Chocolate Meringue Cloud Cake

Spring is here, finally! This winter was a tough one – it seemed like the dreary weather was never going to end and that the short days were going to drown me. Anyone else felt like this?? But as soon as daylight savings hit, so did Spring! And I was compelled to make a cake that was a nod to the feel of the season.

Opportunity arose: it was my dear friend’s birthday. She loves chocolate cake, one of her favorites being a ganache covered cake. There was this Smartie cake, and this Mint Chocolate cake that I made for her in the past. This year, it was a chocolate meringue cloud cake

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

 

Meringue disks pre-baking.

Meringues

Ingredients

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

¼  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

Blue and pink gel food colouring

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 250^○ F. Trace 3 circles (of the cake pan that you will use; I used 5” rounds) onto parchment paper.  Place circle side down onto baking sheet. Place a sheet of parchment on another baking pan.

2.  In a large metal bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt to soft peaks.

3.  Add vanilla and beat.

4.  Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff.

5.  Take out half the meringue. Add pink gel food colouring to the remaining meringue and whip until incorporated. Add to a piping bag.

6.  Clean out mixing bowl, add back the white meringue and add blue gel food colouring. Whip until incorporated and add to a piping bag.

7.  Pipe two disks of one colour and one disk of a different colour, tracing the circles leaving a small gap between the line and meringue disk. The meringue disks will expand a bit while baking. Keep the disks fairly flat – I only did 2 layers.

8.  With the remaining meringue, pipe designs for decorating the outside of the cake onto the other baking sheet.

9.  Bake for 2.5 hours or until they are thoroughly dry. Leave in oven with heat turned off for another hour.

10.Store in a Tupperware container.

 

Meringue decorations, post-baking.

Chocolate Cake

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

¾ cup + 2 Tablespoon flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 beaten egg, room temperature

½ cup strong coffee

½ cup buttermilk, room temperature

¼ cup canola oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 5-inch round cake pans with parchment. Grease and flour the sides.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sift in cocoa powder and mix with the paddle attachment.

3.  Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth (approx. 1 minute).

4.  Pour into pans and bake for around 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5.  Cool completely before assembling.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

75 grams dark/bittersweet chocolate

3 large egg whites

¾ cup sugar

1 cup butter, cubed, room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1.  Place chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until melted. Take off heat and cool near to room temperature.

2.  Place egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Beat continuously by hand until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.

3.  With a stand mixer, beat mixture with a whisk until stiff and glossy (about 5 minutes). Mixture should be at room temperature before moving onto the next step.

4.  Switch to a beater attachment and beat in cubes of butter one at a time. Beat on high until smooth (may take 15 minutes).

5.  Once buttercream is smooth, add salt and vanilla and beat to mix.

6.  Dump melted chocolate into the buttercream and beat until completely blended, scraping down the sides every once in a while.

*If the buttercream is really soft, place in fridge for 15 minutes to stiffen.

Assembly

1.  Cut cake layers in half to make 4 layers.

2.  Place first layer on cake plate. Spread a layer of buttercream.

3.  Place a meringue disk on top. Spread a layer of buttercream on top.

4.  Place next cake layer and repeat layering. Finish with final cake layer.

5.  Cover the entire cake in buttercream and decorate with meringues and sprinkles.

Verdict: I was really happy with this cake! “Cloud” cake is the perfect description – so fluffy and light in texture. The cake is fluffy, the meringue is fluffy, and the frosting is fluffy! I’ve made a lot of cakes for my friend in the past, but she said that this might be her favorite!

Recycling and Revamping

Holidays – done.

….

That was me taking a breather. It was nice though, I slept until noon every day like most people. Right? No?? Oh.

So what to do when you want to bake for your friends’ birthdays but are kinda lazy but obviously don’t want them to know that you’re lazy and instead think that you’re a super considerate and amazing baker and/or friend? The answer is to recycle and repackage old tried and true recipes as a revamp.

Here’s a fun way to package a cake.  Basically take any cake recipe and bake it as a sheet cake. Cut out rounds and layer it in jars with your favorite frosting. To add texture, crumble crunchy bits in between the layers, like cookies, or chocolate bars, or nuts.

Here’s my take on Jar Cakes:

Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting from my previous post. 

·    Because I wanted enough for 5 jars, I cut the cake recipe in half and baked in 9 x 13 inch pan for about 22 minutes. I also cut the buttercream recipe in half.

·    After the cake is cool, cut out rounds that fit into your jars. I used a biscuit cutter.

·    Alternate cake, frosting, and crunchy bits in layers. It’s best to use a pastry bag to pipe the frosting.

BOOM! Revamped!! Friends are impressed.

Here’s my take on revamping the trusty old butter cookie to make Spiral Cookies:

The butter cookie recipe is from this previous post.

·    I cut the recipe in half

·    Roll out to 2-3mm thickness rectangle

·    Spread a thin layer of your favorite jam and roll tightly. Don’t worry if the jam oozes out – just spread it on the outside of the roll.

·    Roll in sprinkles. Wrap in plastic wrap and tighten even further.

·    Refrigerate to harden before slicing and baking at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until slightly golden.

BAM! Revamped! Friends are super excited.

Before baking.

After baking.

Ps. The great thing is that people who are sick of your baking will be blown away. They will be thoroughly tricked into thinking you made something new. But you didn’t. And it’s awesome. You’re welcome.

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Layer Cake

Guess what??? I got married! And it was everything that we could hope it would be – low key but beautiful and intimate. Imagine a conservatory in the evening with tea lights in mason jars and hanging string lights. And now, back to real life – and yet it feels different. Not the day to day routine, but just us, inside. Like we have a fun secret. That’s the only way to explain it.

So that’s what I blame the lack of posts on – just the wedding. But now that that’s over (and btw the husby said “aww, I’m kinda sad it’s over” and after which I rolled my eyes thinking about how stressed he was prior to the wedding to the point of almost calling it off!), I want to catch up on sharing some of the baking that’s been going on. And no, I didn’t make my own wedding cake – in fact, we didn’t have a “wedding cake”, just a bunch of cakes and desserts. But my sister and I did make some of the treats, but more on that later.

Anyways, first one up is a Toasted Coconut Chocolate Layer Cake that I made for my colleague’s baby shower. And this is my undercover work on finding out what flavours she likes: “Hi Sophie, do you like chocolate? You do? Ok, that’s all” (and I walk out of the room). And on a subsequent day: “Hi Sophie, do you like coconut? Yes? Ok, that’s all”, followed by the turning around and walking out. But I like to think she was surprised by the cake.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Chocolate Cake

From here. I halved the recipe and baked them in 2, 6-inch baking pans.

Funfetti Cookie Crumble

Adapted from here. Can be done ahead of time and kept in an airtight container.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

2 Tablespoons sprinkles

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.   Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter until you get small pieces.

3.   Add sprinkles and mix. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

4.   Break it apart to get big chunks and bake for another 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet and store in an airtight container.

Coconut Ganache

Ingredients

255g dark chocolate, chopped to small pieces

1 cup whipping/heavy cream

¼ teaspoon coconut flavouring

Directions

1.   Put chopped chocolate in a bowl. Set aside.

2.   Heat cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Pour over chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes.

3.   Whisk to combine.

4.   Add ¼ teaspoon of coconut flavouring and whisk. Taste it before adding more, 1/8 teaspoon at a time (coconut flavouring tastes nasty when there’s too much!).

5.   Cool to room temperature. Whip to soft peaks – as it stands, it will become stiffer.

Toasted Coconut (can be done ahead of time and kept in an airtight container)

I used about 2 ½ cups of flat dried coconut ribbons. I placed it on a cookie sheet and baked until golden in a 300 degree F oven – about 10 minutes, stir, then another 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it – coconut burns easily in the blink of an eye! Cool completely before using on cake.

Assembly

1.   Slice cakes into 2 layers each. Place a dollop of ganache on a cake plate and place the first cake layer on top.

2.   Spread a thin layer of ganache on the cake. Sprinkle on cookie crumbs. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with all layers.

3.   Spread ganache on the top and sides of the cake. Don’t worry about crumbs because you’ll cover it with coconut. The thicker the ganache layer, the easier it will be for the coconut to stick.

4.   Place toasted coconut in a bowl. Hold the cake over the bowl in one hand and grab some coconut with the other hand and place it on the side of the cake. Make sure the cake is hovering above the bowl so that the extra coconut will fall back into the bowl.

5.   Fill in gaps by delicately inserting coconut. Leave out until ready to eat!

Verdict: This cake was pretty darn awesome! The cake was super moist but fluffy and not overly sweet. Loved the coconut flavour. Unfortunately the cookie crumb lost its crunch, but it was still tasty. Everyone loved!

Toasted Coconut White and Dark Chocolate Cookies

My current obsession is coconut. Toasted coconut to be specific.

Coconut seems to one of those love it or hate it ingredients. I know people who absolutely love it while other absolutely detest it. I fall in the former category. I decided to put together a dark chocolate cookie with bursts of white chocolate. After a bit of testing, I got it right – a chewy cookie with crispy edges and the warm nuttiness of toasted coconut.

Btw, I have a still have a bottle of coconut syrup from my trip to Hawaii last year. I should really do something with it…

Toasted Coconut White and Dark Chocolate Cookies

Makes…a lot.

Ingredients

3 cups fancy coconut (or shredded)

2 oz dark chocolate

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoon glucose

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups bread flour

¼ cup cake flour

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1.  Lay coconut on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Watch carefully and toss as the edges of pan get brown to ensure even toasting. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Set aside.

3.  With a beater attachment of a standmixer, beat butter for a minute until fluffy. Add both sugars and glucose and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

4.  Add egg, vanilla, and melted chocolate and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

5.  In the meantime, sift both flours, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl.

6.  Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until the mixture just comes together.

7.  Add 1 cup of toasted coconut and white chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

8.  Scoop dough with a 2-inch scoop and roll in the remaining coconut. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes or until the edges are firm.

9.  Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before cooling on a rack.

 

Toasted coconut.

Dough portioned out with the BIG scooper.

Verdict: These are one of my favorites now. A perfect balance of textures and flavours. This makes a large batch so feel free to cut the recipe in half, or portion out the dough and freeze it for a craving. You know what you’ll find in my freezer!

For all you Canadian readers, these cookies remind me of Tim Horton’s toasted coconut chocolate timbits, especially before baking!

Chocolate Sable Sandwich Cookies

Today is the one year anniversary of when I received my gorgeous Tiffany blue KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s been one hell-of-a year as I put my hand mixer away and let the big boss go to town, mixing cookie dough, whipping Swiss meringue buttercream for 20 minutes until it comes together, etc., etc., (see blog for more details). It’s my favorite tool in the kitchen (next to my bamboo cutting board, ice cream scoops, and nicely weighted knives), and I’ll even go so far as to say that I’m in love(and I’m pretty sure it feels the same way)! I guess I have to say a big thank you to that cute guy that got it for me last Valentine’s Day.

For our anniversary bake, I decided to give sable cookies a go - super easy, prettily piped, topped with sprinkles, and sandwiching buttercream.

Chocolate Sable Cookies

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

½ cup + 3 Tablespoons icing sugar

3 Tablespoon egg whites, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 355 degrees F.

2.  Sift cocoa, flour, espresso, and salt into a bowl and mix. Set aside.

3.  In a different bowl, or stand mixer, beat butter until soft. Add icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

4.  Add egg whites and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla and beat to combine.

5.  Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

6.  Fill a piping bag with a wide tip (I used 1M). Pipe designs onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on sheet before moving to a rack.

Buttercream of your choice. I actually used leftover frosting from my freezer – chocolate and raspberry. Pipe or spread buttercream on one cookie and top with another. Enjoy!

Verdict: The sables are great because they are chocolate-y and but only a little sweet. The filling gives it more sweetness and richness, so it’s up to you whether you want to take it to that level (they are good on their own). Tip: make sure the dough is really soft before piping. I kneaded it a bit in the piping bag to soften it to a pipe-able consistency. All in all, it was a great anniversary!