A really tasty GF Bundt cake. Every bit as good as one made with flour.

So I have to confess, the Bundt cake had a few problems coming out of the pan. Although I sprayed it with nonstick spray AND it’s a nonstick pan, still several chunks didn’t want to release. Therefore the underside that’s supposed to be the top side wasn’t at all pretty. Oh well, I just left it this way, topside up, and no one seemed to mind. I thought I had a photo or two of the sliced cake, but after a recent purge of food photos on my phone, I guess I must have deleted it.

I made this over Christmas, for my cousin Gary, who can’t eat wheat. Most holidays when he comes to visit, I make at least one or two GF desserts for him for our family gatherings, so he isn’t left out of the celebration.

The recipe came from the ‘net, All Day I Dream About Food (a blog). I made a couple of changes – I used lemon paste (I bought it from King Arthur) in addition to lemon zest, and I didn’t make the glaze because I was lazy. And what was left of the cake went home with Gary in his backpack, on the plane. I hope it didn’t get squished beyond recognition. What the lemon paste does is give a more intense lemon flavor. What’s there not to like about that option?

The only really unusual ingredient here is whey protein powder, unflavored. I have some that I keep on hand as it’s a common item in keto baking. I’m not eating keto anymore, but I still use keto recipes frequently. Whey proteins have excellent water-binding properties, which can help to increase the moisture content and softness of baked goods. Hence, this cake was VERY tender and moist.

The making of it was quite standard, and it was baked at a little lower temperature. When using whey protein it’s better to either bake a cake for fewer minutes and/or lower the temp so it doesn’t dry out.

What’s GOOD: this makes a really tasty, lemony, tender Bundt cake. The recipe is a keeper.

What’s NOT: nothing, really. If you have concerns about your Bundt pan sticking, bake this in a loaf cake instead. And use parchment paper.

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Lovely roasted veggies enhanced with lemon juice in a vinaigrette.

Having shopped that morning and with numerous vegetables to choose from, I decided a sheetpan of roasted veggies sounded good for dinner. My complete dinner. But adding some kind of dressing would be even better, so I kind of made up a dressing with EVOO, a tad of red wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice (my Meyer lemon tree is loaded, absolutely loaded with them), Dijon, a tiny bit of sugar, salt and pepper and some minced shallot.

After cutting up the veggies (one sweet potato, chunked large, 1 large sweet onion cut in wedges, about 12 Brussels sprouts, halved, one baby bok choy, cut into wedge thirds), I piled them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment. EVOO was drizzled over it and I used my hands to make sure every surface had been kissed by the oil. Then I added some salt and freshly ground black pepper, and it was ready. Into a 400°F oven it went for 35 minutes. If I’d wanted more caramelization I wouldn’t have used the parchment, but they were just done in that time frame (and the sheetpan was mostly clean). Meanwhile, I’d mixed up the vinaigrette, tasted it, and added a bit more oil. Once the veggies came out of the oven I put them onto my plate and drizzled (using a teaspoon) some of it over each piece of vegetable. That way, I hoped, I’d use less of the dressing (therefore fewer calories). So delicious. As I write this, I made the veggies last night, and at lunchtime today I couldn’t wait to have more of them. I reheated them in the microwave for a quick meal.

The recipe below makes more than you’ll need of the dressing – use what’s left on a green salad. Therefore, the calorie count in the actual recipe is way off. This is a mix-and-match kind of dish – don’t like sweet potatoes? Add white potatoes. Don’t like Brussels, add red, yellow and green bell peppers, cauliflower or eggplant. Don’t have sweet onion? No problem. Regular onions should work just fine. Add carrots to this – they’d be great – they become very sweet when roasted. I was trying to stick with low carb. Sweet potatoes are a resistant starch, so they don’t get absorbed by the body like most starches/carbohydrate. I have some portobello mushrooms and if I make this again in the next few days, I’ll add those, although they’d need the dark gills cleaned out  (otherwise the resulting dark fluid would spread over the other veggies – wouldn’t look pretty). I’m not a fan of cooked celery, but it probably would work here too. Regular cabbage would work too if cut into smaller wedges.

What’s GOOD: oh gosh, every veggie was wonderful. The vinaigrette just “made” it – it was the lemon juice that was the key to that. If you cut the veggies in somewhat even thickness they’ll all be done at the same time. Using parchment made for easy clean-up. The leftover vinaigrette I’ll use on a salad in the next few days. Absolutely wonderful dinner. If you wanted to serve it with a side of protein – a grilled chicken breast, or some rotisserie chicken, easy. A grilled pork chop maybe, or even a piece of fish. All good with the vegetables.

What’s NOT: only that you need to have the right combo of vegetables. Use what you have. No complaints here!

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Having made shrimp and grits before . . . well, these are the best ever.

It’s taken me awhile to catch up with all of the recipes I’ve made or had, and this was one that got lost. Phillis Carey made these at the class in early December, and they are just the bomb. What’s there not to like about bacon, mushrooms, lovely succulent shrimp and a bunch of cheese mixed in and around the pile of creamy grits?

Ideally, have everything out, ready, measured before you begin. The grits take less than 10 minutes to cook, and the shrimp even less than that, so be prepared. Chicken broth and cream are added to a pot, then once it’s up to a boil you slowly – ever so slowly – drizzle in the grits, stirring constantly with a whisk (not a spoon, a whisk). Once mixed, turn down the heat, cover and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Then you add in the salt, butter, and cheeses, plus some white pepper, cayenne and nutmeg (yes, nutmeg).

Phillis used 6 slices of bacon in this dish – – – I use 4 slices, as the bacon flavor was very prominent. You don’t want it to overpower the delicacy of the shrimp. The shrimp are cooked in the residual bacon fat (plus oil if needed), until it just begins to get opaque (pink), then you add green onions, the bacon and garlic. It’s then seasoned with lemon juice, some hot sauce plus salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, the grits are done, they’re spooned into a nice big wide soup bowls and the shrimp mixture is piled on top. Sprinkle with Italian parsley for color. Serve immediately so it doesn’t cool off.

What’s GOOD: every little morsel of this was delicious. I mean, really  . . . shrimp, mushrooms, bacon, grits with cheese and cream? Oh yum.

What’s NOT: well, there’s not much that’s healthy about this, lots of calories. A decadent splurge, let’s put it that way.

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Love rice? Love Chinese food? Have access to Chinese sausage? Make this!

For some reason I was craving Chinese food, and I didn’t really want to go out somewhere. I had a package of Chinese sausage in my refrigerator, so I decided to do something with it. Truth to tell, I know nothing about Chinese sausage. I’d never had it before, but I’d spotted packages of it at my local Costco. In a shelf-stable package. It said it would keep for about a year. Meat? Really? A year on my pantry shelf? Hmmm. Well, I had put it in my refrigerator, where it had languished for at least 4-5 months. I went online and searched recipes, and decided on this one, that’s just slightly adapted from Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen.

So, first I followed the recipe directions for rinsing the rice. Usually I don’t bother, but in this recipe it said it was important, to wash off the starch, so the rice would not stick together. I must say, I was impressed with the fluffiness of the finished rice – it definitely was fluffy and didn’t stick together at all. So, the rinsed rice was put into a large frying pan (big, must have been an 11-inch one), water was added. Nothing else The sausage links are nestled into the rice and then turn on the heat. The recipe was specific about watching the pan for the first sign of bubbling around the edges. At that point you lower the heat, cover the pan and let it cook for exactly 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, you prepare the sauce that will go into the rice. You make the sauce with shallot and garlic, then add two kinds of soy sauce (or you can jerry-rig the dark one, see notes, although I didn’t add the suggested honey or molasses – it was sweet enough without it, for me anyway) and some dry sherry. And a bit of water. Once cooked, the rice has to sit (covered, no peeking) for 5 minutes. The I removed those sausage links (keeping the pot covered) and cut them up into little diagonal slices. Those were added to the sauce, then I poured the whole thing over the pan of white rice and stirred and fluffed like crazy. Then a tiny drizzle of sesame oil.

Green onions and cilantro were added as a garnish to the servings. Well, there was just one serving, mine. Oh my goodness, was it ever good. The sausage was a bit on the salty side, so I’m glad I used low-sodium soy sauce. The little bit of Asian sesame oil adds a really nice touch to it.

What’s GOOD: every little tiny morsel of this was good. Healthy? Oh, maybe not, but it sure was tasty. I tried not to overeat; I was very tempted to. I had ample leftovers, so they went into the freezer for another day when I feel I can have a heaping portion of rice! Loved the flavors throughout, the sherry, even, the cilantro, the soy/shallot/garlic sauce. All good. Delicious.

What’s NOT: can’t say there is anything that wasn’t good. It wasn’t hard to make at all. Uses two pans. I had all the ingredients on hand, so it was a fast meal to make. Could make it on the fly if I had last-minute guests, even.

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Sorry, that photo isn’t better. That’s one of the little baked eggs, cut in half, oozing onto the plate.

There, is that better, at left? Cute muffin cup baked eggs and bacon.

A post from Carolyn, but Karen is the one who made this. On Christmas morning my D-I-L, Karen, made these for our breakfast. She was so thoughtful, to make something my cousin Gary could have, that was GF. My family is very considerate of his GF restrictions. I usually make a GF dessert for one or more of our family gatherings, so the hostess doesn’t have to think about it. I made two this year (desserts). For Thanksgiving it was a pumpkin dessert, Pumpkin Praline Custard, that’s been on my blog for years. Then for Christmas I made a GF poppy seed Bundt cake (recipe up soon) that was amazingly good. Light and fluffy. Gary enjoyed it, and what was left I packed up for him to put in his backpack on the plane when he flew home.

Back to this breakfast . . . Karen bought a package of  Cup4Cup GF flour on amazon. It’s the best mix of GF flours I’ve tasted. After Christmas I ordered a package of it and will be trying it in coming months. Next year the goal is to make GF popovers when Gary visits. I made popovers for Christmas Day dinner (it’s become a “thing” that I make them frequently when I visit my son and his family as they all love-love them), though I didn’t make them GF. I didn’t know there was a recipe out there that worked. Popovers are so finicky with wheat flour, let alone GF mixtures, but since Christmas I’ve found more than one recipe for GF popovers. I think I’ll try them here at home first.

As an added note, I made popovers a couple of days ago when I was visiting them, and I absolutely NAILED it with the recipe and now I need to go back to tweak the recipe that’s already here on my blog and add notes. Anyway, a week or so ago I listened to a podcast on Milk Street radio, an interview with Rose Levy Beranbaum, and in it she talked extensively about various flour (all purpose) and how they differ in the amount of protein they end up with in the finished product. With her advice in mind, I bought a bag of BLEACHED Gold Medal flour, weighed the exact amount (in grams) needed for the popovers, made them like that (with eggs, milk, and in this case some melted beef fat Karen had on hand). Oh my goodness. Perfect. If you’re interested in learning more about the flour intelligence in this, click here to go to Rose’s page on ingredients, and scroll down to FLOUR. Until now I’ve used  unbleached all purpose flour for everything, unless cake flour was called for in the recipe. I now know I need to use bleached flour for all cakes, cookies, biscuits, etc. I guess I’ll be phasing out my unbleached flour as I don’t make bread hardly at all anymore.

THE PIECRUST: Karen used this flour (picture at right) to make the GF piecrusts. Recipe below. It’s a normal crust – this special cup4cup GF flour, salt, butter, apple cider vinegar and cold water. Karen said the dough was quite easy to work with. Do note that the recipe below makes two crusts, or enough to make 24 of these little piecrust cups. She cautions you to NOT press the dough into the corners as that stretches it – when it bakes it will shrink. So, gently press and mold the dough without stretching to get into those corners.

Into the bottom of each pastry crust Karen spread about a teaspoon of whole-grain mustard. Then she added a few little cubes of the pancetta (or cooked bacon, whatever your preference). The eggs were separated and the yolk is carefully added into the cup. The egg whites are mixed  up a little bit, to make them more pourable and it was added to each muffin cup, up to about 2/3 full. Don’t over-fill as they might bubble up and over (which would make a BIG mess in your oven). She sprinkled salt, pepper and paprika over the top, then added grated Cheddar cheese on the top.

The egg cups are baked for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is set and the cheese and the crust are golden brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley when it’s served. Every oven is different – so watch the eggs carefully that you don’t overbake them.

What’s GOOD: all of it was good. The piecrust was perfect – flaky and I’d never have known it was GF. The eggs were perfectly cooked (oozy, just the way I like them). Karen did a great job on this breakfast. She served it with a lovely tray of fresh fruit and coffee.

What’s NOT: only that there are several steps to making these – the piecrust itself, of course, and then making the filling. Karen simplified it well (using those tiny cubes of pancetta instead of having to cook bacon).

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Green beans – oh so delicious – can be a veg or a salad.

Over Christmas there was quite a bit of too-ing and fro-ing from one family location to another. Going south, we (my cousin Gary from NorCal was here) met on the 23rd for a big family dinner and gift exchange and one of the family’s homes in Corona del Mar. I think there were about 25 people there, with 22 of them being part of my daughter-in-law’s extended family. I took a gluten-free dessert and something else . . . at this moment I can’t recall what I made. I think it was a salad of some kind. Oh well, it will come to me . . . Then on the 24th my cousin Gary and I drove north to La Canada (where my son Powell and his family live). We had a lovely dinner that night, paella and all the extras from a local Spanish restaurant. We had desserts leftover from the 23rd, and we had lovely Sangria to enjoy too.

Because their house was full-up with guests, Gary and I were treated to an overnight at The California Club. My son and his wife have joined it and they have 30+ rooms available. It’s in downtown Los Angeles. It’s like a private country club but without a golf course. In the morning we enjoyed coffee (Gary had other things; me just the coffee) in the bar at the Club. We were sorry they had to provide food for guests on Christmas morning, but we weren’t the only people staying there, and the waiter was ever-so nice. Then we returned to the house for an official breakfast.

Karen made some GF eggs in pastry cups (recipe to come soon). They were just delicious and I was amazed at the flakiness of the pastry. I did a huge charcuterie board (I made Gary help me with the creating of it) which everyone munched on during the afternoon. For dinner Powell grill-rotisserie-d a double boneless leg of lamb stuffed with all kinds of herbs, and everyone else helped out with other dishes to round out the dinner. It was a fabulous meal – a formal dining room setting with the family china. I think the lamb was the most tender leg of lamb I’ve ever eaten – it was as tender as prime rib or a tenderloin.

So, this green bean dish . . . it comes from Milk Street, and you can tell, it’s Russian. First you make the Adjika (I’m assuming it means “sauce”). It’s comprised of a LOT of fresh mint (thank goodness I have it growing in abundance in my yard), Jalapeno chiles, garlic, salt, a bit of oil and some ground coriander. The green beans were cooked just past the crunchy stage, then they’re tossed with the sauce, some yogurt, lemon zest and juice and garnished with more fresh mint and some toasted walnuts. I made the mint sauce (the Adjika) at home so it was easy to mix in when composing the dish.

What’s GOOD: I thought these were stupendous. I’d have loved to have had leftovers the next day, but I left them for Karen and family to enjoy. Definitely a keeper and one I want to make again. Although I have mint growing, I’ll need to wait a few weeks for the patch to recover from harvesting so much of it for this dish! We’re having very cold temps at night, and mint doesn’t much like that – often it dies off in the winter. I was just lucky there was plenty when I needed it. We have several family members who can’t eat nuts, so the picture doesn’t show them – I had them nearby for people to sprinkle on top as they wanted. Make the sauce earlier in the day, and make the yogurt sauce ahead also. The green beans could be made ahead too, so all you’d have to do is toss everything. The dish is very low in calorie. I made a double batch to feed all of us.

What’s NOT: There are a few steps to making this – none is difficult, just a bit time consuming.

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At Thanksgiving and Christmas every year I make a few things that I’ve made for decades. I suppose I could go to all the trouble of creating new, cropped photos of all these things, and write up a new blurb about them. But if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you may have already seen them in years past. I’m not going to do that this time – it’s a ton of work. I’m just going to list them, in blog-style conversation and if you’re interested, you can click on the link.

At Thanksgiving, I made my usual cranberry relish. It’s different because it contains apple, a whole orange (including the skin and pith) and some fresh ginger (that you’d not know was there except I’m telling you). It keeps for about a month.

Early in December I made Bishop’s Bread, something I learned to make back in the 1960s and it’s filled with chocolate chips, walnuts and maraschino cherries. So it’s a fruitcake, but doesn’t have all those citron things in it. As I write this I still have part of a loaf that I nibble on with coffee or tea every few days.

Several of us gathered together to make Christmas cookies this year. Each person brought one cookie (already made, or mostly made) that was shared with our group of four. And we baked several throughout the day. We tried a couple of new recipes. Cranberry Moscow Mule Cookies are different, all the flavors of a Moscow mule, but in cookie form. They’re quite sweet. Not certain we’ll make them again. We always make Chocolate Almond Saltine Bars, and this year we made a double batch as one batch didn’t give each of us enough.

We tried a new snowball cookie called Bee’s Knees, and although they were fine, they weren’t as good as the ones we usually make, so we’ll go back to our original next year, I think. I made a double batch of Chocolate Salami, which is a real treat for me. It’s a mixture of bittersweet chocolate, cookie crumbs (this time I used graham crackers although I think the Biscoff cookie crumbs are better) and nuts, rolled into a log, chilled, then you slice them and they look kinda-sorta like salami.

We’d talked about making potato chip cookies (they were a winner last year) but we ran out of time. As it was, we baked nearly all day and since all of us are “of a certain age,” we were TIRED. Next year we’ll go back to the Cranberry Noels that have been a favorite for many years.

We also made Bushwhacker Bars (similar to the cocktail, but a cookie, obviously). I don’t think we liked them that much, so I didn’t write up the recipe to share. If anyone wants the recipe, click the link and it goes to Food & Wine magazine. If you make them, cut back on the sugar.

Nearly all the cookies are gone now – I gifted some, took some when I went to someone’s house, and I ate a lot of them myself. There are a few of the Cranberry Moscow Mule cookies left, but they’re not a favorite so they languish in the freezer.

Lots of baking . . . lots of dishes, and thanks to Jackie and Dianne for washing up dishes a jillion times that day. I made some soup, my Dad’s lentil soup, for us so we wouldn’t eat too much cookie dough, and we dashed out to visit a local store that was all decked out for Christmas. We had a really nice time of it. We skipped our usual cookie baking one of the years during Covid, but it’s nice to be back in the cookie groove again. At the end of the day we divided up everything so we all went home with about 6 different cookies, I think.

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An easy weeknight chicken breast dinner that comes together fairly quickly.

Can you tell I made this before Christmas? What with those Christmas plates (Spode ones with the Christmas tree in the middle, you know that one, it’s been around forever). So, this dish is a chicken breast stuffed with all kinds of goodies – a little bit of cream cheese, some pepper jack cheese too, some poblano chiles (or you could use canned California green chiles, sliced), then it has a green chile salsa with onions and the remaining poblanos in the sauce. These are so very easy to make. Just have all the ingredients on hand (I did).

First off, consider the size of the chicken breast. I used a package of Costco’s sealed packet of chicken breasts. And there were only two of them in the packet. But they were huge. So I cut them each in half, crosswise. Then, I sliced each of those in half horizontally to make an open-book type of breast that’s suitable for stuffing. When doing the horizontal cut, stop cutting about 1/2″ from the other side so you can open it up to a nice chicken surface. Each made a nice-enough chicken breast serving, so I got four servings out of two breasts. Next time I make these I will pound all of those pieces a little bit as all of them were a bit too thick. I mean, they were fine, but they plumped up thicker once baked.

The poblano peppers should be blistered (to remove the skins), but if you’re short on time, you can make this without that step. Saute the onion and peppers in a bit of olive oil until the onions are translucent (otherwise they won’t cook through in the oven when it’s baked).

There are the chicken breasts sort-a, kind-a sealed up, seasoned, with the onions and peppers around the outside.

There’s the casserole with the salsa on top, before baking.

First you spread some softened cream cheese on one side of the chicken open book. Then place in a slice or two of pepper jack, then some of the poblano chile strips. Fold the chicken over so it mostly covers the filling. Place in a greased baking dish. Then you pour all the onions and remaining chiles around the chicken breasts, add the jar of green chile salsa (I use Trader Joe’s) and make sure some of it is spread on top of each breast. This doesn’t have to bake long – chicken breasts cook fairly quickly. Use an instant read thermometer and make sure the center of the breast has reached 150ºF. I served this with rice seasoned with lime juice and some broccoli.

What’s GOOD: loved everything about this – the melty, oozy cheese, the poblanos, and just how moist the chicken was. It was quite simple and easy to put together; maybe 30 minutes of prep work, then about 25-30 minutes in the oven. It made a very nice company meal.

What’s NOT: nothing, really. I’d definitely make this again.

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 A winner of a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited at the last minute to a lovely Christmas luncheon and cookie exchange, so I needed to make some quick and easy cookies. Since I love anise biscotti, and I love lemon, I decided these were just the ticket.

There isn’t anything difficult about these cookies. Know, though, that these are more the tea- or coffee-dunking style – i.e., these are quite dry and hard. Actually, that’s the way the original Italian biscotti were back in the day – they contained next to no fat at all. These do have some butter in the dough, but not a lot. They are edible without dunking, but be careful you don’t crack a tooth! I’d suppose Italians today would think soft (or at least not hard) biscotti are blasphemy to the true cuisine of Italy.

The dough comes together very easily and it makes two loaves. Once baked, it’s cooled a bit, then slice them, and they go back in the oven to dry out thoroughly. This recipe makes about 40 biscotti (two loaves). I love the lemon flavor, and I like anise too. A great combination.

What’s GOOD: easy recipe, really like the subtle lemon flavor and the anise. I’d not thought of that as a combination, but it is. These keep for ages, although I keep them in the freezer. Each cookie is just 57 calories and 1 gram of fat.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever. Great little cookie.

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If you’re a fan of chocolate . . . cherries . . . mascarpone cheese . . .whipped cream and cake, you’ll want to make this.

Another recipe from the double cooking class a few weeks ago. Sorry I don’t have a better photo of it. Daughter Sara and I both swooned over this cake, and have decided we need to make it some time over the holidays. Decadent? Oh yes. Chocolatey? Absolutely. Smooth and tender? Yes, indeed. If you’re a fan of chocolate, cherry and a tender cake, this will float your boat.

There are three different steps to making this: (1) marinating the cherries; (2) baking the cake; and (3) making the frosting and obviously then frosting the cake. First you need to do the cherries – you can use frozen cherries, no problem. Defrost first, then heat with cherry brandy or kirsch and some sugar and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so. Cool and chill. That part can be made up to five days ahead of time.

Next, the cake. You need two 9-inch cake pans here with nonstick cooking spray all over the inside. Making the cake batter isn’t difficult – it’s one of those hot water cakes (makes for a very tender cake). The only chocolate is unsweetened cocoa powder. Everything else is the normal stuff for making a cake. The batter, however, is quite thin. Don’t be concerned. Pour into the two pans, bake for 30-35 minutes, let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes then gently remove them and cool completely on racks. You can make the cake layers 2 days ahead or if you want to, freeze them, several weeks ahead is fine.

The frosting is a combo of heavy cream and mascarpone cheese. So good. Sturdy with the mascarpone in it. The cakes need to be sliced in half to make four layers. Diane had a great idea – if you cut a tiny little V in the side of each cake, you can be certain you’ll put those two thinner slices back together so they lay flat if you line up the V. The cherries are halved and you use about 1/2 cup on each layer. The cake needs chilling time, at least 4 hours or up to 24. Makes it even easier – make it the day ahead (and refrigerate it, of course).

What’s GOOD: the cake is so chocolatey and tender. The frosting is not ordinary – loved the combo of whipped cream and mascarpone. The cherry element is unexpected and a nice complement to the chocolate. Hence the name, black forest! Altogether fabulous.

What’s NOT: only that there are three steps. A bit time consuming. But worth it. Do a lot of it ahead – easier for the hostess. The finished cake wants to be refrigerated at least 4 hours or  overnight.

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Black Forest Cherry Cake

Recipe By: Diane Phillips, cooking class 12/2023
Servings: 12 (or up to 16)

CAKE:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder — unsweetened
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
CHERRIES:
3 cups sweet cherries — pitted, either frozen and defrosted, or fresh
1/4 cup cherry brandy — or kirsch
1/4 cup sugar
FROSTING:
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark chocolate shavings — for garnish
10 maraschino cherries — pitted, for garnish

NOTE1: The juice (vodka) used to soak the cherries is used to brush on each layer of the cake. Don’t discard it.
NOTE2: For the class, Diane cut about a 4″ circle in the center of the cake. She cut small wedges from the side of the cake and once those were plated, the center provided another 3-4 servings, so the cake would feed about 16 people.
1. CAKE: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 9″ baking pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt. Stir in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. With an electric mixer beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water and mix until blended, about 2 more minutes. Batter is very thin. Divide batter equally between the two pans and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.
3. Remove pans and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks. You can make these ahead to this point and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 6 weeks. Defrost before proceeding.
4. CHERRIES: In a saucepan combine the ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Drain the cherries, saving the juices and allow to cool before assembling the cake. Cut the cherries in half if you have time.
6. The cherries and juice can be cooled, covered and refrigerated (separately) for up to 5 days.
7. FROSTING: In a large bowl beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Add the mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth.
8. Cut each cake layer in half horizontally. TIP: cut a tiny notch on the side of each cake so when you re-assemble the cake with the frosting you can line up the cake the way it should be (and hopefully level).
9. Lay strips of waxed paper or paper towels on the outside of the cake plate (to catch crumbs and drips). Set a cake half on serving plate. Brush cake with some of the cherry/cherry brandy juice. Spread with some of the cream mixture and top with some of the cherries.
10. Continue to layer with cake, juice, cream frosting, cherries and repeat. If there is enough frosting leftover, spread on the top and sides of the cake.
11. Decorate the top and sides of the cake with chocolate shavings and arrange maraschino cherries around the top of the cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours ahead.
Per Serving: 668 Calories; 40g Fat (52.1% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 74g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 118mg Cholesterol; 559mg Sodium; 55g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 114mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 266mg Potassium; 181mg Phosphorus.

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