Eat Cake: A Novel Read online

  We employed Wyatt for the summer doing packing and shipping. He was good to have around. He could carry anything and he liked to eat any cakes that didn’t turn out to our standards. He had been gone for the birth of the company. He was the only one of us who could still get excited over a slice of cake.

  Camille took a job as a counselor at a vegetarian camp in Maine for the summer. She said she had to get away from the smell of baking, but it turns out the camp did a lot of baking, mostly with turbinado sugar, carob, and whole wheat flour. She came back for her senior year in high school with a much kinder attitude toward my cakes, even though she still begs us to rent a proper kitchen and move out of the house.

  We still haven’t moved out of the house. We took out the breakfast table and put in three extra ovens and some more counter space. We had to have the kitchen rewired to bring it up to code and we eat all our meals in the dining room now, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Sam says he left the house every day for his entire working life and now he wants to spend some time at home.

  Sam hasn’t bought a boat yet, but he’s still looking. He says with business going the way it is, there wouldn’t be time to sail it. I tell him he should have a boat. You only go around once, after all, you’ve got to live out your dreams.

  “I used to pretend I was standing inside a giant cake,” I told him. “Whenever I got upset about something I would close my eyes and imagine that I was surrounded by cake. It always made me feel better.”

  “I bet you don’t do that anymore,” he said. “Now you’re surrounded by cake all the time.”

  “Exactly. Now when I feel stressed I see myself on a boat. You and I are sailing in a beautiful wooden boat, and there’s wind but not too much wind, and the water is clear and blue. I can see the fish underneath us and the birds over us. I just put myself on that boat and I feel better.”

  “So you’ve gone from being in the middle of a dark cake to being out in the open water on a boat,” Sam said. “That sounds like progress.”

  “I’ve gone from being alone inside a cake to being with you on a boat,” I said. I kissed him, but just as I did, a timer went off. In this house timers are always going off. After a while you come to realize the cakes can wait.

  Almond Apricot Pound Cake with Amaretto

  Serves 16 to 20

  1½ cups blanched almonds, lightly toasted

  3 cups plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

  4 oz. good-quality soft marzipan, at room temperature

  6 large eggs, at room temperature

  2 teaspoons pure almond extract

  1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  ¼ cup Amaretto or other almond liqueur

  ¼ cup apricot or orange brandy

  2½ cups all-purpose flour

  ½ cup cake flour, sifted

  ¾ tablespoon salt

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  1 cup full-fat sour cream

  ⅔ cup chopped dried apricots, preferably unsulphered

  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan and tap out the excess flour, holding the center tube if it is a removable bottomed pan. Process the almonds and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and remaining 3 cups of sugar together for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is very fluffy and pale. Add the marzipan and cream until well blended. There may be a few little pieces of marzipan that don’t break up in the batter—this will add a little texture and pockets of flavor to the finished cake. (If the marzipan is not soft enough to cream, grind it in a food processor with the almonds and add it to the batter when the nuts are added.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and do so frequently from now on—this is a large batter, and you want to ensure everything is properly distributed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the almond and vanilla extracts, Amaretto, and apricot brandy.

  3. Sift together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the creamed batter in three additions, alternately with the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients so the batter never gets too dry, causing the flour to become overworked. Fold in the chopped apricots and ground nuts and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a rubber spatula.

  4. Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 1½ hours to 1¾ hours, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin-bladed knife around the outside of the cake and the center tube. If the pan has a removable bottom, lift the tube out, freeing the cake. Invert the cake onto a wire rack and pull out the tube and bottom. If the pan does not have a removable bottom, simply invert the cake onto the rack. Allow the cake to cool completely before serving or storing. It keeps very well at room temperature for up to 4 days, stored in an airtight cake dome or well-wrapped in plastic, and it may also be frozen for up to 2 months, wrapped securely, and thawed, without disturbing the wrapping, at room temperature. This wonderful cake really doesn’t need any embellishment.

  In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley. Artisan/Workman Publishers, 2001

  Black Espresso Cake with Bittersweet Glaze

  Serves 12 to 16

  Cake

  1½ cups unsalted butter, in small pieces

  7 oz. unsweetened chocolate, the best you can afford, coarsely chopped

  3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

  2½ tablespoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 cups boiling water, cooled (or 2 cups strong black coffee)

  3 cups granulated sugar

  10 tablespoons (5 oz.) Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur

  1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  3 large eggs, lightly beaten

  2¼ cups all-purpose flour

  ½ cup cake flour, not self-rising

  1½ teaspoons baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  Glaze

  10 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

  7 tablespoons unsalted butter in small pieces

  Additional unsalted butter, at room temperature, for greasing the pan

  Dark chocolate-covered espresso beans or chocolate coffee bean-shaped candies, for garnish

  Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease a 10-inch springform pan, line with a circle of parchment paper and lightly grease the paper. Combine the butter, both chocolates, and coffee in the top of a double boiler or a stainless steel or glass bowl. Set the bowl or insert over a pot of barely simmering water and stir frequently with a wooden spoon until melted. If the melted mixture appears somewhat speckled with what looks like unmelted chocolate, don’t be concerned. (Different chocolates have different cocoa butter and cocoa solids content and when melted with such a large quantity of liquid may seem to separate.) Place the sugar in the bottom of a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and pour over the sugar. Stir to blend and dissolve the sugar, and then allow to cool for 10 minutes.

  2. With a wire whisk or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, add the Kahlúa and the vanilla extract to the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well. Blend in the lightly beaten eggs, making sure they are thoroughly incorporated. The batter at this point will be extremely thin; don’t worry, just make sure to work each added ingredient in carefully.

  3. Sift the flours, baking soda, and salt together. Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture in two additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium speed for one minute. The batter may have little lumps, but they won’t affect the finished cake.

  4. Place the prepared pan on a baking sheet to catch any leaks and pour the batter
into the pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1¾ hours to 2 hours, rotating the pan several times during that time to ensure even baking. The cake bakes slowly and stays beautifully moist. A crust will form on the top of the cake and may crack. Test for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer in a fault of the crust, poking near the center of the cake. It should come out clean, or with only a very few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in the pan set on a rack. (The cake may be made up to 2 days ahead of time and kept in the pan at room temperature, covered tightly with plastic wrap.)

  5. To prepare the glaze, combine the chopped chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted, then remove from the heat and cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Run a thin-bladed knife around the cake and loosen and remove the sides of the pan. Using a long-bladed serrated knife, carefully even out the top of the cake, slicing off any domed or uneven part of the crust. Use long, slow strokes of the knife, keeping the blade perfectly parallel with the counter.

  6. Place a dab of the chocolate glaze on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle and invert the cake onto the board. Remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. (If you haven’t got a cake circle or other piece of cardboard cut to 10 inches round, invert the cake onto a plate and remove the pan bottom but leave the paper. Re-invert the cake onto a second plate and place the pan bottom on the top of the cake. Invert the cake a third time, ending up with the bottom-side up, top-side down on the metal pan bottom, and peel off the paper.) Brush any crumbs from the cake and pour the warm glaze onto the center. Using a metal spatula or palette knife, coax the glaze to the edges of the cake and over the sides; quickly spread the overflow evenly onto the sides. Garnish with the chocolate-covered espresso beans. Give the glaze an hour or so to set, then serve the cake with lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

  In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley. Artisan/Workman Publishers, 2001

  Coconut Pineapple Cake

  Serves 8

  ACTIVE TIME: 1 HR START TO FINISH: 3 HR

  For cake

  1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

  ½ teaspoon salt

  6 large eggs at room temperature

  1 cup sugar

  2 teaspoons vanilla

  ¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  For pineapple filling

  1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, including juice

  2 tablespoons sugar

  1 tablespoon cornstarch

  1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

  For rum syrup

  ⅔ cup water

  ¼ cup sugar

  3 tablespoons light rum

  For assembly

  Coconut buttercream (recipe follows)

  3½ cups fresh coconut shavings or 2⅔ cups sweetened flaked coconut (7-oz. package)

  MAKE CAKES: Preheat oven to 350° and butter 2 (8-inch) square cake pans (2 inches deep).

  Sift flour with salt into a bowl.

  Heat eggs and sugar in large metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, gently whisking constantly, until lukewarm.

  Remove bowl from heat and add vanilla, then beat with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until thick and pale and tripled in volume (about 5 minutes with a standing mixer or 10 minutes with a handheld). Sift flour and salt over eggs in 2 batches, folding gently but thoroughly after each batch. Fold in melted butter until combined. Divide batter evenly between cake pans, smoothing tops.

  Bake cakes in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean and cakes are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 5 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

  MAKE PINEAPPLE FILLING: Stir together filling ingredients in a heavy saucepan until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then simmer, stirring 3 minutes. Cool completely, stirring occasionally.

  MAKE RUM SYRUP: Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Transfer to a small bowl and chill until ready to use.

  ASSEMBLE CAKE: Trim edges of cakes if necessary and cut each horizontally in half with a long serrated knife to form a total of 4 thin layers. Put 1 cake layer, cut side up, on a cake plate and brush top with some rum syrup, then spread half of pineapple filling over it. Top with another cake layer and brush with syrup, then spread with about ⅔ cup buttercream. Top with a third cake layer and brush with syrup, then spread remaining pineapple over it. Top with fourth layer, cut side down, and brush with remaining syrup. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining buttercream, then coat with coconut.

  COOKS’ NOTES: Cake layers can be made 2 days ahead and left unsplit. Keep wrapped well in plastic wrap at room temperature.

  Pineapple filling can be prepared 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.

  Rum syrup can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.

  Cake can be assembled 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

  Coconut Buttercream

  Makes about 4¼ cups (enough to frost an 8-inch layer cake)

  ACTIVE TIME: 15 MIN START TO FINISH: 35 MIN

  It’s easier to make buttercream with a standing mixer, but it can be done with a handheld one.

  4 large egg whites at room temperature

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1¼ cups sugar

  ½ cup water

  ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

  3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened

  1½ teaspoons coconut extract

  SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: a candy thermometer

  Combine egg whites and salt in bowl of a standing mixer or other large bowl.

  Stir together sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and washing down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. When syrup reaches a boil, start beating whites with electric mixer at medium speed. When eggs are frothy, add lemon juice and beat until they just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready—see below.)

  Meanwhile, put thermometer into sugar syrup and continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches soft-ball stage (238–242°F). Immediately remove from heat and slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Beat meringue, scraping down bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 6 minutes. (It’s important that meringue is fully cooled before proceeding.)

  With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after addition until incorporated. (If meringue is too warm and buttercream looks soupy after some butter is added, chill bottom of bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all butter is added, but will come back together before beating is finished.) Add coconut extract and beat 1 minute more.

  COOKS’ NOTES: Buttercream can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered, or 1 month ahead and frozen. Bring to room temperature (do not use a microwave) and beat with an electric mixer before using.

  If egg safety is a problem in your area, you may want to use either pasteurized egg whites in the carton or reconstituted powdered egg whites.

  Gourmet Magazine, April 2001

  Golden Grand Marnier Cake

  Ingredients, at room temperature:

  ½ cup chocolate mini-chips or bittersweet chocolate chopped into ¼-inch pieces

  ¼ teaspoon Grand Marnier

  1½ teaspoons cake flour

  3 large eggs

  1 cup full-fat sour cream

  2 teaspoons orange flour water or 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  2½ cups sifted cake flour

  ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (ground) unblanched sliced almonds, toasted and finely ground

  1
cup sugar

  1½ teaspoons baking powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  ¾ teaspoon salt

  2 tablespoons grated orange zest

  1 cup unsalted butter

  Grand Marnier Syrup

  ½ cup sugar

  ¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

  ⅓ cup Grand Marnier

  One 9-cup fluted tube pan, greased and floured.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl toss the chocolate chips and Grand Marnier until the chips are moistened and shiny. Add the 1½ teaspoons flour and toss until evenly coated.

  2. In a medium bowl lightly combine the eggs, ¼ cup sour cream, and orange flower water or vanilla.

  3. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and orange zest and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and remaining ¾ cup sour cream. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1½ minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides. Gradually add the egg mixture in three batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides. Stir in the chocolate chips.

  4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.

  5. Shortly before the cake is done, prepare the syrup: Heat the sugar, orange juice, and Grand Marnier until the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, place the pan on a rack, poke the top all over with a wire tester, and brush on ½ the syrup. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate or cardboard round. Brush with the remaining syrup and cool completely before wrapping.