Triage

The day Freud's Last Session  closed at the end of January, I had a grand plan to take a cake to strike--the period after the last show where you take down the set and clean the theatre in preparation for the next show moving in.  It's a dusty, often sweaty, process, and I frequently end up covered in paint.  Once when I was painting the stage floor in preparation for the next show to move in, I literally painted myself into the center of the stage.  Handy I am not--but I can bake a cake.

The Cake Slice's pick for last month was a banana cake with coffee-walnut buttercream frosting, which sounded great even though I was a week behind in making it.  I didn't have time to make the marvelous buttercream before I had to leave for the theatre, nor did I have time to frost multiple layers of cake, so I triaged the recipe and threw the coffee and the walnuts into the cake itself and baked it in a bundt pan.  It was so tender, golden and lightly sweet that it was a huge hit at strike. 

Banana-Walnut Bundt Cake

Adapted fron Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson



This was all that remained of the cake after strike.  David
ate it for breakfast the next morning.

 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (it took three for me)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tbsp. strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan by spritzing with nonstick baking spray.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, then set aside.  Combine the bananas and butter in another small bowl.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until the butter becomes light and fluffy--about three minutes with my Kitchen-Aid.  Scrape down the bowl frequently.

Add the eggs one at a time, then turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the bananas.  Scrape the bowl thoroughly and add the walnuts and coffee;  mix until the batter is just combined.

Scrape the mixture into the bundt pan, leveling the top.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool the pan on a wire rack for half an hour, then unmold and cool for a bit longer.

Serves 12 to 16.

Start with the Basics

I've been in the casting process this week for the next play I'm directing, On Golden Pond.  Do you know the movie?  It had Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda as a couple in their late 70s who return to the same rural cabin in Maine every summer that they bought when they were newly married.  That's really about it for the plot, except for a subplot concerning their adult daughter and her difficult relationship with her father.

The movie came out when I was nine or ten, and I loved it.  What nine-year-old loves On Golden Pond?  I think mostly it was because I was obsessed with Katharine Hepburn.  As an aside, do you know if you type the name "Katharine" into Google, the first entry is for Katharine McPhee, who was on American Idol, and not Katharine Hepburn?  That just seems wrong.

Most people are nervous when they come audition.  The thing they don't know is that I'm nervous, too, because I really want to find the right people. 

It's a little like having the right ingredients--if the basics are solid, it's much harder to screw up the end product.

This month's Cake Slice pick didn't initially interest me--a loaf cake of frozen mousse sandwiched with chocolate wafers.  However, the mousse is simple and delicious.  I made a few adaptations to use coffee rather than espresso beans, and Kahlua rather than Frangelico because I don't think I've ever had Frangelico in the house.

We served it for the Bastille Day dinner, and it was delicious.  Better yet, I was able to make it a day ahead of time and didn't have to worry about it the day of the dinner party.

Frozen White Chocolate-Espresso Loaf Cake

Adapted from The Cake Book  by Tish Boyle

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp. powdered gelatin

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup ground coffee

9 oz. good-quality white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. Kahlua liqueur

Nabisco chocolate wafers

Line a large loaf pan with plastic wrap, ensuring that the ends of the wrap hang out of the pan.

To make the mousse, pour the water in a small coffee cup and sprinkle the powdered gelatin over it.  Let it sit for five minutes.  In the interim, make a small sachet out of cheesecloth (I used an old linen tea towel) and put the ground coffee in it.  Place the sachet and 1/2 cup of the cream in a small saucepan.  Bring the cream to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and set it aside for at least fifteen minutes.

Place the coffee cup in the bottom of another small saucepan or skillet and add water until it comes halfway up the side of the cup.  Bring the water to the boil and stir the gelatin until it is totally dissolved.  Then turn off the heat and set the pan aside.

Remove the coffee sachet from the cream, squeezing it to release excess liquid.  Put the saucepan back on the heat and let it come to a boil.  Put the chocolate in a medium bowl, then pour the hot cream and gelatin over it.  Whisk the hot liquid into the chocolate until it is completely melted, then whisk in the vanilla and Kahlua. 

Let the chocolate mixture cool.  Then pour the remainder of the cream in a medium bowl and whip it to the soft peak stage using a hand mixer on medium speed.  Fold in the white chocolate mixture in three installments.

To make the cake, pour about one and a half cups of the mousse over the bottom of the loaf pan and smooth it.  Spread one of the chocolate wafers with a dollop of the mousse and press it against the long side of the pan.  Continue placing the chocolate wafers in rows in this same manner--you may need to break wafers in half to get to the end of the pan. 

When you put the second row in, make sure the wafers are sandwiched against the first row.  Continue until you have put it as many rows as possible, then carefully pour the remaining mousse in and spread it evenly.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap, ensuring that it is touching the mousse.  Freeze for at least four hours, or overnight.

To unmold, lift the edges of the plastic wrap.  Cut into 3/4 inch slices and allow them to stand a few minutes at room temperature before serving.

Makes approximately ten slices.

Apron Anxiety

It's always interesting when food bloggers reach national  prominence.  Some of them rise to the top by just being great writers who cook appealing and approachable food, a la Orangette or Pioneer Woman, both of whom seem to be universally loved in the food blogging community.  And then there are the ones who irk most food bloggers, like Julie Powell.

I can't decide how I feel about Alyssa Shelasky, a/k/a Apron Anxiety, who has a sassy personality and a girlfriend's gift of flowing gab but who is also well-connected and sometimes feels as if she is name dropping.  A former writer for People Magazine who finagled a meeting with a Top Chefs contestant on whom she had a crush, she transplanted her life from NYC to Washington, D.C. (a place she labeled provincial) to she could live with him.

If D.C. is provincial, I can't imagine what she'd think of Alaska.

When she has too much time between freelance assignments, Alyssa teaches herself to cook.  The blog is a mishmash of fun photos (mostly not taken by her), coy storytelling in which she omits nearly everything about her personal life (as if she were saving it for the book) and the occasional recipe.  It's fun, but you wouldn't learn a lot about cooking from it.

The book gives the juicy details of her "relationchef" (relationship with a chef)--his name is Spike, and I have to confess that I don't have cable so don't have a clue who he is.  There are also more details about learning to cook, and I'm not going to lie--it's a fast, fun read, but I really wondered whether she would have received a book deal if she hadn't had her connections.  It's what I would call a good airplane read, but she's like the friend of your spouse that you're glad you only have to see once a year.  She wears out her welcome.

I will credit her blog, though, for leading me to the recipe for Fat Witch's white chocolate raspberry brownies, which are the perfect blend of fruit and chocolate.  They are sticky, and the white chocolate chips drifted to the bottom and stuck, but they are completely delicious.

Any idea how to keep chips suspended in batter as the brownies bake? 

White Chocolate-Raspberry Brownies

Adapted from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

14 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped or in chip form

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chip form

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup raspberry preserves, heated slightly to make it spreadable

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9 by 9 baking pan either by buttering it or thoroughly spritzing it with a baking spray with flour.

Using a double boiler or a small metal bowl over simmering water, melt the butter, milk and bittersweet chocolate.  Set aside the mixture to cool.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl, then whisk in the butter/chocolate combination.

Sift together the flour and salt into the mixing bowl, when stir thoroughly to combine.  Add the white chocolate chips and then stir again.

Pour half the batter into the pan, then do your best to spread the preserves over the batter--mine wanted to clump.  Then add the other half of the batter, smooth it so it's even and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a baking rack.  Makes 12 good-size brownies.

This One's For You

Friday night, David and I went to a memorial service for a friend and former colleague who died in his mid-40s of natural causes.  Darryl was a prankster, an inveterate giver of advice (I remember him giving me dating advice circa 2005), and someone who loved to eat and drink.  He would have loved people getting together to raise a glass and tell funny stories about him--it's just a shame he couldn't be there to see it.

On a less somber note, it was a weekend filled with mostly great, sunny weather and friends.  My very first boyfriend from high school came through with his family after disembarking from an Alaskan cruise and we met them for dinner.  We also went to a fun potluck at our friends Arundel and John's, to which I took these brownies.



Brownies day 1, fresh out of the oven.



I know everyone swears they have the best brownie recipe, but I submit this one for your consideration.  I call them the "World's Best Brownies," which is probably an exaggeration, but they are simple, adaptable to mix-in ingredients and utterly delicious.



On the first day, the brownies have a slightly flaky crust and a cakelike texture.  On the second day, the crust disappears and the brownies become denser and fudgier.  I made them late Friday night and by Saturday evening they were at their best. 

I used hazelnuts in this recipe, but walnuts, chocolate chips or toffee bits would also be great mix-ins.  Darryl would have scarfed about three of these.  Darryl, this one's for you.

Ultimate Chocolate-Hazelnut Brownies

Adapted from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

14 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips
1 heaping cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
Pinch of salt


Brownies, day 2--look how fudgy they are!

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 x 9 square baking pan with baking spray with flour, or butter and flour it.

Using a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat until melted, then allow to cool.

Using a hand mixer, beat together the sugar, eggs and vanilla until just combined, then beat in the cooled chocolate.

Sift the flour and salt together in a small bowl, then add to the chocolate mixture.  Beat the mixture until well-combined, then stir in the hazelnuts.

Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 30 to 33 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow them to cool for an hour, if you can--David was into them at the half-hour mark and they were still great.

Makes 12 good-sized brownies.

We're Having a Heat Wave

I grew up in Nebraska, where it was not unusual for it to reach 100 degrees in the summer.  There's a song my mother used to sing:  "We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave."  Anyone know that song?

Flash forward twenty years, where it hit 75 degrees in Anchorage on Sunday night and the air was thick and humid in preparation for some serious rain.  Mosquitoes swirled about the yard and David and I started to complain about how hot it was.  So what did we decide to do?  Run the oven cleaner.  The temperature on the lower level of the house rose another ten degrees.  (In my defense, I'm not a total whiner.  This inability to handle heat happens to everyone who moves to Alaska.  I lived in New Orleans for four years, and I once lived in an apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota with no air conditioning and the temperature regularly hit 95-100 that summer).

So of course I decided to frost a cake.  Seriously intelligent move.  I had to move the cake out of the kitchen to prevent frosting from melting down its sides.

I'm back on schedule with the Cake Slice group this month, after having been on vacation for May's cake pick.  In the interest of full disclosure, this cake should have a layer of pudding between the two layers.  This pudding, logically enough, required heavy cream.  And here is the joy of living in Alaska:  the large, normally decently-stocked grocery store near my home had no heavy cream on Sunday afternoon.  Zip.  None.  Nada.  So I doubled the frosting and skipped the pudding.

Omitting that step saved a lot of time, and judging from the comments of some of my fellow bakers, some serious angst;  apparently it was hard to keep the layers from sliding when the pudding was sandwiched between them.

This version requires less than an hour of active time, and is seriously, deeply chocolatey, not too sweet and with just a hint of coffee.   Even though I'm not much of a chocolate person (gasp!), I loved it. 

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup dark cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup hot brewed coffee (I used a Starbucks Via packet in 8 oz. of hot water--worked like a charm)

For the frosting:
8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
22(!) tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tsp. vanilla

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.  Spray two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray with flour and set aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer, if you have one, or a large bowl if you're using a hand mixer.  Whisk in the granulated sugar and set the bowl on the stand mixer.

Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Put the stand mixer (or hand mixer) on low speed and slowly drizzle the wet ingredients into the coca mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and ensure that it is well-mixed.  Then add the coffee, mixing until just blended.

Using a spatula, fold the mixture together to ensure that the ingredients on the bottom have been thoroughly mixed in;  when they have, divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for thirty minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool the cakes on a baking rack while you prepare the frosting. 

Using a double boiler, melt the unsweetened chocolate over simmering water.  When the chocolate is melted, take it off the water and let it cool.

In the interim, using a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter until pale yellow and creamy--don't overbeat.  Add the powdered sugar and beat on medium speed until it is thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl at the end.  Then add the chocolate and vanilla, and beat again until combined.

To assemble the cake, tip the cakes out from the cake pans.  You can leave a slight dome on the layer you designate for the top, but using a serrated knife even off the layer that will be on the bottom.  Then slice each layer in two.

Place the lower half of the bottom layer on the serving plate, then cover with a thin layer of the chocolate frosting.  Repeat with the remaining layers, then frost the sides and then the top of the cake, continuing to use the offset spatula. 

Serves 10 to 12, depending on how thickly you slice it.

I Scream, You Scream

When I posted earlier this year that David and I were going to Rome, I received a couple of impassioned pleas to go check out particular foodie haunts.  One reader--I think it was Mike from The Culinary Lens--told me to go visit Gelato di San Crispino.  After a long, hot, jet-lagged day slogging around the Colosseum, Roman Forum and having the gates to the Baths of Caraculla closed on us because we were too late to get in, we decided to cut our losses and go get some gelato.  Smart decision.

Gelato di San Crisipino is tucked away on a tiny side street not terribly far from the Trevi Fountain.  It has a small sign out front, but the best way to locate it is a line of people out the door.  Once inside, there is a list of about twenty flavors, both fruit and cream, all made in-house.  Decide quickly, because the line moves fast and you don't want to be stuck stammering at the counter.

On that hot Monday, I selected zabaione, a cooked custard flavor, and chocolate rum.  David stuck with fruitier flavors, and we trekked up the hill to sit on a set of stairs and eat.  Let me tell you, it is worth the hype.  The flavors are pure and intense, and even the fruit flavors are unbelievably creamy.  It was almost enough to snap us out of our jet lag.  Almost.



That's David's "This is really good" face.

We went back two days later to see if it was as good as we remembered.  It was.

I once read that Alaskans eat more ice cream per capita than any other state in the country.  It seems a little random, but it's true that everyone is happy to see ice cream, particularly when it's homemade.  For a friend's birthday party, I made this gelato-like concoction.  It tastes like the best vanilla malt you've ever had.  Malt powder can be purchased from King Arthur's Flour.

This recipe has a softer consistency.  If you like your gelato firmer, freeze it in smaller containers.

Vanilla Malt Gelato

Adapted from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Dessert Book

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 cups heavy cream

2 cups 2% milk

2/3 cup malted milk powder

4 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until they are fluffy and pale yellow, then gradually whisk in the sugar.  Pour in the heavy cream and milk and whisk until thoroughly blended.



The gelato was particularly good with a homemade caramel sauce.



Whisk in the malt powder and vanilla, then allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes.

Pour into an ice-cream freezer and process until it is a soft-serve consistency.  For my freezer, this was about half an hour.

Transfer the gelato to a large storage container and stash in the freezer.

Makes 2 quarts.

Inspired by Color

Eleemosynary has its preview performance tonight.  I couldn't be prouder of the actors and how far they've come over the last four weeks, particularly the 15-year-old who doesn't have a lot of acting experience.  We had show photos taken on Tuesday night, and as long as you can ignore the fact the floor hadn't been painted yet, they are just gorgeous:

All  photos courtesy of Jamie Lang Photography,
http://jamielangphotography.com/

Aren't those colors gorgeous?  That's the benefit of having a visual artist do your set.  Margret Hugi-Lewis is a genius.  Her inspiration was the work of Paul Klee.

Those hues were the inspiration for one of the few things I had time to cook last weekend, since we were in technical rehearsals.  This grapefruit sorbetto is everything a sorbet should be:  tangy, lightly sweet and the perfect palate cleanser.  See what I mean about the color inspiration?

Wish us luck with opening weekend!  Although we've had our ups and downs, we are ready for an audience.  I even teared up a little last night at the end of the show, it's so darn beautiful.

A quick note on the grapefruit juice:  I used a combination of fresh and bottled.  If you are using all fresh, you should increase the amount of granulated sugar to a quarter of a cup because the fruit is so tart.  If you are using bottled juice, I would omit most of the sugar but taste the mixture before you freeze it and adjust as necessary.

Grapefruit Sorbetto

Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. powdered pectin
Juice of one fresh grapefruit
3 1/2 cups bottled grapefruit juice
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp. lemon juice, preferably fresh

Combine the pectin and granulated sugar in a small bowl and stir.  In a small pot over medium heat, combine the corn syrup and 1 cup of grapefruit juice.  Heat to a simmer, then whisk in the sugar-pectin mixture.  Keep whisking until the pectin is dissolved, about two minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the remaining grapefruit juice with the lemon juice.  Bit by bit, whisk in the hot sugar mixture.  Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth.  If you are using fresh grapefruit juice, you may wish to strain the mixture at this point to ensure the seeds and pulp are removed.

Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until completely cooled, then whisk it again and pour into the prepared bowl of your ice cream maker.   Churn for about half an hour, or until the mixture is completely smooth.

Eat immeidat

Bit o' Honey

This week would have been kind of comical had it been someone else's life.  Let me count the way that things have gone wrong:

Eleemosynary:  Looked so good last week, total nightmare this week.  The set carpenter hasn't shown up for two days and one of the actors has taken it upon herself to declaim that she doesn't like the set or her costume.  Le sigh.

Deposition:  I went to Oregon Tuesday night, a trip that was ill-timed to begin with, to take a deposition on Wednesday morning.  Cue freak snowstorm that shut down parts of Oregon, including the one where the person I was deposing had to travel from--deposition cancelled.  The trip was all for naught.  Le sigh again.

The new living room furniture arrived--good news--and requires assembly.  However, the couch box wouldn't fit through the front door and the couch is in pieces in the garage.  In the meantime, my mother-in-law Hope arrives next week and David is going on a business trip.  See the problem?

I need a good night's sleep, enough time to exercise, a good opening night and perhaps a Valium.  Maybe not in that order.

Enough with the kvetching.  As part of my marathon cooking therapy session (I'm making that up, but maybe there should be such a thing) last weekend, I made gelato.  Our old ice-cream maker died an ignominious death a while ago, and we weren't motivated to replace it until a particularly unfortunate incident last month when the gorgeous vanilla ice cream base fully refused to freeze despite hours in the ice-cream maker.

But I didn't want ice cream:  I wanted gelato.  That's right, I'm dreaming of an Italian vacation that is two months away. 

This is a very basic gelato recipe that seems more or less fail safe.  The only word of caution is to use good-quality honey, because you really can taste it.  I used a clover honey, but next time I will use fireweed honey, which is flavored with the quintessential Alaska flower/weed that blooms everywhere in the summer.  Lavender honey would also be gorgeous.

Honey Gelato

Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

3 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup clover honey

Follow the instructions for your ice-cream maker;  the bowl of mine needs to be frozen overnight and this base needs to sit overnight, so start your prep the night before.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream.  Transfer three tablespoons of this mixture to a a bowl and stir in the cornstarch.

Heat the saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil.  Whisk in the cornstarch mixture, corn syrup, granulated sugar and sea salt.  Allow it to boil again, whisking often.

Strain the milk mixture through a cheesecloth or very fine sieve to remove any solids and stir in the honey.  Let the mixture come to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When you're ready to make the gelato, give the mixture a good stir and pour into the bowl of the ice-cream maker.  Process until the mixture is the consistency of soft-serve frozen yogurt, then remove the bowl from the maker and return it to the freezer.  It will harden a bit more, but not much.

Makes approximately 1 1/2 quarts gelato.

Gluten-Free and Fabulous

Thanks to everyone for their get-well wishes for my cat, Ingrid.  The good news is--how do I put this delicately on a food blog?--she is not hopping off the bed every morning at 5:30 a.m., howling pitifully and then--er--losing the contents of her stomach on the bedroom carpet.  Was that delicate enough?  We'll know more about how she's reacting to the medication in the next couple of weeks.

Rejoining the Cake Slice bakers after a month off, I have to sing the praises of these little chocolate cakes.  Admittedly, they were supposed to be molten chocolate cakes, but even with baking according to the letter of the instructions, there was no melting going on.  Rather, I would describe these as little souffle cakes with a slightly brownie-like center.  A list of their many fine qualities:

1.  They don't contain any flour.  This is the cake to make your friends who can't eat gluten.  Or for Passover, which is coming up quicker than I care to think about. 

2.  You already have all the ingredients.  A word on chocolate:  this is not the place to use your fancy, expensive chocolate.  My fellow Cake Slice bakers warned that the original all-bittersweet recipe was, well, just too bitter.  I like dark chocolate better than anyone, but I heeded the warning and used a combination of semi-sweet Baker's chocolate and part of a big Hershey bar that for reasons that pass understanding has appeared in my pantry. 

3.  You can make the batter ahead.  I made the batter and put it in the fridge for six hours before baking up the cakes.  No problem, just bring the batter to room temperature before baking.  It'll take you that long to preheat your oven anyway.

On top of that, the cakes were delicious, and not too sweet.  I served them with a side of honey gelato, the recipe for which will appear later this week.  Good vanilla ice cream would work just as well. 

This recipe can be easily doubled;  I cut it down because it was just for David and I.  We ate the leftover cake the next morning and it was more brownie-like, but equally delicious.

Individual Warm Chocolate Cakes

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1.5 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, separated

1/16 tsp. salt (basically just a pinch)

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Spray three six-ounce ramekins (or coffee cups, in my case) with baking spray with flour or butter them generously;  set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter over simmering water.  When the mixture is completely melted, remove from the heat.  Whisk in half the sugar, then the egg yolks.

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer.  When the whites are foamy, add the cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until the whites are at the soft-peak stage.  Then add the remaining sugar and beat the whites to stiff peaks.

Fold a third of the whites mixture into the chocolate until combined, then incorporate the rest of the whites bit by bit. 

Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins/cups and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the tops start to crack.  Watch closely because overbaking will mean no molten center.

Cool the cakes for a minute on the baking sheet, then run a knife around the edges to unmold.  Unmold immediately on the serving plate and garnish with powdered sugar and ice cream.

Makes three individual cakes.

Hello, Neighbor

I live in one of the older neighborhoods in Anchorage, by which I mean my house was built in the 1950s.

It has real character.  There's a crotchety guy across the street and two doors down who is one of the neighborhood's original residents.  You hardly ever see him, though--he's like Boo Radley.  Maybe he even looks like Robert Duvall, but I wouldn't know.

When David and I moved in just over two years ago, one of our neighbors immediately brought us a homemade apple pie.  They explained that the former residents of our house had brought them baked goods when they moved in a year earlier.

We grew to like this couple, a lot--and not just because they wooed us with baked goods.  A friend of mine called them the "J. Crews" because they had a healthy, outdoorsy but preppy look.  Sadly, the J. Crews moved back to Oregon this past summer and we've been without new neighbors until just over a week ago.

I revived the pastry-giving tradition this past weekend for the new neighbors.  They seem like fitting successors to the J. Crews--both scientists in their 30s, very outdoorsy if maybe slightly less preppy.  Nothing says "I hope we'll be good neighbors" like a good cake.

Thank goodness this bundt cake needed to be evened off on the bottom to get it sitting sturdily in the cake carrier.  Otherwise, I fear I might not have been able to taste it.  It's just the right degree of sweet, with a bit of tang from the sour cream and good crunch from the almonds.  I highly recommend it for wooing whomever needs/deserves to be wooed in your life.

David was also grateful there were crumbs of cake left for tasting.

 Hello, Neighbor Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Powdered sugar to garnish

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a twelve-cup bundt cake pan, or spritz it with baking spray with flour.

Cream the butter with a hand mixer at medium-high speed.  When it starts to look light and fluffy, gradually add the granulated sugar and beat for an additional minute.  Add the sour cream and beat to combine.

Here's the ideal look for the butter before the sour cream is added.

 In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together, the baking soda and flour together.  Add 1/2 cup of this to the butter mixture and beat to combine.

After the initial 1/2 cup of the flour mixture is in, add an egg and beat to combine.  Add the flour mixture in five remaining installments, alternating with the eggs.



I'm not going to lie to you--this step is totally tedious, the only slow part to this cake. 
It's worth it, though.

Add the extracts and beat the mixture until just combined.

Fold in the sliced almonds.  Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for an hour and twenty minutes or until a skewer/cake tester comes out clean.

Cool on a baking rack.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake and invert it onto the serving plate.  Trim the bottom if necessary to get the cake to sit properly onto the plate (and to get a good snack).

Sift powdered sugar over the cake for a decoration--trust me, it's all this baby needs.

Take the cake to your neighbor if you're feeling generous. 

Baking with Beer: Not Your Mother's Gingerbread

It's he-ere (imagine this said in a scary, Halloween-y voice).

David and I woke up yesterday morning to find that it had snowed.  It was less than an inch, and it promptly became ice on the streets, but I was happy to see it.  This apparently is not a normal reaction to snow, but I was happy.

Maybe it's because the gray and brown that had taken over for the past few weeks were now clean and white.  Maybe it's because it's now time for the holidays.  Maybe it's because I didn't have anywhere to be until 6 p.m. last night.  Who knows?  All I can say is that I got a little giddy.

My brother-in-law Philip, who lives in Brooklyn, couldn't believe that it snowed in Manhattan before Anchorage.  Here is a totally random photo from our front window yesterday morning, which was initially as close to the snow as David wanted to venture:

I hope it doesn't keep what is usually a flood of trick-or-treaters from our door tonight--I may have overstocked on candy a little.  Oops.  Whoever comes will be greeted by our not-very-well-crafted pumpkin that we carved this weekend at our friends' annual pumpkin-carving party.

 I can't believe October is over today.  Not only does this remind me that my play opens in 26 days (eek!), but it brings an end to the Oktoberfest cooking with beer festivities.  For the last installment, I wanted to try using beer in a dessert.  

This dessert is adapted from a fun cookbook called All Cakes Considered, and is written by a National Public Radio staffer who began taking cakes to work and eventually was dubbed "the cake lady."  There are worse nicknames.

This is some seriously zingy gingerbread.  I can't taste the beer, although it might be contributing to the malty quality of the cake.  It's the perfect dessert for sliding (or, as I said the other day, slouching) into winter.


I may not be good at carving pumpkins, but at least I buy good candy.



Not-Your-Mother's Gingerbread

Adapted from All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray

For the gingerbread:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 cup dark molasses

1 cup dark beer

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Small pinch of kosher salt

1/2 crystallized ginger, roughly chopped

For the frosting:

3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)

1/2 unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and center a rack in the middle.  Using either butter or nonstick baking spray, coat an eight-inch square baking pan.

Cream the butter with a hand mixer on medium speed, then add the brown sugar and beat to combine.

Continuing on medium speed, add the egg, beer and molasses all at once and beat for up to two minutes, until well-combined.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl.  Add to the butter mixture in three separate installments, beating well each time.

Gently stir the crystallized ginger into the batter and pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the cake comes out clean.  Cool thoroughly on a baking rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting.  Cream the cream cheese, vanilla and butter using a hand mixer on medium speed.  Add the powdered sugar in three installments, beat after each one.  When the mixture, is thoroughly blended, add the ginger and beat until combined.

Spread the frosting over the cake.  When serving, garnish each piece with a small chunk of crystallized ginger.

Serves 12-16, depending on how much you feel like sharing.

Let Them Eat Cake (and Prepare to Marathon!)

I have a complicated relationship with cake.

On one hand, it's (usually) totally bad for you.  On the other, it's (usually) delicious.

I've previously talked about my paternal grandmother, who was the town baker in a small town in Nebraska.  She was a terrible cook, but a brilliant baker.  You would suffer through her dinners to get to the dessert afterward, which was universally spectacular.

I love to bake, and can make a very good layer cake and great coffee cakes, quick breads and other less-complicated sweets.  However, I claim no mad skills (or should that be "skillz"?) when it comes to beautiful decorations or foo-foo sweets.

Last month, when I saw an invitation on FoodBuzz to join the Cake Slice Society, I totally jumped at it--a chance to work on my baking skills, plus see the work of lots of bakers more talented than I am?  Yes!  I am in! 

The point of the group is for far-flung food bloggers (say that fast three times) to bake the same recipe from the same cookbook once a month and post on the same day.

I made this cake for the pre-half-marathon dinner I went to last Friday.  It was pronounced good race fuel, and besides that it was wicked good.  It has the added bonus of holding up well for a few days.



Ah, fall in Alaska.  It'll last for about another five minutes.

As an aside, if you tell your spouse/partner/colleague that you just have to blog tonight or you won't meet your Cake Slice Society deadline, you may be mocked.

Pre-Marathon Apple Cake with Maple Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

For the cake:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 cups Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped*

1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

Pinch of nutmeg, preferably freshly ground

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/8 cup pure maple syrup**

For the cake:

Start your oven to preheating at 350 degrees and make sure there is a rack in the middle.  Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray, preferably one with flour.

Combine and whisk the following ingredients in a medium bowl:  flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda and salt.

Look at me, being all organized.

Using an electric hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until it is creamy.  Add the sugar gradually and beat at medium speed until light in color.  Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time.  Scrape the sides of the bowl down to make sure the entire mixture is blended.

Bring the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredient mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk.  When the mixture is blended, stop mixing and stir in the apples and walnuts by hand.

Using a spatula, scrape the batter into the baking pan and level the top.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  At that point, remove the cake from the oven and cool on a baking rack.

While the cake is baking, start the frosting:

Using an electric  mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well-combined.  Add the vanilla, maple syrup and spices until just combined.  With the mixer on low, gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture comes together;  then, increase the mixer speed until the frosting is fluffy.

Serves 12, even with people doing a half-marathon the next day.

*The original recipe calls for peeling the apples, too.  I was feeling busy and lazy at the same time (complicated, but true), so I didn't bother.  No one seemed to notice.

**The original recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon of maple extract.  Being a dunce, I didn't have maple extract and added the maple syrup instead.  If this is wrong, I don't want to be right--the maple flavor was pure and natural.