Testing the Baking Sphere...

Sasko Amateurs Baking Competition...

The Angela Day cooking school and Sasko are hosting "The Best Chocolate Cake Competition". This past Saturday, more than 80  'home bakers' participated in the fourth round of the Competition.  Now this lady is not much of a baker, but I also knew I would regret not taking a chance and going for the R30 000.00  prize money or at the very least the great Kenwood hampers on offer.

 

So I dusted off my baking pans, called on a friend (who is an amazing baker) and asked for a recipe. The recipe is a delicious Chocolate, Peanut Butter Cake - which was taken from a spectacular blog (smitten kitchen).  We had to adapt a few ingredients, to make it as South African grocery store friendly.

 

What you will need (see bottom for frosting and glaze):

• 2 cups all-purpose flour/ normal cake flour (I used self raising)
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (aka bicarbonate)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
• 2 eggs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle

 

What to do:

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper .

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (smitten kitchen  note: the  cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.) (I froze them before taking them out of the pan - you can even freeze overnight, which is what I did and they still came out of the pans easily)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (smitten   kitchen: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-coloured frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosting, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.(If you're going to use the chopped peanut brittle I suggest chopping it up really finely because the larger chunks, although prettier, just make the cake hard to slice.)

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature ( 283 grams to be exact)
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature ( about 60grams)
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I combined dark chocolate (Lindt 70% and normal milk Chocolate, about 225g)
•  3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup ( It's just used to give some shine to the glaze though and you could use golden syrup instead (which I have done) or even honey for the shine. Or leave it out if you don't need a shiny finish.)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half (Half-and-half translates to normal fresh cream)

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

This cake may not have taken the prize at the competitioon, which was rather fierce but it is delicious, I promise.  The result was not too shabby for a first attempt.