Tuxedo Cake - Project Pastry Queen

Not only is this Tuxedo Cake the reason I found Project Pastry Queen, it is why I bought Rebecca Rather's cookbook "The Pastry Queen" in the first place. Needless to say, I was THRILLED when Shawnda chose this as her selection, you can find the complete recipe and a gorgeous picture at her site. The cake tastes even better than it looks. Unless I am pressed for time, this will be my go to Chocolate Cake from now on . . . so long cake mixes!!

Franklin, my "Tuxedo" cat.

No, he did not get my last piece of cake!!

(Don't ask how long it took to get this photo)

Even though I've owned the cookbook for at least 6 years, I have never made this cake. The picture makes it look like one of those elegant, yet difficult desserts to make. I shouldn't have been intimidated because it was not complicated at all. I chose to make the cake using two 10-inch round cake pans, but it can also be made with three 9-inch pans. The whole thing came together by hand, it was kind of nice not using my stand mixer.

Two sticks of butter are melted in a saucepan, and then water and canola oil are added. Sugar, cocoa powder and flour are sifted together with a whisk. The butter mixture is whisked into the dry ingredients until smooth. 

Eggs are whisked in, one at a time

Whisk in buttermilk, and then add baking soda, salt and vanilla

The batter is then poured into your prepared pans. I saw a post of Shawnda's for Fresh Strawberry Cake. She suggested wrapping the sides of your cake pans with aluminum foil - "it would keep the batter near the edge of the pan cooler for longer so the cake baked more evenly". I've never done this, but decided to give it a try.

I was VERY HAPPY with the way they turned out. Thanks Shawnda!!

The cakes must cool completely, at least 2 hours before frosting. The frosting is made by whipping cream to the soft peak stage and then stirring in the powdered sugar. Once frosted, the cake needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 hour.

The chocolate glaze is made with bittersweet chocolate, whipping cream and something called "Lyle's Golden Syrup". This is imported from Britain, and if you can't find it in your grocery store, here is the link to a substitution. The substitution suggests a combination of light corn syrup and molasses. I found something called "Brer Rabbit Syrup", imported from Britain, ingredients - corn syrup and molasses. GREAT, I thought, but once I tasted the chocolate glaze on the cake, I did not like it. Next time, I will substitute with light corn syrup only!!

Once the glaze has cooled for 10 minutes, slowly pour it over the cake - covering the top and letting it drizzle down the side. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I made this cake for the Midweek Connections supper at our church, it was a huge hit. I barely had time to rescue a piece to take home with me for a picture.

Once again, you can find the recipe at Confections of a Foodie Bride. Be sure to also check out how the other Project Pastry Queen members put their own mark on the tuxedo cake this week. 

Torta di Mele - Apple Cake

Once again this fall, Mark and I are volunteering to cook a meal for 65 - 70 of our dear friends on Wednesday nights. Our church has something called "Midweek Connections" that is full of classes & activities for all ages. Families are able to come straight from work for a meal and the evening ends with a short service (unless you stay for choir). We are always asked to share our recipes so I thought, "Why not Blog about it?".

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September 14, 2011

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ina Garten's Meatloaf

Souperior Meatloaf

(recipe on the back of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup mix,

substitute cooked quinoa for bread crumbs)

Hash Brown Potato Casserole

Green Beans Provencal

Cucumber Salad

Torta de Mele (apple cake) with Creme Anglais

Texas Pecan Pie Bars

Brownies (Ghiradelli mix - the best!)

When our girls were little, we would occasionally have a backwards meal with dessert first. So, since I've already posted about the Texas Pecan Pie Bars, I decided the Apple Cake, or in Italian - Torta di Mele would be next.

If I had to choose something for the last meal of my life, this cake would be at the top of the list. It is my future son-in-law's favorite and everyone else I've made it for raves about it. The first time I had Torta di Mele was in a little restaurant named Trattoria Pallotta, in Assisi Italy.

Tip to eating in Italy - eat where the locals eat. This is one of those places. They had a tourist menu where you get your choice between 1 of 2 appetizers, 1 of 2 Main Courses, and 1 of 2 Desserts. For dessert, Mark and our 2 friends chose the fruit & cheese plate. The Torta de Mele sounded too good to pass up, so I went with that. Good choice, GOOD CHOICE!! I rarely take photos of food I order in a restaurant but when this was brought to the table, still warm from the oven, I whipped out my camera:

"Puoi darmi la ricetta per favore?"

Each bite just melted in my mouth it was so moist. The flavor was not too sweet, and the texture was light and airy. I HAD to have the recipe! My gourmet friend Patty has been known to ask the chef of a restaurant to share their secrets, but I never had the courage, until that moment. We lived in Milano, Italy from '92-'94 so I knew some Italian. It had been 12 years and I was a bit rusty but all of a sudden the word "ricetta" - recipe, came to my head. When the waitress returned, I pointed at the plate and butchered together some kind of a sentence as politely as I could. She nodded and headed towards the kitchen. She came back smiling, with a scrap of paper in her hand. "Grazie, molto grazie, per favore grazie alla chef", I thanked her over and over again. I hoped she understood. This is what was on the paper:

TORTA di MELE 

180 C, per 35 - 45 minuti

4 uovi

2 etti di burro

3 etti di farina

3 etti di zucchero

succo - 1/2 limone

succo - 1/2 arancia

2-3 mele

una bustina Lievito dolce

This can be found at Amazon in a package of 10,

but I have started using baking powder instead.

Notice anything:

1. The directions are missing
2. NO mention of what size pan to use
3. Italian measurements (1 etti = 100 grams)
4. and yes, it's in Italian. At least that was easy because I was used to that.

Here is what I came up with:

Apple Cake

• 4 eggs
• 14 T. butter - room temperature
• 300 grams flour (about 2 cups)
• 300 grams sugar (1 1/3 cups + 1 teaspoon)
• Juice of 1/2 a large lemon (or all juice from a small lemon)
• Juice of 1/2 a large orange (or all juice from a medium orange)
• 2 large Braeburn apples (or 3 medium)
• 2 t. baking powder (or 1 pkg of Italian sweet leavening if you can find it - see above)

Pre-heat oven to 355 degrees (F). Grease and flour a 10" round cake pan.

1. Cream together the butter and the sugar:

2. Add in the eggs, blending after each one:

3. Blend the flour and the baking powder (or leavening packet) together. Italian flour is different than American flour. Once I've weighed the flour, I sift it 2 or 3 times. Slowly add to the batter until it is blended in:

4. Peel and chop the apples. I like to have a mixture of coarsely and finely chopped pieces. Mix the lemon and orange juice into the chopped apples. Fold into the batter until well mixed:

5. Pour into prepared pan:

6. Bake for at least 45 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The first time I made this I set the timer for 35 minutes and it was far from done. I kept adding 5 minutes at a time until finely at an hour, it was ready. Sometimes it is done in 50 minutes, I think it depends upon the amount of apples you use. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan:

The cake is at its best when served warm, but tastes great no matter what the temperature. I have served this with a warm butter sauce, but I think it was served in the restaurant with Creme Anglaise. One option is to spoon either sauce over the cake and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Creme Anglais 

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
2. In a small saucepan, whisk cream and vanilla together over medium heat until you see bubbles forming at the edges.
3. Remove from heat and, slowly whisk 1/2 cup of hot liquid into the egg mixture.
4. Gradually add egg yolk mixture back to remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly.
5. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

I fell in love with Assisi and it wasn't just because of the Apple Cake. When we visited 5 years ago, it was late fall. The skies were so blue and the air was so crisp. Most cities in Italy are a bit on the grungy side, but not Assisi. It was stunningly beautiful. I found some of the pictures and thought I would share them with you. Hope you enjoy. But first one more look at the cake I made today. By the way, I bought the plate it is sitting on in Deruta - a little town just outside of Assisi. I could spend a week there shopping for ceramics ... but that is another post entirely!

Also posted on:

Texas Pecan Pie Bars - Project Pastry Queen

Last July, a group of food bloggers began Project Pastry Queen. The idea was to cook their way through Rebecca Rather's first cookbook titled, no surprise, "The Pastry Queen". I stumbled across the "PPQ" blog quite by accident and it was one of the reasons I decided to join the blogosphere. The cookbook was already a favorite part of my library (I had bought it 5 years ago when I stopped by the Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe in Fredericksburg, TX). Each week a different recipe is chosen, everyone tries it out, and results are posted on Sunday. I am thrilled to be joining in the fun! Rebecca has published 2 more cookbooks and I'm hopeful PPQ will extend to blog about those too.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Last weekend was tax-free shopping in Texas for back-to-school items. Families were busy buying the necessary school supplies, new clothes and backpacks - and saving a little bit of money. I was thinking of my mom.




Mom & I in 1998

I was in town for her birthday AND and Astros Playoff game!!

I don't need the local news station to remind me when the first tax-free weekend was. It happened in 1999 - the same weekend we drove to Houston because a heart attack had put the girls' Grandma in the hospital. We got a little shopping done but our hearts weren't in it. As it turned out, it would be the last time that Mark & the girls would see her, she would pass away less than 2 weeks later. I was fortunate enough to be by her bedside.

There is one other thing that always reminds me of Mom, and that is her Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. If I had a bad day at school, she would cheer me up with their aroma and a welcome homework break. They were my favorite and it was the first thing she taught me to bake.

This time, I decided to change them up a bit by adding pretzel m&m's instead of chocolate chips. However, before I could get the cookies baked, some of the pretzel m&m's had disappeared!! So, I made half a batch with chocolate chips and the other half with the m&m's. I really liked the bit of saltiness the pretzel m&m's gave to the cookies.

Cream the shortening and brown sugar

Add eggs one at a time

Add flour & 1/2 of the milk/vanilla

Add the oatmeal and remaining milk/vanilla

Beat well after each addition

I divided the dough in half and added m&m's to one

and chocolate chips to the other.

Grandma Larson's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup  Brown Sugar

1 cup  Shortening

2  Eggs

1 pinch of Salt

1  teaspoon Baking Soda

1  teaspoon Vanilla

4  tablespoons Milk

2  cups Flour

2  cups Oatmeal

2  cups  Chocolate Chips (I used 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 cup Pretzel m&m's)

Cream together the shortening and the brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until fluffy. Add the salt, baking soda and vanilla to the milk. Stir well until dissolved. Add 1/2 of the flour, and 1/4 of the milk mixture. Add the rest of the flour and another 1/4 of the milk. Add 1/2 of the oatmeal, 1/4 of the milk, the remaining oatmeal and the rest of the milk. Be sure and beat well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bake 12-14 minutes at 350 on a Silpat or parchment paper.

There's one other thing I love about making this recipe. Every time I make them, I feel like Mom is right there in the kitchen with me.