The Essential James Beard Cookbook (68 page)

Unsweetened cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar, for sifting

For the Whipped Cream Filling

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon Cognac, Grand Marnier, or dark rum, or 2 tablespoons kirsch

To make the chocolate roll: Butter a 15 by 11 by 1-inch jelly-roll pan, then line the pan with waxed paper, leaving an overhang of about 2 inches at each end. Butter the waxed paper, to prevent the cake from sticking. Or, line the pan with parchment paper, which does not need to be buttered. Preheat the oven to 350°F with the shelf positioned in the center of the oven.

Spread the soufflé mixture evenly in the prepared pan, smoothing it with a rubber spatula so it is the same overall thickness. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top feels firm and springy when touched.

Sift the cocoa over a large sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil. Remove the jelly-roll pan from the oven and, holding it carefully with pot holders, very quickly invert the pan onto the paper or foil so the cake falls onto it, top side down. Carefully peel the waxed or parchment paper from the cake, loosening it, if necessary, with a small, sharp knife. If some of the surface sticks, this is not too important as the filling will go on this side. Cool completely.

To make the filling: Whip the cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until it has doubled in volume and it holds its shape when the beater is lifted. Gently fold in the confectioners’ sugar and Cognac. Spread the cake with the whipped cream, not quite to the cake’s edges. Lift one long edge of the waxed paper and raise it so the cake rolls inward. Then, with the aid of the waxed paper, roll the cake onto a long, narrow chocolate-roll board, or flat serving tray. To serve, cut on the diagonal into slices.

VARIATION

NUT ROLL:
Substitute 1 cup finely ground nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts) for the melted chocolate in the soufflé, folding them into the egg-and-sugar mixture before folding in the egg whites.

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

MAKES ONE 9-INCH CHEESECAKE; 8 SERVINGS

Alice Petersen, long the food editor of the New York
Daily News,
perfected this cheesecake, which is almost overpoweringly rich. It’s well worth the trouble to buy natural cream cheese without additives when you make cheesecake, as the gummy commercial supermarket version is a travesty. [
Editor: You can find cream cheese without gums in natural food stores and specialty cheese shops.
]

For the Crust

Softened butter, for the pan

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup sugar

For the Filling

4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

²
⁄
₃
cup sugar

1 pound cream cheese, cut into cubes, at room temperature

Two 6-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup hot strong coffee

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¹
⁄
₈
teaspoon plain salt

For the Topping

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Chocolate curls, for garnish

To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Blend the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar in a bowl and pat the crumb mixture onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside while preparing the filling.

To make the filling: Beat the egg yolks and
¹
⁄
₃
cup of the sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in the cream cheese, being sure the mixture is smooth. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot but not boiling water. Add the hot coffee, rum, vanilla, and salt and whisk together. Beat into the cream cheese mixture.

In a clean bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in the remaining
¹
⁄
₃
cup sugar until you have a rather stiff meringue mixture, with glossy, upright peaks. Fold this gently into the chocolate mixture and pour into the prepared crumb crust. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, but leave the cake in the oven until it has completely cooled. Run a knife around the inside of the pan, and remove the sides of the pan. Wrap the cheesecake in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.

To make the topping: Whip the cream with the sugar. Spread on the cheesecake and decorate with chocolate curls.

Editor: Chocolate curls can be shaved from a block of chocolate with a vegetable peeler. To facilitate making the shavings, either slightly warm the chocolate in a microwave oven or dip the peeler in hot water and dry before using.

COFFEE CAKE

MAKES ONE 8-INCH COFFEE CAKE; 6 SERVINGS

You may use a coffee cake from a good bakery, if you wish, but if you prefer to do your own, try this quick version.

1
¹
⁄
₃
cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon plain salt

½ teaspoon ground mace

½ cup whole milk

1 large egg, well beaten

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Softened butter, for the pan

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, for topping

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon or additional ground mace, for topping

Sift the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, and mace together. Combine with the milk, egg, and melted butter and beat until smooth. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan. Dot with the cold butter that has been rolled in 1 tablespoon of sugar, and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top. Dust with cinnamon. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 25 minutes, or until brown and puffy. Serve hot.

GINGERBREAD

MAKES ONE 8-INCH CAKE; 9 SERVINGS

The special gingerbread one has for tea in England and occasionally in this country is very different from the gingerbread we are used to, which really is a bread. English tea gingerbread is a cake, and it has a rather different texture and flavor. Serve it warm with butter.

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

²
⁄
₃
cup dried currants

²
⁄
₃
cup coarsely chopped slivered blanched almonds

½ cup vegetable shortening, plus more for the pan

½ cup Lyle’s golden syrup (available at British grocers and many supermarkets)

½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)

¹
⁄
₃
cup sugar

¹
⁄
₃
cup whole milk

1 large egg

Sift the flour, ginger, and baking soda into a bowl. Mix in the currants and almonds. In a saucepan, gently heat and stir the shortening, golden syrup, and molasses with the sugar until the shortening is melted and the sugar dissolved. Let the mixture cool. Using a wooden spoon, work it into the flour mixture with the milk. Then beat in the egg.

Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable shortening, cover the bottom with waxed paper, and grease the paper. Spread the batter in the pan. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on a wire cake rack. Remove the waxed paper.

GLENNA MCGINNIS’ LANE CAKE

MAKES ONE 4-LAYER 9-INCH CAKE; 12 SERVINGS

Editor: This fruit-packed invention of Alabaman Mrs. Emma Rylander Lane grew in fame after winning the grand prize at a county fair in 1898. Beard’s recipe is attributed to Glenna McGinnis, a food editor at
Woman’s Day
magazine. Beard remarks Lane Cake is a great keeper, and, well-wrapped and frozen, it keeps indefinitely.

For the Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon baking powder

1¼ teaspoons plain salt

1 cup whole milk

8 large egg whites

For the Frosting

12 large egg yolks

1¾ cups sugar

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

½ cup bourbon or rye whiskey

1½ cups coarsely chopped pecans

1½ cups chopped dark seedless raisins

1½ cups shredded fresh coconut

1½ cups quartered candied cherries

To make the cake: Lightly butter four 9 by 1½-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with waxed paper and butter the paper. Dust with flour and tip out the excess flour. If you only have two pans, simply fill and bake two cake layers at a time.

Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, and beat until the mixture is as light and fluffy as whipped cream, about 2 minutes more.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and ¾ teaspoon of the salt. Reduce the mixer speed to low. In three additions, alternating with two equal additions of the milk, beat in the flour mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed. In a clean bowl using clean beaters, beat the egg whites to stiff, but not dry, peaks. Fold the whites into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Place on two oven racks so that one pan is not directly beneath another—one rack set in the middle of the oven, the other in the top third. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 25 minutes, or until the cake shrinks from the sides of pan and springs back to light pressure of the finger. Let the pans stand on cake racks for 10 minutes. Carefully loosen edges and turn out the cakes, upside down, onto the racks. Slowly peel off the waxed paper. Turn right side up and let cool before filling and frosting.

To make the frosting: Put the egg yolks in the top part of a double boiler, and whisk them slightly. Add the sugar, butter, and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Cook over simmering water, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved, the butter is melted, and the mixture is slightly thickened. Do not overcook, or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat. Add the whiskey and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Mix in the pecans, raisins, coconut, and cherries and let cool until thick enough to spread.