| Konditor & Cook: Curly Wurly cake? |
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| Food - Recipes | |
| Wednesday, 21 September 2005 | |
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Curly Wurly cake. Chocolate cake at its finest.
A place holder for Curly Wurly Cake
Konditor & Cook, a well-known food joint near Burrough Market in London is a favorite dessert destination for my best friend, and has been blessed by the lovely Nigella Lawson. I checked it out the last time I was in London, and I must admit, they make a two-layer chocolate cake, better known as Curly Wurly cake, that is really the Bee's Knees, as my friend would say. I had the fortune of taste-testing this cake myself, and it does come pretty close to a few of Marcel "The Guru of Ganache" Desaulniers' chocolate cakes (which are the best around). Since his books are available at bookstores across the globe and the recipes tested with home kitchen equipment, I can suggest just looking for the chocolate cake used for the Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake in Death by Chocolate, and the Mrs. D's "She Ain't Heavy" Chocolate Cake from Celebrate with Chocolate. However, I can offer the below recipe to anyone who can't make it to Konditor & Cook, who doesn't have Marcel's books, or is just looking for a new recipe to try. This is known in my family as "Sybil's Chocolate Cake". The trick is knowing when to take the cake out of the oven. Its only down side is that it is missing a third layer. The icing is not Sybil's. It's made with cream cheese. Alternatively, try the Chocolate Coconut Cake recipe here in the Food Section, excluding the flaked coconut, and substituting an equal quantity of sour cream or greek yogurt for the coconut milk (for a total 450mL sour cream or greek yogurt). Looking for something in (September) season? Try a slice of K&C's Bramley Apple Pie.
Sybil's Chocolate Cake
(Take all refrigerated ingredients from refrigerator approximately 30 minutes prior to mixing.)
2 1/2 c. (500g) loosely packed brown sugar (1 box) 2 1/4 c. (300g) sifted flour 2 t baking soda 1/2 c. (114g) butter, softened 3 eggs 3 squares (80g) unsweetened chocolate (or 85% or higher)
1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1 c. (250ml) sour cream
1 c. (250ml) boiling water
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate in microwave or in a double boiler. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until light. Add sugar and continue beating. Add eggs one at a time, scraping bowl well after each addition. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and chocolate. Stir in sifted dry ingredients alternately with sour cream (starting and ending with flour). Stir in boiling water. Pour into pans. Bake for 35 minutes (start testing for doneness after about 27 minutes; If there are a few moist crumbs on the tester, it's ok to take it out.). Cool in pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool completely before icing. Cream Cheese icing 1 3/4 sticks butter (200g), softened 7 oz. (200g) powdered sugar 2 t pure vanilla extract 14 oz. (400g) Cream cheese, softened
Mix butter and sugar, add vanilla and cream cheese, beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Intro image: Gerhard Jenne, Proprietor of Konditor & Cook, painted by Stephane Biesenbach, 1998 for the opening of London Bridge Shop. 45"x57" oil on canvas. |
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