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Milk and Honey Cookbook
Looking for cookbooks? Jennifer Cote's cookbook
and devotional,
From the Land of Milk and Honey, is available online at
Winepress Christian Books. $13.95
I really like the
color of "Pistachio Green". I experimented, adding a touch of red to
the green food coloring. If you stick with the green as it comes from
the bottle, you won't have a pistachio color at all! I added extra
yellow as well, until the color was pleasant, not gaudy.
I also bought some packaged fondant, making a ribbon on one cake, as shown above. The box of fondant contained a somewhat abrasive mix of colors, but with a little
blending, I got the color I was looking for. Typically, you want to add
just a touch of the opposite color to your frosting. Greens might need
a touch of red; purple or orange might need a touch of green, etc. This
tones them down and makes for a classier look.
__________________
I learned from the experts that you can let any ribbons you make dry overnight. Why do this? I discovered the hard way: If you start laying "ribbons" on your typical frosting, the colors might start running by the end of the day. Letting them air-dry for a day or so helps resolve that issue.
At some point, I may try
making my own fondant. My mom did this for my dear sister-in-law's
wedding. It was years ago, but I still remember the beautiful smell of
the rose water my mom added to the mix. That was one special
occasion!
The Beauty of the Sponge Cake Recipe
The (Genoise)
sponge cake recipe is great for a couple of reasons: It turns out
light, and it cooks through without having a gooey center. While it's
possible to overcook (as I've found out), I'm glad that I will be
spreading it with the raspberry syrup, which adds moisture and flavor.
If that much moisture were added to the cake before baking, it would be
harder for it to cook through without burning the edges. Ah, the beauty
of Genoise!
Using the Right Pan
This chocolate cake recipe is made in a 9" square pan. You could double the recipe and bake it in a larger "Oblong Sheet" baking pan (11"x 15"). Ideally, this pan will have straight sides and corners perpendicular to the bottom. The cake bakes better in such a pan (as opposed to the pans with edges that flare out from the bottom). You don't need to trim such a cake in order to achieve straight edges; you get a more professional look. You need to do the eggs in batches, though, as a mixer won't hold much more than eight eggs once they've increased in volume. I made a triple-batch of this for a 50th birthday party, baking it in a half-sheet-cake pan (12"x18"). It was great!
Best Cake Recipes- Chocolate Cake with Pistachio
This chocolate cake has a Creme Fraiche frosting, although buttercream would work well too. Serves 15-20.
Ingredients:
- 1 qt. whipping cream (4 c.)
- 1/4 c. buttermilk
- 8 eggs
- 1 1/3 c. sugar
- 3/4 stick butter (6 TBS.), plus scant 1/2 c. (3 1/2 oz.) butter, melted
- 2 tsp. plus 1 TBS. vanilla
- 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. flour
- 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 c. seedless raspberry jam
- 1/3 c. Frozen Raspberry/White Grape Juice Concentrate
- 1/2 lb. raw, shelled pistachios (1 2/3 c.)
- 1 c. pistachios (for decorating, if desired)
- 1/2 c. plus 1 c. confectioner's sugar,
- 1/2 c. plus 1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 1/2 TBS. water
Creme Fraiche
Two or so days earlier, heat to lukewarm: > 1 qt. whipping cream (4 c.)
Remove from heat and mix in: > 1/4 c. buttermilk
Cover and let stand in warm, draft-free area until slightly thickened, 24-48 hours. Cover, refrigerate.
Chocolate " Genoise " Cake
To make the egg/sugar mix, use room-temperature eggs, warmed in hot water first: > 8 eggs
Add warmed eggs to a bowl, along with the sugar, setting bowl in warm water until lukewarm, stirring occasionally. Use: > 1 1/3 c. sugar
In separate cup, microwave mixture of: > 3/4 stick butter (6 TBS.) > 2 tsp. vanilla
Mix dry ingredients together separately: > 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. flour > 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cake pan (9"x9"); dust with flour.
Beat egg/sugar mix until tripled in volume. Fold in spoonfuls of flour mixture at a time, into egg mixture, repeating until mixed in. Fold in melted butter/vanilla last. Put into prepared pan and bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is springy, about 30 min. Let cool.
Assembling
Prepare Raspberry Filling; microwave jam in a small bowl, using: > 1/3 c. seedless raspberry jam
Add to the bowl: > 1/3 c. Frozen Raspberry/White Grape Juice Concentrate
Prepare "Pistachio Paste"; first process nuts (before adding the confectioner's sugar and butter). Process until smooth, using: > 1/2 lb. raw, shelled pistachios (1 2/3 c.)
Optional: If you choose to decorate the sides of the cake with pistachios, process some extra nuts, chopping until medium-fine: > 1 c. pistachios (for decorating, if desired)
To processor, add: > 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar > scant 1/2 c. (3 1/2 oz.) butter, melted
Process until well-blended. Set Pistachio Paste aside. Note: Many recipes use a small amount of water or egg white instead of the butter, but I did prefer the butter myself.
Prepare chocolate mousse filling, and frosting for cake. For that, microwave 30 seconds or so, and stir until melted: > 1/2 c. plus 1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips > 2 1/2 TBS. water
Set the melted chocolate mixture aside and let cool off some. Meanwhile, whip just until soft peaks form: > The 4 1/4 c. chilled Creme Fraiche (or substitute straight whipping cream)
To prepare the Chocolate Mousse, fold into the cooled chocolate mixture: > Approx. 1 1/2 c. of the above whipped Creme Fraiche
Set aside. Meanwhile, to the rest of the whipped Creme Fraiche add: > 1 c. Confectioner's sugar > 1 TBS. vanilla
Set the frosting aside.
Split the sponge cake into three layers using serrated knife, setting the first layer (cut-side up) on a cardboard cake rectangle (or flat cookie sheet). Set the other two layers on wax paper, cut side up. Drizzle the raspberry mixture over the cut side of all three layers.
For the first layer, after adding the raspberry mixture, add about half of the chocolate mousse mixture. Next, add half the Pistachio Butter, rolled out into a 9" square. Roll it between two layers of plastic wrap, then lift onto the cake, pulling the top half of the plastic wrap off afterward.
For the next layer, carefully set the middle layer of cake drizzled with raspberry syrup, on top of first layer of cake, raspberry, and pistachio. Add the other half of the chocolate mousse mixture. Also, add the second half of the almond paste, again rolled into a 9" square.
Finally, lift the top layer of cake (raspberry side down) onto the other two layers.
Color the frosting as desired; see notes in the left column for achieving the right color. Frost the cake with the Whipped Creme Fraiche/Confectioner's sugar mixture.
If desired, sprinkle chopped pistachios on the sides of the cake. Another decorating idea: Fondant ribbons. See notes to the left on working with fondant. To get a nice purplish-wine color, I mixed the intense purple fondant that came in the box, with a few of the other colors, to tone it down.
You can make this cake a day ahead, or in steps. I often bake the cake earlier in the week, freezing it until assembly time.