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| Quatre-Quarts Cake with Olive Oil Ice Cream |
“Let them eat brioche!” is the disparaging comment that Marie
Antoinette actually did not say. The
mistranslation (“cake” instead of “brioche”) and misattribution (not said by
Marie) have continued to this day. But
let there be no misunderstanding. When
it comes to comparing this week’s Fridays
with Dorie challenge, Quatre-Quarts Cake, with brioche (even the variety we
made in a previous challenge), there is no comparison. Peasants and royalty alike would choose the
cake.
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| A little Armagnac adds a unique twist to the cake |
Quatre-Quarts Cake is a perfectly balanced and delicious cake
that is a wonderful accompaniment to an afternoon tea or to finish a meal. The brown sugar crust adds a delightful
crunch and slightly sweet element to the cake.
But I love to experiment, to “kick it up a notch” in the immortal words
of Emeril. I am not sure why, but Jell-O
Cakes came to mind. For those old enough
to remember, a Jell-O Cake is made by poking holes in a plain white cake and
pouring warm Jell-O over it. I had some
rosemary simple syrup on hand (don’t ask why), and thought it would be perfect
with this cake. So I poked some holes
and drizzled on the rosemary simple syrup.
The aroma was delicious and portended a moist, tasty cake.
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| Rosemary Simple Syrup - not just for cocktails! |
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| Was Jello-Cake just a Montana thing? Sous Chef has never heard of it..... |
But my cake still looked a little naked and needed something
to jazz it up a bit. My sous chef loves
ice cream. We had nothing suitable in
the freezer, so I decided to multi-task and make Dorie’s Olive Oil Ice Cream
found on page 479 of Around My French
Table by Dorie Greenspan.
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| Look at that ice cream - don't you just want to take a big spoonful of it before it drips? |
The Quatre-Quarts Cake was delicious; however, the Olive Oil
Ice Cream stole the show. It is made in
the fashion of custard, with the addition of extra virgin olive oil at the end after
the mixture has been strained. The olive
oil really enhances the creaminess of the ice cream, making it pure luxury on
your palate. The savory aspect of the
ice cream played well with the rosemary simple syrup added to the Quarte-Quarts
Cake. And to spice things up a bit more,
I added a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pinch of Fleur De Sel over the
ice cream. Pure heaven!
Rosemary Simple Syrup
– from Heidi Swanson 101 Cookbooks:
2 Cups Water
2 Cups Sugar
2 Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
1 Bay Leave (optional, but recommended)
Combine the sugar and water in a pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is
dissolved. Add the rosemary sprigs and
bay leave and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let infuse for 10 minutes. When cool, transfer to a storage container
and refrigerate.
To read more French Friday with Dorie Experiences, or to join the group:
Oh. My. Goodness.
ReplyDeleteI loved the cake the way it was written but with rosemary simple syrup and olive oil ice cream?! That would be pure heaven!
It really was delicious - a perfect balance of sweet and savory. Hope you get to try it!
DeleteWow! How delicious! Great idea to use Dorie's own ice cream recipe.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to try the ice cream, I had been wanting to make it the past couple months and finally found a good excuse to indulge in more calories!
DeleteI am sure that whatever the simple syrup was intemded for was absolutely lovely. And the olive oil ice cream. I am sure that was heavenly.
ReplyDeleteHi Cher - I had the simple syrup on hand for cocktails. If you like cocktails, it makes a really great infusion with fruit based drinks and either gin or vodka. The olive oil ice cream was heavenly - it exceeded my expectation!
DeleteThat was some combination of ingredients, it had to be good. I'm going to
ReplyDeletecheck out the olive oil ice cream, sounds interesting. Tricia and I enjoyed this
recipe, and I will be re-visiting it again, for sure.
I hope you and Tricia try the ice cream - it is one of those items that really surprises you, and is easy to fall in love with!
DeleteI do want to take a big spoonful before it drips! I have to put this ice cream on my to make list, that's for sure! I like all your flavors here, rosemary is one of my favorite herbs and I like the way you infused the cake with the syrup;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Patty! I love rosemary and have a lot in my garden so I'm always on the hunt for reasons to use it. The syrup also makes a great addition to cocktails. Hope your football game is going well today!
DeleteI love your tweaks to the recipe...and your ice cream sounds AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lizzy! The ice cream is a must try!
DeleteI might have to bring the ice cream maker out of hibernation and make some of that ice cream. This cake was soooo delicious and I love your adapation :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely bring the ice cream maker out of hibernation! I think it is worth it.
DeleteI LOVE ice cream with olive oil and salt on it - fabulous. What a great idea. Oh the thought of olive oil ice cream is making me hungry. Love both of your twists - so creative.
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth - I hope you get to try it. It really was a terrific combination of flavors, and that salt added this unexpected twist to the flavor.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you dressed up this cake, Christy! The rosemary simple syrup sounds amazing (and I'm a huge 101 Cookbooks fan myself). And the Olive Oil Ice Cream sound luscious. BTW, I've heard of jello cake and I grew up in Maryland. Who knows, maybe they only make it in the "M" states.
ReplyDeleteI remember Jello-O cakes! Loved them as a child! :) What a great idea to add the rosemary simple syrup - mmm...it must have been delicious. Now you have me also wanting to make the olive oil ice cream. I don't think I can wait for it to come up on the schedule.
ReplyDeleteThe rosemary syrup and olive oil icecream sound like wonderful flavour accompaniments to this basic cake. Never heard of Jello cake myself, but I'm Australian, so that doesn't really count.
ReplyDeletePS...back to thank you for the sweet words of condolence. xo
ReplyDeleteThis sounds amazing! Your were definitely inspired this week!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, how amazing! Rosemary simple syrup and olive oil ice cream sound divine!
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique dessert that sounds wonderful! Very inspired choice to pair the olive oil ice cream with the rosemary-scented cake.
ReplyDeleteYum! I'll bet the Roasemary Simple Syrup took this cake right over the top! I agree - I'd choose the cake over the Brioche, too. However, the leftover Brioch made great Bread Pudding.
ReplyDeleteChristy, Your being such a great FFWD member and blogger caused and inspired me to include your link in my Post today about Dorie and her online cooking groups. I have so enjoyed reading your Blog and included it in my Link List at the end of my Post. Looking forward to more in the year ahead. Mary
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lightsonbrightnobrakes.com/mistakes-happen-recipes-bomb-life-goes-on/
Olive oil ice cream sounds incredible! I can't wait to try that recipe! Rosemary simple syrup sounds fun too. I made a cake with rosemary once and was pleasantly surprised by how great it turned out.
ReplyDelete