Desperately seeking mochi

I had a mochi donut 6 weeks ago and I cannot stop thinking about it. Actual donuts felt a bit ambitious, but try this delicious black sesame mochi cake (Eric Kim's recipe) to get your texture kicks. If you need something to bring to an event that is fast and easy to whip up, but will just absolutely floor everyone in attendance, THIS IS YOUR CAKE. Not too sweet either.

 

Black Sesame Mochi Cake

What you need:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (crucial)
4 tbs black sesame seeds
8 oz sweet/glutinous rice flour aka mochiko (I used the brand Koda Farms)
1tsp baking powder

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then line a 11x8 inch rectangular pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on the sides to help you lift the cake out later. Grease the parchment. This is awkward but also fine. Alternately, consider making the mochi cake as little mOffins because cute.

2) Toast the sesame seeds until they become aromatic. This is harder because they are dark and you can't tell when they're ready, but give it a good guess. Some toasting is better than no toasting. Then crush half of them (2 tbs) into a rough powder - mortar and pestle? spice grinder? your call.

3) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, honey, and salt until fluffy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add milk, melted butter, vanilla, and sesame oil and continue whisking. 

4) Add all black sesame seeds (crushed and whole) and mix. Then sift in rice flour and baking powder. Whisk.

5) Pour the batter into the greased pan(s). Top with white sesame seeds for an extra pretty lewk. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is browned and cracked slightly and/or a skewer inserted into the center comes out nearly clean. Moffin makers should probably check much earlier.

6) Cool the cake for 1 hour before slicing it. Theoretically the cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days (but will lose its lovely top crackle - alas). Share widely to cultivate love and admiration, or keep secret to devour alone. 

 *** Don't be tempted to make this more statuesque and put it in a deeper container... I tried this and it's too chewy! Stick with around 1 inch in height. ***

Chocolate and Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I baked these for my coworkers last week and they were a big hit. c/o the Joy
Makes 24.

8 oz cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease cupcake tin or use paper liners. Beat cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar and the egg until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients and add in the wet ingredients. Stir. Fill cupcake moulds halfway. Drop in a big dollop of the cream cheese mixture to each. Bake for 20-ish minutes. Eat as soon as possible.

Scones for dinner

Today was a blah day. The first bright spot came at 5PM when I went to queer salsa class at U of T. I'm learning to lead! No more getting thrown around by oafish dudes! Or, as one of the salsa class coordinators said today when I tried to explain my reasons for wanting to lead: "yeah! you gotta control your girls!" We'll see.

The second bright spot came at 8PM when I decided to make tea and scones for dinner. Not savoury scones. Sweet scones with jam. And now I share them with you, my loves. xox

Sweet and speedy scones

2 cups (9 oz) all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten gently
1 tsp vanilla
sugar for sprinkling

Heat oven to 400F. Mix dry ingredients and the butter to a coarse meal (with two knives, a food processor, whatever). Stir in wet ingredients - it will be a pretty wet dough. Divide in 4. Roll each ball on a floured surface and flatten to 3/4'' circles. The centre should be slightly higher than the rim. Cut into quarters and transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes.

Infinite variations are possible! Just add whatever's in your fridge to the completed dough. My coworker made jalapeno-cheddar, tomato-goat cheese-herb, white chocolate-something, and a chocolately one last week and they were all delicious. If you're going savoury, I would add a bit less sugar to the dough.

Black Bean Brownies

from Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking with Beans and Grains Every Day by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan

I have no idea if the black beans do anything or just make you think what you're eating is healthy, but in any case, these are the best brownies I've ever had.

Also, I suggest sifting the flour. I learned this from Beareen and it makes such a difference.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked black beans (dry them off if wet)
1 1/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup chocolate chips OR 100 g of bittersweet or semi-sweet dark chocolate

Preheat to 350F. Toast nuts until fragrant and very lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate, taking care not to let the mixture scorch. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.

Place beans and the butter/chocolate mixture in bowl and process until very smooth. Add eggs, sugar, and vanilla; process until combined. Scrape the mixture into the flour mixture and fold gently, leaving streaks of flour still visible. Add the nuts and chocolate chips and fold until just combined.

Pour the batter into a lightly buttered 8'' square pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the batter doesn't jiggle but any toothpick inserted would still be chocolatey.

Mexican Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm up north (Toronto-speak for 2 hours outside the city in any direction) on Georgina Island in a beautiful sunlight- and art-filled home with an incredible view of Lake Simcoe. My host just made these cookies from "Bake Fest" magazine. They have cayenne! Just like the spicy hot chocolate from Au Festin de Babette.

350 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I would probably use a bit less)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne (use more if you can handle it!!)

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in a baño maría (double boiler). Beat butter and sugars until fluffly. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir coffee with vanilla and beat into butter mixture. Blend in melted chocolate. In a separate bowl mix flour, cinammon, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper. Add to butter mixture, mix on low until combined. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 inch. Bake for 10 minutes or until set but still soft.

The magazine claims they freeze well but this might be because it's sponsored by a freezable tupperware company. Freeze at your own risk!!

BRAD'S "TWILIGHT"-SUCKS CORNBREAD

A long time ago, in a kitchen far, far away, beautiful vampire-intellectuals (VIs) chloroformed Edward Cullen, tore out his heart, and used his tweeny, annoying blood to water their corn crop. The blood teemed and teemed out of his heart, and the VIs watered and watered their corn, and the corn grew and grew. By the light of the moon, VIs from around the land would gather by the crop to practice their jazz flute, attend to their cuticles, and discuss how to better spread their vampirism consciousness-raising strategies. Ah, 'twas a heady, bloody time!

When the blood corn was finally harvested, the VIs summoned Tom, Brad, and Antonio Banderas and made them compete in a nude, Iron Chef cornbread competition as penitence for having made Interview With a Vampire. The men baked tirelessly until Tom tried to convert them, at which time Brad called Angelina to "remove" him. But Antonio, in love with Tom, was so troubled by his loss that he had to go into a corner and have some quiet time. In the end, Brad, as always, was victorious. His recipe lives on in the annals of the VIs till this day.





BRAD'S TWILIGHT-SUCKS CORNBREAD

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggies
1/4 cup corn oil or butter, melted
2 to 4 tablespoons honey to taste
1 cup milk

Preheat the OVEN to 425ºF. Put the BUTTER in an 8-inch square baking pan and set in the oven while it's heating. Meanwhile, stir the dry ingredients together and make a well in the center of the bowl. In another BOWL, whisk together the WET INGREDIENTS. As soon as the oven is hot, remove the pan and bake in the middle of the oven until GOLDEN BROWN. Quickly, mix the wet and dry ingredients together, then pour the batter into the pan and BAKE in the middle of the oven until golden brown ON TOP and beginning to PULL AWAY FROM THE EDGES, about 25 minutes. SERVE HOT right from the pan.

TWIST IT UP:

Green chile and cheese corn bread: Add 1/2 cup grated Jack or Cheddar CHEESE and 1/4 cup OR MORE diced roasted green CHILES to the batter. (For even more, add some raw scallions!)

Vanilla corn bread: Vanilla sets off the SWEETNESS of the corn and is good when you want a slightly sweeter BREAKFAST BREAD. Add 1 teaspoon VANILLA extract to the wet ingredients and use a larger amount of honey.

Muffins with corn kernels: Stir 1 cup fresh or frozen CORN KERNELS into the batter for a little EXTRA CRUNCH.

Credits: Deboarah Madison Brad Fucking Pitt

Love,
Prof. Tata & Rico

wanna be startin' something

friends, i have been contemplating this post for many months, but every time i step up to put fingers to keys, i am overwhelmed with the power and immensity that is sourdough starter, and cannot find the strength to continue. luckily, my sourdough starter is in a state of hibernation (very likely the deepest of comas) in the fridge and it can't sneak up on me. but from what i've learned, it can do almost everything else.

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact one:
it doubles as a building material! some settlers, when not furthering the colonial project by forcing indigenous peoples westward or shooting buffalo herds from trains, filled the holes between the logs in their log cabins with sourdough starter. true story. you'll see this is true when you try and wash the jar you've been storing it in and find yourself grappling with a concrete-like substance.

so, sourdough starter is the base of sourdough bread, and it gives it its delectable sour quality. the way sourdough starter works is that it is either inherited or made, if you are gifted some by a friend, you can feed it and it will grow, or you can create a yeast trap and try and catch some delicious bacteria to make your own starter.

the joy of cooking describes a few processes for making your own starter, depending on whether you think there are magical yeast particles floating around your kitchen from past baking endeavors. i opted to use commercial yeast. essentially, you mix flour and water and yeast in a bowl, (or if you are trying to catch yeast, then just flour and water), and keep it in a warm place for days, stirring occasionally. in an ideal world what results, besides some very hard crusts (see fun/terrifying fact one), is a brand new sourdough starter that you can place in a jar, and then put in the fridge. (the image is of my jar of starter next to the loaf it spawned. note the warm locale.)

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact two: it eats! and grows! after removing it from the fridge, and pouring off the "hooch," the clearish, alcoholy liquid that may have collected on the surface, you can feed your starter. sourdough starter is "fed" by adding equal parts flour and lukewarm water to the original, and allowing the mixture to sit out in a warm place. your starter is healthy if it begins to bubble after a few hours, after which you now have more starter then you had before. this can be used to bake bread, or placed back in the fridge to hang out until you need it, or until you want to feed it again. my rookie mistake was using all of my starter to bake the pictured loaf, after which i was out of starter and had to begin the whole starter-making process all over again. you always want to have enough starter for your recipe AND to leave in the jar to feed and regenerate. which brings us to...

sourdough starter fun/terrifying fact three: it remembers! they suggest you put your starter on a regular feeding schedule because it has the capacity to remember when it was last fed and expect similarly spaced feedings in the future. this is just little shop of horrors all over again. fear not, if starved, the starter goes into a state of hibernation, and can usually be revived by following the regular feeding instructions.

you and your starter are now poised on the threshold of a crusty and magical world of bread-baking, many aromas and buttering opportunities await you.


perhaps also armpit hair.

Savoury butternut squash muffins

Dear friends,

This weekend I baked and brought what turned out to be delicious savoury muffins to a brunch potluck, pictured to the left. These babies were packed with butternut squash, spinach, parsley, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, feta, and parmesan.

These delicious treats are hearty and filling, and even the gluten and dairy averse could not help themselves from partaking because they were so beautiful. I will link to the recipe (HERE) because I don't want to steal the text and am too lazy to make it my own. But don't be too lazy to make them because they are so tasty.

xoxo

SOCCA - SO delicious.

alright i'm not just saying this because i'm no longer eating wheat, but socca (chickpea flour flatbread) is one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. it's one of the easiest things to make, is incredibly adaptable and has an amazing texture and flavour. you can use it as you would a roti or chapati. or as a bread with dinner. OR you could get really crazy with it and make socca pizza.

all you need:
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
olive oil
sea salt
ANY spice that you might want for flavour (cumin, rosemary, etc)
a cast iron skillet or other oven safe skillet

here's what you do:
mix together the water, chickpea flour and about a spoonful of olive oil. whisk together and let the batter rest (outside of the fridge) for preferably 2 hours. in a pinch, i have made this without enough resting time and the taste seems fine but the texture is not as fluffy.

when you're ready to get going, turn your broiler on as high as possible. put the pan in the oven on it's own to get it piping hot. I usually leave mine in for 5-10 minutes. then, add a bunch of olive oil (a few teaspoons at least if you're using cast iron). and pour a bit of the batter into the pan. you can use as much or as little as you want. for pancake style socca, 1 cup of flour usually makes about 3. broil on high until the socca cooks through and the top is browned.

remove from the oven, drizzle with olive oil, some kind of coarse salt i've you've got it, and whatever other seasonings you choose (rosemary is usually best to add after the fact while cumin should be mixed into the batter).

chickpea flour is high in protein, fibre, and all sorts of nutrients. AND it tastes amazing.

enjoy!

brightening up a gluten-free existence....

dear friends and lovers:

for various assorted reasons, i have been eating gluten-free these days after a month-long "detox". this likely explains my lack of blog posting. what kind of zeal could i possibly have in a life with no gluten? WELL. let me tell you. my need for treats has propelled me into the world of mystery flours: almond flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour....

First, a quick note on almond flour. It is VERY expensive. Sometimes its worth buying it pre-ground because it has a much finer texture. But you could also experiment with making your own in a food processor. It's all about finding the balance between ground almonds and almond butter. All you need are some blanched almonds (skin off) and you're good to go.

So for now, I will share an amazing cookie recipe that I made last night. Largely inspired by the amazing Elana at Elana's Pantry, here is a recipe for gluten free lemon lavender cookies.

you need:
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons dried lavender, finely minced
1/4 cup oil (i used canola, but Elana recommends grapeseed oil - which is much healthier. It is, of course, much more expensive and canola worked fine).
3 teaspoons agave nectar (you could also use honey or maple syrup if you don't have agave and if you are less considered about high glycemic foods)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
juice of half a lemon

now, here's what you do:
1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Whisk wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
3. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones.
4. Form the cookie dough into 1/2 inch balls and press them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (no need to grease if you're using parchment)
5. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes.

Be VERY careful not to overbake. Almond flour is funny so if you're experimenting with it, i'd recommend baking these in the upper portion of your oven. I baked mine closer the bottom and found that i had to leave them in for a bit longer than the 10 minutes since they weren't setting, but then the bottoms ended up burnt. If this happens to you, you can use a grater on the bottoms of these babies and they will be good as new.

enjoy hot out of the oven!
you won't even miss the wheat in these little gems.

Survival!

I was perusing a Bonnie Stern cookbook one afternoon and what did I stumble upon but Lilian's famed 'survivor cookies'! You can imagine how pleased I was, after my request for the recipe sat idle on the right-hand panel for months. For these changing times when we're all over the place, finding our ways in the world, cold and alone, these provide much-needed sustenance. I haven't actually tried this particular recipe so you will need to contact beeks directly if you want any trade secrets.

Survival Cookies
c/o Bonnie Stern c/o someone else whose name I did not note
Makes 48

2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups large flake rolled oats
3/4 cups poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 1/2 cups chopped dates

1. In a food processor or large bowl: cream butter and sugars until light. Add one egg at a time. Add vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the butter mixture.
3. Stir in oats, seeds, and dates.
4. Use 1/2 cup batter/cookie. Place 2" apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate minimum 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350C for 15 minutes or until crisp but chewy (mmm...). Cool on racks.

Passing that Dutch: Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

Reeducation at Warschauer S-Bahn
Photo credit: Erin Kimmel

As some of you may know, I have been rediscovering my hip hop roots lately, thanks largely to having downloaded (I mean, bought) the 10th anniversary platinum edition of Nas’ classic 1994 album Illmatic.

“What hip hop roots?” exclaimed Erin incredulously, when I told her the news. To which I responded that the second CD I ever purchased after Chumbawumba’s Tubthumper (anarchopunk forever!) was Ma$e’s Harlem World and that I beefed with hella ghetto kids on my nerdy high school basketball team, so there. Also, I believe Nas directly interpellated me in his chart-topping hit “N.Y. State of Mind.” (See verse two: “And the stuff that I write / Is even tougher than dykes.” Word Nas, word.)

In any case, in the midst of this re-hiphopification, Missy Elliot’s “Pass That Dutch” has been stuck in my head. Though some may think this is merely a narrow metaphor for marijuana, I have been dropping it lately haphazardly in a wide variety of contexts; and while such use generally invokes blank stares, I have quite enjoyed using it. Fittingly, I also think that this phrase is the perfect metaphor to frame this here blog post in which I, like Missy, pass that dutch and post a recipe that I neither made nor wrote but rather, briefly consumed.

So without further ado, I present to you, my pot-smoking Communist pig-friends, my friend Rebecca’s wicked dessert: Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce!

Peace,
Prof. Tata (and Rebecca)



Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups (packed) powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon Juice

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
Crushed-Blueberry Sauce

For glaze:
Combine powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in small bowl. Stir with spoon until smooth and paste-like, adding more lemon juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. Set aside.

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; line bottom with parchment. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl; whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel, and vanilla in small bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture and melted butter into flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, gently fold liquids into flour mixture until just blended (do not stir). Scrape batter into pan; spread evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes.

Immediately run knife around sides of cake. Place rack atop cake in pan. Using oven mitts, hold pan and rack firmly together and invert cake onto rack. Remove pan from cake. Place another rack on bottom of cake; invert 1 more time so that cake is top side up. Stir glaze until blended. While cake is still very hot, drop glaze by tablespoonfuls onto cake; spread to within 1/2 inch of edge (some glaze may drip down sides of cake). Cool completely. Serve with Crushed-Blueberry Sauce.

Danke: Epicurious.

© C is for Kitchen 2009

pumpkin cranberry "i wish i wasn't moving" bread.

dear fellow comfort food enthusiasts (not to be presumptuous or anything...),

as you may or may not know, i'm preparing to move yet again in a mere 48 hours. the logical thing for me to be doing right now would be, of course, to... pack? unfortunately, my desperate desire to pretend that i'm in fact not moving led me to spend the day baking four loaves of pumpkin cranberry bread - festive yet warm and comforting, certainly "home-y". (this recipe - adapted from Gourmet magazine circa 1996 and the internet). so if you find yourselves in a similar situation (any case of denying the inevitable), you might want to acquire the following things:

1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 vegetable oil (or half apple sauce, half vegetable oil - universal rule.)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (although i usually use at least double this)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries


now, here goes. preheat your oven to 350 if you have everything at hand - i have consistently "matched the preheat" on this one. in a large bowl with an electric hand-held mixer if you've got one or the raw power of your biceps and a whisk, combine the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar. when smooth, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. (the recipe recommends sifting all of these ingredients but i have ignored this every time and it turns out fine). stir until just combined (over-mixing will result in an odd, densely textured bread). add the cranberries and tenderly spoon the batter into a buttered loaf pan (or four, depending on how many times you multiply this recipe).

let bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes (until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean) for this little loaf to achieve its full potential.

enjoy in denial of future vagabond life.

Poppyseed Explosion Cake

My first notable encounter with poppyseeds happened somewhere around my eleventh birthday. It was mother's day, it was before I was a vegetarian (and before I was a lapsed vegetarian), and my dad and I were cooking my mom my favourite dish: roast chicken with a smattering of poppyseeds. At the time, I had something of a reputation as a picky eater. It would seem that I refused most vegetables, in fact most foods, that weren't white. I didn't like cauliflower either. Chicken though I did like, especially this delicious roasted chicken, a family classic, that came out golden with speckles of black just like the poppyseed bagels from the world-famous-just-a-block-away-Harbord Bakery.

After intrepidly touching the gross pink carcass on the counter, I told my dad he could go ahead with the preparations and that I'd just find the spices. "Where are the poppyseeds?" I asked. A look of terror shot through his eyes. "Well, uh, just let me find them," he answered, not looking me in the eyes. I knew something was up, so I insisted. I had him cornered, the jig was up, so with much trepidation he admitted that the whole "poppyseed chicken" thing was a hoax.

Those beloved dots on my beloved chicken weren't poppyseeds (!!) as I had been led to believe, but browned ground garlic. The truth of the chicken dish had been kept from me because my parents suspected that I could never accept to eat something so foreign as garlic--even in it's beningly ground form. Resentment, bitterness, grossed-outness, and mistrust flashed through me, but then I remembered that I was all of eleven (or was it twelve?) years old. "That's cool," I said, half meaning it.

Years later, just last week in fact, I saw poppyseeds in the cabinet of my current kitchen. Hmm I said, what do you make with this, if not chicken?

Well, friends, this is what you make with poppyseeds: the most delicious cake of all times, one of Deborah Madison's top five cakes, and worthy of a mighty ingredient that almost-flavoured my first foray into the kitchen. It's a cake that will stay moist for days though it will be finished in hours, it's a cake to write home about, certainly to blog about, and it's just about the best thing you can create on a single Sunday afternoon.

Poppyseed Explosion Cake

Note: this recipe requires numerous bowls. Before you begin make sure your roommates have committed to doing dishes after.
1 cup poppyseeds stirred into 1/2 cup hot milk (mix and leave to sit several hours before continuing with the recipe for maximum delight)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sourcream or buttermilk
Icing sugar to dust at end

Set poppyseeds to soak in hot milk, in a bowl, watch several episodes of TNG or Gossip Girl, then come back and preheat the oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Lighly butter and flour a 9-inch spring-form pan (one where you can remove the sides after baking).

In a bowl mix dry ingredients together, and set aside.

In a bowl beat eggs whites until they form firm but moist peaks, set aside.

In a BIG bowl cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then beat in one egg yolk at a time until smooth. Stir in sour cream and drained poppyseeds. Add the dry ingredients in thirds. (At this point, Deborah recommends: "Scrape up the batter from the bottom of the bowl to make sure it's well mixed." I'm sure you'd have done this anyway but, well, never hurts to make sure). Stir in a quarter of the egg whites before folding in the rest.

Pour batter into pan, smooth it out, then bake about 50 minutes until cake is golden and firm. Take it out of the oven, set the cake on a rack and remove the sides so that cake can cool. Before cake is cool, lightly dust with icing powder (my method: take a sieve, put in some icing powder, and hit it so that it falls evenly over the cake).

Serve if you want the people in your life to be happy.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Quick Buttercream Frosting or: How We Learned to Stop Job Searching and Become “Kuchenfrauen”

Guten abends meine Freunde! Unfortunately, I have been preoccupied most of the summer completing a clandestine Masters degree in Abbreviations. So I do apologize (or, as we say in our Abbreviations classes, "apolo") for my recent absence. Nevertheless, I am here now to add more Euro-stylz to the blog by posting a treatise on German cupcake making (machen) and selling (verkaufen).

The Story of the Zwei Kuchenfrauen ("Cake Women"):

As I may or may not have already told you, Berlin’s low cost of living, like Montreal’s, comes at a price: an unemployment rate of a whopping 13% (almost double the national average). Consequently, one of the biggest bonding points of the typical “new Berlin” experience is bitching about the never-ending search for a good job. My new Aussie friend Tim, for instance, after failing to find jobs in graphic design, noted that he recently checked out the “adult” gigs section of Berlin’s craigslist and found (though declined to take) surprisingly high paying jobs as a porno actor. Born entrepreneur that she is, fellow “c is for kitchen” poster Beareene has of late been making many “maverick-y” suggestions about how we can get by. These ideas have ranged the gamut from “outsmarting” the other clothing vendors at the flea market and slowly cornering the hipster vintage clothing scene to running an ad hoc currency exchange business, taking advantage of the recent market chaos. However, the idea she actually managed to rope me in on was cupcake selling (!!) in front of one of Berlin’s most famous flea markets, Mauer Park.

And thus begins our tale. Let me tell you, the selling of cupcakes is not as easy as it may appear. And so, in keeping with the inclination towards brevity advocated by my recent fake degree, and with the grandiosity of yet again introducing another segment of this blog post, Beareene and I present to you: The Dangers and Delights of Cupcake Selling!

1. Making cupcakes in a land with easy access to vanilla and other decoration accoutrement is probably wise. Here in Germany, the Germans seem to prefer shitty “Vanilla Zucker” (vanilla sugar) in tiny, gross packets to real vanilla, therefore impairing the vanilla flavor of our retrospectively ill-chosen flavor of cupcake: vanilla. Moreover, after finding that the colored icing tubes that we purchased were equally unpleasant, we were forced to make the last minute decision of chipping stale Rittersport chocolate onto the cupcakes for decoration. Nico, the Frenchman whose apartment we were subletting and who thoughtfully decided to chain smoke in the 5 sq-meter kitchen the entire time we were baking, was needless to say unimpressed.

2. Even though it may seem easier to ice the cupcakes at home than at the actual point of vending, believe me in the long term it is not. Icing the cupcakes at home and then carefully arranging them on a rustic wooden tray is all well and good, my friends, until one must wait with said rustic tray on the subway platform at 12 am on a fresh Berlin Sunday morning. Then, particularly if one is a small blonde girl, one is left vulnerable to creepy old drunk men who take advantage of your friend buying subway tickets to make wild grabs for the cupcakes while you plead him to stop. Stoic though she is, Beareene, as she would like me to note, almost cried.

3. It is perhaps in your best interest to note in some sort of sign that your cupcakes are not “magic cupcakes,” as some passersby muttered to themselves.

4. Always make friends with the chestnut seller to your left, as he is wont to make your day at the end by unexpectedly buying one of your last cupcakes.

5. Also keep a look out for slightly tubby, jolly men who are likely to be return customers. One dude ended up buying 4 cupcakes (although two were ostensibly for his "friend") while chilling out a few feet away from us and periodically praising the new “kuchenfrauen” to no one in particular.

6. At the end of the day, you may be a little tired and when a guy comes up to you and asks you if you believe in the Koran and then asks you to eat some of his cupcake before he does because “it might contain poison” it may seem like a good idea to just play along. However, this can make you feel like you’re in some sort of fetishistic food porn, so at least be more aware of the erotics of the situation before you consent. (He also brought his friend over after Erin said yes, and then I had to do it. Double gross.)

In the end, Beareene and I sold all 21 cupcakes! (Admittedly, we each also ate one during the day.) And made 27 EU! However, if you deduct the cost of transportation and buying a cupcake tin, two coffees, and the ingredients, we made about 5 EU. Nevertheless, a day well spent!

Love love,
Prof. Tata and Beareeene


Pre and post-Pleasantville-Phenomenon Mauer Park Photos:



































Vanilla (zucker?) Cupcakes:

This recipe is really for kids so—make sure an adult is present while you do this!!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Nonpareils and colored sugars for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg and egg white one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overbeat.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cupcakes to the rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream. (The frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before finishing.) Garnish the cupcakes with nonpareils and colored sugars and serve. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Adapted from Cupcakes, by Shelly Kaldunski (Weldon Owen, 2008).

Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

6 cups confectioners’ sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 1/2 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Food colorings, stale Rittersport (optional)

Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, the 4 1/2 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Tint with food coloring as desired. Makes about 4 cups.


Danke Williams-Sonoma.com

a treatise on shortening

let's face the facts, for some strange and inconceivable reason, shortening, a soft but mostly solid baking ingredient arouses in many a disgust that other fatty semi-solid baking ingredients, say butter, do not. why? perhaps the unnatural and corpse-like white/grey color, that it doesn't really expand beyond baking horizons, and the fact that in order to find it in the grocery store you always have to ask someone. and then there are people out there who KNOW that you are a user. and given the general aura of weird and gross that surrounds shortening, such a thing can't be good.

but i have been sent to show you the light! alas, the light did not come to me engraved on some golden tablets buried under a hill, but rather on a vegan baking blog in the form of Lime-Ginger Cookies. so let's talk business:

3/4 cup vegetable SHORTENING!
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tbs powdered ginger
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup molasses, the sludge of the gods

mix together, roll into small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet in an oven heated to 350 degrees. (secret from lou's archives:) turn on the light and watch the magic happen. for the frosting, just mix lime juice with more powdered sugar than you're comfortable with, wait for them to cool slightly, and then smear. or if you're impatient go with the dipping method.

i am convinced that the soft but ever so delightfully chewy consistency in these cookies is partially due to the shortening. besides, if you are trying to seduce some waifish vegan babe, this little number is probably worth its weight in gold. and as we and countless investment ba(n)kers all know, gold is back in.

"what did the investment banker say after the financial crisis?"
"would you like some fries with that?"

-with files from the Gazette and a vegan with a blog named tamara(?)

the spanish word for shortening is "manteca," or more illuminatingly "grasa"

spiced whipped cream with a side of pumpkin pie

This year, I made two important discoveries about pumpkin pie. The first was that you can eat and and revel in it all year round, not just while coloured leaves cling tenuously to their branches. The second was that whipped cream becomes infinitely more delicious when you throw in some spices.

Spiced Whipped Cream
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
splash vanilla

Beat all the above together until peaks are formed in the whipped cream. Ideally, you have an electric beater, otherwise, you have a group of willing diners with strong biceps and a whisk. Serve with pumpkin pie and let autumn dance across your taste buds like a ballerina across the stage.

Pumpkin PiePreheat oven to 375˚ F, with rack placed in the middle
Pie crust (I usually buy one, but I have eaten this all-butter crust recipe and it was great)
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
2 cups freshly cooked or canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together all of the above ingredients. Pour into the crust. Put in the oven!

Cooking time can really depend--in the Joy of Cooking Irma tells us that it is ready when "the filling seems set but quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 35 to 45 minutes." In my experience, it takes quite a bit longer than that, more like an hour for it to be fully cooked.

After you have deemed it fully cooked (sticking in a fork for wetness helps), let it cool completely on a rack. Serve warm or cold, but definitely with spiced whipped cream.

Deb's Easy and Delicious Cobbler

I stole this recipe from Deb.

4 cups mixed fruit
1 cup + 1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp water
1/3 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat over to 350F. Mix berries and ¼ cup sugar and water. Let stand 10 minutes. Melt butter in 8x8 glass baking dish. In another bowl, mix ¾ cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and stir in milk. Mix well. Pour batter into baking dish and spoon undrained berries on top. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 40 minutes.

scurvy free is the way to be!

just can't seem to incorporate enough sweetened condensed milk into your diet? feel like you've been missing out on the essential nutrients and vitamins hidden in that innocuous looking can of mt. everest sized caloric intake? well cry alone in your room no more.

key lime pie! fast, easy and gloriously fattening.


begin with the crust: graham crackers (1/3 of a box, or if you shop at p.a., they sell pre-crushed graham crackers to help us all cope with this hectic modern life, use about 1 cup), combine in a bowl with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup unsalted melted butter. press into a lightly greased pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

le filling: zest some limes, i would say like 2, and then juice a whole bunch more, until you have about 2/3 cup of lime juice. combine this with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, and mix with a whisk for like 5 minutes.

technically because there are no eggs in this pie, you don't even have to cook it. but i haven't tried this yet, so do so at your own risk. otherwise for you squares and recipe-followers out there, pour into the crust and cook for about 10 minutes or until it seems gelatinous. refrigerate and serve cold (duh). mmmm

c is also for chocolate.

so madeleine's friend, carin (!!), arrived for a long montreal visit from sweden, and madeleine hosted a potluck of guts and glory (theme: aphrodisiacs). money teph and i concocted somewhat of a chocolately, nutty extravaganza - and here is the recipe for all you lovers.

we borrowed from Chocolate&Zucchini's recipe for chocolate cake with candied hazelnuts, but with a few modifications. we added many more nuts, and instead of just hazelnuts, we made a little mix of hazelnuts and pistachios. also, as we all know - using good chocolate is the key to delicious chocolate cakes, as well as all things related to love-making. so instead of bittersweet baker's chocolate, we used a nice hunk of 55% callebaut.

you need:
200g (7oz) 55% callebaut (or bittersweet bakers. or whatever floats your lover's boat)
1 stick unsalted buttah
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar (the original recipe called for more, but because we wanted to preserve the taste of the DELICIOUS chocolate, we used 1/4 cup less. you can adjust as necessary)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
confectioner's sugar for dusting (optional. we forgot. but feel that it might be great...)

approx 1 cup of hazelnuts and pistachios combined
1/3 cup sugar

here's what you do:
first, gather combined hazelnuts and pistachios. in a food processor, chop em up (only a couple of pulses). save the flour-like nutty bits at the bottom to later add to the cake batter - this is key. toast the bit chunks in a non-stick skillet over high heat, and then set aside. in the same skillet over medium-high heat, add 1/3 cup of sugar with a splash of water, and let simmer until it forms a golden syrup. then add the toasted nuts, stir around to coat fully, and remove. place the candied nuts on parchment paper to cool.

next, preheat that oven (whooooo spring break!) to 360F. heavily butter a reasonably sized square baking pan a la brownies.

then, get your double boiler on! break up the chocolate (sob) and butter, place in a heat-proof glass bowl over a pot of nearly simmering water, and stir occasionally until melted, combined, and sensuous. once totally melted, whisk in the cocoa powder and set aside to cool off a bit.

the original recipe called for blending the batter in a food processor, but instead we used our giant biceps (GIANT, seriously) and whisked by hand. so grab yourselves a big bowl, and whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. add the chocolate/butter mixture. finally, the flour, and the hazelnut/pistachio grounds that you saved earlier (right? RIGHT??! i hope so). mix until just combined, careful not to overmix!

perhaps you should take your top off for the most sensual part of this recipe - slowly pourrrrrrrrrr the batter into the pre-buttered tin. place the candied nuts over top of the rich and moist batter, until the surface is totally covered. bake for about 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted at the centre comes out clean.

let cool in the pan for a little while, then cut squares out of the pan to serve.

finally, make love.

ta-da!