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May 18, 2012
April 6, 2012
Walnut Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 ¾ cups walnuts, toasted
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
7 eggs, separated
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar (optional; if keeping kosher for Passover, you can omit)
For the cream:
½ cup whipped cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch round springform cake pans, then cut a circle of parchment paper to fit over the greased bottom. Don’t grease the sides.
Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes, stirring once. They should be fragrant and taste toasty. Let them cool to room temperature, then put them in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Grind for just a few pulses, until the nuts are fine but not oily. Set aside.
Put the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium mixing bowl and beat them with a handheld mixer for about 5 minutes, until the yolks have lightened in color and are thick and fluffy. Fold the ground walnuts into this mixture.
Rinse the beaters really well and dry them thoroughly.
In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar (if using) with the clean beaters until the whites form soft peaks when the whisk is raised.
Add about one-quarter of the egg whites to the walnut-yolk mixture and fold to combine. In three parts, add the remaining egg whites, folding gently but thoroughly. You want the whites to be completely incorporated, with no streaks left.
Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch and no longer jiggly. Remove from the oven and invert the cake immediately on a lightly greased rack. Let it sit until cool to the touch; about 35 minutes. Run an offset spatula or butter knife around the edges, then loosen the pan and invert the cake onto baking sheets. Remove the pan bottom and the parchment, and let the cake cool completely.
You can make the cake in advance and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Keep it in the refrigerator if you’ve made it more than a few hours in advance.
When ready to serve, make the whipped cream. Combine the cream with the confectioners’ sugar and the cocoa powder. Beat to incorporate the cocoa and continue to beat until the cream is thickened and forms a soft peak when you lift the beater.
Scoop onto the top of the cake and sprinkle with more cocoa powder. You can also serve the cream on the side.
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etsy walnut cake chocolate whipped cream
March 27, 2012
Caddis fly larvae protect their developing bodies by building themselves sheaths of silk and incorporating substances found in their habitats. Artist Hubert Duprate placed a group of Caddis fly larvae into a tank with gold and other precious substances for the larvae to spin into their sheaths.
March 20, 2012
“Lip service” Johnny Harrington by Armin Morbach, Tush Magazine
