Tuesday, March 3, 2009

TWD Chocolate Armagnac Cake



I thank LyB of And Then I Do The Dishes for selecting this week’s recipe. Check her blog for the recipe and be sure to take a look at the TWD blogroll to see how the other bakers fared with this cake. You can find the recipe also on page 279 of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.
This recipe is not difficult to prepare and has so many flavours coming to our tastebuds !! I love it !!
The changes I made were: using whiskey instead of cognac (we don't drink alcohol other than beer or wine and I didn't want to buy another forgotten bottle) and I used hazelnut's meal instead of pecan's.
Last year I went to a pastry class held by a famous Italian pastry chef called Maurizio Santin and one of the many things I learned from him is to divide the amount of sugar between the yolks and the whites (add after the fist bubbles appear) so that the whites have more structure ; it's really important in this case where the whites do all the work, in fact there are no leavening agents other than them !
As you can see the cake WAS so beautiful in the oven !!!!

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26 comments:

  1. MietteMarch 3, 2009 at 1:38 PM

    So beautiful, Natalia ! I always said : to look at the oven is better and healthier than look at the tv ;-) !

    Cheers,

    Miette

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  2. MartheMarch 3, 2009 at 1:54 PM

    I think your cake looks perfect!! I forgot to put the icing on mine, but according to my coworkers it still tastes great!

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  3. NKPMarch 3, 2009 at 2:01 PM

    It looks lovely, Natalia! Thanks for the tip about the sugar in the eggs.

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  4. ♥Rosie♥March 3, 2009 at 2:28 PM

    Perfection in cake form Natalia!

    Rosie x

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  5. JessicaMarch 3, 2009 at 3:22 PM

    Thanks for the tip about dividing the sugar. I'm making a mental note to remember that in the future. The cake looks lovely and I'm sure that the hazelnut flavor made it taste even better.

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  6. PeggyMarch 3, 2009 at 3:31 PM

    Oh your rose so beautifully in that oven! My cakes do not rise well for some reason. Wasn't this a delicious cake? We loved it.

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  7. vibiMarch 3, 2009 at 4:10 PM

    I'm with you Natalia... easy to make, and soooooo tasty!

    Baeutifully done! ...as always!

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  8. chocolatechicMarch 3, 2009 at 5:14 PM

    That is a great thing to know about dividing the sugar.

    I will do that next time.

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  9. SihanMarch 3, 2009 at 6:55 PM

    i didn't know of that technique but I did execute it unknowingly. brilliant! and yesh your cake looks gorgeous in the oven.. must be even more beautiful out of it!

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  10. AnonymousMarch 3, 2009 at 6:58 PM

    What a great tip about separating the sugar between the yolks and whites. Your cake looks gorgeous.

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  11. AnonymousMarch 3, 2009 at 8:37 PM

    ma che bello.... ahmm la quaresima.... che sofferenza... banditi dalla mia vistatutti i post di dolci!!!! ciao V

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  12. CathyMarch 3, 2009 at 9:55 PM

    This looks just perfect, Natalia! I bet the hazelnut flavor was just fabulous in this!

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  13. kimberly salemMarch 3, 2009 at 11:07 PM

    thanks for the tip about separating the sugar! i'll have to write it down for next time. your cake is so beautiful:)

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  14. The Blonde DuckMarch 4, 2009 at 12:41 AM

    That is a gorgeous cake! It looks like it came from a bakery!

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  15. IvyMarch 4, 2009 at 7:27 AM

    Beautiful cake Natalia and thanks for the tip about dividing the sugar. I didn't know that either.

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  16. BICEMarch 4, 2009 at 1:49 PM

    Non solo è bellissima,
    MA E' ANCHE BUONISSIMA!!!
    Io ho avuto il grande piacere di mangiarla!
    Grazie Natalia.

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  17. Teanna DiMiccoMarch 4, 2009 at 6:51 PM

    Thanks for the tip about the whites and the sugar! Dovrò provare quel prossimo tempo! (Sorry, my Italian is a little rough!)

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  18. AnonymousMarch 5, 2009 at 12:55 AM

    Your cake looks great. Thanks for the tip about dividing the sugar between the yolks and whites!

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  19. IvyMarch 5, 2009 at 8:13 AM

    I have something for you.

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  20. ElyseMarch 5, 2009 at 5:12 PM

    Your cake looks just gorgeous. I'd love a slice!! Mmm, great flavors, great texture, everything about this cake sounds great.

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  21. TeaLadyMarch 5, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    And beautiful on the plate, too. Yummy job.

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  22. ShariMarch 5, 2009 at 11:12 PM

    That's an interesting piece of information about dividing the sugar. Your cake looks wonderful!

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  23. AmyRuthMarch 6, 2009 at 3:31 AM

    What a beautiful cake!?! Wish I had that slice.
    Great job
    Amyruth

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  24. DewiMarch 6, 2009 at 4:32 PM

    Natalie dear, this armagnac cake sounds so intriguing. I am loving cake that contain lots of liqueur, my other favorite liqueur is calvados.
    The glaze looks very shiny, Delicious..
    Cheers,
    elra

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  25. DeeMarch 10, 2009 at 3:02 AM

    Ooh, that looks sinful. I'm curious, what exactly do you mean by dividing the amount of sugar between the yolks and the whites?

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  26. Nancy/n.o.eMarch 10, 2009 at 3:04 PM

    Wasn't this cake fabulous? I love the way yours looks, and boy did it do a good job in the oven! I'm making a note in my cookbook about the sugar.
    Nancy

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Ciao, I'm always thrilled to find your comments, so please do !