The Robert Redford Cake

The Robert Redford Cake (source: Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. pg. 178.)

The recent death of Robert Redford reminded me that I had never made this cake. The cake has a confusing history. Maida herself first saw the recipe in the magazine Chocolate News. It was a recipe from Hisae restaurant in New York City and named for the actor who loved the cake. Later, Maida was in NYC and visited Hisae and ordered the cake. She knew immediately that it was different from the one in the magazine.  She got the recipe from the restaurant and it is the one in her book. She never solved the mystery as to why they were different.

Flash forward some fifty years later, and when you do a search for "Robert Redford Cake", you get something very different from this recipe. Most likely, search results give you a popular layered dessert with a shortbread-like crust, a filling made with sweetened condensed milk, and a pudding layer sprinkled with a toffee/butterscotch sprinkling. I remember the recipe well.  Every time you attended a function where people brought desserts, it was sure to be there. It was then called "Better Than Sex Cake". I know my mother made it, but she would never have called it that. 

So this cake, entirely different, is a chocolate honey cake with a velvety, nutty texture and subtle chocolate and honey flavor. It is delicious and reminds me of some of the wonderful tortes that I've made in the past. The technique is a little different from most of her other recipes. I wasn't sure about the icing, which is more like a pudding, but it tastes wonderful. Maida says to make making individual servings of the whipped cream to go with each slice of cake when serving. 

6 1/2 oz. (1 1/4 cups) blanched hazelnuts or almonds

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup honey

10 large eggs, separated

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter a springform pan (or 10 x 3" round pan) and line the bottom with parchment or baking paper. Lightly dust with bread crumbs.

Blanch the almonds or hazelnuts and grind them in a food processor to a fine powder.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and let it come to room temperature, stirring occasionally (I used an ice-water bath to speed this up).

Beat the butter until softened.

Gradually add the honey and beat until smooth.

Add the egg yolks, a few at a time, and blend well.

The mixture will appear curdled.

Add the chocolate and mix well, scraping the bowl as necessary. The mixture should now appear smooth.

Add the ground nuts.

In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites. Add the salt and beat until the egg whites form soft peaks.

Fold one-third of the egg whites at a time into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated. This makes a lot of batter. (A stand-mixer bowl is adequate but if you are using a hand mixture, you will need a large bowl.)

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350. Bake an additional 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (40 minutes worked for me). After turning the oven off, allow the cake to sit in the open oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

During cooling, the cake will shrink a little.

After cooling, carefully remove from the pan. 

ICING

3/4 cup heavy cream

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream until a wrinkled skin forms on top.

Reduce the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and smooth.

Transfer the icing to a bowl to cool completely (again, an ice-bath helps). Occasionally stir. The icing should gradually become slightly thicker.

Pour the icing over the top of the cake and smooth.

The cake can be served immediately or later. Serve with whipped cream.

WHIPPED CREAM

For every cup of heavy cream, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar or granulated sugar or one tablespoon of honey and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Use a chilled bowl and whisk to beat the cream until it holds a soft shape. 

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield
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Nordic Ware Pan Springform, 9 Inch, Charcoal

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Hamilton Beach Food Processor & Vegetable Chopper

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Chocolate Ice Milk

 

Chocolate Ice Milk

Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 329.

A few years ago, I made Milk Chocolate Ice Milk. This is Chocolate Ice Milk, much richer with a strong coffee flavor. After trying it, I think that the 2 tablespoons of espresso powder is too much, and I wonder if she may have meant "2 teaspoons".  Whatever, I recommend decreasing this amount unless you like the flavor.

The last time I ordered cocoa, I tried a new one - King Arthur Black Cocoa. It is very intense and indeed very black. 

Due to the strong flavor, I tried this with some vanilla ice cream and enjoyed it more. 

This is easier and faster to make than the Milk Chocolate Ice Milk, which involving cooking for 30 minutes. Still, it is a dessert to plan in advance due to the chilling period before and after freezing it in the ice-cream maker.

Makes 1.5 Quarts

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee powder *(I recommend halving this!)
1 quart (4 cups) cold milk

Place the sugar, cocoa, salt and espresso (or coffee powder) in a blender or food processor. 

Add 1 to 2 cups of the milk (reserving the remaining milk) and blend until the sugar and cocoa are dissolved. Then mix in the remaining milk.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Freeze in an ice-cream churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Cover and freeze for several hours before serving.

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, 2-Quart Ice Cream,

Sorbet and Frozen Yogurt Machine

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Plum Ice

Plum Ice 
Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg.  336.

2 lbs. (8 large) dark plums
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar (Note: I would use only 1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Every year, a man from the family who owns the nursery where I work, brings us these delicious plums. Last year, I made a non-Maida recipe,  Plum Coffee Cake, which was very good. I wanted to do something different this time, and, turning to Maida's books, I found this recipe.

The recipe suggests using 'Black Diamond' or 'Santa Rosa' plums. I have no idea which variety these are.

A note on the sugar - it is way too much! I reduced it to about 3/4 and it was still very sweet. I would suggest 1/2 cup sugar, especially if the plums are very sweet.

This is easy to make. You will need an ice-cream maker. We have a little Krups one that is wonderful.

The recipe makes 1 1/2 quarts.

Halve and pit the plums and set aside.

• Stir the water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Add the salt and the plums. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10-20 minutes, until the plums are tender. Some of the skins may loosen and become detached. This is ok.

Puree the plums in two batches (including the skins)
 in a food processor until smooth.

Strain the mixture over a bowl.

Add the vanilla and lemon juice. 

Stir and chill in the freezer or refrigerator until very cold.

Freeze in an ice-cream churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a covered container in the freezer for at least several hours before serving.

Heath Bar Brownies

Heath Bar Brownies
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 140.

These are very easy to make and I used a hand-mixer. I was actually short on the Heath bars, and it still came out fine (I omitted sprinkling the tops).

I refrigerated them overnight before cutting them into bars, so they were very hard. It is best to let them sit at room temperature for five or so minutes to soften a bit.

Makes 24 small brownies

2 1/2 oz (3/4 cup) pecan halves or pieces
6 1/4 oz. Heath Bars
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sifted unbleached flour

Adjust the oven rack one-third from the bottom and preheat to 350.

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil. Butter the foil on the bottom and sides.

Toast the pecans. Set aside.

On a cutting board with a sharp knife, cut the Heath bars into long slices, about 1/4 inch wide, until you have 1 1/2 cups. Chop the remaining 1/4 into very small pieces (to use as a sprinkle on top of the brownies).

Melt the chocolate and butter in top of a double boiler. Stir occasionally until melted. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside.

Beat the eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar until mixed.

Add the melted chocolate, beating only until mixed.

Add the flour and beat only until mixed.

Stir in the nuts and the 1 1/2 cups of Heath bar pieces.

Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with the 1/4 cup of remaining Heath bars.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick comes out barely clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool completely.

Invert the pan and carefully remove the foil. Refrigerate for about one hour. 

Cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container. They can be served either at room temperature or cold.