CAKES
| —1870s— | • Silver cake (without yolks) and gold cake (with yolks). • Tipsy cake, sometimes called tipsy squire, a brandy-soaked sponge cake topped with almond custard sauce, is popular. |
| —1880— | • Angel Food Cake (here), back when it was enjoyed for its miraculous texture rather than for being low-fat. |
| —1890s— | • Wedding cakes are dark spice cakes interlaced with dried fruit (see here). |
| —1940s— | • Jane Nickerson predicts that cheesecakes will become as popular as brownies, and she is right. • Devil’s food cakes (here) infiltrate angel food turf. |
| —1948— | • Ice boxes are new(ish), so it’s time to make ice-box cake (here)! |
| —1950— | • Harry Rosen opens Junior’s in Brooklyn. The restaurant will become famous for its cheesecake (here). |
| —1960s— | • Times food writers promote European multi-layered cakes made with pancakes or crepes, such as Baumkuchentorte (here) and Laggtarta (here). |
| —1970s— | • If you aren’t eating Black Forest cake (here), you’re settling into carrot cake with cream cheese icing. |
| —1980s— | • Bakers decide to call cakes “tortes,” and “decadent” and “chocolate” become inseparable. |
| —1983— | • Marian Burros publishes the first version of Purple Plum Torte (here), the most popular recipe ever from the Times. The recipe will run in various forms eleven more times. |
| —1988— | • Rose Levy Beranbaum writes The Cake Bible. People feel bad about their now-dowdy-seeming homespun cakes. |
| —1990s— | • Sylvia Weinstock, a cake baker who wears remarkably large glasses, starts making elaborate wedding cakes that bridezillas all over New York City must have. • The first flourless chocolate cake recipe appeared in the Times in 1969 (here), but the cake has its moment in this decade. |
| —1996— | • Magnolia Bakery opens in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, selling OK cupcakes. They unwittingly start a revolution. |
| —2000s— | • Done with baroque chocolate cakes, people return to simple pour-and-stir batters and straightforward ganache. |
| —2006— | • Food Network premieres Ace of Cakes, a show about a cake baker. |
CAKES
RECIPES BY CATEGORY
Chocolate Cakes
Evelyn Sharpe’s French Chocolate Cake
Campton Place Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
Marjolaine (Multilayered Chocolate and Praline Cake)
Walnut Cake with Chocolate Walnut Buttercream
Taillevent’s Chocolate Cake with Pistachio Sauce
Lora Brody’s Bête Noire (Intense Chocolate Cake)
Lora Brody’s Chocolate Cherry Torte
Chocolate Cake with Bay Leaf Syrup
Cakes with Fruit
Wedding Cake, the Delmonico Receipt
Huguenot Torte (Apple and Pecan Torte)
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake
Olive Oil and Apple Cider Cake
Lora Brody’s Chocolate Cherry Torte
Cakes with Nuts
Huguenot Torte (Apple and Pecan Torte)
Bosiljka Marich’s Serbian Torte
Walnut Cake with Chocolate Walnut Buttercream
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Taillevent’s Chocolate Cake with Pistachio Sauce
Revani Verrias (Semolina Cake)
Vanilla Cakes
Cecily Brownstone’s Chiffon Roll
Even-Greater American Pound Cake
Cheesecakes
Spice Cakes
Molasses Cup Cakes with Lemon Icing
Panforte (Traditional Sienese Fruitcake)
Maria Tillman Jackson Roger’s Carrot Cake
Mrs. Raymond Schenk’s Pumpkin Cake
Cupcakes
Molasses Cup Cakes with Lemon Icing
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Pancake Cakes
Baumkuchentorte (Crepe-Like Layer Cake)
Laggtarta (Pancakes Layered with Strawberries)
Birthday Cakes
Walnut Cake with Chocolate Walnut Buttercream
Maria Tillman Jackson Rogers’s Carrot Cake
Lora Brody’s Bête Noire (Intense Chocolate Cake)
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Miscellaneous
Mrs. Raymond Schenk’s Pumpkin Cake
Maria Tillman Jackson Rogers’s Carrot Cake
Unassuming yet wickedly good, this sour-milk cake has a thin, crisp top and a gauzy bottom. It’s best eaten the day you bake it, but it will keep for a day or two.
The original recipe instructed you to “spice to taste.” I added cinnamon and nutmeg, which were lovely if perhaps a little tame. Feel free to get crazy with your spice rack—and send me the results! (You can find me on Twitter and Facebook.)
Sour-milk cakes showed up in the latter half of the nineteenth century because baking soda—then a fairly new leavening—needs an acid to react with and create the carbon dioxide bubbles that lift the cake. As the cake bakes, the center of the batter bubbles and froths in a mildly alarming way. Fear not: the cake settles toward the end of baking.
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½ cup raisins, chopped
2 cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vinegar (any kind will work)
1 cup whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. Toss the raisins with 1 teaspoon flour. Mix the remaining 2 cups flour with the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir the vinegar into the milk in a small bowl.
2. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the egg and blend. Alternately add the milk and flour mixture in 2 additions, each ending with the flour. Fold in the raisins.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then unmold and finish cooling on a rack.
SERVES 6 TO 8
FEBRUARY 27, 1876: “RECEIPTS FROM CORRESPONDENTS.” RECIPE SIGNED A.P.
—1876
ALMOND CUSTARD CAKE
Find a flower or berries to lay on top of this cake, which compensates for its rather ragged look with the fragrance of lemon, butter, and almonds. As the cake’s icing is more of a nut paste, you could also swirl on a top layer of whipped cream, if looks are your thing.
———
For the Cake
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
Grated zest of 2 lemons
3¼ cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
For the Custard
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup sugar
3 cups (about 1 pound) unblanched whole almonds, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment, and flour the sides of the pans. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer, or enthusiastically by hand), beat the butter and sugar until very light. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the milk and lemon zest and blend until smooth. Combine the flour and baking powder, and fold into the batter just until smooth.
2. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cakes cool in their pans on a rack, then unmold.
3. When the cakes are cool, prepare the custard: Beat together the sour cream and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is fully dissolved. Fold in the almonds and vanilla.
4. Spread one-third of the custard over one cake layer. Top with another layer, spread it with custard, and top with the third layer. Spread the remaining custard on the top layer. Find a pretty flower to garnish the cake.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
Warning: you need 3 cake pans to make this! And why deprive yourself of 3-layer cakes? Go out and buy those pans once and for all.
MAY 6, 1877: “RECEIPTS FOR THE TABLE.” RECIPE SIGNED AUNT ADDIE.
—1877
ANGEL FOOD CAKE
A 1947 recipe for angel food cake noted that “frosting is neither customary nor necessary” for the cake. I leave it up to you. A mound of whipped cream topped with berries never hurt anyone.
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1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ cups sugar
10 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 3 times.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy. Add the remaining ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar a few tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until the whites hold soft peaks. Fold in half of the dry ingredients until smooth; repeat with the remaining flour. Fold in the almond extract.
3. Scrape the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan; if it has feet, let the pan rest on the feet. If not, set the tube on top of an empty wine bottle. Let the cake cool completely upside down.
4. To remove the cake from the pan, run a long thin knife around the sides and center tube to loosen the cake. Invert onto a cake plate.
SERVES 10
JULY 25, 1880: “RECEIPTS.” RECIPE SIGNED A.
—1880
FILBERT TORTE
The original recipe for this hazelnut (filbert) layer cake was written as a single sentence and ended with “ice with maraschino icing”—as if we all had one ready-mixed in the icehouse. It was one of many old recipes that I was tempted to toss for their lack of detail, but, as was often the case, a little re-engineering paid off. This is one of my favorite cakes in the book. It’s a little austere, being more woodsy and boozy than sweet.
For a recipe with similar structure—airy layers separated by icing—see Bosiljka Marich’s Serbian Torte here.
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For the Cake
1¾ cups (about 7 ounces) unblanched hazelnuts
2 teaspoons orange-flower water
2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
8 large eggs, separated
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup apricot or peach jam
1 tablespoon water
For the Icing
3 large egg whites
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup light corn syrup
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon maraschino liqueur or kirsch
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment and butter the parchment. Grind the hazelnuts as fine as possible in a food processor. Add the orange-flower water and pulse a few times.
2. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Fold in the egg yolks, and then the flour.
3. Beat the whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) until they hold soft peaks, then fold them into the nut mixture. Divide the batter among the cake pans and spread it evenly.
4. Bake until the cakes are lightly browned on top and spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then unmold.
5. Warm the jam with the water in a small saucepan or in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate. Brush generously with a third of the jam. Repeat with the remaining layers, stacking them as you go.
6. To prepare the icing, combine the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in the top of a large double boiler over medium heat. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until the meringue forms dense, shiny peaks. Remove from the heat and fold in the liqueur. Let cool, then ice the cake. (You will have ½ to 1 cup leftover icing, for which I’m sure you will find another use.)
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTES
The only sane way to prepare the icing is with an electric hand mixer. If you don’t have one—and I don’t—you will have to whisk the whites in a double boiler over simmering water for 12 to 15 minutes. Your arms don’t want to do this.
Maraschino liqueur’s flavor is a cross between grappa and kirsch, with a little more sweetness. It has a peppery edge and a smattering of floral cherry. It’s worth seeking out at better liquor stores. You can use the rest of the bottle for making batches of the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail here and the Frozen Meringue Velvet here.
Before you start fantasizing about eating this, make sure you have three 9-inch cake pans at your disposal. If not, call your neighbor or head to the store.
Orange-flower water is available in Middle Eastern markets and online at www.amazon.com.
JANUARY 15, 1882: “RECEIPTS.” RECIPE BY ADOLPHE WURTH, THE CHEF AT DELMONICO, 26TH STREET SOCIÉTÉ CULINAIRE. RECIPE FOR THE MARASCHINO ICING ADAPTED FROM BIRTHDAY CAKES, BY KATHRYN KLEINMAN.
—1882
WEDDING CAKE, THE DELMONICO RECEIPT
Wedding cakes have come a long way from the Roman days, when the cakes were broken over the bride’s head (Congratulations! Bonk!). Today’s elegant lemon-berry-fondant affairs would flop more than break, and they’d really mess up the bride’s hairdo. The Times published at least half a dozen wedding cake recipes in the nineteenth century, none of which you’d ever find at a modern wedding. They were essentially heavily spiced one-layer fruitcakes. When an Englishwoman wrote to the Times about how she missed the tiered wedding cakes back home, she caused a minor kerfuffle. A New York reader responded by sending in not one but two wedding cake recipes, one from Delmonico’s, a top restaurant of the period, and one from a Southern plantation, along with an indignant riposte: “English cooks may make their wedding cake in tiers; that is a matter of taste and custom; but I know that no wedding cake of which I have ever eaten from a London baker, and I have tasted a good many of them in a considerable residence over there, excels those which have been made here in New York in private kitchens.” Unsurprisingly, both recipes the reader sent in were heavily spiced one-layer fruitcakes.
And yet, the whole episode made no sense, as dark cakes (often called groom’s cakes) and fruitcakes (bride’s cakes) were common at English weddings. This British tradition of fruitcakes—“symbols of fertility and prosperity,” according to Carol Wilson, who wrote about wedding cakes for Gastronomica in 2005—traveled here on the merchant routes to America.
This recipe from Delmonico’s is like a cross between panforte (Italy’s chewy and heavily spiced fruit disk) and fruitcake. There’s barely any batter, just enough to bind the fruit. I love it in thin slivers carved off the round and served with milky sweetened Earl Grey tea.
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4½ cups (about 1½ pounds) raisins, chopped
3 cups dried currants
½ pound (about 2 cups) candied citron, finely chopped
½ pound (about 1½ cups) dried figs, finely chopped
1½ cups almonds, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground mace
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
One 1-pound box dark brown sugar
½ cup unsulphured molasses
5 large eggs
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup dry sherry
1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 9-inch springform pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Butter the parchment and flour the pans. Combine the raisins, currants, citron, figs, and almonds in a large bowl.
2. Place ¾ cup flour in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it begins to smell toasted, then pour over the fruit and toss to coat. Combine the remaining 1¼ cups flour with the cinnamon, mace, and cloves in another bowl.
3. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter with the brown sugar and molasses. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the brandy and sherry. Gradually blend in the flour just until incorporated. Pour the batter over the fruit and fold until completely blended.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread it to the edges, smoothing the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool on racks for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on the racks.
MAKES TWO 9-INCH CAKES, EACH SERVING 12
COOKING NOTES
This makes 2 cakes. Both are better the second day, once they’ve had time for the flavors to harmonize. I’d recommend brushing the cakes with brandy, wrapping them in plastic wrap, and letting them sit for a day. They can also be wrapped and frozen.
One unusual step involves toasting the flour, which gives it a nutty flavor—it’s also a technique used with rice flour in Asian cooking (see the Pork-and-Toasted- Rice-Powder Spring Rolls here).
If you have sweet rather than dry sherry in the house, go ahead and use it. The dry is not worth a trip to the store.
FEBRUARY 5, 1893: “TWO FAMOUS RECEIPTS: HOW TO MAKE WEDDING CAKE IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH.”
—1893
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE
Devil’s food cake is essentially an angel food cake made less virtuous with the addition of sinful chocolate, butter, and egg yolks. It’s fun to make by hand because you count your strokes as you beat the mixture: 50 after adding each portion of sugar and 50 again after folding in the rest of the ingredients. This kind of incidental exercise is why people didn’t use to go to the gym. (Whenever people ask my mother, a lifelong size 4, what her secret is, she always says, “I clean my house, I cook, and I rake the yard.” And she always bakes from scratch, with her bowl and handy wooden spoon.)
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For the Cake
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter or ½ cup vegetable shortening
1¼ cups granulated sugar or packed brown sugar
3 large egg yolks, beaten until very thick and lemon colored
2 to 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting
¾ pound cream cheese, at room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 3-inch-deep 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch pans. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together twice.
2. Beat the butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth and pliable. Gradually add the sugar, in 4 to 6 additions: begin with 2 tablespoons and increase somewhat; after each addition, beat 50 strokes. When all the sugar has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and spoon. Beat 50 strokes more.
3. Add the eggs yolks and beat in thoroughly. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add about one-quarter of the flour mixture and stir, not beat, until just blended, no more. Then add one-third of the milk, and stir, not beat, until blended. Repeat until all the flour mixture and milk are added. Add the vanilla. Finally, scrape down the bowl and spoon and stir the mixture a final 50 strokes.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry, about 20 minutes (if using 3 pans, start checking after 12 minutes). Let cool in the pans on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks and turn right side up to cool completely.
5. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a bowl, with a hand mixer) and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream, lemon zest, and juice and blend well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the sugar in 3 stages, blending well after each addition. If the frosting is too loose, chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before frosting the cake.
6. To frost the cake, slice 1 cake layer on a cake plate. Cover the top with a generous layer of frosting. Lay the second layer on top, then frost the top and sides.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTES
The recipe didn’t come with a frosting. For those who don’t already have a favorite, I’ve adapted a cream cheese frosting from Carole Bloom’s The Essential Baker (cutting out the vanilla, reducing the sugar to 2 cups, and adding 3 tablespoons lemon juice and the zest of 1 lemon).
Various ingredient alternatives were offered. I used butter, regular sugar, and 3 ounces of chocolate, and my cake turned out swell. Also, I used two 9-inch cake pans with removable bases (they make it much easier to get the cake out!).
SEPTEMBER 29, 1947: “NEWS OF FOOD: TIPS OFFERED ON PREPARATION OF CAKES—GOOD SUPPLY OF SUGAR IS SPUR TO BAKING,” BY JANE NICKERSON.
—1947
MOLASSES CUP CAKES WITH LEMON ICING
These might not be quite as popular with the kids as chocolate ones loaded up with jimmies, but you can tell them these are more subtle, and I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.
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For the Cupcakes
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
½ cup whole milk
Grated zest of 1 lemon
For the Icing
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
About 2 teaspoons whole milk or heavy cream
¾ teaspoon lemon extract
1. To make the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake molds with cupcake papers. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Melt the shortening in a small pan over low heat (or in a bowl in the microwave); transfer to a bowl and let cool.
3. Add the sugar, molasses, and egg to the shortening; beat well. Add the milk in 2 additions, alternating with the flour mixture. Add the lemon zest. Pour the batter into the cupcake papers, filling them three-quarters full.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.
5. To make the icing, in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add enough milk to make the mixture the right consistency for spreading. Beat in the lemon extract.
6. When the cupcakes are cool, spread the tops with the icing.
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES
APRIL 20, 1948: “NEWS OF FOOD: VARIETY OF NEWER USES FOR MOLASSES DESCRIBED IN FREE BOOKLET, WITH PICTURES,” BY JANE NICKERSON. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BRER RABBIT’S NEW ORLEANS MOLASSES RECIPES.
—1948
CHOCOLATE ICE-BOX “CAKE”
This cake was surely served at countless birthday parties in your youth. And if it wasn’t, here’s your chance to catch up on forgone pleasures—this one a “cake” made of store-bought chocolate wafers and whipped cream. After 3 hours of chilling, the wafers soften on the edges but still have a nice little crunch in the middle.
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1¼ cups heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
24 chocolate wafer cookies
1. Whip the cream with the sugar until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla. Spread each of the wafer cookies with ¼ inch of whipped cream, piling one on top of the other. Press gently together. (I did this in stacks of 8 so it was manageable.) Lay the stacks on their sides on a serving platter, to make one long log. Frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
2. Slice the “cake” diagonally to serve.
SERVES 6
JULY 8, 1948: “NEWS OF FOOD: CANNED MUSHROOM PRODUCT SEEMS TO PRESERVE FLAVOR OF FRESH FUNGUS,” BY JANE NICKERSON.
—1948
ALLEGRETTI CHIFFON CAKE
If a recipe appeared in the New York Times but was not generated by the paper’s staff, does it qualify for inclusion? I couldn’t resist this recipe, recommended by a reader, that came from an advertisement for Wesson oil. “[T]he talk of the party! Extra-light! Extra-luscious!” the ad exclaims. It’s like angel food cake only richer, the ad promised. In fact, that’s just about right. The cake is flecked with chocolate and scented with vanilla and orange zest.
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For the Cake
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ tablespoons grated orange zest
½ cup egg whites (from about 4 eggs)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated
For the Icing
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening or unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream, or as needed
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ ounces bittersweet chocolate
¼ teaspoon vegetable oil
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks. Fold in the flour mixture just until blended. Add the grated chocolate and fold again, just a few times. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
3. Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 50 to 55 minutes. Turn the pan upside down to cool, resting the edges on 2 other pans; let hang free of the table. When cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula, or run a thin knife around the sides, turn the pan over, and hit the edge sharply on the table to loosen the cake. Turn right side up and place on a serving platter.
4. To make the icing, in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand blender), cream the shortening. Beat in the egg yolk. Add the cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla; beat well. Add more cream if needed.
5. Ice the top and sides of the cake.
6. Melt the chocolate with the oil in a double boiler (or in the microwave); cool slightly. Drizzle over the top of the cake, letting it trickle down the sides.
SERVES 8 TO 10
COOKING NOTE
Eat within a day—the cake is excellent fresh, but dries out quickly.
MAY 8, 1949. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR WESSON OIL.
—1949
CECILY BROWNSTONE’S CHIFFON ROLL
Cecily Brownstone, a food writer for the Associated Press for forty years, was well known for her love of Country Captain (see here), but she should have been knighted for this vanilla-scented cake.
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1 cup sifted cake flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup corn oil
3 large eggs, separated
6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Whipped cream for serving
Fresh berries for serving
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment paper and grease the paper. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a deep bowl. Make a well in the center and add, in the order listed, the oil, egg yolks, water, and vanilla. Beat with a spoon until smooth.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold in the flour mixture until well blended. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.
3. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched, or for about 12 minutes. Turn out onto a kitchen towel covered with confectioners’ sugar. Peel off the parchment paper. Starting at one end, roll up in the towel, and let cool.
4. Unroll, and spread the cake with whipped cream and strawberries (or any desired filling). Roll up and wrap firmly in wax paper. Chill for about 1 hour, or until ready to slice and serve. Serve sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.
SERVES 10 TO 12
MAY 14, 1959: “DINNER MENUS AND RECIPES OFFERED FOR THE WEEKEND.”
—1959
BAUMKUCHENTORTE (CREPE-LIKE LAYER CAKE)
German baumkuchentortes are typically a foot high (this one is 3 to 4 inches high) and look like a stack of crepes. You get this effect by beating together a beautiful yellow, moussey batter, then adding it to a springform pan a few tablespoonfuls at a time and setting it under the broiler to toast. As each layer browns, you add a fresh layer to broil, until you have two dozen or so layers. Make this on a cool day when you don’t mind standing by the broiler.
You can ice the cake with the chocolate ganache frosting, or just dust the top with confectioners’ sugar and serve with whipped cream. Each slice is extraordinary looking, like fine layers of sand and earth.
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For the Cake
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
1⅔ cups sugar
1½ cups cornstarch
Pinch of salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons rum
For the Frosting (optional)
¼ pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cold water
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (if not making the frosting)
1. To make the cake, set the oven rack at least 6 inches from the broiler heating element. Heat the broiler. Line the base of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl (use a hand mixer if you don’t want to do it by hand) until light and fluffy. Gradually add the cornstarch, salt, flour, and egg yolks. Add the rum.
3. Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, then fold them into the batter.
4. Using the back of a spoon, spread a wafer-thin layer of batter (about 2½ tablespoons) in the springform pan and broil until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Spread another wafer-thin layer of batter over the top and broil until lightly browned—it will take slightly less time to cook each layer as the cake gets taller and thus closer to the broiler). Repeat the process until all the batter has been used. There should be about 25 to 35 layers. Let cool.
5. To make the optional frosting, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from the heat, add the cream and water, and mix well.
6. Frost the top of the cake if desired, or simply dust with confectioners’ sugar.
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTE
The trick to this recipe is not overcooking the layers—it’s better to undercook them slightly to keep them moist. Fortunately, you have 25 to 35 layers to get the hang of it.
DECEMBER 6, 1962: “SECRET OF FESTIVE CAKE’S SUCCESS IS PATIENCE,” BY NAN ICKERINGILL.
—1962
DE LUXE CHEESECAKE
Yes, there are a lot of cheesecakes in this book, but I couldn’t resist this one: when was the last time anyone had the guts to call a recipe “de luxe”? And it’s the New York Times, after all, so cheesecake is a hometown creation (the signature cream cheese foundation of the New York–style cheesecake was served at Reuben’s Restaurant a century ago). There were countless noteworthy cheesecake recipes in the archives: cheesecakes with a sweet bottom layer and a tangy top; fluffy, crustless cheesecakes made with cornstarch; and cheesecakes singing with mocha; as well as this one—an early inductee in the cheesecake pantheon when Craig Claiborne chose it for his annual “Four Favorites” list of the year’s most popular recipes. It’s so old school it has a pastry crust.
The De Luxe is totally unlike its tasty but hefty counterparts, being light, downy, and judiciously sweetened. It’s also assembled in an unusual way. First you pat a butter crust, scented with lemon zest, into the pan and bake it. Then you pat the rest of the crust onto the sides (a pain in the neck, but worth it). You beat the hell out of the filling so it’s well aerated, pour it into the unbaked/baked crust, and then watch it emerge from the oven like a soufflé that gently sinks upon itself. The pastry and filling fuse in the oven, and when you unmold the cake, the pastry looks like the rind on an aged Reblochon.
The weird but amusing part of the recipe comes in the glaze, for which you’re instructed to cook frozen strawberries in cherry juice, thicken the sauce with cornstarch, and then pour it over the cake. Steeling yourself to pour is difficult—it feels like dumping grated Velveeta atop a beautifully made pizza dough, and your arm refuses to move.
But the glaze can also be made with fresh strawberries or another fruit, like blackberries. If using strawberries, quarter them, combine with ½ cup sugar, and let macerate for an hour. Then you can either spoon the berries directly over the cake, or proceed with Step 8 in the recipe. If you’re feeling more ambitious, candy some thin slivers of Meyer lemon zest, or simmer some blueberries in a little sugar and grappa for a minute—both would be excellent counterpoints to the cake.
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For the Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Filling
Five 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream
For the Glaze
Two 1-pound packages frozen whole strawberries, thawed
Cherry juice or water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1. To prepare the crust, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg yolk and vanilla; mix. (If when pressed between your thumb and forefinger, the dough doesn’t hold together, add 1 tablespoon ice water and mix once more.)
2. Gently and patiently pat one-third of the dough over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until golden. Let cool. Increase the oven heat to 475 degrees.
3. Butter the sides of the pan and pat the remaining dough around the sides to a height of 2 inches.
4. To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.
5. Combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually blend into the cheese mixture. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, and then the cream, beating well.
6. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 200 degrees. Bake for 1½ hours longer, or until set. Turn off the heat. Allow the cake to remain in the oven with the door propped open with a wooden spoon for 30 minutes.
7. Cool the cheesecake completely on a rack. Chill.
8. To prepare the glaze, drain the strawberries very well, reserving the juice. Add enough cherry juice to the strawberry juice to measure 2 cups.
9. Pour the juices into a small pan and slowly mix in the cornstarch. Gradually bring to a boil, stirring, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent and thick. Cool, and then chill.
10. Fold in the strawberries into the glaze. Spread atop the chilled cake.
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTES
The crust dough was dry, so I added 1 tablespoon ice water to it to bring it together—a good trick for a dry crust. The dough is challenging to “pat out”—you have to do a little at a time with small pats. But for all of its demands, the crust is worth the trouble, because the prebaking means the bottom crust doesn’t get soggy once the filling is added.
If you do make the glaze, half the amount would be plenty.
The cherry juice I used was unsweetened, so I added 3 tablespoons sugar.
When slicing the cake, it helps to use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and wiped dry).
PERIOD DETAIL
In 1947, food columnist Jane Nickerson, who was usually fairly stodgy, earned herself some cool-hunting cred when she wrote: “If we’re to judge by the comments of readers that reach this department, cheese cake will some day rival apple pie and ice cream as a leading American dessert.”
DECEMBER 29, 1963: “THE READERS CHOOSE,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE.
—1963
HUGUENOT TORTE (APPLE AND PECAN TORTE)
When I first tasted Huguenot torte, a recipe that ran in the Times in 1965, I had but one thought: why isn’t everyone making this weekly? The torte is easy to assemble, goes on a transformative journey as it cooks, and pleases everyone who tastes it.
The silky apple-and-pecan-flecked batter billows in the oven and then, just when it seems like it may spill over the sides of its pan, begins retracting until it sinks all the way down into itself like a crater. You’ll get past the slight appearance problem when you taste the warm cake: the brown crust is like the ideal macaroon and the center has the gooey, custard-like texture of a proper pecan pie.
The torte’s dense, meringuey look probably contributes to the misconception that it was brought over from France by the Huguenots, or French Protestants, who fled to South Carolina seeking religious freedom in the seventeenth century. John Martin Taylor, a cookbook author and culinary historian, points out that the use of baking powder for leavening is the first indication that the dish is not French. Instead, he said, the torte descends from a more recent Midwestern dessert called Ozark pudding. Huguenot torte, Taylor said, first showed up in print in 1950 in Charleston Receipts, a successful community cookbook in which the torte recipe was attributed to Evelyn Anderson Florance (then Mrs. Cornelius Huguenin). In the 1980s, Taylor tracked down Florance in a nursing home and discovered that she’d eaten Ozark pudding on a trip to Galveston, Texas, in the 1930s. After fiddling with the recipe, she renamed it Huguenot torte after Huguenot Tavern, a restaurant she made desserts for in Charleston. The tavern became known for the torte.
The Times recipe came from The First Ladies Cook Book, where it’s featured in the chapter on Martin Van Buren—a historical impossibility, as the dessert was created 100 years after his term. It could easily have gone in the chapter on Harry Truman, who, it turns out, was fond of Ozark pudding.
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2 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped tart cooking apples
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup heavy cream, flavored with 1 teaspoon almond extract, barely sweetened, and whipped to soft peaks
1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a baking pan about 8 by 12 inches or 9 by 9 inches and at least 2 inches deep. Beat the eggs and salt in a bowl with a rotary beater until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar.
2. Fold in the apples and pecans with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla, flour, and baking powder. Pour into the baking pan.
3. Bake for 45 minutes, or until sunken and crusty. Serve warm or chilled, with whipped cream.
SERVES 8
VARIATION
The recipe calls for apples and pecans; you could also use pears and hazelnuts, or even black walnuts.
COOKING NOTE
The original recipe said that the torte could be served chilled, but I liked it best warm and cut into squares. It has so much sticky sugar in it that when it’s cold, you have to do battle to cut it. Either way, I suggest adding little or no sugar to the accompanying whipped cream—in fact, I’d fold in some crème fraîche.
JULY 14, 1965: “FIRST LADIES COOK BOOK CONTAINS TIPS ON THE CARE AND FEEDING OF PRESIDENTS,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM THE FIRST LADIES COOK BOOK, BY MARGARET BROWN KLAPTHOR.
—1965
LAGGTARTA (PANCAKES LAYERED WITH STRAWBERRIES)
Giant, crisp pancakes layered with pureed strawberries and served with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. What’s not to like?
For other pancake-style cakes, see the Gâteau de Crepes here and the Baumkuchentorte here.
———
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup thick applesauce, preferably homemade
⅓ cup pureed strawberries or raspberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Sweetened strawberries or blueberries for serving
Sweetened whipped cream for serving
1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl with a mixer on high speed until lemon yellow and quite thick.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Use a rubber spatula to fold them into the egg mixture with a gentle motion: cut through the center of the mixture, then around the bottom of the bowl, then draw the spatula up and out.
3. To clarify the butter, heat it in a small pan over very low heat until the milk solids drop to the bottom of the pan. Let it cool slightly, then gradually add the clear yellow liquid to the batter, folding it in with the spatula. Discard the white milk solids.
4. Grease an 8- or 10-inch griddle or ovenproof nonstick skillet and heat in the oven. Pour and spread about ⅔ cup batter onto the 8-inch griddle or pan or about 1 cup batter onto the 10-inch griddle or pan. Bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Loosen the edges and bottom of the cake layer with a spatula and gradually ease out onto a rack. Clean the griddle thoroughly, regrease, and heat before repeating with more of the batter. Continue until all the batter is used.
5. Combine the applesauce with the pureed berries in a bowl. Spread between the cake layers, stacking them carefully. Sprinkle the top with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with berries and whipped cream.
SERVES 6 TO 8
NOVEMBER 12, 1967: “SWEDEN’S FRYING-PAN CAKE,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE.
—1967
BOSILJKA MARICH’S SERBIAN TORTE
This is a fantastic little cake, layers of lemon and almond meringue iced with chocolate. There’s just one annoying detail: you need 4 pans to make it. But if you don’t happen to have the pans, you can just pipe the batter into 9-inch circles on parchment-lined baking sheets.
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10 large eggs, separated
1¾ cups sugar
¼ cup zwieback crumbs or fine dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ pound (about 1½ cups) blanched almonds, very finely ground
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup toasted sliced almonds
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease four 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper or unglazed brown paper; butter the paper. Beat the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until they hold stiff peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Fold in the crumbs, zest, and juice. Fold in the ground almonds.
2. Divide the mixture among the prepared pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until faintly browned. Cool on a rack.
3. Lightly beat the egg yolks in the top of a double boiler, then add the remaining ¾ cup sugar and cook over hot water, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens. Do not allow to boil, or it will curdle.
4. Remove from the hot water and beat in the chocolate, then gradually beat in the butter. Refrigerate until the mixture reaches spreading consistency.
5. Use the chocolate mixture to fill and frost the torte. Garnish the sides of the torte with the sliced almonds, pressing them gently. Refrigerate until firm before serving.
SERVES 10
I ground the almonds in a small food processor, which did a decent job, but the almonds were more pebbles than powder. For a finer texture, use a nut grinder or a blender. Or add some of the sugar to the nuts in the food processor; just be careful not to let the mixture turn to a paste.
When icing the cake, the easiest way to place the next layer on top is to invert it onto the iced layer, then peel off the parchment.
You probably won’t need all the sliced almonds for garnishing the cake, but it helps to have a full handful when pressing them onto the sides. If this seems too tedious or wasteful, reduce the amount of almonds and simply sprinkle them on top of the cake.
JULY 27, 1969: “NUTS OVER CHOCOLATE,” BY JEAN HEWITT.
—1969
EVELYN SHARPE’S FRENCH CHOCOLATE CAKE
As far as I could determine, this is the first flourless chocolate cake to appear in the Times. Earlier than you’d think, right? Like many “flourless” chocolate cakes, it does contain a smidgen of flour—a tablespoon.
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1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) salted butter, softened
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
4 large eggs, separated
Whipped cream for garnish
1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water (or in the microwave). Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and stir in the butter, flour, and sugar.
2. Beat the yolks lightly and gradually whisk into the chocolate mixture.
3. Beat the whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until they hold a definite shape but are not dry. Fold into the chocolate mixture. (Overbeating or underbeating will ruin the cake.) The beaten egg whites should be folded smoothly, quickly, and easily into the chocolate mixture.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door with the handle of a wooden spoon, and allow the cake to cool slightly in the oven.
5. The cake is best served warm. Garnish with whipped cream and serve in small pieces. It is rich.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTES
The original recipe called for Maillard’s Eagle sweet chocolate, but I changed this to semisweet or bittersweet; I prefer the latter.
The second time I made the recipe, I had only salted butter in the house, and the cake was even better, with a hint of salinity underlining the bitterness and sweetness of the chocolate. I changed the recipe accordingly.
As an alternative to whipped cream, fold some crème fraîche into the whipped cream. This creates a cream with more heft and tang, a more formidable pairing with the intense cake.
When slicing the cake, use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and dried).
SEPTEMBER 7, 1969: “HANDLE WITH CARE,” BY JANE HEWITT. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM EVELYN SHARPE.
—1969
TEDDIE’S APPLE CAKE
For reasons that elude me, cakes are reputed to require long hours in the kitchen, when anyone who actually makes cakes knows that cookies are the true time suck. Cookies require measuring out portions and multiple batches. Cakes get mixed up and go into the oven all at once. The most complaisant ones even cool in their pans and require no icing.
All of which is why if you look back in the Times archives at recipes from thirty or more years ago, when most people cooked every day, there were many more cake recipes. Cake was a staple you whipped up every couple of days, after the previous one had vanished into crumbs.
Teddie’s apple cake is a typical standby of the period. None of the ingredients are difficult to find—most are probably already in your pantry. Based on oil rather than butter, the cake has a light, airy crumb that’s delicious while it lasts, with walnuts, raisins, and slivers of apple threaded through the cinnamon-scented cake. There is no icing, and no need for it.
When I asked readers for their favorite recipes from the Times, this one was near the top, with thirty-seven votes. Like many of the most recommended recipes, it shares three qualities: ease, good flavor, and someone’s name in its title. Unfortunately, I still have no idea who Teddie is.
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3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups peanut, vegetable, or corn oil
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan. Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
2. Beat the oil and sugar together in a mixer with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla, apples, walnuts, and raisins and stir until combined.
3. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before turning out.
4. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTES
If mixing the batter in a mixer, use a paddle attachment and turn the speed to low once you add the flour mixture, or the texture of the cake will be tough. Even better, mix the rest by hand.
The recipe called for Red Delicious or McIntosh apples, but I’d recommend a variety that’s brighter in flavor and firmer in texture, such as a Honeycrisp, Macoun, or Granny Smith.
The apple slices can be halved if you want a more uniform texture.
This cake can be eaten at any time of day, including breakfast. If you serve it for dessert, the recipe suggested a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I prefer to whip ½ cup of heavy cream to soft peaks, then fold in crème fraîche to taste.
READERS
“I most recently baked this cake for Thanksgiving 2004. There was a small piece left over and several days later (it keeps beautifully), I wrapped it in aluminum foil and took it to NYC for my son and daughter-in-law. He took it from me and started looking around his kitchen. When I questioned him, he said he had to hide it from his wife.”
Rochelle Rogers-Lippin, Huntington, NY, letter
SEPTEMBER 30, 1973: “JUST DESSERTS,” BY JEAN HEWITT. RECIPE BY TEDDIE.
—1973
HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE
With one deft addition—hazelnuts—a cheesecake became this engaging treat. Without any crust to speak of, just a dusting of graham cracker crumbs, this is really more like a cream cheese flan. The ground hazelnuts fuse with the sugar, the edges turn macaroon-chewy, and the center, with all those nuts, becomes rich like a bon-bon’s filling.
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1½ cups (about 8 ounces) blanched hazelnuts or blanched almonds
⅓ cup graham cracker crumbs
Four 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1¾ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Because of the importance of oven temperature, the nuts must be toasted well in advance of proceeding with the recipe. If they are not already toasted, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the nuts on a baking sheet or in a skillet and bake, stirring often, until nicely browned. Remove them and let cool.
2. When ready to make the cheesecake, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Butter a round cake pan that is 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep (or use a 9-inch round cake pan); do not use a springform pan. Sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs and shake the crumbs around the bottom and sides until coated. Shake out the excess crumbs.
3. Place the cooled nuts in a blender or food processor and blend. If you want a crunchy texture, blend them until coarse-fine. If you want a smooth texture, blend them until they are almost paste-like.
4. Place the cream cheese, cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of mixer fitted with a whisk (or mix in a bowl with a hand mixer). Start beating at low speed, and as the ingredients blend, increase the speed to high. Continue beating until thoroughly blended and smooth. Add the nuts and continue beating until thoroughly blended. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan; shake gently to level the mixture.
5. Set the pan inside a slightly wider pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan to a depth of about ½ inch. Do not let the sides of the cheesecake pan touch the sides of the larger pan. Set the pans thus arranged inside the oven and bake for 1½ hours. Turn off the oven and let the cake sit in the oven for 1 hour longer.
6. Lift the cake out of its water bath and place it on a rack. Let stand for at least 2 hours.
7. Place a round cake plate over the cake and carefully turn both upside down to unmold the cake. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
When slicing the cake, use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and dried).
SEPTEMBER 1, 1974: “FOOD: HAZELNUT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE: THE ULTIMATE CHEESECAKE,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY.
—1974
BLACK FOREST CAKE
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For the Chocolate Sponge Cake
6 large eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Assembly
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup water
2 thin orange or lemon wedges
One 1-pound can sour cherries in syrup
One 15-ounce can dark sweet cherries in syrup
⅓ cup kirsch
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 cups heavy cream
3 drops vanilla extract
Grated chocolate
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10-by-2-inch round cake pan. Sprinkle the inside with flour and shake the flour around until the bottom and sides are well coated. Shake out any excess flour.
2. Put the eggs into a double boiler, set over medium heat, and whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand mixer while adding the sugar. Then beat constantly for about 5 minutes, until the eggs are lukewarm.
3. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and beat on high speed until the mixture is thick, mousse-like, and at room temperature. To test, run a spatula through the mass: if it is ready, the spatula will leave a track.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa, and cornstarch and sift together 2 or 3 times. Fold the mixture into the batter, using a wooden spoon or spatula. Fold in the butter, and pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Turn the cake out onto a rack to cool.
6. When ready to assemble the cake, combine ½ cup sugar and the water in a saucepan. Add the orange or lemon wedges and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then let the syrup cool. Discard the wedges.
7. Drain both cans of cherries, keeping them separate, and set aside. Combine the kirsch with ⅔ cup of the sugar syrup. Set aside.
8. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or in the microwave). When it is melted, gradually stir in 3 tablespoons of the remaining sugar syrup; set aside.
9. Whip the cream to firm peaks. Beat in the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the vanilla. Fold 1½ cups of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Set the remaining whipped cream aside.
10. Place the cake on a flat surface and, holding a knife parallel to the bottom of the cake, slice the cake into thirds. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and brush with some of the kirsch mixture. Add about half the chocolate mixture to the layer and smooth it over. Cover with the top cake layer, but place it bottom side up. Brush with syrup and add the remaining chocolate mixture, smoothing it over the cake. Using a pastry tube, pipe 3 rings of whipped cream on the cake: one in the center, another around the rim, and another in between those two. Arrange the sour cherries in the center and between the middle and outer rings.
11. Top with the final layer of cake. Brush it with the remaining syrup. Add the remaining whipped cream to the top, saving enough cream to make 13 rosettes on top of the cake and smooth the whipped cream over the top and sides of the cake. Using a pastry bag fitted with a No. 4 star pastry tube, pipe 12 rosettes, equally spaced, around the upper edge of the cake. Make 1 rosette in dead center. Garnish each rosette with a dark sweet cherry. Garnish the top with grated chocolate. Hold in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTES
The ingredient list called for canned cherries in syrup. Obviously, pitted fresh cherries cooked in syrup would be better. To make your own, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add 2 cups pitted cherries and simmer until the cherries just begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes. If you can, make one batch of sweet cherries and one batch of sour cherries, using 1 cup cherries for each.
This recipe takes an army of minions to construct. Minionless, I skipped making the rosettes of whipped cream.
The addition of lemons to the syrup in Step 6 is a nice touch—I used Meyer lemons.
FEBRUARY 9, 1975: “FOOD: PRIDE OF THE FOREST,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM ALBERT KUMIN, PASTRY CHEF AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA.
—1975
HEAVENLY CHOCOLATE ROLL
This pillowy chocolate-and-coffee-scented cake, which you pave with whipped cream and roll up like a sleeping bag, is similar in structure to Cecily Brownstone’s Chiffon Roll here, except hers is scented with vanilla and is blond.
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6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons cold strong coffee
Pinch of salt
Cocoa powder for dusting
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan, line with parchment paper, and grease the paper. Beat the egg yolks in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is very thick and light in color.
2. Meanwhile, place the chocolate and coffee in the top of a double boiler and melt over hot, not boiling, water.
3. Stir the melted chocolate into the yolk mixture.
4. Beat the egg whites with the salt in a clean mixer bowl with the clean whisk (or in a clean bowl with clean beaters) until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold the whites into the chocolate mixture. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan with a rubber spatula.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Set the pan on a rack, cover the top of the cake with a damp kitchen towel, and allow to cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.
6. Sift a layer of cocoa evenly over a piece of wax paper that is slightly larger than the jelly-roll pan. Turn the pan and cake upside-down onto the wax paper. Lift off the pan and carefully remove the parchment paper on top.
7. Beat the heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar, if desired, and vanilla until thick. Spread over the chocolate roll. Using the wax paper underneath as a guide, roll up the cake like a jelly roll and slide seam down onto a board or platter. Rolling from a long side gives an elegant, slender roll that can be cut into 12 to 16 small slices. Rolling from the short side produces a shorter, fatter roll and bigger slices. Chill for several hours before serving.
SERVES 12 TO 16
JUNE 8, 1975: “FOOD: FOR HIS SWEET TOOTH,” BY JEAN HEWITT.
—1975
MOCHA CHEESECAKE
This is the most ridiculously rich cake I’ve ever made. Assuming no one would want to eat such decadence, no matter how good it tasted, I put it in the “no” pile. My husband, though, thought it was a life-altering success and was outraged when, to make room in the fridge, I threw out the last piece. To save our marriage, and to throw a bone to the hedonists and cardiologists of the world (hi!), I’ve included it.
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1 cup graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
½ pound semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
½ cup cooled double-strength espresso (¼ cup ground espresso beans plus ¾ cup water, brewed in a coffee maker) or ¼ cup cooled coffee plus ¼ cup dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate curls for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, mixed with 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for garnish (optional)
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the butter and 2 tablespoons sugar, blending thoroughly with your fingers. Press the mixture firmly and smoothly into the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan.
2. Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk (or mix in a bowl with a hand mixer). Add the remaining 1 cup sugar, then add the eggs and start beating on low speed. Continue beating until smooth and well blended, increasing the mixer speed as necessary, but cautiously, to prevent splattering. Add the chocolate along with the heavy cream and mix until blended. Add the sour cream. Pour in the cooled espresso (or the coffee and rum). Add the vanilla extract and beat until well blended.
3. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until puffed at the sides. The center will remain somewhat soft but will become firm on cooling. Let the cake cool on a rack for several hours.
4. Remove the sides of the pan. Garnish, if desired, with chocolate curls and sprinkle, if desired, with the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTES
As with any cheesecake recipe, it’s important that the cream cheese is fully at room temperature; otherwise, you’ll end up with small beads of cream cheese that never fully blend into the batter.
When slicing the cake, use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and dried).
MARCH 17, 1976: “MOCHA CHEESECAKE TO SATISFY A NEW YORKER’S SOUL,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE.
—1976
Craig Claiborne was forcibly introduced to this dish after he published a recipe for red velvet cake and was flooded with letters from readers touting their own, better versions. This one came from Carolyn A. Knutsen of Long Island. I never made Claiborne’s earlier recipe, but Knutsen’s is brilliant—moist, dense, and flush with cocoa.
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For the Cake
½ cup vegetable shortening
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 to 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ ounces red food coloring
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the Icing
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans; shake out the excess flour. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) beat the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
2. Blend the cocoa and red food coloring to make a paste. Add this and the salt to the creamed mixture. Blend the vanilla and buttermilk. Alternately add this and the flour to the creamed mixture, beating constantly. Blend the vinegar and soda and beat this in.
3. Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack, then turn out.
4. To make the icing, in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer), cream the butter. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, alternating with the heavy cream. Add the vanilla and salt and continue beating until smooth and light.
5. Spread the icing between the cake layers and on the top and sides.
SERVES 10
APRIL 25, 1977: “DE GUSTIBUS: RED VELVET CAKE RETURNS; TOMATO PASTE LINGERS ON,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE. CAKE RECIPE ADAPTED FROM CAROLYN A. KNUTSEN, A READER FROM KINGS POINT, NEW YORK; ICING RECIPE ADAPTED FROM RHONDA THOMSON, MY SISTER.
—1977
LINDY’S CHEESECAKE
Joan Nathan, a frequent contributor to the Times food pages and an expert on Jewish cooking, told me that Lindy’s, the New York restaurant, didn’t invent its famous cheesecake but acquired it by cunningly poaching the pastry chef from Reuben’s Restaurant in Manhattan. Reuben’s was the first place to make cheesecake with cream cheese rather than cottage cheese—a detail that came to define New York cheesecake, and that earned them a gold medal at the 1929 World’s Fair. (Too bad they didn’t think to give their pastry chef a raise to keep him.)
When Lindy’s closed in 1969, Leo Lindemann, the owner, refused to give Craig Claiborne the cake recipe. But Lindemann was not the only one who possessed it. His pastry chef (not the same one from Reuben’s, obviously) wound up at a restaurant in Las Vegas, where the cake again besotted everyone. Guy Pascal, who ran the Vegas kitchen, asked the pastry chef for the recipe but came up empty-handed. So, over the course of weeks, according to the story Claiborne wrote about this recipe, Pascal made mental notes of the ingredients the pastry chef was using when making the cheesecake. Then, to reverse-engineer the proportions, he checked the ingredients orders against the number of cakes produced. Clever! This is what he came up with.
———
½ cup fine cake crumbs or graham cracker crumbs
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
¼ cup half-and-half
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan. Sprinkle the inside with the crumbs, then shake out excess crumbs.
2. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk (or mix in a bowl with a hand mixer). Add the grated zests and vanilla, beating. Gradually add the heavy cream and sugar, beating constantly on medium speed. The important thing to avoid in making this recipe is beating on very high speed; that would incorporate air into the cheesecake and make the cake rise like a soufflé. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and half-and-half.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Set the pan in a larger pan and pour boiling water around it. Place in the oven and bake for 1¼ hours or until the center does not quiver when the pan is shaken. Remove from the water bath and let stand on a rack for about 10 minutes, then invert and unmold while hot. Let stand until cool.
SERVES 8 TO 12
COOKING NOTE
When slicing the cake, use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and dried).
MAY 18, 1977: “IS CHEF PASCAL’S CHEESECAKE LINDY’S LONG-KEPT SECRET?” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE.
—1977
WALNUT CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE WALNUT BUTTERCREAM
One of Craig Claiborne’s greatest skills was beguiling his subjects into surrendering the secrets to their best recipes. And so we have David Eyre’s pancake (here), Maria Tillman Jackson Rogers’s Carrot Cake (here), and Julia Harrison Adams’s Pimento Cheese Spread (here).
But Claiborne didn’t always succeed. For a walnut cake recipe from a pastry shop in East Hampton, he and Pierre Franey trailed the owner like hounds on a scent, but they were outfoxed. “Well, two summers ago the shop closed and the owner-cook retired,” they wrote. “Once more we pleaded for her recipe. No dice, she said. She did, however, offer us a clue. She said the basic cake recipe could be found on the back of a box of cake flour and that the frosting was a simple chocolate buttercream. The cake on this page is a result of our experiments. It may not quite measure up to the manna that came out of our friend’s oven, but it is a reasonable—and delicious—facsimile.”
The Almond Cake here is a replica version of a cake from an East Hampton pastry shop that also denied my mother-in-law the recipe. (Perhaps the walnut cake shop’s competitor?) And the Gâteau de Crepes here is my likeness of the Mille Crepes at Lady M, a pastry shop on the Upper East Side that also refused to divulge its recipe. Perhaps the CIA should start recruiting in bakeries.
———
For the Cake
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted cake flour, plus 1 tablespoon unsifted flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups broken walnuts
4 large eggs
For the Buttercream
¼ pound unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons very strong coffee
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup broken walnuts
12 large walnuts for garnish
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a bowl with a hand mixer). Beating on medium speed, gradually add the sugar and then beat for at least 10 minutes.
2. Sift together the 3 cups flour, the baking powder, and salt. Combine the milk with the vanilla and almond extracts. Toss the broken walnuts with the remaining tablespoon of unsifted flour.
3. Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Add the floured walnuts and beat on low speed until well blended.
4. Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared pans. Put the pans in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a needle inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the pans cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, turn right side up, and let cool.
5. To make the buttercream, set a bowl in a pot of simmering water (or use a double boiler). Add the chocolate and heat, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
6. Combine the yolks, sugar, and salt in another bowl. Set the bowl in the pot of simmering water and beat the yolk mixture rapidly with a wire whisk or a hand mixer until the mixture forms a “ribbon”; that is to say, until it is thickened and falls in a “ribbon” when the beater is held up. Remove from the heat.
7. Spoon and scrape the chocolate into the yolk mixture. Mix in the coffee. Return the bowl to the simmering water and continue beating for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the butter, bit by bit.
8. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue beating for 5 to 7 minutes in a cool place until the mixture thickens slightly and becomes spreadable. Beat in the broken walnuts. Continue beating with a wooden spoon until the buttercream becomes somewhat lighter. Let cool until spreadable.
9. Spread the top of each cake with half the buttercream. Garnish the top of each cake with 6 walnuts.
MAKES 2 CAKES, EACH SERVING 8
COOKING NOTES
Yes, do beat the butter and sugar for 10 minutes in Step 1! As I learned from a story by Times writer Julia Moskin, all the air in a cake is added when you beat the butter. (Baking powder helps the air in cake batter expand, but it can’t create air bubbles.)
The recipe calls for “broken walnuts.” I took this to mean walnut halves, placed in a plastic bag and lightly crushed with a rolling pin, so you end up with a mix of pea-sized pieces and small flakes.
You may notice the walnuts aren’t toasted. If you’d like them toasted, go ahead. But I liked the sweetness of the untoasted nuts.
APRIL 20, 1980: “FOOD: A REASONABLE FACSIMILE OF A FAVORITE CAKE,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY.
—1980
LORA BRODY’S CHOCOLATE CHERRY TORTE
This is the kind of cake you’d find in a pâtisserie, with defined layers of chocolate cherry cake, almond paste, and a flawless glassy top.
———
For the Cake
3 tablespoons fine fresh bread crumbs
One 24-ounce jar pitted sour or Morello cherries
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup ground almonds
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
½ pound almond paste
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee
½ pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
Candied flowers for decoration (optional)
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Add the bread crumbs and shake to coat the inside. Shake out the excess. Drain the cherries well and set them aside.
2. Put the chocolate in a double boiler and melt over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. (Or melt it in the microwave.) Remove from the heat.
3. Put the butter and sugar into a food processor or mixer and blend until light and creamy. Add 2 of the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the chocolate and mix gently (if using a food processor, turn it on and off to blend). Mix in the almonds and flour. Mix in the remaining egg.
4. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Arrange the cherries, close together, in concentric circles, working from the outside to the center. The entire surface should be covered with cherries. As you add the cherries, press them gently into the batter so that just a small portion of the top of each one shows. If the surface of the cake is uneven, smooth it out with a wet rubber spatula. There may be a few cherries left over, which may be put to another use.
5. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Take care not to overbake; the cake will look dry on top but should be quite moist inside. Let cool on a rack.
6. Put a length of wax paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar. Work the almond paste with your hands to make a flat round cake. Place it on the wax paper and turn it in the sugar. Cover with another sheet of wax paper. Roll out the almond paste into a circle the diameter of the top of the cake and about 1⁄16 inch thick. Peel off the top layer of wax paper. If the round of almond paste tears, you can patch it.
7. Cut the almond paste into a round to fit the top of the cake exactly. Any scraps of almond paste can be recycled or used to fashion decorations for the top of the cake. Cover the cake with the almond-paste round. Place the cake on a rack and place the rack on a sheet of wax paper to catch the drippings.
8. To make the glaze, put the cream in a saucepan and add the coffee. Bring to a slow boil. Add the chocolate and stir gently until the chocolate is melted and smooth. If there are any lumps, put the sauce through a fine strainer. Let the glaze cool briefly, until it is spreadable.
9. Pour a thin layer of chocolate glaze over the cake, spreading it smooth with a spatula. The glaze should cover the bottom and sides of the cake. Chill the cake briefly, then add a second coating of glaze.
10. Decorate the top of the cake, if desired, with candied flowers such as roses or violets or with almond paste cut into decorative shapes. This cake will keep for 2 days in a cool place; it can be refrigerated, but this will dull the cake’s gloss.
SERVES 8 TO 12
COOKING NOTES
Make sure you roll the almond paste until it’s no thicker than 1⁄16 inch, or it will be difficult to cut through.
For a less sweet cake, use bittersweet chocolate.
JULY 20, 1980: “FOOD: THE ART OF THE TORTE,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM LORA BRODY, A COOKING TEACHER AND FOOD WRITER.
—1980
MRS. RAYMOND SCHENK’S PUMPKIN CAKE
A lot of people told me about this cake, and now I understand why. It doesn’t try to solve world problems, it just sticks to what it does well—giving pumpkin a sense of purpose after Thanksgiving and satisfying our innate hankering for sweet spiced cakes.
———
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1¼ cups peanut, vegetable, or corn oil
1½ cups pumpkin puree, homemade or store-bought
4 large eggs
½ cup raisins
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Place the sugar, oil, and pumpkin puree in a mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a large bowl with a hand mixer) and beat well on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift and fold the dry ingredients into the batter. Stir in the raisins and nuts.
3. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean; start checking the cake after 1 hour. Let cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
If using a dark-coated nonstick Bundt pan, turn down your oven 10 degrees and start checking the cake for doneness after 50 minutes. It will take less time to cook.
OCTOBER 29, 1980: “Q & A.”
—1980
MARIA TILLMAN JACKSON ROGERS’S CARROT CAKE
Eating this cake is startling, because we’re so used to carrot cake being a leaden, nut-strewn mass. This one’s as light as cotton.
The recipe comes from My Mother Cooked My Way Through Harvard with These Creole Recipes, by Mrs. Walter Tillman and Oscar A. Rogers. A reader wrote to tell me that Rogers went on to become a minister, a dean at Jackson State University, and the president of Claflin College.
———
For the Cake
Approximately 1 pound carrots
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ cups corn or peanut oil
4 large eggs
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
For the Frosting
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment; oil the paper. Trim, scrape, and grate the carrots, then measure them; there should be about 3 cups. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Combine the sugar and oil in mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a large bowl with a hand mixer). Start beating and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients while beating. Add the grated carrots and nuts and blend well.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Place in the oven and bake until the cakes spring back when pressed with your finger, about 45 minutes. Turn the cakes onto racks and let cool, then remove the parchment paper.
5. To make the frosting, sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a large bowl with a hand mixer). Add the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy.
6. Fill and frost the cake.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTES
I doubled the cream cheese in the frosting, so if it seems different from the original, that’s because it is! The frosting is also more plentiful and less sweet.
Before you get going, you should know that you’ll need three 9-inch round cake pans. Several other recipes in this chapter call for the same, so if you don’t already have them, I think it’s time to splurge.
JANUARY 4, 1981: “FOOD; GARDEN-VARIETY CAKES AND BREADS,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM MY MOTHER COOKED MY WAY THROUGH HARVARD WITH THESE CREOLE RECIPES BY MRS. WALTER TILLMAN AND OSCAR A. ROGERS.
—1981
MISSISSIPPI MUD CAKE
This is really a Mississippi “Mutt” Cake, as Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey came up with it by crossbreeding a bunch of recipes sent in by readers. A chocolate cake is baked, then covered with marshmallows and sent back to the oven until the marshmallows melt across the cake’s surface. Finally, the cake is topped with a cocoa and pecan icing. Claiborne and Franey included a marshmallow recipe, should you wish to make them from scratch.
———
For the Cake
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups miniature marshmallows or large marshmallows cut into ½-inch pieces (store-bought, or see recipe that follows)
For the Icing
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
One 1-pound box confectioners’ sugar
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup evaporated milk
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Add a little flour and shake it around to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Shake out the excess. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
2. Sift together the flour and cocoa. Fold this into the creamed mixture. Add the chopped nuts and vanilla. Beat well.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it over. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with the marshmallows. Return to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the marshmallows are melted and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for about 30 minutes.
5. To make the icing, melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat.
6. Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa. Stir this into the butter, along with the nuts and milk. Spread this over the cake and let stand until thoroughly cooled. Cut into slices and serve.
SERVES 12
MARSHMALLOWS
¼ cup cornstarch
⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 packet powdered gelatin
⅓ cup water
⅔ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Sift together the cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablepoon of the cornstarch mixture. Tilt the pan in all directions to coat the bottom and sides. Do not shake out the excess.
2. Blend the gelatin with the water in a small saucepan and let soak for 5 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and stir over low heat until the gelatin and sugar dissolve.
3. In a mixer, combine the gelatin mixture, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until peaks form.
4. Spread the gelatin mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan and smooth the top. Let stand for 2 hours, or until set.
5. With a wet knife, cut the marshmallow mixture into quarters and loosen around the edges. Sprinkle the remaining cornstarch mixture on a baking sheet and invert the marshmallows onto it. Cut each quarter into pieces, and roll each in the cornstarch and sugar mixture.
6. Place the marshmallows on a rack and cover with paper towels. Let stand overnight to dry the surface slightly. Store airtight; the marshmallows will keep for a month.
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN MARSHMALLOWS
AUGUST 23, 1981: “FOOD: THOSE EARTHLY DESSERTS,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY. MARSHMALLOW RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BETTER THAN STORE-BOUGHT, BY HELEN WITTY AND ELIZABETH SCHNEIDER COLCHIE.
—1981
LORA BRODY’S BÊTE NOIRE (INTENSE CHOCOLATE CAKE)
Lora Brody, a cookbook author, suggests serving this cake either warm with crème anglaise or at room temperature with whipped cream.
———
½ cup water
1⅓ cups sugar
½ pound unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
¼ pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (about 1 cup whites plus the yolks)
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and place a neat circle of parchment or wax paper in the bottom, covering it completely. If wax paper is used, butter it; if parchment is used, it is not necessary to butter it.
2. Combine the water with 1 cup sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan; a copper pan is ideal for this. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for about 4 minutes, or to a temperature of 220 degrees.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the chocolate, stirring until it is melted and smooth. The mixture may “seize,” but that is all right; it will blend when the butter is added. Immediately start adding the butter, stirring gently until all of it is used.
4. Place the eggs and the remaining ⅓ cup sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk (or mix in a large bowl with a hand mixer). Start beating on high speed and continue until the yolks are quite thick, pale yellow, and tripled in volume. This may take about 15 minutes. (It may be useful to place a dishcloth over the mixer and bowl to prevent splattering.)
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the chocolate mixture, mixing only until it is fully incorporated. Do not overbeat—this would cause air bubbles to form.
6. Spoon and scrape the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Set the pan in a slightly larger pan and pour boiling water around it. Do not allow the sides of the pans to touch. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Insert the sharp point of a knife into the center of the cake; if it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it does not come out clean, continue baking for up to 10 minutes longer. Do not cook longer than a total of 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
7. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake and unmold onto a cookie sheet; remove the paper. Invert a serving plate over the cake and turn it right side up onto the serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
SERVES 6 TO 8
MARCH 13, 1983: “FOOD: A FANCY BOTH BITTER AND SWEET,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY.
—1983
PURPLE PLUM TORTE
This is both the most often published and the most requested recipe in the Times archives. By my count, Marian Burros (who was given the recipe by Lois Levine, with whom Burros wrote Elegant but Easy) ran the recipe in the paper twelve times. And when I asked readers for recipe suggestions for this book, 265 people raved about the torte. The torte happily lives up to its billing: crusty and light, with deep wells of slackened, sugar-glazed plums.
I’ve thought a lot about why this torte struck such a chord with people: the answer, I think, is that it’s a nearly perfect recipe. There are only eight ingredients, all of which, except for the plums, you probably already have in your kitchen. There are just four steps, most of which are one sentence long. You need no special equipment, just a bowl, a wooden spoon, and a pan. The batter is like pancake batter, which most everyone is comfortable making. And baked plums are sweet and tart, making the flavor more complex and memorable than a hard-hitting sweet dessert.
It also freezes well.
“A friend who loved the tortes said that in exchange for two, she would let me store as many as I wanted in her freezer,” Burros wrote one year when she ran the recipe. “A week later, she went on vacation for two weeks and her mother stayed with her children. When she returned, my friend called and asked, ‘How many of those tortes did you leave in my freezer?’
“ ‘Twenty-four, but two of those were for you.’
“There was a long pause. ‘Well, I guess my mother either ate twelve of them or gave them away.’ ”
In later versions of the recipe, Burros cut back the sugar to ¾ cup—feel free to if you like—and added variations, such as substituting blueberries or apples and cranberries for the plums (I haven’t tried either, but Burros was a fan). She jumped the shark, in my view, though, when she created low-fat variations with mashed bananas and applesauce. While I respect her enthusiasm for innovation, this is one recipe that needs no improvement.
———
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Large pinch of salt
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, or more or less, depending on the tartness of the plums
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
12 purple plums, halved and pitted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or more or less, depending on the tartness of the plums
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. Cream 1 cup sugar and the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or in a mixer) until light in color. Add the dry ingredients and then the eggs.
3. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Cover the top of the batter with the plum halves, skin side up. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the lemon juice, adjusting to the tartness of the fruit. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4. Bake until the cake is golden and the plums are bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a rack, then unmold.
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTE
I like this best with oval Italian plums, available in early fall.
READERS
“Not only is it delicious, it is also simple. It has served me as an impromptu dessert on numerous occasions (even in the winter, one almost always has apples and frozen cranberries in the house). I have served it with ice cream, sorbet, whipped cream, yogurt, sour cream, crème fraîche, Barbados Cream (à la Nigella), or crème anglaise—depending on the particular torte, my mood, and what I have on hand. And yes, I did laminate it!” [Presumably, the recipe, not the cake.]
Donna L. Boies, Washington, D.C., letter
“I make a dozen every fall and store in the freezer just as she recommends. I also sometimes instead use peaches, mango, blueberries. I add ½ tsp. of vanilla and the grated rind of 1 small lemon to the dough.”
Frances Gordon, Atlantis, FL, letter
“In August and September of each year I make at least 2 cakes a week. They freeze very well and cheer me up during the dark winter months.”
Dagmar Greve, New York, NY, letter
“The only change I have made over the years is to add a teaspoon of almond extract. The combination of the almond flavoring with the purple plums is ethereal.”
Nancy Denburg, e-mail
SEPTEMBER 21, 1983: “FOOD NOTES,” BY MARIAN BURROS.
—1983
CAMPTON PLACE BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE
Beneath a frosting so silky and delicate that it floats across your palate is a cake that reminds me of the moist, light soil lying beneath moss.
———
For the Cake
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
1½ cups buttermilk
5 large eggs, separated
1½ cups sugar
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
For the Frosting
¾ pound semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup warm water
1 cup sugar
¾ pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
5 large egg yolks
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper cut to fit neatly. Butter the paper. Sprinkle the inside of the pans with flour and shake out the excess.
2. Combine the chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan. Place the pan in a larger saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring, just until the butter and chocolate are melted and blended. Off the heat, gradually beat in the buttermilk. Set aside to cool.
3. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a mixer with a paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until thickened and lemon colored. Gradually add the chocolate mixture, stirring. Set aside.
4. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
5. Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl with a whisk (or in a large bowl with clean beaters) until they are stiff but not dry. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Sift the flour mixture over the chocolate batter, folding it in. Pour and scrape equal amounts into the prepared cake pans.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester, or a toothpick, comes out clean. Place the cakes on a rack and let stand for about 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a rack and let cool.
7. Meanwhile, to prepare the frosting, put the chocolate in a large bowl. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved, pour this over the chocolate, stirring until smooth and about as thick as mayonnaise. If the mixture seems too stiff, add a little more water. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature.
8. Put the butter in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the yolks one at a time, beating. Gradually fold in the chocolate mixture, until just blended.
9. Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate and spread the top generously with frosting. Top with the second layer. Spread the top and sides with the remaining frosting, smoothing it as you go along.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
The frosting is beautiful to work with: after generously frosting the cake, you’ll still have about ¾ cup left over. I don’t need to tell you what to do with it. Although, Craig Claiborne noted, “If you wish to spread the chocolate frosting a little further, you may slice each layer through the center to make 2 rounds. Place one round at a time on a flat surface, frost it, add a second layer, more frosting, and so on until all the layers have been added. Frost the cake on the top and around the sides before cutting.”
JULY 15, 1984: “FOOD: FLOWING WITH BUTTERMILK,” BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE WITH PIERRE FRANEY. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BRADLEY OGDEN, CHEF AT THE CAMPTON PLACE HOTEL IN SAN FRANCISCO.
—1984
PANFORTE (TRADITIONAL SIENESE FRUITCAKE)
Panforte, from Siena, in Tuscany, is like fruitcake with the texture of nougat. It’s dense and densely spiced, and one of my favorite holiday desserts, because with it, you get the intense punctuation you want after a titanic meal.
This recipe comes from The Italian Baker, one of the most important baking books of the twentieth century. Carol Field unearthed the breads of small villages across Italy, the ciabatta, pane Pugliese, pizza bianca, and rosemary breads that we’ve since come to regard as everyday loaves. Panforte hasn’t yet become a household staple, but it should.
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1 cup unblanched whole hazelnuts
1 cup blanched whole almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped candied orange peel
1 cup finely chopped candied citron
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of white pepper
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the oven until the skins pop and blister, 10 to 15 minutes. Rub the skins from the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel.
2. Meanwhile, toast the almonds on a baking sheet until very pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
3. Chop the almonds and hazelnuts very coarsely. Mix the nuts, orange peel, citron, lemon zest, flour, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper thoroughly in a large bowl.
4. Combine the granulated sugar, honey, and butter in a heavy saucepan and attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the syrup registers 242 to 248 degrees (a little of the mixture will form a ball when dropped into cold water). Immediately pour the syrup into the fruit mixture and stir quickly until thoroughly blended, then immediately pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The batter will become stiff and sticky very quickly, so you must work fast.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. The panforte won’t color or seem very firm even when ready, but it will harden as it cools. Cool on a rack until the cake is firm to the touch.
6. Remove the sides of the pan and invert the cake onto a sheet of wax paper. Peel off the parchment paper. Dust heavily with confectioners’ sugar.
SERVES 10
VARIATION
To make Panforte Scuro (dark), add 2 ounces dried figs, coarsely chopped, and 1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.
DECEMBER 8, 1985: “BAKING: AROMATIC ACTIVITY FOR THE SEASON,” BY FLORENCE FABRICANT. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM THE ITALIAN BAKER, BY CAROL FIELD.
—1985
MARJOLAINE (MULTILAYERED CHOCOLATE AND PRALINE CAKE)
Marjolaine, a hazelnut cake layered with rum cream and praline, had its moment during the 1980s fascination with French pâtisserie. No dessert with seventeen steps is going to endure through the ages as a go-to classic, but it would be a shame to skip past this recipe. All the effort and layering make for one spectacular cake, the kind you can peel away level by level with your fork.
Two recipes for the cake ran around the same time—one by Raymond A. Sokolov and this one by Patricia Wells, both frequent Times contributors. Figuring out which one to make was a Sophie’s choice, and both looked great, but I didn’t want to err with a recipe that takes a day to make. I finally chose Wells’s because it seemed to have more complex flavor (and crème fraîche in the ingredient list didn’t hurt). You can check out Sokolov’s online. I was pleased with my decision: Wells’s is extraordinary.
Still, making it is a nearly insane test of willpower and endurance. It’s not difficult—as always, Wells’s instructions are precise and helpful—it’s just that the baking and layering takes all day. I started at breakfast and finished just in time for cocktails.
Marjolaine is actually better the next day: it mellows and relaxes and becomes not five desserts in one, but one.
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For the Praline Powder
1 cup unblanched whole almonds
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
For the Chocolate Cream
2 cups crème fraîche
15 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
For the Pastry Cream
8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ cups whole milk
10 ounces (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
For the Cake
1 cup unblanched whole hazelnuts
¾ cup sugar
10 large egg whites
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
For the Rum Cream
2 cups Pastry Cream (above)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum
For the Praline Cream
2 cups Pastry Cream (above)
2 cups Praline Powder (above)
1. To prepare the praline powder, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the almonds on baking sheet and bake until fragrant and light brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
2. Oil a baking sheet with a light vegetable oil. Combine the almonds and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the sugar begins to melt. The mixture will go through several stages, from a dry blend to one where the sugar forms little bubbles the size of peas. Continue cooking, stirring constantly so all of the sugar clinging to the almonds melts, until the mixture turns dark brown and syrupy and the nuts make a popping sound. The whole process will take about 5 minutes.
3. Quickly pour the mixture onto the oiled baking sheet. The mixture will harden to almond brittle. When the praline is cool, break it into pieces. Grind it to a fine powder in a food processor. (The praline can be made weeks in advance and refrigerated or frozen in an airtight container.)
4. To prepare the chocolate cream, bring the crème fraîche to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate piece by piece until it is completely melted and blended. Set aside until cool and thick. It should have the consistency of a thick, spreadable frosting. (This can be made as much as 3 days in advance and refrigerated. If it hardens, reheat it gently, beating until it reaches the proper consistency.)
5. To prepare the pastry cream, using a whisk (or a mixer fitted with a whisk), beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until thick and lemon colored. Gently whisk in the flour.
6. Bring the milk to a boil in a large heavy saucepan. Whisk one-third of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk. Boil, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. (You have to whisk really hard to keep it from lumping; and you do need to cook it for a full 2 minutes, so take the pan on and off the heat as you go.) Transfer to a bowl, lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the cream, and let cool.
7. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft and creamy. When the pastry cream is completely cool, whisk in the butter. (The pastry cream can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated.)
8. To prepare the cake, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Heavily butter 2 jelly-roll pans, measuring about 14 by 10 by 1 inch. Line them with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper. (If you don’t have jelly-roll pans, use 2 large baking sheets.)
9. Spread the hazelnuts on another baking sheet and roast until fragrant and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the warm nuts in a dish towel to remove as much skin as possible. Cool, then finely grind them with ¼ cup sugar in a food processor.
10. Beat the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until they begin to stiffen. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup sugar, mixing until the whites form stiff but not dry peaks. Fold in the flour and the hazelnut mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pans (or spread into 14-by-10-by-1-inch rectangles on the baking sheets).
11. Bake until the cakes are thoroughly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and invert them onto racks. Cover each cake with a damp towel and let stand for several minutes, then remove the parchment paper while the cakes are still warm. Let cool completely.
12. At least 24 hours, but no more than 3 days before serving, assemble the marjolaine: Cut each cake lengthwise in half and trim as needed into 4 equally sized rectangles. Divide the pastry cream in half. Blend the vanilla extract and rum into one portion of the pastry cream. Blend the praline powder into the remaining pastry cream. (Mix the praline cream just before assembling the cake, because the flavor will fade if mixed up in advance.) The chocolate and pastry creams should be chilled but spreadable.
13. Place 1 cake layer on a large rectangular serving platter. Spread a little less than half the chocolate cream on the cake. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
14. Cover the chocolate cream with the second cake layer. Spread with all of the praline cream and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
15. Top the praline cream with the third cake layer. Spread with all of the rum cream and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
16. Top the rum cream with the fourth cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining chocolate cream. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 3 days before serving.
17. Remove the cake from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving, then cut into thin slices.
SERVES 16 TO 20
COOKING NOTE
To save a step, you can use blanched hazelnuts for the cake and just toast them before grinding.
SEPTEMBER 13, 1987: “FOOD: WHEN THINGS GO RIGHT,” BY PATRICIA WELLS.
—1987
CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BAY LEAF SYRUP
This is vintage Tom Colicchio, back when he was at Mondrian.
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For the Bay Leaf Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
12 fresh bay leaves (available at specialty food stores)
For the Chocolate Cake
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing the pan
15 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 large eggs, separated
¾ cup sugar
1 cup almond flour (available at specialty food stores) or 1 cup ground almonds (about ¼ pound unblanched whole almonds)
1 cup heavy cream
6 fresh bay leaves
1. To make the syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and seeds and bay leaves and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool, strain, and set aside.
2. To make the cake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Place the remaining 12 tablespoons butter and 12 ounces chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Heat over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolate melt.
3. Beat the egg yolks and ½ cup sugar in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or a large bowl with a hand mixer) until the mixture thickens and is pale yellow in color. Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the almond flour.
4. Beat the egg whites with the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a clean mixer bowl with the clean whisk (or in a large bowl with clean beaters) until they hold stiff peaks. Fold into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Chop the remaining chocolate into coarse chunks, about ½ to 1 inch. Scatter randomly over the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake feels firm to the touch. Let cool on a rack.
6. To make the whipped cream, combine the heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of the bay leaf syrup in a bowl and beat until firm peaks form.
7. Remove the cake from the pan and slice into 6 wedges. Pool a few tablespoons of the bay leaf syrup on each of 6 dessert plates. Place a slice of cake on each plate. Add a dollop of the bay leaf whipped cream, and garnish each with a bay leaf.
SERVES 6
OCTOBER 14, 1990: “FOOD: IT’S THYME FOR DESSERT,” BY KAREN MACNEIL. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM TOM COLICCHIO, THE CHEF, AND SUSIE DAYTON, THE PASTRY CHEF, AT MONDRIAN IN NEW YORK CITY.
—1990
MARCELLA’S PEAR CAKE
½ cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 large eggs
¼ cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
Tiny pinch of salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 pounds ripe Bosc pears
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-round cake pan and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Turn the pan upside down and tap it or shake it lightly to get rid of all the loose crumbs. Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Add the sugar and salt and continue beating until well combined. Add the flour, mixing thoroughly.
2. Peel the pears, slice in half, and scoop out the seeds and core. Cut lengthwise into thin slices. Add to the bowl, mixing well; the batter will be very thick.
3. Spoon the batter into the pan, leveling it off with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Dot the surface with the butter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden. Cool slightly on a rack.
4. Remove the cake from the pan as soon as it is cool and firm enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.
SERVES 10
APRIL 28, 1991: “FOOD: NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES,” BY WILLIAM GRIMES. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM MORE CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKING, BY MARCELLA HAZAN.
—1991
POLISH JEWISH PLUM CAKE
In the Northeast, at least, from late September to late October, you can readily find olive-shaped purple Italian plums. They hold up well when cooked, tend not to release too much juice—a boon to bakers of cakes and tarts—and they sink into cakes, like encased jewels.
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake (here), which ran in the Times in 1968, in a story by Jean Hewitt, is very similar to this one. The oil and orange juice foundation makes for a beautiful cake that has become an American classic.
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3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1½ to 2 pounds Italian plums
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan and dust with flour. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Halve the plums (quarter them if large), and remove the pits. You will need 4 cups sliced plums. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar.
3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add the remaining 1¼ cups sugar, the oil, orange juice, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, beating just until combined.
4. Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer with one-third of the plums. Repeat 2 more times, ending with plums. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let sit for 15 minutes on a rack.
5. Run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and unmold onto a plate. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
SERVES 12
SEPTEMBER 23, 1992: “JEWISH FOOD TRADITIONS LINGER IN A POLAND BEREFT OF JEWS,” BY JOAN NATHAN.
—1992
TAILLEVENT’S CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PISTACHIO SAUCE
A recipe from one of the world’s great restaurants, Taillevent in Paris, and one of the best food books ever written, The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris, by Patricia Wells.
When I made these cakes—they’re individual cakes, despite the recipe title—I thought the individual portions seemed stingy. But the bitty cakes turned out to be so rich I couldn’t finish a single serving.
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For the Cake
4½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, separated
For the Sauce
½ cup roasted pistachios
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated
2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1. To make the cake, melt the chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat. Add ¼ cup sugar and the butter and stir until melted. Whisk in the egg yolks. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Beat the egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer) until stiff. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until the whites are glossy. Whisk one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites.
3. Rinse four 4-ounce molds (ramekins or tartlet pans work) with water; do not dry. Divide the chocolate mixture among the molds. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
4. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, remove as much skin as possible from the pistachios. Rinse quickly with boiling water, drain, and then remove as much of the remaining skin as possible. Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add ⅓ cup sugar and the egg white and process until the mixture forms a paste.
5. Place 3 tablespoons of the pistachio paste in a medium saucepan (save the rest for another use), add the milk, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
6. Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve into another medium saucepan; set aside.
7. Whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining ⅔ cup sugar in a bowl until thick and light. Whisk in half the strained milk, then whisk the mixture back into the remaining milk. Cook the sauce over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; do not let it come to a boil. (This may take longer than you expect, as much as 20 minutes.) Refrigerate for 24 hours.
8. To serve, spoon a pool of sauce onto the center of each of 4 plates. Run the tip of a small knife around the inside edges of the molds, dip them briefly in a bowl of hot water, and invert them onto the plates. Let the cakes warm up for a minute or two before serving.
SERVES 4
COOKING NOTES
If you buy good-quality shelled pistachios, you can skip Step 4.
It’s difficult to remove the cakes from their molds or ramekins without mashing in an edge or two. Serve them as if the flaws were intended. Or make the cakes using small cake rings: lay 4 small pieces of parchment on a baking sheet, place the rings on top, and fill the rings with the batter. To unmold, dip a knife in hot water, dry it, run it around the sides of the rings to loosen, and invert the cakes onto plates and peel back the parchment.
Do not use low-fat milk for the sauce—it needs the fat for texture and also to temper the sugar.
FEBRUARY 12, 1995: “FOOD: DANGER: CHOCOLATE AHEAD,” BY MOLLY O’NEILL. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM THE FOOD LOVER’S GUIDE TO PARIS, BY PATRICIA WELLS.
—1995
JUNIOR’S CHEESECAKE
A true New York–style cheesecake—creamy rather than fluffy. The secret lies in the single egg which just holds together the heavy cream and cream cheese. Unlike most cheesecakes, this one is not baked in a water bath, and yet its texture is creamy even at the edges.
Cheesecakes originated in Central and Eastern Europe, where they were made with cottage or farmers’ cheese and set on a zwieback crust. The hop and skip to cream cheese and graham crackers, the food writer Joan Nathan says, was made early in the twentieth century with the birth of Breakstone’s, which commercialized cream cheese, and Kraft, which sold both cream cheese and graham crackers. Junior’s, the Brooklyn restaurant where this cheesecake become famous, opened in 1950.
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¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons sifted cornstarch
30 ounces (3¾ large packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup heavy cream
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan. Lightly coat the bottom of the pan with the graham cracker crumbs, and refrigerate the pan.
2. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a mixer fitted with a paddle (or mix in a large bowl with a hand mixer). Beat in the cream cheese. Beat in the egg. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, beating constantly. Beat in the vanilla.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is golden, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 hours.
SERVES 8 TO 10
COOKING NOTE
When slicing the cake, use a knife that you’ve run under hot water (and dried).
OCTOBER 11, 1996: “HARRY ROSEN IS DEAD AT 92: JUNIOR’S RESTAURANT FOUNDER,” BY ERIC ASIMOV. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM NEW YORK COOKBOOK, BY MOLLY O’NEILL.
—1996
OLIVE OIL AND APPLE CIDER CAKE
A dense, gently perfumed cake. Have it for breakfast or with tea. You must use good olive oil (I’ve used Capezzana and Manni); the flaws of an inferior oil—namely bitterness and insipidity—would be very much on display.
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8 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup apple cider
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
5 large eggs
1½ cups sugar
1 cup high-quality extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1. Place the apples and ½ cup apple cider in a small saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the apples are falling apart. Remove from the heat and mash the apples with a fork to make a coarse applesauce. Let cool.
2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush a Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan with a light coating of olive oil. Dust the pan with flour and tap out any excess. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Stir together the remaining ½ cup cider and ½ cup of the applesauce.
3. Whip the eggs with the sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) until tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Fold in one-third of the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in half of the cider-applesauce mixture. Gently fold in the olive oil, deflating the batter as little as possible. Alternate the remaining dry ingredients and the cider mixture, ending with dry ingredients.
4. Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Put the cake on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold and let cool on a rack.
5. Serve with the remaining cider-applesauce and whipped cream, if desired.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
Have fun with Step 3, but beat it in a mixer—watching the eggs and sugar turn thick, yellow, and silky is a beautiful process, and doing it by hand is not.
OCTOBER 12, 1997: “LOVE, ITALIAN STYLE,” BY MOLLY O’NEILL. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM JOANNE KILEEN AND GEORGE GERMON, THE OWNERS OF AL FORNO IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.
—1997
PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Sometimes you read a recipe title and immediately have a clear picture in your head of how it will turn out. And sometimes you’re way off, as I was with this pear upside-down cake. I saw the molasses and ginger and dark brown sugar prominent among the ingredients, but I still expected the cake to turn out light and buttery yellow, like most pear upside-down cakes. This one is as dark as night, the pears sunk into the top like slivers of moon. The rich, dense cake is reminiscent of a gingersnap and is a memorable, if unorthodox, counterpoint to the pears.
The cake is best eaten within a day of baking. And don’t skip the accompaniment of rum-spiked whipped cream.
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11 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 small ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons Poire Williams (pear eau-de-vie)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons grated ginger (from a 4-inch piece of fresh ginger)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
Rum-scented whipped cream (see Cooking Notes) or rum-raisin ice cream for serving
1. Butter a 9-inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. Toss the pears with the lemon juice; set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Add the pears, cut side down, in a single layer, and cook until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes; gently move them around in the pan as they cook so they brown evenly. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the Poire Williams to the pan, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Cook, stirring, until reduced to a syrup, about 1 minute.
4. Pour the syrup into the cake pan, coating the bottom. Place the pears in the cake pan, cut side down, arranging them in a single layer (there may be a few leftover slices).
5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
6. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the remaining 8 tablespoons butter until fluffy. Add the brown sugar, and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add the eggs and continue beating to combine. Add the molasses and fresh ginger. Gradually add the flour mixture.
7. Combine the baking soda and boiling water in a small bowl, beating with a fork. Add to the batter and mix well. Pour the batter into the cake pan over the pears.
8. Bake for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched in the center. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 hour.
9. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Serve with rum-spiked whipped cream or rum-raisin ice cream.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTES
I used just 3 pears; buy 4 if they’re on the small side.
The pears only lightly browned when sautéed, which didn’t seem to hurt the cake.
To make rum-scented whipped cream, beat 1 cup heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Then beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons dark rum, as desired.
DECEMBER 17, 1997: “HOLIDAY TASTES FROM THE OLD CHATHAM INN,” BY R. W. APPLE JR. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM MELISSA KELLY, THE CHEF AT THE OLD CHATHAM SHEEPHERDING COMPANY INN IN CHATHAM, NEW YORK.
—1997
WARM SOFT CHOCOLATE CAKE
If you dined in New York in the late 1990s, you probably ate dozens of these fragile chocolate bombs. The small plump cakes cook on the outside, creating a bouncy cake-like shell, while the inside remains loose chocolate custard, waiting to spill out on your plate as soon as you plunge your greedy fork into its side. Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the chef whose recipe this is, served it with coconut sorbet.
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8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ pound bittersweet chocolate
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Butter and lightly flour four 4-ounce molds, custard cups, or ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Gently heat the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler or a small saucepan until the chocolate is almost completely melted.
2. While the chocolate mixture is heating, beat the eggs, yolks, and sugar in a bowl with a whisk or electric mixer until light and thick.
3. Beat the melted chocolate and butter together. While it is still warm, pour into the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour until combined.
4. Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point, you can refrigerate the desserts for several hours; bring to room temperature before cooking.) Put on a baking sheet.
5. Bake the cakes for 12 minutes; the centers will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set. Invert each mold onto a plate, and let sit for about 10 seconds, then unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.
SERVES 4
PERIOD DETAIL
Although it feels as though food trends come and go dizzyingly fast, Florence Fabricant wrote a story called “The Cakes That Take New York Erupt with Molten Chocolate” in 1991, but Vongerichten’s recipe, which launched the trend, didn’t appear until 1997. The cake kicked around in numerous restaurants until 2009, when Domino’s pizza chain introduced its Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake. Trend over.
DECEMBER 24, 1997: “THE CHEF,” BY JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN WITH MARK BITTMAN.
—1997
This recipe began my lasting obsession with pastry chef Pierre Hermé’s work—I love his use of daring yet understated flavors, his confidence that you’ll notice his ingenuity without him underlining it with antennae-like garnishes. These traits have since built the Parisian pastry chef an empire of shops around the globe.
Hermé’s work has been translated and brought to an American audience by Dorie Greenspan, who is the modern-day Maida Heatter. Like Heatter, Greenspan is both a passionate baker and an exceptional recipe writer. Note how in this cake recipe you’re on Step 4 before you begin mixing the cake batter. Greenspan spends four steps making sure you’ve prepared your pans and ingredients so there are no unpleasant surprises along the way.
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1½ cups finely grated unsweetened dried coconut, plus extra for the pan (available at health food and specialty stores)
1½ cups sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon baking powder
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup powdered milk
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup water
¼ cup white rum
1. Combine the coconut with 1 tablespoon sugar in a food processor and pulse until the coconut is pulverized but still powdery and dry. Set aside.
2. Center a rack in the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8½-by-4½-by-2½-inch loaf pan, dust the interior with grated coconut, and tap out the excess.
3. Sift together the flour, coriander, and baking powder.
4. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, then slowly add 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar. While beating, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Reduce the mixer speed to low. One at a time, add the ground coconut, powdered milk, and whole milk, beating only until each addition is incorporated.
5. Divide the flour mixture into two batches. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in first one batch and then the other; the batter should be smooth and thick. Immediately spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Place the pan on 2 baking sheets, one on top of the other, or on an insulated baking sheet. Bake until the cake is golden brown and split down the center, about 70 to 80 minutes. To test whether the cake is done, insert a long thin knife into the center; it should come out dry and crumb-free. If the cake appears to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with a foil tent after the first 30 minutes of baking.
7. Meanwhile, prepare a simple syrup. Combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar with the water in a small saucepan, place over medium heat, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the rum. Let cool to room temperature.
8. Place a rack on a sheet of wax paper. When the cake is done, release it from the pan and turn it right side up on the rack. While it is still hot, brush the rum syrup over the top and sides of the cake.
9. To serve, cut the cake into thin slices. If desired, toast them lightly.
SERVES 8
JUNE 3, 1998: “EN ROUTE: FRANCE; A KITCHEN EMPEROR WHO MARSHALS NAPOLEONS” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM DESSERTS BY PIERRE HERMÉ, BY PIERRE HERMÉ AND DORIE GREENSPAN.
—1998
PAPA’S APPLE POUND CAKE
Just before baking this delicious loaf cake, you arrange apple pieces in two tidy rows down the center, like a spine. And as it bakes, they sink into the top of the batter.
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1⅓ cups raisins
1 tablespoon plus 2½ teaspoons dark rum
2 Fuji apples, peeled and cored
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1⅓ cups confectioners’ sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup apricot jam, melted and still warm
1. Center a rack in the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-by-4-by-2½-inch loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, allowing an extra inch or two to drape over the ends. (This will allow the finished cake to be lifted from the pan before serving.)
2. Bring a small pan of water to a boil, add the raisins, and boil for 1 minute. Drain and repeat the process. Drain the raisins well a second time and place in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of rum; stir and set aside.
3. Cut 1 apple into 12 wedges; set aside. Cut the other into 8 wedges, then cut each wedge crosswise in half; set aside. Sift the flour and baking powder together; set aside.
4. Working in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand in a bowl with a rubber spatula), beat the butter until it is smooth. Slowly add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well blended. Fold in the flour mixture just until blended. Fold in the raisins.
5. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Lay the 12 apple wedges down the center of the pan so their sides touch and the domed side of each wedge is on top. There will be a thin strip of exposed batter on either side of the row. Spoon the rest of the batter over and around the apples, and again smooth the top. Arrange the halved apple wedges in a single row down each long side of the pan, pressing the center-cut sides of the apples against the sides of the pan, so there are 2 rows of apple wedges with their points toward the center of the pan and exposed batter in the center. Gently push the apples into the batter, leaving the tops of the apples exposed. The mixture in the center of the pan will be slightly lower than the sides. Let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit down the center of the batter to help it rise evenly. Continue to bake until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean, another 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and gently brush the warm apricot jam over the hot cake. Allow the glaze to dry for 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2½ teaspoons rum and ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar in a small pan, stir well, and warm over low heat for a minute. Brush this icing over the dried apricot glaze and return the pan to the turned-off oven just until the icing is dry, about 2 minutes. Place the cake on a rack and cool to room temperature. To keep the cake moist, leave it in its pan until serving time.
8. To remove the cake from the pan, lift it by the edges of the parchment paper, carefully remove the paper, and transfer to a platter. Cut into slices to serve.
SERVES 6 TO 8
NOVEMBER 11, 1998: “THE CHEF,” BY FRANÇOIS PAYARD WITH DORIE GREENSPAN.
—1998
FRESH GINGER CAKE
This dish is well known among dessert fanatics—a fragrant, spicy cake as dark as tar. David Lebovitz, the pastry chef and blogger (www.davidlebovitz.com), whose recipe it is, also created the spectacular Sugared Puffs here.
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1 cup mild molasses
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut oil
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ pound fresh ginger, peeled, sliced, and finely chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch-high sides or a 9½-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil in a large bowl. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the baking soda, then mix into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it. Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes in the pan on a rack.
4. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Invert the cake onto a rack, and peel off the parchment paper.
SERVES 10
PERIOD DETAIL
A related version of this cake actually appeared decades earlier, in Economy Gastronomy by Sylvia Vaughn Thompson, published in 1963.
NOVEMBER 3, 1999: “BY THE BOOK: SIMPLE AND SWEET FROM A MASTER BAKER,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM ROOM FOR DESSERT, BY DAVID LEBOVITZ.
—1999
CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
This cake floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. And it was the smart, understated punctuation to a Thanksgiving dinner at Alice Waters’s house in 1999. Many upside-down cakes are too sweet. This one commits no such crime. The key ingredient is a judicious amount of brown sugar, which plays off the tart cranberries and helps form a rich caramel sauce that seeps into the cake.
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For the Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
9 ounces (about 2¼ cups) fresh cranberries
¼ cup fresh orange juice
For the Batter
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
½ cup whole milk
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Sweetened whipped cream flavored with orange liqueur, for serving
1. To prepare the topping, melt the butter in a 9-inch round cake pan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves, swirling the pan to coat the bottom. When the sugar starts to caramelize, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small bowl and toss to coat the berries well. Spread the berries evenly in the pan, and sprinkle with any juice remaining in the bowl. Set the pan aside.
3. To prepare the batter, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter with the sugar until pale, light, and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a clean mixer bowl with a whisk (or in a bowl with clean beaters) just until stiff enough to hold a slight peak. Fold the whites into the batter in 3 additions. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly over the cranberries.
6. Bake until the top is browned and the cake pulls away slightly from the edges of the pan, 30 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it onto a cake plate.
7. Serve with slightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with orange liqueur.
SERVES 8
COOKING NOTE
You need a solid cake pan; pans with a removable bottom or springform pans will not work on the stovetop because the butter will seep through. But if these are what you have, to get around the problem without going out and buying a new pan, prepare the sugar and cranberries in a small saucepan. Line your cake pan with aluminum foil, then proceed. There is no need to grease the foil (or the pan)—the batter does not stick.
NOVEMBER 17, 1999: “NEW AMERICAN TRADITIONS: IN A BERKELEY KITCHEN, A CELEBRATION OF SIMPLICITY,” BY R. W. APPLE JR. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM ALICE WATERS, THE OWNER OF CHEZ PANISSE IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.
—1999
BRETON BUTTER CAKE
This recipe comes from Gabrielle Hamilton, a chef beloved for her tiny restaurant, Prune, which led other restaurateurs to the frontier of the East Village. As a child, Hamilton spent a fair amount of time in Brittany, where she was introduced to kouign amann, or Breton butter cake, a flaky, buttery dessert scented with orange-flower water.
Having spent months on her own recipe, Hamilton put it on the Prune menu and served it, she said, “just as in France, cut in a slice and put on a plate. No mint sprig. No ice cream. No ridiculous embellishment.”
“And you know what?” she continued, “Nobody ordered it.”
But once she began serving it with a glass of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, orders flew out of the kitchen.
———
1⅛ teaspoons active dry yeast
⅔ cup water
¾ teaspoon orange-flower water, plus more for sprinkling
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cake flour
⅛ teaspoon coarse salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, preferably French
¾ cup sugar, plus more for the pie plate and top of cake
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1. Combine the yeast with the water and orange-flower water in a small bowl. Let sit until bubbly.
2. Combine the flours, salt, and yeast mixture in a large bowl and stir until a dough forms. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until smooth. Butter a large bowl and add the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30 to 60 minutes.
3. Place the dough in the refrigerator to firm up, about 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured surface, pound the cold butter into a 5-inch square. Cover with plastic wrap and let come almost to room temperature; it should have an icing-like texture.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-inch disk. Place the butter on top and fold the dough up and around it to cover. Working quickly, roll out the dough so that it is 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. Using a pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Sprinkle the dough with 3 tablespoons sugar, and fold into thirds, as if folding a business letter. Turn 90 degrees, sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar, and roll out to 2 feet long and 1 foot wide again; fold into thirds. Repeat 2 more times, scraping up any sticky areas; avoid using too much flour.
6. Butter and sugar a 9-inch glass pie plate. Place the dough in the plate, tucking the corners under. Let rise in a warm place until soft and puffy, 1 to 2 hours.
7. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush the surface of the dough with the melted butter, and sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar and a little orange-flower water. Bake until risen and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. If the top browns before the bottom, cover with foil. The bottom should be hazelnut brown. Remove from the oven, slice, and serve warm.
SERVES 8
APRIL 4, 2001: “THE CHEF: GABRIELLE HAMILTON,” BY GABRIELLE HAMILTON WITH AMANDA HESSER.
—2001
ALMOND CAKE
I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law, Elizabeth Friend. She’d discovered the cake at a bakery in East Hampton, and when the bakery was closing, she made her move, buttonholing the owners for the recipe. They turned her down flat. Undeterred, she set out to re-create the recipe herself. Elizabeth’s cake rises and then, near the end of its time in the oven, exhales dramatically and sinks in the center. “You open the oven door,” Elizabeth said, “and it looks great. And two minutes later, it’s Grand Canyon department.” Thankfully, she was never able to remedy this because, in fact, the “problem” makes the cake superbly dense and buttery in the center, which everyone loves and remembers.
I’ve made this cake more times than any other recipe in this book, because it travels well and improves with time. I call it my “thank-you cake,” because I’ve sent it as a gift to countless friends and colleagues.
———
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
One 7-ounce tube almond paste
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper; butter the paper. Mix together the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Sift the flour and salt together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a food processor, until pale and fluffy. Pull the almond paste into small pieces and add it, a little at a time, to the butter mixture, pulsing until very smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Blend in the almond extract and sour cream mixture.
3. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to a bowl. Fold in the flour mixture until the batter is smooth and there are no bits of flour left.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. It is done when you press the top and it springs back and it shrinks from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool in the pan.
5. When ready to serve, remove the sides of the pan, sift confectioners’ sugar on top of the cake, and slice into wedges.
SERVES 10
READERS
“It came out amazingly well, and I was thrilled to find people asking me for the recipe, something that continues to this day. You may rest assured that you and your article are always credited when I pass the recipe along. (Up until that time, I had always worn a rather bemused expression when I saw people in my office exchanging recipes. Now I find myself trading them like baseball cards.) Since then, I must have made the cake twenty five to thirty times.”
Gary Welch, e-mail
AUGUST 12, 2001: “FOOD DIARY: AMATEUR NIGHT,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM ELIZABETH FRIEND, MY LATE MOTHER-IN-LAW.
—2001
GOOEY CHOCOLATE STACK
Three disks of cocoa meringue buffeted by chocolate cream.
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6 large eggs, separated
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups whole milk
1⅓ cups heavy cream
¼ pound bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted pistachios
1. Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment, and draw an 8-inch circle on each. Whisk the egg whites in a mixer (or in a large bowl with a hard mixer) until they hold stiff peaks. Add 1 cup sugar a spoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cocoa and the vinegar on top, and fold in gently but firmly.
2. Divide the meringue among the 3 circles, spreading evenly. Bake for 1 hour, then turn off the oven. Leave the meringues in it to cool.
3. Beat the egg yolks and the remaining ⅓ cup sugar together in a large bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons cocoa and the flour, whisking well. Warm the milk and cream in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Whisking, pour this into the egg yolks and sugar. Then pour everything back into the saucepan, and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil. When the mixture has thickened, take it from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and sift a layer of confectioners’ sugar over the top to keep the surface from forming a skin. Let cool completely.
4. To assemble the stack, place a meringue disk on a plate and spread with a layer of chocolate cream (¼ to ½ inch thick), then layer, finishing with cream. (Reserve any leftover cream for another use.) Scatter the pistachios on top. Slice into wedges to serve.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTE
It’s best to assemble this dessert shortly before you serve it. If you need to make the components in advance, leave the cooked meringues uncovered at room temperature and keep the filling refrigerated. Assemble no more than 1 hour before serving.
JANUARY 9, 2002: “CULINARY CRITIQUE: SEX AND THE KITCHEN,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS, BY NIGELLA LAWSON.
—2002
AMAZON CAKE (COCOA CAKE)
You know how you occasionally forget until the last minute that you were supposed to bring a dish to the potluck or bake a cake for your kid’s school thing? This is the cake for those moments. It will take you longer to think of another cake than it will take to get this one in the oven. Will it be the best cake ever? No. But it will be very good and it will be homemade. And it will show that you care, even though you kind of forgot.
———
1½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons corn oil
1 cup cold water
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl. Whisk in the dry ingredients, blending until completely lump-free. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently.
3. Cool on a rack before removing from the pan and dusting with confectioners’ sugar (or frosting, if desired).
SERVES 6 TO 8
READERS
“I use cold coffee instead of water and add a bit of fresh-ground black pepper, about half a grind of the mill. For me this takes longer to bake (would the coffee make a difference?), about 45 to 50 minutes. I like to sift powdered sugar through a round paper doily to make a lacy design on top (this has to be done just before serving, or the moist cake will absorb the sugar) and serve the cake with sweetened whipped cream flavored with vanilla and Cognac.”
Robert Croskey, e-mail
“Here’s why I love this recipe and make it frequently. First of all, it makes an excellent chocolate cake—black-brown, moist, tender, with excellent keeping qualities. Second, it is a total snap to make. You can do it in four minutes from start to finish. No need to let butter come to room temperature; no oddball ingredients; no beating (in fact, the only appliance you use for this recipe is the oven, not even the refrigerator). It is made with common, long-life pantry ingredients, so you will never find yourself in the mood to make it but without an ingredient. You don’t even have to flour the pan. Third, it never sticks to the pan. Period. Four, for a cake, it’s pretty healthy. No eggs or butter, cocoa instead of hard chocolate. Five, double the recipe and use an old Time-Life frosting trick, and you have the world’s best and easiest chocolate layer cake.” [See here or here for other frostings that work well with the cake.]
Laura E. Perry, e-mail
FEBRUARY 6, 2002: “THIS TIME, CHOCOLATE TAKES A POWDER,” BY REGINA SCHRAMBLING. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM CAFÉ BEAUJOLAIS, BY MARGARET FOX AND JOHN S. BEAR.
—2002
LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
Regina Schrambling, a food editor and writer at the Times, aptly described this cake as “the ultimate citrus tart, without the heartbreak of piecrust.”
Making lemon curd is fun, and if you have the time, I recommend doing so, but for a shortcut, you can use store-bought.
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For the Lemon Curd
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
For the Cake
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
2 extra-large eggs
½ cup ground toasted almonds
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon almond liqueur (optional)
1. To make the lemon curd, combine the zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a heatproof bowl and beat well. Add the butter, place over a saucepan of simmering water, and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes.
2. Strain into a bowl and press plastic wrap onto the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1½ hours.
3. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out the excess. Sift together the remaining 1 cup flour, the baking powder, and salt.
4. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the dry ingredients.
5. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until they start to foam. Do not overbeat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground almonds to the batter, and mix well.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 tablespoons of the lemon curd around the perimeter of the batter, leaving a 1-inch border and taking care to space the drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd onto the center of the batter. (Refrigerate the remaining curd for another use.) Sprinkle the cake with the toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
7. Bake until the cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not curd) comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and cool completely.
8. Whip the cream, with the almond liqueur if using, to soft peaks. Present the cake at the table, and offer the whipped cream on the side.
SERVES 8
MARCH 27, 2002: “NOT THE USUAL CHEF ON THE SHELF,” BY REGINA SCHRAMBLING. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM IN THE HANDS OF A CHEF, BY JODY ADAMS.
—2002
When I was growing up, my mother baked this cake for my birthdays. Now I make it for my husband’s and children’s birthdays. “Dump-it” doesn’t have quite the appeal of “galette” or “confit,” but it candidly lays out the cake’s virtue. This moist, bouncy chocolate cake is the easiest one you’ll ever make: you mix the batter in a saucepan, stirring in one ingredient after the other, and when it’s glassy and smooth, you dump the batter into the cake pan and slide it in the oven. The icing is similarly economical: you blend melted chocolate chips with sour cream and slather it on the cake.
———
For the Cake
2 cups sugar
¼ pound unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Icing
1½ cups Nestlé’s semisweet chocolate chips
1½ cups sour cream, at room temperature
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the lowest rack to catch any drips when the cake bakes on the middle rack. Mix together the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and water in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan, place over medium heat, and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together the milk and vinegar in a small bowl (it will curdle, but that’s OK). Grease and flour a 9-inch tube pan.
3. When the chocolate has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions, and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice to blend.
4. Pour the batter into the tube pan. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a rack. (This can be tricky; the cake is heavy and likes to break in half—if someone is around to help, enlist him.) Let cool completely.
5. To make the icing, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then let cool to room temperature. Stir in the sour cream ¼ cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.
6. You can ice the cake as is, or cut it in half so that you have 2 layers, and fill and ice it. There will be extra icing whether you have 1 or 2 layers. My mother always uses it to make flowers on top. She makes a small rosette, or button, then uses toasted sliced almond as the petals, pushing them in around the base of the rosette.
SERVES 10
MAY 12, 2002: “FOOD DIARY: PERSONAL BEST,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM JUDITH HESSER.
—2002
LEMON CAKE
Imagine the taste of lemon cake, then multiply that flavor by three, and you’ll have a faint idea of the piercing resonance in this cake. There’s lemon zest creamed with the butter, lemon juice combined with buttermilk as the liquid, and a lemon syrup doused on the finished cake.
If you were a fan of Maida Heatter’s East 62nd Street Lemon Cake, which ran in 1970 (seventeen readers recommended it), you’ll be happy to know that this recipe has nearly the same proportions: a tiny bit more salt, less baking powder, buttermilk instead of milk, and lemon juice added to the batter. While I love Heatter’s recipe, I thought this one was more lemony and moist. I hope you’ll agree.
———
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
⅓ cup grated lemon zest (from 6 to 8 large lemons)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Lemon Syrup
½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
For the Lemon Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8½-by-4¼-by-2½-inch loaf pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, and then the lemon zest.
3. Combine the lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla in a bowl. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
5. Meanwhile, to make the lemon syrup, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat.
6. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then remove the parchment and invert them onto a rack set over a tray. Spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Let cool completely.
7. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. Pour over top of the cakes, and allow the glaze to dribble down the sides.
MAKES 2 CAKES, EACH SERVING 8 TO 10
JUNE 4, 2003: “THE 3 THAT MAKE A KITCHEN COMPLETE,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BAREFOOT CONTESSA PARTIES!, BY INA GARTEN.
—2003
NEW ENGLAND SPIDER CAKE
This is my favorite kind of recipe—there are no thorny passages, and there’s a surprising trick. After mixing up what is essentially a sweetened cornmeal batter, you scrape it into a hot cast-iron skillet, then pour cold cream into the very center of the cake. The cream tears through the batter, creating a web of rivulets spreading out from the center. As the cake bakes, this layer of cream thickens like custard, and the edges of batter pushed up against the skillet get firm and crisp, so the finished cake contains a spectrum of textures.
Jonathan Reynolds, a food columnist for the Times Magazine, offered up this cake in a story on breakfast. He wrote, “This substantial one-skillet meal will get your kids to school happier than they’ve ever been, and you happy only if they’ve left some behind.” It’s a hearty way to begin the day, and, I’d argue, a gratifying way to end it.
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2 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to sour.
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs into the soured milk. Stir into the dry ingredients.
3. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Pour in the batter. Pour the cream into the center, do not stir, slide the skillet into the oven, and bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice into wedges and serve warm.
SERVES 10
COOKING NOTE
It’s important not to bake this too long. The cake should still feel soft but bouncy in the center when you remove it from the oven.
PERIOD DETAIL
An almost identical recipe appeared in The White House Cookbook published in 1935.
MARCH 7, 2004: “WAKE-UP CALL,” BY JONATHAN REYNOLDS.
—2004
BOLZANO APPLE CAKE
Mark Bittman, the Times food columnist, described this cake as a “perfect clafoutis.” But that doesn’t do justice to the cake’s fragrance and delicacy. A pile of wafer-thin apples is lashed together with a vanilla-speckled batter that, once cooked and settled, yields a strata of fruit. When done properly, the center is dewy and the edges like dry leaves.
———
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
1¼ pounds (3 to 4 small to medium) Granny Smith apples
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment, then smear the bottom and sides with a thick layer of butter. Dust with flour, turn the pan over, and tap lightly to remove excess flour. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Set aside.
2. Beat together the eggs and half the sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding the remaining sugar until thick; the batter should form a ribbon when dropped from a spoon. Add the vanilla seeds to the batter, and add the bean to the melted butter.
3. Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then trim the ends and thinly slice.
4. Remove the vanilla bean from the butter and stir the butter into the batter. Combine the flour and baking powder, and stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Stir in the apples, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the pan, using your fingers to pat the top evenly.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes more, or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is brown on top; a thin-bladed knife inserted into the center will come out clean when it is done. Cool for 30 minutes on a rack.
6. Remove the sides of the pan, cut the cake into wedges, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.
SERVES 6 TO 8
COOKING NOTE
You can blend the batter in a mixer, but I like to do it by hand. There’s not much batter, so it’s easy to handle, and it’s satisfying to form the cake on your own.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2004: “THE CHEF: SCOTT CARSBERG: SEATTLE-GROWN, ITALIAN-FLAVORED,” BY MARK BITTMAN. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM SCOTT CARSBERG, THE CHEF AND OWNER OF LAMPREIA IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.
—2004
CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE
In this Nigella Lawson recipe, chocolate and Guinness briefly fuse in a magical way. The austere caramel flavor of the beer and the cocoa-flavored batter seem so serious, so right together. But eat the cake right away. By morning, the energy is gone, the crumb spongy and misbegotten, like most mornings after too much Guinness.
The froth-like topping is classic Lawson—easy to make and amusing.
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For the Cake
1 cup Guinness stout
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups superfine sugar
¾ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking soda
For the Topping
1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Combine the Guinness and butter in a large saucepan and place over medium-low heat until the butter melts, then remove from the heat. Add the cocoa and sugar and whisk to blend.
2. Combine the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a small bowl; mix well. Add to the Guinness mixture, whisking. Add the flour and baking soda, and whisk until smooth.
3. Pour into the buttered pan and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Place the pan on a rack and cool completely in the pan.
4. To make the topping, using a food processor or by hand, mix the confectioners’ sugar to break up any lumps. Add the cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add the heavy cream and mix until smooth and spreadable.
5. Remove the sides of the pan and place the cake on a platter or cake stand. Ice the top of the cake only—so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
I used “extra stout” Guinness.
DECEMBER 8, 2004: “AT MY TABLE: A FEAST FOR A HOLIDAY, OR EVERYDAY EXULTING,” BY NIGELLA LAWSON.
—2004
WHISKEY CAKE
This now rarely seen cake was a popular recipe among Times readers in the nineteenth century. Back then, it was called Tipsy Cake.
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For the Cake
Fine dry bread crumbs for dusting the pan
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1¼ cups sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
For the Whiskey Syrup
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup water
½ cup bourbon
1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a Bundt pan and dust with bread crumbs. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixer fitted with a paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until fluffy and fragrant. Beat in the vanilla and 2 eggs. Add the remaining eggs, and beat again. Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Add the remaining mixture and mix again until almost smooth, then mix with a rubber spatula until smooth.
3. Scrape the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, to make the syrup, combine the sugar with the water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and cook until the bubbles grow small and make fine snapping sounds, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Stir in the whiskey.
5. When the cake is done, let it cool for a few minutes, then unmold onto a serving plate with a lip. (The whiskey may pool at the base.) Pierce the top of the cake in about 20 places with a skewer, then pour the whiskey syrup over it.
6. Once the cake is cool, cover with plastic wrap. This cake is best served the next day.
SERVES 10
JANUARY 30, 2005: “THE ARSENAL,” BY AMANDA HESSER.
—2005
GÂTEAU DE CREPES
I thought I’d found the best cake in New York City. The Mille Crepes, sold at Lady M Cake Boutique on East 78th Street, was made up of twenty (as opposed to a thousand) lacy crepes separated by clouds of whipped-cream-lightened pastry cream and had a top layer that was spread with sugar and caramelized like crème brûlée. A fork plunged into a slice slid like a shovel through fresh snow. You got a whiff of smoky sugar, then layer after silky-sweet layer.
The owner of Lady M, however, wasn’t at all enthusiastic about handing over his recipe; I was on my own. But nothing makes you want to master a twenty-layer cake more than a flat rejection. With a little sleuthing, I figured out the layered crepe cake wasn’t something new. I opened Joy of Cooking, and right among the pancake recipes is one for crepe cake, made with a dozen crepes layered with lemon sauce. A similar version, layered with whipped cream and jam, called gâteau de crepes, appears in Larousse Gastronomique. As the book explains, filled layers of crepes is an age-old concept.
The top-secret Mille Crepes could be mine after all. I used the crepe recipe from Joy of Cooking, the vanilla pastry cream from Desserts by Pierre Hermé, by HermÉ and Dorie Greenspan, and my own whipped cream. My gâteau de crepes didn’t look quite as neat as the Mille Crepes, but it was charming the way the sagging roof of an old cottage is, and darn tasty.
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For the Crepe Batter
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups whole milk
6 large eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
For the Vanilla Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
6 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup cornstarch, sifted
3½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
For Assembly
Corn oil
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or more for brûléeing
3 tablespoons kirsch
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
1. The day before, make the crepe batter and pastry cream. To make the batter, cook the butter in a small pan until brown like hazelnuts. Set aside. Heat the milk in another small pan until steaming; allow to cool for 10 minutes.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt on medium-low speed. Slowly add the hot milk and browned butter. Pour into a container with a spout, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. To make the pastry cream, combine the milk, vanilla bean, and seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside for 10 minutes; remove the bean.
4. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in this ice bath. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium heavy pan. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, then place the pan over high heat, bring to a boil, whisking vigorously, and whisk until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Press the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into the small bowl.
5. Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in the butter. When completely cool, cover and refrigerate.
6. The next day, assemble the cake: Bring the batter to room temperature. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place a nonstick or seasoned 9-inch crepe pan over medium heat. Swab the surface with oil, then add about 3 tablespoons batter and swirl to cover the surface. Cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 1 minute, then carefully lift an edge and flip the crepe with your fingers. Cook on the other side for no longer than 5 seconds. Flip the crepe onto the baking sheet, and repeat until you have 20 perfect crepes.
7. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve once more. Whip the heavy cream with the sugar and kirsch. (It won’t hold peaks.) Fold it into the pastry cream.
8. Lay 1 crepe on a cake plate. Using an icing spatula, completely cover with a thin layer of pastry cream (about ¼ cup). Cover with a crepe and repeat to make a stack of 20, with the best-looking crepe on top. Chill for at least 2 hours.
9. Set the cake out for 30 minutes before serving. If you have a blowtorch for crème brûlée, sprinkle the top crepe with 2 tablespoons sugar and caramelize with the torch; otherwise, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Slice.
SERVES 10
MAY 15, 2005: “THE WAY WE EAT: BUILDING A MODERN, MULTISTORIED DESSERT,” BY AMANDA HESSER. RECIPE FOR BATTER ADAPTED FROM THE ALL NEW ALL PURPOSE JOY OF COOKING, BY IRMA S. ROMBAUER, MARION ROMBAUER BECKER, AND ETHAN BECKER; RECIPE FOR PASTRY CREAM ADAPTED FROM DESSERTS BY PIERRE HERMé, BY PIERRE HERMé AND DORIE GREENSPAN.
—2005
POPPY SEED TORTE
Hovering above this dense and nutty cake is a fragile layer, like a veil of poppy seed meringue.
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1½ cups poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder or 3 tablespoons potato starch
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Using a spice/coffee grinder, grind the poppy seeds, in batches, for about 20 seconds. (The seeds will become slightly sticky.) Combine with the baking powder in a large bowl.
2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla. Slowly pour in the butter, then add the poppy seed mixture. Beat until combined. Return the mixture, which will be very thick, to the large bowl.
3. Using a clean bowl and a whisk, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the batter, and pour it into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out fairly dry.
4. Cool the cake on a rack for at least an hour before unmolding. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
SERVES 12
APRIL 9, 2006: “EAT, MEMORY: GHOSTS OF PASSOVERS PAST,” BY ANNA WINGER.
—2006
CHAMOMILE AND ALMOND CAKE
Don’t eat this cake alone—it needs an accompaniment like Lemon Lotus Ice Cream (here) or Tangerine Sherbet (here) to spar with its captivating but intense herbal flavor.
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¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
3½ tablespoons chamomile tea leaves
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons blanched whole almonds
¾ cup granulated sugar
Large pinch of salt
4 large eggs, 1 separated
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 320 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the bottom of the pan.
2. Grind the tea, whole almonds, sugar, and salt into a paste in a food processor. If the mixture is too dry, add the egg white and process to form a paste; otherwise, add the white at the end of processing.
3. Transfer the almond paste to a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer). Add the egg yolk and 1 egg and beat on medium-low speed for 1 minute. Add another egg and beat for another minute. Add the last egg and the lemon zest and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
4. Using as few strokes as possible, fold in the cornstarch and baking powder with a rubber spatula until mostly combined. Pour in the melted butter a little at a time, folding just until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until the top is just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes.
6. Lightly grease a cake plate. Turn the cake out onto the plate. Cool fully, then cover with foil until ready to serve.
7. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
SERVES 12
DECEMBER 17, 2006: “FOOD: THE WAY WE EAT: STEEP INCREASE,” BY DANIEL PATTERSON. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM AROMA, BY MANDY AFTEL AND DANIEL PATTERSON.
—2006
PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES WITH MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
The frosting is so silky and good you’ll want to use it to frost other cakes, like the Angel Food Cake here.
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For the Cupcakes
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
For the Frosting
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
⅔ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
¾ pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons whole milk
Chocolate flakes or sprinkles (optional)
1. To make the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper cups. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixer fitted with paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars on low speed to combine, then beat on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the peanut butter, then beat in the eggs one at time. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the batter in 3 parts.
3. Fill the baking cups ¾ full with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool on a rack.
4. To make the frosting, sift together the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and cocoa powder.
5. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth. On low speed, slowly add the cocoa mixture. Add the vanilla, then add the milk a little at a time, beating until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
6. Frost the cooled cupcakes. If you choose, decorate with chocolate flakes or sprinkles.
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN CUPCAKES
NOVEMBER 11, 2007: “THE WAY WE EAT: THE HOLLYWOOD DIET,” BY JENNIFER STEINHAUER. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM VANILLA BAKE SHOP IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA.
—2007
REVANI VERRIAS (SEMOLINA CAKE)
For another cake doused with liquor, see the Whiskey Cake here.
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For the Syrup
3 cups water
1½ cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon Cognac or other brandy
For the Cake
2 cups coarse semolina
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Cognac or other brandy
1 tablespoon orange juice
½ cup finely ground blanched almonds
1. To make the syrup, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cinnamon stick and Cognac and simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Let cool; discard the cinnamon.
2. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Sift together the semolina and baking powder.
3. In a mixer fitted with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the Cognac and orange juice. With the mixer on, sprinkle in the semolina mixture and then the almonds, mixing well. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean mixer bowl with a clean whisk (or in a large bowl with clean beaters), then fold into the batter until combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until golden and a thin, spongy layer has formed on top, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack.
5. Gently score the cake: Draw a sharp knife across the top of the cake, cutting through the spongy top layer, and then score diagonally to form diamonds. Pour the syrup over the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.
SERVES 8 TO 12
COOKING NOTE
Coarse semolina is available at www.kalustyans.com.
JUNE 8, 2008: “THE WAY WE EAT: THE FRENCH CONNECTION,” BY ALEKSANDRA CRAPANZANO. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM THE FOOD AND WINE OF GREECE, BY DIANE KOCHILAS.
—2008
EVEN-GREATER AMERICAN POUND CAKE
This is a burly cake that is, indeed, more buttery and fragrant than any pound cake I know.
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Nonstick cooking spray with flour
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
½ cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup canola oil
2 large egg yolks
5 large eggs
2⅔ cups all-purpose flour, preferably bleached
¼ cup potato starch (or additional flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup buttermilk
½ cup heavy cream
1. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan very well with cooking spray. In a mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter at medium speed until smooth. Add the shortening and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and mix until smooth; touch the outside of the bowl to make sure the ingredients are still cool. If not, place the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes.
2. Mix in the extracts. A little at a time, mix in the oil. At the lowest speed, mix in the egg yolks. One at a time, mix in the eggs.
3. Whisk the flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl for a minute until well blended. At the lowest speed, mix a third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix in a third of the buttermilk. Repeat until everything is incorporated, scraping down the bowl at least once.
4. Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Mix a quarter of the whipped cream into the batter, then fold in the remainder just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. From a height of 4 inches, drop the pan on the counter to knock out bubbles. Smooth the top.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack to finish cooling.
SERVES 12
COOKING NOTE
Shirley Corriher, whose recipe this is, published this cake twice in the Times. In the other version, she added 1 teaspoon almond extract and the grated zest of 1 lemon. I recommend adding both.
OCTOBER 22, 2008: “SOME HEAVY READING, RECIPES INCLUDED,” BY JULIA MOSKIN. RECIPE ADAPTED FROM BAKE WISE, BY SHIRLEY O. CORRIHER.
—2008
