January 01, 2007

Ring In the New Year With Dorie!

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I thought there was no better way to end 2006 than with the cover recipe of Baking From My Home to Yours, (yes, that’s right, more Dorie). After skimming over the instructions for the Devil’s Food White Out Cake, I was a little hesitant. The icing required a candy thermometer and hot sugar, two things that are definitely not my friends. The icing was also described as marshmallowy, and my last foray into marshmallow making was just a whole lot of gooey. But I figured Dorie wouldn’t steer me wrong and I set about making the cake. When it came time to boil the sugar I was nervous. I don’t actually own a candy thermometer and this is somewhat of a problem, (a digital one is on the wish list). So I borrowed two candy thermometers from a friend, who offered up the both of them because she wasn’t sure that either were very accurate. They looked old. And inaccurate. Neither of them rested at zero and they seemed to record different temperatures even though they were both placed in the same liquid. I didn’t know which one was telling the truth, if either, so I split the difference and took the sugar off the heat when one thermometer was passed the right temperature and the other hadn’t yet arrived. This seemed to work and I had no problem whipping up light, white and shiny icing.

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This cake is interesting in that you make 4 layers, but only build the cake with 3, crumbling the 4th to coat the finished cake. After having done this, I looked at the cover of the book and realized that in that picture, the crumbs had not been spread over the entire top of the cake, leaving some nice white contrast. It was too late to do this with my cake, but I wanted to make it look a little more special since it was the last cake I’d be eating in 2006. I decided to make some marzipan roses to go on top. My flower shaping skills need some work, but they weren’t too bad. For some reason my camera didn’t like the red colour of the marzipan so the pictures with marzipan were a little off, (a new camera is also on the wishlist).

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Of course, it was only appropriate to enjoy this cake with a glass, (or two or three) of Mumm champagne. There was talk of seeing what would happen if we dropped mentos into the champagne but instead we settled on testing out that theory with Diet Coke and drinking the champagne. The Diet Coke and mentos experiment wasn’t quite as loud as the shotguns we heard going off at midnight, (seriously) but it was mildly entertaining. You can check out some other people trying it here.

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And since I ended 2006 with a Dorie recipe, it seemed only right that I also start off 2007 with one. Sidenote- did you know Dorie has a book entirely about waffles??? I must get it. My new waffle maker deserves the best. But I digress. Dad really liked the Orange-Berry muffins I made, and I did too, but I was resisting making them again only because there were so many other amazing recipes I wanted to try. Dad hinted that he wanted the Orange-Berry muffins one day and then became more insistent that I make them, returning from the grocery store with oranges, “you know, like in those muffins you made…”. I still wasn’t budging; I wanted to try new recipes. Then he bought be a new muffin pan. It’s pretty hard to refuse someone who buys me bakeware. So I gave in because it’s the holidays and I was feeling nice and made these muffins for breakfast New Years day. Dad came into the kitchen and didn’t take note of what I was making, instead asking if I wanted to go for a bike ride, because it was January 1st and how often can you say you went biking on January 1st? But apparently we had to go right away because it was supposed to rain later in the morning and turn cooler. I told him I needed 15 minutes because I was making his muffins. He was happy about the muffins but then proceeded to pace around while waiting and counted down with the oven timer to bike time.

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Given my stubbornness, I didn’t reproduce the Orange-Berry muffins exactly. Muah ha ha ha! I substituted raspberries for the blueberries. I like to live dangerously. They were very tasty and thoroughly enjoyed after I thawed out from the bike ride.

In other news, this will be my last post for a little more than a week as I’m off to enjoy some sunshine and rum on a beautiful island. Try to survive without me. Hasta luego!


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33 comments:

wheresmymind said...

That cake looks SOO good right now :D

mickey said...

Cake and muffins look delicious. I must get one of Dorie's books-I have none. Lynn Rosetto Caspar of NPR's "Splendid Table" also sings her praises. One hint:you can check your candy thermometer by sticking it into boiling water which will be 212 degrees. Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

You have had a real Dorie run but that book is so packed. And oh boy you will loooove her waffle book.
Have a wonderful island time!

Anonymous said...

Clearly, I am as obsessed with Dorie as much as you are because I tried the same recipe for the New Year's Eve dinner... Well at least the cake part of it.. I will be posting it soon. Be sure to check it out. Btw, thanks for your comment on my SHF post!
Cheers

Anonymous said...

You are totally cracking me up with this Dorie obsession. That's it... I've ordered the cookbook. Yes - I'm drinking the Dori Kool-Aid :)

That cake looks like the most delicious thing ever.

Sara said...

Have a nice break, we'll miss you!

Anonymous said...

that cake rocks!

http://www.shoplateda.com/

Anonymous said...

Good job on the cake...way to brave hot sugar...I know you are not a fan. :)

Unknown said...

I love marshmallow and on a cake I think I would just die! I am also scared of anything needing a candy thermometer; I'll just have to ogle your pictures.

Anonymous said...

The center of that cake looks so wickedly good.

Happy New Year!

K and S said...

OMG, that cake looks wonderful! I am definitely gonna have to get that cookbook! Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

What an utterly adorable cake - it looks fluffy enough to pet! Hope you have a wonderfully relaxing break on your island paradise :)

FH said...

Looks great Brilynn! Enjoy 2007!:))

Anonymous said...

I think Dorie is going to have a cult following from us food bloggers. The cake looks delicious. Have fun on your vacation!

Lis said...

The cake looks uber-yummy :D

I'm a bit sad though.. I didn't know you were going anywhere - it's not like you even asked me if you could or anything. *sniff*

Course I prolly woulda said no.

You really need to be chained to your kitchen and puter. Yanno.. for the sake of all of us unselfish fans. ;)

Hope you have a great time!!
xoxo

Gattina Cheung said...

Brilynn,
have a great vacation, you'll be missed. So beautiful your champagne's photo, and Mumm!!! Love it, just drank two bottles :D

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! That cake looks awesome! And congrats on the Food Blog Awards nomination!

Anonymous said...

okay so the lobster roll, this cake here and the rum cake from before, holy cow! it all looks so delicious, yum!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to pop in and say congrats on the food blog nomination! You should be so proud of yourself... your blog is one of my favorites.

Meeta K. Wolff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Meeta K. Wolff said...

That cake looks too good. Happy New Year Brilynn and hope you have a great vacation.

Anonymous said...

Great looking cake! Ooooh...I really want to get that book but, sigh, too much spending already! Soon, soon...meanwhile will keep checking back here ;)

Happy New Year! :)

Cate said...

I didn't see your e-mail address on your site, but just wanted to let you know that Jumbo Empanadas is officially in the running for a Food Blog Award over on The Well Fed Network (www.wellfed.net). Congrats! Cate

Trig said...

Hi and congratulations on your Food Blog Awards shortlisting during your holiday break. Wishing you all the best and great to find someone else on Blogger! I was beginning to think I was the only one. Cheers, Trig.

Unknown said...

congrats on your nommie!! :D

emily said...

Brilynn - You're amazing - and a baking fiend!

Unknown said...

Wow..

I hope everyone votes for Bri's site at

http://wellfed.net/2007/01/03/top-5-best-food-blog-new/

She will be really pleased when she gets back I am sure!

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks just as good as the one on the cover of the book, maybe even better!

David said...

cheers! Looks like you've rung in the New Year in style! On another note, consider yourself "tagged" for a 3 meme game; play if you're interested. Details on Cooking Chat.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! Hope your island time is relazing and fun. These look fantastic & the addition of the rose decoration is brilliant. You might want to check my blog (feedingmyenthusiasms) for a Dorie inspired cake I tried. She really has wonderful recipes.
Sorry this is anonymous, but I forgot my username. New Years mind fog I guess.

Ziz said...

woah! that is an awesome looking cake! :)

Brilynn said...

Hi Everyone
I was floored to have received this many wonderful comments while I was away lounging on the beach. Thank you all for commenting, (although I don't usually post a response here, I read and really appreciate all of your comments, they make me happy) and thank you for supporting my Dorie obsession. And don't you worry, it's not over yet, you know the saying 'absense makes the heart grow fonder'? well a week out of the kitchen has intensified my love for Dorie, if that's even possible. Expect some more real soon...

Julius said...

Hi,

Thanks for detailing your experience with Dorie Greenspan's Devil's Food White-Out Chocolate Cake. Your posting encouraged me to try the recipe too. My results are at http://occasionalbaker.blogspot.com

Have a great day!

Julius