Cherry Cornmeal Upside Down

I'm sure you know the story - girl goes to Costco, girl sees beautiful sweet red cherries, girl buys WAY too many. There's only one logical solution, and that's to find a glorious recipe to use them up!

I love the drama of upside down cakes, but most recipes end up making a topping that's sticky sweet and overwhelms any other flavors in the cake. When I found this recipe (originally for apricots), I knew it was something special. The cornmeal and whole wheat pastry flour add some heft to the cake itself, but the result is still very moist and tender with the brightness of lemon. I cut the brown sugar in the topping down so the cherry flavor could shine through, so if you want something more intense you can double the amount.

This is the perfect brunch or tea-time treat, not too sweet but showcasing flavors of whatever fruit you choose to include. What a lovely discovery!

Cherry Cornmeal Upside Down Cake
Adapted from Sinfully Spicy
Makes one 8" cake

~2 C Bing or other sweet cherries
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C whole wheat pastry flour or AP flour
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C cornmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill stone ground corn flour)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C buttermilk (or 3/4 C milk + 2 1/4 tsp white vinegar)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 8" cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Wash cherries, then cut them in half and pit them.

Spread brown sugar evenly along bottom of cake pan. Place cherries cut side down in concentric circles on top of the sugar layer so the entire surface is covered.

Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, butter, oil, vanilla and lemon zest in another small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry, then fold gently together with a spatula until combined.

Pour cake batter over the cherries in the pan, and use spatula to even out the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the pan sit on a wire rack for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.

Plain...

Just plain delicious!

Celebrating with Extraordinary Cakes Lemon Ricotta

There are times when it's absolutely appropriate to spend a week making a complicated and multi-layer cake, and I decided that my 23rd birthday was one of those occasions. I love excuses to break out the expensive bottle of wine I've been saving, wear my favorite dress and get my best friends together to enjoy a beautiful day. This Lemon Ricotta Cake was my favorite treat when I worked at Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego, and I was excited to see it in Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Cakes cookbook.

Ricotta cake is brushed with lemon simple syrup, then layered with lemon whipped cream, lemon curd and fresh blueberries and blackberries and topped off with lemon buttercream frosting. This dessert is pillowy and creamy with contrasting sweet and tart, the perfect way to celebrate a summer day.

The recipe calls for making the lemon curd from scratch, but you could easily use store-bought. The hardest part of the recipe is orchestrating the many components and making sure they're ready at the right times during the assembly process. I won't even try to reprint the multi-page recipe here, but when you buy the book (because you should!) make sure you read through everything multiple times so you have the complete picture.

It's been a while...

Wow. To say that a lot has happened since my last post would be a bit of an understatement, and to be honest I wasn't sure I'd ever post on this blog again. Between 8 hours of class every day and working on the weekends, I haven't exactly had a lot of time for extracurriculars. No one ever told me grad school was this hard...?
I've been uninspired and not feeling particularly enthused with my baking. Let me tell you, I've made a lot of chocolate chip cookies in the last six months - but that would make for some dull reading, don't you think? It's also easy to think that no one actually reads any of this, and I was writing for an audience of one.

But then - people started coming out of the woodwork to ask where I'd gone! Honestly, I'm very pleasantly surprised and flattered, and it got me thinking about giving this little project another shot. I think that with summer clinicals in sight (meaning a semi-vacation), I've let myself consider new, exciting and most importantly, delicious projects.

The best I can say right now is to stay tuned. Something new is coming soon, but I want to make sure it's quality stuff worthy of my lovely readers. Thank you all for making me feel so loved :)


Here's a little something to hold you over. You may remember that during my last year in San Diego, I worked at a little place called Extraordinary Desserts. The short version? They make ridiculously good (and complex) cakes. I was overjoyed when the owner Karen Krasne released a cookbook - Extraordinary Cakes - in October, but haven't had the chance to attempt any of these whopping creations until now.

Spring break seemed to mix well with tequila and lime, and the result was the Vallarta. Lime sponge cake brushed with a tequila simple syrup, then layered with lime pastry cream, lime curd and lime whipped cream. Yup.

This exquisite combinations of textures and flavors was perfect for a Mexican dinner party and margaritas with friends, but it was certainly a project that I wouldn't recommend to the faint of heart or those without hours to spend on several days prepping the different components.

For the recipe (all 6 pages of it), you have to get the book! Regardless, the gorgeous pictures of dozens of cakes are worth the price of the book alone.

Another year

Time flies, and I really can't believe it's been another year. To think about how much has changed since the last time I made myself a birthday cake is pretty exciting - worked for almost a year at the most amazing restaurant (with the greatest coworkers ever), graduated from college, moved to a new city with this super awesome and very attractive barista, started my graduate program... and those are just the big ones! But at the risk of sounding very young, turning 22 is pretty anticlimactic and the only thing big change will be fewer "Awww, really? You're a baby!" comments and pats on the head from pretty much everyone who learns my age. I'm just grateful for another year surrounded by the people who make my life so much better, and have given me more love and support than I could have ever asked for.

But let's not get too nostalgic - there are things to bake and cakes to eat! I'd been thinking about my 22nd birthday cake for a while, and I was a bit more ambitious with the design than I have ever been before. I was very pleasantly surprised with the result, and would probably rank this as my favorite cake I've ever (gasp) made. The layers of white cake flavored with pistachio are light and fresh, and when refrigerated with layers of pastry cream in between take on an even more moist and tender crumb with a hint of vanilla flavor. The hardened ganache spread on top and dripped down the sides not only gives it extra decadence and effortless "cool" factor, but is a great complementary texture to the cake. If you want, you can make these into beautiful little cupcakes as well - just dollop cream on top and drizzle with ganache and you're ready to go!

I also made pastry cream (the custard-y filling in eclairs) for the first time for this recipe, and it's definitely not as intimidating as it seems. As long as you're hovering over the stove and don't let anything get too hot/boil/curdle, this recipe works very well! Make sure you make the pastry cream the day before you assemble the cake, as it needs time to completely set up.

Quick tip: If you don't have a long, sharp serrated knife, it's going to be hard to cut your cake layers in half without messing one up. Either do your best and make do with uneven layers (like me) or use two/three cake pans and make thicker cake layers. Because one of mine got split on the edge, it splayed out a bit when I stacked them. I remedied this by tightly wrapping plastic wrap around the finished product to hold it in place until it got cold enough to hold together itself. 

Pistachio and Vanilla Cream Layer Cake

Here's the rundown...

1. Make vanilla pastry cream, chill overnight 

2. Bake two 8" round pistachio cakes, let cool completely

3. Slice each cake round in half width-wise to make four thin round layers

4. Layer cake rounds with about 1/2" thick layers of pastry cream, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set

5. Make dark chocolate ganache and drizzle over top of cake, refrigerate until you serve

6. Swoon

Vanilla Pastry Cream

from Baked Explorations

3 C half and half

6 egg yolks (reserve 3 egg whites for cake batter!)

1/2 C granulated sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: In a medium sized saucepan, bring half and half to a simmer. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in another bowl, until the mixture is pale (about 1 minute). Whisk half of the heated half and half into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the remaining half and half. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes, whisking constantly. The cream is done when the mixture thickens and starts to boil a little (when some bubbles pop to the surface). Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl, then press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours.

Pistachio Cake

(aka Aunt Sassy Cake) from Baked Explorations

1 1/3 C shelled pistachios

2 1/2 C cake flour3/4 C all-purpose flour

If you don't have cake flour, add 2 3/4 C all-purpose flour and 5 Tbsp cornstarch 

1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/2 C ice cold water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (or 1/4 tsp white vinegar if your cupboard is bare)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare 8" round cake pans with parchment or nonstick spray, and line cupcake tins with liners if desired. In a food processor, pulse pistachios until coarsely chopped. Reserve about 1/4 C of these for decorating, then continue pulsing until finely ground (but not powdery). Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and then combine with pistachios. 

Beat butter on med-high speed until light and creamy (about 3 min), then add sugar and cream the mixture until fluffy. Add the whole egg and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the ice water (start and end with flour). Beat on low-medium between each addition, just to combine.

This recipe also makes beautiful cupcakes!

In another bowl (totally dry and clean!), beat egg whites and cream of tartar (or vinegar) at high speed until soft peaks form.

Gently fold egg whites into batter, being careful to maintain the air in the mixture.

Divide batter into pans or cupcake tins, and bake until the top of the cake springs back to the touch. The cupcakes take about 20 minutes, and the 8" cakes take about 30, but check them every few minutes or so after 15 minutes because you don't want to overbake! 

Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack before turning them out to cool completely. Trim the top of cake rounds with a long, sharp serrated knife. so they are level and not domed. Cut the layers in half by width if you'd like. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate (I use Trader Joe's 72%)

1/3 C butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes

Directions: Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium-high heat. Stir until melted and smooth, making sure that no water gets in the mixture (it will curdle!)

Pour melted mixture over top of assembled and refrigerated cake, using a spatula to spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle with reserved chopped pistachios and refrigerate until serving!

Tidings of comfort and joy

I was on my break during work last night and enjoying a steaming cup of one of our amazing teas when a coworker walked by and said that with that look of pure bliss I should be in a coffee commercial. I don't know about that, but I do suspect that I look very content as I find myself completely absorbed in the experience of drinking a cup of soul-restoring coffee, tea, hot chocolate - whatever. If you're like me, there's only one way to make that cup of coffee even better. Baked goods.

Coffee cake is a classic choice, and I realized that I've sadly ignored this genre of baking for a while. When I stumbled upon this recipe for blueberry coffee cake made with sour cream instead of milk, I knew it had to be next on my baking list. In general, sour cream, buttermilk and milk can be interchanged in recipes, with higher fat content making a richer cake. I say that if you're going to eat cake, eat GOOD cake - none of this non-fat milk nonsense.

Also, I followed a tip on the original website to make the streusel topping "upside down" if using a bundt pan. Instead of being on the top like usual if you're baking it in a square pan, sprinkle it on top of filled bundt molds - it will be on the bottom when you flip it! My streusel wasn't too thick, but you can make it as sugary as you'd like!

Note: This recipe could be fun with any kind of berries, especially chopped strawberries, raspberries, cranberries... the list goes on.


Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
From Savory Sweet Life


Streusel:
5 Tbsp butter, cold and cut into 1/2" chunks
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 C brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Directions: Mix all ingredients together using a food processor or pastry cutter until butter is still crumbly.

Coffee Cake:

1 C sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C sour cream
2 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare non-silicone pans with nonstick spray or butter and flour. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add egg, sour cream and vanilla and blend for another 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until fully incorporated. Gently fold in blueberries and spoon into molds or pan. Spoon on streusel topping and gently press into top of batter. Bake for about 30 minutes if using mini bundt pans, or up to 60 minutes if using an 8"x8" pan. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Upside down

Call me a creature of habit, but when I have extra cranberries in my freezer, I instantly think to combine them with gingerbread. Tart and spicy just work so well together, and it really is the best way to sum up the holiday season for me. Last December, I was perusing Christmas markets in Berlin in zero degree weather, and I found an adorable flower-shaped silicone mini bundt pan. Little did I know, my darling friend Julia bought it for me and brought it back to the states to give to me! I have not used this pan as much as I should, and I had to break it out again for this occasion. I adore silicone pans because there is literally no prep and very easy cleanup - they are the ultimate non-stick bakeware! I imagine that this recipe could be used with a full 8" size cake pan, but aren't the mini ones cuter?


As for the gingerbread cake recipe, I was very pleased by its light and tender texture and perfect blend of spice. While the original recipe called for whole milk and buttermilk, I decided to use all buttermilk to increase the tenderness and fluffiness of the cake. Because buttermilk is more acidic than "sweet" milk, you need to add more baking soda (a base) to balance it.

So if you're living somewhere cold, pop one in the microwave for a few seconds and make yourself a cup of tea. If you're wearing shorts in San Diego's 75 degree weather, a cold glass of milk might be more suitable. But wherever you are, this gingerbread bundt will hit the holiday spot :)



Mini Cranberry Gingerbread Bundts
Adapted from These Peas Are Hollow
Makes about 18 mini bundts

5 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 C brown sugar, packed
fresh or frozen cranberries


2 1/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted then brought to room temperature
3/4 C dark molasses
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 C buttermilk


Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bundt pan with nonstick spray or butter and flour (if you are using a silicone mold, then no prep is needed). 


For the cranberry topping, melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to caramelize. Spoon a small amount of the caramel into the bottoms of the bundt molds, so that it thinly covers the entire base. Sprinkle on cranberries and set aside the molds.


Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together molasses and sugar, then add butter and egg, mixing completely between each addition. Slowly add in buttermilk and mix until incorporated. In a few additions, mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fill bundt molds 3/4 full and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then turn molds upside down on a wire rack and let the bundts cool completely.

Cake on ice

Sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you planned. Actually, most of the time life throws you curveballs - and it's no different in the kitchen. It was my beautiful roommate Emma's 21st birthday, and I wanted to do something special for the occasion. My only guideline was that it needed to include blueberries, so I picked out a recipe for a jelly roll cake rolled with a blueberry cream cheese filling. However, because of the moisture added by the frozen blueberries in the frosting, it was too runny, and the cake stuck to the towel I was using to roll it into the jelly roll shape. I was literally left with a giant pile of cake and purple frosting, and not many ideas on how to proceed except to the trash can. For some reason, I grabbed a bowl and started layering cake and frosting until I had a kind of trifle or parfait, then covered it and stuck it in the freezer.

When I finally gathered the courage to look at the giant mess I'd made of the original recipe, I discovered a very pleasant kind of frozen dessert that I had no problem eating with a big smile on my face. The cream cheese frosting soaked nicely into the sponge cake layers, and then the whole mix froze into a texture similar to ice cream - I scooped it with an ice cream scooper! The blueberry and cream cheese flavors complement the sweetness of the cake well, and overall I thought the entire (accidental) endeavor was a rousing success. At least that's what I gather from the empty bowl now in the sink...

Frozen Blueberry Cake
Directions: Tear up sheet of genoise cake into small-ish chunks (about 2-inch squares are perfect) and layer along the bottom of a large bowl. Alternate layers of cream cheese frosting and torn up cake until everything is used up. Throw in extra blueberries if you choose, the more the better! Cover and freeze until the frosting is the consistency of ice cream. The best way to serve is to scoop the cake out with an ice cream scooper and serve in a bowl (or martini glass!) with a spoon.

Genoise (sponge) Cake
Adapted from Betty Crocker
Makes one half-sheet of thin cake

3 eggs
1 C granulated sugar
1/3 C water
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone sheet, parchment or foil. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed until thick and pale yellow (about 5 minutes). Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in water on low speed, then gradually add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat just until batter is smooth and pour into pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back to the touch and it's slightly golden.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes more than enough for this recipe - but keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days!

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag of frozen blueberries, thawed and strained

Directions: In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla and gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in blueberries, trying not to add too much extra liquid. The frosting will turn a lovely shade of purple and have a thinner consistency because of the moisture from the blueberries.

Peachy

Cakes rely on fat content to stay tender and moist. Start taking out butter and you're left with a sad, dry excuse for a dessert; I say, if your'e going to eat it, just do it. However, it is possible to switch up the fat source in a recipe, which is what I experimented with in this cake - olive oil!
Extra-virgin olive oil is perfect for adding a fruity, earthy flavor to a salad dressing, marinade or even baked goods. If you have a nice gourmet bottle, this recipe would be the time to use it, because it lends a fantastic subtlety to the cake.

I had a few ripe peaches in the fridge that I was itching to experiment with, so I wanted to do something that incorporated a peach cobbler-esque topping. The olive oil cake recipe I found was the perfect setting, and balanced out the sweetness well. Obviously this cake is well-suited to eating at any time of the day, but I especially enjoyed it warmed up with a cup of tea before bed.

Note: I used peaches, but I'm sure this method would work brilliantly with apples or nectarines :)

Peachy Olive Oil Cake
Adapted from In Jennie's Kitchen
Makes one 10-inch round cake


2 C whole wheat pastry flour (lighter and finer than all-purpose whole wheat flour)
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C milk
2 peaches, sliced into wedges about 1/8 inch wide

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (to taste)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10-inch round cake pan (springform is best, but a standard pan is fine). Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, olive oil and vanilla until frothy. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients, then stir in milk until just combined. Pour into pan.
In another bowl, combine peach slices, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Toss until all slices are coated, then arrange on top of the cake batter so all of the surface is covered and there is some slight overlap - the more peaches you can fit the better!
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to be fooled by the topping that stays moist - overcooking it will make a dry and unhappy cake.

Birthdays and Sunflowers!

It was the lovely Ellen's birthday last week (yes I know, I've been lagging on my posts but my frog ECG lab was calling...) and I wanted to try out the silicone baking molds that Julia got me for Christmas! They're super cute and sunflower shaped, but they only really work for cakes and not brownies or cookies like I often make. 
It was lab report week so my cupboard was rather bare; I ran out of white flour and only had whole wheat, so I did my best to work with it. While I took the time to sift it and try to keep it from getting too heavy, it was definitely not the best consistency and actually ended up making the cake taste like cornbread...? Anyways, I think this would be a great recipe if you used white flour and made sure to load up on the chocolate chips. I didn't frost the finished product, just dusted it with some powdered sugar so you could admire the sunflowers on top! Happy birthday (again) Ellen :)
 


Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Adapted from allrecipes.com

1/2 C butter, softened
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 C chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 inch pan or lightly spray a silicone mold with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and chocolate chips. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and mix thoroughly. Add sour cream and mix well. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into for 30 minutes or until golden brown and springy on the top (less time for cupcakes or smaller pans).