BIRTHDAY CAKE

It was my birthday last week.  The big 50.

My neighbor also had a birthday (in the mountains, this neighbor lives about two miles away - down the hill, up a hill, down another hill).  I made her/us a real chocolate cake - a traditional, American-style, full of wheat and dairy chocolate layer cake.  A chocolate-orange cake, with a dark chocolate filling and a milk chocolate frosting, with bittersweet chocolate flakes on top. My daughter, the artist, did the frosting and decorating.  We had a few friends over, and indulged.

I've modified the recipe from an old Fine Cooking issue...it's not something I would make often, but it is fun for a special occasion.  This recipe assumes some basic cooking techniques: make sure the butter is soft-ish, take the eggs out of the fridge and bring to room temperature ahead of time (or, if you're like me and forget, put them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes); sift the flour before measuring (I use organic white flour, not whole wheat pastry; cake flour is in the original recipe, but I avoid it as it has too many additives).  The cake is not difficult, but does have a lot of steps - I've divided them up.

The frosting uses a lot of chocolate - use the best-tasting variety you can find/afford!

The original recipe is for three 9" layers, but I make it in four 8" layers.  I line the bottom with parchment paper - it makes it SO much easier to get the cakes out - and grease them.  Preheat the oven to 350, and have the rack in the lower part of the oven (my oven is big enough for all four pans, but you could do them on two racks if needed, one slightly above the middle, one slightly below).

CHOCOLATE ORANGE LAYER CAKE

3 C sifted flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Combine the dry ingredients, and sift three times.

1 C boiling water
3/4 C + 2 T natural cocoa (not dutch/alkalized)

Put the cocoa in a bowl and pour boiling water over.  Cool in the fridge to lukewarm.


1/2 C yogurt
3/4 C buttermilk
1 T orange extract, orange liquer such as Grand Marnier, or vanilla
zest of one orange

Stir the above ingredients into the cocoa liquid, and continue to cool.


12 T/6 oz butter
2 2/3 C sugar
3 eggs

Break the eggs into a small bowl, whisk lightly with a fork and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar - 6-7 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer.
Add the eggs slowly, beating at low speed or by hand.


Time to combine the egg/butter/sugar, the flour/dry, and the wet ingredients.  You can do this by hand (with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula) or on low speed with the mixer.  Don't over mix.

Put 1/3 of the dry mix into the egg/butter/sugar mix, and mix gently until only just combined.  Add 1/2 the liquid and mix.  Add another 1/3 of dry and mix.  Then second 1/2 of the liquid.  Then the last 1/3 of the dry.


Divide the batter between the four pans.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.  Cool in the pans for 5 minutes on a rack, then remove from the pans and continue to cool.  You can frost when completely cool.


DARK CHOCOLATE FILLING (a la Julia Child)

3 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate
3T orange liquer
4-5 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 Melt the chocolate and liquer in a double boiler.  Beat in the butter piece by piece.


MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

18 oz milk chocolate, copped into matchstick pieces
5T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 t orange extract or liquer
pinch of salt
3/4 C heavy cream

Put the chocolate, butter and salt in a large bowl.  Heat the cream - when it just begins to boil, pour it over the chocolate mixture.  Beat quickly and hard with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Add the orange flavoring.  Cool in the fridge until firm.  When it's time to frost, beat it with a hand-held mixture until light.


I used the dark chocolate for a middle filling layer, and the milk for the other layers and the outside.

Have fun indulging!

GLUTEN FREE WALNUT WONDER

Walnuts are wonderful.   They are an excellent non-fish source of omega 3 oils (omega 3's have many health benefits - cardiovascular health, joint health, skin health, anti-inflammation, immune system support, to name a few).  They have high levels of magnesium, vitamin E and B vitamins.   They seem to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.  Studies from walnut consumption show lowered crp (c-reactive protein) levels in the blood, which indicates lower inflammation and lower heart disease risk.  They are an excellent source of mono-unsaturated fats, which helps lower 'bad' LDL cholesterol levels.  They contain l-argnine, which lowers blood pressure, and melatonin, which helps you sleep.   They have a variety of anti-oxidants shown to support circulatory and cardiovascular health. They have been shown to protect bone health and prevent gallstones.  They are also a good source of protein and fiber, and have been shown to help prevent weight gain.

Many of my friends avoid gluten, either from medical necessity or as a way to give their digestive system a rest from potential inflammation.  If I'm going to a pot-luck or communal dinner, I'll almost always make a gluten-free dessert, just to be on the safe side.  I've had absolutely no difficulty in finding beautiful, delicious food that doesn't have gluten in it.  I don't look at 'gluten-free' recipes, but rather at classic cooking techniques (often French) that use eggs to rise, or corn or potato starch for a lighter texture, or nut flours for a rich taste.  This recipe combines all these elements, and has very little sugar - the nuts seem to provide a natural sweetness.  I use whole walnuts, which I grind in my food processor for instant walnut flour.  I also use the best possible eggs, as I've found it doesn't rise with poor eggs.  

People love this cake. 

This is a fairly simple cake.  For the beginner baker, here's a few tips:  1. Have the butter at room temperature, slightly soft.  2.  Have the eggs at room temperature (if you forget to take them out, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before using).  3. To fold ingredients, use a soft rubber spatula, be very gentle.  Hold the spatula in the center of the bowl, perpendicular to the ingredients.  Go directly down to the bottom of the bowl, then scoop along the bottom of the bowl and up the side.  Take the spatula out.  Return to the center of the bowl, turning the bowl slightly. Repeat. And repeat again until the ingredients are mixed.  In this way the ingredients are lightly mixed without deflating the eggs.

Walnut Cake (adapted from The Art of French Cooking, Volume II)

Preheat oven to 350

9" cake pan - line with parchment or wax paper, butter and flour (potato or corn starch).  I use a springform cake because it's so easy to get the cake out, but a normal pan is fine too.

1. Prepare the nuts:

1 C (4 oz) walnuts

3 T sugar

1/3 C gluten free flour - I use a mix of potato starch for lightness and buckwheat flour for flavor, but it will be lighter with all potato or corn starch.  Tapioca flour is another option.  If you're not gluten-free, you could use regular white flour.

Grind half the nuts with half the sugar in a food processor or blender, and turn onto a piece of waxed paper.  Repeat.  Sift the flour over the nuts and mix well with a spatula.  Set aside.

2. Butter

4T butter.  Have the butter at room temperature, slightly soft, in a bowl..  Beat with a wooden spoon until soft and creamy - like mayonnaise.  Set aside.

3. Cake
1/3 C sugar

3 large eggs

2 T alcohol - I use an Italian hazelnut liquor I happen to own, because I love the increased nuttiness, but an orange liquor like Grand Marnier, kirsch, brandy, or even a coffee liquor would also work well.

pinch of salt

Beat the sugar and eggs with the alcohol and salt on high speed in an electric mixer.  This is one of the few times when I get out my mixer (mostly, I mix by hand).  If you have a heavy-duty stand mixer, this will take 3-4 minutes.  If, like me, you have a normal hand-held mixer, it will take 7-8 minutes.  The eggs will get very fluffy and pale.  The volume should double, and the mixture should have soft peaks (ie if you pull the blender out, the mix should form into little peaks and stay up).  Fresh, organic eggs make a real difference in this recipe.

Scoop a couple of spoons of the egg mixture into the butter and mix it with a rubber spatula - the butter mix will be even lighter and softer now.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mix over the egg mix and fold in (see above).  Repeat twice more.  Then add the butter and fold that in.  (Take your time with the folding - too rough, or too much folding will deflate the cake.  Don't worry about folding in every last bit).  

Turn into cake batter.  Place in the middle of the oven.

4. Bake

Bake for 30 minutes.  The cake will rise, but may sink slightly in the last ten minutes.  This is normal.  The cake will pull away from the edges of the pan.  That means it is done.  

Remove, let cool 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and let cool.

This cake is great as it is.  However, I was asked to bring a dessert to a fancy-ish diner where there a few gluten-free guests.  I whipped some organic whipping cream and covered the cake with a thick layer.  Then I covered that with fresh raspberries.  Then, I grated some bittersweet chocolate (semisweet is fine too) and decorated the top.  It was amazing!  Elegant and delicious. Do use the best chocolate you have.  I don't sweeten my whipped cream, but you could add some confectioners sugar if you like. 

Enjoy the health benefits of walnuts with the indulgence of a rich, beautiful cake.