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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Weekend baking

An impromptu invitation to an afternoon tea, Moroccan tea, that is, prompted me to bake something to take with me. The recipe must be chocolate, quick, and not require a trip to the store. Chiffon cake it is! While I was on vacation recently, my family loved the chiffon cakes I made. However, I never made a chocolate chiffon cake before, so I grabbed my copy of The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and got to work. I made half the recipe and used this small Bundt pan I had purchased in Morocco. It was the perfect size. To decorate the cake, I made a quick chocolate glaze which I drizzled on top, added some fresh berries and a tiny sprinkling of powdered sugar. Et voila!

Chocolate Chiffon Cake
The cake was light, chocolatey and moist! I was mostly impressed with the intense chocolate flavor. Amazing what good Dutch cocoa and boiling water can do :o) Hubby even thought it bordered on being "too chocolatey" with the addition of the chocolate glaze! Definitely try this recipe if you have the book.

On Sunday, I decided to bake some wheat bread to eat with the chicken tagine I was cooking for dinner. Some day I'll post the recipe but for now the pictures will have to do :o) The bread turned out great, if I say so myself. It was wheaty, light as feather, and flavorful without being overly yeasty. I'm trying hard to get over my yeast phobia by baking yeasted baked goods more and more frequently. I think it's working... :o)

2 large round breads (Moroccan-style) and several rolls

Bon Appetit!

7 comments:

  1. Hello! I'm from the Philippines! I just started blogging. Please follow me and I'll follow you too! :)
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  2. Gorgeous crumb on that bread! Yum. And the cake? Well, is there anything better in the summer?

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  3. Hanaâ! Your cake and bread look wonderful! Wow! I will have to try Rose's chocolate cake - have not baked from her book in a LONG time! Wish I had some of that bread right now--gorgeous rolls! Hope all is well! xo

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  4. Hanaa, beautiful cake and gorgeous bread. For someone who's afraid of yeast, you sure turn up lovely looking bread. It has a nice crumb!

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  5. Beautiful cake and it sounds light and yummy. I love "afternoon tea"!

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  6. Yum, Hanaa! Your cake and all of the bread loaves and rolls look fantastic! Congrats on working on your yeast phobia ;)

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  7. Hanaa,
    Catching up on your blog... What does the boiling water do to cocoa? What's the difference between boiling water and room temp. water in a choc. cake recipe?

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