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♪♪
(Alton Brown, reading) "DEAR MR. BROWN, MY AUNT GERTRUDE DIED LAST WEEK,
"TAKING THE SECRET TO HER FAMOUS YELLOW CAKE WITH HER.
"I'VE ENCLOSED THE LAST KNOWN SAMPLE OF THIS CAKE,
"WHICH I MANAGED TO WRESTLE FROM MY SON, OWEN.
"WE HAVE THE INGREDIENT LIST, BUT SINCE SHE NEVER WROTE ANYTHING DOWN,
"WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH THEM.
"WE HOPE THAT YOU CAN DECIPHER THIS MYSTERY
"AND GIVE US BACK OUR CAKE."
SIGNED... BLAH BLAH BLAH.
GHOULS!
♪♪
GHOULISH THOUGH IT MAY BE,
THE CHALLENGE WOULD BE... STIMULATING,
AND THE RESULTING CAKE MIGHT JUST BE "GOOD EATS."
♪♪
OHH... WHEW.
SUBJECT IS A WEDGE OF CHOCOLATE-FROSTED CAKE,
CUT RADIALLY FROM WHAT APPEARS TO BE
A 9-INCH BY...
I'D SAY, 1 1/2-INCH ROUND.
REMOVAL OF THE FROSTING LAYER
REVEALS A TENDER, YELLOW CAKE...
TIGHT TEXTURE AND RELATIVELY TENDER,
CONSIDERING THAT IT HAS SPENT ABOUT SEVEN TO EIGHT DAYS
IN A POLYPROPYLENE BAG.
SUBJECT'S FLAVOR IS...
SWEET, BUT NOT CLOYINGLY SO, AND THERE IS A DISTINCT BUTTERINESS.
SUBSTANTIAL TISSUE DAMAGE SUGGESTS THE FEEDING
(raising voice) OF AN ADOLESCENT HUMAN... THIS WAS NO BOATING ACCIDENT!
SORRY.
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS WHAT BAKERS CALL A BUTTER CAKE, OKAY?
IT'S A DIRECT DESCENDENT OF A POUND CAKE,
A VERY, VERY ANCIENT CAKE MADE FROM A POUND OF FLOUR, A POUND OF SUGAR,
A POUND OF BUTTER, AND A POUND OF EGGS.
TRUE TO ITS MEDIEVAL ROOTS, THAT KIND OF CAKE
IS VERY EFFECTIVE, BUT A LITTLE ON THE CRUDE SIDE.
THROUGH THE CENTURIES, COOKS LIKE GERTRUDE FOUND
THAT THEY COULD MAKE A MORE TENDER,
MORE SOPHISTICATED, MORE FLAVORFUL CAKE
BY REPLACING SOME OF THE EGGS AND SOME OF THE BUTTER WITH MILK.
TOSS IN A LITTLE CHEMICAL LEAVENING AND SOME VANILLA EXTRACT,
AND YOU'VE GOT GERTRUDE'S SHOPPING LIST.
OF COURSE, IF WE ARE TO TRULY GRASP HER GENIUS,
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLES
THAT EACH OF THESE INGREDIENTS PLAYS.
EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO A CAKE EITHER TOUGHENS,
TENDERIZES, MOISTENS, DRIES, OR FLAVORS IT.
TOUGHENERS, INCLUDING FLOUR AND EGGS,
CONTAIN PROTEIN, STARCH, OR BOTH,
AND GIVE A CAKE ITS STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.
TENDERIZERS, LIKE SHORTENING, BUTTER, AND THE COCOA BUTTER
IN BOTH CHOCOLATE AND COCOA POWDER
TENDERIZE CAKES BY COATING FLOUR PARTICLES.
SUGAR TENDERIZES BY HOLDING ONTO WATER,
AND CHEMICAL LEAVENINGS TEND TO RISE
BY CHANGING THE pH OF THE BATTER
AND BY INCREASING THE SIZE OF THE BUBBLES IN THE BATTER.
MOISTENERS INCLUDE WATER, MILK, SYRUPS, AND EGGS --
QUITE THE MULTITASKERS, THOSE EGGS.
DRIERS INCLUDE POWDERED MILK, FLOURS, COCOA POWDER,
AND OTHER STARCHES.
ALTHOUGH INGREDIENTS SUCH AS EXTRACTS, SALT,
CITRUS ZESTS, SPICES, AND LIQUEURS BRING A LOT OF FLAVOR TO THE PARTY,
THEY PLAY LITTLE OR NO ROLE IN THE STRUCTURAL EQUATION OF THE CAKE.
KEEPING ALL OF THESE PLAYERS IN BALANCE
IS WHAT CAKE-BAKING IS ALL ABOUT.
MOST YELLOW-CAKE RECIPES CALL FOR ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR.
THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.
(in singsong voice) I'M BETTING AUNT GERTRUDE USED CAKE FLOUR.
WELL, IT SEEMS THAT AUNT GERTRUDE'S FAMILY
DECIDED TO COVER THEIR BETS.
SO WHAT'S WITH CAKE FLOUR?
IN THE FIRST PLACE, CAKE FLOUR'S MADE FROM SOFT WINTER WHEAT,
AND THIS MEANS 8 GRAMS OF PROTEIN PER CUP
INSTEAD OF 10 TO 12 GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN ALL-PURPOSE.
LESS PROTEIN, LESS GLUTEN...
ABSOLUTELY!
WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE?
MORE STARCH TO SWELL AND STABILIZE THE CAKE,
PLUS, THIS IS FINELY GROUND,
AND THIS IS GONNA MAKE IT BLEND EASIER
AND GOING TO GIVE YOU A MUCH FINER TEXTURE.
WELL, THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME, SHIRLEY, GOTTA GET...
SO?
THAT MAKES IT ACIDIC, WHICH MAKES THE PROTEINS SET FASTER --
AGAIN, A SMOOTHER, FINER TEXTURE,
AND CHLORINATION DOES SOMETHING TO THE SURFACE OF THE STARCH
THAT MAKES IT SOAK IN LIQUID FASTER
AND IT ALSO MAKES THE FAT STICK TO IT,
AND THE FAT'S WHERE THE AIR BUBBLES ARE.
SURE, WHY?
BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, YOU'VE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE.
WE CAN TELL JUST BY READING AUNT GERTRUDE'S RECIPE
THAT SHE WAS A VERY SERIOUS BAKER.
NOT ONLY DID SHE WEIGH ALL OF HER INGREDIENTS --
SHE WEIGHED THEM METRICALLY.
AND SINCE THERE ARE ABOUT 30 GRAMS TO AN OUNCE,
THAT MEANS GREATER PRECISION.
AND OF COURSE, WHEN YOU SAY HELLO TO METRIC,
YOU SAY SAYONARA TO FRACTIONS, WHICH IS A GOOD THING FOR ME,
BECAUSE AS MY 5th-GRADE MATH TEACHER, MR. HAMMOND, COULD TELL YOU...
THAT ALTON BROWN CAN'T TELL A COMMON DENOMINATOR
FROM A HOLE IN THE GROUND.
JUST THE FIRST IN A LONG LINE OF BROKEN MATH TEACHERS
I'VE LEFT IN MY WAKE.
YOU KNOW, JUST ABOUT EVERY DIGITAL SCALE ON THE MARKET TODAY
SWITCHES EASILY BETWEEN METRIC AND STANDARD, OR AVOIRDUPOIS, MEASUREMENTS,
SO THERE'S NO REASON TO CLING TO THE PAST.
NOW AUNT GERTRUDE CALLS FOR 300 GRAMS OF SUGAR,
350 GRAMS OF FLOUR, 165 GRAMS OF BUTTER,
130 GRAMS OF EGG YOLKS, 14 GRAMS OF BAKING POWDER,
AND 160 GRAMS OF MILK...
OH, AND 1 TEASPOON OF VANILLA EXTRACT.
SINCE IT'S SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT, I THINK IT'S OKAY
TO GO AHEAD AND USE VOLUME FOR THAT.
NOW NOTICE THAT THE WEIGHT OF THE SUGAR AND FLOUR ARE THE SAME,
AND NOTICE THAT THE FAT WEIGHS, MORE OR LESS, THE SAME AS THE EGGS,
KEEPING IN MIND, OF COURSE, THAT BUTTER IS 20 PERCENT WATER.
SO THIS IS A VERY BALANCED FORMULA FOR A STANDARD BUTTER CAKE.
THE REASON THIS RECIPE DOESN'T WORRY ITS PRETTY LITTLE HEAD OVER PROCEDURAL ISSUES
IS THAT AUNT GERTRUDE KNEW THAT BUTTER CAKES
ARE ALMOST ALWAYS ASSEMBLED VIA THE CREAMING METHOD.
♪♪
♪♪
STEP ONE -- HAVE ALL INGREDIENTS AT COOL ROOM TEMPERATURE.
THAT'S 65 TO 70 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR BUTTER,
WHICH NEEDS TO BE PLASTIC, BUT NOT TO THE POINT OF MELTING.
OF COURSE, YOU COULD DO WHAT I DO,
AND SKIP THE BUTTER ALTOGETHER AND GO TO BUTTER-FLAVORED SHORTENING.
I TRADE THEM OUT ALL THE TIME
BECAUSE SHORTENING DOESN'T MELT AT MIXING TEMPERATURES,
AND IT'S SOFT ENOUGH TO WORK WITH
STRAIGHT FROM THE CONTAINER.
(lowering voice) AND IN BAKED GOODS, AT LEAST, I COULD SWEAR
IT TASTES MORE LIKE BUTTER THAN BUTTER, WHICH IS KIND OF CREEPY,
(in normal voice) BUT GOOD.
THE TRICK TO SWITCHING THESE OUT IS THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER
THAT BUTTER IS ABOUT 20 PERCENT WATER,
WHEREAS THE SHORTENING IS ALL FAT ALL THE TIME.
SO WE HAVE TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF BUTTER BY 20 PERCENT
TO GET THE AMOUNT OF SHORTENING.
THAT MEANS... 140 GRAMS OF SHORTENING.
WE HAVE TO INCREASE THE LIQUID IN THE RECIPE BY 20 PERCENT,
SO THAT GETS US UP TO 180 GRAMS OF MILK...
OKAY, GOT THAT.
ALL RIGHT, SHORTENING GOES INTO THE WORK BOWL,
AND WE MIX AT LOW SPEED FOR ABOUT 1 MINUTE,
OR JUST UNTIL IT'S SOFT.
NOW THE SUGAR, AND -- JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE --
A PINCH OF KOSHER SALT.
BUMP THE MIXER UP TO MEDIUM,
AND LEAVE IT ALONE FOR AT LEAST 4 MINUTES.
THIS IS, IN MY OPINION, THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP
IN CAKE-MAKING, BECAUSE IT IS HERE THAT BUBBLES ARE BORN.
HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?
WELL, CONSIDER THESE SUGAR CRYSTALS.
OW!
YEAH, JAGGED LITTLE PILLS, NO?
IMAGINE A FEW MILLION OF THOSE PERFORATING THAT SHORTENING RIGHT NOW.
LET'S LISTEN.
(in falsetto voice) OH NO, CUT THAT OUT, STOP! OH, THAT HURTS!
GET THAT STUFF OUT OF ME -- I CAN'T...
OH STOP, I'M DYIN'...
(clearing throat) AHEM... AS THE MIXER BEATS ON,
ALL THOSE LITTLE HOLES ARE GONNA BECOME BUBBLES,
AND THOSE BUBBLES ARE WHAT IS GONNA CREATE
THE TEXTURE OF THE CAKE LATER ON.
YES, SURE, BAKING POWDER IS GOING TO CREATE GAS, OKAY?
IT CONTAINS AN ALKALINE AND ACID, AND WHEN IT GETS WET...
WELL, COME ON.
THERE, SEE?
NOW THAT'S A LOT OF GAS,
AND IT'LL CREATE EVEN MORE WHEN IT GETS HOT.
ALL THAT GAS IS FINE AND GOOD,
BUT UNLESS WE'VE GOT SOME SEED BUBBLES IN PLACE,
THE TEXTURE THEY'LL CREATE LOOKS KIND OF LIKE...
AND THIS ISN'T EXACTLY WHAT I HAD IN MIND,
NOT FOR CAKE, AT LEAST.
BY CAREFULLY CREAMING FIRST, WE GET A TEXTURE
THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS.
AHHH.
AFTER A FEW MINUTES ON HIGH,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MIXTURE HAS FLUFFED UP AND TURNED LIGHT,
ALMOST WHITE.
THAT'S BECAUSE THE AIR BUBBLES CHANGE THE WAY
LIGHT REFLECTS OFF THE SURFACE OF THE SHORTENING.
YOU NOTICE, TOO, THE EXTRA VOLUME.
WE'RE READY FOR THE EGG YOLKS NOW.
BESIDES CONTRIBUTING COLOR AND FAT --
AND PROTEIN, AND MOISTURE --
YOLKS ALSO PROVIDE NATURAL EMULSIFIERS,
WHICH WE NEED, BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO ADD
A LOT OF WATER-BASED LIQUID TO A LOT OF FAT,
AND THEY DO NOT GET ALONG.
OF COURSE, EGG YOLKS CONTAIN A GOOD BIT OF WATER, TOO,
SO WE DON'T WANT TO DUMP THEM ALL IN THERE AT ONE TIME.
WE MIGHT OVERLOAD THE BUTTER MIXTURE,
AND THEN AN EMULSION WOULD JUST NEVER COME TOGETHER.
SO WE ARE GOING TO DEPOSIT OUR OVARIAN OFFERINGS VERY SLOWLY.
DO YOU HAVE TO USE A STAND MIXER FOR THIS?
WELL, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND, THE WELL-TO-DO --
WHO DID MOST OF THE CAKE-BAKING AND EATING BACK IN THOSE TIMES --
USED OLD-FASHIONED HAND MIXERS.
FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-THREE,
FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR, FOUR HUNDRED NINE-FIVE,
FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-SIX...
(in gruff voice) AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THAT, CLEAN THE FIREPLACE, CINDERELLY!
OF COURSE, IF YOU'RE SHORT ON INDENTURED SERVANTS,
YOU CAN USE AN ELECTRIC HAND MIXER, BUT IT'LL TAKE TWICE AS LONG,
SO IF YOU'VE GOT A STAND MIXER, USE IT.
NOW AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE CREAMED TOGETHER
THE SHORTENING, SUGAR, AND SALT,
AND WE'VE INTEGRATED THE EGG YOLKS.
SO IT'S TIME TO ALTERNATELY ADD THE DRY AND WET INGREDIENTS,
AND WE'VE COMBINED THE MILK WITH THE VANILLA,
AND SIFTED TOGETHER
THE FLOUR AND THE BAKING POWDER.
THE AIR IN BETWEEN THE GRANULES
IS GOING TO HELP WORK THIS INTO THE BATTER FASTER,
SO WE'RE GONNA START BY SLOWLY ADDING HALF OF THE DRY GOODS.
NOW BY STARTING WITH THE DRY,
WE GET TO COVER THE FLOUR PARTICLES WITH FAT,
AND THAT IS GONNA HELP TO CREATE A TENDER CAKE,
BECAUSE IF THERE IS FAT ALL OVER THE FLOUR,
THEN WATER CAN'T GET TO THE FLOUR
AND THERE WON'T BE ANY GLUTEN, RIGHT?
OF COURSE, IF WE ADDED THIS ALL AT ONCE,
WE'D CREATE A BIG, DRY, LUMPY MESS
THAT MIGHT NOT SMOOTH OUT LATER.
OKAY NOW, HALF THE LIQUID. WHY HALF?
BECAUSE IF WE ADDED IT ALL, THERE WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH DRY MATTER TO SOAK IT UP,
AND OUR EMULSION WOULD BE IN JEOPARDY.
THERE. NOW THE REST OF THE DRY.
NICE AND SLOW...
YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO SCRAPE DOWN THE SIDES OF THE BOWL
EVERY NOW AND THEN, AND THAT IS OKAY...
THERE.
NOW THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE LIQUID.
THERE.
HEY, DID YOU TURN THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES
AND POSITION A RACK IN THE TOP THIRD OF THE BOX, HM?
EXCELLENT.
NOW BESIDES THE ACTUAL OVEN TEMPERATURE,
NOTHING AFFECTS THE WAY HEAT MOVES INTO THE BATTER
MORE THAN THE PAN THE BATTER COOKS IN.
♪♪
♪♪
THE FASTER YOU CAN GET HEAT INTO A CAKE,
THE SOONER ITS STRUCTURE WILL SET
AND THE FINER ITS TEXTURE WILL BE.
BUT AS ANYONE WHO HAS EVER WORN A BLACK ALUMINUM SUIT
OR DRIVEN A BLACK CAR WILL TELL YOU,
DARK METAL ABSORBS HEAT VERY QUICKLY.
BAKE IN DARK PANS, AND THE HEAT WILL MOVE
INTO THE SIDES AND BOTTOM OF THE CAKE TOO FAST,
SETTING THE EDGE PREMATURELY AND PRODUCING A CAKE LIKE THIS.
♪♪
SHINY STAINLESS STEEL IS PRETTY,
BUT IT'S A LOUSY CONDUCTOR.
ALL THAT SHINE REFLECTS RADIANT HEAT AND SLOWS COOKING,
WHICH ALLOWS GAS BUBBLES TO EITHER MERGE OR ESCAPE,
PRODUCING A CAKE LIKE THIS.
♪♪
I LIKE HEAVY, ROLLED ALUMINUM PANS
WITH A DULL MATTE FINISH.
ALUMINUM IS AN EXCELLENT CONDUCTOR,
AND THE UNDERSTATED FINISH ALLOWS HEAT TO MOVE IN
AT JUST THE RIGHT RATE, CREATING A PERFECT CAKE.
♪♪
JANE, GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THING.
NOW IF WE WISH TO BAKE TWO CAKES OF EQUAL SIZE,
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE TWO PANS WITH EQUAL AMOUNTS
OF BATTER IN THEM, RIGHT?
AND THE BEST WAY TO ENSURE THAT WE DO THAT
IS TO WEIGH THE BATTER, RIGHT?
SO WE GO STRAIGHT ONTO THE SCALE,
AND WE'VE GOT... 1,870 GRAMS.
OKAY, 1,870 GRAMS...
MINUS THE WEIGHT OF THE BOWL,
WHICH I WEIGHED BEFOREHAND,
SO I KNOW THAT IT WEIGHS 770 GRAMS.
THAT LEAVES US WITH 1,100 GRAMS EVEN.
DIVIDE THAT BY THE NUMBER OF PANS, WHICH IS TWO,
AND IDEALLY, WE'D HAVE 550 GRAMS OF BATTER IN EACH PAN.
NOW AS FAR AS THE PANS GO, WE WANT A GOOD BIT OF LUBRICATION.
RUB 'EM DOWN WITH SHORTENING, AND THEN DUST THEM WITH FLOUR.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE BUTTER FOR THIS -- WHY?
THAT'S RIGHT, BUTTER CONTAINS 20 PERCENT WATER.
THAT WATER'S JUST GONNA POOL IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN
AND THEN IT'S GONNA TURN TO STEAM,
AND THAT'S GONNA KEEP THE BOTTOM OF THE CAKE FROM BROWNING.
THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING.
SO FOR EVEN DIVISION, WE WILL ZERO OUT
THE WEIGHT OF THE CAKE PANS --
THERE WE GO --
AND SHOOT FOR AS CLOSE TO 550 AS WE CAN GET.
NOW DEPENDING ON YOUR SCALE AND HOW QUICKLY IT RESPONDS,
YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO KIND OF SLOWLY HERE...
TAKE YOUR TIME TO GET AS CLOSE TO THAT 550 AS POSSIBLE.
THERE WE GO.
YEAH, 535... THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ME.
NOW WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN GET ALL OF THIS INTO THE NEXT PAN,
AND THAT SHOULD BE ABOUT RIGHT.
THERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S EVEN GOING TO BE A LITTLE LEFT OVER
FOR ME TO EAT LATER!
NOW AT THIS POINT, JUST GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT OF A JIGGLE.
IF YOU'RE WORKING WITH A VERY, VERY THICK BATTER,
YOU MIGHT NEED TO SMOOTH IT WITH A SPATULA,
BUT THIS LOOKS GOOD -- STRAIGHT TO THE OVEN.
MAKE SURE THERE ARE THREE INCHES OF OPEN SPACE BETWEEN THE PANS,
AND BETWEEN THE PANS AND THE OVEN WALLS.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM, PUT ONE ON THE TOP RACK
AND ONE JUST BELOW, OKAY?
EVEN HEAT DISTRIBUTION IS CRUCIAL
TO EVEN RISING AND BROWNING.
NOW SET YOUR TIMER FOR 12 MINUTES,
AND WHEN THAT TIME IS UP, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR,
BUT TURN ON THE LIGHT AND TAKE A LOOK.
IF YOU'VE GOT ANY UNEVEN BROWNING,
YOU CAN ALWAYS ROTATE THE CAKES FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER
OR FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.
HMMM... TIME TO TEST.
CLEAN AS A WHISTLE.
IT'S EXTRACTION TIME.
NOW WE NEED TO GET THESE TURNED OUT ONTO COOLING RACKS
PRETTY DARN SOON.
OTHERWISE, THE STEAM INSIDE THE PANS IS GONNA CONDENSE,
AND THAT IS GOING TO PRODUCE SOGGY BOTTOMS,
AND HEY, NOBODY LIKES A SOGGY BOTTOM, RIGHT?
RIGHT NOW, THE PROTEIN AND STARCH STRUCTURES
OF THESE CAKES ARE STILL VERY FRAGILE,
SO I'M GONNA WAIT ABOUT 10 TO 15 MINUTES
BEFORE I ATTEMPT DE-PANNING.
OH, YOU NOTICE THAT THE COOLING RACKS ARE UPSIDE-DOWN.
CURIOUS.
♪♪
♪♪
NOW WE'LL LET THESE CAKES COOL FOR ABOUT AN HOUR,
AND THEY WILL BE READY TO CONSUME.
OF COURSE, YOU COULD FROST THEM,
EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T REALLY NEED IT -- THEY'RE PLENTY MOIST.
BUT IF YOU DO, WELL... HECK, THAT'S ANOTHER SHOW.
WHAT? I SAID FROSTING'S ANOTHER SHOW.
WELL...
OKAY, ONE -- ONE FROSTING, BUT THEN THAT'S IT!
WHENEVER I WANT TO FROST A CAKE
WITHOUT OVERWHELMING ITS MORE SUBTLE SENSIBILITIES,
I LOOK NOT TO FROSTING BUT TO WHIPPED CREAM.
NOW TO WHIP WHIPPING CREAM, YOU'VE GOT TO CREATE BUBBLES, RIGHT?
AND THAT MEANS KEEPING THE FATS INSIDE AS PLASTIC AS POSSIBLE,
SO CHILLING YOUR MIXER PARTS IS CRUCIAL.
MEANWHILE, WE'LL SCROUNGE FOR FLAVOR.
AHH...
"GOOD EATS" COCOA MIX -- PERFECT.
HMMM...
POWDERED GELATIN -- THIS WILL COME IN HANDY.
PLACE 2 TABLESPOONS OF WATER IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN.
OKAY, THAT'S ACTUALLY A METAL MEASURING CUP, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
IT'S GOTTA BE COLD WATER.
THEN SPRINKLE IN 1 TEASPOON OF THE POWDERED GELATIN,
AND WAIT 5 MINUTES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE GELATIN HAS ABSORBED THE WATER,
OR BLOOMED , AND NOW WE CAN MELT IT.
HEAT, PLEASE.
OOOH, LOW HEAT, LOW HEAT, LOW HEAT... GOOD.
JUST SET THAT OVER A LOW HEAT, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY,
UNTIL IT MELTS.
PUT YOUR CHILLED BOWL INTO PLACE
AND ADD 2 CUPS OF WHIPPING CREAM...
1/2 CUP OF THE COCOA MIX...
A WEE SHOT OF VANILLA EXTRACT...
AND TURN THE MIXER ON LOW.
LET THAT JUST GET GOING,
AND THEN SLOWLY DRIZZLE IN THE GELATIN MIXTURE.
TURN UP THE SPEED...
AND THEN WE CAN JUST TURN THIS ON HIGH
UNTIL THE MIXTURE LOOKS LIKE...
ABOUT LIKE THIS.
MMM.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(Alton) "DEAR GERTRUDE'S NIECE,
"I BELIEVE OUR EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN A SUCCESS.
"PLEASE FIND ENCLOSED THE AMENDED RECIPE,
"AS WELL AS THE SAMPLE CAKE."
MMM.
MMM-MM.
"DUE TO INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, WE ARE UNABLE TO SHIP THE SAMPLE CAKE,
"BUT I ASSURE IT WAS, AND IS, GOOD EATS."
Captioned by Scripps Networks, Inc.