It feels like there's some big step between posting recipes in a blog and making an actual cook book. But quite often, when I somehow hear how those books (not to mention food magazines, which I consider the lowest in this rank) are actually made, I realize most food bloggers actually upkeep higher journalistic standards than people who get paid for it.Of course there are also honourable cook book authors who only publish well-tested recipes. They tend to put their whole personalities in the process. And quite often keep a blog too.
This cake too takes influences from several sources, but I'm more than happy to give them the credit they deserve. I just wanted to use the last strawberries of the summer somewhere so I needed some ideas. Raspberry Blackout Cake by Isa Chandra Moskowitz has become rather famous itself. Satu Saunio of Kamomillan konditoria has made so thorough instructions for different types of layered cakes that I consider it a bible in this matter. Also, I checked how Raisa Kettunen makes layered cakes and frostings in her book Puputyttö ja vohvelisankari (Moreeni 2010), also a book mostly about cupcakes but actually a one I trust is tested and trustworthy. My recipe isn't straight from any of them however, so if something goes terribly wrong, blame me and not them.
The picture I can assure, is taken by myself from the actual product. If the bottom looks a bit thick it's because I took this from the oven too early and it flattened while cooling. My flatmate actually asked if that's a mud cake I've made. Later, I also cut it a bit badly, leaving holes in the lower layer and had to patch them by cutting pieces from the upper layer, but luckily that doesn't show. All in all, I think this is quite a nice cake however, and definitely better than the previous layer cake I tried. This one I can actually recommend, especially the frosting part which manages to be fluffy but also set sturdy in the fridge. It's a pretty small one though, so if you're making it for your parent's silver wedding anniversary or other big occasion, you may want to multiply the ingredients with at least two.
The bottom:
- 3.5 dl wheat flour
- 3.5 dl soy milk
- 3 dl dark sugar
- 100 g margarine
- 1 dl cocoa powder
- 100 g strawberries
- 2 tsp apple wine vinegar
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
The filling and the frosting:
- 2 dl whippable soy cream
- 200 g (dark) chocolate
- about 400 g icing sugar (if you manage to find dark kind, all the tastier)
- 500 g strawberries (+ more for decoration)
Thicken the milk with vinegar. Whisk together the sugar and the margarine. Combine the two. It looks a bit messy at this point but don't worry. Filter in also the flour and the other bottom ingredients, strawberries mashed to give the cake some moisture.
Oil (and bread crumb) your cake tin. Pour the batter in it. Bake for about 50 minutes in 190°C. If you're not sure it's baked yet, try if it still sticks to a toothpick. Let the cake cool down.
Half the bottom with a knife. Mash the strawberries partly, for example with a fork. Spread the mash on the lower part of the cake. Place the upper half on top.
Whip the cream until it's fluffy. Melt the chocolate in a water bath. Combine the two. Now whip in icing sugar until the frosting feels sturdy enough to hold its shape. Pour it over the cake and help it spread across the cake edges evenly. Move into fridge for at least couple of hours. Decorate with strawberries.
Nutritional values / 2373 g:
energy 6017 kcal
fat 189 g
protein 79 g
carbohydrates 985 g
fiber 33 g
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