Since ancient times, various ingredients have been credited with firing up passion, so-called aphrodisiacs.
According to the “Cambridge World History of Food,” high on the ancient love list were anise, basil, carrot, salvia, gladiolus root, orchid bulbs, pistachio nuts, rocket (arugula), sage, sea fennel, turnips, skink flesh (a type of lizard) and river snails, while the love-struck would scrupulously avoid dill, lentils, lettuce, watercress, rue and water lily.
Fresh out of skink flesh this Valentine’s Day? A more modern list gives credit to the more familiar top three: oysters, coffee and, of course, chocolate.
I’ve tried to surprise my husband with a different chocolate confection each Valentine’s Day, but none went over better than the Chocolate Blackout Cake I made one year from “The Baker in Me” (Whitecap, $45), a luscious cookbook by esteemed pastry chef Daphna Rabinovitch. The original, sold in the iconic green box, came from Ebinger’s Bakery in Brooklyn.
“The cake, so named after the blackout drills performed by the Civilian Defense Corps (ostensibly to prevent ships sailing at night from being detected) became famous,” she writes, “drawing other bakeries to try their hand at the three-layered cake.”
Alas, the company, which had been around since 1898, went out of business in 1972. “Only Entenmann’s had a version that came close,” she said.
This is a cake with a few moving parts – pudding filling, icing and cake crumble – but the results are worth the effort … even if you’ve never been to Brooklyn.
No matter what you’re baking, however, keep these simple rules in mind: “Baking is an exact science, and proportions matter,” Rabinovitch wrote me from her home in Canada. “That’s why you can’t throw a pinch of baking powder into a cake or cookie as you might throw a pinch of cayenne into a stew, and that’s why I always recommend doing a mise en place before you start to bake.
“I call this the gift of organization,” she said of prepping ingredients before starting to cook a recipe. “If you have everything measured out and ready to go, not only will your recipe come together smoothly, but you won’t get halfway through the recipe only to discover that you’re out of baking soda or some other essential ingredient.”
She also advised using the best quality, fresh ingredients you can afford.
“Pretty much all ingredients have a shelf life. Milk chocolate and nuts can go rancid (unless you store the latter in the freezer), eggs age, and chocolate can bloom (discolor),” she said. “And always use unsalted butter. It’s fresher, sweeter and allows you, the baker, to be the author of how much salt will be in your recipe.”
Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.
CHOCOLATE BLACKOUT CAKE
From “The Baker in Me” by Daphna Rabinovitch
Pudding:
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or using hand-held mixer, beat egg yolks with sugar, cornstarch and salt until lightly colored and thickened.
2. Meanwhile, in saucepan over medium heat, bring water and cream to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk about 1/3 of the hot liquid into egg mixture along with cocoa powder. Whisk another third of liquid into egg mixture. Whisk warm egg mixture into remaining liquid in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until boiling and thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in melted chocolate. Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours.
Cake:
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup very hot water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottom and sides of two 8-inch metal cake pans. Line bottoms with circle of parchment paper.
2. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Set aside to cool slightly
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, combining thoroughly.
4. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or using hand-held mixer, beat butter 1 minute. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla, then cocoa powder and melted chocolate. Alternately, beat in flour mixture with buttermilk, in three additions of flour and two of buttermilk. Stir in hot water.
5. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake in center of oven until top of cake springs back when lightly pressed, 25-30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack 20 minutes. Run small knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks, parchment side down.
Icing:
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Melt chocolates in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter 1 minute. In three additions, add confectioners’ sugar, adding 3 tablespoons of the whipping cream between second and third addition. Beat in melted and cooled chocolate, then vanilla and remaining 1 tablespoon whipping cream.
Assembly:
1. Remove parchment paper from cake layers. Cut each layer in half horizontally. Crumble one of the cake layers; set crumbs aside.
2. Place one cake layer on cake plate or decorating turntable. Using long metal palette knife, spread half the pudding over cake’s surface. Top with second cake layer. Spread with remaining pudding. Top with third cake layer.
3. Ice sides and top of cake with chocolate icing. Gently press reserved cake crumbs over sides and top of cake. Refrigerate cake about 1 hour before serving. If refrigerated longer, bring to room temperature before serving.
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