recipes@decwrl.UUCP (10/23/87)
CHOC-SLICES(D) USENET Cookbook CHOC-SLICES(D)
RIGO JANCSI
CHOC-SLICES - Chocolate cream slices
Serving these will guarantee the success of any endeavor.
The name is pronounced, approximately, "rrigo yanshi"
(trilled r). This recipe comes from "The Cooking of
Vienna's Empire" and is, of course, Hungarian. A friend of
mine describes the Hungarians as "the people who taught the
Viennese how to bake."
INGREDIENTS (Makes 35)
CAKE
2 Tbsp butter
flour or cocoa
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
pinch salt
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
FILLING
1 1/2 cups
heavy cream
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into small
chunks
4 Tbsp dark rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
GLAZE
1 cup fine granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
7 oz semisweet chocolate, broken or chopped into small
chunks
PROCEDURE (CAKE)
(1) Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. With a pastry
brush or paper towel, coat an 11x17 inch jelly-
roll pan with the butter. This will seem like a
lot; be very generous. Sprinkle the flour or
cocoa over the butter and shake the pan to coat
the butter fully. Tap the edge of the pan on a
table to knock out the excess flour.
(2) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl
over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool
to lukewarm.
(3) Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until the
whites cling to the beater. Add 1/4 cup of the
sugar and beat until the whites form stiff,
unwavering peaks.
(4) Cream the butter and the other 1/4 cup of the
sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add
the melted chocolate and beat in the egg yolks one
at a time.
(5) With a rubber spatula, stir about 1/3 of the
beaten eggwhites into the chocolate mixture, then
pour the chocolate mixture over the rest of the
whites. Sprinkle the flour lightly on top.
Gently fold the mixture together until no white
streaks remain.
(6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading
it evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake in the mid-
dle of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the
cake shrinks slightly away from the sides of the
pan and a knife inserted in the middle comes out
clean. It will still be very flat. Loosen the
cake from the pan with a sharp knife around the
sides and turn it out onto a rack to cool. (Put
the rack over the pan and flip the whole thing
over to keep the cake from breaking.)
PROCEDURE (FILLING)
(1) In a small heavy saucepan, combine the cream and
chocolate and stir over medium heat until the cho-
colate dissolves. Then reduce the heat to very
low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the
mixture thickens to the consistency of a pudding.
Pour it into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1
hour.
(2) When the mixture is very cold, pour in the rum and
vanilla and beat with a whisk or beater until the
filling is smooth and creamy and forms soft peaks
when the beater is lifted. Do not overbeat or you
will get butter. (If this should happen, don't
despair; chocolate buttercream makes a perfectly
fine filling.)
(3) Cut the cake in half to make two layers, each 8
1/2 inches wide. Spead the filling over one layer
and set the other layer on top. Smooth out the
edges with a spatula. If one of the cake layers
should break, use it on the bottom. Refrigerate
on a rack for about 1 hour.
PROCEDURE (GLAZE)
(1) In a small heavy saucepan, heat the sugar, water,
and chocolate over medium heat, stirring con-
stantly, until the sugar and chocolate are dis-
solved. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved or
you will get a grainy glaze. Cover the pan and
let the glaze cool for about 20 minutes.
(2) Set a jelly-roll pan on a table with one short
edge propped up. Put the rack with the cake on
something else so that it is suspended level over
the pan but offset 2 inches, so that you can reach
down into the lower pan with a spoon.
(3) Hold the pan with the glaze about 2 inches over
the cake and pour the glaze on the cake. Using a
large spoon, scoop up the glaze that collects in
the jelly-roll pan and put it back on the cake.
Keep doing this until the glaze begins to stop
flowing smoothly. You should end up with a thick,
even layer of glaze on the cake.
(4) Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is firm, 10
to 20 minutes.
(5) Serve by cutting into 35 small equal pieces, 5 in
each row across and 7 in each row down. For cut-
ting, use a sharp knife that has been dipped in
warm water and wiped off between slices. Keep
refrigerated, but for maximum flavor, allow to
come to room temperature before serving.
NOTES
Fine granulated sugar is not the same thing as
confectioner's sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work ok
for the glaze, just make sure it is fully dissolved. You
can avoid lots of chopping by using chocolate chips; one cup
of chips equals about 6 oz.
RATING
Difficulty: Quite difficult. For experienced dessert cooks
only. Time: several hours. Precision: measure carefully.
CONTRIBUTOR
Paul Asente
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA
asente@cascade.stanford.edu
decwrl!cascade.stanford.edu!asente