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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Apple Crumble Slice



A very delicious Apple Crumble Slice recipe from Carole Walter's "Great Cookies." I used a combination of Granny Smith and Yellow Delicious Apples. I might make the crumble crust more buttery next time but it was a great success at work anyway.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Armenian Nutmeg Cake - Daring Bakers' April Challenge



Blog-checking lines: The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

My Armenian Nutmeg Cake. What a divine cake! I cut it into 20 slices and 6 people at work polished it all off, so I guess that's more than 3 slices each for some. It's the nutmeg that makes it so delicious - I mean, who wants run-of-the-mill cinnamon for a coffee cake when you can have nutmeg!


I think this would make a lovely Christmas Holiday season cake, perhaps drizzled with water icing - it would be a welcome change, I think, from the heavy-duty Christmas fruit cakes and so much easier and less expensive.

Some bench notes: I will try using unbleached AP flour next time (I used a mix of pastry and regular flour which seemed to be very light - the batter on top was way too liquidy so it took too long to bake and the center was still soft and gooey - I ended up lopping the middle out of it with a pastry ring!) I would also like to try a smaller size,using half quantities and say a 6 or 7 inch springform. I would also like to try buttermilk instead of milk.

Armenian Nutmeg Cake
Makes one 9”/23cm cake which yields 12 servings
Ingredients
 1 cup (240 ml) milk (I use whole, but nonfat
or lowfat should be fine; non-dairy might
work just fine, as well)
 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking soda
 2 cups (480 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) all-purpose
(plain) flour (I suspect pastry flour or
another low-gluten flour might even work
better to achieve a light, fluffy crumb)
 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) baking
powder (I used single-acting, because it's aluminum-free, and it turned out fantastic)
 2 cups (480 ml) (400 gm/14 oz) brown sugar, firmly packed
 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) butter, preferably unsalted, cubed
 1/2 cup (120 ml) (55 gm/2 oz) walnut pieces, may need a little more
 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons (5 to 7 ½ ml) (5 to 8 gm) ground nutmeg (try to grate it fresh yourself; the
aroma is enchanting)
 1 egg
Directions:


Food Processor Way

1. Preheat your oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4 .
2. Mix the baking soda (not baking powder) into the milk. Set aside.
3. Put the flour, baking powder, and the brown sugar into your food processor. Pulse until
uniformly mixed.
4. Toss in the cubed butter. Pulse until uniformly mixed into tan-colored crumbs.
5. Pour HALF of the crumbs into your springform (9”/23cm) pan. Press out a crust using your
fingers and knuckles.
6. Crack the egg into the food processor with the rest of the crumbs still in it.
7. Grate 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Toss that into the food processor, too. Pulse until wellincorporated.
8. Pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until a slightly lumpy tan batter is
formed.
9. Pour the batter over the crust in the springform pan.
10. Gently sprinkle the walnut pieces over the batter.
11. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for 30-40 minutes. It's ready when the top is golden brown,
and when it passes the toothpick test (comes out clean).
12. Cool the cake in the pan, and then dig in. Yum yum!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Lemon Drizzle Cake

















Not a great pic. but a great taste. The recipe is from "Best-Kept Secrets of the Women's Institute - Cakes and Biscuits" and everyone at the office loved it. I adapted it slightly, but ever so slightly.

Lemon Loaf Cake

Ingredients
6 ozs. butter, softened
6 ozs. superfine sugar (caster sugar)
2 eggs
4 Tbs. milk
6 ozs. self-raising flour, sifted
grated zest of one lemon
Optional for drizzle: juice of one lemon and 1 Tbs. sieved confectioners' sugar, combined.


Method

Cut good baking parchment to size of base of 9x5 loaf tin.Place on base of tin and grease, with a little bit of flour. Spray sides of tin with Bakers' Joy.

Cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs and milk.

Fold flour into the mixture, together with the grated lemon zest.

Spoon mixture into loaf tin.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit on middle shelf of oven, placing tin on cookie sheet to aid in spreading heat. Bake for 50 minutes until cake is pale golden brown and firm to touch.

Optional for drizzle: Pour drizzle mix over cake immediately after removing from oven. Allow glaze to set before removing cake from pan.

Set on wire rack to cool completely.

Coconut Cake for Easter


This is an "A" List cake. The coconut crumb of the cake is just right - moist and quite light (it is not necessary to apply any simple syrup) and the 30 minute baking time for 9-inch layers seems just right. I actually baked two sets of 9-inch cake layers then cut three of them into 8-inch layers as I wanted the cake to have a taller, slimmer look than a 9-inch would give. I put the fourth layer in the fridge for use at a later time but ate it all a few days later - I think it's best to freeze extra cake layers to avoid such temptations.

This was my Easter Dinner bring-along for friends on Easter Sunday. It proved to be a perfect dessert, both pretty and delicious. I got the recipe from Carole Walter's "Great Cakes" and also used a Swiss buttercream from her book. I smothered the outside with sweetened, moist coconut dotted with mini-malted Easter eggs. If I get another coconut cake request this is the recipe I will use, except to make more buttercream - the middle layer was a bit sparse on buttercream as the quantity was only meant for two layers.

Coconut Layer Cake

For the layers:

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup dessicated shredded coconut, unsweetened
2-1/3 cups sifted cake flour (sift first, measure later)
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup (1-1/3 sticks) unsalted butter
1-1/3 cups superfine sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method

In small saucepan, scald milk. Add the coconut, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. Pour milk and coconut into the container of a food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse 8-10 times or until coconut is finely chopped. Transfer to a measuring cup and set aside.

Position rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut two round 9-inch layers of parchment paper, one for each pan. Lightly butter parchment paper and spray sides with Bakers' Joy.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cut butter in 1-inch pieces and put them in the large bowl of KitchenAid stand-alone mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Soften on low speed. Increase speed to medium- high. Cream until smooth and light in color, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.

Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, taking 6 - 8 minutes to blend it in well. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add the eggs, one at a time at 1-minute intervals, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with coconut/milk mixture in tow additions, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until incorporated after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds longer.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pans (it is quite thick), smoothing the surfaces with the back of a tablespoon. Bake in the preheated oven on cookie tray for 25-30 minutes or until cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan, is golden brown on top, and is springy to the touch.

Remove from oven. Set the pans on cake racks to cool for 10 minutes. Invert pans onto racks sprayed with Bakers' Joy and remove pan and paper. Frost the cake when it is completely cool.

Assembly tip: Place one layer on plate top side down. Cut four 4-inch strips of waxed paper and slide the strips under the edges of the layer to keep plate clean. Spread the layer with frosting, leaving a 1/2 inch unfrosted border around the edges. Put the second layer top side up on the first. Using a long metal spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting around sides of cake. Use method of dipping spatula in hot water to get frosting to spread more easily. Frost top of cake. Smother in sweetend coconut flakes.

Storage - can keep in cool place under a glass dome. For long storage, cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent and refrigerate. Allow to stand at room temperature, 2-3 hours, before serving.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream


Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Almond & Chocolate Cookies



Another great recipe from "Best Kept Secrets of the Women's Institute - Cakes and Biscuits." These cookies are quite delicate, not gooey like most chocolate chip cookies. I used my gram/ozs. scale to follow the metric measurements in the recipe - it's just too bothersome to convert to ozs. and the conversions tend to be awkward, such as 1-1/8 cups, etc.


Almond & Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
250g AP flour
1/4 tsp. salt
115g confectioners' sugar
225g (8ozs.) butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1 teasp. almond essence
100g blanched almonds, chopped
100g chocolate chips (I used Nestle semi-sweet mini morsels)

Method
Sift flour and confectioners' sugar and salt together into separate bowl.
Beat butter and egg yolk in KitchenAid bowl until light and creamy. Add sifted dry ingredients. Continue beating for a couple of minutes.

Mix in almond essence, chopped almonds and chocolate chips thoroughly. Refrigerate dough for 30 mins to one hour.

Take walnut sized pieces (the TBS. scoop) of the dough and roll in balls. Place on silpat on cookie tray and flatten slightly with palm of hand.

Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit, on middle rung of oven, for 20-25 minutes, until cookies are firm and pale. [Watch carefully - they must not get too brown on edges - about 22 minutes is probably the best estimate.]

Leave the cookies to stand on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool.