As often happens with these things, not long afterward, a terrified stray cat took up residence inside a cardboard construction drum in our yard. It took us exactly one night to figure out where the horrible yowling was coming from.
Jim (a dog person) looked me square in the eye after I’d coaxed the cat out with a dish of milk. He said, “We are not keeping that cat.”
So after he left for work, I brought the literally skin-and-bones feline inside and snuggled him inside a blanket. I called our local veterinarians and checked with the paper to see if anyone had reported a cat that was missing or had run away. Nobody had.
I called Jim at work and told him we at least had to take the poor, starving cat to the veterinarian. There was a long silence, because he really loves all animals, no matter what he claims about the superiority of dogs.
The veterinarian said “my cat” (you see how these things work?) was so thin, she couldn’t even give him shots. So Jim, the kids, and I fattened him up for a while, then took him back to the vet and got the shots. And then we had a cat. (I named him Cappuccino. He has since died, but not until he’d lived a long life, much of it spent twining through my legs while I worked in the kitchen.)
After that, Jim said, “No more cats.” And we have remained steadfast dog people, but Goldy has Scout, and she named the brownies after him.
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter
3½ ounces best-quality bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, such as Godiva, Lindt, Callebaut, or Valrhona, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups all-purpose flour (high altitude: add 2 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
2. In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.
3. Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, beating constantly. Stir in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate-butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined.
5. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chips over the surface.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, watching carefully. Check the center with a wooden toothpick for doneness, and if the center has not cooked, bake for an additional 5 minutes. If the toothpick emerges with only a crumb or two adhering to the surface, the brownies are done.
7. Cool in the pan on a rack, then cut into 32 pieces.
Makes 32 brownies
Spicy Brownies
—THE WHOLE ENCHILADA—
Despite the fact that adding chili powder to any type of chocolate is in vogue now, my tasters pronounced every experiment weird. But ginger proved a winner. You add it to these brownies in both crystallized and ground form. Serve with best-quality vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter
4 ounces (see Note) best-quality extra-bittersweet (85% cacao) chocolate, such as Lindt
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger or “ginger chips”
3 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1¼ cups cake flour, measured by gently spooning into measuring cups and leveling (high altitude: add 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon chocolate extract
1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F for dark or nonstick pans, 350˚F for glass pans. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or pan.
2. In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is melted, stir in the crystallized ginger or ginger chips and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Sift together the cocoa, flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a bowl, beat the eggs until thoroughly combined. Beat in the sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and the extracts and stir until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in the cocoa-flour mixture, stirring only until thoroughly combined, 30 to 40 strokes.
5. Spread the batter in the baking pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge of the pan comes out clean. (Check after 25 minutes; brownies may take longer at high altitude.)
6. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. To serve, place the pan in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, gently slice the brownies and lever out of the pan with a spatula.
Makes 16 large brownies
Variations: To make even spicier brownies, add 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger to the chocolate mixture. To make Chile-Flavored Brownies, omit all the ginger ingredients and add 1 to 1½ teaspoons ground chipotle chile powder to the dry ingredients.
Note: Check that you are using the full 4 ounces, which may involve using a digital scale to weigh it.
Goldy’s Terrific Toffee
—CATERING TO NOBODY—
Making candy can be a challenge, because it overcooks in a flash. It can cause particular headaches at 8,000 feet above sea level, because water boils at 202˚F, instead of the 212˚F of sea level. So keep stirring, and pay close attention that you don’t undercook or overcook the toffee.
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 pounds best-quality milk chocolate, such as Lindt
2 pounds (8 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pans
4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
2. Spread the pecans in a 9 x 13-inch pan and roast about 10 minutes, or until the nuts have turned slightly darker and are well toasted. Stir once or twice during the roasting process to ensure even browning. Remove the pecans from the oven, spread out to cool on paper towels, and set aside until you finish the toffee.
3. Butter two 9 x 13-inch glass baking dishes and set aside.
4. Unwrap the chocolate and divide it between two plates. Break all the chocolate into squares and set aside.
5. Using a deep, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer hits 285˚F to 290˚F (high altitude: 300˚F), the soft-crack stage (see Note). The candy will be very hot, so be sure to protect all your skin and clothing through the cooking and pouring processes. Pour the toffee into the prepared pans and immediately place the squares of chocolate in rows across the toffee (1 plateful of chocolate per pan). When the chocolate has softened, spread it to the edges of the toffee. Sprinkle 1 cup of the toasted pecans over the chocolate in each pan. Allow to cool, then cover with foil and chill.
6. Using a large, heavy-duty knife, break the toffee into 1- to 3-inch pieces.
Makes about 6 dozen pieces
Note: A candy thermometer is essential for this recipe. At high altitude, the traditional soft-crack stage is not reached until the thermometer reaches 300˚F, at which point the toffee is in danger of burning. Therefore, at high altitude, if you are close to 300˚F, detect a burning smell, and stir up a darker substance from the bottom of the pan, stop stirring immediately, remove the toffee from the heat, and quickly pour it into the prepared pans without scraping the bottom of the cooking pan. If you have managed not to stir in any of the burnt candy, the toffee will still be delicious. It will be chewier than that made at sea level, but proper refrigeration will maintain a good candy texture.
Labor Day Flourless Chocolate Cake with Berries, Melba Sauce, and White Chocolate Cream
—PRIME CUT—
I received my first re
cipe for a flourless chocolate cake many years ago from a lovely lady who worked at a delightful store in Charlottesville called The Very Thing! My mother had told her I adored cooking, so she’d written out the recipe, which she gave to me on my next visit. I thanked her and promised to make the cake when I returned to Colorado. Once home, I pulled out the recipe, read it, and thought, She left out the flour and leavening. So I didn’t try it.
Years later, my sister Lucy made me a flourless chocolate cake, and I begged her for the recipe. (The following recipe is a version of that cake, which I played around with for a while.) Still, when I read Lucy’s recipe, I realized it was almost exactly the same recipe I’d received years before from the nice saleslady at The Very Thing!
I put this recipe here because it, too, is a great one if you ever have to cook for TV. Remember, the people watching that TV show—in this case, a fund-raiser for our Denver PBS station—are not interested in you, they’re interested in your food. And once again, the people both behind and in front of the camera are hungry.
So I “made” this cake in a five-minute segment. When you “make” a cake for TV, you actually have to show up at the station with your ingredients, your script (which, if it’s public television, you write yourself), and a finished cake. I was interviewed by a very agreeable woman while I was mixing the cake batter, and managed not to lose my temper when she asked if viewers could use margarine instead of butter. (No, I replied, then and now: You should never use margarine, for any purpose.) After I mixed the ingredients and put them on the shelf below the counter (the “magic oven” of television), I pulled out my finished cake, so the camera could focus on it.
When the PBS lady moved on to the next person who was making a recipe for the fund-raiser, I took the finished cake, a knife, and a couple of forks and plates over to the two people who were telling home viewers—between recipes—how they were doing with the appeal. And if you think people who work for network television are hungry, you have no idea how ravenous public television volunteers are. So when the camera cut back to the pair of ladies informing the viewing public how Channel 6 was doing . . . well! There they were, devouring Labor Day Flourless Chocolate Cake, and telling viewers that if they ordered the channel’s cookbook—in which the cake recipe could be found—then they, too, could be made extremely happy.
Who says Goldy doesn’t put the fun in fund-raising?
14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter
7 ounces best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, such as Lindt or Godiva, cut up
1 tablespoon brewed espresso or strong coffee
5 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
One 6-ounce package fresh blueberries
One 6-ounce package fresh raspberries
Melba Sauce (recipe follows)
White Chocolate Cream (recipe follows)
1. Position an oven rack in the middle to lower (not the lowest) part of the oven and preheat to 350˚F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Make sure you have the bottom of another 10-inch springform pan on hand.
2. In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter, chocolate, and coffee together. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool slightly, then stir in the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Sift the cocoa and sugar together, then sift this mixture directly into the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and set aside.
3. In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold half the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then pour the chocolate mixture on top of the remaining egg whites and fold in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and the center no longer appears moist.
4. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately press another springform pan bottom onto the cake to deflate it. Take off the pan bottom you have used to deflate the cake, and allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack.
5. When the cake is cool, remove the springform sides and place the cake on a pretty cake platter. Decorate the top with concentric rings of blueberries and raspberries. When serving, ladle large dollops of Melba Sauce and White Chocolate Cream on top of each slice.
Makes 8 to 12 servings
Melba Sauce
Two 6-ounce packages fresh raspberries
½ cup currant jelly
2 teaspoons cornstarch
7 tablespoons sugar
1. Sieve the raspberries. You should have 1 cup. Discard the seeds.
2. In the top of a double boiler, combine the jelly and sieved raspberries. Place the double boiler top directly on a burner over medium heat and heat until bubbling, 4 or 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring water in the double boiler bottom to a boil.
4. Place the double boiler top over the boiling water. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and sugar. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the jelly mixture and cook and stir until thickened and clear. Remove from the heat, cool, and chill at least 1 hour before serving.
White Chocolate Cream
6 ounces best-quality white chocolate, such as Lindt or Godiva, coarsely chopped
1¾ cups heavy (whipping) cream, divided
1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate with ¾ cup of the cream, stirring constantly. When the mixture is melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Pour into a bowl and, stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to come to room temperature.
2. In a bowl, whip the remaining 1 cup cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Whisking constantly to ensure smoothness, whisk into the chocolate mixture. Chill before serving.
Happy Endings Plum Cake
—THE CEREAL MURDERS—
If you want to make this cake portable—for a potluck, say—just cool the cake in the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and take the cake plus a small bag of powdered sugar to the event in question. Then remove the plastic when you get to the party and sift some powdered sugar on top.
This recipe is dedicated to all those writers of literary fiction who think their books must have downbeat conclusions to be taken seriously. Eat cake, and be happy.
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour (high altitude: add 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons baking powder (high altitude: 1½ teaspoons)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
One 16-ounce can syrup-packed purple plums, well drained, syrup reserved and the plums chopped
Powdered sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy and light, then gradually add the sugars, beating until creamy and smooth. Beat in the eggs, then the vanilla.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Alternating with the reserved plum syrup, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in the plums. Pour the batter into the baking pan.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely on a rack, then dust with powdered sugar.
Makes 12 to 16 servings
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
—THE LAST SUPPERS—
For one entire soccer season, I volunteered to be the postgame Snack Lady for our youngest son’s team. I wanted to get nine-year-olds’ takes on the different cheesecakes I was trying out. This was their favorite, and I mentioned them in the acknowledgments section of The Last Suppers. Chocolate will make anyone thirsty, especially after soccer practi
ce, so be sure to supply lots of water.
Crust:
9 ounces chocolate wafer cookies, broken up
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
½ pound unsweetened chocolate
1½ pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup amaretto liqueur
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
For the crust:
1. In a food processor, whirl the chocolate cookies until they form crumbs. Mix with the melted butter. Press into the bottom and sides of a buttered 10-inch springform pan and refrigerate until you are ready to fill and bake.
2. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
For the filling:
1. In the top of a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and sugar and beat until well incorporated. Stir a small amount of this mixture into the chocolate to loosen it. Add the chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture and stir well. Stir in the amaretto, vanilla, and cream. Stir until all ingredients are mixed well.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cheesecake is puffed slightly and no linger jiggles in the center.
4. Cool on a rack to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving for ease in slicing. Remove the sides of the pan and cut pieces with a sharp knife. If the cheesecake is hard to slice, hold a long, unflavored piece of dental floss in 2 hands and carefully saw through the cake to cut even pieces.
Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook Page 21