12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 lb sweet butter
8 egg yolks
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
8 egg whites
1 tbsp cream of tartar
Directions
In a large saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate. Add butter,
stir until melted and remove from heat (the mixture should be body
temperature, not too hot to touch with a finger). In a large bowl,
combine egg yolks, brown and white sugar, and stir until well mixed.
Add the chocolate, and stir well until combined. In a small bowl,
combine almonds, flour and cornmeal, stir until well mixed. Pour this
into the chocolate and stir until combined. In a large bowl with an
electric mixer, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until they
form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate in three
batches. Chef Dale Nichols warns that folding egg whites into
chocolate takes a real knack and suggests using your hand as the
paddle. To do this by hand, use your hand as a paddle and push your
palm down to the centre of the bowl, and slide up the side of the
bowl and turn your hand over. Do not over-mix or you will knock the
air out of the egg whites causing a much denser texture. Bake in a
buttered, floured 10 inch spring form pan for 5 minutes at 400F.
Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until
cake tests done in the centre. Let cool completely before removing
from pan.
Servings: 8 servings
Acrobat Chocolate Polenta Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
We can track the history of written recipes back into distant history, in fact as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. However, these, early cookbooks were just very basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to food historians is a series of stone tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel exhilarated. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts showing how to cook the recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals were separated into appetizers, main meal and desserts, something we still use today. Aspicius describes how the ancient cooks were skilled in the use of a good variety of herbs, including some familiar names such as basil, rue and parsley. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices like basil and coriander. The introduction of these new foods and spices led to an eruption in books on cooking, most of which are kept safe in private libraries. For the next few years, the wealthy families of Wesstern Europe strove to serve the most extravagent meals, and because of this the best chefs and their recipe collections could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that fine cooking and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collecting, verifying, and writing down recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the advent of the twentieth century, recipe publications are starting to become popular mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, people having increased free time and having more money to spend. The introduction of the TV brought us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing us all to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Acrobat Chocolate Polenta Cake recipe.
