middydd

Try to find some northern Ontario wild blueberries. They're so different from the farmed blueberries you get in the grocery store. If you travel north you could pick them yourself or buy them by the side of the road later in the summer. It depends on the weather when they become available. They're generally smaller than the cultivated ones and combine an incredible sweetness with the tang of the forests they grow in. For a great blueberry pie, combine 4 cups blueberries, a squeeze of lemon juice, a cup of sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, a dash of salt (1/8 teaspoon) or so. Toss (not too gently, break up some of the berries a bit), pour into your favourite double crust. Bake at 450 for ten minutes and then 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. Cover the crust if it looks too brown.

That's an interesting question. Apparently, in Iceland the layers were sponge cake, but the version that became traditional in "New Iceland" (Manitoba, Canada) had cookie type layers. The eight or so cookie layers were spread with a prune filling, stacked and then iced with an almond flavoured icing. The recipe was apparently brought to Iceland by members of the "Constantinople Guard" as they travelled through Europe and tasted the famous cakes of Vienna. The Vinartarta was their adaptation of cakes like Sachertorte and Doboschtorte.

Good to know! It sounds like you can make the cake layers and mousse ahead and then assemble the cake later.

Thanks for posting about the mousse. Do you stick to the amount of gelatin in the recipe, or increase it as some reviewers recommend?

Sugarella, thanks for all the advice. The 2 teaspoons of baking soda sounded like a little too much leavening power to me, the combination of powder and soda sounds like it would give a more even rise. I think I'll experiment a bit with the cake before embarking on the whole production.

I've been wanting to make the Cuban Opera Cake but have been daunted by reviews that mention the cake falling after coming out of the oven. Could some of the experienced bakers here have a look at the recipe and see what might be causing this? I'd appreciate it. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108593

The 12 cup NordicWare Bundt pan is 10 inches interior diameter and 3 1/2 inches deep. Incidentally, I have one Bundt pan that is 8 inches diameter and 4 inches deep and one that is 9 inches diameter and 3 inches deep. I've made the same recipe (not the CI Chocolate Cake but other favourites) in the deeper pan and the rise is much better than in the shallower pan. The texture of the cake even seems lighter and fluffier in the deeper pan.

Same here. I knew I had too much batter when I was filling the bundt, so I left out about 10% of the batter. It still rose a little above the pan in the middle, but wasn't a problem. I'm sure my pan is 12 cup capacity, as the recipe specifies. It might have something to do with the shape of our pans -- even though my pan has 12C capacity, I think it is deeper and has a smaller diameter than a traditional bundt pan. ← I made the CI Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake last night in the traditional 12 cup NordicWare Bundt pan, when baked it filled the pan exactly, rising maybe an eighth of an inch over the level of the middle tube but exactly level with the sides of the pan. I find the crumb of this cake very fine but dense and prefer the texture of the Double Chocolate Cake.

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. ← Does anybody know the reason why the Double Chocolate cake from Epicurious bakes at 300 instead of 325 or 350 like most cakes?

I also just made a Raspberry Bavarian Cake that could be made with strawberries instead of raspberries. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...36_1319,00.html Picture: http://www.godiva.com/recipes/recipe.asp?id=345

I made the Chocolate Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake from the Hersheys site for Valentines Day. It was very good. And also very easy. It calls for Hersheys Strawberry syrup but I couldn't find it, so just used the syrup from frozen strawberries. http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/de...word=strawberry

I don't know whether it would need refrigeration, but I've been meaning to attempt a Dobos torte for a while......... lots of caramel there! ← The Triple Caramel Cake from Fine Cooking is very good. It's got a sauce with whipped cream in it, though, so may need refrigeration. http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Schnit...ramel_Cake.html There's also a very good Caramel Cake on the Penzey's site. ← The Penzey's cake recipe is posted here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=58887

I don't know whether it would need refrigeration, but I've been meaning to attempt a Dobos torte for a while......... lots of caramel there! ← The Triple Caramel Cake from Fine Cooking is very good. It's got a sauce with whipped cream in it, though, so may need refrigeration. http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Schnit...ramel_Cake.html There's also a very good Caramel Cake on the Penzey's site.

It sounds like the oil may not have been incorporated well enough, and then the oil sat in the bottom of your bowl, when the batter is poured into the pan the oil impedes rising in the portion of the batter it's touching. I've had this happen with the butter in genoise.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I bet the dust of cocoa would give the grip needed to keep the marshmallow from sliding off. I wonder if it would work to put the marshmallow topping on before the ganache sets, the unset layer might "glue" itself to the marshmallow.

We do use a blowtorch. It seems like the sliding is caused by the shiny surface of the ganache. I thought maybe scoring the surface or creating a depression in the middle of the ganache might help, but haven't tried it yet.

I really like these Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze and Marshmallow Topping, recipe from Chocolatier magazine. http://www.godiva.com/recipes/recipe.asp?id=593 When I make them the marshmallow layer slides off the chocolate glaze layer. Anybody have any ideas to keep this from happening?

Sounds good. Do you use the original sugar and salt amounts? Do you use espresso or strong coffee? ← I follow the original recipe exactly and just add the bittersweet chocolate. The result is very much like the Epicurious Double Chocolate Cake recipe but makes a slightly smaller cake. ← Oh, and the coffee is decaf Starbucks Sumatra, it's fairly strong. Never tried it with espresso but it sounds good.

My tweak to the original Black Magic cake recipe is to melt about 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the coffee before adding it to the cake batter. It rounds out and deepens the chocolate flavour. ← Sounds good. Do you use the original sugar and salt amounts? Do you use espresso or strong coffee? ← I follow the original recipe exactly and just add the bittersweet chocolate. The result is very much like the Epicurious Double Chocolate Cake recipe but makes a slightly smaller cake.

My tweak to the original Black Magic cake recipe is to melt about 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the coffee before adding it to the cake batter. It rounds out and deepens the chocolate flavour.

I made a Tiramisu I've made many times before, the mousse is thickened with gelatin. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_14508,00.html The mousse got all little gelatin lumps in it. Nobody complained, my husband said he didn't notice them, but I knew they were there. After asking for advice I think my gelatin wasn't dissolved completely or my egg whites were just too cold. I don't think I've ever made this recipe in the winter before, maybe all the ingredients were too cold when I mixed in the gelatin.

I've had that happen if my cream cheese was too cold.

Thanks, Patrick. I used ChefPeon's "baker's grease" but still had a little bit of a sticking issue on the sides. I'll have to be more careful next time; maybe let the cakes cool longer in the pan (I gave them 10 minutes or so). ←

Thanks for the lead. I'll check my local Costco. Anybody happen to know where to get real coconut extract, instead of the artificial?

Oli, thanks for posting your recipe. the cake sounds very rich with the cream in it. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe.