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At work, we celebrate birthdays on a monthly basis. With twenty people in our department, this means I have a monthly excuse to try out new cake recipes. This month’s cake was a definite keeper. Moist chocolate layer cake with chocolate pudding between layers, and a fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting all around. I’m also having a lot of fun working on my cake decorating skills! This blackout cake recipe comes from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, which is turning out to be a great source for delicious, reliable cake recipes. I made this extra decadent by using Ghirardelli cocoa powder for the cake, Callebaut bittersweet chocolate for the pudding, and Callebaut unsweetened chocolate for the frosting.
David Lebovitz has been generous enough to host Sugar High Friday #27 and our theme is Chocolate by Brand. The reason I’m participating in this month’s SHF is because I have lovely friends. Case in point: for my birthday last November, Maggie and Ryan surprised me with a gift from my Amazon wishlist. And what a gift it was! They’d purchased every single chocolate book from my wishlist. I was determined to return their kindness with delicious treats from said books (cookbooks - the gift that keeps on giving), and I happened to know Ryan had a weakness for peanut butter… Since this worked so well last time for the afternoon tea party, I figured I’d do it again. As some of you know, I’ll be taking part in a cookie swap next weekend, and I was looking through my recipes for interesting cookie recipes. Not the usual chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, and not the only-for-the-sake-of-decorating sugar cookies. Something with a bit more flavor complexity. Thus, I seek your input! See below some of the options I’m considering. I’ve linked to pictures/recipes where I can, and provided a brief description where no pictures are available. I may have found a new favorite cookie. The Korova cookies recipe comes from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan, and it is a truly stunning chocolate chocolate chip cookie with fleur de sel (fancy French sea salt).  When still warm from the oven, the Korova had a density I would expect more readily from a brownie than from a cookie. Once cooled to room temperature, the Korova’s true identity as a sable cookie became obvious. It had a delicately sandy texture on the outside, with a denser, richer consistency on the inside. In both states, the Korova cookie boasts a rich, intense chocolate flavor, with unexpected bursts of salt from the fleur de sel. The large grains of fleur de sel really are essential here, as they provide bubbles of salt flavor to cut through the dense chocolate cookie, instead of just making the entire cookie salty. I used my favorite sea salt, Maldon’s, which is British, not French. (Read a review which extols Maldon’s virtues, such as its square flakes, and how it stands up to other available fancy salts.) It’s a great way to enjoy a rich chocolate cookie without being overwhelmed by the thickness of the chocolate flavor. It seems like a recipe that would showcase superior chocolate, and I’m really looking forward to making it again once I get some quality Callebaut bittersweet and Dutched cocoa powder. |
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Daily Delicious Links {1}
Wholemeal pikelets {3} Brooklyn Blackout Cake {3} French Toast Waffles {7} Daily Delicious Links {2} The Best Scrambled Eggs {6}
Jun 11, 2008
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