Stegosaurus Cake
In its original form, it mimics the look of a venison saddle roast larded (with strips of fat woven through it) to make the lean meat juicier. Just more chocolatey.
I haven’t seen larding in any cookbooks lately, except my old ones. The almonds on this cake were meant to imitate the appearance of a larded loin roast, with strips of pork back fat sticking out along the edges. My kids compared the resulting appearance to a stegosaurus when they were little, and since “Venison Saddle Roast Cake” is a pretty awkward translation, “Stegosaurus Cake” works for me. :D
I’ve added a pattern on top which looks less like dinosaurs than, maybe, European gingerbread.
You’ll need:
3/8 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for the cake and 1 cup for the chocolate glaze
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup ground almonds or hazelnuts
1/4 cup raw almonds for the decorations
1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 drop almond flavoring, 1 tablespoon rum, 1/2 pinch ground cloves
About 1/2-3/4 cup blend cream
Combine the margarine, sugar, eggs, vanilla, almond flavor, rum and cloves in a mixing bowl. Beat until well blended and airy.
Combine the flour, nuts and baking powder in a measuring cup and stir together to blend and remove any lumps. Pour over top of mixture in your mixing bowl.
Put 1/2 cup chocolate chips in microwaveable glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir well with a fork. If some chips are not melted, microwave 30 seconds and stir again. This usually melts them all but if not, just let them stand for a couple of minutes and then stir again. Microwaving too long will quickly burn the chocolate.
Add the melted chocolate onto the dough and mix everything thoroughly, then beat on high until it becomes slightly fluffy and is uniformly light brown.
Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and put in a preheated oven at 315 degrees F.
Watch closely, but open the oven door only briefly and close it gently when checking, to avoid collapsing your cake as it rises. When it begins to feel firm on top (reach in very carefully with a suitable utensil to feel the consistency of the cake), turn the heat down to 295 degrees F and bake slowly until it tests done with a skewer (insert in center of cake, pull out slowly. If there is wet dough sticking to it, bake longer.) Mine usually takes about one hour in a convection oven, but times can vary with the oven.
When done, allow the cake to cool fully before unmolding it from the pan. Insert a plastic spatula at one end of the pan and separate the cake from the pan. Gently wiggle back and forth to push the cake away from the pan, loosening the bottom. Repeat at the other end of the cake and slide the spatula down the sides. Invert the pan over a plate. Your cake should slip out.
Gently brush off loose crumbs so that they don’t prevent the glaze from adhering.
Place 1 cup chocolate chips in your microwaveable bowl. Pour in blend cream until the chocolate chips are mostly, but not entirely covered.
Microwave for 2 minutes; stir well to blend as evenly as possible. The chocolate will be a bit stringy at this point and not yet mixing well with the cream.
Microwave 30 seconds. Mix again. After some careful blending with a fork, you should see the mixture starting to become even and shiny.
After another 30 seconds in the microwave, let it stand for 2-3 minutes and then gently stir until the glaze is smooth and glossy.
Apply the glaze to the cake using a rubber spatula.
Use blanched almonds to decorate your cake as desired while the glaze is still fresh and soft.
Let the cake rest overnight to moisten through. This is very good with coffee or cocoa topped with whipped cream.
Blanching almonds
To blanch almonds, put the 1/4 cup of raw almonds in a bowl and pour on boiling water to cover.
Let stand until the water is lukewarm. The almonds will have become wrinkly on the outside and the skins mostly loose.
Rub the almonds between your fingertips to slip off the skins.
Cut the almonds into halves or quarters very carefully if desired, or use them whole, which I find easier and less tricky to do. To decorate the cake, start your design with something simple at the center, and add around it as you please.
……….Since we eat turkey year-round, we kept our family Christmas tradition of open-faced sandwiches alive into the next generations. It’s simple - a variety of open sandwiches spread with butter or mayonnaise (or mustard), topped with various meats, cheeses and seafoods, and decorated with bits of sliced pickles, anchovies, sweet red peppers, onion rings, capers, olives or what have you. Using different breads adds interest. Making them involves everyone who is going to eat them, and dishes are few. Served with mulled cider or your favorite punch, they are fun and festive - and a nice change for a holiday occasion.