loojie's cookbook

Sunday Morning Pancakes

2008-05-11T22:50:00.002-04:00

& and I have made these for three out of the past four Sundays. (The fourth, we spent in San Francisco.)

1 1/3 c. flour or Whole Foods Gluten Free Bisquick Knockoff
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

2 Tbs butter, melted
1 Tbs vanilla
3/4 cup + 2 Tbs warm water
1 Tbs honey

2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks

In a bowl combine the first four (dry) ingredients. Melt butter in measuring cup; add honey, vanilla and water. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then gently fold in egg whites. Batter will be thick and fluffy, not runny like you'd expect.

Scoop batter by the ladleful into a preheated skillet (nonstick or sprayed with olive oil, or both). Flip when they're poofy and beginning to crisp. Serve with ginger honey from the cathedral herb shop, or leftover cupcake frosting, or anything, really.

Amarula cupcakes with cinnamon mousse frosting

2008-05-02T20:58:00.004-04:00

I'd been waiting to bake these ever since I bought a bottle of Amarula Cream on the suggestion of a (gay?) guy who turned out to be a one-date wonder. I don't tend to drink creamy drinks; I'd rather have a glass of wine, a dram of single malt, or hell, a glass of water.

But as a cupcake flavoring, bwah! Amarula Cream is awesome. I finally had the occasion to break out the bottle on the occasion of Pam's birthday, and will definitely be baking these again. The combination of Amarula and cinnamon flavors was beautiful, so subtle, sheer bliss.

Amarula Cupcakes

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup Amarula Cream liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with cupcake cups.
In your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Add the leavening, salt, and half the flour, then the Amarula, then the rest of the flour.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups and bake for about 20 minutes. Cakes will be golden and, inexplicably, freckled with lemon yellow.

Frost with Cinnamon Mousse Frosting:

1 c (1 8oz carton) heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon, or more if you're using really good Vietnamese cinnamon
4 oz white chocolate
1 c (1 8oz tub) mascarpone cheese

Chop the chocolate and dump in your mixing bowl. Pour the cream over top and nuke the bowl, 30 seconds at a time, whisking vigorously after each go, until the chocolate is melted and you've emulsified it into the cream. Whisk in cinnamon, then chill overnight.

The next morning, fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and pour half the ganache into the bowl. Add the mascarpone and whip until well combined, roughly 2 minutes. Add the other half of the ganache, and beat until the frosting holds stiff peaks. Pipe over cupcakes and garnish with ... well ... I'm boring, I garnish everything with my Spanish dragees.

inspired by vichyssoise

2008-02-10T14:34:00.000-05:00

...but ultimately so divergent from vichyssoise that I can hardly call it that.

3 leeks, trimmed
1 Tbs butter*
1 lb. sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), peeled and chopped
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
2 small cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 vegan bouillon cube
2 1/2 cups water
1 dried chipotle pepper, ground in a mortar and pestle

Boil leeks within an inch of their lives. Reserve broth. (I drink it neat, hot or cold -- love the stuff.)

Melt butter* in skillet and add shallots, sunchokes and garlic. Lower heat and let 'em sweat for a bit. In a separate saucepan, bring water to a boil and dissolve bouillon cube. When the little bits of shallot in your skillet are starting to brown and crisp, scrape the contents of the skillet into the saucepan. Add a chipotle pepper that you've ground up in your mortar and pestle. Simmer for a long time, until the sunchokes absorb most of the liquid and are soft. (You may need to add more liquid. Use the leek broth.)

When sunchoke mixture is cooked down, place boiled leeks in Cuisinart. Add sunchoke mixture. Puree. Thin with more leek broth as needed.

Delight in this.

* The butter makes this non-vegan, but I love the flavor it adds. For a vegan version (and a different flavor), substitute olive oil.

cranberry et al. chutney

2008-01-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

My fridge, post-holidays: picked over, but not without a few surprises.

1 apple, peeled and cored
1 handful fresh cranberries
1 handful shelled pistachios
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine in a saucepan over low heat. Cook down. When the cranberries pop, squash them with your wooden spoon. Eventually the mixture should cook down to the texture of thick relish.

Use as the tart condiment on a cheese plate, spoon onto crackers or turkey sandwiches, or heck, eat with a spoon.

kitchen cleanout extravaganza

2007-08-05T13:36:00.000-04:00

Ways to use up stuff in your kitchen when you're about to move house:

- Use up leftover salad dressing as a marinade for meat or fish.

- Zest and juice a lemon; add the juice to the water when you make couscous, and stir in the zest afterward.

- Add a healthy shake of curry powder to the water whenever you cook a whole grain.

- Things you can stir into cooked whole grains: a few spoons of tomato sauce, pan-fried onions/garlic, chopped up leftover meat or fish, chopped raw veggies and/or herbs laying around in your fridge, or even nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans). Experiment with flavor combinations .

- Toss leftover brown rice with a can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed) and some sausages from the freezer, sliced into coins and panfried. Sprinkle generously with Old Bay seasoning and any hot sauce you'd like to use up.

- Crush leftover crackers in a mortar and pestle. Stir into canned crab, salmon, or tuna. Add a beaten egg, a spoonful of mayonnaise, and any spice you want to use up (curry powder, for example, or Old Bay seasoning). Form into patties and panfry.

- Experiment with unconventional baked goods, like brown rice cookies or mayonnaise cookies.

Alecto's Eclectic Pilaf

2007-07-31T20:05:00.000-04:00

I am eating this for dinner right now.

1 c quinoa (mix of red and white)
2 c water
1 vegan broth cube
1 tsp curry powder

Combine the above in your saucepan, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. While doing so, chop up:

1 poblano pepper
1 handful fresh watercress
1 smoked Boca sausage, thawed

When quinoa is done, toss with goodies. Let cool to room temperature if it's a hot day.

Serve with Turkish sheep's milk feta cheese and grape tomatoes; these are good either on the side or mixed in.

Barbara's Summer Tomato Pie

2007-07-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

One of my stepmother's finest contributions to my dietary canon. If you make this pie with Jersey tomatoes in July or August, you'll know what I mean. (Yes, I'm from New Jersey, where we take tomatoes seriously.)

Summer Tomato Pie

1 pie crust, baked and cooled*

2-3 good big summer tomatoes, sliced
1/2 - 1 onion, sliced (sweet Maui or Vidalia onions are best)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (add more if you enjoy melted cheese)
Salt and pepper
Dried herbs to taste

Layer thickly-sliced tomatoes in your baked pie crust. Use a lot, they shrink. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and your choice of dried herbs (Barbara uses dried basil and chives) over the tomatoes, then spread an onion, sliced into thin circles, over top of that.

Mix mayonnaise and grated cheese together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Spread over the whole pie. Bake 30 minutes at 350 F. Serve warm.

* A storebought frozen pie crust works just fine, but if you don't have any in the freezer, make an

Easy-as-Pie Crust (recipe for 1 single-crust pie)

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
3 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until the clumps are the size of small peas. (Don't use your hands or the pastry will get heavy and gummy; you want the butter to stay cold.) Add ice water and stir in with a fork. Don't add extra water even if you think it needs it -- trust me, it doesn't.

Gather up dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, flatten into a rough disc shape and refrigerate for a half hour. When dough is cool and firm, flour your rolling pin and roll the disk out into a 12" circle. (I do this on a big flexible plastic cutting board, then invert the circle directly into my Pyrex pie plate.) Prick dough all over with a fork, then bake at 425 F for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Cool before filling. Also great for quiches.

Cornmeal Cardamom Cookies

2007-06-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

These are addictive -- between the crunch of the cornmeal and the elegant cardamom fragrance, they're perfect both as a standalone munchie or to dunk in a cup of coffee, tea, or milk.

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Mix in flour and cornmeal until just blended. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line your baking sheets with trusty cooking parchment. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into balls (a good size is somewhere between a cherry and a golf ball). Punch each little doughball down into a round disk in the palm of your hand. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden.

I made these to thank a co-worker who helped me unload a U-Haul full of furniture, including the biggest heaviest queen-sized mattress known to man. Steve isn't normally a fan of crunchy cookies, but devoured these with abandon. The next time you're moving house, have a batch of these ready to reward your heavy lifters -- they'll thank you!

Salsa Verde (cruda como te gusta)

2007-04-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

Tomatillos make me smile. Ben Franklin is reputed to have said that beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy; I think that tomatillos must prove something similar. Who can help but grin at these snappy little green things -- is it a fruit or a vegetable? I think a fruit, technically -- with a flavor and texture halfway between a tomato and a Granny Smith apple? I need to find more uses for these little buddies of mine. Right now, here's my favorite preparation.

(extra credit since it's all raw! as my nutritionist recommends)

Salsa Verde

4 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and chopped
6 fresh serrano chiles, or more to taste, sliced
1 shallot, chopped
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
A healthy dose of tequila

Combine all ingredients in blender. Pulse until chunky. If too liquidy (I tend to be overgenerous with both the lime juice and the tequila), decant into a colander and let the juice drain off into a bowl until the salsa is dry enough for your liking.

I drink the runoff juice neat. If you're not insane like me, you could use it as a mixer (mmm, Bloody Marys!), salad dressing, or seasoning in grain dishes, too.

Chipotles en Adobo

2007-04-01T11:02:00.000-04:00

There are a bunch of similar recipes floating around online; you may fiddle with the proportions to determine your own favorite. This is the recipe I've used for the past ten years.

Chipotles en Adobo
originally emailed to me by Melinda, February 1997

A dozen or so dried chipotles, stemmed and split in half
1 medium onion, sliced into thin arcs
2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin coins
1/3 cup vinegar
5 Tbs ketchup or tomato paste
3 cups water
Pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in saucepan; bring to boil; lower heat and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until chipotles are soft and liquid has reduced to 1 cup.

You can either eat the chipotles (and onions and garlic) straight from the jar, or puree everything in the blender for a delicious thick sauce. I recommend the former only if you live either by yourself or with people who won't object to your breath afterward. The stewing liquid is a tasty sauce on its own, tossed with pasta or in a pilaf.

"Dirty Dozen" Habanero Sauce

2007-04-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

Next in the series of My Favorite Hot Sauces: a brightly-flavored, carrot-based sauce, spiced with an enormous quantity of habaneros. Best made in the spring and summer, when the habs at your grocery store are the big fresh bright red ones.

(I don't need to tell you not to chop habaneros with your bare hands, right? At least wear rubber gloves. I spear mine with a fork.)

"Dirty Dozen" Habanero Sauce
Cribbed off the old UC Berkeley recipe server, circa 2000

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, put through a press
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 c carrots, chopped into coins
1/2 c water (plus more as needed)

12 (yes, 12) fresh habaneros, chopped
1/2 c vinegar
juice of 1 lime

Saute onions and garlic in oil until soft but not brown. Add carrots and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are cooked through (squish one with a wooden spoon to test). You may need to keep adding water while this goes on; the carrots soak it up. When carrots are done, remove to a blender. Add habaneros, vinegar and lime juice and blend until smooth. Return to saucepan and simmer 2-5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Another fairly thick sauce, but this you can bottle in any ordinary hot sauce bottle.

Hot Smoke Finishing Sauce

2007-04-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

I've been rediscovering an old hobby lately: homemade hot sauce. These are a few of my favorite hot sauces.

Hot Smoke Finishing Sauce
cribbed off of the old UC Berkeley recipe server, circa 2000

This is a delicious barbecue-type sauce, less hot than just plain flavorful. There's just so much going on -- bourbon, cocoa, chipotles, maple syrup! The original recipe called for dried thyme, but I substitute dried cilantro, just to keep all that coriander company.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, put through a press
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
1 cup vinegar (any kind; I usually use plain white)
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs coriander
1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
8 chipotles, canned or dried, split in half
1 habanero, split in half
1 (14 oz) bottle ketchup
1 1/2 cups water
pinch salt

Heat oil. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Lower heat. Add sugar, maple syrup, bourbon, vinegar, spices, and cocoa. Reduce 5 to 10 minutes. Cut chiles in half and add to pot along with ketchup, water and salt. Simmer over low heat for 90 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Add water if sauce becomes thicker than ketchup. Cool slightly and puree in blender. Bottle in a squeeze bottle or wide-mouth jar -- it's thick!

I eat this straight up on crackers. Absolutely mouthwatering.

World's Easiest Polenta

2007-02-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

You could stir it for ages over an open flame...or you could work my father's magic.

Put 4 cups boiling water into a large microwave casserole (or heat the water in the microwave).

Mix 2 cups cornmeal into 1 1/2 cups cold water.

Mix this cornmeal slush into the hot water in the casserole.

Cook three minutes in microwave on high. Stir.

Cook 1 minute longer on high. Stir. Let sit a minute or two.

If not done, cook in 1 minute increments until done.

Serving Suggestion #1: Spread polenta on plate; layer in slices of cheese; spread more polenta over the cheese and top with tomato sauce (preferably with meat of some sort).
Apparently the tradition in my grandmother's family was to serve it this way, with sauteed green cabbage and onions on the side.

Serving Suggestion #2: Oil a Pyrex loaf pan and fill with polenta. Chill in fridge overnight. Unmold the next day on your cutting board and slice into small batons, about a half inch thick. Arrange batons on baking sheet, season to taste, and brush with olive oil. Broil for about ten minutes, until crunchy; flip batons with a spatula and broil 5 minutes more until they begin to brown. Yummy dipped in strong-flavored sauces (tomato, barbecue).

The Cinnamon/White Chocolate Cupcake Experience

2007-01-07T19:04:00.000-05:00

One of my best Christmas gifts this year was a candy bar: white chocolate laced with cinnamon. It was both yummy and truly inspiring. (As were the tub of sour cream, the slab of Ghirardelli white chocolate and the jar of Vietnamese cinnamon from Christina's, all of which had been singing siren songs from my kitchen ever since I got home from Florida.)

Cinnamon Sour Cream Cupcakes

1 stick butter
1 3/4 c sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 c sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp really good Vietnamese cinnamon, plus more to taste if it's REALLY good
3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with cupcake cups.

Combine butter and sugar in stand mixer (it will be more crumbly than creamed). Beat in eggs one at a time, then sour cream, then vanilla. Add cinnamon. Add flour and baking soda; test flavors (yes, that means lick the spatula!); add more cinnamon or sugar as needed. Batter will be smooth but thick.

Fill cupcake cups about 3/4 full; bake 20-25 minutes, or until your kitchen smells all cinnamon-heavenly and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of a cake.

White Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

1 c heavy cream
1 c mascarpone cheese
4 oz white chocolate, chopped fine

Warm the cream over medium heat or in microwave until it feels hot, but do not let it boil (or even simmer). Place the white chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl and pour the warm cream over it; whisk until the chocolate melts. Chill mixture in your freezer or an ice bath. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture and a second piece over the whole bowl; refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (This, obviously, can be made ahead of time -- like, the day before.)

Combine mascarpone and half of the white chocolate mixture in your stand mixer and whip until well combined, roughly 2 minutes. Add the other half of the white chocolate mixture, increase the speed to high, and beat until the frosting holds stiff peaks.

Frost cooled cupcakes; garnish with a sprinkle of Vietnamese cinnamon. Enjoy!

Chocolate Lavender Cupcakes

2006-12-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

Cupcakes in December should be cozy and relaxing. These are both. Literally.

Ingredients:

4 ounces bittersweet (I recommend at least 70%) chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I like the Fage kind from Greece)
1 1/2 cups (packed) brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (try Plugrà!)
2 teaspoons dried lavender blossoms, finely ground in spice mill
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake cups. Chop chocolate and melt in Pyrex measuring cup in your microwave, half a minute at a time, until smooth when stirred with a butter knife. Let cool while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Whisk milk and yogurt to blend in small bowl. Using your stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, then add ground lavender. Pour in melted chocolate and continue beating until smooth. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each.

Spoon batter into cupcake cups. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost with lavender whipped cream.

Frosting:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lavender flowers
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon gelatine
1 tablespoon cold water

Simple Syrup: Combine sugar and water over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Add lavender, reduce heat to low, and leave alone for 3 minutes. Shut off heat, get distracted, and go do something else for a half hour or so while the syrup cools. Strain.

Stabilizer: Sprinkle gelatine over cold water. Let sit for five minutes. Warm in the microwave for just a few seconds until mixture is liquid.

Assembly: Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Drizzle simple syrup into cream, then add liquid gelatine. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Pipe over cooled cupcakes and top with the lavender buds you strained out of the simple syrup (or, if for some reason those are no longer available, with a dusting of good Dutch cocoa).

Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcakes with Pomegranate Frosting

2006-10-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

Autumn ingredients lend themselves so well to cupcakes, especially when your ingredients come from the amazing inspiring Trader Joe's collection. These cakes, baked in honor of Jenn's 32d birthday -- 10000 in binary! -- were inspired by three Trader Joe's products: their yummy pomegranate syrup (which also appears in this cake), their orange-flavored dried cranberries, and their pumpkin butter, a confection similar to apple butter only made with the squash instead.

Cupcakes:

1 cup dried cranberries (I used the orange-flavored ones from Trader Joe's --ed.)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake cups.

The fruit: Cover cranberries in water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let sit while you assemble the rest of the batter. When you're ready to use the fruit, drain it, reserving the liquid. You can thin the batter with some of this cranberry tea if you're so inclined.

The drys: In a small mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices; set aside.

The wets: In your stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then pumpkin butter and vanilla.

The curds: Combine milk and cream or half-and-half in a measuring cup. Stir in vinegar or lemon juice. Mixture will curdle into a funky grainy texture.

The assembly: Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to pumpkin butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. Add cranberries last. Fill cupcake cups two-thirds full, then bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool and frost.

Frosting:

4 oz (half a brick) cream cheese (plus any leftover cream cheese frosting from previous recipes that you've got in your fridge --ed.)
1 cup powdered sugar, plus more to taste
1/2 cup pomegranate syrup
1 small pomegranate, seeded

Combine cream cheese, sugar and syrup in stand mixer; beat until smooth and spreadable. Test for sweetness/tartness; add more sugar or pomegranate syrup to taste, keeping an eye on the texture. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with handfuls of fresh pomegranate seeds.

Chamomile Apple Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut Frosting

2006-10-10T13:31:00.000-04:00

Tis the season for fall foliage, brisk breezes and apple picking. Clearly an autumn-themed cupcake is warranted.

Chamomile Apple Cupcakes:

1 1/4 c water
2 chamomile teabags

3-4 fresh tangy apples

1 stick butter
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, and let steep for a good long time, at least a half hour. Basically, let it steep until the tea has cooled almost to room temperature. I think I left mine for 45 minutes or so (I was doing laundry at the time).

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with cupcake cups. Peel and slice apples, then chop them to your desired coarseness in your food processor. I like my fruit cupcakes to contain detectable bits of fruit, but if you prefer applesauce or puree, go for it.

Cream butter and sugar together in your stand mixer; add eggs, vanilla, and chopped apples. Whisk dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly beat into to the apple mixture. Beat until batter is smooth (i.e. the only chunks in it are the apples). Remove tea bags and slowly add chamomile tea to batter -- careful, it splashes if your paddle blade is spinning too quickly.

Spoon batter into cupcake cups. (I filled mine half full but they didn't rise as much as I expected; I blame the tea.) Bake about 20-25 minutes; eyeball it; they're done when they're vaguely brown and smell heavenly.

Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 tbs butter
1 c coconut
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c powdered sugar
(or thereabouts)

Melt butter in a skillet, reduce heat to med-low, and toss coconut around until it turns crunchy and golden, but not brown.

Beat cream cheese in stand mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, then sugar to taste. Add toasted coconut to your liking, with frequent taste and texture checks. Chill frosting to firm it up, then pipe over cooled cupcakes and garnish with more toasted coconut. (Unless you used it all in the frosting, in which case, garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.)

Pomegranate Coriander Cake

2006-08-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

This cake is tart. Tangy. Sour even. I made it for the Friday law clerks' breakfast and informally polled the people who ate it: one thought it could be a bit sweeter, but everyone else liked it just this sour. If you're baking for people who aren't nearly such fans of acidity, you may want to add an extra quarter cup of brown sugar.

2 c cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c pomegranate syrup or pomegranate molasses
3/4 c brown sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp vanilla extract (this seems like a lot, doesn't it? It worked, but you may wish to try a smaller amount --ed.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cake pan with a circle of cooking parchment, then grease the rest of the pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, coriander, and salt. Combine remaining ingredients; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. (I found that the melted butter re-solidified when combined with the chilly buttermilk and eggs. You may wish to bring these to room temperature before adding them. The butter lumps creamed out eventually, though. --ed.) Add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture, stirring just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

It's good with lemon cream cheese frosting:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of one lemon, grated
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more to taste, depending on one's sweet/sour preference
Beat all these in stand mixer until smooth and spreadable.

Ice cake with lemon cream cheese frosting (you can remove it from the pan and cover the whole cake for nicer effect, or leave it in for easy transport); garnish with candied lemon peel or fresh pomegranate seeds. You can also drizzle it with more pomegranate syrup, but this will be prettier if your syrup is actually red and not brown like the stuff I used.

Rustic Rhubarb Cupcakes

2006-08-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

These were inspired by a Nigella Lawson cake recipe and a British friend's affection for rhubarb (and Nigella Lawson). I tried to convert the metric measurements and probably screwed them up, but the ingredients wound up working out just fine in these proportions:

4 stalks rhubarb, roughly a pound
1 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c plain flour
2/3 c fine polenta or cornmeal
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. unsalted butter (the original recipe wanted twice as much, I later figured out -- oops! -- but this worked. --ed.)
1 c. plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.

Peel tough outer skins off of rhubarb and slice it into thin coins. Place these in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of sugar; toss and let it sweat for about fifteen minutes, while you're assembling the rest of the batter. (Nigella says not to leave it for longer than a half hour, since too much of the tart juice will leach out of the rhubarb if you do.)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cornmeal/polenta, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. In your stand mixer, cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well until mixture is fluffy again.

In alternating spoonfuls, add the flour mixture and yogurt to the creamed mixture. Mix these in very slowly to preserve the fluffiness of the mixture. Finally, fold in the rhubarb and all the sugary juices.

Pour batter into prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I iced these with a standard buttercream frosting, laced with raspberry jam. I won't share the recipe here because (a) I didn't use one and (b) it showed. The cupcakes were fine, though, and garnishing them with cute fresh raspberries almost made up for the underwhelming visual effect of the frosting.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

2006-07-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

Produced for the annual Appeals Court law clerk appreciation party. No strawberries were harmed in the making of these cupcakes. (Actually, that's a lie.)

1 quart pack of fresh strawberries, or half of a large Trader Joe's pack
3 Tbs sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake cups.
In your food processor, whirl strawberries with 3 Tbs sugar until stewy, but still chunky. Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer. Beat in vanilla and eggs, then flour and baking soda, then strawberry mixture.
Fill cupcake cups halfway and bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

While cupcakes are cooling, combine in your stand mixer:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 banana, mashed

If frosting is too thick, thin with plain yogurt or sour cream; if not sweet enough, add more sugar. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with sliced strawberries (if they're ripe and sweet) or a sprinkling of brown sugar (if, let's say, you happened to run out of confectioner's sugar and wanted to hide the crunch of the homemade icing sugar you used for the rest of the recipe :)

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Caramel Sauce

2006-07-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

My dear friend and lawyer-godmother Elianna just turned 25. This was her birthday cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 large eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 10-inch-diameter springform pan with parchment paper, then butter the sides for good measure.
Melt butter and chocolate together in bain-marie or microwave oven (you can guess which one I preferred --ed). Using the whisk in your stand mixer, beat egg whites until they're fluffy and hold soft peaks.
Combine sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in large bowl. Add egg yolks; whisk until well blended. Whisk in chocolate-butter mixture. Fold in egg whites.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake completely before releasing pan sides.

Top with vanilla gelato and this sauce:

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup red wine

Combine sugar and water in a small pot and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted and caramelized, about 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the burner and add the cream and wine slowly. Be careful -- the sauce gets all hyper when you do this step.
When the sauce has calmed down, whisk until smooth and return it to the flame. Continue to slowly cook until reduced by half (or less if you like it liquidy; sauce will thicken on cooling).

Guinness Cake

2006-07-03T11:34:00.000-04:00

This is the pleasantly-tipsy Irish cousin to the holiday fruitcake that nobody likes. Everyone will like this, though. Trust me.

2 3/4 cup dried fruit (yellow and black raisins, sweet and tart cherries, blueberries, cranberries...use your favorites! --ed.)
1 tall can Guinness, or other stout of your choice
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine a bunch of different kinds of dried fruit in a bowl and pour a can of Guinness over it all. Allow to soak overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. In your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Drain the fruit, reserving the Guinness separately. Add flour, spices, salt, and drained fruit to butter and sugar mixture. Add enough fresh Guinness to the drained stout (or sip off the excess, if there is any --ed.) until there are 8 fluid ounces in your measuring cup. Add to batter, mixing thoroughly to combine.

4. Grease an 8-inch cake pan and add batter, smoothing the top evenly. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until the center is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.

Slainte!

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

2006-07-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

Another fine use for leftover ricotta. Frankly, I think the stuff is underrated as a baking staple. Yay ricotta!

2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (plus more to taste --ed. ;)
1/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter or oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers, or spray with nonstick spray if you prefer a paperless muffin. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, chips, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine ricotta with eggs and beat well. Whisk in milk, vanilla, and melted butter until well blended. (I did this in my stand mixer, then did the following step in reverse, adding the dry ingredients to the wet --ed.) Fold ricotta mixture into flour mixture until just blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups. (It's sticky! --ed.)

Bake 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately. Admire.

Fresh out of the oven, with the chocolate chips all melted, these are just heavenly.

Toby's Tomato Corn Muffins

2006-05-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

In honor of the arrival of baby Toby, I made these muffins when it came my turn to bring dinner to the new family. Mom and Dad loved the melted cheese centers. Toby himself was unimpressed.

1 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can diced tomatoes, drained, or 2 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
3 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a dozen regular-sized muffin cups with olive oil (I tried using paper cups, but these were a pain to peel off the finished muffins; better to go with the oil here).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add tomatoes and toss to distribute evenly.

In another bowl, combine milk, eggs, and olive oil with a whisk. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a large spatula just until only just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups halfway with batter and place a cube of cheese in the center of each. Cover with the remaining batter until mounded just above the tin. (Don't be afraid to pile it up a little. Muffin tops will round out nicely when baked). Top with mozzarella cheese shreds.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the muffin tops are golden and feel dry and springy to the touch. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing. Serve warm.

Orange-Rosemary Yogurt Cake

2006-04-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

This cake is full of surprises -- you would not expect orange zest, rosemary, olive oil and yogurt to marry so well. An excellent brunch (or Friday clerks' breakfast) treat.

2 eggs, brought to room temperature
1 cup plain yogurt (I bet vanilla would work too --ed.)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp. orange zest, freshly grated
3-4 stalks fresh rosemary, minced (about 1 Tbsp.)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of a round 8" cake pan, or spring-form pan, with parchment paper (yay! parchment paper!) and grease the sides with olive oil.
2. In a stand mixer, whisk the eggs on low speed. Add yogurt, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, orange zest, and rosemary.
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture and blend together, being careful not to over-mix the batter. (Don't be surprised if it comes out a bit stickier than you'd expect cake batter to be -- this is fine.)
4. Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Cool completely, then chill. Serve cold. Garnish with dollops of yogurt and a sprinkling of brown sugar to taste.

I bet this would also work well baked in muffin cups.