Suzi's Blog

Valentine’s Day and Red Velvet Cake

by Brian on February 15th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews, Recipes 1 Comment

On Valentine’s day Suzen and I tried a different approach. Rather than do cards, roses, or gold, we agreed to cook something together. And it had to be a dish we’d never done before.

Something red.

Something sweet.

Something chocolate.

All things considered, those three conditions do filter out a lot of potential recipes.  That phrase, “All things considered” is of course very familiar to many of us. It’s the weekday afternoon news show on NPR. One of the NPR producers, Melissa Gray, has a nickname: the Cake Lady. Each Monday she brings to work a new homemade cake delicacy. A year’s worth of these superior recipes has been gathered into All Cakes Considered. This is a masterful book, filled with a spectrum of recipes that include old friends and new ones, and everywhere a burst of flavors.

One of her recipes just happens to be red, sweet, and chocolate. The Dark-Chocolate Red Velvet Cake is perfect for February 14^th, and for any other day as well.

This recipe produces a dense cake, with a beautiful dark red color sheathed in a snow white cream cheese frosting. By using sour cream instead of the usual buttermilk for this version of a classic recipe, Melissa defines a subtle cake where the chocolate taste is just perceptibly there. Your mouth is left refreshed, not overpowered.

You’ll enjoy All Cakes Considered for two reasons. Of course, the recipes.  But second, the head notes.  You know those two or three lines at the top of each recipe giving you some background? Melissa writes paragraphs, in a witty style with loads of information about the history and details of each cake. For this red velvet cake, you find out how to make it red, how red it could be, whether all the food dye used could actually kill you. It’s a fun read, and, no, thanks to modern chemistry the modern red dye is perfectly safe, although you probably will use more here than at any other time in your life. You’ll devour this colorful recipe. Tour this book to find some intriguing ideas. I still am and you can look forward to further blogs.

Here’s the recipe. Grab that bottle of red food dye.

Dark-Chocolate Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients for the cake

2 sticks [1 cup] unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream
½ ounce red food coloring

Ingredients for the frosting:

½ cup [1 stick] unsalted butter, at room temperature
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
Two 16 ounce boxes confectioners’ sugar [about 3 ¾ cups each]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation of the cake:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake

Cream the butter in a mixer on medium speed, and gradually add the sugars, beating well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa, and baking powder together.

Returning to the creamed butter and sugar, add 1 cup of the floured cocoa mixture and 1/3 cup of the sour cream alternatively, beating well after each addition. Repeat until all of flour mixture and sour cream are blended in.

Add the food coloring and beat well. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir up the batter at the bottom, then beat again.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and place the pans close to the center of the oven rack, but not touching. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake layers test done.

Cooled the layers in the pans for 10 minutes, then unmold on cake racks to cool to room temperature

Preparation of the frosting and assembly:

Cream the butter and cream cheese together at medium speed. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  And the vanilla extract and mix until just incorporated.

Assemble and frost the layers in the usual way, frosting the sides last, after the crown.

Source: All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray

Sourdough Bread from Crust with Parmesan

by Suzi on February 10th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews, Recipes No Comments

March has traditionally been a slow month for me at Cooking by the Book.  Exhausted by winter, people are anxious for spring, checking flower beds for just one green shoot poking through all that white stuff on top.

Several years ago I had the March-nudgies and I was driving my staff crazy.  They said, “Go,” and I did. I had always dreamed about the Artisanal Bread Baking Class at the CIA. So on a March day, I drove up to the CIA [the Hyde Park version, not that other one in the Washington burbs]. Funny thing, I got introduced to Artisanal Bread Baking with a wham. It might have been called Bread Boot Camp.

This professional class was filled with executive chefs from all over the country and then there was me, an entrepreneur from NYC but not a professional chef. The instructor took one look at me and knew I wanted to learn sour dough. Learn I did and have been baking sour dough ever since.

If it’s a weekend and I’m in a kitchen, there is dough rising in some warm corner. These bread skills came in handy when Cooking by the Book was testing the last two editions of The Joy of Cooking. When it came to the bread chapter, we had to test the sour dough starter and ensure the recipes worked all the way to a perfectly baked loaf.  That testing was back in 2004, and I have kept that starter (or mother) active all these years. I go through the ritual of feeding my mother several times week

My weekend baking gives me plenty of opportunity to experiment.  Recently I came across a really solid sour dough recipe by Richard Bertinet from his latest book Crust. Try this easy recipe and you’ll have plenty of options: from simple snacking to toast to sandwiches to croutons.<strong>

Crust’s Sourdough

700 grams bread flour (sometimes I use a little rye flour with the bread flour)
14 ounces active sour dough starter
About 2 ⅔cups water(Tiny pinch of instant yeast)
4 teaspoons kosher salt

Put all ingredients except the salt in your mixer, and mix on medium for about 7 minutes. 

Add the salt and continue mixing for another 7 minutes until you have a nice shiny elastic dough.

Proof overnight in the refrigerator and bake the next day.

I know these are not the most detailed instructions because I am writing from memory. But the real part of the story is that I amended the recipe this week. Joyce (CBTB’s Executive Chef) wanted me to try a different bread, one she can use for our cooking events.  And Joyce wanted cheese. So I took the basic recipe and added 200 grams of grated Parmesan cheese in the second stage when I added the salt. Everything else was the same.  I proofed and baked as I normally do, and oh my goodness…such nice bread! Great lightly toasted and wonderful for a ham sandwich