Poppy Seed Cake

I'm pretty proud of this cake. It's kind of like my baby. Recently I've been ready Shirley Corriher's Cookwise, a textbook on all the geekery science behind cooking. It's pretty awesome and helped and inspired me to come up with my own cake recipes. This is the very first one.

I wanted a cake that wasn't too sweet or too dry, that was tender but had a satisfying density to it.

I think it turned out pretty darn well.

Poppy Seed Cake

1/3 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

In the microwave or on the stove, heat the milk to almost boiling and stir in the poppyseeds. Remove from the heat and set aside to soak for at least an hour.

Grease and flour a 9" cake pan and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350º F (177º C)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, beating constantly until it's light and fluffy. This step is very important since it gives the cake it's fluffiness. If you don't spend the time beating air into the butter, the cake won't rise properly.

One at a time, beat the eggs into the butter-sugar, followed by the vanilla, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Alternate adding the milk and the flour mixture, folding them in until just combined but being careful not to over-blend.

Finally, drain the poppy-seeds and stir them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes (it should be very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean) Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.

Birthday Indulgence: Double Chocolate Layer Cake

So, it was my birthday on Tuesday. I'm officially 22 now. This should be a good year, full of new beginnings. I'm a college graduate now. I have a part time job. I'm beginning the lengthy process of apartment searching. In about a week I'll be starting culinary school (yikes!) It's sort of all kicking off.

But for now I'm still having some chill days, cooking, and enjoying time with my parents (and my cats). We're actually currently working on eating more healthily but sometimes you just need a cake.

A chocolate cake. In two layers. Slathered with ganache frosting.

Well, if you're gonna have a cake, you may as well go all the way. Just don't do it too often.

This is a pretty decadent cake. Rich and fudgy and tastes like chocolate rather than sugar. Which is really what a chocolate cake should be.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake
(adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com)

3 oz. semi-sweet baker's chocolate
1 cup hot brewed coffee

2 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar

3 eggs + 1 extra yolk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (shaken well)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare two, 9" cake pans by greasing them and lining the bottoms with a greased round of wax paper.

Preheat the oven to 300º F (149º C)

Chop up the chocolate and, in a medium-sized bowl, pour the hot coffee over it. Leave it to sit, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is all melted and smooth.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the cocoa powder in a measuring cup to sift it and then whisk it into the flour mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until creamy yellow and fluffy (I used an electric mixture for a couple of minutes). Beat in the buttermilk, followed by the vegetable oil and then the vanilla extract. Add the coffee/chocolate mixture, making sure to scrape any chocolate smear from the sides of the bowl (waste not!) Mix thoroughly.

Beat in the sugar and start folding in the flour/cocoa mixture, a little at a time. Mix until just combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for about an hour (until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean)

Cool in the pans for at least 15 minutes and then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Ice with ganache frosting and enjoy in moderation!

Juuust Right: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes size matters. A lot.

Sometimes, a cupcake just won't cut it. Too much frosting heaped on a disappointing little nubbin of cake. No.

Then again, a full-sized cake can be a challenge. A cake that sits around, challenging everyone in the house to break the one-slice-a-day limit of the post-holiday season. A cake that gets a little bit more dry every day, pressuring you to eat more than you really want. And cake is a terrible thing to waste.

Never fear! The geniuses of bake ware design have actually thought of this problem. Hello, 7 inch cake pan. My ideal, not-too-big-not-too-small cake pan, perfect for the Goldilocks within.

So this carrot cake recipe is for a 7 inch pan (it's pretty much my--slightly adapted-- carrot cake muffin recipe, baked in a cake pan and slathered with cream cheese deliciousness. I might possibly have mentioned that carrot cake is my absolute favorite cake. Ever. And this one turned out pretty darn well. It's delicately spiced and filled with scrumptious raisins and slivers of carrots. The aromatic orange oil is delicious, cutting creaminess of the frosting but orange zest and a little juice will do just as well.

Recipe:
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
for a 7 inch cake pan

1 1/4 cups all purpose/plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon orange essence/oil
2 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C).

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly, until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and combine well. Add the oil, vanilla, and orange.

Now gradually fold in the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Finally, add the grated carrots and raisins.

Pour batter into a greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 grams) unsalted butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup superfine sugar
a couple drops of orange essence
a couple drops of vanilla extract

Cream the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add the sugar and thoroughly combine them before adding the cream cheese. Beat the mixture until it's all combined and has become smooth and then add the orange and vanilla.

When the cake has completely cooled, it can be iced. Store the iced cake in the fridge because the cream cheese in the frosting won't keep when at room temperature!

Almond Cake with Tart Raspberry Sauce

When I eat chocolate ice cream, I want it to taste like chocolate. When I have lemonade, I expect the taste of lemons. In my opinion, there are few things more disappointing than biting into a slice of almond cake, anticipating the aromatic, comforting taste of almonds, and discovering that's it's just a vanilla cake. With some sliced almonds on top. That is not an almond cake, whatever the recipe might say.

But this, this is definitely not that cake.

David Lebovitz's almond cake is sweet, moist, and buttery, full of the heady flavor of almonds. The flavors really come into their own as the cake sits, so it's even better after a day or two. This is a proper almond cake.

The tartness of the raspberry sauce perfects complements the sweetness of the cake but definitely isn't necessary. This cake is pretty fabulous on its own.

Recipe:
Almond Cake with Tart Raspberry Sauce
recipe from David Lebovitz


1 1/3 cups sugar
8 oz almond paste (not marzipan which is sweeter)
1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks, 225 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
6 eggs


Preheat the oven to 325° F (162° C)


Grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch cake pan with sides at least 2 inches high (because the case rises during baking so a shorter, layer pan might not contain it). I used a springform pan, which made the cake much easier to remove after baking.


In a food processor, pulse together the sugar, almond paste, 1/4 of the flour until clumps of almond paste have broken up and the mix has the consistency of very course sand. I used a powerful blender (due to a lack of food processor) and mixed together small amounts at a time. It took quite a bit of time because I had to keep scraping sugary almond mixture off the blades so a food processor is a better bet (but not the only option).


In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the flour (3/4 cups) with the baking powder and salt. Set aside.


Tip the almond-sugar mix into another bowl and mix in the softened butter until smooth (mixing well will ensure that the almond paste is even more thoroughly combined). Next add the vanilla and almond extracts and then the eggs, one at a time.


Once the mixture is fully combined, begin adding the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.


Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 65 minutes. The top of the cake should be a dark golden brown.


Allow the cake to cool in the pan before removing.

Raspberry Sauce:


1 pint fresh raspberries
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar


In a small saucepan, slowly heat the water and raspberries, stirring frequently. As the berries liquefy, stir in the sugar. Turn the heat down to the lowest possible temperature and allow to simmer and thicken for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Can be refrigerated for a few days once cool.