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Frozen Berry Cake

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The quarantine has changed my baking. The creaming and the whisking and the finicky angel food and genoise sponges are in the past. Give me a good solid oil cake using the muffin method anyday. If the cake can use up the frozen berries that have been in the freezer since the smoothie phase years ago- even better! This is based off a NYT Dawn Perry recipe.  Couple of things to remember- don’t defrost your berries, this is a slow cooking cake and the berries form their own jammy pockets. Also poking this cake with a skewer to see if it is done may or may not work- you may hit some fruit which will be wet. The sugar on top is essential- the crackly crust goes brilliantly with the jammy fruit. I’ve used a 10 oz bag of just rasperries and a 10 oz bag of mixed berries- works great with both. Cut the strawberries into rasperry size bites.

Heat oven to 350 F and prep a 9 inch square or round pan (butter and flour/PAM spray/parchment). Parchment works best for this cake- it is a soft cake.

Dry ingredients- whisk with a fork to combine: 1.5 cups all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Wet ingredients: whisk well till sugar dissolved: 1cup sugar, 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar) , 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola, vegetable etc), 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix dry and wet ingredients till just mixed (there will be lumps- such is life) . Toss a 10 oz bag of frozen berries with 1 tbsp of flour -gently fold into batter.

Add batter to pan, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly on top and bake for 55 minutes or so till the top is golden. Eat with whipped cream if you are feeling particularly indulgent and the news has been really depressing.

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Lemon olive oil cake

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Olive oil makes cakes moist and savory and altogether delicious in a very different way from butter. I’ve tried so many combinations of olive oil cakes and lemon pound cakes. This one is a winner every single time. It is a Melissa Clark recipe and the taste/effort ratio is off the charts.

Heat oven to 350 F and prep a 1 lb loaf pan (8 inch) with your anti-stick prep of choice (butter/flour, PAM baking spray, parchment)

Get dry ingredients ready and mix them around with a fork : 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Get wet ingredients and combine with a whisk till sugar is dissolved- 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp lemon (or lime) zest, 3 tablespoons lemon (or lime) juice, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar) and 3/4 cup olive oil (the fruitier the better) with 3 large eggs

Mix the wet and dry ingredients till they just come together- don’t overmix! An occasional lump is fine. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or so. Let your whole house smell of cake and deliciousness. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan

Make a glaze with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 1.5 tbsp lemon (or lime) juice. Poke holes with a skewer in the cake and pour glaze on top. You should let it cool before eating but this cake is impossible to resist.

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Layered rice bake or rice casserole without the mushiness

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In India- we like our rice to be loose and fluffly (except in khichdi and in kheer). I do like the concept of rice casseroles but the mushiness of the rice and the egg didn’t work for me. This modification of flavoring and layering the rice similar to a biryani and skipping the egg works well for my family. The bottom layer gets a little crispy and the cheese and the flavors permeate the whole dish. This is another no-recipe recipe and prep time is less than 10 minutes (rice in rice cooker, the potatoes boil while  you make the sauce) – use whatever sauce you wish, enchilada sauce goes beaurifully with this too or butter chicken gravy. Use whichever vegetables you have available or even beans.

Layer in a large baking dish

  1. Cooked rice (from 1 cup uncooked rice) with some olive oil or ghee or butter and salt.
  2. Vegetables – I used boiled potatoes, green beans and corn
  3. Sauce- I used my version of a vegetarian gravy- Brown 1 medium red onion with 1-2 tbsp of butter. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic. Add 1 tbsp of flour and brown slightly for 1-2 minutes. While whisking, add 1 cup of vegetable stock. Boil for 2-5 minutes till thickened. Season with salt and pepper and any other flavors (I used dried Italian seasoning and 1 tsp of dried mustard). Add a few tbsp of heavy cream- taste for seasoning again.
  4. Cheese and panko bread crumbs layer (moistened with olive oil and salt and pepper)

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes covered with foil and then without foil for 5 minutes to crisp the top

Masala Bread with curry leaves and turmeric

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Flavor in Indian cooking comes from the tadka, when oil is infused with dried spices. This oil carries the flavor to the vegetables, dals, rice. This masala bread uses the same technique. The flavor really comes through and the bread is a lovely bright yellow. This is delicious with regular tomato soup and in a grilled cheese sandwich.  I’ve modified my favorite bread recipe (Olive oil dough) in my favorite baking book- the New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. If you want to understand bread, I’d suggest you start with this book. Here is how I made this bread.

This is enough for two 1 lb loaves approximately.

Step 1: heat 2 tbsp of olive oil or regular oil- add 1 tsp of mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter, then add 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, a pinch of asafetida and 1 tbsp of chopped kadipatta leaves (curry leaves). This is the tadka that will flavor the bread- let it cool

Step 2: make your no-knead dough. Mix wet ingredients (oil, 1 1/3 cup of lukewarm water, 1/2 tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tbsp of kosher salt and 1/2 tbsp of instant yeast) to 3 cups of bread flour (if you use all purpose- it comes to 31/4). I use a danish whisk- the idea is to make sure all the flour is moistened, do not knead- this will be a shaggy dough.

Step 3: Rest at room temperature till the dough rises and falls- this took much longer than the routine 2 hours – my first rise took 4 hours or so

Step 4: Refrigerate for at least 2 days – this is important for the sourdough flavor to develop. The dough can be used within the next 10 days or so

Step 5: Baking day!! Remove half of the dough and shape. Shaping is critical and should be done gently. I baked one loaf in a loaf pan and one free form boule. Both are shaped differently. For the loaf- grease a 1 lb loaf pan (8 inch), remove half the dough on a floured surface- flatten into a rectangle with 8 inch length and then tightly roll and seal seam. For the boule, flatten slightly and then pinch each end to the center to form a tight ball- roll it slightly. The dough should be covered with a thin film of flour and the top should be smooth.

Step 5: final rise- room temperature for 1-2 hours till the dough is well proofed- when you poke it with a floured finger- if the indentation comes up slowly but not completely- it is well proofed. If it comes straight back- you need more proofing, if it stays deep- it is over proofed and likely a loss- still tasty most of the time.

Step 6: Bake in a 450 F oven with steam. I use a dutch oven or a cloche to do this covered for 15 minutes and then remove the cover for the last 10 minutes. Cool the bread for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Chocolate Dump it Cake

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When your lovely neighbor brings you 10lbs of flour from Costco and leaves it on your porch – you bake a chocolate cake.

This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe modified from Amanda Hesser’s NYT recipe. This cake does not need a mixer- just a wooden spoon. The frosting is outstanding. Feel free to use milk chocolate or add some sugar to the frosting if it is too intense for you.

The recipe just has 3 steps. Well 4 if you count- preheat oven to 375 F as a step. Step 1: Heat 1 stick of butter (8 tbsp), 2 cups of sugar, 1tsp of salt, 4 oz of unsweetened chocolate and 1 cup of coffee or water in a pan till the butter is just melted. Cool to room temperature-ish.  Step 2: Add 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp of vinegar, 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk till smooth. Step 3: Add to dry ingredients (2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder) and mix till all the flour is incorporated. Once it comes together- stop, overmixing will make this cake tough.

Butter and flour a bundt pan and cook for 35 minutes. Cool for 10 and invert. For the frosting, melt about 3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, add 3/4 cup of sour cream (or greek yogurt). I slice the cake in half and fill it and smear the rest on topics .

 

 

Japchae by Mangchi

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So lately I’ve watched a lot of Maangchi- a Korean lady with a fabulous youtube cooking channel. Her videos are entertaining and educational- she cooks and talks just like grandma. Of course, Korean food is not known for its vast vegetarian options so when this potentially customizable one popped up- I was all on it. These noodles are very very different texturally- they are sticky and transperant and very chewy, not unpleasantly so but it was unexpected.

I had to order the sweet potato starch noodles from Amazon but I had everything else- well mostly. Here is Maangchi’s recipe and my version follows below.

Soak: 7-8 dried shitake mushrooms in 1/2 cup of warm water for 30 minutes. Soak 8 oz of the sweet potato starch noodles in cold water for 40 minutes

Protein: I used one block of frozen tofu (defrosted and squeezed and then crumbled). Marinate with 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp brown sugar and 1 tsp sesame oil for 15-20 min and fry up in a non-stick pan till browned.

Egg garnish: Beat 2 eggs with some salt and make a small thin pancake on the same non stick pan on very low heat. Cut into strips

Seasoning sauce: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp black pepper and 5 garlic cloves minced.

Now assemble and chop:

In a large pan: chop the soaked mushrooms, 8 oz of crimini mushrooms chopped into strips, 1 large onion in slices, 1 large carrot into matchsticks. Toss all the vegetables with 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 cup water.

Add 8 oz baby spinach on top- do not mix, snip the soaked noodles with scissors (this is impossible prior to soaking) and lay on top- do not mix. Pour seasoning sauce over this (yes- do not mix). Add a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 mintues on moderate heat. After 10 minutes – stir well and cook for another few minutes till the water is almost all absorbed by the noodles.

Decant into a large serving platter, add tofu and egg strips. Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds.

Serve with sriracha if you wish.

 

 

Pound cake by Alton Brown

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Somedays you need the comfort of a good old fashioned pound cake. This one from Alton’s lovely “I’m just here for more food” which is my most used cookbook works every single time! It is the buttermilk that gives this cake its super tender but still firm crumb. This cake is also sensational toasted a few days later (if it lasts that long)

I use a 10 cup bundt pan for this- but you can use any pan you wish- I’ve never tried cupcakes with this recipe but they should work fine as well- just go down on baking time. This is a good 1st cake recipe for kids or anyone new to baking.

Step 1 is essential  (several hours before baking): Bring 2 sticks of butter, 3 eggs and 1 cup of buttermilk to room temperature

Step 2: Heat oven to 325F and Cream 2 cups of sugar and 2 sticks of butter. This is the most vital step and my stand mixer makes this a breeze. Alton in his book explains that creaming means a) the mixture looks homogenous and fluffy b) you can still feel the individual grains of sugar between your fingers. Always scrape the bowl once

Step 3: Add the eggs one by one and add 1tsp of good vanilla extract. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes untill the mixture is well incorporated and fluffy. Remember to scrape the bowl.

Step 4: Add 3 cups of flour (14.5oz) and 1 cup of buttermilk to the mixture gradually. I add each in thirds- alternating the flour and the buttermilk. Scrape the blade and the bowl at least once to make sure you don’t have unmixed batter

Step 4: Pour into prepped bundt pan (I use Pam baking spray) and bake for an hour. Cool fo 15 minutes

This is delicious plain or with any toppings.  I served this last week with rasperry coulis (1 bag of frozen rasperries, 3 tbsp of sugar, the zest of one orange and 1/4 cup of fresh orage juice) and orange whipped cream (whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and zest of one orange)

Paneer Ghee Roast (Kerala Style)

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I love South indian preparations- in both dry and curry form. But the techniques are so tedious- scrape cocount, grind to paste, dry paste- so on and on and on. This is my version of a much quicker dry roast. The masala will not be as smooth as a blender-ground masala but the flavor is spot on and this dish will be ready in 30 minutes.

Prep:

Chop: 1/2 a large onion diced (about 1 cup), 4-6 cloves of garlic, 3-5 kadipatta leaves (chopped fine)

Masala: mix together 2 tsp of  ground red pepper  (I used the Korean Gochugaru but Kashmiri red chillies  will work), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp ground fennel seeds and 1/8 tsp ground methi(fenugreek) seeds. ( I used a mortar and pestle to grind the fennel and methi  to add to the powders)

Other flavorings: 2 tbsp tamarind paste (which I always have frozen) and 1 tbsp ground jaggery

Cook:

Cube 1/2 lb of paneer and roast in 1 tbsp of ghee on a low flame till lightly browned. Remove to a plate.

In the same pan, add another 1 tbsp of ghee, add curry leaves and onion. Cook till onion starts turning translucent.

Add masalas and roast till fragrant (around 1-2 minutes) without burning any of the ingredients.

Add tamarind, jaggery, 2 tbsp of yogurt and 1/4 cup of water. Cook for a minute and add paneer.

Cover and cook on low heat for 10-15 mintues.

Serve with dosa or rice or appam.