Category: Baked Goods

Gingerbread with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

January 11, 2011

On Saturday night, we had a little party.  It was to celebrate Randy’s birthday, the new year, and some fairly big news in our family (once again, I am not pregnant).  We have some friends who own a very cool art gallery.  Over dinner with them one evening, we threw out the idea of having a gathering there.  Being the lovely and accommodating people they are, not to mention the fact that they are both gorgeous and ridiculously talented, they thought it was a great idea.  We invited our nearest and dearest, I got some catering and organizational assistance from my good friend Julie, and a lovely time was had by all.  I hope.

The gallery has a kitchenette but does not have an oven or stove.  That means that all the food served has to be room temperature or cold.  Since we didn’t have seating, we wanted everything to be pick-up-and-eat food so that people did not have to worry about how to manage plate, fork, napkin, and drink.  Add to that, party time was 7pm.  People need to have dinner if it is 7pm.  5:30, appetizers are fine but by 7 folks are hungry.  I have to say I struggled with my menu.

But!  There is always dessert.  I toyed with the idea of doing a big cake, but decided in the end to keep the easy to pick up food theme going.  I made small versions of those amazing chocolate chip cookies (and was told by more than one person that it was the best they had ever tasted), mini lemon tartlets, and these mini gingerbread bundt cakes.  One of Randy’s favorite things in the world is ginger.  He loves ginger cookies and his favorite cake is gingerbread.  I have a few mini bundt cake pans and a terrific recipe for gingerbread, so it seemed like a no-brainer to make these little guys.

When I make the gingerbread in a standard bundt pan, I just dust the finished cake with powdered sugar.  For this party, I felt we needed something a little fancier.  I made a maple cream cheese frosting – super simple and a nice compliment to the ginger.  Each cake was garnished with some chopped candied ginger.  Now, this is some serious gingerbread.  There is a full cup of Guiness and a full cup of molasses in there, along with a very healthy amount of spices.  I would call it “grown-up” gingerbread if my six year old hadn’t inhaled a left over piece this evening.  Ahem.  If your eyes have glazed over at any point during this post, now would be the time to perk up.

Grease and flour your pan(s).  I know this.  I know the batter is thin and incredibly sticky and I know you can never trust a non-stick coating when it comes to bundt cakes.  I got lazy.  Everyone has their kitchen tasks that they hate and one of mine is greasing pans.  The idea of coating 24 mini-bundts with shortening and flour (my method of choice) was too much to contemplate so I crossed my fingers.  And guess what?  Prying completely stuck-on cake from 24 mini-bundts, washing each of them thoroughly to remove all traces of said cake, and remaking the entire recipe is much more time consuming than just greasing the pans to begin with.  Trust me.

Grammercy Tavern Gingerbread
Gourmet

Since most people probably do not have 24 mini bundt pans (it’s really just two pans with 12 slots each), I’m just giving the original recipe.  It says that the cake serves 8-10 but that can’t be right if I was able to get 24 individual servings (plus a mini-loaf pan) without even doubling the recipe.  And I apologize that the directions in this recipe are running together.  Not quite sure what is going on there.

1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout
1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Powdered sugar or Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Generously butter a 10-inch (10 to 12 cup) bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from the heat.  Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.  Whisk together eggs and sugars.  Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture.  Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles.  Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on rack for 5 minutes.  Turn out onto rack and cool completely.  Either serve dusted with powdered sugar or with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
¾ tsp. vanilla extract
Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth.  Add powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.


Yeasted Coffee Cake

January 4, 2011

I don’t know about you, but our December was a bit insane.  I remember looking at our calendar in November and thinking that the holidays were going to be relatively quiet around here.  We didn’t have much going on.  And then, the onslaught.  We had so many events and parties to go to which was wonderful –  I enjoyed all of it so much.  Our evenings were so busy that we ended up making a lot of brunch plans with friends.  And brunch plans mean coffee cake.

As of this moment, I have four coffee cakes I have not yet told you about.  The rule follower in me would probably post about them in chronological order, but I had mildly frenzied requests for the recipe for this cake.  I made it a couple of days ago for a brunch with high school friends and seeing as half the people asked me to write about it, this cake jumps to the top of the heap.

This is probably the third or fourth time I have made this coffee cake and everyone always goes crazy for it.  It is an old-fashioned yeasted coffee cake with an almond filling and one of the many wonderful things about this recipe is that it makes two of them.  You can either serve them both, or you can wrap one up (before baking) and freeze it for another time.  When just out of the oven, they are horseshoe or ring shaped.  I baked mine at our friends’ house because I misjudged the timing and I did not bring my camera – this photo shows the aftermath of the second cake.  The first was devoured.

These are not hard to make.  Take your time, follow the directions carefully and you will be thrilled with the result.  This recipe comes from Cook’s Country who are the same folks as Cook’s Illustrated so you know the recipe was tested to perfection.

One Year Ago: Pasta with Olive Sauce
Two Years Ago: Curried Red Lentil Stew

Cinnamon Almond Ring Coffee Cake
Adapted from Cook’s Country
Makes 2 rings, each serving 8-10

Filling
1 tube almond paste (7 ounces)
6 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 ounces cream cheese, softened

Dough
1 1/3 cups warm milk (110ºF)
1/3 cup honey
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
3 egg yolks (reserve whites for topping)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4½ cups flour, plus extra for work surface
1 package rapid-rise or instant yeast
2 tsp. salt

Topping
3 large egg whites
½ cup sliced almonds
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the filling
Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix almond paste, confectioners’ sugar, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and cream cheese until smooth.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the dough
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 200ºF.  When oven reaches 200, shut it off.  Lightly grease large bowl with nonstick cooking spray.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix milk, honey, melted butter, yolks, and vanilla in large measuring cup.  Mix flour, yeast, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook.  Turn mixer to low and slowly add milk mixture.  After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes.  (Dough will be sticky.)  Turn dough onto heavily floured work surface, shape into ball, and transfer to greased bowl.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough is nearly doubled, about 20 minutes.  (DT: In my experience, the dough does not rise much at all at this point.  I just continue with the recipe and always get a nice risen final product.)

On lightly floured work surface, divide dough into 2 equal pieces.  Working with one piece at a time, roll dough into 18-by-9-inch rectangle with long side facing you.  Spread with half of filling and roll up dough.  Brush top edge with water, then press to seal and transfer, seam side down, to parchment lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough and filling.  Shape each cylinder into a ring or horseshoe.  Using paring knife, make cuts around outside of dough, about 1½ inches apart, leaving about an inch of intact dough at the top of your cut.  In other words you are making slices but keeping the cake together as one unit.  With your fingers, turn each “slice” of dough so that the filling is showing.

Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and return to oven until rings have puffed slightly, 30 to 40 minutes.  remove from oven and heat oven to 375ºF.

For the topping, whisk reserved egg whites in a small bowl, then brush rings with egg whites.  Sprinkle with almonds and bake until deep brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking.  While rings are baking or cooling, whisk confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla in small bowl until smooth.  Drizzle icing over baked coffee cakes and serve warm.  (DT: Warm is ideal, room temperature is nearly as delicious.)



Scalloped Chocolate Pecan Strip

December 24, 2010

A new friend recently asked me about Christmas morning food traditions in our house.  I’m not sure what she was expecting but the truth is that Christmas is still relatively new to me.  I grew up in a household that was culturally Jewish and religiously agnostic.  We lit the menorah on Hanukkah but we didn’t open presents each night because it drove my parents insane to be asked when we were opening our gifts for eight straight days.  (Now that I am a parent, I understand this.)  Even though half the time we forgot to light the candles, my mom drew the line at a tree or stockings.  Each year we would ask and each year she would say no.

Consequently, two of her children, the ones who married non-Jews, go absolutely nuts at Christmas.  My youngest brother doesn’t really care either way, but my middle brother is the type who has a giant inflatable snow globe in his yard, and Christmas villages set up all over the house.  I don’t go quite that far, but we do have a lit-up reindeer and a new penguin sporting a Merry Christmas sign.

Truly, the holiday tradition that has endured is celebrating my parents’ anniversary on Christmas Eve.  They got married in 1967 while my dad had a few day break from his medical residency.  Since all their families and everyone they  knew was Jewish, the fact that their wedding day fell on Christmas Eve didn’t make much difference to them.  Until they realized in all the subsequent almost 43 years, that their celebratory anniversary dinners were either in a Chinese food restaurant, or in a hotel.  In my early 20’s, when I was broke but still wanting to “give” them something for their anniversary, I started making them dinner.  As I got to be a better cook, it became a special dinner.  And it also just began to make sense that we open our gifts that day rather than Hanukkah.  Our holiday is affectionately referred to as Hanumass.

Having young children who truly believe in Santa has made me look at Christmas Day with new eyes.  Ever since marrying Randy, I have always loved the stockings and presents under the tree, but now Spencer worrying that Santa may trip over the poinsettias that we have in front of the fireplace makes me realize how magical all of this is for children.  Special days deserve special traditions.  I think my kids are a bit too young to even notice food on Christmas morning – it’s all about the toys.  Truthfully, it’s all about the toys for my husband too.  (The X-box?  It’s for the kids!)  I have some baked goods on this site that I think would be wonderful to share with your family.  I’m a big fan of the three Holly B roll-type things on here (cinnamon rolls, almond butterhorns, orange rolls) but if coffee cake is more your thing, this might be a good option for you.

I made this for a brunch with friends recently and the kids went nuts over it.  The adults liked it too.  I appreciate recipes where the result looks so much more impressive than the work you put into it.  I bought this cookbook with high expectations.  We often have people over for brunch and I like making something sweet along with what is inevitably some variation on eggs and roasted potatoes.  A book devoted to coffee cake type things sounded perfect.  However.  I find the recipes to be incredibly fussy.  Lots of (in my mind) unnecessary instructions making the directions incredibly long and daunting looking.  But I did like this and several other things I have made from it and so, on the shelf it stays.

One Year Ago: Peanut Butter (or Caramel) Mini Brownie Cups
Two Years Ago: Ultimate Ginger Cookie

Scalloped Chocolate Pecan Strip
Adapted from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins, and More
Makes one 15-to 16-inch strip; 8 to 10 servings

¼ cup water
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp. espresso powder
2½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ recipe (about 1 pound) Simple Sweet Dough (recipe follows), cold
½ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tsp. water, for egg wash
2 tsp. opaque pearl sugar, optional

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the water, granulated sugar, espresso powder, and chocolate.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until large bubbles form.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.  Set aside to cool completely.  The mixture should have the consistency of soft fudge.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and gently knead it 6 to 8 times, or until smooth.  Roll it into a 9×14-inch rectangle with the 14-inch side parallel to the edge of the counter.  Using a small offset spatula, spread the cooled chocolate filling over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.  Sprinkle the chopped pecans on the chocolate, and using your hand, press the nuts gently into the chocolate.  Lightly brush the far edge of the dough with the egg wash.

Starting at the bottom edge, roll the dough tightly into a log, pinching the  seam to seal.  Place the log seam side down, on the prepared cookie sheet and square the ends with a dough scraper or metal spatula.  Flatten the log slightly with the palm of your hand.

Using scissors, cut about twelve slits at approximately 1-inch intervals on the right side of the dough, cutting about three-fourths of the way through.  For the left side, also cut about twelve slits; however, space the slits so that you are cutting in between the slits on the opposite side.  Gently turn the slices to expose the filling, and pull them slightly downward, starting with the right side first.  After the right side is done, turn the left  side.  Flatten the top of the cake gently with your hand, and then lightly press the slices so they lay flat against the pan.  Cover the cake with a tea towel and set in a warm place to rise for 45 to 60 minutes, or until puffy and almost doubled.

Fifteen minutes before baking, position the rack in the lower third of the oven.  Preheat to 350ºF.

Lightly brush the strip with the egg wash and sprinkle the top with pearl sugar.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Simple Sweet Dough
Makes enough for 2 coffee cakes

4 tbsp. sugar
¼ cup warm water
1 package (2¼ tsp.) active dry yeast
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus 1 tsp. soft butter for brushing top of dough
½ cup milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Put 1 tablespoon of sugar into a small bowl and add the warm water.  Sprinkle the yeast over the water.  Do not stir.  Cover the bowl with a towel and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes .  Stir it briefly with a fork, cover again and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until bubbly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed the 3 cups of flour, remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, and the salt.  Add the slightly firm cubed butter and continue to mix until meal-size crumbs form, 2 to 4 minutes.  Stop the mixer.

Using a fork, in separate bowl, mix the milk, vanilla, and egg yolks.  Add the milk mixture to the flour, along with the dissolved yeast, and mix on low speed for about 15 seconds.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Mix on low speed for another 30 seconds or until a smooth dough is formed.  Note:  This is a soft dough.

Lightly butter a medium bowl for storing the dough.  Empty the dough into the prepared bowl, smoothing the top with lightly floured hands.  Spread a thin layer of softened butter over the top.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (This dough may be kept in the refrigerator, tightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.)



Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

October 26, 2010

I’ve mentioned this before but cupcakes are not really my thing.  In Seattle, like many other cities, there is no shortage of places to buy them.  What I find is that, in addition to them costing upwards of $3 a piece, the cake part tastes like sweetened air and the frosting tastes of moist powdered sugar.

Let me say a word about frosting.  I was never really a frosting person.  I remember requesting the corner piece of the birthday cake, the one with the greatest proportion of flowers and where the frosting was piled high, and then, after a few bites, scraping it off to get to the cake underneath.  My kids, of course, are the opposite which works out well since I get to just eat their cake.

So, a cupcake has two very different things going on.  If both of those things are good, tasty moist cake and frosting with a flavor, you have a good cupcake.  If both of those things are great, you have a great cupcake.  What if one is very good and one is great?  Is it a reallygoodalmostgreat cupcake?

Cake – very good.  Frosting – great.  I know.  High praise from the person who doesn’t like frosting.  I made these cupcakes because I was intrigued by the ingredients for the cake but ended up being seduced by the frosting.  There is nothing magic going on here, just butter, cream cheese, a bit of maple syrup, and a lot of sugar, but the proportions are perfect so that it doesn’t overwhelm you with sweet.  Instead, your quite sweet and very nice cake gets topped with a bit of tang and richness.  Oh all right – all right, it’s a great cupcake.

Cupcakes previously on Dana Treat: Mississippi Mud Cupcakes, Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes
One Year Ago: The Big Brownie Smackdown
Two Years Ago: Gnocchi with Winter Squash and Seared Radicchio

Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Baked Explorations
Makes 24 cupcakes

For the Maple Cupcakes
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened, cut into chunks
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening, at room temperature
2 cups pure maple syrup
3 egg yolks
1 large egg
1¼ cups whole milk
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

For the Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. maple syrup

Make the Maple Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.

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

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening until ribbonlike.  Turn the mixer to low and stream in the maple syrup.  Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is nearly uniform in color, about 3 minutes.

Add the egg yolks and egg, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated.  Stream in the milk.  Stop the mixer, add the rest of the flour, then turn the mixer on until just combined.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold in the walnuts.

Fill the prepared cupcake pan about three-quarters full.  Bake the cupcakes for about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Note:  These cupcakes take long to bake than traditional cupcakes due to the maple syrup.

Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the cupcake pan, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Make the Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter until it is completely smooth.  Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the sugar and the maple syrup and beat until smooth.  Be careful not to overbeat the frosting or it will lose structure.  (At this point, if you want to, you can tightly cover the frosting and refrigerate it for one day.  Let it soften to room temperature [DT: which takes a long time] before using.)

Assemble the cupcakes
There are many ways to frost a cupcake.  If you have a pastry bag, simply fit with the largest tip, fill the bag with frosting, and pipe enough to cover the cupcakes in a big mound.  If you do not have a pastry bag, use an ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to scoop the frosting and dispense it onto the top of the cupcake.  you can also use an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes.  Top with toasted walnuts (DT: or sprinkles).

Refrigerate any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  Bring cupcakes to room temperature before serving.



Savory Rugelach

October 1, 2010

Well.  These kind of look like pigs in a blanket don’t they?  I don’t really know what pigs in a blanket are – hot dogs in some kind of dough casing, right?  I know I must have had them sometime in my childhood otherwise, how would I know about them?   I brought these to an event I catered and people were surprised when the host announced that my food was vegetarian.  Several people pointed to these little guys with eyebrows raised.

Of course, they are not pigs in a blanket.  They are Cream Cheese, Olive, and Rosemary Rugelach.  Their color comes from a filling of puréed olives with cream cheese.  I first made these years ago for as an appetizer for Christmas dinner.  There is a family we spend every Thanksgiving and Christmas with and have done so since I was three years old.  Once I moved out of the house and started cooking for myself, I got appetizer assignments.  I took my one trusty cookbook and made some of the dips that first year and everyone liked them.  The next year, I branched out a bit and the next a bit more.  Somewhere along the way, I got moved off of appetizers and onto side dishes, desserts, and three years ago, I took over hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

Once I had graduated from dips but had not yet been promoted to more important dishes, I made these rugelach.  I remember having a hard time with them but they were worth the effort because everyone loved them.  The recipe makes a large amount and our relatively small group ate all of them.  For some crazy reason, I had not made them again until last week.  I still had a bit of trouble with them but they are by no means difficult to make.  I am not the best at cutting dough into equal pieces so some of these rolled really easily and some didn’t.  I don’t think I have to tell you that it does not matter because they are delicious and flakey marvels.

Some tips.  The dough and the filling can be made up to two days before but these really are best served the day they are baked.  There is quite a bit of fat in them so they get a little soggy by day two.  There are instructions on how to freeze them in the recipe and I’ll try that next time.  I had way more filling than I needed so I popped that back in the refrigerator and served it a few days later as a dip with crackers.  The original recipe calls for green olives but if you use those, your rugelach won’t look like pigs in a blanket.  The choice is up to you.

Rugelach Previously on Dana Treat: Holly B’s Rugelach
One Year Ago: Soba Noodles with Bok Choy, Scallions, and Ginger
Two Years Ago: Dimply Plum Cake

Cream Cheese, Olive, and Rosemary Rugelach
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about 50

Dough
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups flour
4 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
¾ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. salt

Filling
1 cup chopped pitted brine-cured Greek olives, your choice on color
1 cup chopped onion
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature, diced
1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

For Dough:
Blend cream cheese and butter in food processor until combined, scraping down sides of bowl.  Add flour; blend well.  Add rosemary, pepper, and salt; blend.  Gather dough together; divide in half.  Shap each half into flat square.  Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

For Filling:
Using on/off turns, blend olives and onion in processor until finely chopped.  Add cream cheese and blend.  Transfer filling to medium bowl.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll 1 dough square on floured surface to 14-inch square.  Trim to 12½-inch square.  Cut into five 2½-inch-wide strips, then crosswise into 2½-inch squares (25 total).  Drop 1 rounded teaspoon filling onto each square; spread almost to edges.  Starting at 1 corner, roll each square into cylinder, enclosing filling.  Curve ends in to form crescents; arrange on 1 baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough squares and filling.  Brush with glaze.

Bake rugelach until golden brown, about 35 minutes.  Cool on sheets.  (Can be made 3 days ahead.  Cool completely.  Cover and freeze on sheets.  Rewarm frozen rugelach uncovered in 325º oven until heated through, about 12 minutes.)  Serve warm or room temperature.



« Older Posts Newer Posts »