Baked

My cigar-smoking, power-lifting son (he’s the one in the middle of this picture but the other two, his dear friends Phil and Jerry might as well be called my sons also) inherited my penchant for cooking and baking. He lives in New York City and has a wide circle of friends, so it is not unusual for him to host a dinner party at his house or take a dish to a party. We have frequent phone conversations about what we are both cooking today, what we want to cook tomorrow or what we cooked yesterday. You get the picture.

He reads my blog (haha, at least I know someone does!) and decided to make those sweet and salty brownies from Baked that I told you about recently. He had a party to attend and thought they might be a hit.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/11/best-thing-i-ever-ate.html

Were they ever! I got an email and a picture from him with the comment “these are amazing.” He was pretty modest about it, but I’ll bet my last dollar he was the hit of the party.

He also made the pilgrimage from the city to Red Hook, Brooklyn the other day, solely for the purpose of visiting Baked (see blog entry above for more details about this place). He rarely eats flour or sugar these days but he made an exception for their Sweet and Salty Cupcake. Good call, Andy!

So here I am to give you their recipe for Sweet and Salty Cake. It was one of the three I made for that birthday party last week. It was amazing. Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, (owners and creators of Baked) I bow down in humble appreciation to you. Thanks for publishing your cookbooks!

SWEET AND SALTY CAKE (from “Baked, New Frontiers in Baking”)

For the cake:
¾ cup dark cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
1 ¼ cups hot water
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (I used Kosher salt)
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature (I used extra-large)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line bottoms and sides with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.

In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water and sour cream and set aside to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until ribbonlike, about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway during baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack. Remove pan and cool completely, then peel off parchment.

For the salted caramel:
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and fleur de sel. Bring to a simmer over very low heat until salt is dissolved.

Meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture so it doesn’t burn, in a medium saucepan combine ¼ cup water, sugar and corn syrup, stirring carefully so as not to splash sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350-degrees or until the mixture is dark amber in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute.

Add the cream to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.

For the whipped caramel ganache frosting:
1 pound dark chocolate (60 to 70% cacao), chopped
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into ½-inch pieces

Put the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over very low heat.

Meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture so it doesn’t burn, in a medium saucepan combine ¼ cup water, sugar and corn syrup, stirring carefully so as not to splash sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350-degrees or until the mixture is dark amber in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute.

Add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Stir slowly for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let the caramel and chocolate sit for 1 minute the, starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, slowly stir in a circle until the chocolate is completely melted. Let mixture cool the transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix on low speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat on high speed until mixture is fluffy.

To assemble the cake:
Fleur de sel

Place on cake layer on a serving platter. Spread ¼ cup of the caramel over the top. Let caramel soak into the cake, then spread ¾ cup of the frosting over the caramel. Sprinkle generously with fleur de sel, the top with second cake layer and repeat. Top with third layer and spread with caramel. Crumb coat the cake with a very thin layer of frosting and refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting and garnish with more fleur de sel.

This cake will keep well for up to 3 days in a cool and humid-free place. It can be refrigerated, but let sit at room temperature for a least 2 hours before serving.

Serves 12

Alright, so let's just deal with this now.  I am not Rachael Ray (thank goodness, although I wouldn't mind her salary) and I'm not always about easy recipes or 30 minute meals.  This recipe will take you some time and it's not exactly easy.  You certainly can't produce it in 30 minutes.  You have to make caramel twice and you might read this and say to yourself "it's just not worth it."  Oh, but it is!  If you are going to knock yourself out and make a homemade layer cake, it's well worth your time and trouble to make this one.  Trust me!