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Posts tagged ‘amanda hesser’

Dec 31

Chocolate Dump-It Cake


If you’re from around these parts, you know Cafe Latte in St. Paul on Grand and you know their delicious chocolate layer cake. Well, this recipe for chocolate cake has to be quite similar to theirs – same chocolate intensity with a dense yet spongy texture. I opted to cook the full batch in a 9″ cake pan, cut it in half and do a layer of icing in the middle, then on the top and around the sides. It made a great cake for Frank’s mother’s birthday, serving a party of 16-20.

Chocolate Dump-It Cake
New York Times Cookbook, Amanda Hesser

For the Cake
2 cups of sugar
1/4 pound unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar (I didn’t have cider vinegar, so used champagne vinegar)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature

1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the lowest rack to catch any drips when the cake bakes on the middle rack. Mix together the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter and water in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan, place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir together the milk and vinegar in a small bowl (it will curdle, but that’s okay). Grease ad flour a 9 inch tube pan (I used a spring-form pan).
3. When the chocolate has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions, and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice to blend.

4. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a rack (this cake has a tendency to break in half – if you have an extra set of hands, enlist him/her). Let cool completely.

5. To make the icing, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then let cool to room temperature. Stir in the sour cream 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.
6. You can ice the cake as is, or cut it in half so that you have 2 layers, and fill and ice it. There will be extra icing whether you have 1 or 2 layers.

Dec 30

Leg of Lamb with Potato Gratin

I would call this a $10 mistake, $10 being the price of the lamb. In a moment of feeling like I needed to try a new piece of meat to cook, I picked up leg of lamb at the store, found a recipe in The New York Times cookbook, and gave it a whirl to end up with a very overdone, not browned, chewy leg of lamb. The recipe itself is good, but I opted to make a 1 pound leg of lamb versus the typical 6 or 7 pound lamb most recipes (with advice on cooking it) call for. Most likely, there is good reason to cook the leg of lamb at a higher weight versus the little piece I picked up. However, in my novice attempt to make the lamb, the potatoes turned out great, and I highly recommend following this recipe, in which you place the lamb on the potatoes for the cooking – the juices from the lamb give the potatoes a great flavor. If the occasion arises to make a smaller piece of lamb, I will cook it at a slightly higher temperature, and for only 20 minutes, then pull out and let rest for 15 while the potatoes keep cooking in the oven.

Leg of Lamb with Potato Gratin
New York Times Cookbook, Amanda Hesser

For the Gratin
4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of minced parsley (I do not like parsley, and omitted)
6 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1 leg of lamb (about 6 or 7 pounds), at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Herb Crust
2 tablespoons finely minced thyme
2 tablespoons finely minced rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup very fine fresh bread crumbs

1. To make the gratin, bring the potatoes, salt, and milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring from time to time, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle half the garlic (and here the parsley if you keep to the recipe) into a large oval gratin dish, measuring about 16 by 10 inches. Spoon the potato and milk mixture into the dish and sprinkle with the remaining (parsley and) garlic.
3. Carefully trim the fat from the lamb. Season with salt and pepper and place the lamb on top of the potatoes. Roast, uncovered, for about 1 hour (about 8 to 10 minutes per pound). Do not turn the lamb.

4. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the herb crust. After the lamb has roasted for about 45 minutes, sprinkle with the herb mixture. When the internal temperature, tested with an instant-read thermometer, reaches 130 degrees, remove from the oven. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Oct 29

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Roundup: Corn Fritters, Wreaths, Cookbooks, Pumpkins

Happy (almost) Halloween! It’s starting to get a little chilly outside, and the sun is going down earlier than I like but there’s just something about Fall I look forward to every year – first time putting a sweater back on, wearing tights, the chain of holidays. Read more

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