Torte Tribulations

Dobos Torte - 36 layers with chocolate buttercream frosting between each layer and dark chocolate glaze.

Remember the discussion about fake buttercream a couple of posts ago? Well, today I was forced into bad buttercream. It broke my heart to put a whole pound of butter in with 3 cups of confectioner's sugar. I knew what the outcome would be-yet my hand was forced.

How could this happen??? Let me tell you how...

It started simply enough-- Me saying "let's make the Dobos Torte". We found the recipe. But it wasn't one of the old ones. It was typed and still readable. The others are worn with time. My first clue.

Then I read the recipe. Shock came over me. This was FAKE buttercream. This could not possibly be my mother's recipe that I had salivated over each time she made this cake. This could not be what I remembered and longed for. I looked at it again-held it in my hands-turning it-thinking of the consequences. Then I spoke slowly and gently: "We can improve this recipe". HOW??!! my incredulous mother intoned. "By improving the frosting". 'Absolutely NOT! " she replied. "This is how I have made it for 50 years!".

And with that-I was forced into bad frosting. Could I be wrong? Could this recipe that sounded exactly like the recipe on the confectioner's sugar box that I hate the taste of really be the frosting for the Dobos Tort? Mais Non. It was the frosting on the confectioner's sugar box and yet, no amount of tasting it in all its horribleness can convince my mother of her error. She is convinced it is the right recipe. I know better. I know exactly what happened.

Back in the 1970's and 80's we had been in this country long enough that our taste buds were flattened by the incredible dearth of good food in America. It had taken 20 years-but it had happened. Mom grew tired of educating palates that were incapable of discerning the real thing from something in a box. And so, instead of spending hours making it right-she saw the recipe on the confectioner's sugar box and thought "well, when in America". And there you have it. that awful frosting recipe was made part of a fabulous traditionally french cake known for its distinctive layers and deep dark chocolate flavors--reduced to a pile of- of- of -confectioner's sugar lard!! oh god-how awful.

And now-so many years have passed without making the cake. Our taste buds are restored and it is an unbearable blasphemy to pair the 36 delicate paper thin layers of this cake with-- CRAP! And what is worse? I spent hours making that tonight because the cake itself is a mastery in design and patience.

My sister kept saying "make it over! make it over!" but no-this was the experiment. I made it to make the cake and see the process. I know how to make the frosting with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded. So what would it prove to make the cake over again? We will serve it as is-the good news is-I won't be eating any of it! No temptation on my part with this one. YUCK that frosting. Who can eat that stuff??

My mother still refuses to believe she sold out. She thinks this is the cake she made in Paris. Although if she thinks about it-she will realize no one in Paris would eat this. Perhaps the dog. But even they did not want the frosting. They begged for the cake and got plenty of scraps, and they had begged for the real buttercream when we made the Buche--getting little licks of it here and there--but this they turned their nose up at. Smart dogs!

So structurally the cake looks correct-but the taste? Well how about "just like it came from a bakery". Yucky.

Moral of the story? Don't let you mother get to age 77 before pulling family recipes. It's not easy to remember things at that age( heck-it's not easy to remember what I had for breaksfast now!). I knew I was doomed about two years ago when I said I was making mashed potatoes for dinner and she directed me to the pantry for FAKE mashed potatoes. This from a woman who would have no processed foods in her house. Who thought McDonald's was for farm animals and who definitely knew her buttercream from her bakerycreams. And she still does-but now she is being stubborn.

I think tomorrow when we eat the cake she will say "you're right-this is the wrong frosting". let's hope for that-or I will have to start worrying....

UPDATE!!! We served the cake tonight and Mom wouldn't eat it! why? Because the frosting was bad! Although she is not totally giving in that the wrong frosting is with the recipe. Instead she decided I must have made it wrong. (how can you make three ingredients slapped together-wrong??) UGH! But at least her taste buds are intact! :).

I go home tomorrow morning. I've made about five holiday dinners, 2 batches of orange rolls, and a Buche. And loved every minute of it. Of course I ate way more than humanly possible! good thing I will be home for the next ten days. Need to recover from Food hangover.

Santa and the Witch

Being a story teller from way back, I find it very hard to entertain little children and not tell some sort of story. However, I am never really sure how they are going to end. This of course is not exactly comforting to the parents. "then all the little children were eaten by the monster". Not a good ending...

This year, we made a Gingerbread house for Christmas with the very able assistance of my grand niece and Nephew who are 3 and 4. As you can see from the pictures-this was a true work of art! If you have ever worked with the icing from those kits you know it is like cement (as a matter of fact--that is what holds the house together-so it is cement). And the pieces of the house could seriously be used as self defense devices if you ever get robbed at Christmas. Just grab the roof off the house and fling it Frisbee style at the assailant and I guarantee he will be decapitated.

But getting back to Santa and the witch. During the making of the house, I had to keep them entertained while I outlined as best as possible, all the parts of the house. So I began telling them not to touch the house because a wicked witch lived in side and she would come out and eat them. They had to let me put the house together and seal it up so the witch could not get out. I then instructed them that the gingerbread men (that they desperately wanted to eat) were her guards and so they had to be very careful of them-no eating as they could be very mean.

Along about now my nephew says "aunt Judy-this better be going somewhere good". I must tell you--this is the first time I realized I had better have some sort of plan. But--Too late! we'd have to see where it went. Chloe was quite certain she could take the witch on herself and felt if I just gave her a chance to eat the house she would show me her witch superiority. so I had to make the witch REALLY nasty. More bad news for mom and dad.

Finally, the house was outlined and it was time to put all the doo dads on. And this is when we wrapped up the story.

Seems Santa comes at night and eats the gingerbread guards and goes in through the chimney and gets the witch out of the house so that every one is safe. But until then--no touching the house. So that is how the legend of Santa and the witch was born. Two fairy tales sort of melded into one Just like the TV shows that borrow characters from other shows to extend their plots. Hollywood has nothing on me. :).

Mom and dad took the gingerbread men from the house and left some crumbs. The next morning the children ran to the house to see the gingerbread men eaten-and of course-the witch was gone--thanks to Santa who once again saves the day!

The children thought the house was gorgeous and they had a great time putting it together so that is all that really matters. Thought you would enjoy a little Diva divergence...

Orange Rolls Trump Love

Well, you know what they say about true love-it conquers all. But apparently it is not as strong as the inside of an orange roll. as my nephew munched on a roll before dinner his wife asked him for a little piece. He hesitate, was reluctant, then said yes. Just as she was taking a bite he could not take it any longer and said "but you can't have the middle!" So there we have it. I did not take pictures of them-regrettably, but they were big and beautiful and lusciously delicious. My mother ate three of them as they came out of the oven and I think every one had at least two at dinner. I made 36 of them and only a few remained. Their smell fills the house and they just look so beautiful you can't help but pop them in your mouth.

The dough is soft and eggy and the filling is orange and sugar and butter. How can you go wrong.

Here is a picutre of the book this recipe came from. This book is 57 years old and as you can see it has been through a lot of baking in its day! It's the ladies circle of Cheyenne Wyoming that put this book out. My mother and i love the recipes from it and use it quite often. You can bet this baby is out of print circulation.

This weekend I will be conducting a "all things Yeast class". Friday and Saturday. I will send an email to those on my list, but if you would like to be added to the list please email me at
innerdd@hotmail.com. I will be sending the flyer out tomorrow. We will feature the orange rolls, the nut roll, Challah bread with Bosc pears and time permitting-Baba au Rum.

Ta Dah-This Year's Buche

Notable items about the Buche. First, Notice the use of the buttercream to make the "bark". Then notice the cut out piece of cake that looks like a bump on the log. Also, there are two types of frosting. The interior is coffee and the exterior is Mocha. You could do Mocha and Chocolate as well. But the two types of frostings give the distinctive difference between the rings of the wood and the bark.

And finally, notice the lightness of the cake. Remember-this is a cake that rises from only the treatment of the eggs-no leavening. This is quite a feat. This is a cake that will not always turn out right-even for an experienced baker. The slightest thing and poof-the eggs fall. But, knowing all the tricks makes it a 90% probability and the cake is so ethereal in texture that it is worth the effort.

I did not publish the recipe for either the Genoise cake or the Buttercream frosting because attempting them without instruction would probably lead to disappointment.

Anyone wishing to to part of a master cake making class involving the Buche and the frosting (which can be used at Christmas-or other times of the year in different configurations) email me at innerdd@hotmail.com and I will see if there is enough interest for a class. I understand these are extremely expensive in bake shops and they are not the real thing. Imagine the impression you would make next holiday bringing this out!

I hope you and yours had a lovely holiday. :).

What is Real Buttercream Frosting?

So many bakeries advertise buttercream frosting on their cakes. In actuality, 90% of the time it is a lard based sugar concoction that they whip into a frenzy and slather in hideous quantities on their pathetic cakes. Not a great combination and NOT a buttercream frosting!

Even in very good pastry shops-most of the time their buttercream frosting is made with confectioner's sugar and butter and lard, but is not a true buttercream.

In order for a frosting to be a true buttercream-it must be cooked. COOKED??? you think. Yes, cooked. And here is how.

First you decide what flavor you want. If you want chocolate you can proceed with step one. If you want Mocha, you must first mix instant coffee and water and then add the other ingredients.

The next step is to add sugar and water to a pan (with or without the coffee mixture-your preference) and set it on a medium high stove. You need a candy thermometer for this part. the liquid has to come to 238. that is soft ball stage. that is the point where a little of the syrup dropped in water will form a soft ball. Hard ball stage is when it forms a had ball-that is like a brittle. Soft ball allows the syrup to be pliable and pourable and mixable.

While that is coming to softball stage you need to put your eggs (warmed previously in warm water) in the mixer and beat then till they turn a nice lemon color. Once the syrup is at softball you remove it from the heat and begin incorporating it in to the eggs (mixer running). This is a very delicate process. The eggs cannot cook and the syrup is very hot. so in order not to get scrambled eggs you must add very slowly in the beginning. There will be syrup all over the bowl in side-don't worry- you can get this a little later. In the meantime, continue to add slowly to eggs-faster as the eggs become tempered (meaning they have accepted the hot liquid, are warm and now will not cook-they have taken in the syrup to form a completely different consistency).

Scrape down the bowl at this point and incorporate all the syrup that has accumulated on the inside of the bowl (you don't have to be too fussy about this-but try to get most of it).

Now comes the fun part (and you thought the other part was fun!).

You are going to add softened butter to this mixture. But since this is a very warm mixture-guess what happens to the butter if the frosting is not cooled correctly? that's right-it melts and your frosting is now oily and messy. But you can't wait or the syrup/egg mixture will not be the right consistency. SO what is a baker to do? well-you add ice of course. SO what you have to do is get a bowl of ice under the frosting bowl. I use the big mixing bowl for this as i am using the small mixing bowl for the frosting. You place the frosting bowl in the big bowl, add the ice and return everything to the beaters. now you SLOWLY start to add the butter-making sure it is incorporating -- not remaining in solid lumps, but not melting either. After all the butter is added you can now again decide on a flavor, you can add vanilla, or rum or chocolate or what ever suits your fancy (maybe even orange extract and orange rind or lemon extract and lemon rind). For Mocha, add unsweetened chocolate to the coffee frosting.

And THAT is a real buttercream frosting. Now you know why you rarely see it in a bake shop and certainly don't find it on any commercial cakes!

More Buche Photography

the first picture is the slow process of finding little bits of flour and making sure they are delicately incorporated, the second picture is the drizzle of butter added to the batter and folded so gently that the eggs are barely disturbed. The final picture is the Buche in a towel.

sorry I didn't get more pictures from oven to towel, but you have to work very quickly when this bad boy comes out of the oven. You have to invert the cake, sprinkle a towel with superfine sugar, flip the cake on top the towel, peel the parchment, sprinkle it with more superfine sugar and the roll it lengthwise very quickly. If you don't work quickly enough the cake will crack when you roll it. which is the whole purpose of rolling it--You are giving it "memory" to be later rolled with icing in the middle.

Part two: the Frosting. Tomorrow.

Bunch of Buche

We started the Buche at around 12:00. We finished the Buche at 5:00pm. Now you should know that my mother and I are masters at this so that was two people, working well and quickly together.

The good news is, since my mom was here, I was able to take lots of pictures. although sometimes I thought she was going to kind a gun if I didn't stop taking pictures and do whatever time sensitive things was necessary. Because let's be clear-this is no ordinary cake.

I have taken pictures of many parts of it. First is her very worn and very awesome cookbook which I have told her if she goes before me-I expect that it will be willed to me. Unlike "mastering the art of French cooking" by Julia child, this book is for people who want to cook with all the complexity of the French chef. Great illustrations on things. Like how to carve a Saddle of Hare. I KNOW you have been wanting to know how to do that. Seriously, great cookbook on authentic french cooking done the way they do it-not edited for American capabilities or tastes. Things have changed since Julia Child wrote her book. We are able to get authentic ingredients and we crave authentic cuisine.

The title is "Modern French Culinary Art: by Henri-Paul Pellaprat. I'm not sure if it is still in print because I suspect not too many people are into the real art of French cooking. It's circa 1966.

At any rate, as you can see by the pictures, it is well worn, and like me, my mother makes notes. A cookbook is a study plan or a guide - not just something to look at. Although I must laugh, as I page through it-the bookmarks are of a variety of items. One is a report card for me from my junior year in college! Still in the envelope. Never straying form the its mark for the last 30 years.

So what makes this cake so difficult yet so delightful? well let's begin:

(I have to apologize, the pictures are in reverse order. I keep forgetting this blog puts the pictures in the opposite order that you request them. takes too long to download to do it again-just go from the bottom up).

First, the eggs MUST be warm. We put them in a hot water bath for about 15 minutes (in their shells). then we warmed the bowl with warm water, then we sat the warm bowl and the warmed eggs in a bath of hot water. You see in the pictures the eggs at the beginning and then the beautiful pale yellow fluffy eggs in the next picture. that is just eggs and sugar. Oh-the sugar is superfine so you have to put it in the blender first to make it very fine. You must also add the vanilla at the same time as the sugar. to wait till after will make the cake fall. (yes, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla at the wrong time will make the cake fail).

This is all the leavening in the cake. No baking powder, no baking soda-nothing else. Just the warm eggs beat until they quadruple in volume. Once you have the eggs and sugar to the right volume you slowly add the flour (sifted BEFORE measuring-not the recipe says "1 cup of sifted cake flour". If it said "1 cup of cake flour sifted" then you would have measured before sifting. but it says sifted cake flour, so you measure AFTER sifting).

OK, now we have the flour in -by tablespoons. Some of it will remain--that's OK. You don't beat too much. You take the mixing bowl from the mixer and continue to mix the flour in by hand VERY GENTLY as the eggs can fall at any moment with any slightly rough handling. so you meticulously pick out all the little flour lumps that remain and disperse them in the batter and gently fold them.

Now you take melted butter that has been allowed to cool and settle. Being Very careful not to get any of the sediment, you take teaspoonfuls of the butter and drizzle it on the batter and ever so gently fold it in. This is the most tedious but crucial part. Very slowly, very little at a time.

Once that is complete, you are ready for the pan. A parchment lined jelly roll pan-commercial grade (thick).

You pour it in the pan and cook it in a moderate oven for 35 minutes. Don't open the door to see if it is done. You have to look at it through the oven window. If you think its done-ever so slowly open the oven door, touch the top-if it bounces back a little, it's done.

Upon taking it out of the oven, have a towel ready. Flip the cake and strip the parchment paper and place the cake on the towel. Sprinkle the cake with superfine sugar and roll it length wise in the towel.

Let it sit there while you make the frosting. that's the next post. Are you exhausted yet??? :). I am!

This blog only allows me five pictures per post-so the rest of the pictures for making the Buche are in the next posting. Tomorrow we will discuss the frosting. You really didn't think that would be easy after all this for the cake did you?? Serioulsy-it's french! It can't be easy.