We’ve been out of sorts lately. A recent encounter between a deer and our car (the deer survived, our car not so much) has us sans our all terrain vehicle. With the car at the body shop for 4-6 weeks, our normal schedule has been slightly upended.
Luckily for us, a recent trip to our local grocery store provided inspiration. Several items which have been out of stock since March suddenly appeared … namely, pickling salt and cake flour.
Bread and Butter Pickles
This is a staple in our pantry and unfortunately, we are on our last jar! The timing couldn’t be better. The pickles are used in our homemade potato salad and extra juice is used for brining hard boiled eggs.
Devil’s Food Cake
Jack recently put in a request for cake. It needed to be chocolate, packed with flavor and easy to freeze. I went to the experts of food alchemy, Cook’s Illustrated, and found what I hoped was the perfect cake … Devil’s Food Cake.
The essence of this cake is a very moist, velvety texture, combined with intense chocolate flavor. Sounds perfect. We baked it in a sheet pan to help meet the freezing requirement. The cake itself is so rich in flavor it doesn’t need frosting. What you say? No frosting? Yes, it’s that good.
Devil's Food Cake
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa
- 1 1/4 cup boiling water
- 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter 2 sticks / softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs at room temp
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Adjust the oven racks to the middle position; heat the oven to 350º F. Meanwhile, grease a and line the bottom of a 13x9 pan with parchment. Combine the chocolate and cocoa in a medium bowl; pour the boiling water over and whisk until smooth. Sift together the flours, baking soda, and salt onto a large sheet of parchment paper; set aside.
- Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until it is creamed, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatual. With the mixer at medium-high speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Reduce the speed to medium; add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. With the mixer at low speed, add about a third of the flour mixture, followed by about half of the chocolate mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 15 seconds. Do not overbeat. Remove the bowl from the mixer; scrape the bottom and sides with a spatula and stir gently to thoroughly combine.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan on the middle rack. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen. Invert onto a large plate; peel off the parchment paper and reinvert onto a rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle a light dusting of powdered sugar on top or apply your favorite frosting.
Its been a successful shoot. I’m pretty psyched at finding a cactus.
The weather has been so nice we took advantage and put the new Euro rod through its paces.
As the weather keeps getting better, this will be a regular destination for us. It feels great to hear the river rush by and take the time to breathe in the good and exhale the bad.
The topping is extraordinary. Its a combination of citric acid (found in the bulk foods aisle) and superfine sugar and it tastes both sweet and tart.
