I have really had the interest to start a blog for a while now. I wanted to do something to share the food I create at home and some tips and how to's with other people, but I just could not find time. Between working a new job, which really made me want to blog, finishing school, and buying a house I just couldn't find the time to sit down and figure out this whole blog mess. But as I was planning to bake a cake today for a fundraiser I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to start a blog with a good topic. So here it goes, my first one! Let me know how I do, oh and tell me how you like the cake too! :)
I have a friend who works for 21st Mortgage here in Knoxville and every year they do fundraising in their office to support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF. Two years ago, before I got really involved in culinary school, we did small snacks like Chex Mix and rice krispies. But this year they wanted to do something bigger and raffle off a cake. Thats when I got excited to make something that looked and tasted amazing where they could raise some decent $.
I decided to make a Chocolate Truffle Cake which I had made a few times in the past for special occasions. I don't do it often however because the cookie sticks are so expensive. This one cake had nearly $10 dollars in cookies around it for decoration, of course they do taste amazing and the bonus is that you get to eat all of the broken ends where you make the sticks all different heights.
Equipment you will need:
A mixer either hand or kitchen aid
A microwave
3- 9inch Cake Pans
Cake Ingredients:
8 1oz semisweet chocolate baking squares, this is the brand I always use if I need a baking chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Unsweetened Coca (For dusting the cake pans)
2 (14-ounce) containers chocolate hazelnut rolled wafer cookies. I used Pirouline but you can really use any brand, and often times you can find big cans at Sams and save some $$$
Microwave chocolate in a medium glass bowl on high for 1 minute or until melted.Beat butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. (This step is very important and will have a huge impact on the texture of your cake. Make sure to take the time and beat the sugar and butter until it is fluffy, not still in crumbles.)Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla, beating until blended.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. I generally do, flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, then end with flour. Make sure to scrap down your bowl between additions. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Pour batter into 3 greased 9 inch cakes pans dusted with coca, you can line the bottoms with parchment but it is not necessary if you grease them well enough.
Bake at 350 degrees for 21 to 22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely.
Truffle Filling Ingredients:
4 1oz semisweet chocolate baking squares
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons whipping cream
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Microwave chocolate and butter for about 1 minute or until melted. Stir in whipping cream. Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until it is blended and smooth. It is very hard to get this filling completley smooth, generally you will have a few small lumps, unless you sift up your powdered sugar. But the lumps don't really matter as this filling is just on the inside of the cake.
Now take your cake layers and spread the Chocolate Truffle Finnlin bewtween the layers.
Ganache Ingredients:
10 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup whipping cream
Microwave chocolate and whipping cream in a medium glass bowl for about 1 minute, stir until smooth. It is very important to get the Ganache smooth as it is the icing on the cake and gives it a very nice shine.
Now reserve 1/4 cup of the ganache, Spread the remaining ganache over the cake, I always start with the top and get a nice smooth, shiny layer, thats not too thick. Then I take a knife and spread the remaining ganache over the sides of the cake, this layer will be very thin, and really the only reason to put it on the sides is for it to act like glue for the cookies. Don't worry about the sides not looking perfect or even with the ganache, your going to cover it up with cookies anyway.
Last step!!! Break the cookies into long pieces but each one a little different in height to give the cake a sort of fence look. Line the sides of the cake with cookies, pressing each one slightly, just enough to get them to stick. Take your remaining 1/4 cup of ganache and dollop in the center of the cake. Then I like to take a few of the broken ends of cookies and place them in the ganache mound. Tie the cake up with a ribbon of your choice to help hold the cookies on and your done.
Note that this cake does have a lot of steps and is time consuming but it is so very tasty, the truffle filling is simply amazing and the look of the cake is WOW! It isn't something you want to tackle every month but it is definitely worth the time if you are doing it for show or to raise money.
I promise that all of my blogs wont be near this long or complex most are going to be simple tips and tricks and just little things that can add a special touch to a meal. I did want to share this cake and recipe with everyone as I feel it is a great way to "showoff" your skills to friends. Thanks for reading, until next time see you in the kitchen!
