Chocolate Strawberry Naked Cake

Sometimes I am too ambitious for my own good. I've never been much of a baker, excepting the occasional tray of brownies and cookies at Christmastime. There's also the annual cake for Mr Minx's birthday, but that's usually a simple chocolate bundt. This year, I wanted to do something fancier. I was desperate to make a "naked cake," a cake with exposed layers, popularized by Christina Tosi at NY's Milk Bar. I've seen a lot of them on Instagram, and they look so cool. Also, they didn't seem all that difficult to make. Frosting the sides of the cake always seemed like the most fidgety part, and making a cake naked eliminates that whole messy ordeal.

My idea was to use the same super moist recipe that I use for the bundt cake, with the addition of roasted strawberries, and a simple stabilized whipped cream frosting. It would be like a strawberry shortcake, only not short and with the added goodness of chocolate.

I didn't want to attempt to cut round cake layers in half horizontally, pretty sure that would be a disaster. Instead, I made several flat rectangular cakes in a jelly roll pan and cut them into rounds. That ended up looking a bit sloppy. Perhaps my knife wasn't sharp enough, or the cake recipe I used was too moist. In any case, the somewhat jagged layers got stacked between pieces of waxed paper and spent the night in a cake carrier until I was able to assemble it the next day. It would have been too much to try to get it all done on Saturday morning before our annual afternoon birthday crab feast guest arrived.

The roasted strawberry idea I got from a foodie newsletter. The recipe in the newsletter was actually for oven-dried berries, but I liked the idea of cooking strawberries in the oven until they got soft and gave up a lot of liquid. Some of that liquid became a subtle flavoring for the whipped cream frosting that I stabilized with gelatin so it would last longer and not weep all over the cake.

I had used up all the strawberries in the roasting process but wanted to top the cake with something besides whipped cream. Birthday candles were out of the question (as was singing "Happy Birthday"), but I remembered we had a bag of Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries that the company sent me to taste after the Fancy Food Show. I had been nibbling them on their own, but felt they would be the perfect garnish for this cake and a good counterpoint to the squishy roasted berries between the layers. They stood up like sweet stalagmites, adding height as well as color and flavor. They softened a bit as the cake stood, but they never sagged, and I kinda liked the third strawberry texture in the mix.

Crunchies are non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and halal and contain no added sugar or artificial flavors. They are just freeze-dried fruit, pure and simple. I also love the Crunchies mango snacks and am contemplating making a similar cake, with yellow cake and mango filling, so I can use them as a garnish, too. That is, if we don't just eat it all straight out of the bag. :)

For someone who didn't really know what she was doing, I did a pretty decent job. Though the cake isn't the most beautiful thing in the world, it tasted so so good. ::::patting self on back:::::

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake

For the roasted strawberries:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved, quartered if large
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons liqueur of your choice (I used Kahlua)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the frosting:
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatine
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries

To make the strawberries: Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Toss the strawberries with the sugar, then with the vanilla. (Don't put the vanilla on the sugar to cut corners; it will just make the sugar clump up and make it hard to toss with the strawberries. No, I did not learn that through experience.) Spread in one layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until strawbs are soft and there's lots of yummy juice on the baking sheet. Allow to cool at room temperature before scraping into a covered container and refrigerating until completely cooled.

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a layer of parchment in a jelly-roll pan and grease it lightly with butter.

Combine the butter, cocoa, salt, and 1 cup of tap water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook only until butter is melted and mixture is completely combined. Stir in the liqueur.

Place the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in the chocolate butter mixture in 2 or three batches, stirring between each to combine. Beat the eggs with the sour cream and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Whisk until fully incorporated.

Here's the tricky part. Depending on the size of your pan, ladle in enough batter to cover the parchment entirely and be no more than 1/2 inch deep. Bake for enough time that the cake springs back when you touch it. I used a 9" x 13" jelly roll pan, which made three cakes with the amount of batter specified, each baking from 13-15 minutes (the first cake took longer and the last cake took less time). An 12" x 17" pan or thereabouts would probably take 18-20 minutes, so start checking at the 16 or 17 minute mark. Just looking at it should tell you if the middle is wet or cooked through. Once your cake or cakes are baked, allow them to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Loosen the edge of the cake with a knife and turn out onto a rack to cool completely. You should peel off the parchment while the cake is still warm.

Once the cakes are cool you can cut them. If you want to make it really easy on yourself, cut each cake in half and make a square layer cake. (Next time, that's what I'm doing!) But if you want a round cake, use a 7" or 8" round template as a guide. Place each cooled cake on a cutting board large enough to hold them, or right on your counter or table if that's easiest. Using the template and a sharp knife, cut your circles. Lift them away with a large spatula and put them on parchment or waxed paper until you're finished cutting. The scraps can be eaten as a cook's treat, or put them in a plastic bag and freeze them for when you're having a cake craving.

To make the frosting: Remove 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry roasting liquid to a bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid and allow to rest for several minutes until set. If your strawberries didn't give off much liquid for some reason (perhaps because you ate it as you scraped it off the pan), use a few tablespoons of water instead.

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl, if you're using a hand mixer) and beat for a minute or so. Put the gelatin in the microwave for about 10 seconds to liquify (it might take 15 seconds). Stir well so there are no clumps of gelatin, and with the mixer running on a fairly low speed, v e r y slowly drizzle it into the cream, beating all the time. Once incorporated, turn the mixer speed up and beat until medium peaks form. Don't overbeat, or you'll have butter. Scrape the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, or the tip of your choice.

To assemble the cake: Place a round of cake onto a cardboard cake round or on an aluminum-foil covered springform or tart pan bottom of appropriate size. Eyeball the strawberries. Do the pieces seem too big? Then chop them up a bit. Maybe you should just chop them up a bit anyway. Spread an even layer of strawberry pieces + some of the cooking liquid on the cake. Pipe on a layer of the cream, then top with another cake layer. Add another layer of cream, then another layer of cake. Top this third layer of cake with more strawberries and more cream. (You won't use all the strawberries. Eat them with ice cream or with a spoon.) Add the fourth layer of cake and pipe the frosting decoratively on top. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.

Garnish with freeze dried strawberry pieces before serving.

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Le Bernardin

<Sigh> Blogger ate my first version of this post, so this one will be a bit truncated in comparison.

Mr Minx is having a milestone birthday this year. When I asked him what he wanted to do, he said he'd like to have dinner at Le Bernardin. So I made a reservation. For lunch. Yes, I did call within a minute or so of the reservation line's 9:00 AM opening, but still couldn't snag a spot at dinner. Le sigh.

So we go for lunch and surprise! we don't have to order the usual app-entree-dessert three-course lunch - we can also choose between the two tasting menus that are also available at dinner! So we went for the six-course Le Bernardin tasting menu. How better to get the full Le Bernardin all-fish all-the-time experience?

The service at Le Bernardin is incredible. Moments after we're seated (on the same side of a 4-top so we don't have to shout at each other across the table - nice.) we're brought an amuse of salmon rillettes and thin rounds of toast on which to spread it. One of our many servers comes to take our drink order; neither of us want alcohol, and I'm not even supposed to drink (on blood thinners), so he suggests he bring me a mocktail. When I ask what sorts are available, he suggested that if I didn't like what he brought me, I could knock it off the table and he'd bring something else. He got it right the first time with a combination of tart grapefruit juice and rose water. While he was off, our bread dude came around with a little cloche-covered dish of soft butter and a selection of at least eight kinds of bread. We chose to start with a sundried tomato roll and another with basil and sesame seeds. Later, we tried a pretzel roll. All were tender, fluffy, delicious, and crusty where appropriate.

 Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna; Foie Gras and
Toasted Baguette Chives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Soon our first course arrived. The slab of foie gras was like buttah, and the super thin slice of toast beneath it added a perfect little crunch to the otherwise melt-in-the-mouth texture of the dish.

Barely Cooked Scallop; Brown Butter Dashi

Our second course was sublime, and I could see patrons all around me using bread to sop up the remainder of that amazingly simple yet full-of-flavor sauce from their gilded scallop shells. And raw is really the best way to eat scallops. Did I mention the sauce? Brown butter and dashi. Brown butter. Dashi. Mindblowing.

King Crab Medley; Warm Matsutake Custard, Seaweed-Shiitake Broth

The crab medley included peekytoe as well as king crab, and while both were tasty, neither was my hometown blue crab. This dish reminded me of chawanmushi, a Japanese custard dish, but more delicate. Let's call it French-style.

Barely Cooked Wild Salmon; White Asparagus Peas and Fava Beans, Chervil Emulsion

The gorgeous salmon had been cooked very gently only on the bottom side, leaving it with a silky texture somewhere between sashimi and poached. All of the other elements were flavorful and perfectly seasoned, which reminded us of a meal we had recently in Baltimore that had the same elements (white asparagus, favas, peas) but little or no flavor. Salt is such an important ingredient. In fact, everything we ate at Le Bernardin was nicely seasoned, and I was surprised at one point to see a server bringing an elegant set of salt and pepper grinders to a nearby table.

Wild Striped Bass; Bhutanese Red Rice, Green Papaya Salad, Ginger-Red Wine Sauce

As I sat there, wondering how the meal could be more perfect, we hit a speedbump. If we had to order from the three course lunch menu, the wild striped bass would have been my choice for entree. But, as it turns out, I didn't like it. At all. The red wine sauce was overwhelming and cried out for a nice piece of red meat. The fish was bland in comparison and perhaps even a tad overcooked. The papaya salad had none of the bright and spicy notes typically found in the popular Thai dish. It didn't taste of anything, actually. And I don't particularly care for red rice, with it's odd texture that's both mushy and hard. Mr Minx felt the same way.

Pavlova: Roasted Pineapple, Guava Jam, Yuzu-Coconut Sorbet

The meal was put back on track when we received our pre-dessert pavlova. It was a perfect four spoonfuls of cool sorbet, sweet jam and pineapple, and crispy meringue crackers.

Opera: Chocolate Mousse, Praline Feuilletine, Brazilian Coffee Ice Cream

I'd have been content with ending the meal at the pavlova, but we also received a thin slice of classic opera cake garnished with crisp feuilletine, cold ice cream, and tender mousse. I wonder how they managed to roll that cylinder of mousse in cocoa without denting it? And...just when we thought we were finished, we were brought little squares of a currant-flavored cake.

As we were eating, I brazenly took photos of every course, but then so did about half of the other patrons in the restaurant. Thanks to well-placed lighting, the shots came out pretty well. I also took notes, which prompted our captain to bring me both a copy of the menu and a special black-bound edition of the 2014 Zagat guide with the Le Bernardin write-up embossed on the cover, because he thought I'd find them useful. How nice was that? He did seem disappointed when we handed him our business card and found that we were from Baltimore, but he promised to give it to the chef. I'm expecting a call from Eric Ripert any day now.

So...the food was lovely, the service was stellar, and we really felt pampered. A friend asked me if Le Bernardin lived up to my expectations, and I have to say yes. Even the bass dish, because I didn't expect the restaurant to be perfect. Mostly perfect, but not absolutely perfect. Just perfect enough.



Posted on Minxeats.com.