Chocolate Cloud Cake

Makes one 8-inch cake serving 6-8 (This is very rich. Cut it into six wedges for decadence or 8 wedges for the more sensible.)

Recipe from Richard Sax via Food52

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is the cake you make when a special occasion dessert is called for.  This is quite easy to prepare and so indulgently delicious, especially for chocolate-lovers.  You can make the cake in the morning of a party and while the cake is cooling, the pan can be washed and stored away.  When dessert time comes, brew up some coffee and whip the cream.  Wowza!

Cake:

8 oz. (225 g) best-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup (110 g) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into 1-Tablespoon pieces

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup (200 g) sugar, divided

2 Tablespoons cognac or Grand Marnier

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

Whipped Cream:

1 ½ cups (355 g) heavy cream, very cold

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Unsweetened cocoa powder and/or bittersweet chocolate shavings, for decoration

To make the cake, heat the oven to 350F (175C) with a rack in the center.  Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan with parchment paper.  (Do not butter the pan and parchment.)

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof owl set over but not touching gently simmering water in a saucepan.  You can whisk it occasionally to help it along.  When the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter until smooth.  Set aside.

In two small bowls, separate 4 of the eggs.  In a large bowl, whisk 2 whole eggs and the 4 egg yolks with ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar just until combined.  Slowly whisk in the warm chocolate mixture.  Whisk in the cognac and the orange zest. 

Using a mixer with a whisk attachment and a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg white until foamy.  Gradually add the remaining ½ cup (100 g) sugar and beat until beautifully glossy, soft peaks form that hold their shape but aren’t quite stiff and dry.  Very gently, fold about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites.  Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and gently smooth the top. 

Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top is puffed and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly, 35-40 minutes.  Be careful not to bake the cake beyond this point.

Let the cake cook in the pan on a rack.  The center of the cake will sink as it cools, forming a sort of crater.  This is a good thing!  Let the cake cool completely on a rack.

While the cake is cooling, put the bowl you plan to use to prepare the whipped cream in the refrigerator along with a whisk.  Whipping cream is much easier to make when everything is quite cold. 

Whip the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer that has a whisk attachment.  Whip until the cream is billowy, soft (not stiff) peaks form.

Just before you plan to serve the cake, top it with the cream.  Using a spatula, fill the sunken center of the cake with the whipped cream, swirling the cream to the edges of the crater.  Dust the top lightly with cocoa powder.  (If you wish, you can top it with chocolate shavings.)

Run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cake, carefully remove the sides of the pan, and cut into wedges to serve.

Store any leftovers airtight in the refrigerator.  The cake won’t be as presentable and will have a more mousse-like texture. 

European Plum Tart

Recipe from The Martha Stewart Cookbook

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes one 7-inch tart

Our local food co-op, Lost River Market & Deli, holds a Talent Auction every year as a fundraiser.  I offered 4 homemade pies as my talent to be auctioned off.  Our good friend, Phil, won the bid.  As it happens, he has a little home orchard that includes a Purple Heart Plum Tree.  So, for his fourth and last pie, he brought over some of these jewel-like sweet plums and I put them in this fabulous tart. Other pies that I made for Phil’s winning bid were:  Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel Topping and Cinnamon, Lemon Luscious Pie, and Tartan Rhubarb Pie.

4 to 5 medium-size plums (I used 6 or 7 small Purple Heart Plums, a European/Japanese hybrid.)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

½ half of a Perfect Pie Dough, partially baked**

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup heavy cream

3-4 Tablespoons Cognac (4 Tablespoons makes this quite boozy)

¼ cup Vanilla Sugar**

Preheat oven to 375F. 

**To partially bake the Perfect Pie Dough, prick the tart shell pastry with a fork and carefully line the pastry with foil, pressing it into the corners. Add on top of the foil, dried beans, uncooked rice or pie weights to cover the bottom of the tart shell.  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue to bake just until the pastry dried out and turns a light golden color for a partially baked shell, about 5 minutes or so.  Let it cool completely on a wire rack before proceeding.

Pit the plums and either half or quarter the plums, Then, rub the outside of each plum with approximately 1 teaspoon softened butter. Arrange the plums as desired in the partially baked tart shell. Bake for 15 minutes to soften the fruit.

While the tart is baking, prepare the custard.  Beat the egg and sugar until thick and pale yellow.  Add the flour and mix until smooth.  Beat in the cream and Cognac.  Spoon the custard (It will be liquid.) around the bottom of the softened plums and sprinkle the tart with the vanilla sugar.  Return the tart to the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the custard is puffed and golden.  Let the tart cool before serving.  (The custard will fall as it cools.)

Vanilla Sugar:

This keeps indefinitely and adds a wonderfully elusive flavor to many desserts.

1 vanilla bean

3 cups sugar

Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and put it in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.  Pour in the sugar, put on the lid and set aside for a week before using.  Shake the jar from time to time.  Replenish the jar with more sugar as you use it up.

Here are the plums just before I popped them into the oven
for a quick roast before adding the custard.

A slice of the European Plum Tart 

I used the recipe and made a pie (instead of a tart) and, as you can see,
it turned out perfectly.

I used the pastry scraps to make a tiny tasty tartlet.

Cherry Berry Cream Tart

This tart is divine. First there’s the buttery, flaky crust.  Then there’s the creamy, perfectly rich pastry cream topped with sweetened fresh berries of the season.  This takes awhile to make, BUT all the components can be made in advance and then you will be rewarded with a dessert that is for the gods.  You can make the pie dough as early as a month before your party and freeze it.  The day before you plan to make the tart, remove the dough from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw.  Roll it out and bake it, the morning of your party.  The pastry cream can be made up to two days before your party.  Fill the tart with the pastry cream a couple of hours before the party.  Keep it chilled until ready to serve.  The berries can be sugared and kept in the fridge the day before the party.  Top the pastry-cream-filled-tart with the sweetened berries just before serving.

Pastry Cream with Cognac*

1 Baked Perfect Pie Dough*

4 cups berries (I used about 2 cups blueberries and 2 cups pitted cherries sweetened with 2-3 Tablespoons sugar.)

Pastry Cream with Cognac

Yield: 2 cups (excluding the whipping cream folded in)

You’ll have more than you will need for one pie.  Use what’s left for parfaits or mini tarts.

5 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature (if using large eggs, just add another egg yolk)
¾ cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups scalded milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Cognac
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon heavy cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac, butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic-wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.

After the pastry cream has chilled, make the sweetened whipped cream.  Place 1 cup of chilled heavy cream into the mixer with the whisk attachment.  To keep the cream from spattering all over your kitchen, place a towel over the mixer.  Turn the mixer on low and then after a minute, turn it to the highest setting.  Gradually add the sugar and then the vanilla.  Allow to mixer to whisk the cream on high until it looks like whipped cream.  Be careful not to overbeat or you will have butter!  Gently fold the whipping cream into the pastry cream.  Place this in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Perfect Pie Dough

Makes enough for two 9-inch one-crust pies

From the kitchen of Martha Stewart

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

The secret to making perfect pie dough is to make sure the ingredients and then the dough itself are very cold.  Baking the chilled pie dough in a hot oven makes the butter melt so that it creates steam inside the baking dough.  That makes the flaky crust we all want!

2½ cups all-purpose flour            

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled   

½ cup ice-cold water

Measure the flour and salt into a food processor with the blade.  Cut the ice-cold butter into pat-sized piece and add to the flour mixture.  Press the pulse button on the processor until you see pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in to the flour.  Don’t over mix.  Press the On button of the processor and slowly drizzle the ice-cold water into the feeding tube.  When the dough becomes a ball, stop the machine.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  (The dough won’t be smooth.  It’ll be sticky.  That’s okay.)  Place each piece of dough on plastic wrap and press into thick disks.  Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill for at least a half hour before rolling it out.  (Place the other piece of dough in a freezer bag and freeze for another pie. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling out.)

Remove the dough disk from the fridge.  Lightly flour the counter.  Starting from the center of the disk, gently roll out the dough into a circle that is about 2 inches larger than the dish you plan to use.  Lightly sprinkle with flour as you roll out the dough.  Flip the dough over occasionally for easier rolling.  Before placing it in the 8 or 9-inch tart pan or pie dish, brush the excess flour off with a pastry brush.  (Too much flour on the dough makes it tough.)  Fold the dough in half and place it in the dish.  (Do not stretch the dough because that will make it really shrink.)  Fold the extra dough under or over the edge and crimp.  Prick the dough with a fork on the bottom and sides of the dough.  Place the plastic wrap back over the dish to keep the dough from drying out.  Put the dough in the refrigerator while the oven is preheating.

Preheat the oven to 450F degrees.  Remove the dish from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Place a piece of foil that is larger than the dough inside the dish and then pour about 2 cups of dried beans into the dish over the foil.  Place the pie dough in the hot oven and set the timer for 12 minutes.  (The weight of the beans keeps the dough from puffing up.)

When the timer beeps, carefully remove the foil and beans from the dish.  (Keep the beans in a glass jar and reuse them as pie weights.)  Place the dough back into the oven and continue baking until it is golden brown all over.  Since ovens vary, you will need to check every two minutes or so.  Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a baking rack.

When the pie dough is cooled, fill it with Pastry Cream with Cognac* and top with your favorite fresh berries or fresh peaches.