How I keep my job.

How could Sonoma State lay off someone who brings in cake every week or so?

Cappuccino Chiffon Cake with Vanilla Cream and Coffee Whipped Cream... With a sprinkling of cinnamon on top.  I ate a little more than my fair share, I have to say. Good thing I bought a gym membership last week.

My new motto: There is no such thing as "too much pastry cream."

This is why I like Martha Stewart.

One little, seemingly insignificant article on homemade vanilla extract  blew me away yesterday. Coming in at only 267 words, it completely exemplifies everything I love about Martha Stewart.

Read article here.

1) Making your own vanilla extract? Great idea. She even gives suggestions on how to make it into gifts. I love that. 

2) Way way way too detailed information on the origin and process of extract production? Check!
"Vanilla beans are the fruit of a single species of orchid, Vanilla planifolia, varieties of which grow in Mexico, Madagascar, Java, and Tahiti..."

3) Allusion to Martha's high class and wealth? Check!
"Martha likes to use the very best vodka she can find."   Really, Martha?  Like we all thought you were going to be using Popov of Wolfschmidt.  Every good Martha Stewart article has to gently remind you how much better she is than you.

4) But this is what I really really enjoy:  making your own vanilla is a spectacular idea, but the article is really just a first step to your own fantastic projects. Martha has just told me that vodka + something edible + time = extract.   Why not jump on this cardamom train and make some cardamom extract?

Chocolate Cardamom Cupcakes

I was reeeeeally thinking of saving this for Mother's Day. They could be Chocolate Carda-mom Cupcakes.... ha! I crack myself up.  Ma, consider this an early Mother's Day greeting.

I was pretty lucky with this adventure. I only had to bake these cupcakes twice before finding the perfect combination. The first was... less than perfect. I used a devil's food cake recipe and just added the cardamom - I was lazy and you could tell.  The cupcake was dry and the cardamom totally over powered the wimpy chocolate flavor. I didn't even frost the darn things; it wasn't worth it. I ate one and threw them out.  Sad little cupcakes.

The second batch was a pleasant little surprise. I love this chocolate cupcake recipe. It's from the "America's Test Kitchen" magazine, but I changed some ingredients and added the cardamom. It only uses 2 bowls, and no mixer. There are a lot of ingredients, but trust me, this was almost as easy to put together as from a box (and it tastes much much better).  The result is a rich, complex flavor with a perfect balance of dark chocolate, coffee and cardamom.  The texture was moist, not too heavy, not too fluffy. Please make these.

Chocolate Cardamom Cupcakes:
3 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup bread flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix together chopped chocolate and cocoa powder. Pour the hot coffee over the top and whisk until smooth. Let this mixture cool in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.   Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cardamom in a medium bowl - set aside.

To the cooled chocolate, add the butter, oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture and fold in gently until just incorporated.   Pour batter into cupcake pan cups and bake until firm to the touch - about 17 minutes.

Cardamom!

Cardamom: Found in the spice aisle. Comes in pods or the much more elusive ground form. Good in everything. Believe it.

Maybe you need some proof?

Orange Cardamom Madeleines:
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup flour, sifted
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 unsalted butter, melted

for the glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
orange juice


* Very important:  before you do anything, take some time and brush room temperature butter into your madeleine mold. Very advantageous to take your time and make sure every crevice is coated. Then dust with flour, making sure it gets into all the aforementioned buttered crevices -  you'll thank me later when your madeleines don't stick to the pan. 
P.S. Don't be silly and attempt to bake these in a mini-muffin tin. It doesn't work.  Trust me.

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and salt - mix on high until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in vanilla and cardamom until incorporated.

Fold in flour until *almost* incorporated. Add orange zest and and half the butter -Fold in gently until *almost* incorporated. Add remaining butter and gently fold in until completely mixed.

Pour batter into prepared molds and bake until the cookies spring back when touched, 8-12 minutes. Immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack to remove the cookies from the mold. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze:  put powdered sugar into a small bowl and add orange juice a teaspoon at a time until it reaches a thick, but dip-able consistency.   Dip the cooled cookies halfway into the glaze and let the excess run off. Place cookie on wire rack to harden up- just a couple minutes.

Next up! Chocolate Cardamom Cupcakes.... get excited. 

new year, new food.

Ah! Doesn't it just feel great to start anew?  January is a time for optimism, a new found stick-to-it-ism, and overall hope.  Is this too cheesy? I hope not, because its about to get worse:

This year, my hope is to keep up the same passion for self-improvement (usually found in the first two weeks of January) all year.  Maybe become a little less cynical and snarky, and become a little more goal oriented. So, as a first step, I am returning to the world of blogging after a 2 month hiatus. It feels good to make time for something that I want to become better at: writing and cooking.

Well, in the spirit of a less-cynical-2011, I'm resisting the urge to say "we'll see...."

Cheers to the new year!

More Cake.

I know. Sorry.  I told you I had some catchin' up to do.

Em and I team-baked a couple weeks ago. The occasion? ...rainy day... yes. That's what we are going with: It was a rainy day cake.   It was also my first attempt to cracking the Jeff's Mom's Chocolate Cake mystery.

There's bad news and good news. The bad news: the cake was nothing like Jeff's Mom's. The good news: our cake was utterly delicious. AND! I get to keep searching for a Jeff's Mom's clone!  win!

Em and I made a devil's food cake.  It was light, fluffy and scrumptious.  It didn't have any melted chocolate in the recipe, just cocoa powder, which is probably why it was so light and fluffy.

We topped it with cream cheese frosting -  Which was an ordeal to say the least. Jenny forgot to pick up powdered sugar - oops.   We called the 7-11 by my house... Yes! They carry powdered sugar! Who would have thought?    So we put our rain boots and jackets on and walk over.   Oh... wait... no powdered sugar... apparently you shouldn't trust the average 7-11 worker to know the difference between granulated and powdered sugar.  Lesson learned. 

Does this stop us? No! What do you do when the going gets tough?? The tough make their own powdered sugar!  Yes, that's right, dear reader! We put regular granulated sugar into a food processor and let 'er rip. And, in about 5 very noisy minutes, we had "almost powdered sugar. " It worked beautifully. I happen to think the frosting tasted that much better because of our effort.

picture does not do it justice.  Anyone want to give me photography lessons?

Em frosted and decorated. She is amazing. It was almost too pretty to eat.... but we got over that pretty quickly.

I'm obsessing.

Cakes are taking over my life. I go to work: I think about cakes. I go to school: I make cakes. I go home: I talk about cakes (poor jay). I go to bed: I dream about cakes.

I'm serious, folks. I've been having dream after dream about cake.  Its so disappointing waking up to realize that there's no real cake to eat.

I even caught myself looking up interesting cake flavors before work today.  (by the way have you ever been to Charm City Cakes' Website?  You know, the Ace of Cakes company?  Its incredible. I had no idea they were just as creative with their flavors! Curry Caramel? Ginger and Green Tea? Pecan Pie? ok... you'll have to just check it out yourself.)

Maybe its because of all the cake I've eaten in class?

rose and lemon verbena pound cake

Nick Malgieri's Chocolate Mousse Cake

Lemon Chiffon

 BTW: Its been awhile since I've posted. (school got crazy, yada yada excuse, excuse) But I've got some catching up to do - prepare yourself!