What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert L. Wolke Read Free Book Online Page A

Houten in guess-what-country, either the roasted beans or the chocolate liquor cake is treated with an alkali (usually potassium carbonate), which darkens the color to a deep reddish brown and mellows the flavor. Hershey calls its Dutch-processed cocoa “European-style.”
    Cocoa is naturally acidic, and the alkali used in the Dutch process neutralizes it. That can make a difference in a cake recipe, because acidic cocoa will react with any baking soda present to make carbon dioxide and increase leavening, but the neutralized Dutch process cocoa won’t.
    Devil’s food cake is an interesting case because most recipes call for regular cocoa, yet the cake comes out with a devilish red color, as if it contained Dutch process cocoa. That’s because baking soda is used for leavening, and the alkaline baking soda “Dutches” the cocoa.
    In the U.S., the word cocoa makes us think of a hot, chocolaty beverage. But a cup of what we call cocoa or hot chocolate is to a cup of hot Mexican chocolate what skim milk is to heavy cream, because we have squeezed out all the fat from the cocoa powder. A cup of Mexican chocolate, on the other hand, is thick and unimaginably rich because it is made from the whole chocolate liquor, fat and all.
    In Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, a few years ago, I watched as the fermented and roasted cacao beans were ground with sugar, almonds, and cinnamon, emerging from the grinder as a glistening, thick brown paste—a sweetened and flavored chocolate liquor. It was then cast into round or cigar-shaped molds, cooled to solid cakes and sold in that form.
    In the kitchen, one or two cakes of this Mexican chocolate are beaten into boiling-hot water or milk to make a rich, frothy nectar. In Oaxaca, it is served in widemouthed cups made specifically for dunking the egg-rich Mexican bread, pan de yema (yolk bread). In Spain, I have dunked churros , lengths of deep-fried pastry, into the same rich chocolate beverage.
    Of the treasures that the Spanish conquistadores brought home from the New World, many would agree that in the long run, the chocolate was more valuable than the gold. Mexican chocolate is available in the United States under the brand names Ibarra and Abuelita.
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    Baking Soda Makes the Devil Blush
     
    Devil’s Food Cupcakes
     
T he deep color of devil’s food develops when regular cocoa is “Dutched” by the alkaline baking soda. You can substitute Dutch process cocoa for an even deeper color and a more mellow flavor. There will be no difference in texture.
     
     
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup boiling water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
     
     
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray enough cupcake pans to hold 18 cupcakes with nonstick baking spray, or line with cupcake papers.
 
     
2. Place the cocoa in a small bowl. Add the water slowly, stirring with a spoon until well blended into a smooth paste. Set aside until lukewarm.
 
     
3. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add the cooled chocolate mixture all at once and stir well until blended.
 
     
4. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir until smooth and all patches of white disappear. Do not overmix.
 
     
5. Using a 1/3-cup measure, scoop out the batter and turn into pans. The pan’s depressions should be about three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centers of the cupcakes.
 
     
    MAKES EIGHTEEN 2½-INCH CUPCAKES
     
    Mocha Cocoa Frosting
     
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
About 1/3 cup cold, strong coffee
     
     
1. Remove the lumps from the confectioners’ sugar and