Countess Toulouse-Lautrec's French Chocolate Cake

 

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 45.

I've wanted to make this recipe for a long time. I don't know why it has taken me this long to get to it. The recipe is very unusual. Just a few ingredients and it only bakes for 15 minutes.  It is not difficult to make at all but not a fast recipe and it needs to chill before serving.

Anyway, who was this Countess Toulouse-Lautrec? Of course, I immediately thought that it must be the artist Toulouse Lautrec's wife but no. She was Marie Pierre "Mapie" de Toulouse-Lautrec (1901-1972), a French journalist and food writer. She was related to Toulouse-Lautrec by marriage. According to Wikipedia, she invented the detachable recipe card that you find in magazines when she was a writer for Elle magazine. She introduced this recipe to American audiences in McCall's magazine in 1959.

The cake is dense, somewhat like a cheesecake, but not really. It is very chocolaty and rich. A small portion goes a long way. It can be served without the whipped cream or you can substitute a fruit topping. The cake needs a topping because it sinks in the middle and isn't that great looking when bare.

1 lb. semisweet chocolate (bar chocolate or chips are both fine)
5 oz. butter, at room temperature, cut into small cubes
4 large eggs, separated
1 TBS. all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 TBS. granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line an 8-inch spring-form pan with wax paper to cover the bottom. Butter the top of the wax paper as well as the sides of the pan.

 

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water. This is a lot of chocolate. Here is how I do it - I bring about an inch of water to a boil and then turn off the heat. Place the double boiler with the chocolate in position and cover it with a plate. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Remove the plate and stir. If the chocolate still has not fully melted, it might be necessary to heat the water again.

Add the butter a little at a time to the chocolate, stirring and making sure it completely melts before adding more. Set aside to cool.

Beat the egg yolks at high speed for 5 minutes. Add the tablespoon of flour and mix it in.

Add the chocolate into the batter.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold a soft shape. Add the sugar and continue to beat until they hold a definite shape. Fold one half of the mixture into the chocolate (just enough to mix). Then fold the chocolate into the remaining whites. Fold until blended.

Transfer the batter to the pan. Level the batter by briskly turning the pan back and forth.

Bake for 15 minutes. When you remove the pan from the oven, the cake will look deflated. Do not worry.

 Let the cake sit in the pan until it comes to room temperature. Slide a sharp knife around the perimeter to loosen the cake but do not open the pan. After coming to room temperature, refrigerate the cake for several hours or overnight.

After the cake has chilled, remove it from the pan. Carefully use a long sharp knife to remove the cake from the pan bottom. Peel off the wax paper.

If you so desire, prepare the whipped topping to garnish.

Whipped Cream

(Note: I divided this by half and still had plenty).

2 cups heavy cream
3 TBS. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract or 2 tsp. kirsch or framboise

In a chilled bowl with chilled beater, whip all the ingredients until it reaches the stiffness level you like.

Chocolate Miracles

 

Chocolate Miracles (aka Chocolate Fudge Cookies)
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 32.

I had to laugh when I saw this recipe. There are a total of 3 ingredients, it only takes a few minutes to make but in true Maida fashion, the printed recipe is 1 1/2 pages long! haha

That's right, only 3 ingredients -

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (the cookies want to stick so don't use foil!).

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate over hot water. (I usually bring about an inch of water to a boil, then turn it off, place the pan of chocolate over it and let it sit. If it is a lot of chocolate, you can cover it which will melt it faster. After a few minutes, stir the melted chocolate.)

Add the sweetened condensed milk. Turn the heat back up and bring the water to a boil. Constantly stir the mixture with a rubber spatula for five minutes.

Remove the pan and whisk the mixture until smooth. It will be slightly thick.

Stir in the pecans.

Use a small scoop and place mounds of the batter on the parchment paper. Place them 2-3 inches apart. The cookies will spread a little during baking but not too much.

Bake for 15 minutes on the upper two racks. Reverse them about halfway through baking.

Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack. This is a bit tricky as the cookies are sticky. I found that two methods worked well and I used both. One - hold the corner of the parchment paper with one hand and carefully slide a thin spatula under them. The other method - use both hands, holding the cookie with one hand while you carefully peel off the paper with your other hand. 

The cookies are soft and chewy. As they sit, they become harder. For best results, serve them after baking or within 24 hours. They should not be stored airtight because they will loose their crispness. They can be covered loosely with wax paper.

German Oatmeal Cookies

 

German Oatmeal Cookies
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 94.

One of our favorite cookies are the ones from the Quaker Oats oatmeal box. These are very similar but there are a few differences. They include dates and chocolate chips as well as some additional spices. They are soft and dense cookies and very tasty. The chocolate chips are a great addition and I would almost add more chips, especially if you are a chocolate lover.

1 cup raisins
Boiling Water
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/3 cup water
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Makes 48 cookies

Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 

Boil a cup of water in a small sauce pan and pour the water over the raisins. Let is set for five minutes. Drain the raisins. Save 1/3 of the water to use later.

 Sift the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and allspice together. Set aside.

 Cream the butter -

Add the sugar, beating well -

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well -

Add the dates and the raisins -

Add the oatmeal -

Add the 1/3 cup of water that was used for the raisins (only 1/3 cup!) -

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients -

 

Add the chocolate chips and pecans -

 

Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of the dough and place them on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart

If you want, you can place a whole pecan on top of each cookie (I didn't do this).

Bake for 12-14 minutes, reversing the pans halfway through for even browning. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed.

Transfer to a cooling rack.

Plum Coffee Cake (a non-Maida recipe)

 

This is not a Maida Heatter recipe but it turned out so good, I wanted to share. I could not find any recipes in Maida's books for plums. A member of the family who owns the nursery where I work has a fantastic vegetable garden and he brings wonderful things (corn!) in to share with employees. It is the time of year for these delicious plums and he has presented us with two boxes full during the past two weeks. A customer and I were discussing them and she shared this recipe. It is wonderful and I would think that you could substitute apples, peaches or just about any fruit if you don't have plums.

Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened)

2 large eggs

8-10 plums (about 1 lb.), pitted and sliced

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper. Spray or butter the paper and the sides of the pan.

 

Whisk together the flour and the baking powder in a mixing bowl.

On low speed, add the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat for 2 minutes until well combined.

The batter will be sticky. Carefully spread it over the bottom of the springform pan. (I find that coating a spatula with cooking spray helps).

Arrange the sliced plums over the dough in a spiral pattern. Set aside.

 

 

Make the streusel topping:

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter and beat until it becomes crumbly.

Spread the topping evenly over the plums.

 

 

Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the top hasn't browned, turn the oven to the broiler setting for 5 more minutes.

After removing from the oven, let it sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes before running a knife around the perimeter of the pan and releasing the sides. Cool completely.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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.