Archive | cakes RSS feed for this section

>Elegant Dinner Party at the Brick House

12 Oct

>
An “intimate” (there were 10 of us) dinner party.

The hubbub began around 4 pm when the hostess’s oven broke. She rushed over to my place so that I could cook a huge pot of chicken in my oven for her. Chicken Marbella. The house was filled with the aroma of sweet and savory-prunes and pearl onions, chicken, olives and wine, herbs and spices.

Drumstick, anyone?

I then proceeded to bake a polenta cake with olive oil and rosemary.

8 PM. I arrive at the Brick House with the chicken and the cake. The hostess has arranged a beautiful cheese platter. Olives in a shallow wine glass, dates in a slender glass, walnuts splayed elegantly around the tray. She also skillet-toasted thick slices of levain bread with some butter.


Did I mention the divine white roses?


Yep, us “young folk” (well, some of us) do know how to be classy (sometimes).

Tossin’ the salad.

Pass the wine, s’il vous plaît (please).

Also on the menu was a simple pasta and a cauliflower puree (tasted and looked just like mashed potatoes, but with cauliflower (you would never be able to tell!)).

The cake. With a cute pumpkin keepin’ it company. And…more wine!

Invite friends over for a dinner party. You cook some, they cook some. Go fancy or go casual. One of my greatest enjoyments is sharing a good meal with good company. So just do it.

Buttermilk Pound Loaf with Yogurt, Honey, and Strawberries

29 Sep

>

Oh haaay honey, let’s be delicious together!
My cake likes to talk out-loud sometimes. That’s just how it is.

This cake knows what she likes. She likes to be cut into big, thick slices to show that she is the boss. She also appreciates the little sweet things like a drizzle of honey. Slivered strawberries make this doll pop. And some thick creamy yogurt goes right in step with her silky-smooth crumb.

Nothin’ better than taking a huge bite of cake hot out of the oven.


Buttermilk is one of my favorite ingredients to use in a baked good. I mean, come on…buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk donuts, buttermilk fried-chicken, BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE!

Another one of my favorite cakes showcasing buttermilk is Joy’s buttermilk avocado pound cake: satisfying and green!



Buttermilk Pound Loaf

“moist with butter and not too sweet”

from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

makes 8-10 slices

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grease and dust with flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a separate bowl. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Mix well. Repeat this process, then finish with the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract. Mix well until all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes (mine actually took slightly longer cooking time), until golden brown and the cake bounces back when touched. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

French Home Cooking in the Suburbs of Paris

10 Jul

I feel lucky. I feel very lucky. I feel very lucky to have just spent the last week in the suburbs of Paris, France with a lovely French family. A lovely French family who gave me a bed to sleep in at night, a clean shower, and home-cooked meals. Let’s just say that I have eaten well this past week, eaten well with great company (and don’t forget about the wine!!).

Let us start from the beginning, shall we? I have a friend, her name is Alex (pictured below on the right). Alex is from France.


Alex and I worked/lived together last summer (2009). We worked together in Berkeley, California at a cooking camp for children.

This summer (2010) I went on a 3-week Euro-trip where I spend my last week with Alex and her family in Paris, France. Actually, they live right outside Paris in a town called Vincenne. Just before I arrived, Alex was at her family’s country home where she picked fruits and made jams with them: rhubarb, cassis (black currant), groseille (red currants), apricot, apple, raspberry…

Groseille (red currant) jam

Apparently Alex and her family have NEVER had to buy jam before. They always make it in abundance with the summer fruits from their country home. And every morning they eat their jam on a toasted baguette. What a life, eh?

Rhubarb jam 

Speaking of rhubarb, check out this piece of rhubarb:


It is huge! And green! Totally different than the rhubarb that I am familiar with back in the states. I have made rhubarb jam before, it was red. Their jam is green. “C’est la vie.”


Pictured below is Alex’s mom, Catherine. She is making rhubarb jam and she is literally the queen of her kitchen, my taste buds can attest to that:


Alex recently celebrated her 22nd birthday. Bon anniversaire! (that means “happy birthday” in French). Of course we had to celebrate with good food and good drinks. We had a multi-course meal with a bottle or two of wine for each course!

This multi-course meal, however, was as simple as can be. It all started with fresh scallops. During the winter months, Alex’s family buys fresh scallops, shucks them, and freezes them. Her mom defrosted these scallops over-night in milk so that they would not dry out or smell. A sprinkle of oil in a hot pan with a dash of fresh garlic, sauteed two minutes on each side and these babies are done! Accompanied with a fresh baby spinach salad, I found such joy in the hot/cold, soft/crunchy balance of foods. Mmm summer!


Next, we had a little somethin’ called “tarte tatin,” which is sort of like an upside-down tart. Typically, you see a tarte tatin for dessert, made with fruits such as apples. But Catherine prepared a savory tarte tatin with a confit of ratatouille-style vegetables, topped with slivers of fresh Parmesan cheese.


And with every great meal there is always fresh baguette…


Now lets talk dessert. I sat with Catherine as we picked through a big bucket of fresh red currants, separating stem from fruit.


We were adding these currants to a fresh fruit crumble. Rhubarb and red currant crumble. No sugar was added to the fruit. I couldn’t believe it. Seriously? Yes, why add sugar when you can just taste how good the fruits are as is?


Topped with a pastry crust: 200 grams each of flour, ground almonds, sugar, and butter.


Pat it down and Voilà! We added a little special touch to the crumble by making the number “22” out of the pastry.


And after it baked, the currants just exploded over the pastry top and all that was left was this special “22.” Yum-o! I love the tart fruit mixed with the sweet pastry crust. Really just so simple and not too much sugar.


Now, last year when Alex came to Berkeley, she made this cake that I have since dreamed about all year long. This cake is of the chocolate variety. It is called Fondant au Chocolat and is the best darn chocolate cake I have ever tasted. It only works if you use very good chocolate. There is only about 2 tablespoons of flour in the whole cake. So easy to whip up and so quick to bake. The key is timing and temperature of the oven. Oh how I adore this cake.


Alex’s mom probably could have prepared the cake with a blind-fold on and one hand tied behind her back. It was like a little dance watching her bake with such easy and joy.


Let us meet dad now, yes? Everyone, meet Emmanuel. The wine connoisseur, the grill master, the cheese aficionado, the jokester. This man knows everything and more about French wine. We even tasted a very special red wine that is supposed to be eaten ONLY with really good chocolate (yes, we drank this wine with our fondant au chocolat). Below, Emmanuel grills pork and lamb on the rooftop of their flat.


What a beautiful summer evening, the perfect night for another perfect meal…


Roasted potatoes, perfectly browned…



Special French salt called “fleur de sel.” It’s great for sprinkling as a final touch to any dish…


On my last night in France, Alex hosted a barbecue for friends. On the menu was a simple tabouleh salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, couscous, lemon juice, olive oil. There was also a salad with fresh sliced tomatoes, hericot vert (French green beans), and feta cheese.

Prepping the tabouleh
Tabouleh Salad
Hericot vert, tomato, and feta cheese salad

Alex made a lovely fruity rum cocktail with fresh orange slices and vanilla beans:


And then the meat…chicken and ribs. Dude.

Poulet (chicken)
Alex at the grill
Meeeeeaaaaaat!


Wow, what a week. I really admire Alex’s family for not having “snack” foods around. Not even cereal or oats or crackers. Everything was fresh. Lots of yogurts, fruits, cheeses, and everyday more baguettes appear. After every meal, I would “cleanse” my palate with strong French cheeses. I miss those cheeses already!

Until next time, Paris!

Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with an Almond “Crust”

15 Jun


I dread packing. My heart is already beating faster than it should. I made a list so that I do not forget anything even though, knowing me, I will forget something. I have clothes and shoes and toiletries splayed on the floor. Oh goodness, shoes. I always bring more shoes than I need, but somehow I always convince myself that every pair is necessary.

I’m going on a trip if you haven’t noticed. I’m going on a Euro-trip: London, Amsterdam, Lucerne, the Rhine Valley, Innsbruck (Austria), Italy, France. Whew, I’m exhausted already. I leave tomorrow and I will be gone for one month. Aside from my packing nerves, I am extremely excited. FOOD, beautiful architecture, new culture, history, language, people…

As a final baking hurrah before I depart from my kitchen for a month, I made a cake. Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with a Sliced Almond “Crust”. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s newest cookbook. He was inspired to make the cake when Niloufer Ichaporia King came to work with him at Chez Panisse to prepare a traditional Parsi New Year’s feast. Lebovitz claims that out of all the “authentic and wonderfully aromatic Indian food” he tasted, this cake was his favorite dish (granted, she enrobed the cake in a sheet of gold leaf…).


Cardamom is my favorite spice. I love it in everything from savory to sweet (cardamom ice cream is just divine!). The spice gives off a nice sweet, feminine, sophisticated vibe, which, well, I think fits my vibe. Oddly enough, at the same time, when I think of cardamom, I imagine some older men sitting around on a hot evening, smoking and having a few drinks…?

The cake calls for whole cardamom seeds. A friend brought me back some pods from Israel so I opened the pods and crushed the seeds using a mortar and pestle. Immediately I could smell the sweet spicy seeds. Just a rough crush will suffice.


The pistachios brighten up the batter with their nice green hue. The cake would be lovely served with some fresh apricots (or you could poach them in a little water, sugar, and wine).


Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with an Almond “Crust”

makes one 9-inch (23-cm) cake; 10-12 servings (**I used a springform pan and it worked fine)

from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert

TOPPING:

2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted, it doesn’t really matter here)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cups sliced almonds, preferably unblanched

CAKE:

3/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup plus 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cardamom seeds
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To make the topping: melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round cake pan set directly on the stovetop over low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon sugar evenly over the melted butter, then add the almonds, tilting and shaking the pan to distribute them evenly. Set the pan aside.

3. To make the cake: in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulverize the pistachios with the 1/4 cup flour until as finely ground as possible. Transfer to a small bowl.

4. Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle or seal them inside a sturdy plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add the crushed seeds to the pistachio mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.

5. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely incorporated.

6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir it into the butter-egg mixture. Stir in the pistachio mixture just until combined.

7. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan by dropping 4 or 5 mounds on top of the almonds. Carefully spread the batter into an even layer, trying not to disturb the almonds. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help it loosen from the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Let cool completely.

SERVING: This cake will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature, well wrapped. It can be frozen for up to 1 month.

>Chocolate Cupcakes Big and Small with Assorted Frostings and Toppings

14 Jun

>
Above you can see the traveling cupcakes. I carefully placed the little frosted cakes into a nice tupperware and boarded an airplane from Los Angeles to San Francisco. 5 twenty-something men and myself successfully gobbled these up by the next day.

Chocolate cupcakes. VEGAN chocolate cupcakes (one would never know they were vegan, especially with all that buttery frosting on top!).


Peanut butter frosting.

Peanut butter frosting atop of a chocolate cupcake with:

  • crushed oreo cookie crumbs **NOTE: I used mini oreos
  • with chopped candies (chocolate covered espresso beans and peanut butter cups and m&m’s…) **NOTE: Trader Joe’s sells mini peanut butter cups which are perfect for these cupcakes
  • with chocolate sprinkles
  • with a swirl of Nutella spread
  • with a dollop of jam


Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.


The cake part makes a LOT of cupcakes. I got 14 big ones and 24 babies (remember, the babies will take less time to bake…think 10-12 minutes instead of 20-25).
***NOTE: click on the links above for the recipes…

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →