torta al cioccolato Valentino / chocolate Valentino cake

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino Cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Another month and another fun challenge, especially for a chocolate lover. To make the cake (recipe here) I assembled a few bars (tavolette di cioccolato) of different brands, mostly with 70% cocoa content, a couple with 60%. The melting of the chocolate is the step that requires some care and patience, but the smell helps quiet the mind. I baked my cake in a 9" springform pan. While offering a vanilla ice cream recipe each, our hosts let us free to accompany the cake with the ice cream of choice, made by us. I have been making ice cream and sorbet (gelato e sorbetto) at home for several years, so I must admit that this was a welcome requirement.

I decided to go with berries, having a substantial amount of frozen locally grown blueberries (mirtilli) in my freezer. First I made Blueberry and Buttermilk Sherbet, a recipe I have described in my recent post on homemade buttermilk (latticello fatto in casa).

I then made an ice cream, again using blueberries, drawing inspiration from a recipe in the same book, Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir: Strawberry and Mascarpone Ice Cream (gelato alle fragole e mascarpone). I could not pass up an opportunity for using my mascarpone fatto in casa (homemade mascarpone). My gelato ai mirtilli e mascarpone (Blueberry and Mascarpone Ice Cream) was excellent (and this is not just my opinion). I made a custard with two whole eggs, half a cup of sugar (100 g) and a cup of non-fat milk. Once the custard had cooled down slightly in a cold water bath, I added 250 g (8 and 3/4 oz.) of freshly-made mascarpone. I expected the mascarpone to easily blend into the egg custard, but that did not occur, so I ran the mixture through a wire mesh strainer, covered it, then chilled it. [Update: the last time I made the ice cream, my mascarpone blended well into the egg custard as I stirred it with a wooden spoon.]

I placed two cups of frozen blueberries in a pan and warmed them up until some of them started to break open, then removed the pan from the heat, cooled then chilled in the fridge. When I was ready to churn the ice cream, I used a potato masher (schiacciapatate) to mash the blueberries (as it is done in the sherbet recipe referenced above) before adding them to the custard. I then churned the mixture to obtain a mauve ice cream that complemented the chocolate cake and purple blueberry sherbet: the ensemble was a delicious trio.

A special thank you goes to our hosts for their efforts and support: it was a nice challenge. I hope you will take the time to go around and look at the gorgeous creations of my talented fellow Daring Bakers.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post: 

torta al cioccolato Valentino

or launch the torta al cioccolato Valentino  audio file [mp3].

Comments

[Lisa]

Oh, my. That cake and the ice cream and sherbet look just scrumptious. I love the denseness of the cake and the creaminess and color of the ice cream. Mauve ice cream -- that's great!

[Lisa]

And I loved hearing the pronunciations of all the dishes/ingredients.

[Bellini Valli]

I have heard from many that this was a delicious and fun challenge:D

[Paz]

I loved that you used the blueberries! Delicious!

Paz

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, Lisa. It was, indeed, a rather decadent combination.

It was, Valli.

Thanks, Paz. Frozen blueberries are great.

[Bumblebutton]

Gosh, you certainly have a well-stocked pantry! Nicely done--sure wish I could taste that ice cream!

[Y]

Looove the sound of that ice cream! What a treat, paired with the cake! :)

[Simona]

Thanks, Bumblebutton. It is indeed quite good.

Hi Y. I was quite happy with the result, I must admit.

[welded wire mesh]

I wish I was there to sample your baked torta...