CrapWeLike

stereo skifcha from xgabberx on Vimeo.

I’m not sure what this book is but after this preview, I kinda want to read (more about) it.

I think I’ve posted about my love of Alice Hart before. She is a young, British culinary genius. I’ve never had the desire to attempt every recipe in a cookbook, cover to cover, until I found Alice’s Cook Book. Last night in addition to this awesome chicken picatta we made, I baked this delicious chocolate cake. I seriously think that it could give some of the fancy restaurants in my neighborhood a serious run for their money. The bourbon in the cake and frosting absolutely make it.

Melting Chocolate Cake

for cake…

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 eggs, seperated
• 1/3 cup ground almonds (I had sliced almonds on hand that I ran through the food processor…good enough)
• 1 tbs bourbon
• pinch o salt

for serving…

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbs confectioners sugar
• 1 tbs bourbon
• sliced strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 9 in springform cake pan and then line w parchment paper.

2. Melt chocolate and butter in double boilerish contraption and mix until smooth. Then add sugar and 1 egg yolk. Stir. Add rest of egg yolks, bourbon and almonds. Stir until completely mixed and smooth again.

3. Beat egg whites with salt until  peaky but still a bit soft. Add remaining sugar 2 tbs at a time (6 tbs total) while beating mixture and then until whites are stiff, peaky and glossy.

4. Gently mix 1 tbs of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to loosen. Then gently fold the rest of the eggs into the chocolate with a spatula.

5. Pour mix into pan and cook for 30-35 minutes.

6. While cake is baking, whip the cream with the confections sugar and bourbon.

7. When cake is finished, let cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan. Serve with cream and strawberries.

This video has sent me into a Shabazz Palaces/Digable Planets death spiral this week. In case you don’t know, Shabazz Palaces is a new Subpop group w Ishmael Butler from the 90′s hiphop group Digable Planets.

Also, this is Subpop’s awesome description of SP’s most recent album: Black Up is the new sonic move from Shabazz Palaces. Like rich velvet hijabs or gold threaded abayas. Luxury as understood by the modest. Shabazz Palaces. If Bedouins herded beats instead of goats and settled in Seattle instead of the Atlas Mountains, this would be their album.

Enjoy!