Short cakes are not shortcakes, like I used to eat as a child, dripping with mashed strawberries and whipped cream. No, I’m talking about the new craze to serve a small portion of a short, rich cake after a fine, gourmet dinner. Of course, I would serve it with a steaming cup of delicious Boquete coffee!
I just baked a short chocolate cake in a nine-inch round cake pan and frosted it with peanut butter icing. It was easy to make, and everyone really loved the familiar flavors.
Over the last year and especially lately, short cakes are all the rage around Boquete, showing up on dessert menus and at fancy dinner parties. When serving a short cake, make the portions small, they are so tasty and rich, “smaller is better”.
Short cakes don’t need to be served with any garnish, but with a topping of fresh fruits, a sprinkling of confectioners sugar, whole nuts, or a dollop of whipped cream, they will be remembered forever!
This recipe is one of my favorite short cakes, “Date Walnut Cake”. I found it many years ago in Gourmet Magazine and adapted it slightly. It’s fairly easy to make for a large dinner party, and I like serving it with real whipped cream.
Host Chef Renny Kranich taught me to whip cream with my big whisk in a stainless steel bowl sitting in ice water. No sugar is needed when you serve fresh, whipped cream atop your short cake.
Date Walnut Cake
1/4 cup boiling-hot water
1 1/2 cups pitted dates (1/2 lb), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups walnuts (5 oz), toasted and cooled
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup Panko or fine bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously grease a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan with softened butter or vegetable oil and dust with bread crumbs, knocking out excess. Pour hot water over dates in a large bowl and let stand 15 minutes to soften. Pulse walnuts in a food processor until chopped, then add 1/4 cup sugar and pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add Panko, zest, cardamom, and salt and pulse until combined. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt in a bowl using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a slow stream, beating until whites hold stiff glossy peaks.
Whisk yolks into date mixture. Fold one third of yolk mixture into whites, then fold in remaining yolk mixture gently but thoroughly. Fold all of nut mixture into batter. Spoon batter into cake pan and bake until golden and springy to the touch and cake just begins to pull away from side of pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then invert onto rack and cool completely.
“Peach Buckle” is another of my favorite short cakes. It’s quick to make and I top it with peaches and cinnamon crunch before it’s baked. No need for anything else! You’ll find the recipe for “Peach Buckle” in the Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook, which is a gift to all ticket-holders at the Cookbook Party #2 – SALE and SWAP coming up on Friday, August 26, beginning at 3:00pm. And, you may be able to taste my “Peach Buckle” at the party.
Get more information by clicking “Register Now” on the calendar at the right above. Chef Renny will prepare her famous “Pico de Gallo”, Chef Juan will cook up some “Bunuelos”, Chef Betty will serve up her “Boquete Tamales”, and Chef Dede will be grilling watermelon at the party, just to name a few.
Yolanda will be mixing “Pisco Sours”, Betty will bring her rich and delicious “Espresso Cheesecake”, David will “Pickle Eggs”, Anita will bake her very tasty “Olive Cheese Balls”, and many other celebrity chefs featured in the cookbook will be there presenting dishes to the party-goers. Live music, free cookbooks, Cookbook Sale and Swap, and lots of other fun activities will be available, so come and party with us!
Cora