Mini Barrels--Update

I tried some of the scotch this weekend and it still sucks. BUT! It has only been a couple weeks and I suspect that once it really gets a good soaking in the barrels it'll get better.

Mini Barrels--The Beginning

So Big Bowl took it to the next level with his Chocolate Buttermilk Cake (with photo! I'm still kicking myself for not having photographed the Sacher Torte). Looks good my friend, but those strawberries seem a bit watery, though the balsamic is a nice touch.

Speaking of balsamic, this is my latest hair-brained idea: mini barrels. These little puppies are charred white oak with a mini-spigot to boot that can hold 1 liter of liquid. The whole idea of these things is to age wine, liquor, or balsamic vinegar, and the charcoal will filter out the impurities over time.

With this in mind I took some Colavita balsamic (right barrel) and some of the finest Bulloch Lade blended scotch whiskey in a plastic bottle (left barrel). I didn't want to use real fine vinegar or scotch because I have no idea how if this is going to work. Apparently you need to rotate the barrel a quarter turn every three months. I filled them just yesterday and in May I'm going to turn them. I figure I could also give the stuff inside a taste at that time as well. I'll give an update in May and let you know how it goes. I suspect it's going to be some tasty stuff. Maybe if Big Bowl ever decides to come out East maybe he could sample some himself.

Sacher Torte Sucks

So my friend Fred had a birthday last week and seeing that he's Bavarian/Austrian I decided to make him a Sacher Torte. People from this region of the world love Sacher Torte (so if you ever want to make a very organized and disciplined friend, bake a German or Austrian a Sacher Torte).

The concept of Sacher Torte is great. It's two unleavened chocolate cakes separated by a tart apricot jam filling, covered in a rich chocolate granache served with unsweetened whipped cream. Lots of chocolate, a little bit of fruit, and rich whipped cream makes for a great desert.

Except it's not. Now if you've ever had Sacher Torte your first impressions probably were that it is dry in spite of the large dollop of unsweetened whipped cream that they serve with it. The only thing that is able to help it down is a very small (but tasty!) coffee. The frosting is great as well as the filling, but the cake sucks. Clearly the recipe needs some reformulation to be something that keeps with the traditional aspects while defenestrating the dry cake. This is my proposal: brownies (my Austrian friends are going to kill me). Yes, Sacher Torte is so much better if you use brownies rather than the dry cake they try and pass off as "kostlich."

If you care to read my recipe here it is:

Cake
Preheat oven to 375 (190 C)
in a double boiler mix:
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Once it's mixed well add:
3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Separate batter into two round 9" baking pans and bake for approx. 30 minutes. Or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.

Apricot filling:
1/2 cup of apricot jam
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Heat in a sauce pan and mix together until the jam is no longer solid and the lemon juice has been absorbed.

Once you have the cakes done and the filling mixed together, place your first cake bottom-side up on a cake platter. Pour filling over the top and spread around (don't put it on the sides), and then place your second cake on top, bottom-side up.

Granache:
Get one of those hunks of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate from Trader Joe's (approx. 1/2 lbs.)
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 pint of cream
Heat chocolate in a double boiler until melted, whisk in cream slowly until absorbed by the chocolate.

Then pour the granahe over the already layered cake and spread around until even. Stick it in the fridge for about an hour or until the granache has hardened.

Now call your friends Fredic, Maria, Stephan, Lesi, make some coffee, whip some cream (remember, no sugar), and have a piece.

Teamwork

This blog is going to be about food. More specifically, it'll be about reviewing what others publish, write, say, or believe about food, drink, recipes, and techniques and how they stack up in *my* small-ish kitchen and tastes. I'll not be alone in my epicurean pursuit, my long-time friend and moral inferior/culinary senior Bigbowl will also comment and criticize my writings. I welcome you to do also. So enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you.