The Funky Kitchen

Much like last year, I baked my birthday cake for the party this year. I only wish that it had been bigger, because nobody got to have a very big cake. Perhaps next year, twin cakes will be called for, but I suppose we’ll see.

This cake wasn’t an unambiguously Dana-esque cake. Normally, I would describe myself as an intense-chocolate-explosion cake type of person, as can be seen with the last birthday cake, or any of the chocolate wonders in the recipe index. This one did have chocolate, but this cake was not an intense chocolate explosion. This lovely, tasty cake that disappeared too quickly was far from intense, it was delicate. Raspberry, lemon curd, and white chocolate came together in a way that was deliberately non-explosive.

I never thought that I would like something pale pink this much, but when I saw the recipe I knew I needed to make it. The recipe kicked around in my recipe box for a while, and this weekend, when the proper opportunity arose, I plucked it from the recipe pile and off we went. There were a lot of changes made, it was weirdly written; there was some guess work, the recipe didn’t say what temperature to bake the cake at. All in all though, such a show stopping cake.

I split the cake making into two days (well, actually three because I made the lemon curd the day before, but that doesn’t count): I made filling Friday and the cake Saturday. I would suggest this methodology to anyone else contemplating baking this cake, the raspberry and lemon flavor of the filling deepens over time.

Lemon Raspberry White Chocolate Cake

(adapted quite a lot from Ciao! magazine)

3 Cups whipping cream

1 Cup half-and-half

1/2 Cup icing sugar

3/4 Cup lemon curd

3/4 Cup raspberries

9 ounces white chocolate

1/2 Cup warm water

5 egg yolks

12 egg whites

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

• Start to whip the combined creams, and slowly add in the icing sugar.
• Once the icing sugar is completely added, continue to whip this combination until it forms slouchy peaks.
• Mash the raspberries, using a fork or a mortar and pestle, until they have come apart but have not completely liquefied.
• Add the lemon curd and raspberries to the whipping cream and continue to whip until the peaks are fairly stiff.
• Cover the filling with cling film and refrigerate until the cakes are ready. Overnight really helps to develop the flavor.

• In a bain-marie, melt the white chocolate into the warm water.
• Fold in the egg yolks ever so slowly, or temper first if you are worried about curdling.
• Whisk until the mixture is thickened and then remove the chocolate mixture from heat.
• Begin to whip the egg whites, adding the sugar in slowly as if you were making a meringue. When they reach the stiff peak stage, stop whipping them.
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• In this time, the chocolate-yolk mixture should have cooled considerably. Combine the flour and baking soda, and slowly sift them into the chocolate-yolk mixture. Keep mixing until there are no clumps, clumps would be bad in this situation.
• Carefully fold in the cloudy egg whites, you don’t want to lose any of the leavening air bubbles you spent all of that time whipping into them.
• Divide the batter into two greased 10-inch spring form pans and pop those ladies into a 350° oven for a tan (~45 minutes). You can tell when they are done if you shake the pan and there is no jiggle left to them.
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• Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool, they will most likely fall a little bit.

• Cut a few ounces (3-4) of white chocolate into curls. I used a vegetable peeler, it wasn’t a fantastic method, but it got the job done.
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• Cut both of the cakes into two layers, this will leave you with 4 layers of cake.
• Stack the cake up, spreading the filling between each of the layers.
• Because there was so much filling left over, I iced the cake with the filling as well. Remember, top first, then the sides.
• Last but not least, cover the sides with the chocolate curls, and if you’re feeling arty, plop a couple of raspberries on top.

Majestic. Just plain majestic.

Like I said before, I wish there was more cake so we could have had more. It was a birthday cake to remember for a birthday to remember.

And now, for Mister’s say: This cake was fluffy and light with subtle flavors. Where the chocolate Guinness cake was sinful, this cake was heavenly. Just the right way to absolve it of its sins.

It was my birthday on Wednesday, and it was a great day. I had a deliciously dip themed lunch with some great friends, dinner with my family, took a bubble bath and had a drink or two at my favorite pub with some of my favorite people. All in all, it was a great day.

Also, I got some pretty cool kitchen kit. I got a brie baker from Mister. He certainly knows what I like, and this means no more cheese volcanoes in my future! Birthday brie? Heck yes! Also, a kitchen scale from the veritable Trish, of the dip themed lunch. Be ready for the cake that will be eaten tomorrow (and most likely talked about on Sunday), it’s a pretty  show stopping cake.

Here’s to another year!

Today I saw rain for the first time this year. Every year the long Manitoba winter sets in and I miss the rain. I don’t know what it is, but something about rain seems to make a promise. Promises that spring will finally come, that all shall renew. Promises that new things will grow (I can’t wait to grow my first garden!) and that all of the sand and silt of winter will be washed away. Every rain drop whispers change.

Change, a new season, a new year of blogging (happy blog birthday to you Funky Kitchen!), it’s time for me to conquer one of my fears. It’s one that a lot of people seem to have: bread making. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the cost effectiveness of baking your own bread, and to be completely honest, I’m just a little bit jealous of those people in my life who bake their own too. Those yeasty beasties in the packet won’t scare me anymore. The bread in my house is going to be baked in my own oven. And now that the apartment sized, burns everything, does not come to temperature reliably oven has been overthrown by a much more lovely one that is yet to burn anything, I’ve got enough bolstered courage to embark on my bread journey.

Advice I’ve garnered so far from bread baking friends, relatives, books and the internet: Start with a basic bread so that you can get to know the bread making process in its simplest form; you need to get to know your dough. The dough, when it has been kneaded enough, should feel elastic, smooth and soft, kind of like skin. If your bread over-rises, punch it down and let it rise again. It won’t take too long. Let it rise in a warm place, but not too breezy, you don’t want to form a hard skin on your dough. Use warm water to bloom the yeast, warm enough that it feels warm on the inside of your wrist but not hot. Bread dough should be warm, and it will be warm from the water you use with the yeast. The yeast will multiply better in a warm climate, and so, when you are done kneading, take the bowl you will let your bread rise in and run it under hot water. The warm bowl will give you a slightly quicker rise, just remember to dry the bowl off with a tea towel.

A lot of debate seems to be going on about metal bowls, whether or not they are okay to use for bread making. Some people swear by them, some people say never to do it. What do you think?

French Bread

(a halved recipe adapted from a recipe by Jenn Hall on AllRecipes)

8 grams of active dry yeast

1 Cup warm water

3 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

• Bloom the yeast in the warm water.
• Mix the yeast mixture with 1 cup of flour and half the salt, beat the heck out of it. This is the sponge. Let the sponge sit until it starts looking bubbly like pancake batter, it is then that you are ready to move on.
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• Incorporate the rest of the flour and salt, and then knead. I was using a mixer, with the dough hook attachment, so I left it to knead just about 5 minutes. If you are hand kneading (fold dough in half, squish, quarter turn and repeat) it should take between 8 and 10 minutes.
• Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl (see warm bowl hint above). Cover with a moist tea towel and allow it to rise until it doubles in size.
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• Uncover the risen dough and punch it down, whap! Form it into a loaf, tapered at the ends. Cover and allow to rise until doubled again.
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• Cut 3 or 4 diagonal gashes across the top of the bread, about half an inch deep.
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• Bake in a 375 ° F oven for 20 minutes. Then, brush the loaf with water, and return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack.

There is not much that is better than eating warm fresh bread slathered with butter (Mister agrees). So worth the work. Overall success: the bread did get a little over risen during the second rise, and fell slightly when the cuts were made across the top. The loaf was, therefore, a little bit denser than I would have ultimately wished it to be. Still, though, for a first try it was a great success!