Chocolate and Salted Carmel Layer Cake

This is R's absolute favorite cake in the whole world. I stumbled upon some variation of this last year and after making it, R declared that this was his new birthday cake. Although the recipe seems really, really long, its not too bad. I make the cakes the day before which allows them to cool and allows me to feel like I haven't spent all day doing this one thing. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Yields: 1 2-layer 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 C. All-purpose flour

1 ½ C. Sugar

¾ C. Unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. Baking soda

¼ tsp. Salt

1 C. Water

¾ C. Buttermilk

¾ C. Vegetable oil

3 Eggs

For the Ganache:

18 oz. Dark chocolate, chopped (do not exceed 61% cacao)

2 ¼ C. Heavy cream

For the Salted Caramel:

¼ C. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Water

¼ C. Heavy cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

Split caramel in half and add 1/8 tsp. Salt to half

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

To second half of caramel, add ¾ stick of salted butter (or 3/4 stick of unsalted butter and 1/8 tsp. of salt)

1 C. Powdered sugar

 Instructions:

 For the Cake:

1.       Position racks in the top and bottom third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch springform pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment rounds; spray top of rounds.

2.       Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to blend and form well in the center. Whisk 1 C. water, buttermilk, oil, and eggs in medium bowl to blend. Pour wet ingredients into well in dry ingredients; whisk just to blend, don’t over-whisk. Divide cake batter between prepared pans (about 3 cups each).

3.       Bake cakes until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with the palm of your hand to level.)

4.       Cool completely in pans on cooling racks.

***  Cakes can be made 1 day ahead. Cover cakes in pans and let stand at room temperature.

 For the Ganache:

1.       Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in heavy medium saucepan.

2.       Pour cream over chocolate.

3.       Let stand 1 minute, then stir until ganache is melted and smooth.

4.       Transfer 1 ¼ C. ganache to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ganache is thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let remaining ganache stand at room temperature to cool until barely lukewarm.

For the Salted Caramel:

1.       Briefly stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2.       Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

3.       Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla (start with a tablespoon or two), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Split evenly into two bowls and set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.

***  Keep a close eye on the caramel as you make it. It goes from clear bubbles to the “amber” color     within about 30 seconds, and then will burn pretty quickly thereafter.

4.       Mix in 1/8 tsp. salt to one bowl.

For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:

1.       Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2.       Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.

3.       Turn off mixer and add cooled caramel (the bowl without the salt added.)

4.       Beat frosting on low to combine, then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes.

5.       Refrigerate if not using immediately (or to harden the frosting a bit to make it easier to spread).

Cake Assembly:

·         Place cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.

·         Carefully run knife around cake pan edges to release cakes. Invert 1 cake layer onto cardboard round. Peel off parchment paper. Place cake layer on round on prepared rack.

·         Spread a layer of salted caramel, then a layer of chilled ganache, then a layer of salted caramel buttercream onto one of the cake layers.

·         Invert second layer of cake onto another cardboard round. Peel off parchment paper. Carefully slide cake off round and onto the frosted cake layer on rack.

·         Pour half of barely lukewarm ganache over cake, spreading over sides to cover. Freeze until ganache sets, about 30 minutes. Pour remaining ganache over cake, allowing to drip down sides and spreading over sides if needed for even coverage and to smooth edges. Freeze to set ganache, about 30 minutes.

·         Fill pastry bag with remaining salted caramel buttercream. Decorate top of cake.

Glazed Peach Pie

Alright, so I broke down and bought some organic peaches on sale at Whole Foods...emphasis on 'on sale'. Anywho, it was super awesomely delicious, so I guess it was worth it. This one's for you Al. Happy Birthday!

Glazed Peach Pie
adapted from Alexandra Thomas

Yields: one 9-inch pie

Take, toss, and let sit 1 hour:
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 C. Peach slices (4-5 medium peaches, ripe)
1 Tbls. Lemon juice
1/4 C. Sugar

1 Baked pie crust (recipe follows)
1/2 C. Sugar
3 Tbls. Cornstarch
2 Tbls. Butter
1/8 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Peel, slice, and drain peaches into a bowl. Combine with lemon juice and sugar, let sit at least 1 hour. Add enough water to drainage to make 1 C. liquid. Blend 1/2 C. sugar and 3 Tbls. cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add peach syrup/water slowly. Boil 3 minutes or until thick and clear.
2. Stir in butter, salt, and vanilla extract.
3. Fold in peach slices.
4. Pour into backed pie shell. Cool.

Pie Crust (Pate Brisee)

Yields: 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:

1.   In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

2.   With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3.   Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

**For a no-bake pie requiring an already cooked crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
2. Roll out dough into a circle 11 to 12 inches across
3. Place in pie dish, crimp edges and cook for 20 minutes with pie weights.
4. Remove pie weights and parchment paper and cook for an additional 11 minutes or until bottom of crust is lightly golden. Cool in dish on cooling rack.