Hoo-ray for the red, white and blue (cake)

 

I have taken on a commitment where I have to supply a group with a cake each month. I really enjoy it because strangers tend to be very complimentary about home-baked goods and my creations from scratch are always well received. Rob and I were out and about last night when I remembered that it was cake time.

I'd been wanting to make a flag cake ever since I'd seen the idea from Kraft. The thing about Kraft's recipe that turns me off is that it's essentially Jello with packaged pound cake and Cool Whip. It looks cool, but doesn't really meet my criteria for something I'd prepare. My former mother-in-law Katie used to scold me by saying I was "such a purist." She's right, though. I really do maintain a certain standard for my cooking.

I've never been a big fan of boxed cake mix cake and when I decided to be the "cake lady" I took it as an opportunity to hone my cake-baking skills. I've always loved to cook, but baking -- as Rachael Ray so often notes -- requires the ability to follow recipes pretty exactly. Baked goods follow a much more precise chemistry to make them work than other foods. The whole science of rising, tenderness, etc., is very exact. This actually works for me because I'm pretty good at scientific experimentation. I worked for my dad for years mixing newspaper inks in the lab and you have to be pretty meticulous when you're working on formulations. Baking is very similar to lab work and, in fact, requires many of the same types of tools.

My experimentation with cakes has been fun and -- so far -- I've managed not to have a disaster. My white cake with chocolate frosting came close because I refrigerated the cake and the frosting became hard and actually had to be broken into pieces to serve with the cake. But the flavor and textures were great.

The recipe I used for my flag cake is one I've used before. I found it on a box of Droste Cocoa, which is the best Dutch process cocoa you can get. I was out of cocoa and thought I'd thrown out the box, so I went to get some more -- it's pretty pricey, $10 for 8 ounces -- and I figured I'd find the recipe there. But the package has changed and it's no longer on the box.

I didn't panic because I'd find the recipe on the Internet, I thought. Fortunately I found the old box, which I'd tucked away even though it was empty, with the recipe when I got home from the store. It's a good thing, because the recipe isn't on the Web site.

I'm copying it here so I'll never lose it. This is a buttermilk chocolate cake that is rich and velvety in texture. The icing is a revelation. Follow the directions to a T, making sure to beat the icing until the cream whips. This makes a light, cream-cheese, orange-flavored icing that may be the best I've ever tasted.

Droste Chocolate-Buttermilk Cake

3/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup Droste Cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, frosting (Recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round layer cake pans. Pour boiling water over Droste cocoa to dissolve. Stir in buttermilk, set aside to cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Beat dry ingredients into flour mixture alternating with Droste cocoa mixture. Pour into pans, dividing batter equally. Bake for 25 minutes or until centers sprang back. Cool cakes for 10 minutes and turn out of pans. Frost each layer with frosting and refrigerate.

Frosting:
Beat 8 ounces cream cheese to soften. Beat in 1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 tablespoons orange-flavored *liqueur and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in another 3/4 cup confectoners' sugar. Add 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and beat until whipped, stiff and fluffy.

Notes: I used a 13 x 9 inch pan, so the baking time increased by about 18 minutes. Use Baker's Joy to grease the pan -- it's great stuff and works better than any buttering and flouring you can do. I'm lazy and tend to mix my dry ingredients by whisking them rather than sifting. It seems to work just fine. I check for doneness using a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Make sure the cake is completely cool before frosting because the icing has the consistency of slightly thicker whipped cream and becomes runny easily. It's actually best to chill the cake a bit before frosting. Make sure to refrigerate the frosted cake for that reason. Don't put berries on the cake until close to serving time so they don't get runny and mushy. I used raspberries instead of strawberries because they're in season and on sale. This was actually Rob's idea and the raspberry/blueberry thing is actually quite delicious. Making a flag means that only a few people get blueberries because the blue is concentrated on the one corner. Have some extra berries on hand for sprinkling on the rest of the cake. *I use orange extract, rather than liqueur and it tastes great.

I may be a snob about my cooking, but this recipe is certainly worth the extra effort.