merstar

It's my own recipe - adapted from Martha Stewart! To make the ones I made today, I subbed in vanilla for the Grand Marnier and lemon zest for the orange. The recipe halves and quarters really well - I made a quarter recipe today, which made seven madeleines...keeps me from eating a dozen in one go, which is a totally doable thing. Here's a link to the recipe on RecipeGullet. ← They look soooo great, Megan. Makes me miss Paris even more. Thanks for the recipe!

Thanks for the info, Natasha! And your "extremely home-y looking cake" looks beautiful!

That looks great, Natasha. Would you post the chocolate and cream measurements?

I'm glad you finally got the confirmation. Enjoy the chocolate! (If you find you have more than you can handle, you can always send some to me.

I find I get better results in most cases if I simply call the company directly and speak to customer service. I've had many e-mails go unanswered from all sorts of companies, and have had no choice but to call, which I should have done in the first place. An e-mail can be deleted or ignored - speaking directly to someone means they HAVE to give some sort of answer.

Thanks.

MamaC, That looks sooooooo good. Would you be kind enough to post the recipe?

Yes, that's the one, but I hope you're not ordering from that site - they are way overpriced - $6.50 for a 4 oz jar, plus $7.00 Shipping???? That's a total rip-off. I checked around and found two other sites that sell it for much less. The first site sells double the size (8 oz) for 11 cents less than beryl's 4 oz jar, plus only $4.00 shipping, and their 4 oz jar is $4.59 : 8 oz jar - $6.39 - Shipping is $4.00 http://store.cubanfoodguy.com/product_info...products_id=193 4 oz jar - $4.59 http://store.cubanfoodguy.com/product_info...?products_id=62 http://www.cafecubano.com/detail.aspx?ID=110 4 oz jar - $4.39 (doesn't list shipping cost) ← I missed your post and just came across it today. Thanks for the links! I agree, Beryl's is a rip off for shipping. They charged me $14.00 to ship 10 Choc. Transfer Sheets to Hawaii. When I got the box, I noticed it only cost them $4.00! After several email, they finally refunded the difference. ← Glad to help!

Couch potato Milk toast Cheesy Winey (okay, so it's whiney) What am I? Chopped liver???

Hi Dailey, You can find it at http://www.americastestkitchen.com. You have to register to access the recipes, but it's free.

Shaloop, Great idea to scale down the Double Chocolate Layer Cake for easy comparison. Thanks for posting this!

Is there a reason for using nonfat plain yogurt? How does it affect the taste/texture? (Thanks for the comparison, btw!) ← Hi Ling, The main reason for using yogurt is that I always have it on hand - I never have buttermilk around. I also like the fact that it has less sodium than buttermilk. Since buttermilk, yogurt, and sour cream are usually interchangeable, I mostly use yogurt. As far as specific differences between the buttermilk and yogurt, I'd have to do some side by side tests to find out. Some people prefer yogurt, while others prefer buttermilk for the same reasons! Oh yeah, I totally forgot to add in my reviews (will do so after I post this), that I used nonfat plain yogurt this time in the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake. It was the first time I used it in this particular cake - the other two times, I had used the listed sour cream. I noticed no major differences in taste or texture.

I finally tried the Double Chocolate Layer Cake again. (I had tried it years ago with the sugar amount exactly as written, and had found it too sweet). This time I reduced the sugar, (as I usually do with baked goods), and used 2 cups sugar instead of the listed 3 cups. I also used brewed espresso instead of brewed coffee, plus I added 1 1/2 tsp Cuban instant espresso. In addition, I used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet. I substituted nonfat plain yogurt for the buttermilk, as I always do in recipes that call for buttermilk. Other than that, I used the ingredients as listed in the original, not egullet-tweaked recipe. The flavor was very good, not great. I found it be a little lacking in chocolate depth, and much prefer the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake, which I find to be much more deep chocolatey with an overall full, rounded taste. Not only that, the Bundt Cake needs no tweaks whatsoever, to achieve that beautiful, full, deep chocolate taste. My only "tweak" there is to use 1 Tbsp espresso powder instead of the optional 1 tsp. (Edit: I forgot to add that this time around I used nonfat yogurt instead of the listed sour cream - the other two times I'd made this cake, I used the sour cream. I noticed no major differences in taste or texture). For the Double Chocolate Layer Cake, I applied a different mixing method than written in the original. I basically followed the simple one used in the Hershey's Black Magic Cake, ie, after melting the chocolate with the brewed espresso, I poured the wet ingredients into the dry, and beat about 2 or 3 minutes until well blended. (I beat by hand with a wire whisk). The cake layers rose perfectly with no doming and no cracking. The texture and crumb were excellent, although this cake is much harder to slice than the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake, which slices easily and cleanly. To summarize: Even with all my tweaks to enhance the chocolate taste, I found the Double Chocolate Layer Cake a little lacking in chocolate flavor, and the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake to have a more well-rounded, deeper chocolate flavor. Overall, I find the Bundt Cake to be a richer tasting, more luscious, more satisfying cake. I would rate the Layer Cake a 3 1/2 - 4 for taste, and the Bundt Cake a 5. (Note: These were tested side by side without frosting/icing or adornments). I liked both textures, the Bundt Cake's crumb being finer and little denser then the Layer Cake, which turned out a medium crumb with a bit lighter texture. It's really a toss-up, depending on what mood I'm in, so I'd give both a 5 for texture. As far as ease in slicing, assembling, plating, etc., the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake wins hands down. The Double Chocolate Layer Cake is more of a comforting old fashioned cake and the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake is more sophisticated. Both have their place. As a side note, I found the Double Chocolate Layer Cake to be very close in taste to the Hershey's Black Magic Cake, as someone else had noted awhile back (they're very similar in their ingredients). Surprisingly, even with the proportionately extra cocoa powder and added chocolate in the Double Layer Cake, the taste wasn't much different from the Black Magic Cake, which I do with my usual tweaks of lowering the sugar, using brewed espresso instead of coffee, etc. The textures are also similar, but the Chocolate Layer Cake is a little denser than the Black Magic Cake, probably due to the extra cocoa powder and chocolate.

Another great one was Sakura Chaya, a small Japanese restaurant on the corner of Columbus Ave and 69th, betw 69th and 68th. It was the first one in the neighborhood, and the first Japanese food I had ever eaten. At the south corner, on Col. and 68th, was another good restaurant called Dazzles. I wonder what happened to all these restaurant owners who had to close? It's so sad.

I will never again get distracted while measuring teaspoonfuls of espresso powder to equal 3 Tbsp for a chocolate cake (the tsp measure fit into the jar better with more room to level off) - my mind went off into Neverland and I lost count.

The Gourmet taste test is what piqued my interest. I normally use Callebaut for baking (due to price point) but the Santander chocolate was rated above Callebaut and less expensivve. I would still prefer to buy ingredients from a local store as I am not comfortable with purchases by mail. Has anyone seen these in the Lower Mainland? ← I just discovered Santander 70% a few months ago and it's great - I hope you try it. It's the only bittersweet chocolate I love eating out of hand (haven't baked with it yet, but I'm expecting great results). I'm not from your area, so I can't help you with sources, but I do highly recommend this chocolate. Here's a fantastic UK chocolate site with tons of chocolate reviews. Check out what they have to say about Santander 70%. (It's listed under "Santander - Dark Columbian"). http://www.seventypercent.com/chocop/

HISAE'S!!! I've been trying to remember the name of that restaurant since first reading this thread. There were 3 locations; the first was near Cooper Union; then the Village and the West 50s. Every table got an amuse bouche consisting of a huge bunch of bright green broccoli sauteed in oil and garlic. It was the first time I ate broccoli that wasn't gray, overboiled mush. The restaurant was considered very California-ey. Lots of fresh veggies, pasta, fish. Loved that place. Thanks for remembering it. ← There was a fourth location - W.72nd betw Columbus and CPW. What a great restaurant! I couldn't believe how fresh-tasting their food was, and the dishes were delicious and original. Loved the Front Porch!!!

Thanks to those who reminded me of Shah Bagh and Hisae. Both were great. Shah Bagh was my first Indian restaurant, and I even remember exactly what I ordered and who took me there - bittersweet memories.

The original Victor's Cafe on Columbus betw 70th and 71st ST. - The BEST Cuban food! (Never wanted to try the one on W.52nd) Al Buon Gusto - W.72nd betw. Columbus and B'way Tuesday's West - Columbus betw. 71st and 72nd Ratner's (East Village) Ginger Man - around W. 64th or 65th Dairy Restaurant - W.72nd betw B'way and West End Blazing Salads (W. Village) Hot Woks and Master Wok (same location on upper W. Side) Cantina (Columbus around W.71st)

Merstar, I can agree with you and disagree with you, but does it even really matter? The basis of the recipe I used was the eGullet tweaked Double Chocolate cake recipe. All of the changes I made to it were solely based on my attempts to improve what I felt was a suboptimal texture. I did not change any of the chocolate or sugar measurements; only those things that I felt would have the greatest impact on improving the crumb and texture. And yes, in changing those, there naturally will be some change to the overall flavor profile of the cake, …that cannot be helped, but my goal was to maintain the integrity of what I think is a great flavored cake, while improving what I perceived to be a less than great crumb. No one has to agree with me, no one has to try my version of the recipe…I did this for myself, and simply wanted to share my experiences. ← I certainly didn't intend my post as a criticism, merely as an observation for the sake of clarity - it was mainly for those who are late coming into this thread, and may not be aware of the differences between the original and the tweaked.

Wow - that's a rough one. Here are two to check out: HERSHEY'S MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipet.cgi?r=129280&y=10 MILK CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE http://www.cooksrecipes.com/cake/milk-choc...ake-recipe.html

Patrick, When you refer to the Double Chocolate Layer Cake, you are talking about the orginal, not tweaked version, yes? Beautiful photo!

Merstar, Yes, I should have mentioned, I did see your post and I went to one of my local grocers that has a fairly decent ethnic food aisle and they had it. So I used it in my cake yesterday. Thanks again for the recommendation. Yes, I would say it was a very successful tweakery, but the true test will be once the cake has some age on it. I think I've got the Godzilla proportion thing worked out, so here's the formula I used to make the cake yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing how this cake tastes tonight. As well, I have a full complement of built-in tasters (notwithstanding my BIL ‘snarfers’) so I'll ask them to compare it to the CI cake. I've been thinking a little bit more about what I might do differently next time I make this cake (pending tonight's tasting). In addition to trying it with all cake flour next time, I think I'm going to go with a hotter oven, particularly now that I've increased the number of eggs. I think it will create an even lighter cake with even better rise. I'm not sure about any other modifications yet. I've got to wait and see. I'll report back tomorrow. ← At this point, it's obviously not the Double Chocolate Layer Cake anymore. It's something else entirely, between several egullet members' combined tweaks and your individual tweaks. So you're actually not testing the Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake against the Double Chocolate Layer Cake - you're testing it against something entirely different!

Glad you decided to try it again, Patrick. Looking forward to your pictures and full review tomorrow.

Sounds like a very successful tweakery, WhiteTruffleGirl! By the way, did you see my post to you on page 15 regarding the Cuban instant espresso?