Buttercup Golden Layer Cake

Buttercup Golden Layer Cake - made January 22, 2011 from Buttercup Bakes at Home by Jennifer Appel (book #43)

I finally managed to remember to order the Magi-Cake strips to wrap around round cake pans for even baking.  Except Magi-Cake strips can only be fastened with a pin and I wanted the ones that fastened with velcro (you ever try stabbing those pins into a cake strip while the strip was around the pan and still manage to keep the cake strip snug around said pan?  Total pain - velcro fasteners are better).  Fortunately Regency had "Evenbake Cake Strips" with velcro fasteners so I got those.  Best things ever - soak them in water before using, wipe off excess water, fasten around the cake pan, pour your batter in and bake.  And they worked too - my cake layers rose up evenly instead of baking faster at the edges and having a higher, rounded middle.  The only drawback is they came in a pack of 2 (or at least the ones I bought did) so I only had 2 and my recipe called for making a 3-layer cake.  But no problem, I only baked 2 layers and used the leftover batter to make cupcakes.  I liked the results of the cake layers so much though that I'm probably going to buy another set of 2 cake strips in case I ever do want to make a 3- (or 4-) layer cake.

I've been wanting to try this recipe from the Buttercup Bake Shop for awhile but it called for self-rising flour.  I can only find self-rising flour in the 5-lb bags and I don't have many recipes that call for it so it seemed a little excessive to buy a bag just to use 1 1/2 cups of it.  But I needed a vanilla cake recipe as I was meeting my cousin and her son for dinner and his favorite flavor is vanilla (my cousin: "Jason, do you want vanilla or vanilla?" Jason: "I think I'll have vanilla").  Since I still didn't have any self-rising flour on hand, I decided to just substitute.  The lead-in to the recipe says not to substitute but I was feeling reckless.  Instead of the self-rising flour, I used all-purpose flour for all of the flour except I used a scant 1/4 cup in the last measure and added 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Turned out pretty well so I'm glad I gambled on it.  The texture of the cupcakes was light, almost spongy but definitely cakey and the flavor was a nice butter/vanilla flavor. 

I think I underbaked the cake layers slightly as they weren't as light as the cupcakes but a bit more dense.  I actually liked their texture a bit better, probably because they were a little more moist.  The frosting turned out a bit too sweet for me but I'm not really a frosting fan and use it sparingly anyway.  This would make a good 3-layer cake as the layers aren't too thick or too thin and stacking all 3 layers would not only look pretty but be manageable enough to eat.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups self-rising flour (or substitute 1 1/2 scant cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans; then line the bottoms with wax paper.

3.     In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on the medium speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix the milk and vanilla together.  Thoroughly combine the flours and add in two parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla mixture and beating well after each addition.

4.     Divide the batter between the prepared pans.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

5.     If you’re making cupcakes, line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.  Spoon the batter into the cups about two-thirds full.  Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 to 22 minutes.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes.  Remove the cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on a rack before icing.

6.     When the cake has cooled, frost between the layers, then the top and sides of the cake.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

7 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Food coloring (optional)

1.     Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.  Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the icing is a good spreading consistency (you may not use all the sugar).  If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.

2.     Use and store the icing at room temperature, as the icing will set if chilled.  It can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  This yields icing for one 2- or 3-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes.

White Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookies - made January 19, 2011 from Chocolate Passion by Tish Boyle & Timothy Moriarty (book #42)

Like many chocoholics, I have a prejudice against white chocolate since it's not really chocolate as it contains no cocoa solids.  But there are two particular types of baked goods I like them in - macadamia white chocolate cookies and in fudge cookies.  In the first, they're more of a complement to the macadamia nuts (and they must be macadamia nuts, other nuts are just not the same) and in the second, they're a sweet contrast against real chocolate.

Note there's a difference between white chocolate and vanilla chips. Don't expect vanilla chips to be white chocolate in chip form. Not only do vanilla chips have more vegetable fat to help keep their chippy shape and melting point but I suspect there's far less cocoa solids (if any) in them.  Which means I don't want to know what actually is in them but it ain't chocolate. If you do like white chocolate (or even if you don't but use them anyway), go for the best quality white chocolate you can find.  Trader Joe's used to sell Ghirardelli white chocolate in blocks but I haven't seen them recently.  For this recipe I used Callebaut white chocolate chunks - bought on sale at Williams Sonoma last week.  I love a bargain, especially on the good stuff.

As a triple fudge cookie, this was pretty good.  The edges were crisp but the middles were moist and chewy.  Flavor-wise, I really liked the richness of the chocolate offset by the sweetness of the white chocolate chunks.  Don't overbake them as nothing tastes worse than a dry cookie and nothing tastes better than a slightly underbaked chocolate cookie that sets once it cools and has a fudgy interior.  Time these carefully - you can also judge when they're done once the middles are set and don't look wet.  If the white chocolate starts to brown, it's time to take the cookies out.

Prep time: 25 minutes plus baking and cooling times

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon unsulphured (mild) molasses

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup unsweetened nonalkalized cocoa powder (I used Pernigotti cocoa)

Three 3-ounce Lindt white chocolate bars, cut into ¼” chunks

1.     Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350˚F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.     Melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates together in the top half of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water.

3.     In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

4.     In a 4 ½-quart bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until soft, about 1 minute.  Gradually beat in the brown sugar and granulated sugar and continue to beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary.  Beat in the molasses and vanilla extract.

5.     One at a time, beat in the eggs.  Sift the cocoa powder and add it to the mixer bowl.  Beat until combined.  Add the melted chocolates and mix.  Decrease the speed to low and blend in half of the flour mixture, scraping the bowl as necessary.

6.     Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a wooden spoon, fold in the remaining flour with the white chocolate chunks.  Do not overmix. (Work quickly at this step as once the melted chocolate is added and the first half of the flour is mixed in, the batter cools considerably and it's more difficult to add the remaining flour before the dough stiffens up.)

7.     Drop the dough onto the baking sheets in walnut-sized mounds; flatten each mound slightly.  Bake the cookies until the tops are puffed and cracked, about 12 minutes.  Do not overbake or the cookies will be dry.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 36 cookies

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes - made January 19, 2010 from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (book #41)

I have several baking books by Martha Stewart and I'm irresistibly drawn to the pictures of the recipes.  They always look so good.  I've tried a number of her recipes and they've almost always come out.  So then I wonder why I don't use her recipe books more often.  But once I flip through them in their entirety, I realize I'm only up to making maybe half of the recipes.  The other half is too fancy and involved.  Very Martha in looks but few people have that kind of time to make gorgeous concoctions.  And even if I had the time, to be honest, I don't think I'd go to the bother.  I tend to err on the side of simplicity and taste.  One more reason why I'm more of a brownie or cookie baker rather than a wedding cake decorator.

In any case, this recipe couldn't have been simpler to make.  I mixed the chocolate batter by hand and used a hand mixer to blend the peanut butter filling ingredients.  For the filling, make sure your butter is softened to room temperature and mix it well with the peanut butter so they end up well blended and the same creamy texture with no lumps.  I ended up with enough batter to make fill 12 muffin cups and 1 ramekin.  Don't try to force them into 12 muffin cups if you have too much batter or they might overflow.

I discovered the hard way that you need to marbleize or swirl these so that you have more of the chocolate covering the peanut butter on top.  Otherwise the peanut butter batter will puff up and spill over the top of the cupcake liner.  When you take them out of the oven, they deflate and look sloppy, especially when you try taking them out out of the muffin cavity.  Mine don't look close to Martha's version - sigh.  So cover the peanut butter batter with the chocolate and only allow a small part of the peanut butter batter to show through the top.  Once you get past the sloppy appearace, taste-wise, these are like eating a Reese's peanut butter cup in cupcake form.  Judge the baking time on whether the chocolate part is done (with a few moist crumbs clinging to a tester) and not when the peanut butter part is "done" because the peanut butter batter isn't going to bake like the chocolate batter.  It'll stay creamy and it's supposed to.  Don't overbake or the chocolate cupcake part will be dry and not fudgy,

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

¾ cup smooth peanut butter

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.    Preheat oven to 325⁰F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Put butter and chocolate in the top half of a double boiler over hot, simmering water; stir until melted.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

2.    Whisk granulated sugar into cooled chocolate mixture.  Add eggs and whisk until mixture is smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.

3.    Make the peanut butter filling: stir together all filling ingredients until smooth.

4.    Spoon 2 tablespoons chocolate batter into each lined cup, followed by 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling.  Repeat with additional tablespoon batter and top with 1 teaspoon filling.  Swirl top of cupcake batter and filling with a wooden skewer or toothpick.

5.    Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Potato Refrigerator Rolls

Potato Refrigerator Rolls - made January 19. 2011 from Betty Crocker's All-Time Favorites (book #40)

This little paperback book has been in our family for as long as I can remember.  It's pretty worn by now and across the top of the front cover are the words "Compliments of American Savings".  So I suspect this is a freebie my parents got from their bank when I was a kid.  If so, it was a pretty good deal. Back in the day, Betty Crocker was the trusted brand for the American housewife and cook.  It's this book that provided the potato bread recipe of my childhood not to mention simple recipes that I cut my baking teeth on.  This is the book that provided me with my first recipes for snickerdoodles and orange chiffon cake.  This was also back in the day when I didn't have recipe ADD and the need to acquire multiple baking books.  Life was simpler then.

When my mom made this recipe (rising and kneading it the old-fashioned way), she used Idaho instant mashed potatoes because I think it gave her more uniform consistency for the bread.  Or else we weren't really big potato connoisseurs (as Asians, it was about rice, not potatoes) and didn't mind instant mashed potatoes to use up the leftover box when she was done making the bread.  I used a real potato to try this recipe.  1 medium-sized potato is more than enough to make 1 cup of mashed potatoes.  You can always fry the leftover potato into a potato cake.

When my mom made this bread as rolls instead of loaves, my job was to roll the dough into little balls and drop 3 dough balls in a "cloverleaf" in each cavity of a muffin tin.  When the rolls were baked, you could split apart the cloverleaf into 3 bite-size pieces of bread and spread butter on the insides.  The only thing better was the same potato bread baked as a loaf, sliced thickly and spread with butter.  Never forget the butter when it comes to piping hot bread.

I tried letting the dough hook of my Kitchen Aid do all the work of kneading but even after I had added up to 7 1/4 cups flour, the dough was still sticky and didn't look like it was coming together even after I let the mixer/dough hook beat the dough for 5 minutes.  So I tipped the dough out onto a floured surface and kneaded it by hand.  It wasn't hard and the dough seemed smooth enough so I didn't need to knead it for very long.  Despite the original directions, I didn't put the dough to refrigerate since I wanted fresh bread now.  Instead, I put the dough to a first rising then after it had doubled in size (about an hour), I shaped it into 1 regular loaf, 1 mini loaf and a 12-cup muffin tin of cloverleaf rolls, let them rise a second time and baked them.

About 20 minutes into baking, everything looked browned and done but I knew the loaves couldn't possibly be cooked yet since they were bigger than the rolls and needed more baking time.  Not wanting to get them too brown, I lowered the oven temp to 375 and baked them a little longer (maybe 10 minutes more).  It got a little too brown but was still okay.  The inside could have baked a few minutes more so next time I would just start it out at 375 degrees or else cover the top loosely with foil to prevent it from browning too quickly.  What I love about this bread is the flavor.  The sugar makes it a little sweet but not overly so and the potato gives it a better texture than I found with the buttermilk bread I made earlier.  It's way too easy to eat too much of this so be warned!

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes
7 to 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
soft butter

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, potatoes, and 4 cups of the flour.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough of the  remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.
2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turn the greased side up.  Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.  (The dough can be refrigerated at 45 degrees or below for up to 5 days.  Keep covered.)  If the dough rises, punch it down occasionally.
3. When you want to make fresh rolls, punch down the dough and cut off the amount needed. For cloverleaf rolls, shape bits of dough into 1-inch balls.  Place 3 balls in each greased medium muffin cop.  Brush with butter.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake rolls for 15 to 25 minutes.  If you're baking as loaves, bake until risen and golden brown.

Pizza Rustica

Pizza Rustica - made January 17, 2011 from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (already tried as book #6)

 

I like this book although a good portion of it covers a lot of breads which I don't usually make as it tends to take up quite a bit of time and bread has such  short shelf life.  There are also your typical sweet baked goods in this book too but I'm challenging myself not to fall back on the usual cookies, brownies and cakes that I invariably always make.  So I went with this recipe instead.  According to the book, Pizza Rustica is commonly served in Italy as an appetizer.  This may not look like the "pizza" I'm familiar with but I like it as a savory pie.

This is exactly the sort of dish that's up my alley - a sweet dough pie crust with a savory filling.  I normally hate using my food processor as it's a pain to clean but it worked well to make the dough for this recipe.  The dough really did gather into a ball around the blade once you added the eggs.  It was a bit sticky and fragile to work with though so I had to add a little more flour when I was rolling out the bottom and top (lattice) crust.  Even then, I had to do a patchwork job on the bottom crust but no one's really going to see that part so it didn't really matter.  Not going for perfection here.  Which is just as well since I didn't do such a great job with the lattice work either.  It's hard to cut perfectly even strips of dough in the same width unless you're really, really good at it.  I'm not.  But I'm a home chef so that's fine with me.  It all tastes the same :).

I really liked this combination of sweet pie crust and savory filling, more than I thought I would since I tend to prefer savory with savory.  But this was a good combo.  The pie crust came out crisp but not too sweet and was a nice base for the ricotta filling.  The recipe doesn't call for brushing an egg wash over the crust but I recommend it anyway.  It'll brown better with the egg wash.  

The Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1.    Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse a few times just to mix the ingredients.

2.    Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times or until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal.  With the machine running, add the eggs and process until the dough forms a ball on the blade, about a minute or so.

3.    Remove the dough from the processor and knead it, folding it over on itself, until it is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside until needed.  Dough can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

The Filling

1 pound whole milk ricotta

3 large eggs

¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

¼ pound mozzarella cheese, grated

¼ pound thinly sliced prosciutto, shredded

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1.    Scoop the ricotta into a medium bowl and stir until smooth with a rubber spatula.  Add the rest of the filling ingredients, one at a time, stirring until each addition is incorporated and the mixture is well blended.

2.    Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350⁰F.    Butter a 9” glass pie plate.  If using a metal pie plate, increase the oven temp to 375⁰F.

3.    Divide the dough into two pieces, one twice as large as the other.  Working with the large piece, knead t into a disk and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch circle.

4.    Transfer the dough to the pie plate and press it gently against the bottom and up the sides of the plates.  Use the dull side of a knife to trim the excess dough even with the rim.

5.    Scrape the filling into the pie shell and smooth the top.

6.    Knead and shape the remaining piece of dough into a block and roll it into a 9” square.  Using a pizza or pastry cutter or a thin, sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 even strips.  To form the lattice top, lay 6 of the strips across the pie at 1 ¼” intervals, then crisscross the strips, placing the remaining strips diagonally across the first.  Trim the ends of the strips even with the edge of the pan and pinch to seal.  Brush with a beaten egg slightly thinned with water (you won't use all of the egg wash.)

7.    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is firm and slightly puffed.  Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely before serving.

8.    Leftovers can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Bibingka - the sticky kind

Bibingka - made January 15, 2011 from my mom's recipe

Bibingka (pronounced bee-BEENG-kah) is a Filipino cake.  There are several types of bibingka, including a cakey version that's spread with melted butter when the cake comes out of the oven and sprinkled with sugar on top and a "sticky" version that's a cross between a dense cake and a firm custard that's baked with coconut on top.  The sticky kind is usually made with mochiko or rice flour (pictured below) and/or cassava (also pictured below, available at Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch in the freezer section with the frozen vegetables).  My mom made bibingka when I was a kid and, along with chocolate chip cookies, it's one of the things I learned to make early on.

My earliest memory of making bibingka when I was a kid is when my dad's oldest sister was visiting us for a few weeks and some of her friends from the Philippines came by unexpectedly to see her.  I had just made a 9 x 13 pan of bibingka that I thought came out beautifully with toasted golden coconut on top.  In Filipino culture, it's second nature to offer your guests something to eat when they arrive and since we didn't have much notice that we were to have guests, my aunt served my bibingka for their visit.  I went off to the park nearby to play and returned as the guests were leaving.  To my dismay, they had eaten almost the entire pan!  There was only one corner left and I consoled my childish indignation that I could at least have one piece of the pan I had made once the guests left.  Imagine my further indignation when, after all the goodbyes were said and the flurry of the leave-taking had died down, I saw the empty pan.  Apparently the guests had enjoyed the bibingka so much, they took the leftover piece "to go".  It's a funny memory now as I remember how indignant I was at being denied the bibingka and my aunt was embarrassed and apologetic of her friends.  Nowadays, if something like that had happened, I would've been flattered that people liked what I made so much that they literally didn't leave a scrap of it.

This recipe for bibingka is for the "sticky kind" like I had made on that day long ago.  My mom recently made this recipe over Christmas week and we enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd give it a try.  She made some modifications to the original recipe so I'm including those modifications here as hers turned out better than I remember mine being.  If you're avoiding wheat or gluten, this is a good recipe to make since it uses rice flour, not wheat flour.  Some versions of this bibingka are topped with both coconut and cheese.  I don't like cheese on baked goods so I've left it out.  If you want to try it with cheese, add a few ounces of sharp grated cheddar cheese along with the coconut.  If you're like me and love coconut, don't skimp on it when you top the batter with it.  It not only adds to the appearance when the bibingka is baked, becoming a nice golden brown top, but it also adds to the flavor and texture.

One last thing - if you can, use a glass pan to bake this in.  This version of bibingka isn't known as the "sticky kind" for nothing.  Lining the pan with foil, which is what I always do with metal pans so the cake doesn't stick to the pan and can be lifted out of the pan for easier cutting, doesn't help much when you're trying to separate the foil from the bibingka.  If you use a glass pan, you can cut it in the pan without making knife marks in the pan.

1 cup sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko, can be found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores)
1 teaspoon baking powder
16 ozs of grated cassava (can be purchased in 16-oz packages at Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch)
2 cups milk
2 eggs
scant 1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
Sweetened coconut flakes, enough to cover the top of the batter in an even layer

1. Melt butter in 9" square baking pan in preheating oven as it heats to 350 degrees F.  Meanwhile, beat eggs until lightly scrambled.  Add in rice flour and baking powder and make a paste.  Gradually add in milk, mixing with a fork to keep the batter smooth and free of lumps, then add sugar and cassava until well blended.  Do not overmix - you don't want a light or cakey texture. Pour into pan, mixing well with melted butter.  Batter should be somewhat liquidy but not so thin that it can't hold the coconut topping.
2. Generously top mixture with coconut flakes.  Bake until coconut topping is golden brown and edges look crisp, about 45 to 55 minutes. You can't rely on the toothpick test for this one so go by appearance.  The middle should be firm enough not to jiggle when you shake the pan gently.  Don't bake for more than an hour even if the coconut isn't brown all over the top.

Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese

Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese - made January 15, 2011 from Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes (book #39)

This is one of my earlier general cookbooks that I remember getting, probably when I belonged to some cookbook of the month type club when I was in college.  I've had it for years but I mostly used the dessert recipes.  This is where I got my recipes for Lemon Bars and Butter Pecan Tartlets.

I don't normally make mac and cheese since my pasta comfort food of choice is spaghetti and meatballs.  But it's easier (to me) to make a cheesy sauce than a spaghetti sauce.  My friend Emily assures me spaghetti sauce doesn't come out of a jar, er, I'll take your word for it, Em.  I modified this a bit just to use up some ingredients in my fridge so I added half an onion, some diced ham and used fresh basil instead of parsley.  Out of the mac and cheese recipes I looked at, this one was also different in that it added cream cheese in place of additional cheddar.

This came out less orange-colored than I expected but that makes sense since it doesn't have as much Cheddar as some other recipes and the cream cheese is white.  I also think I was expecting something orange like Cheetos because I pictured that all macaroni and cheese would turn out the color of Kraft Mac n Cheese. As mac and cheese goes, this one was fairly decent.  The bread crumb topping seemed a little much so next time I would cut it to 1/2 to 3/4 cup but that's just a personal preference.  I would also either add more ham or else experiment with a spicy sausage.  I liked the basil but that's because I easily prefer the taste of basil over parsley, no matter what dish it's in.  You can definitely taste the mustard.  I don't like mustard but this had a small enough amount that I was okay with it.  It's also pretty rich and creamy so serve in small portions.

7 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni

¼ cup butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cups milk

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons country-style Dijon mustard

2 cups cubed ½” cheddar cheese

1 cup sliced, diced ham (if desired)

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or substitute basil if desired)

1.    Heat oven to 400⁰F.

2.    Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

3.    Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter; stir in flour.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until smooth and bubbly, 1 minute.  Add chopped onion and cook until soft.

4.    Stir in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper and mustard.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in macaroni, cheese and ham, if using.

5.    Pour into 2-quart casserole.  In small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, melted butter and parsley; sprinkle over macaroni and cheese.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.

Brown Butter Waffles

Brown Butter Waffles - made January 13, 2011 from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox (book #38)

Continuing with the theme of breakfast food, waffles are also another favorite.  Whoever invented the waffle with its square "pockets" to hold syrup was a culinary genius. One thing that always struck me though - have you ever noticed when you order pancakes or waffles from a restaurant, that they invariably offer pancakes with other items like sausage, eggs, hash browns, etc but waffles are a standalone order and if you want anything with them, you have to order them separately?  I've always wondered why.  It's not like waffles are any less filling than pancakes or come in bigger sizes (although I guess some do).  Sometimes the pancakes alone are a meal but they still come with protein choices.  Waffles don't.  Weird.

I love my waffle maker but don't use it that often.  It's a pain to clean.  Those same pockets that allow for syrupy goodness also means cleaning the waffle iron takes time and care.  I have an awesome recipe for waffles but since this is about trying new recipes, I thought I'd give this one a shot, especially since I like the taste of browned butter.  The nice thing about waffles is they freeze well and you can pop them into the microwave or toaster oven for a quick meal or snack when needed.  Since I'm not in the office and don't have my coworkers to serve as taste testers anymore, I'm having to get creative about what I make and how to preserve it so I don't eat it all myself or else I can space out when I have it so I can still control my portions.

When it comes to waffles, I'm a purist.  That means butter and syrup are fine with waffles but no fruit topping, no whipped cream, and no chocolate (yes, you read that correctly).  I know the trend has been to use waffles as the base for other ingredients and elaborate concoctions but that's not for me.  If anything, the only time I've had waffles with anything else is when I went to Park Place at the Cypress Hotel with my friends Bryan and Cheryl and tried the chicken and waffle sandwich where the waffles were the bread for the chicken.  That was actually tasty but maybe because it was a savory item.  Otherwise, I like my waffles plain, adorned only with syrup or butter.

I have to say I loved these waffles.  Served warm directly from the waffle iron, they were delicious.  In fact, I didn't even bother with butter or syrup since the waffles themselves had enough flavor and tasted so good - another calorie saver.  The browned butter taste didn't come through as strongly as I would've thought but you can taste the "nuttiness" from it.  If you cook them long enough, the waffles will be crisp on the outside but still soft inside.  I don't like crispy waffles and prefer mine on the soft side.  Portion control almost went out the window as I wanted to keep eating the whole batch.  I don't know how I can stop at one brownie or cookie and walk away but could not stop eating these waffles until I was almost sick.  Fortunately sanity kicked in before I had consumed more than 1 whole waffle (okay, maybe it was a whole and a quarter).  I'm putting the rest in the freezer for future days but I suspect those days will come sooner rather than later.  One batch made 4 whole waffles in my waffle maker.

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs, separated

Unsalted butter, for the waffle iron

1.     In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat; continue cooking until the butter turns brown and has a nutty fragrance, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.

2.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and the egg yolks.  Whisk the wet ingredients together, gently working them into the dry ingredients until just combined.  Add the browned butter and whisk until fully absorbed.  (At this point, the batter will keep for several hours or up to 2 days in the refrigerator.)

3.     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.  Gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

4.     Lightly brush a waffle iron with butter and cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

German Apple Pancake

German Apple Pancake - made January 12, 2011 from Baking Illustrated (book #37)

Baking Illustrated is by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine and is a handy book to have.  Each recipe section goes into detail of the trial and error they went through to come up with the best version of the recipe they're publishing, just like they do with Cook's Illustrated.  It's enlightening to read, especially when I'm looking for a particular recipe and want some background on the do's and don'ts of making it.  That said, I don't go to this book as often as I do my other cookbooks.  I can't say it's got THE best recipes for everything but then again, I haven't made as much from this one as others.  There have been one or two that I didn't think turned out so well - whether it's the recipe or the baker, I don't know.  Maybe that's why it hasn't been the Bible of my baking as much as I expected.  But I still like checking with it first and seeing what they've got when I want to try something new.

The German Apple Pancake falls into the category of something I've never made before.  I'm inordinately fond of breakfast food and see nothing wrong with having breakfast for dinner.  Cooking breakfast always seems easier to me than cooking dinner.  Plus I don't have much of an appetite in the morning until I've been up for at least a couple of hours and (preferably) got a workout in so I usually can't do justice to a good breakfast.  I also like the concept of this pancake as something to make when I have friends over for brunch.  Who doesn't like pancakes?   Normally I like my pancakes plain but if there's a fruit that can be added to it, I prefer apple.

This was pretty simple to make.  Because it calls for having the oven initially at such a high temperature, I recommend preheating your oven as the first step since it'll probably take your oven awhile to get up to 500 degrees.  You can easily prepare this in the time the oven is heating.  I opted to use 2 Granny Smith apples instead of 3 because I thought I didn't want to overwhelm the pancake with too much apple.  I forgot, however, that apples cook down considerably and I actually ended up with less apple than I thought.  Going with 3 apples would've been fine.  The pancake puffed up at the sides rather than the middle and almost look like it was going to spill out of the pan but fortunately it was "baking" up the sides instead.  I left it in the oven for 15 minutes as the edges were looking crispy and done even though the middle was still a bit pale.

Overall, this was delicious.  It's best served warm and the apples made it sweet enough that I skipped the maple syrup entirely - no need for the extra calories.  It's not a pancake like you'd think an IHOP buttermilk pancake is.  The texture is less fluffy and thinner once the pancake collapses.  But the browned, caramelized apples is a nice touch and the pancake serves as more of a backdrop for the apples.  Definitely eat this while warm.

2 large eggs

¾ cup half-and-half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

½  cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 medium Granny Smith apples (about 1 ¼ pounds), peeled, cored and cut into ¼” slices (I used 2)

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Maple syrup, warmed

1.    Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 500⁰F.  Combine the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, salt and granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and process until well combined, about 15 seconds.  Add the flour and process until thoroughly mixed and free of lumps, about 30 seconds; set the batter aside.

2.    Add the butter to a 10-inch ovenproof, nonstick skillet and heat over high heat until the butter foams.  Add the apples and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over them.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to turn light brown, about 5 minutes.  Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the apples are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.

3.    Remove the pan from the heat.  Quickly pour the batter around the edge of the pan then over the apples; place the pan in the oven.  Reduce the heat to 425⁰F and cook until browned and puffed, 16 to 17 minutes.  With a heatproof spatula, loosen the edges of the pancake.  Invert the pancake onto a serving platter, dust it with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately, accompanied by the warm maple syrup.

Pecan Passion

Pecan Passion - made January 11, 2011 from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (book #36)

One of the things I'm really enjoying about my baking challenge to try at least one recipe from every cookbook I own before I let myself buy a new one is I get to revisit a lot of cookbooks I've owned for some time but haven't really used.  And the point really is to make use of what I have instead of yearning for more, more and more.  I've had this recipe book for years but I honestly can't remember the last time I made anything from it or if I've even used it.  Hence why this challenge is good for me.

I leafed through the whole book and saw many recipes I wanted to try but I had to limit myself to one for now.  The recipe I chose was one that seemed similar to my Chocolate Caramel Brownie in that it had a chocolate brownie base covered with a layer of caramel and pecans.  Maida's recipe didn't call for chocolate chips but I put them in anyway - as soon as the brownie was done and the caramel pecan layer was still hot and bubbly from the oven, I generously sprinkled chocolate chips over the top to let them melt into the top layer.

Cut these while the chocolate chips are still soft.  They'll be gooey but that's okay as they'll firm up when they're fully cool.  This can only be described as a "confection" since it's practically candy.  The chocolate brownie base is thin and provides a good backdrop for the caramelized pecan topping.  The caramel layer is a bit chewy (as caramel should be) and the toasted pecans add a wonderful flavor.  Be warned though as it's pretty rich.  Use a good dark cocoa for the bottom layer so the dark chocolate provides a contrast to the sweet topping.  I'm seeing friends tomorrow so thankfully I can hand these over to them - otherwise I'd be tempted to have more than my usual one taste test piece.

ETA: I had a(nother) small piece once this had completely cooled.  The caramel was definitely chewy, a trifle more than I would've liked, and once it was cool, I could taste the rum more clearly even though there was a relatively small amount in it.  If you're like me and don't care for the taste of rum, I don't see the harm in leaving it out.

Bottom Layer

3 ounces (¾ stick) unsalted butter

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour

Topping

1 tablespoon dark rum or cognac

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

3 ounces (¾ stick) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

Scant ¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup dark corn syrup

7 ounces (2 cups) toasted pecan halves

1.    Preheat oven to 375⁰F.  Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2.    In a small pan over moderate heat, melt the butter.  Place it in the small bowl of an electric mixer.  Add the sugar, salt, vanilla and egg and beat to mix.  Beat in the cocoa and flour.

3.    Place this thick chocolate mixture in a ribbon or in several mounds all over the bottom of the foil-lined pan.  With the bottom of a metal spoon, spread the mixture in an even layer.  It will be a thin layer and level itself while baking.

4.    Bake for about 15 minutes until the shallow cake springs back when gently pressed with a fingertip.  Remove the pan from the oven and let stand. 

For the topping:

5.    Add the rum or cognac to the cream; set aside.

6.    In a heavy, 3-quart saucepan over moderate heat, melt the butter.  With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the sugar, salt, and corn syrup.  Stir over moderate heat until the mixture begins to boil all over the surface.  Place a candy thermometer in the pan and cook, stirring a few times until the temperature reaches 250⁰F (this takes about 2 minutes of boiling).  Watch it carefully and do not let it cook even slightly too long.

7.    Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the cream mixture (the mixture will bubble up) and then the pecans.

8.    Immediately pour the mixture over the bottom layer.  Use a metal spoon to even the layer.

9.    Bake at 375⁰F for 25 minutes.  Time carefully and don’t overbake or it’ll be too hard.

10.   Remove from the oven and let stand for at least a few hours, until completely cool.  Cut into squares with a sharp knife.