A-Cookie-A-Day

I haven't posted much this month, but that doesn't mean I haven't been in the kitchen. In fact, I have been "procrastibaking" like a professional (after all, that is how this blog came about)! On Friday, coincidentally the Mayan predicted apocalypse, the written portion of the qualifying exam (QE) for my graduate program is due. Just in case the world ends on Friday, I didn't want to spend my last days on alive workin' to the bone.  So, during the afternoons, I've been baking! Oh, and going on vacation!

During my last trip to Houston, Texas, I got my bake-on. While the boys were at work, I was busy trying really hard to focus on my QE. I ended up procrastibaking. In my effort to use up the ridiculous cache of baking supplies in my apartment, I flew to Texas with little baggies containing pre-measured ingredients for a cookie recipe I have in my recipe box, know I've made, but don't remember how they taste. The recipe is for German Chocolate Cookies from BHG. They are dark, they are kind of healthy (fruit, nuts, flaxseeds, oatmeal, dark chocolate, eggs) and they are very addicting!

The next day, I decided on pie. A certain boyfriend I know loves puns and liquor. That sounds bad. He's got an impressive liquor collection and loves making mixed drinks for other people. That's not to say there isn't a video of him floating around the internet where he chugs a 40. [rolls eyes] Undergrads, so irresponsible. Oh yeah, he also loves pie. We celebrated his birthday a little early with Drunken Raspberry and Portly Pear Pie from Food 52. I won't pretend that his roommate and I didn't pick it simply for the punny name. It was an interesting pie. The flavor was great but the pears gave it a gritty texture. I probably won't be using pears in baking any time soon. Also, I made the crust with lard. It was immensely flaky, but I don't really understand the hype.

I arrived back in St. Louis to an empty fridge. I was cranky and  unmotivated. With the minutes ticking away toward QE submission time, I went into A-Cookie-A-Day mode (like any rational, under-pressure graduate student would do)!

A-Cookie-A-Day, "Abby's Kitchen" Style:

Day 12: Maple Cookies from Simply Recipes
These are one of my favorite Fall cookies. While it's not technically Fall, it kinda feels like it is and I love denying that it's ever Winter. This was my first time baking with Grade B maple syrup. I have to say, I prefer these cookies with Grade A, which is good, because Grade B is really hard to find. My Grade B was from the Dane County Farmer's Market which was exciting because I bought it locally! If I'm going to pay a lot for maple syrup, I like knowing that the people who went out, tapped the trees, boiled and bottled the stuff get to see the profit.

Day 13: Triple-Ginger Cookies from Bon Appetit
My friend Kelly came over to procrastibake with me! She was craving ginger cookies. I normally follow Homesick Texan's recipe, but since I had fresh ginger leftover from Naturally Ella's delicious Spicy Peanut Sauce, we tried this recipe from Bon Appetit. We didn't have crystallized ginger, or dark brown sugar, or light molasses, but we made due. We even did a science experiment and reviewed the recipe! Check out our review!

Day 14: Almond Crunch Cookies from Bon Appetit
Because sometimes you're planning on moving and want to get rid of your liquor and decide to use it in cookies so as not to become a lush (kidding, it's really because you're a lightweight and can't possibly drink it all in time). These are super buttery, which makes me think the recipe might not have the right flour-sugar-butter ratio, but they are also kind of delicious.

Day 15: Salted Mudslide Cookies from How Sweet Eats
Not only is there a 3/4 full bottle of Amaretto, there's also a half-full bottle of Kahlua that needs drinking and a few packets of Foldger's instant coffee in the cupboard. Enter Salted Mudslide Cookies. Now, here's a funny secret, I don't like coffee (though boyfriend may have gotten me hooked on Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes [please don't get me started on how I feel about Starbucks' business practices, because falling for these lattes has really caused a moral dilemma]). Yum. I expected that I would hate these, but I really really like them.

Day 16: Andes Mint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Mommy loves cookies. Years ago, she asked me to make Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies for her Christmas gift (the kind where you spread the mint over the cooling cookie to make the mint into frosting). Since then, I've been doing regular holiday/birthday baking. She loves my chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and her favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. This year, I decided to mix it up. I stuffed half of an Andes Mint into my great-grandma's chocolate crinkles (I got the idea from A Finn in the Kitchen). Best straight out of the oven when the Andes Mint is still gooey. Yum!

Day 17: Cereal Killer Cookies from I Adore Food (Oatmeal, Chocolate and Coconut)
Today I worked on my QE all day. I mean it. I woke up, got out of bed, went to my computer and wrote. And wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I'm nearing a full draft. What remains is to write one more section in the topical review and add a few (very important, as in, if I don't address these issues I will probably fail) things to the research proposal. After nearly 10 1/2 straight hours of writing (minus breakfast and lunch breaks), I decided that it was cookie time. What was really important to me was that my Cookie-A-Day binge include oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookies were the first cookies I made by myself. Home alone one summer day, I found the recipe in my brother's Boy Scout Handbook. The section was on experimenting in the kitchen and cooking. The cookies were delicious. That was my baking debut! My mom is sure lucky that I found the ingredients and supplies (after probably a dozen phone calls). I'm the official family baker (and her personal cookie-maker). This isn't my usual oatmeal cookie recipe, but it is pretty tasty! Strangely, my cookies are far more oatmealy compared to last time I made these. They also look way more oaty than the picture, though I followed the recipe (but added chopped almonds). Hmm.. ??

Day 18: Candy Cane Crinkles from The Slow Roasted Italian
Ok woah! I worked on my QE for 15 hours yesterday! At 3 o'clock this morning, I took a few papers to bed to look over. I read for a little bit then realized how exhausted I was. My alarm was set for 8:15 to get to lab meeting by 9:15. When I woke up and looked in the mirror, I saw a ghost peering back. I was so pale that I almost put on some rouge to look sanguine. I can't lie, it felt kind of good to actually get dressed. After lab meeting, I stayed at work for more QE writing. Seven hours later I needed a break (and a cookie). I stopped at the grocery store to pick up candy canes, ended up with candy canes, pickles, hummus and a Chocolove peppermint candy bar. I would be lying if I pretended I didn't eat the chocolate bar and hummus for dinner (give me a break, I'd only eaten 2 oatmeal cookies and an apple during lab meeting and half of a sandwich for lunch. Oh that, and I'm a grad student. Anything above free food from seminars puts me above my peers). Anyhow, I made these candy cane crinkles. They are the perfect sugar cookies, with a hint of peppermint. If you love sugar cookies, try these.

After submitting my qualifying exam, I went into holiday mode. Turned on Billy Gilman Classic Christmas, made a homemade New Year's card and baked cookies to take back to Wisconsin. With the crazy unhealthy lifestyle I've had the past week while finishing my qual, I couldn't be more excited to head back home.

Nan's Chocolate Crinkles

I always called my great-grandma "Nan." It wasn't until about 5th or 6th grade that I realized her name was actually Marjorie. She was a feisty, young-at-heart, Italian red-head from the east coast (Jersey, maybe?). As long as I knew her, she had white hair and deep wrinkles. She wore a bright coral-pink lipstick, always the same shade. She smelled of baby powder. I loved writing and receiving mail, and so she became my pen-pal. Everyday after school, I stopped at the mailbox to see if she'd written. Her letters were usually about the weather or her cats, Koko and Kellie. She always sent me a one dollar bill with her card. I always addressed my letters to "Nan," and the ladies in my great-grandma's apartment complex thought it was the cutest thing. One time, I accidentally put the stamp and the return address label on the wrong sides. The mail carrier still delivered it. Again, the ladies at my great grandam's apartment complex thought it was the cutest thing. I, on the other hand, was mortified!

Nan passed away when I was in 7th grade. I remember hearing my name called over the announcements between classes asking me to report to the main office, and I just knew. We made it to the hospital in time to say goodbye. A few days later, I received my last pen-pal letter from her. It contained a dollar bill as always. She wrote to tell me she loved me, that she would be watching me from heaven with my great-grandpa Bobby, and most importantly, she asked me to take good care of my mommy for her. That was nearly 13 years ago. Every year at Christmas, I get a little teary and remember her. She had her designated chair at Christmas Eve and usually wore a red or black sweater with a string of pearls around her neck. We always gave her a bottle of strawberry bubble bath from Shopko. My grandma always gave her a pastel sweatshirt with flowers or birds on it. I can almost hear her disapproving voice scolding my brother for picking on me. Holidays just aren't the same without her.

When I think of Nan's cooking, I think of spaghetti and crab cakes. I think of potato salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top, sprinkled with paprika. I think of coming back from the pool to eat turkey sandwiches with iceberg lettuce, Kraft Singles and Miracle Whip on white bread. I think of eating macaroni and cheese with hotdogs and ketchup, while fighting with my brother under her huge dining room table. I think of the way my great-grandpa "Bobby" used shake powdered Kraft cheddar cheese on everything, particularly mashed potatoes. I think of fridge full of Diet Coke, a full stick of butter in crystal on the countertop and a candy dish full of mini Milky Way candy bars. I think of her Flour, Sugar, Coffee and Tea canisters that were the basis of many of my first "experiments" in the kitchen. I think of her wooden spice rack hanging on the kitchen wall across from her plastic dried chiles.

Before I left for graduate school, I transcribed all of my favorite family recipes. There were surprisingly few of Nan's. One of the recipes, in her handwriting, on the back of a check register, was for chocolate crinkles. Who knows where she got the recipe, or, if she ever even made them.  Nonetheless, the recipe is written in her later-in-life hard-to-read handwriting which is enough to make it special. When I finally got around to making cookies, I was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. I made them for a Pampered Chef party and they were the first to go! If you decide to try them, keep in mind that the dough has to be chilled overnight, and be sure to heed the *DO NOT OVER-BAKE* warning! Mint-Chocolate lovers: take note of the variation at the very bottom!

Chocolate Crinkles 
1/2 cup oil
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix oil, melted chocolate and sugar. Continue mixing and add the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the oil mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Chill overnight.  Drop the dough by the teaspoon into the powdered sugar and shape into balls. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes on a greased baking sheet. *DO NOT OVER-BAKE*

**Variation: Chocolate Mint Crinkles** to take these to the next level, stick half of an Andes Mint in the center before baking! Absolutely best warm from the oven, but great afterward too. I got this fabulous idea from A Finn in the Kitchen.

Red Wine Chocolate Lava Cakes

On the one year anniversary of making "Drown Your Sorrows in Cake" Red Wine Cake, I found myself in need of a pick-me-up. I don't remember why I was cranky, but I'm sure it had something to do with school or living in St. Louis. Instead of cheese to go with my wine, I was set on chocolate. Wine, chocolate, gooey. That's what I wanted. I was imagining the chocolate lava cakes that I made with one of my best friends the summer before moving to St. Louis. I flipped through the recipe cards in my recipe box until I found "molten chocolate oozy cake" in Cara's beautiful handwriting. The lava cakes are based on this food network recipe and the chocolate ganache is adapted from Like Mom Made. Recipe makes 6 "Texas muffin sized" molten lava cakes.

Objective
Make a molten lava cake with red wine ganache instead of traditional ganache filling.

Materials

Red Wine Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 cups red wine (Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz)
1-2 tbs sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
heaping 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (Ghiradelli 60% cacao)

Cake batter:
7 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (Ghiradelli 60% cacao)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup flour

Methods
1. Prepare the red wine chocolate ganache. In a small saucepan, simmer the red wine and sugar until it's reduced to a thick syrup (5-10 minutes). Set aside. Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Warm the cream and it pour over the chocolate. Whisk the cream and chocolate chunks until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the red wine reduction. Set aside to cool. Once cool, cover and refrigerate. Ganache will last covered in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°. Grease 6 Texas muffin cups.
3. Prepare the cake batter. Melt the butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk the egg/sugar mixture into the chocolate. Whisk in the flour.
4. Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with the batter. Scoop a small ball of cool ganache and place on top of the batter in the center of each cup. Top with batter to fill the cups 2/3 full.
5.  Bake 4-5 minutes or until the top sets. Flip the cakes out of the muffin tin and serve immediately.

Discussion
The flavor was good and got better with time. I just finished the last lava cake and it was even better than they were when I first made them over a week ago. The red wine added a rich fruity flavor to the ganache. Other ganaches would be great: peanut butter, hazelnut, cinnamon/chile, etc. Last time I used normal chocolate ganache and served the lava cakes with a strawberry mango compote (recipe in Supplementary Materials). This is a versatile recipe because you can adjust the ganache to your taste ands serve the cakes with different garnishes. If you have leftover ganache from another recipe, this is a great way to use it up.

Next time, I would make sure the ganache is cold before using it in the lava cakes. I think that would help it hold up longer while baking. This time, I wasn't able to get the cakes out of the muffin tin in one piece. Last time, I had no trouble. The only difference this time was the temperature of the ganache, so I assume that made the difference.

Supplementary Materials

Strawberry-Mango Compote
Mix together:
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup mango, chopped
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar
dash nutmeg

Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas

What defines comfort food? I've been craving comfort food a lot lately. With the shorter days and cooler temperatures, I just wanna snuggle and eat warm foods (the exception being mint chocolate chip ice cream--you're probably from Wisconsin if on a cold, dreary day, you find comfort in a carton of ice cream). For me, comfort food is warm, gooey, saucy, salty, and/or spicy, and easily eaten with a  spoon. The comfort foods that come to mind are  chili, mac'n'cheese, mashed potatoes, bacon, stew and, apparently, enchiladas (though that falls into the greater category of Mexican food).

Today, I walked home dreaming of the enchiladas I was going to make. The tricky part was that I didn't want to go to the grocery store and would have to rely on what was in my fridge, freezer and cupboards. As I'm currently writing the qualifying exam for my graduate program, making time to grocery shop hasn't been a priority. When you get a care package containing breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, it's probably a hint from someone who loves you that you need to take care of yourself. Because I started going to yoga again to undo the damage from my qualifying exam, I don't feel so bad about all of my high-calorie cravings like enchiladas. Luckily I'd just frozen a cup and a half of "chicken broth" (meaning the water leftover from braising a chicken breast) and stewing beef that was on quick-sale. When I got home, I walked straight into the kitchen and started making enchilada sauce.

Objective
Make enchiladas to feel better and warm up from the inside out.  The enchilada sauce is based on an Emeril Lagasse recipe. The enchilada recipe comes from Food Pusher.

Materials
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
3 Tbs chile powder
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce (I used up leftover spaghetti sauce)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 pound stewing beef
1 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base (or 1 1/2 bouillon cubes)
1 cup refried black beans
4 10" flour tortillas or 8-10 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Methods
1. Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add chile powder and stir 30 seconds longer. Add broth, tomato sauce and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Adjust spices if necessary.
2. Add the meat and bouillon to the simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove from heat. Shred the beef (tip: put the chunks of cooked meat in Kitchen Aid stand mixer and beat on med-high for about two minutes until shredded).
3. Prepare an 8x8 inch square baking dish.
4. Spread each tortilla with beans, add shredded beef and drizzle with a bit of the enchilada sauce. Roll and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat to fill the dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown. Serve immediately (may need to microwave ~15 seconds to ensure the filling is still warm).

Results
This was exactly what I was craving. Heavy on beans, light on meat. A little saucy, a little spicy.

Discussion
Truthfully, because I could adjust the sauce to my taste, these were better than what I would have gotten at a restaurant in St. Louis. The only annoying part was the wait. I wasn't able to eat dinner until well after 8:30. Next time (provided I had advanced warning of my craving), I would prepare the sauce ahead of time and cook the meat in the crockpot. But, since these cravings often come with no warning, I'm glad to know I can have enchiladas in just over 2 hours! Yum! These are without a doubt the best enchiladas I've ever made. That says a lot because I generally only make enchiladas suizas because of my insane love of salsa verde. I will definitely make these again!

Supplementary Information

Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Objective
Satisfy my craving for baked goods. Last night, I was craving something loaded with chocolate, but not just chocolate. I was also craving something thicker than a cookie, but cookie-like. To celebrate the season, I decided on Bake at 350's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.

I made a few changes. First off, I like my bars thick. I doubled the recipe and baked the bars in an 8x8" baking dish. I reduced the sugar, increased the salt and reduced all of the spices (I didn't think pumpkin pie spices and chocolate would taste good together because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with cinnamon). I added butterscotch chips for added flavor.

Materials
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Fold in enough chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate fix.
6. Spread the dough in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

Results
These are pretty good and did satisfy my craving for baked goods. The flavor is a little weird with chocolate and the pumpkin pie spices. The butterscotch flavor works well with the pumpkin.

Discussion
These bars are OK as is, but could be better. Because the pumpkin pie spices didn't work with chocolate but the butterscotch went well with the bars as a whole, I can see taking this recipe in two completely different directions. Option 1: Omit the pumpkin pie spices all together and increase the amount of butterscotch chips (add some to the dough). Option 2: Increase the pumpkin pie spices and swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.

In the end, I wished I had just made normal chocolate chip cookie bars. But, all is not lost, because I have ideas for how to improve the recipe. I'll be sure to update if I try them again to improve the recipe. What would be even better is if I could convince a friend to try improving it and letting me be the taste tester!

Supplementary Materials

Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Pie Roll-Out Butter Cookies

It's officially my favorite season! I love Fall because it has the best activities! Apple-picking, bonfires, carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin flavored everything and caramel apples, decorating cut-out Halloween cookies, hiking underneath the leaves that are changing color, costume parties, the list goes on. I spent the past week looking for fall funtivities for my trip to Houston. Apple picking? Nope. Apparently it's too hot in Houston for apple orchards. Pumpkin patch? Nearest one is 50 minutes away (with limited time and a resident's work schedule, that's a little too far). Hikes underneath the changing leaves? Well, we can hike, but I don't think the palm trees will be changing color anytime soon. So, maybe we couldn't fill an entire day with fall funtivities. I knew we needed pumpkins and I knew we needed to bake.

I brought a pie pumpkin to Houston from St. Louis because I got it for $1.50 at the Soulard Farmer's Market. That's only half true. I mostly brought it because I wondered if TSA would actually let me carry-on a pumpkin. They didn't even ask me about it! Thursday night, we picked up more pumpkins from the grocery store and carved 2 of them. The one requirement for pumpkin carving was that we bake the pumpkin seeds. I had the apartment to myself on Friday because the boys had to work. I decided to bake the pumpkin seeds, and since the oven was going to be on anyway, make cookies. While the doctors were away, Abby raided their kitchen to play!

Objective

Make fun fall-cookies with my jack-o-lantern cookie cutter! Scouring the internet for pumpkin roll-out cookies lead me to many recipes with terrible reviews. I decided to make my own version of Pumpkin Spice Roll-out Sugar Cookies from Life's a Batch.

Materials

1 cup unsalted butter, sort of soft (get the chill off)

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

1/8 teaspoon each of ground allspice and cloves

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon half-and-half (whatever dairy product you have on hand)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Methods

2. Cream butter and sugar until light (in color) and fluffy. It will be tricky to know when the butter is light because of the brown sugar. However, if you look closely, you'll be able to see that the butter changes from a light yellow to a creamy white. 

3. Stir in the baking powder, salt and spices.

4. Beat in the egg, vanilla and half-and-half.

5. Add in the flour (slowly if you have a hand mixer because it will get thick) and mix until well combined.

6. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 chunks. Place it between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8-1/4 inch (depending on if you like them thin and crispy or soft and chewy). Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. If you can remove the edges without ruining the cookies, do it. Place the cut out shapes (still on waxed paper and on a hard surface) in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. 

7. Gently transfer the cut-out cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with decorating sugar.

8. Bake 8 minutes at 365°. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Results

Yum! These are buttery and not overly-sweet. Just enough spice to not be overpowering. The recipe yielded about 40 cookies. 

Discussion

I normally hate making roll-out cookies. It usually becomes one big fat mess and I get frustrated and don't want to finish rolling/cutting them out. These were pretty easy. The butter to flour ratio makes a good, cohesive, soft dough that isn't too tacky. But, be sure to work quickly so that the butter doesn't get too soft. 

If you love cinnamon, add more. If you want a spicy cookie, increase all of the spices by 1/8-1/4 teaspoon. If there's a spice you don't have or don't like, leave it out and add more of the others. I think this is a forgiving recipe when it comes to the spices. If you want to go into a sugar coma, add frosting or glaze. If you're trying to avoid insulin-resistance, don't. These are delicious without frosting!

We took the cookies to a retreat over the weekend and they were a hit. People were really excited when they realized the pumpkins had faces and even more excited when they realized the cookies tasted like pumpkin pie!

Supplementary Materials

Low-Sugar 4th of July Cherry Pie

My parents came to visit over my birthday weekend. Because I wouldn't be home in August to celebrate my dad's birthday and my brother's birthday, I decided to make their birthday treats for them in July and send them back to Wisconsin with my parents. My brother is easy. He loves cheesecake. I made him a cherry cheesecake with pistachio nut crust. My dad is a little more difficult because he's on a low-sugar/no refined sugar diet. He gets frustrated because I do a lot of baking and he doesn't get to eat anything. So, I decided to make him something he couldn't feel as guilty eating.

Objective
Make a 4th of July Cherry Pie without adding refined sugar.

Materials

9-inch or 9.5-inch pie crust

Filling:
1 12-oz bag of frozen sweet cherries
1 14-oz can of tart cherries in water
1/2 cup agave
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch salt
strips of lemon peel, from one lemon

Crumble topping:
1/4 cup flaked coconut (can use more if you can find unsweetened)
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons agave nectar
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small 1/4-inch cubes

Methods
1. Prepare and bake the crust until lightly golden. If you're using a store bought crust: lay in the pie pan and press into place. Form the edges however it pleases you. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Bake at 450° for 7-10 minutes or until it's lightly golden. If it puffs up while baking, prick the puff with a fork to settle it. Set the crust aside. Then, preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Meanwhile, thaw the frozen sweet cherries in a bowl, reserving the liquid that drains off. Drain the canned tart cherries into a 1 cup (or greater) liquid measuring cup and add the tart cherries to the bowl of sweet cherries. Once the sweet cherries have thawed (can microwave in short intervals to speed up the process), add the juice to the measuring cup with the juice from the can.
3. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add 2/3 cup of the cherry juice and lemon peel. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the liquid bubbles and thickens (this should be quick). Stir in the cherries and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and set aside.
4. Make the crumble topping by mixing the dry ingredients together, then slowly stirring in the butter cubes (add them slowly so that they don't clump together). Sprinkle on top of the cherry filling.
5. Bake the pie at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Results
The pie wasn't as sweet as the original version, but rightly so. They cherry flavor was still good and the crumble topping was delicious.

Discussion
I prefer the original version of the recipe, but if I hadn't had the original, I would have liked this version. The pie was for my dad, and my mom assured me that it got eaten. I'm not sure that agave nectar is my favorite refined sugar substitute. The flavor doesn't quite do it for me. Honey has too strong of a flavor, so I try to avoid honey as well. One of my friends from school came over and we baked a chocolate cake using whole wheat pastry flour, coconut milk, maple syrup and dark chocolate. It was too bitter for me, but I think that could have been remedied with semisweet chocolate instead of dark chocolate. You couldn't tell the cake had maple syrup in it. Next time, I think I'd try maple syrup as my non-refined sugar substitute.

Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies

On Labor Day, we saw the sun for the first time over the holiday weekend. It was a welcome relief from the dreary clouds and hurricane rains that made their way up to St. Louis from the Gulf. I was happy to get outside and enjoy the evening at a Labor Day BBQ. We had carne asada and steak on the grill with egg salad, potato salad, a bunch of other salads, chocolate chip cookies and Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies.

I mentioned these zucchini blondies in my Chocolate Zucchini Cake post. I tried to make a version that was less cake-like and more cookie-like. I also reduced the sugar, because the original recipe from Domino Sugar was so sweet it burned on the way down. The butterscotch chips are what give these blondies their characteristic flavor. If you don't like butterscotch, skip the butterscotch chips and increase the amount of chocolate chips. I was pleased with the results: they weren't too sweet or too cake-like. The other party goers must have liked them too, because they quickly devoured the whole pan.

Materials
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup white sugar*
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 zucchini, freshly grated (1 small-medium zucchini)
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
*Note: this makes a very sweet blondie. Feel free to cut back to 3/4 cup total sugar.

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until just incorporated.
4. Stir in the grated zucchini, half of the butterscotch chips, and half of the chocolate chips.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the 8x8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.
6. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

End of Summer Pistachio Almond Gelato

In Wisconsin, Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. In Missouri, Labor Day weekend means a day off of school. I must say I prefer the former, because it makes for 15-week semesters instead of the brutal 18-week long semesters Washington University finds necessary. In St. Louis, there are an assortment of festivals over Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, Hurricane Issac made his way to Missouri just in time to rain out many of the activities. It's been dark and dreary. It's not cold, but it feels like soup weather. Determined not to let the weather damper my enjoyment of summer's end, I decided to make ice cream.

I haven't made a lot of ice cream this summer because I can't eat enough to justify making a whole batch. I didn't know if a half batch would freeze properly, so I just skipped ice cream all together. With cold weather just a few months away (or maybe not with the kind of weather we've been having), I decided that it's now or never. Last week, my friend Ann and I went to a painting class at Bar Italia. Ann ordered a drink made with cranberry juice, pistachio liqueur and a splash of lemon lime soda. It was delicious and inspired me to make pistachio gelato.

In the blog world, David Lebovitz seems to be the leading authority for ice cream recipes. Being the rebel that I am (and because I didn't want to track down Pistachio Paste when I have a lifetime supply of unsalted, shelled pistachios in my fridge), I opted for a recipe by David Leite. I couldn't have been more pleased with my choice! The creaminess is unparalleled. For the full, unmodified recipe, see  David Leite's Pistachio Gelato.

Materials
1 cup (scant) unsalted, shelled pistachios, finely ground
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or less)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Method
See David Leite's Pistachio Gelato.

Results
The flavor isn't overly pistachio-y. The texture is indescribably creamy. You'll have to make it to believe me. No, really. Go make it. You won't be disappointed.

Discussion
Besides halving the recipe, I did modify the ingredients a smidge. I added the upper limit of sugar. That was a bad idea because it ended up a little too sweet. I think the sweetness masked the pistachio flavor.  Next time, I would let the pistachios steep in the milk/cream for an hour or two before refrigerating. Because my gelato wasn't very pistachio-y, I stirred in some almond extract immediately prior to freezing. In flavor, it tastes a lot like Blue Bunny Pistachio Almond Ice Cream. In texture, it's far superior. I was pleased with my decision to leave out the chopped pistachios so that the texture was smooth.

I am so pleased with this recipe that I would like to try it as the base for future flavors. It would be easy to make it a mint gelato, or another herb/nut infusion. Though I wouldn't know where to being, it would be amazing as chocolate gelato. It might be a few months or even a year before I make ice cream again, but I will be sure to keep this recipe in mind when I do (and so should you)!

Supplementary Materials

Variation for Chocolate Gelato
I did make this recipe into chocolate gelato. After heating the milk and cream, I whisked in 1/6 cup (1/3 cup for the full recipe) cocoa powder. Then, after tempering the eggs and whisking them into the cream mixture, I whisked in 1 oz (2 oz for the full recipe) Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips. The texture wasn't as creamy as the pistachio, which was disappointing, but it reminded me of a Wendy's Frosty. I'd definitely make it again!

A Summer Must-Have: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

In my opinion, no food is as summery as zucchini. For those who grow zucchini in their gardens, they have be creative to use up the amount of squash they harvest, share it with friends, or freeze it. Growing up, my next-door-neighbors planted a vegetable garden  and left my mom in charge of tending it while they vacationed each summer. Each year they vacationed more and more, to the point where they started spending the entire summer away. That meant our family ate a lot of zucchini while they were gone!

My first memory of zucchini is a dish my mom made many years ago. We were at my grandma's house. I think it was right after my grandma moved from "The House on Monica Lane" to her condo. For dinner, she sautéed chicken breasts with onions and zucchini slices, added diced tomatoes and let it simmer. Before serving it, she sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top and covered the pan until the cheese melted. It was incredibly delicious and became a Mapes family staple. While we all liked the recipe, we couldn't rely on it as the sole meal for using up zucchini. My mom also made chocolate zucchini cake and butterscotch blondies with zucchini. I remember being skeptical and pleasantly surprised by both. The following summer, I started making chocolate zucchini cake a yearly tradition. I think I even made it for my birthday cake one year. 

Last week I made zucchini butterscotch blondies. I'm going to play around with it a little bit and I'll share it if I can make the blondies more cookie-like and less cake-like. In the mean time, I decided to make chocolate zucchini cake. I didn't want to use the recipe from my youth because it has cinnamon in it and I'm not crazy about cinnamon in baked goods (except in cinnamon rolls). After a lot of Google image searching, I decided to make a recipe from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary because I liked the look of the crumb. I made my version in a smaller pan, reduced the sugar an increased the zucchini. I was thrilled with the results! Saturday morning couldn't have been much better spent, eating chocolate zucchini cake and rescuing this adorable baby bunny who got stuck in a hole outside of my apartment:

Objective

Find a new recipe for chocolate zucchini cake that doesn't use cinnamon.

Materials

1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk, if you have it on hand)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/4 cup zucchini, grated (about 1 medium zucchini)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet)

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease an 8x8" dish and set aside.

2. Stir together the milk and lemon juice. Set aside. *Omit this step if you have buttermilk, but it's not worth buying a container specifically for this recipe since it only requires 1/4 cup.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a small/medium sized bowl. Set aside.

4. Beat sugar, butter and olive oil until well-mixed.

5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

6. Alternatively add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk/buttermilk in three separate additions.

7. Fold in the zucchini and about half of the chocolate chips.

8. Pour into the prepared 8x8" dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips (if you don't think there are enough on top, add more).

9. Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly/a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

10. Cool completely before covering. **I know it's hard, but if you can, wait 24-48 hours before cutting into the cake. The zucchini will release moisture over time, and the cake will be perfectly moist at around 48 hours. It's worth the wait, I promise!

Results

Delicious as is. Needs no frosting or ice cream on the side. I made it Thursday night, tried it Friday night but found that it was even better on Saturday. Incredibly moist and delicious. The moisture helped the chocolate chips stay soft, which improved the texture of the cake.

Discussion and Future Directions

This will be my go-to chocolate zucchini cake recipe from here on out (unless my mom specifically requests her recipe)! If I doubled this recipe and baked the cake in a 9x13, I would omit at least 1/4 cup of the sugar, but omitting even more would be ok. Reducing the sugar helps make it more of a snack cake, rather than a dessert. I promise it's a good idea because there is no way you won't keep going back to the kitchen for "just one more little piece." Plus, it has vegetables in it, so it's healthy, right? Next time you have zucchini, give it a try!

Supplementary Materials

More bunny pictures because he's just so adorable!!

4th of July Cherry Pie

Fireworks over the Gateway Arch

What's more American that pie? For some reason, people love pie. I don't really get it. Nothing is less appealing to me than crust, so something sandwiched between two crusts really doesn't do it for me. Additionally, pie crusts are a pain to make (I don't care what your technique is, it's not good enough to make pie crust makin' a desirable activity). The easiest pie crust recipes I have are "pat-in" pie crusts so you don't have to roll them out. Easy enough, but generally horrendously uneven and ugly. Even when you buy a frozen pie crust, it often cracks and is a pain. You can poke it everywhere and it will still puff up. Don't even get me started on the edges cooking too quickly. I'm convinced pie crust does these things just to be irritating and make pie-making an annoying elitist experience.  Regardless, people I care about care about pie. Therefore, it would be wise of me to come to terms with pie making and pie eating. So that's what I'm going to do!

Objective
Make a cherry pie as my "dish to pass" for 4th of July activities. I saw this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens July 2012 issue. They call it "Double Cherry Crunch Pie." This version is very similar, but more accessible for people who don't have well-stocked grocers nearby. The filling has both sweet and tart cherries and the topping is a coconut/almond/oat crumble. *For a lower sugar version, look here.

Materials
1 9-inch or 9.5-inch pie crust

Filling:
1 12-oz bag of frozen sweet cherries
1 14-oz can of tart cherries in water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch salt
strips of lemon peel, from one lemon

Crumble topping:
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose for a milder flavor)
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small 1/4-inch cubes

Methods
1. Prepare and bake the crust until lightly golden. If you're using a store bought crust: lay in the pie pan and press into place. Form the edges however it pleases you. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Bake at 450° for 7-10 minutes or until it's lightly golden. If it puffs up while baking, prick the puff with a fork to settle it. Set the crust aside. Then, preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Meanwhile, thaw the frozen sweet cherries in a bowl, reserving the liquid that drains off. Drain the canned tart cherries into a 1 cup (or greater) liquid measuring cup and add the tart cherries to the bowl of sweet cherries. Once the sweet cherries have thawed (can microwave in short intervals to speed up the process), add the juice to the measuring cup with the juice from the can. Add water to 1 cup if necessary.
3. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the cherry juice and lemon peel. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the liquid bubbles and thickens (this should be quick). Stir in the cherries and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and set aside.
4. Make the crumble topping by mixing the dry ingredients together, then slowly stirring in the butter cubes (add them slowly so that they don't clump together). Sprinkle on top of the cherry filling.
5. Bake the pie at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Results
This pie isn't much of a looker. However, as I hope you learned many years ago, looks aren't everything. The flavor is good, the filling is thick in consistency but not in depth. The crumble topping is also flavorful and adds nice texture.

Discussion and Future Directions
For pie, this is pretty easy to make. The crust is really the part you have to worry about. If you're not into crumble topping, you could easily make a lattice top and proceed that way. But you've read my feelings on crust--lattice top? Heck no. That's only for really special occasions. 4th of July potluck? Sorry America, you're not lattice-top worthy. Luckily, I love crumble topping on about everything.

If you like almonds, consider adding almond extract to the filling once it's done cooking. Cherry and almond go quite well together, which is probably why this topping has a very nontraditional ingredient: chopped almonds. If you like it on top, there's no reason not to add it to the filling too.

More on the filling--I wouldn't have minded more cherry filling. I might have preferred this as a deep dish cherry pie. There was a lot of crumble topping relative to the filling. However, I think the amount of crumble topping was good. Next time I might add another cup or so of cherries, keeping everything else the same (and that should fit in a normal size pie pan).

Overall, I actually liked this pie! I enjoyed a piece after dinner and we took it along to the bar after fireworks and continued picking at it (the crumble topping is great for picking)! This is a great summer pie, not just for the 4th of July! Give it a try!

Supplementary Materials

Triple Nut Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Objective
Make chocolate chip cookies with almonds. One of my favorite ways to get to know people is the either/or game. Pancakes or waffles? Chocolate or vanilla? Day or night? History museum or science museum? Ostrich or emu? Nuts or no nuts? Sunrise or sunset? Cake or cookies? Half windsor or bow tie? For important questions, I ask them to elaborate. That's how I learned that one of my college friend's favorite cookies were his mom's chocolate chip and almond cookies. You can put almonds in cookies? Yes! This has been on my to-do list since 2007.

So why am I finally getting around to making them? Blue Bell's Moo-llenium Crunch ice cream. On a recent trip to Houston, my traitorous self ate Texan ice cream (and I loved it). Their ice cream isn't as rich as many are, which is good. If ice cream is too rich, I feel sick after just a few bites. The flavor was roasted pecans, almonds and walnuts with chocolate and caramel in vanilla ice cream. Three kinds of nuts? We would have been nuts not to try it! Eventually, I'd like to try making my own ice cream mimic, but in the meantime, I can settle for ice cream sandwiches on a hot day!

Materials
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened or melted (I do a combination, mostly melted)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar would work, but I wanted them more caramely)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup whole almonds
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, chopped into small chunks
1/2 cup chopped rolos (optional)
vanilla ice cream

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and beat in eggs, one at a time.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then slowly beat into the batter.
5. Stir in the nuts and chocolate. *At this point, you can bake right away or chill the dough a little before rolling into balls and baking, which will help them be perfect circles. Your choice. But, if you're using Rolos, I recommend chilling the dough first.
6. Drop 1" (or smaller) balls  onto a parchment line baking sheet, greased baking sheet or pre-seasoned baking stone.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges begin to brown but the center is still doughy. Wait 3-5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire sheet to cool completely.
8. Dollop vanilla ice cream on a cookie, smush one on top and serve as ice cream sandwiches.

Results
Why haven't  I thought of this before? These are delicious! The cookies are soft, which is important when you're biting through two layers plus ice cream. The combination of nuts works well with the chocolate and the cookies are very chunky.

Discussion and Future Directions
I love chocolate chip cookies. I love chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. I love chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips (when I was a kid, I didn't like chocolate and would make separate chocolate-free cookies). Turns out, I love chocolate chip cookies with pecans, almonds and walnuts even more. My mom came home, tried a cookie and decided they were the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. That could be because I don't live at home anymore and she doesn't get them often, but I think it's because they're really that good!

These are a soft, chewy cookie. If you like them crisp, overbake them and they will have a nice crunch. These are delicious alone, but better with ice cream. Toasting the nuts isn't required, but people with more sensitive palates than me say it's a must. Throw them in the oven at 250° and bake 5-8 minutes (stirring every few minutes) or until the nuts are fragrant. It doesn't add much time. The rolls were my way of adding caramel to the recipe, but using dark brown sugar helps add a caramely flavor. I would probably leave the Rolos out next time just because they are a little messy and force you to scrape the baking sheet clean. Parchment paper would be a great way to make cleanup easy if you do want to use Rolos. I made the first batch of cookies without them and they were equally delicious.

Few things remind me of summer break quite as much as ice cream treats (not to mention the ice cream truck). Ice cream sandwiches were always a favorite. These ice cream sandwiches are homemade and a little more adult. That doesn't mean they aren't as good. In fact, I think they're better!

Supplementary Materials

Red Velvet Cake Woes

Growing up, I remember looking forward to my mom's birthday cake every year. My grandma would come over in the morning to drop off a red velvet cake for her daughter's birthday. The vegetable shortening frosting was incredible. The cake was usually good, too. Truth be told, I've never had a red velvet cake other than my grandma's nor have I had anything else with a take on red velvet (like red velvet brownies or whoppie pies, etc). However, as a health-concious adult, I couldn't bring myself to eat a cake loaded with red food coloring and frosted with vegetable shortening.

So, last summer, I did a little research into red velvet cakes. I wanted to try making one, but without the red food coloring and using a different frosting recipe. I told someone I was going to try making one with beets and they didn't believe that it would work or that anyone made cakes that way. That's not true. A lot of people use either beet juice or pureed beets to make their cakes red. Beets are used for color in a lot of natural foods.

One emotionally trying night later that summer, I was in the mood to eat an entire cake myself, so I gave it a try. I have no idea what recipe I used. At this point, I couldn't even tell you what cookbook it came from. However, as you can see, the cake wasn't red. Did I really use a red velvet recipe? I thought I did, but I have no idea. I'll be honest, I was happily dancing around my apartment in heels to La Roux and drinking wine (I had to practice walking/dancing in my bridesmaid shoes for the following weekend). The cake wasn't my top priority. I believe I used beet juice in some way, but I have no idea how. In spite of the concerns I have about what I actually made, I knew I needed to try again. My cake turned out black. The recipe I used called for a lot more cocoa powder than most red velvet recipes I've seen. So, I'm going to blame the recipe for the color of my cake (regardless of wether or not it was actually for a red velvet cake). I can't imagine this cake could have been a normal red color even with the addition of food coloring because of how dark it is. Whatever I made, it was delicious and improved my mood significantly!

This summer, I decided to try again. What sparked my interest was an article about Cajun and Creole food in St. Louis' Feast Magazine. It included a recipe for red velvet cake with a creole cream cheese frosting (which can be found on their website). I liked the sound of the recipe because the cake was colored with beet puree instead of red food coloring and the batter included butter and cream cheese (cream cheese in the frosting and the cake? Woah!). The frosting recipe called for cream cheese, butter and creole cream cheese. I decided it wasn't worth looking for creole cream cheese in Madison, Wisconsin. We're a long way from New Orleans.

Creole cream cheese is made with milk, buttermilk and rennet.

As little Miss Muffet could tell you from her tuffet, 

coagulation produces curds and whey. 

You get creole cream cheese by straining the curds 

and letting all the liquid drain away. 

The digestive enzymes contained in rennet coagulates the milk (there's a good chance you did this in  biology class in high school when you were learning about digestion). Obviously it wouldn't be a problem finding a major enzyme used in cheese making in Dairyland (after all, it's how they make cheese curds). However, I didn't want to call around looking for it or end up with a ridiculous amount of cheese-making enzymes. Instead, I decided to use sour cream.

I didn't like the flavor of the cake, but the color and presentation were perfect! Also, the frosting was top-notch (recipe follows). It was very light and creamy. It wasn't overly buttery or overly cream cheesy. The sour cream lent a bit of tang without being overpowering, which would make it a great frosting for a sweet cake. My aunt is visiting from Lake Tahoe and requested cinnamon rolls. I plan on using the leftover frosting on the cinnamon rolls (my dad tried to get me to throw it away. Sorry dad, no way. He won't eat sweets, so he can't possibly understand how delicious it was).

Now, it's important to note that while I didn't care for the cake, some of my family members did. Even my cousin who chose not to have a piece the first night because of the beets had a piece a few days later and enjoyed it. To me, the cake was far too acidic and tasted like beets (which to me is very earthy). The beets were pureed with lemon juice. Then I was supposed to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. I couldn't find the vinegar (the woes of baking in someone else's kitchen), forgot I needed it, and left it out. Vinegar is acetic acid. The lemon juice is a different type of acid (citric acid), but will perform the same acid/base chemistry as acetic acid. I can't imagine that the problem was too little acid, because the whole cake tasted tart and acidic (which tells me there wasn't enough base in the cake to neutralize the acid).

Most red velvet cakes contain buttermilk. This recipe did not use buttermilk. Instead, I imagine the purpose of the cream cheese was to replace the fat of the buttermilk and the lemon juice/vinegar was to replace the acidity of buttermilk (and keep the beets a bright red color). The cake uses baking powder, so the lemon juice/vinegar is unlikely to play a big role in leavening because baking powder contains acid and base (when they react, they release carbon dioxide which creates bubbles in the batter). Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a base, which makes me wonder if the leavening agent should have been baking soda to help neutralize the acid. Cocoa powder can also be acidic unless it's been "dutch-processed" or alkalized to neutralize it.

The moral of the story is that I still haven't found a red velvet cake recipe that's worth making again. After I botched a second "red velvet" cake (the microbiologist in me just looked up the origin of "botched" to make sure it doesn't refer to botulism, it doesn't!), my motivation to make a delicious red velvet cake is as great as ever. Have any of you found the perfect red velvet cake recipe? If so, I'd love to try it!

Dairy-Lover's Frosting
adapted from Simone Faure's recipe in Feast Magazine
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream
3 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip until light and creamy. If the frosting is runny, place it in the fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes before use.

Food Plus Words' Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (Review)

Something got me in the mood for a tart, fruity dessert. Maybe it was the weather. A Memorial Day weekend with temperatures in the 90s was far from refreshing. Perhaps that's why I was craving something tart, like citrus or raspberries. Some friends planned to go raspberry picking Monday morning. I would have joined them and used the raspberries for a raspberry pie, but a special someone was scheduled to show up at my door at 6 am after an overnight bus ride from Chicago. I suspected a nap would be a more appropriate welcome than heading out the door to the pick-your-own raspberry farm. So, instead of raspberry, I opted for lemon.

Objective
Make a lemon poppyseed cake to decorate as a graduation cake.

Review
Lemon was the flavor I was in the mood for, but I thought the addition of poppy seeds would make decorating more fun. The recipe I decided to try was Food Plus Word's Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake. I was intrigued by the recipe because the cake was layered with lemon curd mousse and topped with a lemon swiss buttercream, not to mention the reviews stated that the cake was very lemony!

Lemon Poppyseed Cake
Depending on your preferences, this cake might be a huge disappointment. The cake itself is relatively easy to make. It is a bit of a time investment because zesting and juicing lemons quickly becomes tedious. I popped the layers in the oven and all seemed well. However, as soon as the cake was done and cooling, it collapsed. There was lip around the side of the cake as evidence of its fall. In a bit of an overly emotional state, I got a little overwhelmed and wondered if I should even proceed. Having experience with gluten free baking, I was afraid it might end up being a brick. Perhaps it would make a good paperweight. Because I'd already made the lemon curd, I figured I may as well proceed. 

In the end, I really enjoyed the cake. It was dense like a pound cake, which is extremely appropriate for a lemon poppyseed cake. The refreshing flavor of citrus complements the richness of a poundcake very well. The only real concern with the cake was that it was far too acidic for my tastes. The flavor was good, but my stomach couldn't quite tolerate it.

Lemon Curd Mousse
After the incredible clementine curd mousse I made for my Clementine Mousse Cheesecake, I was extremely excited to make lemon curd mousse. Knowing how easy it was to make curd, I spent the time juicing and zesting lemons to make my own. The recipe follows in the Supplementary Materials.

The lemon curd mousse had an entirely different texture from the clementine mousse. The clementine curd mousse was light and airy and made with gelatin as a stabilizer. The lemon curd mousse was denser and creamier (not to mention significantly easier and quicker to make). As a stand alone mousse, this wouldn't be very good. However, it made a great cream filling for this cake.

Lemon Swiss Buttercream
This was my first experience with Swiss buttercream. If you've never had it, it's incredibly rich. It's essentially butter melted into whipped, cooked egg whites and sugar. Swiss buttercream makes a great canvas for decorating because it is heavy and can stiffen up quickly in the fridge. A dense, rich frosting on a dense, rich cake was a little too much. I can't think of what type of cake Swiss buttercream would be appropriate for, but this isn't it. It's just too buttery.

Discussion and Future Directions
I would make this recipe again, but with quite a few changes. In the cake, I would eliminate the lemon juice and use only lemon extract (albeit, increasing the volume). That would reduce the acidity in the final product. The buttermilk is still in the recipe, so there would be mild acidity from the buttermilk instead of the overpowering acidity from the lemons.

The lemon curd mousse filling is delicious. However, for a lighter version of the cake, one could simply use lemon curd (not that lemon curd is particularly light). For a twist, it would be interesting to omit the poppy seeds from the cake and use a raspberry or blackberry jam filling. Or, have two filling layers between the cake layers: one lemon curd and the other jam. If the lemon curd seems like too much work, just use frosting.

As I mentioned before, the Swiss buttercream was a bit too rich for the cake. Instead, I would use a fluffy lemon buttercream. I think I could have had more control over a standard buttercream than I did with the Swiss buttercream. I couldn't really control the sweetness or texture like I could have with standard buttercream. I've seen people use cream cheese frosting, which might also be delicious. But again, I think you would really have to find a light and fluffy cream cheese frosting recipe (I recommend this delicious recipe from Allrecipes.com: Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting).

When I first envisioned this cake, I pictured smooth sides scattered with poppy seeds and a wispy frosting on top with carefully placed candied lemons. However, I ditched that plan in an effort to make it a graduation cake. Overall, I was pleased with how it turned out. I hope the graduate was too!

Supplementary Information

Lemon Curd Recipe
(Original recipe can be found at Joy of Baking)
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
4 tablespoons butter (softened works best)
Zest of 2-3 lemons (however many you juice)

Whisk the eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a double boiler. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken (this should take around 10 minutes and most recipes say the magic temperature is 160°F. I disagree. In my experience at 160 degrees, it's just beginning to thicken. Judge for yourself). Remove the mixture from heat. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Whisk in the butter, tablespoon by tablespoon. Stir in the lemon zest. Cover with saran wrap (lay it directly on top of the curd to prevent a film from forming and cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Art of Dessert's Chocolate Wasted Cake (Review)

Few things give me as much pleasure as the opportunity to bake for a special occasion. Most recently, I had two friends graduate from Washington University School of Medicine with their MDs. The evening before graduation, I asked one of the graduates (Kristen) to tell me her favorite dessert flavor. Her eyes got big, and without hesitation, she responded "Chocolate." I next asked her what flavor would be her favorite if it was a fruity dessert. "Chocolate. But if it's fruit to go with chocolate, then raspberry." I responded, "So you really like chocolate?" Again, with big eyes, she responded "Yes! I even love chocolate with my chocolate." With that, I knew the only suitable cake to bake for her graduation BBQ was a chocolatey masterpiece I'd had in the back of my mind since I first saw it.

Objective
Make the chocolatey masterpiece found on Art of Dessert called Chocolate Wasted Cake.

Review
I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about this recipe. I was worried that it was too good to be true. Rianne's pictures of the cake are absolutely beautiful. Could I throw together candy and drizzle chocolate all over it and end up with something presentable? Or, would it look like a 5 year-old decorated it? In spite of my fear, Kristen had made it clear that the only thing that would satisfy her was chocolate, and preferably, chocolate with her chocolate. What choice did I have?

Cake
Before embarking on the Chocolate Wasted Cake journey, I read through the recipe. This is something I rarely do, but decided that with this cake, it would be unwise to start without a game plan. I quickly noted that the wet ingredients in the cake were milk, butter and honey. No eggs? Hmm. This seemed odd. I quickly scrolled down the page to the comments, where I found dichotomous reviews. Of those who actually made the recipe and weren't just commenting on looks, people either loved the cake or hated it. One comment even talked about being an experienced baker of 40 years and throwing this yucky cake in the trash. I decided not to let a few naysayers deter me from making what could be a chocolate lover's dream.

I have to admit, I didn't make the batter. It was sometime around midnight and I felt rushed to get the cake in the oven so I wouldn't be up all night waiting for it to cool. I was fortunate enough to have a lovely assistant who did most of the footwork. I don't actually remember what I was doing while he measured and poured and manned Betty (I think my Kitchen Aid is going to be called Betty. I'm hesitant to commit, because I also kind of like Debbie. I may be biased, but I love names with double letters that end in 'y's, which is probably why Betty has more favor than Debbie. Kitty was also in the running, but I got pooh-poohed because Kitty is apparently a name better suited for a cat).

Anyhow, I had very little trouble making the cake. I divided the batter between three 9-inch cake pans, that I sprayed with oil and floured. I should have let the cake pans cool to the touch before flipping the cakes onto a rack to cool (but let's be real, it was well after 1 a.m. at this point and I surely wasn't going to wait any longer than I had to). Additionally, it might have been worth cutting out circles of parchment paper to line the pans, as that's never a bad idea for easy removal and cleanup.

An important consideration for anyone making this cake, is, do you like cake? For me, the answer is no. This is unfortunate because cakes are fun to decorate and are ideal for events and celebrations (I seek out events that are appropriate for me to bring a themed cake). I think I finally realized that what I dislike about cake is the texture. It's light, airy and spongy. I'm a brownie girl. Dense, moist and fudgy are in my vocabulary. With that in mind, I loved this cake. That tells you that if you like a nice moist, airy cake, then this isn't the recipe for you. Go ahead and make chocolate sponge cake layers and then proceed with this recipe, or use whatever chocolate cake recipe you know you like.

Frosting
The following morning, I stayed home from work to finish the cake for the graduation BBQ that night. My lovely assistant quickly got to work on the frosting. Two words: Incredibly Delicious (um, in reference to the frosting). As he was licking off his fingers, the guy who doesn't like chocolate admitted that the frosting was delicious. It was light and very creamy. I used Ghirardelli cocoa powder and was quite pleased with the result. I plan to use this frosting again for other instances when I want chocolate frosting that isn't thick and fudgy buttercream.

Assembly
This was another "Abby-style" recipe. I had intended to drizzle the cake layers with amaretto, but blatantly forgot. Instead I slathered frosting between the layers and frosted the top and sides. We discussed the possibility of lifting up the layers and trying to add the liquor, but decided against it. It was already messy enough with cake crumbs mixed in with the frosting in the center, I didn't want crumbs all over the outside too. However, the wonderful part about frosting this cake is that it doesn't have to look pretty because it's going to be covered anyway!

That's when the real fun began! I started by mixing  bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (they are larger than semi-sweet) and a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. At first I was trying to put them on piece by piece, but quickly discovered the quickest way was to pat a handful of chocolate chips onto the side. The not-so-wonderful part about decorating this cake is unwrapping all of the candy (and again, my lovely assistant gets a huge thank you for doing the legwork). We used Whoppers, Kit Kat bars, Twix and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses. We arranged the candy on top, trying to fit as much as possible. I ended up slathering the bottom of the Kisses with frosting to stick them to the top of other candies.

Finally, I used a fork to drizzle the top with a criss-cross pattern of melted chocolate, then poured the rest of the melted chocolate along the edge so that it would drip down the sides. I poured the chocolate from the measuring cup I used to melt it, but it might have been a better idea to pipe it onto the edge from the corner of a plastic bag. The drizzle down the sides was the only part I was disappointed with (the spout from my measuring cup was too wide). We put the cake in the fridge so that the chocolate could harden, and I headed to lab for the day.

Discussion and Future Directions
While my version didn't look quite as beautiful as Rianne's on Art of Dessert, it was definitely presentable. Everyone who saw it quickly gave it a "Wow!" It was a challenging cake to cut, but a long knife did the trick. Everyone who tried the cake complimented it. It seemed like people were hesitant to try it, but once they did, they enjoyed it (more than they thought they would). My favorite bites were those with cake, frosting and Twix. I liked it all, but next time, I'd add more Twix to the top and leave off the Kit Kat bars (they got a little soggy--maybe because we split them in half and it was a little humid outside). The combination of chocolate and caramel was incredible. You could use whatever candies you like best, I certainly picked my favorite!

One of the final steps of cooking is storage. I stored the leftover cake in the cake caddy in the fridge overnight. The next day, I caught my lovely assistant (a proclaimed chocolate and cake hater) munching on the leftovers. He hadn't tried the cake at the party and was surprised by how delicious it was. He said that it reminded him of brownies instead of cake. I agree, which, along with the ridiculous candy coating, puts this cake at the top of my list of decadent cakes (plus it's a lot of fun to make and decorate)!

Supplementary Materials

Photo by Nathan Kung