Heavenly Cake Bakers - Miette's Tomboy

Post for Miette's Tomboy recipe out of Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Heavenly Cakes"  cookbook.

HCB'ers Miette Tomboy

• A fudgy chocolate cake, all of 6-inches around, is the perfect size dessert and one of the BEST chocolate cakes I have yet baked! 




• Buttercream frosting whipped into a light, fluffy consistency with vanilla bean paste and a touch of marachino syrup added for a light cherry flavor.



I used (2) 6-inch pans because my pan with the 3-inch high sides mysterously went into hiding.  Rose put instructions for both single and 2-pan baking times so no worries.



What an amazing little cake.  Buttercream frosting is not a favorite for me but this recipe made piping so easy.  The vanilla bean seeds added to the visual seduction of the creamy, soft frosting and the first thought coming to mind is if I have any special occasions coming up to give me a reason to share this perfect miniature cake.



The rest of the Heavenly Cake Bakers are so imaginative, so go take a peek by clicking here for the blog roll.

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Orange-Glow Chiffon Layer Cake and Devil's Food Cake w/Midnight Ganache

The Heavenly Cake Baker Group is captivating, in-depth, enthusiastic, imaginative, and open to new ideas. We are also honest to the best of our knowledge for trials, mishaps, flub-ups, victories, and a finished product actually looking and tasting like the cake is suppose to. This last week we baked the Orange-Glow Chiffon Layer Cake using the batter recipe from the Bostini cupcake batter, only changing the flour from cake flour to unbleached, all-purpose flour and baking in a 9-inch spring form pan. I thought I was error free on this recipe and just noticed while typing this post how Rose tells us to put (2) cakes strips overlapping the entire outside surface. I used one, which could be the reason my Chiffon cake was a little more sunk in the middle then others.

We also whipped together a delicious True Orange Whipped Cream to be dolloped over the top of our Chiffon cake. The orange marmalade, strained, is such a great touch along with the orange zest.

I was in a slight hurry so put the strained syrup into the freezer to cool faster before adding to the heavy cream.

I have read in Hannah's blog, another amazing baker, about why using a flower nail works so well for even baking outside to center. This cake was my first time trying the flower nail for myself and I loved how well the small metal piece works to help equally distribute heat for even baking.

Loved the cake, and loved the true orange whipped cream! Check out the rest of the group's cakes by clicking here for the blog list to see just how talented this group is.

I also made the Devil's Food Cake with Midnight Ganache back on March 13th with the rest of the Heavenly Cake Baker's but did not have time to post so I thought I would now.

I shared a slice of this cake at work and the cherries were a HUGE hit, especially since mine soaked in the cognac for over 1 week. I actually prepared to make this cake WAY ahead, knowing I was going to have a crazy schedule.

The midnight ganache lived up to the name even though I toned down the deep chocolate flavor a little by using half milk chocolate with the dark chocolate and cocoa.

If a person is looking for a chocolate overload, look no further . . . The Devil's Food Cake w/the amazing Midnight Ganache is loaded with a deep chocolate flavor, inside and out! Everyone enjoyed the cake in small pieces because of the richness and I have people still talking about the cherries two weeks later.

HCB-Decadent Raspberry/Chocolate Genoise AND TWD's Corniest Corn Muffins

If pictures say a thousand words then this blog better start talking. I spent 3 days doing this cake in sections so I could fit it in and TAH DAHHHH . . . Here it is! Heavenly Cake Bakers has baked yet another fabulous concoctions, of light and airy chocolate cake, cocoa syrup, raspberry puree, and a chocolate/raspberry ganache. Boy, are there a kitchen sink FULL of dishes.

Further down the post is Tuesdays with Dorie - Corniest Corn Muffins chosen by this week's host (drum roll please) Jill of My Next Life.

Since I am in a hurry, the pictures will have to do the talking.

Below we have eggs whipped into a frenzy, filled full of air.


I was worried when I added the chocolate ganache to the whipped eggs but the process worked; never have I made a cake with all of 4 ingredients and had this fluffy result.



The raspberry/chocolate ganache has both dark and white chocolate grated to fine chunks.

Heavy cream and raspberry puree with the raspberry syrup previously cooked down from 1/2 cup to 2 Tablespoons is heated to a boil.

The syrup is poured onto the chocolate chunks while the processor whizzes along, making this delectable ganache.



The raspberry/chocolate ganache is chilled to thicken and cocoa syrup is coated on to layers that have been previously split into two, creating a 4 layer cake.



The result is a light, airy, moist chocolate/raspberry flavored cake. I did not find the raspberry as dominate a flavor as I was expecting. Still, a delicious and VERY charming cake to present and eat. Next week, we have another chocolate cake to present for the HCB'ers.

Now on to our host Jill and the TWD group. Corniest corn muffins!

I added fresh chopped thyme and sweet basil to the dry ingredients and lots of corn overall. More like 1 1/2 cups instead of the 1 cup called for. The muffins were served with a beef/butternut squash stew. Results: Absolutely Delicious and a Winner!

The only negative? Mine did not bake up as high and pretty as Dories but whose complaining?


Thank you Jill for hosting and check out the other TWD'ers muffins to see all the variations one recipe can present!

Heavenly Cake Bakers-Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake

I assumed settling into a new job would get easier. A month later, I may know more but I feel like I know less. It felt so "good" baking this last weekend. Kind of like going home after a long time away. What a great ice breaker baking the Chocolate Velvet Fudge cake for the Heavenly Cake Bakers. I loved making the chocolate paste with boiling water and Valhrona cocoa powder. What a dark and rich base! The batter had a wonderful thickness to it but my cake baked for a little less then 50 minutes with me using a 10-cup Bundt pan. Rose's baking directions stated 50 to 65 minutes. I am definitely not complaining. =)


I sprinkled vanilla infused powdered sugar over the top and served slices with whipped heavy cream infused with vanilla bean paste and sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips. What a perfect dessert to go with a nice Sunday dinner~.

Heavenly Cake Baker's - Swedish Pear and Alomond Cream Cake

The Heavenly Cake Baker's is an amazing group! I continue to be challenged on just about every recipe we have tried. On November 8th, the HCB group made the Swedish Pear and Almond Cream bundt cake and I missed out baking it. All I saw was beautiful, moist cakes on all the member's blog sites and I couldn't quit thinking about baking one of my own.



I bought the ingredients last week. All I had to do was assemble. I was wondering how everyone achieved getting the pears covered with cake since the recipe calls for only a 1/4-inch groove to be made for the almond cream, then the layer of pear slices on top.

I was the one to be shocked when pulling the cake out of the oven. No pears visible!

The cake is moist, the almond and pear combination delicious, and I will be re-baking the recipe again. We really loved it! I am actually thinking about "not" sharing but that wouldn't be very nice =).

This week is a free choice week so check out what other HCB'ers did for their choices by clicking here for the blog roll; you will not be disappointed. I never am; happy baking!

HCB'ers Day ~ Molten Chocolate Souffle and Lava Cakes

A chocolate dessert that did not send me over the edge, with me talking to myself for several days; what a treat! Heavenly Cake Baker's has definitely helped me grow and widen my horizons with new kitchen skills. If sighing over frustrating mishaps ever becomes a language, I am already fluent.


I used to whip open Rose Beranbaum's Heavenly Cakes cookbook with excitement. Now I approach the cookbook cautiously, open slowly, and let out a HUGE sigh of relief if the recipe is 3 pages or less.

I used the Baker's spray and was relieved to see the spray finally work for me. I have tried the Baker's spray before with disastrous results. The lava cake batter was fluffy and the ganache centers looked so good resting on top.

I was surprised how puffed up these little souffle cakes were first out of the oven. Like a souffle, the little cakes also shrink right up. I was not over excited about the chocolate flavor and my ganache was not oozing out like Roses'. I did like how fast these little cakes went together and nothing stuck to the bottom of my cake cups . . . I am still not over the caramel issue from last time. Looking forward to next week's quick bread. Happy baking everyone!

Heavenly Cake Bakers ~ Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes

After 4 days of assembly, where to begin?

A title should go first: Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes assembled with a Classic Brioche by Rose Beranbaum of Heaven Cakes.

Our group is headed up by Marie of the Heavenly Cake Bakers. She took on the task of baking her way through Rose's cake baking book full of imaginative and amazing desserts, hoping to learn and grow along the way. I have joined in only 2 months ago and have already learned how to handle my frustration MUCH better. =)



Each step went smoothly. The end and assembling is what caught me up. Actually the caramel becoming a HARD ROCK was a large part of it.

I would also like to state, I started losing interest on the last day and forced myself to finish because the waiting periods between each step meant 4 days to make this small dessert. There was no big process until the end and yet I felt like I was suppose to be the Energizer bunny with this.



Here we go; Day 1: The sponge for the brioche dough. I am obsessed with weighing all ingredients now. A new skill learned!

Also Day 1: The dough is mixed and now rises for 1 1/2 hours.

The dough has risen and now will go into the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then deflated and refrigerated for another hour.

Still Day 1: The dough is patted into a rectangle (sticky) and folded into thirds, much like a business letter. The process is done twice. The dough is refrigerated overnight.

Day 2: Remove and deflate the dough. Shape into a rectangle, press and roll 3 turns. Set in prepared pan to let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Brush with egg glaze and bake.

I must not have sealed my dough roll all the way. I had a large bulge on the right top.

The bread is beautiful inside and tastes slightly sweet, very soft, and tender. I really enjoyed working with the brioche.

In fact, I can see baking this recipe again. Loved eating the leftovers toasted with homemade spiced pear butter.

Day 2 still. Cutting into cubes. In hindsight, my first mistake starts here. I had a heaping 4 cups, or so I thought. Not enough cubes at the end.

The cubes will air dry overnight.

Day 3: Making the creme anglaise. A simple and tasty process.



I should have known I did not have enough bread cubes when all my cubes fit snugly in a 9 x 9 baking dish, ready to soak in the creme anglaise sauce overnight. I did flip my bread cubes 4 hours in to make sure both sides were moistened.

Day 4: (Sunday) We start with the caramel. I would like to mention now, I measured the temperature as stated before removing from the stove. I removed the caramel 5 degrees early so the sauce could finish cooking without going over.

As soon as the caramel was poured into the souffle cups, the sauce hardened into a solid mass; never to soften again, even after baking.

I cut up my fresh pineapple and started making the sugar syrup for the pineapple quarters to roast in.


The roasting process took me about 35 minutes. My second point of confusion was how long to roast the pineapple and thicken the syrup. The quarters did not feel tender when poked with a skewer for quite a while. In the meantime, the syrup thickened.

I have yet to mention this: My souffle cups were wider then Rose's BECAUSE I had exactly the right amount pineapple slices to cover but the hole in the center was large enough for a full quarter piece.



Another Point: I only had enough bread cubes to make one layer.


I have a large assortment of individual souffle dishes, all holding the same amount of liquid. I did not read 3 by 2-inches until now. I would have saved myself a big headache at the end if I had not spaced this off.


I had about 1 cup of creme anglaise sauce leftover from draining the breadcrumbs. I thickened the sauce, waiting for assembly.

Here we are again!

First, the caramel on the bottom was still hard and I unmolded IMMEDIATELY from the oven.

Second, I was hoping the bread cubes would puff up while baking, they don't.

Third, I should have cut more bread cubes.

Fourth, the syrup needed to be reheated because it hardened into a solid sticky mass and is MUCH darker then Rose's.

Verdict: I loved the brioche! My husband is the only pineapple fan and I must have been expecting too much out of this dessert. The syrup is overwhelmingly sweet and sweet is all I tasted along with pineapple. My husband loved the flavor of the pineapple, eating his portion along with most of mine. He would have been fine with just one but ended up on sugar overload =).

Did I mention I LOVED everything about the Brioche? I really do!

I now need to go see how the other's in the HCB'ers group faced this manipulative dessert by clicking here for the blog roll.

HCB - The Bostini ~ Simply Heaven in a Cup

Free Choice for the Heavenly Cake Bakers this week? I think I had a melt down. Because I just joined this wonderful and talented group, there are very few recipes I have made out of Rose Beranbaum's baking book ~ as of yet. Then I saw the Bostini! Vanilla pastry cream, orange chiffon cupcake batter, and a delicious chocolate butter glaze; what is not to love?



A signature dessert of pastry chef Kurtis Baguley, with the orange glow chiffon cupcake batter being from Rose's own Cake Bible. A wonderful orange flavor emits from this light, tender cupcake; can you tell from the coloring in the photo above how the color is more orange then golden? Comes from all the fresh orange zest AND squeezed juice added into the batter.



Then there is the thick and silky vanilla bean pastry cream. I rarely make pastry cream just because I can NOT keep my finger or spoon out of the decadent custard. There is something to be said for taking a moist Tahitian vanilla bean, slicing the black bean down one side and scraping the fragrant black seeds into sugar, rubbing the sugar between your fingers to make sure all the precious seeds are evenly distributed ~ then ~ adding this to a good quality heavy cream, along with the, now seedless, bean pod. So good, sigh . . . a creamy custard I wish I could sit and slowly enjoy over a long period of time.

I felt like a child in a candy store. I could not wait to assemble the Bostini and yet I wanted to take my time and get this just right. I shopped for the cappuccino cups ahead of time. I started at Macy's department store to no avail and ended up using the ones shown. They hold about 6 or 7 ounces, which is what we are looking for. The cupcakes are inverted so the base is sticking slightly above the cup rim and makes a perfect opening around the perimeter for the chocolate butter glaze.

So, what do you think?

When I served the bostinis, everyone felt like they wished they could lick the chocolate glaze first when no one was looking (HUGE smile!) Okay, I wished this but I am positive everyone else was thinking it! I had so much fun baking this dessert and now I can not wait to see what the rest of the group did for their free choice week; happy baking everyone!