The Hunger Games: The Cake on Fire (Chocolate Cake)

This is an ongoing series of food related to The Hunger Games, here are the links to the other recipes- Peeta’s raisin nut bread, the bakery bread Katniss and Gale ate in the woods, the Capitol pancakes, lunch with Cinna (chicken in orange sauce), District 11 bread, Mellark’s apple and goat cheese tarts, goose liver and puffy bread, lamb stew and dried plum, hot chocolate,

I try to focus on the talk, which has turned to our interview costumes, when a girl sets a gorgeous-looking cake on the table and deftly lights it.  It blazes up and then flames flicker around the edges a while until it finally goes out.  I have a moment of doubt.  ”What makes it burn?  Is it alcohol?”  I say, looking up at the girl.  ”That’s the last thing I wa- oh!  I know you!”

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss, p 77

This photo is the outfit Katnisss and Peeta wear when they go out in Cinna and Portia’s fire creations!  I can’t wait to see what they look like lit!!

I made a delicious cake that I wanted to light on fire!!  Like they do in the book.  We looked up how to flambe (new vocabulary! means to light food on fire) a cake.  There was a website that said you could make any cake you wanted to and then add sugar cubes soaked in alcohol and it would light on fire.

They were wrong.  Or maybe I needed more directions?

There is a little fire!

More fire!!

The alcohol that spilled over the cake lit on fire nicely.  See the pretty blue!

This looks awesome right?!  This is a long exposure of us trying to light the cake so all of that fire is from the wand thing.  I don’t know what it is called.  Oh well.  The whole thing was a huge FAIL.  Oh well, we had fun.  And I made two cakes, because I was worried something like this might happen.  The cake- OMG was delicious, super sweet, just the way I like it.

Chocolate Cake with Frosting

This recipe is slightly adapted from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/4 pound plus 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Pam a 9 1/2 inch round baking pan.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the chocolate and cocoa, and stir until melted.  Remove from heat.  Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they are creamy and stiff.

2. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are foamy, then beat in the sugar.  Add the chocolate mixture, a bit at a time initially to acclimatize the eggs.  Next, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well.  Add the milk and mix until smooth.

3. Carefully fold in the beaten whites, trying not to deflate them, and gently mix until they are completely incorporated into a fluffy but dense mixture.  Scrape out into the pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool completely before moving to a serving plate.

4. For the frosting, whip  the butter with the confectioners’ sugar until fluffy.  Whisk in the cocoa a bit at a time so that it doesn’t fly everywhere.  When it is completely incorporated, add the milk and honey, and whisk until very smooth.  Spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula, using swift smooth strokes.