestive biscuits and topped with chantilly cream. the custard and biscuit base sat quite happily overnight in the fridge covered in cling film ready for adorning with thick chantilly cream just before transporting, via the 'coolbox on its side with several tea towels and freezer packs stuffed either side to stop it moving' method.

 

The photos you see below were before the tart went in the coolbox. I want to reassure you all that at the other end, the tart came out of its tin with little effort. I could have taken my camera I suppose but people already find it amusing that I have the urge to photograph food I eat in my own home. To turn up at someone else's house and start snapping was probably a bit too weird.

 

Chocolate Pudding Cream tart, adapted from 'Barefoot Contessa - How Easy Is that?' by Ina Garten

 

Serves 8 generously.

 

Ingredients: (Note: US recipe, so measurements in cups)

 

For the crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used 16 digestive biscuits, blitzed)¹⁄³ cup sugar
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
4 cups whole milk
¾ cup sugar
5 extra-large egg yolks
¹⁄³ cup cornflour
1 teaspoon salt
7 ounces good bittersweet chocolate (I used Menier)2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 tablespoon Kahlúa liqueur (I used Tia Maria, 'cos I am that kinda girl...)1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
Sweetened whipped cream (see note)
Shaved bittersweet chocolate, for garnish

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 

 

 

Combine the digestive biscuits, sugar, and butter in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. Lightly press the mixture into an 11-inch metal tart pan with removable sides. Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

 

 

 

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until almost simmering.

 

 

 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, egg yolks, cornflour, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk into the bowl. (I pour the hot milk into a large measuring cup first to reduce spills.)

 

 

 

Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is very thick. (It did take 10 minutes. Be patient. it will happen!)

 

 

 

Off the heat, add the chocolate, butter, Tia Maria, and coffee. Beat with a whisk until smooth and pour into the cooled crust. Place plastic wrap directly on the chocolate filling and chill the tart for 6 hours, until cold.

 

 

 

Decorate with whipped cream and shaved chocolate and serve cold.

 

Note: To make sweetened whipped cream, place 1 cup double cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until it forms firm peaks.

Randomness results in amazing brownies! Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with Pecans and Curly Wurlies

 

I think that sometimes being random is good, rather than bad. Random is a word bandied around with some negativity, depending on context. “Oh, you are so random!” Well, good, for being random this month has resulted in my baking these frankly amazing (if I do say so myself) brownies. I mean, brownies are amazing, of course but these are uber amazing, if that is at all possible.

If you are one of these people who think that gilding the lily is pointless, well, not in this case. The addition of cream cheese topping and roasted pecans along with chocolate covered caramel (Heath Bars in the original recipe, an American confection I believe, I subbed it for the very English Curly Wurly, for let’s face facts, whilst not as good as a finger of Fudge, it is really quite close to being perfection) and the result was a brownie at once creamy, nutty and then moist and chewy with molten chocolate caramel. Yes, they are that good.

 

Already identified as a possible. I am a post it note queen...

Hope mine look like these!
 

I was very strict and used the natty random thingumabob on the Belleau Kitchen website. It came up with book 116, which was 'Magnolia at Home' by Allysa Tovey, of Magnolia Bakery fame and page 107, which was Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with Pecans and Heath Bars. As well as forcing me to be random it also forced me to count my cookbooks. I have 261, which has chastened me a little. No more impulse buying from the clearance section at TKMaxx, second hand bookshops, or taking other people’s cast offs. Birthdays and Christmas only. Birthdays and Christmas only. Birthdays and Christmas only (repeat to fade…)

 

Here is the recipe.

 

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with Pecans and Curly Wurlies, adapted from the recipe in Magnolia at Home by Allysa Tovey

 

Makes 24 2 inch brownies

 

Ingredients in cup measurements (US recipe)

My adaptations in red:

 

Ingredients:

For the cream cheese filling:
One 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, not softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temp.
2 tbs. plain flour

For the brownies:
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (2 sticks is a pack of butter in the UK) 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Menier dark chocolate) 2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbs. whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
2/3 cup chopped Heath bars, or any chocolate-covered toffee bars (I used Curly Wurlies, put them in the freezer to harden before chopping them. Three bars made 2/3 cupful)
Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Firstly, make the cream cheese topping:  In a medium-size bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Add the egg and flour and beat well.  Set aside.

Now for the rest of the brownie mixture.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  

In a medium-size saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth.  Remove from the heat, transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes until lukewarm.  

Stir in the sugar.  Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Stir in half of the pecans and half of the Curly Wurlies.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the brownie batter.

Spread the rest of the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  

Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls over the batter.  Next, drop the reserved brownie batter by teaspoonfuls in between the cream cheese filling.  

Using a small knife, swirl the two batters together, forming a decorative pattern.  

Sprinkle the remaining pecans and Curly Wurlies over the top, and using a spatula, gently press into the batter.  

Bake for 40-55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over bake.  Allow to cool overnight before cutting and serving.

Note:  To toast the pecans, place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant.  Be careful to not let them burn!

 

 

I am submitting this recipe to April’s Random Recipes, hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen. Can’t wait to see what everyone else has come up with!