March: Herbs & Cake

So since i've moved out and been doing all my own cooking, i've discovered how expensive fresh herbs are. They give you a plastic container of way-too-many-for-one-recipe herbs that spoil before you get the chance to use all of them, so I decided to start an herb garden. :)


Oregano, Basil, Cilantro, and Rosemary

Also...

Max's Great Aunt and Uncle are in town on vacation from France, and I was asked to make his Aunt Karin's 70th Birthday cake.

The cake that I decided to make is a recipe from the the Rather Sweet Bakery in Fredericksberg.

The Tuxedo Cake:

For The Cake



1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For The Whipped Cream Frosting
4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

For The Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate , chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup lyle's golden syrup (*this is imported from britain if you can't find it you can substitute light corn syrup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
To make the cake: For a three-layer cake, place one baking rack one-third from the bottom of the oven and the second two-thirds from the bottom.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Line the bottom of three 9-inch or two 10-inch pans with parchment paper rounds, grease with butter, and dust with flour (Or spray with Baker's Joy).

Combine the butter, water and canola oil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.


In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa and flour.


Pour the butter mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk.


Whisk in the baking soda, salt and vanilla all at once.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.


For a three-layer cake, stagger the cake layers on the oven racks so that no layer is directly over another.
Set two layers on one rack and the third on the other.

For a 2-layer cake, stagger the layers on the middle rack with one placed more toward the front of the oven and one toward the back.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Monitor the layers carefully for doneness; each one may be done at different times.

Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on racks for about 15 minutes before inverting onto baking racks.
Cool the cakes completely, at least two hours, before frosting.


Since I needed to make this cake a day ahead of time, I actually decided to freeze the layers overnight so that they wouldn't dry out. all i did was wrap each layer in saran wrap, and then again in foil, and froze them overnight.

This is traditionally just a three layer cake, but I decided to experiment with torting the layers. This basically just means to slice in half through the center of the cake to make 2 thin layers instead of the 1 thin layer. I actually found a cool little contraption for $3 that used a wire to cut evenly through each layer so that they were all even.


Here are all 6 after torting each layer:


In order to lock in as much moisture as possible, I made up some simple syrup with 2 parts water, 1 part dissolved sugar in a little spray bottle. I sprayed each layer with just a little bit of the syrup before frosting.



To Make Frosting:
Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream in a large bowl on high speed until soft peaks form.
Add the powdered sugar and whip until thoroughly combined.
Place one cake layer on a plate and spread some of the frosting over the top.
Top with the remaining layers, thickly coating the top and sides of each with frosting.
Refrigerate the cake until the whipped cream frosting has stabilized, at least one hour.



To Make The Glaze:
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is very hot and just beginning to steam.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until it has melted completely.
Stir in the syrup and the vanilla.
Pour the glaze into a medium pitcher or measuring cup and let cool for ten minutes.
Do not let the glaze sit longer because it will stiffen and become difficult to pour over the cake.
Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that it covers the top of the cake entirely, but make sure some of the cream frosting shows through the drizzles on the sides. (If the glaze doesn't flow easily over the edge of the cake,don't be afraid to add an extra tablespoon or two of the syrup. I probably should have added a little bit more on this one).

Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least one hour.



Even after 12 people, there was still quite a bit of cake left-- even though it didn't look as pretty anymore. But it was definitely very tasty--(Tasty enough to keep a 5 year old quiet for a full 5 minutes.)


As a side note:
Here is my new strategy to working off all of these cake pounds: