I often try to think of a reason I need to bake it… an occasion that warrants baking a cake that has beer in it. I can’t think of a reason aside from it’s the middle of the week, and I’m totally baking this tomorrow to celebrate… Wednesday?
This recipe was originally from Bon Appetit, and it called for frosting. I don’t like this cake with frosting, and believe you me, it takes a lot for me to write that. But it’s so much more interesting, delicious, and subtle without frosting. Plus, this cake is incredibly moist, and frosting seems to overpower it. Serve with unsweetened freshly whipped cream if you must.
So, readers, I implore you. Go to the store to buy what you need; go home; bake this. It’ll make any day seem more special. lv, molly
Chocolate Stout Cake
1 C stout (such as Guinness) 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter 3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process) 2 C all purpose flour 2 C sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 2 large eggs 2/3 C sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; don’t miss any spots! Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool a little. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture, and beat just to combine; don’t overwork it. Add flour mixture, and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Eat plain or serve with unsweetened freshly whipped cream.
I’m so excited to share this cake recipe with you that I can hardly type quickly enough.
Apple cake made my apartment smell like a bakery in fall, and I instantly felt comforted and happy. (Isn’t it amazing when baking does that?) Since this weekend comprises the last days of summer, it’s time that a cake like this make its way into your repertoire and your kitchen.
I used freshly picked apples from my mom’s apple tree surplus. Admittedly, throwing fruit that’s straight from the vine into a baked good seems like sacrilege, but I can assure you that it was well worth it; the cake and the spices didn’t overwhelm the tartness of the apples. Go apple picking, and use any extra apples for this cake. No weekend plans? That’s what you should do. It’s settled. lv, molly
Apple Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Foodtography Fail
6 apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
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2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs, room temperature
Powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a tube or bundt pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones. Then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Don’t reserve the juice at the bottom of the bowl; pour it on top of the apples for an even moister cake. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top.
Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar.
I gave this to my mom, and she claims my dad ate it all
Today was one of those rare days when grumpiness strikes me like an unexpected storm. On days such as this, I find that there are two solutions, and they must be pursued in unison: bake a ridiculously rich cake and listen to The Pretenders.
This post chronicles both.
First stop: the cake. I tend to give cakes away after having a slice because, despite my love of baking, I don’t love sugar. I suppose I’m fairly sensitive to it, and I loathe that tired feeling you get after you eat too much. So some of my friends will be getting slices. Expect a sugar high, ladies & gents.
This cake is RICH and requires an unrelenting spirit, so proceed with caution. That being said… I don’t know to where I should attribute this recipe because it was written on a piece of scratch paper, and I found it, amongst other things, on the top of my refrigerator. This seems like an illogical place to store recipes, but, alas, my kitchen isn’t logically organized at first glance.
Chocolate and salt are amazing bedfellows. This is one of the most incredible and complex cakes I’ve ever created (nay, that’s ever existed!), and my recipe is in baking shorthand– it makes sense to me, but it might not be easily understood by others, so let me know. Despite the grumpiness, I’m always happy to answer questions, particularly questions that concern cake.
Secondly… The Pretenders. I unabashadely sang this song as I made the salted carmel. You should too. I’m pretty sure my hip sashaying improved the quality of this dessert.
Happy cooking, and have a good day, everyone! Make this cake, and everyone will thank you. lv, molly
Sweet and Salty Cake
Chocolate Layers
3/4 C dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 C hot water
2/3 C sour cream
2/ 2/3 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C butter (1 1/2 sticks), unsalted, softened
1/2 C vegetable shortening (buy the non-hydrogenated)
1 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbl pure vanilla extract
Salted Caramel
1/2 C heavy cream
1 tsp fleur de sel (“flower of salt”– amazing stuff)
1 C sugar
2 Tbl light agave nectar (I refuse to use corn syrup)
1/4 C sour cream
Whipped Caramel Ganache Frosting
1/2 lb dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 C heavy cream
1/2 C sugar
1Tbl light agave nectar
1 C unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 tsp fleur de sel for garnish
Now to the baking!
Make the cake layers…
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8″ round cake pans; line with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Dust with flour. Knock out excess flour.
In medium bowl, combine cocoa, hot water, sour cream, and set aside to cool.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
With electronic mixer, beat butter and shortening for ~ 5 minutes. Add sugars; beat until light and fluffy– 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla. Make sure all ingredients are well-incorporated.
Add flour mixture, alternating with cocoa mixture.
Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 mins., rotating pans halfway through. When toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean, transfer cakes to wire rack and let cool for 20 mins. Then invert cakes onto the rack, and let cool completely.
Make the salted caramel…
In small saucepan, combine cream and fleur de sel. Bring to a simmer over low heat until salt is dissolved.
In medium saucepan, combine 1/4 C water, the sugar, agave nectar, and stir together. Cook for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool.
Add cream mixture to sugar mixture. Whisk in sour cream. Let caramel cool to room temp. Transfer to airtight container, and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the cake.
Make the whipped caramel ganache frosting…
Put chocolate in large heatproof bowl; set aside.
In small saucepan, bring cream to simmer over low heat.
In medium saucepan, combine 1/4 C water, sugar, and agave nectar, stirring. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool for 1 min.
Add sour cream to caramel, and stir. Stir slowly for 2 mins.; then pour caramel over chocolate. Let sit for 1 min. Stir in a circle until chocolate is completely melted. Let mixture cool.
Using electric mixer, gradually add the butter, beating thoroughly until fluffy. If the frosting isn’t stiff enough, put it in the fridge for 15-20 mins. A friend taught me this trick; it works wonders.
Assemble the cake…
Place one layer on serving platter. Spread 1/4 C caramel over the top. Let soak into the cake; then add 3/4 C ganache. Don’t measure; just eyeball it. Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel. Continue this process with all the layers, and then frost the whole cake. Garnish with fleur de sel.
Cake keeps for three days in a cool and humidity free environment. If room is too hot (hello, New Yorkers), store the cake in the fridge with some saran wrap or in a cake container.
And I’m not kidding when I say you should listen to this song as you bake… I’m confident it’ll result in some singing.
Maybe because I’ve been eating healthfully, maybe because I love to bake, cake was the star of last night’s dream. The cakes in my dream were as tiny and beautiful as the ones eaten by Marie Antoinette in the aesthetically beautiful (but generally bad) film by Sophia Coppola. I wore a fancy tulle dress as I ate them. What does this dream mean? Perhaps my ego is inflated or I want to be an Austrian princess.
Here are some scrumptious cakes from ex-con Martha Stewart. Recipes’ links appear after photos. Enjoy this eye candy (err, eye cake?). If I had more time, I’d bake cakes randomly and invite friends over. Maybe I’ll do that this week; I have my eye on the coconut layer cake. xo, m
PS- Marie Antoinette never said the famously callous line: “Let them eat cake.” It was uttered 100 years prior by Marie-Thérèse, the wife of Louis XIV, and became a trademark statement used by French revolutionaries to demonstrate the monarchy’s ignorance of poverty. So much for a history lesson. Now to the cake!
