Wow, it's almost 5772!

This is the most unorthodox and delicious honey cake I've made to date. This year, I baked 'regular' honey cake (I threw in toasted hazelnuts and recommend this addition!), pumpkin bread; and a new/old apple cake (I'll share it with you later. It's really good and really easy.)

Before the knaidlachs drop on Wednesday night, I'll share this cool recipe with you.

Originally from Molly Katzen's "Enchanted Broccoli Forrest", I played around, and loaded them with "Chunky" ingredients. (These are silver labels. For gold label, big spender, you'll need pecans.)

These aren't Bubbie's honey cakes. You'll find a great traditional recipe if you click on the above link to 'regular' honey cake.

CHOCOLATE "Chunky" HONEY CAKE

Adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen from Mollie Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest

Baking cakes with honey can be tricky, so you have to take extra care that the texture of the finished product has “enough crumb.” To achieve this, Mollie Katzen whips the honey separately at high speed with an electric mixer until it is opaque. A few minutes is usually enough time. Her claim is that this incorporates air into the honey, increasing its volume, and drying it out some. Don’t skip or skimp on this step. 

The “Chunky” version of this was created in Blue Heron Kitchen for Rosh Hashanah, 2011. You don’t have to make this for a holiday. Holidays come and go, but cake is good all the time.

I used Scharffenberger (unsweetened squares) and Jacques Torres chocolate (his baking disks are inexpensive and are great!). The better quality your ingredients, the better your cake.

A “Chunky” used to cost a couple of cents. This cake’s going to cost you more than two cents.

I bake these at a fairly low temperature to insure they don’t burn, dry out or overbake. Bake it until ‘just’ done. Mine are slightly ‘molten’. Once cooled, wrap and refrigerate them. They’ll turn into candy.

To those who celebrate this upcoming holiday, "L’Shanah Tovah". 

Don’t let 5772 be the year that destroys unions and continues to rob this country of its backbone, the middle class. (Us.) Vote smart. Keep the senate democratic. Obama may not be what we all imagined, but consider the alternative. I’ll take his “Choot-spa” any day. (Go ahead … click on it.)

peace, love and chocolate

jane

Here's the recipe:

Nonstick spray for the pan
1 cup canola oil or 8 oz. softened butter (I use 83% European style butter – Plugra, by Hotel Bar, is a good choice and is fairly easy to find.)
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (see Scharffenberger link above)
1 ½ cup light-colored honey (Golden Blossom brand is great, or Gunter’s “Golden” is another good choice)
4 eggs, size large, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract (Try Baldwin’s in West Stockbridge. You’ll thank me.)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
12 oz. chocolate chips, or any chopped chocolate (I like dark chocolate – Ghiradelli or Jacques Torres’ baking disks, available at his stores or online.)

OR:
For “Chunky”: 7 oz. chopped dark choc., 6 oz. dark raisins, 3 oz. walnuts (pecans, if you’re thinking ‘gold label’).

1.    Preheat oven to 325°F  Spray 1 large or 2 smaller sized loaf pans with release spray, or use melted butter or brush them with some vegetable oil.  

2.    In a medium-sized bowl, sift the cocoa into the dry ingredients and whisk together. Set aside.

3.    Melt the butter and chocolate together in a small ball, placed over barely simmering water. Don’t let any water or steam get into the melting chocolate. (If using oil, melt the chocolate alone, then remove from heat and stir in the oil.) COOL.

4.    Place the honey in a medium-sized bowl, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. It will start to look creamy. Add the eggs, and beat well. Stir in the vanilla.

5.    Beat the melted chocolate/butter (or chocolate/oil) mixture into the honey-egg mixture.

6.    Add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips (or the mixture of chopped chocolate/raisins and nuts.)

7.    Pour into the prepared pans, filling them about 1/2 to 2/3 full.

8.    Bake 30 minutes or more, depending upon size of your pan, until a tester or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

9.    When cool enough to touch, release from pans and finish cooling on racks. Wrap well and refrigerate to achieve ‘candy’ texture.

Stir-Fried Carrots with Cumin and Lime

Carrots are all over the farmers markets now. Nutritionally, carrots are rock stars. Buy multi-colored ones because they're beautiful.

The hard copy of this recipe is from Suvir Saran's great cookbook, Indian Home Cooking. It's one for your basic library. His new book, Masala Farm, will soon be available. I pre-ordered mine on Amazon. Suvir's cookbooks are written in his voice; and when working within any one of his books, you feel as if you get to know him. I have great memories of times I spent, years ago, with Suvir. But what you should know is that he is a superb chef. His generosity of spirit, warm and loving heart, humor, humility and energy are transmuted into his work and his recipes. If you aren't already familiar with any of his books, have a look at American Masala.

You can buy the spices ("masala" usually refers to roasted spices, but loosely translates to 'spice') at good markets (Fairway, Whole Foods), at any Indian/Pakistani market or, a great resource, is Patel Brothers online.

L-R and bottom to top: Whole dried red chile, cumin, fresh green chile, cumin and kala jeera, curry leaves, julienned fresh ginger

Stir Fried Carrots with Cumin and Lime
From Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness, adapted by Blue Heron Kitchen


Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. black mustard seeds
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into a fine julienne
1 fresh hot green chile, minced
5 whole dried red chiles
1 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. kala jeera (optional)
15 fresh or 25 frozen curry leaves, torn into pieces (optional) (substitute Thai basil or if you can't find Thai basil, regular basil, for this fantastic ingredient.)
2 1/4 pound or approx. 11-12 cups shredded carrots. (Grated on large holes of grater or using the shredding disc of the food processor)

1 tsp salt, or to taste
Juice of 1 lime (or, if you hate lime, use a lemon)


Combine the oil and mustard seeds in a large wok, frying pan or kadai (a beautiful Indian wok), over medium to high heat. Cover it, or you'll have flying, hot mustard seeds all over you and the kitchen; and you'll never want to cook with mustard seeds again. This would be tragic, because mustard seeds are phat. 


When you hear them crackle for about a minute or two, uncover them and add the ginger, fresh and dried chiles, cumin, optional kala jeera and curry leaves and cook, uncovered (don't worry, it's safer now), stirring until the ginger crisps slightly. 

Masala in the kadai

Add the carrots and cook, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until warmed through, 3-5 minutes. Add salt and lime (or lemon, sour puss) and adjust salt to taste.


Serve hot, warm or cold.


Serves 6-8

Like a dish at the Automat!