Deluxe Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Deluxe Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Brownies - made February 6, 2010 from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - yes, those are nuts on top of the brownies I baked. I've ranted enough against nuts in brownies to make you doubt but in this particular case, nuts on top of brownies are okay. They can remain crisp when they're baked on top of the brownie unlike nuts folded into the actual batter which get soggy. This is another good, basic, fudgy brownie. The pecan crunch on top is actually a nice contrast with the brownie as there's both some crunch and a bit of sweetness against the chocolate brownie. Toast the pecans first and let them cool before making the crunch. Even though they'll toast some more while the brownies are baking, I still like to toast them beforehand to bring out their flavor. Don't overbake - these are perfect when they're fudgy. This picture is from when I first made this recipe back in 2003. For the batch I made today, I actually chopped up the pecans a bit more - that makes for easier cutting of the brownies when they're cool since you don't have to slice through whole nuts.

Pecan Crunch
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Chocolate Pecan Brownies
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cake flour (not self rising)
3 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pecans
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.
Make the pecan crunch
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly toss together the pecans and brown sugar. Stir the vanilla extract into the melted butter, and toss the pecans with the butter mixture until well coated. Set aside.
Make the brownies
3. Sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, toss the chocolate morsels with 1 ¼ teaspoons of the sifted mixture to coat. Set both mixtures aside.
4. In the top of a double boiler, over barely simmering water, heat the butter, unsweetened chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool until tepid.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Sift the flour mixture over the top and slowly whisk it in, mixing just until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels and chopped pecans (not the pecan crunch mixture).
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly, and smooth the top, using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the pecan crunch evenly over the top of the batter. Bake the brownies for 40 to 45 minutes, or until puffed and set. A toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
7. Cool the brownies completely in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to cut.
8. Cut the brownies into 16 squares. Just before serving, sprinkle a list dusting of sifted confectioners’ sugar over the top of the brownies, if you like.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Dark Victory Brownies

Dark Victory Brownies - made February 6, 2010 from The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle

It's been a tough week. If ever I needed baking therapy, now is the time. I had all sorts of baking plans lined up this weekend just to get myself back on an even keel. But even I didn't expect to wake up at 2:30 am this morning and not be able to fall back asleep. I listened to the rain pounding on my roof for awhile (try 2 hours) then when it tapered off, I thought the silence would induce me back to slumber. By 5 am, I had stopped kidding myself and was in the kitchen pulling out butter and chocolate to begin my day.

This is from another awesome baking book called The Good Cookie. Tish Boyle was the editor for Chocolatier magazine (the only one I read cover to cover) and has a ton of great recipes in her books. I'd made this one before and chose to make it again because I had some sour cream I wanted to use up before next weekend. It's a pretty straightforward, "plain" brownie but I melted some caramels with whipping cream and layered that in the middle of the brownie. You can choose to do that or leave it plain - either way works. This picture is from a previous time I had made the brownie so don't look for the caramel in this one. This brownie takes add-ins pretty well and in the past I've added in chopped up candy bars, M&Ms, caramel, etc. It's easy to make, rich and fudgy - everything you could want in a brownie.

One time I gave this recipe to someone who wanted an easy brownie recipe but she said it didn't turn out very well. On quizzing her, I found out she used the pre-melted Baker's chocolate from the grocery store and I think Hershey's cocoa. Plus she might've baked it too long. Remember, you don't want the toothpick to come out clean - by then, it's too late and the brownie is overbaked. I use Valrhona, Lindt or Trader Joe's bittersweet chocolate (the solid kind that you melt yourself) and Pernigotti cocoa. Quality of ingredients really does make a difference.

Oh and true confession time. I accidentally forgot to put in the vanilla extract in this batch. I had the teaspoon out and the vanilla out so I don't know what I was thinking (or not thinking). I blame it on lack of sleep. But I just ate a taste test piece and the brownie was still okay without it. Regardless, don't do what I did though and please don't forget the vanilla.

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil so that the foil extends 2 inches beyond 2 opposite sides of the pan. Grease the foil.
2. In the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, heat the bittersweet chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the cocoa powder and sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt and mix just until blended. Stir in the pecans.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
5. Using the foil as handles, lift the brownies out of the pan. Cut the brownies into 16 squares.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze up to a month.

Apple Cake with Maple Frosting

Apple Cake with Maple Frosting - made February 1, 2010 from Chocolatier Magazine, October 2006 issue

This is the 3rd apple cake recipe I've tried in a little over a week. What can I say, I can get a little obsessive when I'm trying out different recipes. The advantage of making the same type of thing in a short timeframe is you can really compare the different recipes and see what you like and what suits you. Although I have to admit, I took some liberties with this one since I don't believe in adding all those spices to the same cake. So I left out the cloves (and the walnuts) in the cake and omitted the maple flavoring, ginger and nutmeg from the frosting. Just went with good ol' cinnamon for the cream cheese frosting.

I liked this cake - the flavor was good although it had a softer texture than the other two cakes and was more fragile (i.e. not a good care package cake to send through the mail). I baked it for about 30 minutes but it could probably have been baked a little longer. At 30 minutes in my oven, the edges were done but the middle was still a bit soft. Once the cake was cool, the edges were fine but the middle was a little mushy. Because the cake texture was so soft, the apples were more of a contrast, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always use Granny Smith apples for baking since they're more firm and don't turn into mush when being baked. I'm glad I didn't overspice it as I thought the cake tasted just fine with my modifications. For the frosting, make sure your cream cheese and butter are well blended before adding the powdered sugar. This is one time where you should try to have your ingredients at room temperature. Otherwise, your frosting will be more prone to lumps if you just beat them cold and don't mix them well enough. I also added about 1/2 cup more powdered sugar than the recipe called for because with only 1 cup, the frosting still seemed a bit too soft and runny.

Apple Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups peeled and chopped (1/3" pieces) Granny Smith apples (about 2 apples)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Make cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a 9" square baking pan. Dust pan with flour.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions and mixing just until blended. Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in chopped apples and walnuts.
4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
5. Make frosting: In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and butter at medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract, maple flavoring, spices and salt. Reduce speed to low, add confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Raise speed to high and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
6. Assemble cake: Frost top of cooled cake with frosting. Cut into squares and serve directly from pan.

Jane Bailey's Apple Cake

Apple Cake - made January 31, 2010

This recipe was given to me by Jane Bailey, an ASCSA friend I met some years ago. I'm not sure if she'd be okay with me publishing it so until or unless she gives me the greenlight, I'm going to hold off. I will say though that this is an excellent cake. I enjoyed last week's apple cake so much from the Baking by Flavor book that I thought I'd give another version a try. This is another recipe that I've had in my "Still Need to Make" folder for some time that, now that I've made it, I wish I'd made it sooner.

It's different from last week's cake in that it's more dense like a pound cake and not as cakey-cake (yeah, that's my technical baking term, haha). But it's delicious and quite easy to make. The outside is a bit crunchy and the inside is moist. I brought some to my parents' again today and my mom liked this one better than the one I made last week. She even liked the cream cheese frosting because it "wasn't too sweet" (that's my parents' highest accolade).

As a followup to the Cinnamon Apple Cake, one of my online friends made it and asked whether she could use the nutmeg in the jar instead of freshly grated like the recipe calls for. Yes, you can, although I would use a bit less than what's in the recipe. I'm not overly fond of nutmeg or overspicing a cake in general so I'd err on the side of caution. Also, one thing I recommended to her if you make something like a Bundt cake and have to bring it somewhere "whole", i.e, you can't cut into it and get a taste test slice ahead of time, is to put a small amount of batter in an individual-size ramekin and bake it along with the Bundt pan. The amount you need for the ramekin won't be missed in the regular Bundt pan and you can taste what you've made to make sure it's up to snuff before you have to bring it somewhere.

Cupcakes from Sweet Passions Bakery

One of my coworkers, Rhuwena, asked me last week if I had tried the cupcake place at the mall near my house. "What cupcake place?" was my first shriek, er, reaction. A cupcake place so close by and I didn't know about it? Unthinkable. There's a Kara's Cupcakes at one of the malls near me (yes, of course, I've been to that one) but she meant the other mall across the street from it. Apparently, there's a kiosk there that sells cupcakes. Who knew? Rhuwena said her husband went there and got a really good banana cupcake. Now we're talking.

Armed with directions from her on the general location in the mall of the cupcake place, I set off to walk the half mile to the mall today. Yes, I'd walk that far for a cupcake. Heck, I flew across the country to Manhattan to try out bakeries so this was a - haha - (cup)cake walk compared to that. It turned out to be a kiosk-like stand that held refrigerated cases of cupcakes right outside Restoration Hardware - not a part of the mall I normally traversed, hence why I'd never seen it before. I made the guy tell me about all the different flavors they offered - they had at least 8-10 different flavors but half of them had some kind of jam in them so I skipped those. Instead I chose a red velvet cupcake (because I always like to try different red velvets) and a banana cupcake (per Rhuwena's recommendation). The impressive thing about the kiosk is each cupcake is already made and frosted and packaged in individual plastic takeout boxes. Not only that, but each little plastic takeout carrier was designed to hold the cupcake. Not only was it deep enough to accommodate the lofty rise of the frosting but there were grooves at the bottom of the carrier to hold that-size cupcake in place and keep it from sliding around in the little carrier. I was impressed. These people knew how to package cupcakes. Look closely at the banana cupcake below to see what I mean.

The kiosk is called Sweet Passions and their business card says they make their cupcakes fresh from their bakery (of the same name) in San Jose. I will have to find it someday and check it out.

As you might be able to tell, these cupcakes are not small. They're bigger than Kara's and are probably on par with the size of a Sprinkles cupcake although their frosting rises higher. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not much of a frosting person. I'm more about the cake. I tried the red velvet cupcake first. Here's the "before" picture:

I have to admit, as luscious looking as the cupcake was, I found it to be just "okay". Not that it wasn't good because it was. But, having made red velvet cake before, and had the pleasure of eating it when it was really fresh, barely cool from the oven, you can imagine I have high standards for cakes and cupcakes. This one was good but nothing I couldn't bake just a tad bit better myself. Hopefully that doesn't sound vain but I'm picky about my calories. Perhaps I would've enjoyed this more if I liked frosting more. The frosting was the whipped buttercream variety and also wasn't my thing. One of the reasons I like Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes more than the average cupcake is I like their frosting on that cupcake - it's dense and rich, not light and airy. I don't like "airy" in a frosting - the texture reminds me too much of whipped shortening and I don't like that either. Therefore, the "after" picture with the leftover frosting should make sense since I scraped almost all of it off. Notice that being just "okay" didn't stop me from eating all of the cupcake.

I meant to save the banana cupcake for tomorrow, I really did. But I walked a lot today and had to do some work which is guaranteed to make me crabby (working, not walking) plus I got a start on my taxes so somewhere in my convoluted thinking was that it was okay to have the banana cupcake too. Yeah, I'll pay for it on the scale tomorrow but the good news is, the banana cupcake was much better than the red velvet. It was moist and tasty, the way banana cake should be. I still didn't care for the frosting so I scraped nearly all of it off before even taking a bite. What I guess Sweet Passions does with their cupcakes is inject some of the frosting down the middle of the cupcake which you don't discover until you eat it so I couldn't quite avoid the frosting entirely (the red velvet had the same treatment). It was fine but I still would prefer it without frosting. I'll have to tell Rhuwena she (or her husband) was right on about the banana cupcake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Almonds (sans Toasted Almonds and with Heath Bar toffee bits instead) - made January 25, 2010 from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

Earlier this week I was feeling pretty crappy. Everyone around me seemed to be sick with some kind of flu or cold but apparently my mind decided to go one better and skip the sneezing stage and go straight to headache, the occasional hacking cough and general malaise. Monday was bad and by Tuesday, I'd been "nursing" a persistent pounding in my temples for almost 24 hours. Not to mention feeling rundown in general. Did I mention it was only Tuesday? I skipped my Tuesday night Zumba class since I couldn't imagine doing a salsa or merengue without my head flying off my shoulders. But as I was driving home that night, I decided I'd had enough. I was feeling bowed down from all the work pressure I was under and the belief of sickness that I didn't need to hold onto. It was time to kick that nonsense to the curb. I wanted no part of it. I literally could feel my spine straightening in my driver's seat. My original plans when I got home were to crawl into bed and try to end the day comatose to escape it all.

Instead, I got home, cracked open one of my baking books and fished out this recipe. It was simple and straightforward and is one of my comfort foods - chocolate chip cookies. I made the dough in no time, let it chill in the freezer while I cleaned myself up from the day, and did a heavy strength-training workout while they were chilling. Then I baked a batch and ate a cookie while I watched the Biggest Loser (I know, I know, that seems so wrong. But I do it all the time). I felt fine and I've felt fine since then because I claimed health for myself and wasn't going to accept anything less. BTW, the cookies were pretty good too. It's your standard chocolate chip cookie but the edges were crisp and the middles were chewy. Can't ask for anything more from a cookie. They didn't spread as much as some of my other CCC recipes which is always a plus. Instead of almonds I substitued chopped up Heath Bars and used milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet (my standard substitutions for nuts and chips). I'd consider this another hit from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book.


½ cup whole natural almonds, toasted
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces best-quality semisweet (58%) chocolate, coarsely chopped into ¼ - ½-inch chunks

1. Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Roughly chop the almonds into large pieces.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing until no flour is visible after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the almonds and chocolate. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 1 hour. (If you’re really impatient or hungry, spread out the dough on a tray or cookie sheet, lay a sheet of plastic wrap flush against the surface of the dough, and freeze so it chills up fast.)
7. Once the dough is chilled, turn it out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half into a log about 12 inches long. Refrigerate the logs for at least 30 minutes before slicing. (At this point, you can wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 1 month.)
8. Cut the logs into 1-inch slides, and place them about 1 ½ inches apart on each cookie sheet. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes, or until the centers no longer have a glossy look of raw dough. They should be chewy, so do not overbake.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 weeks. Do not uncover before defrosting.

Asian-Style Country Ribs

Asian-Style Country Ribs - made January 24, 2010 from allrecipes.com

I took the liberty of making some changes to the recipe (3 1/2 weeks of cooking and look how bold I've gotten). I didn't have Sriracha (never even heard of it) so I substituted red pepper flakes instead. I didn't have limes so I used freshly squeezed lemon juice in its place. Lastly, I didn't want to make it in the crock pot as in my experience the food gets liquidy so I baked these for 3 hours in the oven instead.

The results of my changes were both good and only okay. I did marinate the ribs overnight, for almost 24 hours in fact, so they were pretty tasty. But because I baked them, they weren't as tender as if they'd been in the crock pot for hours. I started out the oven temp at 350 degrees and kept lowering the temp over the 3 hours as the ribs were cooking but also starting to dry out and I was running out of marinade to baste them with but they still weren't as tender as I would've wanted. Next time I'm going to cover the pan with foil and bake it at 325 degrees to start with and be ready to bake them for longer than 3 hours. Overall, these were pretty tasty but I think I prefer the American-Style ribs from Donna Hay's book as that had actual "sauce".

Here's the link to the recipe

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Asian-Style-Country-Ribs/Detail.aspx

Glazed Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts

Glazed Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts - made January 24, 2010 from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMosca and Mindy Fox

The first thing you're going to notice from the picture is that these doughnuts aren't glazed as the title would imply. I wanted to taste them without the glaze first to see how I liked them but once I did, I decided there was no point in making the glaze. These were just "okay". I actually think the first cake doughnut recipe I tried from Bread for Breakfast was better since those were crunchier on the outside. These weren't bad but if I'm going to eat fried food, it has to be spectacular to make the calories worthwhile. These didn't hit me as being in the spectacular category. I can't even put my finger on it as to why but they just weren't. In fairness to the recipe though, I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not a cake doughnut person overall. I'm not a big doughnut person to begin with and these didn't win me to a different point of view. It could be that I just prefer yeasted doughnuts more than cake doughnuts. I'll try a yeasted doughnut recipe sometime in the future but not likely in the near future as I think I've had more than my fill of doughnuts lately.

¾ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup grapeseed oil (I didn't have grapeseed oil so I just used canola oil)
3 ¾ cups cake flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Peanut oil, for frying

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, egg yolks and grapeseed oil. Sift 2 cups of the flour into another bowl and set it aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1 ¾ cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest. Mix on low speed just to combine. Add the buttermilk mixture and continue mixing just until the dough comes together. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and using a spatula, gently fold in the reserved flour. The dough will be very sticky.
3. Transfer the dough to a 12 x 14-inch sheet of waxed paper. Place a second sheet of waxed paper on top, and roll out the dough between the paper to an 8 x 10-inch oval, about 3/4-inch thick. Set the dough, still between the sheets of waxed paper, on a baking sheet and freeze until it is firm enough to cut, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the freezer and remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Dust the dough with flour and replace the waxed paper. Flip the dough over; remove and discard the bottom sheet of waxed paper. Now the dough is loosened from the waxed paper and is easy to cut.
5. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Using a floured 3-inch round cutter or inverted drinking glass, cut out doughnuts. Cut out the centers with a floured 1-inch cutter. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and repeat to make a total of 13 doughnuts and 13 holes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day (if making the dough ahead, bring it to room temperature before frying).
7. Just before frying the doughnuts and holes, prepare the glaze. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and ¼ cup hot water.
8. In a large high-sided skillet or a wide pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350˚F. Working in batches of 3, fry the doughnuts, carefully turning them with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon halfway through until golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes per side. Transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain, and then immediately dip one side of each doughnut into the glaze. Transfer them, glaze side up, to a rack set over a baking sheet, and let sit until the glaze sets, about 3 minutes.
9. Fry the doughnut holes for 1 minute per batch. Drain, dip in the glaze, and transfer to the wire rack.
10. Serve the doughnuts warm or at room temperature on the day they are fried.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara - made January 23, 2010 from Modern Classics Book 1 by Donna Hay

Lest you think all I've been doing is baking, I have been doing some real cooking as well. This is one of the easiest recipes in Donna Hay's cookbook and bless her for making it so easy even I could make it. It's supposed to be Fettuccine Carbonara but since I'm prejudiced against fettuccine noodles, I used spaghetti instead.

The trick with carbonara is you have to have your mise en place ready because as soon as the noodles are done, you have to move fast. Carbonara uses egg yolks and they're cooked only from the heat of the noodles tossed in the yolks-cream-parmesan cheese mixture. Done correctly, you get a nice creamy coating of sauce on your pasta. Done incorrectly, you get bits of cooked egg mixed in with the noodles or raw egg. Fortunately, I did it correctly this time. I had the sauce ready and as soon as the noodles were drained, I dumped them in a bowl, covered them with the sauce mixture and started tossing (mixing) the noodles into the sauce. Steam was still rising from the bowl by the time I was satisfied and added the hot ham and green onion mixture.

Carbonara usually calls for bacon but I used extra-lean ham instead. I like bacon but it's a pain to cook (and all that grease makes me shudder) and I figure eating a pasta dish that already has egg yolks, heavy cream and cheese didn't need the added fat and calories of 6 rashers of bacon too. Needless to say, carbonara is not for the faint of heart (literally) or the calorie conscious. Which is probably why I like it but don't make it that often. If you do go for the bacon variety, reserve some of the crisp bacon and crumble it on top of each serving. Donna Hay says this recipe serves 4 but again, it seems more like 6 - 8 servings to me.

14 ounces fettuccine or pappardelle (I used spaghetti)
6 rashers bacon or 10 ounces smoked ham, cut into thin strips (I used extra-lean ham)
3 green onions (scallions), sliced
4 egg yolks
½ cup cream
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese (I used shredded parmesan cheese)
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and keep hot.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the bacon and green onions for 3-4 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and golden.
3. Place the egg yolks, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk well to combine.
4. Toss the egg mixture through the hot pasta, coating it well, then toss with the bacon mixture and parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Cinnamon Apple Cake

Cinnamon Apple Cake - made January 23, 2010 from Baking by Flavor by Lisa Yockelson

While I generally don't like fruity desserts, apples in baked goods are a notable exception. Apple pie, apple cobbler, apple crisp, apple tart, just to name a few. And now I'm going to add apple cake. I've had this recipe typed up for awhile and filed in my "Still Need to Make" folder. I finally made it today and my only regret is I didn't make it sooner. OMG, this is good cake. Moist, flavorful, perfect texture and crumb. You bake the cake then brush it with a glaze made of honey, apple juice, cinnamon and butter. OMG. The glaze is thicker than a soaking syrup but not quite as thick as a normal glaze. Doesn't matter because it adds moistness and flavor to an already moist and flavorful cake. Did I say OMG?

I probably shouldn't be surprised because this recipe came from one of my all-time favorite baking books. And with as many baking books as I have, that's saying something. If you only ever buy one baking book in your life, make it one by Lisa Yockelson. This woman rocks. 90% of the recipes I've made from her books not only turn out but they turn out really well. Baking by Flavor is one of my favorites because the recipes are pretty varied and they're just good recipes. I'd make this cake again in a heartbeat and probably will. Most of it is going to my parents' tomorrow and to my cousin's for my uncle's birthday lunch. (Sorry, work peeps, no leftovers for Monday.) The biggest pain was grating the apples but I only had to grate 3 so it wasn't too bad. Putting together the rest of it was extremely easy. It also came out of the Bundt pan fairly easily although a few bits got stuck to the pan so it didn't come out completely perfect. But close enough.

Oh and I do have to mention I omitted the walnuts (of course) and the cardamom, partly because I don't like cardamom and partly because I didn't have any. I also made a rookie mistake and forgot to add the salt to the batter. I had already poured the batter into the Bundt pan and was ready to put it in the oven when I realized it was missing the salt. I sprinkled the teaspoon of salt in the cake batter already in the pan and gave it a few stirs to mix it up. Yeah, don't try that at home. It still turned out pretty well though :).

3 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon cardamom
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar, sieved if lumpy
3 large eggs
1 cup plain vegetable oil (such as soybean)
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups peeled and shredded apples, preferably Jonathan, Stayman, Empire, Gala, Paula Red, Rome Beauty, or Granny Smith, about 3 large or 1 1/3 pounds (for grating, use the large holes of a 4-sided box grater)
¾ cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted and cooled completely (optional)

Buttery cinnamon-apple juice syrup for brushing over the warm, baked cake
½ cup unsweetened, pasteurized apple juice
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Film the inside of a 10” Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. Place the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and eggs in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer. Mix on moderately high speed for 2 minutes, or until lightened, creamy-textured, and slightly billowy. The mixture will be a creamy coffee color. Add the oil, butter, and vanilla extract, and continue beating for 2 minutes longer. The batter will be moderately thin.
4. On low speed, beat in the sifted mixture in two additions, blending until the particles of flour are completely absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to keep the batter even-textured. Stir in the shredded apples and walnuts, if you are using them.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Gently shake the pan (once or twice) from side to side to level the top.
6. Bake the cake for 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick withdraws clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. The baked cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pan. Let the cake stand in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 to 8 minutes, then invert onto another rack. Place a sheet of waxed paper under the rack to catch any droplets of glazing syrup.
7. Stir the apple juice, honey and cinnamon in a small, heavy nonreactive saucepan (preferably enameled cast iron). Place over high heat and cool 1 minute to dissolve the honey. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes, or until reduced to 5 tablespoons.
8. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the softened butter and vanilla extract. Whisk until the butter has melted down completely.
9. Using a soft pastry brush, apply the hot glaze generously over the top and sides of the cake. Cool completely before slicing and serving. Use a serrated knife to cut neatly and cleanly.

Freshly baked, the cake keeps for 4 days.