Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (207 page)

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 Tb lemon juice or concentrated frozen orange juice

The grated rind of one lemon or orange

1 Tb hot water

1 egg

2 Tb butter

1 Tb cornstarch

A small saucepan and a wire whip

Beat all ingredients together over moderately high heat until mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Continue beating over low heat for 2 minutes until starch cooks and cream looks translucent.

3 to 6 Tb unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

Remove from heat and beat in butter, as much as you wish up to 6 tablespoons. Salt very lightly, to taste. Filling will thicken as it cools. May be refrigerated for several days, or frozen for several months.

Split cake in half, and if you wish, sprinkle the inside of each half with drops of rum or of orange liqueur. Spread filling on bottom half and re-form the cake. You may paint the cake with warm apricot glaze and brush chopped nuts around the circumference, or simply sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar.

LE CAKE

[Rich Yellow Loaf Cake with Rum, Raisins, and Cherries]

A French
cake
is always baked in a
moule à cake
—meaning a loaf pan—and a French
cake
always has fruits in it. It is not at all a fruit cake in the American sense of solid fruit held together with batter; it is, rather, a slightly modified pound-cake formula flavored with rum and raisins, and baked with a layer of glacéed cherries in the center. Serve it with tea or with fruit desserts; it keeps well for several days under refrigeration, or it may be frozen.

A NOTE ON FRUITS FALLING TO BOTTOM OF CAKES DURING BAKING

We struggled for years trying to devise some system to prevent fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking. Finally we realized that we were using cake flour and our batter was too light; the French recipe calls for
farine
, regular French household flour. As soon as we switched to a combination of 4 parts all-purpose flour and 1 part cake flour, our troubles were over. To make doubly sure, we also suggest dusting the fruits with a combination of flour and baking powder.

For a 6-cup loaf pan, approximately 10 inches long and 3½ inches deep

1)
Preliminaries

A 6-cup loaf pan, bottom lined with waxed paper, interior of pan buttered and floured

6 ounces (1½ sticks) butter in a small saucepan or bowl

A wire whip

⅔ cup (4 ounces, or about 30) glacéed cherries on a plate

1 cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cake flour in a bowl (measure by scooping dry-measure cups into flour and sweeping off excess with a knife)

A rubber spatula

1 tsp double-action baking powder

⅔ cup (4 ounces) currants (small, black, seedless raisins) on a plate

A square of waxed paper

A fine-meshed sieve

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set rack in middle level. Prepare the cake pan. Cream the butter (over heat if necessary, then over cold water) to a smooth mayonnaise-like consistency. Wash cherries in very hot water to remove preservatives, dry on paper towels, and cut each in half. Measure out the 2 flours, and blend together in bowl with spatula. Mix the baking powder and a tablespoon of the flour on waxed
paper, then sprinkle over the raisins, tossing and stirring to coat them. Because raisins and cherries are to remain separate, turn raisins into sieve placed over cherries and shake off the baking powder and flour onto cherries. Return raisins to their plate, coat cherries with mixture, and sieve cherries over the bowl of flour; return cherries to their plate.

2)
The cake batter

2 “large” eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

¼ cup dark Jamaican rum

An electric mixer, and large bowl on stand, or 3- to 4-quart mixing bowl

Beat the eggs, yolks, sugar, and rum at moderate speed to blend, then increase to high speed and beat 5 to 6 minutes or more, until mixture is thick, pale yellow, creamy, and the consistency of lightly whipped cream. You must beat long enough for it to thicken this way, or the batter will be too light to support the fruit.

The bowl of mixed flours

The waxed paper

Turn flour out onto waxed paper. At slow mixing speed, gradually sprinkle the flour into the egg mixture, taking 15 to 20 seconds but not trying for a perfect blend at this point; eggs must not be deflated by over-mixing.

The creamy mayonnaise-like butter

2 rubber spatulas

Still at low speed, and using 1 spatula to remove the butter from its bowl and a second to dislodge it from the first, rapidly incorporate the butter into the egg mixture, taking no more than 15 to 20 seconds and, again, not trying for a perfect blend.