A Christmas Triumph of sorts

My life took a significant detour in October and ever since then I've been working on a course correction. After putting up with back and hip pain for many months, I elected to have a spinal fusion -- major surgery that really rocked my very foundation -- and it's been a maddeningly slow recovery. Not only did I not have energy to cook, I didn't even have any interest in eating. Not the fodder for a blog that focuses on cooking and enjoying the end results.

Faced with dealing with the holidays, I've made a concerted effort to get back into the groove. I've been making one dish at a time and putting it in the freezer to enjoy when the family is here for Christmas. (It's amazing how physical cooking is! Lifting mixing bowls, stirring heavy doughs, holding the electric beater long enough to whip cream, even peeling, chopping, dicing vegetables are simple tasks that sap my energy.) But each finished dish gave me the confidence to forge on, and this week, heady with new-found energy, I decided to take on The Yule Log.

For years, I created a chocolate Buche de Noel that wowed my family when I placed it -- with dramatic flare -- on our Christmas Eve table. I got away from that annual triumph when I lived in Maine and commuted back to California for the holidays and just didn't have the time to make it. Call me crazy, but this year just seemed to demand a return to some kind of triumph. I needed to prove to myself that I was strong enough to pull it off in the kitchen, and probably my family also needed to see that my life was getting back to normal.

I'd made a Yule Log so many times in the past I really didn't need to rely on a recipe, but this year I was rusty. To my chagrin, I found that I'd stockpiled 3-4 recipes for this classic dessert, and therefore decided to consult them all, working back and forth between them. That was probably not my best idea. I'm not thrilled with the texture, and I'm definitely not happy that the softer cake refused to cooperate when I tried to craft the "knots" in the log. I've done better. But, here it is, and considering everything I had to deal with, not a small victory for me.

Sauerkraut and Chiffon Cakes

I'm not much of a cake baker, but today's Los Angeles Times Food Section reminded me of a surprising success I had a few years ago that made me want to get out the cake pans again. The Times' E section lead story features chiffon cake, which apparently was invented by an L.A. insurance salesman in the 1920s who in turn sold it to Betty Crocker who in turn created a mass market sensation when it was introduced to the nation in 1948. Instead of fading into oblivion as a mid-century culinary relic, say the editors, chiffon cake is still a darling today.

The old-fashioned charm of an almost 90-year-old recipe made me think of an old cake recipe that a friend gave me years ago. A neighbor of hers in Michigan, a lady of good German stock, shared an old family recipe that includes a novel way to use a humble but time-honored German ingredient in cake: chocolate sauerkraut cake. I'm not a sauerkraut fan so I was disbelieving until I tried the recipe and was astonished at how delicious it was. If you don't say anything to your guests, they will probably guess the chewiness comes from shredded coconut. Save the punch line for last and wait for the yelps of surprise.

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup butter
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla
2 Eggs
1 Cup water
3/4 Cup sauerkraut, thoroughly rinsed, drained and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

Sift the first five ingredients together. Cream sugar, butter and vanilla. Beat eggs in one at a time. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with water. Add sauerkraut and mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pans. Bake 30-40 minutes or until cake tests done.

When cake is completely cool, frost with mocha rum cream. Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy cream with 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon instant coffee, 2 teaspoons cocoa and 2 tablespoons rum, adding each ingredient slowly as cream begins to thicken.