Testing chocolate cakes

I'm a little late with my normal Sunday post.  Here it is on Tuesday already, and I'm just now getting around to it.

This upcoming weekend we have Swedish oatmeal cookies for you to order to satisfy your sugar cravings, and for those who want something a little different, you can order whipped balsamic vinaigrette dip.  This dip is great for raw vegetables, sandwich spread, and other similar things.  

For next weekend, we have Swedish visiting cakes and sweet spiced roasted pecans offered.  

This past weekend, I tested chocolate cakes.  I've been wanting to put a chocolate snack cake on the menu, and I have multiple excellent recipes.  So I made a batch of three different cakes.  To be able to make all three of these and sample them side-by-side on the same day is great.  

I have one that I like to use as a component of more complex desserts such as the palet d'or which is on the menu.  I usually make it as a thin sheet cake for use in desserts which have layers of cake and mousse, etc.  However, it also makes a great traditional thicker cake all by itself.  Then I also made one that includes mayonnaise as one of the ingredients.  It produces a wonderfully moist cake with a great texture.  The third one was a dense moist cake with a lot of chocolate.

When they were all baked and sat there side-by-side on the platter, my wife and I took small bites of each.  The first cake was excellent, but not as sweet as the other two and had a very clean pure chocolate taste.  The fact that it's a little less sweet than the others is part of why I use it is as a component in other desserts. The second was also excellent, sweeter than the first, with a rich flavor.  The third cake was the best of all for snack-cake eating.  It was rich and very chocolaty, sweet, and very moist.  

Then we put them all in the fridge and let them sit for a day and tasted again.  The third was still the winner.  We also put samples of each cake in the freezer, let them sit for a few days, thawed them and ate them.  The third cake was still the winner.  All three were fantastic, but the third turns out to be the best one for eating as a snack cake, meaning in small portions and with no frosting.  

I love doing comparisons like this.  It is interesting to see the subtle differences in three different cakes.  And in the end, a final selection was made which will soon be on the menu.  This cake will be offered in an unfrosted snack version and also in a frosted and filled version.

What better way to spend a day than by making and eating good food, whether it's cake or chicken or anything else that is craved.  Have a great day, everyone!