Joy the Baker » Tuesdays With Dorie

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

joythebaker — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:18:44 +0000

It’s Tuesday and I’m back with Dorie. She and I had broken up for a few weeks- some misunderstanding with snails and flan, but we’ve got it all sorted out. A love like ours, afterall, couldn’t be denied for long. So we’re back and better than ever with a gooey chocolate love to show for it!

This week’s Tuesday with Dorie installation is from Leigh (who apparently has a huge gun) of Lemon Tartlet. I’ll be honest, chocolate is just what I needed this week. Ah the comforts of chocolate. I ate two of the mini gooey cakes for lunch of Monday afternoon. I didn’t have an ounce of regret, although I might have added an ounce or two to my waist line. It was so worth it!

Gooey Chocolate Cake

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1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,

4 ounces coarsely chopped,

1 ounce very finely chopped

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Cake

joythebaker — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:33:57 +0000

The title to both this post and this dessert is a little hum drum. Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Cake… it just doesn’t set off fireworks in my head. And frankly, I always feel a bit off put when apostrophes are in strange places (here I am considering s’ strange). I was an English major in college, and I still just feel put out with the apostrophe after the s. I actually have to think about the Pie Cake, and who, and how many Grandmothers it belonges to. It’s a lot. I know! Well let’s just clear things up right now and say that this Apple Pie Cake belongs to many Russian Grandmothers. That’s what the whole s’ was trying to tell us.

I would also like to informally change the name of this recipe to The Apple Pie Cake that belongs to Many Russian Grandmothers. I don’t think Dorie will mind.

Grammar lesson, over.

Recipe and more cake talk after the big jump.

The dough for this Pie Cake is one of my new favorite things. It’s more of a cake than a pie. To make it, you cream softened butter and sugar like a cake instead of cutting cold butter into flour like traditional pie crust. The dough also has plenty of baking powder to give it all its rising magic. The result is tender, buttery with allusions to both cake and pie!

I’m going to trying this Pie Cake dough with all sorts of fillings- fresh apricots will be my next adventure!

For this Tuesdays With Dorie challenge, I decided to make a Mini Pie Cake, and used half of the recipe below to create a 3-inch inch high cake in a 6-inch by 3-inch round cake pan, greased and floured of course! Thank you to Natalie of Burned Bits for the selection!

Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie Cake

from Baking: from my home to yours

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For The Dough

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lemon

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples

10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice – the dough will probably curdle, but don’t worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples: Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice – even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that’s fine – and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9×12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it’s a little more malleable, you’ve got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan – because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven’s heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick – you don’t want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that’s fine; if it doesn’t that’s fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you’ve got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don’t have that much overhang, just press what you’ve got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You’ll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

Almost Fudge Gateau

joythebaker — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:17:24 +0000

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie delight is Almost Fudge Gateau. Don’t know how to pronounce Gateau? Luckily that’s not a prerequisite to eat this cake. The cake is an intensely chocolate, dense yet moist chocolate bomb. It’s the kind of cake you might serve to your guests after a fancy dinner, and wonder why you didn’t just serve the cake itself for dinner. Yea… this dark chocolate cake is worthy of being the main course.

The indulgent density of this cake is partially attributed to it’s leavening ingredients. The cake doesn’t have baking soda or baking powder to raise and lighten the batter. Stiffly whipped egg whites are folded into a rich chocolate batter, to lighten the cake once it’s in the oven. The product is deliciously rich and not for the faint of heart.

I used an old 10- inch springform pan that had a funky wreath shape. The center turned out to be the perfect place for loads of fresh berries.

Almost Fudge Gateau

Print this recipe!

from Baking: from my home to yours

5 large eggs

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coursely chopped

1 cup sugar

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

2 Tablespoons coffee or water

1/3 cup all purpose flour

pinch of salt

Getting Ready

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch spring form pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet covered with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof howl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar, butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may be grainy and that’s fine. Transer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for three minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35- 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly ( it might rise around the edges and you’ll think it’s done, but give it a few minutes more and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn’t shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack ad remove the pan bottom and parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.

For the Glaze

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you’ll be grazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to catch any drips.

Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven- the chocolate should be just melted and warm, but not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny Stir in the corn syrup.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the tip with a long metal icing spatula. Don’t worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake’ it will just add to its charm. allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you’re impatient, slip the cake into the fridge for about 20 minutes. If the glaze dulls in the fridge, just give it a little gently heat from a hairdryer.

Brown Sugar- Apple Cheesecake

joythebaker — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:08:52 +0000

I can’t leave well enough alone. Nothing illustrates this fact better than my adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s perfectly great recipe for Brown Sugar- Apple Cheesecake. If the recipe says round spring form pan, I want to use a square baking pan. If the recipe calls for apples inside the cheesecake, I want my apples on top. Call me a rebel. So in the world according the Joy, this cheesecake is served in bars, with browned apple and sugar goodness adorning the top. It’s delicious any way you slice it. Oh yes it is.

This week’s Tuesday With Dorie event, hosted by Quirky Cupcake and Good Eats and Sweet Treats featured Brown Sugar- Apple Cheesecake. The thought of making cheesecake doesn’t really rock my socks. But if I get a chance to cook apples in butter and sugar… any day, any time, I’m in!

I thought about this cheesecake adventure long and hard, and here’s what I did:

In a 9″ x 7″ pan I made a full recipe of crust, a full recipe of cooked apples, and a half recipe of cheesecake filling. Why a rectangular pan? Because I never have good luck with springform pans. Water from the water bath always sneaks in, no matter what I do or how I shake my fist in frustration. Why half the cheesecake filling? Because my mouth wanted to focus of the crust and yummy cooked apples.

Brown Sugar- Apple Cheesecake

From Baking: from my home to yours

recipe as Dorie Greenspan intended.

For the Crust-

30 ginger snaps (or a scant 2 cups graham cracker crumbs)

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the Apples-

1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unslated butter

3 large Golden Delicious or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into eights.

2 Tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar

For the Filling-

(I only used half of this recipe for my bars, but I’m providing you with Dorie Greenspan’s original recipe, ok?)

1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

6 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons apple cider

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup heavy cream

To make the Crust-

1. Butter the bottom and the sides of a 10 inch spring form pan.

2. Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whir until you have crumbs. Pulse in the sugar and the cinnamon, if you’re using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened.

3. Turn the crumbs into the spring form pan and, using your finger tips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they’ll go. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

4. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned. Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling. Leave the oven at 350 degrees F.

To make the Apples-

1. Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.

2. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with 1 Tablespoon of sugar and cook them, turning until just coated, for another minute or so.

3. Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet, and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

To make the Filling-

1. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fit with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping the bowl down often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth.

2. Add the sugar and beat for another two minutes . Beat in the cider, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

3. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs, one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Finally, beat in the heavy cream and sour cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.

4. Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. (I used a foiled lined 9 x 7 inch baking pan. Also, I didn’t add apples into the cheesecake itself, I added the apples on top of the cheesecake once out of the oven and cooled.)

5. Cover with the remaining batter, and if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top.

6. Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour enough boiling water in to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

7. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30-45 minutes, covering the cake loosely with a foil tent ath e 45- minute mark. (I baked my cake for 45-50 minutes). The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possible, in the very center- if the center shimmies, that’s just fine.

8. Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours, overnight would be better.

9. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pans latch and release and remove the sides. (I lifted the cheesecake out with the overhanging foil flaps and gently removed the foil from the sides of the cheesecake, then I cut the cheesecake into 8 bars and topped with the apple mixture.)