While looking through
Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, I stumbled across September 7th cake. We have several September birthdays in the fam, so I jokingly said it was too bad no one's birthday was September 7th. They decided it was close enough and requested it for the party. Who came up with this crazy idea? Oh, I think I did...
After some initial terror, I read through the recipe (all four pages of it) and decided I could make it. (I think I can! I think I can!) After the third reading, I realized that there is very little "cake" in this cake. It consists of two thin layers of a flour-less chocolate cake, with a filling of stabilized whipped cream frosted with more whipped cream mixed with 1/2 pound of semi-sweet chocolate and some coffee. How could that possibly be bad?
So, full of confidence, I set about making the cake. About 10 minutes into the baking, I smelled something burning. I opened the oven and it didn't look too bad, so I turned it down to 350 and crossed my fingers. Alas, it was a lost cause. The cake was not only burned on the edges, but it the smell had permeated the entire cake (as well as the house). I tried to save it by cutting off the burned parts, but by the time I
got the first layer to something that looked cake-like, it was about 1/4" thick
and 6" in diameter.
At this point, the swearing commenced.
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| Oh the humanity! |
Right after I threw the whole mess in the trash, Farm Boy called and said a friend had invited us out to dinner. Which was good because it meant that I didn't immediately try again. When we got home, I started over, but inserted a new first step into the recipe: Pour a glass of wine.
 |
| Aaaaaahhhh |
I lowered the oven to 350F this time (it may have even been slightly lower - see wine above). This time instead of smelling like a coffee pot that has been on the burner too long, it smelled like chocolate. So much better.
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| Success! |
The recipe gives very detailed directions on how to apply the icing with a pastry bag. I decided that my sanity was more important than trying to pipe whipped cream icing in my warm kitchen, so I slapped it on with a knife and brushed it with a comb. It's not as glamorous, but it was a lot faster.
This cake, as promised, is delicious, light and airy (and rich). I would describe it as like eating chocolate air, but my favorite description of the day was, "It's like eating baby angels!".
September 7th Cake (Printable Recipe )
from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts
Layers
6 extra-large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling
3/4 teaspoon gelatin
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Icing
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Layers:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees (original recipe calls for 375F). Butter two 9-inch round layer-cake pans.
Line the bottoms with rounds of wax paper or baking-pan liner paper cut
to fit. Butter the paper and dust the inside of the pan all over with
flour, invert the pans and tap to shake out excess flour.
In the
small bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg yolks at high speed for 5
minutes until they are light lemon-colored. Add about half (6
tablespoons) of the sugar (reserve the remaining half) and continue to
beat at high speed for 5 minutes more until the mixture is very thick
and forms a wide ribbon when the beaters are lifted.
Add the
cocoa and beat on lowest speed, scraping the bowl with a
rubber spatula, and beating only until the cocoa is completely mixed
in. Remove from the mixer and set aside.
Add the salt to the egg
whites in the large bowl of the electric mixer. With clean beaters, beat
at high speed until the whites increase in volume and barely hold a soft
shape. Reduce the speed to moderate while gradually adding the reserved
sugar. Increase the speed to high again and continue to beat until the
whites hold a definite shape when the beaters are raised or when some of
the mixture is lifted on a rubber spatula—they should not be stiff or
dry.
In several additions, small at first (about a large
spoonful), fold half of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture.
Then fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining whites. Do not handle
any more than necessary.
Turn half of the mixture into each of the prepared pans. Gently smooth each layer.
Bake
for 30 to 35 minutes or until the layers spring back when lightly
pressed with a fingertip and begin to come away from the sides of the
pans.
Remove from the oven. With a small sharp knife carefully
cut around the sides of the layers to release them. Cover each layer
with a rack, invert pan and rack, remove pan, peel off the paper lining,
cover layer with another rack, and invert again to let the layers cool
right side up.
While they are cooling the layers will sink and
the sides will buckle and look uneven but don't worry. That is to be
expected in this recipe. The filling and icing will cover them and they
will be light, moist, and delicious.
When the layers are
completely cool, prepare a flat cake plate as follows. Cut four strips
of wax paper, each one about 10x3 inches. Place them around the outer
edges of the plate.
Place one layer upside down on the plate and see that the wax paper touches all the edges of the cake.
Filling:
Sprinkle
the gelatin over the water in a small heatproof cup. Let stand for 5
minutes. Place the cup in a small pan containing about an inch of hot
water. Set over moderate heat and let stand until the gelatin dissolves,
then remove from the hot water and set aside.
Reserve 2 or 3
tablespoons of the cream and place the remainder in the small bowl of an
electric mixer (if the room is warm the bowl and beaters should be
chilled). Add the sugar and vanilla. Beat only until the cream has
increased in volume and holds a soft shape. Then quickly stir the
reserved tablespoons of cream into the warm, dissolved gelatin and, with
the mixer going, pour the gelatin all at once into the slightly whipped
cream and continue to beat. The cream should be beaten until it is firm
enough to hold a shape.
Place the whipped cream on the bottom
cake layer. Carefully spread it evenly. Cover it with the other layer,
placing the top layer right side up. Place in the refrigerator and
prepare the icing.
Icing:
Break up or coarsely chop the
chocolate and place it in the top of a small double boiler over hot
water on moderate heat. Add the butter. In a small cup dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a
rubber spatula until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove it from
the hot water and transfer it to a medium-size mixing bowl.
Let the chocolate cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
When the chocolate has cooled, place the cream, sugar, and
vanilla in the small bowl of the electric mixer. Beat only until the
cream holds a soft shape. It is very important that you do not whip the
cream until it holds a definite shape; that would be too stiff for this
recipe and would not only cause the icing to be too heavy but would also
give it a slightly curdled appearance. Everything about this cake
should be light and airy, and the chocolate will stiffen the cream a bit
more.
In two or three additions fold about half of the cream into the chocolate, and then fold the chocolate into the remaining cream.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator.
If you have a turntable for decorating cakes or a lazy Susan, place the cake plate on it.
Use
as much of the icing as you need to fill in any hollows on the sides of
the cake—use a spoon or a metal spatula—and then smooth the icing
around the sides. If you are working on a turntable, rotate it while you
hold a small metal spatula against the sides to smooth the icing.
Now
the cake can be finished in one of two ways (depending on whether or
not you want to use a pastry bag). You can either use all of the icing
to cover the top very thickly, or you can spread it very thinly and
reserve about 3 cups of the icing and decorate the top with a pastry bag
and a star-shaped tube.
Place the icing on the top and spread it smoothly. Then spread the sides again to make them neat.
To
decorate the top, which will be completely covered with rippled lines
of icing, fit a 15-inch pastry bag with a #6 star tube and fold down a
deep cuff on the outside of the bag. Place the icing in the bag. Unfold
the cuff. Close the top of the bag. To form the icing lines, begin at
the edge of the cake furthest from you, at the middle of the edge.
Squeeze an inch or two of icing out of the tube in a line coming toward
you. Continuing to squeeze and without stopping the flow of the icing,
move the tube back away from you over about half the line you have just
formed, making another layer of icing on the first. Still without
stopping the flow of the icing, bring the tube toward you again and make
another 1- to 2-inch line, then double back over half of this distance
again. Continue across the whole diameter of the cake. The finished line
will be along the middle of the cake. Make another, similar line to one
side of the first, touching it. I find it easier to work from the
middle—one side all the way and then the other side all the way to
entirely cover the top of the cake with these wavy lines.
Remove the strips of wax paper by pulling each one out toward a narrow end.
Refrigerate
for at least 6 hours or overnight and serve cold. To slice this cake
without squashing it, insert the point of a sharp knife in the center of
the cake. Then cut with an up-and-down sawing motion.
