Chocolate Apricot Cake

It was Mom's birthday this past weekend and of course I baked her a cake. Not just any 'ol cake, but a cake reminiscent of her birth place. Mom was born in Northern Italy, close to Austria. There is a famous cake called the "Sachertorte" that is a specialty in this region. It is a velvety rich chocolate cake with a thin apricot filling and covered in a chocolate ganache.

The original cake was created in Vienna, Austria and the only other place in the world that offers the original cake besides Vienna and Salzberg, is in Bolzano, Italy which is located in northern Italy. The cake I made is VERY loosely based on this idea. The original sachertorte is much more dense and I used a much thicker apricot filling. I also opted for a creamy chocolate frosting that my mom has been making for years. I found a great chocolate cake recipe on Epicurious.com. It turned out very moist and delicious!

Chocolate Apricot Cake
Cake adapted from Bon Appetit-June 2010 by Cindy Mushet

Ingredients

Cake
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk*
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

* If you do not have buttermilk on hand, substitute 3/4 cup minus 1 tablespoon milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Mix together and let stand 5-10 minutes. I used lactose-free milk and it turned out great!

Special equipment: 2 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides

Apricot Filling
14 oz. apricot jam
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2-3 fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and sliced (optional)

Creamy Chocolate Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
1 cup Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For Cake:

Position rack to middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; spray rounds.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl; add sugar and whisk to blend. Form a well in the center. Whisk 1 cup water, buttermilk, oil, and eggs in medium bowl to blend. Pour wet ingredients into well in dry ingredients; beat with hand mixer just to blend. Divide cake batter between prepared pans (about 3 cups each).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes, turning pans halfway through baking. A great tip from Cindy Mushet: (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with palm of hand to level.) Cool completely in pans on cooling racks. Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover cakes in pans and let stand at room temperature.

For Filling:

Line a 9 inch cake pan with plastic wrap, overlapping on all sides. Add the sliced apricots if using. Set aside.

Add the apricot jam to a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute or until the jam starts to bubble. Add the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Pour jam mixture into prepared pan and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.

Place 1 layer of cake, flat side down, inside the cake pan containing the filling. Carefully place a plate over the top of the cake pan; gently and quickly flip over so that the cake and the filling is centered on the plate. Remove plastic wrap. With a knife, carefully trim the edges of the filling that overhang the cake. Place the second cake layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired.

For Frosting:

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, until creamy and spreadable. Adding small amounts of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Apricot and Dried Plum Truffles

Easy As Pie...

The inspiration for these truffles came from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. She hosts the show Healthy Appetite. I really like some of her recipes since she always tries to use healthful ingredients in recipes that would otherwise be very fattening or unhealthy.

This recipe is a perfect example of how you can eat healthy without missing out on the things you love, like chocolate.
We all know that dark chocolate (around 60%-70% cocoa, the higher the percentage, the better is it for you) can now be a healthy addition to our everyday diets (if eaten in moderation, something I have to practice myself)! And dried fruits are also an important part of a healthy diet since they contain minerals essential to our bodies.
In the first version I made, I used apricots and dried plums. The second version is very similar to Ellie's recipe, Fig and Ginger Truffles, which uses dried figs. I added some pistashios for crunch.

Apricot and Dried Plum Truffles

1 1/2 cups dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried plums, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa solids), chopped.

Place the apricots, dried plums, orange zest, cinnamon and honey in a food processor and process for about 1 minute, until the ingredients form a consistency of a sticky paste.

Roll the mixture in your hands into balls the size of cherry tomatoes and set them on a waxed paper lined baking sheet.

Use a double boiler or place a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, over low heat, making sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl. Place the chocolate in the bowl and stir until it is melted. Remove the bowl from the pan.

Roll the apricot balls into the melted chocolate 1 or 2 at a time, until they are all covered. Place them back on the waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator until set.

(Version#2)

Figgy Pistashio Truffles
adapted from Ellie Krieger

2 cups dried figs, (about 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, I used candied ginger and grated it on my microplane
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup chopped pistashio nuts
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa solids), chopped

Cut the stems off the figs and discard. Put the figs, ginger, orange zest, cinnamon and honey in a food processor and process for about 1 minute, until the ingredients form a consistency of a sticky paste.

Roll the fig mixture in your hands into balls the size of cherry tomatoes and set them on a waxed paper lined baking sheet.

Use a double boiler or place a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, over low heat, making sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl. Place the chocolate in the bowl and stir until it is melted. Remove the bowl from the pan.

Roll the fig balls into the melted chocolate 1 or 2 at a time, until they are all covered. Place them back on the waxed paper and sprinkle with chopped pistashio nuts. Chill in the refrigerator until set.