High Ratio Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake

High Ratio Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake - made September 24, 2011 from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri (book #164)

Really moist, really good

(Please enter the baking book giveaway 2 posts below and please vote!  They're in 14th place but need to move up higher before voting ends on Friday, September 30 - thanks!)

Nick Malgieri is another cookbook author whose recipes I can reasonably count on to almost always turn out.  I had the privilege of getting him to sign this cookbook for me when I met him during a baking demo he was doing at Sur La Table some years ago.  I think he does cakes exceptionally well, much like Rose Levy Berenbaum.  This recipe only enforces that.  Although it's now officially fall and the days are getting noticeably shorter, if not always cooler, if you want a last taste of summer, go find the freshest oranges you can and make this cake.  It seems like a standard pound cake but the orange flavor makes it much more than your average butter pound cake and will remind you of summer days gone by.

Brush all of the soaking syrup into the cake in stages: brush, wait a few minutes to let it absorb, brush some more, wait a bit, and so on.  It took me more than half an hour to use up all of the syrup.  Sometimes I get lazy or feel like I've used enough syrup and I don't want the cake to get too moist or soaked.  But this worked out pretty well to use up all of the soaking syrup because it really flavored the cake well.  The cake was moist but not overly so or and it wasn't gummy.  Make sure to bake it properly (toothpick should come out just barely clean) and don't underbake it or else it will be too gummy, especially after you use the soaking syrup.  This is actually the type of cake that tastes better the day after you make it because the flavors have had time to mellow and really settle into the cake.  Another good picnic cake or a good candidate to include in a care package.

2 ½ cups bleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3 large egg yolks

½ cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 tablespoons strained fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon orange extract

Orange Syrup

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh orange juice, strained

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

One 12-cup Bundt pan, buttered and floured

1.    Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325˚F.

2.    Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and beat on the lowest speed for about 2 minutes, or until the ingredients are well combined.

3.   Meanwhile, whisk all the remaining batter ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well combined.

4.   Increase the mixer speed to medium and add one-third of the liquid, and mix for 2 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater.  Add another third of the liquid, beat for 2 minutes, and scrape again.  Finally, add the remaining liquid and beat and scrape as before.

5.   Use a large rubber spatula to give the batter a final vigorous stir, then scrape it into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

6.   Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake halfway between the side of the pan and the central tube emerges clean.

7.   Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack to finish cooling.

8.   To make the syrup, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice, lemon juice and vanilla extract.  Brush the hot syrup evenly all over the cake.  Gradually brush until it is all absorbed.

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies - made September 24, 2011 from Mrs. Witty's Monster Cookies by Helen Witty (book #163)

See the Oreo cookie lump?

I've mentioned in the past that I've wanted to try Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies because they were the fad in the foodie blogosphere for awhile.  I kept getting distracted by other recipes, not to mention eating the Oreos "straight" but I finally got around to trying them last weekend.  I had a specific recipe in mind from one of the link parties I participate in but since I was trying to further my baking challenge, I decided to try a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe from one of my baking books.

Hmm, I might've been better off trying the other recipe.  I knew this likely wouldn't work well with Oreos in the middle because the dough was soft after I mixed it.  I chilled it for a few hours because I even wrapped it around an oreo then froze that before I baked it.  As expected, the cookie spread too much and the Oreo in the middle looked like a round lump with a big cookie skirt.  I might've been able to get over that though if it had tasted good.  Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed.  The chocolate chip cookie part was kind of average and more cakey than moist and chewy, possibly because I baked it a minute or two longer than I would've liked because the middle was still doughy, possibly because of that Oreo intruder in the middle.  But the deal breaker was the Oreo itself was soft after having been baked and cooled.  That stands to reason, of course, because of the baking heat but one of the reasons I like Oreos is because of the crisp texture of the sandwich cookies.  Having them soften in baking just didn't work for me.  Bummer.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces

1.     In a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or in the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and shortening together until well blended and soft.  Then beat in the brown and granulated sugars in turn, beating well after each addition, until fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each; then beat in the vanilla.

2.     Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, blending well.  Add the chocolate bits and mix well.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it thoroughly, preferably for 3 hours or longer.

3.     Preheat the oven to 350⁰F with the oven rack in the center position.

4.     Drop the chilled dough by slightly rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto the foil-covered greased sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.  Bake them in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned and the centers have just become springy to the touch.  Cool on the pans for 5 minutes then place them on wire racks to cool completely.

Another Baking Book Giveaway

EDITING because I got the voting end date wrong

Please vote for a good cause!

I'm doing another slightly different post from the norm to ask for your help and to offer free cookbooks in exchange.  I blogged earlier this year about my 3-week trip to Australia and New Zealand.  On the trip, I met an extremely nice couple, Eileen and Dick, who were wonderful people to tour with and just wonderful people in general.  Sadly, Eileen and Dick's grandson, Trey, was killed over a year ago by a drunk driver.  Trey was only 6 years old.  I don't have kids but I don't need to be a parent or a grandparent to know what a devastating loss it is for someone to lose their child.  Trey's family is coping with their grief and loss by trying to build a "field of dreams" in Trey's memory and they are in the running for a $50,000 grant from Pepsi to add to their fundraising efforts.  They're currently in 15th place but it's very competitive and they need all the votes they can get in order to win the grant.  There are only 10 voting days left.

I need your help!  Please click on the link below to vote for Trey's Field of Dreams so his family can get the Pepsi grant.  Voting ends on September 30 so I will draw winners on October 1.  http://www.refresheverything.com/trey

Here's how to enter the giveaway (you can do either or both):
1. vote through the link and leave me a comment in this post that you voted.  You can either login via facebook if you have a facebook account or you can register an email with Pepsi and vote (you don't need to be on facebook to vote, you just need an email address).  You can vote once a day and leave me a comment every day that you voted.  Every vote is one entry.  Make sure when you do vote that you login and click vote.  Your vote is recorded when you get the "Thanks" message (just logging in is not voting).
2. Email me power vote codes that come under specially marked Pepsi bottles (it's on the underside of the bottlecaps).  Each power vote code is worth 5 entries in the giveaway.  Email is pastrychef17@gmail.com.

I will give away 2 baking books from the list pictured below.  First prize goes to the person who sends me the most power vote codes.  That person gets first choice of TWO cookbooks from the list below.  Second prize is a random drawing from all the people who emailed me power vote codes and left comments saying they voted.  Second prize winner will be able to pick one cookbook from the list below after the first prize winner has picked.  Drawing will be held on October 4.

Thank you for helping out a worthy cause in memory of a little boy who was taken too soon from his family and friends.  Please pass the word along as much as you can and get others to vote as well.  Every vote really does count and I know Trey's family appreciates each and every one.

http://www.refresheverything.com/trey

List of baking books in the giveaway - click on the link to see more information about each book
Cocolat by Alice Medrich
Indulge by Claire Clark
The Art of Chocolate by Elaine Gonzalez
Grand Finales: The Art of the Plated Dessert by Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty (has a little wear)
Perfect Pastry by Nick Malgieri
Elegantly Easy Creme Brulee & Other Custard Desserts by Debbie Puente
Shortbread by Jann Johnson
Christmas Cookies from the Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye Hansen and Liv Hansen
Chocolate Companion by Cynthia Shade Rogers

Care Packages for College Students

This post is going to be a little different from the norm since I haven't had time to bake lately so I don't have any new recipes or baking experiments to blog about.  But I've been meaning to write this one for a few weeks to talk about care packages again.  But this is aimed at those of you who've sent kids off to college.  I've mentioned my nieces have started at different colleges this year so that naturally kicks in my need to send them care packages. 

Baked goods, of course, go into the care packages and I choose the ones they like that will ship well.  But I didn't want to send just brownies or bar cookies.  I wanted to also send fun stuff or useful stuff or both.  What makes a care package "useful" for a college student might be different than a care package sent to a non-student.  For one thing, if they live in the dorms, you know space is a premium so you can't send really big stuff that'll take up space.  You also have to be mindful if they have a microwave or a small refrigerator in their room or not as that affects food choices.  And college students tend to move every year so you don't want to send them something fragile, cumbersome or  what they'll never use.

So what can you send?  I had to think back to my own college days to try and remember what I would've liked at their age.  I also tapped my friends' knowledge and experience and they helped me come up with a great list of ideas, some of which I've implemented and some of which I'm holding back for future packages.  One thing I had to update is my knowledge of how far technology has come since my college days.  Quarters for laundry?  No need - now they just swipe their student IDs in the washing machines and dryers to pay for washing and drying each load.  Film for cameras?  In this day and age of cell phone cameras and digital cameras, forget it.

The key factors in my mind are the items had to be consumable, would get daily or near-daily use, be something they actually needed but didn't already have, and/or be something fun.  There's no one-size-fits-all list for everyone since the whole fun of a care package is to tailor it to the specific recipient's needs and wants.  I know a lot of my nieces' likes and dislikes so I had a lot to work with.  For their first one, I included:
- a stapler, staple remover and staples set
- packets of green ginger tea (they love tea)
- individual packets of Crystal Light (for something cold to drink since it was summer when I sent it)
- movie pack of Skittles (a favorite candy of theirs plus I didn't have to worry about it melting in summer temps like I would have with chocolate)
- highlighters
- 8 GB flash drive (for saving files from their laptop and plugging into a computer lab computer to print if they don't have a printer in their room)

In subsequent "follow ups", I also gave them each a mini LED flashlight they can keep in their purses and have handy if they're ever on campus at night, packs of microwave kettle corn, crackers and other dorm food-type snacks for when they're studying or else have to eat on the run on their way to class.  I also like to package food items in individual-sized portions so that they can share with their friends.  College and dorms are about communal living and making new friends.  Nothing like sharing treats to cement new friendships.

Other suggestions people gave me but which my nieces already had so I didn't include:

• post-it notes
• Command hooks for hanging stuff in their dorms
• Nail polish, nail polish remover, and other nail care items
• Shower caddy for carting their shower essentials from their room to the communal bathroom
• combination lock
• Robe

I'll save the rest for future care packages - I don't want to ruin all of the surprise.

Same packing tips apply as with all packages: pack carefully so that the items don't move around a lot or at all.  I used medium flat rate boxes so I didn't have to worry about weight.  Time when you send a package.  If it has something perishable in it, try sending on a Saturday or Monday so it arrives early in the week.  If you send mid-week and chance a Saturday arrival, if the dorms don't handle mail on the weekends, your package will sit there a couple of extra days until they deliver again on Monday.  I've also discovered that what I sent to one of my nieces took an extra day to be processed through campus mail.  A package I sent across the country arrived a day earlier than a package I sent to my niece in-state because of that extra processing day so now I have to plan accordingly.

Oh, and most importantly, include a handwritten card telling them how much you love them and how proud you are of them for being where they are and making the most of their opportunities.  And if your handwriting sucks like mine, cash in the same envelope is good too :).

Oreo Caramel Brownies

Brownies - made September 17, 2011 from King Arthur Flour Baking Companion (book #162)

You might remember my earlier attempt to take a simple brownie recipe and make it more decadent by having an Oreo crust for the bottom layer, covering it with a layer of caramel and putting the brownie on top of it. That attempt didn't turn out as well as I would've liked so I decided to try again to coincide with my niece's visit from college for the weekend. Then I could load her up with most of it to take back to her friends in her dorm.

This stab at brownie decadence came out better than the last time. I think I hit on the right ratio of Oreo cookie crumbs and butter - use 2/3 of a package of Oreos (the regular size package, regular Oreos, no double filling), process in the food processor until they're all crumbs, add half a stick or 4 tablespoons of melted and cooled butter and mix until you have a uniform consistency with the crumbs. Pat that into a 9 x 13 pan lined with foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and smooth into an even layer. Then I melted a 14-ounce package of Kraft caramel bits with a little milk. I didn't measure the milk but added enough to get a thin liquid consistency. You don't want the caramel to be too thick or too chewy when it cools.

Then I chopped up the remaining Oreos in the package, mostly because I knew if I kept them, I'd eat them all. Instead of keeping temptation around, I added the chopped up Oreos to the brownie batter and poured that on top of the cookie crust and caramel layers. Because of the two bottom layers, testing for doneness using the toothpick test is a bit tricky because if you push the toothpick straight down, it'll likely always come up too moist because it's also picking up the caramel layer. Instead, I angled the toothpick so I was mostly testing the brownie layer instead of hitting the caramel layer. These did take a bit longer to bake than I expected and a crust formed on top which I wasn't wild about since I don't like crusts on my brownies. But overall, I was much happier with this version than the last time I tried to make this combo. The brownies were fudgy without being too gooey and the caramel kept things moist. The caramel wasn't as pronounced as I expected so next time I might try adding more caramel or swirling some of it through the brownie itself as well as having a caramel layer on top of the Oreo cookie crust.

My niece took some back to share with her friends in the dorms. Their feedback after taking the first bite: "Oh. My. God." I'll take that as an endorsement, lol.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups (17 ½ ounces) sugar

1 1/3 cups (5 ¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

Optional add-ins: nuts, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, caramel

1.    In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat.  Set aside to cool slightly.

2.    In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3.    Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.

4.    Stir the flour into the chocolate and butter mixture.  Fold the chocolate batter into the egg mixture, stirring to combine.  Stir in optional ingredients, if using.

5.    Spread the batter in the pan.  For an extra-glossy top, brush with 1 tablespoon milk.  Bake the brownies for 35 minutes; the top should be crisp but a toothpick inserted in the center will come out coated with chocolate.  Remove the brownies from the oven, and let them cool for several hours before cutting into squares.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Chocolate Nutella Cookies - made September 10, 2011 from simplyrecipes.com written by Elise Bauer

I don't get all my recipes from my cookbooks.  There are a lot of them out on the web and when someone recommends a particular site or blog that they enjoy, I like to take a look.  I take personal recommendations, well, personally.  One of my fitness friends, Barbara, sent me the link to this site and she was actually recommending the Orange Poppyseed Cookies.  I want to try that one too but in surfing the site, I came across this recipe for Chocolate Nutella Cookies a few months ago and filed it in my "still need to make" category.  I met friends last weekend and needed cookies to include in their goodie bags so this seemed like a good time to finally try out this recipe.

You can probably guess before I even write this that I left out the hazelnuts in this recipe.  I honestly meant to include them, thinking I had hazelnuts in my freezer but in searching through its frozen depths, I found almonds, pecans, peanuts and macadamia nuts but no hazelnuts.  Um, darn.  So I simply used chocolate chips instead.  I was a little worried about the dough as it seemed a bit soft for a cookie dough and was almost more like a thick brownie batter.  Usually when cookie dough is soft, it'll spread, even if you freeze the dough beforehand, which is what I did.

This did end up spreading and I don't know if that was because I hadn't frozen the dough long enough or the butter was too soft when I mixed up the cookie dough.  In any case, although the cookies spread a bit more than I would've liked, they still turned out pretty well.  This is the one cookie I wouldn't advocate really underbaking though.  If you do, you'll end up with mostly mushy middles like the texture of nutella in the jar (although some of you may actually prefer that).  But, baked - not overbaked - properly, this has a nice chewy texture, almost like a fudgy brownie.  I prefer it at room temperature as opposed to lukewarm, 10 minutes out of the oven, like I do with most cookies, mostly because I think it has a better texture at room temperature and the nutella flavor is more pronounced.

Golden Banana Cake

Golden Banana Cake - made September 10, 2011 from Simply Sensational Desserts by Francois Payard (book #161)

Several people have recommended that I should roast bananas before using them in baking.  I always mean to because it sounds like it would be additional delicious flavor but I typically end up putting overripe bananas in the freezer to use later and when I thaw them, the bananas are mush and probably wouldn't roast well.  This time, however, I finally remembered to keep ripe bananas out and roast them before using.  These weren't super-ripe bananas like I would normally bake with but I figured roasting them would make them flavorful enough.

Hmm, not sure that ended up being a good call.  I think two things went wrong: 1) I should've used over-ripe bananas like I normally do.  The ones I used were ripe but not over-ripe.  And we all know over-ripe bananas are the best to use to bake with.  2) I don't think I roasted the bananas long enough to really let them caramelize which is the point of roasting them in the first place.  The reason I know I didn't roast them long enough is they weren't mushy enough when I took them out of the oven to mash up.  They didn't smell caramelized either, just banana-y. Bad sign.  I don't know how this recipe would've turned out if I had properly over-ripe bananas.  The texture came out okay but it wasn't fabulous.  I gave some to my parents and my mom's opinion: "this isn't very good".  Ouch.  Honest to a fault, my mom - lol!  I didn't think it was that bad.  But it did have more of the dense texture of a bread than a real cake so that probably didn't help.  If you do try this recipe, go with the ripest, blackened-skin bananas you can find. 

 1 cup (145 grams) all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick - 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) olive oil
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
4 large eggs
1 extra-ripe medium banana, peeled and mashed

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter, olive oil and sugar at low speed. Increase the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the mashed banana. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.
4. Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on the rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, 1 week refrigerated or 2 months frozen.