I have a confession to make...
I have a sweet tooth.
A very big sweet tooth... (maybe even more than one).
Oh… you already knew that?
Pretty obvious I suppose.
I really like having a baked "sweet" in the early hours of the morning -- that being the moment I pull myself out of bed and flip the switch on my espresso machine. My mother started her days much earlier than I do, but she would somehow wait until mid-morning to sit down and have a treat like this with a cup of coffee. I on the other hand, dive right in the moment I enter my kitchen.
To make this Classic Coffee Cake, I went through my refrigerator grabbing all of the berries and stone fruit that needed to be used quickly. Those happened to be blueberries, raspberries and a peach. The orange zest stirred into the batter gives the cake a sunny yellow color.
Moist, fruity filling... sweet, crumbly topping... invite a friend over for coffee!
CAKE:
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, raspberries, peeled and cubed peaches
TOPPING:
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan
3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest; beat well. Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; add dry ingredients along with the buttermilk, mixing just until the batter is smooth and thick. Mix in the fruit and spread batter in the pan.
4. To make the topping, combine the flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. Sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake for 45 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool briefly. Unmold sides of springform pan and cool completely.
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I cannot let cherry season pass without making this Cherry + Almond Loaf Cake at least once. Cherries + Almonds is another one of those combinations I am just crazy about.
Unfortunately, the loaf cake is gone... eaten in less than 24 hours by me and my family. I guess I will be forced to make another ;-P
The only change I made to this recipe was to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees since I was ending up with burnt cherries at 375˚F. At 350˚ I will still cover the cake with foil towards the end of the baking time. Also, lining the loaf pan with wax paper, after buttering and dusting with flour, makes it a breeze to unmold the cake.
Cherry + Almond Loaf Cake
adapted from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison
• 1 cup blanched almonds
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup pitted sweet cherries
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour a 5x8-inch loaf pan (or in this case, a French Matfer 250 x 80 loaf pan). Coarsely chop the almonds in a food processor. Remove 1/4 cup of almonds and set aside. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the remaining almonds and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Cream the butter with the 3/4 cup of sugar in the bowl of the food processor, then add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each one fully as you go. Add the flavorings, then half the flour-almond mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate. Add the remainder and pulse until smooth. Scrape into the prepared pan and cover with the cherries.
3. Mix the reserved almonds with the teaspoon of sugar and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake the cake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cover towards the end of baking if the cherries seem to be darkening too much. Let cool in the pan, then turn out the cake and transfer to a plate.
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My daughter just celebrated her 18th birthday. Wow... where has the time gone?
I have made this Peanut Butter Swirl Cake often as either a layer cake or cupcakes, and usually for birthdays. I cannot tell you where I found the recipe, but it was many, many years ago. It is served here with peanut butter-chocolate ice cream. If you like peanut butter, you'll love this cake! It is frosted with a seven minute frosting -- always a favorite of mine. Chocolate frosting would be pretty good, too!
∞ Peanut Butter Swirl Cake ∞
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Peanut Butter Swirl Frosting, recipe follows
1. Cream peanut butter and butter; gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans that have been lined with a disc of waxed paper. Bake on the middle shelf of a preheated 350˚F oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of each cake and remove from pans; let cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Spread Peanut Butter Swirl Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Dollop small scoops of frosting onto the top of the cake and swirl decoratively with a knife.
∞ Peanut Butter Swirl Frosting ∞
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in top of a double boiler; beat at low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds or just until blended.
2. Place over boiling water and beat constantly at high speed for 6 minutes or until stiff peaks form; remove from heat. Add the vanilla and beat an additional 1 minute or until frosting is thick enough to spread. Remove 1/4 cup of frosting and combine with peanut butter in small bowl, stirring well. Set peanut butter mixture aside to swirl on top of the frosted cake.
- Always best eaten the day it is made, the cake is still extremely good the day after, altho' the frosting will be a bit crustier (something I don't mind at all).
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We did a good job of eating down and cleaning out the perishables in our refrigerator before we left on our vacation. All that remained in the way of fruit were several small organic apples; enough to make this little apple-walnut cake when I returned home.
 With TARTINE BAKERY in San Francisco still on my mind, I wanted to create a dessert with that refined-rustic simplicity Tartine does so well (o.k., I may need to work on that). We enjoyed the apple-walnut cake for our dessert last night...
and as a sweet treat alongside a cappuccino this morning.
Apple-Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon whole milk or half-and-half
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 cups peeled and diced apples, preferably organic
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• additional chopped walnuts, toasted, for sprinkling on top
PREHEAT OVEN to 350˚F
1. Place a round of waxed or parchment paper in the bottom of an 8-inch-by-2-inch round cake pan. Butter the sides of the pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg; gradually add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and milk and mix until smooth. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg to the egg mixture, beating until just combined. Add the diced apples and walnuts, stirring until distributed evenly throughout the batter.
3. Pour the batter into the baking pan, smooth the top, and place on the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
4. Cool for 15 minutes; then run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake and unmold onto a cooling rack. When cooled, spread with the cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with additional chopped, toasted walnuts.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth.
TAKE a LOOK:
My parents had a large freezer in the basement of our family home. I wouldn't open that freezer door often. The frozen foods I was interested in, like ice cream, were kept in the refrigerator-freezer in our kitchen. When I did need to open the door of that basement freezer, I would always see glass canning jars with zinc lid tops that were lined up on the freezer shelves, and filled with frozen egg whites. Soon enough, there would be a cake and/or meringue made for a nightly dessert using some of those saved whites.
I guess my freezer is very similar to that of my mother's, many years ago. At any given time I will have at least 5 jars of egg whites waiting for inspiration on my end. The most recent creation from my defrosted egg whites was this Chocolate Chip-Angel Food Cake with Bittersweet Ganache. I have yet to eat a piece (I over-did it a bit, licking clean the beaters and bowls when making the cake and ganache, and lost my appetite for anything sweet), but my husband did have a large slice and after finishing it off said, "I feel like I have just eaten something very healthy". Hmm... I don't know about that; angel food cakes are fat free and a little bittersweet chocolate each day is considered a good thing. Dessert... healthy... sure... why not! Sounds good to me!
Chocolate Chip - Angel Food Cake with Bittersweet
Chocolate Ganache
• recipe from Martha Stewart Living •
MAKES ONE 10-INCH CAKE
For the cake:
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups superfine sugar, divided in half
• 14 large egg whites (1 1/2 cups), at room temperature
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate (I used bittersweet baking chips and pulsed in food processor)
For the ganache:
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Sift flour into a mixing bowl, then resift the flour with 3/4 cup sugar.
2. In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar; beat until whites have tripled in size. Slowly add remaining sugar and beat until firm and glossy.
3. Transfer egg whites to a large bowl. Gently fold in the flour mixture in three additions by sifting each addition onto the egg whites, and folding from the bottom of the bowl. Use fewest strokes possible. Fold in the grated chocolate. Pour batter into a 10-inch angel food cake pan, and run a knife or long wooden skewer through the center of the batter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top becomes golden brown.
4. Invert the pan over the neck of a bottle, and cool for about 1 hour. Loosen the cake from the pan with a long, flexible knife, and turn the cake over onto a plate or cake stand.
5. Make the ganache by heating buttermilk over a low flame. When very warm, remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring slowly until it has all melted. Use a small whisk and beat to smooth the mixture. Spread ganache over the top and around the sides of the cooled cake. Also good without the ganache and a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
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Yum! that's all I need to say.
Délice au Chocolat
(a bittersweet chocolate génoise)
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Pinch of salt
• 5 tablespoons flour
• Confectioners' sugar, sifted
• Candied violets and toasted almonds, optional
1. Generously butter a 9-by-2-inch round baking pan and set aside. (I suggest using a springform pan if you have one. This cake will rise high and a springform would make unmolding much easier.)
2. In the top of a double boiler, melt together chocolate and butter. Stir gently to combine. Set aside and allow to cool.
3. In a mixing bowl beat egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and yellow. Set aside.
4. In a medium to large bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt. Beat with a whisk or an electric beater until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg yolk mixture into egg whites. When combined, gently but thoroughly, fold in melted chocolate and flour.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake should look dry and its surface cracked. It should be moist and soft inside.
6. Remove cake from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes. Use a thin, sharp knife, run the knife around the inside edge of the cake pan to help cake release. Turn out onto a serving platter. Dust the top generously with confectioners' sugar and garnish with toasted almonds and candied violets. Serve cake slices with whipped cream.
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Had some good friends over for dinner. Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I thought I'd make a dessert worthy of Valentine's Day... chocolate and raspberries. The flourless chocolate sponge cake is so light, you feel like you can have seconds ;-P
Chocolate Roulade with Raspberries
a recipe by Syrie Wongkaew
Chocolate Sponge
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• additional 2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on the baked sponge
Cream Filling
• 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Garnish
• Fresh Raspberries
• Melted chocolate
• Confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place oven rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Spray a 12-inch-by-17-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust lightly with flour.
3. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Set aside.
4. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over simmering water (make sure the bowl does not come in contact with the hot water). Heat until just-melted, stirring with a spoon, and dip the tips of 6 raspberries in the chocolate and save for garnish. Set the melted chocolate aside to cool slightly.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or using a hand-held mixer, beat the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. The batter is ready if the beaters are lifted and the batter falls back into the bowl in a slow ribbon. Add the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate and beat just until combined. Set aside.
6. In a clean mixing bowl and using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy and soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until firm peaks form.
7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold a small amount of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until incorporated. Do not over-mix or the batter will deflate.
8. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until the sponge is springy, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven.
9. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes. To unmold, sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Take a sharp knife and run it around the edge of the cake to loosen. Place a large cookie sheet or the flat side of another jelly roll pan lined with a fresh sheet of parchment paper, on top of the sponge cake and flip the cake over to release. Remove the parchment paper off the baked cake.
10. Starting from a short side, roll up the sponge into a log; cover with a slightly damp towel and set aside to cool completely. (The cake may crack slightly while rolling.)
11. In a clean bowl with clean beaters, whip the heavy cream, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar, and Grand Marnier until the cream holds peaks.
12. Unroll the cake, spread with the whipped cream, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Gently reroll the cake. Dip the reserved 6 raspberries in some more melted chocolate and adhere to the top of the roll. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate cake. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder. Plate slices with additional whipped cream and fresh raspberries on the side.
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This is probably one of the easiest desserts out there and the possibilities are endless. I am always inspired to make a trifle when there is an unadorned cake in my kitchen that isn 't earmarked for another specific purpose. This happened to be the case while I was gearing-up for my husband's surprise birthday party and went just a little crazy, making six 9-inch chocolate cakes. Start by finding a large bowl… either a clear trifle bowl, or, if you don't own one (like me), look for something else in your kitchen that will showcase the layers of your trifle. I used an Anchor Hocking clear glass storage jar. For this trifle, I cubed the chocolate cake and used that as my first layer. I drizzled the cubes with Crème de Framboises (raspberry liqueur), since I would also be adding fresh raspberries to my trifle. Use your imagination! Kahlua, Grand Marnier, brandy... whatever! I had some Chocolate Syrup that I made from a recipe in Dorie Greenspan's book Paris Sweets, and also drizzled that over the cubed cake (see recipe below). Layers of Chocolate Cake, Crème de Framboise, Chocolate Syrup, Fresh Raspberries, Mascarpone whipped with Heavy Cream, and a sprinkling of Toasted Sliced Almonds; this was my trifle. Be creative with yours ! And… if you can make it the day ahead, all the better ! A trifle benefits from setting a day (refrigerated, of course), allowing the cake to soak up all of those delicious liquids. ChOcoLATe syRup
adapted from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Put the water, sugar, and cocoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. (The syrup can be made up to a week ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. I have also frozen this syrup before with good results.)
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My last post was about the dark chocolate cake I made for my husband's surprise birthday party. That cake was frosted with Mocha Buttercream. This cake, also made for the party, and again dark chocolate, was covered in a White Chocolate frosting. The recipe is from the Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook; another winner!
< White Chocolate Frosting >
from the Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook by Leslie Mackie
Makes enough frosting for 1 (9-inch) layer cake
• 12 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, at room temperature
1. Place chocolate in a medium, stainless steel bowl. Place bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not come in contact with the water. It's important that the water be just simmering; if it's too hot it will scorch the chocolate. Stir chocolate with a rubber spatula until all of the pieces have melted and reached a smooth consistency. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
2. Make sure that all of the ingredients, including the melted chocolate, are at room temperature.
3. Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat butter until it is smooth, 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is light and fluffy and there are no visible lumps. Add lemon juice and continue mixing until incorporated. Finally, add the melted chocolate and continue mixing until the frosting has a smooth and light texture, about 2 minutes. If the frosting gets too soft to work with, simple chill it in the refrigerator until it firms up a little bit.
4. This frosting can be made in advance and stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. If the frosting has been kept in the refrigerator for more than a couple of hours, it will need to be refreshed before using: Bring the frosting to room temperature and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer, then whip it with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes.
TAKE a LOOK:
I am finished, I think, with planning birthday parties and baking birthday cakes -- at least for the month of November. After having my father here for his 90th birthday celebration early in the month, I just undertook a very big surprise party for my husband's birthday. (Also a big one.) You reach a point where you cannot eat any more buttercream frosting. I am now at that point. This is, in my mind at least, the best buttercream frosting on the face of the earth -- Mocha Buttercream from Francois Payard's cookbook, Simply Sensational Desserts. It is very difficult for me to keep my fingers out of this buttercream while mixing, and then frosting the cake.
I can't imagine using this buttercream on any type of cake other than chocolate -- and that's not saying you can't do otherwise. I just happen to love the combination of chocolate and coffee and wouldn't consider serving it any other way. The dark chocolate cake recipe I go to frequently (find it here) is from the September 1996 issue of Gourmet Magazine. I like it because... it's very, very GOOD! and... it will make three 9-inch round cakes -- great if you're planning a party and are inviting a lot of people. The recipe for the Mocha Buttercream is shown below. Upcoming posts will show how I used the remaining dark chocolate cakes ( I mixed up enough batter to give me six 9-inch rounds to work with!) This 2 layer cake was decorated with copper-colored sugar stars and silver dragées that I brought back from Paris' La Grande Epicerie. Toasted, sliced almonds are also extremely delicious sprinkled on this buttercream.
Mocha Buttercream
recipe from Simply Sensational Desserts by Francois Payard
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups (400 grams) sugar
• 1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) (567 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons (4 grams) instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon (15 grams) hot water.
1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, begin beating the eggs on medium speed.
2. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and 1/3 cup (78 grams) water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Insert a candy thermometer into the pan and cook until the syrup reaches 243˚F. With the mixer running, immediately pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the eggs (avoid pouring the syrup onto the whisk, or it will splatter). Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are cool and have doubled in volume, about 7 minutes.
3. Beat in the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time (see note). Increase the speed to high and beat until the buttercream is shiny and smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract and the dissolved instant espresso. The buttercream can be used right away or placed in an airtight container and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and beat with a whisk until smooth before using.
NOTE: Buttercream sometimes has a tendency to curdle. Here is a way to rescue it if the buttercream mixture should appear to separate at any point while you are adding the butter. Stop beating the buttercream and heat 2 tablespoons (29 grams) of heavy cream in a small saucepan. Whisk the hot cream into the buttercream to bring it together, then continue adding the butter.
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