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FRONT BURNER: BraveTart cookbook a sweet obsession

One-bowl devil's food cake with milk chocolate buttercream
One-bowl devil's food cake with milk chocolate buttercream

In the memoir turned movie Julie & Julia, Julie Powell sets out to cook every recipe (524) in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, in a single year -- a daunting feat by any stretch of the imagination.

Powell's experience is about so much more than food and cooking, though. For her it is nothing short of a life-altering transformation.

I definitely admire Powell's determination. I also envy her for finding a cookbook so inspiring, so intriguing and so challenging that she felt compelled to prepare every recipe in it.

My attention span is just too short. Even if the demands of my job did not require me to turn my attention to new cookbooks as they land on my desk by the dozen -- I've never met a full-length cookbook that captured my attention, taste buds and desires enough to attempt every recipe cover-to-cover.

Until now.

Folks, I've found my Julie & Julia.

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks ($35, Norton) features more than 100 recipes and dozens of variations and even gluten-free alterations. Making the cookbook even more tempting are the full-page color photographs of most recipes.

BraveTart & Brant may not have quite the same ring to it, but I am no less devoted to making as many recipes from this book as I can -- though my pace will likely stretch over the course of several years, this is a dessert cookbook after all.

So far, I've prepared six recipes -- Roasted Sugar, Glossy Fudge Brownies, One-Bowl Devil's Food Layer Cake, No-Knead English Muffins, Silky Chocolate Pudding and Whipped Chocolate Cremeux -- and each one has impressed me and everyone lucky enough to taste the results.

But more than recipes, Parks delves into the history of each dessert, tracing its origins and many variations as well as highlighting what makes it uniquely American.

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts is by far my favorite cookbook of 2017 and quite possibly my favorite cookbook ever.

It is definitely the best dessert cookbook I've ever read.

I'm not saying BraveTart will change your life, but it just might change the way you make dessert.

I didn't buy enough chocolate or enough heavy cream to follow Parks' recipe exactly, so I had to substitute my recipe for milk chocolate buttercream in place of Parks' whipped ganache-based frosting.

I also had to improvise equipment wise, as I don't own a saucier as large as the one specified in the recipe. So technically I made a two-bowl cake.

But other than the frosting and the extra bowl, I followed the recipe as closely as I could -- even buying the brands of flour and salt Parks recommends rather than my usual.

The results were divine. I can only imagine how much better the cake would have been with its intended frosting.

One-Bowl Devil's Food Layer Cake

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups strong brewed black coffee

1 cup (3 ounces) Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder

6 ounces finely chopped dark chocolate (72 percent cacao)

2 cups gently packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt (Parks recommends Diamond Crystals) OR 1/2 teaspoon table salt

6 eggs, straight from the fridge

3 egg yolks

2 cups all-purpose flour (Parks recommends bleached Gold Medal)

1 tablespoon baking soda

Milk Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 (8-inch-by-3-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper, then coat with baking spray. (If you don't have 3 pans, the batter will hold at room temperature for up to 90 minutes to allow for baking and cooling to reuse a pan.)

In a 5-quart stainless-steel saucier (I used a 3-quart and then transferred everything to a bowl once the pan became precariously full), combine the butter and coffee over low heat. Cook, stirring, until butter melts. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and chocolate, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix in the eggs and egg yolks.

Sift together the flour and baking soda into the chocolate mixture (this is where I transferred everything to a mixing bowl) and whisk thoroughly to combine. Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completely in the pans.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting (recipe follows).

To assemble:

Loosen the cakes from their pans by running a knife around the edges. Peel off parchment paper. Trim the top crusts off the cakes to level. Place one layer, cut side up on a serving plate. Cover with 1 cup of the frosting, spreading it in an even layer using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Repeat with second and third layers, cut side down. Use the remaining frosting to coat the top and sides of the cake. I did a crumb coat -- a thin layer of frosting to seal in the crumbs -- and refrigerated the cake for an hour or so before finishing with a thicker coat of frosting.

Makes 1 (3-layer) cake.

Recipe adapted from BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

8 ounces milk chocolate

2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened

5 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, whipping cream and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate.

Food on 08/23/2017

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