Saturday, November 19, 2011

Chocolate cake, refined

I have learned a little bit more about how cakes work from revising and expanding my cookbook, Don't Sweat the Aubergine, for a new edition to be published by Black Swan in the spring. It made me think again about Elizabeth David's simple and delicious chocolate cake, which is often somewhat compacted after a day or so. If the egg foam cannot sustain an airy texture for very long, would the cake not benefit if one creamed the butter and sugar as well? Indeed it would. I have added a note to the original recipe.

2 comments:

elwyn said...

How clever to realize creaming the butter and sugar would improve this cake which does become very dense overnight - a quality some delight in. When it is served in cafes this cake certainly tells its age! I just thought it solidifies because it was kept refrigerated and then becomes somewhat damp.

Nicholas Clee said...

It made a big difference when I tried it. I hope it works for you.