Valerie thinks her cake is perfect

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, April 18, 2006

An occasional series in which staff members share a recipe that we turn to time and again

This is the most delicious cake you will ever eat, but not because it was created – and named – for me.

It has the perfect taste and texture for anyone who loves chocolate with a crunch, whipped cream and meringue. (Actually, you can detest meringue and still love it; the meringue doesn’t intrude.)

“Valerie’s Cake” was created decades ago by my mother, Libby Strauss, a grand baker, chef and former food columnist for the Miami Herald.

It isn’t easy to make – it has two thin layers of nearly flourless cake that need delicate handling – but it doesn’t reach the level of difficulty of, say, the highly complicated marjolaine, a French masterpiece with more layers that can take days to assemble.

My mom was, and still is, masterful at concocting recipes. She used to name her creations for family members. In fact, in a collection of her recipes that we once assembled, the first chapter is “Named Classics.”

At the time this cake was devised, I was not yet 10 and would eat about four things – two of them being chocolate and whipped cream. Naturally, I got the cake title.

My older sister liked eggplant, hence Eggplant Charlotte; my younger sister, Shrimp Andrea (which works interchangeably with scallops).

Needless to say, they hated my guts. All these years later, their resentment – only partly in mock – lingers (the quote on the title page of the Named Classics chapter says: “We got eggplant and shrimp and she got a cake?”), but who can blame them? My dad, however, was happy with his poultry, sausage and vegetable dish, Chicken Harold, and my nephew loves his Benjamin’s Favorite Pancakes, which are made with buttermilk and are, somehow, tastier than any pancakes I’ve ever tasted.

But any way you add ‘em up, my cake comes out the winner.

Use high-quality chocolate and butter for best results. The original was made in two 8-inch cake pans, but my mom now doubles the recipe and uses three 10-inch pans. It’s up to you. The cake freezes well and is delicious right out of the freezer.

Valerie’s Cake

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs, separated

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup hot water

6 to 9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (leave whole)

12 ounces heavy cream, beaten to form stiff peaks and chilled

Chocolate shavings (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In the large bowl of a standing mixer on high speed, combine the butter with 3/4 cup of the sugar and beat until fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the egg yolks, melted chocolate and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients, then the hot water, mixing well. Using a flexible spatula, spread the mixture evenly in the pans. It will seem like the layers are too thin; they aren’t. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl on high speed with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to create a meringue batter. Divide the meringue into two even parts and carefully spread over the tops of the cake batter in both pans. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the meringue in both pans.

Bake about 35 minutes. The meringue will be brown and slightly puffy. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans. When the cake layers have cooled, place one layer with meringue side up on a serving plate. Cover with nearly half of the whipped cream. Place the remaining layer, meringue side down, on top of the whipped cream. Be careful to avoid splitting the top layer (if it does, put it together and proceed, because nobody will know when it is covered with whipped cream). Top with most of the remaining whipped cream, leaving enough cream to pipe rosettes around the top edge. Decorate with a few extra chocolate chips or with chocolate shavings, if desired. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Per serving (based on 10): 466 calories, 6g protein, 39g carbohydrates, 35g fat, 157mg cholesterol, 21g saturated fat, 168mg sodium, 3g dietary fiber

Valerie Strauss covers education for The Washington Post and loves to bake and eat cake with a lot of frosting.