Birthday Cake = French Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Compote

This year was dad's 60th birthday, so we decided to do something extra fun and special. We rented a cabin by Mt. Baker and spent the weekend relaxing and having fun in a beautiful place. Because it was such a special birthday, I wanted an extra special cake that I knew dad would absolutely LOVE. Dark chocolate and raspberries immediately popped into my head as a must. I had just finished reading David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris, which included a mouth-watering french chocolate cake recipe. Made with dark chocolate, it's meant to be smaller, denser, and much richer in flavor. How could I resist? I thought it would look beautiful with an equally rich ganache and drizzled with a sweet/tart rasberry compote. The result was perfect - the cake was a hit and most important of all, dad LOVED IT! I love a success.

French Chocolate Cake
(courtesy of David Lebovitz)
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp, separated
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line loaf pan or cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, heat the chocolate and butter together just until melted and smooth.
Remove from heat and stir in half the sugar, then the egg yolks, and flour.
Using an electric mixer or a whisk, begin whipping the egg whites with the salt. Keep whipping until they start to form soft, droopy peaks. Gradually whip in the remaining sugar until the whites are smooth and hold their shape when the whisk is lifted.
Use a rubber spatula to fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until the mixture is smooth and no visible white streaks remain.
Scrape the batter into pan, smooth on top, and bake for about 35 minutes, just until the cake feels slightly firm in the center. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan before serving.

Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan. Pour cream evenly over chocolate. Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth. If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands.

Raspberry Compote
2 pints raspberries
1 -2 tablespoon water
Sugar to sweeten

Allow to boil in saucepan until desired thickness.

Ballard stole my heart

I love Ballard for many, many reasons, but one of the main reasons this old Scandinavian fishing town stole my heart is the food. Plain and simple.
It seems as if the entire community is in agreement that there needs to be a food revolution in our country, and this massive movement is already well underway, and thriving here. Whether it's community kitchens and gardens, a booming local/organic farmers market, restaurant rooftop and backyard gardens, local beekeeping/honey making, breweries...you name it, Ballard has it! I am so unbelievably fortunate to be a part of all it. I am constantly discovering and on the lookout for new restaurants, stores and activities weekly; at times its hard to keep up! Thus, it's safe to say I will be blogging about Ballard continually.
One of the very first places I spotted upon moving here was a cute cafe called Verite Coffee/Cupcake Royale. As if a cafe selling endless amazingly delicious-sounding cupcakes wasn't enough(Salted Caramel! Lemon Drop! Lavender!), what drew me in even more was the fact that these are "cupcakes with a conscience!" The flour comes from local Shepherds Grain no-till co-op, fruit from local farmers, local eggs, hormone free milk and butter from Medowsweet Dairy, AND organic sugar! AAAAAND each month they come out with a new flavor made with local, seasonal ingredients. SOLD!
Today is June 1, and I just walked down to get the new cupcake of the month: RASPBERRY RHUBARB! A 'tart n sweet' combination made with rhubarb cake and and raspberry cream cheese frosting.
Now that's what I call a cupcake! Raspberry? Rhubarb? Cream cheese? Why, those are three of my favorite things. Thank you Jesus!
Excuse me while I go stuff my face with a piece of heaven...