Tag: brave tart

Cake. In ice cream. Why didn’t I think of that?!

Remember the red wine velvet cake from a few weeks ago?  In that post I explained that I made two six inch round cakes along with a nine inch round to be used for something later on.

Guess what?  It’s the later on.

In her notes on the red velvet cake, author Stella Parks (Bravetart) mentions that the leveling scraps from the cake make for a delicious addition to her cream cheese ice cream.  Here is the thing, my own baking doctrine dictates that leveling scraps are to be consumed soley by the baker.  You know, as a sort of an offering.  Hey, I don’t make the rules.

So instead, I dedicated a cake layer to the ice cream (spoiler–I never thought I’d say this, but an entire layer is far too much…a half cup of cake cubes or all of the leveling scraps is more than enough).

Let’s talk about the ice cream.  Barely sweet and extra rich (thank you three dairy sources and five eggs), this ice cream is elegant and sophisticated.  This is an eat out of a special dish with a metal spoon and cloth napkin frozen dessert if you’re picking up what I’m putting down.  Mildy flavored, the cake adds interesting texture and just a hint of spice from the cinnamon.

Cream Cheese Red Velvet Wine Cake Ice Cream

Stella Parks, Bravetart

Ingredients

  • 1 C, 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temp.
  • 1/3 C, 3 ounces of egg yolks (about 5 large eggs)
  • 1/2 C, 4 ounces granulated sugar
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 C, 8 ounces whole milk
  • 1/2 C, 4 ounce heavy cream
  • 1 TBS vanilla extract
  • 1 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 C cubed red wine velvet cake (or all of the leveling scraps–in which case, just tear into piece–you won’t be able to make cubes–also in which case–what is wrong with you–why didn’t you eat these when you made the cake?)

Directions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until soft and smooth; scrap down the beater.  Set aside.
  2. In a 3-quart heavy bottomed sauce pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt.  Then whisk in the milk and cream.
  3. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly with a flexible spatula until the custard is steaming hot (about 8 minutes).
  4. Strain into the bowl with the cream cheese though a fine mesh sieve.  Stir in vanilla and lemon juice.  When its cooler (winter months), the custard may seem curdled.  It’s fine and will churn great.  Cool to room temp (use ice bath for quicker cooling) and then refrigerate until cold and thick, at least 4 hours and up to 1 week.
  5. To finish, churn according to the manufacturers directions on your machine.  Just before the churning is finished, add cake cubes.
  6. Chill and store in an airtight container in the freezer.  To help precent freezer burn, press a piece of plastic wrap to the ice cream’s surface when storing.

Red (wine) velvet cake

What if I told you there exists a velvet cake where the red comes not from food coloring but from the passionate, 350 degree chemistry between cocoa and red wine?

Could there be anything more romantic?  Could there be anything more perfect for your valentine (especially if your valentine is you)?

Read on, and I will show you the way.

The red (wine) velvet cake is Stella Parks’ (of Bravetart) take on taking on the ridiculous amount of red dye that’s in contemporary red velvet cake.   According to Ms. Parks, food science is the key here.  Raw cocoa powder comes together with red wine in an explosion of anthocyanins creating the the red in red velvet a little more naturally.  And really, can you think of a situation where 3 ounces of food coloring is a better idea than 12 ounces of a dry red wine and half a cup of cocoa powder?  I know you can’t because it doesn’t exist.

Truth time.  I didn’t use raw cocoa.  I used normal, old valhrona.  Did it make my cake less red?  Probably.

But, it wasn’t supposed to be the bright red of what we think of as red velvet in today’s terms.  Even with roasted cocoa, the red wine gave this rich chocolatey cake very pretty hennaed highlights.

Now we all know caked decorating isn’t really my jam, but I couldn’t resist dressing her up a little for Valentines Day, what with the chemical reactions and the chocolate and the wine.

I used my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe (listed below), and, unable to resist the food coloring siren completely, had a little fun with pink.

From a flavor perspective, this cake doesn’t taste like what we’ve come to know as red velvet.  When you compare ingredient lists, it shouldn’t.  Starting with the red wine and much more cocoa than my red velvet cake recipe, this red velvet also has just a hint of cinnamon. It is rich, decadent and special.

And before you ask, it doesn’t taste like win.  That’s what the other 13 ounces left in your bottle of wine are for.

Happy Valentine’s Day friends.

A note here on the recipe versus the pictures.  This recipe makes A LOT of cake.  As written, it makes 3, nine inch layers at about two and a half inches high.  For the pictures, I made two very thick six inch cakes (which I split to make four layers) and one normal nine inch layer.  That nine-inch layer is going to guest star with some ice cream and a little chemistry of it’s own in a couple of posts.  But, my point is that I think you could half the recipe and get a very respectable double layer eight or nine inch cake.

Red (Wine) Velvet Cake

Stella Parks, in Bravetart, Conic American Desserts

Makes 3X8″ cakes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 C (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 C (2 1/4 ounces) raw cocoa powder (I didn’t have raw, it was fine)
  • 3 1/2 sticks (14 ounces) unsalted butter, soft but cool
  • 2 C gently packed (16 ounces), light/golden brown sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 TBS (1 ounce) vanilla
  • 6 large eggs at room temp
  • 1 1/2 C (12 ounces) dry red wine
  • Batch of cream cheese frosting

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line three 8″ round baking pans and grease with pan spray or butter and flour.
  2. Sift together flour and cocoa, Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or hand mixer), combine butter, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.  Mix on low speed to moisten and then increase to medium and cream until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (pause to scrape down bowl along the way).
  4. With he mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next.
  5. Reduce speed to low and sprinkle in one-third of the flour-cocoa mixture, incorporate and follow with one-third of the wine.  Repeat, allowing each addition to be just barely incorporated before adding the next.  After last addition, remove bowl from stand and fold batter using spatula to make sure batter is evenly mixed.  Divide evenly among the cake pans (about 22 ounces each).
  6. Bake until the cakes are domed and firm when gently pressed and an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs still attached.  Cool completely.
  7. Remove from pans.  Level and frost as desired.