Sunday, April 6, 2008

Death by Chocolate Cake

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 1
teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Chocolate Satin Frosting recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Satin Frosting
9 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
13 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Large pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the melted chocolate and melted butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty freestanding electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beact on low speed to mix unitl smooth. Blend in half of the confectioners' sugar and the salt. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Add the remaining confectionser' sugar and beat to combine. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Increase the speed to moderately low and beat for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream. Increase the speed to moderately high and beat until shiny and very creamy, about 8 minutes longer.
Cover the frosting and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm enough to spread. Rebeat the frosting for 1 to 2 minutes on moderately high spped just before using. If the frosting seem slack, or in a hot kitchen, beat in up to 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

21 the movie review

21 was a great thrilling suspense and action movie. You first start with the average student citizen trying to get through college and the strains of getting funds to be able to attend. You then meet what appears to be a willing teacher and aid in a college professor who offers the world to him through counting cards and taking on the casino's.
You go through the fast paced world of learning signs, signals, code words, and the dangerous life of a card counter. Here is where the supposed villian appears as a sercurity manager trying to save his job which is quickly being replaced by technology.
After experiencing another life, our main character learns the harsh reality of losing, which he has not really learned. Then after losing a large amount of money which belonged to his mentor and disobeying the rules the mentor turns on him and steals all he had won over the few months that they had been playing the system. Our main character then turns to the members of his club and tries to mend the fences with his mentor saying that they will go one more time and take the casino's for all they are worth. Then the chase leads while the security manager attempts to capture them.
Then our twist in the story comes, and after explaining everything, we focus again on our main character where he is being interviewed for a scholorship where he tells of his life expereince which is supposed to 'jump off the page."
Overall it was a good movie and fast paced, which is good and sets the mood of the story. Some of the plot lacks a little in respect to his Vegas life, its mainly casino's, and living the high life. The music selected was great. The fake people they portray at casino's were really transparent and you wonder why they were never caught before now. The refernces to history in the mentors class about stealing and betrayl were really interesting as they showed that history can be repeated and learned from. On a rating out of 10 I would give this movie an 8. Not really a family movie but a good date or group watch.