MAPLE PUMPKIN PECAN SNACKING CAKE

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

SOMEONE TURNS SEVENTEEN TODAY!

Happy Birthday, Chief! You’ll always be a puppy for us…

Birthday requires cake. Obviously.

The other day I saw a compilation of cakes by Food & Wine, a sort of “bucket list of cakes.” You can check it out here. According to the article, if you bake one of those cakes each month, at the end of the year you will become a very accomplished baker, mastering all techniques that matter. Danger attracts me, because I was immediately mesmerized by the list and next think I knew, the first one was in the oven. No idea what makes it a “snacking cake” but the name has a good vibe. Plus, it mixes two flavors I love, maple and pumpkin. I am not too wild about pecans, but it’s always good to have an excuse to crack open that bag hibernating in the freezer. This cake is incredibly easy to make, smells amazing, and everyone raved about it. Now, before you get too excited: NO, I am not baking the other 11 cakes. And YES, this is my final answer.

MAPLE PUMPKIN PECAN SNACKING CAKE
(adapted from Food and Wine magazine)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 ounces pecans (about 1 to 1 + 1/3 cups)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons demerara sugar for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 325° and grease an 8-inch square cake pan,

In a medium bowl, whisk together the two types of flour, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.

In a small frying pan over medium-high heat, toast the pecans until fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Transfer half of the nuts to a small food processor and pulse until a coarsely ground flour forms. Roughly chop the remaining pecans over a cutting board into small-sized pieces. Add both the pecan meal and loosely chopped pieces to the bowl of dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until very smooth. Gently fold in the dry ingredients until incorporated. Using a spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out the surface of the cake batter with the spatula and sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top of the cake should be crispy from the scattered sugar-coating.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The cake is baked in an 8-inch square pan, so it is reasonably small. Food and Wine lists 8 servings, but I cut it into 20 small squares so that more colleagues could be happy in a cold and foggy Monday morning. Perfect antidote for that type of day, if you ask me. What I loved the most about it was the crust that the demerara sugar formed while baking. Delicious contrast with the brownie-type cake underneath. Notice the lack of leavening agents, the cake is pretty similar to a one-pan brownie, easy and straightforward. Pecans were perfect, but I bet walnuts would work equally well.

Cake number one was pretty painless, I must admit. I like to leave the game while I’m winning, so I’ll stop right here. Although a certain gentleman is lobbying quite heavily for a particular six-layer coconut nightmare. Yeah, when pigs fly over Kansas wearing pink tutus.

Hi, my name is Molly Merlot, I am awfully cute, but I promise you, I don’t fly!

(photo published with permission from Wilson Creek Winery)

ONE YEAR AGO: Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

TWO YEARS AGO: Sweet Fifteen!

THREE YEARS AGO: Sesame and Flaxseed Sourdough

FOUR YEARS AGO: Green Beans with Miso and Almonds

FIVE YEARS AGO: Saturday Morning Scones

SIX YEARS AGO: White Bread

18Mar2011

ALMOND BUTTER CAKE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

My dear friend and baker extraordinaire Heather wrote me an email a couple of weeks ago saying that she baked a delicious cake and thought I should give it a try because it was simple (in other words: Sally-proof) but quite flavorful. What is simple for Heather, is not necessarily simple for me, but when I read the recipe, I noticed that it did not have that scary “cream sugar with butter” step. Cautiously optimistic, I gave it a try. Indeed, this was one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made, and each bite seemed to taste better than the previous one. Heather adapted the recipe from the winning entry in a C&H Sugar Baking Contest years ago.

ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
(from Heather’s kitchen)

½ C butter, melted
1 + ½ C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 + ½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1 + ½ C flour
¼ C sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9” round pan.

Beat sugar and melted butter together, add eggs and flavorings and beat well. Add salt and flour and mix just until blended. Spread in pan, sprinkle with sugar and almond slices.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes – it is better not to over-bake, so use a toothpick to test it, and as soon as it comes out almost clean, the cake will be ready. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before unmolding it.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I served this cake next to strawberries and blueberries macerated with a small amount of sugar, and a dusting of powdered sugar on top, as suggested by Phil. Perfect indeed, the fruit went very well with the almond flavor and the tenderness of the cake. Sorry, no pictures of the sliced cake, often when we have guests I don’t feel like grabbing a camera and taking photos. Even served plain, this cake would shine next to a cup of tea on a sunny afternoon.

ONE YEAR AGO: Taillevent (a meal that shall never be forgotten…)

26Nov2010

THE ULTIMATE APPLE CAKE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Cover of "Around My French Table: More Th...

Cover via Amazon

For someone who’d rather go to the dentist than bake a cake, making the same cake two weeks in a row means:

– the cake is fool-proof;

– the cake is awesome.

Awesome indeed! It’s a bunch of diced apples surrounded by a few dollops of cake batter, that puffs and gently envelopes each piece of fruit, resulting in a dessert that’s a cross between cake and clafoutis. Very French, very elegant, just enough decadence to turn your afternoon tea into a four-star event.

The recipe comes from a cookbook that’s been on my wish list at amazon.com since it’s released: Dorie Greenspan‘s Around my French Table. It’s just a matter of time until I move the book to my shopping cart, the reviews are stellar!

MARIE HELENE’s APPLE CAKE
(from Dorie Greenspan)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (110g)
3/4 tsp baking powder (about 3.75 g)
pinch of salt
4 large apples (any kind you like, mix and match)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (145g)
3 Tbs rum (or apple schnapps, or Calvados)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted and cooled (115g)

Heat the oven to 350F. Butter a 8-inch springform type pan with butter and set aside.

Peel and core the apples, cut them roughly in 1 inch chunks. Reserve.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisker until frothy, add the sugar and whisk until smooth.
Add the rum, vanilla extract, and mix well. Add half of the flour mixture, mix until fully incorporated, pour half of the butter and whisk to combine. Add the rest of the flour, then the rest of the butter.

Pour the thick batter over the apples, and use a silicone or plastic spatula to mix them gently, trying to cover each piece with some of the batter. The mixture will seem too thick, and you will be tempted to use less apples. Do not. Trust Dorie. Pour the mixture in the prepared pan, use a fork to level the apples as much as possible, but don’t worry too much about it.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted at the center of the cake. Remove the pan to a rack and let it cool for 5 minutes before opening the sides.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The first time I baked this cake, I didn’t use all the apples because it seemed impossible to coat them all with the batter. I realized my mistake when I witnessed how much the batter puffed up during baking. On my second attempt, I used all the apples, and substituted apple schnapps for rum. We both liked the schnapps version better. A friend of mine used Calvados and also preferred it to rum. Either of those liquors reinforce the apple flavor. Next time I might add a little cinnamon to the batter, but this cake is pretty close to perfection as it is.