Cake recipe needed

[DCJenn]

Here it is off the menu:

Ancho Chili Chocolate Cake $7.00
With Cinnamon Ice Cream


I had forgotten about the ice cream- that was pretty damned yummy, too.

Jenn

[Vanquisher]

I need to make a field trip.

Anyone who wants to make a field trip to my house is welcome, and I will make you any yummy recipes Jenn uses her connections to get.

Well, ancho -- there you go. Can you make a test batch? I think the proportion is key.

[DCJenn]

You can always come here for some 'field research"

Heidi- I'll see if I can find Lisa via her cell phone. She's a crazy redhead who knows her food and her wine.

J

I looked at the recipe again and converted the measurement. 500g of egg whites is about 16 eggs, give or take. That is a fair amount of egg white and makes a good sized batch. Maybe it's ok? Still seems like a lot to me.

[Vanquisher]

Nellie, I know. I'm thinking of just doing a great chocolate cake - again, please post if you have the perfect one, and adding some ancho chilis or cayenne and then doing a vanilla cinnamon buttercream as opposed to the vanilla cinammon cake with the Mexican chocolate icing. So, I think any good chocolae cake recipe would work. I'm just hung up on the amount and type of chiles.

I think Duncan HInes cake mixes turn out really well. Nellie, is that blasphemy?

Yes. No, I think they do turn out pretty well. Given the option between cake mix or frosting from a can, I would pick cake mix with homemade frosting. I think the cinnamon would taste better with the fat of frosting than vice versa.

I'll try to dredge up the RLB chocolate cake on Ye Olde Internette and post a link. I'll also try to put up the Alice Medrich one I've got around.

If I were you...and I'm not....I would use either the mix or one of these recipes and add about 1 tsp cinnamon, a generous pinch or two of cayenne, a few grinds of pepper, a pinch or two of ancho (if you have it) and a few drops of almond. But I'm just a white chick in the northwest.

[Vanquisher]

Okay then. I love cream cheese too. Should I add that to my buttercream? Or will that hurt the other flavors?

I'd keep the cream cheese out. But cream cheese frosting is really easy to work with and would carry the cinnamon flavor well.

Here's a cake that I've been wanting to make:


Chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting and one of the cake layers crumbled and pressed into the sides. Yum.

Rose Levy Beranbaum's Perfect All-American Chocolate Butter Cake

1/2 cup + 3 T (2.25 oz) dutch process unsweetened cocoa
1 c boiling water
3 large eggs
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c + 2 T cake flour (8.25 oz)
1 1/2 cups sugar (10.5 oz)
1 T baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (must be softened)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 9 inch by 1 1/2 inch cake pans -- grease and line bottom w/ parchment and then grease and flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk cocoa and boiling water. Cool to room temp.

In another bowl, lightly combine the eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients, mix on low for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining cocoa mixture (the 3/4 that is left). Mix on low till moistened. Increase speed to medium (high speed with a hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down sides. Gradually add egg mixture in 3 batches, beat for 20 seconds after each addition. Scrape sides.

Scrape batter to prepared pans. Bake 25-35 min. The cakes should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after the removal from the oven. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen sides and invert on greased wire racks. To prevent splitting, re-invert so tops are up.

[DCJenn]

Hey Heidi-

I just pulled this off the tabasco website:

http://tabascofoodservice.com/fs_recipe.cfm?ID=1637


ANCHO CHILE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CANELA ICE CREAM AND CHIPOTLE CARAMEL SAUCE

yield: 12 servings



Ganache
Ingredients Weight Measure

Chocolate, dark 16 oz.

Cream 2 cups

Butter 2 Tbsp.

TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce 1 Tbsp.


Cake

Chocolate, Mexican 12 oz.

Butter 8 oz.

Cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. Ancho chilies, toasted and ground

4 ea. Eggs, separated

10 ea. Almonds, ground

1/4 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Salt

1/4 tsp. Ganache


16 oz.



Canela Ice Cream
Ingredients Weight Measure

Cream, heavy

1 qt.
Vanilla bean, split

1 ea.
Cinnamon sticks, Canela-Mexican 4-3" pieces
Egg yolks 10 ea.
Sugar 10 oz.

Cinnamon, ground 1 tsp.


Chipotle Caramel Sauce

Sugar 1 lb.

Water 3 cups
TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce 3 Tbsp.

Mint sprigs for garnish



Method

1 For the Ganache, chop chocolate into bite size pieces. Bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream into chocolate and butter. Add TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Stir to combine.

2 For the Cake, melt chocolate and butter over double boiler and stir to combine.

3 Combine cocoa powder, chilies, almonds and egg yolks. Stir to combine.

4 Whip egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Add salt.

5 Combine egg and chocolate mixtures together. Gently fold chocolate mixture into beaten egg whites until combined. Divide mixture between two buttered and floured 9-inch cake pans.

6 Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until insterted toothpick comes clean. Allow cakes to cool.

7 Trim cakes to even out sides. Pour small amount of ganache on top of one cake. spread to edges. Place second cake on top. While ganache is still warm, pour over cake and smooth out tops and edges. Place remaining ganache in pastry bag fitted with star tip and pipe shell border around edge of cake.

8 For the Canela Ice Cream, bring cream, vanilla bean and canela to a simmer. Let rest for 20 minutes to infuse flavors.

9 Combine egg yolks and sugar; whisk together. Temper eggs with hot cream and combine together. Strain mix and add ground cinnamon. Follow ice cream maker directions.

10 For the Chipotle Caramel Sauce, combine sugar, TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce, and half of the water in a heavy bottomed bowl.

11 Cook mix until it reaches 320®F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and slowly add remaining water. Stir until well combined. Place mixture in a squirt bottle and reserve until plating.

12 To plate, slice cake into 12 pieces. Using the squeeze bottle, drizzle caramel over plate. Place a slice of cake on the plate, off to one side. Place a scoop of ice cream next to the cake. Garnish with a sprig of mint.


Jenn

PS- Mexican chocolate already has cinnamon in it. (you probably knew that but just in case)

[Vanquisher]

I'd keep the cream cheese out. But cream cheese frosting is really easy to work with and would carry the cinnamon flavor well.

Okay, so what do you mean by that? Use a cream cheese frosting and add cinnamon, or forget it for this cake? Talk to me like I'm 3 years old, okay.

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

or

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 lb. (8 cups) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

[Vanquisher]

Thanks, Jenn! That's great.

You think I could buy and grind dried ancho chiles? I have no idea what will be available here.

Sorry....I wouldn't add cream cheese to the buttercream unless you had a specific cream cheese buttercream recipe.

Of the two above, I like the first one better but it might need more powdered sugar than that. I'd add a bit of almond extract -- just a few drops and not over 1/8 tsp.

[DCJenn]

I would think so- I'm sure you have a hispanic market somewhere near you!

the OTHER extremely Mexican cake is Tres Leches which is also habit forming.

Jenn