Day 20: Fudge Cake
This cake is rather strange from most cakes. Made from scratch, it has sour cream and boiling water added into it. When the butter and brown sugar were creamed, the butter disappeared into the sugar rather then the usual method. This was due to using much more sugar then butter.
This results in a batter that is very lose and runny for a cake batter. And a cake that is incredibly gooey in the middle when the cake is done. I had to left it cool for several hours in order for the center to come together. Next time I am just going to put it into the refrigerator.
The frosting is a mixture of semisweet milk and white chocolate, whipping cream, butter, and confectioner’s sugar. Today I learned that frosting is a real pain in the ass to make from scratch. I’m not even sure if i did it right.
Taste wise the cake is moist and has an interesting flavor. The chocolate is less pronounced then most chocolate cakes, which all seem to be aimed a chocoholics. The way I poured the cake lead to it having separate sections, getting less like a cake and closer in texture to fudge the closer you go to the center. I like the effect, even though it was completely accidental.
Still this cake was something of a pain in the ass to bake and I may be on the search for a differing approach.
Day 3: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake topped with Pineapple Slices, Maraschino Cherries, and Pecans
Today’s dish is a varient of a classic piece of Americana. This cake was baked in a 12-inch cast iron skillet, which allowed for a dark brown sugar/butter mixture to be dissolved in it before adding the mandatory pineapple slices/maraschino cherries and pouring the batter on top. The heat from the oven will cause this mixture to harden into the topping. This topping is a hop, skip, and jump away from actual candy, eliminating the need for any type of frosting. It also tastes sublime.
The cake itself is simple flour, eggs, sugar, baking powder, and salt base with the addition of pineapple juice for flavor and sweetness. The batter was not creamed fully as in a normal cake, but rather combined until it incorporated like a muffin. This creates more air pockets and a coarser texture then a normal cake. It also incorporates much less sugar then a usual cake due to the incorporation of pineapple juice and a desire for a less sweet and tender bottom to compliment the sweet topping.
Yes, the cherries are those kinds from a jar that you put in cocktails. But for this recipe it doesn’t feel the same with anything else.
