Kitchen tools

You don't need all that much equipment when you're just starting out in the kitchen. But it is fun to browse in a good kitchen store and add to your batterie de cuisine as you start getting into it and spending more time cooking and baking.

One nonessential item that we've really appreciated lately is the Oxo Good Grips Small Citrus Juicer. When I need a specific amount of lemon or lime juice that's more than just a few drops, such as the two tablespoons for Hummus 2.0, I used to break out three items: a wooden reamer, a fine-mesh strainer to catch the pulp and seeds, and a cup for the juice. Now all I need it this juicer, which does all three jobs perfectly. And there are quantity measurements on the side of the cup so you know when you have the amount of juice you need for the recipe. This is a single-task tool, but there aren't many items in my kitchen I enjoy using more than this one.

Something else I've appreciated lately (though I've had them for years) are these Regency EvenBake Cake Strips™, which were quite the topic of conversation at our recent combined birthday party for Uncle Clint and Andi. 

The concept is quite simple, but they work really well for their intended use: insuring evenly baked cake layers that are flat, rather than domed in the middle. You just soak them in water while you're making the cake batter, then wrap them around the pans before you bake the cakes. 

The cake strips keep the edges from baking faster than the center of the cake and causing the center to mound up as it sets more slowly. The flat cake layers look more professional and are much easier to frost. The cake strips worked to perfection for the chocolate cake I made for Uncle Clint, which filled every square inch of my 8-inch round cake pans. 

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When my friend Ed tells me he has made something and given it high marks, as he did with this cake, I'm always anxious to try it, because Ed really knows what he's talking about when it comes to the kitchen (and many, many other things as well). And this cake did not disappoint. It's visually stunning, with the tall layers, and tastes great, too. Since it is an oil-based cake, it has a moist crumb much like what you'd get with a store-bought cake mix, absent all the extra crap manufacturers put into their mixes to stabilize the finished cakes.* And pretty much all you need is a whisk and 10 minutes to get the cake into the oven, and a whisk and another 10 minutes to make the whipped cream frosting (if you go with that option).

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*Ingredients in Duncan Hines® Classic Devil's Food Cake Mix, for example: Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Emulsified Palm Shortening (Palm Oil, Propylene Glycol Mono- and Diesters of Fats and Fatty Acids, Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate), Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Dextrose, Leavening (Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate Monohydrate). Contains 2% or Less of: Modified Food Starch, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Artificial Flavor.

Uncle Clint’s Chocolate Birthday Cake

Adapted from Lena Abraham via Delish (with a seriously detailed video)

Time from start to finish: 10 minutes into the oven; 42 minutes into and out of the oven; plus time for making the whipped cream and assembling

The recipe specifies Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but I used Trader Joe’s Unsweeted Cocoa Powder, which is a relatively high-fat, natural cocoa powder, and it worked great. I used Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch® Nonstick Cake Pans wrapped with Regency EvenBake Cake Strips™, which delivered moist, flat, perfectly baked cakes. Andi says the recipe also works well as cupcakes (see her comments below).

The original recipe uses a chocolate ganache fortified with cream cheese for the frosting; I tried it on another cake and wasn't a big fan. You can substitute another favorite chocolate frosting if you have one and want a more traditional frosting and/or a more pronounced chocolate flavor. Here is a very simple chocolate frosting recipe by Alice Medrich that should work well this cake.

Dry ingredients
3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (43 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Wet ingredients
2 cups (400 grams) brown sugar
1 cup (242 grams) buttermilk
1 cup (236 grams) hot water
⅔ cup (140 grams) neutral-flavored oil such as sunflower or grapeseed

Mocha Whipped Cream, or other frosting (see note)
chocolate curls, for garnish (optional)

    1. If you’re using cake strips, start soaking them in cold water now. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans (see note) with parchment paper and spray the sides of the pans with nonstick cooking spray.
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
    3. In a large bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together.
    4. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Using a silicone spatula, stir until the ingredients are just combined (some lumps are okay if it takes too much stirring to get them out).
    5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. (You should have about 700 grams of batter in each pan.) If you’re using cake strips, wrap the pans with the cake strips now.
    6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes, depending on how dark your pans are. This is a lot of batter for 8-inch cake pans, and it will rise all the way to the rims of the pans, but should not overflow. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely before frosting. (You can make the cake layers 3 or 4 days in advance. Once they’ve cooled completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to use.)
    7. Divide the Mocha Whipped Cream (or whatever frosting you’re using) evenly between the layers when decorating the cake. Top with chocolate curls, if using.

Mocha Whipped Cream

Adapted from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts (2012) by Alice Medrich via The Splendid Table

4 teaspoons (17 grams) sugar

1 tablespoon (5 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons (3 grams) espresso powder
1 cup (232 grams) heavy cream

In a large bowl, whisk to combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and espresso powder with 2 tablespoons of the cream to form a thick paste; make sure you work all the lumps out of the cocoa powder. Whisk in the rest of the cream until the mixture is uniform. For the thickest texture and richest flavor, refrigerate for an hour or overnight before whipping. When you're ready to serve the cake, whip the cream to soft peaks in the large bowl using a balloon whisk and your forearm muscles.

Variations
For Cocoa Whipped Cream, omit the espresso powder. For Coffee Whipped Cream, omit the cocoa powder and use 2 teaspoons (4 grams) espresso powder, and there's no need to make the paste before whipping everything together.