I hope that none of you decided not to bake this cake because of my whininess about piping the batter onto parchment paper rounds. As Jennifer (Evil Cake Lady) assured me, it's not that hard. In fact, it wasn't hard at all, although it was a little messy, and that is probably where my lack of experience is most obvious.
Besides being worried about the piping, I was also feeling a little unnerved by what seemed like the complexity of the initial directions. Once I actually read through them a few times--always a good idea--I realized it wasn't that difficult. I just had to make 8-inch parchment-paper circles on which the meringue would be piped.
And then I just had to make the meringue. Again, not difficult. The almonds didn't even have to be toasted, so I actually felt like I was omitting a step. This also gave me a chance to use the blanched almonds I mistakenly bought when the recipe called for unblanched almonds. I feel like I should be able to draw a lesson from this, but I can't think of one.
Despite all the self-imposed angst I endured about this cake, putting it together is about the easiest process so far. Just beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. There's no scientific test for this stage, as far as I know, but since the instructions warn about wilted meringues if they whites aren't properly whipped, it's better to err on the side of over-beating.
Then whisk the ground almond/sugar mixture into the egg whites. That's it!
Well, not quite it. "It" doesn't really happen until you pipe concentric circles on the parchment paper. The nice thing about this piping exercise is that it really doesn't matter how clumsily you do it because it gets flattened anyway. I should have spent all day doing this piping exercise.
My guess is that a Master Piper doesn't have so many squiggles. But so what?
See, after you flatten it out, there's no way of knowing whether you need to take a Piping 101 class.
I loved the way the sweet little meringue cakes looked when they came out of the oven, all brown and puffy.
They very quickly lose their puffiness and become thin, sad little wafers.
These wafers are also extremely delicate. You can see a few tears in the first one on the plate. (You can also see the can of infamous instant lemon-flavored iced tea, which Katya, I think, described as so "ghetto" for an ingredient of Rose's.)
I agree, but I can see the method in the instant tea madness--it imparts just a whisper of lemon and tea flavors, and real lemon would probably be too strong for the chocolate.
You know the drill for the ganache. Pulverize the chocolate in the food processor and add hot liquid--cream and creme fraiche in this case. Add the instant tea and let it stand until it becomes the right consistency.
Although making the cake was quick and easy, putting it together is slow and tedious. Each layer has to be refrigerated for about an hour before the next one can be added, so the whole thing takes about three hours to assemble. Fortunately, we had a CD of the last episodes of season 3 of The Office, so we just watched Pam and Jim discover they were in love with each other (finally!) at the same time I put the finishing touches on the cake.
Are you a cake person or a frosting person? I'm a cake person myself. I love a big piece of unadorned pound cake, for example, and I've been known to scrape off frosting and put it on Jim's plate. (He's such a good sport). On the other hand, I love truffles. If you're a cake person, the best way to eat this cake is to think of it as a giant (and delicious) chocolate truffle, textured with a little almond meringue.
If you're a frosting person, you may wonder, as Jim did, why even bother with the cake. I would have preferred another layer of the meringue, with a little less ganache between each layer. If I make it again, I think I'll try it that way. I loved the nutty taste and texture of the paper-thin cake layers; Jim just thought they were grainy. I think we have a Jack Sprat situation here.
TASTING PANEL Jim: "The frosting has a rich chocolate taste, but I don't like the graininess of the cake."
Woody: "I'd forgotten how good this is--all the layers of flavor; first, bitter, and then pow! Everything else. You did good."
Jan: "It's delicious."
Rachel: "The passover cake was excellent. It was rich, but not in an overwhelming way. And the wafer or sponge layers, whatever they were, were perfect with the chocolate. I wish I had another slice right now to have with my afternoon coffee."
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