I was delighted when I discovered the August Daring Baker challenge!
The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
Perfect timing for me, because my husband’s birthday is in August, and the boy was deserving of a big gorgeous cake, don’t ya think? So the elements of the dobos were a sponge cake, frosting, and the caramel topping.
Of course, some things never change, and a gluten free cake was a must. I used the Better Batter sponge cake recipe, which worked beautifully. It was a little dense, but largely bakers’ error–I didn’t sift the flour into the mix, and as soon as I did it, it was obvious how important it was. But the cake was excellent and kept well.
For the frosting, I made a luscious, chocolate hazelnut vegan sugar free frosting based in (don’t tell!) navy beans. I do have rough ideas, but often am not good enough about writing down what I do when I’m adding in things madly and my hands (and mouth, to be honest) are covered in chocolate. I’ve made it 3 times, and it’s always worked well enough to spread and be super yummy, but if it’s thick enough, it can be whipped and pipes beautifully. I need to figure out the proportions, but the main ingredients are cocoa, navy beans, hazelnut butter, agave and some mesquite and cinnamon. Good stuff! and if you want more details (from the notes I have) drop me a line, but I’m not sure it’s accurate
You may notice the lack of caramel topping. Actually, it’s hiding. I burnt myself on the first one, and the second one didn’t seem to really harden well. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I did sprinkle the crumbs on top, and DH felt that it was his obligation to eat the remaining sugary pieces…so it was all good.
All in all, what a fun cake! I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. It kept beautifully for a few days and I got such a kick out of making a normal looking traditional birthday cake. To see the artistic and creative stylings of other DB’ers, please check out the blogroll.
hazelnut birthday cake for DH (more posts on the cake to come!),
Look who’s been growing in my garden. Isn’t he a cutie pie?
week or so and I’ve been having a lot of fun playing in the kitchen. However, with the weather as it is, everything melts. Like these lovelies, for instance. They were intact at home, and then…melted on the car ride, ending up on the seats of my new car, in a corner of the box, you get the general idea. *sigh*. But they were tasty…
beautiful ones, and some Ranier cherries too, which are beyond delicious. Although I think cherries are perfect as is, I did make an easy and yummy raw, sugar free, vegan cherry pudding and the recipe is below.
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