Prinzregent Torte

FILLING
2 c Chocolate pudding
-(extra strong)
7 oz Butter, unsalted
1 2/3 c Powdered 10X sugar

FROSTING
1 oz Cocoa powder, bitter
1 oz Butter (sweet), melted
3 tb Water, boiling
-(up to 4 T)

In an electric mixer, whip the salted butter. Add sugar, vanilla and
eggs. Beat smooth. Mix flour with cornstarch and baking powder and
sift a second time (you sift it once before you measured it, right?).
Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly.

Make 8 layers, each less than about 1/4 inch thick, by baking each in
the bottom of an 8-inch springform layer pan. Do this by cutting a
round of baker’s parchment that exactly fits the bottom of the layer
pan, then using a spatula to spread the dough evenly over the
parchment. Make sure that it doesn’t get too thin at the edges. Bake
each layer for 7 minutes in a preheated 400 degree F. oven. Stack
the layers separated by waxed paper.

MAKE THE PUDDING: Use more chocolate in the pudding than you would
normally use. If you want to be lazy and use pudding from a mix, then
add about a tablespoon of top-quality cocoa to the pudding mix. Stir
the pudding while it cools so that it does not congeal. Beat the
unsalted butter until it is very smooth. When the butter and pudding
are about the same temperature, add the pudding to the butter to get
an even, smooth buttercream.

Use the pudding/butter mixture as mortar, and layer the cake together,
spreading the pudding/butter evenly between the layers. Make sure the
layers are even and parallel; if they are not, or if one is not
straight, you can mend things with a little extra pudding here and
there. Do not put pudding on top of the topmost layer, and try not to
get too much on the outside edges.

MAKE A CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Sift the powdered 10X sugar and cocoa
together, add the melted butter while stirring constantly, then add
boiling water. Frost the cake, taking pains to make sure the sides
are perfectly smooth and the top is perfectly smooth. Let the cake
sit at cool room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

NOTES:

* Austrian 8-layer chocolate cake — I made this recipe for my
boyfriend on his birthday and he asked me to marry him (I did). I’m
not saying for sure that the Prinzregent Torte is why Don wanted to
marry me, but I’ve always worried that it might have been. It is a
magnificent recipe that always evokes incredulous cries of pleasure
from people that I serve it to. The cake is a lot of work, so I only
make it about once a year, but the people that I make it for feel
very special. Yield: Serves 2-8.

* If you are not an experienced baker, you should be warned that in
recipes like this it is important to measure exactly and to follow the
instructions exactly. People who prefer to cook by testing, tasting,
and adding more ingredients should avoid intricate baking.

* These layers are baked in the bottom of a springform pan. Such a
pan bottom is about 8 inches in diameter, and has a raised lip that
is about 1/8 inch high. It resembles a miniature pizza pan. I have
never succeeded in making this torte with layers bigger than about 10
inches; about 8 inches is easier. The baker’s parchment is crucial
and there is no good substitute, though buttered kraft paper (from
shopping bags) will work in a pinch. Use a new piece of parchment for
each layer. If you don’t make the layers straight, then when you pile
them up, the cake will be mounded up in the middle or will sag down
in the middle or will tilt to one side.

* If you are not an experienced cake froster, then make double the
recipe of frosting. Unskilled frosters usually use too much frosting,
and you don’t really want to run out. You can charge money to people
who want to lick the spoon if there is any left over.

Difficulty: rather difficult; Time: 1 hour; Precision: measure
carefully.

: Delight Covill
: Fairchild Camera and Instrument