Chocolate Chiffon Cake

So this last weekend we threw a birthday party for dear Butchie. She wanted a chill night on my awesome porch, good friends and food and one fancy cake. She used expletives to express her fervor towards the fanciness of the cake.......and by the time I was done making the darn thing I was too. She described the cake as "infused with curse words." Before you get on your high horse and judge me, let me give you a time line: Thursday night baking, Friday morning baking, Friday night pudding cooking, and ALL Saturday on construction. By that point wouldn't you be infusing with swear words? That was twenty hours on a cake! Every free moment I had for three days! KILLER.

magpies cake

So this cake was an attempt at a do it yourself  replication of a magpies cake I've seen and loved. Now........my cake is just not that good in comparison. How on earth they made those amazingly thin and delicate looking layers is beyond me. You can see where the theme held threw even if the technique was lacking.,,, but how? How? HOW did they do it?!? I'm going to try again in the near future, this time with chocolate instead of fondant, and also, on a cake that does not have three massive cream filled layers, and that has time to let the crumb coating set into a very hard shell for structural support. Also....better lighting. Trying to take a photo as the sun was setting....not so hot.

Butchie's cake was chocolate, filled with butterscotch, wrapped in a buttercream crumb coat, and layered in thin sheets of fondant...as thin as I could go and it still wasn't thin enough! I tried to texture the little sheets by pressing paintbrushes into them.......didn't hold. I tried to make the layers pull out from the cake........then the humidity hit and the cake drew it's inspiration from the wicked witch of the west....melting, melting, melting and infused with curses. So..........what I really think everyone should take away from this cake is the chocolate cake recipe. It's a beautiful chiffon cake, smooth, with good flavor. It stays moist and airy, and lately is my go to chocolate cake recipe.

Enjoy! and another happy birthday to Butchie!

Chocolate Chiffon Cake
adapted from Tartine


¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon powdered lemon zest
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).

Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, powdered lemon peel and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, and vanilla. Whisk thoroughly.

Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Pumpkin Chiffon is a light, smooth, creamy version of tradition pumpkin pie. It's my mother's favorite, and that right there says it all! :) Mama knows best, right?

For my birthday party we held a mini-pumpkin themed night. Or at least we tried to. We were going to play games like mini pumpkin bocce, capture the mini pumpkin, mini pumpkin relays, and of course, mini pumpkin pie eating contest! In the end, the weather made most of our plans impossible, and though playing in the rain can be fun....this would have been playing in a downpour. Not. So. Fun. 

We did however get to have our mini pumpkin pie eating contest and these little beauties were it! I made them in a cupcake tin! I'm not sure how it happened, but I FINISHED DEAD LAST! Everyone kept yelling at me not to be dainty. DAINTY?!?!?! Are you kidding me? I had pie across half my face! The stupid  adorable little pie kept scooting farther and farther away from me as I tried to eat it. I spent half my time trying to pull it back with my teeth so I could get another bite! Epic. Fail. My friends Tristan and Hugh won practically in a dead tie. Amazing. My favorite part had to be when someone commented "Wow. That was the best pie eating contest pie I've ever had!" ....first off, thank you, but secondly, how many of those have you had?!?! This was my first! 

In a few weeks I'm going to the Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Goffstown, NH. I hear the festival has a pumpkin pie eating contest. I hope so, because I could use a little redemption! 

I also recommend making the pumpkin chiffon filling and simply putting it into individual ramekins or hallowed out mini pumpkins as a pumpkin mousse dessert. 

Chiffon Pumpkin Pie

2 baked 9” pie shells or about 24 mini pie shells

4 tsp. gelatin

6 tsp. cold water

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

¾ cup milk

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar minus 4 tablespoons

4 eggs, yolks and whites separated

To slightly beaten egg yolks, add ½ cup of the sugar, pumpkin, milk, salt, and spices.

Heat in a double broiler. Pour cold water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top

of water. Once set add to hot pumpkin mixture. Mix thoroughly and cool. Beat egg

whites with remaining sugar to make a meringue. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into

previously bake and cooled pie shells. Chill in refrigerator.

Phyllo Pie Shells

sugar

cinnamon

nutmeg

butter

phyllo dough

Make up a cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg mixture to your preferred ratios. Take phyllo and layer it, about four deep, brushing with melted butter in between each layer, and sprinkle the sugar mixture on every other layer. Press down into your molds and bake at 350 for a few minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan completely before trying to remove.