Oops, I did it again…

Remember the cognac/whiskey-soaked chocolate cake?
Well, my mother-in-law baked that cake and sent me photos. And then, I just had to make it again. I had to!



However… since Valentine’s Day was approaching, I thought I’ll try to make it CUTE. Hmmm…

About a week ago, when I was looking all over the place for mini cupcakes pans for my little girl’s birthday party (that’s her cake here), I found this pan.

Doesn’t it look cute?
So I really really wanted to use it for something and soon. Valentines’ sounded like an appropriate opportunity.

So take the original cognac -soaked chocolate cake + a cute pan with small indentations, and try it.
The result – wonderful!

Mini Cognac-Soaked Chocolate Cakes
Adaptation to the new variation:

1. It looked like the cognac bottle had 1 cup in it, but after measuring it, it turned out to be only ½ a cup, so I added ¼ cup cherry kirsch and ¼ cup water.
The flavor turned out to be great. Less alcoholic and intoxicating than when using all cognac, with a milder flavor, and the texture was great.

2. I used the pan with 12 mini cakes and the rest of the batter was baked in a long loaf cake (12 by 4.5 inch, measured at the top).

3. Baking times:
For the mini cakes it took 25 minutes.*
For the loaf cake it took 50 minutes.*
* Baking times may vary as I opened the door a couple of times to check if the cakes were done, so of course, heat escaped from the oven. It might take less time when you don’t open the oven


Now. If I was not dieting, I would have topped each little cutie with some Nutella or a chocolate ganache, filled the cute little hole with whipped cream, AND garnished it with a little berry.
But I won’t. Should I?
Maybe next year?

Related posts:

The Original Cognac-Soaked Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Roulade Birthday Cake

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I Made a Mess, but It Tastes Good

… and I fixed it.
Let me tell you what happened.

When I have 14 egg whites in the freezer (leftover from recipes that use egg yolks), it means only one thing – it is time to bake a chocolate roulade.
Last time I made this cake, I tried a new variation on a recipe I had and I turned it into a Black Forest Chocolate Roulade. Today I made another variation and turned it into a birthday cake because today is my little girl’s birthday. She is 1 years old! Yay! Time sure flies fast. And we’re going to have a party. Yippie!

I was baking all morning; 2 batches of cupcakes, a butternut squash galette for dinner – that I didn’t have time to assemble and bake yesterday because I spent 1 ½ hours at the grocery store with the kiddies having an afternoon snack there and shopping for the party (recipe will be posted soon) – and, of course, I made the birthday cake.

It’s a chocolate roulade with whipped cream filling. I also wanted to use strawberries. I see them at the store and they look so perfect and gloriously red and so tempting. But I know that since they are not in season they look good, but taste only 'ehh', and they are a bit expensive. So I thought of a solution. I used strawberry jam. This is why they make jams, so we can eat the fruit when it is out of season.
But first, I have to send you to see the original recipe – click here – so you’ll know what I’m talking about.

And now to the birthday cake…

Chocolate Roulade – Birthday Cake Variation

* Mix ½ cup strawberry jam with 1 tablespoon of raspberry liquor. If you want, blend it with a hand blender for a smoother texture. Then, spread it on the baked and cooled cake.
* Next, spread the whipped cream.

Messing up & fixing it:

Problem #1

I was so busy this morning and I have so much on my mind lately so, just like last time, I overbeat the egg white. AGAIN.

The solution – instead of folding the whipped egg whites with the melted chocolate using a spatula, I used a whisk and gently combined them. It worked and the cake baked nicely and evenly. As I said before, I think it’s a very forgiving recipe. So don’t be afraid if you don’t have much experience with whipping eggs, OK?
Also, the best thing is that you can hide the parts you have messed up.

Problem #2

Maybe it has to do with over whipping the eggs because the cake did break a bit when I rolled it, and a bit more when I moved it to a serving platter.
Usually I roll it from the long side so I get a longer cake which yields more, but smaller in size, servings. Today I rolled it from the short side, which made the cake shorter, with less servings, but each slice is bigger.

The solution – I messed up pretty good this time, so to cover the mess, I made more cream for the topping by whipping 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and 3 tablespoons vanilla pudding. Well, it is a birthday cake after all, isn’t it?
And on top, of course, colorful sprinkles.

You see how pretty it looks? And my baby was very happy.

I only hope that our guests for the party tomorrow are not reading this post and this will be our little secret. Can you keep a secret?

Tomorrow we party, but coming up next… cupcakes with pesto frosting and butternut squash galette.

Have a wonderful wonderful weekend,

Nurit

More cakes:

Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Babbo Modenese Crumbly Cake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake

UPDATE:
With the second cake that I made – I had 14 egg whites, remember? – I watched the mixer closely and whipped the egg whites perfectly as the recipe says. The texture was perfect and the cake did not “break” when I rolled it.
I chilled it in the fridge, covered with the parchment paper, for a few hours before I transferred it to a serving platter. It was firm and I could lift it to the platter with my hands, without using my large spatula for help, and nothing happened to it.
The guests LOVED the cake. There were no leftovers.

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Home-Made Cinnamon Ice Cream

I love that when I bake a cake at home the aroma of the cake can be smelled from the garage when someone comes home. It can be smelled even from the street. Imagine this – an aroma of freshly baked cakes coming out of each house on your street. Wouldn’t it be absolutely wonderful?

But I have to travel out of town, so no time to bake a cake for the weekend this weekend.
My little guy expressed his concern for the lack of cake. He asked me if he can bake a cake with his dad. I said: “sure”. Mind you, this is the same boy who always chooses gummy bears over freshly baked cake!

There’s something about a homemade cake that, for me, turns a “place to live” into a “home”. My aunt always baked on Fridays, 2 cakes! And her home always seemed to me to be so… a place of family.

If I can’t, for any reason, bake a cake on Friday, it makes me go bananas. It’s like an addiction. I gotta to have cake. I don’t always eat it, but I’ve got to make it.
So I made a fresh batch of cinnamon ice cream instead.

You might have missed the recipe in my long post - 5 stars dinner at home, so I give it to you here, in a separate post, to make sure you have it.
So what if it snowed again when we have totally not expected it (‘cause we thought we have already had enough snow for this year)? It’s nice and warm in the house. The fireplace is on. It's ice cream time!

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Make this at least 1 day ahead just to be of the safe side that the ice cream has the right consistency.
Slightly adapted from Suzanne Goin, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques”
Makes 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cinnamon sticks
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 extra-large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
My additions:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon hazelnuts extract
Pinch of ground cinnamon for serving

Place the milk, cream, cinnamon sticks, and ground cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover, and let the flavors infuse about 30 minutes.
Bring mixture back to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisk a ¼ cup of warm cream mixture into the yolks to temper them. Slowly, add another ¼ cup of the warm cream, whisking to incorporate. At this point, you can add the rest of the cream mixture in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pot and return to the stove.

Cook the custard over medium heat 6 to 8 minute, stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. The custard will thicken, and when it’s done will coat the back of the spatula. Off the heat, add the vanilla and hazelnut extracts.

Strain in a fine mesh sieve and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. The base should be very cold before you churn it. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Serve with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

If you want to bake a cake, click Cake for the weekend
This one seems to be a great hit - Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

A Cake For the Weekend: This One Is Not For the Kids (or young at heart)

I’m in love with this cake. Can you tell? I think I already had 3 pieces today. And it’s only 8:26 pm… The night is young.
Pphhh, forget about new-year’s-dieting- resolution.

The first time I saw the recipe for this cake was a few weeks ago on Orangette blog, and then a few days ago I found it on Over the hill and on a roll blog. Every now and then there’s this thing with food bloggers when somehow many of us are making the exact same recipe, like back when many bloggers baked the NY times chocolate chip cookies. It’s like a plague. What I like about it though is to see the different approach each blogger brings to the recipe – the story, the adaptations, the photos. This is the awesomest part about blogging. I think.

Anyway, this cake is a good one. Trust me. You know I bake a cake every weekend, so I’m getting bored with the usual stuff because I probably have baked it before, and am always looking for something special, or different, unfamiliar, or terribly creative, but not too rich, and I like to keep it casual and simple, and, of course, easy and quick to make, so I can recommend it to you. Right?! Right?!
And you may ask yourself – is she drunk or what?
Well, eye jast mite bea. This ees mye thirddd peace after oll.
‘cos this cake is soaked with cognac!

So don’t share it with your kids. Enjoy it by yourself or with another grown up.

Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.
Originally By Melissa Clark from The New York Times
My adaptation in (bold)

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate
¼ cup instant espresso powder
1 cup bourbon, rye, or other whiskey, plus more for sprinkling (I used cognac)
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan*
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish (optional)

1. Grease and flour a 10-cup-capacity Bundt pan (or two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans). Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In microwave oven or double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate. Let cool.

2. Put espresso and cocoa powders in a 2-cup (or larger) glass measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to come up to the 1 cup measuring line. Mix until powders dissolve. Add whiskey and salt; let cool.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, baking soda and melted chocolate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

4. On low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in 1 cup flour. Repeat additions, ending with whiskey mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until a cake tester/toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes for Bundt pan (loaf pans will take less time, start checking them after 55 minutes).

5. Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15 minutes and sprinkle warm cake with more whiskey (I skipped this part). Let cool before serving, garnished with confectioners’ sugar if you like.

My Tip: to soften butter quickly, place in microwave on a plate for 1 minute on a 10% power level per stick of butter.

More cakes:

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
Babbo Modenese Crumbly Cake
Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake

Update:

1) My friend reported she feels a little drunk after 1 piece. So be careful, don't EAT and DRIVE.

2) I made cinnamon ice cream to serve with this cake. Oh, it was so wonderful. Recipe will be posted soon.

Cranberry Cake to Celebrate the Beginning of a New Year

I want to dedicate a cake to you. To celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. You deserve it. It has been tough lately. But it will get better, right?! It has to.

I usually don’t fuss over a change of digit when a year ends, but this year it feels a bit different. I’ve been blogging since July and I Love it. The blog grew nicely thanks to you, so here is another reason to give you a cake! (As if I need an excuse to bake a cake). It is simple to make, inexpensive but festive, and makes a perfect cake for the holiday served with whipped cream, or for an after holiday or weekend brunch, served with whipped cream!

Speaking of whipped cream… We have beautiful snow outside. It’s been out there in the past week and our street looks like this.

Our backyard looks like this.

We’ve been kind of stuck at home in the past few days. It’s snowing here like never before. The snow is about 15 inches deep. Some roads are closed, some businesses are closed, schools are closed which means that the kids are at home and need to be entertained and fed 24/7, as well as Mr. Husband. We’ve been doing all kinds of cooking projects here to keep ourselves busy and happy. (All the recipes will be posted next year.)

Onion Quiche

Lamb shanks with Whole Wheat Couscous, Beans, and Garbanzo Beans

We made so many desserts and treats (Marshmallows, nut cookies, doughnuts, cheesecake) that my son suggested that I start a dessert blog.

Very cool idea, but, no, I’m not going to do that. I already have too many blogs on my hands (this one which is also published at the Seattle P-I, this one: Good Food & Bad Food, also published on the Seattle P-I, and at some point I thought of starting a salad blog, but I have to think about it. Would you be interested in a salad blog?)
So no, no dessert blog, but I do plan on buying a new camera and taking some photography classes, and I hope I can show you better photos. I’m so excited about that!!!

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake*
From Martha Stewart

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
(I also added orange zest - N.)

1 3/4 cups cranberries
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons butter. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon and allspice (and orange zest, if using - N). Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom of pan; arrange cranberries in a single layer on top.

With an electric mixer, cream remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, until well combined.

Spoon batter over cranberries in pan, and smooth top. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (I added an extra 20 minutes to the baking time - N.). Let cool on a wire rack for 20minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

For the whipped cream, click strawberry shortcake.

*A warning: Your baked cake is not going to look that bright red! I expected it to look that bright red, like the photo in the book/link, so I was a bit disappointed when I saw that it is actually a bit brownish-red in real life. That’s just the color of cooked cranberries. But, it is a very good cake, easy to make, and festive enough. Don’t forget the whipped cream!

I wish you ALL a very wonderfully happy New Year!!!!!

I am going to spend some time with my family and will be back in January.

Nurit

Previous December posts:

11 Tips for Eating Out (with Kids) While on Vacation
More than a Weekly Meal Plan – December
Holiday (or Birthday) Party Food – Appetizers
Time to Tell You What It Is

Gingerbread houses at the Sheraton, Downtown Seattle

Babbo Modenese Crumbly Cake

This cake is amazing, and amazingly simple to make. It’s buttery, nutty, and… crumbly, of course. Perfect with a nice cup of coffee, tea, or a glass of sweet wine. The recipe was created back in 1999, when Babbo restaurant was still in its infancy. It became an instant hit and an all-time favorite. The recipe in the book suggests pairing the cake with a sweet and peppery ricotta cream, as well as figs cooked with honey and sweet wine – doesn’t this sound just out of this world?! The cake is so delicious on its own that you can serve it as is or with some seasonal fruits. What can I add to this besides say – you got to try it!

Another winner recipe from Mario Batali and his pastry chef, Gina DePalma, from his Babbo cookbook which I highly recommend you add to your cookbook selections. Lots of terrific recipes! And easy ones too, even though they are recipes from a restaurant.

Modenese Crumbly Cake

By Gina DePalma, Pastry Chef
For 9 -inch springform pan

Ingredients:

For the Streusel:
½ cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the cake:
¾ cup pine nuts
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semolina flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
3 eggs
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract


1. To make the streusel: Combine the pine nuts, sugars, and flour and pulse to combine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is combined and forms pea-size crumbs. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 -inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Spread the ¾ cup of pine nuts evenly onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven until light golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. When the pine nuts have cooled, place them in the bowl of a food processor along with the flour, salt, semolina, baking powder, light brown sugar and half cup of the granulated sugar and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the butter has dispersed and the mixture is finely textured.

4. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add this mixture to the pine nut mixture and pulse to combine, then process for about 30 seconds to completely emulsify the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

5. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is golden brown and cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean ( I find that I need to bake it 50-60 minutes – N.). Cool for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.

The recipe for Sweet Black Pepper Ricotta is here.


Have a wonderful and crumbly, ehhh... cozy weekend!
Nurit

UPDATE: My mother-in-law, Anka, baked the cake. Here is the photo they took. She says it smelled so good, they ate it right out of the oven.

More cakes for the weekend:

Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Bread Pudding with Spiced Rum Sauce

Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake

I’ve been reading and browsing through The Book of New Israeli Food by Janna Gur lately. Oh, the food looks so amazing. I made a Chocolate and Halva yeast cake based on a recipe from this book (it’s so gorgeous and I’ll post about it soon). I can’t wait to make the Shawarma (meat marinated in curry powder and garam masla) ) and Shakshuka (a dish of Lybian origin with tomatoes, hot sauce and eggs)… “In less than thirty years,” Janna Gur writes, “Israeli society has graduated… to a true gastronomic haven.”

In her book she gives a full, delectable justice to the significance of Israeli food today–Mediterranean at its heart, richly spiced, and imbued with cross-cultural flavors.
In Gur’s captivating introduction, she describes Israeli food as a product of diverse cultures: the Jews of the Diaspora, settling in a homeland that was new to them, brought their far-flung cuisines to the table even as they looked to their Arab neighbors for additional ingredients and ideas. The delicious, easy-to-follow recipes represent all of these influences, and include some creative interpretations of classics by celebrated Israeli chefs: Beetroot and Pomegranate Salad, Fish Falafel in Spicy Harissa Mayonnaise, Homemade Shawarma, Chreime–North African Hot Fish Stew, Roasted Chicken Drumsticks in Carob Syrup.


Apple, Cinnamon and Walnuts Cake

Recipe adapted from The Book of New Israeli Food by Janna Gur
For a 24 cm/10 inch springform pan

4-5 medium size apples, peeled and cored (I used Pink Lady and Honeycrisp)
Juice of half a lemon
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons calvados or brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup oil (I used canola)
¾ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
For dusting: 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Cut 3 apples into ½-inch dice. Slice the remaining 1-2 apples into thin wedges, sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.
Sift the flour with cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
Using an electric mixer beat the eggs, sugar, brandy/calvados, and vanilla extract until pale and thick, about 8 minutes.
Lower the speed and gradually add the oil and then the flour mixture.

Fold in the diced apples and walnuts and pour batter into a well-greased baking pan. Arrange the apple wedges in the center of the cake into a flower pattern. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top.

Bake for 60-70 minutes until the cake is golden and s toothpick comes out dry with a few crumbs adhering.
Cool for 10 minutes, release from pan and cool completely on rack.

More cakes for the weekend here. For example:
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Blueberry crumb cake


Have a wonderful weekend,
Nurit

A cake for the weekend: Amazing strawberry shortcake

I have already mentioned that fall is here and winter is coming soon, right?! (Sorry about that). (Like you didn’t know…). The side effect of the weather change is that strawberries are going to disappear from the markets and stores pretty soon. Peaches and nectarines are already gone. So, a minute before they vanish until next summer, I had to have strawberry shortcake.

I’ve seen strawberry shortcakes at some festivals and fairs during summer (even at the Strawberry festival in Bellevue), but to my big disappointment, they make them with fake whipped cream, non-organic strawberries and yucky biscuits. All frustrated, I have made it once at home but the shortcake recipe was just OK. So today I thought: “Nancy Silverton will not disappoint me” and turned to her cookbook “Desserts”.

Before I continue, I must note that most of the people I know never made real whipped cream at home! Some never tried, some gave it up , and some try to substitute with that fake whipped cream in the can with the spray top, or whatever it is called, with all the bad stuff in it (words no one knows what they mean under “ingredients”) to save time/effort.

Now is a time for a little story. It’s very personal, though.
Back when I was in high school I was addicted to… strawberries and whipped cream. We had a hand mixer at home but my mom never bought real fresh heavy cream. We had POWDERED cream in a box. Hmmm… never mind. I used to whip it with a hand mixer. Then one day the electricity was out and I had to have my daily shot of cream! So, very resourceful me, I took a jar with a lid and shook the hell out of it.

Lesson of the story: if you are afraid to whip some real cream at least once in your life, or won’t invest in a mixer, not even a hand mixer, try the jar trick. It's not the real deal but will be so much better than any powdered of fake liquid cream. I promise.

Making cream is very very easy. Instructions below.
If you still don’t feel like giving it a try, don’t be sad, you can still enjoy the amazing strawberry shortcake using sour cream or crème fraiche

Tips for making home-made whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk the cream with mixer or a whisk (or jar) until it looks like this.

Now you need to start watching it closely because it’s going to be ready any second.
And that’s it!

I tried the recipe with sour cream. It tastes good.

But nothing triumphs real heavy cream. So I made it again and tasted it.

Sometimes I hate my job. Oh, wait, this is not my job. I’m blogging for free, ha ha ha.

Amazing strawberry shortcake

Adapted from Nancy Silverton “Desserts” cookbook

Makes 8 servings

Shortcake biscuits:

2 ¾ cups flour
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
1 cup heavy cream + 1 tablespoon for brushing the dough

The filling:
3-4 cups strawberries, sliced/diced mixed with 2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup raspberries, optional
1 cup heavy cream (or substitute crème fraiche/sour cream) whipped with 1-2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Adjust oven rack in the middle of oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl of a standing mixer (I think a food processor will work too, but I haven’t tried it). Add butter and mix on low speed, using the paddle attachment, for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is the consistency of a fine meal, and pale yellow in color. Pour in the cream and mix until the mixture just comes together in one mass.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 3-4 times until it forms a smooth ball. Don’t overwork it.
Now here comes a major shortcut I took instead of rolling and re-rolling the dough:
Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. With your hands shape them to small discs, like a thick cookie shape. The biscuits expand but don’t rise much when baked.

The biscuits can be formed and refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.

Before baking, brush the biscuits tops lightly with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until they are golden brown.


For strawberry sauce – optional:
Take half of the strawberries and mash with a fork, or process in a food processor.

Assembling the shortcakes:
Cut biscuits lengthwise carefully.
Spoon whipped cream/sour cream/crème fraiche.
Top with strawberries and/or strawberry sauce.


Have a summery and sweet weekend.
Nurit

More cakes:
Cake for the weekend: Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

Cake for the weekend: Black Forest Chocolate Roulade, and Leftovers: Egg whites

Do you have recipes that call for egg yolks only? Sometimes for 6-8 egg yolks (like Crème Brulee)? So what do you do with all those egg white leftovers?
I’ll tell you. You freeze them. Freeze in a container and write the date.
Not sure how long you can freeze them (I searched but couldn’t find a definite answer). I freeze them for a month at most. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or place the container with the egg whites in a bowl with lukewarm water.

And now to the cake.

I made this cake so many times, that finally I felt it needs a spin, some new twists. So I turned it into a Black Forest type of cake. And boy, oh, boy, those few little changes turned it into an almost new cake. And a very delicious one too.
It is so good. You must try to make it.

The good news: it bakes in no time at all! 10 minutes to bake and 20 minutes to make! Can you believe it?!
The bad news: you need some practice in rolling the cake over the filling. But hey, that’s OK, I wasn’t born rolling cakes either, you know... so you can do it too!
Good news again: I took some photos to show you how to do it AND there is a trick if you mess up – just cover it up with cacao powder or powdered sugar to hide the messy parts. And then again, this cake tasted soooo good, your people will forgive you if it doesn’t look so pretty.

My recipe is based on a recipe from 2 legendary chefs, Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. The original recipe – Julia's and Jacques' Chocolate Roulade appears on Martha Stewart’s web site.

Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Serves 10 to 12

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for buttering the baking sheet
2 cups heavy cream, divided
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or use chocolate chips)
7 egg whites, room temperature
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cherry brandy (or use any berry flavored liqueur you have, or cognac )
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish, optional
1 cup raspberries*, sliced

* OK, I know, I know, Black forest cake has cherries, but you don’t really care. Do you? Well, if you do, use cherries.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees with the rack in center of the oven.
Butter a large baking sheet (an 11-by-17-inch or a 12-by-17 1/2-inch sheet pan), and line with parchment paper.

Heat 1 cup heavy cream and the chocolate in the microwave. Do this in 1-2 minutes intervals and mix each time, continue this until the chocolate melts into the cream. As soon as mixture is a uniform dark color, remove and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl and using a (hand) mixer, whip egg whites and 2 tablespoons sugar to stiff, glossy peaks, about 1 1/2 minutes. Use a timer, if you have it. (I turned my back on the mixer for a minute to wash some dishes and overbeat the egg white! Oh no, you think? Well, it turned out just fine, so relax. You can do it even if you have never ever whisked or beat eggs before.)

Next, whisk one-quarter of the egg-white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold chocolate mixture back into the original egg-white mixture, and mix until smooth and well combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and spread it in an even layer with a spatula. Bake until cake is set and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature.

Make the cream filling:
Whip the remaining 1 cup cream with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, the vanilla, and liqueur. Spread evenly over entire surface of cake. Using a fine-mesh sieve, lightly dust cake with cocoa powder. Then spread the raspberries.

Rolling the cake:
Lift the parchment paper to roll the cake lengthwise, pressing against parchment paper to make a tight spiral. Gently peel parchment paper off as cake layer rolls away. Complete the roll with seam on bottom.
Serve or refrigerate for up to 4 hours. (it’s good after 3 days too).



rolling...
rolling...



rolling...

By the way, I took all these photos by myself. Yes, including the ones when I am rolling the cake with 2 hands! I am a wonder-woman.

...and there you have it. Ta-da!



To transfer roulade to serving platter:
The cake is long, so I have a trick. I cut in 2. Then transfer each half to a serving platter. You can dust it with cacao powder or powdered sugar to hide the cut and throw some raspberries on top.
No one will notice, and hey, you are going to slice it anyway…

Julia and Jacques have a trick too: If roll has slumped or twisted, lay a piece of plastic over top and sides, and reshape with hands. I guess they messed up too ;-)

Have fun and enjoy.
Nurit

More cakes:

Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

Leftover bread turned into Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce for dessert

I love bread, especially artisanal bread. And they can be quite costly ranging $3-$5 each! So, when I have leftovers, which doesn’t happen often (because I like my bread toasted so it taste fresh and crunchy even after 4 days), it will break my heart to throw it in the trash (it’ll break my grandma’s heart too and she we roll in her grave, but more about her some other time).

So here are few ideas for using your __X__-days old bread. If you are not going to do any of them right away, cube your bread, without the crust, and freeze it in a Ziploc bag. Write the date on the bag. Keep frozen until needed.

1. Home-made fresh breadcrumbs


Thaw the bread a bit, if it is frozen. Process it in the food processor until you get fine crumbs.
Use this for breaded food like pan-fried breaded chicken breasts, or pork schnitzel, or to make a crunchy top for baked savory dishes like quiches, Mac and cheese, casseroles.

Even better, if you have leftover herbs like parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, add those to the bread and process all together. What the heck, while you're at it, throw in a garlic clove or two, and season with salt and black pepper to make your own home-made seasoned breadcrumbs to be used in other home-made yummy dishes.

2. Sweet bread pudding


A few years ago, while on a trip to Oregon’s beautiful sea side, we went to an English pub where we ate bread pudding for the first time (I wish I’d remembered its name).
The concept was new to me. I was somewhat shocked by the idea of “bread pudding????” But oh my my, it was oh so good, warm and sweet and soft, and fluffy, and I think it had a splash of alcohol in it. Heavenly.

Here is my favorite recipe for bread pudding from Epicurious Magazine which everyone who ate it in my home just loved. Give it a try.
And, if want to be able to say “I’m in heaven” while living on this planet, I encourage you to make the rum sauce as well.

This is the easiest recipe on earth to make. To make a smaller pudding with less servings, you can reduce all the ingredients by half and the baking time to 45-50 minutes. Use an 8 * 8-inch, or 9 * 9-inch pan.

Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce
Bon Appétit
October 2001
The Seafood Buffet at Grand Casino, Biloxi, MS
Makes 12 servings.

8 large eggs
3 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1-pound loaf cinnamon challah or cinnamon-swirl bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (or white plain bread – N.)
1 cup golden raisins

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend well. Stir in bread and raisins. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with Spiced Rum Sauce.

Spiced rum sauce

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons spiced rum or dark rum
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream, rum, and cinnamon and bring to simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. Serve warm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)

3. Savory bread pudding with cheese


If your leftover bread is a savory one, make a savory bread pudding. Makes sense, right?! It is a good opportunity to use your leftover cheese as well.
This is a wonderful and sophisticated side dish to serve with steak, lamb chops, roast, pork, chicken, etc.
It is based on the sweet bread pudding recipe, but I have changed it a bit. Well, more than a bit, so I call it my own.

Nurit’s savory bread pudding with cheese
Makes 6-9 servings.

4 large eggs2 ½ cups whole or 2% milk
1 – ½* loaf bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (*depending on the size of your bread)
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
About 1 – 1 ½ cups cheese, crumbled/grated (like Brouson, Parmesan, Feta, Goat, Gruyere, Ricotta, Gouda… whatever you have in the fridge)

Butter 9x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
Whisk eggs in large bowl. Add milk, salt, pepper, and cheeses. Whisk to blend well. Add the bread and mix well.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. (But if you need to make it NOW, like I did, just make sure all the bread cubes have soaked the liquid).
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 45-60 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall).

I’m sure you’ll love these.
I think my grandma will be pleased.

Check out this post: Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Nurit

Jewish Cooking For Dummies cookbook

In the spirit of the Jewish holidays, here is a cookbook where you can find wonderful recipes, which are easy to make, of course.
Some of the recipes I have tried and liked are: Latkes, Oznei Haman/Hamantaschen, Haroset, Sufganiot, Blintz, Cheesecake, Noodle kugel with pears, Cholent, Tzimmes, Yemenite soup, the list goes on and on. There are many traditional recipes, Israeli, Mediterranean and Middle-eastern. I highly recommend this book.
To buy it online, click here.

Here is their recipe for honey cake:

Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake

1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/3 cup hot water
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small pinch of ground cloves
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons grated orange zest, orange part only
½ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, line it with parchment or waxed paper and grease paper.

In a cup, dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Let cool. Sift flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves.

Beat eggs lightly in large bowl of mixer. Add sugar and honey and beat until mixture is very smooth and lightened in color. Gradually add oil and beat until blended. Add orange zest.

Stir in flour mixture alternately with coffee, each in two batches. Stir in hazelnuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and peel off paper.
When cake is completely cool, wrap it tightly in foil and keep it at room temperature.

If you liked this cookbook review, you might be interested to read:
Beef Goulash
jamie’s dinners by Jamie Oliver

Enjoy.
Nurit

More cakes:
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

Cool tools: Baking must-haves

To my dear friends, family members, and readers who don’t bake,

Having the tools in the photo below will make baking so much easier, and much more successful, oh, yes, and a lot of fun too. That is the secret to a good cake. Kids like to play with those tools too (see here). The tools are not expensive and you can find them in any grocery store.

A few years ago when I didn’t own that set and wanted to bake I had to do a lot of guessing – what is exactly a “teaspoon” or a “cup”, and the cakes usually turned out not so good, if not a disaster. So, please meet:

Measuring spoons – for measuring salt, spices, vanilla extract, juice)
Measuring cups for dry ingredients – for measuring flour, sugar, cacao, etc
Measuring cup for liquids
Zester – for zesting the peel of citrus

Now try some of the baking recipes, have fun and play. And don’t discourage. Practice makes perfect, right?!

You might find this post interesting too: Cool tool: Tea infuser

Good luck!
Nurit

Cake recipes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

A cake for the weekend: Cocoa-Marzipan Pound Cake

The recipe is from the book “The Great Book of Chocolate” by David Lebovitz.

I bought this book about 3 years ago while traveling in Napa Valley, CA. I treated myself to a week of cooking course at Napa Valley’s Culinary Institute of America. Oh, my my, what a culinary adventure it was. Then we headed to Berkeley just because I HAD TO eat at the famous Chez Panisse restaurant. (The most expensive Mac and cheese we ever bought for our little toddler, $12, but the best one we ever had! Ever!). Then I found out that the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory was in this town, so of course we went for a visit.

I didn’t have a big crush on chocolate back then but I bought the book maybe because the aroma coming out of the factory did have an impact.

My addiction to chocolate actually started about a year ago while I was pregnant and diagnosed with gestational diabetes. My strong affection to home-made baked goods and pastries (see “A cake for the weekend”) had to stop for a while in order to control my blood sugar. At the same time I discovered Frans’ chocolate in Seattle. What a bad timing. So, to treat myself to a little something that won’t make my sugar levels jump so high, I cheated a little on the strict diet I had to follow and had a little truffle now and then and got into the habit of shopping at a Fran’s store once a month or so. Her truffles are so heavenly (No point in trying to make my own at home). Anyway…

I came across this book that sat on the shelf untouched and took a pick and found this recipe. I love pound cakes and coffeecakes, but after 5 years of baking a cake at least once a week, I got so bored. So in this book I found a new direction. The cake is wonderful. Try it. It tastes better the next day, so if you can, make it a day ahead.


Makes two 8 ½ inch loaf cakes.
About 16 servings

3/4 cup (7 oz.) almond paste
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose
½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup milk
2/3 cup sliced almonds (optional)


Butter two 8 1/2 inch loaf pans and dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the almond paste, sugar, and almond extract until the almond paste is broken up into very fine pieces.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

Add the butter to the almond paste mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then the milk. Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

Divide the batter between the loaf pans and smooth the tops of the cakes. Evenly sprinkle the tops with sliced almonds.

Bake the cakes for 45 minutes (I had to add another 10 minutes – N.), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Remove cakes from loaf pans. Wrap in plastic wrap overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

Have a sweet weekend.
Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Rose-orange cheesecake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

A cake for the Weekend: Rose Water and Orange Blossom Cheesecake

A cheesecake is one of my favorite cakes. I have baked so many different recipes until I got bored. In this recipe I tried to make things more interesting by adding rose water and orange blossom water which I buy at a Mediterranean store. They are so fragrant and add a complex flavor the cake. A little goes a long way. If you don’t feel like using these ingredients, use honey instead.

Rose Water and Orange Blossom Cheesecake

For the bottom:
8 ounces graham crackers
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 (12-ounce) container ricotta, whole or part-skim
2 packages cream cheese, whole or part-skim, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rose water*
1 tablespoon orange blossom water*
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 large eggs, room temperature

For the top:
Sliced seasonal fruit (now it is a good time for figs, berries, nectarines)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grind the crackers in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 12 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Wipe the processor bowl and save to make the filling.
Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil.

Blend the ricotta and the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, rose water, orange blossom, lemon zest, and honey and blend well, stopping the machine 1-2 times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and pulse just until blended.

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the foil-wrapped pan in a larger roasting pan. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until the cheesecake is golden, about 1 hour and 5 minutes (the center of the cake will move slightly when the pan is lightly shaken, but it will become firm when the cake is cold).

Remove the cake from the water bath and foil and cool on a rack. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, 5-8 hours. Serve with seasonal fruits.

Bake with your kids.
Kids can help with: bringing ingredients, cracking eggs (wash hands after handling raw eggs), pulse the food processor (they just love that! But stay close to them and watch them. Explain about safety in the kitchen), opening packages, measuring.


Have a sweet weekend.
Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

A cake for the weekend: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Copyright 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All Rights Reserved.
Click here for the recipe on the food network web site.

For the cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt/tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

My comment on the recipe: I omitted the sugary glaze topping. I always think of that topping as unnecessary. It doesn’t add any flavor really, and it’s like eating sugar, yuck, and consuming more unwanted calories.


Bake with your kids.
I made this cake with my son (5 years old). It was a lot of fun.
Kids can measure ingredients, pour dry ingredients, sift the dry ingredients, crack the eggs, turn the mixer on/off (of course, you need to make the rules and explain about safety, stand next to them, and watch them!), and make the streusel. If they like a little mess, and you don’t mind it either, let them butter and flour the pan.

Enjoy the weekend,
Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

A cake for the weekend: Crostata with Summer Fruit

Summer fruit are so wonderful. They taste so good that I usually don’t like to do anything to them, just eat them fresh as they are. Or, the worst thing I’ll do to them is make a fruit salad. This crostata is an exception. The buttery and flaky dough makes it so much fun to eat. And it is a lot of fun to make too.
Be warned: On a hot day, like today (91 F degrees), it might be a bit tricky to work with the dough since the butter warms up quickly and makes it difficult to roll the dough and transfer it to the baking sheet without tearing. I made it the morning, still in my PJ and drinking my coffee. Try a less hot day, or make it in the evening when the temperatures go down.

Makes 6-8 servings

For the dough (for 2 crostatas):
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons ice water

For the filling (for 1 crostata):
2 peaches/nectarines
2 plums
1/4 pint blueberries/raspberries
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest, optional

For the pastry:
Put flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor with a steel blade. Pulse a few times. Add butter and pulse a few times until the butter is the size of peas. With motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep pulsing just until the dough starts to form into a ball. Divide dough in half and turn out onto 2 pieces of plastic sheets and form 2 flat disks. Wrap disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
(If you want to make only 1 crostata, freeze the other disk of dough).
Preheat the oven to 450 F degrees.
Line a 1-2 baking sheet/s with parchment paper.
Roll the dough into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Roll around the rolling pin and transfer it to the baking sheet.

Make the filling:
Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and put in a bowl with the blueberries. Squeeze lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, orange zest, and lemon juice. Toss the fruits gently with the flour mixture. Place the fruits on the dough circle, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.

Bake the crostata/s for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden at the edges.
Slide the crostata off the baking sheet onto a plate, or leave it on the parchment paper and slide on the countertop to cool for 5 minutes.

Yum!
Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Blueberry crumb cake

Cookies for the weekend: White and dark chocolate chunk cookies - fun to do with kids

This was a fun and very easy project to do with my son (5 years old) on a Sunday afternoon.
The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks “Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy”, and it is dedicate to my friend, Sharon, who checks my blog every day, and who told me that I inspire her to start cooking and baking which she rarely did before.

Makes about 40 cookies.
(Use chips if you don’t have bars of chocolate).

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. white chocolate
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cut chocolate to ¼ - ½-inch pieces. Set aside.
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape sides of the bowl. Add sugars and beat 1-2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Gradually add the flour (on low speed). Add chocolate and beat just until incorporated.
Place 2 pieces of parchment/wax paper on work surface. Scoop dough to make 2 logs about 2 inches in diameter on each paper. Keep them rolled in the parchment and refrigerate for 2 hours (we went to the park), and for as long as a week.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut logs into slices ¼-inch thick. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, reversing the pans front to back halfway (and up/down if using 2 baking sheets in the oven at the same time).
The cookies are done when they are brown around the edges and on the bottom (lift one with a spatula to check). Remove from oven and cool on a rack, or just slide parchment off onto surface for the cookies to cool.

Bake with your kids.
Kids can: sift flour, measure ingredients, mix, look what’s going on inside the mixer 9stand next to them and explain about safety), make logs, arrange cookies on baking sheet. And of course, EAT THE COOKIES, you little cookie monsters.

Have fun!
Nurit

A cake for the weekend: Cheesecake with streusel topping disaster

The best cooking advice I can give you today is: always, and I mean ALWAYS, place your cake pan inside a sheet pan before you bake it.

I love cheesecakes and I love a streusel topping. So I found a cookbook with a recipe that combines both. I was happy.

Then… while I was making the cake, I started to fear there is a possibility that the recipe is somewhat inaccurate when the amount of dough seemed to need a bigger size of tart pan… After placing the dough in a one inch larger pan, my suspicion proved to be right. (I used a tart pan 1’’ larger than the recipe calls for. )

Next step, making the filling.

After making the filling there was no doubt in my mind – there will be a disaster. The amount of filling was way too much for the size of the pan. The filling was higher than the pan sides and it had whipped egg whites so it was going to rise even more. Obviously, the filling was going to overflow. (And this is after using a pan one inch bigger than the recipe asks for).

That was the moment I knew there will be no pretty photo of the cake to show you today.
So I took a photo before baking it.



The recipe says to bake it for 30 minutes. It needed an extra 30 minutes! And looks just awful. All the filling spilled over. What a mess! At least it spilled into the baking sheet and not inside the oven. Am I smart or what?!



Don’t you just hate it when recipes don’t work?!

I guess my dessert today will be a big kiss to the chubby little baby.



Have a wonderful weekend!
Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake

A cake for the weekend: Blueberry crumb cake

I love summer! Who doesn't? And I love Summer fruit. And I love to bake a cake for the weekend.
When I first started baking, a few years ago, it took me an hour to prepare a cake. Now it takes me 15-20 minutes. This cake, as the recipe says, took me 15 minutes to make. It was sooo easy. You don't even need a mixer.
It tastes so good too. Try it.

Blueberry crumb cake
Gourmet Magazine August 2003
Active time: 15 min
Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr
Make 8 to 12 servings.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Rounded 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups fresh blueberries (15 oz)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
Blend 1 1/2 sticks butter into flour with your fingertips or a pastry blender just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups flour mixture to another bowl for crumb topping.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar to crumb topping, then blend with your fingertips until large lumps form.
Whisk together eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, then add to remaining flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in blueberries and spread batter, distributing berries evenly, (The batter was a bit thick, so I spread the batter alone, then sprinkled the blueberries on top – N.), in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle batter evenly with crumb topping.
Bake in middle of oven until cake is golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes before cutting.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nurit

More cakes:
Orange Hazelnut Honey Cake
Black Forest Chocolate Roulade
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Crostata with Summer Fruit
Blueberry crumb cake