The Girl Scouts of America have a new cookie baker for some parts of the country and, in a business move stupider than New Coke, have renamed some of their best-sellers (Though, as some of our readers kindly point out , other parts of the country have the "new" names for ages). In my neck of the woods, Samoas are now "Caramel DeLites," which sounds like the name of a dietetic candy old ladies buy at the Dollar Tree. Tagalongs are now "Peanut Butter Patties, Do-Si-Dohs are "Peanut Butter Sandwiches" and Trefoils are "Shortbread," names which suggest either a wildly subversive anti-consumerist campaign a la No Logo (Declare Independence from Corporate Cookie! We Don't Need No Name-Brand Baked Goods!) or a newly minted Robotic Cookie Namer down at Girl Scout HQ. All-Abouts (which was a weird name, I admit) are now "Thanks-a-Lots." Try saying that un-sarcastically.
In honor of my favorite GS cookie, I created this Samoa Cake - layers of génoise cake brushed with caramel simple syrup and spread them with alternating layers of chocolate caramel ganache frosting and soft salty caramel, then iced with more chocolate caramel ganache blanketed in toasted coconut flakes. It's tall, rich and incredibly sweet, half-cake, half-candy bar. Take that, Caramel DeLite!
Read on for the recipe.
Samoa Cake
Génoise cake:
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 cups sugar
10 tablespoons melted butter
12 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour 2 springform pans.
Sift together cake flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar and return to sifter.
Melt butter in a small saucepan.
Whisk eggs and remaining sugar in large heatproof bowl. Set bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water and whisk until warm to the touch. Remove from heat and beat on high speed until mixture is pale yellow, tripled in volume and falls of a spoon in thick, smooth ribbons. Sift flour into egg mixture in 3 additions, folding gently with a spatula. Add 1 1/2 cups of egg mixture into hot butter and mix along with vanilla. Return to the rest of the mix and fold.
Pour into pans and bake until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then cool completely on rack.
Chocolate caramel ganache icing:
1 pound dark chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 pound of butter, softened and cut into squares
Heat 1/4 cup of water along with sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over high heat until mixture reaches a light golden (don't wait for full caramel color - it'll continue to cook after removal from heat. I burned it three times, so I know).
In another pan, boil cream.
When caramel reaches light golden remove from heat and rest for 1 minute, then add hot cream. Stir and cool for 5 minutes.
Put chocolate in bowl of electric mixer and pour caramel over it. Rest for 1 minute then stir to melt.
Attach bowl to mixer and beat on low until cool. Add butter at medium speed until smooth. Refrigerate for half an hour, then beat again until thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Soft caramel:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Cook butter, salt and cream over medium heat until butter is melted. Set aside.
Cook sugar, water and corn syrup over high heat until it reaches a medium golden color. Add cream mixture and stir.
Pour into a heatproof bowl and cool in fridge until thicker, but still spreadable, about 1 1/2 hours.
Caramel simple syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup ice water
Cook sugar and 1/4 cup water over high heat until it reaches a medium golden color. Add ice water immediately to stop cooking process, stir to melt any lumps.
Assembly:
Slice each cake into three layers.
Toast 1 bag of sweetened shredded coconut until golden (about 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees). Cool coconut. Mix 1 1/2 cups ganache with a handful of coconut, set aside.
Layer cake like this: ganache/caramel/ganache with coconut/caramel/ganache, brushing each layer with caramel simple syrup as you go. Spread with remaining ganache, press in remaining coconut for "snowball" effect.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2008 @ 10:59AM
Cindy said...
We've actually had those names in texas for the last 10 years...
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3-05-2008 @ 11:37AM
Cole said...
My entire life the "new" names were how Girl Scout cookies were named in Central Kentucky. My sophomore year of college I was informed by my roommate that Girl Scout cookies had different names in Louisville, KY. We did a little research and discovered the names of the cookies were dependent on which of the two bakeries used by GSA supplied your local Girl Scout Council with cookies. The names may be new to you and your region, but the Girl Scouts of America aren't renaming their famous cookies.
Reply
3-05-2008 @ 11:51AM
Bitter said...
I was going to say what Cindy did, the alternative names have been around for years.
I'm not sure that it's regional as much as a choice/assignment by Councils. I know that in Oklahoma, we had Samoas. Obviously, we were near Texas, so that was my first clue. But then I noticed when I placed my last order that the staffer at my new job was selling Caramel DeLites, but my boss's daughter at my last job in the same city sold Samoas.
Reply
3-05-2008 @ 12:54PM
srah said...
I have always had Caramel Delites and Peanut Butter Patties. So Samoas and Tagalongs sound just as strange to me as the other names do to you!
Reply
3-05-2008 @ 1:51PM
SC said...
I too live in centra Kentucky, where for a long time we've had the "renamed" GS cookies. I do remember them having the Samoa/Taglalong/etc. names when I was a kid, but maybe I just misremember. Regardless, it's always bugged me that the names changed (or at least I perceived them as changing), but all the more so after a recent trip to Louisville where I picked up a box of Samoas. I swear, the Samoas I got there are flat better (richer chocolate, slightly more moist overall) than the cookies I normally get here. I need to get a local box for a side-by-side comparison.
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3-05-2008 @ 3:38PM
Amanda said...
They've had the "new" name since I was a Girl Scout, which some others have already said. I didn't know there were other names until earlier this year. No matter what, I'll be calling them Caramel DeLites and Peanut Butter Patties.
Reply
3-05-2008 @ 4:01PM
Tran said...
going along to what was already said.. the story is that the GS council in your area (and in mine, Orange County, CA) has just changed the manufacturer of the cookies. There are two that produce GS cookies: Little Brownie Bakers and ABC. One of them has a copyright on some of the names, that is the reason for the name change.
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3-05-2008 @ 4:20PM
DanGarion said...
There are actual differences in Carmel Delights and Samoas. IMO Samoas are better. I wish we still had those in Orange County, CA.
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3-05-2008 @ 11:47PM
CK said...
Yeah, when I was a Girl Scout in Upstate NY 25 years ago, they were called Caramel Delites. The Samoa thing has always boggled me.
Reply
3-06-2008 @ 12:13AM
Gigi said...
In 1989 and 1990, when I was a girl scout those "new" names were the standard names of the cookies we sold. I grew up in CA Bay Area. I guess it is like Dryers being Edys on the East Coast.
Reply
3-06-2008 @ 10:00AM
John said...
The reason why they did the rename was because of trademark issues on the names belongs to the baking company, and as you said, another company is also baking the cookies for them, not just the original one... Hence they couldnt use the names we identify with GS cookies... they are trademarked by the baking company...
Reply
3-06-2008 @ 10:42AM
Beth said...
I was always under the impression that different councils used different bakers. I am in PA and always called them Caramel DeLites and PBP, but my friends just north of me by 30-40 miles called them Samoas and Tagalongs. But of course,we were always right :) Has anyone ever tried the Girl Scout Cookie ice cream?
Reply
3-06-2008 @ 9:08PM
joe said...
In KS, at least since 1991 when we moved there, those have been the names of the cookies. The mint GS ice cream is actually quite good. Now if only they would bring back the strawberry cream sandwiches!
Reply
3-08-2008 @ 11:07PM
Michael said...
I live in eastern NC and I've always known them by these names. I guess Thin Mints are called Thin Mints everywhere because I've never heard another name for them.
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3-12-2008 @ 8:39AM
jason said...
It's not even a regional thing. I live in Dallas/Fort Worth and the Tarrant County bakers make Caramel DeLites and the Dallas County bakers make Samoas.
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3-28-2008 @ 12:26PM
NA said...
THEY ARE DIFFERENT COOKIES , NOT JUST DIFFERENT NAMES!
Thank goodness for this website with the pictures, nobody beleived me for years! & so many sites just think its different names!!!!
http://kaedrin.com/weblog/archive/001194.html
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