Our Year of Bread

Ann's January Bread - Southern-Style Cornbread

2011-03-13T21:38:00.015-04:00

(Apologies that these posts are so late...I need to repeat over and over again: "I love school...I love school...")

Hooray for bread. Perhaps because we took nearly a year off, I still feel insanely intimidated by the prospect of bread. And maybe I feel intimidated because I don't understand the differences well enough yet. Clearly, I need to do some research and actually explore the many bread-making books that I own as I get more into this. But to ease into a new year of bread-making, I went with something relatively simple: cornbread. But I wanted something that used a cast-iron skillet, all Southern style.

This came out all super crispy due to the pre-heating of oil and butter in the cast iron pan, and it wasn't sweet, which made it perfect to match with chili that has three kinds of chili powder and cooks slowly for many many hours....nom nom nom.

Southern-Style Cornbread
from www.cooksillustrated.com

Ingredients

4 teaspoons bacon drippings or 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup yellow cornmeal , preferably stone ground
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup water (rapidly boiling)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg , beaten lightly

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set 8-inch cast-iron skillet with bacon fat (or vegetable oil) in heating oven.
Measure 1/3 cup cornmeal into medium bowl. Mix remaining cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in small bowl; set aside.
Pour boiling water all at once into the 1/3 cup cornmeal; stir to make a stiff mush. Whisk in buttermilk gradually, breaking up lumps until smooth, then whisk in egg. When oven is preheated and skillet very hot, stir dry ingredients into mush mixture until just moistened. Carefully remove skillet from oven. Pour hot bacon fat (or melted butter) from the skillet into the batter and stir to incorporate, then quickly pour batter into heated skillet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and instantly turn cornbread onto wire rack; cool for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.

You may have noticed...

2011-01-18T16:50:00.002-05:00

Dear lone reader,

As you probably have realized, there haven't been any postings in Our Year of Bread in quite some time. This is not due to a lack of devotion to our beloved blog, nor to any horrific falling out between sisters (although Listle has pulled enough stunts in the past year to warrant my hate, as well she knows...). Rather, the major focus of my life completely fell apart, and I just didn't have the desire or energy to pretend to rib my sister about her baking skills, much less make bread. We discussed our options and decided to go on temporary hiatus until I felt like baking again. However, one thing we didn't discuss was who would let everyone know this, so our apologies for keeping you in the dark. A new year usually brings a new baking project, but for us, it brings a return to the Year of Bread. Plus, I have more friends with stand mixers now that live in town! Here's to a better year than 2010, and here's to some wicked awesome bread!!!!

Love, Year of Bread

Ann's March Bread: Brioche

2010-05-09T23:33:00.006-04:00

Okay, okay, I know that this post is WICKED late, and I've been enticing the wrath of my sister for the past six weeks. I had good reasons! Such as school and getting engaged. Guess which one I enjoyed more...that's right, reference class! Just kidding, sweetie.

After failing at my bread planning last month, I was determined to do better this month. I only succeeded marginally, but that counts! My entry for an egg bread is brioche, which is a French white loaf bread with lots of butter and eggs to make it rich, almost cake-like (still clinging to last year...). I've never actually had brioche before, so I don't have anything to compare it with to make sure mine was good, but I thought it was really good.

So one of the other reasons I didn't make brioche last month was that, besides my bad timing, I each recipe I looked at said that you couldn't use a hand-held mixer because of the lengthy mixing time the dough requires to get elastic and satiny, and it's a really wet dough that wouldn't work at all to knead by hand (this totally makes sense after having made it). Dorie (I like to think we're on a first name basis now) said in her recipe that she mixed it by hand the first time she made brioche, and it was worse than running a half-marathon. One of the hallmarks of my existence is my laziness, so there was no way I was going to do that. Instead, I elected to spend a day with my lovely friend Mrs. H-B, who happens to have a Kitchen Aid mixer (my #1 priority on my gift registry). I decided to make two recipes (Dorie's and Ina's), just to see what the differences were in texture, since they had quite different methods. Well, my normal method of not adequately planning for time was once again true in this case. I had to keep the Dorie brioche dough refrigerated for a while, and that meant that I had to stay at Mrs. H-B's until super super late. One of the requirements of the recipe was to lift up the dough every half hour to deflate it. Since I also had an hour-long drive home, so this meant that I just reached over to the passenger's seat and punched it down every half hour, and then continued along with one greasy hand.

When I got home, I stored both doughs in the fridge overnight, and then baked them the next day. First, the Ina dough finished, and I couldn't wait for it to cool to before I started eating it. AMAZING. The bread was soft, pliable, and pulled apart in an almost like petals made of elastic. Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense, but I've thought that analogy for days, and that's what I'm going with. I shared this with Megs and her visiting parents, and we slathered each piece with homemade blackberry jam from Padre. It was completely decadent, but felt comforting and cozy instead of rich. There was a very slight sweetness and the eggs gave it a really distinct flavor that was so different than your average loaf of bread. It had twice as many eggs as the Dorie loaf, which gave it a much deeper yellow color.

The next day, I tried the Dorie loaf. It was also good, but didn't have that same elasticity (although it wasn't as prevalent in Ina's after it cooled, either), and didn't rise as much as the other too. I'm not sure if this was because of my haphazard rising in the car, but the dough was absolutely gorgeous before I got it home (or maybe it dried out too much in the fridge too?), so I'm guessing that's what happened. And, frankly, Dorie has never steered me wrong. Based on pictures from other blogs that have tried the same recipe, I'm pretty certain I just did it wrong. I'll have to try it again when it doesn't involve prying plastic wrap off the bowl with one hand while I try to navigate rural Indiana roads with the other.

The Dorie bread is in the front, the Ina bread in the back.

Ina Garten's Brioche
from Barefoot in Paris

1/2 cup warm water
1 package dried yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
4 1/4 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix with your hands and allow the stand for 5 minutes until the yeast and sugar dissolve. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add 2 cups of the flour and salt and mix for 5 minutes. With the mixer still on low, add 2 more cups of flour and mix for 5 more minutes. Still on low speed, add the soft butter in chunks and mix for 2 minutes, scraping down the beater, until well blended. With the mixer still running, sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Switch the paddle attachment to a dough hook and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the dough into a large buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and cut in half. Pat each portion into a 6 x 8-inch rectangle, then roll up each rectangle into a cylindrical loaf. Place each loaf, seam side up, into a greased pan. Cover the pans with a damp towel and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When the loaves have risen, brush the top of each with the egg wash and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back and it sounds slightly hollow when tapped. Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool.

Dorie Greenspan's Brioche
from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup warm milk
2 envelopes active dry yeast
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
Egg wash:1 egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water

Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk and yeast in the bowl of a standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves and let proof for 10 minutes. Add flour and salt, mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the eggs on low speed, then add sugar. On medium speed, beat until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add butter, two tablespoons at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch the dough down to deflate it every 30 minutes until it stops rising (it will take 2 hours in total). Cover bowl with plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, butter and flour 2 large loaf pans (8 1/2*4 1/2 inches). Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Cut each dough half into 4 logs. Arrange logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush the brioches with the egg wash (be careful not to deflate, be gentle) and bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then run a knife around the side of the pans and turn the loaves out onto a rack. The loaves can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.

Elizabeth's Extra Baking - Cranberry Upside-Downer

2010-04-27T15:23:00.004-04:00

I know you are all waiting for Ann to post her March bread. Unfortunately, she is busy with school projects right now, and by school projects, I mean "Facts of Life" marathons with her new fiance.

I figured that while we wait for Ann to post her bread, I could share a recipe I made a couple days ago (plus, I'm sick today and I don't want to do much of anything else).

We invited friends over for dinner on Sunday, but it was kind of last minute. Since I don't go shopping on Sunday, I knew I'd have to use only the ingredients I already had on hand. Dinner ended up being Spaghetti alla Carbonara, green beans with almonds, and a cucumber salad. Very simple.

Dessert is always the trickiest for me when I do last minute invites, because I start to think of fancy concoctions involving whipping cream and other ingredients that I don't have on hand. I flipped through Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home to Yours. (Have I mentioned before that this book is a winner? I believe I have! I believe I also may have previously stated that Dorie is amazing and that I want to be her best friend and that I think we might really enjoy selecting ingredients at the farmer's market together. But I digress.)

I saw the Cranberry Upside-Downer recipe in the book, and I remembered that I had a bag of cranberries in the freezer and some red currant jelly downstairs in the pantry. Hurray! Let's get baking!

The cake turned out to be magnificent. I did leave off the walnuts, since I didn't know how our guests felt about nuts, and the cake was still fabulous. It was subtly flavored with cinnamon, and the cranberries on top were a perfect balance of tart and sweet. Another winner from Dorie Greenspan.

Someday, with the help of Ms. Dorie, my children will not immediately picture white cake with colored icing when I say the word "cake." They'll know that cake can be so much more! But it will probably be a loooooooooong time before that will happen.

Cranberry Upside-Downer
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspooon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons; 7 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put an 8-x-2-inch round cake pan on a lined baking sheet and keep it at hand. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and keep these nearby, too.

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle over 6 tablespoons of the sugar and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to the boil. Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan, scatter over the nuts and top with the cranberries, smoothing the layer and pressing it down gently with your fingertips. (Don't be concerned if you've used frozen berries and they've caused the butter to congeal - everything will melt in the oven.) Set aside.

Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, beat the remaining stick (8 tablespoons) of butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue to beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Pour in the extract and then add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Slide the sheet into the oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and run a blunt knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving platter. If any of the berries stick to the pan - as they might - just scrape them off with a knife and return them to the cake.

Warm the jelly in a small saucepan over low heat or do this in a microwave oven. Gently brush the glaze over the hot cake.

Serving: When the situation allows, I like to serve this cake about 20 minutes out of the oven, when it is still warm. However, it's more than fine at room temperature - even the following day. And, it's always good with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Storing: The cake is best served the day it is made, but it can be covered and kept at room temperature overnight. Because of the berry topping, it's not a good candidate for freezing.

Elizabeth's February Bread - Cinnamon Rolls using potato dough

2010-03-29T15:24:00.009-04:00

Photo credit: myrecipes.com

I forgot to take a picture of the final cinnamon rolls, and intended to make a second batch (to delight Jeff), but it didn't happen. The photo above is a good representation of how they looked, because they were the "separate roll" type of cinnamon roll, as opposed to the "squished together" type of cinnamon roll:

Photo credit: whatscookingamerica.net

My husband prefers the former, although he adores cinnamon rolls any which way. In fact, my husband loves cinnamon rolls so much, I'm surprised he married me before I had ever made him even one batch. (...with this cinnamon roll, I thee wed...) To him, making cinnamon rolls equals showing love, which explains why he made me so many when we were engaged -- especially interesting, since I'm sort of neutral on cinnamon rolls. You can imagine that I was excited to make him this new version. Because a different kind of cinnamon roll is a different kind of love!

The recipe comes from The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger. The book was given to me by a friend at Christmastime, and this was my first chance to use it. I wasn't disappointed. Ms. Hensperger's instructions seemed great (which is where many baking cookbook authors fail), but the real proof of that will be when I make a recipe for some item I've never seen before.

I did struggle with the recipe a little bit, but it was all my fault:

1. I wanted to follow everything to the exact letter (even though I've made cinnamon rolls many times), so I tried to keep everything (potato water, tap water, dough) to the precise temperatures specified while having 4 kids underfoot. That wasn't wise. This was a "wait until the kids are in bed" kind of recipe.

2. I didn't use a big enough potato in the beginning (maybe I peeled it too much, because I could have sworn it was 6 oz). It didn't yield enough potato water or puree, so I chose to do that step over again. The potato aspect of this recipe already makes it somewhat more complicated than a standard cinnamon roll recipe, but it didn't help that I tried to add another potato to what I already made. I had my thermometer jumping from pan to pan like a crazy person. I think Jeff's comment was, "Does this recipe really require you to use every bowl in the house?"

Boiling potatoes on a stove I hope I no longer own in a year.

3. I don't have a food mill, and I didn't want to dirty the food processor. I know, I know. I'm totally weird about that. My food processor is particularly annoying to set up, not to mention the annoyance of cleaning the stupid thing. Still, my decision to press the potato through a sieve was not my brightest moment. It took forever, and it made this weird hairy dot formation on the back of the sieve that made me feel totally sick (I have an issue [I'm not calling it a phobia] with raised dots. More on that later). I should have just gotten out the blasted food processor. It's not that annoying.

Once I finally finished the dough, it was smooth sailing. As far as a review goes, I don't think the additional step of using potato puree turned out anything better than the other cinnamon roll recipes that I've been using for years. For that reason, I wouldn't make this again. But I'm still happy about having tried this recipe: I got some beautiful rolls out of it, and my husband was beyond pleased. He really does go crazy for these things. Did I already mention that? CRAZY! For me, cinnamon rolls are just okay. Nothing to write home about. But at least I like them. Jeff hates my two favorite vegetables: asparagus and cauliflower. Hates! How is that possible?? Life is so, so hard in our house. Harder than the Great Depression. I mean, we don't agree on food. Could it get any tougher, really?

The rolled out dough, with cinnamon and brown sugar. Note the tomato sauce can in the background. My parents always kept one in the flour to measure one cup, so I do the same.

I am a horrible estimator and divider. I can't even divide a peanut butter and jelly sandwich evenly. I use a ruler to make that first division properly. Doesn't this look like an arm with a major flesh wound?

Ready for the oven! (I had another pan with the cinnamon rolls spread out more. These ones are pushed to one side because I was hoping they would "accidentally" touch, making them the "squished together" type of cinnamon rolls, which I like a little better. It didn't work.)

My hand, after working with the dough. More raised dots. How can that not sick you out? This wasn't quite so gross that I couldn't take a picture, but still. Disgusting.

Between these nasty dots and the flesh wound above, one might get the idea that I'm not trying to inspire your appetite to make these recipes. I promise: baking can be very enjoyable. In fact, there are so many visual and textural things to LOVE that I feel bad for pointing out just the ones that grossed me out. I love the feel of the risen dough. I love the texture of the brown sugar in my hands as I spread it over the flattened dough rectangle. I love the look of the cinnamon as it is shaken out of the container. I love cutting through the rolls and placing them on the pan. I love the feel of mixing the glaze (first it seems dry, then it suddenly is almost too wet), and I love drizzling it over the rolls. If you're even reading this, you probably love those things too!

Cinnamon Rolls
from The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger
DOUGH
1 russet potato (about 6 ounces), peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup warm water (105°-115° F)
1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar, or 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
5 to 51/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

FILLING
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup dark raisins or dried currants, plump in hot water 10 minutes and drained (optional)
1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts or pecans, toasted (see NOTE) and coarsely chopped (optional)

GLAZE
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons milk

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the potato chunks with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potato, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Let the potato water cool to 105° to 115°F. Meanwhile, process the potato with the butter through a food mill placed over a bowl or puree it in a food processor fitted with the metal blade just until smooth. This produces 3/4 to 1 cup of puree.

2. Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the granulated or brown sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl with a whisk or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the pureed potato, reserved warm potato water, yeast mixture, remaining granulated or brown sugar, oil, egg, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat hard to combine, about 1 minute. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a shaggy dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and springy, about 4 to 6 minutes if kneading by hand. If kneading with dough hook or electic mixer, knead 4 minutes on medium speed. Dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking. Take care not to add too much flour, because the dough should be very satiny.

5. Put the dough in a greased deep container. Turn once to coat the top and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Gently deflate the dough and let rise a second time until doubled in bulk, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle at least 1/4 inch thick. Brush the surface of each rectangle with the melted butter. Sprinkle the surface of each rectangle evenly with half of the brown sugar and cinnamon, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle with the raisins or currants and nuts, if using. Starting from the long side, roll the dough up jelly-roll fashion. Pinch the seams together and, using a serrated knife or dental floss, cut each roll crosswise into 9 equal portions, each 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Place each portion cut side up on the prepared pan at least 2 inches apart. Press gently to flatten each swirl slightly. (Alternatively, place in 18 greased 3-inch muffin-pan cups for a top-knot effect.) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature just until puffy, 20 to 30 minutes.

8. Put the baking sheet or muffin cups in the center of the oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Using a metal spatula, transfer to a wire rack. Immediately prepare the glaze by combining the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a small mixing bowl and whisking until smooth. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more milk, a few drops at a time, to make a pourable mixture. Dip your fingers or a large spoon into the glaze and drizzle it over the rolls by running your hand or the spoon back and forth over the tops. Or, apply the glaze to the rolls with a brush. Let sit until just warm before eating.

NOTE: To toast nuts, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts on a sided baking sheet and toast, stirring once or twice, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes for walnuts (halved) and pecans.

TO MAKE AHEAD: Dough may be made ahead and refrigerated overnight, covered with a double layer of plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature 3 to 4 hours before filling and rising. Once made, the buns can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze in self-sealing freezer bags for up to 3 months.

Ann's February Bread: Uh....also Scones

2010-03-12T22:35:00.016-05:00

Well after all the controversy that Listle's last post created, I feel like my month's post will be a bit of a let down. Yes, I too made scones. However, I did not intend to make scones, so does that make it better? I don't know. I had planned on making brioche this month, but somehow neglected to note in the recipe that the dough needed a good night's rest before baking, thus ruining my plans. I needed something quick, but something that wouldn't necessarily feel like a cop out. I also needed to have all the ingredients since I discovered my mistake on a Sunday afternoon and needed to have a delicious bread product ready for book club on Sunday night. So I decided I had to make three different kinds of scones as penance for my lack of recipe reading. Also, I had to make some cupcakes and chicken with brussels sprouts and rice, but I'm not blogging on those things. Suffice it to say, there was a cooking frenzy.

Luckily, the scones came together so quickly and easily that all that cooking wasn't nearly as traumatic as I had expected (the dishes, on the other hand...). I forgot that all baking isn't as time consuming and so full of multiple parts. You just throw some basic ingredients into the food processor and you're good to go! My friend Cheriiiil and I researched and made them together - we had so much fun! We decided that each type of scone had to be formed in a different way, to make the results research seem more complete.

First, we made cream scones with dried cranberries. We ended up combining a couple of different recipes; we had a recipe we wanted to try, but then adapted it with another recipe to create drop scones. They turned out delicate and rich, with a good contrast from the tart cranberries (no currants in my apartment). They spread out more than other drop scones I've had, but they would have been perfect for afternoon tea (I really wish it hadn't been Sunday so I could have gotten some clotted cream to serve with them!). Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them, with all of the cooking and book club action, but they were excellent.

Then I made honey-nut scones, courtesy of Dorie Greenspan. They were made with whole wheat flour, walnuts, and sweetened with honey. I made them in the way I've seen scones traditionally made, by cutting circles of dough into sixths and sprinkling with sugar (I used some turbinado sugar). They looked all rustic and homemade, and the sugar on top gave it an extra crunchiness. Perfect breakfast scone.

Finally, I made black olive scones (I wanted something savory to round out my scone experience). I used some salty black Turkish olives and lots of cream in the batter, and then rolled out the dough and cut them into circles and brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with Maldon sea salt. The combination of the salt and cream made them taste extra decadent, and the texture was perfect - flaky but crumbly, buttery, and everything a scone should be.

I can't decide which kind was my favorite, since they were all so different, but it was great to explore the variations on scones and really get to know them. Since I felt like last year I didn't get to know the properties of cakes as well as I should have, I want to make sure I really get into that this year, and my Scones, Three Ways helped me get to know scones very well.

Cream Scones/Mrs. Humphries' Scones
adapted from Afternoon Delights by James McNair and Andrew Moore, and The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook by Brinna B. Sands

3 cups flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1. Position an oven rack so that the scones will bake in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Like a baking sheet with kitchen parchment and set aside.

2. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to blend well. Add the cold butter and pulse in the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Transfer a mixture to a bowl. Add the cream and the cranberries. Stir just until the mixture sticks together.

3. Drop big spoonfuls of the batter onto the parchment covered baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Transfer scones from baking sheet to a bowl lined with a kitchen towel to keep them warm.

Honey-Nut Scones
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 large egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cold whole milk
1 1/2 flour
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Sugar for sprinkling (I used turbinado)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Like a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Stir the egg, honey, and milk together.

Pulse the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the pieces of butter and pulse into dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-sized pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between - and that's just right.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and pulse just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Don't overdo it. Pulse in the chopped walnuts.

Turn dough into a bowl and gently knead the dough by hand, or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that's about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake the scones for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are deeply golden and firmish to the touch. Transfer them from the baking sheet into a bowl lined with a kitchen towel to keep them warm.

Black Olive Scones
from Tea Time Magazine, September/October 2009

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup chopped black olives (I used Turkish olives, but kalamata or Nicoise would also be good)
2/3 cup whipping cream
Olive oil
Flaked sea salt (I used Maldon)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the olives. Pulse in the cream until the mixture is just moistened (that was a terrible paragraph for both Mrs. H-B and me).

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut as many scones as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary (but not more than twice).

4. Place scones on the prepared baking sheets. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of scones with olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 16 minutes, or until scones are golden brown.

Elizabeth's January Bread - Scones

2010-03-08T14:47:00.018-05:00

Scones are so yummy, and yet so controversial in my family!!

My husband loves scones. But in his household growing up (his parents are from Utah, and he grew up in Arizona), scones were a fried yeast bread, dressed with honey or cinnamon sugar (similar to Indian Fry Bread or Sopapillas). So when someone says "scones," that's what he's picturing.

In my household growing up (my parents are also from Utah, and I also grew up in Arizona), scones were the same baked quick bread that some people refer to as "English scones" or "Scottish scones." Jeff and I used to argue and argue about the true meaning of the word "scone." (We argued a lot in those days about pretty much everything, so scones just slid easily into the argument mix.) There was no information available about it on the Internet back then (1997...and yes, we looked!), so we finally agreed to just call them "fried scones" and "baked scones" respectively. And we also agreed to stop arguing about it.

Fast forward 13 years, and I had forgotten all about our "fried" and "baked" agreement. We don't eat scones very often, and since I've seen a lot of baked scones during the years, I pretty much forgot about fried scones. I swear that when I decided to make scones for my first month of Year of Bread, and I just called them "Scones" without the "baked" qualifier, I wasn't trying to pick a fight! Jeff good-naturedly reminded me of my past agreement... and I grumbled.

The recipe for these scones was featured in a culinary mystery that I read (English Trifle, by Josi S. Kilpack -- a Utah author). To complicate matters, she wrote something in the book about English scones being different than American scones, which, she wrote, "are deep fried." Huh? Where outside of Utah and my husband's family home have I ever seen a deep fried scone? Anyway, I decided to research it again this time around, and it turns out that fried scones ARE INDEED unique to Utah. Besides wanting to do the "I was right, I was right" dance, the truth is that I'm happy for Utah! Really. I do not look down on Utah scones at all (oh whoops, I'm not allowed to call them that. That was part of our agreement. They're not Utah scones, they're fried scones). Anyway, I love regional food, and I hate that regional food is slowly disappearing in America, as people eat more and more Olive Garden, Burger King, and Red Lobster. Actually, regional food is disappearing all over the world, but that's a discussion for another time. (Reminder: eat local.)

So all hail the Utah fried scone!! It should be noted that I can't find any particularly good scholarship on the matter, and any links that refer to such scholarship are broken and lead nowhere. However, it does seem that food historians/anthropologists agree that English/Scottish Mormon settlers in Utah hybridized Indian fry bread and British scones. Why the settlers decided to call them "scones" when they are so different in ingredients and consistency, I'll never know. I suspect they originally shaped them the same way they did with the baked type in their home countries.

All that aside, I chose to make BAKED scones for January. They were amazing. A-MAZ-ING. Amazing like a full moon. Amazing like opposable thumbs. Amazing like OK Go's This Too Shall Pass video. Amazing.

They were tender and flaky and buttery and slightly sweet. All around fabulous! Much more tender and flavorful than an American biscuit. This is probably due to the use of butter and sour cream rather than shortening. So tasty.

The only thing I didn't love was the really long shape of the scones. Once they were rolled out like the recipe stated, the triangles were so long that the points flopped over while they baked. In the future, I will divide the dough in half and then roll out two circles instead of one.

When the dough first starts to come together, you wonder if it's going to be too dry.

But then Kapow! It forms a fabulous little ball of Yummy.

Roll it out into a circle, and cut it into triangles. (Again I'll do two circles next time, rather than one big circle.)

Brush them with the optional glaze (which I didn't think was so fabulous that it merited buying whipping cream. Maybe you can make it with milk, or you could just go without the glaze.)

Serve them with clotted cream, jam, and/or butter.

These are so tasty that when you eat them, your taste buds will explode, followed by your brain.

**************************************

Sadie's Scrumptulicious Scones

1 cup sour cream (light works just as well)

1 tsp. baking soda

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup butter, cold

1 egg

Combine sour cream and baking soda in 2 cup bowl or measuring cup (mixture expands, so you'll want to have extra space). Set aside. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients using a pastry blender until mixture resembles course corn meal. Add sour cream and egg, mix until a soft dough forms—use use your hands if necessary. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead a few times, then pat or roll until 1 inch thick. Cut into triangles, or if you prefer, cut into circles with a biscuit cutter. (Elizabeth's note: actually, divide the dough into two parts, and roll each part into a circle. Cut into triangles like a pizza. This gives you smaller, more reasonable scones.) Place scones two inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bottom edges are golden brown.

Makes 8-14 depending on size of scones.

Glaze: (optional)

1 egg

1 Tablespoon whipping cream

Mix egg and cream together. Brush on top of unbaked scones and bake as directed. Sprinkle glazed and baked scones with powdered sugar. Set oven to broil, but do not move oven rack to the highest level—leave it in the center position. Put pan in oven, keeping door open about an inch and watch closely. Sugar takes 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven, serve while still warm.

*To Freeze: Bake scones as directed. When cool, put in Ziploc bag, removing as much air as possible to ensure freshness upon defrosting. To defrost, remove from freezer and let thaw at room temperature for 2 hours. Can reheat in microwave. (Elizabeth's note: I froze some of mine and ate them the next day, taking them straight from the freezer to the microwave. They were perfect.)

Ann's January Bread: Banana Bread

2010-03-04T22:35:00.006-05:00

So I get scared any time we start a new Year, and I always have to start a little easy. For me, that equaled banana bread. I have a favorite Betty Crocker recipe that I've adapted slightly, and so I made it for my roommate Megs' birthday party.

Banana bread is pretty basic and normal, but I usually make mine more exciting by sprinkling a layer of sugar on top before baking. When it bakes the sugar creates a crackly crust that takes this from a regular quick bread to a special dessert. I also like to serve it with Nutella - bananas and chocolate are so nice together, and this is an easy way to enjoy them. (I guess it's easier to put Nutella on a banana...or eat a banana split...whatever, it's easier than making a cake!) Megs also had some leftover eggnog syrup that'd she'd made (it's actually buttermilk syrup, but she kept calling it eggnog so that's what I call it in my head). I'll add the recipe when I get it from her.

Happy Birthday, Megs!

Banana Bread
from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook

1 1/4 cups sugar, plus a few tablespoons to sprinkle on top
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

1.) Move oven rack to love position so the tops of pans will be in the center of oven. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches.

2.) Mix 1 1/4 cups sugar and margarine in a large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened. Stir in the nuts. Pour into pans. Sprinkle enough sugar on top of each loaf to cover the top of the batter completely.

3.) Bake loaves about 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pans on wire rack. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. Serve with Nutella or eggnog syrup.

Bread and Circuses

2010-03-03T23:42:00.003-05:00

IT'S THE YEAR OF BREAD!!!!! Here are our criteria:

To start, Listle and I have found it almost impossible to define "bread". There are a lot of things we want to make that could be called bread, but don't have leavening, so we can't use that as a rule. We can't say anything that's a staple is bread, because there's a lot of superfluous bread products. We can't say that anything that can be made into a sandwich counts as bread (although cinnamon rolls sandwiching some nutella and banana could be quite tasters...). We'll probably discuss and refine our definition a lot throughout the year. So let us say that, like pornography, we can't tell you what bread is, but we know it when we see it.

Also, after the Luke fiasco, Listle isn't allowed to get pregnant and claim that her bread that month is "a bun in the oven."

Here are some rules:

1.) Six of our twelve breads must contain yeast (it's no good to do quick breads all year - and yeast seems to be what scares people, meaning us).

2.) We can't make the same bread in the same month.

3.) We want to explore as many breads as possible, so no repeats per individual. You can, however, make the same bread as someone else later in the year.

4.) The breads must be shared with one other person -with witnesses, who may or may not also get bread.

5.) We will incorporate reviews of good breads that we didn't make that we eat throughout the year.

6.) We will include book reviews related to bread.

7.) Finally, keeping up on posting on the blog is obviously a bit of a challenge for us :). So we must post our breads within two weeks of baking them. (We found that we were forgetting details of our cakes last year because we waited too long to post. No good!)

Let's get baking!

Year of Cake: Memories and Reflections, by Ann

2010-03-01T21:01:00.005-05:00

CAKE! This year truly was glorious. But first, let me point out that Listle DID NOT want to do Year of Cake. I wish I could find a chat conversation to reflect this, but it must have all been stated over the phone. It went something like this:

Ann: I'm so excited for Year of Cake! Won't it be delightful, dearest sister?
Listle: No, it's going to be lame. Just like you. I hate you.
Ann: That saddens me, but I respect your feelings.
Listle: Your face looks like a Barbie melted in a table lamp.

See? She didn't want to do Year of Cake! So it surprised me that she loved it as much as she did. Especially since, for me, Year of Cake was in some ways not as satisfying as Year of Pie, since I like cake more. Just as Listle found that more people loved cake than pie, my group of friends is pretty pie-obsessed. I also felt that with pie, I was a little more afraid so I purposely spent more time on research and on determining the types of pies I wanted to feature. There was more forethought. With cake, there were a few where I felt like I needed to get one done so I didn't spend much time on research. I was also very disappointed that a couple of my cakes ended up being really similar to each other, like the strawberry country cake and the lagkage. I guess in the end, I don't feel like I learned tons of principles like I did with pie because I was more confident in my cake making abilities. Afterward, I kept finding classic kinds of cake that I wish I'd learned more about. Man, this is kind of a downer. I really liked all the cakes I made! I just wish there'd been more research like I did with pie. As OBE just pointed out, though, I was way busier during the entire year of cake with the Relief Society gig and starting school again and, you know, dating him, so it's understandable that I felt like I devoted less time to research.

Okay, I'll follow Listle's pre-established cake categories:

Proudest moment in the Year of Cake:
Managing to get and keep a boyfriend.

Proudest CAKE moment in the Year of Cake:
Successfully making caramels that didn't scorch for the Peach Cake Tatin and the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake. My other caramel making experiences were so miserable, so it was super satisfying that it finally worked. Is that cake related?

Most fun moment with cake:
Making and decorating and presenting Control's bûche de Noël birthday cake.

Funniest moment with cake:
My lopsided birthday cake.

Tastiest cake:
Oh man, how to choose!? Okay the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake was the best, but I also loved the Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake. There were also other favorites, but those were probably the two that bowled me over the most. Interestingly, they were the first and last cakes of the year.

One really crazy-great moment in the Year of Cake:
Baking with Listle in January!

Cake that delighted and surprised me:
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

Cake of Listle's I wish I could have tasted:
July: nothing. I'm just kidding. Devil's Food White Out Cake

Best cake to share with a friend, any day of the week:
Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake. People went NUTS for this, but it was so easy!

Other honorable cake mentions: Okay the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake was hands down the best one I made, but other favorites besides the Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake were the White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes (OBE's favorites), the Peach Cake Tatin, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake.

Other favorite moments: all the pictures of Listle's kids on the blog - I loved looking at them and return often to look some more! So freaking cute!!!!

Things I wish I'd done during Year of Cake:
Like Listle, I wish I'd done more piping - I just did it during the Halloween Cupcakes, but I had really wanted to do a full on piped layer cake. I realized at the end of the year that I was running out of time, but it never worked out. I also wish I'd learned more about different frostings. I guess in the end I learned more about cakes and not as much about the actual decorating of them. I also never gave a cake in full in a cake box, which is sad! However, I've kept making pies throughout this year, and so I plan to keep making cakes too. CAKE! Now bring on the bread!

Year of Cake: Memories and Reflections, by Elizabeth

2010-02-27T09:06:00.009-05:00

What a great year!! I loved this year's theme --- more than I expected to.

I'll admit that I started slowly, and didn't really get into the spirit of things until August (I had moved over the summer). But then I took off with excitement! I loved it. I made so many cakes from August to December, it'll probably be the subject of legends told to small children all over the world for years to come.

Now for my annual awards:

Most fun thing about Year of Cake:
- Everyone loves cake. A lot of people don't love pie. Or they only like certain, very specific pies. But everyone loves cake. I enjoyed the Year of Cake a little bit more than the Year of Pie for that reason. A cake is easier to surprise someone with, because you don't have the risk of them saying "Oh....I hate custard pies." or "Oh......I hate fruit pies." or "Oh......I just plain hate pie!" And if you volunteer to take a cake to an event, you don't have to clear the type of cake with them beforehand to make sure it's going to be acceptable. I found that freedom to be really satisfying. Also, cakes are generally showier than pies, and that was pretty darn fun. I loved the looks of delight and the cheers that went up several times during the Year of Cake. I'm going to miss that feeling this coming year. ("Here's your slice of bread." "Thanks." Where's the fun in that?????)
.....That was a major clue in the coming year's theme, in case you didn't already know!

Proudest moment in the Year of Cake:
- Adam's baptism and confirmation!

Okay....proudest CAKE moment in the Year of Cake:
- Probably the straight sides and top of Ella's birthday cake. I wish I had taken a proper picture up close. I was really proud! It looked just like a bakery cake. Well......minus the mounds of buttercream decorations (I used multicolored tall candles instead).

Most fun moment with cake:
- Luke eating his first birthday cake.

Tastiest cake:
- Almost Fudge Gateau

One really crazy-great moment in the Year of Cake:
- Kicking off the year with my sister, Printer (Ann), while we made our January cakes. Wonderful!

The cake that delighted and surprised me (In much the same way that my apple pie delighted and surprised me) :
- Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Cake of Ann's that I most wished I could have tasted:
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

Best cake to share with a friend, any day of the week:
- Swedish Visiting Cake

Things I wish I had done during the Year of Cake:
- I wish I had done more with the piping requirement. I fulfilled it, but just barely. I really thought this would be the year I'd finally do some fancy cakes for my kids' birthdays, and I didn't. I still made cakes for them, but I didn't pipe the cakes. I also wish I had found and made my holy grail of cakes: the layered fudge cake, or layered mousse cake, or whatever it is that I am craving and wasn't able to produce! It is what I think of when someone says the word "cake," and I'd like to be able to make it. I'm talking fudgy, deep chocolate cake layers, sliced thin, with mousse or ganache in between. Or maybe mousse in between and ganache on top. A true chocolate lover's dream. If you have a link to a recipe like that, post it in the comments!

Of course there are dozens and dozens of cakes that I think about and wish I had made this year, but I had an awesome Year of Cakes! Besides, I will continue to make cakes. Because who doesn't love a good cake?

A cake I wish I had made

2010-02-27T08:52:00.002-05:00

I don't want to steal any of their glory, so I'll just include a link so you can see for yourself.

From "Serious Eats."

Ann Presents: Some Good Cake

2010-02-24T22:14:00.006-05:00

I had a few good cakes this year (p.s. Listle - I don't remember a bakery-cake-buying requirement, just that we had to comment on good cake!), and I would now like to share them with you.

First, I bought some cupcakes from one of my favorite local bakeries, Blu Boy Chocolate Cafe & Cakery. They have the craziest awesome macarons that blow my mind, but everything I've tried has been spectacular. I bought a couple of cupcakes to share with some friends, and my ever-so-talented friend Mrs. H-B photographed them for me.

I need a camera like hers so bad... These were excellent chocolate and cherry flavored cupcakes. Nom nom nom!

Next, I had some good cake in Cincinnati at a German restaurant that Ol' Blue Eyes and I tried when he had an audition there in November. We got some apple strudel and German chocolate cake, but before we started eating, OBE said I needed to take a picture, because, "Ann! It's the Year of Cake!" :)

Finally, OBE and I had some good cake in honor of our one year anniversary on February 2nd (this wasn't in the actual Year of Cake, but oh well - it was still good). It was just a cake from the grocery store, but it was triple chocolate, with tons of chocolate cream between the chocolate cake layers, and a chocolate ganache on top and little chocolate hearts. We were trying to get back on our diets at this point, but this cake certainly didn't help. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it, but it was really pretty!

Hooray for good other cake!

Elizabeth's Cake Review - West Side Bakery and West Point Market

2010-02-22T09:32:00.001-05:00

Ann, I almost forgot to review my bakery-bought cakes!

I thought I'd love the "Must buy a cake from a pastry shop" rule, and that I'd buy a few during the year. But as it turned out, I only bought cakes once --- for Adam's baptism.

Adam was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October. What a wonderful occasion for him and for our family! He was so excited to be baptized, and had been praying about the truthfulness of the Church for several weeks, so by the time his big day rolled around, he was very ready. I was so proud of my little boy.

I get pretty nervous at events that I'm in charge of, and I had 4 house guests (my mom, my in-laws, and my sister PRINTER [Ann]) so I didn't want to leave too many details up in the air. Early in the year, I decided to buy cakes for Adam's baptism, instead of making them. I wanted several different flavors and styles, so I decided to just go to the bakeries a couple of days in advance and buy some random 8-inch cakes. It worked out great -- just the way I thought it would. I bought two buttercream cakes with interesting stuff in the middle (I can't remember what), one lemon-coconut cake, and one carrot cake. (The only thing I didn't like so much was that it was more expensive than I had expected. I thought the cakes you special-ordered -- with all the writing and froofy stuff that's personalized to you -- would be more expensive or equally priced. I didn't expect the cake "off the shelf" to be so much more expensive. I would have known that, though, if I had researched it for 2 minutes!)

I loved the display of the cakes, I loved the variety, I loved the cake stands, and most of all.....I loved that I wasn't scrambling around trying to bake stuff for the baptism while I had a house full of guests!

(Side note: I learned something about myself from these cakes: I learned I hate real buttercream frosting. HATE. Oh well. The lemon-coconut cake was divine!)

Our family

Ann's December Cake - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

2010-02-17T22:27:00.010-05:00

Behold, the mother of all cakes! My official December cake was truly a showstopper, and was filled with not a little drama. It was totally worth it because it was INCREDIBLE. Here is the story.

I wanted to keep trying out recipes from Baking, by Listle's new BFF, Dorie Greenspan, and her chocolate caramel chestnut cake seemed big and dramatic, and the chestnuts sounded like they would be fun for a December cake. I knew that they sold them at Williams-Sonoma during the holidays, so I knew I had to get up to Indy to pay a trip to the store since I didn't have time to order them online and make the cake before everyone would leave for Christmas and I would be forced to eat the entire thing myself. Luckily, Ol' Blue Eyes and I had other reasons to go to Indy.

I really need to learn a lesson about trying to fit too much into a short amount of time because OBE and I had a Salvation Army bell ringing appointment, and then we still had to drive to Indy and get to Williams-Sonoma before driving to the concert. We were in a huge rush, and when I got to the store, they said they didn't carry the chestnuts during Christmas! Are you kidding me??? Chestnuts are only for Thanksgiving??? I was so mad. But I still bought a 9-inch-square commercial-quality cake pan. As I was walking back to the car to meet OBE, I remembered that there was a specialty cheese shop nearby in the mall. I walked in, turned to my right, and instantly happened upon a jar of chestnuts. Hooray for me!!!! They happened to be $20, but I was so excited and cackled something about a Christmas miracle as I bought them. So between the really good chocolate, the chestnut puree, and the jar of whole chestnuts I bought for it, this cake is officially the most expensive one I made.

Star Wars was great, too.

The cake wasn't difficult to make, but there were a lot of parts to it. First, I made the actual cake, which looked awesome in the perfectly squared pan (I've only had pans with rounded edges before this and I was surprised at what a difference it made aesthetically). It included sweetened chestnut puree which I thought was a fun ingredient. Then I made some caramel, which never works when I try to make it, but it did this time! I mixed it into some melted chocolate to create a caramel ganache. I can't even explain how good it was - the initial chocolate flavor gave way to burnt sugar. I chopped up half of the whole chestnuts and then finally made a bittersweet chocolate ganache. Finally all my pieces were ready for assembly.

I split the cakes into three layers, then stacked layers of caramel ganache and chopped chestnuts between the cake. After the top layer, I frosted the entire thing with the remaining ganache.

And the end, I poured the bittersweet chocolate ganache over the top put it in the fridge to set up. A few hours before serving, I took it out again, to get it to room temperature, and dusted the remaining whole chestnuts in sugar to make them pretty for decoration. (You're supposed to paint them with edible gold dust, but I couldn't find it.) The final project was the most beautiful cake I've made, if it's not arrogant to say so.

The picture isn't great, but the cake was! There were so many layers of flavor - not too sweet, nutty, caramelized sugary, the best kind of chocolatey cake. Plus, it looked like a real bakery cake. Make this cake! Or come over and I'll make it again!

Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Caramel ganache:
9 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate (I used Guittard)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

Cake:
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar, divided
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened chestnut spread with vanilla (I got this at a ethnic foods market - it was a German manufacturer)
1/4 cup whole milk

24 jarred peeled whole chestnuts (about 7 ounces); 12 coarsely chopped, 12 left whole
1 cup sugar

Glaze:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For ganache:

Combine milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in medium bowl. Stir sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and cinnamon stick in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 6 minutes (time will vary depending on size of pan). Add cream and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Bring caramel to boil, whisking until smooth and caramel bits dissolve, about 1 minute. Discard cinnamon stick. Pour hot caramel over chocolate; stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let stand until completely cool, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in chocolate mixture in 4 additions. Cover and refrigerate ganache overnight.

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in 1 cup brown sugar, then egg yolks and vanilla extract. Beat in chestnut spread, then milk. Sift dry ingredients over and gently mix together. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter in 3 additions.

Transfer batter to pan. Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 48 minutes. Cut around cake to loosen. Cool cake completely in pan on rack.

Turn cake out onto work surface. Peel off parchment. Using long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on 8x8-inch cardboard square. Spread with 1 cup ganache. Sprinkle with half of chopped chestnuts. Top with second cake layer, cut side up. Repeat with 1 cup ganache, and remaining chopped chestnuts. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side up. Spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Place cake rack on sheet of foil; place assembled cake on rack. Chill while preparing glaze.

For glaze:

Bring cream, sugar, and 1/4 cup water to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and glaze is smooth. Let cool until thick but still pourable, about 4 hours.

Pour glaze atop cake, spreading evenly over sides. Chill until glaze sets.

Brush 12 whole chestnuts with sugar. Arrange chestnuts across top of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours at room temperature.) Serve cake at room temperature.

Ann's Cake Book Review: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

2010-02-11T22:52:00.007-05:00

This is a book that I processed at the library a few months ago. I made a note of it at the time to read later in the year, so I took it home over Christmas break. Unfortunately, it took me much longer to finish it than I had intended. This was for several reasons, not the least of which was that this book was lame. Here's the basic premise: Angel runs a cake baking business from her home in Kigali, Rwanda, a few years after the genocide there. Through her business and her involvement in the community, she meets various native Rwandans, immigrants, relief workers, and officials, and listens to their stories (and dishes out advice and inserts herself into other people's lives). As a result, the book is really just a lot of little vignettes that are kind of held together by the premise of the cake business. The problem is that Angel is portrayed as always knowing what is best for everyone (this falls apart a little at the end of the book, but holds true for the majority), which makes it difficult to like her. In one particularly annoying scene, she explains to the wife of an ambassador who denies the existence of AIDS in her homeland that if all the countries surrounding that country are afflicted with AIDS, then her country must have it too. It just got really old to always hear Angel telling people what they should do in "cute" ways. For some reason, the fact that she is going through menopause is also featured prominently. The author of the book is a former relief worker in Rwanda and specifically says that she wanted to tell the stories of the people she met there, and I don't think that it's a bad desire, but this makes the book extremely self-aware and therefore doesn't give it a lot of depth. She could easily have told the same stories with better writing and more of a real plot, but everything is done in such a superficial, obvious way, with no subtlety. I know that I'm the one person who hates feel-good things, but essentially every bit of this book is meant to be "heart-warming" and "charming", and I just found it obnoxious. And there is really very little cake in the book - it doesn't delve into her cake baking much at all, and instead focuses on the cake decorating. But even that is treated in a really superficial way - it only talks about the finished product, and the reader almost never gets to see Angel in action with her cakes. If you like cute stories that are calculated to manipulate you into feeling good and hopeful about life, you may like this book, but who am I to say? There was almost no chance from the beginning that it could have won me over, and I know I'm the aberration. So instead, don't read it because you're not going to get your cake fix from this book.

MORE of Elizabeth's Extra Cakes - Strawberry Cream Cake and Pine Nut Cake

2010-02-06T23:14:00.002-05:00

I made lots of extra cakes in December. In fact, I was a cake-making machine that month! I even made a couple of tried-and-true cakes from earlier this year.

These two cakes were new to me, though. The first, and more complicated of the two, was Strawberry Cream Cake, from my good friends (I wish) at America's Test Kitchen. I took it to a Christmas Eve party, and it was admittedly an odd choice for that type of event, since it seems better suited for a summer picnic. But whatever! I wanted to make it before the year was done, and it was such a fab-u-lous cake that I can't imagine anyone minded.

I have loved looking at strawberry cream cakes in the past, but have not enjoyed eating them very much. They're pretty but not very flavorful. The things that made this cake different were these:

A strawberry "mash" in addition to the whole strawberries. It really brought out the strawberry flavor,
A flavorful cream filling (from the addition of cream cheese), and
A cake sturdy enough to handle the berries and cream, but not so sturdy that it was dry.

I really do think this Strawberry Cream Cake was as good as it gets in the cream cake category. But if you like cake mixes, which get all goopy when stacked, this isn't for you. But please don't serve me yours. (Is that mean?...)

The first two layers

Here you can see the way the layers are constructed:
strawberries around the circumference, strawberry mash
in the middle, cream on top of that.

Julia wants to eat it all up!

I added a cut up strawberry to the top of the cake.

The second cake was an Italian pine nut cake from the Jamie Oliver cookbook, Jamie's Italy. I made this cake for a dinner party, and it was pretty good. It is a very dense cake and not too sweet, which is VERY Italian. In fact, in my year and a half in Italy, I saw this cake many times in bakery windows, but never ate it. This version mixes like a quick bread, but it has yeast in it. It doesn't sit out to rise or anything, so it felt very odd to mix it up quickly, pour it in a springform pan, and have that strong yeast smell come back at me. It was very dense in the end (was the yeast supposed to have done something? Did my yeast die?) and I got nervous about it. It just seemed that it might be too bland to serve as the finish to a dinner party. I whipped some cream before serving it and mixed cut up strawberries and oranges to spoon on the side of the plate. I thought it was good like that, but not spectacular. I think it would be a more appropriate cake to eat with a cup of tea on a winter day or something like that. A HAND CAKE!

******************************************************

RECIPES

Strawberry Cream Cake, by America's Test Kitchen / Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Serves 8 to 10. Published May 1, 2006.

If using a cake pan, you will need one with straight sides that are at least 2 inches high; otherwise, use a springform pan. The cake portion can be made ahead of time, wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap, and frozen; thaw the frozen cake, unwrapped, at room temperature for about two hours before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients

Cake 1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking powder
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1	cup sugar (7 ounces)
5	large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature
6	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2	tablespoons water
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
Strawberry Filling
2	pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed
4 - 6	tablespoons sugar
2	tablespoons Kirsch (I omitted this ingredient and added a bit of water instead)
	Pinch table salt
Whipped Cream
8	ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2	cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8	teaspoon table salt
2	cups heavy cream

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.
In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries. Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.

Pine Nut Cake (La Torta Della Giovane Sara) from Jamie Oliver’s book – Jamie’s Italy

1 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus a little for the pan
3 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs, preferably organic
2 cups sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

1 & 1/4 ounce packet active dried yeast
3 & 1/2 ounces pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 12 inch springform pan and line it with a disc of waxed paper. Sprinkle the waxed paper with a little bit of the flour. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then mix the yeast with the melted butter. Add this to the eggs, with the sugar, remaining flour, and the lemon zest and juice. Mix together well and pour into the cake pan. Scatter the pinenuts over the top and bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until golden.

Ann's Extra Cake - Chocolate Almond Torte

2010-02-03T21:43:00.013-05:00

After searching through all of my dessert books, I finally remembered the recipe for the extra cake I made in December (yeah, I know the official one isn't up yet. Bah!). I made this cake for a Christmas party with friends. I'm usually looking for ways to use up the almond flour that I always have around (it's so useful!), so I made this cake since I had all the ingredients. It turned out great! Everyone at the party loved its dense, pure, bitter chocolate flavor, and its almost-fudge-like texture (which is why I kept thinking I'd accidentally copied one of Listle's cakes). It also served as a delightful Santa Lucia/birthday cake for melyngoch.

Chocolate Almond Torte
adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

13 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into teaspoons
2.8 ounces almond flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 3-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and grease the paper. Cut an 18-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the outside of the pan.

2. Put the bittersweet chocolate and butter in a medium stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted. Remove the bowl from the pot and set the mixture aside to cool until tepid.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs at medium speed with an electric hand mixer until blended. Gradually adding the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, increase the speed to high and beat until light and pale, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the tepid chocolate and the ground almond mixture, mixing until almost completely blended. Finish blending with a rubber spatula.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan in a roasting pan, place in the oven, and pour enough hot water into the pan to come almost halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Set the pan on a wire rack and carefully loosen the foil. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

6. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove the side of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto a cake plate. Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment round. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.

7. To serve, cut the cake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.

Elizabeth's December Cake - Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

2010-02-01T08:03:00.029-05:00

For December, I made another chocolate layer cake. This time, I made it to celebrate the birthday of one of the girls in the Young Women's class that I teach at church. I teach the 16- and 17-year-olds, and I love it. They crack me up, make me think, and inspire me -- sometimes all at the same time.

I got this recipe from the Food Network Website. It is an Emeril Legasse recipe. I learned so much from this cake!! Let me explain.

I was looking for a rich, moist, deep chocolate cake, and I didn't get it in this cake at all. But that was MY fault for not knowing enough about cakes yet! (HURRAY, YEAR OF CAKE.) I didn't understand that the "egg foam method" (like a genoise) produced such a dry, tough cake, with a subtle flavor. I know this sounds like a criticism, but it's not. As soon as I cut into the cake when I was serving it, I realized that I have had cakes like this many times: in Europe, and a couple of times in European restaurants in America. They're not supposed to be rich and moist! They're supposed to be airy and dry. When you whip whole eggs for that long, this is the style of cake you get. I ended up liking it quite a bit (other than the ultra-sweet frosting. You tricked me again, Emeril!), but it was not what I was going for. Again, if I had understood the egg foam method, one look at the instructions would have told me the kind of cake it would turn out to be.

So even though I don't fault the cake or the author, I still wish I had made something else. I still prefer the AMERICAN style of cake (despite what I said in my very last post. That's something different. That's un-frosted European-style cake -- more of a home-style cake than a pastry-chef-style cake.) And I'm still craving rich layered chocolate cake! I can't believe I didn't recreate it during Year of Cake. It's my Holy Grail!

American cakes rely on fat. (Mmmmmm....delicious fat....) European cakes rely on syrup soaked into the sponge cake. Here I am soaking the cake:

Now spreading the mousse:

Now stacking the layers together:

Now the finished cake. I frosted the cake with a separate frosting, and then added the chocolate curls:

I learned how to make chocolate curls from Julia Child:

1. Spread melted chocolate on the bottom of a jelly roll pan.

2. Cool it in the fridge, and then scrape it off with a spatula.

Oops! Too cool.

3. Leave it on the counter for a few minutes to warm it up.

4. Scrape again. Perfect!

Here are some girls from my class, with the cake in the foreground. (We meet on the stage. That explains some of the crazy equipment.)

Sarah, on the right, is the birthday girl!

A couple of the girls from my class surprised me by hiding from the camera because they didn't "look good" that day, which ruined my whole theory about their generation! I'd never seen someone from their generation object to a picture being taken (or posted online), as opposed to MY generation, in which girls wouldn't eat anything in front of anyone, and definitely wouldn't let anyone take a picture of them not looking their best. Ugh. I like the current generation's way of doing things better -- so much more self confident. I still think I'm right about their generation being more open, but I was still surprised that some of them avoided the camera. In fact, it wasn't until I was posting this that I realized that Nusly did manage to escape the photo. I'll get you next time, Nusly! Actually, Nusly took loads of pictures the next Sunday, but then she was ready for the pictures, which is fine. I've had days when I haven't wanted to be photographed either. There are women from my generation who still always run from the camera, no matter what, and I just think it's goofy.

More of my awesome girls:

Katie loved the photos so much, she appeared twice!

The woman on the right, Giselle, is the Young Women's President. She's amazing.

Now for the recipe:

Emeril Legasse's Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

8 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup bleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons butter

To finish:

1 pound confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
3/4 cup simple syrup, (equal amounts sugar and water, simmered until sugar dissolves)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, shaved into curls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the cake: Put the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar in a large mixing bowl and, with an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale yellow, thick and has tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder together in another large mixing bowl. Add the egg mixture and fold to mix thoroughly.

Grease 2 (9 by 2-inch) round cake pans with the butter. Sprinkle each with a tablespoon of the remaining sugar. Pour the cake batter evenly into the pans and bake until the cake springs back when touched, about 25 minutes. Let cool for about 2 minutes.

Using a thin knife, loosen the edges of the cakes and flip onto a wire rack. Let cool completely. Sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder into a medium-size bowl. Add the butter and mix with an electric mixer until incorporated. Add the vanilla and boiling water and mix until smooth. Let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream and the chocolate. On medium speed. Whip until stiff peaks form, set aside.

To assemble the cake:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack over it. Using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. Brush the tops of three of the layers with 1/4 cup of the simple syrup.

Place the bottom layer on a 9-inch round of cardboard and set it on the wire rack. Spread 3/4 cup of the mousse evenly on top of the cake. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread another 3/4 cup of the mousse over the top of the cake. Repeat the same process with the third layer. Top with the fourth layer. If necessary, shave off any uneven pieces of the cake with a serrated knife so that it is smooth and even on all sides. Chill for 2 hours.

Spread the frosting evenly over the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate until the frosting sets. Place the chocolate curls on top of the cake.

Elizabeth's extra cakes - Yiaourtopita and Blueberry Crumb Cake #3

2010-02-01T00:17:00.008-05:00

BONUS CAKES! This post is about 2 extra cakes I made this year.

The first is a recipe for Yiaourtopita, which means yogurt cake. (pronounced yeeah-oor-TOH-pee-tah)

I found this recipe on about.com. I was making Greek meatballs for some friends for dinner and I wanted a Greek dessert to finish. If you can't find thick Greek yogurt, the recipe says you can start with plain yogurt and strain it to thicken it. I bought Greek yogurt, but used half of it in a cucumber salad (tasty!), so I had to augment the rest with some plain yogurt that I strained. I hate changing more than one thing in a recipe, BUT I also didn't have a 13" square baking pan. I used two 8" round pans instead.

I don't have any photos! Here's why: I found out our friends were coming to dinner only an hour and a half before dinnertime. I ran to the store for ingredients, cooked dinner, and got the cake into the oven at the very last minute. The cakes cooked while we ate the meatballs. When the cakes came out of the oven, we ate them within 15 minutes and polished them off like nobody's business! (because it was nobody's business, alright? Don't make me come over there!) Hence, no pictures.

I will tell you, though, that this cake rocked! It had a slight sourness to it, because of the yogurt, and that made it FABULOUS! When I was plating it up, it looked very plain, so I sprinkled each slice with powdered sugar and put a single strawberry on the side. They looked lovely and tasted terrific. I'll be making this cake often. I love thicker, European style cakes without frosting. I like to call them "Hand Cakes," because you can hold a slice in your hand without getting all messy. Well, unless you're my 18-month-old. (Recipe at the end of the post.)

My other BONUS cake is another Blueberry Crumb Cake (the second for me this year, and the third overall. ....uh..I mean NUMBER ONE overall! YEAH!!! Woot! Woot!)

This is a Dorie Greenspan recipe. She's my new best friend. I adore her and want to be just like her, minus the short, short hair.

I made this for some other friends of mine. We all sat around my table talking and drinking tea/cocoa and eating this cake. Wonderful.

Here is a picture of it in my trash can. What?! YES, that's right. My husband, who liked it very much, decided after a couple of pieces that what he really liked was the crumb topping, so he ate the top off a piece and threw it away. I couldn't believe it! The bottom was MY favorite part. We could have been like Jack Sprat and his wife, for crying out loud!! But Jeff didn't even ask. The nerve. Oh well. I guess it was his piece, after all.

*********************************************
The recipes:

Yiaourtopita

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:

* 5 eggs
* 3 cups of all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups of sugar
* 1 1/8 cups of thick yogurt (Greek preferable)
* 1/2 pound of soft margarine (2 1/4 sticks)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder
* grated peel of 1 orange or lemon or bergamot orange
* 1 tablespoon of butter
* confectioner's (powdered) sugar (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).

In a mixing bowl, beat the margarine with the sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk together the flour and baking powder and, alternating between the flour and yogurt, add them slowly to the mix. Mix until smooth and add the grated orange (or lemon or pergamot orange) peel last.

Transfer the mixture to a lightly buttered 13" (or equivalent) cake pan, and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 45 minutes. If desired, when the cake rises, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and cover with foil until done.

Yield: serves 12-15

Note: If the yogurt is not very thick, baking time will need to be increased. Test for doneness.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Source: Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: from My Home to Yours

For the Crumbs:
5 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the Cake:
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
2 cups plus 2 tsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.To make the crumbs: Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed. Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. Refrigerate until needed. (Covered well the crumb mix can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

To make the cake: Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 tsp of the flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled — it will soon smooth out. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients.) You will have a thick, creamy batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.

Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the fridge and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There’s no need to try to get even pieces — these are crumbs, they’re supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so slightly.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Ann's November Cake: Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake

2010-01-29T22:39:00.007-05:00

This cake was completely intended to be an extra cake for the month, even though I hadn't really decided on my "official cake". But then in the end, I didn't have time to make another one. You know when you're making tons of cakes and you feel like you haven't really explored sides that you needed to, and you realize you've failed at doing what you set out to do that year and you hate yourself? Okay, maybe only Listle understands this, but she probably feels like she got everything done that she wanted to, so it's just me! Anyway, I chose this cake only because I had a bunch of leftover sour cream in the fridge and some frozen blueberries, and I was (typically) struggling to fit stuff into my space in the fridge (side note - it's really hard to have three people share a fridge). After a quick search for "sour cream" in The Cake Book (by the frosting-lite Tish Boyle), I came up with this perfect recipe. But in the end, I realized I hadn't yet made a crumb cake, so I did do something I needed to explore! Hooray!!!!

The thing that really surprised me about this cake is that it ended up being the most popular of the year with my roommates (who have been trying them since August). I thought it was super good, but it wasn't difficult at all to make and, as I said before, was just there to get rid of some ingredients, so their reaction was refreshing and made me feel better at the time about calling it the official cake of the month. The cake itself was really moist (again, sorry Mrs. H-B) and flavorful because of the sour cream, and I added the frozen blueberries at the last minute so they didn't bleed too much color in the surrounding batter. The crumbs got all buttery and caramel-y as the brown sugar melted....num num nummy! My only complaint was that I didn't have the requisite 9-inch square pan (I had an 8-inch), so the cake was thicker than intended and there were tons of crumbs on each piece. You're probably thinking that sounds awesome, but when you're on a diet, it means that you get a tiny tiny piece of cake covered with crumbs, and you just want more cake.

The other problem is that it took a lot longer to bake than it said in the recipe because of the smaller pan, so Ol' Blue Eyes fell asleep while he was waiting.

Good thing cake is the best wake-up.

Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake
from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Crumb topping:
1 cup flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cake:
1 ½ cups flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or unthawed frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

1.) In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork, stirring until the butter is absorbed and the dry ingredients are uniformly moistened. Set aside.

2.) Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.

3.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended.

4.) In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture until the berries are coated; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and vanilla extract; set aside.

5.) In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in two additions. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter, breaking up any large clumps with your fingers.

6.) Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and 45 minutes. Place the cake in the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely.

7.) Cut the cake into squares and serve from the pan.

Elizabeth's November Cake - Chocolate Layer Cake

2010-01-26T10:12:00.007-05:00

My November cake was actually a Greek Yogurt Cake, but I didn't take any pictures, so I'm going to post about the cake I made the first week of December instead.

I made this Sour Cream Chocolate Cake for Ella's birthday party. I found out it is NOT a "chocolate-lover's cake." It is a milk chocolate cake --- an excellent one, but I was still looking for a deep, rich cake. But.....the plus side is that my husband, who doesn't normally like chocolate cake (I know, huh!?!) really liked this. And the kids ate it up like crazy. And the birthday girl, who picked it, loved it. A WINNER! (Even if I was still looking for something with more chocolatey oomph.)

The recipe comes from The Cake Book, by Tish Boyle. If you look closely at the photo I posted above, you will see something that caught my eye the very moment I unwrapped this book on Christmas: the frosting on top of the cake is ultra thin! Almost paper thin at the tip of the triangle. Wha...?! The covers of books usually have the frosting piled up several inches. This is unheard of! What a renegade, that Tish.

Turns out, I actually do wish it had been thicker on the cake, and I'm not a frosting person. The recipe says that the frosting will leave you with so much extra that you can actually do a bunch of fancy flowers and such on top of the cake. I'm here to say that it just ain't so. I didn't do a single fancy thing, and it was just barely enough. Next time I'll do 50% more (a 1 1/2 recipe).

The cake, minus the tall candles. It has such straight sides!

I didn't get any close ups of the cake, because it was eaten up lickety split. Incidentally, as I was looking for the recipe online so that I wouldn't have to type it by hand, I stumbled upon Tish Boyle's Blog. http://tishboyle.blogspot.com/ It looks great. And it includes this scrumptious-looking recipe for true hot chocolate. http://tishboyle.blogspot.com/2010/01/just-rich-enough_02.html Maybe she does understand my love for chocolate after all. I'll have to make some more of the chocolate recipes in her book and her blog.

Ella eating the crumbs the next day after church. Yum!

In case you're wondering about the party, it was great! I'm a sucker for a big party for kids. I agree that it's a lot of work, but it's super fun for the kids (16 kids -- 8 girls, 8 boys. All came). I figure I can get through anything for a couple of hours, so why not? The only thing that I didn't like is that at age 6, we start allowing our kids to have "present parties." And when you have that many kids over, it just feels greedy. Your kid is opening presents for what feels like ages, and a bunch of parents are standing there watching, and it just feels very... precious. Like "There's my little princess! Opening her presents. Stand back, kids. Give her room." Ugh. That was the only part I didn't like. But before age 6, when we still have parties but don't allow gifts, people act like it is a tragedy, and they're reluctant to invite my kids to their own houses, because they think we have a moral objection to gifts or something. It's all very confusing and frustrating. If I ruled the world, kids parties would be huge. They'd be at people's houses with loads of friends, loads of games, and loads of dancing, but they would never be over-the-top in terms of expense at some fancy place with a fancy entertainer. And NO post-party treat bag! But that's just me. Most people I know don't do parties at all because of all the hassle and fuss and "expectations" from other kids/parents. It's sad. (Last year, one kid who came to Adam's party walked in and said FIRST THING "What's going to be in the treat bag?" A bunch of kids asked where the treat bag was when the party was over. They got a tiny pumpkin to take home, but no treat bag. Ella's friends got a "potato pal" at her party--a potato that they decorated to look like a buddy. Hilarious, I know, but they loved them.)

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup safflower oil or corn oil
1 1/4 cups ice-cold water

Directions

Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 350°; grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper; dust the paper and sides of the pans with flour.

Into a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk to combine then set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs until blended; whisk in the sour cream and vanilla extract until blended; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter and oil together on low speed.

Add in the cold water and mix to blend.

Add in the dry ingredients all at once and mix on med-low for 1 minute,

Add in the egg mixture and mix for another minute, until well blended, scraping down the sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly.

Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, until a pick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, peel off the paper, and cool completely.

Silky Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup water, divided

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

Directions
Put the chocolate and 1/3 cup of the water in a medium stainless steel bowl and place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl from over the pot and set the chocolate mixture aside to cool until tepid.

In small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar with the remaining 1/3 water. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, just until the sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring, and increase the heat to high.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, begin beating the egg yolks at medium speed while the syrup cooks to the correct temperature. When the sugar syrup reaches 225°F on a candy thermometer, increase the speed of the mixer to high. Continue to cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 238°F on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and with the mixer off, immediately pour about 1/4 cup of the hot syrup over the beaten eggs. Beat at high speed until blended, about 10 seconds. Turn the mixer off and add another 1/4 cup syrup. Beat at high speed for another 10 seconds. Repeat this process until all of the syrup is used. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl and continue to beat at medium-high speed until the egg mixture is completely cool, about 5 minutes.

At medium speed, beat the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the egg mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the buttercream until it is smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir the mixture by hand a few times to make sure it is well blended. Use the buttercream at room temperature.

Ann's October Cake - Halloween Cupcakes

2010-01-12T22:32:00.017-05:00

Halloween has slowly but surely become my favorite holiday (but maybe it's Christmas???? I don't know! I can't decide!), and everyone in my family agrees that one of the best parts of Halloween are Halloween cupcakes!!! In fact, they are so popular that my nephew Adam once prayed "Thank you for my family. Thank you for corn. Thank you for Halloween cupcakes, yum yum, they're my favorite" BEFORE he had ever actually had a Halloween cupcake. My sister had just talked them up that much in front of him! (Sorry for stealing your story, Listle. You had your chance.) I knew it was a given that I'd made some for my October cake.

I went a little nuts with Halloween issues of Martha Stewart Living (I'd bought a copy of a special issue a couple of years ago that'd been taken by a former roommate), and I spent A LOT of time on eBay trying to find past issues, and I maybe also got a little obsessed with Martha in the meantime and subscribed to two of her magazines. Anyhoo, I had remembered these cupcakes that I had seen two years ago, so that's what I wanted to make.

The cupcakes themselves were easy to make, but the frosting called for some ingredients that I didn't have access to (whipping quality pasturized egg whites?). I also ended up going to several stores looking for all the candy I needed for the decoration (who knew that red hots were so hard to find???), so as usual, I was scrambling to get everything done. Since I was also trying to organize a large party, this was more stressful than fun. In the end, after I got the cupcakes made, I decorated them as best I could with what I'd been able to find. As the party began, I enlisted the help of our friends to help decorate. I think I did all the mummies and skeletons, but other people helped out with the witches and the spiders (which ended up just being evil toothed things because I hadn't been able to find the licorice strings).

I wish I'd been able to spend more time with these. The cupcakes looked good, but I could have done better, and I thought they tasted a little dry (I made them a day before I decorated, and I think they weren't covered properly). I think that the ideas from the magazine were amazing, so it was my own issues with trying to fit too much in to too little time that made them not everything they could be. My favorites were the mummies, with pear jelly beans and food coloring for eyes, red gummi bears for a mouth, and lots of piped frosting (check off piping requirement!). I thought they looked really cute!
Hooray for Halloween cupcakes, and hooray for spooky me!

Halloween Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart Holiday: Halloween, 2007
Cupcakes:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 sticks butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins or 2 1/2 mini muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake until tops spring back, when lightly touched, about 20 minutes for standard cupcakes, and 8 to 10 minutes for mini cupcakes. Let cool completely in tins on wire racks. Decorate with buttercream and candy, as per pictures below.

Vanilla Buttercream:

6 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
9 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Beat butter in the bowl with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as needed, about 5 minutes total. After every 2 additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate the frosting. Add vanilla, and beat until smooth.

For mummy cupcakes, frost with a layer of buttercream. Place a dot of black gel frosting or melted chocolate on two pale green jelly beans. Halve a red gummi bear lengthwise. Arrange the candy to make a face. Pipe bands of buttercream using a ribbon tip (such as Ateco #44) to replicate ragged bandages.

For skeleton cupcakes, frost cupcakes with buttercream. Arrange with white jelly beans, black licorice candy, and black M&Ms to form a skeleton face.

For witch cupcakes, mix buttercream with green food coloring. Mound frosting on cupcakes, and arrange black M&Ms, candy corn, licorice strings, and a chocolate ice cream cone to make a witch.

For spider cupcakes, frost mini cupcakes with buttercream and dip in black sanding sugar. Arrange a spider face with red hots or halved red jelly beans and sliced marshmallows. Stick licorice strings in the sides for spider legs (if you can find the licorice strings...I couldn't...)

Elizabeth's October Cake - Almost-Fudge Gateau

2010-01-11T10:34:00.016-05:00

(sorry about my grainy pics. I turned the res down and forgot to turn it back up.)

This cake begins a spree of chocolate cakes, as I tried to find the perfect one. In a few posts, we'll see if I succeeded or not! (That's my teaser.)

I made Almost-Fudge Gateau, from the Dorie Greenspan book Baking: From My Home to Yours. It was FABULOUS! And so easy to put together. It's not flourless, but close. One of those cakes that melts in your mouth at every bite. Scrumptious.

The only problem I had was when it came time to do the frosting. You don't have to make the frosting; the cake's deliciousness will stand on its own. But we were having friends over and I wanted to complete the presentation. I was POSITIVE that I had cream in the fridge, and I practically turned the contents upside down trying to find it. Only as I was eating the cake an hour later did I finally remember that I had used it for something else two days earlier. They don't call me "Bad Memory Girl" for nothing.

I made a quick frosting with sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, and chocolate chips (I didn't want to use the really good chocolate for such a lousy frosting). It worked out okay, and I know a lot of people really like frostings with sweetened condensed milk, but it was too sweet for my taste. All the same, everyone enjoyed the cake.

Here we are, having a fire in the back yard, eating some cake with our friends (except Carl, our P90X-er, who doesn't eat chocolate anymore. CRAZY!) Griselda made us Salvadoran papusas for dinner, which were ridiculously good. I think they should open up a stand. Outside my house. Every day at lunch. It might interfere with his medical career and her nursing career, but who cares? I need papusas in my belly!

No, Adam's pants are not on fire. No, he's not a liar, liar.

You can see the finger lines on the plate where Ella is licking it dry. I wouldn't let her have any more cake, so she is doing the next best thing.

The cake was wonderful and perfect in every way, but I am still looking for the perfect layered chocolate cake. The search continues.........

Almost-Fudge Gâteau

(Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours)

5 large eggs
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

For the Glaze (optional)

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that's fine. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the butter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you'll think it's done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn't shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.

To Make the Optional Glaze: First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you'll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.

Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven – the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don't worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake – it will just add to its charms. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you're impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If the glaze dulls in the fridge, just give it a little gentle heat from a hairdryer.

Ann's September Cake: Birthday Cakes!

2009-12-05T21:43:00.016-05:00

Hooray for September because it's the official birthday month of Year of Cake! Or rather the sisters of Year of Cake. Although Listle didn't choose to highlight her birth through cake (rather surprising since she's all about birthdays), I thought that my birthday party would be a perfect time to make a high-impact cake.

My sister-in-law Charna sent me a blog post about one woman's birthday cake for herself - she made the infamous Alton Brown coconut cake. It was funny when I read the post because I knew exactly the recipe she was talking about - he makes the cake completely from scratch, including processing fresh coconut . I had kind of had this cake in the back of my mind from the beginning of the year, as some kind of elusive pipe dream, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make it. It would be a birthday gift to myself! Because of course an extremely labor-intensive cake is a great gift (did you see in the original post? It took five hours to break down two coconuts!).

Alton Brown gives detailed instructions on how to easily remove the coconut husks. After a trip to the hardware store for a really long nail, I was ready.

I started out by draining out the coconut water, I baked the coconuts for a little while and then allowed them to cool. This was supposed to cause the husks to crack and separate from the flesh with a little prying...but nothing happened. So I baked them again and waited. Again, nothing. I tried prying at the shells, tapping them with a hammer to crack them...nothing. After my boyfriend Ol' Blue Eyes worked me through a little bit of a meltdown, I took the hammer and pounded them into tiny pieces.

I should note that I started this process several days before the party, and more than once I determined that it wasn't worth the effort and that I would just use store-bought coconut. Each time I decided that was lame and that I love making a cooking project into an adventure, so I would continue on. And then I tried peeling the skin off the flesh.

The recipe said to use a vegetable peeler to get the skin off, but it was wretched. It took forever, and it peeled in a really awkward way, almost pilling like an old sweater on the peeled surface as I tried to handle it. It was grossing me out, and after one piece, I realized that although I had a full day to make the cake in preparation for the party, I would not have a happy birthday if I spent all of it messing with this dang coconut. Sometimes it's good to know when to let go.

Thus I moved to Plan B, which involved using a recipe from a book I'd checked out called Southern Cakes, which features an entire chapter on only coconut cakes. The author includes a recipe similar to Alton Brown's, starting from the raw coconut, but also had several other promising options with store-bought coconut. I picked a simple, standard cake and went to work.

From this point, everything went pretty easily. I bake the coconut cakes on Friday and assembled a layer cake just before the party. The only mishap at this point was that my attempt at a meringue frosting failed, but I blame that more on the fact that I was running around to get things set up for my birthday party at the same time as trying to make frosting. It was bound to fail. My dear friend Cheriiiil stepped in and did a 7-minute frosting instead, as per the suggestion of the author, and the day was saved.

At some point, I decided to make a second cake, but I really can't remember if there was a specific reason or if it was just because I wanted to make sure we had enough for the multitudes that were coming for my party. I maybe had wanted a chocolate feature. Or I was trying to use up some ingredient I had in my fridge. In any case, I made a banana cake with chocolate frosting. Again, I made the cakes Saturday morning and then frosted them as the party was starting. The frosting ended up being pretty thin, so I threw the cake into the freezer to help it set up faster so we could serve it. When I retrieved it, this had happened:

Can you see it? The cake had slid whilst in the freezer and then set with the top layer hanging off the side of the first. Everyone got a good laugh over my terraced cake.

Both cakes were really, really good. I wish I hadn't been rushing so much at the end so I could have really taken my time to make them look great, but the cakes themselves were moist (sorry, Maria), had a great texture and were really flavorful. I confess that I didn't get much of either because of the antics of my party (it was a massive karaoke party), but I would definitely make both again. The coconut cake used coconut water as its liquid, which gave a lovely flavor to the entire cake, instead of just using it as a garnish to the frosting. The banana cake reminded me of a similar loaf cake that my host mom used to make, or when I used to eat bananas with Nutella - banana and chocolate is always a great combination (when it's real banana, of course). I would maybe have liked a bit fluffier frosting, but that can easily be fixed for next time.

These cakes, along with the red velvet cake and lemon pie courtesy of Melyngoch, made for a very, very good party.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Classic Coconut Cake
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, or water from a fresh coconut plus enough milk added to make 1 cup
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line bottoms with parchment, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and use a fork to mix together well. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with a mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating, until the mixture is light and evenly combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time, until the mixture is thick and smooth.

Add one third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat well at low speed. Add half the milk to the batter, beating well. Continue beating as you add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour, beating well each time until the batter is very thick and smooth.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared cake pans, dividing evenly, and place them in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Seven-Minute Frosting and garnish:
1 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flaked or shredded sweetened coconut (or both)

Bring about 3 inches of water to an active simmer in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl that will fit snugly over the saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar. Beat with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is pale yellow and very foamy.

Place the bowl over the simmering water, and beat at high speed for 7 to 14 minutes or more, until the frosting becomes white, thick, and shiny, and triples in volume. Continue beating until the frosting forms firm peaks and loses some of its shine. Remove the frosting from the heat, add the vanilla, and continue beating for 2 minutes more.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side up, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges, and then sprinkle with shredded coconut. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake. Sprinkle and pat flaked and shredded coconut all over the cake.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
from Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by Nancie McDermott

Cake:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes more, until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in half the flour until it just disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed bananas, and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pans.

Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, turn the cakes top side up, and cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and evaporated milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark, shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a smooth, thick frosting.

Place 1 cooled cake on cake plate, top side down, and spread frosting on top, taking it to the edges. Place second cake on top, and mound frosting on top and spread on sides, spreading and smoothing to completely cover the cake.

Elizabeth's September Cake - Swedish Visiting Cake

2009-11-20T21:25:00.004-05:00

I adore this cake. I have made this three more times since September. It is the perfect cake to make when friends are coming over -- hence the name "Swedish Visiting Cake."

I pretty much always have these ingredients on hand, so I'll probably make it many more times for many more people. I even took it to my friend's house for her birthday, only a few hours after reading about her birthday on Facebook. THEN I found out that the cake was perfect for her because she did foreign exchange to Sweden for a year. Who knew?! See, it's the perfect cake.

This is yet another excellent recipe from Dorie Greenspan's fabulous book, Baking, From My Home to Yours.

The only change I would make to this cake is to cut down the almond extract just a bit. The teaspoon and a half of extracts (vanilla and almond) leave this cake tasting a little too much like alcohol for my taste. It's too bad I didn't try that during the first four times I made it, but I didn't. I'll post an update when I do try it.

The almonds on top are perfection.

I baked this iteration in a fluted-edge pan.
The other times I made it, I used a standard 9-inch pan with a removable bottom.

Swedish Visiting Cake (from Baking, From My Home to Yours)

Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Grated zest of 1 lemon (I used orange a couple of times, and that was good too. - Eliz.)

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

About 1/4 cup sliced almonds (blanched or not)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, a 9-inch cake pan or even a pie pan.

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the zest and blend the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and the extracts. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Scatter the sliced almonds over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar. If you're using a cake or pie pan, place the pan on a baking sheet.

Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden and a little crisp on the outside; the inside will remain moist. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides and bottom of the cake to loosen it. You can serve the cake warm or cooled, directly from the skillet or turned out onto a serving plate.

Ann's August Cake: Orange Lagkage

2009-11-10T21:50:00.011-05:00

One of my favorite cakes in the world is lagkage (pronounced lao-kay-eh), a very common sight in Danish bakeries. During my year as an exchange student it was perhaps just as common to see me hovering around bakery windows admiring lagkager and planning my next lagkage experience. Even though it just means "layer cake", nearly all of the lagkager I ate had the same basic elements - cake, fruit, custard, and whipped cream - but this is probably just because I preferred those cakes and picked them over less exciting versions. I recall that many also had marzipan, too. Despite their intense layers, they always seemed somewhat more informal than typical layer cakes I grew up eating, maybe because the sides were often unfrosted and the layers exposed. Those cakes hold a special place in my heart in for a few reasons: they were the instigators for my first "cafe culture" experiences, in which my best friend and I lingered for hours over slices of cake and tea cups of hot chocolate, and I always felt more inclined to practice my Danish skills when I knew that a delicious piece of cake would be mine if I spoke well (and I know I did despite the lame waitress who insisted on speaking English to me no matter how many times I responded back in Danish).

A typical lagkage - but not one I made

So, in honor of those happy afternoons, I wanted to make an awesome lagkage this month. I found a recipe in Nigella Lawson's Feast that reminded me of the correct structure, so I paired that with an old cookbook my dad got me called Wonderful Wonderful Danish Cooking. I also kind of just worked off my own memories to create the cake I wanted.

Well....it didn't really work. That's not to say that the cake wasn't excellent, but it didn't taste at all like lagkage. The Nigella recipe included what I had thought would be a custard layer, but turned out to just be a buttercream using custard powder. I had really wanted the custard element in the cake since that may have been my favorite part, but oh well.

After I made the cake layers, I split them and layered each with orange marmalade, mandarin orange segments, and whipped cream.

After a couple layers like that, I spread the wannabe (in my mind) custard, and then followed with two more sets of orange/cream layers. I smoothed the top to look oh so pretty (thank you, offset spatula):

Then I decorated the top with orange segments and my lagkage was done! It was much taller than one I'd ever had in Denmark, though.

My friend Janelle and I negotiate the cake.

It was a good thing it was so big, since I served this at a Relief Society party. The best tactic for the cake was to dive right in:

I liked this cake, even though it wasn't really correct. I love orange and cream pairings, and the sponge cake was nicely flavored, and there was tons for everyone! Cake success.

Appelsin Lagkage (Orange Layer Cake)
adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson and Wonderful Wonderful Danish Cooking by Ingeborg Dahl Jensen

Cake:
1 1 /2 cups flour
3 tablespoons Bird's custard powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cups superfine sugar (or regular sugar blitzed in food processor)
2-3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.

Put all the ingredients except the milk into a food processor. Process into a smooth batter, then add the milk a tablespoon at a time to make a soft dropping consistency. Divide between the prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes. It will have puffed up because of the cornstarch in the custard powder.

Remove from oven, place on cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn them out, peel off parchment paper, and cool completely.

Buttercream Custard Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons Bird's custard powder
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water

Process the powdered sugar and custard powder to remove any lumps, add the butter, and process. Feed the water down the funnel with the motor running until buttercream comes together.

Assembly:
1/2 pint whipping cream (or more...I can't remember now)
Orange marmalade
Canned mandarin oranges

Whip cream to desired consistency. When the cakes have cooled, split each cake into two layers. Place on layer on cake plate, spread with marmalade and arrange a layer of orange segments. Top with 1/3 of the whipped cream and spread to cover entire layer. Top with another cake layer. Spread buttercream on top. Add another cake layer, then repeat layers of marmalade, oranges, and cream. Top with remaining cake layer, then spread with remaining whipped cream. Smooth top with an offset spatula, and decorate with mandarin orange segments.

Elizabeth's August Cake - Devil's Food White-Out Cake

2009-11-09T15:52:00.013-05:00

I have avoided posting this cake, because it was going to take me so terribly long to type out the instructions; they're really, really lengthy. But I'm a dufus, because I just googled the cake name and found the entire thing on NPR.org. Silly me.

--------------------------------------

It was LUKE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY in August! He turned one. Just in case you don't know what first birthday means.

We had a little party for him and invited another family. I made a series of sandwiches and salads, and it was oh-so-delightful. I went a little crazy on the food, but it was worth it. Because while it was definitely a celebration of Luke turning one, it was also a celebration of ME not having an INFANT anymore. HUZZAH!

I made Luke a tiny cake of his own, using little cake pans that my mom gave me for Christmas.

Aren't they adorable? Don't they make you want to have a little doll tea party just looking at them?

I cut off the tops of the cakes, and Jeff frosted them for me because I was running out of time. My husband is an accomplished potter, and therefore knows how to glaze and create artwork and all that jazz, but if you could see a close-up of this cake, you would see a cake frosted by a blind monkey. (With all due respect to my beloved.)

The blueberries were put on the cake because they are Luke's favorite. I didn't anticipate, however, that he would eat the blueberries one by one and take forever getting to the cake-eating part. We all stood patiently with our cameras, ready to take a messy-face picture, and there he was, eating blueberries one......by one..... by one........ Oh well, he had a great time. And we did eventually get to a messy-face picture:

The cake I chose to make for the rest of the people at the party was this Devil's Food White-Out Cake, in Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. I had checked the book out from the library after reading about Ms. Greenspan on the NPR website. The book was so marvelous that I kept it by my bed for nighttime reading. The photos are fabulous, the recipes themselves look divine (but approachable), and the writing is superb. What a great book!

I enjoyed the cake, as did everybody at the party but my husband (who has a very limited "cake palate"). I wouldn't say egg white frosting is my number one favorite, but it was very fun to work with. And here's the most interesting tidbit: The combination of the sweet egg white frosting and the chocolate cake made it taste like....raspberries! For real! We all agreed it tasted like there was raspberry flavor in the cake. Wild.

The final masterpiece

I wish I had taken a cue from the photo inside the book and put fewer crumbs on top than on the sides:

Or I could have done it like the photo on the front of the book, where the stylist put zero crumbs on top:

In both pictures, they also kept the sides a littler tighter and straighter. My cake looked really pretty up close, but the pictures make it look like a big blob of goo. I liked my cake, and I was proud to serve it; I just wish I had styled it to look more sleek.

Ella with the cake. (Isn't that an awesome face?)

The cake after the party.

No one in the whole world can keep the chocolate crumbs out of bright white icing. I wish I had a food stylist at my house to wipe the crumbs off of every delicious piece.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Devil's Food White-Out Cake

Makes makes 12 servings

For the cake

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature

1/2 cup boiling water

4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the filling and frosting

1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be thick, like frosting. Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Don't worry if the tops have a few small cracks. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

When you are ready to fill and frost the cake, inspect the layers. If the cakes have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. With the same knife, slice each layer horizontally in half. Set 3 layers aside and crumble the fourth layer; set the crumbs aside.

TO MAKE THE FILLING AND FROSTING: Put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl or in another large bowl. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil for 3 minutes. Uncover and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites.

When the syrup is at about 235 degrees F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. Splatters are inevitable -- don't try to scrape them into the whites, just carry on. Add the vanilla extract and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes. You should have a smooth, shiny, marshmallowy frosting. Although you could keep it in the fridge in a pinch, it's really better to use it right now.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Put a bottom layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or on a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a long metal icing spatula, cover the layer generously with frosting. Top with a second layer, cut side up, and frost it. Finish with the third layer, cut side down, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Don't worry about smoothing the frosting -- it should be swirly. Now, cover the entire cake with the chocolate cake crumbs, gently pressing the crumbs into the filling with your fingers.

Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour before serving. (If it's more convenient, you can chill the cake for 8 hours or more; cover it loosely and keep it away from foods with strong odors.)

SERVING: I think the cake is best at room temperature or just cool, but many people prefer it cold (the texture of the cake becomes fudgier after it has been refrigerated). No matter the temperature, the cake is so pretty it should be cut at the table, so bring it out on a platter and cut it into generous wedges using a serrated knife and a sawing motion.

STORING: The frosted cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, or longer if you have the time.

Ann's July Cake - Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2009-09-26T22:45:00.014-04:00

Summer cake means ice cream cake! This was one of the first ideas I'd had for Year of Cake, and I'd been super looking forward to it all year. I researched ice cream cake for a long time, but only came up with molded ice creams. I definitely wanted something with a cake element - and felt like it was pretty essential to the recipe, this being the Year of CAKE, not the Year of Ice Cream Shaped to Look Like Cake. I wanted something similar to what I'd get if I bought an ice cream cake from the store, but the recipes I found weren't helping. Finally, I found a recipe on the Food Network website that looked fun.

First I made the cake, which ended up being one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had - rich and dark and super moist (sorry, Maria). As I split the cake into layers, I kept sneaking cake pieces, so I may at some point consider making this recipe again just for the cake.

Next, I softened some chocolate ice cream and stirred it until it was spreadable. So pretty!

This was poured on top of the cake and then refrozen. I did this over the course of a couple of days - I think the cake was one night, and the rest of it a second night. I confess that I probably didn't freeze each layer as much as I should have, but I had people over for Enrichment to observe me make this cake so it had to get done.

Next I softened peanut butter and poured it over the chocolate ice cream, added the second layer of chocolate cake, and refroze it. Then, the same method with the vanilla ice cream.

Finally, it all went into the freezer for one last freeze. When it came out, I cut it in half lengthwise and stacked them on top of each other to create multiple layers, and I melted some chocolate to go on top as per the picture on the website:
Yeah... well... mine didn't quite turn out like that:

I don't think I let the chocolate melt enough, and in my defense, the cake was starting to melt and I really needed to get it served. On the other hand, I really should have made this when it had time to freeze properly. Oh well. Look how pretty it is sliced!

It would be interesting to see how this cake tasted if everything had been frozen correctly, but I did enjoy that the ice cream melted into the cake and it all kind of melded together. Chocolate and peanut butter combinations seem to always equal happy eaters, so everyone seemed to love this cake. Unfortunately for me, I started a diet the day after I made this, so I still have tons of it in my freezer if anyone wants some.

Ice Box Cafe Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake
Adapted from a recipe courtesy the Ice Box Cafe, via www. foodnetwork.com

Chocolate cake:

1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of milk
1 cup water
1 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt

Ice cream cake:

1 pint chocolate ice cream
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 pint vanilla ice cream
Chocolate cake

To make the chocolate cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Choose between a 10 by 3-inch round or a rectangular shaped baking pan and spray it with baking grease or butter and then line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine the oil and the sugar in mixer until well blended. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and continue to mix until well blended. Add the milk and the water.

Sift all of the dry ingredients and then add them to the wet ingredients in three batches allowing each batch to be thoroughly absorbed.

Pour the batter in prepared pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a skewer is clean when removed. Allow to cool before unmolding. Once chocolate cake has cooled, unmold, and refrigerate overnight to allow it to cool thoroughly.

To make the ice cream cake: Cut the chocolate cake horizontally to make 2 layers out of the 1 layer and slide 1 of the layers onto a plate or cake board attempting not to break the layers.

Line the same pan used to bake the chocolate cake in plastic wrap (the plastic will help you remove the ice cream cake from the pan once it is set, so make sure to use a large enough piece and slide 1 of the half layers of chocolate cake into the pan). Make sure that it rests firmly in the bottom of the pan and if the plastic wrap has slipped in, adjust so that it spills over the sides of the pan.

Empty a pint of chocolate ice cream, or your favorite brand, into a mixer and soften until it is easily spread, do not let it become runny. Pour the ice cream into mold over chocolate layer and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Return to freezer until set, approximately 2 hours.

Soften 2 cups of creamy peanut butter in the microwave without letting it get runny, approximately 2 minutes. Then pour the peanut butter over the chocolate ice cream. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the peanut butter evenly over the chocolate ice cream. Place the second half of the chocolate cake layer over the peanut butter and pat down firmly. Return to freezer until set, approximately 2 hours.

Empty a pint of vanilla ice cream or your favorite brand, into a mixer and soften it until it can be easily spread. Pour into mold over chocolate layer and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Return to freezer and allow to set overnight.

To unmold, simply invert over cake board or plate, place a warm towel over the pan for a couple of minutes. The cake should slide out without any problems, grab a hold of the ends of the plastic wrap, and give it a tug if it is stubborn. Invert back so that vanilla ice cream is on top. Decorate with melted chocolate or whipped cream.

If you chose a rectangular shaped mold, cut lengthwise and stack on top of each other for a dramatic presentation. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

Elizabeth's July Cake - nothing

2009-09-20T22:36:00.002-04:00

I didn't make a July cake. Meh. I'll make an extra cake another month and post it.

Now I turn the time over to Ann to post her July cake....

Ann's June Cake - Peach Tatin Cake

2009-08-30T21:35:00.008-04:00

This month, I threw an outdoor birthday party at the drive-in for my boy, Ol' Blue Eyes. You may remember him from the pasty-making experience last year. We weren't dating then, but now we are. Things change. Hooray! Because we were going to be outside and everything would be subjected to Indiana's unusually humid June weather, I needed to find something weatherproof. I'd been looking forward to some kind of upside down cake, but Listle had already made a pineapple upside down cake. I decided to explore a version of tarte tatin - a Frenchified upside down cake usually made with apples. There are lots of cakes out there that have different fruit substituted for the apples, and so I picked a lovely summer fruit version: peach tatin cake, from a cake book my mom gave me for Christmas. Amazingly, it is called The Cake Book. This seemed pretty perfect for the occasion - easy to make ahead, without filling or frosting that could potentially melt, and full of summer deliciousness.

First, I made a caramel sauce for the bottom of the pan. I'm a little afraid of making caramel sauce because the last time I tried to make it (also for OBE, incidentally), it was a complete disaster. This version worked really well - I ignored some of the directions (waiting for the sugar to dissolve completely - maybe my idea of completely is different than everyone else's, because it was smooth and lovely in the end but I expected it to be grainy. Anyway, after the caramel sauce went into the cake pan, I sliced up the peaches and arranged them, and then chopped up some crystallized ginger and sprinkled that on for kicks.

Next I mixed up the sour cream batter and poured it over the top. After it had baked and cooled, it was ready for the party.

Next, the moment of truth - the flipping!

It went pretty well - one chunk didn't make it, but it was easily added back in. I served the cake with vanilla ice cream, with caramel sauce on the side. Oh wow...it was SO GOOD! The caramel sauce on the cake had an amazing smoky flavor that melted into the cake, and but the peaches brighten up the flavor, so it had a kind of summer-meets-autumn vibe, with a little bit of snap from the ginger.

Happy Birthday, Sweetness!

Peach Cake Tatin
from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Caramel Peach Topping:
1 C granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
4 large ripe peaches
3 Tbsp crystallized ginger, chopped

Sour Cream Cake:
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 C sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 C granulated sugar
2 large eggs

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and grease the paper.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring; increase the heat to high, and cook, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization, until the mixture turns into a golden caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter, one piece at a time (be careful - the mixture will bubble up furiously). Carefully pour the hot caramel into the bottom of the prepared.

3. Cut the peaches in half and discard the pits. Cut each peach half into six wedges. Arrange a circle of wedges, overlapping them slightly, around the edge of the pan, on top of the caramel. Arrange another circle of wedges in the center, facing the opposite direction, covering the caramel completely. Sprinkle ginger on top.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and vanilla extract; set aside.

6. In a bowl, using an electric or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until the mixture is lightened in texture and color, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream mixture in two additions and mixing just until blended.

7. Spoon the batter in large dollops over the peaches, then smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.

8. Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the pan. Using pot holders, very carefully invert the cake onto a cake plate. Peel off the parchment paper. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.

Elizabeth's June Cake - A repeat??

2009-08-23T22:41:00.016-04:00

Buttermilk Spice Cake with Roasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

This month I decided to do a spice cake for a friend who had a baby. It ended up being so much like my carrot cake in March (the cake, not the baby), that I'm a little embarrassed to call it my Cake of the Month!

I chose Emeril Lagasse's recipe. I planned to do a tall layer cake as his recipe instructs, but then I couldn't find my cake pans (post move). I had to settle for a 9x13 pan. Boooooring.

The cake was easy enough to make, and came out decent. It was WAY too sweet, though. After our first pieces, Jeff and I hardly ate any of it, and ended up throwing out the rest several days later. (I wish I had taken half of it to friends that first day.) I compared the ingredients in Emeril's cream cheese frosting to America's Test Kitchen's cream cheese frosting from March's carrot cake. Emeril's version had three times(!) the sugar. Eesh. In his defense, he's from the South, and sugar is in their blood. Usually when I make a recipe from a southern cookbook or website, I'm extra-aware of the sugar content and careful not to add too much. I didn't think of it this time and paid the price. Hoooooo-weeeeeeee, was this sweet! Sweet as a prairie flower! (Did that sound southern enough?)

The cooked cake, sans frosting

The crazy-sweet frosting

The roasted walnuts

The frosted cake

The frosted cake with the nuts on top

A piece of the final of cake (in my backyard)

The dinner that I took to my friend
(Grape tomatoes on angel hair, green beans, salad, cake.)

Total cuteness

Buttermilk Spice Cake with Roasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Source: Emeril Lagasse, 2005

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 recipe Roasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 2 (9-inch) parchment paper rounds and line the pan bottoms. Grease and flour the parchment rounds.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the brown sugar and butter. With the mixer running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter, mixing well. With the electric mixer, in another large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the cake batter. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until the center springs back when touched, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. After the cakes have cooled, invert them onto sheets of parchment paper. Slice each cake in half and set aside.

Spread a layer of the frosting over 3 layers of the cake. Place the layers of cake on top of each other and top with the fourth layer of cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Slice the cake into individual servings.

Roasted Walnut and Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

3/4 pound (about 3 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup roasted walnut pieces

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the cheese and butter. Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and milk, if needed to thin consistency, and mix well. Fold in the walnut pieces. Yield: about 3 cups

Ann's May Cake - A Tale of Two Birthdays

2009-08-13T21:39:00.013-04:00

I have two delightful roommates. Actually, I should say I had two delightful roommates, because one has moved out, but then another delightful roommate moved in, so I guess I still have two. These two original delightful roommates both have birthdays in May, and they clearly wanted cakes. Well, maybe one wanted a cake, and I told the other one she was getting one as well. Anyway, on with the cake!

First, we had a party for Control's birthday, which was actually later in the month, but she was leaving for Utah before we could celebrate, so we added her birthday into our end-of-the-semester/Reverse Halloween Opposite Day party. She had requested months in advance that I make her a bûche de Noël. So, despite the lack of Christmas, I set out to make this classic December cake. The cake itself is a flourless sheet cake, which I then frosted with chocolate icing and then rolled up like a jelly roll. I sliced off the end at an angle and then sort of formed some little twigs to stick on the sides. This part was all kind of free-form, but look how awesome it turned out!

Look, it looks like a real log!!! I almost didn't want to frost it because it looked so real. However, I did frost it, and added some marzipan mushrooms and powdered sugar "snow".

Painting spots on the mushrooms.

I like that I look like a ghost in this picture. Here are the lovely swirly insides:

I was quite surprised at how moist and gooey this cake tasted. I had been a little worried that the cake would be dry, or that there would be too little frosting, but it really worked out perfectly. I love a recipe that has perfect quantities - no leftover frosting, but also just the right amount on the cake. Our friend Clovis said this was the second best cake he'd ever had, after the Rigo Jansci from last month. Hooray!!!! Happy Birthday, Control!

Next we celebrated Marcue's birthday. Marcue has a deep and abiding love for strawberries (or "strawbries" as we say in our apartment), so I decided that I was making a Barefoot Contessa cake I'd had my eye on for a few years. I then informed her of this and that we were having a party for her. Luckily, she went along with my decision. The cake looked like was full of strawberry goodness, so it seemed like a perfect fit for Marcue.

The original recipe for the cake layered two 9-inch cakes with whipped cream and strawberries, but I decided to split the cakes and double the layers. This is a birthday cake, after all!

Fluffy clouds of whipped cream.

It's so pretty! The cake was a pretty simple white cake, but the addition of lemon zest seriously sent this over the top. It was so crazy good with really vibrant flavors. The citrus made the flavor of the strawberries and cream really pop, and everyone loved it, especially Marcue.

Happy Birthday, Marcue!

Bûche de Noël
From Feast: Food That Celebrates Life by Nigella Lawson

For the cake:
6 eggs, separated
3/4 C superfine sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 C unsweetend cocoa powder

For the icing:
6 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 C confectioners sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3-5 tsp confectioners' sugar, to decorate
marzipan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored.

In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and thick, then add 1/4 C of the sugar and continute whisking until the the whites are holding peaks but not dry.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar until they are pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract and sift over the cocoa, then fold both in.

Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the whites, folding in gently, and then add the whites in thirds, mixing carefully to avoid losing the air.

Pour the cake into the lined pan, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of parchement paper.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a double boiler and let it cool. Put the confectioners' sugar into a food processor and blitz to remove any lumps, add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled melted chocolate and vanilla and pulse again to make a smooth icing.

Trim the edges of the cake. Spread some of the icing thinly over the cake, going right out to the edges. Roll up from the short side facing you taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to meet the other short end. Trim one end slightly to form an angle.

Use the cake trimmings to make branches as you wish, and then ice the cake with the remaining icing, covering the cut off ends as well. Create wood-like texture by going along the length of the log with a skewer, etching in knots. Remember to make tree rings at the ends.

Form little mushrooms with the marzipan, paint spots on with cocoa powder. Place on cake as desired. Dust with confectioners' sugar for snow.

Strawberry Country Cake
from Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten

3/4 C unsalted butter at room temperature
2 C sugar
4 extra large eggs at room temperature
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C flour
1/4 C corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

For the filling:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
6 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans.

Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On medium speed, add the eggs, on at a time, then the sour cream, zests and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.

Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 40-45 min, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 min, then remove the wire racks and let cool to room temperature.

To make the filling, whip the cream by hand or in a mixer until firm; add the sugar and vanilla. Split the cakes into two layers each with a serrated knife. Place the bottom slice of cake on a serving platter, spread with a quarter of the whipped cream, and scatter on a quarter of the strawberries. Cover with the top slice of cake. Repeat, ending with a the last layer of cake. Spread remaining cream on top of cake and decorate with strawberries on top.

Elizabeth's May Cake - Fudge Cupcakes

2009-08-11T23:26:00.011-04:00

I did it again.

I couldn't help myself! I thought I had learned my lesson, but I guess I didn't.

I read another Joanne Fluke book.

I know! It's ridiculous that I read it, given how much I hated the other one. But the very next one in the series had cake in the title, and I had looked at it when I picked up the Lemon Meringue Pie one, AND it involved a mystery ingredient.....so I just had to get it from the library when the year of cakes started.

Luckily, it wasn't quite as bad as the Lemon Meringue Pie book (although that's not saying much). Still, I just had to find out what the secret ingredient was in the Fudge Cupcakes, which was the title recipe). Well..... (spoiler alert!) it was Raspberry Syrup! Who knew!? Thus solving the best mystery Ms. Fluke could possibly put together, because her murder investigations are completely absurd.

Getting back to the cupcakes....

These were awful. I made them twice, because I thought I might have done something wrong, and they were just as bad the second time. I eventually searched online for reviews of the book to see what others had to say about the recipe. Turns out there was a MISPRINT in the original edition: it's not baking SODA, it's baking POWDER! Argh. This was the title recipe, and Fudge Cupcakes sounded oh-so-tasty. I'm thinking about making them again the correct way, but .... I don't have the energy for it just now. If I make them again, I'll post the results. I promise. And I promise not to read another Fluke book again. Really.

Cross my heart and hope to die.

...'Cuz I'll WANNA die if I read another one! Oh snap!! Good one, Elizabeth.

Right before melting the chocolate

Waiting for the chocolate to melt

And...the chocolate has melted.
I skipped all the steps after this, such as adding flour, etc. Boring.

The finished cupcakes. What the....?

The cupcakes after we poked at them a little bit. They didn't taste too terrible, actually, but they clearly went over the pan and didn't hold their rise. They were also too chewy-weird.

Fudge Cupcakes

(This is the correct recipe, in case you want to make them and post them or something)

Ingredients

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares (1 oz each)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup raspberry flavored syrup (for pancakes- I used Knott's red raspberry)
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature (one stick, 1/4 pound, I use sweet butter)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (you use 1 3/4 cups sugar in all)
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F Position rack in the middle of oven.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with double papers. Since this recipe makes 18 cupcakes, you can use an additional 6-cup muffin pan lined with double papers, or you can butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan or the equivalent.
Microwave the chocolate, raspberry syrup and 1/4 sugar in a microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave again for another minute. At this point, the chocolate will be almost melted, but it will maintain its shape. Stir the mixture until smooth and let cool to lukewarm. (You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove.).
Measure flour, mix in baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In an electric mixer (or with a VERY strong arm), beat the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes with a mixer--an additional 2 minutes if you're doing it by hand.) Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they're thoroughly incorporated.
Add approximately a third of the flour mixture and a third of the milk. (You don't have to be exact--adding the flour and milk in increments makes the batter smoother.) When that's all mixed in, add another third of the flour and another third of the milk. Thwn that's incorporated, add the remainder of the flour and the remainder of the milk. Mix thoroughly.
Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it's cool enough to add. (You don't want to cook the eggs!) If it's fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull you hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly and you're done.
Let the batter rest for five minutes. Then stir it again by hand and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. If you decided to use the 8-inch cake pan instead of the 6-cup muffin tin, fill it with the remining batter.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. The 8-inch cake should bake an additional 5 minutes.

Fudge Frosting - for 18 cupcake, or 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake, cooled to room temperature and ready to frost.

2 cups chocolate chips (12-ounce package)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk.

If you use a double-boiler for this frosting, it's foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you'll have to stir it constantly with a spatula to keep it from scorching.
Fill the bottom; part of the double boiler with water. Make sure it doesn't touch the underside ot the top.
Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double-boiler, set it over the bottom, and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionall ntil the chocolate chips are melted.
Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately two minutes, stirring constantly, until the frosting is shiny and of spreading consistency.
Spread on cupcakes, making sure to fill in the "frosting pocket.".

Ann's April Cake - Rigo Jancsi

2009-07-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

My choice for my April cake centered entirely on one fact: my mom was coming into town. My mother, who prefers to be called Shmee, adores chocolate. I know that most women are known for loving chocolate, and would do anything for it, blah blah blah, but I've never met someone that loves it as much as my mom. She has shelves of chocolate-related books, antique chocolate tins, a vast collection of chocolate wrappers that her children have collected for her (sometimes contributing the chocolate as well...but not always), and once told her grandmother that she loves chocolate pudding more than her own mother. I've always been pretty certain that if she had a choice between me or chocolate, I would be the losing party. Okay, maybe not that, but I DO know that she would be pretty okay with taking chocolate from me, her beloved third most loved child. Anyway, so when she made plans to come visit me, I knew that I would need to make my April cake in honor of her, and it would have to have some serious chocolate cred.

I used Greg Patent's A Baker's Odyssey again partly because I liked the idea of doing some kind of super European cafe torte but also because I still had it checked out from the library. I settled on Rigo Jancsi, which, according to the author, is "one of Hungary's most famous desserts." It is made up of chocolate cake, chocolate filling, and a chocolate glaze. Of all the possible cakes I looked at, this was the most straightforward chocolate one I could find, unadulterated by nuts or fruit or plain whipped cream. Apparently, this cake is named after a famous gypsy violinist who ran away with the young wife of an elderly Belgian duke. I'm not sure how this applies to the cake, but that's what the book says.

First I made the cake, which is a very thin chocolate sponge cake. There are lots of eggs separated and whipped to make the cake light and spongy. This meant lots of steps and dirty bowls, but Shmee very kindly washed dishes as I used them so I didn't get so overwhelmed. Unfortunately, my crappy oven burned the bottom of the cake so I had to carefully slice off the burned parts.

While that cooled, I made the whipped cream and then melted chocolate which I tempered with the cream and then added slowly into the remaining cream to make a chocolate filling. (Actually, I think Shmee added the chocolate while I got ready for church. Thanks, Shmee!). Patent warns that if the cream is too cold, the chocolate won't incorporate correctly and will remain little dark flecks in the cream - this isn't what you're looking for, but still tastes good. I think this happened a little bit to our filling, but it still looked pretty good. Then I melted the more chocolate down with sugar and water to make the glaze. Whew! That's a lot of steps, and I still had to assemble it.

You bake the cake in a half-sheet pan and then split it in half to make almost a square, and sandwich the filling in between the two cake halves. Pretty much as soon as the filling went down, it started oozing out the sides, which was quite frustrating. Clearly, this wouldn't be the elegant cafe dessert that I envisioned, but it would still taste great - the chocolate filling melted and merged with the sponge cake, tasting rich and decadent, while the glaze hardened while refrigerated, which gave a nice contrast from the light chocolate cream. If you ate it slowly, the glaze would melt in your mouth to complete the chocolate high. I kind of forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but here it is halfway gone:

Chocolaty, no? This makes a lot of cake, so we had everyone over for a big dessert party. Everyone raved about the cake, but, being the true chocolate aficionado that she is, I think that Shmee enjoyed it the most of all.

Rigo Jansci
from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent

Cake:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
10 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup apricot preserves, strained (I forgot to include this)

To make the cake, adjust an oven rake to the center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a half-sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out the excess.

Melt the butter into a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and coo to tepid or room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour and cocoa powder to combine well.

Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer or hand mixer on high until thick and lemon colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Beating on medium speed, gradually add 1/3 cup of the sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes more, until the yolks are very pale in color and form a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is raised. Scrape the yolks into a large wide bowl. Wash the beaters.

In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt on medium speed until they increase in volume and form soft peaks when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, then beat until the whites look creamy and form stiff shiny peaks that curl slightly at their tips.

With a large rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Add the dry ingredients and fold them in. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites and fold them in gently. Do not be too thorough at this point - it's fine if some streaks of white show. Fold in the remaining whites until thoroughly incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan - be gentle so as not to deflate it - and carefully level it with the spatula.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and springs back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs sticking to it. Do not overbake, or the cake will be too dry. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately run the tip of a small sharp knife around the sides of the cake to release it. Lay a sheet of parchment over the cake, cover with a large wire rack, and invert the two. Working quickly, remove the pan and peel off the paper. Cover the cake with another large wire rack and invert again. Remove the top rack and parchment, and let the cake cool completely.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Take care that no water gets into the chocolate, or it will "seize" and be impossible to work with. Remove the pan from the water and cool the chocolate to room temperature. It should still be liquid.

Combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and vanilla in a large bowl, and whip until the cream is slightly thickened but pourable. Gradually fold about 1/4 of the cream into the cooled chocolate, then fold the chocolate into the remaining cream. Beat on medium speed just until the filling is thick and holds a definite shape; do not beat until stiff or the filling may separate and look curdled. If the temperatures of the chocolate and cream are about the same, the chocolate cream will be perfectly smooth and homogeneous; if the cream is a bit too cold, the chocolate may form small granules, giving the cream a speckled look. If this happens, it's fine - the filling will still be delicious. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake.

To make the glaze, in a small heavy saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid comes to a low boil. The liquid should look perfectly clear. The sugar must be fully dissolved, or the glaze will be grainy. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir with a whisk until the chocolate is dissolved and the glaze is completely smooth. Let stand, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is thick enough to spread - a few minutes at most.

To assemble the cake, cut the cake crosswise in half. Put one layer onto a serving tray or a large flat platter. Use a pastry brush to coat the top with the apricot preserves. Pile the chocolate filling on top and spread it evenly, sculpting the sides with a narrow metal spatula so that they are smooth and squared off. Turn the second layer upside down and set it on top of the filling; press gently to make sure the cake sticks to the cream filling. Pour on the prepared glaze and spread it evenly over the top with a small offset spatula; do not let the glaze drip down the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

About 30 minutes before serving, dip a sharp knife into hot water, shake off the excess water, and score the glaze into 20 squares, dipping the knife into hot water again as necessary. Score deeply enough so that the knife just reaches the cake layer. Then cut individual portions, at the scoring lines. Let stand 30 minutes.

To serve, decorate with flowers if desired and arrange on plates.

Mother's Day Cake - Holy Cow Cake

2009-07-19T16:33:00.003-04:00

While we wait for Ann to post *loud sigh* (Oh quit your hollering, people! Of COURSE I'm being ironic! It took me 2 months last time, for crying out loud), I thought I'd post the Mother's Day cake Jeff and the kids made me.

I specifically asked for this cake. The recipe had appeared in our local paper (the Akron Beacon Journal) and I thought it sounded like chocolatey creamy peanut-buttery goodness.

I was wrong.

It was kinda nasty. WAY too sweet, way too goopy, and just not yummy. Jeff and Adam only ate a few bites, and even though Ella, Julia, and I had a full piece, the next day none of us wanted any more. I took some to a friend who likes sweet stuff and I thought I'd eventually be in the mood for the remaining cake, but I never was. The rest went into the garbage.

Goodbye, Holy Cow Cake. I loved the idea of you.

Holy Cow Cake

Cake

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
3 large eggs

Topping

1 jar (8 ounces) caramel topping
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
4 Butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each), crushed
1 container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 38 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Immediately poke holes in the top of the cake with a drinking straw or chopstick.

4. Prepare the topping. Place the caramel topping and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl and stir to combine. Spoon this mixture over the warm cake so that it can seep down into the holes. Measure out half of the crushed candy bars and sprinkle the pieces over the cake.

5. Place the whipped topping and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and combined, 1 minute. Spread the mixture over the top of the candy. Sprinkle the remaining candy pieces on top.

6. Place the pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill the cake for about 20 minutes before cutting it into squares and serving.

Store this cake, covered in waxed paper, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Source: The Cake Mix Doctor

Elizabeth's April Cake - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2009-06-20T07:45:00.009-04:00

I don't believe it! I razzed Ann like the devil (Prince of Darkness and Razzing) when she didn't post her March cake for weeks and weeks. Now here I am posting my April cake in mid-June! Argh. We moved 6 weeks ago, and just barely got the Internet (I hate you, Verizon!), and so I'm behind. Still, if Ann doesn't post immediately after I post this cake, I will resume my roll as Threatener-In-Chief straight away, paying no attention to the obvious hypocrisy. (Especially since she had to threaten me incessantly during the Year of Pies.)

In April I made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake! I loved it, and I don't even like Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Go figure!

I searched for a recipe that was NOT America's Test Kitchen, because a woman's gotta branch out, ya know? But finding a good recipe wasn't quite as easy as I thought. The recipes I found on the Internet either were cake mix-based (too yucky), contained wacky ingredients (too different), or were made by Gale Gand (too creepy). I just wanted a standard, delicious recipe. Is that too much to ask? Americana, people, Americana!

I finally came upon this one from the "kitchens" at Food Network. No celebrity chef, just the network chefs (that explains the absence of wacky ingredients).

This cake was so stinkin' yummy and fun to make. I used fresh pineapple, natch.

The overlapping pineapple circles

The only tough part was the flip --- Will it come out of the pan or won't it? ---- and Jeff helped me with that part since the pan was heavy.

After adding some fresh cherry halves (I just happened to have some), here is the final masterpiece:

The best part was that Jeff ate a piece even though he didn't want to AT ALL (hates cooked fruit and wet cake areas). True love.... He said it was much better than he thought. The body of the cake itself was fabulous, and the fruit on top complemented it well.

A word of warning, though: this cake is not necessarily a crowd-pleaser, so don't make it to surprise someone on his or her birthday or anything. Some people LOVE pineapple-upside down cake, and others hate it. I took this to a party, and even though it was the ONLY dessert there (besides fruit), only 7 or 8 people tried a piece. The kids wanted nothing to do with it, and the adults at this get-together were pretty white-bread. The people who took a piece went out of their way to find me and rave about it, so you can just shut up if you're sitting there thinking snarky thoughts about my cake! (That means you, Ann.)

Pineapple-Upside Down Cake

Topping:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for preparing the pan
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum
3/4 small fresh pineapple, peeled

Cake:

1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Cut out a circle of parchment or wax paper and place it in the bottom of a 9 x 2-inch round cake pan. Lightly butter the sides of the pan.

To make the topping: Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's browned and has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the brown sugar and rum. Pour the butter-sugar mixture into the cake pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture out so it to covers the bottom of the pan.

Quarter the pineapple lengthwise, core, and slice it into about twenty 3/8-inch-thick slices. Arrange some of the pineapple slices in a slightly overlapping ring around the inside of the pan, leaving the center open. Place 3 of the slices in the center in a triangle pattern. Press the slices into the butter-sugar mixture.

To make the cake: Using a sieve over a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix at a low speed until just incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.)

Add the eggs one at time, waiting for each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Raise the speed to medium and mix briefly until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour the batter onto the pineapple-lined pan. Bake the cake, rotating the pan once during cooking, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely before serving.

Ann's March Cake - Torta di Limone

2009-05-04T22:28:00.005-04:00

A few months ago I heard a piece on NPR about a book that focused on baking traditions of immigrants in the United States. Oooo folklory food traditions - yes please! (You can listen to the piece yourself here.) So the author, Greg Patent, recorded sweet and savory bakery recipes from 30 countries, and he included several interesting cake recipes that went way beyond the typical American cake. I wanted to make something kind of simple, so I chose Torta di Limone - Italian lemon cake. What makes it interesting is that the fat in the cake comes from olive oil. I was kind of nervous on how this would turn out, but went for it.

The recipe was really simple and easy to make. In fact, it was finished mixing in just a few minutes, and baked quickly. I let it cool and sprinkled on some powdered sugar, and put it on my most beautiful possession, my cake stand.
The cake was very moist, but was very thin and dense. I was a little worried that I would break the 1-inch rule, but I think I was okay.
As far as the taste went....it tasted like lemon, olive oil, and sugar. Basically everything that was in the cake. I can't quite decide if I liked it...at least, I liked it for one piece and then felt fine with that. It was good...but it almost would have been better without the powdered sugar on top and served as a savory accompaniment to fish or something like that. Hmmm...that's something to think about....

Torta di Limone
from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent

2 large eggs
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
7 tablespoons whole milk
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
9 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Finely grated zest of two lemons
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment. Grease the parchment and dust the pan with flour.

2. Put the eggs, in their shells, into a small bowl, cover them with hot water, and let stand for 5 minutes. Dry the eggs and crack them into a medium bowl. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and olive oil just to combine well, then add to the eggs and whisk briefly.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the batter and whisk gently only until the batter is smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back when gently pressed in the center. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run the tip of a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it. Cover the pan with another wire rack and invert the two. Lift off the pan and remove the paper. Cover the cake with a wire rack again to cool completely right side up.

5. Dust the torta with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Gratuitous Picture of the Cutest Boy Ever

2009-04-22T20:29:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth's March Cake - Carrot Cake with Walnuts

2009-04-11T16:48:00.022-04:00

Ella posing.
She thinks all photos should taken with a straight face.

I LOVE CARROT CAKE!!! I go crazy for it. I adore it. But when there are raisins in it, I loathe it. I wouldn't eat carrot cake with raisins even if it were wrapped in bacon, covered in guacamole, and served on a chocolate platter.

For March, I made a carrot cake WITHOUT raisins. It was divine! It didn't even need guac.

The unadorned cake.

Tasty frosting.
There should have been 1.5 times or 2 times the frosting.

Our friends Dave and Katie came over with their kids for Pizza and Game Friday. They had unprompted seconds of the cake, so I think they liked it!

The 5 kids.....not so much.

(You can't see it, but not one of these pieces has more than a single bite out of it. It's kinda funny actually. I mean, the kids are jumping around, screaming and dancing for cake, and then it's served to them and they're like, "Um...no thanks." Hehehe. I finally got my kind of cake. Long live Year of Cakes!)

A slice of cake in all its lusciousness!
Adam reading Shel Silverstein in the background.

Carrot Cake with Simple Cream Cheese Frosting, by Cook's Illustrated.
Makes one 13 by 9-inch cake. Published March 1, 2003.

If you like nuts in your cake, stir 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter along with the carrots.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake
2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8	teaspoon ground cloves
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	pound medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled
1 1/2	cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2	cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
4	large eggs
1 1/2	cups vegetable oil , safflower oil, or canola oil
Cream Cheese Frosting
8	ounces cream cheese , softened but still cool
5	tablespoons unsalted butter softened, but still cool
1	tablespoon sour cream
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4	cups confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

Instructions

For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.
Shred carrots using large holes of box grater (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment ( or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

February Cake Book Review: Honey Cake by Joan Betty Stuchner

2009-04-09T10:16:00.010-04:00

Honey Cake, by Joan Betty Stuchner, is geared toward preteens, but it was still a fun CAKE BOOK for February!

Copenhagen is the setting for this Holocaust-era story about a boy named David who must help his parents deliver messages for the Jewish resistance. David's father is a baker, but his mother's honey cake is said to be superb.

The cake doesn't play a large role in the book, as I thought it might. I thought the cake might trick a soldier, or the cake might hide a note, or the cake might explode, or the cake might be scalding hot in a German's tender mouth. But it wasn't to be. The cake was just a symbol for keeping their home life as normal as possible, despite the conflict and tension on the streets around them. Blah, blah, blah. The box on the front of the book is not even a cake box! What!? Talk about a deceptive title!

Still, every so often I love a book that I can read in an hour and a half, and this one fit the bill. And it was (kindof) about cake! Too bad the cake wasn't as sneaky as I was hoping.

Ann's February Cake - White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

2009-04-05T19:30:00.008-04:00

Last Christmas, my mom gave me some heart-shaped cupcake holders, and they were absolutely screaming to be used during February. So I made my month's cake on the night of Valentine's Day. Luckily for me, I had plenty of love to go around that evening. What better way to show affection to those dearest to me than to make some awesome heart-shaped cupcakes?

I knew exactly what I wanted to make, but didn't have a recipe to use, so I found a basic white cupcake recipe and added the raspberry elements that I knew would make these perfectly Valentine's-y.

The batter was super simple, with a light almond flavor, but the frosting I used was made with white chocolate and cream cheese and it was luscious. After the cupcakes had baked and cooled, I frosted them, which obscured the shape of the heart a bit, but I did my best to keep the shape.
I cut the tops off the frosted cupcakes and then filled them with whipped cream into which I had stirred and mashed some fresh raspberries. The raspberry cream was mounded onto the bottom of the cupcake, then the frosted top was replaced, and finally I added some fresh raspberries in an attempt to make a heart on top. It didn't really work, but no one was complaining.

These were SSSSSSSOOOOOOO good! The cream cheese and white chocolate was the perfect match with the raspberries, which were completely worth the out-of-season expense. Is there anything better than a perfect raspberry? I really can't think of anything more satisfying than these ruby-topped cakes. My roommates agreed:

Since I made these, they have been spoken of with reverence in our apartment. It's a good thing they tasted great, because they were also quite difficult to eat.

Valentine's Cupcakes

Cakes: (Recipe is "White Christmas Cupcakes" from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 C whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 C sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set out 12 heart-shaped cupcake holders.

2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, stir the milk, vanilla, and almond extracts together.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 3 minutes; the mixture will look sugary and form large clumps. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. Set aside.

4. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with clean beaters on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Beat on high speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the beaters form lines in the egg whites. If you stop the mixer and lift up the beaters, the whites should cling to the beaters. Stir about 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the reserved batter. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining egg whites just until blended.

5. Fill each cupcake holder with 1/3 cup of batter. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting:
3 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1/4 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C powdered sugar

1. Carefully melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Transfer into a large bowl.

2. Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla to the white chocolate and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and blended, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until it is incorporated and the frosting is smooth, about 1 minute.

Assembly:
Heavy whipping cream
Fresh raspberries

1. Whip cream to desired consistency, and add a handful of fresh raspberries and mash with a fork to tinge the cream pink. Add more as desired, stirring and mashing.

2. Slice the tops off the cupcakes. Frost the top with the cream cheese frosting, carefully preserving the heart shape.

3. Mound the raspberry cream onto the cut side of the cupcake bottom, then place the frosted top back over the cream. Finish with three fresh raspberries.

Elizabeth's February Cake - Light Chocolate Bundt Cake

2009-03-24T08:45:00.005-04:00

I made this cake just as I was beginning a weight-loss challenge with some friends. I wanted to prove my awesome, indomitable, kick-butt commitment to the contest by bringing a light cake to a get-together of ours. In truth, it isn't all that light (320 calories per slice instead of 410), but heck, every little help counts. This cake tastes great and certainly doesn't taste light in any way.

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
This recipe was published in The Best Light Recipe.
Serves 16. Published December 14, 2006.

Although you can substitute natural cocoa for Dutch-processed, the cake won't rise as high. If you don't have baking spray with flour, mix 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon cocoa into a paste and brush inside the pan.

Ingredients

Nonstick baking spray with flour
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups packed light brown sugar (14 ounces)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar (for dusting), or a simple glaze.

Instructions
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a standard 12-cup bundt pan with the nonstick baking spray

2. Combine the chocolate and cocoa in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate mixture, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

3. Whip the melted chocolate mixture, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth, about 1 minute.
Sift half of the flour mixture over the batter and gently whisk in. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and continue to whisk the batter gently until most of the lumps are gone (do not overmix).

4. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not overbake).

5. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely, 1 to 2 hours. When cool, dust with confectioners' sugar (if using).

PER SERVING:
Cal 320; Fat 11 g; Sat fat 2 g; Chol 25 mg; Carb 51 g; Protein 6 g; Fiber 5 g; Sodium 170 mg

Ann's January Cake - Orange Chocolate Chunk

2009-02-27T22:39:00.004-05:00

Hooray for CAKE!!!!

I have a confession. I don't particularly like pie. Did any of you know that? Okay, to be fair, I didn't like pie very much before I moved to Indiana but now I do. It seemed to be such a huge part of living here that I got excited about it, and I really liked all the pies I made. I think I just hadn't had good pie experiences. But cake...cake! Cake to me is like a delightful present. It's special. It's an English tea party, a warm Southern evening, a summer wedding. CAKE!

When Listle was here, we decided to make our cakes together since that is an experience usually reserved for Thanksgiving. We each picked a cake from my cookbooks (both from Ina, of course), and I decided to do a Bundt cake because I had a really excellent-looking recipe. Now here is a funny story that makes me look bad. I told Listle that I had a special Bundt pan that our mom had given me a few years ago. I described it as looking like a castle, kind of Gothic windowed. I thought it was all special. Then I pulled it out and Listle started laughing at me because apparantly all Bundt pans look like this one. It's just a standard Bundt pan. I hate me for being ignorant!!!

My cake was freaking AWESOME. My roommates begged me for it for days afterward, and it was so perfect: dense, chocolatey, tart. Is there anything better than chocolate and orange? No. No there isn't. I possibly baked the cake too long because it got really dark, but I don't think it tasted overcooked. I'm still experimenting with this oven, so we'll see how it goes next month.

Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
From Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten

½ pound unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature

¼ cup grated orange zest (4 large oranges)

3 cups flour plus 2 tablespoons

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups good semisweet chocolate chunks

For the syrup

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the ganache

8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electrc or hand mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the orange zest.

Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks with 2 tablespoons of flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make syrup. In a small saucepan over a medium-low heat,, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occassionaly. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Elizabeth's January Cake: Blueberry Crumb Cake

2009-02-16T14:38:00.013-05:00

YAY Year of Cakes!!

This was a fun cake to make, because I got to make and eat it with Ann when I was in Indiana to visit her. Luke didn't even get in the way. Isn't that nice?

It's not really a "showstopper" cake, but it worked out perfectly and tasted yummy. If I were to make it again, I'd use a springform pan so that I could pull it out. I think it would present better that way.

Blueberry Crumb Cake, by Ina Garten

Ingredients

For the streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen, unthawed berries, and it worked great)
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Let Us Eat Cake!

2009-02-12T22:23:00.003-05:00

Our Year of Cake has begun! And just like Year of Pie, rules must be followed!

To start, I must say that it was difficult to decide on a definition of cake that was satisfactory to us. But here is what we came up with:

1.) Cake must be equal to or higher than one inch.

2.) It must be such that if someone walked into a room with your cake, they would say "Oh, look at that cake." It must be cake-like in appearance.

3.) Just because it has cake in the title doesn't make it a cake for our purposes, such as pancakes, crab cakes, or beefcake (Listle wanted to include a picture of her husband here).

4.) Alternate versions of cake are acceptable, such as flourless, torte, meringue, coffecakes, etc. Use your best judgement, per criteria 3.

5.) Any shape of cake is acceptable.

Here are the rules we must follow:

1.) We can't make the same cake in the same month.

2.) We want to explore as many cakes as possible, so no repeats per individual. You can, however, make the same cake as someone else later in the year.

3.) The cakes must be shared with one other person -with witnesses, who may or may not also get cake.

4.) In addition to 12 cakes, one cake must be given in full as a gift - if only for the excuse of using a folded cake box. In Listle's words, "Because it would be so fun!"

5.) For at least one cake, we must break out the piping tools.

6.) We will incorporate reviews of good cakes that we didn't make that we eat throughout the year.

7.) Finally, keeping up on posting on the blog is obviously a bit of a challenge for us :). So we must post our cakes within one month of baking them.

Let's go, cake nerds!!!!

Year of Pies: Memories and Reflections, by Elizabeth

2009-02-12T15:50:00.001-05:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

I loved the year of pie. I loved doing the "Pie of the Month" by myself for a few months, but when Ann jumped on board in January and we made it "Year of Pie," it became astronomically more fun.

Favorite pie: (Besides August's Cutie Pie) Probably the Chocolate Cream Cheese pie in September, but I loved all three chocolate submissions.

Favorite looking pie: The apple pie by far! I'll never forget how it felt to open the oven and say "WOW, that's my pie." I loved it.

Most satisfying moment in the year of pie: Reading about Ann dropping her cheddar-topped apple pie. HEElarious!

Favorite line in the posts: When Ann said (about the same cheddar-topped apple pie) "Suddenly I had an American icon on my hands." Brilliant!

Regrets: Having such a lame summer of pie because of being pregnant. I missed all the summer fruit. But I'm going to do some pies this summer (APRICOT!!) to make up for it. I also regret not doing lemon meringue, like I had intended to. A person cannot do a year of pie and skip doing a meringue! This is another thing that I must remedy.

Most fun pie audience: Ann.
It was very fun taking the pie to random occasions this year (which is why I don't have a scheduled pie audience, like Book Club or girl's night out or anything), but hands down the best pie audience is Ann. When we made our pies in November, we'd get so excited together, and then we'd take our bites and nod while we concentrated on the flavors, ultimately declaring a winner. I loved it. I wish she could taste every pie submission of mine!

Best pie expression: Shut your pie hole. But there are many other good ones!

Year of Pies: Memories and Reflections, by Ann

2009-02-12T14:52:00.001-05:00

I sucked at pie making.

The End.

-- Ann

That is what my lovely, beautiful, talented-at-pie-making sister, Elizabeth wrote about me when she was blocking out the posts for the end of the year. I would like to point that out. Who's the bigger person now, huh?!

One lesson that I've always appreciated from my parents is that they gave me a deep love of cooking, but even more than that, they taught me never to be afraid of cooking. This may seem kind of silly and obvious, but most people that I know that don't like to cook also are intimidated by it. Maybe they never learned the right techniques, or haven't had good tools or ingredients, but confidence is, in my opinion, a key element of cooking well. Why should food tell you who's boss? If you go into a recipe assuming that it's going to be awesome, you have a much better chance of turning out a product that matches your expectations. However, pie-making has always been intimidating to me, mostly because I don't really enjoy baking that much, and also because it has such a reputation for difficulty. To be honest, I think that pie talks a big talk. I really enjoyed Our Year of Pie, and was surprised that pie-making wasn't as daunting as I expected it to be. Except for my last two dismal months, I felt like I did well. There were several months that I felt like I ought to have spent more time on the pie, but it was always more forgiving than I expected to be. And so many good things happened! I had lots of great pie sharing with friends (did I suddenly have more friends this year than in previous years? I don't know...), I felt more connected to Indiana culture, and I ate really, really good pie. And I MADE that really, really good pie! Hooray for me!!!!!! Now, I just have to overcome my fear of cooking shellfish, and I'll have conquered all food.

Elizabeth's Pie Book Review - Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

2009-02-08T14:38:00.011-05:00

It was kind of fun to read a book that featured pie.
With that said, this book was lousy.

Pros:
1. This books has 7 or so fun baking recipes, including a recipe for lemon meringue pie.
2. This book is set in a small town where the protagonist works in a bakery. I love bakeries! I love small, local businesses! If it weren't for this particular "pro," I would have put the book down after the first chapter.
3. This book was light and an easy read.
4. This book makes you want to bake and eat constantly. (...should that be a con?...)

Cons:
1. This book has awful writing, especially with its ridiculous dialogs.
2. This book is a mystery, but the ending is so obvious by Chapter Three that I kept expecting there to be a dramatic twist. There wasn't one.
3. This book requires the reader to suspend all reasonable thought in order to enjoy the story. I'm all for a light read, and I often enjoy suspending disbelief in a plot, but this book was ridiculous from start to finish. The way the protagonist conducts her murder investigation defies logic at every turn. It's excruciating.
4. In this book the protagonist calls her mom "Mother" and has the most annoying relationship with her that you can imagine. None of the characters in this book are endearing.
5. Through this book, the author tries to air her personal grammar and etiquette pet peeves. She makes the protagonist PERFECT in every way, and features situations in which someone talking to the protagonist says or does something wrong and she has to bite her lip to keep from correcting the person. No character is perfect except the protagonist. It is all very pretentious.
6. This book has sappy you-can-see-the-punchline-coming-a-mile-away kind of humor.
7. This book has a campy subplot about the protagonist's diet that made me roll my eyes dozens of times.
8. In this book, the protagonist has two boyfriends and there's even a scene where she holds hands with both of them at the same time while they watch fireworks. Ugh.

(Side annoyance that wasn't quite as important - This book mentions the protagonist's clothes many times, and the styles that are described are oh-so-ugly. I thought maybe it was written in 1989 but it was written in 2003. Before returning this book to the library, I should have copied the text of a passage or two about fashion to make Ann squirm.)

(Speaking of Ann, sometimes we like to watch a movie that we will both hate just to pause it and freak out at the stupidity of it. This book reminded me of that. Maybe during the year of cakes we'll read a cake version of this series and we can both post about it.)

FINAL ANALYSIS: Do not read this book. Unless you want to hate your life for a few hours. Then read it. But don't blame me.

Elizabeth's December Pie - Apricot Jam Crostata

2009-01-31T11:27:00.004-05:00

(Picture from Sunset Magazine. I don't drink coffee.)

Apricot Jam Crostata (Crostata di Marmellata)
Source: Sunset's Fresh Ways with Italian Cooking
Event: Santo Stefano

I've been making this recipe since my mission 14 years ago. I had jam crostatas like this many, many times on my mission (I never had a free-form crostata in Italy. Maybe that's a Southern Italian thing?) The recipe is super easy. I made it for years with just a bowl, a mixing spoon, a couple of knives, and a fork, so a food processor isn't necessary.

This particular crostata was made for Santo Stefano, which is the day after Christmas in Italy (Wikipedia says that St. Stephen's Day is to honor Christianity's first martyr, but no one I talked to in Italy knew who he was. For Italians, most holidays are just another excuse to eat, so it's all good).

I usually make a huge, multi-course meal for friends on Santo Stefano, but this year I couldn't do it. I'm barely keeping my head above water, and I just couldn't do something that elaborate. So Jeff and I took some friends out to dinner at an Italian restaurant instead. It was super fun, and there was no clean up! To honor the cooking aspect of the holiday, though, I still wanted to make something, so I made this very Italian dessert, Apricot Jam Crostata.

Sunset cookbook's note: "Ask an Italian to name the dessert remembered most fondly from childhood, and the answer will probably be crostata. But you can enjoy this jam-filled tart even if you didn't grow up in Rome or Florence -- It's easy to make right at home."

Apricot Jam Crostata

2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 jar (18 oz) good-quality apricot jam (I think this is too much. I'd say 14 oz max. It spills over the sides otherwise, and looks ugly)
1/4 cup water (Again, I say a little less)

In a food processor, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and whirl until fine crumbs form. Add egg and egg yolk; whirl until evenly moistened. If mixture is too dry, mix in cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until clumps of dough hold together when squeezed. Gather dough into a ball.

Cut off about a fourth of the dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough over bottom and up sides of a 10- or 11-inch tart pan with a removable rim.

Mix jam and the water; spread evenly in crust.

Place reserved dough on a lightly floured board. With your fingers, roll dough into a 6-inch-long log. Cut log in half crosswise. Cut one piece in half crosswise; cut other piece into quarters crosswise. With your fingers, roll the 2 larger pieces into thin 8-inch-long ropes. Crisscross the ropes on top of the jam to form an X in the center of the tart.

Roll remaining 4 pieces of dough into 4-inch-long ropes; crisscross on jam to form 2 small X shapes, one on each side of the big X.

Bake tart in a 350 degree oven until crust is barely golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes before serving (otherwise, jam will run). Remove pan rim and cut tart into wedges to serve. Makes 8 servings.

A Bake Off! - Elizabeth's attempt to make it into baking immortality (and how she was beaten by a box)

2009-01-30T22:57:00.012-05:00

Gather around me, children, while I tell you the classic tale of when I entered the Akron First Ward Chili, Cornbread, and Pie Cook-Off.

It's a harrowing tale, full of toil and turmoil, and eventually revenge (I'm joking about the revenge) (....or am I?????)

It took place in November at the church building. Naturally I had to bring pies! It's the Year of Pie, after all!

During the weeks prior to the event, I dedicated much thought to my choices---thoughts along the lines of, "What are my best pies? What pies would the judges most want? No, who cares what the judges want, what pies would be most fun to make? Wait, cancel that.....what pies would the judges most want?" etc. I ended up making two pies: Apple Pie and Chocolate Cream Pie. (The reason for doing two pies was this: I decided apple was my best, but I don't like apple pie, and I wanted something for me too!)

Here are the pictures:

Neither pie turned out how I wanted it to, and the sad part is that I don't know why!

First, the apple pie: The crust was fab-u-lous, but the apples turned nearly to applesauce inside. Bizarre! I made it precisely according to the directions that I've used 4 times now, except that I didn't weigh the apples this time (my scale was out of batteries) and instead I counted the apples as described in the recipe. Is it possible that I put too few apples inside? It sure didn't seem like it. But the texture wasn't very good, so I must have made an error somewhere.

Second, the chocolate cream pie (the recipe follows): Very tasty, except for the whipped cream on top. This is the second time I have had a "bum" batch of whipping cream. I didn't even think that was possible! But twice now I have had cream that just doesn't whip properly (and I've made whipped cream hundreds of times). It turns clumpy and runny instead. I do everything the same, including having cold cream, utensils, and bowl, and it still doesn't turn out. I guess I'm periodically doing something wrong here too, but I don't know what it is. Argh.

Anyway, I showed up at the event with my family, excited to see all of the pies. THIS IS WHERE THE TALE GETS WILD AND CRAZY!

There were some great looking pies! I couldn't wait to try them. There was one particular apple pie that looked amazing and I was so excited for that cook! (Sure, I entered to win, but I also entered for the pie experience, it being Year of Pie and all. I wanted to learn from the other pie people!)

I did get to taste a few pies, but not a lot. The pies were the dessert that night for the many people who attended the event, so I couldn't very well take some of each.

NOW IT'S EVEN WILDER AND CRAZIER! HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT!

The announcer gets up to tell everyone who won the pie contest. It is aptly named "The 'Your Grandma Would Be Proud' Award." I knew both my pies hadn't made their best showing, so I wasn't exactly feeling like I was in the running, but still! It's so exciting! We are all on the edge of our seats! We are all riveted! (For the purposes of my story, we are all riveted. RIVETED.) The announcer says the name. It's not me, but as the woman walks to the front, I'm clapping and grinning and thinking, "Oh, take the mic and tell the whole story! Tell why you made your pie, where you got the recipe (is there a long history to it? an heirloom recipe?), how long it took you to make it, and why you're so so SO glad your sweat and labor paid off!"

She takes the microphone! She's going to tell us about the recipe!!!

"It's so funny that I won. I just picked up a boxed mix at Aldi an hour before the cook-off and made it in 5 minutes."

5 MINUTES!!!!! No story, no toil, no heirloom, no "scratch," no nothin'. "Your Grandma Would Be Proud" Award? WHAT?? My jaw literally hung open. My husband turned to look at me, saw my stunned look, and we cracked up laughing. I kept saying, "I got beaten by a box! I got beaten by a box!" To be beaten by a formidable foe....there's honor in that! But a box???! We laughed all the way home. 5 minutes and a box beat 4 hours, 2 fabulous recipes, and one newly minted pie maker. ...Oh, and a seasoned baker --- that one great looking apple pie? Turns out it was the pie of my friend Kary, who is one of the best bakers I know! It just goes to show.......we need better judges. :) hahahaha!

**************************************

Chocolate Cream Pie
Source: America's Test Kitchen

Makes on 9-inch pie, serving 8 to 10. Published May 1, 2001.

For the best chocolate flavor and texture, we recommend either Callebaut semisweet and unsweetened chocolates or Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's unsweetened chocolates. Do not combine the yolks and sugar in advance of making the filling--the sugar will begin to denature the yolks, and the finished cream will be pitted.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust
16	Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces, about 2 1/2 cups
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
Chocolate Cream Filling
2 1/2	cups half-and-half
	pinch table salt
1/3	cup granulated sugar
2	tablespoons cornstarch
6	large egg yolks at room temperature, chalazae (protein strands attached to yolk) removed (see related Quick Tip)
6	tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces
6	ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1	ounce unsweetened chocolate , finely chopped
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Topping
1 1/2	cups heavy cream (cold)
1 1/2	tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process cookies with 15 one-second pulses, then let machine run until crumbs are uniformly fine, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, place cookies in large zipper-lock plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.) Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle with butter, and use fingers to combine until butter is evenly distributed.
Pour crumbs into 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Following illustration below, press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Refrigerate lined pie plate 20 minutes to firm crumbs, then bake until crumbs are fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.
For the Filling: Bring half-and-half, salt, and about 3 tablespoons sugar to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in small bowl, then sprinkle over yolks and whisk, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary, until mixture is glossy and sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk yolks thoroughly in medium bowl until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. When half-and-half reaches full simmer, drizzle about 1/2 cup hot half-and-half over yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half (mixture should thicken in about 30 seconds). Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.
Off heat, whisk in butter until incorporated; add chocolates and whisk until melted, scraping pan bottom with rubber spatula to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla, then immediately pour filling into baked and cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate pie until filling is cold and firm, about 3 hours.
For the Topping: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Spread or pipe whipped cream over chilled pie filling. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Ann's December Pie - Indiana Buttermilk, and a Tale of Woe

2009-01-25T21:17:00.010-05:00

I had planned a massive pie blowout for our last month in the Year of Pie, and reserved a special night with my roommates to make not one, but THREE pies for our personal apartment Christmas party. My favorite pie book had three pies that had "Indiana" in the title, more than any other state, as well as multiple references to my beloved adopted home within sidebars and commentary. How could I choose between them? I needed to make them all: buttermilk, butterscotch, and sugar cream (which is the unofficial state pie).

I bought all the ingredients I would need and had made my pie dough, and was ready to make everything that night, when I realized that I had a slight problem. I only have one real pie plate. Was it worth it to me to own three pie plates? I wasn't sure. My roommate Marcue offered to buy a couple at Walmart, and if I didn't want them both she would take one. It sounded like a great plan, so we were set.

When I rolled out the dough that night, I thought that it seemed very elastic, slightly different than I had experienced before. I had remembered that one batch had needed a lot of water to come together, so even though it was easy and lovely to roll, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But I fitted everything in its plate and put them each in the oven. And then....

Pie #1:
Obviously, it shrank like crazy, but the sides collapsed despite the weights I'd put in the bottom, and it seemed to have a very bready consistency. There was no way I could fill it - it would have simply fallen over the edges.

Pie #2:

Burn pie does not for good eats make. Into the trash it went.

Pie #3:
Despite the inconsistent coloring and the bread texture, it seemed the most promising, until I set it own on the counter when I took it out of the oven, when the pie plate shattered the instant it touched the counter. I've never seen anything like it, and I just stared in disbelief for several seconds. Were there flaws in the glass? Was it of poor quality in the first place? Was I expecting too much from Walmart? I'm guessing all of the above. But seriously, shattered glass pie? I can't serve that! Even though most of the pieces were quite large, I couldn't risk serving it with any chance of glass being left on it. Needless to say, pie was not had that night at all. But we did end up playing baseball in the apartment!

I had a Christmas party to attend the next day, and everyone else was leaving for vacation later in the week, so I knew that despite the fact I had another week in town by myself, I wouldn't have anyone to share my pie with and I needed to make one that night. So I knocked out a crust and baked a buttermilk pie the next day before the party. It was the easiest one to make, and it was a custard pie, which I hadn't tried yet. The pie itself was good, but not very exciting, but it was old-fashioned and seemed very Indiana, so mission accomplished. The filling was tangy and a little crumbly, and my friends really liked it. But I can't help but be a little disappointed that it wasn't the pie extravaganza I had planned for the end of the year. You can't win them all, right?

Indiana Buttermilk Pie
from Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich

1 partially prebaked pie crust

Filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine the sugars, flour, and the salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and pulse again. Add the buttermilk and butter and process for 5 to 7 seconds, until well blended. Slowly pour the filling into the cooled pie shell.

Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the top is golden brown and the custard is set, about 40 minutes. Rotate the pie 180 degrees halfway through the baking, so it cooks evenly. When done, the center may move slightly when the pan is shaken.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. Serve at room temperature or cover and cool.

Ann's November Pie: Apple Cheddar

2009-01-21T20:59:00.008-05:00

One of the very first things I told Listle when we talked about Year of Pie was that I wanted to make an apple pie with cheddar. I've been fascinated with this idea ever since I read Farmer Boy when I was little. I found a fun recipe in John T. Edge's Apple Pie: An American Story, collected a group of friends to eat the pie, and went to work.

I've talked about using hand-picked fruit in several other posts, and I was able to dot it here. Except I didn't actually pick the apples myself. But I did go to an orchard to get them and it was so much fun! The crust had extra-sharp cheddar mixed into it, and then the top crust had grated cheddar sprinkled onto it and kind of pressed into the dough. When I put the pie together, I placed the cheese-side down so that the cheese would melt into the apples. Nummy!!!

After I formed the edge, I cut vents in the top and I suddenly had an American icon on my hands.

It baked so happily in the oven and I could tell that it was going to be an awesome pie. When I opened the oven door to pull it out, I recalled with joy my conversation with Listle about her apple pie, when she expressed how great it was to see this beautiful pie emerging from the oven, knowing that she had made it herself, and as I let those thoughts dance around my head, this happened:

Yeah, that's right, I dropped it. I dropped my beautiful American icon. I may have well thrown up on the home plate of a baseball game while flipping off my grandma because I ruined my personal slice of Americana. Luckily, as I sat on the floor and cried with laughter, my friends came to save the pie as much as possible.

We were able to pick up hot apple slices and cheesy spicy crust with our fingers, and they were quite good. I'm not sure if this is what Laura Ingalls Wilder had in mind when she wrote about my childhood food obsession, but this oven pie is my best offer.

Cheese-Straw Apple Pie

from Apple Pie: An American Story by John T. Edge

Crust:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons cold shortening, cut into pieces

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder (I used chili powder for lack of cayenne)

2 1/3 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 plus 2 tablespoons ice water

Place butter and shortening in the freezer for an hour before using. Pulse flour, salt, and cayenne in food processor. Remove the lid and add the butter and shortening into the mixture. Pulse the machine 4 times to cut in the butter. Add 1 1/3 cups of cheese and pulse four more times. Sprinkle half the water over the mixture and pulse 5 or 6 more times. Add the rest of the water and pulse 5 or 6 more times, until the pastry looks like very course crumbs. Form the dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic and press into discs. Refridgerate for three hours.

Filling:

5 large, tart apples

1/2 large lemon

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into six parts

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice the apples. In a bowl, mix all the filling ingredients except the butter with your hands. Set aside and retreive the pie crusts from the refridgerator.

Roll the dough into two circles that are 2-3 inches larger in diameter than the pie plate. Press the bottom crust into the plate, then mound the apple mixture until they fill the crust and dome slightly. Scatter the butter over the mound. Sprinkle the remaining cheese onto the top crust. With a rolling pin, roll lightly to press the cheese into the dough. Place the crust, cheese-side down, on top of the apples. Crimp the edges and vent the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake another 40 to 50 minutes.

Don't drop.

Elizabeth and Ann's jointly-made November Pies - Cherry Pie and Pecan Pie

2009-01-13T12:36:00.002-05:00

For November, Ann came to Akron for Thanksgiving. She brought her delightful roommate, Marcue.

We made 2 pies--pecan and cherry--and Marcue made a pumpkin cheesecake (which later became "floor cheesecake" when Elizabeth dropped it. Thankfully we had all had a piece).

Ann made the crusts for the pecan and cherry pies. It was a velvety and gorgeous dough! Perfection. Elizabeth made the cherry filling, and Ann made the pecan filling. (Ann's note: please read the above as "Ann made the crusts and both the fillings but graciously allowed Elizabeth to claim these as her November pies.")

The cherry filling (Ann's gang sign)

This picture makes Elizabeth glad she cut her hair.

Hands of sisters, Hands of love.

Completed pies. Hurray!

Ann's comment: It was very important to me to make a lattice-top pie this year because to me it seemed the most daunting, yet also the epitome of pie. But who knew! in the end, it was easy as...you know.

Elizabeth's October Pies - Halloween Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake

2009-01-12T12:23:00.002-05:00

Halloween Pie (a.k.a. Vampire Pie, a.k.a. Lime-Coconut Pie)
Source: Icebox Pies, by Lauren Chattman
Event: Book Club

(I'm going to publish this now because I can't get access to the pictures and I really want to post. Check back for great Vampire Pie pictures! ....coming hopefully soon.)

Ms. Chattman's note: "This is easier to make than Key lime pie and has a more pronounced flavor because of the cream of coconut"

2 tablespoons cold water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
One 15-ounce can cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
One 9-inch prepared graham cracker crust

1. Place the cold water in a small stainless-steel bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin stand until it softens, about 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the cream of coconut, yogurt, lime juice, and lime zest in a large mixing bowl.

3. Set the bowl of gelatin over a small saucepan of barely simmering water and whisk the gelatin until it dissolves, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir the gelatin mixture into the coconut mixture.

4. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until the filling is completely set, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.

Pumpkin Icebox Pie
Source: Real Simple Magazine (Nov 2008)
Event: Recipe Exchange with pumpkin theme

The title of this pie in Real Simple Magazine is actually "Pumpkin Cheesecake." But it's not a cheesecake. In reality it is an icebox pie shaped like a cheesecake. This is unbaked (no eggs), has only 8 ounces of cream cheese, and it just sets up in the fridge. It has a lighter, less dense, creamy texture, not a traditional cheesecake texture. It seems to be in vogue for magazines to call icebox pies with cream cheese in them "cheescakes."

When I gave my husband a slice, he didn't like it at all. He said, "This is disgusting." But when I said, "Don't think cheesecake...think 'PIE'", he said, "This is great pie!" and ate the whole slice. It cracked me up.

Pumpkin (Cheesecake) Icebox Pie

For the Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 14 graham crackers)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
1 .25-ounce envelope unflavored gelatin
1 8-ounce bar cream cheese, at room temperature
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make the Crust
Heat oven to 400° F. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan. Using a straight-sided dry measuring cup, press the mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

Make and Chill the Filling
Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup boiling water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until dissolved, about 5 minutes.Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Mix in the gelatin mixture until incorporated.Pour the mixture into the crust and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Yield: Makes 8-12 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING -- CALORIES 458; FAT 29g (sat 17g); CHOLESTEROL 80mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44g; CALORIES FROM FAT 56%; SODIUM 233mg; PROTEIN 6g; FIBER 3g; SUGAR 32g

Ann's October Pie - Chocolate Satin

2009-01-03T22:24:00.009-05:00

As Listle mentioned in her last post, I do accuse her of making chocolate pies all the time, and I still think that she does. I know her better than she knows herself. But you may have noticed that I have not made a chocolate-based pie myself. I actually didn't think that I liked chocolate pie until I tried the one I made this month. I find most chocolate pies to taste sugary rather than chocolatey, and not even creamy the way mousse tastes. I don't see the point of wasting my eating opportunities on it. But then...but then....THIS pie came into my life. It completely changed my opinion of chocolate pie. This recipe came from my friend Mormon Sandicraft, and so now I have another reason to think she's awesome. Plus, it's so crazy easy to make.

Basically, for this pie, you make a dark chocolate mousse and refridgerate it in a pie shell. You can use a regular pastry shell or a graham cracker crust, but I had some almond meal I was trying to use up, so I found a recipe for a nut pastry dough that makes enough for two shells. (I took the other pie to a work party, and I now have a gaggle of devoted pie followers. Hee hee hee!) I enjoy making this pie because the combination of melting satiny chocolate and folding it into fluffy egg whites is always completely satisfying to me.

To make my pie fun and Halloweeny, I decided to make it into a little graveyard, much like a pudding dessert that has little whipped cream ghosts and cookie gravestones and gummi worms that I used to see in womens' magazines when I was a little kid. I had several friends around for fun and funny Halloween night, so everyone got a personal grave with a few "RIP"s in there for good measure.

The decorating process - halved Milano cookies with piped frosting

Brilliance! I found a baggie of chopped almonds in my freezer and added those to give it another element.

I love how glossy and dark the finished pie becomes.

The Supreme Coordinatrix was in town to visit, so of course our night was extra fun.

I love this pie because it's rich and full of chocolate flavor, not just sweet - it has a slight bitter chocolate bite that is countered by the smoothness of the filling. The almonds in the crust and the garnish gave it a nice earthy taste, and I used orange-chocolate Milanos to give a bit of tartness. I can't recommend this pie enough, even without the Halloween accoutrements. I just love everything about it.

Sandicraft's Chocolate Satin Pie

1- 12 oz pkg of chocolate chips
¼ cup milk
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 eggs separated
1 tsp vanilla
9” baked pie shell (or graham cracker crust)
Whipped cream
Add chocolate chips, milk, sugar and salt to a bowl and microwave at 50% power 1 min at a time to melt chocolate. Add egg yolks beating them in one at a time. Blend in vanilla. In a separate bowl add the egg whites and beat them until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into the chocolate mix. (Try to incorporate the egg whites without breaking them down - don't worry if the mixture looks kind of splotchy. It'll smooth out as it cools.) Pour into pie shell and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Nutty Pie Pastry - makes 2 pie shells

From Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haerich

2/3 cup almond meal (or finely chop almonds in a food processor)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

About 5 tablespoons cold water

Combine the almond meal, sugar, flour, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse 4 or 5 times. Fluff the mixture with a fork, lifting it up from the bottom. Repeat the process with the shortening. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of water over the flour mixture and pulse 5 to 6 times, fluff again, and sprinkle on the rest of the water. Pulse a few more times, until the dough starts to form into clumps.

Form the pastry into 2 balls, flatten them to form 3/4-inch disks, and then wrap each disc in plastic. Refridgerate about 45 minutes. You can freeze one if making only one pie, or double the filling recipe to make two.

Take the chilled pastry out of the refridgerator and allow to soften for a few minutes. Roll out on a floured surface, then fit into a pie plate, and trim and form edge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Prebake shell by putting a piece of aluminum foil to cover the pie shell, and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Remove the weights and foil, lower the temperature to 375 degrees, bake again for another 15 to 17 minutes. Check often for doneness and for puffing. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Our Year of Bread

Ann's January Bread - Southern-Style Cornbread

Instructions

You may have noticed...

Ann's March Bread: Brioche

Elizabeth's Extra Baking - Cranberry Upside-Downer

Elizabeth's February Bread - Cinnamon Rolls using potato dough

Ann's February Bread: Uh....also Scones

Elizabeth's January Bread - Scones

Ann's January Bread: Banana Bread

Bread and Circuses

Year of Cake: Memories and Reflections, by Ann

Year of Cake: Memories and Reflections, by Elizabeth

A cake I wish I had made

Ann Presents: Some Good Cake

Elizabeth's Cake Review - West Side Bakery and West Point Market

Ann's December Cake - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

Ann's Cake Book Review: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

MORE of Elizabeth's Extra Cakes - Strawberry Cream Cake and Pine Nut Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

Ann's Extra Cake - Chocolate Almond Torte

Elizabeth's December Cake - Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

To finish:

Directions

Elizabeth's extra cakes - Yiaourtopita and Blueberry Crumb Cake #3

Ann's November Cake: Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake

Elizabeth's November Cake - Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Ann's October Cake - Halloween Cupcakes

Elizabeth's October Cake - Almost-Fudge Gateau

Ann's September Cake: Birthday Cakes!

Elizabeth's September Cake - Swedish Visiting Cake

Ann's August Cake: Orange Lagkage

Elizabeth's August Cake - Devil's Food White-Out Cake

Ann's July Cake - Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Elizabeth's July Cake - nothing

Ann's June Cake - Peach Tatin Cake

Elizabeth's June Cake - A repeat??

Buttermilk Spice Cake with Roasted Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

Directions

Ann's May Cake - A Tale of Two Birthdays

Elizabeth's May Cake - Fudge Cupcakes

Ingredients

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F Position rack in the middle of oven.

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with double papers. Since this recipe makes 18 cupcakes, you can use an additional 6-cup muffin pan lined with double papers, or you can butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan or the equivalent.

Measure flour, mix in baking powder and salt, and set aside.

In an electric mixer (or with a VERY strong arm), beat the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. (About 3 minutes with a mixer--an additional 2 minutes if you're doing it by hand.) Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition to make sure they're thoroughly incorporated.

Test your chocolate mixture to make sure it's cool enough to add. (You don't want to cook the eggs!) If it's fairly warm to the touch but not so hot you have to pull you hand away, you can add it at this point. Stir thoroughly and you're done.

Let the batter rest for five minutes. Then stir it again by hand and fill each cupcake paper three-quarters full. If you decided to use the 8-inch cake pan instead of the 6-cup muffin tin, fill it with the remining batter.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. The 8-inch cake should bake an additional 5 minutes.

Fudge Frosting - for 18 cupcake, or 12 cupcakes and 1 small cake, cooled to room temperature and ready to frost.

If you use a double-boiler for this frosting, it's foolproof. You can also make it in a heavy saucepan over low to medium heat on the stovetop, but you'll have to stir it constantly with a spatula to keep it from scorching.

Fill the bottom; part of the double boiler with water. Make sure it doesn't touch the underside ot the top.

Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double-boiler, set it over the bottom, and place the double boiler on the stovetop at medium heat. Stir occasionall ntil the chocolate chips are melted.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk and cook approximately two minutes, stirring constantly, until the frosting is shiny and of spreading consistency.

Spread on cupcakes, making sure to fill in the "frosting pocket.".

Ann's April Cake - Rigo Jancsi

Mother's Day Cake - Holy Cow Cake

Elizabeth's April Cake - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple-Upside Down Cake

Topping:

Ann's March Cake - Torta di Limone

Gratuitous Picture of the Cutest Boy Ever

Elizabeth's March Cake - Carrot Cake with Walnuts

Ingredients

Instructions

February Cake Book Review: Honey Cake by Joan Betty Stuchner

Ann's February Cake - White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Elizabeth's February Cake - Light Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ann's January Cake - Orange Chocolate Chunk

Elizabeth's January Cake: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Ingredients

For the streusel:

For the cake: