Sunday, July 11, 2010
I would like to write something deeply moving and sentimental, but the whirrrr of the fan is putting me to sleep and the heat in my office has melted away any remaining shreds of creativity. Add the high volume yelling downstairs between my evens and interruptions every five minutes and you have one worn out me.Sad because I'd really like to convey just how absolutely amazing my now 15 year old really is.
We laugh as if we're sisters, we talk like two old friends, she 'gets me' like no other, and yet I have all the pride of a mom because I am her mom and I am proud of the incredible young woman she's become.
Today was her day. And she required three things: to sleep in, to watch the last game of the World Cup in Engish at home in her jammies, and to have candles on this cake. Not difficult at all.
Breakfast: Nectarine French Toast
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup butter (1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons water (1T)
- 2 (29 ounce) cans sliced peaches, drained (I used fresh nectarines. Apples would be great too)
- 12 (3/4 inch thick) slices day-old French bread
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk (great with a bit of cream)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (any nut will do)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon, or to taste
DIRECTIONS
- In a saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, butter and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. This will turn into a carmel type syrup.
- Pour the brown sugar mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish, and tilt the dish to cover the entire bottom or use a plastic spreader. Place peaches in a layer over the sugar coating, then top with slices of French bread. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Slowly pour over the bread slices to coat evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove the dish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bread is golden brown. Spoon out portions to serve.
The Cake: Chocolate Espresso Torte
I have been making this cake since I found the recipe in my Cuisine cooking magazine in Feb of 1998 over 12 years ago. I've made if for birthdays and baby-showers, parties and promotions. It has been "known" in some circles as "Tiffany's cake," and it is probably one of my most requested creations. Sadly, I was reminded today that I haven't made it in couple years, I think now is time to revive it.
Ignore the decoration... that is clearly not my talent... but peek beneath the thick chocolate ganache and you'll find a flourless torte that absolutely melts in your mouth like butter. Read below and you'll find out why.
Ingredients:
- 12 oz coursely chopped semisweet chocolate (Chocolate chips work perfectly. Higher quality, the better.)
- 1 lb. unsalted butter (Yes, one pound. Four sticks. A lot of butter. Just don't think about it.)
- 1 cup espresso (coffee works in a pinch, but espresso makes a difference)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 8 eggs, beaten
Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350.
- Trace and cut out parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9" springform pan.
- Put the chocolate into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the butter, espresso, and sugar to a boil stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour the butter mixture over the chopped chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Continue to whisk as you slowly pour the beaten eggs into the chocolate mixture. If you don't stir and pour VERY slowly, the heat from the chocolate mixture could cook the eggs and you'll have yellow egg chunks in your finished torte - not pretty.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan (on top of the parchment paper on the bottom).
- Place the springform pan into a roasting pan and add boiling water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of pan to loosen the torte.
- Cool, then chill overnight.
Chocolate Glaze
Ingredients:
- 8oz chopped semisweet chocolate
- 12 T. unsalted butter cut into tablespoon sized chunks
- 5 t. water
- 1 T. light corn syrup
- Yesterdays completed torte should still be cooling. It needs to stay cool, so if you're in a hot house, I suggest preparing it for the next step in advance, then putting it back in the fridge so that it's cool when you glaze it.
- Remove the sides from the springform pan. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the torte, set it on top, then invert the torte. Place it on a pedestal for glazing. Do not worry if your cake has a dent or a crumb. The glaze will cover any imperfections. (I've done it for years this way and it works great, but today I didn't care if I had chocolate puddles, so I skipped the cardboard part and just inverted my cake onto the glass cake plate that I intended to serve it on. End result, a thick chocolate edge around my cake, but did my girls complain? Not a bit. Yummy!)
- Put all the ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and cook at 50% power in the microwave stirring each minute until melted and smooth. Be careful not to overcook or the chocolate will seize.
- Pour the glaze over the chilled torte letting it coat the sides. Tilt the torte as necessary and use a knife to lightly touch up the uncoated areas. Be quick, the cold torte makes the glaze set up quickly.
- Chill until you're ready to decorate or serve.
- Decorations: This is really beautiful with white or dark chocolate curls or chocolate leaves created by "painting" chocolate onto the backs of washed rose leaves and chilling. Remove the rose leaf before using. Fresh raspberries are also nice.
- I always serve this with raspberry sauce. (Place a bag of frozen raspberries in a saucepan with a teaspoon or two of sugar and stir until thawed and saucy. Strain seeds for a nicer presentaion, but they don't hurt anything if they are left.)
- Serve thin slices. You know what's in it and it is very heavy. You don't need a lot. This one cake will serve 20 persons easily.
NOTES:
- Again, you know what's in this and the flavor is intensely chocolaty. There isn't much else to numb that flavor, so the quality of chocolate and espresso makes a difference. Strong coffee and toll-house chocolate chips will work and it will taste great, but use a higher end chocolate and real Italian espresso and you'll have a significantly better cake and you will taste the difference.
- The key failure points in this are the water bath (don't skip it) and the whisking in of the eggs. I put my roasting pan with about 1-1.5' of water in the oven when I preheat it. That heats the water almost to boiling by the time I am ready to put the cake in. Do this or add boiling water. As for the eggs... make sure they are beaten well (not foamy, but well mixed) and add very slowly while whisking constantly. I know I already said that, but my first couple attempts at this were delicious, but had embarrassing small chunks of cooked egg white in them. Gross.
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