Gabe's Cake - As delicious as it is beautiful!

Peggy did make use of the candied orange peel from a few posts ago. Lots of work, apparently, but what a beautiful work of art. I only wish she didn't live all the way in Portland. She always was a tease!

Well, I did use some of my candied orange peel to make the cake I talked about. I’ve decided to call it Gabe’s Cake after my son because I am impressed that he made it as a teenager with practically no baking experience. And, I, who’ve had years of experience found it a trying process. The result was delectable, however, so I will share the recipe which was adapted from Saveur magazine.

The Sponge Cake:

14 tbsp all purpose flour, sifted

4 eggs

1 egg white

½ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 425. Butter an 8” spring form or 9” round cake pan and line the bottom with buttered parchment paper. Sift flour twice and set aside. Put 1 whole egg and 3 yolks in mixing bowl (a standing mixer is best due to mix time); reserve whites in a separate bowl along with additional white. Add sugar and vanilla to yolks and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy (up to 8 minutes); set aside. Beat whites on medium low speed about 2 minutes or until frothy; add cream of tartar, increase speed to medium high and beat until stiff peaks form; 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture, and then fold in the remaining whites. Sift about ¼ of the flour into the egg mixture and gently fold it in. Continue to sift and fold ¼ of the flour at a time until all the flour is incorporated. Pour into a prepared pan and place in the oven. Lower the heat to 325 and bake until golden—about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then unmold, peel off parchment and cool on rack.

The Ricotta Filling:

2 ½ cups ricotta

6 tbsp confectioner’s sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ cup chopped candied orange peel

1 ½ oz chopped semi sweet chocolate

Put ricotta, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Fold in orange peel and chocolate and return to frig.

 The Ganache/Frosting:

1 cup heavy cream

3 ½ oz chopped milk chocolate

5 oz chopped semi sweet chocolate

Heat cream in saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, add chocolates, let sit 1 minute, then whisk until smooth and set aside to cool. Set in frig until thick enough to frost without dripping.

Assembly:

Cut cake into two layers. Place bottom layer on cake plate and spread on ½ of the filling. Place the 2^nd layer on the filling and frost the sides and up over the top about 1” with the ganache. Spread the remaining filling over the top. Sprinkle the edges with chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts if desired and decorate the top with shave chocolate and additional candied orange peel.