A cake for Gina's Birthday

What to make my Book Club sister for her 60th? Can’t believe the Breakfast Book Club has been together for 15 years. A lot of food and reading under our belts – or expanding our belts! This recipe was challenging because it had to be a cake she would not make for herself (and she is a damn good cook) but secretly desires to eat. I have to bake it in Malibu the night before the meeting so hop in the car feeling sad to leave the beauty and peace of the ranch but excited to see my friends. During the 3 hour drive back as the traffic gets more frantic and the crush of humanity starts to intrude, I stay sane by thinking of textures and flavors and what is seasonal and what I would really like to eat for dessert. This is the recipe I came up with. It sounds very complicated but it really isn’t. Each part is so great by itself. The sauce would be terrific for Thanksgiving, for example. If you are really intimidated you can cut out the glaze and just do the ganache. And the candied cranberries are not a must but you will be sorry if you leave them out. DO NOT skip the sauce. It is essential. I know I will make the whole thing again because #1 DW did not even get a bite. I felt bad about that but I really felt bad because I had SO many dishes and only me to do clean up.


Cocoa Angel Food Cake with Cranberry- Pomegranate Glaze, Deep Chocolate Ganache and Candied Cranberries
(serves 12-16. Serve with whipped cream or soy whip and Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce)

Cocoa Angel Food Cake
1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa, I use Scharffenberger
1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract
12 egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar (or 1 tsp white vinegar)
¼ tsp salt

Method: Stir and then sift together cake flour, ½ cup sugar and 2 Tb cocoa powder. Sift again and set aside. Mix remaining 1 Tb cocoa powder, 1 tsp. hot water and vanilla and almond extracts. Set aside. In a large bowl or a standing mixer (better) whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt and beat until soft peaks begin to form. Slowly pour in remaining 1 cup sugar, scraping down bowl once. Whip just until stiff peaks form. (Should not be too stiff or it will be hard to incorporate flour). Sprinkle 1/3 of flour mixture on top of whites and fold in gently using a spatula or a whisk. Repeat twice more, Make sure you fold from the bottom of the bowl or you will have dry ingredients left in the bottom. Turn batter into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until brown and firm with no moisture showing on the top cracks of the cake. You can also poke with a bamboo skewer. If there are crumbs on the skewer when you pull it out, the cake is not done yet. Invert cake on a cooling rack at least 1 hour. Loosen sides and tube from cake with a sharp, flexible knife. Rap sharply on the bottom and the cake should pop out. If not, slide the knife around one more time and try again. Keep covered at room temperature up to a day.

Cranberry Pomegranate Jelly Glaze – makes about 1 ½ cups
(Have courage, it ain’t that hard..really)
1 12 oz package fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Tb pomegranate syrup – Torani makes it. I used Golden Whisk Pomegranates au Merlot.

Method: Combine all ingredients in a heavy, medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring until the sugar dissolves (about 1 minute). Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the cranberries pop and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally – 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes so you don’t burn yourself. Put through a food mill or blend in a Cuisinart and then push through a sieve with a pretty fine mesh. You are going for a jelly like glaze and want to get rid of skins and seeds. Cool to room temperature. If it is too thick to spread, add water a teaspoon at a time and whisk rapidly until it is spreadable - think softened butter. It is the “crumb” layer (the layer on the surface of the cake) so it won’t show until you cut the cake.

Ganache
6 oz really good bittersweet chocolate, chopped – I use Scharffenberger or Valhrona & it’s worth it
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 Tb dark agave syrup ( this is for texture and I use it instead of corn syrup which none of us should ever use. Member of TBFG –the bad food group)
1 Tb Grand Marnier, or other orange liqueur (optional but really good)

Method: Combine chocolate, butter and agave syrup in a glass bowl. Put in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Put in for another 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, put in for another 30 seconds if necessary. Should be completely melted and smooth. Stir in liqueur. Set aside and cool until room temp. Should still be able to spread with a small metal spatula or flat knife.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce (try it with your turkey at Thanksgiving!)
1 12 ounce bag cranberries
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
2 Tb. pomegranate syrup
½ tsp ground ginger
½ cup pomegranate seeds

Method: Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy, medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Boil about 5 minutes until cranberries pop and cook 5 minutes stirring 2 or 3 times. Mix in pomegranate seeds and cool.

Candied Cranberries
(These are so good on ice cream too – I love it on Turtle Mountain, Purely Decadent Coconut)
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup water
½ cup cranberries
¼ cup granulated sugar crystals ( I used India Tree Raspberry Red Crystals from Whole Foods) the crystals are larger than granulated sugar so hold up better when you roll the cranberries in them.

Bring water and sugar to a boil stirring until sugar dissolves. Add cranberries and simmer for 2 ½ minutes. Remove from heat and let stand in syrup until cool. Use a slotted spoon and scoop cranberries into a wide fine sieve. And set over wax paper. Let them sit and drip for several hours. Place in fridge on waxed paper overnight if you want. Before serving cake , shake granulated sugar onto a piece of waxed paper and roll cranberries in it using a fork. They are too sticky to handle until they have been rolled in the sugar.

Putting it all together: Place cake on a flat plate covered with a piece of wax or parchment paper. Spread jelly over cake in an even layer. Chill for 10-15 minutes until jelly is firm. Spread ganache on top of jelly in an even layer. Top with candied cranberries.
Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream or soy whip and ¼ cup of sauce. Awesome!!
P.S. I want to share that I am confident that you can make all the recipes that I publish here. I worked as a recipe tester for both Redbook and Bon Appetit magazines so I keep in mind what I learned writing for “every” cook in America. You may not think of yourself as a great cook but if you are willing to go for it, you will amaze yourself and those who eat your food. Let me know if anything confuses and I will further explain. In the future I will include how much each part of the recipe makes but not this time. Unfortunately, #1 DW does not hire out so you will have to deal with all those dishes on your own!