Black & White Vintage Cakes

NinjaBaker — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:31:18 +0000

“The very pink of perfection” (a quote by She Stoops to Conquer playwright and poet Oliver Goldsmith) was inscribed at the top of my friend Anne’s “From My Sweet Heart” blog. Then, I saw her pink cake and swooned. After I picked myself up, ogled a few more photos and post, I saw that Anne was a member of The Cake Slice Bakers.

Curious, I e-mailed Anne. I was introduced to Paloma at her blog, The Coffee Shop. She’s the leader of The Cake Slice Bakers. Her treats and recipes are irresistible. And Paloma is sweeter than her baked goods.

Excited to be a part of this formidable group of ladies called The Cake Slice Bakers, I took on this month’s assignment of baking a Black & White Cake from Vintage Cakes cookbook. (Variations of shapes e.g. cupcakes, Bundt cakes are allowed.) Suddenly, popping up on Facebook were previews of fellow contributors’ completely professional cakes! This confirmed my suspicion that I was part of an elite group. Gulp.

When faced with performance anxiety, poetry brings peace to this Ninja Baker. The words of poet and playwright, William Shakespeare are among the best comforters in the world. (I also adore Basho’s haiku and the poetry of Rumi and Wordsworth.) Who’s your favorite poet?

Meditating Monk Cartoon Credit

Around age 10, the Royal Shakespeare Company arrived in Tokyo and performed a string of soliloquies. I was mesmerized. I’ve been in love with the Bard ever since. Thank goodness, I remembered lines from Measure for Measure:

“Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.”
Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene 4, Lines 87-89

So, step by step I tackled the three separate recipes, which together are known as the Black & White cake.

The Ninja Baker's cupcakes rendition of the Black & White Cake

First, the chocolate cake base. Fine quality cocoa, hot coffee, full fat sour cream and vanilla extract are combined. Next, standard sifting of flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. In yet another bowl, 5 ounces of butter along with white and brown sugars are creamed. All ingredients get mixed together and a luscious I’m-back-in-a-Parisian-patisserie kind of rich, moist deep chocolate cake is the result. (My cupcakes took 25 minutes to bake in a 350 oven.)

The 3-hour process of the ganache followed. 3 hours may sound intimidating to some like yours truly. But, as I followed the Vintage Cakes instructions (on page 146), I was elated to discover a successful not too runny – perfect for frosting cupcakes ganache.

The third step was my biggest fear. I strongly dislike wasting food and money. And the vanilla buttercream recipe called for 6 egg whites to be hand whisked over simmering hot water. I forged ahead and even employed my candy thermometer as directed in the instructions. At 130 degrees plus, the mixture was carried over to the KitchenAid. Bless the author of Vintage Cakes. For bakers just like me she writes, “At some point, the buttercream will take on a curdled appearance; don’t worry, this is normal. Just keep on mixing until it comes together.”

And it did! Deliciously.

Click here for other variations on this delightful Black & White Cake made by fellow Cake Slice Bakers.

Wishing you courage when winds of change blow.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

The Cake Slice Bakers

Black & White Cake

Vintage Cookbook

Shakespeare

Independence Day: Happy Gluten-Free Fourth

NinjaBaker — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:49:40 +0000

A better world where all are encouraged in their “pursuit of happiness.” And equality prevails. Isn’t that what the American Revolutionaries wanted? Ironically, a British nobleman named Sir Francis Bacon planted the seeds of the ideals of this land of “amber waves of grain.” He was one of the major players in exploration expeditions to Virginia in the early 1600s.

Sir Francis Bacon

The cover of another Bacon classic, Novum Organum.

He also served as Counsel to Queen Elizabeth I and dedicated free time to writing volumes of philosophy such as The Advancement of Learning. Many believe the Utopian society he describes in the book bares direct correlation to his involvement in the Virginia Company and his hopes for a better tomorrow.

The theory is laid out succinctly in a DVD entitled Secret Mysteries of America’s Beginnings: The New Atlantis. (Many also are convinced that Sir Francis Bacon was at the head of a group, which authored the Shakespearean works. If interested in more info, click here for Peter Dawkins’ site. He’s a world-renowned scholar on Sir Francis Bacon and the Shakespeare authorship question.)

As we all know ideals on paper are not always easy to perfectly execute. And America seems to serve as the grand stage where philosophies are routinely questioned. So we have rebellions and revolutions and refinement of stated standards. Thank goodness. The lionhearted courage of men and women throughout American history have brought about greater equality for all regardless of color, gender and religion. And, yes, the fight for more freedoms continues. Including issues pertaining to food production. Without more research I will not dive into the crossfire of voices regarding issues such as the treatment of animals in the dairy, cattle and chicken industries.

Some critters, such as our tabby, however, have nothing to complain about.

My stepmother's kitty doing yoga: Downward Dog Position.

For today, I will focus on the growing need for providing foods and recipes free from the protein known as gluten which is found in wheat, rye and barley products. So if you are one of the sensitive ones like my husband or are having friends over on July 4^th who are wheat intolerant, support their revolution and encourage their independence from wheat! My cookie recipe which follows is a party pleaser. The Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Almond Oatmeal Apple Cookies are crisp, buttery and delicious. And healthy!

A healthy version of Paula Deen's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding using the Ninja Baker's Gluten-Free Almond Oatmeal Apple Cookies. And garnished with Bob's Red Mill Dried Diced Apples and Slivered Almonds.

The Ninja Baker’s Gluten-Free Almond Oatmeal Apple Cookies

Yields approximately 90 smallish crisp, buttery yummy cookies.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Tools you’ll need: Two big bowls, a mixer, cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups non-hydrogenated, trans fat-free margarine

1.5 cups almond butter (equals one 16-ounce jar of Justin’s Almond Butter)

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Evaporated Cane Juice

1 cup brown sugar

3 large cage-free eggs

2 teaspoons almond extract

3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats

(Per their website quick cooking is better for cookies than instant.)

1 1/3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour

Slightly less than a ½ cup of Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch

Slightly less than a ¼ cup of Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour

2 teaspoons Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda or any aluminum-free baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 heaping cup of Bob’s Red Mill Diced Dried Apples

In a large bowl whisk the oats, flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

With the paddle attachment on your mixer, cream the margarine and almond butter until combined. Add the sugars. Then the eggs - one at a time. Pour in the almond extract.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients oats/flour/soda/salt combo. Stir in the diced apples with a spatula. Make sure to incorporate all the tiny bits into the dough by scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Scoop out the rounded ½ teaspoons of dough onto your prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. My older oven requires that I rotate my sweets halfway in the baking process. But if you have a newer even-baking oven, you are probably safe with a 9 to 10 minute bake. As a French Cordon Bleu pastry professor told me, “Trust ze eyes and nose!”

Dried cherries and blueberries form the star in the pudding pictured above.

The Ninja Baker’s Gluten-Free Almond Oatmeal Apple Cookies are perfect for Fourth of July picnic fare. If you want a fancier Independence Day dessert, the cookies will substitute nicely for the Chessmen asked for in Paula Deen’s pudding dessert recipe. Er, I’ve also made quite a few substitutions to make the dish healthier. (See the detailed list below.) If you are lucky to have munchkins, you and yours can go to town decorating the tops of the puddings with Bob’s Red Mill’s Dried Tart Cherries, Dried Blueberries and Slivered Almonds.

Healthy substitutes for Paula Deen’s Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding.

Instead of Pepperidge Farm cookies use gluten-free cookies (Use the recipe above, buy store bought ones or create your own!)

Skip the bananas and use dried fruits to avoid spoiling once the dessert is out of the fridge.

Use 2 cups of almond milk for the dairy kind

(Also if using dried blueberries, softening the fruit in almond milk works well.)

Substitute Neufchâtel for cream cheese. (It has considerably less fat.)

Instead of Cool Whip use TruWhip. (Confession: From childhood, I am a Cool Whip fan. However, if you want to be free of the raised eyebrows of health conscious friends and family, go for gluten-free TruWhip.)

Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy Fourth of July independent of all worldly concerns and cares.

?The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker - Shakespeare

Black & White Vintage Cakes

Independence Day: Happy Gluten-Free Fourth