Last Cake, Next Cake

Penny was wondering what I was doing by her window :)

Ladies and gentlemen, the vote is in. Everyone loved this cake.

Lois, who hasn't anticipated that the filling has to be made 3 hours in advance, so this became a 2 day project. It is all worth it though, as she liked this cake much better than her Grandma's German Chocolate Cake. "The cake has a lighter texture, more chocolate flavor and the filling is thicker and richer." Curious about the origin of the cake name, she did some research and yield interesting results. "The cake was originally created  by a Dallas housewife in the 1950s; she used German Baking Chocolate.  The manufacturer got news of this and began distributing the recipe on its chocolate which was developed by Mr. German in the 1850s."

ECL post her cake with no photos! (What's up with that???) But seriously I do sympathize as I have done this several times. The cake turned out good and is well received at the summer potluck she brought it too. "The cakes are moist, slightly spongy and nicely chocolatey. This cake is a real crowd pleaser." The goop, as she lovingly called the frosting, "is the best goop recipe I've tried--and I've tried a lot."

Kristina made the cake without the German component, that is, the goop. Instead of making the goop and finishing the cake, she went to see Harry Potter. Later on, she served the cake with ice cream, which I guess essentially makes this the Chocolate Ice Cream Cake as the cake component is the same. The cake is well received as well. "It is rich, moist, chocolatey, and fudgey. Almost brownie-like, but lighter. It really needs very little adornment, though as I said, it goes great with ice cream."

I wasn't sure who to pick for the FEATURED BAKER this week until I saw Melissa's photo of the cake. She adorned only half the cake with nuts, as one of her family members doesn't like nuts. "I know it looks a bit odd to have a half-decorated cake, but aside from that, I also found the yellow, dripy icing a bit creepy. Looking back at the book, it wasn't quite so drippy." Melissa hesitated about making this cake because "the photo in the book really didn't appeal to me and it isn't a cake that I'm familiar with." She was glad she didn't skip it because this end up being a chocolate cake that everyone liked. "The chocolate taste was nicely balanced and the cake was light yet moist." Melissa later on admitted the real reason she's glad she didn't skip the cake is because she's "learning so much about baking cakes. There seem to be new techniques every week. I seem to never know what's going to be asked of me next."

Next week we have the White Gold Passion Genoise. I'm sad to report that I could not find fresh passion fruit or passion fruit puree/concentrate so I hope you guys have more luck in your search. I went to three Latin markets and they have nada! I know it's available in several places online but I'm not willing to shell out exorbitant prices that they charge. So... improvisation will happen by way of citrus curd (lemon/orange).
 
The week after we have Coffee Chiffonlets w/ Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream. I have made this and it's delicious. If you love coffee, condensed milk, or just have an affection towards spongy cakes, this dessert is for you. It's easy to put together and tasted like something you've labored upon. The Dulce de Leche component is the hardest part and only because it requires baking it in a water bath in a 400 (or is it 450) degree oven for 1 1/2 hour. Rose said that the Dulce de Leche can be refrigerated for several days so you can plan ahead.