the cake that was Too Beautiful To Live

Tonight was nothing short of awesome. Not only did I get to make a kick-ass cake for my favorite radio show Too Beautiful To Live (TBTL) and go rollerskating for the first time since the fourth grade (SO much fun!) but I got to talk about the cake on the radio too! (If you'd like to listen, my interview starts at 33 minutes into the podcast. They also gave me a great shout-out right after they saw the cake that you can hear at 20 minutes in. But really you should just listen to the entire show. Believe me, you'll LOVE it.)

So you're probably wondering what a nacho cheese dispenser cake has to do with a radio show. Well, it was a random comment that the host of the show, Luke Burbank, made that inspired me. He told a story a few weeks ago about his love affair with nacho cheese sauce at 7-11 as a kid and how he still loves it even now. When I heard him say that, I knew instantly I had to at least try to make it. After lots of research about nacho cheese dispensers, I decided it was possible. Once I got started with the cake, I couldn't just stop at making the dispenser. I also made a plate of chips covered in nacho cheese and I "cheesed" up the cake by making it orange and adding a few green sprinkles to the batter to replicate little flecks of jalapeño peppers.

The cake was a simple white cake that was double-filled with a layer of delche de leche and vanilla bean butter cream. It took about 40 hours or so to make. That included making one batch of Rice Krispy Treats (for the plunger body), 5 half-sheet vanilla cakes*, 20 cups of vanilla bean icing*, 7 cups of dulche de leche, all sugar work -- the spout (complete with a big drip of cheese), the plunger top, the nachos chips, cheese, the plate, the TBTL banner, the words, the on/off switch, the "on" light, the thermostat sign, the thermostat dial, the four pounds of fondant work, and lastly putting it all together. This didn't include the time spent on designing the cake, the research, the shopping, or the cleaning of the kitchen. ;-)

Sure, it was a lot of work, but it was so much fun to make! It was just something I wanted to do and I'm so glad I did. To the TBTL crew - Jen, Luke, Sean, Robin and everyone behind the scenes... I know this sounds a bit cheesy but thank you, thank you, thank you for all the hard work you put into the show and for making me and my family laugh each and every time we listen. Rawr!
I apologize for the lack of pictures. I didn't have much time between the time the cake was due and when I finished it. The good news is that Jen's husband Jason took copious photos of the cake with a much better camera than mine. I'll be sure to post a link to them as soon as they are available.

*recipe to be posted soon

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Toasted Pecans

Every once in a while you come across a recipe that you know in your bones is a winner. I knew that the minute I saw the pictures of this glorious coffee cake in the October 2008 issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Having never bought the magazine before, I was really blow away by all the great recipes in the issue and have quickly become a fan.

This coffee cake has three different flavor variations: Toasted Pecan, Chocolate Ripple, and Ginger and Macrona Almond. I plan on making all three eventually but decided to start by making the toasted pecan flavor. I was a little surprised that the recipe had a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder in it but it added that little something extra but without giving the cake any hint of chocolate flavor.

The article's author did a great job of educating me about some of the ingredient choices. For example, this cake uses super fine-sugar which is something I've never used before. The reason it is used is because the batter, which is very dense, just doesn't get hot enough during baking to dissolve the larger crystals in granulated sugar. Just like pasty or cake flour ensures a fine crumb and lighter texture, so does the super fine sugar. You don’t even have to buy a special package of it. You can easily make your own by spinning granulated sugar in a food processor until it is as fine as sand.

My favorite thing about this recipe was the reaction by those who ate it. One of my co-workers asked me where I bought the cake. He just couldn't believe that I had made it. "Are you a professional baker?" he asked. "No," I said with a big smile, "I know how to pick great recipes."

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Toasted Pecans
Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature for greasing the pan

For the Streusel Topping
2 ounces or 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 big chunks
3 ounces or 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt

For the Filling
1 cup toasted pecans
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Cake
1 1/4 ounce or 3 cups cake flour, sifted
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
10 ounces or 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
11 1/2 ounces or 1 2/3 cup superfine sugar (if you can't find this sugar, blend regular white sugar in a food processor until the texture becomes much finer)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
16 ounce or 2 cups full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

Take the eggs, sour cream, and butter out of the refrigerator so that they can come to room temperature. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350F for a silver pan or 325F if using a darker pan. Generously butter a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom.

Make the topping: In a 2-quart saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted but be careful not to cook. If any small solid chunks remain, that's okay. Remove from the heat and cool to tepid.

In a small frying pan, toast the nuts in a single layer over medium high heat. Stir or shake the pan constantly for about 5-7 minutes. It's a bit hard to see but when the nuts start to turn a darker shade of brown and you can really smell them cooking, pour them into a separate bowl to cool. Do not leave them in the hot pan as they will continue cooking and burn.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pecans, both sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and stir with a fork. Add the flour mixture to the butter and stir with a fork until it's evenly moistened and crumbly. Set aside.

Make the filling: In a food processor, pulse the pecans a few times until they are evenly chopped. Then add both sugars, cinnamon, and cocoa and pulse again on high 4 to 8 times to combine.

Make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar slowly, beating until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl (especially the bottom where flour pockets love to hide). Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending for a full minute before adding the next. Scrape the bowl and add the vanilla. On low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the sour cream, adding the flour in four parts and the sour cream in three parts, beginning and ending with the flour, and scraping the bowl as needed.

Layer and marble the batter and filling: Spoon 2 generous cups of the batter into the prepared pan (if you're not the type of baker that likes to measure, I strongly suggest you fight the urge to eyeball it and really measure you batter. This will ensure you have enough for each layer.) Take your time and smooth with the back of a soupspoon, spreading the batter to the side of the pan first and then to the center. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the filling evenly over the batter (again, be sure to measure!) Cover the filling with about 2 cups of batter, dropping dollops around the pan and smoothing with the spoon. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup filling evenly over the batter and cover with 2 more cups batter. Layer on the remaining filling and then the remaining batter. (You'll have four layers of batter and three layers of filling.) Insert a table knife 1 inch from the side of the pan straight into the batter going almost to the bottom. Run the knife around the pan once, then without lifting up, move the knife closer to the center of the pan, about an inch away from the center, and slowly drag the knife through the batter again. Smooth the top with the back of the soupspoon.

Check the sides of the pan for stray batter. Remove any excess with a small rubber spatula or a wet paper towel. Re-butter any exposed pan surface.

Top and bake the cake: Take a handful of the streusel crumbs and squeeze firmly to form a large mass. Break up the mass into smaller clumps, distributing the streusel evenly over the batter. Repeat with the remaining streusel. Press the streusel lightly into the surface of the cake.

Bake 70 to 75 minutes for a silver pan and as long as 90 minutes for a darker pan or until the top of the cake is golden brown and the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan. Test for doneness by inserting a long wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Be sure to check in several areas as there can be pockets of raw batter hiding out.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour before removing from the pan. Check out Fine Cookings tips for removing the cake from the pan easily.

Here's a photo of what the cake looked like when I was about to invert it onto the plate. What I liked about this photo is that you can clearly see all the layers right through the center.

This cake keeps at room temperature, well wrapped or under a cake dome, for up to 5 days; you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

Yield:I was able to get about 18 slices of various sizes out of the cake.

Bananas Foster Black Bottom Cream Pie

Sometime last year, my colleague Tim gave me a Blackbottom Pie recipe that he's had for many years. He thought that it may have come from his great aunt but wasn't entirely sure. It was type written on aged typewriter paper and called for ingredients like "scalded rich milk" which according to this website, is "milk with some cream mixed in".

Unfortunately, even after trying to make the pie twice, I was left with chocolate custard that was more akin to chocolate milk. I'm not sure if the author forgot some important ingredient or if maybe the ingredients we have available now are just different, but it just didn't work. Instead of giving up though, I decided to scrap the old recipe and put together a more modern version of a Blackbottom Pie.

I knew just the recipe too! Several years ago, before my blog, I made an Epicurious Banana Blackbottom Pie that was so really amazing but still had some room for improvement. This time, instead of just using plain bananas, I decided to caramelized them Bananas Fosters style just for something different.

Bananas Foster Black Bottom Cream Pie

This pie consists of the following layers:
Layer 6: Shaved chocolate or chocolate curls (optional)
Layer 5: Whipped Cream
Layer 4: Vanilla Pastry Cream (Make this first, it must chill for at least 4 hours)
Layer 3: Bananas Foster
Layer 2: Chocolate Ganache
Layer 1: Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Assembly
1. Make the vanilla pastry cream and chill.
2. Make the crust. When it's cold, gently butter the outer ring of the spring form pan (if you're using one) and chill.
3. Once the crust is fully chilled, make the chocolate ganache and pour into the pie shell and chill again.
4. Make the bananas and chill.
5. On the same day you're ready to serve the pie, but at least an hour ahead, make the whipped cream and chill.
6. Spread bananas evenly over chocolate ganache

7. Spread pastry cream over bananas and smooth.
8. Spread whipped cream (or if you want a little something extra, pipe the whipped cream using a star shaped tip) and top with shaved chocolate (optional)
9. Chill at least one hour or overnight.

When you're ready to serve, gently remove outer ring of spring form pan. Be sure when you cut it that you really push down to ensure you cut through the crust.

Here are the recipes for each layer:

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter until well blended. Press mixture into a 9 inch spring form pan or pie plate.

Bake at 375F for 6 minutes, just until it starts to brown. Cool completely, cover, and then chill in the refrigerator for at least a half and hour or overnight.

Bananas Foster
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon teaspoons rum (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large firm to just soft bananas

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas in pan and mix gently to coat bananas in the caramel mixture. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour bananas in a non-plastic bowl and let cool for 1/2 hour on the counter. Then refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour or overnight.

Chocolate Ganache Layer
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat cream and butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until mixture is hot (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour into prepared crust and spread evenly. Chill crust until chocolate ganache is firm, about 30 minutes.

Vanilla Pastry Cream
1 1/2 cups half and half or 3/4 cup of whipped cream and 3/4 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 large egg yolk (at room temperature)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bring half and half (or cream/milk mixture) to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. While the milk is warming up, whisk sugar, eggs, egg yolk and flour in medium bowl to blend. Once the milk is hot (but not boiling) very gradually, whisk in half of the hot half and half, whisking quickly so as not to scramble the eggs. Transfer to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boil, about 5 minutes. Boil 1 minute. Pour into medium bowl. Stir in vanilla. Press plastic onto surface of pastry cream. Cover; chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Try not to eat the whole bowl :-))

Whipped Cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you have clear vanilla, use that to maintain a super white vanilla)

Beat cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in large bowl until stiff peaks form. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Yield: 12 smallish slices or 8 regular sized slices
Would I Make This Again? I've made this a few times and it's always a big hit. It's a little time consuming but well worth it, especially if you're making it for someone who loves a cold, creamy, chocolaty banana dessert.

Lemonhead Cupcakes with Lemon Cream

Way back in August, on the day that I made the Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, I also made these little gems. I baked them as my second entry in a friendly baking competition at work between me and another compulsive baker.

It took me a long time to figure out what I would make as my lemon entry. I thought about making everything from the predictable lemon bars to the extravagant Meyer lemon soufflé but serving that to about 35 people would have been a nightmare. In the end I decided to make cupcakes since they are easy to transport and serve. Plus, there was an opportunity to be a little creative them too.

Instead of trying something completely new and untested (which I did with the pumpkin whoopie pies), I elected to use Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake recipe. Personally, her recipe was the best lemon cake I’ve ever had. It wasn’t because it was overtly lemony, but because of the elegant subtly of both the lemon flavor and its tender crumb.

For just that extra something, I decided to add a generous dollop of Pierre Hermé’s Lemon Cream. To call it lemon cream makes sound so pedestrian but it’s so much more than that. To look at the recipe, you might think that it’s just another lemon curd recipe, but it isn’t! While the ingredients are similar, the way in which is it prepared is what makes it so very special. Normally when you make a lemon curd, the butter is added at the same time as the other ingredients and you cook them all together and call it a day. But with this recipe, you cook all the ingredients together, except for the butter. After all the ingredients are cooked down and they start to thickened, that’s when you pull out the secret weapon: your blender. This recipe, my friends, is a lesson in making a lemon emulsion which is a what I think velvet would taste like if it were edible. :-)

Pierre Herme's Lemon Cream
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (Meyer lemons if you get them)
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons - Meyer lemons if you can get them)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Getting ready: Have a thermometer (preferably an instant-read), a mesh strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready.
Set a medium saucepan with a few inches of water to boil and find a metal bowl that can fit snugly on top of the saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in the metal bowl. Work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the boiling water doesn’t physically touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels warn to the touch and do not stop. If you do, the eggs in the will start to scramble so it’s important that you don’t stop. Keep stirring until the cream reaches 180F. As you whisk the cream over heat, you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Note: When you start to see whisk tracks, it means the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as the cream reaches 180F, pull the bowl off the pot of hot water and immediately strain it (using a fine mesh strainer) into the blender or food processor’s vessel. Discard anything left behind in the strainer. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machines going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just whisk the cream to loosen and spoon it on top of the cupcakes.

Storing: The lemon cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months, but yeah, this will be gone in a few hours. :-)

For the frosting, I just made a simple vanilla butter cream and topped off every cupcake with a Lemon Head candy.

Yield:I doubled the cake recipe to end up with 38 cupcakes and one batch of the lemon cream was enough to give all of them a generous dollop and still have a bit left over.

Alex's All Star Quiche

Even though I haven't been posting, I have done my fair share of baking over the last few weeks. Each time that I've sat down to write though, I get frustrated at how craptastic the photos came out. I don't know what's happened! I am still using the same camera that I always have, but for some reason none of my pictures seem blog worthy and without a good photo, why bother posting at all? Ugh...maybe I just need a new camera.

I think that perhaps my poor photography skills can be an indication of my mood lately. Here in Seattle, we have been plagued with bad weather. First it was the snow, which would melt just enough to turn to the roads into solid ice. During that first freeze, I only got out of the house twice in ten days! Then it started pouring down rain. So much so that several levees broke and caused massive flooding. Just yesterday I was told to go home from work at 2:30pm because there was a chance that a creek behind our building was about to go over its banks. Luckily it didn't and I was able to return to work today with no worries, but all this bad weather and lack of sunshine has just made me a little melancholy.

Melancholy or not, I still have baking to do! Due to the weather the week of Christmas, I wasn't able to make Alex, my friend and fellow foodie, a special birthday treat, so we decided to do it this week instead. He decided that he wanted a quiche. Although I had never made one before, I thought it was an excellent idea. Quiche is one of those things that seems like it should be really difficult, but is really rather simple. Depending on how fancy you want the quiche to be, you probably already have the majority of the ingredients in your kitchen.

The first thing you need is a good pie crust recipe. You can use a store-bought crust (which is what I usually do) or make one from scratch. I decided to go all out and try my hand at a scratch crust -- and I had just the recipe too! Several years ago I worked with a guy named Alan and his wife, whom I never got to meet, was really into making pies. So much so that grew her own cherry trees just so she could have the perfect pie cherries. One day Alan brought me in a little cooler that had two balls of fresh pie dough, a container of pie cherries (already pitted), a small bottle of Grand Marnier, a few pats of butter, a baggy full of sugar and tapioca and two recipes cards for making both the crust and a sweet cherry pie. It was a cherry pie kit! I made it for dessert that night and it was just sublime, especially the crust. It was very light and flaky and had just the right texture which I thought would be perfect for the quiche. I included her recipe below, exactly as it was given to me.

Since I have not been blessed with the ability to flute the edges of a pie crust, I decided to cheat and use a mini star cookie cutter instead (thank you Sonie for my new set!) As for the quiche, I used a basic recipe I found on Epicurious.com but customized it by adding caramelized onions, sautéed crimini mushrooms, and creamy mild goat cheese. You can really add anything you want though to make it your own. If you want to add meat, be sure to cook it and drain it prior to adding it to the quiche. As for other vegetables, you'd follow the same rule I did for the onion and mushroom and sautée or par-boil it until the any hard crunch is gone. This will give the quiche a uniform texture. Also, always be sure to add the vegetables and meats prior to adding the egg custard to ensure even baking. As it bakes, some of the ligher vegetables will float up through the surface of the custard. As for other cheeses, you can either add an even layer to the quiche prior to adding the custard (be careful not to pack it) or you can mix it in with egg mixture if it's shredded. If you decide to use a Swiss type cheese, sprinkle the top of the quiche with 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Alan's Wife's Perfect Pie Crust

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cup plain shortening
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl combine the sifted flow, salt, and sugar together. Cut the shortening into the flour until small pieces form. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, vinegar, and water and slowly add to the flour/shortening mixture. Divide into two balls, wrap tightly in plastic for at least 2 hours. For pie crust only prick bottom of pie down with a fork and bake 12-15 minutes in a 450 degree oven.

Yield: 2 9" pie crust

All Star Quiche
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

One recipe for Alan's Wife Perfect Pie Crust or Epicurious's basic pastry
6 large eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk (preferably whole)
1/3 cup mild goat cheese (I prefer Chavrie)
1 medium sized onion
2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
salt and pepper

Roll out the pastry to fit a 10-1/2 inch glass or metal pie plate (not removable bottom). Crimp the edges, poke the bottom with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife, and place the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425F. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights (or dry beans) and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the pastry is golden at the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil and pastry weights. Return the pastry to the oven to bake until the bottom is golden, an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.

While the pastry is baking, Peel and halve a medium-sized yellow onion. Cut it in quarters then slice the onion paper-thin. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium heat, add the onions and stir, season lightly with salt, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, uncovered and add the mushrooms. Continue cooking until the onions are very tender and translucent, and just slightly browned at the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Remove them from the heat, and spread over then pre-baked pastry before before adding the custard.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and the milk until thoroughly blended. Season with the salt and pepper and stir until it is blended. Turn the mixture into the pre-baked pastry, and use a teaspoon to evenly drop the goat cheese around the quiche. Bake in the center of the oven until the filling is golden and puffed, and is completely baked through, about 30 minutes. To test for doneness, shake the quiche - if it is solid without a pool of uncooked filling in the center, it is done. You may also stick a sharp knife blade into the center of the filling and if it comes out clean, the quiche is baked through. Remove the quiche from the oven and serve immediately or let cook on the counter until you're ready to serve.

Yield:8 to 10 pieces, depending on how large you cut the pieces