Chocolate Beet Cake with Spiced Creme Anglaise |
Winter
Submitted by giffen.maupin on Tue, 2010-02-23 7:5707:57:17 PM.
Yet more amazingness from Eggs on Sunday, originally found on Straight From the Farm (I love recipe genealogies, don't you?). Root vegetables in desserts? Yes, please! I know, I know, it isn't simple, and all the dairy makes it expensive, but in late February, deliciousness is high on my list of priorities.
1 cup butter, softened, divided
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
2-3 oz. dark chocolate
5 medium beets (2 cups pureed)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Directions
Make the beet puree by trimming the beets and simmering them for about 50 minutes, until tender. Drain the liquid and cool the beets (you can run water over them to cool them off.) Slide the skins off, then place them in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Let the puree cool slightly before using it in the cake.
Cream 3/4 cup of the butter with the dark brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Melt the remaining butter together with the chocolate, either in the microwave or in a double boiler over simmering water. Cool slightly, then add the chocolate mixture, beet puree, and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture (it may look separated at this point.)
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 10-inch springform pan; bake at 375 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (I started checking around 50 minutes.) Cool the cake in the pan 15 minutes before unmolding and removing to a cooling rack; cool completely before dusting with confectioner’s sugar.
Spiced Creme Anglaise
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
Set a bowl over ice water and have a strainer nearby – you’ll want this ready so you can stop the sauce from cooking when it’s ready.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar and set aside.
Combine milk, cream, and spices in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat just until the mixture starts to simmer. Whisk some of it slowly into the egg yolk mixture, then slowly add the rest of it while whisking. Pour the whole thing back into the sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until it’s thick enough to coat the spatula or spoon — this usually takes about a minute or two longer. Don’t boil it or the egg will harden.
Strain into the bowl set over ice water to stop the mixture from cooking further. Chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.