Mike Goetzke said:
tjbnwi said:
GoingMyWay said:
tjbnwi said:
A southside of Chicago thing.
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Tom
What do you call that kind of cake??
Is Chicago thin crust pizza sometimes called tavern style pizza?
The cake is a Chicago Atomic Cake (again a south side thing, most from the other areas have no clue it exists). When mom past away I took her cookbook. Tucked in a pocket was this hand written recipe with no directions. My guess is she got it from a bakery I recall her going to a couple of times to get an Atomic Cake (mom was a great baker) 65ish years ago. Took me 9 months to get the recipe and process worked out.
Called tavern style everywhere but Chicago, to us it’s a thin. Creating the pizza crust, sauce and sausage took about 2 months to get it right. I knew I finally got it when my wife got home and said it smells like Vito & Nick’s in here (her favorite pizza).
Tom
Atomic cake! Love them - we get them once in a while from Orland Park Bakery in Illinois. Any chance you would share the recipe? - Thanks, Mike
Sorry for the delay Mike, I just saw this. I was told in another group the Orland Bakery cake is excellent, but not a true Atomic Cake. If you get a chance describe it for me (or I’ll have to buy one next time I get back to Chicago)
Next up I’m going to attempt to recreate the Dresslers Whipped Cream Cake.
Fun fact Dresslers bakery was 10 blocks north of my father’s business. I can still smell the aroma.
I’m posting this from my phone. I’ll look over the copy/paste latter to see if it dropped anything. This recipe makes 2 complete cakes. I used ganache for the chocolate top layer because I do not like sweetened condensed milk, the original top layer is included at the end.
You’ll need to set aside about 10 hours from start to finish. Make sure you refrigerate this at least 2 hours before serving to set the layers/assembly.
Chicago Atomic Cake
Oven set to 350º
Banana sponge;
240 grams (2 cups) all purpose flour
3 grams (1/2 tsp) salt)
6 grams (1 tsp) baking soda
250 grams (1-1/4 cups) sugar
113 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs room temperature
3 ripe (not over ripe) bananas mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
Combine flour, salt, baking soda, whisk, set aside.
Mash bananas
Cream sugar and butter, add vanilla, add eggs one at a time, combine well, scrape bowl as needed
Set mixer to low, (leave the mixer on its lowest setting to avoid over mixing) add 1/3rd of dry ingredients, mix well, scrape as needed, add 1/2 of the buttermilk, mix well, scrape as needed, add 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, mix well, scrape as needed, add rest of buttermilk, mix well, scrape as needed, add last 1/3rd of dry ingredients, mix well, scrape as needed.
Prepare 2-9” cake pans, parchment round on bottom, baking spray on sides.
This is a light color sponge, cake bands should not be necessary
Bake time should be 25-30 minutes. Start checking at 20 minutes.
Cake tester or toothpick should come out clean, the sponge should begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Chocolate sponge;
Preheat oven 350º (360º if you use cake bands)
84 grams (1 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
240 grams (2 cups) all purpose flour
3 grams (1/2 tsp) baking soda
3 grams (1/2 tsp) baking powder
6 grams (1 tsp) salt
3 eggs room temperature
1 egg yoke room temperature
169 grams unsalted butter (3/4 cup) softened butter
400 grams (2 cups) sugar
1-1/4 cups of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon expresso powder (optional)
Strain cocoa powder, combine with flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, (espresso powder), set aside.
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, mix well after each addition, scrape bowl as needed, add egg yoke, mix well, scrape as needed.
Set mixer to low (leave mixer on lowest setting to avoid over mixing) add 1/3 dry ingredients, combine, add 1/2 milk, scrape, add 1/3 dry ingredients, mix, scrape bowl, add balance of milk, mix, scrape bowl, add final dry ingredients, scrape, mix.
Prepare 2-9” cake pans, parchment bottom, spray sides.
Bake time, 30 -35 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes cake tester or tooth pick should come out clean. Sides should pull away from pan.
Allow to cool in pan 20-25 minutes, this sponge will be very fragile. The center may collapse.
Turn out onto cooling rack, allow to cool 60 minutes.
Plastic wrap, foil wrap. Place in freezer.
Yellow cake sponge;
Pre-heat oven 350º
300 grams (2-1/2 cups) all purpose flour
13 grams (2-1/2 tsp) baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
169 grams (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
332 grams (1-2/3 cups) sugar
3 eggs room temperature
1 egg yoke room temperature
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well prior to each addition, add egg yoke, mix in vanilla.
Set mix on low, add 1/3 flour mixture, mix well scrape bowl as needed, add 1/2 of the milk, mix, scrape as needed, add 1/3 flour mixture, mix, scrape bowl as needed, add the rest of the milk, mix, scrape as needed, add the rest of the flour mixture, mix, scrape bowl as needed.
Prepare 2 9” cake pans, parchment bottom, spray sides. These are light color cakes, you probably do not need cake bands.
Divide batter equally into prepared pans.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Cool on racks for 10 minutes, turn out onto cooling racks. Allow to cool completely.
Plastic wrap, foil wrap, place in freezer.
Bavarian cream;
8 grams (1/2 tbs) unflavored gelatin
2 tbs cold water
1 egg yoke
23 grams (1-1/2 tbs) sugar
1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 cup heavy cream
Combine gelatin and water, set aside to bloom.
Mix until frothy egg yoke and sugar.
Heat 1/2 & 1/2 on low until boil.
Temper egg mixture with hot 1/2 & 1/2
Add egg mixture to 1/2 & 1/2.
Boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat, fold in gelatin, set aside to cool.
Whip cream to stiff peaks, gently fold the whipped cream into cool custard.
Cover with plastic that is in intimate contact with the custard, refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Strawberry glaze;
450 grams (1 pound) strawberries divided
225 grams (1/2 pound) strawberries (the other 225 grams is used during assembly)
300 grams (1-1/2 cups) sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
Hull and slice strawberries.
Place sugar and strawberries in heavy bottom pot, add lemon juice.
Using a stick blender emulsify.
Boil until reduced ~50%.
Allow to cool, transfer to bowl, refrigerate.
*Chocolate ganache (this is a major deviation from the original see below);
226 grams (8 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate baking bars
1 cup heavy cream
Chop chocolate very fine, place in heat proof bowl
Simmer (do not boil) cream
Add cream to chocolate, let sit 2 minutes, gently stir with silicone spatula.
Avoid getting any water in the chocolate, a single drop will seize the chocolate.
Allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours.
3 cups heavy whipping cream divided (you may only need 2 cups).
3 tbs of powdered sugar divided (you may only need 2 tbs).
3 tsps vanilla divided (you may only need 2 tsps).
Place 1 cup heavy whipping cream in cold mixer bowl, add 1 tbs powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, whip to stiff peaks.
Assembly;
Remove sponges from freezer, carefully unwrap. Save the foil for future use.
Banana fill;
Using a cake rotator, place banana sponge on cake circle on the rotator.
Pipe a ring of whipped cream ~1/4” in from the rim, approximately 1” high 3/4” wide.
Spread a thin layer of Bavarian cream inside the whipped cream ring.
Slice 2 bananas (do not slice ahead of time they will start to turn black) ~3/4” thick, place on cream layer.
Place the balance of Bavarian cream on the bananas spread evenly.
Place chocolate sponge, press onto banana layer.
Refrigerate for ~30 minutes to set.
Strawberry fill;
Remove the strawberry glaze from refrigerator.
Hull balance (225 grams) of strawberries, slice ~3/4” thick.
Remove banana/chocolate sponge from refrigerator, place on cake rotator.
Pipe a ring of whipped cream ~1/4” in from the rim, approximately 1” high 3/4” wide.
Spread a thin layer of strawberry glaze inside the whipped cream ring.
Arrange the sliced strawberries inside the whipped cream ring.
Place yellow cake sponge on top of strawberries. Gently press in place.
Place assembly in refrigerator to set, ~1/2 hour.
Ganache layer;
Remove assembly from refrigerator place on rotator.
Pipe a ring of whipped cream ~1/4” in from the rim, approximately 1/4” high 3/4” wide.
*Pour/spread the ganache inside the whipped cream ring.
*Optional, whip the ganache, pipe inside whipped cream ring.
Place in refrigerator to set for ~30 minutes.
Whipped cream crown;
Pipe whipped cream onto the ganache layer.
Pin the cake to the cake circle with wood skewers or wrap with cake film.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to set layers.
*Original chocolate topping;
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
Combine ingredients in double boiler, stirring constantly, heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.
Tom
