The first dessert entry on this blog! Samantha wants to make this: she just wrote me an email that said "Put this on our blog, I want to cook it," or as Tina Fey would say, "I want to go to there." By the way, on google blogs, someone already has the blog named iwanttogotothere.blogspot.com. I looked at this blog and was disappointed that it wasn't a food blog, seems like the perfect title for a food blog. Wow, this recipe looks long and complicated. We will let you know how it turns out. Serves
Recipe: Walnut Cake with Chocolate Cream and Cooked Cherries
Serves 8-10
Below you will find three recipes, all simple to make. When combined they make for a luscious layered cake offset by syrupy port cherries. But as layered cakes go, this version is relatively simple and well worth any effort you may be wary of investing.
If you lack the ingredients or inclination to go the whole nine yards, the cake, lovely and thin, is good to have on hand (a little black dress of a torte, suitable morning, noon and night), that keeps remarkably well for 2-3 days. Otherwise, make just the cherries; they’ll transform ordinary vanilla ice cream into something special, or the chocolate cream, a sumptuous accompaniment for anything really, even finger dipping.
Walnut Cake:
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature (plus extra for greasing cake tins, about 2 tbs)
1 1⁄4 cups sugar
a good pinch of salt
4 eggs, at room temperature
10 oz walnuts, pulverized in a food processor until quite fine
1⁄2 cup peeled and finely grated carrot
2/3 cups sifted flour
1 ½ tbs. walnut oil
½ tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 325.
Butter two shallow, 10-inch round cake tins. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the exposed wax paper. Lightly flower both tins.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together for about 2 minutes, until creamy and uniform, scraping down the sides from time to time. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the sides and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Stir in the pulverized walnuts and grated carrot. Stir in the sifted flour, 1/3 cup at a time. Stir in walnut oil and vanilla extract.
Distribute the batter between the prepared tins and, using a spatula, spread it out evenly. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer pierced into the center of each cake comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their tins. To unmold, use a knife tip to loosen the cake from the sides and unmold. Flip the cakes onto serving plates and peel off the parchment paper.
Chocolate Cream:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa works well), broken into small pieces
10 tbs softened butter, cut into pieces
1 cup cream
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Place the chopped chocolate into a clean bowl. In a sauce pan, heat the cream, sugar and vanilla until it just begins to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for a minute. Then stir, with a spatula, to combine. Add the softened butter and stir until the butter fully dissolves and the chocolate cream is uniform.
Cover the cream and allow it to sit for at least an hour. Just before assembling the cake, whip the cream until thickened and easily spreadable. It will lighten in color.
Cherries:
1 lb cherries, washed with stems removed
1/3 cup sugar, approximately
2 tbs port
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
Line a non-reactive sauté pan with the cherries so they fit in a single layer.* Sprinkle sugar over the cherries and cook at medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, or until the sugar melts and cherries are soft to the touch. Add the port and vinegar and cook for an additional minute or two, shaking frequently.
Pour the cherries and their cooking liquid into a heat proof container and set aside. Allow the cherries to sit for at least one hour; they will continue to emit their liquid. They may be made up to 3 days ahead of time. These keep remarkably well and are delicious on anything - yogurt, sorbet, cakes and anything in between.
Assemble:
Put one of the cake rounds onto the serving platter. Spread enough cream evenly over top so it is about ¼ of an inch thick. Place the second cake over top and repeat. Smooth the surface so that the top layer or cream looks attractive. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. The icing will firm up nicely.
To serve, slice the cake into thin slices and accompany with a spoonful or two of the cooked cherries.
*There will be leftover chocolate cream and cherries which should be enjoyed since both keep well and easily combine with other sweet offerings. They are also delicious eaten together.
