Saturday, October 6, 2007

Bakery Madness, and a Crazy Curried Meatloaf!

Oh, yes, here I am shoving two blog events into a single post again! There is simply too much to do this month! Being in Canada as I am, this weekend is the Great Thanksgiving Feast / gluttony contest, and I am doing my part to keep the families fed with pumpkin and apple pie. Me? My Thanksgiving dinner is going to be some awesome vegan chili. True, I used to adore the deep-fried turkey that my dad makes (especially the skin!!!) and my grandma's awesome mashed potatoes, but I think I'll get by ;).

Anyways, this post will feature entries into both the Pinktober and Meatloaf Appreciation Day events. Of course, due mention goes to the awesome creators of these events, Minko from Couture Cupcakes and Jenn from Serious Eats.

So let's begin with the Pinktober entry. It is a Black Forest Cake that came in via a custom order to my bakery, and that I baked and the wonderful Andrew helped me decorate this afternoon. I never ever called myself a cake decorator, having never taken a class or a workshop in the subject over my course of schooling (though that will change when I hit George Brown College in January). So, having never made one of these before, I think we did a pretty good job, even though it isn't as pretty as the ones from commercial bakeries!

The red/pink ingredient required in this entry is of course the gorgeous and sweet maraschino cherries used in the filling, topping and decorations. The recipe is a slight modification of this cake made and posted by WendyCooks on GroupRecipes, and a million thanks go out to her for the recipe since it saved my life after a box-mix cake literally disintegrated on my cooling rack.

Typically, Black Forest gateau consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. In some European traditions sour cherries are used both between the layers and for decorating the top.

Traditionally, Kirschwasser is added to the cake, although other liquors are also used (rum is common in Austrian recipes).

In the USA, Black Forest gateau is most often prepared without alcohol. In Germany, however, only the traditional recipes with Kirschwasser are widespread, and other variants are very rare. [Wikipedia]


Pinktober's Black Forest Cake
Serves 12
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whipping cream or heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Kirsch
2 cups cherry pie filling
Chocolate shot
12 maraschino cherries, with stem
  1. Heat oven to 350F.
  2. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans
  3. In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt
  4. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla, beating with wire whisk just until batter is smooth and ingredients are well blended.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  6. Bake 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  7. Cool in pan 15 minutes and turn out onto cooling racks.
  8. Let sit, uncovered, 24 hours.
  9. Beat the cream with the confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form.
  10. Brush tops of the cakes with the Kirsch.
  11. Place one cake layer on a cake plate and spread with 1/2 the cherry filling.
  12. Top with about 3/4 cup of the whipped cream.
  13. Top with the second cake layer.
  14. Spread the side of the cake with half of the remaining whipped cream.
  15. Spoon remaining pie filling on top of cake, keeping it in the center.
  16. Spoon or pipe remaining cream around the cherries.
  17. Sprinkle the whipped cream around sides with chocolate shot.
  18. Top the whipped cream ring with the maraschino cherries.
The second event this post focuses on is the National Meatloaf Appreciation Day being held at Serious Eats. This is one of the mose interesting and flavourful, not to mention moist and fairly inexpensive meatloaf recipes I have made. This is quick, simple, & tasty, and a great way to introduce international flavours to the table if you aren't used to the "different" flavours of the world. It is perfect for a work or school night when time & energy are in short supply. The cottage cheese makes the meatloaf moist & adds a nice boost of calcium to the meal.



Curried Paneer Meatloaf Recipe
6 servings
1 1/3 c TVP granules
1 cup hot chicken or beef stock
¼ lb ground beef
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 egg
¼ cup potato flakes
3 tbsp curry paste
1 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp minced onion
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tbsp plum sauce
1 tsp hot curry powder
  1. Rehydrate TVP in stock about 10 minutes.
  2. Mix with remaining ingredients (except 2 tbsp plum sauce and hot curry powder) lightly till well blended.
  3. Press lightly into an 8 x 8” microwaveable pan.
  4. Cover with waxed paper, microwave on HI for 13 minutes.
  5. Turning dish once during cooking, if you have no turntable.
  6. Drain fat, if needed.
  7. Spread with curried plum sauce, cook uncovered on high 2 minutes.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 200.5
Total Fat: 6.1 g
Cholesterol: 51.8 mg
Sodium: 404.3 mg
Total Carbs: 13.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.8 g
Protein: 21.5 g

1 comment :

  1. You are one busy chef! Your meatloaf looks like it would make a great sandwich, very compact and moist.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the feedback!