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Apricot Cake (WIP)

Attempt to reconstruct cake Philomena made for Joseph...

Cake Recipe (I suspect) is one of these:

White Cake or Snow Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla


Beat egg whites until stiff, add 1/2c sugar, and set aside. Cream butter, add remaining sugar gradually, while beating constantly. Mix and sift dry ingredients and add alternatively with milk. Fold in egg whites. Add flavoring. Bake 45 minutes in a moderate oven (350f)

Gold Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar

1 egg

5 egg yolks

1 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanila


Cream butter and add sugar gradually while beating constantly; add egg yolks and egg well beaten. Mix and sift dry ingredients and add alternatively with milk to first mixture. Add vanilla, turn into buttered and floured 9 x 12 inch cake tin. Bake 45 minutes in moderate oven (350f). Frost as desired.

Two-Egg Cake

1/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder


1. Measure all ingredients. Sift flour before measuring. Out of sugar called for in recipe, reserve 1 tbsp for each egg white used. Have eggs at room temperature
2. Take butter from refrigerator long enough in advance so that it is easy to work, but not melted. Work with wooden spoon until soft and creamy. Add remaining sugar gradually, beating until light

3. If eggs are to be added whole, beat thoroughly and add reserved sugar. If eggs are to be separated, beat whites until stiff but not dry and beat in sugar reserved for the purpose, and set aside; beat yolks thoroughly with same beater

4. Add beaten eggs or yolks to butter and sugar mixture
5. Add dry ingredients and liquid alternately. Beat thoroughly but do not stir.
6. Fold in egg whites, if eggs were separated.

To bake: Pour into buttered loaf or two 8-inch layer cake pans and bake 20 to 30 minutes in moderately hot oven (375f)

Boston Favorite Cake

2/3 cup butter

1 7/8 cups sugar
4 eggs

1 cup milk

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

5 tsp baking powder


Mix as Two-Egg cake.

Nana's note: Bake 50 minutes


Apricot filling:
They're supposedly just stewed apricots. Not sure if she used dried or fresh? People remember her only adding a tablespoon or two of water, so presumably fresh?

Thomas recalls them being dried, though. It's possible she used dried apricots, soaked them overnight, then stewed them in a small amount of water.

If using dried (and not soaking them) recipe is something like:

Stewed Apricots
https://www.food.com/recipe/stewed-dried-apricots-226005


1⁄2 lb dried apricot

3 cups cold water

1⁄4 - 1⁄3cup sugar


  • Wash apricots quickly but thoroughly in cold water. Place them in a saucepan.
  • Add water, cover, and allow to soak 2-3 hours.
  • Bring to boil (using the same water), cover, and simmer very gently for 15 minutes or until tender.
  • Just before removing from heat, stir in sugar.
  • Serve warm or cold with cream.

Chocolate Ganache:

It was:
 - "slightly soft at room temperature"
 - "hard when taken out of the fridge; but it would be crumbly if broken when it's cold; it wouldn't crack apart."

So, a slightly harder-side standard ganache. The simplest recipe is 1:1 chocolate to cream. To make it a bit harder, you can use a higher ratio of chocolate to cream:

https://sugarspunrun.com/chocolate-ganache-recipe/


Instructions 
  • Place chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and set aside.
  • Pour heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat over medium/low heat just until cream comes to a simmer.
  • Once cream is simmering, remove from heat and pour evenly over chocolate (do not stir). Cover with foil or plastic 
  • After 5 minutes, remove cover and use a whisk to gently whisk chocolate and cream together until completely melted and smooth (note that this may take a minute and the mixture may look separated and piece-y at first, just keep stirring!). Try not to whisk too vigorously or you may incorporate air bubbles into the ganache.
  • Use as desired! If ganache is too thin immediately after preparing, let it sit for several minutes before using.

Most ganache is soft at room temperature, probably too soft. It's like peanut butter consistency.
I think ganaches are harder when the ratio of chocolate:cream is higher?

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Tentative Recipe 1:

1 3/4 cups flour (sifted before measuring)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar, divided (6 1/8oz / 175g) + (1/8oz / 28g) 
1/3 cup butter (5tbsp + 1tsp / ~76g)
2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 lb dried apricots
1 1/2 cups water


1. Measure all ingredients. Sift flour before measuring. Out of sugar called for in recipe, reserve 1 tbsp for each egg white used. Have eggs at room temperature
2. Take butter from refrigerator long enough in advance so that it is easy to work, but not melted. Work with wooden spoon until soft and creamy. Add remaining sugar gradually, beating until light

3. If eggs are to be added whole, beat thoroughly and add reserved sugar. If eggs are to be separated, beat whites until stiff but not dry and beat in sugar reserved for the purpose, and set aside; beat yolks thoroughly with same beater

4. Add beaten eggs or yolks to butter and sugar mixture
5. Add dry ingredients and liquid alternately. Beat thoroughly but do not stir.
6. Fold in egg whites, if eggs were separated.

To bake: Pour into buttered loaf or two 8-inch layer cake pans and bake 20 to 30 minutes in moderately hot oven (375f)

Feedback: Main thing is chocolate is too dark. It should probably be milk chocolate (use choco chips?)
Cake tore unevenly when I took it out of the pan. I should try a springform next time.
Apricots should be soaked overnight and stewed with sugar. They were slightly too firm.

The cake recipe as-is seemed correct. But we can try the "boston favorite" one next time. Maybe it'll be less annoying to measure everything out?

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Tentative Recipe 2:

Cake:
1 3/4 cups flour (210g / 7.4oz)

       (sifted before measuring)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar, divided (200g / 7oz)
         7/8 cup sugar for butter (175g)
         2 tbsp sugar for eggs (28g)


1/3 cup butter (5tbsp + 1tsp / ~76g)
2 eggs, well beaten


1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla


Filling:
1/2 lb dried apricots
3 cups water(? less if overnight?)
1/8 cup sugar(? or just in tbsp?)


Frosting:
8oz Milk Chocolate Chips
1 cup Heavy Cream

1. Measure all ingredients. Sift flour before measuring. Out of sugar called for in recipe, reserve 1 tbsp for each egg white used. Have eggs at room temperature
2. Take butter from refrigerator long enough in advance so that it is easy to work, but not melted. Work with wooden spoon until soft and creamy. Add remaining sugar gradually, beating until light

3. If eggs are to be added whole, beat thoroughly and add reserved sugar. If eggs are to be separated, beat whites until stiff but not dry and beat in sugar reserved for the purpose, and set aside; beat yolks thoroughly with same beater

4. Add beaten eggs or yolks to butter and sugar mixture
5. Add dry ingredients and liquid alternately. Beat thoroughly but do not stir.
6. Fold in egg whites, if eggs were separated.

To bake: Pour into buttered loaf or two 8-inch layer cake pans and bake 20 to 30 minutes in moderately hot oven (375f)

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