Yesterday, the boyfriend and I were invited over to his friend’s parents’ house for lunch (let’s call then the G’s). Mr. and Mrs. G are fabulous conversationalists- engaging, cultured, and hillarious. I suggested bringing a dessert, and began to wonder what to bring. I thought something moderately sweet would be a safe bet, and decided on an apricot coffee cake. Apricots are my favourite fruit- they’re juicy, slightly acidic, sweet, and so, so delicious. Unfortunately, their season is ridiculously short- sometimes only June!- and thus the second they begin to hit the shelves, I start eating about 3 a day. My mother taught me carefully the way to pick out the best ones- soft but not mushy, a vibrant hue of orange and reds and pinks, and with a sweet smell that promises a juicy munch.

I searched for a recipe that fit the basic idea I had in my head and found one that seemed adequate. Unfortunately, I had to restart, switched computers, lost the link, and was unable to find it again. But, luckily, I happened upon this brilliant recipe by Bill Granger of Australia, and began making some edits (because I’m incapable of following a recipe as-is).

The result, post-edits, was something I would not have thought possible, considering the fact that so much air is in this cake with the egg whites: a Danish! I made a Danish cake, by accident! Apparently, adding a large amount of sour cream- even if light- and reducing moisture will result in a thick, moist Danish. Mmmmh. I plan to experiment with this one again very, very soon, in muffin tins, to make individual cakes.

Upside-Down Apricot Danish Cake

Adapted from Bill Granger’s Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/2 cup lightly-packed light brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp almond extract (or vanilla) – optional
• 4 tblspn soy butter
• 1 can apricot halves in juice (NOT syrup – no need for that extra sugar!) OR 6-8 fresh apricot halves

Cake:

• 6 tblspn soy butter
• 8 oz light sour cream (for a more Danish consistency, bring this up to 10-12 oz)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2-4 apricots, pureed
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 4 separated eggs
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and butter a bundt cake pan or 9-inch round springform pan
2. Heat together soy butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract (and perhaps a tiny sprinkle of salt) over medium heat until it begins to bubble slightly; then add in apricot halves and reduce heat slightly. Keep flipping over the apricots so that they’re fully coated with the mixture, until they are soft and cooked through but not falling apart, and the sauce has caramelized. Then, pour apricots slowly and evenly into pan and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Put remaining soy butter, sugar, 1/2 of the sour cream, and almond or vanilla extract in a bowl and mix slowly until the mixture has a creamy texture. Whisk in the egg yolks in two batches (2 at a time), then add in the pureed apricots (just halve them, chop into small pieces, and place in blender or food processor) and mix slowly.
5. Add the sifted flour in two batches, stirring slowly and only until just mixed in. If there are a few small tufts of unmixed flour, don’t worry about them! Then add in the remaining half of the sour cream, again mixing slowly.
6. Take a chilled bowl (preerably metal) and place egg whites and 1/2 tsp salt inside. Beat with an electric mixer on 1 or lowest speed for 3-60 seconds, then slowly raise speed until stiff, white peaks are formed. Be careful not to overbeat, or the whites will begin falling back down.
7. Fold the egg whites in 3-4 batches, being careful to fold and not mix so as to get all the air into the cake. Pour mixture slowly and evenly over the apricots in your cake pan.
8. Place in oven on middle rack for approximately 50 minutes, then remove and check with a toothpick. Let side 5 minutes to cool, then flip over onto a plate and allow to continue cooling for 30 minutes. Eat warm with vanilla ice cream or cool as a Danish (as it cools, the cake will compress and compact into a thicker, creamier Danish)

It’s delicious, and not too sweet, as the acidity of the apricots really cuts through. The almond extract was strong, so I’d suggest either substituting it for vanilla, bringing down the quantity (that which I listed above is a bit toned down from my original, which I thought to be a bit too overtly almond-y) or simply leaving it out. That said, it’s a great cake, and easily transportable. The G’s enjoyed it, as did the boyfriend and sister, and it went nicely with the absolutely scrumptious meal Mrs. G made for us. :)

Summertime is here and that means, traditionally speaking, an ample amount of grilling! Sadly I have no balcony or backyard at the apartment and thus grilling indoors results in some smokey-ness… but I suppose if we were ever to eat the apartment, I could bill it as a ‘smoked apartment’ with ‘smokey flavour’… not that we’d ever be eating the dry-wall, so the point’s completely moot.

The boyfriend has been doing quite a bit of physical labour as of late for my family. I told him it’s like being a husband with none of the perks, constantly being asked to lift heavy things and whatnot- so I opted to say thanks in the form of steak. Like most men, he has a high appreciation for meat. As I don’t, I opted for salmon (yay, fish and fatty acids).

The char was strong, but I personally enjoy the char of grill, so some blackening was by no means a hardship. The addition of balsamic vinegar (fake, of course, I have yet to obtain a bottle of the real thing but it’s on my life’s to-do list… read the wiki for more information, and realize that the likelihood of your having had actual balsamic is, unfortunately, low) and olive oil- with some spice- took away the slight bitterness of the spring mix, making for a crisp, crunchy, summery dinner.

Grilled Herb Steak, Wild Salmon, and Summer Vegetable Salad

Ingredients (for two):

• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, hulled, cut into 1/8ths
• 8-10 cherry or campari tomatoes, halved
• 12 baby carrots
• 3 cups organic spring mix
• 2-3 tblspn organic canola oil
• 1.5 tblspn extra virgin olive oil for salad, 1 tblspn for meat
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/16 tsp cumin, coriander, salt, pepper for salad
• 2 tsp salt, pepper, paprika for meat
• 2 steaks (your choice of size) or 2 fillets of wild salmon (King or Sockeye) or mix-’n-match proteins!

Process:

1. Heat grill pan (not press) on medium heat and drizzle in 1 tblspn canola oil. Once grill pan is hot, place vegetables in pan (depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in batches). Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper if desired. Flip over often, being sure to grill but not burn, getting as many grill marks as possible. Add extra canola oil as needed when the smoke becomes excessive. Set aside on a plate once complete (tender, soft but not falling apart by any means, and with char marks)
2. For meat, rub on paprika, salt, and pepper, then brush on olive oil and place on grill; then repeat rub and oil process for other side, and flip after 4-5 minutes (depending on how you’d like your steak to be cooked and how thick it is). For the fish, go with the same process or to let the salmon’s flavour speak for itself, skip the paprika and simply brush on the oil with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. Prepare dressing by mixing together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and spices; whisk together forefully to ensure the vinegar and oil mix. Pour over salad in a bowl and toss throughly.
4. To plate, place the salad on the plate first as bedding; then add the grilled vegetables; then the meat. If you’d like a sauce, I’d suggest a cold, white-based one :)

It’s very simple, but I believe that’s what this sort of dish is meant to do- celebrate the flavours brought out by the grilling and not adding too many extra aromas or flavours to the mix. It lets the vegetables and meat speak for themselves, and it’s a lovely sunset summer dish to enjoy with friends.

H and I had made beer bread together several months ago and those warm, happy memories had stayed with me. When a dinner guest came bearing two boxes of beer to drink between himself and the boyfriend, I found myself anxiously wondering what to do with the rest of it. I don’t drink beer; I’m not accustomed to having it around the apartment; and thus its lack of a specific spot in the kitchen had me looking for quick ways to use it. I opted to try Farmgirl Fare’s beer bread recipe again, trying a very different variant. It came out delicious- warm, crusty, but moist on the inside… incredibly fragrant and with a very nice texture.

Onion, Garlic, and Chives San Pietro Beer Bread

Adapted from / variant of Farmgirl Fare’s Beyond-Easy Beer Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 12-oz bottle Fat Tire beer
• 1/3 cup chopped chives
• 4 cloves garlic, minced and smashed
• 4 small white chive onions, diced
• 3/4 cup grated San Pietro cheese
• 3 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 1 tblspn granulated sugar, baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp large rock sea salt for garnish
• 1 egg for garnish

Process:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together all ingredients other than the beer- San Pietro, chives, onion, garlic, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, in a large mixing bowl. Make sure that these are evenly distributed- once the beer is in, you don’t want to overmix, so it’s essential to make sure that things are as uniform- or not- as you’d like at this point.
3. Add the beer a bit at a time in a steady stream, mixing as little as possible. There may be a few small clumps of flour that remain unmixed- despite the strong urge to mix them in thoroughly, don’t- just know that the baking process will fix it for you :)
4. Grease a bread pan with soy butter and pour in the dough. Crack the egg into a small mixing bowl and beat thoroughly. Take a pastry or basting brush and brush on the egg , then sprinkle on large sea salt and extra cheese if you’d like acrispier crust (if not, leave out the extra cheese).
5. Place the bread in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 50 min – 1 hour, until the middle is cooked through (use a toothpick) and the top has a rich golden hue. Cool on a wire cooling rack once cool enough to handle quickly, and then transfer to a cutting board and slice it up!

It’s delicious warm, seriously. Eat it warm. Mmmh. The smell of fresh bread baking in the oven is rather hard to beat, and this one is salty, rich, and tasty! FF’s recipe is so incredibly simple, and doesn’t require any kneading. No need to knead! No worrying about activating yeast- it’s already bubbling in the beer! What more can you ask for in a quick, painless bread recipe?

It’s true- it’s possible to make crème brûlée low-fat, surprisingly! I wouldn’t have thought so, but even this famous custard dessert can be edited into an equally delicious but far healthier version. None of those I served this to had guessed at its lower fat, and all deemed it authentic. It’s simple, but the almond taste kicks in towards the end and adds a nice flavour. I tried all three types of sugars (powdered, granulated, brown) and found powdered to be by far the best (as goes its reputation). The brown sugar burned too easily; the granulated sugar became too wet; the powdered, however, was just right.

Low-Fat Almond Crème Brûlée

Ingredients (makes 8 small, flat custards):

• 1 tblspn almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup organic skim milk
• 1 & 1/4 cup organic half-and-half 
• 1 egg (yolk + white)
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tblspn granulated sugar
• 8 tsp powdered sugar
• 8 raspberries + sprigs of mint (for garnish)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Scald the milk and cream by placing in a small, tall pot and boiling. Add vanilla extract, remove from heat as soon as it begins to bubble, and set aside.
3. Beat together the other ingredients (almond extract, sugar, eggs) until well mixed together.
4. Add a bit of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and slowly stir together; then add the rest of the milk in small batches, slowly whisking the mixture together. If there are any pieces of yolk/sugar, strain through a wire strainer.
5. Place the ramekins in a large pyrex dish or baking dish, not touching the sides.
6. Pour the mixture slowly and evenly into the ramekins (8, flat, or 4-6 souffle ramekins), being very careful not to spill
7. Pour water into the pyrex dish, making a bain-marie, and carefully place in the oven. Bake the custards for 30 minutes if flat, 35-40 minutes if taller- try wiggling them to see if they’re ready (if wiggling like jello, then they’re set!)
8. Remove from bain-marie water onto a heat-safe surface. To eat these in the ‘traditional’ way, sprinkle powdered sugar onto the tops and torch until the top is caramelized but not burnt. As an alternative, once cool enough to handle, chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge, then sprinkle on sugar and torch.
9. To garnish, top with fresh raspberry and a sprig of mint, or other fresh fruit.

I’ve been told that if you haven’t a torch, you can use the broiler setting in the oven and place it directly under the heat, but mine was unsuccessful with this. That said, the lovely torch my friend B gifted me for my birthday worked out perfectly :) These were delicious, and tasted rich despite the lack of rich ingredients. Success! A low-fat alternative that’s well-hidden within great, full flavour.

Last week was an exciting one: my coworker S’s girlfriend E was in town, which meant a night of boardgaming and nerding out was absolutely in order. S suggested we make this fantastic deep-dish spinach pizza (of which, as it was topped high with bell peppers, I have lengthened the name) and it turned out to be quite delicious, indeed. S and I joined E in preparing the dough around noon. After a few attempts to activate the yeast (tricky little thing) we finally got it right. A note on that: follow the yeast packet (if using packet yeast) for instructions regarding the amount of water, not the recipe. The original recipe called for so much water that the yeast was having trouble bubbling. S also deigned to use measuring cups and spoons, which are quite necessary for the exact nature of baking doughs!

E expertly kneaded the dough and supervised its rising during the afternoon. Then, later that evening, the boyfriend and I joined them and we together made the pizza: the boyfriend kneaded and rolled out the dough (using S’s high-tech rolling pin (the vodka bottle)); E handled the tomato sauce; I cooked the spinach and assembled; and S cut the vegetables and grated the cheeses. Three cheers for teamwork!

Deep-Dish Spinach & Bell Pepper Pizza

Following the Deep-Dish Spinach Pizza recipe from RecipeZaar

What really makes the taste of this so wonderful are, in my opinion, the fresh basil leaves. Rosemary, I know you’re commonly called the most fragrant herb, but I’ll take basil over you almost any day :)

Getting this out of the springform pan was a snap- using it makes this incredibly simple. I am tempted to make a flat, thin pizza (preferably Margherita, my favourite) but for deep-dish, you can’t beat the springform. The edges were a bit temperamental when cutting (cracked more easily than usual, S noted) but the taste was fantastic. And what’s quite surprising is that despite being very thin, the dough is very resilient- in fact, only half the dough is used in the recipe. The rest can be stored and used later, or will serve for making two pizzas at once (or perhaps covering it, making it an actual ‘pizza pie’?). Whatever you choose to do with the second half of the dough, this pizza is sure to please. Yum!

I really, really like mango. Not only does it have a fantastic taste, but the texture is so thick that it can be used for a great many things. That thickness is the reason it’s so adept at smoothie-ing… and at making marinades, dips, and other thick sauce-like items. As per usual, the boyfriend was hungry, I was in the mood to experiment, and thus decided to try out a few things I had been meaning to look into for some time: a curry-marinade and the odd marriage of strawberry cucumber. I had long heard of this myth but was wary- cucumber is such a strong flavour in my opinion, and it’s hard to say what it will happily make off with… and strawberry was not a prime suspect on my list. But you never know until you try, right?

The result was quite nice, on both ends. The marinade was thick and flavourful (long live yellow curry powder and garam masala!) and the salad was fresh fresh fresh! That’s really the only word I can use to describe it. I’ll post the recipes in two pieces here below:

Mango Curry Marinade Grilled Pork Loin

Ingredients (for two people):

• 1/2 lemon’s juice
• 1/8 tsp lemon zest
• 2 mangoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp of paprika, garam masala, and coriander
• 1 tsp yellow mild curry powder
• 1 tsp orange juice, no pulp
• 1.5 tbl low fat sour cream
• 4 pork loin cutlets
• 1 tsp organic canola oil
• pinch sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper

Process:

1. Place lemon juice, lemon zest, paprika, coriander, garam masala, curry powder, orange juice, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix together
2. Puree mango in blender or food processor until creamy and smooth. Add to rest of mariande and mix thoroughly.
3. Place pork in bowl and make sure it is fully covered by the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and cool for 30 minutes- preferably longer (overnight will be the most flavourful).
4. Once the marinade has cooled thoroughly, heat grill pan with canola oil drizzled over the pan.
5. Place pork (try to keep as much coating on as possible) in grill pan and grill on all sides, flipping over every 5-6 minutes until grill marks have a golden colour and prok is firm to the touch.
6. Season with freshly-chopped chives or parsley on top for garnish

Fresh Spinach, Cucumber, and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients (salad for two):

• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (can leave stems on)
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced very thinly (paper-thin)
• 10 dried apricots, quartered
• 2 tbl raspberry dressing or 1.5 tbl balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Clean spinach, drain, and place in large mixing bowl
2. Slice strawberries rather thinly (about 1/4-inch thick) and add to bowl
3. Add thinly-sliced cucumber to bowl along with quartered apricots
4. Drizzle on raspberry dressing or balsamic vinegar and olive oil
5. Toss thoroughly to mix!

It’s a bit of a fusion dish, these two things together, but it’s quite delicious, and very fresh. The heat, though mild, from the curry marinade is offset by the freshness of the salad. Pair these together for an irresistable summer dinner!

This was, without a doubt, the most delicious salad I have ever made. The fact that it was so remains a happy stroke of luck, for I was really just haphazardly putting things together and hoping they would work in conjunction. Thankfully, they did :) and the result was a miracle. The boyfriend took three servings. THREE. Three servings of salad! Miraculous! And our other dinner guest- a friend of mine who is allergic to gluten and has issues with mainy dairy products- took two. I was proud of this accomplishment.

My friend B was joining us so that I could make her a thank-you dinner; she has gifted me so many wonderful kitchen gadgets and I thought that the clear way to say thanks would be to use them for her benefit. B, however, is an impeccable guest to the last, and thus brought yet another gift with her upon arrival… meaning that I’ll just have to have her over again soon :)

Due tu B’s intolerance to gluten, I was looking for a way to add crunch to the salad. I immediately thought, “nut!” and looked about the cupboards. We had some cashews that were sitting about in a jar, and I had some honey-roasted cashews (these are even crunchier!) and thought they would work well. I then began assembling other ingredients and eventually had a nice mix of things put together.

The key to this salad is the warm pear glaze that serves as a dressing. I had prepared some extra virgin olive oil and pear-infused vinegar to use, but they really weren’t needed at all. And happily, the dressing of pear glaze consists of pear… and nothing else, really! Cheers to simplicity and healthiness.

Warm Pear-Glazed Chicken and Cashew Spring Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breases, cleaned
• 1/3 lb spring mix, washed and dried
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup  jumbo black raisins
• 1/2 cup sultanas (to put directly in salad)
• 1/3 cup sultanas (to poach)
• 1 cup honey-toasted cashews
• 1/2 cup whole cashews (normal)
• 1 can Kerns brand pear nectar
• 1 half yellow bell pepper, diced finely
• 1/2 lb baby carrots, sliced thinly
• 1 tbl soy butter
• 1 tsp sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, coriander, nutmeg

Process:

1. Place spring mix in a large salad bowl. Add in spinach, cranberries, raisins, sultanas (not 1/3 cup for poaching), bell pepper, carrots and toss thoroughly.
2. Chop cashews (both types) together into fairly large chunks; add in to salad and toss again.
3. Place soy butte rin a medium sautee pan. Coat chicken on one side with half of spice mix (salt, pepper, coriander, nutmeg), and place in pan. Once bottom side is seared, flip and season other side. Then flip again.
4. Once both sides are fully seared, add in the 1/3 cup of sultanas and the can of Kerns nectar.
5. Keep heat to medium and flip chicken every 4-5 minutes, moving the sultanas around and placing at times over the chicken. Once the chicken is firm to the touch and the pear nectar has caramelized to a thick, full-bodied consistency, place chicken on a cutting board and roughly chop into very large pieces. Spoon all caramelized pear nectar into the salad bowl.
6. Place chicken onto bowl and toss one last time, making sure to distribute chicken and pear nectar thoroughly.

It’s delicious- trust me. Try it! It’s better warm, though the boyfriend finished the leftovers the next day cold and said it was still very good. Thanks to the sweet pear and honeyed pecans, it has a very sweet taste. “It’s like candy”- B and the boyfriend both agreed. And if you could have candy for salad… wouldn’t you? :)

The boyfriend loves mushrooms. This is a fact that I will at times humour when my sister- who is even less of a fan of them than I- isn’t home. We were having company over for dinner, and thus I decided on chicken marsala… except I didn’t have marsala…. so sherry chicken a la marsala method, it was! I loosely followed a recipe from my Family Cooking book, but of course made adjustments. Namely, the substitution of dry cream sherry for marsala… but a few others as well. I actually didn’t mind the taste of mushroom in the sauce, when I tried it, and my two fellow dinnermates adored the taste, so it must have been successful :)

Creamy Sherry Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

• 3 large shallots, diced coarsely
• 4 tbl soy butter
• 1/3 cup dry cream sherry
• 1 cup organic heavy whipping cream
• 1 egg
• sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb chicken tenders, cleaned, de-nerved, cut in half length-wise
• 1.5-  2 cups button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (quantity and thickness of slices depending on preference)
• 1/4 cup AP organic flour

Process:

1. Place shallots and 1.5 tbl soy butter, pinch of salt, and pinch of pepper in small sautee pan on medium heat. Cook on medium heat, then bringing down to low, until shallots caramelize. Once they begin to caramelize and bubble, add 1 tbl sherry, then re-caramelize and set aside.
2. Coat chicken tenders in egg, then in flour, coating lightly, and set into bowl.
3. Heat 1 tbl soy butter in a medium-sized sautee pan and sautee chicken tenders until crispy and golden brown; set aside in bowl.
4. Place mushrooms and 1.5 tbl soy butter in the same sautee pan you used for the chicken and begin to cook the mushrooms. After 4 or 5 minutes on medium heat, add in 1 tbl cream sherry and the shallots. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, then turn off heat but keep the pan in place. Add the chicken, remaining sherry, and heavy cream and mix thoroughly.
5. Transfer into bowls or caved plates. For garnish, add chopped chives on top.

I apologize if any of this seems inexact- I’m writing this post a week late and sadly didn’t write down the measurements, so I’m trying my best to remember what went into it. However, the proportions should work! And really the important part is having a saucy, creamy dish.

Also, my apologies on these photos being blurry and substandard… I was rushed as our dinner guest had places to be afterwards and I was, of course, running late. Hence my using a photo of the mushrooms as the ‘main image’ above, as the final image of the creaminess prior to plating was rushed and thus a bit blurry…

This one is a bit of a monster… but so long as monsters are delicious to eat, I think it’s all right! For the third birthday cake- celebrating with friends at the apartment- I had wanted to make yet a third cake, and strawberries were on sale. So clearly the cake was going to involve strawberries… but what ended up happening was a cake chock-full of them!

I had wanted it to be a very rich, very moist cake, and experimented a bit to find how to do that best. My solution was to incorporate cheese straight into the batter- as some will often do with cream- resulting in an incredibly rich and moist cake. The cake is deemed ‘triple strawberry’ because of their ubiquity: they are in the batter of the cake as chunks; then a first layer of strawberry sorbet, followed by strawberry slices, then strawberry cream cheese mixture; then another layer of cake that is both strawberry flavoured and has strawberry chunks; then more strawberry slices over the icing. Clearly we are in serious strawberry territory here! If you like these berries, this cake is sure to satisfy.

Triple Strawberry Layered Mascarpone Cake

Ingredients:

• One recipe of strawberry cake (follow your usual stepsor use a mix- if so, use one with no trans fats!- and make the followihng adjustments)
• 1 heaping cup creamy mascarpone
• 1/2 cup non-fat whipped cream cheese
• 1.5 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• Approx. 1 cup frozen strawberries (very important)
• 2 cups (approx. 1 container) low-fat cream cheese frosting

Process:

1. Assemble strawberry cake ingredients in bowl (using recipe of your choice) but cut moisture down by a 1/3 and add in mascarpone. Mix thoroughly until just combined.
2. Cut 1/3 cup of strawberries into very tiny pieces (minced)- mix briskly into batter.
3. Pour batter into two greased 9-inch springform pans (if you don’t have two, pour in half the batter now, then re-use the pan and bake the other later)
4. Bake as directed for temperature, cutting baking time approximately in half (this will vary- you’ll have to watch, open, toothpick, and get a feel by the colour of the cake. When a few toasty spots appear on the top, it’ll be ready)
5. Remove cake from oven and allow to rest in pan for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack for 10 minutes
6. Prepare the first layer of filling by taking frozen strawberries, roughly chopping into smaller / more manageable chunks, and blending/processing on low speed until it reaches a sorbet consistency. Immediately put back into freezer.
7. Prepare second layer of filling by placing cream cheese into blender / processor. Dice 1/4 cup strawberries, add to mix, and blend on low until just combined (do not allow to become too liquid- this will be a bit difficult). If your processing power is too great to avoid this issue, blend strawberries alone, then manually mix into cream cheese (I made the mistake of not doing this and then had to mop frosting…. luckily, the boyfriend didn’t mind eating it all…)
8. Place second layer of frosting in fridge (not freezer)
9. Place first layer of cake directly onto a large, heavy plate. Remove sorbet frosting from freezer and spread evenly onto top of cake layer- do not use entire quantity if any seems to be slipping off. Do not go right to the edge, but spread to about 1/2 inch away from edge.
10. Slice approx. 1/3 cup hulled strawberries into 1/3-inch thick (approx.) slices and arrange in flower fashion on top of cake layer, not overlapping (see photo below)
11. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on top of the fresh strawberries. They may slip- this will be a bit difficult. Be careful not to add too much frosting. To make this easier, place cake in freezer after adding fresh strawberries for a few minutes prior to adding cream cheese on top.
12. Once cream cheese is on, add second layer of cake on top. If there is excess sorbet and cream cheese on the sides, take a rubber spatula and force them back into the cake, or mop up with a paper towel or hungry boyfriend.
13. If you have extra sorbet and cream cheese left over, you may add them on to the top layer repeating the process from earlier, being sure to freeze in between steps. For a simpler/ less tall cake, save these in the fridge and freezer to use in making other desserts (I like to keep extra cream cheese mixture for filo cup desserts on the go)
14. Frost entire cake with thick cream cheese frosting. You can pipe for extra decoration- I ran out of time and had too many strawberries I wanted to put on, at any rate :) but decorate as desired!
15. Slice remaining strrawberries and arrange on top of cake in flower form and encrust aroundside edges, or as desired.

Well, that wasn’t so bad, right? :) It’s a bit like a bombe in the sense that the layers are precarious and require chilling in between to make sure they’ll stay put. I stored it in the freezer over night (or what was left of it, at any rate) and the remainder was eaten the next morning (it was a popular cake0 so I can’t say how well it keeps, but my suggestion would be to freeze it for two hours after it’s done, and to then move to the fridge. By that point, the cream cheese frosting should be thick enough to contain the more liquid layers inside, and if anything they’ll just soak the cake a bit, which ought not to be an issue… the mascarpone in it makes it moist already!

I fear the titles for these may be becoming increasingly long, but this happened to be a rather complicated cake, so I’ll consider it apt. :) For Office Birthday Cake #2, I had wanted to make something incredibly different for the non-chocolate folk as well as for those who didn’t want so rich a cake (my brownie cakes tend to be incredibly rich and fudgy, which I will admit is not for everyone) and thus thought that a vanilla-based cake would be a smart bet. However, leaving it at that would be boring, and I had been wanting to experiment with pineapple… thus this came about. It was absolutely a hit, and devoured as proudly as the other cake in the office. The boyfriend really enjoyed this one and has requested an encore performance, so I’ll make it again some time, perhaps with some slight variations (as I seem to be incapable of making exactly the same thing twice).

Tropical Pineapple-Vanilla Cake with Fresh Coconut, Mango Glaze, and Mango Whipped Cream

So, again, I shan’t give the exact recipe, but I will tell its contents. The vanilla cake has pineapple tidbits (very small pieces) and chunks (larger pieces). Any moisture used in the cake batter was substituted in favour of pineapple juice. I added 1 cup of fresh shredded coconut to the batter as well. I placed four pineapple rounds in the bottom of a springform pan, upside-down-cake-style, with some brown sugar for browning, then poured in the batter. Once baked, I flipped over the cake and allowed it to cool on a rack while I prepared the glaze. The mango glaze is simply blended mango pulp (Ataulfo) and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Mango is a very thick fruit, so it barely needs any help. You could add a bit of ptoato starch if your mango glaze seems runny. I spread this over fairly thinly onto the cake, then stuck the coconut on while it was still very sticky. The cake was then chilled overnight to ensure the mango would fuse into the cake. The mango whipped cream follows the same process as the blackberry whipped cream, but with mango in the berry’s stead. I piped this (shell-shape) onto the top in circles, but you could decorate in whatever fashion you wish!

Here’s a simplified version of the ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix (choose one with no trans fats! or take the long route and take a traditional vanilla sponge cake recipe)
• 1 can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 can pineapple tidbits in juice
• 1 can pineapple rounds in juice
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 heaping cup organic canola oil
• 1/2 carton small organic heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 3 large Ataulfo mangoes, chopped into large cubes

Process:

• Mix vanilla cake batter as directed, but do NOT add water or any other liquid other than oil- substitute all water called for in recipe (or milk) for pineapple juice
• Mix pineapple tidbits and chunks into cake mix along with 1 cup of the shredded coconut
• Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan
• Cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of brown sugar, then place pineapple rounds on top with another small sprinkling of sugar
• Pour batter on top and bake as directed for a normal vanilla sponge cake
• Remove from oven, flip over, and cool on a cooling rack
• Place 2 mangoes’ worth of cubes in a blender or food processor with powdered sugar; blend until smooth glaze consistency
• Spoon and spread glaze over cake until even; then arrange remaining coconut on top as desired (I did sides and outside of top)
• Blend remaining mango chunks until a smooth glaze forms
• Beat heavy whipping cream by itself or with a sprinkly of granulated (not powdered) sugar as directed in blackberry whipped cream recipe
• Fold in mango puree to whipped cream, then pour into a pastry bag or tube
• Pipe mango whipped cream onto cake in desired fashion; then chill cake thoroughly

It was delicious, incredibly moist, and very good. I’m usually against pineapple, but I liked the cake and was not bothered by the pineapple texture (my usual qualm). It fell apart as you ate it, and the coconut added a very nice sweetness that went splendidly with the vanilla, giving the cake a decidedly island attitude.

I’ve learned one rather important lesson with this cake: brownies are heavy, heavy things, and don’t have the aerodynamic properties of light, spongey cakes.

For my birthday, I opted to do a great deal of baking to lure in celebratory folk. I work in a company where the men greatly outnumber the women and the cake-lovers comprise a minimum 90% of the employees- so clearly, making a cake would bring the masses to my office and we would have a happy birthday time together. That said, as soon as I sent out my bait, far more fish than expected took hold- one cake would certainly not do the trick, so I decided on two, and opted to have them be very different, so as to please everyone.

This was the first, then, of the two (office) birthday cakes (not counting the one for the home celebration. as can be seen, I take birthdays qutie seriously when it comes to entertaining others by way of cake). My friend B had recently been qutie generous and had gifted me a large amount of kitchen gadgetry, amoung them a large and lovely bundt pan. And thus I decided to yet again ignore the norm and make a brownie bundt, never, of course, stopping to wonder why it’s not usually done.

I found that the reason is simple: to make a proper fudge brownie, one can not expect to do so in a cake mold. It WILL fall- and it did, but luckily, not on the outsides! Ironically, the bundt pan was part of a fillable cake mold of which I decided to only use the bundt base and not insert a cavity for filling. The baking process was very long, as I had to be certain the outside shape of the cake would hold (even if the inside did not). The result (unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture of a slice prior to my coworkers demolishing it) was a well-shaped exterior, a bit difficult to cut through, with a very fudgy inside that had stuck to the edges, thus creating a hole.

Despite this, the cake had a wonderfully rich flavour, as I had added pralinutta to the brownie dough to make it more rich and flavoured with hazelnut. Melted pralinutta was glazed over the top of the cake, with honey-toasted pecans (the best part of the dish, honestly) were encrusted in the spread.

Hazelnut Fudge Brownie Bundt with Honey-Toasted Pecans

I’m not sharing the recipe as this one may have a commercial future… but I can share that it was eaten quickly and happily. I took an exit poll of those leaving my office to ask which cake they had liked best, and it was exactly half and half, so I’ve deemed both worth making again. All I can say is mmh! :)

However, I’ve decided to disclose a simplified version of the cake!

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes low-fat fudge brownie mix (look for one with no trans fats!) or to take the longer route, or double your usual recipe of fudge brownie
• 2 cups pralinutta spread
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 eggs
• 3.5 tablespoons organic canola oil
• 1 cup honey-toasted pecans

Process:

1. Prepare brownies in your usual fashion. If using a box, be sure to ONLY add 3/4 cup water- no more. Mix 1 & 1/4 pranlinutta spread into brownie batter. Mix thoroughly until well-integrated. For extra flair, add in chopped hazelnuts (I sadly had none at the time)
2. Generously butter a large bundt pan, then pour in brownie batter (you may need to coax it out; it will be very thick)
3. Baking time will vary on your recipe, your bundt pan, and your oven. The important part is to ensure that the sides are hard enough to retain/hold the shape once removed from the oven. For me, this took approximately an hour, starting on 350 degrees and moving down to 300, reducing heat by 25 degrees every 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, flip over (it should come right out), and cool on a cooling rack
5. Once fairly cooled, spoon remaining pralinutta (3/4 cup) onto top of cake in circular fashion; it should melt a bit, creating a gooey, sticky surface
6. Encrust pecans into pralinutta onto the top

Et voila! You are finished! It’s rather simple when you look at what goes into it… but the taste is intricate, flavourful, and downright yummy.

Blackberries may have a bit of a bitter or slightly sour taste, but add a little sugar and cream and we can have that solved in no time at all :). Whipped cream, when made fresh, has a far better texture and consistency than canned creams- it’s thicker- much thicker- and generally yummier. However, it can often be a bit plain… so why not make it a bit more healthy by incorporating fruit? Blackberry whipped cream is a nice topping for cakes (pairs well with both chocolate and vanilla), brownie, ice cream, cookies… any time in which you would traditionally add whipped cream, try a fruity one! Magno works splendidly; apricot; really any fruit with a pulp that’s a bit thick will work. Strawberries may be a tad bit watery, but should work as well if that’s your fancy.

Blackberry Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 carton organic heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp granulated (regular) sugar
• 4-6 oz fresh blackberries (about 3/4 to 1 box/container)

Process:

• Take a metal mixing bowl and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes
• Place blackberries (without cutting) into the bowl of a food processor or processor blender and blend until the consistency resembles jam
• Remove bowl from freezer; place sugar in bottom of bowl, then pour in whipping cream
• Using eggbeater/electric mixer, beat on lowest level for approximately 20-30 seconds, then keep moving upward every 20-30 seconds until reaching the highest level. Beat until the cream makes stiff- but not dry!- peaks or to desired thickness
• Pour blackberry puree into the middle of the bowl on top of the whipping cream
• Using a spatula, carefully fold in- NOT STIR- the puree, so as to not flatten out the cream

It’s a very quick process- takes less than 10 minutes for sure- and yet adds a very fun and different element to your everyday whipped cream cravings. Switch out the fruits for experimentation- I’d be willing to bet that passion fruit would be fantastic, it’s just a bit difficult to find here in the US :)