Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [353]
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans; dust them with flour, coating the bottom and sides lightly but thoroughly, then shaking out any excess.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat the sugar, eggs, and egg yolk in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, until thick and creamy, until the turned-off beaters drizzle firm ribbons back on top of the mixture, ribbons that do not immediately dissolve, about 4 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture, then beat in the vanilla until smooth.
Beat in ½ cup milk, then turn off the beaters and add half the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until moistened, then beat in the remaining milk at low speed. Add the remaining flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moistened, just for a few seconds.
Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Give the batter a few turns with a rubber spatula to make sure there are no white streaks, then scrape evenly into the two pans. Rap the pans a few times against your work surface to get rid of any air pockets.
Bake until springy to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely before filling.
To cool and unmold: Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then unmold the cakes by inverting them onto a cutting board, removing the baking pans, and reinverting the cakes onto the wire rack before cooling completely, about 1 hour.
To store: Do not ice. Wrap the cooled layers separately in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.
To fill: Up to 6 hours before you serve the cake, top one layer with the Italian Meringue Icing. Lay the second layer on top. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Variation: Add 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, or ¼ teaspoon grated mace with the cocoa.
Italian Meringue Icing
An Italian meringue is made by cooking the egg whites with a hot sugar syrup (as opposed to a Swiss meringue, made with raw egg whites, often put on top of meringue pies).
Makes enough icing for a two-layer cake
4 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup water
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft, droopy, white peaks can be formed by dipping the turned-off beaters into the mixture. Set aside.
Place the sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan and clip a candy-making thermometer to the inside of the pan. Set the pan over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has fully dissolved. Then continue cooking undisturbed until the temperature reaches 250°F.
Beat the egg whites for 5 seconds at high speed, then slowly pour in the hot syrup at the barest drizzle with the beaters running.
Once all the syrup has been added, continue beating until thick, marshmallowy, and cool, 7 to 10 minutes. Fill the cake immediately.
Linzer Layer Cake
A Linzer tart is an almond crust topped with raspberry jam, but here’s a cake version with two almond layer cakes sandwiching raspberry jam. Makes one 9-inch two-layer cake
Unsalted butter or nonstick spray for greasing the cake pans
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the pans
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons milk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup finely ground sliced or slivered almonds
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
Position the racks