Thursday, April 22, 2010
Dealing with Life...and Death
Whenever death hits our family, I’m both angry and resentful that the rest of the world still goes on. People still go to work, TV shows still run, the radio DJs are still cheerful as they yak away, stores are still open, traffic is still bad during commute hours, and on and on. I feel like I need to come to a standstill if no one else will and just mourn. I mourn not only for myself in losing my uncle but I mourn for my mom who lost a brother, my cousin who lost a father, my aunt who lost a husband and everyone else who lost a great presence in their lives. It seems wrong and even almost frivolous to just go forward as if nothing ever happened. He meant something to all of us and that should be acknowledged. And it is. We had a very touching and dignified military funeral for him complete with Navy officers in dress whites and his casket draped in the US flag. We say prayers daily, each in our own way and through our own beliefs.
But I’ve also come to realize that doing those things isn’t the only way to honor and remember my uncle. It’s also in how we remember him, what positive influences we take from him and how we reflect that influence in our own lives. It isn’t about coming to a standstill, however much we want to. That’s not what he stood for nor is it what he would wish for us. Yes, life relentlessly moves on, even when death seems to make you want to come to a halt. Our part in it is to take that gift of life that we still have and to do the best we can with it. Each person we meet touches our lives in some way. If we’re fortunate, they touch it for the better. It’s our job and our tribute to deceased loved ones not to waste their influence on us or fritter away our own remaining time. That’s how they remain infinite and forever with us. Because we celebrate their lives in the way that we live our own.
This is a picture of my uncle at his college graduation, 45 years ago.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Godiva Ultimate Chocolate Layer Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 cup sifted cocoa powder
1/3 cup Godiva Liqueur
Cake
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Godiva liqueur, divided
Shaved chocolate
1. For the buttercream, cream the butter until smooth. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder over the butter, add 1/3 cup Godiva liqueur and slowly mix until smooth.
2. For the cake, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. On low speed, stir in the chocolate and gradually add the reserved sifted ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and ½ cup of Godiva liqueur; beat until smooth. Divide the batter among three greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake in preheated 375˚F oven for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to completely cool. Chill the layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes, until firm.
3. To assemble the cake, remove the cake layers from the freezer and brush with the remaining Godiva liqueur before spreading ¾ cup of buttercream between each layer. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, which has been placed on a serving plate. Serve immediately or refrigerate if necessary. If refrigerating, remove 1 hour prior to serving. Garnish with shaved chocolate. Serves 12.
Kahlua Cake
Kahlua Cake - made April 1, 2010, adapted from recipe from Patricia Ng
I haven't kept up with this blog much lately, partly because I haven't had as much time to bake as often and partly when I have baked, I've made things I've already blogged about. My nieces were here last week for spring break and I did make one of our favorite cakes. I first had this cake when I worked at eBay and my coworker friend Patricia made this cake. I thought it was scrumptious. Patricia shared the recipe but over the years I've somehow lost track of it. So for this version, I've tried to recreate what I remember of it. It turned out pretty well so this time I'm documenting it.
This is really easy to make. The directions are somewhat sparse and I play around with the proportions of the Kahlua and water in the cake and the amount of Kahlua and confectioners' sugar in the glaze. I make the glaze and heat it until it has a syrupy viscosity but I admit I didn't really measure. I just made it until it "looks right". You can't really go wrong. This is more of a soaking syrup than a glaze anyway. You don't want it too thin but don't make it so thick that it's a noticeable glaze on the cake. This is another good picnic-type cake as it's very versatile and travels well.
1 package yellow cake mix
1 4-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup mixture of Kahlua and water (mix to taste – you can use all Kahlua if you want a stronger taste of Kahlua or ½ and ½ or ¾ and ¼ or anywhere in between
Glaze
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ to 1/3 cup Kahlua
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Sift yellow cake mix until lump-free. Combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat with a paddle attachment until smooth – 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it (toothpick inserted in the outer edges should come out clean).
4. For the glaze: combine confectioners’ sugar and Kahlua in small saucepan over medium heat and whisk to a boil. Brush glaze over warm cake.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Lemon Pound Cake
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon rind
2 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons pure lemon extract
Sour Cream Lemon Cake Batter
3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups superfine sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup thick, cultured sour cream
Lemon Sugar Wash
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Grease the inside of a plain 10-inch tube pan with shortening. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of waxed paper cut to fit and grease the paper. Dust the inside of the pan with all-purpose flour. Tap out any excess flour; set aside.
2. Combine the lemon rind, lemon juice, and lemon extract in a small nonreactive ramekin. Set aside for 15 minutes before using.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
4. Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderately low speed for 4 minutes. Add the superfine sugar in three additions, beating for 1 minute on moderate speed after each portion is added. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending for 45 seconds after each addition.
5. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in three additions with the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the sifted ingredients. Scrape down t he sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured. Blend in the prepared lemon infusion.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared tube pan. Smooth over the top with a rubber spatula.
7. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until risen, set and a wooden pick inserted in the cake withdraws clean. The baked cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pan.
8. While the cake is baking, make the lemon-sugar wash: In a small, nonreactive bowl, combine the lemon juice and sugar. Stir well. Let stand 10 minutes. Using the ash now will give the surface of a baked tea loaf, pound cake or batch of muffins a crackly, sugary veneer.
9. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto another cooling rack, peel off the waxed paper circle, then invert again onto another rack to cool right side up. Place a sheet of waxed paper under the cooling rack to catch any drips of the topping.
10. Using a soft, 1-inch-wide pastry brush, brush the lemon-sugar wash on the surface of the warm cake. Cool completely before slicing and serving. Use a serrated knife to cut the cake neatly and cleanly.
Freshly baked, the pound cake keeps for 5 days.
Hot Chocolate Cake
Hot Chocolate Cake - made March 27, 2010 from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans
I'm on the hunt for a good molten chocolate cake recipe. I've tried several and they've been good but I always think they can be better. You'd think a warm chocolate cake with a molten liquid fudge center would be easy to knock out of the park but I'm picky. The texture of this one could be better. I either didn't beat the eggs and sugar enough or else this is just how the texture was meant to be. It was a little heavy and the cake part that baked was almost dry. Which is quite a feat considering the middle was liquid fudge. Or perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for chocolate yesterday (yeah, those icicles just formed in hell). This one was almost too rich for me. It could be I'm losing my taste buds. Gasp. Horror. Nah.....
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Ice cream for serving with the cake, optional
1. Mix the cake: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with sides at least 2 inches high.
2. Put the butter and chocolates in a large heatproof container set over, but not touching, barely simmering water in a saucepan. Stir the mixture often over the hot water until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. As soon as the chocolate mixture melts, remove it from over the water and set it aside to cool slightly.
3. Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture looks fluffy, thickens and lightens to a cream color. This is the stage of the mixing that lightens the cake. Move the beaters around in the bowl if using a handheld electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and stir in the melted chocolate mixture, mixing until it is blended. Put the flour and baking powder in a flour sifter and sift over the chocolate batter. Stir in the flour mixture just until it is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake and serve the cake: Bake for 15 minutes until the edges look set and the center is soft and just baked enough to hold its shape. A toothpick inserted in the center comes out with batter clinging to it, and one inserted into the edge comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it.
5. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes to firm it slightly. Use a small sharp knife to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan. Release the sides of the springform pan and remove them. Use a knife and a large flat spatula to cut and move slices of cake to serving plates. The centers of the slices are a thick liquid. Serve with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.
Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Shortbread - made March 27, 2010 from The Baker's Catalog
ETA: now that these have cooled completely, I tried one the next day and found it almost impossible to eat. The caramel had hardened too much. I'd advise adding cream or milk to the caramels when you melt them so when they cool, the caramel mixture is still soft, not hard and chewy. Otherwise, you can "salvage" this by warming up the pieces for about 15 seconds in the microwave to soften/melt the caramel. Then they're delicious.
Shortbread
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
2 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 cup chocolate chips
Filling
8 ounces (a scant 1 cup, packed) vanilla caramel
Topping
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
6 ounces (a scant 3/4 cup, packed) vanilla caramel
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two round 9-inch cake pans.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Combine 1 cup of the flour and the chocolate chips in the work bowl of a food processor, and process until the chocolate is chopped; you want the chocolate pieces to be small enough that they don’t poke up out of the dough, as they would in chocolate chip cookies; but large enough that you can still discern them as being individual bits. Combine the rest of the flour and the flour/chocolate mixture with the other ingredients. Divide the dough in half and press it into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Prick the dough all over with a fork.
3. Bake the shortbread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it’s golden brown around the edges. While the shortbread is baking, place the pecans in a single layer in an ungreased pan, and bake them right along with the shortbread, for about 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re golden brown and smell “toasty.”
4. When the shortbread is done, remove it from the oven, and loosen the edges with a heat-resistant plastic knife or table knife. Allow the shortbread to cool for 5 minutes.
5. OK, pay attention now, because timing is everything from this point forward! You want to work fast enough that you can cut the shortbread while it’s still warm. So—while the shortbread is cooling in the pan, measure out 8 ounces of caramel, and put it in a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup (the spout makes for easy pouring), or in a microwave-safe bowl.
6. After 5 minutes, carefully turn the shortbread, all in one piece, onto a clean work surface. Melt the caramel in the microwave until it’s bubbly; this should take about 1 minute. Pour the melted caramel atop one of the shortbread rounds. Top with the other round, and press down very gently to make a “shortbread sandwich.”
7. Wait 1 minute, for the caramel to set somewhat. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the shortbread round into 12 wedges; first cut it in quarters, then cut each quarter into three pieces. Some of the caramel will ooze out the sides; that’s OK, it makes it look even more luscious! Transfer the wedges to a cooling rack, under which you’ve placed a piece of waxed paper or parchment, to catch caramel drips.
8. Melt the remaining 6 ounces of caramel. Drizzle or spread it atop the wedges. Quickly, while the caramel is hot, sprinkle with the toasted nuts, pressing them into the caramel so they’ll stick. Allow the shortbread to cool completely before serving. Yield: 12 shortbread wedges.
Copyright 2005 The Baker's Catalogue, Inc.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Buttercrunch Melt-a-ways
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsifted confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
4 packages (1.4 ounces each) milk chocolate-covered toffee bars (Heath Milk Chocolate English Toffee Bars), finely chopped
About 1 ½ cups finely chopped almonds, for rolling the balls of cookie dough
About 2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, for dredging the baked cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line the cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper; set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts, using a wooden spoon or flat wooden paddle. At this point, the sugar will form small speckled clumps in the butter mixture, but as soon as you add the flour, the sugar will disperse.
4. Stir in half of the flour mixture and the chopped candy. Stir in the remaining flour and mix to form a cohesive dough. Let the dough stand for 5 minutes to allow the butter to be absorbed into it. The dough will be moist but reasonably firm and manageable.
5. Place the almonds into a shallow bowl. Spoon out scant tablespoon-size quantities of dough and roll into balls. Roll the balls into the chopped almonds, pressing the nuts in lightly as they are rolled. Arrange the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets, placing 12 to 16 on each baking sheet (depending on the size of the sheet).
6. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes, or until set, with light golden bottoms. There will be a few thin cracks in the tops. Little bits of chopped candy will puddle at the base of the cookies, here and there.
7. Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 30 seconds, then remove them to cooling racks, using a sturdy, offset metal spatula. As you are removing them, detach any melted bits of candy from the base of the cookies, using a flexible palette knife or tip of a teaspoon. Cool the cookies for 5 to 8 minutes.
8. Line a work surface with waxed paper. Place the confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl. Wearing food-safe rubber gloves to protect your hands, carefully roll the cookies, a few at a time, in the sugar to coat, and place on the waxed paper. After 30 minutes, coat the cookies again.
Yield: 2 ½ to 3 dozen cookies