Maryland fudge cake

I love when I see something tasty yet simple that has me hopping into the kitchen for a little baking therapy.  A couple of days ago, I saw this recipe for a Maryland fudge cake at Food52 that immediately tempted me.  I was lured by the simple, uncomplicated process and, frankly, the plain fact that I'd end up with a fudge cake at the end of it all.  I mean, how bad can that be?  The answer is, not bad at all.

I made a small 6-inch version of the cake - more like a torte, which I always think of as relatively thin, single-layer cakes, usually made with nuts.  This cake/torte is a lot like a brownie.  It puffs as it bakes and you end up with a crackly top and a crust, especially along the edges, which are almost hard in a wonderfully dense and chewy kind of way.  At its core, it is meltingly moist and sweet.  Offsetting the sweetness, studs of toasted walnuts give the cake a ton of texture and flavor.  

This cake is easy to make, a great little simple after-dinner treat to slice up and share.  I opted out of the thin layer of chocolate frosting you can make and top this cake with.  I think it's sweet and moist enough already without it.  The cake tastes great plain, also good with a little whipped cream on the side.  Ultimately though, I recommend it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

It's so interesting to learn about regional cooking, as in the case of this Maryland fudge cake, a recipe found in a publication from the 1960's.  Also interestingly enough, I had recently seen a show featuring Smith Island Cake (Smith Island being off the mainland coast of Maryland; the cake is considered the "official" dessert of the state of Maryland).  I was tempted by it but Smith Island Cake is a far more complicated affair - featuring as many as 15 thin layers of cake alternating with thin layers of fudge!  You can probably imagine why I choose to dive into this far simpler fudge cake for the time being.  

Chocolate-almond meringue torte

Happy upcoming Mother's Day!  I thought a cake post would be appropriate because I wish all the lovely moms (and moms-to-be) out there a sweet day filled with happiness and treats.

Last April, I discovered this incredible chocolate-hazelnut meringue cake via Smitten Kitchen.  I couldn't stop going on and on about it because it was love at first sight and then making and tasting it confirmed my instincts.  That was the hazelnut version, which we've thoroughly enjoyed a couple of times.  This time, I decided to make an almond version.  

I adore anything with almonds and it seems to run in the family.  The little guy, who may not be a fan of the crunchy nuts alone, seems to judge all good desserts by how much they taste like almond paste or tri-color cookies.  His reaction to this was: "mmm...tastes like almond paste!" Translation: "this is good!"

If you love nutty, soft, chewy meringue, slicked with bittersweet chocolate in between creamy pillows of sweetened - in this case, almond-flavored - whipped cream, you will love this!  This cake is like a layered dacquoise you might find at European-style bakeries but what I love is it's a whole lot easier to make.  I like making a more manageable 6-inch version; the only downside is not having more of this to eat because it really goes down easy, especially with a cup of coffee on the side for the adults.

This almond version was even easier to make than the hazelnut one.  I used almond meal so I skipped the steps of toasting and grinding the nuts myself.  The meringue layers browned less and took slightly longer to bake but it all comes together to become a lovely, soft almond cake, interspersed with dark chocolate and filled with almond-flavored whipped cream.  I love a chance to break out the almond extract!  Call me crazy but sometimes, I just want to take the bottle out and give it a good sniff.  

I highly recommend this cake, whether you go with hazelnuts or this almond version, and for whatever occasion.  I actually made this cake recently to celebrate a milestone for my husband and I.  We take any chance we can to celebrate...and eat cake!  We both agree that the hazelnut version packs a bigger punch, a larger "wow", if you will.  For chocolate-hazelnut fans, it is truly a knockout.  This almond version is milder, the more subtle cake between the two.  It may not be quite as flashy as the hazelnut cake but it is quite delicious!  Either way and no matter what version you choose, you won't regret making and eating it!

Chocolate-hazelnut Christmas cake (200th post)

I'm calling this my Christmas cake for 2012.  It's a fairly simple chocolate hazelnut cake or torte, a recipe from the folks at America's Test Kitchen.  Despite plenty of Christmas cookies and treats, I still wanted a cake to serve for dessert at my usual family Christmas party so this is what we had last night.  There's something special about bringing a cake to the table and passing the slices around.

I had actually intended to make a roll cake.  Specifically, I was going to tackle that heavenly roll cake from Smitten Kitchen, which I've made a couple of times in cake form (it's delicious).  But when I looked at all the things I needed to cook for the party (trying to figure out how to juggle the timing with one oven), the roll cake wasn't an experiment I wanted to try that day.  So I changed gears and went with something simpler.  Truth be told, after a big holiday meal, there's not too much room for dessert.

As you can see, I went a little kitsch with some plastic tree decorations and a dusting of confectioners' sugar "snow" over the cake.  I was inspired by Nigella Lawson, whose cooking shows I love to watch and who I've seen decorate her Christmas cakes this way more than once.  Had they not been out of stock, there would've been little plastic deer among the trees for even more of a winter woodland scene!

As for the taste of this cake, it's not too sweet, not very rich.  The interior is moist and studded with plenty of toasted ground hazelnuts.  I think it made a nice dessert for the grownups alongside our coffee cups and other Christmas treats (the holidays are about abundance and feasting, afterall).  The kids enjoyed ice cream and sugar cookies. 

Regardless of what you eat, I think it's the togetherness that makes the holidays special.  I am so lucky and happy to be able to gather around with my family as we approach another Christmas.  This is the time of year when we should be reminded of goodness, family, and giving; I am focusing on those things.

Incidentally, this is my 200th post on this here little blog!  I can hardly believe it.  And I must indeed have a "thing" for chocolate and hazelnuts.  I just realized that I made a hazelnut cake with praline and milk chocolate buttercream for my 100th post, a chocolate-hazelnut meringue cake for the blog's one-year anniversary, and now this!!  I guess I really am a creature of habit...