Julia Child has a way of taking classic French techniques and turning it into something outstanding. I have not done any real Julia Child dessert baking for while. I have been watching a lot of episodes of "The French Chef with Julia Child" lately. I have watched this episode a few times and it just made me want to make this cake more each time I watched it. So this morning I got up and headed straight for the kitchen...well... I did make a quick pit stop first! Feel free to laugh! Just kidding! This cake has so much flavor. It is a chocolate cake flavored with almonds and lightened with beaten egg whites. Before you even make this, just like Julia advises, I urge you to read the entire recipe through first. The reason being is that once you start the recipe, you cannot stop and run to the store. You must get it in the oven as soon as you can. Also, before you start mixing the batter you should get all of your preliminaries done first. For example, get the chocolate melting, measure out all of the ingredients, and getting your cake pan prepared. Also, this recipe uses cake flour. If you do not have cake flour, you can make your own. I explain how in the recipe at the bottom. With melting the chocolate, it is melted with rum or coffee in a bowl over simmering water. Now, to begin, you cream butter, sugar, and egg yolks in a mixer or bowl with hand mixer. You then set that aside. Then, in a separate clean and dry bowl you beat the egg whites with cream of tartar, salt, and sugar until they are soft and shiny but not stiff. It is crucial that you do not over beat them. Then, you add your melted and smooth chocolate to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture. Then, you add pulverized almonds (just skinless almonds ground in a food processor), almond extract, and cake flour. The French use pulverized almonds in a lot of desserts. Then, quickly you stir in one-fourth of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Once the batter is lightened, you then delicately but quickly fold in he remainder of the egg whites until the batter is well incorporated but you don't want to deflate the egg whites as much as possible. There is no baking powder in this cake so the egg whites are what is going to make the cake rise. Once the batter is made you immediately pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. You then must swirl the cake pan by tilting it to allow the batter to run up all the sides of the pan. This allows the batter to be distributed evenly and prevents there from being a hump of batter in the center. You then bake the cake for about 25-35 minutes. The cake is done when you prick a toothpick around the outside and it comes out clean, and when inserted in the center it is slightly wet. There will also be a faint jiggle when you shake the pan slightly. You then allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then remove it and allow it to cool on a cake rack for at least two hours! Once the cake is cool, you then have to ice and decorate it. Julia also provides a recipe for a Chocolate-Butter icing. It is basically just melted chocolate, melted in the same way as the cake and whipped with softened butter. Then all you have to do then is ice it any way you would like and then to decorate it just make a pattern with almonds on the top or sprinkled chopped almonds as I did in the picture above. The flavors of this cake are unbelievable. The flavor or the almonds on top and in the cake matches so very well with the chocolate. This is (like Julia says on her show) truly one of if not the best chocolate cake I have ever made and tasted. I will now tell you what I have below for you. This recipe is the one Julia uses on her show "The French Chef". It is also in her cookbook that goes with the show, "The French Chef Cookbook". She has the same recipe in her very first cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. I", although that recipe has slightly different proportions. I have typed the recipe up and slightly condensed the steps so it is easier to read. If you would like, you can also watch Julia make it herself and it will make understanding the steps a little easier. The recipe looks daunting but, it truly only took me about 20 minutes to prepare the batter. Give it a try. The steps can ease you into the world of French Patisserie! In Julia's words..."Bon Appetit"!
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I probably should have posted this yesterday, but I was too busy making it. This is the classic dish to serve for New Year's Day. I am not sure why, but the fact that it is delicious should be reason enough! I used to think that sauerkraut was gross, but now it is one of my favorite dishes. I make this every once in a while when I want some good old fashioned comfort food. In my cookbook (now for sale, check the tab at the top), I have my recipe for pork "chops" and sauerkraut. This is basically the same exact recipe but instead of chops, I am making a whole pork loin roast. In this case, it cooks a little bit longer since you are making a whole piece of meat instead of slices. You start off by browning the roast on all sides in a Dutch Oven. Then, you saute onions until they are tender then add some garlic and thinly diced baby carrots. Deglaze the pan with white wine and add your sauerkraut. Then, add your browned roast and cover with stock (either beef, chicken, or ham stock). When I made this recipe yesterday, I used some Ham stock that I made myself. It was delicious! I just took the scraps from the Christmas Ham, such as meat and fat scraps and the center bone and simmered them in about 6-7 quarts of water for about 8 hours and you have a delicious cooking liquid you can use right away or freeze for later use. Then, after the liquid has gone in you add your seasonings. For this dish I use brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, paprika, seasoning salt, black pepper, Thyme, and bay leaves. Then, you just cover and cook in a 325 degree oven for about 2-2 1/2 hours or until the roast is tender and basically falling apart. Then, you simply check the sauerkraut for seasoning and serve with some creamy mashed potatoes and maybe a glass of hard cider or beer! I think one of the best parts is the leftovers you have for a day or two afterwards. I hope if you haven't already, you will make this o continue the New Year's celebration. Happy 2016 to you All!!! Bon Appetit!!!
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