Ingredients
DRIED CHERRY FILLING & COFFE
1 1/4 cup dried sour cherries (see note)
1 cup water
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp marsala
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup strong coffee
CHOCOLATE CAKE
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp buttermilk
CREAMCHEESE FILLING
1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream
1 chocolate meringue twigs (recipe fo, llows)
56 inches decorative ribbon (opt.)
1 fresh sweet cherries (opt.)
Directions
1. Prepare Dried Cherry Filling: In small saucepan, combine dried
cherries, water, and 2 T sugar. Beat mixture to boiling over high
heat; reduce heat to low and simmer cherries until soft and liquid is
reduced by half. Remove from heat and transfer half of cherry mixture
to blender or food processor fitted with chopping blade; process
until a chunky puree forms. Return pureed mixture to saucepan with
remaining dried cherry mixture; add cornstarch and stir until well
blended. Heat mixture to boiling, stirring constantly; cook until
thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 T Marsala and the lemon
juice. Cool to room temperature.
2. Prepare Coffee Syrup: Combine coffee with remaining T sugar and 2 T
Marsala; set aside.
3. Prepare Chocolate Cake: In small bowl, stir boiling water and cocoa
until smooth; set aside to cool to room temperature. Heat oven to
350'F. Grease a 15 1/2 by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan and line with
waxed paper; grease and flour paper.
4. In large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, beat sugar and
shortening until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after
each addition. Beat in vanilla and cooled cocoa mixture.
5. Into small bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add flour mixture to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk,
beating until batter is smooth. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan
and bake 18 to 20 minutes or until center springs back when gently
pressed. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake onto
wire rack, remove waxed paper, and cool cake completely.
6. Prepare Cream-Cheese Filling: In large bowl, with electric mixer at
medium speed, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar 2 minutes. In
small bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form; fold whipped cream into
cream-cheese mixture just until blended. (Do not over-mix.)
See rest of recipe (02)
Country Living/December/92 Scanned & fixed by Di Pahl &
Servings: 10 servings
Chocolate Cherry Torte 01 - Country Living Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chocolate; Dessert; Fruit
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be traced far back into the far past, certainly as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further than that. However, generally, these early cookbooks were just basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe in existence, according to historians is a collection of ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel exhilarated. Progressing into Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius created a number of documents detailing recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into starters, main meal and dessert, something we still use today. Aspicius recounts how the Romans were skilled in the use of a good variety of herbs and spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens like thyme, mint and parsley. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we find a couple of cookery books published in the 14th Century : one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, they are unconnected to the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but instead recipes for the types of food eaten by the upper classes of that time. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and spices from Arab cooking, such as coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new foods and spices led to an eruption in publications on food, most of which are kept safe in private libraries. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the families of Europe competed to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and as a consequence, cooks and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century that fine cookery and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, verifying, and recording recipes to help cooks of their time. When we get to the twentieth century, cookbooks were highly popular as a result of more people being able to read, people having more free time and having more money. The TV revolution gave us TV cooks and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access thousands of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Cherry Torte 01 Country Living recipe.
