Apple Galette

A pie with apples and powdered sugar on a plate.

Apple picking is a quintessential fall activity in New York’s Hudson Valley. The region boasts numerous orchards, and while I’ve explored many over the years, my personal favorite is Wilklow Orchards in Highland, just outside New Paltz. Wilklow offers a wide variety of apples, picturesque hilly terrain, is dog-friendly (see photos after recipe), and, last…

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Chocolate Cherry Torte

A chocolate cake decorated with a swirl pattern.

Throughout The Friday Baking Project, we’ve explored a variety of cakes where chocolate takes the spotlight as the primary flavor.  These include French-style chocolate cakes, such as the Reine de Saba and cakes with chocolate fillings such as last week’s Chocolate Mousse Cake or the decadently rich Chocolate Truffe Cake. With their singular focus on…

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Chocolate Cherry Torte

A chocolate cake is sitting on a white plate.

PRINT Yield: 1 9†cake of Servings: 12 to 14 Method: Creaming Ingredients Cake 6 oz (170 g) chocolate, 55% to 64%, wafers or broken up  â…” cup (3 oz / 85 g) all-purpose flour ½ cup (1.55 oz / 44 g) almond flour, lightly toasted 12 tbl (6 oz / 170 g) unsalted butter,…

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Chocolate Mousse Cake

A chocolate cake is sitting on a white plate.

PRINT 1 seven-inch cake # of Servings:   8 Ingredients 1 recipe Chocolate Chiffon Cake 1 recipe Chocolate Charlotte Mousse 1 recipe Midnight Glaze Chocolate Shavings, as needed Special tools and equipment needed: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions:

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Chocolate Mousse Cake

A chocolate cake is sitting on a white plate.

This may very well be the ultimate chocolate mousse cake. A luscious Chocolate Charlotte Mousse is layered between three Chocolate Chiffon Cake layers topped with a Midnight Glaze and enveloped in chocolate shavings.  The mousse, although rich, is not overly so, and the chiffon cake complements it perfectly. The Midnight Glaze, made from Valrhona cocoa,…

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Midnight Glaze

PRINT Ingredients ½ cup + 3 tbl (2.2 oz / 62 g) confectioners’ sugar5 tbl (2.5 fl oz) water 2 tbl (1 fl oz) heavy cream, or crème fr¢iche1 tbl (0.5 oz / 14 g) butter, room temperature ½ cup – 1 tsp (1.6 oz / 45 g) cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona, sifted 1 tbl…

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Chocolate Chiffon Cake

PRINT Yield: 1 8-inch cake # of Servings: 8 to 10 Ingredients ½ cup (2.33 oz / 66 g) all-purpose flour ¼ cup + 2 tbl (1.30 oz / 37 g) cocoa powder, sifted ½ cup (3.5 oz / 99 g) sugar1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt 2 egg yolks…

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Chocolate Charlotte Mousse

PRINT Yield: 1 qt. Ingredients 7.3 oz chocolate, 61% to 64%, wafers or broken up 13 ¼ fl. oz heavy cream, whipped to just soft peaks 3 fl. oz sugar syrup, hot4 large egg yolk Special equipment needed: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions

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Marble Pound Cake

Marble Poundcake with slices

As I hunkered down in the first months of the pandemic, I yearned for comfort foods. In the dessert category, this meant pound cakes. I have always had a thing for a slice (or two) of a good pound cake with tea in the afternoon. And they’re not bad for a simple dessert, with some…

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Chocolate Charlotte Mousse

A chocolate cake with a swirl of frosting on top.

This is one of my most treasured recipes from my time at Sign of the Dove, courtesy of the pastry chef who learned it while working in the pastry department at Michael’s or Chez Panisse in the 1980s.  It is luscious, chocolatey, creamy and works beautifully layered in cakes. The key to success with this…

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