The Best Plain Cake

The Best Plain Cake

or

French Yogurt/Almond Cake

Adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan by Blue Heron Kitchen

Baking shortcakes for the Fourth of July is always on the a-list, but I don’t have heavy cream in my fridge these days.  I always have Total Fage Greek Yogurt. Don’t let anyone convince you that Trader Joe’s own brand is ‘just as good’.  It doesn’t come close.

This is one of those cakes that ‘every’ French homemaker/baker has in their arsenal, and thanks to Dorie Greenspan’s brilliant recipe, it’s now in mine and I’m sharing it with you. 

When wrapped well, these cakes will keep for (in a cool room) for several days, up to a week in the fridge, and for a month or two in the freezer.  Dorie's recipe calls for a marmalade glaze, but I’m keeping this simple.  If you want to get fancy, you can make a simple jam glaze by heating up marmalade (lemon) and a little sugar, until liquid, straining it and then glazing the loaves when they’re cooled. Adorn or n’adorn.  

This is the best goddamn plain cake in the world, and you can make it by hand.

Berries are a natural complement.  Sorbet, sherbet, ice cream, crème fraiche, whipped cream. Bosco.  You name it.  Instead of all ‘flavorless oil’, I opted for ¼ toasted almond oil.  La Tourangelle, a French sounding company, but actually based in California, makes a reasonably priced product that has a round, warm flavor.  (The picture and link is on the left, but I found a can of it at Home Goods for eight bucks.) You can use this in other baked products. Or, try it in pesto!  Bob’s Red Mill’s almond meal/flour is my brand of choice. You can buy it at Fairway or online at their website. French almond flour is gorgeous and much more refined, and it’s easy to find in the supermarkets in France, but not ici.  You can play around with this and use other nut flours/oils/extracts; and if you’re adverse to nuts, just substitute flour (try some whole wheat flour instead of the nut flour.)

Happy 4th, 14th, whatev. You’re going to love this recipe and make it all year round.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup ground almonds (or, whole wheat flour or just more all-purpose flour)

2 tsp. baking powder (I use Rumford – no aluminum)

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup granulated sugar

Grated zest of a lemon (use organic if you can)

½ cup 2% Total Fage Greek Yogurt

3 eggs, size large, room temperature

½ tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. toasted almond oil

¼ c. + 2 Tbsp. flavorless vegetable oil (If you omit almond oil: ½ cup flavorless oil)

Procedure:

Center rack in oven and preheat to 350º F.  Butter and flour, or spray release and flour medium sized loaf pan (8 ½-x-4 ½ inch) or smaller loaf molds. (If using paper molds, which are great for ‘giving’, freezing, and looking like you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to grease them.) You can also bake this in a round cake pan and then turn it into a filled layer cake!

In a medium bowl measure the sugar.  Using your Microplane Zester, being careful to not include the bitter pith (the white stuff) of the lemon, zest the rind and with your fingers or a fork or a small whisk, incorporate the rind into the sugar.  Set aside and the oils of the zest will get into the sugar and make it smell really great.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour/almond meal, baking powder and salt.

You can use the whisk attachment of your Kitchen Aid, or by hand, a human whisk. Start with the sugar, add the yogurt, eggs and extract and whisk vigorously until well blended.  Still whisking, add the dry ingredients, making sure to whisk until the batter is no longer lumpy.  Stop the machine and remove the bowl, or if doing this manually, switch to a rubber spatula.  Fold in the oil.  The batter should be smooth, shiny and thick.

Fill prepared pan(s) and bake, depending upon size of pan, anywhere from 30-50 minutes.  Cake is done when top is golden, it springs to the touch and a tester (or sharp knife) inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Transfer to a rack and cool for 5-10 minutes.  If the cake doesn’t easily release, run a knife between the cake and sides of pan.  Unmold and cool to room temperature before wrapping.

peace, love, and get out of Afghanistan

jane

 

My New Kitchen Aid is Doing the Tighten Up

With her new professional silicone Beater Blade, my 6 qt. Kitchen Aid, "Pearl" barely needs to be scraped down.  She's doing the Tighten Up.
peace and love, jane

I Heart Celeriac (Cheater's Celery Remoulade)

I love the taste of celery root. This knobby, ugly root, when peeled and julienned in your Cuisinart (or if you're a fan of the quiet, meditative state you achieve during what I call "chop therapy", by hand), is easily transformed into one of the most refreshing salads.

Julia Child's recipe in MTAOFC for this salad is the best one, but it calls for a ton of olive oil. My recipe uses .... bottled dressing. I'm serious.

To cut down on both calories and time, I came up with a quick and low calorie/fat recipe that Julia would despise. But as much as she's my dead hero and it's terrible to say anything bad about her, here goes:

Buy a celery root at the farmer's market.  It's also called celeriac.  Buy a young, firm and fresh one.
Peel it and julienne it - either in the food processor or by hand.
Sprinkle generously with vinegar.  I used organic rice wine vinegar.
Here are some other acids to try:  lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar.  Let it sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, chop up a bunch of fresh parsley (buy it at the market) and mix it in.
To this, add about 6 Tbsp., more or less to taste of Annie's Naturals Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.   You can buy this dressing at Whole foods, Fairway, Wild By Nature or any health conscious, well-stocked market or health food store. When all else fails, buy it online.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Marinate in fridge overnight.
This salad gets a little better each day.
And then, like all good things ... it's gone.

peace, love and happy summer,
jane

Lemon Poppy Seed Dolphins

Port Washington has an independent book store called The Dolphin Book Shop. According to a sign in an empty, prime location on Main Street, The Dolphin Book Shop is moving from its you hardly know its there current location to its new home smack in the center of town, on the water - a really great location.

While they're busy scraping the David Yurman logo off the window and readying our new beautiful book store, I've been busy developing what I think are "Mommy, can we go to the dolphin cookie store now?" cookies for their new location.

I assumed the shop would be actively seeking out a signature cookie for their new home.

Unless someone wants to come over and cut out these buggers or order me a custom dolphin die cut cookie cutter template, this is going no further than this post.

I did create a great variation of Grandma Rae's Möhn Kichel. It uses whole wheat pastry flour, (remember this was intended for venue where people read about things. And whole wheat flour was never mean to you, was it?) some organic lemon rind and lemon extract.

You can use a cookie cutter or a pizza cutter, crimped or not crimped.

Don't limit yourself to dolphins.  If you have a turtle shape, use it and call them Lemon Oil Spill Cookies.

So, rather than sweat the small stuff, my new dream is to write a cookbook:
365 Ways to Bake Möhn Kichel. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Dolphins

Lemon Poppy Seed Dolphins

Blue Heron Kitchen

Ingredients: 

3 eggs, size large, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. lemon zest (organic lemon preferred)

1 cup canola oil

1 tsp. lemon extract

¼ cup room temperature water

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1.25 oz poppy seeds

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F., line 4 cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat.

In a bowl, whisk together the baking powder and flours and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the lemon zest into the cup of sugar and set aside.(The oils from the zest will flavor the sugar.)

In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid, fit with a paddle attachment (get a beater blade - you'll never stop beating it), beat the eggs, oil and lemon zested sugar until thick.  Add the lemon extract and mix. Add the water, mix, and then, the poppy seeds. Mix.

Add the dry ingredients and blend on low speed.  Finish mixing by hand.  You can flatten the dough on a lightly floured board and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to roll and cut.

On a flour coated surface, roll out between 1/8”-1/2” thick and cut, with a cookie cutter or pizza cutter(or a knife!)into squares or rectangles.

Place on parchment lined cookie sheets and “bake until golden brown”, about 10-15 minutes.

Yield varies depending on size of cookie. 

peace, love and smooth sailing,

jane 

Asparagus Pesto

Asparagus Pesto was offered in the Times a couple of weeks ago, and after buying some beautiful asparagus today at the Kennedy Plaza Farmer's Market in Long Beach, NY, I pulled out my food processor and toasted some pine nuts.

Captain Kitchen, my adorable daughter, just got a new food processor.  So, this one's for you, Sweetheart!

Don't limit yourself to pine nuts (did you know they come from pine cones?)  You can toast up any nut to make pesto.  Walnuts come to mind.

I cut down dramatically on the amount of olive oil (but I never cut down on the quality of the oil) when I make it.  The biggest difference will be in the texture.  Oh, and oil will 'round' the flavor. This looks pretty creamy, doesn't it?

Asparagus Pesto

Adapted from Mark Bittman by Blue Heron Kitchen

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

1 clove garlic, or more to taste

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled

1/4 cup excellent quality extra virgin olive oil

(more or less, to taste – I use much less – closer to half the amount -  to reduce calories and fat)

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste.

Procedure:

1. In a frying pan or a sauté pan, large enough to hold them, bring the asparagus with some water and some salt, to a boil, cover and cook until fully tender. Drain and let the asparagus cool slightly.

2. Cut into two or three inch pieces and transfer the asparagus to a food processor. Add the garlic, toasted pine nuts, some of the olive oil, Parmesan, and a pinch of salt. Process the mixture, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary. Gradually add the remaining oil. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Serve over pasta, fish, chicken or roasted vegetables.

Can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

I love cauliflower.


I pestoed my steamed organic cauliflower in a cast iron gratin dish, first rubbed with garlic and then sprayed with olive oil.  I threw in sautéed mushrooms and garlic (get 'em at the market!) and some julienned Applegate Farms slow cooked ham.  

I topped it off with the asparagus pesto, then some more grated Parmesan cheese and baked it at 375º F.  Low calorie, hugely healthful and SO delicious.  You can leave out the meat, but I like ham - especially with mushroom and asparagus and parmesan cheese.

Opening Day at Kennedy Plaza Farmers Market 2010

A perfect day on Kennedy Plaza.  

Welcome back farmers, vendors and shoppers!

Millport Dairy's eggs are free range and adorable!

Carucci's flowers are gorgeous and ready to be

put into your beds.

Dan Madura's shallots, red mustard greens, shallots 

and 

oh.... the asparagus.  

You haven't lived until you've

had some. The season isn't all that long... so get them.

Cut the bottoms, like flowers and store them in some water in the fridge.

Change the water every day or so.

Steam, grill, roast ...

smear them with some goat cheese 

(or herbed or plain cream cheese) 

and then, wrap them with

smoked salmon or 

thinly sliced Prosciutto de Parma. 

Or crunch into them raw.  
They're that fresh, sweet and good.

Asparagus
is gorgeous

Asparagus is gorgeous.

Dinner.

Recipes and trucs forthcoming.

In the meantime, rejoice in the new season and 

Thank you to Bernadette for making the market return to life.

here's when:

Every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

where:

Kennedy Plaza, Long Beach, NY

(adjacent to the LIRR train Station)

peace, love and asparagus,

jane

Mother's Day Mandelbrodt (Mandelbread)

Happy Mother's Day!
(look at the ducks!)
peace, love and mandelbrodt.

My Grandma Rae made the best mandelbrodt.  It had no butter.  I don't think anything she baked had butter. She kept a kosher home, and by omitting butter, her desserts could be eaten any old time.

She used Mazola corn oil (and other horrible non-dairy fats like margarine and something called "Spry".)

This recipe uses oil and is much closer to hers than the richer biscotti recipes I've published here.  Corn oil isn't as healthful as, say, canola oil, but I love to bake with it.  It's sweet. In the absence of butterfat, The taste of the almonds are pronounced by the oil rather than 'softened' by the roundness of butterfat.

These are hard to stop eating.  They're simple and taste like their ingredients.

Grandma Rae's greatest pleasure was to feed the people who came to her home.  She was my best Grandma, and I miss her all the time (you can read more about her in my "möhn kichel" recipe, another oil-based and brilliant basic Jewish "tea cookie".) It's almost mother's day, and the photograph of my in my toque is a gift from my beautiful daughter.  She embroidered it for me.  It says, "Blue Heron Kitchen" and it sports a heron on its brim.  Thanks, sweetheart!

Mandelbrodt (Mandelbread)

Adapted from Arthur Schwartz by Blue Heron Kitchen, in honor and memory of my Grandma Rae

Ingredients:

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

4 eggs, size large, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup corn oil (or any tasteless vegetable oil)

½ tsp. pure almond extract

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Zest from one large orange

2 cups coarsely chopped almonds (see almond trucs below)

Procedure:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat and preheat oven to 350º F.

Almond truc: Valencia almonds are great to use.  Organic ones are even better.  The better and fresher the nut, the better the cookie.  Release the oil! Toast the nuts on a cookie sheet until you can just begin to smell them.  Be careful they don’t burn.  If they do, you’ll end up with mandelburndt.  Let them cool first and then chop them.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid or ‘other’ electric mixer, preferably fitted with a fabulous beater blade attachment, beat the eggs well, until light in color. 

Add the sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat until the mixture is thick and creamy.  This will take a few minutes.

Add the oil (I use corn oil, because my Grandma Rae used Mazola corn oil for everything), extracts and orange zest to the eggs.  Beat briefly until blended.

Dump in the flour, all at once and mix on lowest speed until barely incorporated.  Add the almonds and mix until just blended.  Finish by hand.

Turn out onto floured flat surface and cut into four equal parts. 

With as little handling as possible (use flour and a large spatula to manage the dough), form into four loaves, approximately 12” x 2 ½” – 3” in width, depending upon how wide you prefer your cookies, two to a sheet, lengthwise.  Space them at least 4” apart.

Bake approximately 30-45 minutes, transferring sheets top to bottom, front to back, half way through the first bake, until golden.

Remove from oven and let cool on rack for a few minutes, leaving the oven on.

With a serrated knife, slice on diagonal, approximately ½” thick (or ¾” if you like your cookie thick) and return the cookies, slice sides down, to the sheets. 

Bake for 5 minutes, turn cookies over and bake 5 additional minutes.  Finished cookies should be golden brown.

Cool the cookies on racks.  When completely cooled, store in an airtight container.  These will taste even better the next day (if you can wait). 

NABUCCO´S "VA PENSIERO SULL´ALI DORATE"

The chorus of the Hebrew slaves. peace, love and kugel, jane

Apple and Matzo "Molly" Kugel

Here's a great matzo kugel dessert recipe from someone I've lost touch with.  But this is a recipe that shouldn't get lost.

This is a sweet and you should pardon the expression, Pesachdic, dessert that should be made at least once during the Passover holiday.

It's a grand finale to any seder table.

If you celebrate, have a sweet Passover.

peace, love and Molly Kugel,
jane

MOLLY'S APPLE-MATZOH KUGEL

Rick Bernstein

(double the recipe, double the fun)

 4 large apples, Granny Smith or any tart apple, cored and cut into medium dice (could be some pears too)

 1/2 cup light brown sugar

 1/4 cup orange juice

 6 plain matzohs

 8 eggs

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups sugar

 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter , melted

 1 cup golden raisins

 1 cup dried apricots, medium, chopped

 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, for casserole topping

 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

 2. Toss the apples with the brown sugar and orange juice, set aside in a medium bowl.

 3. Break the matzoh into 2- to 3-inch pieces and soak in 1 cup of warm water until soft but not mushy. Set aside.

 4. While the matzoh soaks, beat the eggs with a wire whisk in a large bowl until blended. Add the salt, sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, raisins, and apricots.

 5. Squeeze the liquid from the softened matzoh and add the matzoh to the egg mixture with the apples. Stir the kugel well and pour into a lightly greased 2 1/2-quart casserole dish or a 10x14-inch pan. Dot the top of the kugel with the 4 tablespoons of butter.

 6. Bake the kugel for 1 hour. Cover the top with foil if the top begins to become too brown early in the baking. Remove the kugel from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Cook's Tip: The kugel can be made 2 days ahead, cooled, and refrigerated, covered. Bring to room temperature and reheat in a 350°F oven.

Passover Mandel Bread

Gut Yontif!!!

Here is the best Passover Mandel Bread recipe.  Sure, it's a contradiction in that it isn't 'twice baked', but Passover is a contradiction in and of itself.  It's a restrictive holiday because for observant Jews, any food that begins to hint at rising or fermenting is simply not part of the program.

These cookies taste great.  You'll need to go to the Kosher for Passover aisle in your supermarket and pick up some matzo CAKE meal.  Pick up some potato starch too.  If you don't observe this holiday, these are the two ingredients you'll need to try out this seasonal cookie recipe.  Try Ghiradelli chocolate chips or chop up some great quality chocolate.  Nuts are optional (another pastry arts perc).

Passover Mandel Bread

Blue Heron Kitchen

CREAM TOGETHER:           2 cups sugar

                                                ½ pound (two sticks), unsalted butter

ADD:                                       6 eggs, room temperature, size large, one at a time,

                                                beating well after each egg is added (It's important to beat the eggs. 

                                                They're the sole leavening agent.)

SIFT TOGETHER:                 2 ¾ c. matzo cake meal

                                                ½ tsp. kosher salt

                                                ¾ c. potato starch

Fold dry ingredients into egg, butter, sugar mixture

ADD:     1 cup chopped nuts (toast and cool prior to chopping - this brings out their natural oils and makes the whole product taste better) and 6 oz. chocolate bits or chopped excellent quality chocolate (You can omit the nuts, but add more chocolate!)

Form into 4 - 2” wide [about ½-3/4” high] loaves [two loaves per cookie sheet – width, not length] and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.

Bake on cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 45 minutes [less], slice while warm into 1/2” pieces.