Miette is truly the most charming pastry shop in San Francisco. Their pastries are so cutely packaged and looks so precious that I want to buy and eat everything. Even the cookbook has scallop-edged pages. My first Miette recipe attempt is the Old-Fashioned Cake, which is a double chocolate cake with boiled icing. The photo of the cake in the book is simply adorable, but my attempt was not a success. The cake itself was really delicious and moist though! At a gathering, I cut up pieces of what was left of my cake to serve in a clear cup, topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Everyone raved about it–phew!

Recipe notes: This is probably one of the most (if not the most) involved chocolate cake recipes I have ever made. The recipe requires pushing lumps in the batter through a mesh sieve, which I found to be tedious. (There must be a better way.) Also, as is the case with any chocolate dessert, it’s only as good as the chocolate used–here, I used Scharffen Berger cocoa and Guittard chocolate. The amount of sugar is important, since it makes the cake so moist.

Verdict: would make again–but I would modify the mixing process (though I agree with the cookbook that it’s important to not overmix the batter).

Miette’s Double Chocolate Cake:
(makes 2-6×3 cakes)

1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (the book suggests Scharffen Berger)
1-1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. kosher salt
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-1/4 cups sugar

– Butter two 6×3 cake pans and dust with cocoa powder (I clearly did not do this well–please learn from my mistake)
– Preheat the oven to 350F.
– In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
– In a separate bowl, pour the hot water over coarsely chopped chocolate, and whisk until chocolate is melted. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
– In another small bowl, whisk together vanilla with the buttermilk.
– Using the bowl for a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs on high until they get foamy. Lower the speed to low and pour in the oil and whisk for about 30 seconds to combine. Increase the speed to medium for about another 30 seconds.
– Reduce the mixing speed again to low, and pour in the chocolate mixture.
– Pour in the buttermilk mixture next, then the sugar and continue to whisk to combine (about another 2 minutes).
– Stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Fold flour mixture in by hand using a rubber spatula until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.
– Pour batter through a mesh sieve into a separate mixing bowl, pushing the lumps through with the rubber spatula. According to the book, this process is to avoid overmixing the batter.
– Pour the batter into cake pans and bake for about 45 minutes or until a tester inserted to the center comes out clean.
– Cool cakes in the pan for about 20 minutes on a wire rack, then remove cakes on to the rack to cool completely (you can loosen the cake by using a butter knife to run along the edges, then invert pan on to the rack).
– When cooled completely, you can wrap the cake in plastic wrap to refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

(Adapted from Miette by Meg Ray with Leslie Jonath)