Since I started blogging, the friendships I’ve made with other fellow food bloggers and stylists has been incredible to say the least.
Recently fellow instagrammer @rodica_godlewski and I organized a food styling gathering at my home with fellow food stylists M.Aimee from @milkofthykindness and Sarah from @sarah.boileau. We were 4 complete strangers…well strangers that conversed for several months prior to our meeting on Instagram but had never seen each other in the flesh or spoken to each other. It was so lovely to finally put a face larger than a blueberry and a voice to their names. To finally shed cyber palling two dimensionally and begin a real friendship in the flesh was incredible. The ideas and inspiration we shared with each other not to mention the great laughs was epic in porportions.
One of the cakes I baked to style was my Chocolate Cake I had blogged about earlier (Chocolate Mascarpone Cake) with a few minor changes. The mascarpone was swapped out for ricotta to add even more moisture, white sugar replaced the brown and instant coffee added to the icing for that additional layer of flavour. It evolved to a moister, finer and sweeter cake. Not too sweet but sweet enough to be classified as sin! In my usual round about way, what I’m trying to get at I suppose is that I improved it.
These gorgeous vintage plates were some props Rodica and M had bought to the styling. I had secretly hoped Rodica would forget these vintage Frenchy plates before heading back to Rochester Hills, Michigan. Unfortunately she didn’t forget her plates. But she did forget her portion of chocolate cake in the fridge 🙂
Bon App!
- 260 g or 2 cups AP flour
- 50 g or 1/2 cup unsweetened good quality cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 200 g or 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 175 g or 1 cup loose brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 130 g or 3/4 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract
- 85 g or 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 250 ml or 1 cup hot black coffee (I used a coup of Nespresso)
- FOR THE ICING: (enough for a naked cake)
- 325 g or 1 1/4 cup mascarpone room temperature
- 115 g or 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 375 g or 3 cups icing sugar
- 75 g or 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee
- Place oven rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350 F/180C
- Grease and line bottoms of three 6 inch pans with parchment paper OR two 9 inch round cake pans
- In large bowl, sift, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, whisk well and set aside
- In stand mixer, paddle attachment, beat the sugars and oil together until well combined.
- Add eggs in one at a time..scrape bottom and side of bowl between eggs
- Add the ricotta and beat until smooth and well combined about a minute
- Add the dry flour mix to the wet in thirds.
- Stir until well combined but do not over mix
- Add the cup of hot coffee and increase speed to medium and beat for about a minute
- Distribute batter even amongst the cake pans
- 6 inch pans: Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean (few crumbs are okay) when inserted in middle
- 9 Inch pans: bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean (few crumbs are okay) when inserted in middle
- Allow to cool 10 minutes in pans before transferring to cooling rack
- In stand mixer bowl, beat the room temperature mascarpone and butter until light and smooth and fluffy about 2 minutes
- Add the icing sugar then the cocoa powder and stir well
- Then add the vanilla and instant coffee
- Allow cake to completely cool before icing.
- Place first layer down, apply icing and smooth out with off set spatula
- Add second layer and repeat
- Apply a smooth layer of icing on the very top tier (if 3 tiered 6 inch cake)
- (same instructions for the 9 inch pans)
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