Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Exchange Program

Having kids and being last minute planners we wanted the person who watched our kids to understand how kids worked and be willing to watch without very much time in advance. We had limited options but were blessed to find a family member that agreed on the basis that I would need to pay her with "home-made cakes". I accepted the exchange knowing that I had found someone who was very similar to myself, this worked well with our kids but on my part I needed to be flexible enough to bake last minute for her entertaining life style.

This week I experienced inconvenience because that was what I expected from others. I had the choice of unrealistically changing myself to become a more scheduled person or to simply continue being spontaneous on the basis of knowing that it will inconvenience me. I had to learn in my window of spare time what I was asking from my babysitter and what it really meant.

Payment option #1.
Eskimo Cake

Ingredients:

CAKE
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
10 tbsp water
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup Pecan ground nuts

1. Seperate yolks from whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar and 1 tbsp at a time add the water.
Sift the flour and baking powder. Add sifted flour and ground nuts to the mixture.
2. Beat the eggwhites until stiff. Add in intervals to the mixture.
3. Butter the cake pan and place In a preheated oven to 375 F, bake for 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

CREAM
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
16 tbsp butter, softened

Bring 1 cup of the milk and sugar just to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg yolks, and cornstarch together in a large bowl. Slowly pour half the hot milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly, then return mixture gradually to pan, stirring until it thickens with a returning boil. Stir in vanilla and transfer to a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate until barely cold. In a large bowl beat the butter until pale and fluffy. Add the cold mixture and beat until smooth, 3-4 minutes.

GLAZE
4 tsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp sourcream
50 g. unsalted butter

Heat the cocoa powder, sugar and sourcream until the sugar dissolves. Off the heat add butter 1 tbsp at a time, stirring until incorporated. Let sit 5 minutes before use.

TO ASSEMBLE
Cut cake in 3 equal sections. Spread with the cream and pour the glaze on top. Decorate with fruit, whipcream, or nuts. Enjoy.




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