Lots of email this week! Reader Bill writes in to ask: You write a pretty glowing review of gateau. Can I infer that you prefer it to what you call “New World” cake? In fact, no. If I were forced to choose one kind of cake to eat for the rest of my life, it’d […]
READ ONAs far as the popular food press is concerned, no. In fact there are more than a few recipe writers out there who will call an American-style layer cake a gâteau just so they can sound fancy. But in fact there are real differences between the two, even if the words themselves mean largely the […]
READ ONI marvel at the specialized knowledge of some people. After reading my post on the history of Opera cake last night, Jim Chevallier of www.chezjim.com went to work checking sources. His response this morning was: “Like I don’t have enough to do with baguettes and such… But you know, those unresolved culinary mysteries are hard […]
READ ONSomeone with an excellent memory wrote in overnight, reminding me that I once said that I don’t like using cake syrup. This person clearly has the memory of an elephant, but yes, that’s true. In general I don’t like using cake syrup for American-style layer cakes. It’s my view that cake syrup is abused by […]
READ ONThere are so many competing stories about the origin of Opera cake, I doubt anyone will ever know the truth about it. I have a pet theory about such things, things like the Kennedy assassination, the Princess Diana conspiracy or the reason Brad Pitt left Angelina Jolie. They become so heavily investigated and so widely […]
READ ONA reader emailed in last evening to suggest that I change my recipes to reflect the fact that instant coffee and espresso powder aren’t really equivalents. Espresso is more concentrated than coffee, so more instant coffee is needed to make up for the difference in strength. There’s a certain logic in this. An espresso drink […]
READ ONThe main difference between joconde and other sponge cakes is that it has whole eggs beaten into it, and not just whites. Observe: 6 room-temperature egg whites 1 ounce granulated sugar 8 ounces sliced blanched almonds, ground to powder in a food processor 8 ounces powdered sugar, sifted 6 large eggs 2.5 ounces all-purpose (AP) […]
READ ONThis will require 6 ounces of a good Euro-style bittersweet chocolate (like Callebaut or Ghiradelli) and one ounce of clarified butter. Tempering chocolate isn’t terribly difficult, but it does require precise control of temperature. You’ll need a digital thermometer, they’re less than $20 at most kitchen supply stores. If you don’t want to go to […]
READ ONAll of the buttercream recipes I have up on the site can accommodate flavorings of various kinds. Since Opera cake is a French invention, it only seems appropriate to start with a French-style buttercream. To make a coffee-flavored buttercream, prepare a mixture of two tablespoons of instant coffee or instant espresso powder dissolved in two […]
READ ONA standard ganache is a 50-50 combination of bittersweet chocolate and heavy cream (or crème fraîche) by weight. This one is slightly firmer, calling for 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and 8 ounces of cream. You may feel free to swap out an ounce of rum or Grand Marnier for an equal amount of cream…if […]
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