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Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Cream Cheese Filling

chocolate birthday cake - trust in kim

This birthday cake is a combination of three recipes, put together to become my friend John’s dream cake. The cake is rich and chocolatey, and the red wine and cinnamon give it a subtle flavouring that people thought was coconut. Attempting to make it more of a red velvet cake, I added beet powder. I didn’t find that it added much redness to the cake, so it is totally optional. For me the best part of this cake is the icing – you can’t go wrong with butter and chocolate!

The recipe called for 2 cups of red wine, but I changed that to one cup of buttermilk and one of wine; feel free to use just red wine, just buttermilk, or a combination like I did.

In the photo you will see that there is only a thin strip of the cream cheese filling, and there are only two layers of cake. Because I only had two round pans that were the same size, I only had two layers in the completed cake. (There is an extra layer in my freezer, in a different size). I quadrupled the amount of cream cheese frosting when I typed up this recipe, so if you make this, yours will have more of the white filling, and enough to make a triple layer cake.

The cake recipe comes from Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. The chocolate buttercream frosting is from addapinch.com – I didn’t add the espresso powder she used in her recipe. The cream cheese frosting is an alteration of Deb Perelman’s mascarpone filling.

I recommend keeping the cake in the fridge until you serve it. I like it when the icing is cold, making it more solid when it is sliced.

What you need for the cake:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
  • 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup red wine (I used a malbec, but anything will work)
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 & 1/3 cups Dutch cocoa powder
  • 2 & 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons beet powder (very optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

What you do for the cake:

  1. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment. Butter the parchment lightly.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
  3. In a very large bowl cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for about 3 minutes, or until they are fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the red wine, buttermilk and vanilla; the batter will look a little odd, but it is fine.
  5. Sift the flour, cocoa, beet powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt on top of the batter. Mix until it is about 3/4 incorporated, then continue by folding it with a rubber spatula.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the three pans, evening out the tops with the spatula. Give the cake a small tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles (something my mom taught me), and place them in the oven. The recipe says to bake for 25 minutes, but mine wasn’t ready yet, so test with a toothpick to see if it is done, and return to the oven for a few minutes before testing again.
  7. When you take the cakes out of the oven, let them rest on cooling trays for about 10 minutes. Then run a sharp knife around the edge before inverting them onto the cooling trays. Let the cakes cool completely before beginning to frost them.

What you need for the cream cheese filling:

  • 460 grams cream cheese (not light, not spreadable) at room temperature
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (clear if you have it)
  • a pinch of salt

What you do for the cream cheese filling:

  1. Beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, then beat in the vanilla and salt.
  2. Add half a cup of icing sugar at a time and beat until it is incorporated and fluffy.
  3. Spread half of the filling on top of one layer of the cake, and place the second layer on top. Repeat with the second layer of filling and third layer of cake.
  4. Refrigerate the cake until the filling has firmed up a bit before moving on to the chocolate frosting.

What you need for the chocolate buttercream frosting:

  • 1 & 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), softened
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 & 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 80 mL milk
  • 1 & 1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract

What you do for the chocolate buttercream frosting:

  1. Cream the butter, then sift in the cocoa and continue to cream that. Sift and then beat in a cup of the icing sugar, then beat in about half of the milk. Add another cup of icing sugar, then some more milk and the vanilla. You might not use all the icing sugar or milk. Test as you go to see when you think it is perfect.
  2. Frost the cake. I have little patience for this sort of thing these days, so my frosting didn’t look amazing. Here’s a tutorial if you want to do it better than I did.

Enjoy! Bon anniversaire, John!

birthday boy - trust in kimcake - trust in kimeating cake - trust in kim

Gazpacho

gazpacho - trust in kim

Oh summer, I love you for so many reasons! One of them is homegrown, flavourful tomatoes. Also the gazpacho that I can make with them.

This is the taste of summer. This is one of the recipes that makes me do a happy dance.

I fell in love with gazpacho on a trip to Spain a few years ago, and managed to eat it almost every day of my two-week stay there. It is refreshing and full of flavour. There are many different types; here are some: green gazpacho, watermelon gazpacho, and another tomato gazpacho that is very similar to this one. All are awesome, but this one is the easiest, I think.

This is so easy to make, and quite healthy too. I made a batch and kept it in the fridge for a few days. The amounts are estimates; do what seems right to you. It’s hard to go wrong. You can always add more of something if you need to.

What you need:

  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 medium red onion
  • 1/2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 large sweet red bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
  • 2-3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 slice of white bread (I used a whole wheat French bread)
  • salt to taste

What you do:

  1. Soak the bread in water for a few minutes, then squeeze the water out.
  2. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add whatever you think you need.
  3. Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving.
  4. Serve topped with some chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, or a drizzle of olive oil.

Walnut Vinaigrette

walnut vinaigrette - trust in kim

When I was in France last summer I picked up a tube of walnut Dijon mustard. It isn’t something that is easy to find at home; in fact, I’ve never seen it, even in specialty stores, in Vancouver. Soon I will devise a recipe for it, so we won’t have to search for it anymore.

Here I’ve also used a walnut oil, just to bring out the nutty flavour. I love a combination of garlic and walnut, so I put in a clove of garlic. It needs to sit for a while, so you’ll need to make this a few hours in advance or the day before if you want to get that garlicky flavour in there.

What you need:

  • 1 tablespoon walnut Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 clove garlic

What you do:

  1. In a bowl or jar combine the mustard, sugar, and a little salt and pepper.
  2. Add a little bit of the vinegar to mix into the mustard, then add the rest, beating with a fork until combined.
  3. Add the walnut oil slowly, whisking in with the fork.
  4. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Peel the skin off the garlic clove, cut it in half and place it in the dressing. Let it sit for a few hours to allow the garlic flavour to be released. You can leave the garlic clove in the dressing for a week or two, or as long as it takes you to use it up.

Homemade Healthier Tartar Sauce

homemade tartar sauce - trust in kim

Tartar sauce with fish is so delicious, but typical recipes contain a lot of mayonnaise that is just way to easy to gobble up. I’ve recently bought some frozen, breaded fish to keep in my freezer for last-minute meals. I’ve also got some pickles and yogurt and a few other bits and bobs in the fridge that I can use to whip up this yummy sauce.

I served the fish and tartar sauce with oven-baked breaded zucchini and baked onion rings. The tartar sauce is a nice dip for those too. If I was in more of a hurry I would probably have just eaten it with some frozen peas, making it a great last-minute meal!

The amounts are estimates, so you’ll have to taste it and see what you think you need to add more of.

What you need:

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use 3.5%)
  • about 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle
  • 1 teaspoon chopped capers
  • 1-2 teaspoons minced onion
  • 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • a dash or two of hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)
  • salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

  1. Combine the Dijon and yogurt.
  2. Add everything else. Mix it in. I like quite a bit of pepper in mine, but taste and see what you think.

Enjoy!

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cream Cheese Spread

sun-dried tomato cream cheese spread - trust in kim

This cream cheese spread makes a great appetizer with a loaf of fresh bread or crackers. A friend of mine used to always buy this spread when we were having wine and appies, and another friend, Sarah, makes her own delicious version. This recipe is a combination of what I guessed to be the ingredients in the store-bought version, and some tips from Sarah.

The one difference with my recipe is that I made my own oven-dried cherry tomatoes. I make up a big batch, and they keep for a long time in the fridge.

Make this recipe at least an hour ahead of time so the flavours have a chance to mingle.

What you need:

  • 1 – 250 gram tub of spreadable cream cheese (or Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese)
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • a few sun-dried cherry tomatoes packed in  olive oil (or oven-roasted to make it even better)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • a few sprigs fresh basil, chopped
  • a little freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

  1. Combine the mayonnaise and cream cheese.
  2. Chop and add the cherry tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
  3. Taste and adjust the amounts of anything you think you need more of.
  4. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
  5. Garnish with a sprig of basil, and serve with a loaf of freshly baked bread or crackers of your choice.

Red Wine Sangria

 

red wine sangria - trust in kim

I used to make this recipe a lot, and even made dozens of batches of it for a wedding once. It was always a recipe that I could count on the be stored safely in my brain; now I realize that might not be the best place to store something. So this brings me to last week, when I did my best to recreate that old faithful red sangria recipe. I think this pretty close to the original recipe…

In Vancouver there used to be a Spanish restaurant called La Bodega, where they served a delicious red wine sangria. A friend once told me the secret to their awesome sangria was, surprisingly, adding orange pop. And, yes, it does make a delicious drink!

What you need:

  • 1 bottle red wine, chilled (nothing fancy)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup Triple Sec or Cointreau (or 1/4 cup triple sec and 1/4 cup brandy)
  • 1 apple
  • 1 orange
  • a few strawberries (optional)
  • 1 can of orange pop
  • lemon or lime slices for garnish (optional)

What you do:

  1. Cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Combine the Triple Sec and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the fruit to this and let it sit for about 1/2 an hour, up to a few hours ahead of time.
  2. Combine the chilled wine, orange pop, and the fruit concoction. Add ice if you wish. If you are using the citrus fruit, cut into slices to place in the sangria.

Drink it while it’s cold!

fruit in glass jug - trust in kim

Salted Caramel Pound Cake

salted caramel pound cake - trust in kim

If you like caramel or salted anything, or if you like a buttery pound cake, then this one’s for you!

The pound cake has cream in it, so it is quite moist, and not crumbly. The salted caramel – well, that just puts it over the top. Don’t be afraid of the two step recipe – bake the cake, then make the caramel. It’s quite foolproof, and the results are impressive.

I sent some of the loaf home with a friend, and we both found ourselves wanting to ration it, so the goodness could last for more days.

The recipe comes from the Lottie & Doof website, one of my favourite recipe blogs. He got the recipe from a Martha Stewart episode where she had a guest, Matt Lewis, who shared this recipe with her viewers. Thank you Matt Lewis!

What you need for the pound cake:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pan 
  • 3/4 cup cake flour (or see the substitution using flour and cornstarch if you don’t have any)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan 
  • 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature 
  • 2 large egg yolks, room temperature 
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream 

What you need for the salty caramel glaze:

  • 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar 
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream 
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 & 3/4 teaspoons fleur de sel, divided 
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted 

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F with the rack in the centre of the oven.
  2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Cut a long piece of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of the pan with the long end extending up the two long sides of the pan, with a little bit of overhang. Butter the parchment and dust it with flour.
  3. To make the cake flour: measure 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, then remove 4 & 1/2 teaspoons of flour. Replace the flour with 4 & 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Sift the mixture 5 times.
  4. Whisk the flours, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  5. On high speed, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
  6. Add the vanilla and beat it in.
  7. On medium-low speed beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you are doing this.
  8. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
  9. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  10. Place the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before removing it. (I forgot to do this and broke the corner of the cake.) Carefully run a small sharp knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the side of the pan, then remove it from the pan by pulling up on the parchment paper. Leave it to cool on the cooling rack.
  11. To make the salty caramel glaze, place the brown sugar, cream, and butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir over low heat until the butter is half melted, then increase the heat to medium-high, bringing it to a boil. Whisk constantly for 1 & 1/2 minutes of boiling time. Remove from the heat and whisk vigorously for 1 minutes to release some of the heat. Add 3/4 teaspoon of fleur de sel. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
  12. Sift 1/4 cup icing sugar and whisk into the sauce until combined. Continue adding sugar, just a little at a time, until the mixture is slightly thick and pourable. It will continue to thicken as it cools. You may not need to add all of the icing sugar.
  13. To prepare for glazing the cake with the caramel sauce, place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet, then place the cake on top of the baking sheet. Use a skewer to poke holes in the cake. Pour the warm caramel glaze over the cake, then sprinkle it with the remaining 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel.
  14. Let the cake cool 15-20 minutes before serving. I didn’t serve it for a few hours, so it was completely cooled, and tasted great. It was really good a few days later too, with a cup of tea.

Roasted Root Vegetable Chips

roasted root vegetable chips - trust in kim

Even though I know they are so bad for me, I really really love potato chips. I never ever buy them unless it’s a special occasion because I know I will not be able to leave a single chip in the bag. I’ve tried some of those fancy root vegetable chips, and loved them too.

Looking for a healthy alternative, I figured I could make my own root vegetable chips at home, using much less oil than the store-bought bags of chips. The trick is getting them very thinly and uniformly sliced. To do this I used a mandoline.

The picture of the roasted chips above was taken before I decided I needed to put them back in the oven to get a little crisper. They should look more browned than in that photo.

What you need:

  • 1 small potato
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 parsnip
  • 1 beet
  • olive oil
  • salt

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. Slice the vegetables as thinly and uniformly as you can.
  3. Place the vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and some salt.
  4. Spread the vegetables in one layer on a baking sheet. Keep each type of vegetable together; the roasting time varies between the vegetable types.
  5. Roast for about 15 minutes, then check the chips. If some are done, remove them, then let the rest continue to roast, checking every 5 minutes until they are done. They will get crisper as they cool.
  6. It’s best to eat these the day you make them, as they will get a little soft.

sliced root vegetables - trust in kim

Spanish Rabbit Stew

rabbit stew - trust in kim

 

This Rabbit Stew is surprisingly delicious. I say surprising because I’ve never eaten rabbit before, and because it can be difficult to cook properly. From what I have read, rabbit can easily become chewy or mushy with improper cooking, but this recipe brings it to the right texture and taste. The rabbit is stewed with wine, brandy, vegetables, jamon and herbs. The recipe suggests serving it with potatoes, but since we were in Paris, we served it with a baguette.

This meal was made while staying with my friends Julie and Jeremy in Paris last summer. I was very excited to have a kitchen in which to make a few meals using local ingredients, and a friend who was interested in cooking with me. Rabbit isn’t something I see in markets at home very often, so Jeremy and I decided to make a rabbit stew.

The recipe is from The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook by Tess Mallos. It feeds 6 people.

What you need:

  • 1.5 kg rabbit, cut into pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 125 gram piece jamon, serrano or prosciutto ham, diced
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 125 grams small mushrooms
  • 425 gram can of pureed tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup dry red wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs fresh parsley, plus a little more for garnishing
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

What you do:

  1. Rinse the rabbit and dry it well with paper towels.
  2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown the rabbit on all sides. Remove the rabbit pieces to a plate.
  3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the onion in it on low heat until it is transparent, for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and jamon or prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes. Return the rabbit to the dish.
  4. Pour the brandy over the rabbit. Ignite the brandy and shake the pan until the flames dies down.
  5. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Tie the herbs into a bunch, then add them along with the tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer with a lid on for 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours. Test the rabbit after about and hour to to see if it is tender enough; keep cooking until it begins to fall off the bone.
  6. Remove the lid from the pot in the last moments so that the sauce can reduce. It should become quite thick. Taste to see if you need to add more salt and pepper.
  7. Remove the rabbit to a serving dish and garnish with parsley.

 

Long Leek Pie

P1040972

This is a really great appetizer, with a picture that doesn’t do it justice. But trust me, it’s yummy and it’s easy.  A winning combination.

It’s puff pastry topped with leeks that have been simmered in white wine and herbs, then topped with goat’s cheese or crème fraîche. Did you know that some people don’t like goat’s cheese? It’s true, and crème fraîche isn’t a bad substitute for those people.

The recipe is from Yvette van Boven’s cookbook, Home Made. It serves 4-6 people. Mine was smaller, but a lot for two people.

What you need:

  • 4 sheets all-butter puff pastry
  • 3 leeks 
  • ¾ cup white wine
  • butter
  • a few thyme sprigs 
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • ½ cup aged goat cheese, grated or crumbled, or 1/2 cup crème fraîche
  • 1 egg white, loosely beaten  

What you do:

  1. Cut the leeks into three sections, removing the bottom and the dark green leaves. Wash the leeks, then simmer in the white wine, butter, thyme, salt, and pepper for about 20 minutes. Remove the leeks from the simmering liquid and pat them dry.

  2. While the leeks are simmering, stack the puff pastry and roll it out lengthwise. Use the back of the knife to score a rectangle just a few centimetres inside the edge; this will form a border. Place the leeks next to each other inside the border of the puff pastry.

  3. Top the leeks with goat cheese or crème fraîche, and brush the outer edges with lightly beaten egg white. (I put a little bit of freshly grated parmesan on top of the crème fraîche)

  4. Bake for about 25 minutes at 400°F. The edge will rise and become browned.

Enjoy it while it’s hot!