Holidays

I haven't been doing as much baking this season as I normally do. However, I was reading the Amateur Gourmet today and he mentioned his "favorite dessert recipe of all time" so I knew that I had to make this RIGHT AWAY.

My excuse is that I signed up to bring "other" to the big monkey's holiday party tomorrow at school :) I'm making 2, so if I taste it and it's way too "sophisticated" for the kids (or just tastes way too good) then I'll keep both for the house or turn the second one in to a gift for someone.

On a related note, I am giving the little monkey's teacher wine for her gift (aside from chipping in for the class gift). She says she like wine and she has to put up with my child, so that's OK, right?


Almond Cake
From Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering pan
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (measured after sifting)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
7-ounce tube almond paste, cut into small pieces
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
Confectioner's sugar, or sifting over cake

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter sides and bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Mix together the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Sift the flour and salt in another bowl.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the almond paste, a little at a tie, at medium speed, and beat for 8 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, and mix until incorporated. It will look curdled, don't worry. Blend in the almond extract and the sour cream mixture. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake about 1 hour (note: mine took about 20 minutes longer). It is done when you press the top and it returns its shape, and also shrinks from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and place on a baking rack to cool in the pan. When ready to serve, sift confectioner's sugar over the top.

Note: Amanda Hesser says in her book that this cake always sinks.

Dark-Chocolate Souffle Cake

My friend went to dinner tonight with other friends and her daughters came over and hung out with us. Her little one (8) is best friends with my big one, and her big one (13) loves to cook and bake. We opened the The Complete Cooking Light cookbook and choose this cake to make.

Wow! It's good. Very rich and chocolaty, but quite light. My suggestion - don't let the cake cool down. East it nice and hot out of the oven!

Dark-Chocolate Souffle Cake

Cake flour is a fine-textured, soft wheat flour with a high starch content, and usually comes in a box rather than a bag. It can be found with the cake mixes at the supermarket.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso or 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2/3 cup Dutch process or unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons Kahlua (coffee-flavored liqueur)
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sifted cake flour (such as Swan's Down)
6 large egg whites (at room temperature)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 cup raspberries (optional)
Chocolate curls (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300.
Coat bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, water, and espresso in a large saucepan; stir well and bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add cocoa, salt, and chocolates, stirring with a whisk until chocolate melts. Stir in Kahlua and egg yolks. Stir in flour; cool to room temperature. Set aside.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed of a mixer until foamy. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; repeat procedure with remaining egg white mixture, one-fourth at a time. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 300 for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely on wire rack. Remove sides from pan; sift powdered sugar over cake. Garnish with raspberries and chocolate curls, if desired.

Note: A substitution of 1/4 cup all-purpose flour may be used in place of 1/3 cup cake flour.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

CALORIES 205 (27% from fat); FAT 6.1g (satfat 3.2g, monofat 1.9g, polyfat 0.4g); PROTEIN 5g; CARBOHYDRATE 34.2g; FIBER 0.2g; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; IRON 2mg; SODIUM 91mg; CALCIUM 31mg;

Angel Food Cake

Recently, I bought the most amazing, light and tasty Angel Food Cake. So, I decided to try and make my own.

The first recipe I came upon was the Barefoot Contessa's Angel Food Cake. She has not failed me yet so I am hopeful that I can same the same for this recipe. Hope bad can it possibly be with egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest?!

So far I've tried the stuff that's on the bottom pan and the little crumbs that have fallen off the cake :) It's very good but next time I will experiment with reducing the sugar.

Lemon Angel Food Cake
Barefoot Contessa Family Style
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 40 min

Serves:8 servings

Ingredients
2 cups sifted superfine sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (1 large lemon)





(I forgot to take the lemon out of the refrigerator before I took the picture)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar with the flour and sift together 4 times. Set aside. Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs make medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Whisk for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon zest and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour by fourths by sifting and folding until it's all incorporated.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack until cool.