All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray [31]
3. Place the top over the bottom half of the double boiler (or place the heat-proof bowl into the pan of water). Bring the water to a gentle boil, and beat the mixture on high speed for 7 minutes, or until you have soft peaks (see page 106).
4. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Beat for 1 or 2 minutes more.
5. Cool slightly, then frost away!
NEW TECHNIQUE
SEPARATING EGGS
Oh, there are fancy gadgets out there for separating eggs, and not-so-fancy gadgets, and then there’s the method where you carefully crack your shell in half and use the bottom part to catch the yolk. I use the most stripped-down method of all: my clean, dry, bare hands. It’s amazing how well this works, though it grosses out a competent seven-year-old. It also grosses out some adults. It’s a good party trick to have in your repertoire, trust me.
Have 3 bowls ready: one bowl to catch the individual egg white, one to hold your collection of egg whites, and one for the yolks. Crack an egg against the edge of a bowl, then dump the egg into a cupped hand, catching the yolk and letting the white slip through your fingers into the empty bowl. Then gently slide the egg yolk into the yolk bowl. Next, transfer the egg white into the third bowl: the egg white collection bowl.
Why use a designated bowl for the egg you’re separating? Because it’s crucial NOT to get any yolk mixed in with the egg whites. Suppose you use only two bowls and you’ve separated eight eggs and are about to separate the ninth, only to realize you’ve broken the yolk and it’s now seeping into the collection of egg whites—ACK! You are so screwed. Unless you like really big omelets. But this book is about cakes, not omelets. And egg whites with yolk in them are not going to whip into soft or stiff peaks, and one of those is the stage you need to get them to.
Hmmm. But what to do with all those yolks? Well, there are cakes that are yolk-heavy (Lord Baltimore, page 189), and there are frostings that are also yolk heavy (Lane Cake Filling and Frosting, page 193). Rather than toss my yolks, I freeze them for later use in cakes and frostings. I sprinkle a bit of water over them, and add either a dash of salt or sugar as a preservative. Since I bake on Sundays, I’ll move my frozen yolks to the refrigerator to thaw Friday night, then leave them out for 1 or 2 hours before using them on Sunday.
So many yolks, so few punch lines.
Cocoa Bread with Stewed Yard Peaches
* * *
YOU’LL NEED
An 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan
FOR THE COCOA BREAD
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
1 cup boiling water
½ cup molasses
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups self-rising flour (see Tip)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
FOR THE STEWED PEACHES
6 cups sliced peeled peaches (see Tip)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup water
Tips: Do NOT use all-purpose flour without compensating for the substitution—remember your briefing at the beginning of this book (page 34)! If you don’t have self-rising, add 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of all-purpose flour, and you should be fine.
If you don’t have fresh peaches, frozen are best. Use two 16-ounce bags. But you can also use canned peaches, so long as you drain the syrup off.
TO MAKE THE COCOA BREAD
1. Center a rack and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the sides and bottom of your pan with baking spray.
2. On the stove top or in the microwave, melt the butter and set aside to cool.
3. Boil some water and measure out 1 cup.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the boiling water, melted butter, molasses, and sugar. Let cool, then whisk in the eggs.
5. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking soda, unsweetened cocoa, and cinnamon together.
6. Add a third of the flour mixture to the molasses