Palm Beach Chocolate Layer Cake

 

Palm Beach Chocolate Layer Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 50.

This is a dense cake with a strong chocolate flavor but not too sweet. The icing is hard and thick and is delicious (be aware that the icing is made with raw eggs). It was just a tad dry and I'm wondering if the oven temperature was reduced to 350 instead of 375 might help. The baking time is only 25-30 minutes.

On the next page of "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts" is "Palm Beach Tube Cake" and I'm curious how it compares to this one. It is made with white sugar (a whopping 2 cups) instead of brown sugar.

This is a rich cake and a small piece goes a long way. It is fantastic with milk or ice cream.

 

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 375 (although I will try 350 the next time I bake this). Butter or spray two round 9-inch pans and dust with dry bread crumbs.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter until softened and add the vanilla.

 

Gradually add the sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix well.

Beat in the eggs...

 and the melted chocolate. Mix well.

Add half of the flour (set the mixer at the lowest speed - this is going to be a very thin mixture)

Then add the boiling water -

Then add the remaining half of the flour. Mix well, scraping the bowl and beaters as necessary to fully incorporate.

The batter is very thin and liquid-y. Divide between the two pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake comes away from the sides of the pan and springs back when touched. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wait until the cakes are completely cool before making the icing. The icing sets up quickly and has to be applied to the cake immediately after it is prepared.

Filling & Icing

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 oz. butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 eggs
1 TBS. hot water
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place the chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan and melt over very low heat. Stir constantly as it melts.

Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixer bowl and add the remaining ingredients all at once.

Beat at low speed until everything is incorporated then increase the speed to high. Beat until smooth.

Immediately spread a layer of filling over the bottom cake layer. Top with the second layer and ice the top and sides of the cake.

Johnny Appleseed Squares

 

Johnny Appleseed Squares
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 115.

This recipe was a bit of a mess - actually it was a big mess - as Michael is prone to saying "It is a Maida Mess". But it was a delicious mess.

First off, the recipe did not stick together well. I did place it in the freezer, as Maida instructed, but it was still difficult to cut into squares. Smaller apple slices would have helped and if you attempt the recipe, I would recommend very small apple slices because slicing into the apple is difficult and the apple pieces want to slide out of the squares (especially when eating them). 

After slicing the squares and storing them, the mixture became even softer and mushier. Still, this is quite a tasty treat and would be an unqualified hit if they were firmer. Perhaps I did not bake them long enough (although I did the full 30 minutes as directed).

This makes 16 to 24 squares, depending on how you cut them.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Scant 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg or mace
1 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
4 oz. butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 to 3 firm cooking apples (preferably Granny Smith or Jonathan)
1/2 cup pecans, toasted, cut into medium-sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9 x 1 3/4 square inch pan with foil. Butter the foil and place it in the freezer until ready to use.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Stir in the oats and sugar.

 In a small bowl, mix together the butter, egg and vanilla. Mix it into the oat mixture.

Press one half of the mixture into the prepared pan. Set aside.

Place the remaining dough between two layers of wax paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 9-inch square. You can peel back the paper to adjust the mixture until it is the appropriate size for your pan. Place this sheet of dough back into the freezer for a few minutes.

 

 

Retrieve the first pan of dough that you prepared and arrange the apples over them. The recipes says "place the apples in rows, each slice overlapping another, to cover the bottom of the dough. Sprinkle with nuts." As I mentioned earlier in the introduction, I found that I sliced the apples too large so I would advise cutting them much smaller.

Now take the rolled-out dough from the freezer and peel away the wax paper. Place the dough over the apples in the pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before done, check the top and see if it is brown enough. If it isn't, raise the oven rack to a higher position.

Cool in the pan. It is best to chill before slicing. Cut into bars or squares.