Black Pearl Cake Food

BLACK PEARL LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• For black pearl ganache:
• Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream, ginger, and wasabi to boil in small pot. Pour hot cream over chocolate; cover with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes. Whisk cream and chocolate until smooth. Mix sesame seeds and corn syrup in small bowl to coat; stir into chocolate mixture. Let cool to lukewarm. Stir in butter. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight to set.
• For ginger syrup:
• Place 1 cup water, sugar, and ginger in small saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer 2 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend.
• Strain syrup into small bowl. Chop ginger. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate ginger and syrup separately.)
• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with parchment paper.
• Whisk 2 cups boiling water, cocoa powder, and reserved chopped ginger in medium heatproof bowl. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with cocoa mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter among prepared cake pans; smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely. (Cakes can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)
• For whipped cream frosting:
• Beat cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar, vanilla, and ginger. Beat until stiff peaks form.
• Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops off cakes to create flat surface. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on plate. Brush top with 1/3 cup ginger syrup. Spread half of ganache over top of cake. Place second layer, cut side up, atop first layer. Brush with 1/3 cup syrup; spread with remaining ganache. Top with third cake layer. Brush with remaining syrup. Spread sides and top with whipped cream frosting. Sprinkle top with black sesame seeds. Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• *Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

GREAT GRANDMA PEARL'S ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH PEACHES AND CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, until smooth and glossy, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the egg whites to a large, wide bowl. Using a fine sieve, gradually sift the flour over the egg whites, gently folding in the flour with a spatula. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts.
• Scrape the batter into a 10-inch angel food cake pan. Using a table knife, slice through the cake batter several times to release any large air bubbles. Tap the cake pan once or twice on a flat surface. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 35 minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert the pan onto the neck of a wine bottle and let cool completely.
• To loosen the cake, run a thin-bladed knife around the side and tube of the pan. Unmold the cake and transfer to a platter. Cut the cake into wedges and drizzle with some of the reserved syrup. Serve with the sliced peaches and whipped cream.

EASY PEASY BLACK FOREST CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to GM4 (180C, 350F)
• Mix hot water into cocoa to form a smooth paste.
• In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until pale and around double the original volume.
• Break the eggs and beat them until yolk and white are mixed.
• Combine the eggs and cocoa paste with the butter/sugar mixture.
• Sift in the flour and the baking powder and fold them into the mixture.
• Stir n the milk.
• Bake in one 8 inch cake tin at least 2 inches tall for 35 minutes, or one 9 inch tin for 30 mins (You could do this in two separate sandwich tins, but I have no idea how long it would take to bake!).
• Leave the cake for 15 minutes to cool before turning out. Leave for another 5 and then use a sharp bread knife to slice the cake in half.
• Beat the whipping cream and castor sugar until the cream stiffens.
• Pile whipped cream and cherries on top of bottom slice of cake; replace upper slice and cover this with whipped cream and slightly more delicately placed cherries!