apuginthekitchen

Sep 13

Chocolate Cake With Penuche Frosting, The Verdict

The finished cake

I saw this frosting recipe on Food52, it is family recipe from editor Lindsay Jean Hard and thought a caramel frosting would be nice on the cake. The frosting couldn’t be easier to make. I doubled the recipe because the recipe frosted an 8 inch cake and mine is 9 inches and used 4 oz of salted and 4 oz of unsalted butter, because who doesn’t love salted caramel!! It really is a lovely frosting, and so simple to make. A quick caramel that is whipped with some powdered sugar, thats it.

Penuche Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 to 2 cups powdered sugar
In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the milk, raise the heat, and cook until the mixture boils. Remove from heat, and let it cool until the mixture is lukewarm.
Gradually stir in the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. NOTE: It took the better part of an hour and a half to bring the caramel to room temperature but I think it’s important for the outcome to make sure your caramel is not warm at all. Also, I folowed the instructions and cooked the caramel 2 minutes before adding the milk, test it by putting a little bit on a spoon, let it cool slightly and rub between your fingers the brown sugar should be dissolved and it should not have any grit. I should have let mine cook a little longer as the brown sugar was not completely dissolved.

Because I had to bake the cake longer than the time called for on the recipe the edges were over done. The cake was crumbly making frosting it challenging. I made a crumb coat and refrigerated for 30 minutes and then added the other layer of frosting. The layers were quite high, a very nice rise, I love a tall cake, it always looks so nice.

I don’t know if it was my oven it could have been but I did test it with my oven thermometer and the oven temp was 2 degree’s higher it registered 352 degree’s. I think based on this I would take the temperature down a little but honestly don’t think that 2 degree’s would have made an appreciable difference in the outcome.

Moist and tender and the frosting is great

The Verdict

Well it’s a great cake, very moist and tender I thought it was going to be dry but it wasn’t. The cake itself tastes amazing. There were a few slips and falls, the middle sunk not sure why and it did take longer to bake than it said in the recipe but all in all a wonderful cake. The frosting compliments it beautifully, caramel and chocolate as you all know is such a delicious combination I would definitely make this again but when I get my new stove.

Sep 12

66 Comments

Chocolate Cake

This is a recipe from Bon Appetit for Chocolate Cake. What sets this cake apart is the method of preparation. When I read the directions I really wanted to give it a try, I have a simple chocolate cake recipe that I have been using for years and it’s fantastic, it’s a very old recipe from Hershey’s and it’s right on their can of unsweetened cocoa. I love it and have never deviated or tried another recipe, it’s that good.

The method of preparation is the brainchild of the great Rose Levy Beranbaum, she is amazing and I have several of her cookbooks but missed this and it took Claire Saffitz from Bon Appetit to bring it to life. I will let her explain why this method is so genius.

Contrary to the traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar before adding eggs and wet and dry ingredients, reverse creaming does pretty much the opposite. The dry ingredients and sugar are mixed with the fat (oil and butter) plus some of the wet ingredients (eggs + buttermilk + melted chocolate + coffee). The fat coats the dry ingredients and inhibits gluten formation, which would normally result in a tough cake, while the addition of some moisture simultaneously develops just enough gluten to give the cake structure. It’s hard to overmix with this method, giving you a tender crumb. Because there’s less air in the batter due to no creaming, the layers bake evenly and stack up without the need to level or trim. It’s the perfect method for building a layer cake.

Batter is thick and creamy

Cake

Bon Appetit by Claire Saffitz adapted from a recipe by Rose Levy Beranbaum

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup brewed coffee
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
2½ cups (packed) light brown sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter two 9″-diameter cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
Heat chocolate, coffee, and ⅔ cup cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water (water should not touch bottom of bowl), stirring until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Let cool, then whisk eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla into chocolate mixture.
Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix salt, baking powder, baking soda, and 2 cups flour in a large bowl just to combine. Add brown sugar, oil, ½ cup butter, and ½ cup reserved chocolate mixture and beat on medium speed until flour is evenly distributed and mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining chocolate mixture in 2 additions, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed and beating until smooth after each addition. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake cake until top is firm to the touch and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30–40 minutes. Transfer cake pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

cake sunk in the middle

nice rise

Tomorrow I will frost and taste the cake but have to to say so far I am not in love with it, it took longer to bake than the directions, now that could be my wonky oven that I had repaired to tide me over until I get my new stove. So that could have been a factor but the cake feels drier than my go to Hershey’s cake, I tend to like layer and cupcakes that use oil rather than butter, I find the crumb is perfect, they are light and moist. This cake feels more like a brownie that is a bit overdone. I also like that the Hershey’s recipe is one bowl, super fast and easy. This was not difficult but had steps that I normally don’t have to do. It is possible I did something wrong or it was my oven so I cannot say with certainty that there is a flaw in the recipe.

The proof will be in the tasting so stay tuned because tomorrow I will frost and try the cake.

Full disclosure: I got distracted and forgot to add the vanilla.

Sep 11

52 Comments

14 Years Ago Today

Tuesday, Sept 11, 2001 a day of tragedy none of us will ever forget. None of you, I am sure will ever forget where your were or what you were doing on that fateful day, I know I won’t. Our lives will never be the same. I think it’s important to think about the events of that day and remember the lives that were lost and just how fragile our world is, I hope nothing like this ever happens again. Every year I mark this day watching the memorial service at the site and the reading of the names. You can still see the profound pain each family member feels when they read the names and it’s so sad. A new tower has been built and a Memorial has been erected, things change, life goes on, it was the day NYC closed down completely and the events of that day will live in our memories forever.

Timeline:

8:46 AM – American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North tower there were 92 people on board

9:03AM – United Airlines Flight 175 Crashes into the South Tower there were 65 people on board

9:37 AM – American Airlines Flight 77 Crashes into the Pentagon 125 people died including 64 passengers on the plane

9:59 AM – The South Tower falls only 56 minutes after impact

10:03AM – United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into an open field in Shankesville, Pennsylvannia 65 people were on board

10:28 AM – The North Tower Falls

At least 200 people jumped or fell to their deaths from the burning towers

At least 411 emergency workers died trying to rescue people

We lost 343 Brave New York City Firefighters

We lost 37 Port Authority Police Officers

8 EMT’s lost their lives that day

The NYPD lost 23 brave police officers

A total of 2,977 were lost and that does not include the 19 hijackers, I refuse to include them with the innocent people that died that tragic day.

a tribute in light

Lest we forget……

Sep 9

65 Comments

What Kind Of Stove Do You Have…..

Old Fashioned stove, no computer way to go???

My stove or really the oven died. I have had a middle of the road Maytag stove for years, I bought it in 2002. It has worked well has had the Mother Board replaced twice and has had other service issues that I have had to fix but all in all it has been a pretty good stove. Not being able to bake is not good, my stove top works fine and the broiler still works but my oven is caput.

What kind of stove or range do you have and do you like it? I plan on getting a new one in the next couple of months. I am toying with the idea of taking the plunge and getting a Viking or Wolf. There are so many choices. One thing I don’t want again is a stove with a computer board. The heat destroys it and I use mine almost every day which gives it a very short life span. I don’t have a wall oven, my range has to do it all. Do I want duel fuel, convection. I just don’t know at this point and am researching the options.

I want to hear from you all, tell me why you would recommend the stove you use or why you wouldn’t. Just like when I purchased my new blender, which by the way is fantastic, I am looking at the myriad of products available and it’s really confusing, they all make grand promises and sound good but are they really?

Would love to know your thoughts and recommendations!! Because I do A LOT of cooking the stove has to be a real workhorse, durable, reliable, able to leap tall buildings, well not really but I really want a stove that will last.

Thanks All!!

Aug 30

108 Comments

An Epic Biscuit…The Sequel, And Garden Update

On Occasion I make a recipe and it turns out great and the second time I make it, it flops. Since I have sought the perfect biscuit recipe like seeking the Holy Grail for years and having found a great one on try #1, I decided to make them again to see if my results are the same.

Epic Biscuit II

Notice the photo is better, I used a dark background and that makes a huge difference in the photo quality IMHO.

The second go around the biscuits rose but not quite as high, it could be that I patted the dough down a bit thinner than the last time, I did not place them as close together on the sheet pan, or that my buttermilk was not as fresh who knows but they still rose nicely, were tender, fluffy and delicious. I wrapped and froze them for another day.

garden

In July I had my garden re worked to help me with diminishing the weed population and hopefully the mosquitoes too. Happy to report that although I still have some weeds they are about 90% better than before and almost manageable for me to take care of myself. I have only killed 4 or 5 of the plants that were initially planted (may not have been my fault). Also my herbs including the basil are doing really well. I am also very happy that there are less mosquitoes this year as well so I can enjoy my backyard.

two types of basil regular sweet and smal spicy

Jessica planted sunflowers, it is her signature flower and when she initially put them in the ground they were about a foot tall. Now they are over 6 ft tall and look at this beauty.

sunflower

In closing I believe this biscuit recipe is a keeper and will be made over and over again. Since I already gave credit to the author in my last post and there is no way to contact her I am including the recipe in this post.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

From Food.com Author P4

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board ( if you can get White Lily flour, your biscuits will be even better)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder ( use one without aluminum)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup buttermilk
( approx)1/2 cup sugar ( for topping) NOTE I did not put sugar on mine

Preheat your oven to 450°F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.

Aug 27

105 Comments

An Epic Biscuit

Real Southern Buttermilk Biscuit

I have mentioned previously more than a few times that I consider myself biscuit challenged. They are usually dry, heavy, hard and really pretty bad. I follow directions, but they just never seem to turn out light and fluffy you know like the biscuits that you get in the can, the refrigerated ones from the store. I thought that maybe I was holding myself and the recipes up to too high of a standard but felt that there had to be a recipe out there that produced a biscuit that met my expectations. I went out on a limb this morning, I am an Air BNB host and had a lovely couple from Belgium staying with me, I offer breakfast on the first morning in Brooklyn and decided to try making this recipe for them (if they didn’t turn out I had English Muffins as a back up, had to have a safety net).

I am happy to report that the biscuits are fantastic. It is someones Southern Great Grandmothers recipe and is on Food.com by cook P4, I followed the recipe to the letter and the results are amazing. Light, fluffy and delicious. I used full fat buttermilk and good Irish butter. They come together quickly, are easy to make and the results are wonderful. Click on Food.com for the recipe. I think one of my problems with biscuits or scones is that I have a heavy hand, probably from years of kneading bread. I barely handled this dough, I folded it as instructed exactly 5 times no more and gently patted the dough, I was gentle with the biscuit cutter, not turning it but a straight down cutting.

Look at the rise on that biscuit, I was really so pleased. I placed them close together on the baking sheet so that they touched each other giving a higher rise and soft sides. I served them for breakfast this morning with omelette and bacon, good salted butter and homemade strawberry jam.

I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you all, if anyone is searching for a good/great recipe for biscuits, try this and let me know how you like it. I only had one biscuit left which explains the lack of photo’s but I feel it’s really is a thing of beauty and this biscuit deserved it’s close up.

Aug 24

69 Comments

Mediterranean Cold Cous Cous Salad

Cous Cous salad

No recipe required here, all you need is some Israeli Cous Cous and whatever vegetables you might like to add, make as much or as little as you want and adjust to your own personal preference, I am sure you know that there are two kinds of cous cous readily available there is a finer grain semolina and the Israeli which is much larger and when cooked al dente is nicely toothsome, it is my favorite and I use it all the time. It actually reminds me of Pastene which is almost identical in size and texture. I did not add onion or garlic although I think it would be good. For a milder onion flavor I used some chives. NOTE: Don’t skip the toasted pine nuts, they add so much to this salad.

Israeli cous cous

I throw this salad together almost weekly, the ingredients vary depending on what I have that needs to be used. As shown, here is the list of ingredients:

Israeli Cous Cous

Fresh tomatoes

cucumber

Olives

Feta Cheese

Fresh herbs, basil, parsley and chives

dried mint

toasted pine nuts

lemon juice

olive oil

salt and pepper

Make the cous cous first, bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil, add the cous cous and cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove from stove and pour into a strainer, run cold water over it to stop the cooking process, it’s ok if they are slightly hard. They will soften in the dressing and I recommend letting this sit for a few hours or even over night. I chop the tomatoes, add the herbs and olives and toss in the cous cous, toast the pine nuts and crumble the feta into the salad, squeeze some lemon and drizzle on the olive oil, do this according to however you like it. Season with salt and pepper. There is no right or wrong way to make this salad, really!!! Have fun with it.

Aug 20

96 Comments

A Theraputic Tart

Peach and blackberry therapy pie

I have been absent for a while, a few weeks. Honestly, it has been very hard coping and adjusting and I was not doing well. I have felt uninspired and have not cooked at all for almost 3 weeks. Today though I started reading posts from you all, I have a back log and will try to get to them all, I may not be able to but I will try. Your blog posts inspire me and I actually felt better today after looking at some of your wonderful recipes and stories. It will take me a few days to catch up and I am looking forward to all the good reads.

So today I made a tart. Saturday for only the second time this summer I went to the farmers market and I thought seeing all the gorgeous summer produce would inspire me. I bought tomatoes, peppers, peaches, nectarines, Japanese turnips and a few other things. They sat in a bowl on my table until today. I decided I better start cooking again and the peaches were in danger of going bad so I made a peach tart I also threw in a few blackberries that I had in the freezer. I like to think of this as therapy, making myself get back into the kitchen was good for me. The peaches were amazing, tart and sweet at the same time, perfectly ripe and juicy.

The pie dough is my go to basic recipe from Julia Child. It has never failed me.

Julia Childs Pie Dough Recipe

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 oz cold butter cut into cubes

4 tbs cold shortening or leaf lard

1/2 cup ice water

Whisk salt and flour together, add the butter and shortening or lard, using your hands or pastry cutter work into the flour until it resembles crumbs with pieces of the butter the size of peas.Alternately you could use your food processor pulsing it. Add the water and mix with a fork until combined. Don’t over work. Gather it with your hands, divide into two discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour.

The fruit filling is simple I used 5 peaches and a handful of blackberries, peeled and sliced the peaches, added 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tbs flour and a pinch of salt and cinnamon.

If I were making pie I would not blind bake but for the tart I did. Blind bake the crust, line with parchment, weigh it down with beans or pie weights put it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, remove the parchment and pie weights and bake another 10-15 minutes, it should be blonde only ever so slightly brown. Add the fruit, I like to make a lattice top, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, lower the oven temp to 375 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes until its golden brown and bubbly. Oh, don’t forget to put an egg wash on the lattice top and sprinkle with a little sugar before baking.

Aug 3

96 Comments

Thank You All!

I am sorry I have not responded directly to each of your kind comments regarding the passing of my Nando. I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been a pretty terrible few days and I am learning to re adjust my life which has revolved around the care of my boy. Here is a little about how Nando became a part of my family. I hope to be cooking soon, one step at a time. Thank you all again you are all wonderful friends.

Izzy with her cupcake leash

First there was Izzy, she was a tiny sweet little bundle of joy, she helped me get over the death of my other 2 wonderful dogs Lei Ling and Cody who tragically both died of cancer less than a year apart. Izzy was wonderful, full of life and the sweetest puppy ever but I was gone a lot, a very busy work schedule kept me out for extended lengths of time. I decided that Izzy needed a friend who would keep her company. I found a local pug rescue group and applied online for a young adult pug. They told me that young adults are hard to come by and there could be a year or more wait, so my heart kind of sank but I trusted that the right dog would come along. 4 days after they recieved my application they called me and said that miraculously they had just received a 10 1/2 month old black pug named Pokey and asked me if I would be interested. I leaped through the phone and couldn’t say yes quickly enough. They said that they knew his age, born November 3, 2000 because he was found tied to a pole in Long Island with a envelope tied around his neck, in the envelope were his medical records, papers and explanation of why he was given up/abandoned. It seems that he was a Christmas gift from husband to wife, they decided to divorce. The husband didn’t want him and the wife had to move and her new apt did not allow pets so they left him outside (really don’t understand why he wasn’t take to a rescue group or something) Somehow he ended up at Pug Rescue of Long Island. They brought him to me the next day, I was expecting this tiny puppy and when I saw him I had to do a double take, he was the biggest pug I had ever seen. I immediately changed his name from Pokey to Nando and he became a part of our family, Nando and Izzy immediately became best friends. They were togther all the time, slept together, ate together, sat on the same window seat, both waiting for me to come home, that was the highlight of my day. I quickly learned that Nando was a really good eater, I mean really loved food. He looked forward to eating and when I placed his bowl down you could almost see him smile. He was the sweetest most gentle dog I have ever known, in the almost 15 years that he was with me I never once heard him growl, he never snapped. He was my gentle giant pug. When I would walk him some people asked me if he is a pit bull (uh no!!) one lady asked if he was a Vietnamese Pot Belly Pig, no again. He had a good and happy long life with me and I am thankful I had the priviledge of caring for both Nando and Izzy.

I hope I didn’t bore you all I just thought you might be interested in learn a little of the history behind my two pugs. Even though both are gone they will always be with me in spirit.

He loved to sit on my lap while I worked

Aug 2

69 Comments

Nando

A candle burns in Brooklyn

My sweet Nando passed away yesterday. I had to make the decision to help him. He was suffering and the decision was clear for me. Nando’s Doctor was very kind, she made a house call yesterday to check on him, she said that he was hanging on for me and I needed to give him this last gift and free him from his pain. My heart is broken I know I did the right thing but it is never easy. For the past 3+ weeks he deteriorated tremendously and caring for him was all consuming. I could not leave him alone but thankfully when I needed to go out I had friends that helped me take care of him. It will take time to come to grips with the fact that Nando and Izzy are no longer with me. Thank you all for your kindness and support. Izzy and Nando and their best friend Daisey are all together now free from pain.