Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (210 page)

3)
Baking—about 30 minutes at 350 degrees

In about 20 minutes the cake will have risen to the top of the pan; in another 10 minutes it will have sunk slightly, and will show a very faint line of shrinkage at points around edge of pan, indicating that the cake is done. Remove from oven, and let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around cake, and reverse onto a rack; in 5 minutes or so, cake will drop out of pan. Peel paper off bottom of cake in a few minutes, when it has loosened.

(*) When cold, wrap airtight and refrigerate or freeze.

TO SERVE AS A DESSERT

2 cups
crème Chantilly
(lightly whipped cream flavored with vanilla or liqueur, and sweetened with confectioner’s sugar)

Either
chopped walnuts or
caramelized walnuts
;

Or
grated or shaved chocolate and the chocolate sauce
here

Transfer cake to a serving dish, spread
crème Chantilly
over it, reserving some to pass in a bowl. Decorate top of cake with walnuts or chocolate. Pass chocolate sauce separately.

TO SERVE AS A CAKE

Le Saint-André aux Abricots

[Walnut Cake with Apricot Filling, Glazed with
Fondant]

This is very attractive. The cake is split and filled with apricots, re-formed and glazed with apricot; caramelized walnut brittle,
pralin aux noix
, is brushed against the sides; white fondant is spread over the top with incrustations of caramelized walnuts.

For the 9- by 1½-inch
walnut cake
, serving 6 to 8

½ package (½ Tb) unflavored powdered gelatin softened in a small saucepan with 2 Tb kirsch

The 1½ cups
apricot filling

Heat softened gelatin mixture until gelatin has completely dissolved, then stir into apricot filling. Cut a tiny wedge in side of cake, then slice in half, making 2 layers. When apricot filling is cold and has set enough for spreading, spoon it over bottom layer of cake; replace top layer, lining it up with wedge.

⅔ cup apricot jam (preserves) forced through a sieve into a small saucepan

2 Tb sugar

A wooden spoon

About 1 cup
walnut brittle
, or chopped walnut meats

Bring strained apricot jam and sugar to the boil, stirring, for several minutes until last drops to fall from spoon are sticky. Paint top and sides of cake with the glaze. When glaze has set slightly, brush brittle or chopped walnuts against sides of cake all around.

About ½ cup kirsch-flavored
white fondant

About 1 dozen caramelized
walnut halves
(more if you wish)

Heat fondant over hot water until smooth and of spreading consistency; rapidly spread as even a layer as possible over top of cake. While fondant is still quite soft, press the walnuts into it, arranging them around the edge of the cake or in any manner you wish. (If fondant on top of cake has hardened, melt a little more and brush on bottom of walnuts as you stick them on the cake.)

(*) Cake will keep several days when covered airtight in the refrigerator, or it may be frozen for several weeks, at least.

LA CHARLOTTE AFRICAINE

[Chocolate Dessert or Layer-cake Made from Leftover Cake]

When you find yourself with leftover wedding cake, pound cake, sponge cake, or even store-bought cake of a reasonably homemade quality, use it again to make another cake. Pound cake is particularly good for this; if you have sponge cake, you may wish to enrich the mixture with a little butter. This recipe is easy to make with the electric mixer when you follow the sequences outlined here. The cake is baked in a dish or pan 4 to 5 inches deep, like a French charlotte mold; treat it as a dessert with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, or as a cake with filling and icing.

For a 6-inch cake 3 to 4 inches high, serving 8 to 10

1)
The cake batter

The cake pan: a 2-quart charlotte mold or cylindrical baking dish 4 to 5 inches deep

½ Tb soft butter

A round of waxed paper

2 Tb flour

8 ounces semisweet baking chocolate

A 2-quart saucepan

¾ cup milk

A wooden spoon

8 ounces pound cake, wedding cake, sponge cake, ladyfingers, or other leftover white or yellow cake (about 2½ cups moderately pressed down)