Read Rose's Heavenly Cakes Online
Authors: Rose Levy Beranbaum
Rose's Heavenly Cakes (52 page)
For a visually striking constrast and more delicate flavor, replace the light whipped ganache with a double recipe of
Gelatin-Stabilized Whipped Cream
.
Highlights for Success
Note for commercial bakers or home bakers with a large oven or double ovens: It's fine to double the batter and make both layers at the same time or to use a full-sheet pan (17 by 24 inches). Baking time will be about 20 minutes. If dividing the double batter between two pans, use about 16 ounces/454 grams of batter in each pan.
The temperature of the ganache mixture is critical when beating. If not cold enough, it will not stiffen; if too cold, it will not aerate well.
8 to 10
35 to 45 minutes
There is nothing more treasured than an old family recipe, and this delicious one was created by the Hungarian great grandmother of wine writer Paul Lukacs (son of the famed Hungarian historian John Lukacs) and given to me by his wife, Marguerite Thomas. Since Marguerite is like a sister to me, and I am one-quarter Hungarian, I feel a personal attachment to it. The Jancsi (YAHNsee) is intensely chocolate and moist, with little specks of chocolate and a wonderful crunch from walnuts. Although Marguerite frosts the cake with a rich dark chocolate frosting such as ganache, I also like it either unadorned or with a thin gilding of apricot or sour cherry preserves, and sometimes topped with
Light Whipped Ganache Filling and Topping
.
Volume | Ounce | Gram | |
superfine sugar | ¾ cup, divided | 5.3 | 150 |
walnut halves | 1½ cups | 5.3 | 150 |
dark chocolate, 60% to 62% cacao, cold, chopped | . | 5 | 142 |
about 8 large eggs, separated, at room temperature: | ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (4.5 fluid ounces) | 5.3 | 150 |
cream of tartar | 1 teaspoon | . | . |
Special Equipment
One 9 by 3-inch springform pan, encircled with 2 cake strips overlapped to cover the entire sides, bottom coated with shortening, topped with a parchment round, then coated with baking spray with flour. If the pan is less than 3 inches high, line it with parchment (see
Catalán Salt Pinch Cake
).
Preheat the Oven
Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Divide the Sugar
In a small bowl, place 2 tablespoons of the sugar for the nuts. In another small bowl, place 2 tablespoons of the sugar for the meringue. In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the remaining ½ cup of sugar.
Toast and Grind the Walnuts
Spread the walnuts evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes to enhance their flavor. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid overbrowning. Turn them out onto a clean dish towel and roll and rub them around to loosen the skins. Break the walnuts into a bowl, scraping off and discarding as much of the skin as possible. Cool completely. In a food processor, pulse the walnuts with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sugar in long bursts until very fine. Stop before the walnuts start becoming oily or pasty. Empty them into a medium bowl.
Grate the Chocolate
In the same bowl of the food processor, process the chocolate until very fine but not beginning to melt and clump together. Scrape the chocolate into the bowl with the walnuts and combine with a fork.
Mix the Yolk Mixture
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, add the yolks to the sugar and beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until very thick and fluffy and when the beater is raised the mixture drops in ribbons.
Detach the whisk from the mixer and use it to fold the chocolate mixture into the batter until evenly mixed. If you don't have a second mixer bowl, scrape this mixture into a large bowl and thoroughly wash, rinse, and dry the mixer bowl and whisk beater in order to remove any trace of oil.
Beat the Egg Whites into a Stiff Meringue
In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. With the mixer off, add the cream of tartar. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form when the whisk is raised slowly.
Make the Batter
Add about one-quarter of the meringue to the yolk mixture and, with a large silicone spatula, fold it in until completely incorporated. Gently fold in the remaining meringue in three parts. For the last addition, be sure there are no white streaks of meringue in the batter. Using the silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread the surface evenly with a small offset spatula. The batter will fill the pan half full.
Bake the Cake
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed very lightly in the center. An instant-read thermometer will register 200°F/90°C. The batter will have risen in the center to a little above the top of the pan.
Cool and Unmold the Cake
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. It will sink about ½ inch at the sides and, on cooling, form about a ½-inch crater in the center—perfect for filling. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the cake, pressing firmly against the pan, and remove the sides of the pan. Allow it to cool until it is warm or room temperature before inverting onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the pan bottom and parchment and reinvert the cake onto a serving plate. It's delicious still warm, but if topping with ganache, cool completely.
Décor
For the most attractive slices, cut the cake into individual pieces with a thin sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped dry. If the cake has been refrigerated, cut it while it is still cold. But for the lightest texture and fullest flavor, allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving. To add extra richness, heat ½ cup/5.6 ounces/160 grams of apricot or sour cherry preserves in a microwave or saucepan over medium-low heat just until fluid and spoon it over the cake. Or take 1 cup/8.6 ounces/244 grams of
Whipped Cream
and dollop soft mounds onto individual pieces and grate dark chocolate over them.
Highlights for Success
If you prefer to use a higher percentage bittersweet chocolate, it's fine to reduce the sugar to 2/3 cup/4.7 ounces/132 grams.
Chilling the chocolate before grating helps to maintain fine dry particles. This is necessary to keep them suspended in the flourless batter.
The cake strips work particularly well for this cake because the sides have a tendency to become dry without them.
12
15 to 20 minutes
When I was translating La Passion du Chocolat, I asked "Papa" (Maurice) Bernachon which was his favorite dessert. I suspect he said he loved this recipe because his mother made it for him when he was a child and he enjoyed its simplicity, along with the perfect marriage of almonds and dark chocolate and the beauty of its clean and elegant lines. The Bernachon tea ganache provides a sharp floral background flavor against the dark chocolate. This ganache is thicker than usual, using a little more chocolate than cream; it blends better with the texture of the thin layers of the succès (souk-SAY), making it seem almost like a candy. You can substitute
Raspberry Ganache
, and in berry season you can top it with fresh raspberries instead of cocoa.
Plan Ahead
Make and compose the cake 1 day ahead. Make the ganache several hours before using.
Volume | Ounce | Gram | |
sliced almonds, blanched | 2 cups | 6.3 | 180 |
superfine sugar | ¾ cup plus 2½ tablespoons, divided | 6.3 | 180 |
7 large egg whites, at room temperature | ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 fluid ounces) | 7.5 | 210 |
cream of tartar | 1 teaspoon | . | . |
Special Equipment
Two 17-inch or larger flat baking sheets or inverted 17¼ by 12¼ by 1-inch half-sheet pans, buttered and floured or lined with parchment coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray or baking spray with flour, or lined with a nonstick baking mat such as Silpat | Pastry bag fitted with a large plain ½-inch pastry tube or a resealable plastic bag with one corner cut off in a curve to make a round opening for the pastry tube
Mark the Circles
You will need to mark the pans with three 8-inch circles. One of the pans will hold two circles, the other will hold one. If using parchment, use a pencil or pen and the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan to trace the circles. Turn the side with the markings over to face the pan. Attach it to the pan with a little shortening or a light spritz of nonstick cooking spray. If using a nonstick baking mat, mark the 8-inch circles by placing some flour or unsweetened cocoa powder on a plate and lightly dipping the rim of an 8-inch round cake pan or cake ring into it. Firmly tap the cake pan down on the mat to mark the circles and lift it straight up.
Preheat the Oven
Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Grind the Almonds
In a food processor, process the almonds and ¾ cup of the sugar until very finely ground.
Beat the Egg Whites into a Stiff Meringue
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. With the mixer off, add the cream of tartar. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 2½ tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. (If the whites are not very stiff, the succès will spread slightly during baking.)
Detach the whisk beater and remove the bowl from the stand. Using the whisk beater or a large balloon whisk, quickly but gently fold in the grated almond mixture in three parts, deflating the meringue as little as possible.
Pipe the Disks
Fill the pastry bag or resealable plastic bag with meringue and pipe the batter onto the prepared baking sheets to form three 8-inch circles, starting at the perimeter and spiraling inward toward the center (see
Ladyfingers
, piping spirals with batter for ladyfingers—it's the same technique). Because the disks will puff and expand up to ½ inch in diameter when baking, take care that you do not pipe them too close to the edge of the pan to avoid spreading over the edge. Use a small offset spatula to fill in any gaps with leftover batter and to smooth the surface. Pipe all three circles, then set aside the pan with only one disk while the first pan bakes. The batter will not spread during this time.
Bake the Succès
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or just until the disks begin to brown. Rotate the pan front to back in the oven halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
Cool the Succès
Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and bake the third disk on the second pan.
