Hi, all!

I am a new fan of the amazing Chocolate Fudge Cake!  I might even like it better than the Perfect All American Chocolate Butter Cake/Torte, but I haven’t had a big bite of it yet.  It’s moist, not too tender, not too fudgy.  Just nice, very chocolatey cake. 

For the mousseline, I had some in the freezer for about 5 months.  To about 4 cups of mousseline, I added flour-thickened milk to it (150g milk; about 1T Wondra) (to lighten the texture) and 4 oz white chocolate.  It is very, very delicious.  I had soaked vanilla beans in the milk for a couple days, so it was very vanilly.

The cherries are a cross between the fresh and winter berries.  I had frozen some cherries a little over a year ago and wanted to use them.  As they thawed, they put out a ton of juice.  Since I didn’t dissolve the sugar overnight in the juices (like the recipe sort of does), I just added powdered sugar (3T to the 4t corn starch) to the juices, which I reduced to 1/2 cup.  I added 1/4 t. almond extract.  They are incredibly wonderful.

Toasted the slivered almonds.

The one with more cherries is for one of my bosses and her hubby.  The one with more almonds is for a really nice guy who’s leaving our firm. 

I made some “cake sandwiches” from the considerable trimmings—got a new can of BP, and they rose like igloos.  If I use cake strips, they take forever to bake.  These domed like crazy (whereas I’ve been having flat cake syndrome recently).  The trimmings are a little holey, so there’s something up.  Holes about 3/8” round, I’d say, throughout.  Someday I’ll get it right—at least they always taste great!!

UPDATE: I had one of my cake trimmings “sandwiches,” and the cake is AWESOME.  Fudge cake is amazing.  Mousseline was very fluffy with the added thickened milk and didn’t seem so buttery-rich, even with all the white chocolate.

Okay you are gonna make me try that choc Fudge cake.  They look delicious…. I really want a slice of the left cake.

Anne, both cakes look gorgeous! And the flavours sound so delicious…....like Black Forest with a twist or 2 (or 3) .

Anne in NC - 26 February 2012 10:05 PM

got a new can of BP, and they rose like igloos.  If I use cake strips, they take forever to bake.  These domed like crazy (whereas I’ve been having flat cake syndrome recently).  The trimmings are a little holey, so there’s something up.  Holes about 3/8” round, I’d say, throughout. 

Curious about the doming and holes; I’ve baked this cake without strips - not intentionally ....I just forgot them - the layers rose but were still pretty level.

Anne,
Both cakes look super awesome! I love love love how you decorate them - especially the one with more almonds. It looks awfully fancy with all those almond mounds. Very pretty.

And look at you with using the gold base too on the one with more cherries. It adds a nice touch to it!

Both parties are very lucky to have you bake them such nice cakes. I’m sure they’ll love it.

Very nice, Anne!  I love the flavour combinations!  On an aside, I have had the same issue with thawing cherries for pies—they exude an incredible amount of juice and I end up having to double the amount of cherries (as Rose calls for) but I end up with at least a litre of juice!  Good to hear the baking powder has resolved the flat cake issue.  Regarding the strips, I have found with the wet strips—they must not have too much water—I really work them to ensure there isn’t too much water.  One time they were very wet and I ended up with a cake that took almost 2x to bake.  That’s a sign they are too wet.  I also use the Chicago Metallic pans for my 9” and even though Rose doesn’t suggest altering the temperature for them, I find they bake too fast if I used at 350F—I need to reduce the temperature a little.  To add to the confusion, I find the silicone strips on my Chicago Metallic pans dome more than the wet strips—it’s an interesting balance of pan/temperature/insulation. 

You are always so generous with your cakes, Anne.  I am sure everyone will enjoy them—they look fabulous!

Thank you, everyone!!!

@CRenee - The choco-fudge is AWESOME! Make it today!!!!
@Sophia - Or 4 even!  I think my new oven is insane.  I don’t care, though.  We are buying a new place, and it will be out of my hair.
@Jenn - Hubby thinks that one looks tres elegante also!!
@Sherrie - I concentrated all that juice down in the microwave (which I normally use as my baking cabinet, so my counter was strewn small bottles & jars), and it was wonderful!  I use Chicago Metallic pans, soo.  Maybe I need to reduce temp a bit.  I’ll try that!!!  Maybe I’ll dry dryer cake strips, too. 

Sadly, the person who was leaving work had a change of schedule and will not be here this week.  I’m going to pop his cake (the one with more almonds) in the freezer and bring it to the closing on my new place!

They both sound sooooo good. I seriously want to be your neighbor, co-worker and on your tasting panel I’m loving the one with more cherries!

Those cakes are gorgeous! I agree with CRenee, I have to try it now!

omg. that looks and sounds amazing !!! =)

Anne, they look and sound amazing!  Absolutely delicious  

Thanks so much for reporting on your flour/milk variation on mousseline, along with the white chocolate I bet it was great- light and not as rich, it would suit me well.

Re: cherries giving off juice, you can drain them and concentrate the juices in the microwave, just be sure to go easy and don’t use the stove top, as the bitterness of caramelization doesn’t go well with tart cherries.

Thanks again, everyone!!

Julie, I did exactly that!  Reduced in the microwave!  I remember about the cherry juices caramelizing on the stovetop, but I didn’t realize about the bittter aspect—thanks for that info!!  My microwave holds all my baking stuff, so there were boxes, bottles and containers all over my counter just so I could use it for 4 minutes to reduce!!!

My boss, who the cherry-er one was for, told me she had a piece for breakfast today, and her hubby said he had one on the porch swing the other day.  Made me feel very happy!!!!