Poppyseed Angel Food Cake with Grapefruit Curd

I've been a super-procrastinator lately with the updates. There are a few reasons for this, but mostly it's due to laziness. Also, I've been borrowing heavily from smittenkitchen.com, and frankly, it seems a little silly to spend a bunch of time typing up recipes that anyone can get to with mere clicks. Some things I've made recently that have been stellar are the blondies (so easy), peanut butter chocolate rice krispie bars (so dangerous), goat cheese pasta with asparagus (so refreshing), and peanut butter cookies (so classic). Go nuts, kids.

This is another recipe from Regan Daley's In The Sweet Kitchen that is a stunning rendition of a classic cake. The angel food cake gets a little something different from the poppyseeds; I've made this both with and without, and it was very good both ways. I've also played with the grapefruit curd, swapping out the citrus juice and zest for an orange/grapefruit mix, and straight lemon. I thought all three were excellent, but I would probably rank them 1. lemon, 2. grapefruit, 3. orange-grapefruit as my preference. The angel food cake - curd mash-up is really spectacular, and convenient, because the curd uses as many egg yolks as the cake does whites. Most recently, I also made some raspberry sauce to go with the cake-curd combo, and that was a very good idea.  

NB: for this recipe, it is important that the tools you use to make the cake - pan, bowls, mixers, spatulas, etc - all be very clean and grease-free. Even a little bit of fat can keep the egg whites from achieving their full volume.

For the cake:

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (about 10 extra large, 12 large)

2 Tbs. warm water

1 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 Tbs. poppyseeds

For the curd:

12 large egg yolks

1 cup superfine sugar

2 tsp. finely grated pink or yellow grapefruit zest

3/4 cup freshly squeezed pink or yellow grapefruit juice

3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place a clean, removable-bottom 10-inch tube pan off to the side. Working between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, sift the flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar together 3 times, and set off to the side.

In a very large bowl, beat the egg whites with the warm water until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and the salt a whip the whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, a little at a time, whipping constantly. When all the sugar has been added, the whites should be firm, glossy and hold stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Incorporate the flour-sugar mixture gently but quickly to avoid deflating the whites. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the whites and using your clean hands, fold the batter over onto itself, making sure to reach down to the bottom of the bowl and all around the sides. When you don't see or feel lumps, and another 1/4 of the flour mixture. Repeat until the final 1/4 is almost incorporated, and add the poppyseeds. The batter should be very light and fluffy, but smooth. Scrape the batter into the pan without banging the spatula on the bowl or the bowl on the counter, as this will deflate the whites. Smooth the top of the batter, and run a clean knife through the pan to rupture any large air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean, and the top is cracked and golden. Invert the pan onto its legs, over the neck of a wine bottle, or into a colander, cake-side down to prevent sinking. Cool completely

To unmold, run a thin-bladed knife around the outside and center tube of the pan. Carefully pull the tube upwards, and run a knife around the bottom of the cake, then invert onto a cake platter. The best way to cut this cake is with 2 back-to-back forks, pulling the pieces apart from the rest of the cake. This will keep the cake from getting smashed by a knife. Well-covered leftovers can be stored for several days at room temp. 

To make the curd:

Fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a simmer. Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium-sized bowl, set aside. Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl and whisk until frothy, then whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the grapefruit juice and zest, and the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the simmering water and adjust the heat to keep the water just barely simmering. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickly coats the back of the spoon and a finger drawn over the back of the spoon leaves a clean trail, at least 10 minutes. Make sure the spoon sweeps the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once the curd has thickened, pour it through the strainer. **The curd must be kept moving or the yolks will cook unevenly, and you'll end up with a grapefruit flavored omelet, which is exactly as gross as it sounds. 

With a clean spoon or rubber spatula, stir the butter into the hot curd a few pieces at a time, blending well after each addition. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bowl to prevent a skin from forming, poke a few holes with a sharp knife, cool to lukewarm, and refrigerate until cold for 2-8 hours. May be stored, well-covered in the fridge, for 3 days.

Easy, classic chocolate cake

In spite of all the fancy chocolate cake recipes out there, this is the cake that most people are wishing for when they think, "I would really like a piece of chocolate cake right now." It's dead simple, and brings back childhood memories of licking batter-laden spoons and sipping tall glasses of milk to wash down every last crumb of cake. This cake is a natural partner for ice cream, too. Even for people who think they can't bake, this is within the realm of possibility, and you'll be so pleased with yourself. And you'll have chocolate cake.

All-in-the-Pan Chewy Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Icing

From Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen, a favorite cookbook of mine with an awesome reference section. If you've been looking to get into baking but feel like you have too many questions to be comfortable in the kitchen, buy this book. I use the reference section almost as often as I use the recipes.

Makes an 8 x 8" (time given), 9 x 9" (subtract 5-7 minutes from the baking time), or about 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes (15-18 minutes baking time). The recipe can be doubled for a 9 x 13" pan, in which case the baking time is the same, but double the icing recipe as well.

Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. vegetable oil, like canola

1 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup cool water

Icing

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbs. milk or water

1 1/2 Tbs. natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla

**This recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting the butter in the icing with Earth Balance and using the water as liquid for the frosting. I consider this cake to be a pinnacle of vegan baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour into an ungreased, unfloured pan (if you'll be making cupcakes, you'll need to do all the mixing steps in bowls and then pour into baking moulds at the end). In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add this mixture to the flour and stir well with a fork or a small whisk to blend the ingredients. Withe the back of a spoon, make three indentations or wells in the dry mixture: one large, medium and small. Into the large well pour the vegetable oil. Into the medium well, the vinegar. Vanilla goes in the smallest well. Pour the water over everything, and with a fork, stir the mixture until the ingredients are well blended, making sure you reach into the corners and sides to catch any dry pockets. Do not beat this batter, but mix just until most of the lumps are smoothed out, and there are not little patches of overly thick or runny batter. A few lumps won't hurt the batter, and it's important not to overbeat it.

Bake the cake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of cake comes out clean and the top feels springy when lightly touched. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool the cake completely before icing. This is a very moist cake and will tear if cut too soon. While you're waiting for the cake to cool, whip up the icing.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until the butter is well distributed. The mixture will be very dry and still powdery. Stir in 1 tablespoon of milk or water, then sift the cocoa powder over the mixture and cream to blend. Mix in the vanilla, then add the second cup of powdered sugar. Add as much of the remaining liquid as necessary to make a thick, creamy icing. Frost in the pan and dig in!

Leftovers can be stored in the pan at room temperature, covered with a piece of aluminum foil. The un-iced cake freezes well, wrapped in the pan.