[CH] Re: Chocolate Chile Cake
Art Pierce (pierces@cruzio.com)
Wed, 04 Nov 1998 18:36:52 -0800
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 07:08:22 +1300
From: Tony Flynn <flynnt@ellconweb.net.nz>
Subject: [CH] Chile Chocolate Cake
Hi All
I caught the back end of a cooking program on TV last week where they
were baking a chocolate cake with chiles.
I missed the recipe and have not managed to find one as I lost al my old
bookmarks a while back.
Any recipe or source of one would be appreciated.
Cheers
Tony Flynn
~~~
Tony,
ANY chocolate cake recipe or box mix + "hot-tening agent" will do.
~~~
~~~
My personal choice "hot-tening agent"
would be Jim Campbell's smoked grind of
80% Red Savina™,
10% Red Scotch Bonnet,
10% Dominican Red
hab powder at:
http:// www.wildpepper.com/smoke%20dried.html
Email: jim@wildpepper.com
~~~
~~~
Chocolate people:
http:// www.icco.org/
There are a LOT of cocoa powders (bitter, baking, unsweetened pure
chocolate, but with 75% of the cocoa butter removed).
The description of chocolate production sounds like a wine snob waxing
eloquent: The flavor depends the individual manufacturer's knowledge
and choice of beans & treatment: On the geographic origin, Manjari,
Indian Ocean Grand Cru, rare Criollo beans, grown between the plants
ylang and vanilla, 64% cocoa solids content, refreshing and slightly
acidic, hints of flowers, berries and almonds, red-brown color; Pur
Caraibe,
Carribean Grand Cru, Trinitario beans, 66% cocoa solids content,
elegant, sensuous, harmonious, full-bodied taste on a background of
dried
fruits, fresh tobacco and woody notes, dark brown color; Guanaja, South
America Grand Cru, 70% cocoa solids content, Trinitario beans with a
strong bouquet and some Criollos for a taste of flowers and fruits,
radical and extremely intense flavor, low sugar content, dark brown
color, and
the individual manufacturer's knowledge of the plantations and their
individual seasonal weather and microclimates, direct purchasing &
shipment to prevent adulterations, roasting (specific to each type of
cocoa bean), grinding (to reach maximum smoothness), and the expertise
of
their taste specialists in the balancing of blends, types and amounts of
flavorings, for the individual manufacturer's choice of the most intense
aromas and flavors. (Glad that's over with.)
A good, and damn pricey, source for chocolates is:
http:// www.chocolatepicure.com/
They've got a cake recipe at:
http:// www.chocolatepicure.com/recipes/layercake.htm
~~~
~~~
Hershey's is ok for an unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa powder, but
"Dutch-processed" (or "alkalized", or "European-style") i.e.,
liquid-soluble, cocoa powders are easier to cook with.
IMHO, the 4 best (expect to pay more, though: ~U.S. $8+++/lb.)
"Dutch-processed" cocoa powders are,
(in alphabetical order):
~~~
Lindt's (dark)
You can find out where to get it
(hopefully, in NZ) by writing to them at:
Chokoladefabriken Lindt & Sprungli (Schweiz) AG
Consumer Service
Seestrasse 204
8802 Kilchberg
Switzerland
[Here's one of their recipes
{using dark (64-75% cocoa solids) chocolate + milk, instead of cocoa
powder}
Ultimate Chocolate Cake
"A rich, dark chocolate sponge cake,
layered with milk chocolate cream
and smothered in white chocolate curls"
Preparation time:
1 hour (plus cooling and setting)
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 8-10
100g/4oz Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa plain
chocolate, broken into pieces
250ml/9fl oz milk
3 large eggs
225g/8oz dark muscovado sugar
100g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
225g/8oz self-raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
(plus, here, you decide how much "hot-tening agent" to put in: taste the
batter)
Filling and frosting:
200ml/7fl oz creme fraiche
200g/7oz Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy
milk chocolate, chopped
Chocolate curls: 450g/ 1lb Lindt Excellence
Natural white chocolate Small flowers, to
decorate
1. Grease two 22cm (8 1/2in) sandwich tins and line with baking
parchment. Preheat the oven to
180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
2. Heat the Lindt Excellence and milk together gently until the
chocolate has melted.
3. In a bowl, whisk one egg with half the sugar until smooth and creamy.
Stir in the chocolate and
milk. In a second bowl, beat together the butter, remaining sugar and
eggs. Stir into the chocolate
mixture alternately with the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Divide between the tins and bade for 30-35 minutes until firm to the
touch. Turn out and cool in
a wire rack.
5. For the filling and frosting, put the creme fraiche and chocolate in
a bowl set over a pan of hot
water and stir occasionally until chocolate has melted. Remove from the
heat and beat until glossy.
Use some to sandwich the cake layers together and spread the rest over
the top and sides.
6. For the chocolate curls, melt the chocolate and spread over a clean,
smooth surface. Leave until
just set then push a clean wallpaper scraper across the chocolate at an
angle of 45 degrees to
shave off curls.
7. Cover the top and sides of the cake with chocolate curls, gently
pressing then into the frosting.
Chill until ready to serve. Decorate with small edible flowers just
before serving.
Tip: the chocolate curls can be made ahead and kept in a cool place.
Lift them into position using
a thin skewer to prevent breakage or melting them with hot hands.
~~~
Poulain
Couldn't find a website, except for one in France where they wanted U.S.
$40/lb.
~~~
Valrhona
Call New York Cake (toll free) at 1 800 942-2539 and ask them how to
contact Valrhona about NZ wholesalers/retailers.
~~~
Van Houten
Couldn't find a website.
~~~
~~~
Also, you can get chocolate (whether it's primo dark, I don't know)
with chile (what kind(s), I don't know)
already in it, U.S. $16/lb.,
for chocolate chip cookies, etc., at:
http:// www.culinary.net/members/chilecho/
~~~
~~~
There's a chocolate chile cake recipe
from Chile-Heads Digest Sun, 21 Aug 1994 Volume 1 : Issue 63 at:
[Date: 19 Aug 94 21:42:28 -0800
From: km@salata.com (Karen Mintzias)
Subject: Jalapeno cake
Message-ID: <264_9408200400@salata.com> ]
http:// neptune.netimages.com/~chile/archives/volume.1/digest.063
~~~
~~~
& Lynne Rossetto Kasper's
http:// starchefs.com/LRKasper/bio.html
recipe at:
http:// table.mpr.org/recipes/recipe024.htm
is:
(Served at Sam Arnold's Fort Restaurant in Colorado)
In the early 1500s, Montezuma in his Mexico City palace drank
chocolate daily, usually with red chile in it. Apparently the king
knew that chile, in small amounts, amplifies and enriches
the taste of chocolate. So does Jane Butel, the noted cookbook
author and specialist in Mexican cookery, who generously
provided the recipe from which this cake was adapted. At
The Fort, it's a centerpiece of a birthday and anniversary ritual
from which good-natured celebrants emerge with a photo
of themselves in a horned buffalo or coyote hat.
Note: Splendid Table host Lynne Rossetto Kasper recommends
that if you like very hot food, use the 2 Tbls. recommended
in this recipe. If your palate is less accustomed to hot food,
try using a dried ancho chile for a sweeter flavor.
Seed and crush an ancho chile in a blender and
use 2-3 tsps. of that ground chile in your chocolate chile cake.
Chocolate Chile Cake
Serves 12
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa powder
2 cups water
2 tablespoons New Mexico medium ground red chile
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs at room temperature
Chocolate frosting:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened non-alkalized cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack
in the center of the oven. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans
and line the bottoms with circles of parchment or waxed paper.
Lightly dust the sides of the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
For best results, use a mixer with a wire whip attachment.
Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa
and beat on low speed until well mixed.
In a medium saucepan, cook 1 cup of the water
with the chili powder over medium heat until simmering.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Add the softened butter to the dry mixture and beat thoroughly
on medium-low speed. The mixture should be grainy. Raise the speed
to medium and gradually add the remaining cup of water
and the buttermilk. (See previous issues of C-H newsletter for subs.)
Add the eggs on at a time, beating well after each addition.
Slowly add the hot water/chile mixture and continue to beat
just until well combined--be sure not to overbeat. Pour the mixture
into the pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or
until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the cake comes out clean.
To cool, set the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then turn the cakes
out onto the rack, remove the paper from the bottom, and immediately
reinvert so that the risen tops don't flatten. Let sit until completely
cool
before frosting.
For the frosting, combine the butter and cocoa in a large saucepan
and melt over medium heat. Stir in the buttermilk. Add the
confectioners'
sugar a little at a time, stirring with a wired whisk between additions.
Stir in the bourbon and vanilla. The frosting should stiffen as it
cools.
When it has reached a spreadable consistency, assemble the cake.
If necessary, trim the tops of the cakes so they are level.
Place one of the cake layers onto a 9-inch round cardboard cake circle.
Spread 1 cup of the chilled frosting over the cake layer.
Sprinkle 1 cup of the chopped walnuts over the frosting.
Place the second layer of the cake onto the frosted base.
Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
Finish the top of the cake by holding the spatula at a slight angle
and making several strokes to smooth the top. To decorate the cake,
press the remaining walnuts against the lower half
of the side of the cake and on top of the cake.
~~~
~~~
Finally, you might add chiles &/or powders of your choice to one of
these:
http:// www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/cake/choc-cake/index.html
http://
food.epicurious.com/s97is.vts?action=filtersearch&filter=recipe-filter.hts&collection=Recipes&ResultTemplate=recipe-results.hts&keyword=chocolate+cake&cuisine=&courseOp=or&mainOp=or&makeOp=or&source=
http://
SOAR.Berkeley.EDU/cgi-bin/aglimpse/22/usr/local/www/recipes?query=chocolate+cake&case=off&whole=on&maxfiles=25&maxlines=10
http:// recipes.wenzel.net/index_full.phtml (enter: chocolate cake)
http:// www.cs.cmu.edu/People/mjw/recipes/cake/choc-cake/index.html
That should get you started.
Art