What I Did for Valentine’s Day

I’ve had quite an eventful weekend. This was the first weekend where I forced myself to do homework, tons of homework, after work  and throughout the week, instead of waiting for the weekend. This was because Friday, February 15 was my Valentine’s Day. I haven’t had a chance to really hang out and see Boyfriend the past three weeks or so. And I know there’s a chance I won’t be seeing him this weekend either (thanks odd work schedule). So we decided to be indulgent, and extravagant, and lovey-dovey (sort of), and have a Valentine’s Weekend.

Not so much because we’re lovers of the holiday (and I’ve read plenty of blog posts about how Valentine’s day should be every day, and why should men assume that they can be awesome this one day, and completely romantic and the rest of the time be completely ignorant in the ways of love) but because we haven’t seen each other in a long time, and we haven’t been alone in a long time, and just, couple-y, therefore Valentine’s way the perfect excuse to go over the top.

That being said, I was so happy with how our plans turned out that I, sadly, didn’t take many photos (being so lost in the many moments). My apologies. I did take a few photos. And I hope to be better in the future about it, however, there are recipes that I made (even though two photos are missing), that were completely amazing, and I can’t wait to make them again!

But first, say hello to my three new Otto fishes. I could only get a shot of two at a time, so you’ll have to imagine the third

First recipe up, is this lovely Molten Chocolate Cake. 

This was my first time making this recipe, so I followed it to the T, except for used two larger ramekins (to serve two, obviously), and adjusted the cooking time to 15 minutes. The original recipe follows.

4 pieces (squares) Bitter-sweet or Semi-sweet or just plain sweet Chocolate (this is a matter of preference)*

½ cups Butter, chopped into several pieces

1 cup Confectioner’s or Powdered Sugar plus an extra 1-2 Tablespoon for dusting, separated

2 whole Eggs plus 2 Egg yolks

6 Tablespoons Flour

*I actually used chocolate chips, and eyeballed what I thought 4 squares would be. It really doesn’t matter here how much chocolate you use. I think mine was roughly 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chips.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease/spray about 4 custard molds/cups or small ramekins with a non-stick spray and then place them on a baking tray (cookie sheet).The next step requires melting the butter and chocolate. You can use the microwave, in 20 second increments till the butter is melted and the chocolate is softened. Or, you can use a double boiler. (I used the microwave. It’ll look scary with all that butter surrounding the chocolate, at least it was scary for me, however you have to keep stirring, and it’ll all work out).

Add 1 cup powdered sugar then whisk together until smooth.

Add the 2 eggs and the 2 egg yolks then whisk together again until smooth. Stir in the flour till just combined. Divide the batter into the four (or two) ramekins you’re using.

Bake until the sides and top are firm, but center is slightly wobbly and gooey. Let sit for 2 minutes (no more and no less, I MEAN IT), and serve by inverting to a plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Next recipe comes without a photo. This one came from Add A Pinch, and was really an amazing recipe. The only thing I can say I followed was the gorgonzola butter and improvised, to taste, the rest. Below is my rendition of the recipe, but you can follow the link to view the original.

Skillet Steaks with Gorgonzola Butter

2 Ribeye steaks

Salt and pepper

Herbs de Provance

1/2 cup cognac

Gorgonzola cheese, about 4 tbsp

4 tbsp butter, softened at room temp

Pat dry the steaks to they are free from blood. Take a fork and liberally stab the steaks throughout, on both sides, and by the fat areas. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the steaks in a ziplock bag and add the cognac. Close the bag and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, and up to several hours.

Next, season your cast iron skillet* and heat it over medium heat. Take out the steaks and let them come to room temperature (about 10 minutes) while the skillet is heating up. Dry the steaks again, when taking out of the cognac marinade. Do not do this liberally. I did because I was so hungry and in a hurry, and my steaks did not brown as well as I would  have liked.

Place in skillet, and cook about three minuets each side. I started off with two minutes a side, but had to turn mine about two and a half times because they were thick .

While the steaks are cooking, mix the butter with the gorgonzola cheese, and place in fridge, to wait for the steaks.

When the steaks are ready, sprinkle top with herb de provance and let sit for three minutes before plating. When placing on plate add a generous tbsp of the gorgonzola butter to melt and ooze around the meat.

Serve with potatoes, salad, bread, and good wine.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Lastly, this recipe has been in the making for a while. I added more cheese than the recipe called for and added my own spices to the mix, however, the recipe basics were thanks to allrecipes.com.

This recipe too, was too good to be photographed. I even forgot to photograph this while writing up this post, when eating leftovers. So Sorry!

Baked Ziti

1 lb dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped

1 lb gound beef

2 (26 oz) jars of your favorite pasta sauce (I used tomato and basil flavor)

1 tbsp salt and pepper (or to taste)

1 tbsp herbs de provance

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp grouond garlic and ground onion powders

dash of liquid smoke

1 1/2 cups sour cream

6 oz of provolone cheese (sliced)– again, I used I believe 8 oz, a full Sargento bag of sliced provolone

6 oz of sliced mozerella—again from sargento, and I used the whole bag

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F . Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with remaining mozerella cheese slices and grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Lastly, I want to say Happy Valentine’s Day again to all those that celebrate or enjoy the lovey stuff that comes with the holiday. The photo above has become a standard dessert treat I’ve been making myself after working out and a light dinner. I’m feeling great and happy, and I must say, nothing makes me feel better than strawberries, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream.

Banana Poppy Seed Muffins for a New Work Week

Afternoon all!

For most people, tomorrow is not just any Monday, but it’s THE Monday. The Monday that kids go back to school, as do countless teachers, students (in college, I mean), and service members that work with children. Not to mention all the administration that work in school. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to tons of traffic and being late.

To start the work week (and school week) off right I decided to get into the kitchen, for the first time this weekend, by the way, and start cooking. I managed to make a lovely pasta (simple tomato sauce with a hint of vodka and spices) for lunch tomorrow, as well as some rice and tilapia for dinner today, and banana poppy seed muffins to make getting out of bed worthwhile tomorrow.

I adapted this recipe from Crepes of Wrath, so check that out for the original recipe. Not that I changed it much.

 

Banana Muffins with Poppy Seed Bliss 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large bananas, very ripe and mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp cup honey
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• about 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• raw sugar, for sprinkling (optional)- I omitted this for calorie reasons

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line and/or grease 18-20 muffin cups and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, milk, lemon juice, honey, and eggs.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fold in the poppy seeds. Place about 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup (don’t overfill the cups, definitely do less than 1/3 than a heaping 1/3 cup) and sprinkle with raw sugar, if you like.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and set. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan and serving.

How to Make a Couple Brown Bananas Happy

I was lucky enough to have the day off today. I make a very long list of things that I had to get done. A few of the items included cleaning the kitchen, finally shipping my portable piano to it’s lucky eBay owner, and doing my nails. While I was cleaning the kitchen however, I noticed two very sad, and very brown bananas staring at me from the fruit bowl.

The only logical thing would be to put them out of their misery and make…. BANANA BREAD.

I don’t really have a go to recipe, aside from my Chocolate Banana Bread, and that didn’t seem like the right thing this time of year, so I decided to go on random food blog searchers until something cause my eye. And in about five minutes I found this. I didn’t like the macadamia nut and the chocolate in the recipe, so I subbed in some chopped pecans and butterscotch chips!

Yum yum.

You can follow the link to the JPEG recipe, and follow it directly, or sub in 1/2 cup butterscotch chips for the chocolate and about 3/4 cups of chopped pecans for the macadamia nuts.

Fall Starts Now with Cinnamon Pumpkin Balls

I’ve had quite a week this past week. I started off with a terrible score on my reading quiz online. Only to be pushed almost to the edge of excitement by my decent fluency vocab quiz. It was a win/lose sort of moment for me. However, yesterday’s class was so demanding that I’m at a total loss of what to do.

My iPhone has not been working properly, either. Everyone I know never trades in their iPhones, they’re like children, once you have them, you have them for life. And I have to say, of all the phones to go down, it just had to be mine. The battery just wasn’t performing adaquately. To further show my point (and express that I’m not one of those people that uses their phone for four hours and then wonders why they have 54% battery life left), I checked my total usage since last full charge- total time: 2 hours 58 minutes, Battery left- 29%. That’s a bit extreme.

I’m rambling, but I’m just trying to explain my thought process here.

So I get home today, and I have update my iTunes (that took a good hour), and back up my bad iPhone, and restore to my new iPhone. Then rearrange all the apps to the way I had them before because I’m just OCD that way. After that was done I had sore feet, sweaty palms, nerves coming out of every pore, and hunger!

I wanted something with tea. Hot tea. And something sweet.

Nothing quick seemed to fit the description till I went on foodgawker and saw this lovely recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiciton

Wherever and whoever you are, Sally, THANK YOU FOR THIS EASY PUMPKIN LOVELY!

The whole process took about 38 minutes. I timed it.  Including making the batter, opening the eggs and can of pumpkin, cleaning the kitchen afterwards, and baking and decorating. With that said, the whole process was so fast, and I was so needy that I didn’t take any photos, aside from the ones shown of the finished goodness. Apologies, readers.

 

makes 20-24 mini muffins

• 1 and 3/4 cup white-whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpking pie filling)
• 1/2 cup milk

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg.  Set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar.  Add the egg and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the egg yolk, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and milk.  Slowly pour wet ingredients into the dry.  Stir together until just combined – do NOT overmix.

Using a small spoon, spoon the batter into the muffin tins, about 2/3 way full.  For ease, I used a small spoon sprayed with nonstick spray so that the batter easily fell off the spoon into the tin without using my fingers.

Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  While the muffins are cooling, make the coating.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon a small dish.  In a separate small dish, melt the butter. Once the muffins are relatively cool, dip into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar.

Cinnamon-Apple Upside Down Cake

I finally got a chance to do some more baking. I bought a ton of apples over the weeks so I needed to incorporate them. I found this recipe online, and although I enjoyed it for what it was, I would definitely add more apples, and maybe some brown sugar to the apples as well in order to get a good caramel layer after baking.

Overall, it was a complete success. Between homework and studying and baking it was quite a Saturday!

• 1-1/2 cups {about 2 medium} Gala Apples
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, divided
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 7 tablespoons, divided
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2/3 cup Whole Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Fresh Nutmeg
• 6 teaspoons Honey

Line and spray a 9-inch round cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Core and dice up 1-1/2 cups of apples, that’s roughly about 1-1/2 to 2 apples. Toss the diced apples with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and place them in the bottom of your prepared pan.

In the same bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Mix until crumbly, about one minute. Combine the flour, remaining cinnamon and baking powder. Grate in 1/8 teaspoon of fresh nutmeg, stir and set aside.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then, with the mixer on low, blend in the vanilla and whole milk. Add in the dry ingredients and mix by hand until combined thoroughly, then pour over apples and spread evenly.

 

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cake plate.

Once the cake is cooled drizzle honey over the top.

Cut into eighths and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Tarte Fine Aux Pommes (Apple-Puff Pastry Galette)

I haven’t baked anything in such a long time. Dare I say, in over a month! I’ve got to stop being so neglectful of my oven, and skills, if I say so myself. Today I got the itch. Between the laundry and the homework, I gave in, and made this lovely apple galette.

Although  it’s not really a galette, Nigella refers to it by it’s French term, and as I know nothing of French language or food (officially anyway), I’ll describe as she does. Regardless of the name it’s called, this lovely pastry is the most amazing thing I’ve tasted all month. Well, last month, as this is September after all.

But I digress, this recipe speaks for itself.

 

* (edit) Side note: This would be great with some honey drizzled over it once it’s still warm and out of the oven. Apples, honey, this sounding familiar to anyone? It’s the traditional dessert for Rosh Hashanah. It’s an idea that my friend gave me, which  I thought I’d share with you in case some readers out there were wondering what to make next weekend*

 

Taken from Nigella Express

•  2 Large Granny Smith apples, or 3 smaller Fugi apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 (1 sheet) of a 17.2 oz package all-butter puff pastry, measuring 9 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches
• 2 tablespoons sugar, separated
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat over to 425 degrees.

Core the apples, cut them in half. Pour lemon juice into a wide shallow dish and fill it with some cold water. Immerse the apple halves in the lemony water; this will stop them turning brown.

Lay the sheet of puff pastry onto a large baking sheet, and either using the back of a large carving knife, or a steel ruler, mark a 1/2 inch border all the way around the edge of the pastry. You need to score the lines on the pastry rather than cutting all the way down and through it. This will allow the frame to rise above the apple filling.

Pat the apples dry and cut each half into quarters, then slice each as thinly as you can muster.

Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar over the base. Working from the inside edge, place the apple slices closely overlapping within the border of the frame. Create neat lines of apple slices until the pastry is covered.

Heat the butter with the remaining tablespoon of sugar in a small pan, and let both bubble for a few minutes, until a light caramel color appears. Dribble and drizzle this syrup over the apples and put tart in the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, by which time the puff pastry should have risen with a nice border, and the fruit will be soft and slightly colored. If the apples have given off a juice, go ahead and let the pastry sit for 5 minutes.

Serves about 6-8

Hazelnut Biscotti

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m a bit obsessed with biscotti. They’re a pretty great cookie, really. Nothing more lovelier, even on a 100 degree So. Cal. summer day than some hot tea (or coffee) and biscotti to chew on. Since my first biscotti was so successful, I’ve decided to go ahead and make another one.

I’m sure I’ll be making my own biscotti for years to come.

This recipe was easier when I omitted servicing the nuts. Simply because I don’t mind a bit of roughage which the skins provide, and I enjoyed that slight bitter edge it gave the biscotti, contrasting nicely between the sweetness of my teas. Overall, two thumbs up!

 

Taken from Homemade and Wholesome’s TWD post

• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons baking soda
• 2/3 cup unblanched (raw) hazelnuts

*I skipped this step, my nuts weren’t skinned, and were totally fine.

• 1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons hazelnut liqueur, such as Frangelico, or brandy
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.

Preparing the Nuts- To skin the hazelnuts, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the baking soda and the nuts, and boil for 3-5 minutes, until the water turns black. To test if the skins have loosened sufficiently, drop a nut into a bowl of cold water and rub lightly against the skin- if the skin just slides off, the nuts are ready to go. Turn the nuts into a colander and run cold water over them. Slip off the skins, toss the nuts onto a towel, pat dry, and transfer to a jelly-roll pan.

Place the pan in the oven and toast the nuts, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until evenly browned. The best way to test for total toastiness is to bite into a nut- it should be brown to the center. Remove the nuts from the oven and cool. Lower the oven temperature to 300F.

When the nuts are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop them and set them aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and reserve until needed.

Making the Dough- Put the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk just to blend. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, liqueur, vanilla and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Add the nuts and continue to mix, just until well incorporated. (Since the dough is stiff, sticky, and hard to stir, you might find it easier just to reach in and mix it with your hands.)

Flour your hands and lift half of the dough onto one side of the parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat and squeeze the dough into a chubby log 12 to 13 inches long. Don’t worry about being neat or smoothing the dough- it will even out as much as it needs to in the oven. Repeat with the other half of the dough, leaving about 3 inches between the logs.

I decided to only use one log simply because I was lazy and I like biscotti that’s wide and thin.

First Baking- Bake the logs for exactly 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. At this point, the logs can remain on the pan overnight, if that’s more convenient for you.

Second Baking- Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/2 inch thick slices, cutting straight across or diagonally. (You can make the biscotti thinner or thicker, as you wish, and adjust the baking time accordingly.) Lay the biscotti on their sides on a cooling rack- you may need to use a second rack- the place the cooling rack in the 300F oven, directly on an oven rack. (Baking the biscotti like this allows the oven’s heat to circulate around the cookies, so there’s no need to turn them over.) The cookies may need to bake for as long as 15 minutes, but it’s a good idea to start checking them after about 10 minutes. When the biscotti are golden brown, dry and crisp, remove the cooling racks from the oven. Let the cookies cool to room temperature before packing them for storage.

Love of Pistachios and Tea: Chocolate Covered Biscotti

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything lovely and delicious. It’s been a very long, slow, and mostly, workless summer. The latter is the reason why I’ve been scrimping and not producing anything delectable. However, being well stocked in the pantry as I am, I realized that most of the recipes I wanted to try and make over summer were very do-able. I had everything necessary to make them all along!

It’s sort of like that moment in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy realizes she’s had the means to go home all along, but she was never told– which is not only unfair, but sneaky, and a little cruel.

I digress.

The reason for this lovely number is a desire to turn British, in a way. I’ve no desire to move to London, start saying “Bloody Hell” (that’s the only slang that comes to mind at the moment, sorry), etc. but I’m every eager to start drinking afternoon tea. According to my research (google and wiki), the three points in the day when drinking tea is acceptable is 11am, 2:30pm, and 4pm. Otherwise, you’re just pushing you’re luck.

But I’m in America, and I’ll be taking my tea at noon, or 1:30. And if I’m feeling very risky, perhaps even 8pm!

This is my first batch of biscotti, and one of many recipes that go well with tea, or are classics to be expected at a tea party.

As it was my first attempt they were a great experience. And while I had a few doubts and tried out a lot of different things, I was glad they came out wonderfully.

Makes 12 Biscotti (for me)

Slightly adapted from Buttermilk Party Cake

• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp honey
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• seeds from 10 cardamom pods
• 1 egg (for egg wash), optional
• raw sugar, approx 1/4 cup, optional

*1 tbsp milk (I used coconut) if too dry

 

Chocolate Ganache:

• 1 cup chocolate chips, I used semi-sweet
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Mix your dry ingredients with the sugar and honey. Beat the eggs and add them into the dry mix a little at a time, until a wet dough forms. Then mix in the pistachios, lemon juice and zest, and cardamom seeds. If you’re dough isn’t wet enough, go ahead and add in the tbsp of milk. Mix, and with hands coerce  into a log.

Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface, and roll it into a log shape. It’s ok if it won’t stay perfectly cylindrical—the log will flatten out a little.

 

For a bit of color, I added some egg wash on top.

 

Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment at 300 degree  for 30 minutes,  then remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Cut the cooled log on the diagonal, in about 3/4 inch slices. Arrange the slices back on the baking tray, adding egg wash if desired (I also added on some sprinkled raw sugar just for fun), and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti over and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Dip into chocolate ganache if desired.

For the Ganache: in a microwave safe bowl add the chips and cream and heat on high for 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat through in 20 second bursts till melted through. If it starts to thicken, pop into the microwave. This isn’t a traditional ganache recipe, but it’s close enough; I wasn’t patient enough to do the double boiler thing this time around.

Sour Cream Chocolate Coffee Cake for Weekend Mornings

I’m having more time than usual with Boyfriend and I thought in case we’re going to be hiking, or running like mad men around the block, a burst of sugar in the morning could only help us in terms of energy.

This is were this coffee cake comes in. Not only does it have a full 12 oz of chocolate chips but it’s got over 2 cups of sugar in it (including the topping) and the hearty carbs in the cake part of the coffee cake will surly be a help when we’re out and about. At least that’s what I read happens to carbs and sugars when you’re active.

This is my first time experimenting with it in such a way. Usually, I go to my sofa and watch a good episode of  Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Either way, I think I’ll be happy.

Onto to recipe, which was taken from The Cherry On Top blog. I followed the recipe completely because I’ve never been one to experiment with coffee cakes, and in fact have only made 3 total.

 

Cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
• 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt

Filling and Topping

• 2 cups or 12 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan. If not nonstick coated, cover the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Set pan aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a separate bowl. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and very thick. In a medium bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff, then fold into batter.

In a small dish, whisk together sugar and cinnamon for filling and topping.

Spread half the cake batter in the bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon-sugar mixture and 1 cup of chocolate chips. Dollop remaining cake batter over filling in spoonfuls. Use a rubber or offset spatula to gently spread it over the filling and smooth the top.

Sprinkle batter with remaining cinnamon-sugar and remaining chocolate chips. With the palm of your hand, ever-so-gently press the chocolate chips a bit into the batter. No need to submerge them, you just want to make sure they adhere bit.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

That’s not overcooked cake, I just overdid it on the cinnamon.

 

Chocolate Bundt Cake for a Dear Friend

My friend was coming over today to visit from Vegas. I haven’t seen her years, and while we used to converse daily (because worked together) and went out all the time to cheer each other up during those bad times in life, we’ve been bad keeping in touch. Family, work, school, life, tends to get in the way.

In any case she was able to stop by and we had a wonderful time, thanks, in part, to this lovely cake.

This recipe was adapted from Food Librarian

Chocolate Bundt Cake

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp (or 5 tbsp) cocoa

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 2/3 cup minus 1 tbsp taken out of vanilla flavored coconut milk
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Bring to a boil in a pot: Water, oil, butter and cocoa

In a large bowl, combine together with a whisk: flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon

Add the chocolate mixture to the flour and mix until combined.

doesn’t look appetizing I know. But that’s what happens when you don’t stir and take the picture.

Add a tbsp of white vinegar in a 1/3 cup measure and fill to top with coconut milk (I used vanilla flavored) and pour into a small bowl. Add another 1/3 cup of coconut milk, and the 1/3 cup of heavy cream. (If you have a 2/3 measuring cup or some other way of measuring it, just add 1 tbsp of vinegar first to the bottom then fill up with coconut milk till you get 2/3 cup. Then add the heavy cream till you get a full 1 cup of liquid).

Add milk mixture to the batter with baking soda and mix together.

not too appetizing at the moment, but lovely when you mix it

In a small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla. Add to the batter and combine.

Pour batter into greased 10 or 12-cup Bundt pan and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Mine took about 37 minutes, it was very liquidy, and although I added more liquid than the original recipe called for I think it added a lot of tenderness to the cake it wouldn’t have otherwise had to the extreme amount of cocoa powder necessary.   Don’t forget to cool in the in pan, about 13 minutes or so.

Top with a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk or water (though I opted for the powdered sugar, not the glaze).