Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed. Chocolate makes it worthwhile.

 

Cake is a very touchy kind of thing for me.  See, I'm not a baker (no, really, it's a major weak spot in my culinary skill set).  I can whip up stews and soups and steaks and several other dishes that start with "s" at the drop of a hat, but baking is something that requires a lot of planning and sometimes a few tears.  However, since I have a massive sweet tooth I tend to do it often.  In my world "baking" is synonymous with "sweet".

Back to the cake thing.  I always bake cakes for my kids' birthdays and I let them choose which one they want.  It's easier than making one I think they would want and having it turn out to be one they wouldn't consider if they were starving.  Karina's birthday was a few weeks ago and her choice was chocolate cake with mocha frosting.  So I used the only chocolate cake recipe that has never failed me with a French butter cream icing.  It was tasty as hell, but ugly as sin....I also lack decorating skills.

Chocolate Sponge Cake (adapted from The Best of Baking)

6 eggs, separated

4 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon very finely ground espresso (optional)

Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the egg yolks, water and half the sugar in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer for 5 to 10 minutes or until pale and creamy.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in remaining sugar.  Carefully fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture.  Sift the flour with the cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee and salt.  Fold into egg mixture.  Turn the batter into the prepared pan.  Smooth the surface and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly in the pan and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Wrap in plastic and allow to stand overnight before cutting into layers.

French Butter Cream (adapted from The Best of Baking)

1 1/2 - 2 cups butter, slightly below room temperature

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon very strong coffee

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

Beat the eggs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until very warm and thickened (I believe the temperature should be around 160 degrees).  Remove the egg mixture from the heat and continue beating until completely cooled.  Beat in the coffee and cocoa powder.  Beat in butter one tablespoon at a time until butter cream comes together smoothly.  If refrigerating butter cream, have it come to slightly below room temperature before using.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Best friends are awesome.  My best friend, April, is more awesome than most in my opinion.  No matter what, and I really do mean "no matter what", she has been and always will be there for me.

We try to get together once a week to sit around, talk and on occasion write on our perpetually changing book.  More often than not we meet up at my place which means that I get to cook up a storm for the two of us and we eat such things as red curry chicken and spaghetti bolognese at 9 o'clock in the morning.  If I can swing it, I really like to make something desserty to go with the meal.  Because how could that possibly be a bad thing?

Last week I made the beauties you see above.  In Serbian/Bosnian (Yugoslavian for me) they're called oblatne.  My oma, who was German by way of Hungary, called them oblaten, though strictly speaking oblaten in German are exceptionally thin edible wafers that go under cookies such as lebkuchen so that they don't stick to the pan when baking.  The treats above are wafer cookies that are very simple to make.  The wafers themselves come in packets of five and just about any filling that is spreadable can be put between them.  That's the only "hard" part, figuring out what you want to put in between; Nutella, pastry cream, peanut butter and jelly, marshmallow creme, et al.  The fillings that I know are the ones that my oma and mom made to put inside, chocolate with nuts and lemon with nuts.  I opted for the chocolate because Karina isn't chuffed with lemon and I knew April would not have any objection to anything with chocolate.

I got the recipe from my mother when we were up at her place for Christmas, she also gave me the packet of wafers, which she bought when she was in Germany.  They can be bought here in the states in stores specializing in Eastern European or German foods, or on the internet.  The internet option may be more viable if your local specialty store runs out of them as fast as they get them in, like mine.

Chocolate filled Oblaten
1 packet 18" x 11" (47cm x 29cm) wafers

filling:
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups nuts, finely ground (I use pistachios this time)

In the top of a double boiler whisk together eggs and powdered sugar until thick and pale yellow, and mixture reaches 160 degrees.  Remove from heat, add in butter and chocolate, and stir until completely incorporated.  Stir in ground nuts.  Mixture should be room temperature by this point, if not allow to cool to room temperature.  On the first wafer, smooth side down, spread 1/4 of the mixture evenly and thinly.  Place a second wafer on top with the smooth side down.  Spread 1/4 of the mixture over the second wafer and repeat two more times with remaining mixture and wafers.  Put plastic wrap on the top wafer and then lightly weigh down finished oblaten with a board.  Let oblaten sit for approximately 8 hours or over night.  Using a sharp knife trim ends from oblaten, cut into 2 inch strips using the wafer pattern as a guide, and then cut strips into diamonds or rectangles.