Apple Cake

Apple Cake

Adapted from Judy Rosenberg’s Baking Book by Blue Heron Kitchen

This cake recipe is for my son and his fabulous friends and colleagues at Oxford University. The apples, now available at the farmers market in Oxford and here, in the U.S., are peaking now. 

You can bake it in a tube pan, but it works as a loaf too. I’ve even made it in a fluted deep-dish quiche pan. Just be sure to bake it all the way. It’s moist and it freezes really well. It'll keep for weeks in the fridge, but it won't last long. It's far too good.

Use firm apples. 

Cheers!

Ingredients:

3 c. all-purpose flour (or 2 c. all-purpose and 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. mace (if the only kind of mace you keep is for self-defense, you can use some nutmeg.)

¼ tsp. allspice

8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature (European style, 83% butterfat is best - try Plugra or Cabot brand.)

¼ c. vegetable oil (canola oil is good)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

3 eggs, size large, room temperature

1.5# apples (4 cups), or about 3-4 large, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes

cinnamon-sugar or even better and simpler: plain Turbinado or "raw" sugar for topping (1 tsp. cinnamon, mixed with 1 Tbsp. sugar) (double this and use lots - and if you have leftover, use it on other things.)

Procedure:

1.         Lightly grease tube pan or ‘other’ pans with melted butter or vegetable oil. Preheat oven to 350º F.

2.         In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3.          In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, oil, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until blended. Scrape down the bowl, as needed.

4.         Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on medium speed after each addition, until blended and creamy. Scrape the bowl each time. Mix again for fun.

5.         Add ½ the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Scrape down and add remaining dry ingredients until just incorporated. Don’t overbeat.

6.         Add the apples with a few turns of the mixer’s paddle, or by hand, folding them in with a wooden spoon.

7.         Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle generously with raw Turbinado or cinnamon sugar.

8.         Bake in center of pre-heated oven until the top of the cake is firm and golden and a tester (wooden toothpick or wooden skewer is best) comes out clean). For a tube pan – close to an hour, perhaps. But, this depends on your oven and your pan and the density of your apples and how you measure out your flour.

Recipe claims to serve 12-16 (portions are not my forté)

peace, love and hope to meet y'all for cheesy chips soon!

jane    

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!

Bobby Blues

Call me a slouch, but it's been a busy summer. Click on this link for an old fave that I put together tonight. I'll bring some down to Philadelphia to thank the fine people at Philadelphia Hospital who have taken remarkable care to save my father's life.

Dad loves blueberry muffins. He can't eat yet, but I baked these in his honor. Buy organic berries - always. Whole foods has had some great blueberries on sale. They freeze really well. If you don't feel like baking, throw them into the blender with a cup of non-fat or low-fat kefir, some vanilla, cinnamon and stevia, and you'll have a killer probiotic breakfast (girls, add a Tablespoon of flax seed oil for some lubromega action).

I like little financier-shaped muffins. Round can be so square.

Love you, Dad!

Bobby Blues

The Prince of Foods

Rick's Horseradish (Chrain d'Rick)

Chrain d'Rick

Last week, I met Joy and Matt, a great and shining young couple who are engaged to be married. I met them at their engagement dinner, thrown by my friend Rick. I had no business being at their party because I wasn't invited and I'd never met them. I was there was because I volunteered to make desert for this huge dinner and although I wanted to just deliver it and go, Rick made room for me by sharing his seat with me and I got to taste the best thing I ever tasted: Rick's chrain.

I'd just learned some great news about a biopsy I'd had, and I was in the mood to do a pastry dance. My lucky news was transformed into a croque en bouche, a conical tower of pâte a choux pastry, filled with pastry cream, glued together with caramel, sprinkled with candied almonds. It was (mostly) a joyous project (working with caramel can be a bitch). So, the croque en bouche transmuted my lucky news into dessert for 40 people and the opportunity to meet lovely people. And I got to eat Rick's chrain.

Here's the croque en bouche:

Croque en bouche for Joy and Matt

The chrain (Yiddish for horseradish) that Rick served with his perfectly cooked salmon was so good, I told him that I'd eat it all over my kamut puffs.

I made Rick's recipe with some miso paste and a very small amount of olive oil because I'm trying to keep my fat intake on the lower side and I think that miso could be a good thing to use as a binding agent in place of, say, cream cheese, mayonnaise or oil. But, do use olive oil and as he indicates, tofu spread (I guess he means 'tofutti', that fake cream cheese - he made this for vegan people. But miso is vegan, isn't it?). His was good enough to spread on anything ... salmon, trout, grilled shrimp, or use it to help bind your tuna, or egg TVP salad.

The miso paste made it a little sweet.  

If you want to make it pink, add some beets and serve it with a nice piece of gefilte fish.

Rick is a natural and talented chef with a honed and sophisticated palate. He's a no-nonsense person whose cooking reflects his warm nature and hamisch personality. He's no newcomer as a guest blogger to BHK. Click on this link for Rick's Molly Kugel . It isn't Passover without this great matzo-apple kugel.

And from now on, it won't be kamut puff fish night without Rick's Chrain.

Step 1-Get a shillelagh of horseradish.

Me, I found mine at Eataly.



Step 2-Grate that root

It's filthy, wash it, peel with a vegetable peeler (easier than it looks) and cut it into 1" cubes.

Put it in a food processor with some white wine vinegar and salt. Process. After a little bit, add some cheap-o olive oil, it moderates the heat.

Step 3-Make the sauce

Take about half of what you had and put it in a jar in the fridge, covered with oil. It'll live to fight another day.

Leave the remainder in the food processor, add about equal amounts of some sort of soft tofu (I used tofu spread, that's all they had in the store), add a little more salt, hit it for a couple of seconds and you're done!

Easy as croque en bouche!

-Rick Bernstein 

Mushrooms and Noodles, Eataly and The Bronx

Eataly, in New York City, is ugly beautiful. Cuccinaglam is distracting, but, don't let the TV Food Network energy ruin it for you. Eataly is a serious market. It’s a great place to spend a few hours wandering, eating and shopping and if you'd like, drinking. Resist the glitz, the precious packaging; and remember that you can buy many of these items at small, independent, family owned and operated grocery stores. You remember before Obama became a Republican, he kept talking about the moms and pops, about "Main Street"? (The ones who got him elected?) Barack's golfing with Boehner, but let's keep shopping on Main Street. We promised, so that makes one of us.

Outer Boro suggestion: Arthur Avenue in the Bronx:

Calabria Pork Store, Arthur Ave., The Bronx
(Walk with Pride)

Teitel Brothers, Borgatti’s and Casa della Mozzarella. Half Moon Pizza. The indoor market! The Calabria Pork Store. Oh … go eat at Roberto’s – but try to go during the week if you don't want to wait. It's so good, but bring money.

For some, the Bronx is a whole other situation. I love it.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and spend 10 minutes with this:

Back to Eataly:
I was lucky to get a cook's tour of Eataly from a friend who loves everything about food. From his small NYC kitchen, Rick regularly prepares sit-down dinners for 30. He’s taught me that you don’t need many ingredients to make great eats. In a recent letter to me, making fun of paraphrasing my personal email signature, he closed with: Care, live well, work for peace and when there's nothing to make in the house throw a little pancetta from the freezer into a sauté pan with some oil, boil up some pasta, throw a bunch of rosemary sprigs in at the end and call it dinner.

When you go to Eataly, even if you’re not going to buy anything, grab a shopping cart. They’re fun to push, well designed and they're made of recycled plastic bottles. These are the Ferrari Smart Cars of shopping carts. (Uh, Whole Foods, attenzione.) 

Okay: northwest corner for dried pasta and if you hit the jackpot, you’ll meet Nick Coleman, the market’s own olive oil guru. He guided us through an interesting tasting. 

Go to: fresh fish, butchered meat, and produce. 

photo Rick Bernstein
liver makes me gag, but these veal shanks look pretty sharp

In produce I found: mushroom varieties of high quality, great prices and both made me a happy shopper.

There are pretty packages and very beautiful bottles to admire but why get 'em when you can snap a picture?  

photo Rick Bernstein

The book shop stop (near the bathrooms!) is a good idea – it’s always fun to look before you go to Amazon.  Next time, I want to visit the newly opened beer garden on the roof. 

Here’s what you don’t want: Italian beer for $49, an entire department of Alessi gadgets I know they’re sponsors, but these housewares make it feel more like Ikeataly – so, Mario, why not kick it up a notch? Pepper grinders with ears aren't fun anymore.

I wanted the breads to be over the top, but they looked just “ very good” – (which isn’t so bad).

Truth is, I can’t wait to go back. 

Eataly

200 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 (map)
newyork.eataly.it

Mushrooms and Mushroom Noodles

Mushrooms and Mushroom Noodles
Blue Heron Kitchen

A recipe for a MEvening, inspired by a trip to NYC’s Eataly, noodles and cheese from the Bronx, and the brilliant coping strategy, as modeled by my beautiful daughter, Captain Kitchen

Mushrooms from Eataly and noodles from Borgatti’s on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. I’m devoted to this store.

Borgatti's is about as far from Eataly as you can get. Beyond distance, it's simple, unpretentious and inexpensive. Open the door and walk in: the smell of the store is worth the visit. Go.

Noodles, not pasta. Noodles are personal.

Ingredients:

Sliced, mixed mushrooms (I used Maitake, Shitake, Cremini and plain, old, White Buttons)

Grilled Asparagus (if you feel like it and I did)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Excellent quality anchovy fillets (don’t tell me you don’t like anchovies.)

Fresh garlic

Freshly chopped rosemary

Freshly chopped sage

Freshly chopped parsley (for serving)

Red wine

Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, to taste

Coarse salt and grated black pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Pour yourself a glass of wine.

If you’re adding asparagus, grill them chop them up and set them aside.

Slice the mushrooms.

Chop together: anchovies, garlic, rosemary, sage

chopped anchovies, garlic, sage and rosemary (scratch and sniff)

Have some water coming up to a boil for your noodles. You’ve cooked noodles before, so you can do this. Make sure to put loads of salt in the water. Don’t overcook the noodles. You didn’t plan a GRievening.

Have the Parmigiano and ready to Microplane Zest (grate), or, if you’re a mis-en-place-r (no judgment), you can pre-grate.

Put some olive oil in a sauté pan and warm it.

Add the chopped anchovy/herb mixture and sauté for a few minutes. (the aroma is Creed-worthy)

Dump in the sliced mushrooms and turn heat to medium high, stirring until mushrooms

   begin to lose liquid. Keep heat at medium/high.

Add some red wine (to the pan and to your glass) and continue to cook.

Throw in chopped asparagus.

Keep it hot and high, cuoco fantastico.

Remove from heat when you like how it smells, looks, feels and tastes. Don't let your stufato di funghi go zoppicare. (try google translate)

By now, your noodles are cooked and waiting.

Add (generous amounts of) grated Parmigiano and lots of twists of freshly grated black pepper and coarse salt.

Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley.

And finally, if you haven't already spent an hour and half reading this and aren't completely annoyed, here's a little opera from a gorgeous market: Mercado Central de Valencia in Italy.
peace, love, noodles and music ... tutti in buona salute,

jane

Corn Muffins with Sage, Jalapeno and Cheese (or not)

Corn Muffins (or mini loaves) with Sage, Jalapeno and Cheese
Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman by Blue Heron Kitchen

This is the time of year when corn is all over your life. 


Sage is becoming one of my favorite herbs. I have a handsome pineapple sage plant with luscious foliage. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving, when neither corn nor sage is in season on the east coast. If your fridge is bursting with too much corn (mine was) double this recipe (I did.)  Alternatively, go to "search this blog", type in "corn". "Corn chowder" will get you out of this mess.

In a recent conversation with my mother about some Greek walnut rusks that I'd made with whole wheat flour (they were vile), she advised me that whole wheat flour makes everything dry. I don’t entirely agree with her. The way I see it, I am sentenced devoted to incorporating whole grains, the more the better, into my diet. At the same time, I’m genuinely devoted to and always learn from my mother. So, I’ve gone halfsies with whole wheat and all-purpose flour to moisten the situation and hopefully smooth out any rough edges between Mom and me. Love you, Mom.


Sugar? Although this recipe is not sugar-free, it’s just not that sweet. Reduce or increase the honey to your liking – your call. I'm kind of generous with my tablespoons. Nobody dives in for sour muffins.


Ingredients:
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably organic stone-ground
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 tsp. dried rubbed sage
2 eggs, size large, room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, organic, fat free if you can find it
1/4 cup Canola or other vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. honey
1 cup corn kernels (about 1-2 ear of corn – you can be generous)
2 Tbsp. minced jalapeño (1 medium)
Optional: 1/2 cup (1 oz.) grated, aged cheddar (Grafton is a good choice), or other cheese that will stand up and round out the pepper/corn situation. I used Greek Manouri cheese, which is a sheep’s milk, ricotta-like cheese.


Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. with the rack positioned in the upper third. Paper cups, oil or butter muffin or mini loaf tins.
2. In a large bowl, sift together cornmeal, flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Whisk together.
3. In a large (1 qt.) liquid measure, measure the buttermilk, then the oil, add eggs and honey and whisk together.

4. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir or fold the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
5. Dump in the corn kernels, minced jalapeño, sage and (optional) cheese and fold into batter. Don't (ever) overmix.

corn, sage, jalapeno and (not joking), Manouri cheese

dump and fold

(a double recipe fills a half sheet)

6. Spoon into prepared tins or cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full).


7. Bake approximately 15 to 25 minutes, depending upon size, until risen and lightly browned.


Yield: One batch should yield about a dozen human-sized muffins. You take it from there. I always double recipes – same effort, yield: two for you, one for me, six for the freezer and a few for the space you freed up in the fridge from using the corn.


Storage: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, a few more days in the fridge, and for a few months in the freezer.


Serve with: a drizzle of honey, strawberry or other fruity butter, confiture du jour: peach, fig, citrus or try them warm from the oven, with nothing at all. 


Mom, this one's for you (always look on the bright side of life)
peace and love always,
jane