Interesting thread of comments about *Twelve Recipes*

M

marilynfl

Moderator
Cal Peternell was a chef at Chez Panisse for years and this book is for his sons. I just tasted "Magic Mistake Cake" a simple hand-whisked chocolate cake I made for work which turned out surprisingly good--very moist with a nice crumb. Selected this recipe simply because I had all the ingredients, as opposed to the "other option" under consideration: Joanne Chang's lemon cake which required cake flour, crème fraîche and several lemons....none of which I had after taking my pantry to Ground Zero post-weevil attack.

What I've linked here are comments at the end of the article from readers writing which "dish or technique teaches more than the dish or technique alone".

http://ruhlman.com/2015/01/twelve-recipes-giveaway/

 
Magic Mistake Cake from *Twelve Recipes*

Blend with whisk:
8 TBL butter (1 stick)
1.5 C boiling water
4 oz dark chocolate (I used a 3 oz 72% single source organic bar and 1.5 oz of Lindt white chocolate)
2.5 C brown sugar, lightly packed (I only had 1.5 C of brown sugar, so I added 1 cup of turbinado because that's what I had)

Whisk:
2 Cups flour
1/2 C cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk:
1/2 C yogurt
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

350 degrees.

Stir chocolate mix under melted. Whisk in 1/3 of dry, 1/2 of wet, 1/3 dry, 1/2 wet, 1/3 dry.

Butter baking pan. Recipe called out 8" or 9" pan...I call that CRAZY! I used a 10" round pan and the batter came almost to the top. It took slightly more than 40 minutes to bake. The recipe says it should take 35 minutes. The top ends up rather ugly...perimeter ring of baked batter with a 4" inner circle of crusty lava formations. So weird...I have no idea why that happened...the photo shows a nice domed cake...mine was flat and weird.

But that, my friends, is why God invented powdered sugar and a sieve.

 
Thank Marilyn, looking for some egg-free cakes for a visitor in a couple of weeks. I'm wondering if

your chocolate sub had anything to do with you different results(?) Does white chocolate have more cocoa butter than dark?

I also am a firm believer in learning/teaching the basics as a firm foundation. If one understands them, one can cook anything!

I especially thought the comment from the person who said they wanted to try kimchee but didn't have the available ingredients so grew everything to make it was interesting.

Also, how many people mention making scrambled eggs - I always used to have trouble with them until I got the idea that they need to cook slowly. I always thought of them as something quick to whip up, but the best and I supposed "proper" ones take time and patience.

 
good easy chocolate cake, no eggs

Crazy Cake
Original source unknown. Makes an 8x8 inch cake, double for an 9x13
1¼ cups flour (all-purpose)
1 cup white sugar
3 heaping TB cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 TB vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 TB white vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth.
Bake on middle rack for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 
I LOVE this reipe too - I always forget where it came from, for some reason I always

look at Vegetarian Times instead of Cook's Illustrated.

And I make a note that the coconut milk needs to be from a can, and not the thinner product that is now readily available as a beverage in the fresh dairy case. The end results of the cake end up completely different.

 
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