Best Of 2007

 

Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte and Sandra from Un Tocco di Zenzero are the hosts of the Best of 2007 Blog Event.

It was not easy to choose only one among all the recipes I have posted so far, even if this blog has been in existence for just a few months.

I have put together a small collection of favorites and then chose the best of the best for 2007.

Candied Orange Peel—————————— Mini Custard Pies—————————– Cinnamon Wafers

Semolina Cake——————————————Cocoa Buns———————————— Chocolate Cake

Pignoli Tart————————————————Bundt Kuchen——————————— Cranberry Sherbet

 

 

Best Of 2007

Cocoa Bread

 

Thank You Everyone For Reading So Far!

Candied Orange Peel

A nice winter treat: preserved orange peel

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This candied orange peel is made with an unusual method that makes it especially flavorful and aromatic.

You can roll the strips in granulated sugar or leave them plain, to use in cakes and breads, cookies, or to dip in chocolate.

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From the original recipe by Marion Harland

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In: “Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery”, 1873–USA

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Ingredients:

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Organic oranges

Sugar

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Weigh the oranges whole, and take an equal weight of sugar.

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Wash and scrub the oranges. Squeeze the juice through a strainer into a large pan. Mix the sugar with the orange juice.

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Cut the peel in narrow strips.

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Boil the peels in water, changing the water twice and replenishing it with boiling hot water kept ready for this purpose. Cook the peels until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

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Bring the orange juice and sugar mixture to a boil, add to it the drained orange peel strips and boil 20 minutes.

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Drain on racks, and when dry but still slightly tacky roll in sugar or leave as they are.

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Mini Custard Pies (Mini Pie Revolution)

A dainty miniature version of a classic: custard pie, flavored with vanilla and nutmeg

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This is my entry for the Mini Pie Revolution blog event hosted by Karyn and Ann at The Mini Pie Revolution Headquarters

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HERE is the ROUNDUP——————

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From the original recipes by:

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Miss Catharine Esther Beecher

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In: “Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt Book”, c1846–USA

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—and

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Mrs. Fanny L. Gillette

In: “The White House Cook Book”, 1887–USA

Ingredients

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Pie Paste

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3/4 lb (1-1/2 cup–350 g) butter, cold
1 lb flour (3.5 cups–454 g) + extra as needed
ice water as needed
1 tsp (6 g) salt

Custard Filling

3 eggs
3 heaping tbsp (45 g) sugar
1 heaping tbsp (10 g) flour
1 pinch salt
2 cups (488 g) milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla paste
grated nutmeg to taste

Make the Pie Paste

Take a quarter of the butter and place it into the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and salt and process until the mixture resemble wet sand. Pour a thin stream of ice water into the food processor bowl pulsing until the mixture turn into to a stiff paste. Wrap the dough in wax paper and leave in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator. In my basement in this season the temperature is about 60°F, and I find it ideal to keep the dough at that temperature.

Meanwhile, dredge the board thick with flour, and cut up the remainder of the butter into thin slices, lay each slice upon the flour, and dredge with another thick layer of flour. Then roll out the butter slices into thin sheets and lay them aside.

Take the dough previously prepared and roll it out thin (1/8 inch–3 mm) , cover it with a sheet of this rolled butter, dredge on more flour, fold it up in thirds, roll it out again, and then repeat the process till all the butter is used up. Wrap the final dough in wax paper and let rest for at least 30 minutes in a cool place.

Make the pie shells:

Roll the dough thin (1/8-inch–3 mm), then with a biscuit cutter cut out rounds to line the cups of mini muffin pans (butter the pan cups before lining them). Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) , line each pastry shell with a small piece of aluminum foil and fill with dried beans. Bake the empty shell for about 5 minutes, then take the pans out and let cool on racks. Make sure the shells are throughly baked, otherwise put them back in the oven for a little longer, until ready. If the shells are not completely baked in advance, they will become soggy once filled with the custard.

With the pastry scraps you can make tiny cutouts to decorate the pies once they are baked. Place the cutouts on a cookie sheet and bake them separately until golden.

Make the custard filling:

Mix the sugar and flour, then beat the yolks until pale yellow and light, adding little by little the flour-sugar mixture. Then add salt, vanilla and nutmeg, and next the egg whites slightly beaten. Finally add the milk in a thin stream and mix well.

Assemble the pies

Pour the custard mixture into the cooled pastry shells and bake in the preheated oven (300°F–160°C) until the custard is set. A higher temperature will make the custard curdle.

Cool the pies in the pans placed on racks. Refrigerate leftovers.

Note: This pie paste recipe makes the flakiest, lightest pie shells ever. It is worth trying.

 

 

Steamed Chocolate-Hazelnut Pudding with Caramel Sauce (SHF#38)

A warm, airy pudding in which the flavors of chocolate, hazelnuts and caramel combine in perfect harmony. A nice dessert for snowy, wintry evenings.

This is my entry for Sugar High Fridays #38, hosted this time by Zorra who proposed a wonderful theme: Pudding

Here is the ROUNDUP 

Steamed puddings are old-fashioned desserts that, when made properly, have a feathery light, spongy texture. For perfect results, here are a few simple rules to remember–in the words of Marion Harland from her book Common Sense in the Household (1873):

♦ The water must be boiling when the pudding goes in, and not stop boiling for one instant until it is done. […]

♦ The water should not quite reach to the top of a mould. […]

♦ When the time is up, take mould […] from the boiling pot, and plunge instantly into cold water; then, turn out without the loss of a second. This will prevent sticking, and leave a clearer impression of the mould upon the contents.

♦ Boiled puddings should be served as soon as they are done, as they soon become heavy.

There are special moulds for steamed puddings, which are provided with a lid that can be closed tight. However, a regular pudding mould, a large pyrex bowl, or even a clean coffee can all work fine, if they are covered with a piece of aluminum foil secured with string. This method sounds more complicated than it really is, and the results are truly worth it. The batter could be baked in an oven, but the pudding will not have the same moist and light texture.

From the original recipes by Maria Willett Howard

In: Lowney’s Cook Book, 1912–USA

Ingredients

2 tbsp (30 g) butter

1/4 cup (30 g) flour

1 oz. (30 g–1 square) unsweetened chocolate, grated (I used 85% bittersweet chocolate)

1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt

1/2 cup (240 ml) milk, scalded

5 eggs, divided

3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

1/2 cup (100 g) toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped (Almonds, walnuts, and pecans work equally well in place of the hazelnuts)

Caramel Sauce

1 cup (200 g) sugar + 1 cup (240 g) boiling water

Make the pudding: Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and mix well to avoid lumps; add grated chocolate and salt, stirring continuously and add scalded milk in a thin stream stirring well. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes on very low heat then set aside to cool. Meanwhile beat the yolks till light and pale yellow, adding sugar little by little, then add hazelnuts and stir well. When well blended, add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Beat the egg whites till firm and glossy, then fold them into the chocolate mixture, using a spatula. Be careful doing this last operation, to avoid deflating the egg whites.

Generously grease a pudding mould (2-quart–2 l capacity) or 10-12 individual ramekins with melted butter or vegetable oil. Grease also the pudding lid or the piece of aluminum foil that will cover the top of the mould(s) if you don’t have molds with a lid. Fill the moulds no more than 3/4, cover with lid or foil. Secure the foil with an elastic band.

Place a rack or trivet in the bottom of a pot deep enough to contain the mould(s), lower the mould(s) into the pot and add enough boiling water to reach half-way up the sides of the mould(s). Keep extra boiling water ready in case it is necessary to add more to the pot while the pudding is steaming (check often). Cover the pot with its lid with a weight on it to prevent the steam to escape.

Put the pot on high heat until the water starts boiling again, then lower the heat to keep the water simmering and steam the pudding. When the time is up carefully lift the mould out of the pot, plunge it in cold water, immediately unmould the pudding and serve.

To make this recipe this time I have used 10 individual deep ramekins, each of them covered with a piece of aluminum foil secured with string. I had to use two pots to steam all the puddings, and I let them boil for 50 minutes. If you use a single large mould, the pudding will have to steam for at least 1 hour and 45 minutes. A longer steaming time does not affect in any way the final result.

Caramel Sauce

Caramelize sugar in a deep saucepan. When it acquires a nice golden brown color, carefully add the boiling water, stirring vigorously to dissolve the lumps that will form. Simmer 15 minutes on low heat, then take off the heat and immerse the bottom of the pan in cold water to stop the cooking. The sauce is ready to pour on the pudding as soon as the pudding is unmolded.

P.S. Steamed puddings are always served with a sweet sauce.

 

Lemon Cake (Novel Food: Winter 2007 Edition)

A velvety lemon cake to have for tea–inspired by Edith Wharton’s “The House of Mirth”.

This is my entry for the lovely blog event co-hosted by Simona of Briciole and Lisa of Champaign Taste, for which participants prepare a dish that has a connection to a literary work.

Edith Wharton is one of my favorite American writers, I enjoyed all of her novels–and her ghost stories too.

The cake I made is inspired by the tea and cake shared by Lily Bart and her friend Lawrence Selden as told in the early pages of The House of Mirth (1905).

This cake–with its moist texture and pleasant lemony flavor–goes really well with a nice cup of tea, so it might very well be the one mentioned in the book. And I do have a green teapot as well.

here is the excerpt from chapter 1 of “The House of Mirth”:

He paused a moment. “Come up and see,” he suggested. “I can give you a cup of tea in no time–and you won’t meet any bores.”

Her colour deepened–she still had the art of blushing at the right time–but she took the suggestion as lightly as it was made.

“Why not? It’s too tempting–I’ll take the risk,” she declared.

“Oh, I’m not dangerous,” he said in the same key. In truth, he had never liked her as well as at that moment. He knew she had accepted without afterthought: he could never be a factor in her calculations, and there was a surprise, a refreshment almost, in the spontaneity of her consent.

On the threshold he paused a moment, feeling for his latchkey.

“There’s no one here; but I have a servant who is supposed to come in the mornings, and it’s just possible he may have put out the tea-things and provided some cake.”

He ushered her into a slip of a hall hung with old prints. She noticed the letters and notes heaped on the table among his gloves and sticks; then she found herself in a small library, dark but cheerful, with its walls of books, a pleasantly faded Turkey rug, a littered desk and, as he had foretold, a tea-tray on a low table near the window. A breeze had sprung up, swaying inward the muslin curtains, and bringing a fresh scent of mignonette and petunias from the flower-box on the balcony.
Lily sank with a sigh into one of the shabby leather chairs.

“How delicious to have a place like this all to one’s self! What a miserable thing it is to be a woman.” She leaned back in a luxury of discontent.

Selden was rummaging in a cupboard for the cake.

“Even women,” he said, “have been known to enjoy the privileges of a flat.”

“Oh, governesses–or widows. But not girls–not poor, miserable, marriageable girls!”

“I even know a girl who lives in a flat.”

She sat up in surprise. “You do?”

“I do,” he assured her, emerging from the cupboard with the sought-for cake.

“Oh, I know–you mean Gerty Farish.” She smiled a little unkindly. “But I said MARRIAGEABLE–and besides, she has a horrid little place, and no maid, and such queer things to eat. Her cook
does the washing and the food tastes of soap. I should hate that, you know.”

“You shouldn’t dine with her on wash-days,” said Selden, cutting the cake.

They both laughed, and he knelt by the table to light the lamp under the kettle, while she measured out the tea into a little tea-pot of green glaze. As he watched her hand, polished as a bit of old ivory, with its slender pink nails, and the sapphire bracelet slipping over her wrist, he was struck with the irony of suggesting to her such a life as his cousin Gertrude Farish had chosen. She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.

And now for the cake:

From the original recipe by Jane Cunningham Croly

In: “Jennie June’s American Cookery Book”, 1870–USA

Ingredients

1 cup (227 g) butter

3 cups (600 g) sugar

4 eggs, divided

1 cup (245 g) milk

1 large (organic) lemon–juice and grated zest

4 cups (454 g) flour, sifted

Icing: 1 small egg white, beaten till light and foamy

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C), grease and flour two 9.1 x 5.4 inch (13.6 x 23.2 cm) loaf pans

Cream the butter until light and fluffy, then gradually add the sugar. Add the 4 yolks, one at a time, then the lemon juice (strained) and the grated zest. Gently add the flour, little by little through a strainer, and then the milk in a fine stream, still beating at high speed. The mixture should be light and creamy. Finally fold in the egg whites, beaten until stiff and glossy, taking care not to deflate the mixture.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake at 325°F (170°C) for 45 minutes or more, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of each cake.

Let the cakes cool in the pans placed on racks for 5 minutes, then take them out of the pans and let them finish cooling on the racks. Ice the cakes once they are perfectly cold.

Icing: mix the confectioners’ sugar with a little egg white and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice to a spreading consistency and cover the top and sides of each loaf.

Notes: This cake does not contain any leavening, and to be light the batter must be worked well to incorporate as much air as possible. It must be baked at no more than 325°F , otherwise it will brown too fast on top and still be raw in the middle.

The recipe can be halved.

Mrs. Ewing’s Creamy Cocoa

A perfect cup of hot cocoa: creamy, smooth, and not too sweet

 

From the original recipe by Mrs. Emma P. Ewing

In: “Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes”. Walter Baker & Co., Ltd–1909, USA

Ingredients

1/2 cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (65 g) flour

1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp (3 g) salt

1 quart (950 ml) boiling water

1 quart (950 ml) boiling milk

Whipped cream (optional).

 

Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar and salt and put mixture in a saucepan. Add gradually boiling water and mix well (an immersion blender works wonderfully for this). Boil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add boiling milk and stir well, then simmer five minutes more, stirring constantly. Serve with whipped cream if you like.

Cinnamon Wafers

Thin, delicate, crunchy wafers flavored by a good touch of cinnamon–excellent to have with coffee or hot chocolate

This is my entry for the “Think Spice…” monthly blog event hosted by Sunita. This month theme is Cinnamon

Cinnamon is one of my favorites among spices, for its warm and comforting aroma. In fact, in early Italian herbals it is said that cinnamon was, among other things, good to make one’s heart strong and happy.

From the original recipe by Oscar Tschirky

in “The Cook Book by “Oscar” of the Waldorf”, 1896–USA

Ingredients

6 oz (3/4 cup–170 g) finely powdered sugar (granulated sugar powdered in a coffee grinder)

8 oz (2 cups–230 g) AP flour

1/2 oz (2 heaping tbsp–15 g) ground cinnamon

6 oz (12 tbsp–170 g) butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

10 tbsp–150 ml whole milk (or as needed)

butter for the iron

To make these wafers you need a pizzelle or wafer iron, either electric or stovetop (I used a stovetop pizzelle iron) and 2-3 racks on which to place the cookies to cool.

Sift together the powdered sugar, cinnamon and flour. Add the melted butter and the well beaten egg. Mix well and add the milk, one tbsp at a time. The dough is ready when it has the consistency of drop cookies dough–it has to be scooped by the tablespoon on the hot pizzelle iron. Butter the hot iron plates at first, but then the amount of butter in the dough will make it unnecessary to continue to do so, the wafers come off the iron plates very easily. Each side takes no more than 30 seconds to cook. Place each wafer on a rack (they will harden and crisp while they cool). As soon as they cool place them in an airtight container.

BBD #04 Roundup

 

I have been very happy to host the fourth bread baking day. The theme I proposed was Spices. There have been 25 bakers, from all over the world, who contributed wonderful recipes for yeasted, sourdough, and quick breads, both sweet and savory. Some recipes are traditional, others are variations on classics, and still others are new creations. Most of us used a mix of at least two spices, while a few chose to use only a single spice.

When we think of “spices” the ones that come to mind are usually dried seeds, barks, and berries such as mustard, cinnamon, or black peppercorns. However, the basic classification of “spices” in fact includes also leaves, roots or bulbs of aromatic plants such as thyme and ginger. A few entries have actually followed the broader definition of “spice” and used leaves of aromatic plants like basil.

Overall, we used allspice, aniseed, black pepper, caraway seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed, cumin , fennel seed, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pink pepper, saffron, turmeric, and vanilla.

I wish to thank all of you for participating with this amazing array of breads, which shows both great effort and skill. I received each entry with great anticipation and enjoyed reading every one of them.

And as always thanks to Zorra for initiating bbd!

Remember that the next bread baking day (bbd #05) will be hosted by Chelsea and she will reveal the theme on December 6th

 

here is the list of entries (in no particular order) for bbd #04:

 

Asha from Aroma! baked a wonderful Masala Potato Bread: masala means spices in Hindi. This potato bread is spiced up with sauteed potatoes, onions, bell peppers, green chillies, cumin seeds, ginger and turmeric.

Location: North Carolina, USA

Language: English

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Tatter from The Bread Chronicle baked Artos, a Greek celebration bread: the dough is enriched with spices, eggs and honey and the resulting loaf is fragrant, slightly sweet and… definitely worth repeating. The spices Tatter used are: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves

Location: UK

Language: English

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KipperCat from The Fresh Loaf baked Sweet Potato Pecan Cinnamon Rolls: a decadent treat, great for special occasions. KipperCat used cardamom and nutmeg in the dough and cinnamon for the filling

Location: Texas, USA

Language: English

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Jackie from Jiki Knits made a Swedish cardamom braid as well as a classic Gingerbread

Language: English

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

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Zainab from Arabic Bites baked a batch of sweet and beautiful Ka’ak al zaafaran wal zabib (Saffron & Golden Raisins Rings).

Location: Saudi Arabia

Language: English

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Susan from Wild Yeast baked some magnificent Saffron Challahs. The saffron scent in the loaf was noticeable but not overwhelming.

Location: California, USA

Language: English

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Lien from Notitie van Lien (Lien’s notes) baked a batch of Wiggs, beautiful sweet loaves in which she included caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace and cloves

Location: The Netherlands

Language: Dutch & English

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Jelly from Fragole & Cioccolato used aniseed in her sweet Treccine di pane con zucchero di canna, anice e semi di lino (Braided rolls with aniseed, brown sugar and flaxseed)

Location: Milan, Italy

Language: Italian & English

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Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen baked Cardamom Bread, a lovely spice for a beautiful braided loaf.

Location: Kochi (Kerala), India

Language: English

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Petra from Chili und Ciabatta baked a wonderful Pfeffernussbrot (Pepper Spice Bread) flavored with an enticing mix of cinnamon, allspice, Lebkuchen-Gewuerz (a spice mix containing cinnamon, orange peel, coriander seeds, mace, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom) and freshly ground black pepper.

Location: Geiersthal, Germany

Language: English.

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Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte baked an enticing Nutmegged Buttermilk-Nut-Bread-made with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and spiced with nutmeg.

Location: Andalucia, Spain

Language: English

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Lavaterra from Lavaterra baked Moroccan Spice Rolls flavored with Ras el-hanout (Moroccan spice mixture) and topped with sesame seeds.

Location: München, Germany

Language: English

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Elizabeth from Blog from OUR kitchen made Semolina Fennel Seed Bread with Currants & Pine nuts . The fennel seed aroma was well matched with the slight hint of sourdough flavor from the wild yeast she used in the dough.

Location: Toronto, Canada

Language: English

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Gretchen Noelle from Canela & Comino baked a Cracked Pepper-Seed Bread spiced up with a freshly ground peppercorn medley

Location: Lima, Peru

Language: English

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Joann from Baking + Graduate School = Joann’s Life made Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns by adding pumpkin puree to the dough, spicing it up with nutmeg and cinnamon and finishing with vanilla glaze

Location: San Diego, CA USA

Language: English
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Eliza from Notes from My Food Diary made Oatmeal Breakfast Bread with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. A kid friendly recipe, and very healthy being made with oatmeal, applesauce and dried apricots.

Location: Oregon, USA

Language: English

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Marta from Los fogones de mi casa baked a tasty, savory loaf: English Bread with Curry, a nice soft bread with an enticing aroma.

Location: Valencia (Spain)

Language: English & Spanish

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Elisabetta from Panemiele baked a wholewheat variation of pumpkin bread, spiced with curry: Pane di zucca al curry (Pumpkin and curry bread)

Location: Venice, Italy

Language: Italian & English

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Nora from Life’s Smörgåsbord baked a healthful and tasty Chickpea and Pink Peppercorn Bread, in which she also included some ground cumin. The result is good enough to convert any chickpea phobic to eating chickpeas.

Location: Sydney, Australia.

Language: English
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Ulrike from Küchenlatein made a perfect Spiced Peasant Loaf, lightly spiced with a mix of pepper, coriander seeds and fennel-a bread that goes well with hearty toppings.

Location: Northern Germany

Language: English

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– Bee and Jai from Jugalbandi made colorful Spiral Pesto Rolls, with red pesto, a mix of herbs, tomatoes, and cashews

Location: Northwestern U.S.

Language: English

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Dhivya Karthik from Culinary Bazaar baked an A++ Italian Focaccia spiced up with black pepper

Location – California – U.S.A

Language: English

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Jen from Fontas Food baked beautiful No Knead Herb Rolls flavored with dried thyme, oregano and basil

Location: Fair Oaks, California

Language: English
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Kaykat from Cooking from A to Z baked a Banana Nut Spice Bread that is light on the fat NOT on the flavor and used cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla

Location: Seattle, WA

Language: English

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I baked Saffron Cakes, from an antique recipe by Susannah Carter (1803). The saffron is paired with coriander seed and these two spices are truly well matched together.

Location: USA

Language: English

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If have inadvertently missed any entries, please let me know and I will add them to the roundup

The copyright of each photo belongs to the respective author