Pie Talk 38: A Little Chocolate Cake

Good New Near’s Eve morning! I did not make that cake, a glacage miroir brilliant au chocolat but if you read French, have at!

My better half Sarah Hepola is expecting me on-air within the hour so quick notes today… I was about to write, and then remembered what the gypsy lady told me…

The voice of Ken Layne is something everyone should have in their life in 2024.

I used to write fiction (and maybe there’s one more novel in me, the beginnings of which, genealogy charts and architecture books and 150 handwritten pages, are on a shelf behind me...) Become a subscriber and I’ll send you a book!

The piece I read, “Three Sets of Keys,” is over on Make More Pie, where I hope to plunk a lot of reporting - written, audio and video - while in Israel. Go subscribe!

The essay by Benjy I referenced. Gosh he can write.

The 6-inch springform pan you will need if you decide to make yourself and your loved one(s) a sexy little cake.

Petit Gateau au Chocolat, adapted from Maida Heatter

* 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

* 1/2 cup sugar, divided

* 6 T. (3/4 stick) butter

* 2 T. flour, plus flour for dusting pan

* 2 eggs, separated

* Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 6-inch springform pan, line it with parchment paper, butter that and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. (You can use pan spray instead of butter; I won’t tell.)

Melt chocolate over low heat or in the microwave. Allow to cool several minutes. Stir in the butter, all but 2 T. of sugar, the flour, sugar, salt and then egg yolks, one at a time.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining 2 T. sugar until they form soft peaks. Fold whites into chocolate mixture, then turn into prepared pan.

Bake 30 minutes. The cake will look soft. That’s fine. Cool on a rack until it’s warm, remove springform ring and invert cake onto a serving plate. If you are being fancy - and why not? It’s New Year’s Eve - place four strips of wax paper around the edges of the cake to catch the icing drips.

If you want a mirror like glaze: In a small saucepan, melt three ounces bittersweet chocolate with 2 T. sugar and 2 T. water. Whisk in 2. T butter until smooth. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes, then pour slowly over the cake. Remove the wax paper and, look how pretty!

You can also ice with ganache, which is ridiculously easy to make, just chopped chocolate and heavy cream. I will let Sally of Sally’s Baking Addiction - one of my two favorite baking sites, the other is Smitten Kitchen - show you how easy.

Happy New Year everyone, I love you all. This post is free today so feel free to share xx

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit smokeempodcast.substack.com/subscribe