Maple Nutmeg Bundt Cake

So it is now February 4th and my New Year’s resolutions have been a bust.  I set up four different excel lists to log my progress in each area of my life I wanted to improve.  Don’t look at me with those rounded, sky-high eyebrows.  I may seem like a sort of control freak but I always think I long for routine and organization.  Alas, it doesn't take long before my routine gets stale. Which it did recently and I felt like a deflated balloon spinning backwards in circles.

Anyway, I am sorry for my brief absence from the blog world.  Believe me I couldn't have missed you more.

Sometimes a change in routine helps.  Taking some time to myself, and talking with friends allowed me to gain some perspective.  Now I am all puffed up and back on my game.  So why not reward my return to yoga class with a little cake.  Maybe I should have a recipe under my belt when I need some more of that girl talk over coffee.  And this is a great excuse to use my new bundt cake pan.

How pretty is a bundt cake pan!  They are almost architectural, like an element of a castle.  If you check out Sur le Table at Christmas they have actual castle-shaped bundt cake pans.  A little powder sugar can look like snow.  That is less work than a gingerbread house so I wouldn't feel guilty eating it.  I don't have many bundt cake recipes in my cookbook library, so I did a little internet search.  Martha Stewart's site had more than a few interesting bundt cake recipes and this one is an adaption of one found there.  You should go here.  My craving for this cake was inspired by these nutmeg maple cookies on Smitten Kitchen's blog, (hence the addition of nutmeg) which were fabulous.  Bookmark them, print the recipe for later or  add them to your list of Christmas cookies.  Definitely remember them.

My mother warned me that the cake pan needs to be greased well.  It is easy for the cake to get stuck in those pretty little grooves.  My mother-in-law, an avid baker, suggested Wilton's Cake Release.  It's a soybean oil that you can brush on the inside of your pan.  Since it is an oil it will get in all those crevices and still keep our hands clean.  Soybean oil is flavorless so you don't have to worry that you are adding anything unwanted to your recipe.

This is not a cake for sinful, gooey cravings.  This is an elegant cake best enjoyed over conversation.  It's not too sweet with just a hint of earthy spice.  I should say that I may have been a little heavy handed on the nutmeg but that is just me.  Generally in baked goods the measurement for nutmeg is 1/8th 1/4th of a teaspoon.  So here is the recipe adapted from the Martha Stewart website.

Maple Nutmeg Bundt Cake

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter (or 12 tablespoons), room temperature
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
• 1 cup sour cream
• confectioners sugar for sprinkling
• Wilton's Cake Release for drizzling

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and as always make sure your rack is in the center.  Drizzle Wilton's Cake Release into your Bundt pan spread using a pastry brush.  You are done when it looks nice and shiny and you have greased all the crevices. Whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  Using a stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar.  Your butter should be at room temperature in order for the sugar to properly absorb the fat.  If it is too cold you will get air pockets, melted and it will separate.  Add your eggs one at  a time and allow each one to be blended thoroughly into the mixture.  Add maple syrup and vanilla.  Add your flour in thirds, alternating with the sour cream.  Pour the batter into your pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.  I test it with a long wooden skewer. If it comes out dry you are done.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.  If you do it too soon the cake will absorb the sugar and you loose the pretty effect.

Wedding Cupcakes: Best Wishes to Greg and Olgu!

I love it when a couple ties the knot.  The rosy smiles and high held glasses makes me feel like the world is hopeful and warm.  I am not particularly affected by flowers, elaborate dresses or the fuss of arrangements.  Frills can feel like such an extraneous distraction.  It is much more romantic, let's say, for the couple to gather friends at the bar where they met as did our friends Olgu and Greg.  

Cake, however, is celebratory.  Conveniently I am pretty good at making cake (but less so at decorating it).  Besides, layers of brightly colored fondant is not delicious.

Vanilla Coconut Cupcakes

For the cake (adapted from Cupcakes by ShellyKaldunski):

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes 

• 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar 
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut plus more for garnish

Position your rack int he center of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Chop the shredded coconut.  In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and chopped coconut.  Using a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar. It should look light and fluffy. Add egg, egg white and vanilla to the creamed butter mixture and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture in three additions mixing well in between each one.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Line your cupcake pan or muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.  Divide the batter equally.  Each  section should be filled about three fourths of the way.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  To test if done, stick a toothpick halfway down the middle and if it comes out clean it is ready.  Let cool completely before icing.

For the frosting (adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything):

• 1 stick of butter
• 4 cups of confectioners sugar
• 6 to 8 tablespoons of coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a stand mixer cream the butter with the paddle attachment.  Add sugar gradually and ad alternate with coconut milk and vanilla.  Beat well after each addition.  

Thinking of Giving Fruitcake Another Try?

What happened to fruitcake?  Once upon a time it was a staple of the holiday season.  You gave one and someone gave you one back.  Then it made a home on your counter until after New Year's, staring at you with beady little red and green maraschino eyes.  At our house it eventually became a bad joke.  Oh no, not another fruitcake.  You may as well have said "head cheese."  They have the same visual appeal but the fruitcake weighed about five pounds more.  These were our fruitcake jokes.  Not to mention that, despite its name, it was reminiscent of neither fruit nor cake.  Until one day everyone caught on to the jokes and, at least in my memory, people stopped giving fruitcakes.  And we didn't miss them.  At least some of us didn't.

Recently the word "fruitcake" was brought back into my vernacular.  When fretting over my lengthy Christmas gift list, I called my mother-in-law, Andrea, to brainstorm gift ideas.  "You could get Grandpa Andy a fruitcake.  He actually likes it."  I replied with an eager "Great!" having heard the word bake before the word fruitcake.  Truth is, I really didn't know what went in a fruitcake.

Actually, this little cake as a very interesting history.  It dates back to Roman times when it's ingredients were primarily pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and mashed up barley. Throughout its long history the recipe has changed.  The crusaders added preserved fruit, spices and honey in the Middle Ages.  In the 16th century sugar was added.  In the Victorian Era, they added alcohol which I am sure helps its long shelf life. It may have also helped it being outlawed in eighteenth century England for being "sinfully rich."  Most interesting to me is that throughout its history this cake has been gifted to soldiers.  The Romans took it with them as sustenance during battles and it has been known to be given to soldiers in decades as recent as the 1960s.  If you are interested, you should read more about here and also here. 

So as you can see I did a little fruitcake research.  I found a great recipe on Chow by Aida MollenKamp called White "Groom's" Fruitcake.  I loved the choice of dried fruit (pineapple and cherries) and the use of Cointreau as the liquor ingredient. It feels special and festive without having to be neon colored.  If you ever happen to read this, Aida, thank you, you will make Grandpa Andy happy this Christmas.  I would also love to know where this recipe got its name. 

White "Groom's" Fruitcake

adapted from Aida Mollenkamp

Makes 1 loaf

Fruit:

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup walnuts

3/4 cup dried tart cherries (left whole

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup dried pineapple rings coarsely chopped

1/2 cup of Cointreau

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 a teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon ginger
2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
Bourbon for aging

For the fruit:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss.  Cover tightly and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and make sure your rack is in the center of your oven.  Grease a 9 X 12 loaf pan with butter, set aside.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl and set aside.  Using an electric stand mixer beat butteron medium highabout 3 minutes.  Add sugar and beat another 3 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time.  make sure each egg is thoroughly mixed in before you add the next.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.  Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowla dn add the bowl of dry ingredients you set aside.  Mix in fruit that has been macerating little by little until it is fully incorperated.  Pour into your greeased loaf pan.  Bake for about 1 hour until golden.  When you stick a in a toothick it should come out clean.  Let cool for 30 minutes.  Brush with bourbon every 10 days for up to 3 months.

Foodie Gifts: Fudge Brownie Recipe in a Jar

This isn't the first time I gave a foodie gift in a jar.  Once when asked of what she'd like for Christmas, an aunt of mine said that she always liked "consumables."  I personally could not agree more but you could chalk that up to our small living space.  Food can make a great gift and it is inarguable a consumable.

The first year I gave gifts of tasty goodies in a jar was Christmas 2008.  Like many others, it was an economically tight year for us and I was re-evaluating our culture of consumerism.  I thought a lot about all that had been bought and wasted in our lives and our society.  I should mention also at this time Nick and I had just been married with yours truly as both bride and wedding planner.  Which means we had a ton of leftover stuff from having bought everything we needed for the wedding a'la`carte.  Things like card stock from home made invitations to silk flowers to alcohol and cocktail swizzle sticks.  Four months later we had more vodka than we reasonable could (or should) consume.  I started giving gifts of flavor infused vodka for the holidays.  Than later pickles from the vegetables from our CSA share.  I would like to think I am getting better at which kind of tasty jar is right for which kind of foodie friend.

On to the present.  After all, there are no cranberry vodkas or pickled green beans in this post.  But this year's news of my becoming an aunt has set my creative gift making gears in motion.  Making things (food or other) has always been a way in which I show affection.  So for my sister-in-law, Stacie's baby shower, I found those old party planning shoes in the back of the closet.  The ones I wore when I decided to make my own invitations, table cards and wedding favors.  The result?  Fudge Brownie mix in a jar as favors for all the guests.  I think most of us there had a fond memory of baking something sweet with a parent or grandparent.  I hoped this helped keep that tradition going.  If you don't want to make thirty they also make a nice gift for one.

Fudge Brownie Mix in a Jar

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Affix these directions to your jar:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9x13inch baking pan.

2.  Empty the jar of brownie mix into a large mixing bowl,

and stir to blend. In a small mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup

melted and cooled butter with 4 eggs, then add mixture to

brownie mix. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Spread batter

evenly into greased baking pan.

3.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven.

Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Community Table: Belated Valentine Cupcakes

What can I tell you about the very few posts I have made this New Year?  I don't mean for it to be habit nor do I want to give excuses, but I only want to put the recipes on hear that I am genuinely proud of.  I have been plagued with a nasty sinus infection that is paired with a loss of my sense of taste. This has made knowing whether or not I can be truly proud of my recipes challenging.  So, is it too late to show you my Valentine cupcakes?  I never celebrate Valentines on the actual day anyway.  That's just me.

These were made by my friend Naomi and I for a dinner that was being held tonight at our local soup kitchen in Greenpoint.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been trying out some more sophisticated cupcake recipes.  This is Cupcake Challenge number 4.


Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream



Coconut Lime Cupcakes







 We are messy bakers!


From Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" with minor adaptations:

Coconut Buttercream

4 tablespoons coconut milk
2 tablespoons millk or heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick of butter

In an electric mixer, add butter and cream.  Alternately start adding sugar and heavy cream/coconut milk.    Beat on high until fluffy.

From Shelly Kaldunski's "Cupcakes" with minor adaptations:


Lime Curd

4 egg yolks
6 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoons lime zest
pinch of salt

In a saucepan, whisk together the ingredients and cook over medium high heat.   When it is thick enough to coat a the back of a spoon it is ready.  lay plastic wrap over the curd and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Coconut Cake

1 cup all purpose or cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup shredded coconut roughly chopped
1 egg plus one egg white

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your cupcake pan has is prepped with paper liners.  In a bowl whisk your dry ingredients including the coconut.  In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 to three minutes.  Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add flour in three addition alternating with 2 additions of coconut milk.  Beat on low and scrape down ten sides of the bowl.  Divide the batter into the cupcake tins filling 3/4 of the way up.  Bake 20 to
25 minutes.

Chocolate Cake

2/3 cup all purpose or cake flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your cupcake pan has is prepped with paper liners.   In a bowl whisk your dry ingredients.  Put butter an chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over simmering water in a saucepan; stir frequently.  When it it is melted completely  remove the bowl and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add egg and chocolate mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add vanilla. Stir and fold over until completely blended.  Divide the batter into the cupcake tins filling 3/4 of the way up.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes. 

Details, Mistakes and Good Little Cakes: Butter Rum Cupcakes

Butter Rum Cupcake topped with Pecans

Life never ceases to remind me of the importance of small details.  I feel as though all of my efforts seem to go to managing and remembering numerous seemingly small facts that make up perfecting a larger picture.  Honestly, this can often overwhelm me. Of course it also makes me better at the things that I do.  I am determined, therefore, to continue onward in my quest for perfection and find new ways to collect techniques and adjust small details in cooking and designing and other aesthetic pursuits.

I feel I have more control over cooking than many other aspects of my life sometimes.  Cooking is never out of control.  There are always things that I can be sure of.  For instance, I know that if I slow cook onions in fat they will melt into a sweet, aromatic translucent deliciousness.  I know if I stir arborio rice for an hour it will release starches and become a creamy, base with pearls of rice to absorb whatever flavor you add to it.  These I have learned over many years of trial and error cooking.  

Baking, on the other hand, is a newer experience for me and one that requires a lot of exacting details.  Let's face it, there is no turning back once you have forgotten the baking powder.  However, most of the time forgetting an ingredient while cooking is not cause for ruins.  There is something to be said for the ability to improvise and learn from the step you have forgotten.  So goes the adventure of my Butter Rum Cupcakes.

Nick and I were visiting our friend, Janice, in Beacon for her birthday.  She was throwing her own birthday dinner and the least I could do was bring the birthday dessert.  I am not yet up to the task of baking a whole cake, mind you.  There is no sensible reason why.  I am just intimidated.  I am working up my nerve.  What better way to do that than to bake cupcakes?  Essentially miniaturized versions of cake. That might not mean that they are less of a challenge but it seems that way.  Besides, this was my third attempt at cupcakes and, since my first two were relatively successful, I figured it can only get better.  I am having fun with the idea of making a really good cupcake because, in all earnestness, they are not my favorite dessert.  Yellow cake and not-so-chocolaty chocolate frosting doesn't light my flambe`.  I would like to recreate this cutie dessert with more interesting flavors and textures.  Maybe it will appeal to a more sophisticated palate than the second grade classroom birthday party.  If cupcakes are mini cakes, why can't they be strawberry shortcake, molten chocolate or even lemon meringue.  Well, this sweet-toothed girl can dream, can't she?

The final result was something I call a Butter Rum Cupcake.  I say final result because the end result strayed from my intended recipe.  The original recipe was from a book on fanciful cupcakes and was called a Tres Leches Cupcake.  It involved preparing a mixture of heavy cream, condensed sweetened milk, evaporated milk and rum, ahead of time with which to soak the cakes when they came out of the oven.  It seems that I had confused evaporated milk with dry milk (no, in fact, they are not the same thing) and the result was not only ineffective in creating a soaking agent but downright distasteful.  The dry milk was a powder and essentially soaked up all the other liquid ingredients and, to make it worse, the whole thing smelled like baby formula.  Ick!  Maybe, I wondered, this time I can skip this step.  Next, I took on an unfortunate and dreaded task that is harder for me to face than all other culinary tasks.  I threw it out and moved on.

Now for the cake, sans leche.  This recipe is a adapted from Cupcakes, by Shelly Kaldunski.  I doubled the recipe for the amount of guests that would be at dinner and replaced half of the vanilla extract with rum since there is no longer a rum soaking liquid.  This cake is very spongy and I would definitely be willing to try soaking it in a rum mixture another time.  Lucky for me, it was flavorful enough with a not too dry texture to hold its own without drowning it in milk and rum. 

Rum Cake Sans Leche  (makes 22 - 24 cupcakes)

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 eggs 

1 cup milk 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon dark rum

Using a bowl and whisk or a kitchen mixer, mix together flour, sugar baking powder, and salt.  Then add eggs, milk, vanilla and rum and mix until all ingredients are blended.

Line your cupcake or muffin pan with paper or foil liners.  Fill them two thirds of the way with batter.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Make sure your rack is positioned in the middle of your oven.

Buttercream is one of those classic icings that if is done well, can be amazing and if it isn't just tastes like sugar.  So buttercream was something I wanted to know how to do from scratch and to do well.  Besides here is where I was really going to get my butter flavor to validate the name Butter Rum for my cupcakes.  The first recipe I tried for buttercream used egg whites.  I am not sure what part of the recipe didn't work honestly.  I combed through it a few times and could not find the step I missed or misinterpreted.   I meticulously whisked the egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl over a low simmering pot.  I transferred that to my mixer and added the butter piece by piece along with the exact amount of rum. Still, it fell flat and began to separate.  Despite the recipe saying to put in under the mixer on high if such occurs, I could not revive it.  I did the unthinkable for the second time that day.  With a heavy heart I threw it out and started again, all the while hearing the chiding voices of my parents reminding me of starving children all over the world.

Trusted Mark Bittman to the rescue again.  His recipe was much easier and got a much better result.  It had that real butter taste that married perfectly with the rum.  I could have kicked myself for not trying it sooner.

It is hard for me to accept I have made a mistake that I can't fix.  My early New Year's resolution is to shrug my shoulders and start from scratch.  Something might just turn out better that way.

Rum Buttercream Frosting  (adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

4 cups sugar  (The original recipe calsls for confectioners sugar but I was out.  I probably will try it that way next time to see the difference.)

6 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons dark rum

Cream the butter and add sugar and milk alternately.  Add more milk if frosting is too thick.  Stir in the rum.