THB #14 Chocolate Streusel-Ribboned Bundt Cake

Hello, dear ones!  It's been a few weeks since we've seen each other, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!  If anything would get me out of an early retirement, it's this cake, Chocolate Streusel-Ribboned Bundt Cake, from Lou Seibert Pappas wonderful cookbook, Coffee Cakes.  

A few months ago, I came across a post by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours in which she baked one of the recipes from the book.  After following the link, I realized that Joyce had organized a wonderful group of bakers to form The Home Bakers.  I was smitten, wrote asking to join, and well, here we are!  I chose today's recipe because I am enamored of anything with the word streusel in the title, particularly if there are nuts, cinnamon, and chocolate in the streusel coupled with the fact that it is a Bundt cake - one of my favorite bakery items!  

I fully expected the cake to have a pound cake like texture, considering the butter and sour cream in the batter, but the texture is incredibly light and fluffy, quite a contrast to the dense streusel.  The streusel is a lovely combination of cocoa, cinnamon, nuts, and sugar, of course, and packs a flavorful punch.  Additionally, I love that the flavoring in the cake has both vanilla and almond extracts; the two together have such a synergy that's hard to beat. 

You'll notice that I added a chocolate glaze, although the recipe didn't call for one.  It's entirely optional, of course, but I think it's a delicious addition.  If you're looking for a lovely, quick, and easy cake, this is the recipe for you.  Be sure to check out the other bloggers who contribute to The Home Bakers.

Chocolate Streusel-Ribboned Bundt Cake

Chocolate Streusel
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cake Batter 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

Prepare chocolate streusel: 
In a medium bowl or a food processor, combine the butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa. 
Cut the butter in with your fingers or process until crumbly. 
Stir in the nuts and set aside.

Prepare cake batter:
In a large bowl, cream the 8 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until light and fluffy. 
Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until smooth. 
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
Stir to blend. 
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream in 2 increments, blending until smooth. 
Turn half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading until smooth. 
Sprinkle with half of the streusel. 
Add the remaining cake batter, spread until smooth, and sprinkle evenly with the remaining streusel.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. 
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. 
Unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely. 
Drizzle on chocolate glaze, if desired.
Cut into slices to serve.

Nutty Fruitcake...12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

I have always loved fruitcake, even as a little kid, I loved it.  And, I'm talking about fruitcake with citron, soaked in booze.  Yeah, I was a weird kid.  Anyway, I'm always amazed when people say they hate fruitcake; so, I set out to make a fruitcake that would appeal to everyone, and I think I've done it!  My sister, who really doesn't like fruitcake, loved this version.  Now, if I could have gotten the husband to eat it, I would probably nominate this recipe for World's Best Fruitcake, but as the cake contains figs, there was no way I could convince him. 

If you have a fruitcake lover in the house, give this a try, and even if you don't, I encourage you to make it, at least just to place on your Christmas dessert table.

Nutty Fruitcake

·         1 lb dried figs

·         2 cups golden raisins

·         2 cups dried cherries

·         1 cup glace pineapple

·         1 cup Southern Comfort or Rum

·         1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

·         1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

·         1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

·         1 ½ cup flour

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

·         1 cup light brown sugar

·         3 large eggs

·         3 tablespoons soaking liquid

·         2 teaspoons cinnamon

·         ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         Glace pineapple and cherries for decoration, optional

·         2 tablespoons apricot jam, melted (for a shiny glaze – optional)

1.    24 hours before you plan to bake the cake, combine figs, raisins, cherries, and pineapple in a large glass bowl – pour Southern Comfort or rum over fruit; cover with a lid and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. (I used an 8-cup measuring bowl with a lid.)

2.    After soaking 24 hours, drain fruit, reserving 3-tablespoons of soaking liquid.

3.    Place fruit into the bowl of a food processor and chop medium-fine.  If the bowl of your food processor is not very big, do this in batches.

4.    Set chopped fruit aside and begin batter.

5.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees and toast pecans, walnuts and almonds for about 8-10 minutes, remove from oven, cool to room temperature, chop and set aside.

6.    Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.

7.    Grease 3 standard loaf pans with unsalted butter and line with parchment paper so that paper extends over long-side; set aside.

8.    In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt – whisk together and set aside.

9.    In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your Kitchen-Aid, beat butter and sugar until creamy.

10. Add eggs, one at a time.

11. Mix in soaking liquid, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

12. Stir in flour mixture.

13. Add fruit and nuts.

14. Divide mixture between the 3 prepared pans.

15. Decorate with reserved pineapple and cherries, if desired.

16. Bake for 1 hour, test for doneness.  Return to oven for additional time until tester is clean – watch closely.

17. Melt jam and brush over cakes if desired.

18. Wrap with parchment paper and store in a sealed plastic bag for about 1 week in refrigerator before slicing. 

Russian Taffy...12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Sunday dawned cool and dry, a perfect day for making candy!  Not sure if I wanted to make pralines, penuche, or brittle, I perused one of my favorite cookbooks and found a recipe for Russian Taffy.  Russian Taffy?  Never having heard of it, I did a quick search and found a link to the exact same recipe as well as other recipes that were fudge-like.

In New Orleans, there's also something called Russian Cake, which is not a Russian recipe at all, but rather a Creole Trifle made with leftover bits of cake, pie, cookies and what-have-you, all moistened with either jam, juice, rum, or a mixture thereof.  Maybe this recipe was given the somewhat exotic name to make it bit more special than everyday fudge?

At any rate, the candy is scrumptious!  I love that the texture and taste is nearly identical of the perfect praline, as well as the fact that I didn't have to rush and spoon out the mixture before it hardened!  The husband loved them, but I shared the majority of the recipe with my mom and in-laws.

If you have never made homemade candy, take the plunge!  Buy a candy thermometer and head into your kitchen - you will be so happy you did!

 

Russian Taffy

3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted (I increased the nuts to 3 cups)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 

 
Steps: 
Butter and line a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper; set aside. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spread pecans onto a baking sheet, and toast for 7-10 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.
Combine the sugar, milk, and condensed milk in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. 
Cook, stirring constantly, to the soft-ball stage. 
Remove from the heat, and then add the pecans, butter, and vanilla. 
Beat until the mixture becomes thick. 
Pour into prepared pan.
Cool, remove from pan using the parchment overhang as handles, remove parchment and cut into 1-inch squares.

 * To make a chocolate fudge, use this same recipe, but add 1/2 cup cocoa powder when mixing the sugar, milk, and condensed milk. 
Makes about 2 dozen.

Recipe adapted from Who's Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux? by Marcelle Bienvenu

Happy Thanksgiving! Cranberry Torte...12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones!

 

 
I'm happy to share a quick and delicious cranberry treat with you.  I threw this together in a matter of minutes; the husband loves it!  If you're still looking for a quick dessert for tomorrow's dessert table, this is perfect.  You can substitute raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries for the cranberries.  Enjoy!


Cranberry Torte
1 cup sugar, + 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced almonds
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
Zest of one orange 
Juice of ½ orange
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 oz bag cranberries (reserve ¼ cup for topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease a 9-10” pie plate with butter or non-stick spray
Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and almonds.

In a large measuring cup or microwavable bowl, melt butter

Add zest, juice of ½ of orange, extracts, and eggs to the melted butter– beat until frothy

Stir butter mixture into flour mixture, mixing until no flour streaks remain

Carefully stir in cranberries

Spread batter into prepared pie plate

Place remaining cranberries on top, pushing halfway into batter

Sprinkle on remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean
Serve warm

***NOTE***The cake has a wonderful tartness, but if you like your baked goods a bit sweet, feel free to add an additional 1/2 cup sugar.

 

Chocolate Pie...12 Weeks of Christmas Treats

An incredibly rich and dense chocolate pie that is a cinch to make...I happened upon this pin, and as it was entitled Minnie's Chocolate Pie, as in, Minnie from The Help, I was quite curious.  But, no, not that pie.

In true librarian fashion, or perhaps just in true skeptic fashion, my first thought was, "Really?  Minnie's pie? Did Kathryn Stockett publish a recipe?"  Well, yes, she did, but this is not the recipe.  Ms. Stockett's recipe is from her family's maid, Demetrie.  It's a standard chocolate custard pie, and while I fully intend to make it this weekend, the day I made this pie, I was looking for something a bit easier.

And, well, this pie is indeed easier.  You will have to melt the chocolate, but then all you do is blend all of the ingredients in the blender. How easy is that?  If you're really in a time crunch, you can use a packaged pie crust, but I just made my own.

Now, the recipe....
Chocolate Pie

2 cups brown sugar
12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoons instant espresso
2/3 cups evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 deep dish pie crust, homemade or bought, your choice

Whipped cream, optional
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl - heat for 1 minute, stir, and heat in 30 second intervals until smooth (You can also do this on the stove)
Place the brown sugar, melted chocolate chip mixture, vanilla, espresso powder, evaporated milk, flour, and salt into a blender. Blend until smooth, then add in eggs, and blend until mixed.
Pour into pie shell.
Place into 400 degree oven and immediately lower temperature to 325 degrees.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until the center of the pie is set.
Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

To make whipped cream:
In a stand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Add the powdered sugar to the cream then beat until stiff.
Slice pie into thin wedges and dollop with whipped cream, if desired.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats is a Christmas-focused blog hop hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic; if you'd like to join us, please contact Brenda via email.  

Saffron Rice...An Edible Mosaic's Virtual Book Launch Party

Today's recipe, Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts, comes the cookbook of lovely Faith from An Edible Mosaic - her first cookbook! An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky is no other than Faith from one of my most favorite blogs, An Edible Mosaic.  The book has over 100 Middle Eastern recipes, with a focus mainly on dishes from the Levant, but also a few recipes from other areas of the Middle East.  Faith's cookbook, published on 11/6/2012, is available to order on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  

After getting married, Faith spent six months living in the Middle East where she fell in love with the culture and cuisine.  Subsequently, she returned four more times for visits, each time delving deeper into the cuisine and deepening her passion for and appreciation of the region.

Always a fan of Faith's recipes, I am enamored of this delicious rice dish!  I brought it to work to share with my staff, and everyone loved it.  The delicate flavor of the saffron, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous yellow-hue of the rice, combined with the crunch of the toasted pine nuts and mellow sweetness of the raisins give this dish top-billing on your dinner table. 

A delicious, and did I mention quick, healthy side dish you and your family are sure to love, Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts, the perfect accompaniment to chicken, lamb, or fish. In conjunction with the release of Faith's cookbook, there is an awesome giveaway - head over to Faith's blog to enter!

Saffron Rice with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

ROZ MLOW’WAN

Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic:  Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes, plus 15 minutes to let the rice sit after cooking

1½ cups (325 g) basmati rice, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1 onion, finely diced

4 tablespoons sultanas (golden raisins)

1¾ cups (425 ml) boiling water

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon saffron threads (or ½ teaspoon turmeric)

1.    Soak the rice in tepid water for 10 minutes; drain. While the rice is soaking, put half a kettle of water on to boil.

2.    Add the oil to a medium, thick-bottomed lidded saucepan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the pine nuts to a small bowl and set aside.

3.    Add the onion to the saucepan you cooked the pine nuts in, and cook until softened and just starting to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sultanas, boiling water, salt, and saffron (or turmeric), turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a rolling boil.

4.    Give the rice a stir, then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes (do not open the lid during this time). Turn the heat off and let the rice sit (covered) 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

5.    Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top; serve.

OPTIONAL Add two pods of cardamom, two whole cloves, and one 2-inch (5 cm) piece of cinnamon stick at the same time that you add the rice.