April 9, 2011

• Sunderday: A very dull tale to keep my keyboard from rusting.

  
  photo by Tim Walker

  Yesterday was Sunny Jim’s birthday.

  Some people hate birthdays – and holidays and general fuss – but he is definitely not one of them. Watching him over our first Christmas together was amazing; he would practically quiver with anticipation every time we passed some Rockwellian display. I swear, every time he saw a Christmas tree he would have to restrain himself from hopping up and down. He had a whole collection of little ornaments and things he’d collected since he was a kid; talking about them made him all sentimental. I have to say, it was totally unexpected. He’s usually a bit stern, inclined to be disappointed with the world (I knew from the start that he was very much like my father). Anything that could make him so giddy and happy was something I knew I wanted to indulge.

  My mom was like that, too. She’d run around for weeks singing carols and cleaning and baking. My siblings and I have that in us and with mom we indulged ourselves (though we never had her stamina). But since she died we’ve learned to restrain our enthusiasm to keep from driving dad bonkers. It’s not that he was a Grinch - not at all. I remember mom saying that, in the leaner years, she had to reprimand him for bringing home too many treats. He loves the byproducts of holidays – time off, good food, general relaxation. He’s not a super creative gift giver, but he’s generous to a fault when he can be, and loves to pay for things or get us some little thing we might have mentioned in passing. But he’s intimidated by the expectation that comes with Events; the whole social aspect is, for him, a nightmare. When mom was around he could tolerate more but now, on top of his natural reluctance, every would-be family celebration is a reminder that she’s gone. So that’s the end of that.

  In any case, I spent the last week rolling out a week long celebration. Starting last Sunday, I’ve said Happy Birthday and given Sunny Jim some little gift every day (It’s not big stuff – just little things like bringing home Pad Thai or a bottle of hooch). Yesterday, I took the day off. I baked an absurdly rich three-layer Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte filled with booze and buttercream. I made pretty little trays of crudités and mini-quiches. I cleaned the crap out of the apartment and lit candles and at the end of it all we had some of his friends over for drinks and Star Wars Monopoly (the only difference between kid parties and grownup parties is liquor).

  It was the Six Days of Birthday.

  On the seventh day I rest.

  g.

   

  Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte:
  a traditional German Blackforest cake

  (preheat oven to 350°)
   

  This recipe come in several parts. It’s not hard to make, but it takes time. This was my first try and it took about 4 hours to make and assemble the cake and filling. 

  Cake
  9 large eggs
  1 1/2 c sugar
  1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  6 oz unsweetened or semi-sweet bakers chocolate (melted)
  1 1/2 c four

  Blend eggs, sugar and vanilla for about 15 minutes, until the batter is thick and fluffy. Alternating between the melted chocolate and the flour, fold in the rest of the ingredients with flour as the final addition.

  Pour the batter into three 8″ cake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Cool cake in pans for 5 minutes and then thoroughly on a cooling rack.

  While you’re preparing the batter, start the syrup.
  Boil for five minutes:
  1/4 sugar
  1/3 cup water
  Let cool, then stir in:
  2 tbsp kirschwasser

  Once the syrup is ready, pierce the tops of your cakes with a skewer (I used a sharp chopstick) at even intervals. Then slowly pour the syrup over the tops. I put the cakes back in their pans to do this so the stuff wouldn’t run everywhere. Because the syrup was quite thick, I spread it all over the tops and set them aside to soak it up while I made the buttercream filling.

  The Buttercream Filling:
  1 1/2 c confectioner’s/icing sugar
  1/3 c unsalted butter (room temperature)
  1 large egg yolk
  2 tbsp kirschwasser

  Blend sugar and butter until creamy, then add the egg yolk and continue to blend until it gets a bit fluffy (about 5 minutes). Fold in the kirsch. Try not to eat it all because holy crap does it ever taste amazing but there’s only just enough to make the cake.

  To assemble your cake you will also need:
  approximately 3 c canned/preserved sour cherries or 2 c canned and 1 c fresh, drained and patted dry
  (the recipe I had said 2 cups, but I found it wasn’t quite enough – I like lots of cherries) 
  1 1/2 c whipping cream (whipped)
  grated dark chocolate

  Place your first layer on a cake plate. (If you don’t have a proper one, make sure the plate you use is the one you want to serve it on. Once this is done, you won’t be able to move it.) Spread the top with half the buttercream, then arrange or drop between 3/4 and 1 c of the preserved cherries on top. Using sour cherries is important; tart fruit and kirsch give this cake its flavour.

  Add the second layer and repeat.

  Add your third layer and coat the entire cake liberally with the whipped cream. Decorate the outside with the remaining preserved cherries or use fresh ones. If you like, sprinkle with grated chocolate, etc. 

  The buttercream has a raw egg yolk, so keep this cake chilled until serving. I waited to add the whipping cream until just before I served; the room temperature topping offset the chilly cake. 

  My addition:
  I heated the syrup/juice I’d drained from the cherries to just boiling, then added some cornstarch to thicken. Then I took it off the heat and let it cool a little before I added 2 tbsp kirsch. It made a very tasty, warmish sauce and looked pretty fancy poured over the slices of cake. 

   

   

   

  • 9:11 am
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