Monday, May 3, 2010

Kossuth Cake

“Adam ate the apple, and our teeth still ache”
Hungarian Proverb quote


Besides baking, I have another passion. Antique shopping. Recently i have been collecting old cookbooks and unusual molds. I found this old melon/jello mold, which i have never used.










I just found this old "Time life" series cookbook, and discovered this Kossuth cake. This cake requires a melon mold.







Kossuth Cake, originally made as individual cream filled sponge cakes, was reportedly created by a Baltimore confectioner in honor of a visit in 1851 by Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot who led his country in a revolt against Austrian rule.
I think i forgot to mention..I am 1/4 Hungarian on my Dad's side. My great grandmother was a gypsy.

The power that is supported by force alone will have cause often to tremble.
- Louis Kossuth
The father of Hungarian Democracy


CAKE
serves 6-8

*** I used half this batter to fill the mold** or it will over flow

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
3 eggs

CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour mold, or a generous pray of cooking spray.
Combine cake flour, baking powder, salt. Sift. Stir together milk and vanilla.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until thoroughly absorbed. Beat in 1 cup of flour mixture. Repeat twice more ,alternating the flour and milk. When all ingredients have been added, continue to beat until batter is smooth.
Pour batter into Mellon mold and cover mold securely with it's lid. Carefully fit rounded bottom of the mold into one of the slots of an oven rack to steady it, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.


my shabby oven

Remove the mold from the oven, lift off lid and turn cake out onto a cake rack to cool to room temperature.




Then with serrated knife, cut off the flat base of cake about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom. With a large spoon scoop out soft insides of both the cake and base, leaving a 1 inch thick shell in both.




FILLING:

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Beat heavy cream in a large chilled bowl until thick. Sprinkle with sugar and continue to beat until cream is firm enough to stand stiff peaks.

spoon the whipped cream into the cake shell, replace the flat base, and carefully invert the cake. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve.










CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
4 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

In a 1 1/2 -to 2 quart sauce pan combine sugar, cream and milk over moderate heat stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue to cook over medium heat for another minute or 2, stirring, until chocolate melts and thickens. Cool.

To serve sprinkle cake liberally with confectioner's and serve with chocolate sauce.







Caramel Sauce
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/caramel_sauce/
this one is fantastic

Caramel sauces



This is the original recipe with one caveat. I did not make the chocolate sauce. ( i am really not a huge chocolate dessert fan) I decided on caramel. Which was just as delish....

The cake is a nice light, moist sponge. Easy to fill. This cake is soo versatile. Changing the flavor of the cake and making a companion filling would be easy. Some suggestions- pastry creams, curds, jams, fruits, mousses, chantilly etc. Next time.......





Jó étvágyat!

14 comments:

  1. How fun! I just started using my jello molds this year and have so much fun with them. :-) This cake sounds fabulous - especially with that caramel sauce. Yum!!

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  2. Love the proverb! I haven't seen or heard about such a cake. It's amazing! Wish I have the cake pan. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Thanks Ladies.. I am trying .. It is hard. I am not a very good blogger, writer/photo :)... and i am searching for things that i have not seen on other blogs to be more original. I have a few more interesting tings coming soon..Keep reading! xoxoxo

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  4. The cake looks adorable!! Like a blimp.. :D

    (Ellie pimped your blog on twitter, so here I am..) :)

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  5. I almost can't believe that you came across this old mold and a cookbook calling for one. And your cake turned out beautifully-I used to eat stuff like that for breakfast when I lived in Spain (probably good those days are over-smile)...

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  6. really amazing, never seen such a cake ! looks absolutely delicious !

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  7. My Grandmother, from Baltimore, loved Kossuth cakes above all. There was a caterer here that specialized in them. They were the Ne plus Ultra dessert in her apartment. Always covered in chocolate, and always a single serving. They were filled with creme...i always wished they were filled with pastry cream.

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  8. talbot...I actually filled one with pastry cream. However, the cream can be too heavy for the sponge cake to hold its shape, so i suggest a mix of pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. :)

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  9. I'm so glad I found this recipe! I was searching for a dessert to enter in a company picnic contest. The entries have to have some type of MD theme - either decorated in a MD theme or a traditional MD dessert. I know several folks are already doing a Smith Island Cake, and I can't compete with that! I was looking for something different, and this fits the bill! Sounds like a glorified Twinkie. I found a pan online. Hope it gets here soon enough to practice!

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  10. I'll let you know how it comes out!

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  11. Hi from Annie in Northern Michigan!
    I am going to bake the Kossuth Cake this afternoon...had a ?...you noted in red that you used half this batter to fill the mold or it will overflow...I have 2 molds, do I make the complete recipe and put half in each or cut the recipe in half?
    Someone donated the forms for our women's club "treasures & trivia" sale - early sale - couldn't part with them. Hope your winter is a good one! Thanks so much!

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  12. A whole recipe should be fine for 2 pans. Fill to half to be safe

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  13. Hi from Annie in Northern Michigan! Beautiful, snowy day.
    Thanks very much Anonymous, for the tip - worked.
    The cake is delicious - my husband loved it!
    Annie Lew

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  14. Hi Annie! It's Astheroshe . I actually answered u anonymous! Lol I'm soo glad it worked out :)

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