Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 81.

I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of pumpkin and especially pumpkin-flavored desserts. However, if I must eat it, what better way of doing so than with chocolate? It sounds like a winner and sure enough, this cake is really nice. I decided to skip the nuts in this one because I have two other desserts for Thanksgiving with nuts and I often get annoyed with Maida because 95% of her recipes call for nuts. If you haven't noticed, they are very expensive these days!

The original recipe calls for a baking time of 1 1/2 hours! I started checking mine at 55 minutes and felt that one hour was enough. I usually tend to underbake my cakes slightly because they continue to bake after you remove them from the oven. So, I give a baking time of 1 hour to 1 hour fifteen minutes, but use your best judgement and keep checking.

2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
2 sticks sweet butter (softened)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/2 cups walnuts (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 325. Generously butter a 10" Bundt pan and dust with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter until soft. Add the vanilla and the sugar. Mix well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well.

On low speed, add half of the flour mixture...

Alternating with the pumpkin...

And ending with the last half of the flour mixture. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the nuts.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 75 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. (See the note in the introduction. My cake was ready in 1 hour).

Let stand for 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

Jane Freiman's Brownies

Jane Freiman's Brownies 
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 75.

These are very good brownies. I think they are best with ice cream. They are very fragile. The instructions to freeze them is a must and it requires some dexterity and patience to flip them out of the pan. Even after freezing, I had one to break as I was cutting them. 

The recipe calls for walnuts but I used pecans.

I was not familiar with Jane Freiman but found out she is a New York restaurant critic and food writer. In her introduction, Maida says that she is a friend and the author of "Dinner Party: The New Entertaining". The book was published in 1990.

1/4 cup sifted unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (broken into small pieces)
5 oz. walnuts (1 1/4 cup) (in medium-sized pieces)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup sour cream
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with foil. Butter the foil and sprinkle it with dry bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. 

Beat the eggs, vanilla and sour cream slightly.

In a quart (or larger) saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir until melted. Stir in the chocolate.

Transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in the egg mixture, then the sifted dry ingredients. Add the nuts.

Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Stand at room temperature until cooled. Carefully invert from the pan when cooled and peel off the foil. Flip it again so that the cake is right side up. Freeze for at least one hour or refrigerate for several hours. Cut into squares as soon as you remove it from the freezer.

They can be wrapped individually or stored in an airtight container. They can also be kept frozen and served immediately after coming out of the freezer as they do not get too hard.

Hungarian Seven-Layer Cake

Hungarian Seven-Layer Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 73.

This recipe caused me to use bad language. In the end though, it turned out nice and tasted great. I made this for a friend's birthday yesterday. My major gripe is that the recipe doesn't make enough batter or icing (a major pet peeve!).

First of all, seven 8" pans are needed. If you have that many, more power to you, and it will make life easier. I have four which wasn't too bad - I just had to clean them after the first go-around. 

Now, the cake layers are very thin and she instructs that you use only 1 cup of batter per pan. Have you ever tried to use 1 cup of batter for a cake layer? It is not easy as the batter must touch the sides of the pan. Mine turned out haphazardly at best and the sizes ended up all over the place. Thankfully, the cake is covered with icing to hide your errors. 

I made the cake layers a day ahead and I'm glad I did, especially after the icing debacle. I would have been in the kitchen all day had I not. The icing isn't really that difficult to make. The technique was different from any I'd made in the past. It is a beautiful dark icing but when I ended up short (and I only put a scant amount between the layers per her instructions), I wasn't a happy camper. I made a half batch to finish.

I was sure the cake was going to be a disaster so I made brownies to compensate. However, the cake was loved by all, even me. It is delicious with coffee and ice cream. 

It is a recipe that taught me a number of things and made me aware of what to expect - IF I ever attempt this again!

Cake Layers

6 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Line seven 8" cake pans (or you may use a few at a time if you don't have seven) with wax paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pans.

This is how I do it - use a marker to trace around the pan.

Fold the paper into fourths.

Cut along the lines.

Unfold 

Beat the egg yolks and about half of the sugar for 5 minutes until pale and thick. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the flour only until it is incorporated. The batter will be thick.

In a separate bowl (preferably one that is chilled), add the salt to the egg whites and beat until they hold a soft shape. Gradually add the remaining sugar on low speed, then increase the speed. Beat until the egg whites are firm.

Add 1/2 cup of the egg whites to the yolks and stir. Add additional 1/2 cup increments, leaving about 2 cups of the whites in the bowl. Now fold the yolks into the remaining whites.

Use about 1 cup of the batter for each pan, spreading the batter all the way to the edges of the pans. The layers will be thin.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes - if you have limited pans, it is okay for the batter to sit at room temperature while the others bake. (See notes above in the introduction)

Use a knife to cut around the perimeter of the pans and turn the cakes out onto a cotton or linen towel. After the layers are all done, allow them to cool completely and prepare the icing.

Bittersweet Chocolate Filling & Icing

(Note - This doesn't make a lot of icing so I would recommend making more (After making the first batch, I halved the ingredients for a second batch).

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP. dry instant coffee
4 egg yolks
1 stick sweet butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

Melt the chocolate in top of a double boiler.

In a small saucepan, mix the water with the sugar and instant coffee. Place over medium heat and mix until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil.

Beat the egg yolks at high speed until they are pale in color.

Add the sugar and coffee mixture in a slow stream to the egg yolks.

Add the melted chocolate until smooth.

Add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, until the mixture is smooth.

Spread a thin layer over the first cake layer and continue to assemble, adding the icing between each layer. Complete by icing the sides. Refrigerate until the icing has set (several hours).