by Sam Tackeff | Nov 13, 2010 | Baking
Each year when I put together my fall to-do list, there is one item always at the top: the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.
This bundt is the perfect cake for fall: moist, spiced, hearty and chock-full of chocolate chips. It’s the type of cake you want to eat at the end of a long day raking leaves or cleaning your closets. It’s also the kind of cake you want on a crisp Sunday morning, huddled with a steaming mug of coffee and a wrapped in a thick blanket.
Of all the recipes my mother makes, this one is my favorite. She found it in the Harrowsmith Cookbook v. 3, which she purchased for $17 from L.L. Bean on July 21st, 1988. Yes, she made a note of it.
The Harrowsmith Country Life magazine was a popular Canadian living magazine in the 1980s, which catered to hippie environmental homesteaders. They put out three excellent cookbooks, with recipes from editors, contributors, and readers alike. My mother has cooked out of this one on many occasions, always going back to the simple pumpkin bundt, everyone’s favorite.
When I moved to California, one of the first things that I bought for my own kitchen was this shiny bundt pan from Cookin’ on Divisadero, so that I could make the cake as soon as seasonally appropriate.
[Not that fall is necessarily the season – every year, my mother would ask me what type of birthday cake I would like her to make for me, and each year, the decision was brutal. Oreo ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip? Or a pumpkin bundt? Growing up in New England, either could be suitable for my May birthday – sometimes the thermometer read 90 degrees, other times there would be frost visible on the ground.]
I’ve made this cake many times in my life, first at home with my mother, later as a teenager to take on hiking trips, or in college for the ladies of Dower House, my home at Wellesley for three years. Sometimes I’d make the full bundt, but more often than not, the batter became muffins, perfect to wrap in foil, and tuck in someone’s bag as a surprise. Muffins were also the practical fix, if, say, you ate too much of the batter to make a full bundt.
This year I started a new family tradition. I baked the cake, and sent half in the mail to my brother, John, a freshman at George Mason. He is living without a dorm kitchen, and was craving the Pumpkin Bundt as much as I was. Another good thing about this cake, is that it holds up fairly well in the mail for a few days.
The recipe itself has just a handful of ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate chips.
I set about preheating my oven to 350 degrees, and greasing and flouring my beautiful bundt pan. [This is key, otherwise your cake will stick to your bundt.]
The first step was sifting together all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then, in a large bowl (or in my case, the bowl of Martha my KitchenAid mixer), I beat the eggs and sugar together.
Then, I added the oil and the pumpkin to the egg mixture, making sure to mix well. This takes a little bit of effort if you are stirring on your own, but it can be done!
I stirred the flour mixture into the wet mix, (on the slowest speed on the mixer to avoid a flour explosion), and lastly, folded in the copious amount of chocolate chips (and pecans, if you’d like them). I generally just use chocolate chips, because that’s what my mother does. (Mostly I believe, so that she could send this to school with me without worrying about children with nut allergies.)
I poured it all into my bundt, (which I double-triple checked that I had greased and floured first!). The hardest part about this recipe is fighting yourself from eating all the batter.
After an hour in the oven, I took the bundt out to cool for ten minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack. I listened to my mother’s voice in my head: “Just wait patiently!” This step is fairly crucial – waiting makes the difference between a bundt in one piece, and one that will fall apart.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
The Harrowsmith Cookbook v. 3
The recipe comes from Gladys Sykes, of Regina, Saskatchewan.
While the recipe below can be done by hand, I do it in my kitchen aid mixer with much success. It also calls for sifting the dry ingredients twice, but one good sift will do. {Edited: A good many of you have asked if these can be made into muffins. They can indeed! I’d make sure to use liners, and reduce the time to 25 minutes, but you might check them at 18. If making muffins, this recipe will make two full muffin tins, and an additional mini loaf worth.}
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1.25 cups canola oil
2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin (or one 15 oz. can)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped pecans)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt) together.
Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the oil and the pumpkin, mixing well, and blend in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans, if using.
Bake in the greased and floured bundt pan, for 60 minutes.
Let cool in pan for ten minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 29, 2010 | Baking, French Fridays
[First there was ‘Tuesdays With Dorie‘, where each week food-lovers across the internet united to bake a recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s ‘Baking: From My Home to Yours‘. And now Dorie is out with a wonderful new cookbook ‘Around My French Table‘ where she shares her favorite French recipes, and I’ve decided to cook along. Check out French Fridays with Dorie if you’d like to join the fun.
This week’s recipe is ‘Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake‘ . Dorie describes the recipe as “rather plain, but very appealing in its simplicity”. The recipe was shared by her friend Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste, a wonderful hostess (and a top editor of the Louis Vuitton City Guides in Paris).]
One thing that I particularly miss from my childhood are the spectacular falls in New England.
There is nothing quite like taking a long walk in the woods, and breathing the cool earthy air. Admiring the foliage: the leaves turning golden, auburn and brown. Noticing the way the light reflects on the water, the colors vibrant and saturated. And then coming back into a warm home the first evening you light the fireplace, and drinking a mug of steaming hot cider…. and watching football. Sorry for the break in romanticism there – GO PATS!
Fall is the reward for long hard winters, and sticky-hot summers.
New Hampshire is a state rich in history. The pilgrims made a home for themselves here, but rather than puritan beliefs, religion has more to do with perseverance and braving the long winters. Our motto: “Live Free or Die” says a lot about the people who live in New Hampshire. To this day it is populated by good folk of hearty stock, rewarded for the climate by both beautiful fall weather, and the perfect location – countryside surrounded by Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont – seven miles of coastline, a short drive to the mountains, an hour away from Boston, and just four from New York.
Fall is a time of appreciation. Fall is about getting in the last of your fun before the air turns frigid.
Fall is also when you get your apple on. Each fall we picked apples at Applecrest farm, took hayrides, ate sugary cider donuts, and drank copious amounts of apple cider.
After moving to San Francisco, I found myself skipping fall rituals all together. One moment it is freezing here (summertime, of course), then a flash of heat, and the next moment we have more winter. And then rain. So, in order not to skip out on the things that I hold dearly, I began a fall to do list. There is something deeply satisfying in list making: part reflection, part aspiration for your future. Here is mine:
:: Fall To-Do List ::
1. Bake a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt.
2. Go apple picking; make desserts – a tarte tatin and caramel apples.
3. Find fall foliage, drive north through Napa.
4. Make a big pot of pumpkin turkey chili.
5. Fall care packages to friends and family.
6. Clean out refrigerator, straighten pantry. Go through spices, restock, and replace old ones.
7. Flush drains with boiling water.
8. Start thinking about Thanksgiving.
9. Clean out my closet, consign or give away things that don’t fit.
10. Go through catalogs and magazines to recycle, debate new subscriptions.
11. Eat Rancho Gordo Beans. (Use as many beans as possible to make room for more.)
12. Read: biography, motivational, history + pulp fiction. Sookie!
13. Hike the Dipsea Steps.
14. Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad/ Roasted Sprouts with Bacon
15. Give back to my high school, and college, and make a list of donations for the year.
16. Start amaryllis and paperwhites to enliven the house.
While I have yet to go apple picking, I have become over-run with apples. Some from my farmbox, and others from Celia’s tree in Tomales. It was fortunate that this weeks ‘French Friday’s with Dorie’ had an apple cake on the docket: Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake.
The recipe is perfect for an afternoon where you are cleaning the house or doing errands, because the cake batter whips together in just a few minutes, and then bakes in the oven for an hour. That’s the key really to some of the best fall foods – they require minimal work, and you cook them low and slow while getting fall chores done. By the time the food has finished cooking, you’ve earned it.
The ingredients are minimal: just flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, sugar, rum, vanilla, butter and apples. Using multiple varieties of apples gives both textural and flavor contrast to the cake, and the rum adds a wonderful depth without tasting “boozy”. Not that that would be a problem…
The steps are quite simple. You whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Then you peel, core, and cube the apples. Then you whisk the egg and sugar together. Add the vanilla and rum, then you alternate pouring the flour mixture and the melted and cooled butter into the eggs. Fold in the apples, pour into an 8-inch springform, bake for an hour, and voila!
Like Dorie says, this cake is simple, but that is the beauty of it. The apples are the stars. The only additions that would make it better are Dorie’s own suggestions of either a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My only problem with this cake? I didn’t bake two.
Recipe: Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake
In accordance with ‘French Fridays With Dorie’ rules, I’m not posting the recipe – you must buy Dorie’s book to get the details. But believe me, it will be money well spent.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 22, 2010 | Baking, Books, French Fridays
[First there was ‘Tuesdays With Dorie‘, where each week food-lovers across the internet united to bake a recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s ‘Baking: From My Home to Yours‘. And now Dorie is out with a wonderful new cookbook ‘Around My French Table‘ where she shares her favorite French recipes, and I’ve decided to cook along. Check out French Fridays with Dorie if you’d like to join the fun.
This week’s recipe was Hachis Parmentier – what Dorie describes as “a well-seasoned-meat-and-mashed potato pie that is customarily made with leftovers from a boiled beef dinner, like pot-au-feu. Her headnote in the recipe attributes inspiration from the famed chef, Daniel Boulud, who despite spending his days cooking luxurious meals at his haute cuisine restaurants, thinks of nothing better than going home and eating Hachis Parmentier – the perfect comfort food.]
Michael Chiarello was at Omnivore Books this week, and said something I believe to be very wise: “Taste happens in your mouth, but Flavor happens in your mind, intellectually.” This is why I cook – not just to produce something which tastes delicious (although, I assure you, this particular dish excites the palate), but for the comfort of food that connects me with my family, my culture, and to a larger global history.
One thing I have learned about comfort food, is that it tends to pop up in variations around the world. Nearly every culture has versions of a healing chicken soup, or a steaming bowl of noodles. These foods were often the food of poverty – simple dishes cooked with care, making the best use of ingredients often harshly rationed.
Although pies can be traced back to the Egyptians in 9500 BC, and potatoes were cultivated over 10000 years ago in Peru, the modern version of shepherds pie is actually a more recent invention. The dish did not become ubiquitous until the potato was heralded as an edible crop in the late 18th century.
In fact, the french name for the dish ‘Hachis Parmentier’ comes from Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French scientist famed for studying the potato, and readily advocated it’s nutritional value as a potential boon crop for feeding the poor.
It’s not surprising this dish made it’s way in some version or another around the globe, because it makes successful use of really any type of meaty leftover, and can be made at minimal cost, with little effort. And it is oh-so-satisfying.
My own nostalgia for the dish comes from eating it regularly at my uncle Allan’s table.
Allan grew up in Tangiers, Morocco, and is the consummate host. Family dinners at his house were always a treat. Sometimes there would be fish braised with onions, tomatoes and lemon. Other times, mini meatballs (my favorite) with peas and rice. There were even elegant Moroccan dishes such as b’stilla, a sweet and savory flaky pastry with meat (traditionally pigeon). And of course, there was his Sheperd’s pie.
Curious to its provenance, I emailed my uncle to clarify, and he responded: “Yes, in French it is called hachis parmentier. We never really thought of it as a British dish, or a French one for that matter. We usually called it pastel de patatas in Morocco, and indeed it was a pretty common dish back then.”
Having the chance to recreate a family favorite, and learning more about the global reach of this dish with some delight, I set to work with gusto, making my Hachis Parmentier à la Dorie Greenspan.
So often these days my cooking is limited to recipes of the simplest variety with few steps. After a day of working in a cookbook store, or testing recipes at home, invariably I am too hungry to wait for a slow cooked meal. But with two days off, I set to work making things from scratch, a veritable foreplay for the main event.
My first step was to assemble the broth that is the basis of the filling. This can thankfully be done in advance, so I headed to Drewes, my local butcher shop to purchase the steak that the recipe calls for. Dorie specifies either cube steak or chuck, and because I rarely buy or eat beef these days, I had to clarify with the butcher, shamefully, that chuck roast is the same as chuck steak. (It is.) They packed me up the steak from Marin Sun Farms, and when asked if I would like anything else, I decided the addition of marrow bones would help to enrich my broth, and provide me a tasty snack as a reward for my first day’s work. A few Sicilian sausages went into the bag as well and I headed out.
For the rest of the ingredients, I went to Rainbow Grocery (a vegetarian worker-owned co-op here in San Francisco). My first step was heading over to the cheese department. The recipe specifies using Gruyère, Comté, or Emmental cheese, so I decided to ask the advice of Pete, one of the ever-knowledgeable folks, for a recommendation. After a satisfactory taste, I ended up leaving with a French Gruyère de Comté, made from raw milk and aged for 3 months. (I also could not resist a small piece of Pleasant Ridge Reserve, extra-aged, the recent winner of best in show.)
Wednesday was the perfect afternoon for making broth, my apartment chilly enough that I was still wearing my sweater and scarf. I put my meat, bones, onion, carrot, parsley, garlic, peppercorns and a dash of salt in the pot. I set it to boil, turning it down to a simmer in order not to melt my marrow bones.
After double checking logistics for broth making in both the ‘River Cottage Meat Book‘ and Harold McGee’s ‘On Food and Cooking‘ (and to ensure that I wouldn’t be poisoning myself somehow by boiling bones for just an hour and a half) I sat reading a temporarily stolen Wednesday New York Times food section from my neighbors, as my broth simmered slowly on the stove.
After an hour an a half of simmering, I partook greedily in my wobbly marrow. [Unlike the chicken liver, which I was taught to be polite and share, I take comfort in the fact that nobody in my household now actually eats the stuff other than me.] I packed everything up, cleaned up the kitchen, and headed out to Omnivore to host Michael Chiarello at our little shop.
The next day I picked up where I had left off: sauteing the sausage with tomato paste, adding the boiled beef, and some of the broth until warmed. I spooned the mixture into two individual buttered ceramic ramekins and one larger casserole.
Then I set to work on the mashed potatoes, using some large russets which I peeled, quartered, and boiled in well salted water. There’s nothing that gets me quite as excited as generous quantities of warmed milk, heavy cream, and butter stirred into the tubers. Butter and cream make everything better. After they were done, I spooned them into the ramekins, topped with generous amounts of cheese and baked for a half hour.
The Hachis Parmentier came out of the oven golden and bubbling. The perfect dish for this early fall weather! Devon and I ate contentedly, forking at the layers of salty beef and sausage. The soft carrots had cooked in the broth, and the silky smooth and creamy potatoes were as good as mash gets. Keeping with le French theme, I paired it with some mustard leeks vinaigrette, which provided a nice acidic foil to the richness of the dish.
Recipe: Hachis Parmentier
In accordance with ‘French Fridays With Dorie’ rules, I’m not posting the recipe – you must buy Dorie’s book to get the details. But believe me, it will be money well spent.
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 17, 2010 | Baking, Challenge, omnivore books
Another smiling shot of the winners (Aleta and Lilly) of an Omnivore Books Food Contest. This challenge: Stone Fruits. The entries were all diverse (okay, except maybe for a noticeable trend of peaches) and everything was delicious. Despite my resolution to keep my tastes to a minimum, I end up trying everything, and eventually went back to seconds. Damn deliciousness breaking my willpower…Here are all photos of all of them to drool over.
The winning dish?
An Assortment of Galettes. These charming galettes were the clear favorite. Excellent dough, and creative fillings. The dough was a
Pâte à Foncer dough from ‘Advanced Bread and Pastry A Professional Approach’ written by Michel Suas. I’ve attached the recipe at the bottom – perfect for summer baking!
The runner up was Lisa’s individual Financiers with Peaches, Almonds, and ‘lotsa Butter! Let me just say that these were some of my favorites – I’m a sucker for classic french pastries.
Our own Paula brought a lovely Peach Cobbler, which had the glorious addition of a little bit of almond extract, that I must remember to add to my own. It’s a wonderful marriage of flavors.
A savory Peach and Nectarine Salsa was served with chips in this absolutely adorable vintage serving dish. I’d like to get one of these! The salsa was incredible, but the entire presentation was a feast for the eyes. I can see bringing this to every summer cookout.
A Two Plum and Peach Pie was served elegantly on a raised platter (points in my book for presentation), and I loved particularly the way the plums were treated – they had an intense flavor.
A jar of plum jam. Sweet and to the point. I could see this being consumed very quickly in my house, probably equally on toast and stirred into a morning yogurt parfait.
Peach and Nectarine Pie – quite a classic pie, with nice addition of cutout circles of dough adorning the top of the pie there.
Apricot Clafoutis – one of my favorite French desserts. And so easy to make! This version with Apricots was lovely. (The chef also recommends chocolate and cherry clafoutis. I think I’d have to second that – maybe it will be my next baking project.)
Italian Pistachio Plum Cake (and it was vegan!) – a delightful, almost spongy (in a good way!) pistachio cake dotted with the perfect little plums. And it came with a delicious jam (with an extendable spoon to boot – making for the perfect competition servingware) .
Savory Plum Tarts – the last entries into the competition, a little late but they certainly held their own! Came in two flavors – one with thyme, rosemary and lavender jam, and the other with basil, honey, and balsamic.
Jealous?
Don’t worry! We have another contest coming up next month: Tomatoes!
Tomato Cooking Contest! Omnivore Books – August 14th – 4-5pm. Bring a tomato dish, sweet or savory, or just come to eat with $5 dollars in hand ready to judge your favorites. Winners split the door money and earn serious bragging rights.
* * *
Pâte à Foncer
from ‘Advanced Bread and Pastry A Professional Approach‘ written by Michel Suas
Don’t be put off by the metric measurements – baking in metric is much more precise and yields better results. And it’s incredibly easy to find a kitchen scale – mine that tares from metric to standard US I purchased at Ikea for about $12.
yields about 6-7 5inch galettes
Ingredients:
395 grams Pastry Flour
296 grams Butter
79 grams Milk
16 grams Egg Yolks
8 grams Salt
6 grams Sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425ºF along with a sheet pan or pizza stone (385ºF for convection oven).
2. Allow butter, milk, and egg yolks to come up to room temperature. Butter should be almost mayonnaise consistency.
3. Soften the butter and mix with the paddle attachment.
4. Add the salt, sugar, yolks, and milk, and then add the flour. Mix until just incorporated; dough should look a little bit shaggy.
5. Refridgerate dough for 1 to 4 hours.
6. Divide dough into 7 pieces. Roll dough out to about an 1/8 of an inch thick about 6-7 inch rounds. Fill with either sweet or savory filling. Egg wash crust.
7. Bake until golden about 25-35 minutes.
by Sam Tackeff | Apr 2, 2010 | Baking, Challenge, omnivore books
Dispatch from the field: April 1, 2010: Omnivore Books Edible Art Contest
What:
Yes, another great food contest – this one challenges you to create a dish that references books or art, in conjunction with the annual Edible Books Festival held all over the world on April Fool’s Day. Participants may enter their favorite food-related books or art, in the form of an “Edible” entry. For instance someone might do something clever with a stock pot and a marzipan canine to represent MFK Fisher’s “How To Cook A Wolf.” Or maybe a contestant enters “Someone Is Killing The Great Chefs of Europe” and represents it with a cake in the shape of a map of Europe with a real knife sticking out of it. The original idea for the festival came from observing Brillat- Savarin’s birthday, which falls on April 1st. Participants will be judged on creativity and flavor, and may enter for free. Eaters-only will pay $5 at the door, as well as judge the entries; the winner will split the door money with us. The more entries, the merrier!
I LOVE these competitions we have at Omnivore. Celia mentioned a few weeks ago that the best part of owning your own small business is that you can throw a party whenever you like. This goes along with my firm belief that there is no better gathering than one which involves friendly competition and great food. My closest friends will remember tasty beverages from such smash hits as ‘Science!!!; and late nights involving some competitive Quelf. The bar was set pretty high in the past few months at the store with a very boozy Punch Contest, a Pie Contest (with 48 entries), a Pumpkin contest, and yes, even a Fried Chicken contest.
The entries were extraordinarily creative this time. I admit that I completely broke passover dietary laws to eat absurd quantities of everything. Which, of course, made me happy, but gave me a really bad stomach ache. God punishing me, mayhaps? But now, down to business – the official entries so you can judge for yourself (**by entry number – winners, and winning recipe listed at the bottom**).
1. “Slim Down for Summer Fun”: This bowl was based on Leslie Morgan’s own works of art – check out her “pool glee” series to really see the resemblance.
Home made chocolate pudding with colored cream cheese icing. Tasting notes: I ended up spooning out seconds for myself, even though I was already feeling ill from all the sugar. It was worth it. Nothing like some real chocolate pudding to remind someone that it’s drastically better than the packet stuff. And look how cute it is! (That’s her Boston Terrier floating in the pool).
2. “Fabergé cake with fruit still life“: sugar cookies decorated as fruits (seen above), and a ‘banana split cake’ – chocolate cake with strawberry and banana buttercream and chocolate ganache. His muse was the acclaimed Fabergé eggs, originally created for Tsar Alexander III to give to his wife on Easter by world renown House of Fabergé.
From a technical standpoint, the decorative elements on these fruit cookies and cake were enough to garner a first place win, but judging included both creativity and overall taste. In addition to these awe inspiring entries, Dante (the creator) gets win points for naming his business ‘Fire and Icing‘.
3. “Salumi”: Jacqueline Mallorca’s witty entry inspired by one of the cookbooks in our very own shop, came with this incredibly funny sign:
“Homage to Salumi by Joyce Goldstein: the three all-organic, hand-fed, humanely-raised little pigs who gave their all for these salami were named Figgy, Prunus, and Apricot. The finely-chopped, guaranteed vegetarian faux pork is marbled with, um, hand-chopped noix, and blended with finely-crumbled, hand-formed, custom-baked amaretti and a splash of the best dark Barbados rum.”
Considering that Salumi is the current “it-food” (maybe second only to macarons), I thought that this entry was highly entertaining and relevant to our times. Also, these looked *exactly* like salumi. They also tasted delicious – a delicate fruit and nut log that I can see myself making to serve with tea as an afternoon snack.
4. “Alabama Lane Cake”: Katie and Annelise worked together to create this delicious cake in homage to one of my favorite books of all time, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird“. The movie happens to be on my top faves as well (nothing like a dashing Gregory Peck to make me swoon.)
This boozy cake, which is featured in the novel, was a white cake with pecans, raisins, coconut, seven-minute frosting, and “enough bourbon to kill a mockingbird”. It was served alongside a real (real cast-iron) dead mockingbird.
The cake was OUTRAGEOUSLY good. Although, this wasn’t too surprising, as Katie was previously the creator of my personal favorite “Whiskey Sunrise” at the Omnivore books Punch Contest.
5. “Mondrian Cake”: Chocolate cake with a Jacques Torres frosting. Who doesn’t love Mondrian? I’m going to take some liberty here and connect this cake with an homage to Mondrian by Silverchair, (90’s anyone?) who happened to create a particularly catchy song with Mondrian featured prominently in the video. They aren’t given enough credit for how awesome they are. You should watch it. And forgive me for getting it stuck in your head for the next week.
6. “Eat My Globe: Around the World in 80 Cookies” Inspired by another book we have in our bookshop – Eat My Globe: One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything – this fantastic globe model was made with these *crack-like* lemon, rosemary and cornmeal cookies. I say crack-like, because, well, they were like crack. I personally took home the leftovers and may or may not have eaten oh, all thirty of these bedazzling buttery buttons. Even though their hues were similar to Crayola crayons. Slightly disturbing.
Winners: With such a diverse group of entrants, the entries each got several votes, but it came down to two clear winners
Second Prize, and the winner of a “So Good” pastry magazine: the Fabergé cake!
Grand Prize, and the winner of half the door money: The Alabama Lane Cake!!! Congrats guys!!
Alabama Lane Cake
a winning recipe
Adapted from Cooks.com – cake and frosting from here: and the filling from here.
LANE CAKE
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
3 c. sifted cake flour
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 egg whites
Lane Cake Filling
7 Minute Frosting
Pecan halves (optional)
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until stiff peaks form, fold into batter. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
(Layers are very tender and fragile, so handle them carefully). Spread Lane Cake Filling between layers and on top of cake. Spread Seven Minute Frosting on sides. Garnish with pecan halves if desired. Yield: one 4 layer cake.
FILLING:
1 1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. bourbon or rye
12 egg yolks
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. each chopped pecans, shredded coconut, and quartered candied red cherries
Combine raisins and bourbon in tightly covered container; let stand at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. In top of double boiler or heatproof bowl, combine yolks, sugar, salt and butter. Stir over simmering water 15 to 20 minutes or until thick and mixture mounds when dropped from a spoon. Remove from heat; stir in raisin-bourbon mixture, pecans, coconut and cherries, blending well. Cool; cover; chill overnight before assembling cake.
LANE CAKE SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. cold water
2 egg whites
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in top of a large double boiler. Beat at low speed of an electric mixer 30 seconds or just until blended.Place over boiling water, beat constantly at high speed 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Beat 2 minutes or until frosting is thick enough to spread. Yield: 4 1/4 cups.
Omnivore Books Food Competitions
To get the official updates follow on twitter @omnivorebooks or sign up for the newsletter on the website. Well be having our next one in a month or so – I believe the concept will be “Fusion food”
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 6, 2010 | Baking, vegan
I’m wary of vegan dessert recipes. “Vegan” and “Dessert” just don’t go together. Philosophically, it’s just so difficult to conquer – a good dessert is something filled with butter, sugar, and eggs, and who am I to compromise on that? And I’ve been burned so many times with really bad vegan desserts that make me cringe just thinking of them. It is with this brutal preface, that I’m so happy to say that I’ve seen the light. Now, some things you just can’t do vegan (such as shortbread) but the truth is, there are some brilliantly good vegan desserts, such as these Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins that you probably have to go and bake today.
I owe my philosophical conversion to my friend Beth, who is both vegan, and a particularly adept baker. She routinely brings in to work the most delicious muffins and cookies, that are really just out of the world incredible. My particular favorites are the pumpkin chocolate chip walnut muffins, but after eating these mocha chocolate chip, not only did they best the pumpkin chocolate chip, but they have also taken a place in my all time favorite muffin category.
Most of Beth’s recipes come from Isa Chandra Moscowitz, who has a great blog called the Post Punk Kitchen and has some really awesome cookbooks that I would highly recommend to anybody who is vegan, or simply interested in adding some vegan cooking to their repertoire. Or anyone who likes super tasty food. This particular recipe came from ‘Vegan with a Vengeance’.
Vegan Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins
makes 1 dozen muffins
from ‘Vegan With a Vengeance‘
by Isa Chandra Moscowitz
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder*
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons soy yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Lightly grease a 12 muffin tin, or line with muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the instant coffee powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
Note: Regarding the instant coffee, if you don’t have any, you can just add more cocoa powder and make it “double chocolate”. The instant will give you a nice concentrated flavor, better than using espresso, and without being problematic with the liquid to dry ratios. Beth used those new Starbucks Via – one little package is equal to a teaspoon. I’ve also used them for baking with similar success.
More Books by Isa Chandra Moscowitz:
:: Veganomicon, the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (buy on amazon)
:: Vegan with a Vengeance (buy on amazon)
:: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule (buy on amazon)
:: Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For (buy on amazon)
and her newest
:: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone’s Favorite Treats (buy on amazon)
