Dobostorte

I finally got to make this challenge, my very first daring bakers challenge (August '09). I really thought it was going to be harder for me. This was my first time ever making sponge cake, buttercream and caramel so I wasn´t sure how it would turn out. I made half the recipe so it would be a dessert for three. My buttercream was quite runny but I allowed it to set for a while in the fridge so I could cover the cake easily. The thing I was the most proud of was the caramel, it wasn´t chewy at all! It came out just as I imagined.

Equipment

• 2 baking sheets
• 9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
• mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
• a sieve
• a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
• a small saucepan
• a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
• metal offset spatula
• sharp knife
• a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
• piping bag and tip, optional

Prep times

• Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
• Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
• Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
• Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes

Sponge cake layers

• 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
• pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
• 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping

• 1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
• 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
• 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches

• a 7” cardboard round
• 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
• ½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.

4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Lorraine's note: If you're in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you'll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

My tip: all I did for the caramel layer to turn out really smooth was pour the caramel over the cut wedges of the cake layer and leave the caramel to set. I actually oiled a spatula (as stated in the original recipe), but ended up not using it.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Dark Chocolate Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these muffins for my mother´s B-day and we all loved them. They were moist and very chocolatey. The frosting was really good to and it paired perfectly with the muffin.


The cake recipe came from FoodMayhem and the frosting from eHow:

Cake: (makes about 12 normal sized muffins)

1/2 cup cutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper cups. Dissolve cocoa in water. Let stand until cool.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add into creamed mixture alternating with sour cream. Beat in cocoa mixture.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

* I wasn´t in the mood to take out my mixer so I did all the mixing by hand and they came out just fine.
* I bought some silicone muffin cups a while ago. They are wonderful because you don´t need muffin tins (you just put them in the oven on a baking sheet so they don´t tip over) or greasing. They also peel off perfectly and are very easy to clean.

Frosting: (I made half of this recipe for the 12 muffins)

1 8oz. package of cream cheese (cold - it helps with the consistency)
5 tablespoons softened butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (add more or less depending on desired sweetness and consistency)

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until combined.
Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until desired consistency is reached.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I´ve always loved the banana - chocolate combination and I love it even more in the form of anything baked, especially muffins. The good thing about these is that you can decide to make them "light" by changing the sugar for Splenda and the regular yoghourt or sour cream for their low-fat versions. I´ve made them both ways and they came out delicious both times. They are really easy to make and they turn out really moist.
















I borrowed the recipe from recipezaar:

• 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1-1/2 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt or low-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together bananas, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until well mixed. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Divide among prepared muffin cups. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake in centre of oven for 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in centre of muffins comes out clean.

Light chocolate chip cookies?

Last week all I was thinking about is making some chocolate chip cookies, light chocolate chip cookies. When I finally found the time to make them I surfed the internet and found a nice recipe from Cooking Light.
The cookies turned out quite well: crunchy outside and chewy center.
My only mistake was that mine weren't as light as they should have been. I made half of the recipe and I made it just into nine cookies, so they were too big to be light. Well, what can I say they were delicious, and when I eat chocolate chip cookies I prefer them bigger.

Here's the recipe:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg whites; beat one minute. Add flour mixture and chips, beat until blended.

Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

If you make them the correct size the yield is about 4 dozen.