Cooking
It's not the prettiest picture I've taken, nor is it the most attractive cake I've ever made.
But here's the thing: It's made from white chocolate, and it's in one piece, it didn't crumble, it didn't seize. It's a functional...and hopefully tasty...cake.
Despite my love, nay, my unparalleled infatuation of white chocolate, alas...that white & glossy substance has never reciprocated.
Despite my best...and many...efforts, any attempt to bake with white chocolate has resulted in tears, kitchen & baking implements being thrown across the room, anger, disappointment and resentment.
I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I got the basic chemistry, I can follow directions. I understand the principles. I even turned to my chef mother for advice, but still met with failure.
Alex really connected with last year's teacher; in fact, at his suggestion we invited her over for dinner during the summer. He's still quite fond of her, as are we, and I remembered her birthday was today.
Over the weekend, I asked Matt to grab a couple of cake books, and one was a massive tome, something like '1000 Chocolate Cake Recipes'. I got it a few years back at a used book store. It was cheap for the size, so I hadn't much hope. Surely, a book this large, this comprehensive could only sell for so little if it were a dud?
I suppose I'd forgotten about that, as I searched for a white chocolate recipe (I just knew it had to white chocolate): there it was: White Chocolate Truffle Cake.
The cake base is little more than eggs & sugar, flour & melted white chocolate. This came out just fine.
Then, heated cream gets poured over white chocolate and stirred and stirred and stirred, till smooth & cool. Marscapone is added in, repeat. This gets poured over the cake (which is still residing in a springform pan), and cooled.
I waited for the dread to creep into my heart, for the truffle mixture to seize or go horribly wrong. It didn't.
The whole thing chilled overnight, and this morning..well, it looked funny.
Somehow, the cake had risen to the top. We still can't figure that one out.
Matt suggested inverting it, I was cranky & didn't want to listen. He was right, and I told him so.
Once it had been flipped and the parchment peeled off...it looked OK. Still softer than I wanted, but by golly...it resembled a white chocolate truffle cake, alright.
Bits of chocolate grated for decoration, and a bit of engineering wonder in the way of packaging & transport, and the cake should be at the school by now.
I'll have to wait to hear if it was indeed any good, or complete crap. But for once, white chocolate gave back a little love, and it feels good
November brings a bit of the glitz & glamour to Blog Party, as we celebrate The Holiday Edition, 2.0, this month. RSVP no later than THIS Thursday, 20 November...hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cakes + White Chocolate + Baking + Truffles + Birthdays+ Teachers
- Under "likes": Chocolate
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- Daring Bakers: Has The Fat Lady Sung Yet?
I'm rather pleased with myself. I saw this month's challenge, and decided I was going to turn it into a mother's day cake for Matt's Mom. Which means...I completed the challenge weeks early! Usually, I'm scrambling the night before,...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Starry, Starry Cake
(photos taken under less-than ideal circumstances) About a year ago, I bought the cookbook The Whimsical Bakehouse. It looked like fun, and hey, who doesn't want more fun in their lives, even if it's via the kitchen? I turned to TWB for Matt's...
- Daddy's Cake
Matt got to pick what he wanted for dinner and dessert on Father's day; so I made him a simple chocolate cake. Right! Don't tell my in-law's, but while the chocolate cake keeps to the 'simple' with just a little butter, a cup of...
Cooking
So Maybe White Chocolate Doesn't Hate Me, After All
It's not the prettiest picture I've taken, nor is it the most attractive cake I've ever made.
But here's the thing: It's made from white chocolate, and it's in one piece, it didn't crumble, it didn't seize. It's a functional...and hopefully tasty...cake.
Despite my love, nay, my unparalleled infatuation of white chocolate, alas...that white & glossy substance has never reciprocated.
Despite my best...and many...efforts, any attempt to bake with white chocolate has resulted in tears, kitchen & baking implements being thrown across the room, anger, disappointment and resentment.
I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. I got the basic chemistry, I can follow directions. I understand the principles. I even turned to my chef mother for advice, but still met with failure.
Alex really connected with last year's teacher; in fact, at his suggestion we invited her over for dinner during the summer. He's still quite fond of her, as are we, and I remembered her birthday was today.
Over the weekend, I asked Matt to grab a couple of cake books, and one was a massive tome, something like '1000 Chocolate Cake Recipes'. I got it a few years back at a used book store. It was cheap for the size, so I hadn't much hope. Surely, a book this large, this comprehensive could only sell for so little if it were a dud?
I suppose I'd forgotten about that, as I searched for a white chocolate recipe (I just knew it had to white chocolate): there it was: White Chocolate Truffle Cake.
The cake base is little more than eggs & sugar, flour & melted white chocolate. This came out just fine.
Then, heated cream gets poured over white chocolate and stirred and stirred and stirred, till smooth & cool. Marscapone is added in, repeat. This gets poured over the cake (which is still residing in a springform pan), and cooled.
I waited for the dread to creep into my heart, for the truffle mixture to seize or go horribly wrong. It didn't.
The whole thing chilled overnight, and this morning..well, it looked funny.
Somehow, the cake had risen to the top. We still can't figure that one out.
Matt suggested inverting it, I was cranky & didn't want to listen. He was right, and I told him so.
Once it had been flipped and the parchment peeled off...it looked OK. Still softer than I wanted, but by golly...it resembled a white chocolate truffle cake, alright.
Bits of chocolate grated for decoration, and a bit of engineering wonder in the way of packaging & transport, and the cake should be at the school by now.
I'll have to wait to hear if it was indeed any good, or complete crap. But for once, white chocolate gave back a little love, and it feels good
November brings a bit of the glitz & glamour to Blog Party, as we celebrate The Holiday Edition, 2.0, this month. RSVP no later than THIS Thursday, 20 November...hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cakes + White Chocolate + Baking + Truffles + Birthdays+ Teachers
- Under "likes": Chocolate
She said she liked chocolate. So I gave her chocolate. A double-dark chocolate cake, topped with a thick & shiny ganache and Jackson Pollocked-white chocolate. 'Paisley' shaped cake....
- Daring Bakers: Has The Fat Lady Sung Yet?
I'm rather pleased with myself. I saw this month's challenge, and decided I was going to turn it into a mother's day cake for Matt's Mom. Which means...I completed the challenge weeks early! Usually, I'm scrambling the night before,...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Starry, Starry Cake
(photos taken under less-than ideal circumstances) About a year ago, I bought the cookbook The Whimsical Bakehouse. It looked like fun, and hey, who doesn't want more fun in their lives, even if it's via the kitchen? I turned to TWB for Matt's...
- Daddy's Cake
Matt got to pick what he wanted for dinner and dessert on Father's day; so I made him a simple chocolate cake. Right! Don't tell my in-law's, but while the chocolate cake keeps to the 'simple' with just a little butter, a cup of...