For an office birthday, I decided to try Julie Richardson's "Jam Cake with Caramel Chocolate Ganache" from Vintage Cakes. This is my first experience with a jam cake; the jam is actually in the cake batter, not between the finished cake layers.
The first step in making this cake is to prepare the caramel chocolate ganache frosting. As the name might suggest, this is ganache made with hot caramel and chocolate, as opposed to hot cream and chocolate. You make the caramel by cooking sugar, water, and lemon juice until the mixture turns a dark caramel color, and then finish it off with some heavy cream and butter. You pour the hot caramel over the chocolate, let it sit for a few minutes, and then whisk until smooth. It takes a few hours at room temperature for the ganache to cool enough for it to firm up to spreading consistency. (I have often wondered how many collective hours in my life I have spent waiting for ganache to cool. Ganache is so easy to make, but using it as frosting requires a lot of waiting around -- and if you try to take a shortcut by putting it in the fridge, you can end up with a overly stiff bowl of regret.)
The method for making the cake batter is pretty standard: you beat room temperature butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add the sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt) and liquid ingredients (buttermilk mixed with jam). The recipe suggests blackberry, raspberry, or apricot jam, but I used strawberry. You divide the batter between three parchment-lined pans and bake.
My ganache was ready to use not long after my cake layers were baked and cooled. I leveled the cake layers, filled them with the ganache and a sprinkling of sliced toasted almonds, and then pressed more almonds onto the sides. The ganache was at the perfect consistency when I started assembling the cake -- it was smooth but full of body and very easy to suave. I could tell it was becoming stiffer as I was working, and by the time I got to pressing the almonds onto the side of the cake it had become quite firm. I covered the finished cake with a dome and left it at room temperature overnight.
The following morning I took the cake to the office. Even though I had never refrigerated the cake, the ganache was set very firm -- although it was still pliable -- and I had to carefully saw through it. I was surprised how well combination of the spices and jam in the cake worked with the caramel-chocolate ganache. The caramel flavor in the ganche was pretty subtle (as was the fruit flavor in the cake), but the chocolate didn't drown out the cake, which was my biggest worry. The spice cake was soft, springy, and comforting. And toasted almonds make everything better -- I think the nuts added a lot to this cake.
I think this cake would also be quite good with a vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting, or maybe even cream cheese frosting. But it great just as it was -- and a success with my tasters that was worthy of a celebration.
Recipe: "Jam Cake with Caramel Chocolate Ganache" and "Caramel Chocolate Ganache" from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, recipe available here at epicurious.com.
Previous Posts:
The first step in making this cake is to prepare the caramel chocolate ganache frosting. As the name might suggest, this is ganache made with hot caramel and chocolate, as opposed to hot cream and chocolate. You make the caramel by cooking sugar, water, and lemon juice until the mixture turns a dark caramel color, and then finish it off with some heavy cream and butter. You pour the hot caramel over the chocolate, let it sit for a few minutes, and then whisk until smooth. It takes a few hours at room temperature for the ganache to cool enough for it to firm up to spreading consistency. (I have often wondered how many collective hours in my life I have spent waiting for ganache to cool. Ganache is so easy to make, but using it as frosting requires a lot of waiting around -- and if you try to take a shortcut by putting it in the fridge, you can end up with a overly stiff bowl of regret.)
The method for making the cake batter is pretty standard: you beat room temperature butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add the sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt) and liquid ingredients (buttermilk mixed with jam). The recipe suggests blackberry, raspberry, or apricot jam, but I used strawberry. You divide the batter between three parchment-lined pans and bake.
I think this cake would also be quite good with a vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting, or maybe even cream cheese frosting. But it great just as it was -- and a success with my tasters that was worthy of a celebration.
Recipe: "Jam Cake with Caramel Chocolate Ganache" and "Caramel Chocolate Ganache" from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, recipe available here at epicurious.com.
Previous Posts:
- "The Cake Couldn't Hold It Together: Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting," November 20, 2014.
- "Petite Pistachio Flavor: Pistachio Petit-Four Cake," April 29, 2014.
- "A Bitter Sweet Superbowl: Chocolate Layer Cake with Caramel Ganache," February 12, 2013.
- "What a Difference Three Years Makes: the Sweet and Salty Cake," April 6, 2012.
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