Sam's Chocolate-Strawberry Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday... 

My honey had a birthday just recently, and although we didn't celebrate "big" by going away for the weekend as we hoped (Sam had to work) or having family and friends over...I can assure you, our party of two was not devoid of celebration, and by the time all was said and done, my Sammy was a very happy, birthday boy ;-).

One of the main highlights of the festivities included indulging (and I do mean indulging) in the white layer cake I made, that had a strawberry cream cheese filling (like the one from the strawberry cream cheese brownie cupcakes), dark chocolate ganache, topped with glazed strawberries.

Just like the cherry chocolate love cake I made for our anniversary, this cake was made with lots of love.  However, what I loved most was the callebaut dark chocolate I used for the ganache from this recipe.

Guys and Dolls, the chocolate ganache was so delicious, I literally and shamelessly licked the whisk clean... Don't judge. Trust me, you would have done the same!

Did I mention the cake layers were brushed with an amaretto syrup?

Oh yeah, this was one sinfully rich and oh so satisfying, edible adventure! 

Like I said before...the birthday boy was very happy!

Thanks and have a great day!

God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. Voltaire  

Sam's Chocolate-Strawberry Cake

The Classic White Layer Cake recipe from my Baking Illustrated book (excellent book) can be found here.

The recipe is for two 9-inch round cake pans.  However, I used two 6-inch pans and made cupcakes with the remaining batter.

Amaretto Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup amaretto

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Prepare:

In a medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool for a few minutes (lukewarm), then add amaretto and vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely before brushing on cake layers.

The Strawberry-Cream Cheese Filling recipe by Martha Stewart can be found here.  Below is my version:

Ingredients

2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled 

To Prepare: 

Put cream cheese, butter, and sugar into mixer bowl; mix until creamy. Mix in vanilla. Puree strawberries in a food processor; strain. Mix puree into cream cheese mixture.  Use immediately or refrigerate airtight up to 3 days; stir before using. 

Chocolate Ganache recipe from Joy of Baking can be found here.  Below is my version:

Ingredients

1 cup of callebaut dark chocolate (or any semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 1/2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To Prepare:

Place the chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl and set aside.  Heat the cream and butter in microwave for about 1 minute, just to a boil (careful not to overheat) or heat in a small saucepan.  Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand.  Do not stir for at least 2-3 minutes.  Then stir gently (to avoid getting air bubbles) with either a spoon or whisk until smooth.  Add vanilla extract. 

This makes enough to cover one 9 inch cake.  It was plenty for my 6 inch cake.  Leftover can be used to make truffles.

I used the strawberry filling in-between the layers and then to crumb coat the cake. The cake was then chilled in fridge for about 1 hour, before covering with the ganache.  I added about 1-2 tablespoons of cream to the remaining ganache, whipped it and put in a piping bag for the lettering and decoration.

Eight-Layer Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

When Sam volunteered me a few weeks ago at a family gathering to make a cake for his niece's upcoming 15th birthday, I was both thrilled and anxious at the same time.

Thrilled because I get to bake a cake for one of our family members, and anxious because as usual, I didn't want to disappoint.

When she told me she wanted a chocolate on chocolate ice cream cake, I thought, "Cool, I can do that".  As I brainstormed with Sam on how I would compose and decorate the cake, Sam suggested I decorate it it with a panda bear (which she totally loves).

At that precise moment, as my face lit up with a big smile and my head nodded in agreement, the voice inside my head yelled, "Are you crazy, I'm not an artist!?!"

After all, not only am I a novice when it comes to decorating cakes, we must not forget that...Ice cream cakes melt! They melt while being decorated, and they will especially melt when...

They are being transported for approximately 30+ minutes, as the burning rays of the afteroon sun beam in through the car window, in the 90 degree humidity that we so much enjoy, living in S. Florida. 

OMG, I had challenges coming from all angles! 

Despite preparing the components and assembling the cake in advance, on the day the cake was to be presented, I had a few hiccups that caused my heart to race as if I had 10 double shots of espresso in my system, and convinced me I was crazy to think I could do this in the first place.

To my delight, I had neatly written "Happy Birthday Corina" above the panda and to my horror, the color (from the black icing) started to bleed.  It was looking awful, I tried to fix it with the little bit of ice cream I had left...to no avail.  Feeling desperate, I scraped off the lettering and ended up with a huge bald spot on the cake.

LOL! LOL! LOL!

Needless to say, I was TOTALY FREAKED OUT! I seriously wanted to cry, but the tears refused to flow (don't you hate when that happens?).

Therefore, I did what any normal person would have done, I put the cake back in the freezer, and went to take a long, long, hot shower and prayed to God for help.  Suddenly this song that I run to, popped into my head. 

I was not about to back down or give up, so as you can see, I fixed the cake the best I could using chocolate buttercream (that didn't want to play nice) around the panda and grass.

I packed up the cake by placing a block of frozen dry ice underneath the cake board (secured with rubber mesh), placed another rubber mesh on the base of my trusty cake carrier, put the dry ice and cake on top, the cover went on and the whole thing went into a large plastic storage container (it didn't fit in our cooler) that contained four bags of ice on the bottom.  

We then surrounded it all with dry ice and more bags of ice.  The thing was soooooo heavy, it must have weighed about 30+ lbs...With the a/c running in the car at full blast we were on our way, when...

To our dismay and to further add to our excitement, we had the (unwanted!) company of a police car cruising along with us for at least 15 minutes on the highway...forcing us to stay well within the speed limit, causing further panic and prayers for the ice cream cake not to melt. 

Hallelujah, we made it! The birthday girl was very happy with the panda and loved the cake (score!) and so did everyone else! Making the whole experience and lessons learned all well worth it.

Thanks and have a great day!  

“Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.” - Author Unknown

Sorry for the poor pictures...As you can see above there are 4 layers of chocolate cake, 2 layers of chocolate ice cream (that were pre-molded in cake pans) and 2 layers of vanilla/marshmallow buttercream frosting (made with butter). The entire cake was "frosted" with softened chocolate ice cream, then the sides were covered with crushed oreo cookies. The panda was made out of chocolate candy melts, that was dyed black and the grass was made out of vanilla buttercream (made with shortening).

I plan on making another one and getting more detailed (with pictures) on the assembling, along with recipes.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks :-)

Chicken Enchiladas in Red Mole Sauce - GCC: Menu 38

This past Sunday officially commenced the first day back from our hiatus at the Gutsy Cooks Club and wouldn't you know, in typical SamCyn fashion, I'm late in posting.

Cooking on Saturday was out of the question due to an eight-layer birthday ice cream cake I was making for Sam's niece (more on that soon).  On Sunday Sam and I were prepared to make the Chicken Enchiladas in Red Mole Sauce, along with some corn tortillas, but instead spent time with my cousin who's dad passed away (may he rest in peace).    

The theme for the next couple of weeks is Mexican.  How awesome is that? and the dishes chosen are from Mexican Chef Rick Bayless.  The selection includes tamales, chicken or vegetarian enchiladas in tomatillo sauce, and short ribs.  All sounding really yummy!

One of the beauties of being part of the Gutsy Cooks Club, besides learning about new chefs, cookbooks, dishes, etc., is that as long as we stay within the theme of the chosen dishes, the rules are not rigid.  We're encouraged to get creative and be "Gutsy". 

Remembering the first time I had chicken in red mole sauce at a Mexican restaurant in South Beach...Mmm, it was love at first bite and a sauce I've been wanting to make for a very long time.  After all, a sauce that contains chocolate and nuts, is a sauce after my own heart.  Therefore, I opted to make a mole sauce with the chicken enchiladas in lieu of a tomatillo sauce.

Moles come in various types and flavors.  Ingredients that have been added into moles include nuts, peanuts, pine nuts, sesame seed, pumpkin and/or squash seeds, cilantro, seedless grapes, plantains, garlic, onion, cinnamon, chocolate and more. What remained the same was the use of chili peppers, especially ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle, and the consistency of the sauce.  

With a few mole sauce recipes in my collection and having read Chef Rick's version (and a bunch online), I was undecided on which mole sauce to go with.  Naturally, I went with the simplest version, using ingredients that were commonly used amongst each recipe, along with what I had on hand. 

I then adapted, adding a whole lot more chocolate  than any of the recipes called for, which was how Sam & I liked it best.

The end result was a sauce thick with flavors that were smoky, nutty, slightly bitter and chocolately with a nice spicy kick, that was delicious over the corn tortillas stuffed with shredded rotisserie chicken, perfectly complemented by the tomato and avocado.  Sam and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal with a glass of red wine, and each other's company.

Thanks and have a great day! 

When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste.  ~Laiko Bahrs

Chicken Enchiladas in Red Mole Sauce

Inspired & Adapted by Simply Food Love and many other sources

(don't get scared off by all the ingredients, it's really easy to make)

Yields about 12 servings

Ingredients

9 ancho chilies (stemmed & seeded)

1 arbol chili (stemmed & seeded) caution: this is a hot one

1 Tbs onion powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbs agave nectar

2 tsp brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbs peanut butter

2 garlic cloves

1 medium tomato (cut in quarters)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

A piece of day old bread (baguette (approx. 3") or 1 slice)

2 tsp. salt

3 cups water

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

To Prepare:

1. Place water in a sauce pan, along with chilies, place on medium heat and steep until chilies are softened.
2. Place chilies and the remainder of ingredients in a blender along with the steeping water, you may   have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your blender.  Blend until pureed thoroughly.
3. Return mixture to the sauce pan and simmer, stirring occasionaly for approximately 30 minutes uncovered.

Corn Tortillas

Adapted by All Recipes

1 3/4 cups masa harina (I used harina PAN because it's what I had)

1 1/8 cups water

1/8 tsp salt

To Prepare:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes (I skipped this part with the harina PAN).
2. Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high.
3. Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap.
4. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

Spoon about two tablespoons of the shredded chicken on each tortilla, roll and place on a serving plate.  Pour a generous amount of sauce on top and serve with slices of tomato and avocado.

Enjoy!