Ema's brownie ... or blondie?

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This cake I was introduced to earlier in the summer, while visiting my hubby's cousin, Ema. I like to think of her as my cousin too now. I love her, she is an awesome person. Everybody in the family was excited for her barbecue party, but not as much for the barbecue itself but more about this scrumptious cake she makes. And you can imagine I got very excited about this, all our cousins were raving about it, and as soon as we got there we dug in, before having any actual food, even some of us breaking all strict diets and all, and ate half of the cake in a heartbeat. Then we ate an array or various grilled meats, sides and salads, all delicious, and yes, we finished everything with the other half of the cake. It was an awesome evening! 

And of course I asked her for the recipe and the permission to share it here on Askanam. She is a total sweetheart, and agreed. 
Back home we call this type of cake a brownie, although it has nothing much in common with the American brownie. My Mom also makes this type of cake, but Ema had changed and improved the recipe over the years, as she has been making this since her school years, and the results are great to say the least. Well I must say I added my own touch to it, errrr, just by doubling the quantity of chocolate sauce, haha. Because well, you can never have to much chocolate, right?

Ingredients for a 9x13 inch pan, around 40 servings (yes, portion size is very small, as the cake is very rich, but of course, you eat as many as you want or can... that means a lot more than 1 for us): 

For the cake:
7 large eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar
7 tablespoons vegetable oil (sunflower, canola or corn)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional, works just as fine without)
1 small pinch of salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla bean paste or extract

For the frosting:
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)
2 tablespoon corn starch  (optional)

For the sauce:
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 stick of butter, softened preferably 
1 cup of milk
2/3 cup good quality cocoa powder 
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

First, make the cake.
Prepare a 9x13 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C).
Separate the egg whites from yolks, putting the whites in the clean bowl of your mixer, fitted with the whip attachment, and the yolks in the bowl of a small food processor, blender or just a medium bowl.
Start beating the egg whites on lowest speed for 20-30 seconds. Increase the speed to high, and beat for 1-2 minutes until soft peaks. Add a pinch of salt. With the mixer still on high speed add the sugar gradually, and beat until stiff glossy peaks form, another 2 minutes or so. This times are for a KitchenAid stand mixer, it might take a little longer time if you use a hand held mixer, that is not as powerful. 
Blend/process or beat with a fork or whisk the egg yolks and vegetable oil very well, until thick and lighter in color. Mix in the vanilla.
Add the egg yolk mixture over the egg whites (meringue) and mix/fold in gently with a wooden spoon.
Sift on top of it the flour and baking powder, and fold in gently just until incorporated. Do not over mix. 

Pour the batter in the pan, level with an offset spatula, and bake for 23 minutes, on the middle rack. Check after 20 minutes, by gently pressing with the finger on top. If the cake springs back it is done, so you can take it out of the oven. Don't over bake the cake, as it will dry out, and you will place it again in the oven later. It is better to be under baked actually. But not as much as it to deflate when you take it out. Keep a close watch on it, and take it out as soon as it sets. 
After the cake is done,take it out on a heat proof surface, and let the oven on, increasing the temperature to 380 degrees F. 

While the cake bakes, make the topping.
Wash and dry the mixer bowl and whip. Repeat the same process with the egg whites as you did for the cake. When the meringue is stiff and glossy sift over the corn starch, add the vinegar and gently mix.
Pour the meringue over the cake, level it well with an offset spatula, return pan to oven and bake at 380 F for 15 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. You can put the meringue on the hot, just out of the oven cake. 

Let the cake cool down completely on a rack, in the pan. When cool using a sharp knife cut it in small, 1 inch squares. 

Make the chocolate sauce.
In a sauce pan mix well together the cocoa powder and sugar, so there are no cocoa lumps. Add the milk and butter, mix, and place on medium heat, mixing constantly. Get to a boil, and let it cook for 1 minute.
In a medium bowl beat the egg yolks with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. When the cocoa has boiled, take it off heat. Add one tablespoon of the hot mixture and add it to the yolks, mixing very well. Do this for several times, increasing to 2,3, 4 tablespoons of hot mixture you add every time, mixing well after each addition. This is in order to temper the eggs, so you don't get scrambled eggs.  When the bowl is almost fool, return it's contents to the rest of cocoa mixture in the sauce pan, and mix well everything. The sauce should be glossy, thicker and delicious. Add the vanilla and  mix. 

With a spoon, pour hot chocolate sauce on each cold cake square. Or just pour it over, but slowly. The cake should be "swimming" in chocolate sauce. It is best to make the cake few hours in advance, so it has time to soak up the sauce. It keeps well for 2-3 days, in a cool dry place. I keep it in the oven after it cools. 

Now stop thinking about calories, and eat!

Thank you, Ema! 

Chocolate on chocolate mascarpone bundt cake

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Because a day without chocolate is a day lost, I give you with no further introduction the chocolate on chocolate mascarpone bundt cake

Chocolate bundt cake 

Ingredients

2+1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup mascarpone

1/2 cup heavy cream

7 ounces chocolate, chopped

8 ounces butter, plus more for pan

1 + 1/4 cups sugar

5 eggs 

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 325F (170C).
2. Butter a 14-cup Bundt cake pan and set aside. If your pan has a lot of corners and complicated shapes, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and use a pastry brush to spread the butter all over the pan, getting in all the corners, so that your cake comes out easily. 
3. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl and pour hot cream, through a sieve, over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture.
5. Add mascarpone and mix. Let aside to cool.
6. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy.
7. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
8. Stir in vanilla extract.
9. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three equal amounts alternating with the chocolate batter, ending with flour.
10. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 55-60 minutes (or until a wooden toothpick insterted in center comes out clean). If the toothpick is wet, bake 5 more minutes and check again.
11. Let cool in pan, invert onto a serving plate and start preparing the chocolate ganache glaze.

Chocolate glaze

Ingredients

4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup almond slivers

Method

1. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil.
2. Add chopped chocolate and butter and let stand without mixing for 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture.
4. Let stand, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.
5. Pour over the cooled cake
6. Sprinkle some almond slivers on top for some crunch

Pan di Spagna cupcakes

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Pan di Spagna (literally 'bread of Spain'), is a cake invented in the mid 1700's by Giobatta Cabona (a cook from Genoa at the service of the genoese ambassador in Spain, marquis Domenico Pallavicini) on the occasion of a banquet, where he presented a cake of incredible lightness, that took its name to honor the Spanish court. It is very similar to the American chiffon cake. 
The high oil and egg content creates a very moist cake, and as oil is liquid even at cooler temperatures, it does not tend to harden or dry out as traditional butter cake might. This makes them better-suited to filling or frosting with ingredients that need to be refrigerated or frozen, such as pastry cream or ice cream. It also tends to be lower in saturated fat than butter cakes, making them healthier than their butter-heavy counterparts.
I love this cake for so many reasons: very few and unpretentious ingredients, easy and fast to make, and so many uses! I think of it as one of the basic recipes in baking, that you can use as a starting point for classic layered cakes, for cupcakes, pound cakes, cake rolls, trifle and many more. Back at home it is usually baked in a loaf pan, then served as slices with confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top. 

I used this recipe the other day to make cupcakes, some frosted with chocolate ganache, and some with lemon icing. 

This is what you need for about 24 cupcakes (2 loafs if you use loaf pans instead, or 3, 8 inch cake layers if you want to make a cake):


For the cake:
7 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
7 spoons water
7 spoons vegetable oil (canola, corn or sunflower oil)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose or cake four, sifted
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (the original recipe does not ask for backing powder, you can skip it, but I usually add some)


For chocolate ganache:
2 cups good quality chopped dark semi-sweet chocolate 
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream


For lemon icing:
2 cups confectioner's (powder) sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons, because I love their taste and fragrance)


Method:


Preheat oven at 360 degrees F (180 C).
Prepare the pans you will bake the cake in, greasing them with butter and lining with parchment paper, or lining the muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (of course you can use a hand mixer, or if you are in shape even a regular whisk), beat the egg whites on medium-high speed  until soft peaks form, for 2 minutes or so, then gradually add the sugar, and beat until very stiff, for 2-3 more minutes. Stop the mixer. Leave the bowl with the meringue in place.


In another bowl whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla extract, water, vegetable oil, then sift on top the flour, salt and baking powder together, and mix everything well. 


Change the whisk attachment of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Start the mixer on low ( I put my KitchenAid on 2 or 3) and gradually add the egg yolk mixture, beating for 20 seconds, just until combined, not more. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. 
The best would be to carefully fold them in using a spatula, but it worked very well with the mixer too. It is important though to mix very lightly in order for the beaten egg whites to keep their volume, so the cake is light and fluffy as we want it to be. The dough should be very airy, soft, and light, like a beaten mousse. 

To make cupcakes, carefully fill them to two thirds, with batter. The easiest way to do this is using a large ice cream scoop, of about 2.5 inches diameter. One full scoop takes the exact quantity of batter needed for a perfect cupcake. 

Bake them for 17-20 minutes, until they puff up and are golden on top. Keep an eye on them, but do not open the oven before 15 minutes pass. Try to see if they are done by carefully pressing on top, (don't burn yourself though by touching the oven, be careful!) with your finger, and if it springs back, they are done. You can also use the toothpick method, inserting a toothpick in, and if it comes out clean, it means they are done. Every oven is different, so it is better to try them and see when they are done, for best results. It can take only 15 minutes in some, or even 20 in other ovens. 
I also made mini cupcakes, and you have to bake them only 12-15 minutes.
Whenever I want to bake two different sizes of cupcakes, what I do is to fill out the big ones, place them in the oven, then start filling the small ones after that, and place them in the oven later, as it usually takes me 5 minutes to fill all the mini liners, so they are both ready in the same time.

When done, let them cool in the tins, then carefully remove them. While they cool you can prepare the frosting/ icing.


To make the chocolate ganache: heat the heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium heat, until small bubbles form on the pan sides, turn heat off, drop the chocolate on top, let it stand and melt for 5 minutes, then mix well until smooth and shinny. You can use this chocolate ganache in many desserts, as cakes like this or this, for profiteroles  or frost various other things, like a cheesecake.


To make the lemon icing: juice one medium Mayer lemon (to get 3 tablespoons lemon juice). Set the juice aside, in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or butter warmer. Pour it over the lemon juice and mix, then add the confectioner's (powder) sugar, and mix well. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before using it. Mix once more just before frosting with it. You can control the thickness of the icing by adding more lemon juice or sugar, until you get the desired consistency. It will harden a little as it sets after you frost the cupcakes.


For easy frosting, just carefully take the cupcake keeping it by the liner, turn it upside down and dip in frosting gently, covering all the top, with circular motions, then slowly turn them upright, and place on a rack to set. Do the same with the chocolate ganache.

Because this cake is so moist, baking it in cupcake liners, and frosting them, ensures a longer freshness, as they don't dry out fast, so you can keep and enjoy them  for a few days!

Profiteroles

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Was going to make cream puffs , but somehow ended up with profiteroles... not a bad change though. Especially because I put copious amounts of chocolate ganache on top. I think I will have to eat some while writing this post... hard to resist them. 

This recipe made 12 large profiteroles. Next time I am planning to make them half size, so you can eat them in one bite. 


Preheat oven at 400 degrees F ( 200 Celsius) 


Step 1: making the shells:


Ingredients: 
1/2 cup milk or water ( I prefer milk)
4 tablespoons butter, softened 
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I put vanilla in everything, you can skip this if you want)
1 tablespoon sugar
small pinch of salt
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg, beaten, to brush the shells


In a medium sauce pan put over medium heat the milk, vanilla and butter and bring to a simmer. Careful not to keep it too long, just until  you see small bubbles on the edge. You don't want to evaporate to much water. 
Remove from heat, add all the flour, salt and sugar at once, and mix well with a wooden spoon, until you get a ball of dough. Put back on heat, mixing continuously, for about 2-3 minutes. It will look like this:

Remove from heat and let it cool, until they are not steamy anymore. you can speed the process by keeping mixing it with the wooden spoon. 
When they are cool enough, slowly add the egg, in 3 batches, mixing very well after each. Before adding the last batch, make sure to check that the dough has the right consistency. You need it to be hard enough to keep it's shape, but soft enough to drop from the spoon if you lift it. 
If the dough is soft enough, you might not add all the egg. But in my experience the whole 2 eggs is just the right amount. You will get a soft dough looking like this:

Using 2 spoons, place dollops of dough on a cooking sheet covered with parchment paper. I just used my cupcake pan. No idea why. The dough will get 3-4 times bigger while backing, so make sure you let about 2 inches space between them. It is quite easy to shape them any way you want, but you can also use a piping bag as well. You can make them round, like profiteroles or cream puffs, or longer, like eclairs. Brush the top with beaten egg. You can shape them and smooth the surface during this step, with the help of the brush.

Bake at 400 F for 12 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 330 F ( 170 Celsius) and bake for 25 minutes more. Depending on the size of the shells you made, reduce or increase the baking time, with about 5 minutes. They are ready when they are amber colored, puffed up, and hard, with a dry center. 
When the baking time ends, prick them with a toothpick, or make a small cut with a knife, to let the steam escape, so the center does not get humid. You can let them cool in the oven, with the door slightly open. 


Step 2: make the vanilla cream, also called creme patisserie,  for filling 


Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar


Heat the milk just until it gets steamy. Add the vanilla seeds/extract. While the milk warms up, combine egg yolks, sugar and corn starch and mix until smooth. Add half of the milk on top of the egg mixture, and whisk constantly, then pour this on top of the rest of the milk in the sauce pan, continuing to whisk, over medium-low heat, for about 2 minutes, until you get a smooth thick custard. Let it cool, place plastic wrap on top, not to form a crust. Chill before filling the shells.


Step 3: fill the shells


With a small sharp knife make a small cut on the side of the shells. Put the creme patisserie in a piping bag. Insert the tip of the bag in the cut you made, and fill the shells with cream. You can also cut the shells in half and just spoon in the cream, for an easier approach. 

Step 4: make the chocolate frosting


I like to frost the profiteroles with chocolate ganache. You can use dark, milk or even white chocolate, or why not even a combination of the three. 


Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 oz good quality chocolate, cut in small pieces, or buy it granulated.

Heat the heavy cream just until it starts bubbling on the edges of the sauce pan.  Pour the chocolate on top, letting them melt for 5 minutes. Mix it well until you get a glossy smooth chocolate ganache. 

Now you can just dip the profiteroles in the ganache, or spoon the ganache on top of them. Using a piping bag you can also make different designs if you feel creative. It will taste awesome no matter what. 


You can also serve them with ice cream: in a bowl place 2-3 profiteroles with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, and pour some hot ganache or other chocolate sauce on top. It is divine!


Fill them with Chantilly cream (1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar) instead of creme patisserie and you get cream puffs. 


These shells can also be filled with cream cheese frosting, cream cheese and herbs, salmon cream... anything really. 


These are easier to make than it may seem, so go ahead! 

Twice as nice

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Happy New Year! May 2012 bring you and your family lots of joy, amazing moments, as many accomplishments, and of course health and abundance! 

What would happen when you combine two of your favorite deserts? A miracle!
I made these mini cakes for the New Year's Eve dinner: creme caramel, or flan, and chocolate cake. 
To make this amazing treat I just made half of the "Death by chocolate" cake batter recipe and half of Creme caramel recipe.


Method:


1. Make the caramel:


Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons water


In a heavy sauce pan put 1 1/2 cups sugar with 4 tablespoons water on medium low heat, and cook it until in becomes glossy and darkens, like this:

Divide the caramel in 4 medium ramekins, covering the bottom and sides of them. Let them cool until caramel hardens and starts cracking.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Put a kettle of water to boil.


2. Prepare the creme (flan)


Ingredients (all must have room temperature):
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk 


In the bowl of your electrical mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix 4 whole eggs on low for 1-2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of  sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract , and mix well on medium/low speed, in order not to incorporate air. Slowly add the milk. Mix on low until all air bubbles are gone.
Pour it in another bowl and set aside.

3. Prepare the cake batter 


Ingredients:
4 oz semisweet good quality chocolate (110 grams)
1/3 cup butter (70 grams)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons heaped cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sour cream


Break the chocolate in small pieces ( or you can just use chocolate chips instead and so you won't need to brake it ), and melt it with the butter in a sauce pan placed over another pan of boiling water. If you want you may add 1 tablespoon of rum, for more flavor. The sauce pan should not be touching the water in the second pan. 
In a bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the eggs with sugar on medium ( I put it on 4 on my KitchenAid for about 3-4 minutes ), then mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. Mix just until incorporated on medium speed. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate and the sour cream. 


4. Divide the cake batter equally in the 4 ramekins, over the hardened caramel, just to fill them half way.

5. Using the back of a spoon slowly pour the creme mixture over the cake batter, to fill the ramekins. This technique is used when making layered cocktails. Here is a useful tutorial on layering liquids.

6. Tightly cover each ramekin with aluminium foil. This is important.
Place ramekins in a pan filled with hot water, and bake for 40 minutes. The water should rise about 1,5-2 inches on the sides of the ramekins. Why bake in a water bath? Since water evaporates at the boiling point, the water bath will never get hotter than 212 degrees F (100 degrees C), no matter what the oven temperature. This means that the outer edge of your cake won't bake faster than the center, ensuring even baking. When making cheesecake, the water bath also ensures it to stay moist and not crack on top.

And miraculously, while baking, even though the creme (flan) is poured on top of the cake batter, it will sink to the bottom of the pan. Tadaaaaa!


Let them cool for 15 minutes, on a wire rack, then remove the aluminium foil and let cool completely,  then refrigerate for 2 hours. 
To serve them, run a knife around sides to loosen the edges, then place the serving plate on top of the ramekin. Holding tight, turn them upside down, and the cake will easily drop on the plate, with the caramel on top, dripping all over the cake. So delicious!


Keep the leftovers refrigerated.


You can make this cake in a large pan, or a nice bund cake pan, too.


Thanks for reading,
A

Death by chocolate

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This is one of my all time favorite cakes. I guess the name says it all : 

Death by chocolate. 

It is the most decadent, rich, dense, moist and chocolaty cakes I ever had.

 

Death by chocolate


Ingredients:


8 oz (225 g) dark semisweet good quality chocolate (40-50% cocoa)  
2/3 cup (140 g) butter
1 cup (210 g) sugar
4 eggs
4 heaped tablespoons cake flour
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract. I use this in everything. I am not sure what I love more, chocolate or vanilla. I think I am a vanilla girl though :)
4 tablespoons sour cream


Frosting:
2/3 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
9 oz (260 g) semisweet good quality chocolate (40-50% cocoa)


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 Celsius )
Line the bottoms of two circular 8 inch spring form cake pans, or one 10 inch pan, with nonstick baking paper.


Break the chocolate in small pieces ( or you can just use chocolate chips instead and so you won't need to brake it ), and melt it with the butter in a sauce pan placed over another pan of boiling water. If you want you may add 3 tablespoons of rum The sauce pan should not be touching the water in the second pan. 
In a bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the eggs with sugar on medium ( I put it on 4 on my KitchenAid for about 3-4 minutes ), then mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. Mix just until incorporated on medium speed. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate and the sour cream. 


Divide the batter equally in the two pans. You can do this accurately by measuring them on a kitchen scale, for even baking and layers.
Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes (if using 1 cake tin 40-50 minutes). Do not open the oven door before 20 minutes pass. Be careful not to over bake the cake, as it will not be as moist. It is fine if it is just a little under baked, rather than over baked.
Let the cake pans cool on a wire rack, loosen edges with a knife, then gently remove from pans and let cool completely. If you have non stick pans use a plastic knife to do this, as a metal one will scratch the pan ruining it. 


If you used just one pan, when completely cooled place the cake in the fridge for an hour or two, or in the freezer if you want to do this faster. This step will make it easier to cut in half horizontally, in order to have two layers. You can do this with a thin, long and sharp bread knife, or use a cake leveler like this one from Wilton, which makes it very easy. This tool is great especially when you want to cut more thin layers of cake.


Prepare the frosting by heating the whipping cream in a sauce pan, put in the chocolate, let it melt for few minutes, then stir well until smooth, and voilà, you have ganache! Ganache is amazing on anything, you can use it in so many ways, from frosting, filling to decorating, for dipping strawberries in, pouring it warm over ice-cream, or just eat it as it is :) . You can whip it as well, in a mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment, and you will get this wonderful fluffy ganache instead of the dense creamy one.  
Let the ganache cool until it thickens a little, 10-15 minutes, not more, as it will set and be hard to spread.


Use one third of the frosting between the two layers, using the rest to frost it. Put the cake into the fridge for one hour or more to harden the frosting.


This cake should be served at room temperature, but it is just as good when cold, depends on your personal preference. 


This post is dedicated to my sweet and talented baby sister Ayla, who loves this cake and always asks me to bake it for her. Miss her so much! She is all the way in Milan, Italy, studying to become an amazing fashion designer. Can't wait to go to her first fashion show, and see her label on amazing clothes. 


Thanks for reading, and I hope you will try and like this amazing chocolate cake. Let me know!