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spicy warm cake for a rainy season

it’s been raining every afternoon and evenings, and most nights too.
though my country does not have the four seasons, we experience some chilly nights when it rains extensively. yesterday was one of those days.
when you are feeling chilled and needing some warmth…why not whip up some nice spicy cake.

i decided to do a gingerbread cake. it has been something that i have been longing to do, just that every time i pushed it away for some other recipe i have tagged or bookmarked. i am glad i haven’t pushed it away this time….cuz this cake is a long time coming. I should have made it long ago!

since Christmas is near (so fast?…hmmmm…i wish it was nearer), this cake will be a good start for the season.  yes, the world now is in a huge economic chaos, i hope things get better. depression may be ahead…i suppose it is always appropriate to find some small dimension in your life to bring things to a positive cheer.  for me, it is baking.

this cake was so aromatic, moist and gingery….very appropriate to keep your moods up! it’s a good sport since it keeps well and stays moist for long. go on, bring out your spatulas and mixing bowl!

Gingerbread & Chocolate Cake with whipped cream+sprinkled nutmeg spice

Gingerbread & Chocolate Cake (adapted from Baking from my home to yours, Dorie Greenspan)

For the Cake

2 tablespoons finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

280g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder (i added this in)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (i substituted with mixed spice)

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature

150g packed, light brown sugar

3 large eggs

125ml molasses (or black treacle)

6 oz bittersweet chocolate – 2 ounces melted, 4 ounces finely chopped (which i have used the short cut by using chocolate chips instead )

250ml buttermilk (i used yogurt milk, yummiee…)

for the icing (optional)

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon strong coffee

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar (it’s a good idea to sift this, I found)

Cake

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C, rack in center.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices together and set aside. If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment, set on medium, and cream the butter and brown sugar together until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Add in eggs in one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. To which point, the mixture will look a bit curdled, but no worries on that. Add the molasses and continue beating until the mixture is smooth.

Reduce speed to low and the melted chocolate and the sugared ginger.  Then add the dry ingredients in three stages, alternating with the buttermilk, and in my case, yogurt milk.  Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the batter.  Fold in the chocolate pieces and pour the batter into a 9-inch square baking tray.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. I had mine for 1 hour in the oven before its finally cooked. Test the cake’s doneness by inserting a toothpick/skewer into the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is ready! Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then take it out of the pan and cool to room temperature before icing (if desired).

i am a Dorie Greenspan fan!

luscious. sexy. delights. tickles.

this is what i call dessert’s heaven.

my first attempt in making tart resulted in a very pleasurable experience gastronomically.
i have searched for many tart recipes of late, but could not decide which to use for my first try. So i went for my Dorie Greenspan book, which I have been experimenting many recipes from her book and with 99% success! so therefore, i am literally a fan!

imagine that soft, moist and mild sweetness of chocolate, cream and egg custard sliding down your throat.
the blueberries took your mind further to dessert heaven with its delightful sweet and mildly sour notes…a very lovely combination.a surprise on the tastebuds indeed.

the original recipe was with raspberries, with the option of using cherries or other berries (but not strawberries since it will produce too much water).  this recipe may take some waiting time here and there, but it is quite easy to whip up!

make it a Sunday affair, and you will have a delicious dessert for dinner!

I whipped up some vanilla-laced whip cream to go with the tart. the combination of cold whip cream and tart is so sooooo good.

chocolate...Dreamy...soft...blueberries, cream Tart

Sweet Tart Dough (adapted from Baking from my home to yours, Dorie Greenspan)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners sugar and salt in a mixer/food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter butter cubes over the dry ingredients and pulse until they resemble crumbs of pea-sized and oatmeal flakes. Stir in the lightly beaten yolk a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses – 10seconds each, until the dough forms clumps and curds. Stop and turn the dough out onto a work surface, and very lightly and sparingly knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan. Don’t be too heavy handed. Freeze the crust for at least 30minutes or longer, before baking.

After the 30minutes or so, bake crust in preheated oven of 375 F degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before use.

Soft Chocolate & Blueberries Tart (adapted from Baking from my home to yours, Dorie Greenspan)

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 handfuls of fresh blueberries (or more if u prefer)
1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough, fully baked & cooled

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Place chopped chocolates in a large bowl. Bring the cream and butter just to a boil.
Pour the cream-butter mixture over the chocolate, let it stand for 30 seconds.

Working with a whisk/rubber spatula, gently stir the liquid into the chocolate – start in the center of the bowl and work your way out in widening circles. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the sugar, then the eggs and finally the yolk, ensuring no bubbles have formed.

Scatter the berries over the bottom of the crust, the pour the chocolate mixture over them.

Bake the tart for 30 minutes or so – the filling should not jiggle if you tap the pan and a knife inserted into the center of the tart should come out a little streaky. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool before serving.

up close with ms. luscious...

a splendid dessert to go with coffee or tea. serve at room temperature for its best flavour and to savour the tart’s creaminess.

chiffon in rum-orange bliss

old habits die hard, like, once bitten twice shy.

i recalled my attempt in making chiffon sponge cake way back in 1990s, while i was a teenager. Back then, making any cake or even the tricky cinnamon roll seems easy…but I was way disappointed when the sponge cake came out sunken, dry and rock-like. Even sadder, it was chocolate. Brown = burnt = brick (???  no??). So much for rubbing salt to the wound.  I have never attempted making sponge cake since then, and Cinnamon Rolls.

fear is always the barrier. maybe ego, plays the second role.
i was afraid to see another sunken sponge cake. furthermore, if it was going to happen again to me THIS TIME around, i would be mortified! Maybe I would even hide in my cave and not come out for days……

Thankfully, yes, thankfully.…. this time in the day of 28th, month September, a decade later, year 2008, I FINALLY got it right! I faced this fear, and I did much more research in making a successful chiffon sponge cake before getting my hands onto the task!

here is my version of the chiffon cake which i adapted from Baking Bites blog (thank you, thank you, thank you. i followed your intructions to the letter! Also…other reads are at Chocolate & Zucchini and Fresh from the Oven’s blogs).

now….making chiffon cake is a breeze   Many have told me it is very easy to make chiffon. I never believed them. Now I do…it is really very easy, just follow the necessary must-rules!

chiffon cake in tube pan

chiffon in rum-orange bliss

310g sifted cake flour   (if you run out, using all purpose flour is OK. You will get a heavier sponge cake…)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
300g fine sugar (reserved 2 tablespoons aside)
190ml orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest, grated fine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons gold rum (mine was Captain Morgan Spiced Gold rum)
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
7 large egg yolks
7 large egg whites, at room temperature

scattering of golden raisins and chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 160C. Prepare a 9-inch tube pan, not greased as it is not necessary.
Using your mixer’s large bowl and another large bowl, separate eggs. Whites in mixer bowl, yolks in the latter.
Then in a medium bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Sieve or whisk.
Measure orange juice, vegetable oil, rum, vanilla extract, and poppy seeds accordingly and mix all together into the bowl with egg yolks. Whisk briefly to combine. Then whisk in all the dry ingredients, mix until just smooth.
Now using your mixer, whisk the egg whites separated earlier to stiff peaks. Add in the reserved 2 tablespoons sugar gradually, beginning when the whites begin to get foamy.
Once whites have reached to stiff peaks (ensure it does not get overbeaten and dry), gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites to the rum-orange batter to lighten it (until no streaks of whites are seen floating).
Fold in the remaining egg whites gently until no egg white foam is visible, where batter is uniform in colour.
Scatter golden raisins and bits of chocolate chips onto base of the tube pan.
Pour batter into the ungreased pan and bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until the top of the cake springs back when gently touched, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
[IMPORTANT] Invert cake in pan over a bottle (or onto a wire rack if your pan has ‘feet’ to hold it up) and let cool completely. Once cooled, run a knife around the edges and transfer cake onto a serving dish/ airtight container.

voila! after waiting for like an hour or so for the cake to cool, i was very pleased with its results.
Rum, cardamom and orange are blissful triplets.  Having cardamom gives an orange cake a different dimension.

no more rocky road chiffon for me! Hurray!

golden orange-rum-chocolate-raisin chiffon cake

airy fragrant chiffon cake

up close

let’s bake a tribute to Ramadan cake

we can find all sorts of brand for sun-dried dates during this time of the month, where it is Ramadan for the Muslims. These sweet fruit are a source of vitamin C and energy, hence its a must during Ramadan.

sun-dried dates of Eden

Dates and yogurt or milk are a traditional first meal when the sun sets during Ramadan. They have a wonderful soft and smooth texture, despite it’s dry appearance on the outside.

vitamin C & energy morsels

Dates are so rarely used in any desserts…. I am almost sad for them. I couldn’t resist purchasing a box last week, and ideas were already buzzing in my head on how to bake the dates with cake! Today I had some spare time to tinker and churn something up with the dates….and here it is!

Ingredients

220g all purpose flour
80g almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 lemon zest
150g unsalted butter
(I found new product from India today…
Amul butter, which has such an adorable packaging and a cutie!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
90g brown sugar
30g castor sugar
50ml honey
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
2 handfuls pitted sun-dried dates, chopped

Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy. Add honey and cream again. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract. Mix well. Fold in flours, alternated with milk, dry ingredients last. Briefly fold in pitted dates. Spoon batter into cupcake molds or do one large cake.

Amul butter (India) and Eden dates (Tunisie)

The result is a very moist cake full of goodness..coming from dates, milk, and honey. Feel free to mix your favourite nuts to the batter, I think walnuts would pair well, or in my case, i throw some chopped Brazil nuts on top for decoration!

the golden date cupcake