Hi, all!

Doing a bit of baking this weekend (yay!) and I’d sure appreciate your thoughts on the following stuff!!

1. Which chocolate cake?
I’m making a chocolate cake this weekend, and I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts as to which one to make.  It can’t be the Domingo (TCB) or the Devil’s Food (RHC), because I’ve already made them.  The plan is a two layer cake, with chocolate frosting (see next item).  The top will have thickened cherries (like pie filling), a la the Blueberry Swan Lake (except chocolate and cherries).  I was thinking maybe the chocolate fudge cake, but I’m open to ideas.  Or maybe the All American Chocolate Butter Cake?  It would be good for it to be able to hold its own with frosting and cherries.

2.  Failed Fudge Frosting
I have some frosting that never set. It’s very chocolatey and very soft, so I thought I’d just whip some butter into it and call it frosting.  If it needs to be lightened, I’d likely thicken milk with flour and mix it in when it’s good and cooled.  If it needs sweetening after the butter, I’d add it tot he thickening milk to dissolve.  Any thoughts on this?

3.  Coconut frosting
In RHC, there’s the two coconut cakes, and the second one uses the thickeneed yolks added to the meringue method for the frosting.  I’m going to make that cake, but I have a frosting question.  I have some mousseline in the freezer, and I was wondering if I can do the yolk part without sugar, since all the sugar is already in the mousseline.  In the alternative, I thought I’d simply cook down some coconut milk, add dried coconut to it, cool it, and add that to mousseline.

Any thoughs on any of that?  Many, many thanks!!!

—ak

For the chocolate-cherry cake, I’d go with either moist chocolate genoise or a version of the All-American (there are two in TCB, the torte is an all-yolk version, and then two in RHC, the chocolate layer cake that is paired with the caramel ganache, and the double chocolate valentine with raspberries on top).

Not sure about the frosting, sorry!  What was in it to begin with, and why did it turn out soft?

For the silk meringue frosting, you’ll need a little sugar in the custard, probably at least enough to make it 20% sugar by weight.  Partly because the sugar helps keep the yolks from curdling, and partly because if you add a totally unsweetened custard to the mousseline, you’ll decrease the overall sweetness.

Thanks, Julie!  I’ll go with the All American, then.

What happened was I was making cooked fudge, and I THOUGHT it lost its gloss and thickened, and I was naturally paranoid of crossing the over-beating line, but I guess it wasn’t quite there.  It’s very soft.  VERY soft.  Not pourable, by any means, but soft and sticky.  And oh, so, yummy!!!

Re the coconut.  May I ask, is the coconut SMBC from “that cake” (the 2nd coconut one in RHC—the layer one)—is that SMBC “fluffy”?  My husband distinctly wants a “fluffy” frosting (which to me reads soft), but doesn’t want whipped cream.  Normally, if I want it fluffy, adding thickened milk keeps it soft and whippy (and cuts the sweetness), so I might go that route, unless the coconut SMBC is “fluffy.”

Thanks so much!

Anne,  you could maybe use the deep dark passion chocolate cake as well.  It is very nice and moist.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Life can be so complicated.

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear your fudge didn’t turn out.  I’m not sure about using it as a frosting either.  But, I bet it would taste great warmed up as hot fudge sauce over ice cream.

Anne in NC - 21 December 2010 10:10 PM

Hi, all!

Doing a bit of baking this weekend (yay!) and I’d sure appreciate your thoughts on the following stuff!!

1. Which chocolate cake?

Anne, I asked the same question last summer. Here is my thread with everyone’s suggestions.

I hope it helps

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/index_ee.php/forums/viewthread/2524/

I’m so sorry to hear your fudge didn’t turn out. 

Thanks, Liza!  Not a problem, though.  One fudge did, and everyone I gave candy to said it was their favorite one, so I was very happy about it!  This one is really yummy, just too soft to be fudge.  It’s so freaky, becuase it loses its gloss, and then you stop stirring, and it comes back, and you’re like, what the hell?  So I think it’s one of those things that finally “clicks.”

I gave my candy book away, because I realized I could have made lots of cakes (like pound cakes and that shape) I’ve been wanting to make and give those out.

However, I’ve saved your fudge recipes, because if I decide to make any more, I have the strong feeling those are all I will need!!!!  Three perfect flavors!!!

Here is my thread with everyone’s suggestions.

Thanks, MJ!  I will scope!