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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 love the Creme Fraiche frosting for this cake. It holds up well, with no weeping or melting. Don't be intimidated by it! "Creme Fraiche" sounds fancy, but it's just cream that you culture with a bit of buttermilk (that is, you let it sit in a warm spot for 3 or 4 days). The result is: A great frosting that holds its shape and is easy to work with. The touch of tang that the buttermilk has "bred" into it gives it a subtle hint of sour, like you find in cheese cake. It's wonderful.
I have a few variations on the theme of "Sponge Cake Recipes". You can start with the basic yellow sponge cake, and add various flavored syrups to the otherwise slightly-dry cake layers. That's the beauty of sponge cake: It's meant to absorb that extra moisture and flavor in the syrups that you add afterward.
One variation is my Orange Cake Recipe. Check it out! The "syrup" I use isn't any expensive, fancy syrup; just frozen orange juice concentrate, with a touch of honey in it. I'll also be posting another sponge cake recipe soon; I used pistachios in place of almonds, for a different take on the traditional almond paste filling.
The sponge cake is also known as a genoise cake; it's a cake made light by whipping slightly-warmed eggs and sugar. No extra baking powder, no folding in of whipped egg whites... I was intrigued by the idea of whipping the warmed eggs and sugar in one simple step. I thought, might this be one more easy chocolate dessert recipe I can add to my repoirtoire?! Well, not exactly super easy, but it is manageable.
Best Cake Recipes
I
do love finely-prepared baked goods. OK, I'm a dessert-snob... I don't
even want to waste the calories if it's not homemade! But it can be
challenging for the occasional baker to pull off a nice chocolate cake,
one that's cooked through but not dry, that's light and not too dense.
I
suppose that's the beauty of the sponge cake recipe. The cake turns out light and
cooked-through, even though it would be rather dry if not for the syrup
sprinkled on after baking. If added into the batter, it'd be so moist
that it'd be harder for it to cook through. Yes, I guess those French really knew what they were
doing!
I've included a basic almond paste recipe for this cake, although you can make it without the layer of almond paste
I roll out the almond paste between layers of plastic wrap, then lift the bottom piece of wrap, plus the almond paste, onto the cake layers. A bit tricky, but doable.
Sponge Cake Recipes- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
This recipe has a few steps; definitely more involved than a box cake. But it's perfect for graduation parties and other larger occasions when you can't afford to buy an expensive, fancy cake, but want something homemade and special. It's a pretty rich cake, and can be cut in smaller pieces. This recipe serves 20 or so.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 qt. whipping cream (6 c.)
- 1/3 c. buttermilk
- 8 eggs
- 1 1/3 c. sugar
- 3/4 stick butter (6 TBS.)
- 2 tsp. 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
- Optional (for almond paste): 1/2 lb. blanched almonds*
- Optional (for almond paste): 2 egg whites
- Optional (for almond paste): 1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
- Optional (for almond paste): 1/2 TBS. almond extract
- 1 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 c. water
- 1 c. Confectioner's sugar
- 1 TBS. vanilla
Creme Fraiche
Two or so days earlier, heat to lukewarm: > 1 1/2 qt. whipping cream (6 c.)
Remove from heat and mix in: > 1/3 c. buttermilk
Cover and let stand in warm, draft-free area until slightly thickened, 24-48 hours. Cover, refrigerate.
Chocolate Sponge 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
Sift dry ingredients together separately (to be sure lumps are out of the cocoa), or just mix well, pressing any lumps out, using: > 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. flour > 3/4 c. plus 2 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8" x 12" cake pan. If using a 9" x 13 " pan, bake it for less time. Dust with flour.
Beat the warmed 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; batter should come up in pan about ⅔ full. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and is springy, about 30 min. Let cool.
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 Almond Paste Layer, using: > 1/2 lb. blanched almonds*
Process dry, blanched almonds until smooth. To processor, add: > 2 egg whites
Process until fairly smooth. Add: > 1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar > 1/2 TBS. almond extract
Set almond paste aside.
Prepare chocolate mousse filling, and frosting for cake. For that, microwave 30 seconds or so, and stir until melted: > 1 c. plus 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips > 1/4 c. water
Set the melted chocolate mixture aside and let cool off some. Meanwhile, whip just until soft peaks form: > The 6 1/3 c. chilled Creme Fraiche (or substitute straight whipping cream)
To prepare the Chocolate Mousse, fold into the cooled chocolate mixture: > Approx. 2 c. of the above whipped Creme Fraiche
Set aside. Meanwhile, to the rest of the whipped Creme Fraiche add: > 1 1/2 c. Confectioner's sugar > 1 1/2 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 square (or flat, square plate). 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 Almond Paste, rolled out into an 8 x 12 " rectangle. 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 almond paste. Add the other half of the chocolate mousse mixture. Also, add the second half of the almond paste, again rolled into an 8 x 12 " rectangle.
Finally, lift the top layer of cake (raspberry side down) onto the other two layers.
Frost the cake with the Whipped Creme Fraiche/Confectioner's sugar mixture. Decorate accordingly. Can make a day ahead.
*If blanching your own almonds, let them dry before processing, for a smoother almond paste. Spread them on a couple of cookie sheets to air-dry (or leave in an oven that's been warmed, but turned off).