Month: March 2017

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup milk
1/5 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.

Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.

Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Frost cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Notes: The cake batter will be very thin after adding the boiling water. This is correct and results in the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted!

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe

1.5 cups butter, softened
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.

Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.

Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute.
Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.

Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.

If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup pancake mix (see below)
4 egg whites
Butter, to serve
Syrup, to serve

Mix together the egg yolks, sugar, milk, and pancake mix in a very large bowl until it is smooth with no large lumps.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form when lifted.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the pancake batter, until just incorporated, making sure not to deflate the batter.

Grease two 3.5-inch metal ring molds and set them in the middle of a pan over the lowest heat possible. Fill the molds about 3/4 of the way full with the batter, then cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, until the center of the pancakes are slightly jiggly.

Release the pancakes from the bottom of the pan with a spatula, then carefully flip them over, making sure not to spill any batter inside.
Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, then serve with butter, syrup, and assorted berries!

“Instant” pancake mix

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (check expiration date!)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix.
Use the mix within 3 months.

130 ml milk
100 g cream cheese
100 g butter
8 egg yolks
60 g flour
60 g cornstarch
13 large egg whites
130 g granulated sugar
Parchment paper
Powdered sugar, to serve

Preheat oven to 320°F/160°C.

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk the milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the cream mixture, stirring until evenly combined.

Sift in the flour and the cornstarch, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until you see soft peaks when lifting the mixer up from the egg whites.

Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat until you see hard peaks when lifting the mixer up.

Take about 1/4 of the egg whites and fold them into the egg yolk mixture, then repeat with the remaining egg whites until the batter is evenly combined.

Place a 4-inch parchment paper strip around the edge of a 9×3-inch cake pan that is already lined with parchment at the bottom. If you are using a springform pan, make sure to wrap the bottom and sides completely in foil, twice, to prevent any leakage.

Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan and shake to release any large air bubbles.

Place the filled pan into a larger baking pan or dish lined with 2 paper towels at the bottom. The paper towels ensure that the heat is distributed evenly along the bottom of the pan. Fill the larger pan about 1-inch with hot water.

Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 280°F/135°C, and bake for another 55 minutes, until the cake has risen to almost double its height.

Remove from oven, and carefully, invert the cake onto your dominant hand and peel off the paper. Be extremely careful, the cake will be hot. You can also invert the cake onto a plate, but this will cause the cake to deflate more.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, slice, and serve with strawberries while still warm!