Mad About Maida

Palm Beach Chocolate Tube Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 52. This recipe contained no introduction and when I looked it up on the Internet, I kept seeing another recipe for a chocolate cake from The Silver Palate Cookbook , published in 1982. I have that book and pulled it off the shelf and took a look. Sure enough, the recipes appears identical. The Silver Palate calls it "Decadent Chocolate Cake"with the only notable exception being the frosting, which the Silver Palate had done differently (more on that later). Maida Heatter's book was published in 1974. Hmmm.... Regardless of who came up with it first, it is a scrumptious cake - dense, moist, richly chocolate - heaven! Now, about that frosting. Maida's recipe calls for only three ingredients - semisweet chocolate, sour cream and 1 egg. After reading the recipe, I decided to skip it since it calls for a raw egg. That doesn't bother me ...

Chocolate Gingerbread  (Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts   (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 89.   This is very moist and delicious gingerbread although I have to say I don't really taste the chocolate in it.  When I was making it, I was remembering other gingerbread recipes of Maida's that I had tried so I'm thinking they are similar. Note the icing is not in the recipe - in fact, this is in the chapter called "Old Fashioned Cakes Without Icing". I thought that the icing might be a nice touch. This is a cream cheese/pecan frosting that is similar, if not identical, to the one I use for carrot cake. This is made in a 9" x 13" pan so it is a large, flat cake. I decided to freeze half of it and will report on how that turns out. 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate 1/2 lb. (2 sti...

Michael Guerard's French Chocolate Sauce  (Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts   (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 259.   This is very easy and delicious. It is great on ice cream. It will keep in the refrigerator for two or three weeks. 3/4 cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process) 3/4 cup granulated sugar Pinch of salt 1 cup cold water 2 tablespoons sweet butter Place over moderate heat and stir with a wooden or rubber spatula until it comes to a boil. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Add the butter, stir until melted and simmer for 3 more minutes. Serve immediately or set aside to reheat.  Store in a covered jar or glass container in the refrigerator.

Bishop's Bread Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 59 . This is not really a bread but more like a coffee cake. It is an Austrian-German recipe called Birchofsbrot . I've seen other variations that use more candied fruits and some that use regular chocolate instead of white. The cake part is very light, very much like a sponge cake.  Maida recommends using a long, narrow loaf pan for this. I have one that measures 12.5" x 5" and it worked well.  I would suggest that you start checking it at 55 minutes. I baked this for one hour and it was ready (she states 1 hour, 10 minutes) and I actually think it could have come out 5 minutes earlier. It was a bit dry around the outside edges. This could have been from me using a dark pan. A lighter pan is recommended. Note that the instructions say to let it sit wrapped in plastic overnight. I'm not sure what the purpose for that is but it is good to know befor...