Thursday, February 14, 2013

CHOCOLATE CHIP/STRAWBERRY/OOPS!!!/BLACK CHERRY CAKE!!!

Ruthy here, the Yank, bringing you my little baking buds as we prepare for an awesome Valentine's Day celebration! Do not ask me how the day meant for lovers became a holiday for munchkins, but here you have my tiny peeps helping make chocolate chip cake.... from scratch. And note the Softasilk flour that my buddy Jan turned me onto!!! 




The cake recipe is from the reprint of my mother's 1950 edition Betty Crocker cookbook. This is the book that I taught myself from as a child, and when they did a reprint of it I grabbed it! And I love it.... And their newer editions, too, because there are great ideas in both!


I think I should rename this cake, though... I think "Black Forest Chocolate Chip Cake" would be more appropriate and you can blame the garlic for that.

You'll see. I promise....

So here's the recipe to use for 2 - 9" greased and floured pans:

Sift together:

2 7/8 cups sifted Softasilk flour
17/8 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Add in with mixer:

2/3 cup shortening

Pour in a little over half of this mix:

1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons flavoring (I used vanilla)



Beat 2 minutes.  Then add in the remaining milk mix and 5 egg whites, unwhipped.



Mix two more minutes. Cake can be baked as is for "Silver White Cake" or you can add in 3/4 to 1 cup of chocolate chips to batter. That's what I did for today's cake and this is called "New Chocolate Chip Cake" on page 149 of the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1950 edition

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or a toothpick inserted in cake has just a few happy and moist crumbs clinging to it.



Okay, here's the dark chocolate filling I found on the same page, which I cannot believe I've never tried:


1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 square (chopped) dark baking chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Mix egg yolk and cream in small, sturdy saucepan. Add sugar, chopped chocolate and butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until mixture just starts to boil around the outer edges... (I did this twice, stirred it down and then brought it to a beginning boil again)



This is what the chocolate looked like, chopped.


Remove from heat. Chill. Use as filling.



Now here's the faux pas of the day..... Clearly Washingtonian!!!! You'll see why.

I made a delightful strawberry filling for the center of the layers. Strawberry and chocolate are a match made in heaven, right? And I love heaven, so it sounded good.

I made it. It came out great... then I tasted it.






Garlic.

It tasted like garlic.

I used my cast aluminum pan and it must have had an essence of garlic in it from SOMETHING which does not speak well of my dishwashing skills.... So we THREW THAT OUT.... sighed a little, and went to fetch a bag of frozen dark cherries.... In a stainless steel pan this time I put about three cups of the frozen cherries and 3/4 cup of water.



Heat until you can mash the cherries somewhat.

ADD:  2/3 cup sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Heat to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of butter,stir until smooth, remove from heat and chill.



Now, the fun part!!! Let's build this bad boy!!!!

First, slice a layer in half making two thiiiiiin cakes:


Fill first layer with cherry filling and the place the second half of this first layer over the cherries. Spread chocolate filling on top. Put bottom half of next layer on chocolate. Spread more cherry filling on that layer...

Okay, this is looking amazing.... I'm dying to have some... And the cake is divine, great recipe!

Okay now put final cake layer on top. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. This helps the cake to keep from being "slippery" with so many fillings. Chilled fillings slip less.

Remove from fridge when you're ready to frost:

Whipped Cream Frosting:

2 to 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip at high speed until cream forms firm peaks. Frost top, then sides of cake.


 I do the top first because it's easy to plop down a ton of whipped cream in the middle and work it to the sides without messing up the cake....

Then I frost the sides.

Then if I have enough whipped cream I pipe a border around the top and bottom, but I didn't this time so I scootched the whipped cream on top into a slightly higher outside edge making a whipped cream "hill" around the edge. Then I used the last cup or so of the dark cherry filling to "fill" the lake I made by hilling the whipped cream.

And here it is:



I think I'll dust the outer edge with baking chocolate powder... or a drizzled chocolate would be nice, too. Or chocolate curls... But without any of those, this is one amazing cake!  And here's a picture of it sliced....



And yes, it tasted just as good as it looked! Happy Valentine's Day!

Ruthy



22 comments:

  1. You had me till I saw the strawberries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I HATE strawberries. I do like cherries. I love black forrest cake and would really love some for my birthday in just under 2 weeks! (Of course then will have to go on a long walk to work it off!)

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    1. OH, Jenny, this is delicious. Amazing. And I love it with the black cherries. They made a great filling and I'm so glad the strawberries were HORRIBLE!!!

      Garlic berries. Oh. Yuck.

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  2. Wow -- that looks scrumptuous!!! And can I just say I have never seen a recipe that requires 7/8s of anything. How on earth do you measure 7/8s?????

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    1. Kav, LOL, isn't that wonderful???? The 1950 edition is full of things like that! I just eyed it between the 3/4 and 1 cup line and figured half-way. And it came out perfect. The cake that is. It literally melts in your mouth. I owe Drexler BIG TIME for straightening me out about the flour.

      And it's good to know I'm still educable... Hey, did you hear about the job you interviewed for, my friend? Any chance there? Praying big time for you!!!

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    2. I made the first cut and now I have to go back for another interview on the 26th. Ugh. A few of us had the same score and only a college wouldn't go eeny meeny miney mo and pick one. Nope, they have to put us all through it again. But at least I'm still in the running.

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    3. Kav, that's HUGE to make it that far!!!! Still praying and hoping to get you something closer to home... and to give you more writing time.

      Keep us posted, either way, okay? I have total faith in you and your dreams. You rock the biggest Kahuna EVER.

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  3. Ooooh, this looks like a cake my dear husband would give anything for! He loves Black Forest cake.

    This may be my in for getting that new puppy I have my eye on - go here to see a video of an earlier litter from the same parents - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCO0vJ4Wkoc

    Now, isn't that a great Awww moment?

    The next litter is due in April, and I'm considering it...

    And every time you show your Betty Crocker cookbook, I'm reminded to go looking on E-bay for an original 1950 copy! I grew up using my mom's, but it was sold in a garage sale more than 30 years ago.

    Silly parents.

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    1. Oh Jan -- go for the puppy!!!! No matter how many Black Forest Cakes it takes. My first dog was a corgi -- looked just like those little guys. She was abandoned downtown on Canada Day and of course I rescued her. Turns out she had this expensive medical issue that had to be dealt with. I paid for it with my babysitting money. Greatest dog in the world and I have to say corgis don't seem to be as squirrel fixated as shelties. They'll give chase but it's all in good fun. Corgis know that squirrels aren't going to take over the world. Shelties don't.

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    2. Kav, we've had a corgi on the list for years. But when you only get a dog every 5-7 years, and only look at the dog pound, choices are limited.

      We've had some great dogs - and breeds from our "list" (including our current husky mix). But after our experience with our Border Collie (wonderful dog - the best ever - from the dog pound...and with all sorts of health issues that made his last years painfully miserable to watch), I decided the next dog is coming from a breeder.

      And this breeder is just a few miles from where we live! Their male dog is the one I want to star in my children's books (if I ever take the time to write them) - Gus, the Cowboy Corgi :)

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    3. We think my son's rescued pit bull may be mixed with corgi. He's the most loving, sweet dog ever!

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    4. Hey! I won the auction on e-bay! My new/old 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook should be here in a week or so!

      I got it cheap because it isn't in great condition, but they assured me it was usable and well loved.

      Don't you think it would be a great match for Edna?

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    5. Jan, the cookbook and Edna would be INSEPARABLE!!!! And I popped over to see those puppies, and OH>>>>>. How stinkin' cute are they?????

      Did I tell youse that Maddie and Libby were both "dating" Mick a few weeks ago... So the pitter patter of puppy feet might be in my future. Time will tell, but then I'm having the girls spayed so that they can just be my dogs... Lovin' on puppies! And I love the idea of a cowboy Corgi! As May would say PAWSOME!!!

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  4. Yep, page 149. And this looks absolutely to-die-for, Ruthy. I love cherries. I love strawberries too, sans the garlic.

    I remember helping my daughter move from Washingston to Monterey, California. Apparently that area of CA is known for strawberries and garlic. Saw signs for them every where. Rather odd combination, I thought. Now you've proven me correct:-)

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    1. Mindy and Jan, we should form a club declaring ourselves owners of the 1950 BCCookbook!

      No dues, of course.

      Mindy, that's so funny. Garlic and strawberries. You know I understand that Cast Aluminum can "hold" scents and stuff, but it hasn't done it in years and it's like the world's best heat conductor, but I need to get a new 4-5 quart stainless steel pan because we can't have garlic berries.

      Not in cake, at least! You survived your first edits.

      ALLELUIA!!!!!

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  5. GARLIC?????!!!! BWWWAAA!!!! Ruthy, that's hysterical and awful at the same time!! I'm sorry for laughing. Really. Its a terrible waste of good strawberries. But funny in a sick way. :)

    This looks like a fabulous recipe! The cherry looks just as good. I'm sure it was tasty! Did the kids like it?

    I"m so excited to see the photo of the flour! I thought my grocery didn't have it. But it's IN A BOX! I'll look for a box next time. :)

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    1. Missy, if they have Wondra, that works too. (Jan told us that)

      And yes, everyone loved it, it was like eating a cake bon bon. Just a great combination.

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  6. Oh, my!!!!!!!! That sounds sooooo good! Too bad I'm trying to eat healthier. :-( But I def. think that garlic mistake was a BLESSING, because I LOVE chocolate and cherries. Mmmmmmmmm

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    1. Ah, Melanie, I'm living on salad these days... and meat. But that's okay because I like salad and meat, it just takes a few days getting used to saying "no" to rice, pasta, potatoes and bread...

      And cake, LOL! But I'll be happier on Easter for being careful now, and it makes giving up chocolate easier, right? So you hang in there and keep eating healthy. We want lots of years of Melanie books!

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  7. Replies
    1. Tina, remember how good that torte was???? This is that good. But I'm not eating any, I'm behaving myself.

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