When I found a picture of Christmas present cakes in Bon Appétit—individual, four-layered cakes with strawberry ice cream and lemon curd between layers, all wrapped with chocolate ganache and tied with white-icing ribbons—I immediately wanted to make them for my friends at our Winter Solstice party. It would be a two-day affair, but I would use the very best ingredients—Haagen Dazs ice cream, organic Meyer lemons, good chocolate and brandy—and if it worked it would be so beautiful!
The layered cake had to freeze overnight. As soon as it was light the next day (the day of the party), I walked down the road (in wind and light rain) to cut the cake into nine squares. Then I came home to make the chocolate ganache. The next step was time sensitive: I would have to bring each cake home, cover it in ganache, and get it back to the freezer before the ice cream melted. I could only do three cakes at a time. To save precious minutes, I drove between my house and Sylvia's, although I still had to walk down my hill to the car. Three times I ran down the hill, got in the car, drove to Sylvia's, opened the gate, drove through, closed the gate (just knowing the dogs would choose that moment to dash out of the house and down the road), parked by the shed, carefully lifted three cakes from the freezer, put them in the car, did the open and close gate thing again, drove home, ran (or half-ran) with the frozen cakes up the hill and into the house, where I quickly (but carefully, still catching my breath) spread chocolate ganache over each one. Then I ran the course in reverse. Only after the third trip, with all the cakes ganached and in the freezer, could I breathe easily. I cleaned the kitchen and got ready for the party.
With my timing thrown off by the storm, I had to add the icing ribbons when I picked up the cakes on my way to the party. I figured I could refreeze the cakes in my hosts's refrigerator. During the 20-minute drive to the party, I watched in dismay as the ribbons and bows melted into white blobs. Once at the party, I did some emergency repair with the remaining icing, crossed my fingers, and left the cakes in the freezer.
It was a fun party. First we sat around the hors d'oeuvres table, talking and eating; then we got out some clay and made ceramic frogs; then we had a good dinner; then we gave each other presents. Finally, we were ready for dessert. I placed each ice cream cake (with its ribbon intact) on a plate and added a dollop of strawberry sauce on the side. I passed around the beautiful little presents. They were admired and exclaimed over as forks were raised, suspended, and lowered.
A classical guitar concert in a centuries-old Spanish mission, my guitar teacher once told me, transports the listener to a different place. It's a spiritual experience, a transcendent sensation. That's what it was like to eat the ice cream cake presents. The ecstatic experience was apparent in the eyes of the eaters. Conversation slowed, as though to make the words fit the music. Someone asked how I made the dessert, and I told the story. Tracy asked what it was called, and before I could answer, Shel said, "It's the ten-mile cake." Someone mentioned Joanne Harris's novel Chocolat. Someone else alluded to Babbette's Feast. We talked about justice in the world, about the preparation of food as gift. One man apologized for not eating his present but said he didn't really eat desserts.
"That's all right," I said, "but such a dessert shouldn't be wasted." I started to return the cake to the freezer, but the teen-age boy at the party said he would be more than happy to keep it from being wasted.
To me the man who wasn't eating was a measure for the depth of our shared experience. He was talking a great deal, whereas the rest of us were as slow and deliberate with our words as with our tasting. It was like someone in a cathedral with sun-gloried stained-glass windows talking and talking while everyone else was singing hymns. Finally Louann pointed out that the rest of us were focused on our cakes and couldn't he be quiet? He looked around and saw the ecstasy in our eyes. He decided to try some dessert, after all. When he did, his talking, too, diminished, and we were all singing hymns together. It was that kind of dessert.
Recipes in this post:
Christmas present cakes
Next week: "Courier and Ives, and Courier and Ives Manqués"
CHRISTMAS PRESENT CAKES
yield: Presents for 9
(Recipe can easily be doubled.)
(Recipe can easily be doubled.)
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Small pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Preparation
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper and butter it. Flour a kitchen towel and have it ready for turning the baked cake onto. Preheat the over to 350º.
To make
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Bring the milk and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and cover to keep the milk hot. Beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until pale. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the egg whites, beating all the while. Continue beating till the whites are stiff but not dry. Beat the dry ingredients into the yolks alternately with the hot milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites in 3 additions. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Turn onto floured kitchen towel, remove parchment paper, and continue cooling.
The lemon cream filling
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon
Preparation
Grate the lemon to yield 2 tablespoons grated peel. Squeeze the lemon to yield 3 tablespoons juice.
To make
Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Freeze the lemon cream until it is slightly firm but still soft enough to spread, at least 2 hours.
Assemblage
Ingredients
The cake, cooled
Lemon cream filling
2 1/4 cups strawberry ice cream, softened slightly
Preparation
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with plastic, overlapping the sides. Cut the cake horizontally into three layers.
To make
Place 1 cake layer in the prepared pan. Spread 2 1/4 cups of strawberry ice cream over it. Top with the second cake layer. Spread the lemon cream over it. Top with the third cake layer, cut side down. Wrap the cake with plastic and freeze overnight.
The next morning, transfer the cake onto a baking sheet. Peel off the plastic. Trim cake edges. Cut the cake into nine 2 1/2-inch squares. Return the cake to the freezer.
Ganache
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
Preparation
Chop the chocolate. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet.
To make
Bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer in a large saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, and stir until melted. Stir in cognac. Cool until thickened slightly but still pourable. Remove 3 cakes from the freezer and place them on the wire rack set over a baking sheet. Pour 1/3 cup ganache all at once over the top of 1 cake. Working quickly, spread the ganache over the sides. Return these cakes to the freezer, and repeat the process with the remaining 6 cakes. Freeze the cakes until the glaze is firm, about 1 hour or more.
Ribbon icing
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons water
To make
Whisk powdered sugar and water in a medium bowl to blend. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with the small plain tip.
Ingredients
1 16-ounce package frozen sweetened strawberries
1/4 cup orange juice
Preparation
Thaw the frozen strawberries.
To make
Purée the berries with the orange juice as well as possible. (Easy enough in an electric kitchen.) Transfer to a bowl.
To finish
Ingredients
Chocolate-covered cakes
Ribbon icing
Strawberry sauce
To make
Remove the baking sheet from the freezer. Pipe icing over the top of each cake, making a bow. Return the cakes to the freezer. Freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
To serve
Place 1 cake on each plate. Pour some sauce around it and serve, passing remaining sauce.
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