23 Comments
Dec 6, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

Gee, Wil, you're a genius! We made this today and it has to be one of the best things we've ever tasted 😊.

Our only change was to halve the sugar as we wanted the chocolate to pack a real punch.

For the shiromiso, we added 1 tbsp, which gave a salty umami kick that was delightful but hard to describe succinctly. We're thinking of doubling the amount next time, but with a Saikyo shiromiso, which has more koji and less sodium.

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Thank you so much, you've made my day. And you know what, I love your ideas here. This was one of my first sweet miso recipes and now I've tested more recipes (including some cakes with miso) I'd definitely recommend 2 tablespoons. Its worth being bold!! Thanks again, so glad you liked it.

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Oh everyone who's tried it has fallen in love with it, but we couldn't figure out how to cut it. Even after 3 hours of cooling at room temp and using a hot knife, it was so molten that we couldn't get a clean slice, so we had to use a spoon! Please tell us how YOU do it 😝

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Sometimes I make it that way on purpose. 😊 It sounds to me like it might've benefited from another few minutes in oven. It's such a special cake because the joy of it comes from how it's served undercooked in the middle. But of course one does want it to still hold together. Hope it didn't take away from the enjoyment.

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Oh I just sent another comment about that gorgeous texture. No we wouldn't change it at all - we'd just like to serve it without tearing it haha.

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That was an awesome comment you left. Really appreciate it and I totally understand now. I will make this again and pay attention to my cutting technique and report back to you.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

Great, thanks! Hope you don't mind if we pass the recipe to our friends - everyone wants to try making it now. It's so fast and easy to make too - another reason it's a winner 😊.

The only tricky part is the timing - that's why I sent that comment. Wouldn't want anyone to miss out on that unctuous gooeyness.

I think you and I ate definitely in the camp that prefers the warm and gooey version to the chilled and firm version - though I'd like to try chilling it if I can save that last piece from the ravenous hordes!

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Please do share away. Thank you so much for reading and subscribing. People like you really are the reason I write this newsletter.

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We only joined Substack this week and only discovered your posts yesterday - one of the best finds ever! Love your ideas - please keep sharing and don't get discouraged by "day job" blues ☺️.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

Ahh my friend beeped me and told me to use the flat edge of a scraper instead, and to cut straight down, so it won't "drag" like a knife. We just tried it on the last remaining quarter of the kladdkaka and it worked, yay!

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Very good advice.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

Oh for anyone else keen to try this wonderful cake, you have to be super vigilant to preserve that precious wobble. Please don't walk away to do something else or take your eyes off it after the 10-min mark.

In our oven, the kladdkaka started to lose its sheen and shrink back from the sides of the tray after 12 min. Then, wee bubbles started to break through the surface - we were so intrigued by them, we almost missed that critical moment.

When we lifted the tray slightly at 14 min, the cake was still almost liquid, so we let ourselves get caught up in that softly percolating symphony of bubbles again.

But when we took the tray out at 15 min, it had almost lost the wobble (!). Thankfully it remained molten inside - even after 3 hours at room temp, we couldn't cut it.

Unlike a lava cake, the inside didn't ooze out - it did hold together, but when we tried to slice it, the chocolate clung to the knife like a mother to her baby...

We could have chilled it in the fridge to firm it up, but we didn't want to lose that incredible texture 🤣.

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Hi Wil, can we just check with you about the sugar ☺️? Is there a particular reason you don't melt it with the butter?

We followed your steps exactly, but it took a while to make sure the sugar was completely dissolved, and we were afraid we might have incorporated too much air while stirring.

For the cocoa, we're guessing it might seize if it's added to the butter before the butter has had a chance to cool down enough?

Sorry to ask what are probably very basic things, but we rarely bake and most of the recipes we've attempted have flopped massively (both literally and figuratively).

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No problem, happy to help. Basically there's no need to dissolve the sugar. It will come together just fine in the cooking. Just simply mix the ingredients. Hope that makes sense.

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Dec 7, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

Oh really? Great, thanks! That means we don't have to worry about folding in too much air 😊

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Maybe sprinkle icing sugar over a simple mistletoe stencil?

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It's such a a great recipe for Xmas that we're thinking of baking it in 3-4" paper moulds that we can just pack straight into my aunt's holiday gift baskets. WE won't have to slice it haha - we'll just leave instructions on the card 🤣.

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Now you're thinking.☺️

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Dec 7, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie

😂

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I ended up making this again after you reminded me of it.

It remains one of my very favourite desserts. Thanks for planting the idea back in my head!!

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We've made it twice (!) since Thu. And that doesn't include bakes by friends who couldn't wait to try your recipe 😝.

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As a chocoholic (and the belly to prove it) I shall attempt this as soon as possible and report back!

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