The Real Sugar Plum

I am a big proponent of traditional foods on holidays, but I always try to add in some new things here and there to make it interesting.  If the thought of having only the same pies for Thanksgiving this year makes you feel like you're stuck in a rut, give this plum cake a try.  Not only is it still very fallsy, but it's refreshing, surprisingly light and can be prepared a day in advance.  In fact, it's actually better the next day.

Coming from a German background has given me a great appreciation for "peasant" fare; hearty, simple, and using the foods available during the season.  This is one of those type of dishes.  The plums that are used for this dish are called Italian prune plums in the few stores that I've been able to find them in here, but where I come from in Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz) they're called Quetsche and they are a staple fruit during the tail end of summer and throughout fall.  My Opa used to make Slivovitz, a Slavic plum brandy, with them and my Oma made Latwerg, an extremely thick plum butter that needed to cook for three days.  My mother and I still make the Latwerg, but sadly we never did get to see my Opa make the Slivovitz.  On the day of my graduation my mother presented me with a bottle that he had put up the year I was born.  It was amazing....but could burn the hair off a rhino at 20 paces.  The only one brave enough to have a second shot straight after the first was my sister, and she couldn't speak above a hoarse, raspy whisper for a few hours afterward.   I don't think I have ever mentioned this before, but I am so glad I have the heritage that I do, it is amazing.

This recipe makes three 10 inch cakes so adjust according to your needs.

Quetschekuche
dough (adapted from a recipe in The Best Of Baking):
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
2 packages active dry yeast
4 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
4 eggs
canola oil

topping:
9 pounds Italian prune plums

granulated sugar

For the dough:
Mix sugar and yeast with warm milk (between 110 and 115 degrees) and set aside to proof for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice....uh, oops, this isn't my Useless Superheros slash page....mix flour and salt together in a large bowl.  Heat oven to 220 degrees and turn off heat.  Stir cooled butter and eggs into yeast mixture and pour liquid ingredients over flour mixture.  Bring together into a ball, adding flour if too sticky.  I made this on a fairly humid day and ended up adding about another 3/4 cup of flour before a nice soft dough was achieved.  Knead briefly into a smooth ball.  Place ball in an oiled bowl, spread a little oil on the top, cover with plastic wrap and put dough into preheated oven to rise.

For the topping:
While the dough is rising it's time to get your plums prepared.  I forgot to take pictures of this process so I'll try to explain it for anyone who has never done it like this.  Hold the plum with the stem side up, seam towards you.  Using a sharp paring knife cut along seam until the plum is cut down one half.  Carefully open, like you would a book, without tearing uncut half.  Slide the tip of the paring knife between one side of the pit and the plum if it doesn't want to come loose on its own.  Remove pit.  At stem end, cut about a third of the way down on the uncut side to more easily open the plum.  Make two slashes about a third of the way down on each plum half to produce the characteristic points seen in the picture.  Repeat with remaining plums.

Lightly grease three round 10 inch tart pans.  Remove risen dough from oven and preheat to 350 degrees (if you are using dark tart pans, reduce the heat of your oven to 325).  Punch down dough and separate into thirds.  Press each third evenly into each of the tart pans.  Starting from the outside, lightly press prepared plums into dough in concentric rings, points facing up.  Sprinkle liberally with sugar.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until dough is golden and plums are a little wilted.  And don't worry if you have a "plum juice puddle", it's perfectly normal.  It will be reabsorbed by the plums as well as the now golden dough without making the cake soggy.  Sprinkle a little extra sugar over the plums as the cakes cool.  Cool completely and serve at room temperature. 

Let Them Eat More Cake

 

Brendan came home last weekend and a few days before hand Karina had decided he needed a cake since his birthday had been on the 15th.  She leafed through *The Best of Baking (the one cookbook we couldn't live without) and hit upon their Pear Cream Gateau because it had a nice light whipped cream instead of heavy butter cream.  It's as hot as the Sun here and with the added beauty of high humidity, the heat index is the like standing on Rigel.  Just saying butter cream made us both feel sluggish.  Plus, pears...pears are juicy, bright, and just the right sweetness for hot weather.

Back to the recipe.  It called for a chocolate cake to be made, which Karina nixed right off the bat.  She was unable to match chocolate with pears in her mind.  No problem, I said, I'll just make a regular sponge.  Then I started getting out all the ingredients I'd need otherwise, only to find I didn't have any blueberry preserves (which she wasn't too chuffed about either...pears, blueberries and chocolate do not live together in her culinary world), so I pulled out black currant preserves instead.  I whipped up the cake, put it in the oven and went to whip up the cream with a little powdered sugar.  As I was pulling the cream out of the fridge, I spotted a package of cream cheese and my brain said, "oh yeah, that dog'll hunt."  I pulled it out, softened it in the microwave, added some powdered sugar and extracts, and folded the whipped cream into the whole mess.

Which is how we ended up with a cake that merely resembled the original because it had pears in the filling.

Pear Cream Cake

sponge:

6 eggs, separated

4 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm water

2/3 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated dried orange peel

filling and frosting:

2 15-ounce cans pears, drained with juice reserved

2/3 cup black currant preserves

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon brandy extract

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan.  Preheat oven to 365 degrees**.

Place the egg yolks, water and half the sugar in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer for 5 to 10 minutes or until pale and creamy.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in remaining sugar.  Carefully fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the dried orange peel.  Fold flour mixture into egg mixture.  Turn the batter into the prepared pan.  Smooth the surface and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly in the pan and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Wrap in plastic and allow to stand overnight before cutting into layers.

 

Dice the pears in 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.  In a medium bowl whip the heavy cream together with the extracts until moderately stiff peaks form, adding powdered sugar to taste near the end.  Stir together cream cheese and powdered sugar to taste in a large bowl until smooth.  Carefully fold heavy cream into cream cheese until blended.  Reassemble the cleaned springform pan used to bake the cake. Cut the cake into three layers and place one layer into the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle evenly with several tablespoons of the reserved pear juice.  Spread the layer evenly with half of the currant preserves and then with 1/4 of the cream mixture.  Sprinkle half of the diced pears evenly over cream.  Top with the second layer and repeat.  Sprinkle the third layer with several tablespoons of the reserved pear juice before placing on top.  Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate, along with remaining cream, for 2 hours or until cream is set.  Carefully remove the cake from the pan and place on cake plate.  Frost with remaining cream.  You can get creative with piping and whatnot, but it's not necessary.  Chill for 30 before serving to allow cream to set slightly.

 

This is by far one of the best tasting cakes I have ever made, and I've been making cakes since I was 13 years old.  

 

*There are several cookbooks with this title.  I am referring to the one by Annette Wolter and Christian Teubner any time it is mentioned in any of my posts.

**I used a light colored pan, for a dark colored pan preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed. Chocolate makes it worthwhile.

 

Cake is a very touchy kind of thing for me.  See, I'm not a baker (no, really, it's a major weak spot in my culinary skill set).  I can whip up stews and soups and steaks and several other dishes that start with "s" at the drop of a hat, but baking is something that requires a lot of planning and sometimes a few tears.  However, since I have a massive sweet tooth I tend to do it often.  In my world "baking" is synonymous with "sweet".

Back to the cake thing.  I always bake cakes for my kids' birthdays and I let them choose which one they want.  It's easier than making one I think they would want and having it turn out to be one they wouldn't consider if they were starving.  Karina's birthday was a few weeks ago and her choice was chocolate cake with mocha frosting.  So I used the only chocolate cake recipe that has never failed me with a French butter cream icing.  It was tasty as hell, but ugly as sin....I also lack decorating skills.

Chocolate Sponge Cake (adapted from The Best of Baking)

6 eggs, separated

4 1/2 tablespoons lukewarm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon very finely ground espresso (optional)

Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the egg yolks, water and half the sugar in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer for 5 to 10 minutes or until pale and creamy.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in remaining sugar.  Carefully fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture.  Sift the flour with the cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee and salt.  Fold into egg mixture.  Turn the batter into the prepared pan.  Smooth the surface and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly in the pan and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Wrap in plastic and allow to stand overnight before cutting into layers.

French Butter Cream (adapted from The Best of Baking)

1 1/2 - 2 cups butter, slightly below room temperature

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon very strong coffee

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

Beat the eggs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until very warm and thickened (I believe the temperature should be around 160 degrees).  Remove the egg mixture from the heat and continue beating until completely cooled.  Beat in the coffee and cocoa powder.  Beat in butter one tablespoon at a time until butter cream comes together smoothly.  If refrigerating butter cream, have it come to slightly below room temperature before using.

Two For The Price Of One

I have 15 year old son...who is 6'2" tall and weighs in at 212 pounds, none of which is fat.  As such, when I cook I make enough to feed a small army and its host nation.  I still rarely have leftovers for more than two days.

Bren is currently in a phase where he doesn't particularly appreciate the incredible edible egg.  However, when I bust out the Quiche Lorraine, he starts salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs the second I start putting ingredients on the counter.  He doesn't stop until he's eaten half of one dish and is lying on the couch in a savory egg custard coma.  I threw in the cakes because I was feeling like a bit of kaffeezeit.

Quiche Lorraine (adapted from The Best of Baking by Annette Wolter and Christian Teubner)

For the Pastry:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

7 tbs butter, cold and cut into small cubes

3 to 5 tbs ice water

For the Filling:

1/2 - 1 lb of Black Forest ham, finely cubed
8 oz extra sharp Vermont white cheddar cheese, shredded or finely cubed
6 eggs
2 cups of heavy cream
salt
pepper
ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and salt together in a medium bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers (I've never been able to get the two knives technique to work for me).  Mix in 3 tablespoons of ice water with a fork.  If dough does not start to pull together add another tablespoon of water.  Remove dough from bowl and knead as briefly as possible to bring dough together into a ball.  Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Remove pastry dough from the refrigerator, dust a clean counter with flour and roll pastry to fit a 10-inch pie plate. Wrap dough around rolling pin and gently pat into pie plate.  Place pastry in freezer.

Break the eggs into a 4 cup measuring cup and beat with a fork until whites and yolks are mixed. Add heavy cream to eggs and mix together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to incorporate. Finely cube the ham and the cheese. Remove the pastry from the freezer and sprinkle the ham and cheese over it evenly. Pour the custard mixture over the ham and cheese. Sprinkle top lightly with nutmeg. Place in the middle of preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until center is barely set and top is browned. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.  The above recipe can be doubled (see picture).

Fruited Spice Cake (Recipe makes 2 cakes)

Dry Ingredients:

6 cups flour

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 cups applesauce

1 1/4 cups mashed banana

2 - 15 ounce cans pear halves, finely diced

1 cup canola oil

1/3 cup molasses

Glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbs melted butter

3 tbs strong coffee, preferably espresso

1/2 tsp rum extract

Preheat oven to 340 degrees.  Grease and flour two 10-cup bundt pans.  Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl; set aside.  Mix wet ingredients thoroughly in a medium bowl.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together until moistened through.  Evenly pour batter into bundt pans and bake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl.  Stir in melted butter, coffee and extract until glaze is smooth.  It should fall in a thick ribbon, if it is too thin add a bit more powdered sugar.  If it is too thick add a bit more coffee.  Drizzle over cooled cakes and let the glaze set for about an hour before serving.

Blue Monday

 

from http://iharthdarth.livejournal.com/

Last week my daughter was having a particularly bad day and I wanted to cheer her up with something warm, hearty and homey.  I scanned the shelves and bins in my kitchen for a while, finally settling on a favourite of both hers and mine; pinhead oatmeal.  As I moved the bag of oatmeal out I saw behind it a bag of spelt flour we had bought some time ago, intending to find wonderful things to do with this ancient species of wheat.  Seeing it again made me think about that and I had an overwhelming urge to use it.  I ended up searching the internet for recipes containing spelt and was happy as a clam when I saw that one of the links was to a category for spelt over at 101 Cookbooks, a blog I use to read quite often when I had my previous cooking site.

After a quick glance at the list, I hit upon her Rosemary Olive Oil Cake.  It sounded delicious as written, but I knew I wanted to modify it to suit our tastes more.  Despite the driving force to make this being my daughter's bad day, I have yet to see my youngest son refuse cake of any kind and wanted to include him as a recipient as well.

What I came up with for us didn't include rosemary, but did include homemade granola.  And oh wow, was this cake fantastic.

   

Blue Monday Cake

Dry Ingredients

1 cup spelt flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups toasted granola

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup whole milk

7 ounces dark chocolate with hazelnuts, chopped

2 tbs demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 3 inch deep 9 x 5 loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Mix dry ingredients together with a whisk in a medium bowl and set aside.  Whisk eggs in a large bowl until homogeneous, then whisk in oil and milk.  Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.  Fold in 2/3s of the chopped chocolate.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle the top with remaining chopped chocolate and press into dough very lightly with the back of a spoon.  You want the pieces to be on top, but not to fall off when the cake comes out of the oven.  Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top of the batter.  Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until golden and a metal skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Cool briefly in the pan, then remove to cool on a rack.  Serve while warm, if possible, or at room temperature.