Category: baked goods

Chocolate Rum Cake

I was invited to a birthday party for a one-year-old, and I wanted to make something for the adults to enjoy.  Loving the combination of chocolate and rum, I found this recipe for a moist cake, and so full of chocolate and rum.  There’s 1 & 3/4 cups of rum in the recipe, and 1/2 cup of it is not baked or boiled, so it ends up having a nice boozy punch to it.

I found the recipe on Food in my Beard.

What you need:

6oz semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

1 cup dark rum

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze:

1/4 cup rum

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup more rum!

What you do:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler with the rum and butter. Whisk in the sugars, then the eggs, one by one.

2. Sift the dry ingredients, then mix half of it to the liquids, and then the other half.

3. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan that is 5 & 1/2 by 10 inches.  Bake at 350F for about an hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

4.  Just before the baking is complete, combine the butter, sugar and rum for the glaze in a pot, reserving the 1/2 cup of rum.  Bring to a boil, then boil, stirring for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining rum.

5.  When the loaf is baked, remove it from the oven and poke holes in the top.  Pour the glaze over top; it should soak right into the cake.

6. Put another loaf pan on top of the cake, and put a weight on top, like a bottle of rum, so the cake is squished. This will make the cake into a rectangular shape.

7. When the cake is fully cooled, invert it onto a cutting board and slice it thinly.

I served mine with whipping cream, but next time I would find some sour cherries to make a sweet cherry topping, maybe with a little bit of rum in it.

You can also make this into two loaves, and freeze one of them.  Just adjust the baking time accordingly.

Rhubarb Brazil Nut Bran Muffins

Rhubarb in my garden, a huge bag of brazil nuts, and a desire to bake some flax-bran muffins to throw in the freezer for a time of need, all led me to make these muffins.  They are based on my usual recipe,  with a new fruit and nut combination.  Of course I forgot to put in the molasses, which I went out and bought especially to make these.  But they were still good!

What you need:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup bran

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1 cup chopped fresh rhubarb

1/2 cup chopped brazil nuts

2 eggs

1 cup milk (soy is good too)

2 tablespoons molasses

1/4 cup butter

What you do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

2.  Stir dry ingredients  in a large bowl.

3.  Melt the  butter, then mix  the milk into the butter slowly, so the butter doesn’t harden when you add cold milk.  Add the molasses to the other liquids.  Pour the liquids, along with the slightly beaten eggs, into the dry ingredients.  Mix by hand only until the ingredients are combined; if you mix more you’ll get tough little muffins.

4.  Mix in the rhubarb and brazil nuts.

5.  Place mixture in muffin tins lined with paper baking cups.

6.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.  Take the muffins out of tins and cool on a rack for a few minutes before eating.

These are especially yummy served warm with a little butter, and it you have a sweet tooth, some honey or agave nectar.

Bienenstich or Bee Sting Cake

 

When I was growing up I attended a lot of Mennonite weddings and funerals, and this cake was always present, and always my favourite food.  There are three parts to this cake – light vanilla cake, a coconutty-buttery-almondy-sugary baked topping, and a whipped cream filling . . . decadent!  It’s a bit of work, but so worth it.  I made it for a party recently (not just for weddings and funerals!) and everyone raved about it.  I sure hope there’s Bienenstich at my funeral!

I found this version on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog.

What you need for the cake:

1/2 cup milk, scalded

1 tablespoon butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

What you need for the topping:

1/4 cup melted chocolate

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cream

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup slivered almonds

What you need for the cream filling:

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix, like Oetkers’s

What you do for the cake and topping:

1. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Beat the eggs and gradually add the sugar, beating until it is thick and light in colour.  Mix in the vanilla.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients only until they are incorporated.

4. To scald the milk, first rinse your pot with a little cold water.  This should help avoid scorching the milk.  Then put the milk in, place on medium heat, and stir until the milk has almost boiled.  Add the butter to the scalded milk and stir until it melts.

5.  Slowly add the milk to the cake batter, and mix until incorporated.

6. Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, inserting a toothpick when you think it’s done to see if the toothpick comes out clean.

7.  Just before the cake comes out of the oven, melt the butter and mix together all of the topping ingredients.  Spread the topping over the cake, all the way to the edges.  Broil, watching very very carefully so it doesn’t burn! until the topping is bubbling.

8.  Let the cake cool, then remove it from the pan and put it in the freezer for an hour or so.  This will make it much easier to cut the top off to make room for the cream filling.

What to do for the filling:

1.  Add the sugar, vanilla and vanilla pudding mix to the whipping cream.  Beat it until it forms firm peaks

2.  Remove the cake from the freezer, then cut it horizontally.

3.  Spread the whipping cream onto the bottom layer, then place the top on the cream.

4.  Freeze the cake until you are going to serve it.  If you slice it while it is frozen it won’t squish all the cream out.  Then just let it sit for about half an hour before serving.  Of course, lots of people love eating it while it’s still frozen – they can’t wait for it to thaw, so yummy!

French Rhubarb Cake

Last year I planted rhubarb in my garden, so this spring I harvested the first stalks.  For Mother’s Day I made this cake, and my mom really liked it-she even asked for the recipe!  She likes a simple cake that’s not too gooey or sweet.  Perfect fit for her!

This recipe comes from the website My Kitchen in the Rockies.  There are helpful tips on this site for high altitude baking.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 & 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, room temperature

1 & 2/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

4-5 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1cm chunks

1/2 cup slivered almonds

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Grease a 10 inch springform pan.

2.  Beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.

3.  Stir in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.

4.  Fold in the rhubarb, making sure you don’t mix it too much.

5.  Pour the batter into the springform pan and smooth the top.  Sprinkle the almonds on top.

6.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let it cool on a wire rack.

Fig & Anise Crisps

Terra Breads makes this fabulous fig and anise bread.  I just made up a mixture of olive oil and maple syrup, brushed it on and toasted it to makes these darlings.  They were delicious with some salty olive tapenade on top to play off the sweetness of the figs and maple syrup.

What you need:

part of a loaf of fig & anise bread, thinly sliced

olive oil

maple syrup

What you do:

1.  As thinly as you can, slice the bread.  Place the slices onto a baking sheet.

2.  Mix some olive oil with some maple syrup, less syrup than oil.

3.  Brush a little of the mixture onto each piece of bread.

4.  Toast them in the oven on about 250-300F, watching closely so they don’t burn.

They were great with the olive tapenade, but I would imagine a sharp cheese or some cream cheese would be fantastic.

Addictive Chocolate Sea-Salt Cookies

I’ve been enjoying Lindt’s sea salt chocolate bars lately, so when I found this recipe for yogurt-cocoa cookies I knew I needed to mimic those chocolate bars with this recipe.  I did this by adding a little sea salt to the tops of the cookies.  They are definitely addictive, being chewy inside and crispy outside, super chocolatey, and then there’s the little hit of salt on top.  Not too sweet, and a definite must for chocolate lovers!

What you need:

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons butter

7 tablespoons cocoa

2/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup plain yogurt (not low-fat!)

1 teaspoon vanilla

sea salt for sprinkling

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Melt the butter and remove from the heat.  Stir in the cocoa and sugars.  Stir in the vanilla and yogurt.

3.  Add the flour, baking soda and salt all at once and stir it in.

4.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, then drop the cookie batter on by tablespoonfuls, or use a small ice cream scoop.  Leave space between the cookies.

5.  Bake for about 8 minutes, then remove the pans from the oven and let the cookies sit for a few minutes.  Then let them cool on a rack… but you’re going to want to eat some right away.

Rustic Apple Nectarine Galette

Wanting to use up some extra apples I had in my fruit bowl, I pulled out my friend Maureen’s pie pastry recipe and went to work on creating this galette.  It’s simple, and I added a little ground almond just to try something new.  Maureen’s pie pastry recipe is guaranteed to be flaky and tasty!

What you need for the crust: (enough for 2 galettes – you can keep half in the freezer)

2 & 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cold lard

1 &1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 & 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

9o mL ice-cold water

What you need for the filling:

2 apples

1 nectarine – unripe is fine

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary plus a sprig for the top

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons ground almonds

2 teaspoons sugar

What you do for the crust:

1.  Cut the lard into the dry ingredients(flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt).  I get in there with my hands, working the lard in until it is in pea-sized pieces.

2.  Beat the egg, then pour about half of it into another small bowl – this will be reserved for brushing on top of the pastry.  Add the 1/2 egg, vinegar and some of the cold water.  Mix with a wooden spoon until there are no more crumbly bits.  You can turn it out onto the counter the work the flour in a bit.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.  You can keep it in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a few weeks.  Just make sure it comes out early enough to be workable.

What you do for the filling:

1  Peel the fruit, then slice it thinly.  Combine in a bowl with the flour, brown sugar and rosemary.  Add the vanilla extract and mix it in.

2.  Take the dough out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you need to roll it.  Sprinkle some flour on the counter before placing the dough on the counter.  Roll it out into a rough circle until it is about 1 cm thick, working the edges with your fingers if they become jagged.  Transfer the dough round to a baking pan.

3.  Sprinkle the crust with the almond and sugar.  You don’t need to sprinkle near the edges, as these will be folded up.

4.  Arrange the fruit on top of the crust, then fold the edges over the top.  Brush the crust with the reserved egg. Place a sprig of rosemary on top.

5.  Bake at 450F for 40-45 minutes.  Check in half was through to see if it is browning too fast.  If so, just throw a piece of foil over the top.

I served mine with a little vanilla-caramel ice cream, but whipping cream would be great too, or just on its own.

Lebanese Chocolate Anise Cookies

When I lived in Halifax circa 1995 my friend and I ate a Lebanese feast every weekend at Mediterraneo Restaurant.  We were so addicted to their food that we were devastated to find they weren’t open on Easter weekend.  Luckily for us there was another Lebanese restaurant across the street, called Beirut Beirut.  I don’t think either of these places exist any more.  It was at Beirut Beirut where the owner, Peter, asked us to sample some of the desserts.  When we tasted these little unbaked chocolate cookies he made us guess what was in them.  We couldn’t, but after many visits and special orders for these cookies, he shared the recipe with me.  This is only my best imitation of the real thing, as I never actually saw him making them, so I had to guess at some of the process.

Instead of baking, you toast the ingredients, then mix them with some honey.

Today I made them into Easter egg shapes because it’s that time of year, and it was Easter weekend when I first tasted them.  Peter made them into small logs, or shaped like a Hershey’s Kiss.

This recipe makes about a dozen small cookies, but they are packed with flavour, so you don’t need a lot at one time.

What you need:

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw walnuts (I used half walnuts, half pecans when I ran out of walnuts)

1/4 teaspoon mint leaves

a pinch of thyme

2 teaspoons anise seed

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

honey

a little icing sugar for sprinkling on top

orange flower water, optional

What you do:

1.  Grind the nuts, anise seeds, thyme and mint.  I used my electric coffee grinder to do this.  Spread this mixture on a baking sheet and toast at about 250F for about 15 minutes.  Every 5 minutes you need to give them a bit of a stir, and make sure they don’t burn.

2.  Mix the flour and cocoa with the nut mixture in the baking pan.  Toast for another 5 minutes or so.

3.  Let the ingredients cool, then place them into a bowl.  Mix honey in, a little at a time, until you get a firm mixture that you can make into shapes.

4.  Shape the cookies into logs, eggs, “kisses,” or whatever shape you desire.

5.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of orange flower water, if you are using it, then dust a little icing sugar on top.

Chocolate Cherry Rum Cake

Yummy, rummy and chocolatey.  What could be better?  The dried sour cherries are soaked in rum, plus there’s chocolate chips for the extra hit that you’re craving.

This one makes half a recipe, one 9-inch round pan.  It’s from David Lebovitz’s cookbook Ready for Dessert.

What you need:

3/4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped

4 tablespoons of light rum

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped and toasted

2/3 cup chocolate chips

for the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons rum

What you do:

1.  Bring the sour cherries and 4 tablespoons of rum to a boil in a small pot.  Set them aside with a lid on for about an hour.

2.  Butter a 9-inch round square pan and dust it with flour.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

3.  Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4.  Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and yolk and vanilla and beat in.

5.  Stir in half the flour mixture, then stir in the buttermilk or yogurt.  Add the rest of the flour mixture.

6.  Stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries.

7.  Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  It might have a little bit of the chocolate chip on it, so don’t mistake that for not being done.

8.  Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then poke the cake all over with a toothpick and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of rum.

9.  Let the cake cool for about another 1/2 hour, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and remove it from the pan to cool.  Peel off the parchment paper.

10.  To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and the remaining rum.  Spoon it over the cake and let it run down the sides.

11.  The cake should last about 5 days, but if you’re going to keep it that long it’s best to glaze it shortly before serving.

Thank you Corey for editing!

Lemon Cherry Poppy Seed Muffins

Oops, I think I’m getting the keyboard sticky. . . I just baked these, and they’re so good that I’m typing while I eat.  To be fair, they’re more of a mini cake than muffin – I think of a muffin of something sort of healthy, and I can’t really think of any health benefits for these except the sheer joy of eating them.  And joy is pretty good medicine, don’t you think?

I’ve been wanting to make a lemon cherry poppy seed muffin for a while, but I haven’t found a recipe I like.  I took this one from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog mainly because it had buttermilk in the recipe, which I think is the reason these turned out so light and cakey.  The original recipe is blueberry lemon, so I just exchanged the blueberries for dried cherries and poppy seeds.  I also made the glaze out of white sugar instead of the icing sugar the recipe called for, because I find glazes made of icing sugar have a bit of a tinny taste to them.

This recipe makes 1 dozen, but feels free to double it if you need more.

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 & 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 & 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped (sour cherries if you have them!)

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

for the glaze:

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

What you do:

1.  Place paper liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.  Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2.  Beat the butter until light and fluffy, then add the sugar and beat again.

3.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the lemon zest and juice, and the vanilla.

4.  For the next part make sure you beat only as much as necessary to incorporate the ingredients: Beat in 1/2 cup of the flour, then 1/4 cup of the buttermilk.  Add 1/2 more cup of flour, then 1/4 cup more buttermilk.

5.  Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of flour with the baking power, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt.  Hand mix this into the batter until just barely mixed in, then add the cherries and just fold them in.

6.  Spoon into the lined muffin tins.

7.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  They should have a golden brown hue.

8.  While the muffins are baking, put the glaze ingredients in a pot and heat enough for them to melt together.

9.  When the muffins are baked, place them on a rack to cool and glaze them right away.

I recommend eating them while they are still warm, but I’m sure they’ll be almost as good when they’ve cooled.