Daring Bakers: It's Not Over Till The Fat Lady Sings

In case I don't say it enough, I'll say again now: I LOVE being part of Daring Bakers :) Despite the many steps to this recipe and the 3.5 hours it took to make, along with the tons of scraps this cake made (yum), baking complicated recipes totally motivates me. I get focused and excited and even though I get less excited about eating it, something about making it is totally cathartic. Anywho, now that I'm done gushing... The fat lady has sung, and this Opera Cake challenge is over.

Even though I didn't keep my Opera cake completely yellow, I'd like to give a shout-out to Barbara of Winos and Foodies, who hosts LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow to give support to all those people and families touched by cancer. Friends and family who read this blog know that my Dad was diagnosed with first stage Colon, Ureter, and Lung cancers in 2005. My whole family suffered as Dad went through countless surgeries, procedures, chemo appointments, and although my Dad is now cancer free, we're all just beginning to heal emotionally. My Dad is an incredibly brave man who almost never complained and pushed his way through an unbelievably hard period of his life. My Mom suffered the hardship of caring for someone dealing with cancer, and so this cake is also dedicated to my parents.

Of course a big thank you to Lis, Ivonne, Fran and Shea for hosting this month. Make sure to check out their beautiful cakes, as well as a the ever-growing Daring Bakers Blogroll for countless variations and full recipes.

I didn't have too many struggles with this challenge.. aside from forgetting to put buttercream in-between the top two jaconde layers and having to carefully remove the top layer and add extra buttercream in. I flavored the jaconde with a tiny bit of vanilla, used a lemon/honey syrup, added a raspberry puree to the buttercream (which almost caused it to break), and ground some of the Lust ginger, rose and lime sugar (Thanks Mom!) over the white chocolate glaze. I left off the mousse because I'm not wild about white chocolate and instead just used an extra buttercream layer, but I was actually kind of disappointed that my white chocolate glaze layer came out as thin as it did. I should have let the glaze cool further to make sure it stayed thick.

This is a great show-piece cake for a special event. Despite the ingredients, this cake was decadently light, and I had no problem eating a piece at 10am. With a little effort (a little more than I put in :P) it can look really clean and beautiful. Feel up for a challenge? This one will do the trick.

Whipping Up A Party

My mom will never admit it, but I believe she secretly loves entertaining large groups of people in our home (I can see the face she's making as she reads this :) Hi Mom!). And from as far back as I can remember most of those entertaining occasions have included a dessert that I've begun to think of as my mom's signature dessert: Chocolate Mousse Cake.

While chocolate mousse cake is not a complicated dessert, easy to make with simple ingredients, its no joke. This beast features 12oz of chocolate, 2 pints of cream and 8 eggs, along with the light, yet decadent, lady fingers. You can't be making this dessert all willy-nilly. This dessert needs a purpose. And as I like to think about dessert: build it and they will come.

Ok, so, I didn't make the cake and then people magically appeared or anything, but I had the idea for the cake and a party presented itself. Sarah, one of Georgia's younger sisters, graduated this weekend from Lafayette and the graduation party was held at our humble Lansdale apartment. The party was great fun, minus the ballons getting stuck in a tree, and I know I'm not alone in having eaten too much.

If you've got a party event coming up and you want to wow people with a simple, decadent dessert, this is the one to try. Thanks Mom!

Chocolate Mousse Cake
48 (6 packages lady fingers)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (reserve 1 oz for topping)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tbs cold water
8 large eggs separated
2 pints heavy whipping cream

**This recipe should be made at least 5 hours to one day in advance of serving**

Start by melting the chocolate with 1/4 cup of sugar and 4 Tbs water over a double boiler (or make-shift double boiler in my case), stirring to distribute heat. When chocolate is shiny and melted, and the sugar/water has incorporated, remove bowl from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

While the chocolate is cooling, line a 10 inch spring form pan with high sides (I used a 9x11 casserole dish, and you can probably use any dish that accommodates 2 quarts) with lady fingers - both around the sides and on the bottom.

*Make sure to use a big bowl - the mixture will increase 3 fold in volume* After chocolate has cooled thoroughly, quickly stir in egg yolks, one at a time until fully incorporated. Then, using a mixer in another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Then carefully fold whites into chocolate mixture. In another bowl, beat the cream until whipped, and then fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.

To assemble, pour a third of the chocolate mousse over the lady fingers and spread evenly. Cover the mousse with lady fingers, add another third of the mousse and cover again with lady fingers. Add the final layer of mousse and sprinkle reserved chocolate chips on top. Refrigerate 5 hours to 1 day before serving.

Using my 9x11 pan, I estimate there were about 18 small-to-medium size servings. I'm going to include nutritional information here, but for all of you that would rather not know, now is the time to quick look away. Ok, ready?


Calories (1/18th of a 9x11 pan) 669; Fat 28.7g; Cholesterol 570mg; Sodium 219mg; Total Carbs: 88g; Fiber 2.2g; Protein 17g.

one last photo so you can see delicious layers

Potato-Corn Chowder w/Love

This weather has just been downright odd. Temperatures ranging from 40 to 80 with storm clouds rolling over the bright blue sky. This has got to be some sort of apocalypse...And with all the cold blustery weather that we've been seeing in Pennsylvania, hearty comfort food is a must. However, unfortunately, hearty food can be cholesterol-laden and calorific, so I opted to try a more heart and waist healthy alternative.

Bring in the CHOWDER! I know, I know....some head scratching is happening I'm sure. Many of you probably imagine a rich, creamy bowl in front of you (stop drooling). Typical chowder is anything if not sinfully delicious. However, my mom taught me a neat trick and that is to make a rue-based chowder with milk/olive oil/flour to fool you into thinking that you are eating something with heavy cream. Trust me, the taste does not fail on this one. We had it for dinner on Monday night and then again for dinner last night (leftovers = awesome). Yum, yum, yum. Bowl licking tasty.

Potato-Corn Chowder w/Bacon
serves 4-5

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes, diced into half inch cubes
1 15 oz package frozen corn
2-3 strips bacon, cooked and diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz package mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
**up to 1/3 cup flour, stop when reach desired consistency
2 cups milk
2 cups water
2 tbsp butter or butter substitute
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Saute garlic, onion, mushrooms in 1 tablespoon olive oil until cooked almost all the way through.
2) Melt butter with remaining olive oil in large stock pot over low heat. Add flour slowly while whisking until the flour makes little pea-sized globs. Slowly add milk while mixing to create a creamy base. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for about five minutes.
3) Add corn, thyme and sauteed mixture...stir. Cook for another five minutes, covered. Add water, stir. Add potatoes and bacon. Cook covered until potatoes are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Kitty, Come Home (Or: Copy Cat)

So, I wanted to call this post "Copy Cat," but the cat talk got me missing The Kitty. The Kitty is the figure you see in the picture above. Not a good picture, mind you, but really can you properly photography a mythical figure?? Ok, so he's not a mythical figure, he's actually just Georgia's cat. What's mythical about him are two things: 1. he's gone through a series of names: first, Silkk the Shocker (don't ask), then Elliot Stabler (long live SVU), and then simply Kitty or The Kitty (aka kitty-bear, kitty-cakes, kitty-bearshen, popcorn kitty, inspector kitty and many, many others) and 2. he's been moved out.

Spooned haphazardly

Now, I had no intention of turning this post into a WCB, but Georgia has been spending more time in her future apartment with Sir Boyfriend and the kitty has been moved to their future residence. Now, I'm not a cat person, but I'm a The Kitty person. Anywho, on to the real purpose of this post, Apple Self-Saucing Pudding.

A million years ago (read February) I read Lis' recipe for the magic that is Self Saucing Pudding. I'd never heard of such a thing, but the pictures won me right over and I did a patented jump-off-the-couch-and-bake after dinner. I've made this twice now and I luuurrrve it. So, major props to Lis and Cook sister (where Lis found the recipe) for helping me find a new favorite dessert (imagine clouds parting, the sun coming out and buddah himself smiling down on me while a choir of angels sings).

mmm, serving for one

To see the recipe I made, check out Lis' post on this awesome dessert, and indulge here, there and everywhere on the joy of food porn. ;)

don't you just want to bathe in it?