Cherry Season

When I used to live in Toronto – my residence was about a 15 minute walk away from the Chinatown market. I used to spend countless hours wandering the streets, visiting my favourite vendors, eating at cramped restaurants and perusing the goods that lined the streets. My two favourite fruit vendors were on the North-West corner of Dundas and Spadina. Conveniently – they were right next to each other, and they would ‘compete’ with each other for the best prices and the most boisterious calls to prospective customers. “Buy, buy, buy!” they would yell proudly, “two for $5! Very ripe! Very sweet!” There were many a time when I was lured over to touch and fondle the fruits on sale. Naturally, there were seasons when certain fruits would be on sale : oranges, apples, strawberries, pineapples – you name it – they had it on special at one time or another. But three particular fruits were always on my ‘watch list’ – lychees, mangoes (the ‘good’ mangoes from the Philipines), and cherries. I would visit the fruit stalls often and look for the signs – I would also lean towards the window while sailing by on the streetcar – always waiting and hoping for one of those three fruits to be on special.

Currently – we are in the busy cherry seasons. The fruits of my labour? Pounds and pounds of pitted and frozen cherries in the freezer, white chocolate-cherry-almond ice cream, Black Forest cake AND Black Forest trifle – and now – cherry coffee cake!

This was a delicious recipe that I found via the tastespotting site – it was moist, dense, and dare I say, better the day after? I changed it up a bit and added a top layer for that added crunch.

So take advantage of the cherry season while it’s still here! And still cheap!

Did I ever tell you about the time I bought 8 kiwis for $1?

Cherry Coffee Cake

(c/o Series of Kitchen Experiments)

1 1/2 cups cherries, pitted and halved

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375F, prepare an 8" square cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add vanilla.

Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add half to wet ingredients, then milk, then rest of dry ingredients.

Carefully fold in cherries.

Bake for 45-60 minutes.

*optional: I added a streusel-y type of topping for an added crunch (1 tb cold butter + 1 1/2 tb flour + 1 1/2 tb sugar, mashed up and sprinkled on top)

Sunday Sufganiots

It's a new tradition with the T & J - donuts! Or should I type, doughnuts. Whichever way you prefer, you can't deny how delicious they are! Although our experimentations are in the early phase - I seem to be the designated "risen-donut" maker and T & J prepare the cake variety. No problems with me! I didn't bring my camera for our last donut adventures - which perhaps worked out as we ate them pretty fast. I made a lemon-flavoured batter last time and I thought I would try something different. One major thing I wanted to improve on was the "rise-ability" of the donut - I wanted fluffy tall donuts, darn-it! And I'll be damned if I can't make them!

Back in the days of Home Economics class, I remember making Israeli jelly-filled donuts, and they were pretty good - even with our pathetic Grade 11 skills! (side note: I won the proficiency prize that year for Foods 12. Hee hee) So let's give it another try - this time, under their traditional name of Sufganiots. I used quick-rise yeast and they were quick! And they rose! We finished the donut holes - but they were pretty terrific looking - I think next time, I will make a batch just of Sufganiot-holes (sounds like a curse word - "stop being such a Sufganiot-hole!"). For those in the deep-fry state of mind - try out the recipe below.

Sufganiots
c/o Martha Stewart Living

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for rolling
2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt

Oil for fryin'
Jam for injectin'

In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Place flour in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add eggs, yeast mixture, 1/4 cup sugar, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms.
On a well-floured work surface, knead until dough is smooth, soft and bounces back when poked with a finger, about 8 minutes.

Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm place and let double in size. (1 - 1 1/2 hours)

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut rounds, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the temperature reaches 370F. Using a slotted spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into oil. Fry until golden, about 40 seconds and then carefully flip to fry the other side (also 40sec).
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar while warm.

To inject jam - use an injector or pastry bag fitted with a long narrow tip. Use a small paring knife to cut a small notch into the donut, insert piping implement and fill away!

Happy birthday, Mothership!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Mothership, happy birthday to you!

If you haven't guessed already - it was the Mothership's birthday this past week. Usually I buy a cake, but this year, I covertly planned a cake surprise after treating her to dinner (of course!). The cake of choice? Her perennial favourite, the Black Forest Cake. I didn't want to make a traditional-looking cake, so I took all the elements of a BFC and did it zuccotto style - also another favourite of hers.

The base was a dark chocolate cake molded into a medium bowl using a lot of syrup (water + sugar + Triple Sec) to maintain moistness. And it did. Beautifully. I hand-pitted some gorgeous (and fresh!) cherries and layered them in the cake alternately with whipped cream. It was then 'topped' (or bottomed) with a round chocolate cake and more syrup and chilled out in the fridge overnight.


I was toying with different decorating options - obviously I was limited to something that would look good on a dome-shaped cake - and I wanted to stay away from the combed-whipped cream look, so I opted for cream piped flat with a star tip and then covered with shaved chocolate pieces. Looking back, it wouldn't have hurt for me to spend 5 - 10 minutes to actually sketch out a decorating plan. It looked good - but not...great. Oh well - there's always next year.

Maple Apple Mini Cakes

I'm a child of the fall. This is the figurative and literal sense. I was born in the fall, and I am drawn to the scents, sights, sounds, and smells of the autumn as well. The theme for my 'dream' wedding would be fall-themed as well: multi-coloured maple leaves carefully and thoughtfully strewn on tables, centrepieces featuring ruby red apples and for the main dish - a family-sized portion of coq au vin or beef stew. And maple. The smell of maple syrup would be wafted through the warmly lit reception hall and it would be put on every table as a gravy-style condiment.

It is no wonder that even in the heat of summer, I was inspired to make these cinnamon-sugar coated maple apple cakes (c/o Donna Hay). In retrospect, I would have added some toasted pecans to that delicious mess - perhaps topped each mini-cake with one? And I would have upped the amount of maple syrup for sure. There's definitely a trick to coating these babies - when they say, "coat while warm" - seriously, coat while warm. Frantically pressing cinnamon-sugar on lukewarm cakes = not fun. But eating these cakes = very fun! And delicious!

Cinnamon-Sugar Coated Maple Apple Cakes

2 1/2 cups self-rising cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
250g butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
6 red apples, grated
2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together flour and cinnamon.
Add butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs and apples and mix until combined.
Spoon into tins and bake about 27 minutes (mine took about 15-20 min in mini-muffin tins).

Toss together cinnamon and sugar for coating, and coat cakes while warm.

Obviously the original instructions were much more details than above - but this was my summary of the steps - and it really is that easy!

Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake

I'm back! And it only took the statutory holiday for me to get started again! I've been looking forward to this mid-week break for a while - my plans were : go to the gym, bake, and cook. And I managed to accomplish two out of the three. Ooh - and watch tennis! So three out of four, really. Although I did miss the Federer match, I watched a good chunk of grass-court action. I didn't "cook" exactly, but the mothership was in the mood to go out to eat.

The feature recipe of this post is the lovely cranberry coffee cake! I didn't want to make a full portion of the recipe, so I halved it and used my luuuurvely Chicago Metallic mini-cheesecake pan. It's like a muffin tin, but the cavities are deeper and narrower, with a 1/2" hole in the bottom (you get metal slips to put in the bottom for easy cheesecake removal). In the move, I forgot the metal slips, so I used parchment rounds instead.

Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake
adapted c/o Gourmet

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened and divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 375F, grease a 9" by 2" round cake pan, or muffin tin

Put sugar and vanilla in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Pulse cranberries and 1/2 cup of the vanilla sugar until finely chopped.
Whisk 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat together 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of vanilla sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, mix to combine, scraping down bowl.
Add in flour and milk alternately.
Spread half of batter in pan/tin, add cranberry filling and top with remaining batter. Smooth tops.
Blend remaining sugar with the tablespoon of butter and flour to great a crumble (oops, I forgot the flour - eh, still good without) and sprinkle liberally over cake(s).

Bake for 40-45 min (for whole cake, approx 20 min for mini cakes).

As you can see, I did not use cupcake liners (wouldn't fit anyway) and didn't leave a border - look at that gorgeous ribbon! It's all about the presentation, baby.

Butter Caramel Ice Cream

I feel as though I've completely neglected this blog! Apologies! As mentioned in the posts below - I've just started a new job and moved into a new apartment, so I've been busy! And not inspired to make anything new...yet.
As a result, my pictures have been carefully cropped and edited and they are enormous if you click on them. Sorry.

Before all the madness, I did make this lovely butter caramel ice cream, c/o the recipe from David Lebovitz, which can be found here. I have to admit - I am afraid of caramel. I've had it burn and crystalize on me before, so I'm familiar with the all-too common caramel catastrophes. But recently, I've had a run of good luck! And Mr.Lebovitz uses the 'dry caramel' technique - which is basically sugar, SANS water or any other element. And it worked great! What I didn't like about the recipe is that you pull the caramel off at a certain colour - and I'm very faithful to my candy thermometers and temperatures, so it was difficult for me to 'determine' what was the best colour according to his directions. I think it was pretty close.

I also used the 'dry' technique to make candied toasted pecans. Yum. Ooh. I have a picture of the spatula with strands of caramel coming off of it. Will post soon. I promise.

Until then....happy eatings!

Carrot Cake on Demand

It's been a busy week - I started a new job and continued the process of moving into my new place - my first 'own' place. Don't get me wrong - I rent, from my parents, of all people. I get a good break on the rent, it's still a lot, but they've been extremely generous. In the rush of new responsibilities and moving, I've completely ignored my food makin' and bloggin' duties. Look - I didn't even make my photos all stylin' with the curved edges. I just don't have time. I'm literally counting the minutes until I have to be in bed to be up at the crack of dawn to get ready for another day at the desk.

It's been a big change and at times in my first week, I've felt completely drained of my soul. Yes, I am an office drone. I wake up early, I go to bed ridiculously early, and I have no life. It's depressing - but I decided onThursday that I have to start maximizing those 4.5 sad hours I have between work and bed and make them worth it - this means getting back to my creative pursuits. I have boot stuffers and seat cushions to make now! And hopefully, I'll be able to keep up on the baking.

The mothership requested carrot cake - so I've done them up in typical cupcake fashion with the classic cream cheese frosting. The recipe is c/o the Joy of Cooking, the only substitution I made was fresh ground pepper for all-spice.

Carrot Cake
c/o Joy of Cooking
(yields two 9" rounds/8" squares/13 by 9" cake, 14-18 cupcakes)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together in a large bowl (or your mixer's bowl):
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Mix until combined.

Mix in:
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, lightly drained.

Mix until combined, scrape down bowl. Pour batter into cake pans.
For cupcakes, bake 20-25 minutes, for cakes bake 30-35 minutes.
Cool and frost with Cream Cheese icing.

Beat in a medium bowl at low speed until just combined:
8oz cold cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add in thirds -
4 cups icing sugar, sifted

Add additional flavouring such as liqueur or citrus zest.

Mix until smooth.