Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (20 page)

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Authors: Maida Heatter

BOOK: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts

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This has won blue ribbons at county fairs all around the country—it is a small, plain, old-fashioned sour-cream cake without icing.

6 ounces (¾ cup) pitted dates

⅓ teaspoon baking soda (see Note)

¼ cup boiling water

1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate

1 ounce semisweet chocolate

¼ pound (1 stick) butter

¼ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour

⅓ cup sour cream

½ cup walnuts, cut or broken into medium-size pieces

Adjust rack to center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8-inch square cake pan as follows: Turn the pan upside down. Cut a 12-inch square of aluminum foil and center it over the inverted pan. Fold down the sides and the corners and then remove the foil and turn the pan right side up. Place the foil inside the pan and, in order not to tear it with your fingernails, press against it all over with a pot holder or a folded towel until it is firmly in place. With a pastry brush, brush all around the inside lightly with melted butter. Set the prepared pan aside.

Finely chop or cut the dates—they should be in very small pieces, but not pureed. Place them in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the baking soda over the top, and add the boiling water. Mix well and set aside.

Place both chocolates in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover and let stand until melted. Then uncover, stir until smooth, and remove the top of the double boiler. Set aside uncovered to cool slightly.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the salt, sugar, and vanilla and beat to mix well. Beat in the egg and then the melted chocolate. On low speed add about half the flour, then the sour cream, and then the remaining flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the dates with their liquid and then the nuts.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.

Bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Then cover it with a rack, invert pan and rack, remove pan and aluminum toil, and cover the cake with another rack. Invert again, leaving the cake right side up on the rack. Let it stand until cool.

Transfer to a cutting board or a serving platter and cut into squares or bars.

NOTE
:
To measure ⅓ teaspoon, fill and level a teaspoon, then, with a table knife or a small metal spatula, mark it into thirds, and cut away two-thirds.

Chocolate-Nut-Prune Cake

16
B
ARS

Mildly spiced, soft, tender, moist, cakelike squares without icing—a delicious old recipe.

About 24 large stewed prunes, sweetened or not (or use dried prunes and stew them yourself; you will need enough to make 1 cup pitted and finely chopped prunes)

1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate

1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted all-purpose flour

1⅓ teaspoons baking powder (see Note)

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon mace or powdered cloves

2⅔ ounces (5⅓ tablespoons) sweet butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

½ cup milk

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnuts, cut or broken into medium-size pieces

Adjust rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 ×13-inch shallow rectangular cake pan, dust it with fine, dry bread crumbs, invert over a piece of paper, and tap lightly to shake out excess. Set the pan aside.

Drain the prunes, pit them, and chop them very fine or process them in a food processor very briefly—they should not be pured. You need 1 cup of pulp. Set it aside.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on low heat, or in a small custard cup in a small pan of shallow hot water over low heat. Cover until the chocolate has melted, then remove the top of the double boiler or the custard cup and set aside, uncovered, to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and mace or cloves. Set aside.

Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla and then the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating until well mixed after each addition. Beat in the chocolate. Then, on low speed, add half of the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with the spatula and beating only until smooth. Gradually add all of the milk and again beat only until smooth. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat only until smooth.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the prunes and then the nuts.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Cool in the pan on a rack until tepid. Cover with another rack and invert, remove the pan, cover with another rack or a cookie sheet and invert again, leaving the cake right side up until completely cool. The cake will be about 1 inch high.

Gently and carefully slide the cake onto a cutting board and, with a long, sharp knife, cut it into bars.

Because this cake is so moist it has a tendency to stick to wax paper. Place the bars on a tray and if you plan to serve them within a few hours, do not cover. But for longer storage I find that it is best to cover them with plastic wrap.

NOTE
:
To measure ⅓ teaspoon, first fill and level a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon, then cut away and remove two-thirds.

Sour Cherry Chocolate Torte

10
P
ORTIONS

Chocolate and cherries is a marriage made in heaven. This is a shallow, single-layer chocolate cake without icing, with a hidden layer of sour cherries baked into the middle. It is not only an intriguing taste combination, but the cherries keep the cake marvelously moist. It is a chic, sophisticated little cake for a dinner party. Extremely quick and easy to make, it can be made a few hours before serving and can be served while it is still slightly warm, or made early in the day and served at room temperature.

1 1-pound can red sour pitted cherries packed in water

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

2½ ounces (½ cup) almonds, blanched or unblanched

6 ounces (1½ sticks) sweet butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

⅔ cup granulated sugar

3 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

⅔ cup sifted all-purpose flour

Adjust rack one-third up from bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan and dust it with fine, dry bread crumbs, invert over a piece of paper and tap to shake out extra crumbs. Set the pan aside.

Drain all the liquid off the cherries (you should have a scant 2 cups of drained cherries) and then spread them in a single layer on several thicknesses of paper towels and let stand.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside uncovered to cool slightly.

The almonds must be ground to a fine powder; do them in a food processor, a blender, or a nut grinder and set aside.

Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and almond flavorings and then the sugar and beat well. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating after each addition until thoroughly mixed. On low speed add the chocolate and beat until mixed; add the almonds and beat to mix, then the flour and beat, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, only until incorporated.

Place about half or slightly more of the batter in the prepared pan and spread it to make a smooth layer about ¾ inch thick.

Now, with your fingers pick up the cherries one at a time and place them, almost touching one another, in a single layer all over the chocolate mixture (they may touch the sides of the pan).

Spoon the remaining chocolate mixture over the cherries and spread it to make a thin, smooth layer.

Bake for 50 minutes. The cake will be dry and
crusty on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Then remove the sides of the spring form and let the cake stand on the bottom of the pan, still on the rack, until the cake is almost completely cool. (If you want to serve it slightly warm, let it stand for about half an hour or a bit longer—just until it is firm enough to handle.)

Cover with a rack and invert. Remove the bottom of the pan. Cover with a flat cake plate or a serving board and invert again, leaving the cake right side up.

This is delicious as it is (to me it is irresistible), but I serve it with whipped cream and I have had guests comment that it
must
be served with whipped cream. The combination is perfect!

WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons granulated or confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon kirsch (see Note)

In a small, chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip all the ingredients only until the cream holds a soft shape. (If you whip the cream ahead of time, refrigerate it in the whipping bowl. It will probably separate slightly as it stands. Just before serving, beat it a bit with a small wire whisk until it goes together again and has the correct thickness.)

Place a large spoonful of the cream alongside each portion of the cake.

NOTE
:
That small amount (1 tablespoon) of kirsch will barely be detectable but to me it is just enough. Kirsch, cherries, chocolate, and whipped cream is one of the world’s greatest taste combinations. If you would like a more noticeable kirsch taste, add another tablespoon. Or, if you wish, use ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract in place of the kirsch. And if you love whipped cream, double the amounts.

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

12 TO 14
P
ORTIONS

A tube cake with no icing—so lusciously moist it is almost a pudding, although it holds its shape and slices beautifully. The combination of applesauce, cinnamon, and chocolate is simply wonderful—everyone loves it. It is an unusual cake and unusually good. Although this is appropriate for any time of the year, it seems to belong especially to the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday. It is a marvelous cake to bring to someone’s house as a gift.