Week 7 of 52: Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Week 7 of 52: Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Today is National Almond Day. There are so many desserts that could be made to celebrate this day. I wanted to make the Indian dessert called Burfi, but I didn't have any silver to top it with...so that will have to come later this year. I also thought about almond cookies (to satisfy my Chinese dessert craving), or almond biscotti (which I will be making sometime this year, as it is a dessert I have never attempted), or almond joy brownies (I think about these often!!). But as I searched the web for ideas, I came across a recipe for sour cream coffee cake.

I remember having bundt-style streusel cakes when I was a kid. My grandmother on my dad's side was born in Czechoslovakia and even though much of what was cooking and baking in her kitchen was authentic eastern European food, I really don't know where her recipe for this type of cake came from. I never saw a recipe and have no idea if it had sour cream or not. But it was always super moist and had lots of gooey-ness inside.   My mother made these too, but as I mentioned in an earlier post...I can never be certain how much of my Mom's baking is from scratch and how much is from a box.

So to honor the memory of Grandma Harris' gooey bundt cakes, I began my search for all things almond, sugar, and cinnamon.

Many of the recipes I found were very similar with their ratios of ingredients. The fillings were either with flour/butter or without. I only found one relatively almond infused recipe, but it was only focused on the filling. So I decided to tweak things a little and incorporate some ground almonds into the cake batter to give an extra punch of almond. And because I don't own a bundt pan, I decided to use two round pans and then turn it into a layer coffee cake because the more gooey layers the better!

Enjoy this celebration of almonds and Grandma Harris.

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients
12 T butter, unsalted, room temperature
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
3 eggs, large
1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
2 c flour
1/2 c ground almonds (I use a food processor and pulse just until they look like tiny hits, not until they are powder)
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
12 oz sour cream
2T pure almond extract + 2T water, mixed in a separate bowl

Filling
1 1/2 t cinnamon
3/4 c brown sugar, light or dark, just your preference
1 c almonds (I use slivered and then coarsely chop)
1/4 t salt
1/2 c flour
3 T butter, cold, and cut into small pieces
Mix all ingredients except butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the butter pieces and then mix together by hand, squeezing the butter pieces into the mix until it is crumbly. Set aside to use in the panning. 

Drizzle
1 1/4 c confectioners' sugar
3 T milk (I use light vanilla soy milk)
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
Hand mix ingredients in a bowl. It should be runny, but not watery. Something thinner than the caramel dip for apples, but thicker than the chocolate in a molten cake. Set aside to use after cake is assembled after baking.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and lightly flour two round cake pans.
2. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, powder, and salt.
4. Alternating flour mix and sour cream, add to the butter mix until incorporated.

PANNING
Put 1/4 of the batter into each prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the filling over the batter. Put remaining 1/4 of batter into each pan - you will need to dollop this using a spoon because the batter in thick and sticky and should be. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 of filling on top. Pour 1/2 of almond extract/water mix over the top of each cake.


BAKING
Bake for 30-35' until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out.

ASSEMBLING
Place one cake on top of the other before completely cool. Add drizzle and serve.

Week 6 of 52: Peppermint Patty Brownies

Week 6 of 52: Peppermint Patty Brownies

Today is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day.  And tomorrow is National Peppermint Patty Day.  The former is easily accomplishable on a dessert blog.  The latter is bit more confusing.  Are we celebrating that wonderful confection covered in chocolate that sends a shiver of cold up the back of your neck when you take the first bite, or are we celebrating that fantastic freckle-faced girl that was the ultimate tomboy and has been around as long as me!  

This got me to thinking all kinds of strange and fantastic ways to create a dessert that would incorporate both my “famous” brownies, already known in town, and the brunette that could only be described as a rare gem!

So I went to work researching all things brownies and peppermint.  Did you know that Peppermint Patty was inducted into the D- Hall of Fame?  That she was raised by a single parent?  That she was the only Peanuts character to call Charlie Brown “Chuck”?  

And did you know that the first brownie was created in the United States in the last 1800s and early 1900s?  The first published recipes were in 1904-07 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_brownie).

Not that any of this research puts me any closer or father away from my first and only thought when building a recipe – put a peppermint patty INSIDE a brownie.  Done!

I hope you enjoy…  

Peppermint Patty Brownies

(In honor of National Cream Cheese Brownie Day – FEB 10 and National Peppermint Patty Day – FEB 11)

Patty

•

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

•

1 tablespoon peppermint extract

•

6 cups powdered sugar

Brownie

10 T ​butter

1 c​brown sugar

¼ c​white sugar

¾ c + 2 T​unsweetened cocoa powder

½ t​salt

½ t​pure vanilla extract

2​eggs, large

½ c​all-purpose flour

Filing Directions – do this part first, then put discs in the freezer while you mix up the brownies:

1.

Combine the sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract.

2.

Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat.

3.

Knead on a surface sprinkled with more sugar until dough is stiff.

a.

(The stiffer the better when it come to the dipping part!) Add more sugar while kneading if the dough is sticky.

4.

Roll 1/4 inch thick.

5.

Cut into approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch circles.

Note – I did NOT have any peppermint extract, so instead, I melted ¾ c Andies mint chips in the microwave and stirred them into the mix.  Also, the dough is very stiff if you add all 6 cups of powdered sugar.  It rolls out with a rolling pin very nicely.  I used one of the small condiment containers from Tupperware to cut my circles.

Brownie Directions – preheat oven to 325F, racks in lower 1/3 of oven

1.

Grease a baking pan.

2.

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a bowl – microwave for 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted and the mix is smooth. Set the mix aside to cool slightly.  It will look gritty, but will become smooth.

3.

Hand mix in vanilla.  Then add eggs one a time, stirring vigorously after each one, until the batter is thick, shiny, and well blended.

4.

Add the flour until you cannot see it any longer, then beat for 30 strokes.

5.

Pour evenly into prepared pan.

Panning – If you are using a brownie pan that has a separator, drop one half of a partially frozen patty into each well.  If you are using a standard square or rectangular pan, evenly space the patties so that when cut, each brownie has a patty.

Baking – Bake 20-25 minutes – until a toothpick inserted emerges slightly moist with batter.Once you remove the brownies, take the back of a spoon and squish the now puffy patty on top of each brownie. Cool completely and remove brownies from the pan.  These are best cooled in the fridge, as they are easier to cut (unless you are using a brownie pan).

Keep in airtight container.

Week 5 of 52: Carrot Cake

February 3 2013

Week 5 of 52: Carrot Cake

I can't really remember specific birthday cakes when I was a kid. Perhaps it is because I really can't remember a lot of my childhood. Perhaps because I blocked them out. Like when my mom threw me a surprise 30th. I don't remember that cake either! But for some time, I have always asked for a scratch cake, specifically Carrot Cake. It is my favorite and I feel that on birthdays, especially, someone should make you a scratch cake. Not those store-bought kind. But one made with love (and sweat!).

So this past year, my mom made a carrot cake. It was her best ever. She told me of course it was from scratch. Until the next day, when she fessed up to making a boxed mix cake! I was heart-broken, but really surprised. It was fantastic!

Well today is National Carrot Cake Day. Perhaps you are unaware, but almost everything on earth has its own "day"!  This was the perfect day to create a scratch cake that was even better than that fantastic boxed cake and one that I could give to my mom to use this year.

I searched out a number of cake recipes and settled on a variation between one I found on MarthaStewart.com and JoyofBaking.com. This one has pecans, coconut, and of course carrots. But no pineapple. I am not sure why people put pineapple in carrot cake, but I am not a fan. I like my pineapple cold, fresh, and sweet. Not heated in any sense. That may be a result of years having ham with pineapple rings when I was a kid. I don't eat ham anymore.

I made a two layer cake with a cream cheese frosting. I had more pans, I think I would have preferred a four layer cake with thinner layers and more frosting. But that is just my passion.

I will post the picks tonight, and the recipe tomorrow, along with another pic once it is cut open.

Enjoy!

Week 4 of 52: The Mad Cupcake

January 27 2013

Today would be Lewis Carroll's 185th birthday (born in 1832). For those of you going, "Who?" He wrote, among other things, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

If you don't know anything about the book, check out the synopsis on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland. It starts with Alice falling down the rabbit hole and the many adventures that ensue, from growing big and small, having tea with the Hatter, meeting a grin without a cat, using a flamingo for a croquet mallet, and standing up to the Queen of Hearts, all before waking up from her dream.

This story has been talked about by scholar's for years. Everyone is always looking for hidden meaning in the words. But for me...I just loved the pictures. The creativity, it made me use my imagination a lot. I have always been a fan of that book and perhaps that explains a lot! :o) To this day, I don't color in the lines, I laugh at my own jokes, I am late to everything, and my imagination is as strong as ever.

In using my imagination in choosing a theme for each week in my year-long blog, it was a no-brainer for Week 4. But the ultimate execution was only decided at the last minute.

I love Red Velvet Cake. And I made one for a co-worker for her birthday last year and really loved the recipe. It kinda turned out pink because I did not have enough food coloring and that pic is actually on the front page of this blog. So I went back to that recipe thinking, why not a Pink Velvet Cake. I didn't even know there was such a thing, but I found a variety of recipes on the web,

The recipe I used is a compilation from one on Taste of Home (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pink-Velvet-Cupcakes) and the original one I used last year from the Joy of Baking (http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html).

But as I got closer to actually making the cupcakes, I kept thinking that blue would be so much better. After all, Alice wore a blue and white dress. And thinking of the Mad Hatter's tea party, the cupcakes could not be "normal."

So here is Week 4 of 52 Weeks of Desserts...

MAD CUPCAKES!

Ingredients

10 T butter, unsalted, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
Food coloring
2 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
3/4 c finely chopped white chocolate (I used 3 cubes of white almond bark)
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 c buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1 t white vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prep cupcake tins with liners. Makes 24 cupcakes.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and blend well. Add vanilla. Mix in chocolate.
3. Mix salt into flour. Add 1/3 of flour mix to egg mix. Add 1/2 of buttermilk. Add another 1/3 of flour mix. Add remaining buttermilk. Add remaining flour mix.  Buttermilk will make things lumpy at first, but just keep mixing.
4. Pour half of batter into another bowl and add food coloring to preferred hue.
5. Mix 1/2 t of baking soda with 1/2 t of vinegar in a bowl. It will foam. Immediately add to colored mix, stirring gently.
6. Mix another 1/2 t of baking soda with 1/2 t of vinegar in a bowl. Again it will foam. Immediately add to the non-colored mix, stirring gently.
7. Using an ice cream scoop, add non-colored mix to each cupcake liner - 1/3 full. Top with colored mix to 2/3 full.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Do not over brown, so watch them at 18 minutes. Pick should come out clean.

Cool completely before frosting with your favorite. These do not keep well in the fridge, and don't keep well for more than 2 days in an airtight container. So frost at the last minute and eat rapidly!

Week 3 follow up 2

Today, I recieved a number of compliments on my cookies. I wasa floored. I truly believe they are too dry. People said that was okay and that the taste was really good...people had more than one!

In any case, tonight, I redid the Memphis Garbage cookies. I added 1 1/3 cups of apple sauce, and an additional 1/4 cup of white sugar. I ran out of the Banana Crunch cereal, but used a generic Honey Bunches type cereal instead. And I used 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of butterscotch chips.

Certainly, the are a softer cookie. My husband loves them. I am still not thrilled with them. I will keep experimenting this year...and we will see how it goes.

I did get grounded by one comment today. When I asked if someone had tried the cookies, they said, "We read your blog. We are waiting for week 13 or 14. Things should be good by then." I love honesty!

:o)

Week 3 follow-up

Okay...I have been mulling this over. The proper ratio for cookies is 3-2-1. Meaning 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part sugar. I used oats and an oat-like cereal in this recipe. So my "flour" went from 3 1/2 cups to 5 1/2 cups of dry ingredients. Instead of 2 cups of fat, which was the 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of vegetable oil, I needed 3 2/3 cups of fat. Not wanting to use that much fat, I think an addition of 1 2/3 cup of applesauce would have done the trick. And upping the white sugar to 1 cup.


I will remake these during the week and let you know.

Week 3 of 52: Memphis Garbage Cookies

Today was a busy day in the United States. Not only did President Obama have his second Inauguration Day, but also it was Martin Luther King Day. How appropriate that they coincided and both were so moving. In D.C., the President talked of equality, unity, and opportunity. All across the U.S., people served others in honor of Dr. King, such as creating blankets for the homeless and packaging meals for a local food bank.

For this week's dessert, I wanted to focus more on Dr. King, and so I choose to make a "garbage" cookie. Why a garbage cookie, you may be asking? Well, let me explain.

On February 1, 1968, two Memphis sanitation workers died in a compactor accident during a heavy rainstorm.  Less than two weeks later, "on February 12, more than 1,100 of a possible 1,300 black sanitation workers began a strike for job safety, better wages and benefits, and union recognition.*" It was this strike that drew Dr. King to Memphis on several occasions. The last being on April 4, 1968.

So to honor Dr. King, I give you the...

Memphis Garbage Cookie

Ingredients
1 c butter, cold, cut up into small cubes
3/4 c brown sugar, tightly packed
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 c vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
3 1/2 c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c of any other mix in of your choice, such as nuts, dried fruit, etc.

Process

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix butter and sugars in stand mixer on medium for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well each time. Add oil and vanilla and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
4. By large spoonfuls, add flour mixture into stand mixer just until incorporated.
5. Remove bowl from mixer, and incorporate the remaining ingredients by hand.
6. Drop 1/4-cup portions onto a cookie sheet lined with either parchment paper or Silpat.
7. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
8. Store in a sealed container.

PS I got 24 very large cookies out of this recipe. They were NOT chewy or crisp, but rather dry, but still tasty. I am working on how to adjust this recipe, because I would prefer chewy. As is, these would be great on ice cream or with a glass of milk.

*http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/memphis-v-mlk/
Note: This recipe was adapted from Annie's Eats (http://www.annies-eats.com/2011/01/14/giant-double-chocolate-cookies/), and Marisk (http://www.food.com/recipe/nickey-rsquo-s-garbage-cookies-443550).