I am a cook, I am not a baker. Anyone who knows their way around the kitchen understands that cooks and bakers are different species. As a cook, I taste, I fiddle, I substitute ingredients, in short I take liberties and break rules. Bakers cannot do this; baking has very strict rules and if you do not follow them; you end up with a disaster. Bakers must be able to master these rules AND learn how to play with flavor and texture. I think cooks are rebellious teenagers testing the limits in the kitchen. Bakers and pastry chefs are skilled artisans who have carefully honed their craft like architects and use flavor and color as artistic embellishment.
There’s a long standing joke in my family about cherry chip cake. My dad was a man surrounded by women. One of the ways he would declare himself different was by loudly protesting chocolate desserts (amusingly, they frequently disappeared at night when he thought no one was looking). My grandmother in an effort to please her eldest son baked him a cherry chip birthday cake one year. Grandma was a phenomenal baker, but this cake was a phenomenal flop. It’s nearly impossible to introduce me to a cake I don’t like, but it wasn’t just me, nobody liked this cake. However we weren’t raised by wolves so I’m sure we said something about it being an unusual treat, maybe we even said “good,” who knows.   What is known is that these courtesy compliments were taken by my grandmother to mean that it was my dad’s favorite cake, and the only cake she would ever make for his birthday again.
Grandma doesn’t bake anymore, but we still joke about the cake. Most recently it came up on Fathers Day when I made dinner. I actually tried to find a cherry chip cake mix to make as a joke. Honestly we stuff ourselves so much with the main meal the dessert often gets ignored. At the same time I was trying to find this mix, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Cake with Ganache and Praline Topping in Bon Appetite. How could I not try this? It was so good the four of us ate the first one in a day and I just made a second cake that’s rapidly disappearing.
The cake is tender, moist and delicious. I did make a couple of adjustments I used dark chocolate for the ganache and salted peanuts instead of pecans. I also topped the second cake with fleu de sel.
It goes equally well with ice cold milk or Zinfandel!
This cake looks delicious! A praline topping? Count me in!
I think the cake looks terrific too.
Two yrs. ago my husband said the same thing: “You are an amazing cook, but you are not a baker.”
I have proved him wrong…I taught myself and have become quit good…
Check out my site and you make up your mind..