Wait! Stop What You're Doing!

Maybe you're a lot like me and think brownies are only ho-hum, not too special, you know...brownies.  Then you find yourself invited to an Oscars viewing party and you want to bring something.  You have no idea what you're going to make, other than something dessert-ish.  Then you're reading through your blogs feed and come across the latest post from Luisa Weiss, aka The Wednesday Chef.  She's writing about something called Boston Brownies from a German baker named Gerhard Jenne.  Brownies with cranberries in them.  Cranberries.  You think of your deep love of cranberries and think how right it is to combine the two.  And she's raving about them.  Raving...over brownies.  And there you have it.  You know what you're taking to that Oscars viewing party.

But that's not quite all of it.  You decide to use the Special Dark cocoa.  After the brownies are baked, still warm, fresh out of the pan, onto the cutting board where you're cutting them into their little squares, getting them ready for their party debut, you have to try a little piece to make sure they've turned out okay.  You bite into it.  You get a burst of cranberry as your teeth sink into the deep, dark chocolate.  And you find yourself holding onto the edge of the counter and saying to yourself...oh, fuuuuuddddggggeeee... (But it's not really 'fudge' that you're saying.)  It's that kind of brownie.  And you think to yourself....'Why don't I make brownies more often?'


Dark Chocolate Brownies with Cranberries
Adapted from The Wednesday Chef's adaptation of Gerhard Jenne's recipe
Makes One 8x8 inch pan (about 16-20 brownies)

3 eggs
175 grams sugar (1 1/3 cups)
175 grams butter (6 1/4 oz)
150 grams chocolate, preferably dark, mine was 64% (5 1/3 oz)
175 grams flour (1 1/3 cups plus 1 tbsp)
4 tbsp cocoa powder, preferably Hershey's Special Dark
1 tsp espresso powder
1/4 tsp salt
175 grams cranberries (6 1/4 oz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper.  Chop the chocolate into small pieces.  In a small bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt.  Whisk and set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs and add sugar, whisking until combined and frothy.  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, then turn off heat and add chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts.  Add chocolate mixture to eggs and sugar, whisking until combined.  Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.  Add cranberries and stir into batter.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Cut and serve.

Notes:  I followed Luisa's example and weighed the ingredients this time around.  I have a little kitchen scale that I got for $5.00.  It does the trick.  Regular cocoa will work just fine in this recipe, but I urge you to seek out the Special Dark.  It takes the fudginess to a whole other level and when you get a bite of the dark cake and tart cranberry, it is just magic.  Seriously.  You can use frozen cranberries, but the batter will seize as you're mixing the fruit in.  Luisa does mention this, also noting to work quickly, but I don't think I worked quickly enough, so a good 60-70% of my batter was a big seized lump.  But...I figured it would melt as it warmed in the oven, so I didn't worry too much.  Saying that, while Luisa says to bake for 25 minutes, mine baked for 40 minutes, maybe a little more (I also forgot to set a timer).  I'd bet the longer length of time is because for the first 20 or so minutes, I was obsessively opening the oven and spreading the batter over the pan as it gradually warmed.  So...my advice?  Thaw your berries and make sure they're room temperature.  Unless you want to deal with seized batter.

It's like this...really...

Rebel Rebel

Hi.  It's February already.  I'm guessing it's too late to wish you a happy new year.  I inadvertently took a break from blogging in January.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I wasn't inspired.  It's not that I didn't cook.  I did.  But there were plenty of sandwiches for dinner and times where pasta was cooked 3 or 4 nights a week because it was easier than really thinking about what to cook.

And god knows my mood for too many days verged on...not pleasant.  I knew this year was going to start rough.  I wasn't wrong.  It's still rough.  But I'm back.  I've even decided to do a series of posts to coincide with Throwback Thursdays (#tbt), but instead of regaling you with photos of me in high school or in full Goth make-up from 20+ years ago, I'm going to cook a recipe a week from each decade of the 20th century to the present.  I was looking at all the vintage cookbooks I have and I want to get more out of them than occupying space on shelves looking pretty. The plan is to have a post ready for this week.  First, it will keep me writing (and my mind occupied) and secondly, I think it will be fun.

I was hoping to have a great story today telling you about my first foray into making meringues.  It's an easy confection to make, right?  Sugar and egg whites, right?  Maybe a pinch of salt and a little flavoring thrown in, right?  Three times I tried to make them last week.  Three times they were less than stellar, and I mean LESS THAN stellar.  The first two batches went right into the garbage.  The third batch I decided to go with to the end.  There was nothing light and airy about them.  They were flat and wafer like.  I could not get my peaks to stiffen.  I tried practically every helpful hint I found online and no success was to be found.  Don't fret...I'm not giving up, but they were not meant to be for this post.

What is meant to be for this post is a cake.  There's nothing really fancy about this one.  In fact, I even took out an ingredient that makes it a showstopper for most people.  I made a red velvet cake without the red velvet.  A rebellious move.  We all know the red food coloring doesn't add any flavor, it just makes for a dramatic presentation on that first cut, the deep ruby red against the stark white of the cream cheese frosting.  Oh, wait...I played with that part too.  Don't think I'm a red velvet hater.  I'm not.  I love a good red velvet cake.  Making this cake reminded me how great a cake is when you use cake flour instead of all purpose, how creme fraiche makes a truly kick-ass frosting, how happy an occasion it is when a cake turns out of its pan absolutely perfectly, and how beautiful a cake can be without a bottle of red food coloring added to the batter.

I've become a fan of making single layer cakes over the past few years.  It just seems more manageable to get through, especially for just one or two people.  Speaking of two people...this would be a totally lovely ending for a dinner-in Valentine's Day.

Velvet Cake with Madagascar Vanilla Creme Fraiche Frosting
Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe
Makes one 9-inch layer

Cake

1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour (sift before measuring)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp white distilled vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 oz sugar
1/2 stick butter (4 tbsp), room temperature
1 large egg

Frosting

1 8-oz tub of creme fraiche
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour one 9-inch cake pan and set aside.  Whisk together in a small bowl the cake flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In another small bowl, mix the buttermilk, vinegar, and vanilla together and set aside.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well to mix.  Gradually add both the buttermilk mixture and the dry ingredients, adding alternately to the creamed butter.  Beat until combined.  Pour into cake pan, spreading to edges, and bang the pan a few times to release any air bubbles.  Bake for 25-27 minutes until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Leave cake to cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla and  creme fraiche, mixing on low until combined, then on medium speed to whip.  Apply a thick layer to top and sides, being sure to cover cake.  Smooth top.

Notes:  The cocoa I used was Royal Mahogany that I picked up from the Spice Station in Silverlake (if you're in Los Angeles).  You can also order it online, though I'm sure this cake will be wonderful with any cocoa.  It would also be dramatic if you used black cocoa.  The espresso powder isn't necessary, but I like the oomph it adds.  If you don't have the espresso powder, but have brewed espresso or coffee, I'd add a tbsp or two to the buttermilk mixture.  I highly recommend seeking out the Madagascar vanilla creme fraiche from Vermont Creamery.  It's the perfect balance of sweet and tart and I love that it's loaded with specks of vanilla bean. 

With Subtle Notes of Blackberries

If you read about wine, go to tastings, collect wines, or hell, even buy wine, chances are you've seen phrases like this--'with the subtle note of blackberries', 'starting off with tropical notes ending with vanilla tones', 'hits the palate with a citrus wave ending with a buttery mouthfeel'.  Now, I love wine...but try as I might, more times than not, wine will invariably taste like...well, wine.  I can tell the difference between a good and bad wine (no Mad Dog here!) and absolutely appreciate a Justin cab or a Stony Hill chardonnay, but I could probably count on one hand the times where I have actually been able to discern individual notes in a glass of wine, but that won't stop me...I'll keep drinking away.

It was those wine liner notes that came to mind after baking the other day.  Although it was those 'subtle notes of blackberries' that I was after, this post has nothing to do with wine.  What this post does have is chocolate.  And blackberries.  And brownies.  All rolled into one gloriously dense, gooey, fudgy pan of cake with a slightly caramelized, thick swirl of jam throughout.

My sweet tooth, really my chocolate tooth, has been out of control lately.  I'm going to blame it on the Cacao Noel pastilles I bought at the Epicure Imports warehouse sale last month.  A small handful of their 64% dark couverture chocolate and a cup of tea has been dessert on a number of nights since I brought them into the house.  After a sample tasting at the sale, it was a no-brainer to buy a pound of them.  (It was also another no-brainer to pick up a second bag at the sale yesterday.)  I immediately wanted to make brownies with them.  Smooth, dark, and a touch bitter.

Why did I add blackberries?  Sure, I could  have just saved them for a breakfast smoothie, or added them to a bowl of yogurt and granola, but, why not brownies?  If you can pair dark chocolate with orange and raspberries...my thought was that it certainly couldn't hurt to try pairing chocolate with blackberries.

I had a clamshell of blackberries in the fridge and made a quick jam out of it.  You can do the same or use any good brand of jam that you may have on hand.  What you'll end up with is a dense brownie where every once in a while you'll get a hint of berry or a jammy taste depending upon how your swirls are mixed in.  I'm sure there are some of you out there saying 'Blasphemy!' for mixing anything into brownies (except maybe nuts and a glaze on top), but open your mind and your tastebuds for a few minutes.  You might be delightfully surprised.

Chocolate Blackberry Brownies
(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Classic Brownies)
Makes 16 squares

5 tbsp butter, cubed
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
1/2-3/4 cup blackberry jam
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup flour


Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter the bottom of an 8x8 inch pan and line with parchment.  Butter the top of the paper too.  


In a saucepan, bring about an inch or so of water to a simmer.  Nestle the bowl with the butter, chocolate, and chocolate chips on top of the pan.  Making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not come in contact with the water, continually stir the butter and chocolate until melted.  Remove from heat.

Whisk in sugar.  It will be grainy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly.  Add vanilla and stir.  Gradually add flour and salt.  Pour into pan, using a spatula to spread batter to edges.  Spread blackberry jam on top of batter and swirl into batter.  

Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out relatively clean, about 40-50 minutes.  It's okay if it comes out with a little chocolate, but you don't want it wet with batter.  If you use more jam, you'll require a little more time.

Let cool on rack and cut into squares.

Note:  If you make your own quick jam, use one package of blackberries (4-6 oz) with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar.  Bring to boil, lower heat and let simmer until it thickens a bit.  I used a potato masher to mash the berries.  

Orange + Chocolate

Two days away from Valentine's Day and I'm here to share my love with you.  My love of the perfect pairing of orange and chocolate, that is.  Last month I made marmalade.   Not once, but twice...the first time with navel oranges and the second go-round with blood oranges.  Both came out well, though a tad on the thick side.  Delicious nonetheless.  I've had many a morning breakfast of toast loaded with marmalade.

Then I got to thinking about crêpés   A little more specifically...crêpés filled with orange marmalade and drizzled with chocolate.  I thought about those crêpés for days.  Last Monday night, I mixed the batter and set it in the fridge to chill overnight.  The next morning, there I was, melting butter, chocolate, and half and half over a simmering pot of water for ganache.  That was one decadent breakfast, maybe a little over the top for a Tuesday morning, but absolutely worth it.

What to do with the leftover ganache?  After an attempt at truffles that turned out too soft, I let the ganache chill while I considered other options.  I decided on a sandwich cookie.  The cookies alone are crispy around the edges, a little chewy in the center and full of zest.  Once you sandwich them with the chocolate and let them sit for a bit, those cookies become just the right amount of chewy.  The recipe is a derivation on vanilla wafers.  Nickel-sized amounts of dough are piped through a pastry bag and ready in no time, baking to the size of a silver dollar.  

Make these in time for Valentine's Day, give them to a special someone in your life,  and they'll know how much you love them.

Chocolate Ganache
Makes scant 3/4 cup

4 oz. chocolate chips
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 tablespoon butter

Put all ingredients in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Stir frequently until chocolate has melted and ingredients are well-mixed.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  

Orange Wafer Cookies
Adapted from Amanda Clarke's Homemade Nilla Wafers recipe
Makes about 6 dozen 

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 1/2 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.  In a large bowl, cream butter with the salt and sugar.  Add egg white and mix well.  Stir in extract, orange zest, and milk.  Whisk together flour and baking powder and add gradually to creamed mixture, scraping down sides as necessary to incorporate all ingredients.  Fill a piping bag, that's fitted with a plain pastry tip (I used a 5pt tip), with the batter, and pipe nickel-sized amounts of dough 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges just begin to golden.  Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack.  

To make sandwich cookies:  Fill another piping bag with the ganache.  Using a plain pastry tip, I used a Wilton No. 12, pipe enough ganache so that it will move to the edges when you sandwich the wafers.  

The ganache may not be enough to sandwich all the wafers...and that's okay.  They are wonderful on their own.

Midnight Baking Session No. 746

Truthfully, it was closer to 10:00 p.m. and baking was probably the last thing I should have been doing since I've no one to really share baked goods with these days and I certainly don't need to be eating a whole batch  of anything myself.  Thankfully, I have a neighbor upstairs that has stepped up and has very happily been playing the role of taste tester, so all is not lost.

It was nothing fancy that came out of the oven last night.  Just a pan of brownies.  Though these brownies did  have a few ingredients tweaked, because if I don't tweak every now and again, I wouldn't be me.  I opened the Italian Pantry the other day and almost had the bag of chestnut flour fall on my head.  Yes, the Italian Pantry is living up to its name, still well-stocked.  I took the falling bag of flour as a sign that I should do something with it.  While I think about making Castagnaccio, last night I wanted to make something not too far out of the ordinary.  I'm warming up to brownies.  They're kind of comforting in their chewy, chocolatey richness.

I really really like chestnut flour.  There's a smokey sweetness to it that I can't compare to anything else I've tasted.  It lends itself fabulously to the dark chocolate I used here.  I didn't use baking chocolate.  You know those huge 1lb+ bars they sell at Trader Joe's?  No?  Well, that's what went in these brownies.  It's a total bargain if you have a massive sweet tooth, are a chocoholic, or just want to make sure you've got chocolate around when it's late at night and you want to bake brownies.   I'm also thinking of the Chestnut Cherry cookies I made last Christmas and bet that cherries in those brownies would take it just that right step beyond.  Next time.

Chocolate Chestnut Brownies
(Adapted from a recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies)
Makes 16 brownies

6 tbsp unsalted butter
6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup chestnut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment and grease parchment with a small amount of butter.  In a small bowl, add the butter, chopped chocolate, and cocoa powder.  Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.  Stir frequently to melt the chocolate and butter.  When everything has melted, remove from heat and let it cool slightly.  In a another bowl, add the sugar, vanilla, and eggs.  Whisk until light and fluffy either by hand or with an electric mixer.  Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a third bowl.  Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and sugar, mixing well until combined.  Slowly add the flour, making sure to mix all the ingredients well.  

Pour batter into baking pan, spreading out to corners.  Bake until  cake tester inserted in center comes out fairly clean, about 30-35 minutes.  Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing from pan and letting brownies finish cooling on rack.  

The Bounty

Between reading other blogs and hearing from friends, the typical Summer bounty of zucchini a-plenty seems to be starting.  I, on the other hand, actually have to buy it at the grocery store.  The upside?  Zucchini is pretty inexpensive.  Mind you, if there is anyone out there who lives nearby and you have an abundance of zucchini on your hands, don't hesitate to give me a call.  I would be happy to take it off your hands.

Usually I'll make zucchini-walnut cake, but this time around I wanted to throw in some chocolate.  I've seen recipes for zucchini-chocolate cake before and I figured it was time to give it a go myself.  I found an excellent recipe for Zucchini Muffins on the Simply Recipes blog/site.  As I've mentioned before, I love a recipe where you can easily swap out ingredients to suit your taste.  This one did not let me down.

Consider it...once you've had grilled zucchini, zucchini fritters, zucchini chips, and zucchini quesadillas you'll still want these muffins.  Honestly, they have chocolate in them...how could you not?

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Adapted from the Zucchini Muffins Recipe on Simply Recipes.com)
Makes 6 [actually, 7...but it was half-sized]


1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pinch of salt


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with liners or grease with a little butter.  Melt butter and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add grated zucchini and butter.  Stir to combine.  In a small bowl, add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Mix dry ingredients then add gradually to wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips and stir until all the ingredients are combined.  Spoon into muffin pan, so each well is nearly full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing and finish cooling on cooling rack.  

My baking time was closer to the 30 minute mark.

Simplicity

Chocolate and vanilla....where some may see boredom, I see simplicity.  Ask me what my favourite ice cream flavour is, and despite having tried flavours as varied as mango, pomegranate, maple bacon, and Cabernet, I will usually vacillate between chocolate or vanilla.


So when asked by a friend to make mini-cupcakes for a baby shower, vanilla and chocolate was the plan.  A double-barrel shotgun of simplicity.  Singular flavours of vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and chocolate with chocolate buttercream were anything but.  Not all cake recipes are equal, I discovered.  I was like Goldilocks finding the one that was 'just right.'  Over the span of a week, out from the oven came four cakes, two winning recipes, and the end-result of a few dozen  mini-cupcakes.


The winning chocolate cake will be re-visited often.  Not too fudgy and not too sweet, you can enjoy it with a thick layer of buttercream or dusted with confectioners' sugar.


Texas Sheet Cake
Makes 20 to 24 servings
(From Bonny Wolf's 'Talking with My Mouth Full:  Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories')  


1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cups chopped pecans (optional)


Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter or line with parchment a 15.5 x 10.5 jelly roll pan.  Combine the butter, water, and cocoa in a saucepan.  Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.  


In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.  Remove the butter from the heat and add to the dry ingredients.  Mix well (either by hand or with a mixer).  Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix again.  Pour into the pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.


Note:  I halved the recipe and ended up with close to 4 dozen mini-cupcakes.  It will also make an 8 x 8 inch cake.