Better late than never! February got away from me before I even had a chance to think about baking this cake. I finally had some time yesterday and decided to go ahead and try this recipe. I was not disappointed, though my family didn't like it nearly as much as I did.
I tried a new cake flour- King Arthur unbleached cake flour. My cake was a little dry and I'm wondering if I shouldn't just go back to using Silk cake flour. I was attempting to be a little healthier (ha!). I also think my oven needs calibrating since I left the cake in for the least amount of time and it seemed slightly overdone.
The custard was delicious. I could've just eaten that and been satisfied. The texture was creamy and rich but not overpoweringly "eggy" as some custards can be. I didn't have the problems that others experienced with the custard "setting up".
Overall, this was one of the most satisfying cakes I've made with this group. I'm really looking forward to making the March cake. Bon Appetit y'all!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Tiramisu Cake
This is my second attempt to post to my blog so let's hope this works. I made this cake yesterday, on a cold, dreary, rainy, Sunday afternoon during NFL playoffs. Right up front, I was very disappointed in the cake.
It was a lot of work and used a lot of ingredients (a dozen eggs??!!). I had to substitute bourbon for the rum (I live in NC and liquor stores are not open on Sunday). I can't imagine that would alter the taste THAT much. Overall, the cake was pretty to look at but somewhat tasteless. I've made better tiramisu cakes and won't use this recipe again. I suspect that this one will go uneaten. Hopefully, next month's cake will be better.
It was a lot of work and used a lot of ingredients (a dozen eggs??!!). I had to substitute bourbon for the rum (I live in NC and liquor stores are not open on Sunday). I can't imagine that would alter the taste THAT much. Overall, the cake was pretty to look at but somewhat tasteless. I've made better tiramisu cakes and won't use this recipe again. I suspect that this one will go uneaten. Hopefully, next month's cake will be better.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Nutella Swirl Pound Cake
September brings thoughts of changing leaves and crisp, cool fall nights. Here in my little corner of western North Carolina, the first cool snap of the year blew in overnight, yielding a perfect day to curl up with a book, a good cuppa and a piece of delicious Nutella Swirl Pound cake. Problem is, there's no cake left!
Wednesday night, I decided to get on the stick and bake said cake, which I've wanted to do since joining this baking club. The house filled with the delicious aroma of baking Nutella (who knew it could smell THAT good). The cake had barely cooled when my husband cut the first slice. He ate two. I ate one (still warm no less). My teenage son ate one. Cake half gone at bedtime.
So the next morning..... husband at a piece for breakfast, as did son. I abstained but took a piece for lunch. Last night, after supper, we all had another piece and that was all she wrote. That was one delectable cake! Here's the recipe from "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman. I'll be making this one again.
Nutella Swirl Pound Cake
4 large eggs at room temp.
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 jar (13 ounces, about 1 cup) Nutella
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
Combine eggs and vanilla in glass cup and beat lightly. Combine flour, soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 min). Turn mixer to low. Add egg mixture in a slow streat, scraping down sides as necessary.
Add flour mix 1/2 cup at a time until incorparated. Beat 30 seconds after last addition.
Scrape 1/3 of batter into pan and smooth with a spatula. Spread half of the Nutella over batter and smooth with clean spatula (I nuked the Nutella for a few seconds for easier spreading). Add another layer of batter and Nutella, topping with final layer of batter. Swirl by running a butter knife through the mixture. (Mine did't swirl very well and I ended up with a thick layer of Nutella on the bottom but, hey, it was good anyway).
Bake about an hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, invert onto wire rack and cool completely (good luck with that). Slice and serve.
Wednesday night, I decided to get on the stick and bake said cake, which I've wanted to do since joining this baking club. The house filled with the delicious aroma of baking Nutella (who knew it could smell THAT good). The cake had barely cooled when my husband cut the first slice. He ate two. I ate one (still warm no less). My teenage son ate one. Cake half gone at bedtime.
So the next morning..... husband at a piece for breakfast, as did son. I abstained but took a piece for lunch. Last night, after supper, we all had another piece and that was all she wrote. That was one delectable cake! Here's the recipe from "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman. I'll be making this one again.
Nutella Swirl Pound Cake
4 large eggs at room temp.
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 jar (13 ounces, about 1 cup) Nutella
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
Combine eggs and vanilla in glass cup and beat lightly. Combine flour, soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 min). Turn mixer to low. Add egg mixture in a slow streat, scraping down sides as necessary.
Add flour mix 1/2 cup at a time until incorparated. Beat 30 seconds after last addition.
Scrape 1/3 of batter into pan and smooth with a spatula. Spread half of the Nutella over batter and smooth with clean spatula (I nuked the Nutella for a few seconds for easier spreading). Add another layer of batter and Nutella, topping with final layer of batter. Swirl by running a butter knife through the mixture. (Mine did't swirl very well and I ended up with a thick layer of Nutella on the bottom but, hey, it was good anyway).
Bake about an hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, invert onto wire rack and cool completely (good luck with that). Slice and serve.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Cake Keepers wrap up
I realize that I haven't played nice and posted every month like I was supposed to. That doesn't mean I didn't bake most of the cakes, though. Cakes my family enjoyed were the Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake and the Lime Chiffon Cake.
The Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake is similar to a family favorite, cold oven pound cake recipe without the cream cheese. All agreed that this was a delicious cake. It was also easy compared to the Lime Chiffon.
Lime Chiffon Cake, though much more time consuming than other cakes we baked, was probably my favorite cake of all. The texture was light, but not so light as to be confused with an angel food cake. I served this cake with grilled pineapple slices and lightly sweetened whipped cream.
A couple of cakes we baked were not enjoyed by my family, namely the Zebra Cake and the Cinnamon Pudding Cake. The former was very dry and the latter stuck to the pan!
I made several cakes from this book that we didn't choose. The Chipotle-Chocolate Cake, Apple and Cheddar Cheese Cake and the Cocoa-Chip Angel Food Cake were the best of the bunch and better than some of the ones we chose. The Chocolate-Caramel-Banana Upside-Down Cake wasn't as good as I expected. I can't remember if we baked the Cranberry Cake or the Spiced Orange and Cranberry Snacking Cake as I made both the loved them.
I'd love to know if anyone baked the Nutella Swirl Pound Cake. It's on my to do list since my teen aged son loves Nutella! I'm looking forward to our new cookbook (which I am rushing out to purchase today) and promise to be better about posting!
The Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake is similar to a family favorite, cold oven pound cake recipe without the cream cheese. All agreed that this was a delicious cake. It was also easy compared to the Lime Chiffon.
Lime Chiffon Cake, though much more time consuming than other cakes we baked, was probably my favorite cake of all. The texture was light, but not so light as to be confused with an angel food cake. I served this cake with grilled pineapple slices and lightly sweetened whipped cream.
A couple of cakes we baked were not enjoyed by my family, namely the Zebra Cake and the Cinnamon Pudding Cake. The former was very dry and the latter stuck to the pan!
I made several cakes from this book that we didn't choose. The Chipotle-Chocolate Cake, Apple and Cheddar Cheese Cake and the Cocoa-Chip Angel Food Cake were the best of the bunch and better than some of the ones we chose. The Chocolate-Caramel-Banana Upside-Down Cake wasn't as good as I expected. I can't remember if we baked the Cranberry Cake or the Spiced Orange and Cranberry Snacking Cake as I made both the loved them.
I'd love to know if anyone baked the Nutella Swirl Pound Cake. It's on my to do list since my teen aged son loves Nutella! I'm looking forward to our new cookbook (which I am rushing out to purchase today) and promise to be better about posting!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Chocolate Cream Pound Cake
Yummy! This cake reminds me of my grandmother's chocolate pound cake - dense, chocolatey and delicious. Of course, hers had a rich, chocolate frosting but I'll save that for another post. Hers also baked in a tube pan which, in my opinion, makes a nicer presentation. I'd post a picture of my finished product but even the crumbs are gone.
I followed the recipe except for the use of Dutch-processed cocoa. It is just too expensive in my world right now so good ol' Hersheys worked just fine. The cake makes a nice sort of crust when it bakes, making it both dense and crumbly - kind of a brownie texture. Below is the recipe.
Chocolate Cream Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman
6 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached, all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
Sift cocoa into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a microwave safe measuring cup and heat until just boiling (30 seconds to 1 minute). Pour the hot cream over the cocoa and mash to a thick paste. Set aside to cool.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and cream on medium high speed until flurry. Beat in the cocoa paste until smooth.
With the mixer on medium low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping bowl as necessary. Add vanilla.
Turn mixer to low and add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix well and pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, the invert onto rack to cool completely.
I followed the recipe except for the use of Dutch-processed cocoa. It is just too expensive in my world right now so good ol' Hersheys worked just fine. The cake makes a nice sort of crust when it bakes, making it both dense and crumbly - kind of a brownie texture. Below is the recipe.
Chocolate Cream Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman
6 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached, all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
Sift cocoa into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a microwave safe measuring cup and heat until just boiling (30 seconds to 1 minute). Pour the hot cream over the cocoa and mash to a thick paste. Set aside to cool.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and cream on medium high speed until flurry. Beat in the cocoa paste until smooth.
With the mixer on medium low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping bowl as necessary. Add vanilla.
Turn mixer to low and add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix well and pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, the invert onto rack to cool completely.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Cake Slice Bakers - Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake
When I was in the fifth grade, I convinced my mother to let me join the Girl Scouts. Three things appealed to me about the Girl Scouts: the uniform; the badges and S'mores. We all love to be a part of a team that wears a uniform, whether it's sports, Scouts or cheerleading. We met every Friday so that meant I got to wear the uniform to school. As I collected the badges, my mother and I sewed them onto my sash and my pride in wearing that uniform only increased. I anticipated greatly the upcoming expedition to summer camp.
Dreams of basket weaving, swimming in a clear mountain stream and eating S'mores nightly floated through my head. The cruel reality became apparent the first day of camp. There was no class in basket weaving (we took sewing, which I already knew how to do thanks to my grandmother), the clear mountain stream was a regular old swimming pool and while we had S'mores by a campfire, the drone of mosquitoes superceded the delight of those wonderful treats.
I made January's cake during our second big snowstorm. Here in the South, a big snowstorm is anything over 6 inches. Since we don't have the need for large amounts of snow removal equipment, anything over 2 inches will shut down any city in the South, including ours. Nine inches kept us inside and out of school for five days, thus making it easy to bake the Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.
Below are the ingredients, assembled on my kitchen countertop.
The cake smelled delicious as it was baking and we couldn't wait to try it. When I took it from the oven, it didn't look too appetizing though. It looked like one of those big cookies you get at a mall here in the US. I perservered and made the frosting.
I didn't have Marshmallow Fluff, however, I did have some homemade marshmallows leftover from Christmas. They melted quite nicely and provided a fine subsitute. This cake tasted MUCH better than it looked (see photo below) and we devoured it in a couple of days. Once again, my husband proclaimed it excellent breakfast fare. Looking forward to warmer days here in the mountains of Appalachia! Jill
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Great books I read in 2010
I realize this blog was originally about food, but no one reads it so I might as well begin to add book reviews, too! I am a prolific reader and try to read at least one book a week. Often that becomes too laborious when tackling a particularly weighty tome - right now I'm reading a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer - and I find myself reading two or three books at a time. Below is a list and a small notation about the best books I read last year. I'll update on the Bonhoeffer in a couple of weeks.
"The Girl Who ..."books by Stieg Larsson - undoubtedly the best page-turning mysteries I've read in years. I gave up mysteries several years ago finding them to be too formulaic. Larsson cured me of that little problem. I read all three books in two weeks, often to the dismay (and hunger pangs) of my family. Too bad Larsson died so young and can't fulfill our need for more Lisbeth Salander.
"Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann - a post 9/11 novel which won the 2009 National Book Award for fiction. I may have read this in '09 but it's in my '10 book list. Essentially, it's two stories; one about Philippe Petit, who tight-rope walked between the two World Trade Center towers and, the second about two Irish immigrant brothers who live in New York. A beautiful love story of brotherhood and sacrifice.
"Lit" by Mary Karr - autobiographical portrayal of the author's road to sobriety. This book is not for the faint of heart (or those who might possibly have their own drinking problem). At times, the author's behavior is reminiscent of Nicholas Cage's character in "Leaving Las Vegas" but not with the same outcome. An amazing memoir of someone who's been to the edge and not fallen over the cliff.
"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barberry - as an English major, I love to learn new words and delight in a book where I have to consult a dictionary and this is just that type of novel. The interaction between Renee, the superintendent of the apartment building and Paloma, the young girl who lives in the flat upstairs is lovely. Barberry constructs a world where nothing is as it seems on the surface. Renee pretends to be the stereotypical coarse, rough person who might be a superintendent while underneath it all, she is a sophisticated, well educated and well-read woman, hence the title.
"Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen - this book seems to be on everyone's best liked book of the year. Franzen's follow-up to "The Corrections" involves the reader intimately in the marriage of the Berglands and their individual lives. Another great fiction read.
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot - Most of the time I read exclusively fiction but every once in a while, a non-fiction book will strike my fancy. Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who died in the 1950's from cervical cancer. After her death, and without her family's permission, her cells were harvested and began to reproduce prolifically. This is a poignant tale of the survivors of Mrs. Lacks and their inability to grasp the concept of her immortality and also of the doctors and nurses involved in the cell growth. Fascintating scientifc book that reads like fiction - science fiction at times.
"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese - the story of Siamese twins, separated at birth. That alone is enough to hook the eager reader but Verhese's ability to spin a tale takes you into the world of each boy, chronicling the choices they make along the way. Verghese also wrote an earlier non-fiction book about his time as an AIDS doctor in rural Appalachia - "My Own Country - A Doctor's Story"
"One Day" by David Nicholls - the author checks in with the two major characters on the same day (St. Swithin's Day) for 20 years. A moving story of the star-crossed love lives of Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, many readers will recognize each character as someone they have known. A suprise ending and the author's ability to have his characters age (though one might not always say mature) over a period of years made this one of my top books of the year.
There were forty-three other books I read during the year but no others received a five-star rating. Stay tuned for 2011 which is starting out on a high note with the Bonhoeffer biography. My old book club is reading "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" by Mario Vargas Llosa (I once belonged to a very erudite book club when I lived in another city) and my current book club is reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. The latter I have read but shall have to re-read (or Spark notes) but the former I am looking forward to tackling.
"The Girl Who ..."books by Stieg Larsson - undoubtedly the best page-turning mysteries I've read in years. I gave up mysteries several years ago finding them to be too formulaic. Larsson cured me of that little problem. I read all three books in two weeks, often to the dismay (and hunger pangs) of my family. Too bad Larsson died so young and can't fulfill our need for more Lisbeth Salander.
"Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann - a post 9/11 novel which won the 2009 National Book Award for fiction. I may have read this in '09 but it's in my '10 book list. Essentially, it's two stories; one about Philippe Petit, who tight-rope walked between the two World Trade Center towers and, the second about two Irish immigrant brothers who live in New York. A beautiful love story of brotherhood and sacrifice.
"Lit" by Mary Karr - autobiographical portrayal of the author's road to sobriety. This book is not for the faint of heart (or those who might possibly have their own drinking problem). At times, the author's behavior is reminiscent of Nicholas Cage's character in "Leaving Las Vegas" but not with the same outcome. An amazing memoir of someone who's been to the edge and not fallen over the cliff.
"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barberry - as an English major, I love to learn new words and delight in a book where I have to consult a dictionary and this is just that type of novel. The interaction between Renee, the superintendent of the apartment building and Paloma, the young girl who lives in the flat upstairs is lovely. Barberry constructs a world where nothing is as it seems on the surface. Renee pretends to be the stereotypical coarse, rough person who might be a superintendent while underneath it all, she is a sophisticated, well educated and well-read woman, hence the title.
"Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen - this book seems to be on everyone's best liked book of the year. Franzen's follow-up to "The Corrections" involves the reader intimately in the marriage of the Berglands and their individual lives. Another great fiction read.
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot - Most of the time I read exclusively fiction but every once in a while, a non-fiction book will strike my fancy. Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who died in the 1950's from cervical cancer. After her death, and without her family's permission, her cells were harvested and began to reproduce prolifically. This is a poignant tale of the survivors of Mrs. Lacks and their inability to grasp the concept of her immortality and also of the doctors and nurses involved in the cell growth. Fascintating scientifc book that reads like fiction - science fiction at times.
"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese - the story of Siamese twins, separated at birth. That alone is enough to hook the eager reader but Verhese's ability to spin a tale takes you into the world of each boy, chronicling the choices they make along the way. Verghese also wrote an earlier non-fiction book about his time as an AIDS doctor in rural Appalachia - "My Own Country - A Doctor's Story"
"One Day" by David Nicholls - the author checks in with the two major characters on the same day (St. Swithin's Day) for 20 years. A moving story of the star-crossed love lives of Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, many readers will recognize each character as someone they have known. A suprise ending and the author's ability to have his characters age (though one might not always say mature) over a period of years made this one of my top books of the year.
There were forty-three other books I read during the year but no others received a five-star rating. Stay tuned for 2011 which is starting out on a high note with the Bonhoeffer biography. My old book club is reading "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" by Mario Vargas Llosa (I once belonged to a very erudite book club when I lived in another city) and my current book club is reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. The latter I have read but shall have to re-read (or Spark notes) but the former I am looking forward to tackling.
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