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Japanese Maples Fall Color

'Skeeter's Broom' is the most colorful maple in our garden. I have just returned from a 2-week trip to Japan. This was my first ever trip outside the United States. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. Japan was wonderful - they really have their act together and I think the U.S. could learn a few things from them. There was one disappointment on the trip - the fall color had barely begun there and was really just beginning as we left. That is okay because the gardens were still spectacular, and I got a nice shot of fall color when I got back. 'Ryusen' I missed a few things - our ginkgo had just turned a glorious color the day before I left, and the leaves were gone by the time I got back.  'Sango-Kaku' I came home to many leaves on the ground but still a lot on the trees. 'Osakazuki', a beautiful red maple always changed color very late and therefore doesn't usually last long. When I left there was no color but a few remaini

Mocha Chip Chiffon Cake



After a long hiatus, I think I am ready to get back in the kitchen and back to some Maida Heatter recipes! The weather here is rainy and cooler which spurs me on. I had bookmarked this recipe a long time ago - it is a very light cake (similar to an Angel Food cake) with a wonderfully subtle hint of coffee flavor.

Overall, it turned out wonderfully well. One thing I would do differently next time is to chop the chocolate much finer. As she explained in her recipe, the chocolate chips will sink to the bottom if they are too heavy. I decided to use ready-made chocolate chips and they are too heavy. I did chop them a bit but next time I will use a chocolate baking bar instead. That minor flub did not affect the taste of the cake though.

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 TBS. instant coffee or espresso (I use Medaglia D Oro Coffee Inst Expresso)
1 TBS. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
7 eggs, separated
1/2 cup Kahlua or Tia Maria or other coffee-flavored liquor
1/4 cup cold water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Optional: confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325. You will need a non-stick tube pan, the type that has two pieces and which comes apart. Do not spray or butter the pan.

Chop the chocolate into pieces that are 1/4 diameter or less. As I noted earlier, I used chocolate chips and they were really too large, even though I chopped some of them. The larger pieces will sink to the bottom of the cake.

Sift together the flour, 1 1/4 cups of sugar (reserving the rest), the powdered coffee or espresso, baking powder and salt.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the oil, egg yolks, coffee liqueur, water and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. Use a large spatula to fold in the chopped chocolate. Set aside.


In a separate mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on high speed until soft peaks are formed. (I always put my bowl and beater in the freezer for a few minutes to get them nice and cold. Always use the whisk beater for egg whites. Start out slow and gradually increase the speed until full speed). Reduce the speed and add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Increase speed to high and beat again until stiff peaks are achieved. Beat for an additional minute to be sure the mixture is stiff.


In three additions, slightly fold in about 3/4 of the yolk mixture. Do not fold in thoroughly, just barely! Then fold the whites into the remaining yolk mixture, being a bit more thorough this time.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes until the top springs back when pressed. The top will crack during baking. (It took 1 hour and 10 minutes for mine to bake)



After removing the pan from the oven, invert it on a narrow bottle and let it cool completely.

After cooling, use a long, sharp knife and gently run it around the rim of the pan and around the center tube. Carefully slide the pan apart and run the knife along the bottom of the pan under the cake. Remove the cake from the pan. If it is still sticking, use the knife to saw it carefully from the pan.

Use a flat pan, dish or I like to use preformed cardboard circles to plate the cake.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, if desired.

I think the cake needs whipped cream, ice cream or fruit to accompany it. We tried it with buttered pecan ice cream and it is delicious!







Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Mocha--yum! You bake such beautiful things.

    I think it helps to have weather cold enough to be able to run the oven--we don't bake anything for 6 months or more because the oven makes the house so unbearably hot.

    Have you ever tried the tip about lightly coating the chips with a dusting of flour so they don't sink? They keep mentioning doing that on the Great British Baking Show, but that is for fruit, not choc-chips.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoover, yes I have and I normally do that. I don't know where my mind was this time. Our oven heats up our house too much to cook when it is too hot outside too.

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