Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease with butter or nonstick spray. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Top with exactly 1 cup buttercream, using an offset spatula to spread it evenly from edge to edge. The cake itself has enough chocolate flavor that it can stand up to the filling, but its not stealing the show. Its important to remember that in the pre-Internet days, the number of recipes in circulation was very small, Malgieri says. Because its an oil-based cake, it stays tender for days. When Parks served the cake at Lexington, Kentuckys now-shuttered Table Three Ten, where she used to be the pastry chef, people would just go crazy for it, she says. The only difference? By the time I was 9 or 10, I was ready to graduate from a mix and make them myself. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019. . Community member Margaret Winchell tested this recipe for the Book-Off review of Parks book, pairing the cake with a custard-boosted cream cheese frosting (the recipe for which is also found in Parks book), and dusting the top and sides with shaved white chocolate and cocoa nibs. Yet BraveTart is much more than a cookbook, as Stella Parks delves into the surprising stories of how our favorite desserts came to be, from chocolate chip cookies that predate the Tollhouse Inn to the prohibition-era origins of ice cream sodas and floats. I also incorporate dark chocolate into the batter. Press a sheet of plastic against the surface and refrigerate until thick and cool, about 1 hour, or to roughly 68F (20C). German buttercream is creamy, buttery, stable, and most important of all, delicious. I am afraid if I use cranberry juice as suggested, the cake will still not be a red velvet as I want but cranberry juice may overpower cake. The recipe called for shortening and buttermilk to create the chocolate cake batter. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar together, as with aclassic butter cake, all the ingredients are simply stirred together in a big bowl (well, a big pot). German created his special chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company in 1852, and in 1957, the Dallas Morning News featured a cake using the chocolate, created by a Texas homemaker, as its recipe of the day. Switch to the whisk attachment for this stage, and whip the buttercream until it's fluffy and light. For the uninitiated, it's a style that combines thick vanilla pudding with whipped butter for a frosting with loads of structure and stability, plus a milky flavor reminiscent of vanilla soft-serve. (The main issue with longer storage in the freezer is odor absorption, not spoilage.) "And, the fact that someone took the time to write or type a recipe gives the recipe some credibility from the start," he said. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes. They create a shockingly pale batter, but in the oven it develops a mellow burgundy hue and rich cocoa flavor (plus, these acidic ingredients make for a velvety soft crumb). The stand mixer made me feel superhuman, taking over all the hard work of creaming fats and sugars, whisking stiff meringues, mixing boiling hot sugar syrups into buttercream. Divide among the prepared cake pans (about 22 ounces each). Heat until melted, then add coconut and chopped nuts. Line three 8- by 3-inch anodized aluminum pans with parchment and grease with pan spray. But for maximum effect, you should steep it even longer by tossing it in the fridge overnight (or up to 24 hours) to extract a deeper flavor. When milk is steaming hot, remove from heat, cover, and steep at least 1 hour. Proceed as directed below, or refrigerate up to 24 hours to extract a deeper flavor before proceeding. With the right equipment for the job, the recipe isn't any fuss, but extra vigilance will be in order when you're adapting it to suboptimal gear. . Parks also shared that buttercreams ideal temperature range is between 70 and 74 F and its weight should be around 6 ounces per cup. Refreshing, fun, and inspiring for seasoned and beginning bakers alike., Alice Medrich, James Beard Awardwinning author of Flavor Flours and Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, BraveTart is the book that every baker needs in the kitchen. Get our freshest features and recipes weekly. from the Foreword by J. Kenji Lpez-Alt, Alice Medrich, James Beard Awardwinning author of. Sure, it's not the fastest option, but if you're in a hurry, that's whatSwiss buttercreamis for. Fold batter with a flexible spatula to ensure its well mixed from the bottom up. As the sugars dissolve and air is incorporated, the mixture will turn thick, fluffy, and cream-colored. Its quite a rich cake to eat. I think next time I might (oh the horror) add a couple dabs of red color food paste or something to bump up the red. The technique was unusual instead of making a long, skinny jellyroll out of the large sponge, they cut the cake into three pieces, connecting them to make one shorter, thicker roll, and then sitting it upright. I always do. If the spice is well distributed, then I guess the learners are as well. Place one cake, cut-side up, onto a serving plate. These cakes would not be true to their supposed origins, Parks says, but it helped to distinguish the recipe and to make it seem more appealing.. Cool until no trace of warmth remains (the domes will level off in time), about 90 minutes. That phrase may seem a little abstract, but in this case, it can be quantified to a certain extent, as a buttercream made with the proper technique should weigh about six ounces per cup. A toothpick inserted into the center will emerge with a few crumbs still attached. I use a digital scale and weigh everything out before I start. By clicking Go, I agree to recieve news and updates from TASTE and Penguin Random House. NYT Cooking is a subscription service of The New York Times. Copyright 2023 - Taste, A Division of Penguin Random House LLC. On that same note, once the baking soda has been mixed into the batter, it's crucial to portion and bake the cakes as swiftly as possible. I became good enough, at least, that I was enlisted to make birthday cakes for my friends. But my very favorite part of the day was how much I learned. J. Kenji Lpez-Alt, Winner of the 2018 James Beard Award (Baking & Desserts). Scrape the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula, then continue beating for about 30 seconds more or until perfectly silken. Classic Yellow Layer Cake with Fudge Frosting. Alternatively, it can be refrigerated up to a week in advance, then left at room temperature until it warms up to a similar range. To Make the Custard: Whisk sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl, followed by eggs. This recipe for an un-obnoxiously colored red velvet cake, with a prominent chocolate flavor, comes from self-proclaimed pastry wizard and Serious Eats contributor Stella Parks BraveTart. Paired with light and tangy cream cheese frosting, its everything red velvet should be. I use a whisk to mix them in, but always wonder if I mixed them well. When she isn't writing, she can be found at the beach or exploring Florida's theme parks with her family. BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts: Parks, Stella, Lpez-Alt, J. Kenji . I came back to this confluence of ginger and dried plums, the flavors that had been with me my whole life. 4. Each cycle, three brave Food52 community members read, cook, write, and cook some more, in testing and reviewing five cookbooks. I made the cream cheese frosting from Sallys Baking Addiction which was excellent. I like to warm the milk with a vanilla bean (or other flavoring agents), then cover and steep for at least an hour. For the cake: Place oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350F. I made it in cupcakes (unfrosted, I'm not an icing fan). As always, I recommendparchment-linedeight-inchanodized aluminum pansthat are at least two inches deep, and preferably three inches. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa, chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla and salt, until there are no lumps of cocoa or unmelted chocolate. German chocolate cake. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The trick is to steep the milk long enough to extract a super-potent flavor that can stand up to the addition of butter down the road, so don't rush the process. Under a cake dome or an inverted pot, the frosted cake will keep 24 hours at cool room temperature. Continue to cook, stirring, until the custard starts to steam and thicken. Priya Krishna is a food writer and the author of the college-centric cookbook Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks and Indianish. classes and demonstrations, like this past weekends with baking wizard Stella Parks. German chocolate was developed by chocolatier Samuel German for Baker's Chocolate Company in the 1800s. Add the cocoa and chocolate, followed by brown sugar and vanilla, then season with salt and whisk until smooth. Visited Zingerman's for the first time last year. If it's too cold and dense, place the buttercream over a warm water bath until the sides of the bowl start to get slick with melted buttercream, then re-whip. I didnt intend to develop a one-pot recipe, but thats how it evolved. Acidic ingredients like coffee and brown sugar activate the baking soda, giving the cake its rise. Coat exterior of chilled cake in a layer of chocolate cookie crumbs, if desired. This is a piece of well-established cake logic, familiar to anyone who has baked for a special occasion, and no one illustrated it better than Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote Anne more than 100 years ago. She was named one of Americas Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. And the icing, which includes a stick of margarine and plenty of coconut and pecans, sounded like the perfect complement. Baker purchased the recipe from German for a mere $1,000 and started marketing the chocolate as Bakers German Sweet Chocolate. Repeat with two more 1/2-cup additions, then pour the warmed eggs into the pot. Thompson told TODAY Food he found his recommended German chocolate cake recipe in a collection acquired from a Tennessee estate he believes belonged to a family by the name of Adkins who lived in Alabama then Tennessee. Bake until the cakes are domed and firm when gently pressed, about 30 minutes. Non-Michiganders dont have to miss out, as they ship delicious foods anywhere in America. Terri Peters is a writer and editor for TODAY.com. This year, none of them have anything to do with cake. 5. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime. After the Irving News Record story appeared, the German chocolate cake recipe was quickly reprinted in papers across Texas and presented as one of the Texas State Fairs signature confections. Add pudding a few tablespoons at a time, one right after the other, then scrape the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula, and beat a few seconds longer. 9 ounces all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal (about 2 cups, spooned; 255g) 1 tablespoon (about 13g) baking soda To Finish: 1 recipe chocolate Swiss buttercream or other frosting 5 ounces finely ground Oreo wafer crumbs (about 1 cup; 140g), store-bought or homemade (optional) Directions Our best tips for eating thoughtfully and living joyfully, right in your inbox. For more information, please see our Not only will they be more inclined to tear and shed crumbs while warm, all that escaping steam will only encourage the cakes to dry out. Rewarm to approximately 72F (22C) and re-whip before using. When not at home in Lexington, Kentucky, Stella can be found at the Serious Eats test kitchen in Brooklyn, New York. Let cake return to cool room temperature before serving. It doesnt make a difference, because we all make it the same way. Visited Zingerman's for the first time last year. Not that I can really argue with layers of chocolate on chocolate. Not only that, but its density and firmness make it a nightmare to spread over soft cake. Divide batter among the three cake pans (about 23-24 ounces each). We as a country were having this love affair with novelty and faux exoticism, Parks explains. So when I told my father-in-law, who would be visiting my home on his 70th birthday, that he could request any type of birthday cake he wanted and I'd find the perfect recipe, I meant it. A strawberry-and-cream sandwich built in an acetate-lined ring, carried to friends in Prospect Park on a dangerously warm day.