Maple Bacon Bundt Cake with Maple Bourbon Glaze

So last weekend was my friend's birthday and I wanted to make her a cake.  For awhile she had been requesting bacon maple mini donuts, but it had to be transported to a restaurant, and I wasn't sure how well they would store or how the restaurant would  feel about me bringing in a box of mini donuts.  Maple Bacon Bundt Cake = Problem Solved. Actually, my boyfriend was so upset that he didn't get to try anym AND i washed the bowl without letting him lick the batter that I ended up making a second one.  This certainly wasn't the most attractive cakes I've made, in fact, was probably a contender for the ugliest.  But bacon? maple? Who cares?! Oh and did I mention it's topped off with candied bacon?

The cake is moist, with just enough of a hint of smokey bacon, without being odd.  I was lucky enough to have QCOM Bacon Olive Oil on hand, and I would recommend picking up a bottle for immediate personal consumption.  It's pretty delish in a vinaigrette, to fry your eggs in etc. Anyways, if you don't want to buy the olive oil, I would suggest a combination of rendered bacon fat and olive oil.  Of course you could always just use plain oil or butter if you prefer.

Candied Bacon

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

Directions
Coat each slice of bacon in brown sugar, on both sides.


Bake on a foil lined cookie sheet (I do not think this will be a pleasant clean up if you don't line!) on the top rack at a 375° pre heated oven

Take off sheet to cool.  Use a sil-pat if you have one, if not I'm sure a plate would work fine.  Allow to cool, then mince or small dice it, if desired.

Maple Bacon Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packaged dark-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup bacon olive oil (or desired fat - bacon fat, olive oil, butter)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust with flour, and tap out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1/2 cup maple syrup, oil, and the vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, beating until just combined after each addition. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack to cool completely.

Bourbon Maple Glaze
I apologize if the amounts of these ingredients aren't exact.  I started with powdered sugar and just kept throwing stuff in tablespoon by tablespoon.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

Whisk together until lump free. Thin with water if necessary.

Once your cake cools, pour the glaze over and top with candied bacon.

S'mores Cupcakes

As summer begins to wind down, (apparently the local high schools start back up tomorrow- yikes!), I began to panic thinking about all the summer-esque things I have yet to complete.  Of course in Phoenix, the 100 plus degree weather will continue to rage on for several more weeks, but as soon as September hits, it's just not the same! My summer to do list included a weekend trip to Flagstaff and San Diego, which is looking bleak, finishing de-popcorning the ceiling, and getting my vegetable garden in order.  Oh yes, and s'mores cupcakes.  I think I first made them last 4th of July and they are sinfully good.  So while I may not have gotten to do all the fun things that I wanted to do, at least I have my cupcakes.

Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers ground in processor)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and line 12 cupcakes with paper liners

Whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, and baking soda in a bowl.

Cream sugar and butter together in another bowl, until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time.

Alternately add dry ingredients in 3 additions with 2 additions of milk.

Divide into muffin tin and bake 22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Set aside to cool completely.

Ganache

While the cupcakes are baking, make the ganache.
This is one of the easiest things you can make. All it is, is equal parts boiling cream and chocolate.  You can chill it and use it to fill cakes, or flavor it for truffles, or use it hot to dip eclairs in, or use as chocolate sauce on ice cream.  The possibilities are endless.  

The only trick to making ganache is that once you pour the hot cream over the chocolate, you have to let it sit a couple minutes without stirring it, to make sure the chocolate gets hot enough that it will melt smoothly into the cream.  As tempting as it is, stirring the mixture immediately will cool it down and cause chunks of chocolate in your ganache. This can easily be fixed by sticking it over a double boiler until it is smooth, though.

 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped or in chips
 8 oz. heavy whipping cream

Bring cream just to a boil.  Pour over chocolate.  Let sit a couple of minutes then stir until smooth.  Let mixture cool to room temperature.

Marshmallow Frosting
Recipe from Martha Stewart
Ingredients

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

 Assembly

 

Use an apple corer or butter knife, and remove the center of your baked cupcakes. 

Fill with the ganache, using a piping bag or small offset spatula.  Lightly frost the top if desired.

Pipe marshmallow frosting (immediately after it's made), and torch if desired.

 

 

Braided Sweet Bread

This summer has been a whirlwind of barbecues, friends, work, even with a cross country road trip thrown in the mix. Time has flown by, and I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post! So here I present you with Braided Sweet Bread.  And I promise you it was worth the wait.

A delicious twist of golden bread, jam, and cream cheesey goodness, it is best eaten immediately.  And trust me, you won't want to wait.  If you are planning on serving it the next day, I would recommend assembling it, and then sticking it in the fridge til you're ready to bake it.  When you take it out, let it sit out for an hour or so until it returns to room temperature and rises up a bit.

Recipe: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Sponge
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
Sponge (above)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) sour cream or yogurt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
Course Sanding Sugar or Pearl Sugar for Sprinkling

1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water or milk for wash

Lemon cream cheese filling
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons (5/8 ounces) sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup (2 ounces) homemade (recipe below) or prepared lemon curd or your favorite jam

Make sponge: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Dough: Combine the sponge,with dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until ingredients just start to form a loose, lumpy dough and switch to a dough hook. Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is soft and smooth.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise for 60-90 minutes until it almost doubles.

Cream Cheese Filling: Do this while the dough rises: combine all the filling ingredients in a small bowl, mixing until smooth. Set aside until you're ready.

Prepare bread:
- Gently deflate the dough with your fingertips and roll it out on a well floured counter to a 10″ x 15″ rectangle. Transfer rectangle to a large piece of parchment paper. With a knife or your hand, lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, dividing it into three equal columns. Spread the cream cheese filling down the center section.  I would suggest leaving the top and bottom inch or so bare, so you don't get a leaky bread.  ( I forgot to do this! :( )
 Spread the lemon curd or jam over the cream cheese filling. I couldn't make up my mind so I did half jam and half lemon curd.  Even though I adore fresh lemon curd (seriously, I could eat it by the bowl), the side with the raspberry jam ended up being my favorite.

To form the "braid", cut one inch strips down the length of the outer columns of you dough (the parts without filling).  Alternate between each side, folding one strip diagonally up, then the other side, until you finish.
Move your bread and the parchment onto a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Let sit for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the loaves with egg wash and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Basil Filling

Last weekend I had a special request from my friend Steph for "lemon and strawberry cake."  My first reaction was to make a lemon poppy seed bundt with chunks of strawberries. When she specified that she instead wanted a lemon cake with strawberry filling I was immediately annoyed excited about making these cupcakes bursting with summer flavor.

These bright citrus-y cupcakes are filled with chunky strawberry basil filling, and topped with whipped creme.

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup whole milk, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• Strawberry Basil Filling see below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line cupcake pan with liners

Sift together the flour and salt. In another bowl, cream the butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Add vanilla extract
Stir in flour mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over mix.

Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. 

Let cupcakes cool completely.  Hollow out center using an apple corer, or knife.  
Spoon cool strawberry filling into each hole and top with whipped creme.

Strawberry Basil Filling
     Adapted from Chow recipe

• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, washed, hulled, and cut into large dice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 5 large basil leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place strawberries and sugar in a medium, nonreactive saucepan and stir until strawberries are coated in sugar. Mash with a potato masher until about half of the strawberries are completely smashed but some medium-sized chunks remain, about 1 minute.
2. Place the pan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbles form along the pan’s edge, about 5 minutes. Skim any foam from the surface of the sauce with a spoon and discard. Add lemon zest and juice, stir to combine, and bring to a full boil, cooking until foam coats the surface, about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and skim and discard the foam. Discard basil if desired. Let the sauce cool to room temperature. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Whipped Cream
Beat 1 pint cream until soft peaks form.  Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.

Every Home Cook Should Know: How to Poach an Egg (2 Ways)

Hooray! I have decided to start a new series of posts today, on something that I believe every home cook should know how to do.  So if there is anything you wish you knew how to do, please let me know! I'll start off today with poaching an egg.  There are a million ways to do this, but I will show you the way I learned in culinary school, and the "cheater's method."

I love poached eggs on toast or over salad, pasta or soup.  They have a way of making a simple meal seeming a bit more elegant.

Method 1 (Traditional Method):

Bring a pot of water to just barely simmering. The easiest way for me is to bring it up to a simmer or boil, then turn down the heat.  The temperature should be 160°-180°.  Add a teaspoon of white vinegar.

Crack an egg into a ramekin or small bowl.  

Then stir the water in a circle to make a giant whirlpool
(no picture - sorry!)

Carefully let the egg slide out of the ramekin into the center of the pot.  The spinning water will help wrap the whites around the yolk.  For a second it will look like a scary mess, but don't worry - it will come together in about 30 seconds. 

Cook 3-4 minutes until the whites seem cooked, but the yolk still is tender if you touch it.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. 

Enjoy!


Method 2 (Cheater's Method):
This is a nice way to poach eggs if you are planning to cook a lot at one time, or if you would like to infuse some nice flavors into them.

Brush a piece of saran wrap with a fat of your choice - butter, olive oil etc.  (I used white truffle oil here).  You can sprinkle on some fresh cut herbs if you'd like.

Line a ramekin with the saran wrap

Crack an egg into the ramekin and tie it shut with butcher's twine
 
Drop the wrapped egg into lightly simmering water for about 3 minutes, until the whites are set, but the yolk still is runny.
 

Note: Eggs are one of the only foods that I do not season with salt until after they are cooked.  The salt makes the protein in the egg whites tough!

Poor Girl's Pesto

Don't get me wrong, I will never be a vegetarian; I just enjoy meat too much.  But after watching Fork Over Knives last weekend, I decided to make it a goal to consciously cut down on the amount of animal products I consume.

Last night I was starving and craving a big bowl of garlicy pesto goodness, but to my dismay discovered my basil plant was pretty picked over. And I was out of pine nuts. So I raided my fridge and made a puree using broccoli and walnuts and tossed it with some whole wheat linguini.  And you know what?  It was pretty good! Even my carnivorous boyfriend didn't seem to miss meat in his dinner.

Broccoli Walnut Pesto

I large head of broccoli cut into pieces (I used mostly just the florets)
2 garlic cloves
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts or nut of your choice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1 lemon, and juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Throw everything into a food processor or blender.  Adjust seasoning to your taste and  add more olive oil if it's too dry.  Toss with your favorite cooked pasta, spread on a some toasted french bread or mix with greek yogurt for a healthy salad dressing.

(Note: You could steam the broccoli first for a sweeter and more colorful pesto.  I may try this next time, but i was hungry last night)

Vanilla Olive Oil Pancakes with Blackberry Spread

This weekend was a lazy one, which mostly consisted of sleeping in and eating. (While I'm on the subject if you live in the Phoenix area and haven't been to Bryan's BBQ  in Cave Creek, do yourself a favor and go there immediately.  You can thank me later.)

I made these pancakes using Vanilla Olive Oil from Queen Creek Olive Mill, but you could make your own too by scraping a vanilla bean into a bottle of good olive oil.  It's fantastic on grilled fruit, as a substitution or addition in your favorite baked good recipe, or a surprising touch drizzled over seafood or veggies.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Spread

1- 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pint blackberries (or your favorite berry/fruit)
Sugar to taste (mine required 1/2 cup)

Cream ingredients together and chill.

Vanilla Olive Oil Pancakes adapted from Queen Creek Olive Mill

Ingredients

• 1  cups all purpose flour
• 1  cup milk
• 1/4 cup vanilla bean (or your favorite flavor) olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat skillet or griddle to med-high.
2. Whisk together wet ingredients
3. Add dry and whisk til just combined.  You will have lumps; do not over-mix!
4. Pour 2 oz. of batter onto griddle.
5. Cook until top are full of bubbles and bottom is golden grown, flip and brown other side.
6. Keep warm in a 200° oven until ready to serve.