K8memphis

Kim and Zoe, Try this formula for a wonderful chocolate cake. I posted it just for y'all. It's very flavorful and an easy cake to make too. You can half it too for a 9x13. I was trying to make a chocolate cake with cayenne and I didn't have all the ingredients for any one recipe so I plunged in & used what I had. Kinda combined several recipes into my creation.

K8's Hot Fudge Cake aka Cinqo de Mayo I had recipes to follow but I just wound up making this one up. I didn't seem to have enough ingredients to make this or that exact cake so I just improvised. I was so happy when it didn't fall!!It was awesome. Don't let the cayenne fool you--it's not shocking or hot --it leaves a pleasing glow in your throat--very very nice. Going for a kind of a Cinqo De Mayo Ole~ type a thing This is a double batch. And it's exactly what I used. K8's Hot Fudge Cake 3 ounces of unsweetened Baker's chocolate Hershey's Extra Dark 60% cacao 3.52 ounce bar (got it at Walgreen's) 2 ounces of German Chocolate ^^^melt & set aside^^^ 4 cups sugar 3 cups sifted all purpose flour--less one heaping spoonful (sugar spoon size) 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 - 3 generous teaspoons saigon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder 1 heaping spoonful (sugar spoon size) Valrhona cocoa powder ^^^ whisk all together in a mixing bowl & set aside ^^^ 2 cups strong hot coffee 1 cup sour cream (room temp-ish) 1 cup oil 1 tablespoon vanilla ^^^Blend coffee, sr crm, vanilla & oil together with a whisk ^^^ Then add to powder mixture & combine well. 4 eggs, room temp ^^^add eggs one at a time to mixture mixing well before adding the next egg ^^^ then add chocolate & mix well. Makes nice half sheet or 4 eight inch layers. Bake 350 for like 40 ish minutes until toothpick comes out clean. I filled the cake with a cream cheese and swiss meringue buttercream combo. Then iced it with regular buttercream in order to cover with fondant. It's not too late to live happily ever after. You can use any combination of chocolate. But this particular blend is really good. I've made it with Baker's unsweetened too. But try real hard to find a good Saigon cinnamon. They well it in the big grocery stores now. Vietnamese or Saigon cinnamon. I recommend at least a cream cheese filling if not fully iced with a cream cheese icing. The cheese balances the 'hot fudge' to perfection. I would stick with a vanilla icing though. I would not want to blur the rich chocolate flavor of the cake. You will love this cake. Keywords: Dessert, Snack, Easy, American, Chocolate, Mexican, Cake ( RG1766 )

How 'bout this 'cake'.

Shortening plays a huge role in icings. It helps it hold up better to humidity. It helps soften dry fondant. It is a great ingredient when you need it. Butter tastes better. But try making snickerdoodles* or my molasses crinkles* with butter it's just not the same. I totally love Jiffy chocolate icing mix. I love it on spice cake. Probably an acquired taste. But I used to make it all the time as a kid. Haven't had it in years. Great stuff. I love Hostess cupcakes. Love them. When I started in cake-dom, I used to used Jiffy white icing mix, add shortening & water and whip the he77 out of it. It was so-o creamy and smooth. Newbies like mixes. Mixes are our friend. Hmm, if I can do this well, maybe I can go on to that. It's all good. Well, mostly all good. Somewhere in Arkansas, or near Memphis, maybe Jonesborough, like 15, 16 years ago or something, a cake decorator got tossed in jail for making icing with Exlax--kid you not--the people got sick and she got prosecuted for it. Ooops. So I ain't scared of shortening, I usually don't use icing mixes, I just wish I would have kept that newspaper clipping! *out of the old red Betty Crocker book

I have frozen whipped cream that's already been applied (usually as a filling) as Pam said--no problem-o.

I like the quote from someone who said something like, 'If you want to cook from scratch you have to create the universe.' And it takes more than a can of shortening to give me the heebie jeebies. Generally speaking, there's longer shelf life and better holding properties in the mixes. 'From scratch' is cool but you don't have some of the cake qualities some of us have grown accustomed to, like softness in a white cake that doesn't stale rapidly on impact with air. For example, a wedding cake slice that is cut at 7:30 pm and picked up from the cake table by the father of the bride at 9:30 after the festivities. You really don't want the guy that wrote yah the big check to get a dried out piece of cake. Mixes ensure the cake will be user friendly even though handled a bit improperly. It all depends on what you want/need. There's room in the world and there's a good use for those chemicals. The flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda (talk about chemicals) and the other 'scratch' ingredients sit on the same shelf as the mixes. Here's what's in Swans' Down Cake Flour enriched cake flour (bleached wheat flour) niacin reduced iron thiamin mononitrate riboflavin folic acid Heres' what's in Gold Medal all purpose flour wheat flour malted barley flour niacin (a b vitamin) iron thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B) riboflavin (vitamin B) folic acid (A B vitamin) Here's what's in baking powder baking soda cornstarch sodium aluminum sulfate calcium sulfate mono-calcium sulfate Now White Lily makes a more pure flour but I don't care for it in cake. And sure those are vitamins--but those are additives--it's not naturally occuring in the flour. What kind of vitamins are those? Organic, chemical or Flintstone? How pure are those. Why is the barley flour malted. What is in the malt. Who cares. Can we trust the guys who pour the stuff into the huge hoppers at the flour factories?? Some of that stuff is a chemical. Chemical free, additive free cake doesn't exist and/or would not be purchased or eaten by most of us. There are chemicals on the packaging. (or at least there used to be--Patrick will correct me if I'm wrong I don't know if sugar is considered a chemical or not but it is a highly refined commodity to become what it is. But it is hugely consciously damaging to many parts of our body. Teeth, pancreas, skin, brain, vision etc. Methinks that what we do know and blindly accept as 'normal' or 'scratch-worthy' is at least as damaging as a coupla few extra chemicals that are at least as beneficial. Let him who has not used frozen phyllo dough (sinned) cast (throw) the first donut hole (stone).

That sounds everlastingly appealing...wonder if I can find all the parts to the ice cream maker... Thanks for posting!

There's a ginger chocolate cake in Pierrre Herme's chocolate book. It's just all combined not different components. It was good.

I just found them difficult or impossible to scoot over or re-adjust if they were just refrigerated. If I didn't set them exactly right and I scooted it over, it just squoshed instead of moving. So I freeze 'em myself.

Of course you did, yes, of course I can tell. I wrote that for any others who may never have applied powdered sugar before. How on earth did you get it first through a strainer then into lumpy piles like that??? (((((I mean that in the nicest way of course.)))))

Gimme a fork! Umm, I thought about this when I was writing, and I said sprinkle, but I didn't detail it correctly. If you put the powdered sugar in a sifter or strainer you can get a finer covering. Hold it over your cake and just tap the side and it covers nicely. The people who get these cakes are gonna LOVE 'em. How totally sweet of you!

I think I would take small (as in 4-6 inches) paper lace doilies and press then against the sides and hold them in place with hat pins or t-pins untill I could wrap a red ribbon around, tie it in a bow and remove the pins. That would give a very pretty non-sweet impact.

Don't forget that if the surface gets moist (from thawing) the powdered sugar dissolves.

Oooh, I like this idea! Maybe line the tissue paper with paper lace doilies!! Pretty pretty pretty. If you do the powdered sugar thing, cut out a star or a leaf or a heart, or a music note or some dots to represent the currants or something out of paper & lay it on top of the cake and sprinkle the powdered sugar then remove the paper and you will have a beautiful top of the cake. Or cut out an outline of the object--that's cool too then sprinkle. Umm, I mean you could even lay one of the doilies on there too. Or or or if you decide to ice* the cakes & have some real lace, lay that on there. Do you have a nice squirt bottle you can use for food??? Put some lemon extract or vodka or everclear and a bit of food color and spritz that on the top--then remove the lace--it will make the top look like lace. But test it on your meringue first so it doesn't dissolve it or anything. (and then you would get mad at me & I won't get my cake I am on the list aren't I ??) And and and don't forget you can color powdered sugar with powdered food color if you have some--you can make a two toned effect on the top of the cake. Put your silhouette on there, sprinkle, shift the silhouette and sprinkle again. But make sure they are well defrosted so they don't sweat & liquify the powdered sugar. You would have to use a crusting buttercream for this to work or cover with fondant or marzipan.

My recommendation is embrace the rustic-ness. Or you could do something with whipped cream. I think they look amazing. One idea is to ice the sides with the buttercream of your choice and press something into that for more of a contained look. You could use any number of things, coconut, toasted coconut, chopped nuts, candied chopped nuts, chopped chocolate, white or any color, umm, seeds, sesame, ground cookies, sprinkles, glitter etc etc etc. I would pipe a small (with a small cut cone) border around the top - white. But not to hide the kibble & bits -- just to draw the eye to the perimeter. Just so the eye settles on the lyrical little border & not the rustic meringue. Or you could just squirt glaze all over the edges & down the sides in a squiggly random pattern. Whatever you do just be sure to put me on the list for one edited to say: Powder sugar covereth a multitude of sins.

Offer the cleaning of the trap as a bonus every month or whatever. Supply goggles and respirator and you can get disposable over alls and shoe covers. Get some good gloves. It's gotta be cheaper than the snake outs. How long does it take to do?? It's hard to breath out of those masks though. Have them get well acclimated to breathing out of it. How much is it worth??? $100 to $150??? More??? That's gotta be cheaper than calling out a plumber for snaking. Just a thought.

This is easy and it makes an unusual and pretty presentation. Make whatever jello or aspic you want. It should be about an inch thick or so. I made some grapefruit stuff with sherry & basil--then I let it set up and cut it out with a star cookie cutter and put the star in a cocktail martini type glass. It's very striking looking. Then plop some mousse on it, like for this, an avocado mousse would be good. Garnish with cantelope sticks shooting up out of the mousse and a candied grapefruit star on top. But putting the star shaped aspic in the cocktail glass is pretty. Could be the basis for a thousand desserts.

Ooooh how very cool. I'm guessing they're not gonna spring for the overhead chocolate waterfall** but how about a big thick juicy marble counter top? **about a third way down the page to post #70 I know you mean a work room--I just love that waterfall anyway.

Evertime I scroll by this thread I'm prompted to wanna ask how do you keep other areas from spreading when you eat the cookies...but alas I know it's hopeless.

Chefette, I have been the grateful recipient of your sage advice myself, but I wanted to gently inquire as to exactly how transparent are you suggesting that Little Island's clothing be??? Surely that will make for an unforgetable experience, but as she hopes to be invited back should she be a teensy more opaque in her dress???? PS. too lovely of a typo to pass up

that's like a retirement plan, right? Meals for life... ← One can only hope.

ahhh... bless eGullet! thanks for that heads up K8memphis. I didn't realize... ← I didnt know that either. thanks. ← Y'all are so welcome. Paying a freaking fortune for your kid's Cordon Bleu education has it's perks.

Well, for starters, since you learned about it online, I wanted to be sure you know it's pronounced stahj, stahjing, like the ahh, when you say ahh for the doctor to look at your throat. Not stage like stagecoach. Please come back & tell all about it. Can you say which hotel??? And edited to say: total congratulations too

Chris, I mostly hang out in the pastry forum, so I haven't caught up with all eleven pages yet but, Oh my gosh, multiplied congratulations on a wonderful opportunity. My kid, aka Chef-boy, is at The Inn at Little Washington (in VA outside Wash DC). I heard the food there was pretty good ( ). When the cameras were rolling in the kitchen of Chez Philippe in Memphis when he was there he never got on camera. So if by some chance you find yourself at The Inn, let him say Hi Mom 'k??? No really, what a tremendous opportunity for you--can't wait to see it on the tube. It sounds like a very interesting show that I would enjoy watching. And it's a lot of fun to 'be along for the ride' a bit--THANKS, too cool! << insert clapping hands smilie face >>

It's not weird if you know what it is. But I really don't know what it is (that y'all talk about). Or maybe I don't know how you apply the weird stuff (that you're talking about) to food. Next time I'll ask. Maybe. If Maggie doesn't know, I sure don't. Great advise you gave. Wow wonder if I could stage somewhere. Heretofore I've just thought of it as something that Chef-boy would do. Hmm, interesting.