The Truffle Cake Trilogy Part 2

Okay, moving on. Here is my second attempt. After the first attempt's disaster I made sure I covered my springform pan with aluminum foil - twice. I didn't tweak the recipe. I followed it to a tee.

So what went wrong this time? The water seeped into the batter again! Aargh!!! 


A certain baker I know got obsessed with tapping out the air bubbles from the batter, she must have tapped it sooo hard that the aluminum foil got squished. Uh oh.


This is the final result. Better than the first one, don't you think? But since I baked it again for more than an hour, it got burnt again. At least this time, the dark bits are only on the side and the bottom... see? 

Getting there...


Happy Cupcaking, 
Aikko

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The Truffle Cake Trilogy Part 1

This is what happens when someone (read: me) forgets to put aluminum foil to a spring form pan before placing it in a larger pan with hot water. I'm not sure why I forgot, I have done this before with this cheesecake. 

By the name alone, it sounds promising. Who can resist a cake enticingly called Truffle Cake? I certainly can't. Let's just say I didn't pass the marshmallow test when I was a kid. 

Apparently, no matter how tight the lock of the spring form pan is, water is still guaranteed to seep into the pan and eventually into the cake batter. So, what happens when a certain someone forgets to put aluminum foil to a spring form pan?

• She waits to check after 40 minutes, only to find out the cake is still jiggly.
• And ends up baking the cake for an hour and a half
• She would have baked it for a lot longer if she didn't smell something burning... oh dear...
• And looking at the cake, the top part of the is burnt and the rest looks like it fell apart as if it doesn't have eggs in it. 

So why I am making this post a trilogy? You thought only Spider Man, Pirates of the Carribean or Transformers have trilogies, don't you? Well, this Truffle Cake does, too. Because it took three times before I replicated the marvelous Truffle Cake I first made a few weeks back. I just have to do this cake justice - 

• so I can make Liv and Kaye proud
• I just can't forget one of my friend's delight when she tasted the Truffle Cake... she said it was the melt-in-your-mouth kind of cake
• well, it's a cake totally worth making over and over (and over) again. Rich, dense, simply sinful and totally worth the extra .001 of an inch you will hardly notice on your waist.

Truffle Cake

from The Whimsical Bakehouse: Fun-to-Make Cakes That Taste as Good as They Look

Ingredients:

8 ounces unsalted butter

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

6 ounces dark chocolate

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

5 large eggs

1 cup sugar (divided into two)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup light corn syrup

Procedure: 

1. Grease one 9X2 inch round pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Pre-heat oven to 350F

2. Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in a heatproof bowl placed over hot water. Stir until melted then cool 5 to 10 minutes.

Peekaboo! Just realized I can see myself in the chocolate mixture. An unusual self-portrait. Hi!

3. In a bowl of an electric mixer at high speed, use a whisk attachment to beat the eggs, 1/2 cup sugar.

and vanilla extract.

4. Continue beating until triple in volume and the batter forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.
5. Meanwhile,  in a saucepan, heat 1/2 cup sugar and corn syrup to a boil.

6. Remove from heat and slowly beat the hot syrup into the eggs with the mixer a slow speed. 7. 

7. Beat at medium speed for about 8 minutes, then decrease the speed to low and beat in half of the chocolate mixture. Before it is fully inforporated, take the whisk attachment and fold in the remaining chocolate by hand. 

8. Pour batter into the pan. Place pan in a larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with hot water. 

9. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool the cake in the wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes then turn it out of the pan onto a cake round. Chill before serving. 

Happy Cupcaking,
Aikko

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Blair and Nate's Flourless Chocolate Cake

Last week, I made an almost flourless cake. It was so yummy but the texture was not the same as the flourless chocolate cake I tasted at The Market.


So this week, I tried another recipe. I found one at howdini.com. Chef Ceci Carmichael seems to have the recipe I'm looking for. And it only has five ingredients, cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate bars, sugar, egg and butter. How simple is that?!


I have to say, this version of the fourless chocolate cake is for "adults only". Nothing naughty here guys! Its just that it isn't as sweet as I expected it to be. Next time I try this recipe, I'll probably replace unsweetened cocoa powder with a sweetened one and the bittersweet chocolate bar with milk chocolate. Let's see how that one will turn out. But it would probably be awhile if I ever tested this recipe again. I'm trying to revive my Pinoy cupcakes series. Hopefully starting next week. If I get all the needed ingredients. Fingers crossed.




Here's Chef's Ceci's version. I just modified it to fit my little cupcake liners.
(1) Melt 2 sticks (1 cup) butter and 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in saucepan over low heat.
(2) While butter and chocolate are melting, mix dry ingredients together - 1 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 cup granulated sugar.
(3) Add eggs to dry ingredients and wisk together. (You can add the eggs all at once.)When the butter/chocolate mix has cooled enough to ensure that its heat won't scramble the eggs in you dry ingredients/egg mix, temper the butter/chocolate mix into the dry ingredients/egg mix and wisk the two together until they are completely blended.
(4) Cut a piece of wax or parchment paper to fit the size of your springform baking pan, and lightly butter it
(5) Place it into the baking pan, buttered side up, and pour the cake mix into the pan.Place into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Don’t overbake it!Remove from oven, allow to cool and remove from the baking pan. Place on a serving plate.



From the looks of it, the cupcake can stand on its own with just a dust of powdered sugar. It's just that I don't know when to stop!!! Here I was thinking I have to whip a cup of heavy cream to frost the cupcakes. I shouldn't have done it since it backfired. Whipped cream curdled just as I was about to stop and pipe it. See? It completely sucks!!! Good thing I have one good cupcake left to frost and take a picture of.


Why Blair and Nate? In preparation for Gossip Girl's Season Three coming this September of course! You know you love me, xoxo...

Happy cupcaking!

Aikko