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In sleepy voices close by the opera bar
I am slightly disappointed that the only difference between a Sachertorte and a Sacher-Masoch-Torte is the presence of redcurrant jam and marzipan in the latter, but that doesn't stop me from approving of its existence.
This message brought to you by Eric's brother's birthday request for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, which is so much more straightforward than anything I would have made if left to myself—I would have thrown some cardamom into the batter or kirsch into the icing or messed around with raspberries just to see what happened, but I have kept it so to speak vanilla and with any luck it will be well-received. Essentially, tonight has been a demonstration that I am easily bored and correspondingly obsessive about cooking; I went to put up an apple or two to bake after dinner, as a dessert or a snack, and now I have a glass dish full of apple slices rendered with maple syrup, honey, two kinds of cinnamon and other spices, and some cranberries that couldn't get out of the way fast enough. It tastes fantastic, but I think it stopped being a baked apple somewhere around the time I decided to do the bottom layer with clove and the top layer with ginger and see if they remained distinguishable to the taste after half an hour under foil at four hundred degrees. (Surprisingly, yes.) Also I am unsatisfied with my icing skills, meaning that the cake-wide distribution is not mathematically exact and I had to polish a paper towel around the rim of the plate afterward so as not to present Ron with a theobromine-flavored crime scene. I was adapting the recipe my family uses for holiday fudge. It came out rather more architectural than I had imagined. So long as no one goes into shock, I'll be happy.
I really think I want to reverse-engineer a Sacher-Masoch-Torte now.
This message brought to you by Eric's brother's birthday request for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, which is so much more straightforward than anything I would have made if left to myself—I would have thrown some cardamom into the batter or kirsch into the icing or messed around with raspberries just to see what happened, but I have kept it so to speak vanilla and with any luck it will be well-received. Essentially, tonight has been a demonstration that I am easily bored and correspondingly obsessive about cooking; I went to put up an apple or two to bake after dinner, as a dessert or a snack, and now I have a glass dish full of apple slices rendered with maple syrup, honey, two kinds of cinnamon and other spices, and some cranberries that couldn't get out of the way fast enough. It tastes fantastic, but I think it stopped being a baked apple somewhere around the time I decided to do the bottom layer with clove and the top layer with ginger and see if they remained distinguishable to the taste after half an hour under foil at four hundred degrees. (Surprisingly, yes.) Also I am unsatisfied with my icing skills, meaning that the cake-wide distribution is not mathematically exact and I had to polish a paper towel around the rim of the plate afterward so as not to present Ron with a theobromine-flavored crime scene. I was adapting the recipe my family uses for holiday fudge. It came out rather more architectural than I had imagined. So long as no one goes into shock, I'll be happy.
I really think I want to reverse-engineer a Sacher-Masoch-Torte now.
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Wow--I didn't know there were types. I now imagine you as a cinnamon taster, who knows which sort(s) of cinnamon to use for which dish.
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I like that.
I now imagine you as a cinnamon taster, who knows which sort(s) of cinnamon to use for which dish.
Heh. I wish I were that organized. Mostly I experiment.
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Not as written, but it very well might if I were making it: first the cacao, then that whiplash aftertaste. Besides, I like spicy chocolate.
Or scruts?
. . . probably not.
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Thank you! I like cooking.
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*snerk*
I want that sketch on YouTube.
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This, I'd actually want to see.
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When's your birthday?
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I hope the cake goes over well--it certainly should. And I'm delighted to know that you're even more obsessive about cooking than I am--some people seem to think there's something weird about the fact that I believe in putting Tabasco sauce in sweet potato bread, garam masala in sugar cookies, and sriracha in scrambled eggs.
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Yes. It cheers me up about this species.
garam masala in sugar cookies
You should know about this chocolate. I would prefer the curried one if it were dark rather than milk, but it's interesting nonetheless.
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That means it's definitely a good thing, then.
You should know about this chocolate. I would prefer the curried one if it were dark rather than milk, but it's interesting nonetheless.
I'd agree about dark chocolate vs. milk, just on principle, but I'd it does sound a very interesting combination of flavours. (I suppose it's possible that the milk chocolate does somehow balance out the flavours better, although I can't imagine why--I wish they had both, so that one could compare the two.) Thanks for telling me about it. Have you had any of their other chocolates? I'm wondering if the chai flavour, in particular, might be worth trying.
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Squeee I love humanity!
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Want to be involved in its baking?
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Someday, you will have to teach me how to bake. I'm fine with things *on top* of the stove, just not *in* it :/
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Theobromine! That which bumps up your serotonin levels when you eat chocolate. It is indeed toxic, but only if you're not human; to our species, it's just addictively delicious.
But I only grabbed it because its a lovely red-orange crystalline powder.
Hee. That's kind of awesome.
Someday, you will have to teach me how to bake.
It's a deal.
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Thank you! May it lead to many tasty things.
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The cake, the apples, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch . . . ?
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...and in fact, i have a sort of baked-apple thing in the oven now. we'll see how they turn out! thanks for the inspiration :)
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Adapted from the recipe my mother calls the Glixman Iowa Fudge, because my grandmother originally got it—with some adaptations of her own—from a candymaking store in Iowa City, where she went to grad school.
Get a mixer. Beat together a stick of butter, softened, and a full pound of confectioner's sugar. Add in order: four ounces of baker's (unsweetened) chocolate, melted; a teaspoon of vanilla and a dash of almond extract; if desired, a little chocolate liqueur (although I left it out of this batch); and three tablespoons of half-and-half, or more to desired consistency. Beat at high speed until smooth; apply to cake!
It was delicious.
...and in fact, i have a sort of baked-apple thing in the oven now. we'll see how they turn out! thanks for the inspiration
Awesome! Let me know.