More fun with teacakes

This was a spring project that I’m just getting around to writing about. At this moment it’s HOT, HOT, HOT here, and it seems like I should be writing about summer fruits and cool/easy to make goodies. But here goes!

Have some egg whites in the fridge? Time to use them up? Let’s make some teacakes! Very similar to financier, this base recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book “Sweet” and is a good one for creating different flavors. Here’s the recipe PDF which includes citrus and chocolate cake versions.

Made with egg whites/sugar/butter/all purpose and almond flours, unlike financier there’s no need to brown the butter - you simply melt it and let it cool a bit before proceeding with the recipe. Easy peasy.

I’m not here to go through all the steps but simply to share the above versions with you to get your own creative juices flowing. This time I added 4 g (2 standard teabags worth) of ground Earl Grey tea to the melted butter, worked the zest of one orange into the sugar and added a teaspoon of coriander to the dry ingredients before proceeding with the recipe.

I baked ‘em up in my favorite square savarin style silicone molds and, once cooled, filled some of the wells with orange white chocolate ganache and some with dark, both left over from a recent class project.

Here’s a mini ganache primer for you. Remember - ganache keeps well in the fridge for some weeks.

I rewhipped some vanilla caramel Swiss meringue buttercream that I had taken out of my freezer the day before. I also made a small batch of a 3 part cream to 1 part dark chocolate ganache that, once chilled, would be whipped up for garnish. Such fun!

Once the ganache wells had set, I played some mix and match with the toppings. The dark-chocolate-welled cakes got a swirl of vanilla caramel buttercream and the white-chocolate-welled a swirl of whipped dark chocolate ganache.

I love a little crunch to my creations so topped them with Valrhona crunchy pearls that I had snagged on sale through Bake Deco (all things baking and pastry!). White on top of whipped dark and dark on top of vanilla caramel. Matches made in heaven.

Here’s a cross section for you - the white welled version smeared but the dark welled gives you a nice vision of what you’ll be biting into. They look like little google-y eyed sea creatures. See the flecks of Earl Grey?

While the teacakes appear dense, they’re quite light and oh so delicious.

I shared these treats with folks at our exercise facility - working hard does deserve a little reward now and again don’t you think? Yummy.

Now go have some fun with your own versions.

Ending on a horticulture note - after all the many days, months and years I have walked along the same path, I had never seen this one before. Growing just alongside the path, branches hanging somewhat over and immature berries scattered on the ground - hmmmmm! The berries look like a ripening blackberry sort - I went to my helpful PlantNet app and confirmed that this is Morus Nigra or black mulberry. Don’t ya just love discovering new things! Supposedly one can eat them, but I’ll leave them for the birds and other creatures who may enjoy them.

Stay cool! Until next time.

A trio of chocolate teacakes

Spring is here and chocolate is still on the table. What better way to enjoy it than with three delicious cakes topped with equally delicious garnishes. You can’t go wrong.

Using two favorite cake bases that have been in my repertoire for some time now, plus a new-for-me chocolate olive oil cake thanks to Melissa Clark, I created this trio for a spring family gathering. Each cake’s topping has its own flavor profile and involves ganache in some way.

I admit this is a lengthy post so here are the links to the recipe PDFs so you can go directly to them if you’d rather not scan through all the steps and photos of preparation: Chocolate olive oil cake; chocolate financier; Easter cake.

Mister Steve made a great observation in that regard - I include all this information not only for you but also for my own records. How cool to go back over the years and see how I described and carried out various baking projects.

I baked each recipe in a different silicone flexi-mold for a nice variation of shapes and looks - square savarin, mini-Kugelhopf and simple round mini-muffin. My chocolate of choice is Guittard’s 61% lever du soleil discs. When cocoa powder is called for I use Bensdorp Dutch process. Delicious stuff.

First up: chocolate financiers in the simple round muffin molds. Let me tell you there are tons of financier recipes out there. As a matter of fact, the one I used for years was the one we learned at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, always delicious, tried and true. As the years have gone by I’ve adjusted the ratios of ingredients and reduced the sugar content. The basics are butter, egg whites, almond flour, all purpose flour, cocoa powder for this chocolate version and sugar. You’ll see choices for granulated or confectioner’s from recipe to recipe - I typically go with confectioner’s.

The big difference in this chocolate recipe is melting the butter, not browning it, as is true for classic financiers.

In a medium-large bowl whisk confectioner’s sugar, almond flour, all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour and unsweetened cocoa powder together; in a smaller bowl lightly whisk the egg whites until frothing a bit; melt butter and let cool slightly.

Blend the whites into the dry ingredients in two additions then blend in the butter. Contact cover and fridge for a few hours or a couple of days.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375ºF and fill your chosen wells about 3/4 full.

Bake about 15 minutes, check for doneness (no center goo; set). Bake an additional 5 minutes if needed.

After a 10 minute cool down pop them out of the molds and set aside until ready to garnish. For these I used a small melon baller, scooped out the top center and filled that with a 1:1 ganache. A sprinkle of toasted coconut gave them the “almond joy” sense I was looking for.

Then a swirl of chocolate almond butter Swiss meringue buttercream, an additional sprinkle of toasted coconut and some candied sliced almonds - voila! NOTE: for 2/3 of the base SMBC recipe I added 227 g /8 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled but still liquid and 1/2 cup of almond butter. So tasty!

The next cake is from a recipe I’ve had for many years but, for the life of me, I can’t recall where exactly I found it. It’s a gateau de Pâques or Easter cake, made with the basics - chocolate, butter, egg, sugar and flour.

The fussiest part is separating the yolks and whites, the whites being whipped separately to be gently folded in at the end. Remember - eggs separate best when cold!

Over a bain-marie melt the butter and chocolate gently - once things get melty, turn off the heat and let the melt continue over the still warm water. Chocolate loves that.

Separate the yolks and whites then whisk the yolks with the sugar for several minutes until thickened, pale and ribbon-y.

Blend in the chocolate butter mixture then sift the flour in and blend.

In a separate clean bowl whip the egg whites to soft peaks . . . . .

then blend them into the batter in three additions, folding gently.

Fill your chosen molds 3/4 full and bake at 325º about 20-25 minutes.

You want them set but note that a slightly shorter bake will give a more fudge-y result.

For the finish I filled the wells with a basic 1:1 ganache, let it set and then topped ‘em off with a swirl of caramel mascarpone cream and some sesame brittle. Yum.

Cake number three is a chocolate olive oil cake from Melissa Clark written for a 9” round cake. Oh so moist. I made this one twice, each time making 2/3 recipe using Earl Grey tea as the liquid. Liquid options include coffee, red wine, orange juice or water.

You create a paste by bringing already brewed tea to boil in a small saucepan, turn the heat off and whisk in Dutch-process cocoa powder, spices of choice (I used a mix of cinnamon, coriander and ginger) and salt. Let it cool.

Once the paste is made, the steps are basic cake simple - beat sugar, olive oil, eggs and vanilla for a few minutes, then add the tea-cocoa mixture followed by flour and baking soda.

Fill your chosen molds about 3/4 full and bake at 325ºF for about 20 minutes. My yield using 2/3 recipe was 19 lovely Kugelhopf treats.

These baked 8 minutes, rotated, another 8 minutes then an additional 4 to be sure they were set with a tester holding a scant few crumbs.

Let sit 10 minutes or so then gently turn out of the molds. Once cool, I filled the little top cavity with basic ganache and let that set.

These received a top dunk in Earl Grey lavender ganache which I had allowed to set enough so the ganache would coat nicely with some holding power on the top.

It’s made by infusing 3 teaspoons of loose Earl Grey tea plus 1/4 teaspoon dried culinary lavender buds in 160 g / 2/3 cup heavy cream then straining the infused cream into 130 g / 4.6 ounces melted chocolate. Blend it up until smooth, then blend in 18 g / 4 teaspoons unsalted butter. There you go.

This cake is deelish, so moist and delectable with the perfect hint of spice. I’m intrigued by the red wine or orange juice options for next time. Hmmmmm.

As for the ganache, the taste of lavender has never really grabbed me, but I’ll admit this Earl Grey ganache grew on me. I adore versions of herbes de provence that have lavender in the mix (not all do), but have always shied away from using lavender on its own.

A brief review reminded me that lavender is actually part of the mint family and I could sense that light minty floral flavor which was not at all overbearing. I much prefer my flavors on the mellow side. Just ask Steve.

Wow! That seemed to go on forever. I hope you give these three cakes a try and create your own garnishes and flavors.

Happy spring!