Brown(where's the chocolate) Cake? (best, sauce, pan, leftover)

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Has anyone noticed most chocolate cakes from store bakeries do not taste like chocolate at all, they are just brown.

When our daughter was young, and she objected to pumpernickel bread for her sandwich, we told her it was "Chocolate Bread." Problem solved.

[hunterseat]

Seems like I heard that the cocoa flavor has to be "activated" by heating like a syrup to make it taste better in recipes? Does that sound remotely familiar? Maybe I need to google that. Okay I didn't find it right off but this is a great cocoa piece with great info: Cocoa Powder - Joyofbaking.com

[yellowsnow]

As I feared. Sounds like they are using cheap substitutes instead of 'real' chocolate.

Love the chocolate bread post!

[charlygal]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

As I feared. Sounds like they are using cheap substitutes instead of 'real' chocolate.

Love the chocolate bread post!

What do you mean by real chocolate? Real cocoa is as valid in a recipe as is using melted chocolate.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by reneeh63

I'm sure due to regulations they have to do it...and maybe people also do so at home....but growing up, cakes and fruit pies were always left on the counter, not refrigerated (unless cream-filled or a cream pie). Of course we didn't have desserts often so it would only be for a couple days but people seem to be much more careful now. Pie also has more flavor when not over-chilled.

Commercial recipes are tested to determine whether or not they're shelf stable. Sugar acts as a preservative, but that doesn't work for everything.

I always leave fruit pies on the counter, along with cakes with regular buttercream and fondant icing. Pumpkin pie or cake with cream cheese icing goes in the fridge.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by charlygal

What do you mean by real chocolate? Real cocoa is as valid in a recipe as is using melted chocolate.

I bet the brown cakes don't have any real chocolate in them. Cocoa or melted!

[jonesg]

Originally Posted by jay5835

What do you use to make a chocolate layer cake?

When I had my own business,
I used to use couverture from France (bon ami), its no longer sold.
Also had a contract for 5000lbs yr with Van Leer chocolate but they're no more.
Cocoa Barry Callebaut bought all the competition out.
Typical recipes I have call for 40 lbs of melted chocolate, I used to leave it in the oven overnite, the pilot light is enough to melt 4 x 10lb slabs perfectly.
I never made typical layer cake, I made genoise or biscuit type sponge but not cake.

I'm an employee today (retiring very soon),
I use boxed mix, thats what people want.
The overwhelming percentage of customers have no idea about pastry. It just never caught on.
Old time American bakers made high ratio cake, devils food is an example.
Today it doesn't make financial sense to bake cake from ingredients, the mixes are very fast, predictable and the customers like it, its crap but they like crap, they want it so we don't fight it.

The number of people I've encountered who really know pastry are few.
Can you tell the difference between a genoise sponge and a buiscuit type ?
French people can, and I mean typical French (teachers, secretaries etc) , not chefs.
That blew me away.

[charlygal]

I've studied pastry informally. I know about genoise and other foam cakes. When I need couverture chocolate, I use Guittard. It's good quality at a reasonable price.

[gypsychic]

I don't eat cake as a general rule (diabetic) but at my dance class recently someone had a birthday, and they brought in this gorgeous-looking "chocolate" cake that looked so fudgey and good I decided to have a bite....WTF - I could not taste ANY chocolate in it despite it being dark brown. In fact the whole thing just tasted like "sweet foam" to me - ugh.

I occasionally make diabetic-friendly brownies (with Xylitol) and use Hersey's cocoa and let me tell you they are very rich and chocolate-y so I don't know what these bakeries are doing.

[pekemom]

I've discovered too that some store bought pretty chocolate cakes don't taste that good.