One of my all-time favorite cakes !!
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A chocolate chocolate cake with pistachios.
Needed a break from all the easy sour cream fruit cakes and several midsummer cakes loaded with fruits that I had made , love the fruits of summer but I admit to licking the spoon with the chocolate frosting when I got finished with the cake.
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OMG. I want to dive into the screen.
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Well, if you didn’t I’m sure there are plenty of HOs around the country who would volunteer. 
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Ha! I’m normally not a frosting person but I do like this one. It’s a sour cream ganache, Helen Evan Brown, which preceded RLB ‘s version. I added a 1/4 t espresso powder , next time maybe a pinch more.
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I made granola today, too. And in anticipation of summer baking, I made a quadruple batch of crumble topping for the freezer and a double batch of pie dough. Bring it on.
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I had not made the “Perfect” ATK Carrot Cake recipe (double one!) in 4 years! So I made another to celebrate my former Son-in-Law’s birthday. I made a big one because so many of my friends wanted some too. (In the past, I made the “normal” sized one but Articshark showed how she did a double and Shellybean advised to add less sugar to the icing and also to cut back on icing portion. So, for a double, I did 1 1/2 recipe of the icing instead of double.) This double one fed at least 25 people! (I’m proud that I only had one slice!!)
It makes 4 layers, about an inch high each.
All agree it’s superb. I gave 2 slices to a friend … he was supposed to take one slice home to his partner and he couldn’t resist eating BOTH SLICES!
This time I couldn’t understand why I had so much of the pecans leftover. I checked my original recipe and other internet blog recipes and they all repeat the error. For chopped pecans it says 2 cups, 8 oz.
ONE CUP is 8 oz! I buy toasted, unsalted pecan pieces from TJ but toast a bit more and hand chop to the right size.
Dried currants are hard to find in markets in SF so I ordered from Amazon and they were very fresh, perfect.
To make things easier, I baked the cake day 1, made icing and finished on day 2.
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Remember the recent post from Pavlova about the Pistachio-Cardamom Shortbread Biscuits from A Whisper of Cardamom? The second time I made them, did a double batch. I don’t know why I have trouble shaping the dough into a triangle … this time I did a square and it was much easier for me … mine are kind of small. Anyway, I think this is such a perfect cookie recipe … it’s not hard … they seem to last well.
I dropped off carrot cake to a friend and told him I’d include some of these cookies. He said he only wanted one, ok, maybe two. I gave him 5 … he said he couldn’t stop eating them.
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It’s all so gorgeous! The cookies and the cake. Kudos!
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The icing for the cake calls for buttermilk powder but you could use any cream cheese icing recipe you like. From the first time, I’ve just done what the recipe said. Once you open the can of powder you have to keep it in the fridge. This can was there 4 years! And it seemed fine so I used it! Remainder is back in the fridge!
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You. Are. Prepared.
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I’m house-sitting at my brother’s and unexpectedly decided to bake something for a surprise small gathering tomorrow at Mom’s. That involved a 10 PM grocery store run, and now the oven is pre-heating.
I’ve made this before and it’s fine, but I’m only making a half batch. I do not need access to a 9x13 pan of cheesecake.
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Nice! Can you say more about how you make and use the crumble topping?
Correction: Nannybakes let me know that the recipe is correct; 2 cups of nuts is 8 ounces. I got out my scale, for one cup I got 4.15 ounces.
I still don’t understand why 4 cups was way too much for a double recipe!
The recipe calls for whole pecans, chopped. The whole pecans will weigh a little less than weighing chopped pecans. The chopped pecans are compacted when weighing, so you get a greater volume.
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I like the version from Rustic Fruit Desserts. Check your DM for the original recipe. How much of the topping you’ll want to use, and how much cornstarch you’ll want in the filling will depend on the size of your pan, how tart your fruit is, how juicy your fruit is, and personal taste.
I’ve made it thus far with rhubarb, sour cherries, or apples (mixed tart and sweet) - good every way. I also like that you can make a crumble as small or as big as your appetite and/or fruit stash is running.
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What are you using for a topping?
If these were made separately, you would have two additional sides to coat with pecans, imagine the cake cut down the center and the two additional sides that would be frosted and coated with pecans.
(That’s why you need less frosting)
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It looks like a looker to me!
Is this the same recipe? It’s from Food52 and says “Reprinted with permission from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi” but uses a mix of black- and blueberries.
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Two daughters are home and making lots of cakes and bagels and such. My phone and computer aren’t on speaking terms ATM so no pics for now, but I wanted to mention that D3’s first ever GF bagels turned out really well.
She started with a recipe from LoopyWhisk but made a left turn at Albuquerque by subbing in a lot of teff flour for (? not sure what went out when the teff went in). They turned out really nice. No grit despite having a fair bit of brown rice flour. A bit too much of a bread-like texture, though. She didn’t account for the amount of liquid in the head of roasted garlic she added.
D2 made her usual bagels and they turned out really nice, as usual.
So we’ve got tons of carbs to eat and I’m trying to stay low carb.
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