Ruhlman's Twenty (28 page)

The following proportions can be doubled or halved as needed.

1 cup/200 grams sugar

1 cup/200 milliliters heavy/double cream, warmed in a microwave

Put the sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons water, if desired. Set the pan over medium heat and cook the sugar without stirring until it liquefies and begins to brown. Stir gently with a heatproof spoon until the sugar turns amber, 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully add the cream (the sugar is so hot that the cream will boil on contact, which is why you need a high-sided pan) and stir to incorporate. Allow the sauce to cool before using, or refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 weeks. If the sauce is very stiff, rewarm it gently in a microwave.

If you don’t have cream, but still feel like making caramel sauce, try this recipe, which requires only sugar and butter. I use the dry caramel method here, but feel free to add a little water at the start when melting the sugar.

½ cup/100 grams sugar

4 tablespoons/55 grams butter

Put the sugar in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and cook without stirring. When the edges are melting and turning brown, gently swirl the pot to distribute sugar or give the sugar a delicate stir. When the sugar is a dark amber, add the butter and then ¼ cup/60 milliliters water, and stir until the bubbles subside. Continue to simmer for another minute or so. Remove from the heat, pour the sauce into a heatproof container, and let cool. The sauce can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 weeks.

There are many ingredients here, but the key players are the caramel sauce and miso. Miso, a fermented paste made from rice, barley, and/or soybeans, adds great flavor and depth to many savory dishes and is a staple in Japanese cuisine. The stock distributes the ingredients, and the vinegar balances the sweetness of the caramel and miso. Shiro miso is sweeter and less salty than regular miso. Use the glaze for
braised pork belly
or with any pork preparation.

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup/120 milliliters
pork cooking liquid
, or pork or chicken stock

¼ cup/60 milliliters Caramel Sauce or Easy Caramel-Butter Sauce

2 tablespoons shiro miso

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté until translucent. Season with a two-finger pinch of salt and some pepper. Add the cooking liquid, caramel sauce, miso, vinegar, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds or so, then remove from the heat. The glaze can be used immediately or refrigerated for up to 2 days.

When I was a boy, this was the cake my mom always made for my birthday because I loved it so much. It continues to be a favorite. If there is such a thing as dessert comfort food, this soft angel food cake covered with toffee-studded whipped cream is it.

I don’t have a tube pan, and even if I did, I wouldn’t use it for this recipe. Instead, a springform pan makes the work of extricating the cake from the pan a snap—no small issue with very sticky angel food cake batter. Pour the batter into the pan and press a tapered drinking glass, bottom down, into the center so that the batter is forced up around it. If you prefer a tube pan, line the bottom with parchment/baking paper.

TOFFEE

½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar

½ cup/115 grams butter

CAKE

1½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar

Scant 1 cup/120 grams cake/soft-wheat flour

10 large egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Kosher salt

WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups/480 milliliters heavy/double cream

1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Frangelico liqueur (optional)

2 ounces/55 grams semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

MAKE THE TOFFEE:
Place a 15-inch/38-centimeter square of parchment/baking paper on a wood cutting board or other heatproof surface. Put the granulated sugar and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter begins to melt, stir to make sure the sugar cooks evenly. The mixture will be very frothy, and the sugar on the bottom of the pan will brown. Stir only occasionally as the mixture turns the color of caramel, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour it onto the paper and allow it to cool completely. Don’t worry if some of the butterfat breaks out.

MAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Combine ¾ cup/150 grams of the granulated sugar and the flour in a food processor and pulse a few times. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, lemon juice, vanilla, and a three-finger pinch of salt, and mix on high. Slowly pour in the remaining sugar. When the egg whites form soft peaks, remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold in the flour-sugar mixture until completely incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a bottle or other suitable stand or on the inserted glass so that the cake cools upside down for 1 hour or more before removing it from the pan.

MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM:
Combine the cream, brown sugar, vanilla, and liqueur (if using) in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the whipped cream holds its shape.

Coarsely chop the toffee. Fold all but about 2 tablespoons into the whipped cream.

Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally to make two layers. Ice the cut side of the bottom layer with the whipped cream and add the top layer. Ice the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top with the remaining toffee and the chopped chocolate.