Cakes and Pies

I brought this cake to work and people really like it. One coworker was very excited and sent the recipe to his wife. He wants me to make another one using the suggestions that I posted above (I'm a little torn about that since he's diabetic. :-s).

When I explained the problems that I had with the beans (they smell awful in the can and didn't puree as well as I had hoped in the food processor), it was suggested that I wash the beans first... Too bad I didn't think about that. I did drain the beans, but I should have rinsed them off to get all of that black goo off of them. I think that would have really made a difference in the smell of the batter (if one really pays attention, one can still smell a hint of the beans in the cake when the beans aren't rinsed).

I think that I know what I'd do differently now. I'm torn as to whether or not I'll make another one. Although others seemed to like it, I wasn't all that impressed, though I think that I could do much better next time now that I've made one... I'd be more likely to make another one if I knew for sure that I could make a ganache that I'd like. I really didn't care for the ganache in this recipe and I'm not sure how to correct it (I know it needs sugar, but I don't know how much or what that would do to how it pours and sets up).

Wow, great that everyone at your work liked it! Did they say if they could taste a strong chocolate flavor?

They mentioned that the chocolate flavor wasn't very strong (which I already knew - it's definitely there, just weak. I'd probably add double if not triple the cocoa powder next time.

After I posted earlier I went to the pantry and saw a bag of Hershey kisses. I think that next time I'd use those rather than the 60& Ghiradelli chips to make the ganache. I'm more of a milk chocolate fan than a dark chocolate fan, though.

VFHusker wrote:

They mentioned that the chocolate flavor wasn't very strong (which I already knew - it's definitely there, just weak. I'd probably add double if not triple the cocoa powder next time.

After I posted earlier I went to the pantry and saw a bag of Hershey kisses. I think that next time I'd use those rather than the 60& Ghiradelli chips to make the ganache. I'm more of a milk chocolate fan than a dark chocolate fan, though.

Me too. I like dark chocolate, but milk chocolate is the best for me...and white chocolate is just paradise!

Vanesa.

Okay, I was going to adjust the recipe with the tweaks that I made and post it here, but apparently I left it at work, so I'll just list out the changes here.

I gave the cake another try last night. I had plenty of frosting left over from the first cake (I had made a triple batch) and added lots of extra powdered sugar to it until it was the consistency that I liked (and not oily).

The original recipe doesn't make much batter, so I made it twice, and poured each into its own 8" cake pan. Doing that made just the right size two-layer cake.

For the cake itself, I rinsed off the beans before putting them in the food processor (really helped with the smell) and used a cup of cocoa (normal cocoa this time instead of the dark cocoa) in each batch. Yeah, going from 5 Tbp to a cup is a big jump, but it made a big difference. That caused the batter to get very thick, almost like brownie batter, so I ended up adding about 1/8 c. of safflower oil to loosen the batter up a bit and make it more like cake batter. That really did the trick as the cake is chocolatier now.

For the ganache, I used Hershey kisses instead of the Ghiradelli 60% chips. I really prefer the flavor, but that's just because I like milk chocolate much more than dark chocolate.

To be cute, I made a smiley face out of Hershey kisses on the cake, but the ganache was still quite warm when I poured it and the kisses moved around a bit. :-P

This second cake is far, far better than the first one that I made. It's still not my favorite cake, but I think that this one tastes much better than the first one.





Dan

Beautiful!

VFHusker wrote:

It's still not my favorite cake

You seem like such an accomplished baker, I have to ask... what is your favorite cake? I have a feeling the answer will make our mouths water.

Savannah wrote:

I love the plate it's on, too - it reminds me of the Avon Cape Cod dishes.

Wow, you have a good eye! They are Avon Cape Code dishes. :-P My aunt gave them to me a few months ago.

Rob wrote:

You seem like such an accomplished baker, I have to ask... what is your favorite cake?

I definitely wouldn't call myself an accomplished baker. I enjoy baking (and have since I was little and my grandmother would let me help her bake), but generally don't have occasion to very often. As for my favorite cake...this is going to sound really stupid, but the best cake that I have had is the chocolate cake at Dave & Busters. They make a chocolate cake that has several layers that is super moist and dense like this cake, but the flavor is so much better. I don't have a recipe for it, though. I do have a recipe for the Claim Jumper Chocolate Motherlode cake, which is supposed to be one of the best chocolate cakes. I haven't tried making it, though as I haven't had occasion to and I generally don't like to make anything elaborate for myself.

Here's the recipe in case somebody would like to try it and post how it turns out. I'm particularly curious as to the measurements for the mayonnaise substitution (including how much to use).

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/ccc/claim-jumper-chocolate-motherlode-cake.html

Dan

It looks delicious!!!!!

I love chocolate cakes...

Thanks for that recipe, Dan!

Savannah wrote:

Look. . . at . . . that. . . chocolate!! It looks fantastic!

DIVINE. I need a drooling smiley.

Savannah wrote:

I love the plate it's on, too - it reminds me of the Avon Cape Cod dishes.

I am seriously impressed. I could tell they were too ONCE I glanced at the plate. But I was mildly distracted by the piece of chocolate peanut butter cake that looks ready to eat right off my screen. I need to stay away from this thread!!!


Dan, I think you are modest. I'm with Rob...you're an accomplished baker who doesn't know he's an accomplished baker. Which is the best kind.

I could go for this!

yum.I think tommorry i'll buy myself some reeses peices candy,

Mmmmm!!!! I'm dying for a piece of this!!!

Vanesa.

Looks good. Just one piece please. Looks rich.

WOW...Get me the recipe! That just makes you want to forget that salad I had for lunch! YUM!

Here's a recipe for a cake that doesn't look exactly like that one, but it sure looks tasty:

Reese Cup Cake

You gonna bake one?

Thats looks good too Rob. There was ALOT of ingrediants to that too! I might have to save it for a summer treat. I am hoping to drop some pounds in the next few months so I better not even try this right now. Licking the bowl would put me WAY over my calorie intake!

I know what you mean.That's one candy i CAN'T save.

Rob wrote:

I could go for this!

So could I!

sweetkrissy2011 wrote:

You gonna bake one?

I might try it sometime. I've got a weakness for Reese Cups.

Rob wrote:

sweetkrissy2011 wrote:

You gonna bake one?

I might try it sometime. I've got a weakness for Reese Cups.

cool

Rob wrote:

Here's a recipe for a cake that doesn't look exactly like that one, but it sure looks tasty:

Reese Cup Cake

My daughter started drooling over this one. She's a big PB freak.