New York City is the noisiest city I've heard in a long time. I should start by saying that I live in a noisy part of an already noisy neighborhood and at the best of times – NYU students on summer break, long weekends, rain – there is always noise on Saturday night. But that's something else. It woke me up. I swear, I heard trumpets, more whistles than could be heard, people cheering like the Yankees had won the World Series (right? wait, is there something about football?) and when I got to the window I saw a Vespa hurtling down the sidewalk and I couldn't go back to sleep. Before such a dark anniversary, hardly anyone was disappointed after midnight. I love this place, even reluctantly, even at 1am.
This almost never happened to me. I mean it happened to me a lot, it happened to my town, I was living here at the time and it broke my heart. But I didn't work there, I didn't know who did, and if I told some dramatic story, it wouldn't be authentic because it wasn't my story to tell. I wasn't even on the island at the time, because I was working in the Bronx at the time, and I remember very clearly, and in what was not my finest moment, the feeling that I hated my life at the time, stranded miles away from everyone I knew. we care, stuck in the kind of job where you're told to go back to work as soon as the first plane crashes. I wanted a different path, but I didn't know how to chart it myself.
The next year was a difficult time trying to understand the incomprehensible and I barely remember it. I know the first anniversary is still very fresh and hardly needs to be celebrated because we haven't stopped to think about it for even a minute. But by the second, everyone started dusting themselves off and convincing themselves that they were going to move on. I recently started blogging (this was 2003! it was the right thing!) and started reading an article by a guy who lives here. On the second anniversary of 9/11, he said he invited friends out for drinks and they reacted as if it were a cheesy way to commemorate a national tragedy. I was and still am a firm believer that strong drinks are a good way to soothe bad memories, and I told him that a complete stranger would be happy to meet him for a drink after hours work. Two years later, I married him. Two years later, we decided to have a child. Two years later, we did it. And this week, this child turns two years old. I never, for one moment, secretly hoped that the bars would close so I could go back to sleep on Saturday night, mentally noting that I had a story about 9/11, but it happened later, and it was 'a lot of fun'. I never thought that everything that happened in the past 8 years stemmed from something terrible.
Chocolate cake with red wine and whipped mascarpone
Loosely adapted from this everyday chocolate cake, and you
As far as I'm concerned, this is a real red velvet cake: chocolate, naturally red in color, and rich in flavor. For reasons I can't quite remember, this is usually September, a rich melting chocolate, slightly spicy red wine, small in size and therefore quick to prepare. We were completely obsessed with it.
Now the main thing:
I repeat that the wine is not fully ripe. It will taste like it has alcohol in it, but not to the point where it will get you drunk, however, I wouldn't use this cake for my toddler's birthday party, if you know what I mean. If you're used to your daily chocolate cake, you may have noticed that I've changed things up quite a bit. It's flat and round, not a thick loaf. I only used 3/4 the volume of some ingredients and 2/3 the volume of others, as you'll see, red wine gives the best richness when used thinly - the final cake is just as big 3/4 to 1 inch and cooks quickly. I add yellow to make it better, and cinnamon, to compliment the red wine and chocolate nicely, but not so much that it competes with both. Oh, and it's still cake in a bowl and will bake immediately. You know you want to.
Cake
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (145 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup (177 ml) red wine, any kind you like*
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (133 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (this is a great place for that fancy Vietnamese stuff you stashed away)
Topping
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (118 grams) chilled heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Baking:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and lightly butter and flour the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolks and beat well, then add red wine and vanilla. Don't worry if the dough seems a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, right over your wet ingredients. Mix until 3/4 combined, then fold in the remainder with a rubber spatula. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be shiny and smooth, like a puddle of chocolate. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then remove the mold and let cool the remaining time on a cooling rack. This cake stores well at room temperature or in the refrigerator. It looks beautiful with powdered sugar.
Prepare filling:
Whisk together the mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form - do not over-whisk. Place generously on each slice of cake. It can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
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