Recipe - Chocolate Cranberry Poinsettia Cake

CAKE
1 cup Cake flour
One half teaspoon Baking powder
One half teaspoon Baking soda
1/8 teaspoon Salt
One half cup Orange juice
3 ounce Semisweet chocolate; chopped
1 cup Sugar
One fourth cup Unsalted butter; (One half stick)
room tmp
1 One half teaspoon Grated orange peel
2 lg Eggs
One half cup Sour cream
One half teaspoon Vanilla

CRANBERRIES & SYRUP
2/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Water
2 cup Fresh or frozen cranberries

FROSTING
1 One half cup Whipping cream
12 ounce Semisweet chocolate; chopped
Marbleized White Chocolate
Leaves (see recipe)
Fresh mint leaves

for cake: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Butter 2
~ 9" diameter cake pans with 1 1/2" high sides. Line bottoms of pans with
parchment or waxed paper. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Stir flour,
baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl to blend. Bring orange
juice to boil in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate;
whisk until melted and smooth. Cool to barely lukewarm. Using electric
mixer, beat sugar, butter and orange peel in large bowl until blended. Add
eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla
and melted chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Add dry
ingredients and beat just until well blended. Divide batter equally between
prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center
comes out clean, about 25 mins. Cool cakes in pans on rack.

for cranberries & syrup: Combine sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add cranberries; bring to
boil. Using slotted spoon, immediately transfer about 20 glazed to plate.
Reserve for garnish; chill. Continue to boil remaining cranberries until
berries pop, about 5 mins. Using slotted spoon, transfer poached berries to
small bowl. Pour cranberry syrup in pan into another bowl and reserve for
marbleized leaves.

for frosting: Bring cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from
heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Chill chocolate
frosting until just thick enough to spread but still glossy, about 1 hour
20 mins. Invert 1 cake layer onto platter. Peel off parchment. Spread 1.2
cup chilled chocolate frosting over cake. Spoon poached cranberries in bowl
evenly over frosting. Invert second cake layer onto work surface. Peel off
parchment; place cake atop cranberries. Spread remaining chocolate frosting
over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate until cake is well chilled, about 2
hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill.) Working
quickly, arrange chocolate leaves in center of cake, forming poinsettia
flower. Place 3 glazed cranberries in center of flower. Arrange fresh mint
leaves and remaining glazed cranberries around cake. Refrigerate cake until
ready to serve.

Recipe by: Bon Apetit

Posted to KitMailbox Digest by sadrod pax@pacbell.net on Nov 23, 1997