Yesterday was the double whammy of family events--my dad's birthday and my mother's graduation--and I was called upon to prepare a dark, dark, DARK chocolate cake for my mother. Counting on the tried and true classic chocolate cake on the back of the Hershey's box, I adjusted it slightly, resulting in a sinfully dark chocolate raspberry layer cake. Recipe follows:
Cake:
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar or other sweetener (I used half brown, half white sugar)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup ricotta cheese or sour cream (optional)
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dark Cocoa (i.e. Hershey's special dark or other dutch processed cocoa powder)
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups water
1 ounce dark semi-sweet baker's chocolate or chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 350.
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light, an off-white color.
2. Add eggs (one at a time) and vanilla and sour cream/ricotta if using (I used ricotta to great effect.) Beat until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, alternating with the water until well combined.
5. Add the chocolate (chopped or chips) to the batter and stir well to mix in.
6. Pour mixture into two greased 8 or 9 inch round baking pans. I also like to use parchment paper to line the pans, which helps me to move them when I am assembling the cake.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean. For more even layers, cut off the tops of each cake so that the top is completely flat.
Icing:
I used a simple ganache to ice this cake, which comes from Dorie Greenspan's fabulous book "Baking: From My Home to Yours." I cut up four ounces of baking chocolate (semi sweet) in a heat-proof bowl. Then I heated 1 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan and added it to the chocolate, stirring in a few tablespoons of butter as the glaze melted and settled. Unfortunately, my ganache came out a bit too liquid, so I ended up adding some cornstarch and cocoa to it to thicken it. But before that, I spread some of the liquidier glaze on the layers to soak into the cake and moisten it (probably not necessary as it was already quite moist.)
Glaze:
After soaking the inside parts of each layer with the more liquid form of the ganache, I spread a thick layer of raspberry jam (preheated for a few minutes in the microwave to loosen it up) on both layers and assembled the cake with the two trimmed tops facing one another. This left a piece of parchment paper on the top and bottom of the cake, which proved useful in transporting it from a cooling rack to a cake plate.
The total effect is wonderful--a deep chocolately icing, covering a very soft, delicate chocolate cake with a thin trace of raspberry/chocolate moistness in the center.
Who knew hershey's could do it so right??
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
FORFEIT: a hot mess
Hi all,
Just took the cake out of the oven and guess what!! It was a mess!
Actually, I should re-state that. The top was a mess. The bottom was perfect! The bottom cake was moist and buttery and soft and everything a cake should be. The top, however, was completely carmelized and stuck to the pan, ruining my (now burnt) design. it would have been salvageable in a surrealist world where black is a fruit color and burnt sugar is a flavor (oh wait....)
In any case, I'm now thinking my mistake was cooking the brown sugar too long. So if you make this, try decreasing the amount of cook time so that the sugar/butter mix doesn't reduce and stick to the pan like mine did. But definitely try out the dough mix if you want a delicious, light, and not-too-sweet base for your upside down cake!
Surrendering to Alex,
Jenny
Just took the cake out of the oven and guess what!! It was a mess!
Actually, I should re-state that. The top was a mess. The bottom was perfect! The bottom cake was moist and buttery and soft and everything a cake should be. The top, however, was completely carmelized and stuck to the pan, ruining my (now burnt) design. it would have been salvageable in a surrealist world where black is a fruit color and burnt sugar is a flavor (oh wait....)
In any case, I'm now thinking my mistake was cooking the brown sugar too long. So if you make this, try decreasing the amount of cook time so that the sugar/butter mix doesn't reduce and stick to the pan like mine did. But definitely try out the dough mix if you want a delicious, light, and not-too-sweet base for your upside down cake!
Surrendering to Alex,
Jenny
Upside Down Cake Bake-off
Hi all,
So today's excitement is an UPSIDE DOWN CAKE BAKE-OFF competetion between me and my friend Alex (http://farcefodderandfoodstuffs.wordpress.com .) I got excited because my mom bought some really aesthetically impressive dried apricots and cranberries, so I decided I had to make a dessert to feature them (this is how my brain works--its not enough to just enjoy the apricots as they are..they MUST be combined with some sort of pastry to truly reach their potential.)
So here's the recipe I'm trying...it's in the oven as we speak, so results will follow!
Bottom of the Cake:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ginger (of course!!)
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
scant 1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Beat together egg, milk, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until batter takes on a very smooth consistency (like pancake batter.)
Topping:
3/4 stick butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
apricots and cranberries (dried)
In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, stir once, and let cook for about 3 minutes without stirring. Arrange cranberries and apricots in a design of your choosing on the surface of the pan with the part you want visible bottom down in the butter sugar mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
Add batter to the skillet, and put in preheated oven (350) for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!!!
So today's excitement is an UPSIDE DOWN CAKE BAKE-OFF competetion between me and my friend Alex (http://farcefodderandfoodstuffs.wordpress.com .) I got excited because my mom bought some really aesthetically impressive dried apricots and cranberries, so I decided I had to make a dessert to feature them (this is how my brain works--its not enough to just enjoy the apricots as they are..they MUST be combined with some sort of pastry to truly reach their potential.)
So here's the recipe I'm trying...it's in the oven as we speak, so results will follow!
Bottom of the Cake:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ginger (of course!!)
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
scant 1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Beat together egg, milk, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until batter takes on a very smooth consistency (like pancake batter.)
Topping:
3/4 stick butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
apricots and cranberries (dried)
In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter. Add brown sugar, stir once, and let cook for about 3 minutes without stirring. Arrange cranberries and apricots in a design of your choosing on the surface of the pan with the part you want visible bottom down in the butter sugar mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
Add batter to the skillet, and put in preheated oven (350) for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pyrrhic victory!
The lemon squares have been accomplished, with pretty good results. I wish I had remembered to take my digital camera charger home from school with me--sadly, there are no pictures. So the shortbread crust worked out really well, except that it was extremely fragile and crumbled a bit. I'm not sure how to fix this next time--I'm thinking maybe less butter? If you have tips, let me know.
I also made some adaptations for the filling. To start with, I used 1/2 brown and 1/2 granulated sugar. Then I infused the sugar with ginger and lemon zest. For those of you not familiar with infusing sugar, it basically just means rubbing the things you want to take the flavors of into the sugar with your fingertips. This spreads the flavors throughout the pastry instead of concentrating them in small morsels, so it basically just intensifies everything. Why ginger? Because a. I like it, b. that's what this blog is called, and c. lemon and ginger is a tried and true combo that's never failed me before. I tasted this concoction and it wasn't quite ginger-y enough though. So I added an extra tablespoon of ginger. I also added 1/2 tsp baking soda, to see if it might help the whole thing aerate--fluffy lemon bars are the best of all.
The results:
My two taste-testers concluded that the lemon bars were not too sweet with just enough lemon. ("I think these are the way lemon bars used to taste before they got made into the lemon bars we know today" says my dad, in what I perceive to be a compliment.)The shortbread was generally liked by all--I particularly enjoyed the dry, buttery taste with the lemon on top...besides the lost crumbs (ergo the title of this entry, Pyrrhic victory.) Unfortunately, despite my efforts to intensify the ginger flavor, neither of my taste testers could tell it was there at all (neither could I, oddly enough.) C'est la vie.
So that's all folks. I'd definitely recommend the recipes in the original post, but adding extra flavors (i.e. zest and juice of two whole lemons, ginger, etc.) is where its at.
Enjoy!
I also made some adaptations for the filling. To start with, I used 1/2 brown and 1/2 granulated sugar. Then I infused the sugar with ginger and lemon zest. For those of you not familiar with infusing sugar, it basically just means rubbing the things you want to take the flavors of into the sugar with your fingertips. This spreads the flavors throughout the pastry instead of concentrating them in small morsels, so it basically just intensifies everything. Why ginger? Because a. I like it, b. that's what this blog is called, and c. lemon and ginger is a tried and true combo that's never failed me before. I tasted this concoction and it wasn't quite ginger-y enough though. So I added an extra tablespoon of ginger. I also added 1/2 tsp baking soda, to see if it might help the whole thing aerate--fluffy lemon bars are the best of all.
The results:
My two taste-testers concluded that the lemon bars were not too sweet with just enough lemon. ("I think these are the way lemon bars used to taste before they got made into the lemon bars we know today" says my dad, in what I perceive to be a compliment.)The shortbread was generally liked by all--I particularly enjoyed the dry, buttery taste with the lemon on top...besides the lost crumbs (ergo the title of this entry, Pyrrhic victory.) Unfortunately, despite my efforts to intensify the ginger flavor, neither of my taste testers could tell it was there at all (neither could I, oddly enough.) C'est la vie.
So that's all folks. I'd definitely recommend the recipes in the original post, but adding extra flavors (i.e. zest and juice of two whole lemons, ginger, etc.) is where its at.
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Frittatta
Well, since I wasn't able to begin my blog with lemon bars, as I had intended, I may as well tell you about the frittatta (which was, in fact, baked...so there.)
Frittattas are easy and sometimes even healthy. Once upon a time when I was a cafe chef I was paid to make frittattas that we then microwaved for our customers. I don't know about you but eggs and microwaves just make me a little squeamish. Here's a more appetizing, healthier, and veggie-friendly recipe for ya'll. You can pretty much use any add-ins you want, as long as they aren't liquid. Many people add cheese--the cheese I found in our fridge tonight was moldy, so I didn't (welcome to my world.):
3 eggs, separated
5 egg whites
1 roasted red pepper (either roasted in advance or pre-bought), sliced and diced to bite-size pieces.
roasted or pre-cooked onions
1/4 cup cilantro (minced/chopped)
2 TB parsley (minced/chopped)
1 or 2 green onions, sliced into circles
1 cup black beans (about half a can)
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB olive oil
1 TB veggie broth or chicken broth if you aren't vegetarian
FIRST IMPORTANT STEP: PREHEAT OVEN TO 425! I always forget to preheat, so I figured I'd make this in bold, for my benefit if not yours.
1 .Whisk together the egg whites for about 2 minutes, so they are very foamy.
2 .Heat olive oil and broth of your choice in a cast iron skillet. Medium high heat.
3.Whisk egg yolks together lightly, add to egg whites.
4. When skillet is hot, add the chopped up parsley, cilantro, and green onions and let sautee for a minute (really just a minute.)
5. Add egg mixture.
6. Quickly add all extra ingredients and stir into the egg mixture.
7. Let frittatta cook on the stovetop until the bottom seems mostly set (usually about 5-6 minutes). The top of the frittatta will still be liquid at this point.
8. Move skillet to preheated oven, cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the top of the frittatta is no longer liquid.
9. Remove skillet from oven. Turn off oven (I also tend to forget this...:-/ )
enjoy!
And, for your benefit, an extra little tip I learned at the cafe--potato chips! Add them to your eggs! Apparently, if you put potato chips in a frittatta, the egg will soak into it, absorbing the salty flavor and/or articficial flavorings (being from Baltimore, I feel compelled to mention Old Bay Chips, though I bet salt-and-vinegar or sour-cream and onion would also do the trick) and taking on the consistency of...well...a potato! Who would have thought? I still have yet to try this, but my old boss swears by it. If you happen to try it at home, let me know how it turns out.
Until then,
A&G
Frittattas are easy and sometimes even healthy. Once upon a time when I was a cafe chef I was paid to make frittattas that we then microwaved for our customers. I don't know about you but eggs and microwaves just make me a little squeamish. Here's a more appetizing, healthier, and veggie-friendly recipe for ya'll. You can pretty much use any add-ins you want, as long as they aren't liquid. Many people add cheese--the cheese I found in our fridge tonight was moldy, so I didn't (welcome to my world.):
3 eggs, separated
5 egg whites
1 roasted red pepper (either roasted in advance or pre-bought), sliced and diced to bite-size pieces.
roasted or pre-cooked onions
1/4 cup cilantro (minced/chopped)
2 TB parsley (minced/chopped)
1 or 2 green onions, sliced into circles
1 cup black beans (about half a can)
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB olive oil
1 TB veggie broth or chicken broth if you aren't vegetarian
FIRST IMPORTANT STEP: PREHEAT OVEN TO 425! I always forget to preheat, so I figured I'd make this in bold, for my benefit if not yours.
1 .Whisk together the egg whites for about 2 minutes, so they are very foamy.
2 .Heat olive oil and broth of your choice in a cast iron skillet. Medium high heat.
3.Whisk egg yolks together lightly, add to egg whites.
4. When skillet is hot, add the chopped up parsley, cilantro, and green onions and let sautee for a minute (really just a minute.)
5. Add egg mixture.
6. Quickly add all extra ingredients and stir into the egg mixture.
7. Let frittatta cook on the stovetop until the bottom seems mostly set (usually about 5-6 minutes). The top of the frittatta will still be liquid at this point.
8. Move skillet to preheated oven, cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the top of the frittatta is no longer liquid.
9. Remove skillet from oven. Turn off oven (I also tend to forget this...:-/ )
enjoy!
And, for your benefit, an extra little tip I learned at the cafe--potato chips! Add them to your eggs! Apparently, if you put potato chips in a frittatta, the egg will soak into it, absorbing the salty flavor and/or articficial flavorings (being from Baltimore, I feel compelled to mention Old Bay Chips, though I bet salt-and-vinegar or sour-cream and onion would also do the trick) and taking on the consistency of...well...a potato! Who would have thought? I still have yet to try this, but my old boss swears by it. If you happen to try it at home, let me know how it turns out.
Until then,
A&G
Minor Setbacks
There are 8 eggs in the fridge...
My parents want to make a fritatta for dinner.
Apparently that takes 8 eggs.
So lemon bars are postponed. Sadly.
My parents want to make a fritatta for dinner.
Apparently that takes 8 eggs.
So lemon bars are postponed. Sadly.
Lemon Square Experiment
For years I thought that there was no such thing as a good or bad lemon square. There are lemon squares and they are good. Period. You can't really mess 'em up.
Boy was I wrong. About a week and a half ago I had the most terrible lemon squares I can remember. Somehow the proportions were all wrong. The crust was thin and brittle and almost crunchy, the filling was so full of sugar that it stuck to itself...the lemon was completely overpowered by the taste of what I think must have been confectioner's sugar (and not the cute kind that you put on the top.) So I started thinking to myself...what makes the pefect lemon square??
My conclusion? It's all about the crust. It has to be kind of soft and chewy and a little bit thicker than average, to the point where crust and lemon filling sort of flow into one another. Obviously the lemon is important too...I think as a general rule, the lemon filling should be sweet but not oversweet, a little bit tart, the lemon should be the dominant flavor (duh).
So with all these things in mind, I want to propose an experiment. THE ideal lemon bar!
I'm going to start with a shortbread crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened.
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups plus all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I'd also like to experiment with brown sugar)
Cut butter into the ingredients using a food processor or by hand (for those of you who like me have no food processor and have to work it the old fashioned way.)
Then put that in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake about 20 minutes at 350 or so until its a bit brown.
The filling:
So the best lemon bar filling has lots of eggs and lots of lemon and just enough sugar (again, I want to experiment with brown sugar and honey instead of granulated) ...
Beat together 4 EGGS, with about a half cup (I use up to 3/4 cup) of fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2-2 Tb lemon zest (depending on how much you like lemon), 1.5 cups sugar (white or brown), and 1.5 tablespoons flour.
Pour it all into the crust, and bake until it's set. Let cool and THEN put the confectioner's sugar on (if it's not cool already, the sugar will melt. )
So I'm going to give this a try later on today or maybe later this week(depending on whether I can find lemons and/or flour today) and see how it works...especially with the brown sugar substitution.
If you feel like trying this at home, let me know how it turns out!
Jenny
Boy was I wrong. About a week and a half ago I had the most terrible lemon squares I can remember. Somehow the proportions were all wrong. The crust was thin and brittle and almost crunchy, the filling was so full of sugar that it stuck to itself...the lemon was completely overpowered by the taste of what I think must have been confectioner's sugar (and not the cute kind that you put on the top.) So I started thinking to myself...what makes the pefect lemon square??
My conclusion? It's all about the crust. It has to be kind of soft and chewy and a little bit thicker than average, to the point where crust and lemon filling sort of flow into one another. Obviously the lemon is important too...I think as a general rule, the lemon filling should be sweet but not oversweet, a little bit tart, the lemon should be the dominant flavor (duh).
So with all these things in mind, I want to propose an experiment. THE ideal lemon bar!
I'm going to start with a shortbread crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened.
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups plus all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I'd also like to experiment with brown sugar)
Cut butter into the ingredients using a food processor or by hand (for those of you who like me have no food processor and have to work it the old fashioned way.)
Then put that in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake about 20 minutes at 350 or so until its a bit brown.
The filling:
So the best lemon bar filling has lots of eggs and lots of lemon and just enough sugar (again, I want to experiment with brown sugar and honey instead of granulated) ...
Beat together 4 EGGS, with about a half cup (I use up to 3/4 cup) of fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2-2 Tb lemon zest (depending on how much you like lemon), 1.5 cups sugar (white or brown), and 1.5 tablespoons flour.
Pour it all into the crust, and bake until it's set. Let cool and THEN put the confectioner's sugar on (if it's not cool already, the sugar will melt. )
So I'm going to give this a try later on today or maybe later this week(depending on whether I can find lemons and/or flour today) and see how it works...especially with the brown sugar substitution.
If you feel like trying this at home, let me know how it turns out!
Jenny
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The beginning...
Welcome to almond and ginger, my very own baking and tasting blog! I called it almond and ginger, because, quite frankly, that's what I like. And regardless of whether you like them too, they will be central to this blog. That's why it's my blog. Suck it up.
Of course, there are other things I like, too. Otherwise this would be a very dull blog. Dark chocolate is one (milk chocolate and white chocolate are merely perversions of a beautiful thing.) Dried blueberries are another (though I'll settle for the real thing, too.) I am a big stickler for unsweetened fruit in sweet pastries, and am adamant about the importance of good nuts. Yes, I said that. This is the internet.
A little about me. Around three or four years ago, for god knows what reason, I became addicted to baking. I tell people this and they laugh and say that there's a difference between a hobby and an addiction. That's true--I understand the difference. And I stick to my claim that it was an addiction. It started with Mark Bittman's how to cook everything book--nothing serious, just an apple bread here or a blueberry muffin there when the fancy struck me. But one thing led to another...it was like a gateway pastry...soon I found myself kneading dough...so I started selling. Baked goods, that is. Oh, I'm corny.
So yes, I sold my obsession with baking in the form of part-time labor at a couple of bakeries around town (Baltimore, the greatest city in america and home to charm city cakes--I didn't work there. you have not seen me on t.v.) Between smashing thousands of cookies on baking trays, developing odd vegan muffin recipes, and seeking to perfect the perfect spiraled pumpkin cheesecake brownie, I began to deteriorate...physically...emotionally...morally. Last winter, it hit a crisis point. I baked seven different pastries in 4 days (my version of holiday spirit.) It was time. I knew I had to cut myself off. I quit cold turkey.
Five months later, I'm feeling much more in control, and have even messed around with some simple granola recipes and a banana bread here and there...but I know that there's an ever present danger of returning to those days, so I'm very wary. In the meantime, I live vicariously through EATING and ASSESSING baked goods on my standards of quality and reading blogs about baking like the daring bakers gals and the like.
So this blog is intended to be both about my own adventures with baking (featuring friends, naturally) and with EATING baked goods--reviews, advice, personal views, etc...on the pastry industry. Like a police dog--I know good dope when I see it.
I hope you enjoy this blog and that I keep you entertained.
Best,
A&G
Of course, there are other things I like, too. Otherwise this would be a very dull blog. Dark chocolate is one (milk chocolate and white chocolate are merely perversions of a beautiful thing.) Dried blueberries are another (though I'll settle for the real thing, too.) I am a big stickler for unsweetened fruit in sweet pastries, and am adamant about the importance of good nuts. Yes, I said that. This is the internet.
A little about me. Around three or four years ago, for god knows what reason, I became addicted to baking. I tell people this and they laugh and say that there's a difference between a hobby and an addiction. That's true--I understand the difference. And I stick to my claim that it was an addiction. It started with Mark Bittman's how to cook everything book--nothing serious, just an apple bread here or a blueberry muffin there when the fancy struck me. But one thing led to another...it was like a gateway pastry...soon I found myself kneading dough...so I started selling. Baked goods, that is. Oh, I'm corny.
So yes, I sold my obsession with baking in the form of part-time labor at a couple of bakeries around town (Baltimore, the greatest city in america and home to charm city cakes--I didn't work there. you have not seen me on t.v.) Between smashing thousands of cookies on baking trays, developing odd vegan muffin recipes, and seeking to perfect the perfect spiraled pumpkin cheesecake brownie, I began to deteriorate...physically...emotionally...morally. Last winter, it hit a crisis point. I baked seven different pastries in 4 days (my version of holiday spirit.) It was time. I knew I had to cut myself off. I quit cold turkey.
Five months later, I'm feeling much more in control, and have even messed around with some simple granola recipes and a banana bread here and there...but I know that there's an ever present danger of returning to those days, so I'm very wary. In the meantime, I live vicariously through EATING and ASSESSING baked goods on my standards of quality and reading blogs about baking like the daring bakers gals and the like.
So this blog is intended to be both about my own adventures with baking (featuring friends, naturally) and with EATING baked goods--reviews, advice, personal views, etc...on the pastry industry. Like a police dog--I know good dope when I see it.
I hope you enjoy this blog and that I keep you entertained.
Best,
A&G
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