Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
SWEET ENDING FOR 2016
Wrap up the year with chocolate cake
Here’s a grand idea: Let’s end this challenging year, and then start a more promising new year, with chocolate. I’m making a double dark-chocolate version of our family’s favorite German chocolate cake for a New Year’s Eve party. Then, at the stroke of midnight, I’ll serve chocolate-covered grapes alongside a very dry rosé Champagne. How sweet is that?
Nowadays, I bake, as I cook, more simply. I also serve smaller portions. Lately, I find making a single cake layer satisfies as much as its multi-tiered counterpart. This dark, yet light, chocolate cake employs all kinds of noble baking skills. I start with readying the proper pan for the recipe. Using the right size baking pan truly means the difference between success and disaster.
My fellow bakers (a sister and a girlfriend) tested this recipe with several sizes of baking pans. I even ordered springform pans from Amazon one Sunday morning for evening delivery and cake baking. Turns out, the recipe that follows works well in several pan sizes ranging from 8 1⁄2 -to 9- or 10-inch springform or an 8-inch square. My favorite? The 10-inch springform pan for a terrific cake-to-frosting ratio: The shorter cake means lots of ooey-gooey goodness in every bite. The straight sides of springform pans give the cake a professional appearance. Unmolding the cake proves nearly foolproof.
Good baking starts with fresh ingredients — unsalted sweet butter, fresh baking soda, unbleached flour and good chocolate. Don’t cut corners on the process either: Properly creamed butter and sugar mean a cake with lightness and good structure. Likewise, beaten whites, made stable with some sugar, help lighten the cake crumb. Gentle blending of flour and liquid makes a tender cake.
Serve the cake simply sprinkled with powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream or crushed, thawed frozen berries. Or, make a super-rich, yet easy, double chocolate pecan and coconut frosting similar to that layered on the classic German chocolate cake. No decorating skills needed for this frosting — it gets boiled then cooled to spreading consistency. Stir in chopped pecans and coconut.
True, baking requires a dedication of time. I turn on music and enjoy the process, finding comfort in measuring and mixing. When the house fills with the aroma of chocolate, everyone thanks the cook. A small payoff I cherish deeply.