Here’s a thought that crossed my spoiled mind this evening. What if, say, like my family in Australia, I can’t just run to the store and grab a box of red velvet cake mix off the shelf. I’ve obviously forgotten that it wasn’t that many years ago that I didn’t even know what a red velvet cake was! Imagine that.

This week I received an email from a fellow cake maker who asked me to share my favourite red velvet cake recipe since she wasn’t able to buy a box mix. Fellow bakers give me mixed reactions when I openly admit to using (insert scary music here)…. red velvet cake out of a box!! Well, I do and I’m not afraid to say it. Why not? It’s bad enough getting covered in red cake mix, which I usually do, without having to mess with red food colouring when measuring it out for a “from scratch” recipe.

Actually, there is a little history to my dread of red…  I used to own a small bakery in Australia and had left some decorating items out on the dining table in my brand new dining room, in my brand new home.  To cut a long story short, my youngest daughter was a climber and the result was red food colouring all over her and the brand new carpet!  We bleached it out and then had to dye the carpet back lovingly with teabags.  So you might now understand my dislike of red food colouring, even if red is my favourite color!

Ok, back to the cake at hand.  I tend to look at box cake mixes as a starting point, and usually tweak them by changing out the oil with apple sauce for instance, and adding my own flavourings, add-ins etc. I’m sure the good people at Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury didn’t just whip them together in five minutes. It is my understanding that they have spent years perfecting their mixes for our convenience. And very often that is the time I have no compunction in reaching for one.

Sure there is nothing quite like a delicately created sponge or genoise but there are times when I just need to get out two dozen cupcakes in a hurry and trust me, 5 year olds very rarely call me out on using a box cake mix over a scratch baked cake. Their beaming little faces covered in frosting are all the proof I need that sometimes, it’s ok.

So let’s get this red velvet cake made!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dutch processed (dark) cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons red gel food coloring
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter ( softened)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2  1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 325°. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together cocoa powder, food coloring, and hot water. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening until smooth. Scrape down bowl and add sugar. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir buttermilk and vanilla into the cooled cocoa mixture. Sift cake flour and salt together into another bowl. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture (in 3 parts) and the cocoa mixture (in 2 parts) to the egg mixture. Beat until incorporated.  Combine vinegar and baking soda and stir until baking soda dissolves; the mixture will fizz. Add to batter and stir until just combined.

Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full with batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan, and let cool completely.

___________

Dobos Cake (/’doboʃ/, Hungarian: dobostorta) is a famous Hungarian cake, invented by and named after a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos (1847-1924) in 1884. It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices. The sides of the cake are sometimes coated with ground hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts or almonds but the original cake is without coat, since it was a slice of a big cake. Dobos’s aim was to make a cake that would last longer than other pastries, in an age when cooling techniques were limited. The caramel topping helps keep the cake from drying out. The cake is also often called ‘Dobos-torta’ or ‘Dobostorta’.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is my Dobos Torte…  We made ours rectangular and topped it with a poured caramel that set hard but before it did I scored it with a knife into portioned pieces.

I will get the recipe entered tomorrow (Saturday 2/21)

The guys that work with my Husband really enjoyed this treat!

The Italian phrase tirami su literally translates into “pick me up” which makes sense once you hear that this espresso laden treat was served to Venetian courtesans between romantic conquests to provide them with an energy boost!  Ooh la la! (no that’s French)

Actually, I haven’t been able to find evidence to support this and it appears this dessert is of  more recent times.  Who cares!  Is what I have to say!  This dessert is too good to worry about who made it first and when…

Anyway, I have always loved this dessert and have a recipe for it that is quite easy to prepare and then enjoy!

My version has light sponge lady fingers around the edge with layers of the same cake soaked with espresso flavoured simple syrup.  Then there is a filling made with mascarpone and cream with a few other ingredients thrown in for good measure.  I’m salivating just thinking about it so I will get the recipe typed up as quickly as possible for you!  PLEASE don’t be deterred by how long this recipe looks… I have just spelled it all out step by step which makes it look a lot longer!  It’s absolutely worth the effort!

Components

2 lb. 12 oz. Ladyfinger batter
9 fluid ounces Simple Syrup
2 fluid ounces Coffee or almond liqueur
1/2 fluid ounce Coffee extract
1/2 fluid ounce Vanilla extract
3 pounds Mascarpone Cream Mousse
Chocolate Ganache for decorating
Chocolate decorations, as needed

Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers are made from a spongecake batter that is piped into finger-length strips. After baking, these soft cakes may be eaten plain as a cookie or petit four. They are equally good when dried out in the oven, like biscotti. These versatile cakes are used to line the mold for a Bavarian dessert. For convenience, the batter may be piped close together to form a strip after baking and used to line a mold or torte ring.

Ingredients

3 ounces Cornstarch
4 ounces Bread flour
6 Egg yolks
6 ounces Granulated sugar
6 Egg whites
1/2 teaspoon Lemon juice

Method

1.    Sift the cornstarch and flour together.

2.    Whip the egg yolks with 2 ounces (60 grams) of the sugar until thick and creamy.

3.    Whip the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 2 ounces (60 grams) of the sugar and the lemon juice. Continue whipping to soft peaks, then add the remaining sugar gradually and whip to stiff peaks.

4.    Fold approximately one-quarter of the egg whites into the whipped yolks to lighten them, then gently fold in the remaining whites. Fold in the flour mixture.

5.    Place the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Pipe 4-inch- (10-centimeter) long cookies onto paper-lined sheet pans.

6.    Bake immediately at 425°F (220°C) until lightly browned, approximately 8 minutes.

Simple Syrup (Cake Syrup)

Ratio: 2:1

Ingredients

16 oz Sugar

8 oz Water

Method

Place water and sugar into saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding flavourings.

Mascarpone Cream Filling
Yield: 3lbs

Ingredients

1 lb. 5 oz. Mascarpone , warmed to 105°F (40°C)
9 Egg yolks
8 ounces Granulated sugar
5 fluid ounces Water
1/2 ounce Sheet gelatin, softened
1 pint Heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Method

1.    Place the warmed mascarpone in a large bowl.

2.    Make a bombe batter by whipping the egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip. Cook the sugar and water in a saucepan until the syrup reaches the soft ball stage 240°F (115°C).

3.    Pour the sugar syrup into the yolks, with the mixer running at high speed. Pour in a steady stream between the side of the bowl and the beater. Once all the sugar is incorporated, whip one more minute at high speed then reduce to medium speed and whip until the bombe mixture cools to approximately 110°F (49°C).

4.    Add the softened sheet gelatin to the warm bombe batter. Stir until the gelatin dissolves completely.

5.    Fold the bombe batter into the mascarpone cream.

Ganache
Yield: 2lbs

Ingredients

1 pound Bittersweet chocolate
1 pint Heavy cream
1 fluid ounce Almond or coffee liqueur

Method

1.    Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large metal bowl.

2.    Bring the cream just to a boil, then immediately pour it over the chocolate, stirring with a rubber spatula to blend. Stir gently until all the chocolate has melted.

3.    Stir in the liqueur.

4.    Allow to cool, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula until the desired consistency is achieved.

Assembly of Tiramisu

1.    Butter and flour two paper-lined full-size sheet pans. Using a plain medium tip, pipe half of the Ladyfinger batter into 4 disks measuring 7 inches (17.5 centimeters) in diameter.

2.    To make the strips of ladyfingers to line the ring mold, pipe the remaining batter into ladyfingers 4 inches (10 centimeters) long placed close together so they join at the sides and form a strip the entire length of the sheet pan. Bake as directed.

3.    Lightly oil and sugar 4, 7-inch (17.5 centimeter) torte rings. Place them on a paper-lined sheet pan.

4.    Cut the strip of ladyfingers in half lengthwise. Trim the strips of ladyfingers on each long edge to fit evenly inside the ring molds.

5.    Position the ladyfinger strips inside the rings, cut to size to make a tight fit. Place a ladyfinger disk on the bottom of each ring.

6.    Combine the simple syrup, liqueur, coffee extract and vanilla extract. Moisten the cake with half of this syrup.

7.    Divide half of the Mascarpone Cream Mousse between each mold.

8.    Place the second ladyfinger disk in the rings and moisten with the remaining coffee syrup.

9.    Fill with the remaining Mascarpone Cream, leveling it to the rim.

10.    Refrigerate or freeze the tortes for 2 hours.

11.    Remove from freezer and cover the top surface with a thin layer of  chocolate ganache, or sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder to garnish. Remove the rings then decorate the tortes with chocolate decorations of your choice (I made roses from chocolate modeling fondant).

_____________________________

Notes:

I made this fancy tear shaped cake by placing cardboard and heavy plastic strips in a large 14 inch round pan to achieve the shape I wanted.  LOTS of tape and smaller plastic molds were used to get the shape right.

Original recipe source:  OnBaking – Labensky 2005

My friend Curt turned the big 50 recently. His wife Kristi and family threw him a party in Omaha’s Old Market area. I offered to make the cake and also wanted to surprise him by just showing up at the party.

I made him a four layer chocolate/yellow marble cake with a mild coffee flavoured ganache as filling. I also covered the cake in a ganache frosting and made chocolate tombstones as decoration. The board was also covered in a swirl of different coloured chocolate. My husband and I packed the cake in a heavy duty box surrounded by ice packs to make the long 500 mile journey from Oklahoma City to Omaha Nebraska and set off about 4:30am on the Saturday morning of the party.

The trip was going well until we were about 20 minutes south of Wichita Kansas. It had been raining heavily during the week and we totally disregarded the Turnpike truck with the big arrow on one of the side exit ramps. It wasn’t flashing or out in the middle of the interstate so all must be ok. Not two minutes later the traffic came to a halt.

So we sat on Interstate 35 North for an hour before a nice police officer came to tell us that there was impassable water over the road just ahead of us and we could drive up the inside of the trucks and turn through the 4ft high median where there was a break. Long story short… We arrived in Omaha about two hours late but they all got to enjoy the cake and Curt was really surprised. The restaurant Chef said he and the staff thought it was one of the best cakes they had tasted in a long time! Yay! Happy Birthday Curt xx.

Today’s cake is a chocolatey mint layer cake.  My friends told me it tastes just like a girl scout thin mint cookie so that is what I’ve decided to call it!  I started with two 10 inch devils food cakes soaked with a kahlua simple syrup.  These were split and layered with a mild mint flavoured French buttercream.  To finish off I crumb coated the entire cake with the mint buttercream and then covered it with a crusting chocolate American buttercream.  Fresh mint leaves dipped in chocolate were used as decoration and I also made a rose from chocolate modeling fondant which isn’t in this photo.

I will type up the entire recipe tonight and add it to this post, promise!

Recipe for Thin Mint Layer Cake

Components

2 Devils food cakes – I used 10 inch
French Buttercream
American Buttercream
Fresh Mint Leaves dipped in melted chocolate or ganache.
Chocolate Modeling Fondant for Rose if you like.

Devils Food Cake
(You will need to use a digital scale for these measurements)

Ingredients

12.6 oz. Cake flour
15.12 oz. Granulate sugar
7.5 ounces Emulsified shortening
2.5 ounces Cocoa powder
0.38 ounce Salt
0.5 ounce Baking powder
0.3 ounce Baking soda
1.58 ounces Dry milk powder
0.3 fluid ounce Vanilla extract
2.5 ounces Corn syrup
11.35 fl. oz. Water, cold
10 oz Eggs

Method

1.    Mix the cake flour, sugar and emulsified shortening in a large mixer bowl on low speed for 5 minutes.

2.    Add the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, dry milk powder, vanilla, corn syrup and 1 quart (1 liter) cold water. Blend well, and then scrape down the bowl.

3.    Combine the eggs with the remaining 1 quart 8 ounces (1250 milliliters) of cold water and add to the batter in three equal parts, blending well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.

4.    After all the ingredients are incorporated, blend on low speed for 2 minutes.

5.    Divide into greased and floured pans, scaling for each sheet pan or 1round layer.

6.    Bake at 340°F (170°C) until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

French Buttercream

Ingredients

1 lb. 3 oz. Granulated sugar
3 ounces Corn syrup or glucose
6 fluid ounces Water
3 Eggs
10 Egg yolks
1 lb. 10 oz. Unsalted butter, room temperature
1 fluid ounce mint extract

Method

1.    Combine the sugar, corn syrup or glucose and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

2.    Meanwhile, place eggs and yolks in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment; start whipping the mixture on medium speed the moment the sugar solution begins to boil.

3.    Continue boiling until the syrup reaches 250°F (121°C). When the syrup is ready, increase the mixer speed to high and carefully pour the sugar syrup in a steady even stream down the inside of the bowl.

4.    Continue whipping until the mixture is cool and mousselike.

5.    Reduce the speed to medium and gradually add the soft butter; whip until light and aerated.

6.    Add mint extract.
American Buttercream

Ingredients

1 pound Lightly salted butter, softened
2 ounces Pasteurized egg, optional
2 pounds Powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons mint extract

Method

1.    Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy.

2.    Beat in the egg if desired. Gradually add the sugar, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl.

3.    Add the mint extract and continue beating until the icing is smooth and light.

Cake Assembly

Cut both cakes into two layers.
Brush on some of the simple syrup.
Fill layers with mint french buttercream.
Crumb coat all stacked layers with mint buttercream.
Freeze until crumb coat is solid.
Remove from freezer and frost cake with chocolate buttercream.
Allow it to “crust” or dry some.  Using a Viva Brand paper towel (no pattern) place paper towel over frosting and smooth with frosting smoothing tool or hand.  Move paper towel around the cake continuing to smooth.  Decorate as you wish.  Eat and enjoy!

Original recipes courtesy of  On Baking – Labensky (slight modifications by me)

I make a LOT of cakes but don’t often feel like eating them once they are done. Of course this makes for very grateful neighbors and friends. This week I made a cake I was NOT willing to share with many!! Oh my goodness. This light sponge with a lemon curd and chantilly cream filling dotted with fresh raspberries was just out of this world. It reminded me of a warm spring day, fresh, light but slightly flirtatious. Like my favourite chiffon floral skirt, so pretty and when it lightly touches the skin it brings a smile to your face.