CAKE

Cake!

I love cake.... And so do most people!

I know its been a few days since Thanksgiving, but after that freakishly long Roast Goose post I decided to wait a bit more before doing the cake post... Since it might also be very long... and I didn't want to flood people with too much cookery... and my brain needed to rest.....

But now I shall post about cake! Marvelous, marvelous CAKE.

Things you will need:

For the cake:
7 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar + 2/3 cup sugar (you'll see why later)
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cap-full of vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
2 pinches of salt
1/3 cup milk

Other things you may want:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
1/3 or 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup of water
1 container of heavy whipping cream (I forget how they measure them... so if you're buying it at the store, get the short container of whipping cream... though you may need more... So, I guess you could always use a large one, and use the extra for eggnog or to put in cocoa or something. But I'm getting off topic, and I'm not really sure that was at all helpful. Sorry, I don't really measure when I cook. The most important thing is that you have enough whipped cream to cover the cake)
1 ripe pomegranate

So, I wanted something that looked festive, since it's that time of the year.

I decided on red and white, like Santa... or candy canes! That's why for the garnish I decided on cranberries and pomegranates. Their tartness can offset the whipped cream and enhance the flavor of the cake, which has the lemon zest in it.

What to do first? I made the cake in one day, so I will go through my process as I multi-tasked. First I will list the steps to avoid confusion:

1. Separating Eggs
2. Cranberries + Cake Prep
3. Back to Cake
4. Cranberries, Cream and Pomegranate
5. Cool Cake and Wait
6. Assembly

1. Separating Eggs

You will need:
7 eggs

Separating eggs is a lot easier than it looks, but it's very unforgiving if you mess up. Make sure that you don't get any of the yolk into the whites because they will not foam up otherwise.

Separating the eggs is easy. Crack the egg in half and then gently pour the yolk from one half to the other until the whites have slid away.

Another way you can do it is to crack the egg open and tip it out into your hand. If you open your fingers a little, the whites slide off, and your left holding the yolk. I prefer the second way since it lessens the chance of the yolk being broken by the eggshell.

Once the eggs are separated, set the whites aside and let them sit for about 30 minutes, or until they are room temperature. Cold egg whites take longer to whip up and also don't get as fluffy.

Set the yolks aside as well.

Remember to put both the whites and the yolks in big mixing bowls.

2. Cranberries + Cake Prep

You will need:
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup of water
1/3 cup brown sugar
Also:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 pinches salt

I always thought cranberry sauce was hard to make. To me, it was this mysterious concoction that came in a can and the fact that everyone seemed to get it in a can made it seem impossible to make.

Not so.

I was actually irked by how easy it was because for so long, I had thought it difficult.

So, take your cranberries and wash them, then drain them. 

Boil a cup of water and add in some brown sugar. I added two bars of brown sugar that we buy from the Chinese grocery store. It's actually very tasty and sometimes we eat it as candy :) All together it adds up to about 1/3 of a cup of sugar... perhaps less.

I didn't wan the cranberry sauce too sweet. I wanted it there for the tartness. You may add more sugar if you like, or less if you so choose.

Once the sugar has dissolved and the water is boiling, add your cranberries. They will soon begin to make a popping noise, and their skins will burst. Stir them frequently, until the berries disintegrate and everything is saucy. This doesn't really take long.

They're starting to pop!

It's pretty easy... O.o

Set this aside until your ready to use them later. Keep them in the pot.

To speed things along when you make the cake mix, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

3. Back to Cake

For the meringue, you will need:

7 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
For the batter, you will need:
7 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cap-full of vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon

the flour/baking soda/salt that's been sifted
1/3 cup milk

Back to the cake!

By now, the whites should be room temp. If not, wait a little while longer.

Also, have a spatula handy to scrape the sides of the bowl if you need to. Preheat your oven at this point too. Set it to 350F.

Measure out about 1 cup of flour and mix in the cream of tartar with it. Have it set aside in a small bowl or measuring cup for easy pouring.

When making a meringue, it's easiest to make it with room temp. egg whites. If you add the sugar in the beginning it'll take a lot longer to fluff up. Add the sugar gradually after the whites have been whipped up and start being able to hold their shape.

Start whipping the whites at medium speed, or high speed. I don't really think it matters too much, since the main goal is to introduce air into the whites, to get them all fluffy. Without sugar, the whites look very foamy and a little transparent.

Egg whites sans sugar.

As they begin to froth up more and be able to hold their shape, gradually add in the sugar and cream of tartar. Adding the sugar like this helps it get incorporated and dissolve. The eggs are fluffy at this point, so adding the cream of tartar helps keep it like that. After you introduce the sugar, the consistency of the meringue changes and looks opaque.

Keep whipping the eggs until they are very stiff that they make tiny, stiff peaks. They'll also hold the impressions of the mixer and be thick enough that you can hold the bowl upside down (be careful when you do that, by the way). If you can still feel grains of sugar, keep mixing until they disappear.

They should look like this!

Now that your meringue is done, time for part two of the batter.

Add the butter and the remaining sugar to the yolks and whip them with the electric mixer until fluffy and light yellow in color. Add in the vanilla and the lemon zest, and mix a little more.
Gradually add in the flour and milk and mix until just incorporated.

 See, it turns lighter and a little fluffy.

Zest and vanilla added. 

Flour added. The less lumpy, the better.

Now for the delicate part. Fold the meringue into the batter. This is most easily done when you add the lighter batter to the heavier; in this case, add the meringue a spatula-full at a time to the yolk-batter. When you fold the meringue in, do it very gently, as to preserve the bubbles. Put the meringue on top, then gently cut it down vertically through both mixtures, down the bottom of the bowl and up the side. Turn the bowl each time you do this. Keep doing this until all the meringue is mixed with the batter and it has a pale yellow color.

I forgot to photograph the folding...  D:

Carefully pour this mixture into a bundt cake pan that has a removable center part. Make sure the pan in ungreased.

Pop your cake into the oven and bake for about 45mins to an hour. be very careful about checking the cake for done-ness, since it can deflate fairly quickly. Don't take peeks at it as it bakes!

4. Cranberries, Cream and Pomegranate

You will need:
The cranberries
The cream
The pomegranate

Back to the cranberries!

Take the pot with the cranberry sauce in it and add in about half a cup more of water and stir it into the sauce. Then, put it all in a blender and puree it. Strain this mixture, and set aside the pulp in a small bowl. We'll need it later.

It's a little steamy because I added hot water.

Return the strained sauce to the pot and boil until the volume is reduced by 1/3.

Take a large bowl (preferably metal and chilled) and pour in the heavy whipping cream. Whip it until firm. I didn't bother adding any sugar, since the cake is sweet enough. Cover this and set it in the fridge.

Take the pomegranate and wash it thoroughly. Score the sides, and carefully pry it open. I recommend wearing a black shirt while doing this, so even if you do get some pomegranate juice on you, it won't be that noticeable. Remove the seeds and set these aside as well.

5. Cool Cake and Wait

I also forgot to take pictures for this part, as well... I need to get better about that...

When the cake is done, take it out and set it upside down. Be very sure that the cake is cooked through, otherwise the middle will plop out and you will be sad. I know I was....

You can place it on a bottle top, through the middle-hole or you can just leave the oven open and set it on one of the racks. Let it cool for about an hour or two till it's room temperature to the touch.

When you're ready to remove the cake take a knife and gently run it around the outer edge of the pan. Remove the cake from the outer portion of the pan, and run the knife along the bottom and then around the middle. Gently tip upside down onto a plate.

6. Assembly

You will need:
Paper towels (a few of them damp, it helps a lot)
Cake decorating bags and icing tips
Brush (the silicone ones are pretty nice, the more I use them, the more I like them)
Cake-icing tool (or something very long and flat that you can even out the whipped cream)
Cranberry pulp
Cranberry sauce
Whipped cream
Pomegranates

Most of the stuff I listed is pictured here.

Clear away any crumbs on the plate that you have the cake on.

In a small pot, boil the cranberry pulp until bubbly. You can even add a little sugar to this, since it's going to be a glaze for the cake. Adding a little more sugar will make the pulpy mixture a little more thick, and help seal the cake better. You can also add a couple spoonfuls of jam, if you'd like.

Glazing the cake it a good idea because it helps seal in little crumbs so they don't come off while you decorate the cake and it also acts as a buffer to additional moisture, so your cake won't get too soggy.

Once the mix is bubbly, remove it from the heat and brush it onto the cake. It's easiest to do this when the mixture is still hot. You don't have to use all the mixture, but make sure that you didn't miss any spots.

Let this dry for about 10-15 minutes. Clean up the edges of the plate too!

From here, you can do your own thing and decorate it however you like. This is what I did:

I spread on a layer of the whipped cream over the cake. It helps to work from the top down; once you smooth out the top, work on the sides. After I was done spreading the whipped cream, I cleaned off the edges of the plate with a damp paper towel.

When using the decorating bags, it helps to fold part of it over your hand before you start filling it. This makes it easier to twist up and helps avoid any unnecessary mess. When decorating a cake, I like to try out the nibs before I start on the actual cake. A little practice before going onto the final is good

I spread the cranberry sauce onto the sides and used the pomegranate seeds on the top. When placing the seeds on top, I used a small spoon because dropping it on with my hands was just too unpredictable. You get a lot more control with a spoon. 

After you're done decorating, pop the cake in the fridge to let everything firm up. About 30-45 mins later it's ready to eat!

Enjoy!