A Good Save

 I'm often asked to bring dessert when we go to someone's home for dinner because my friends know that I love to bake and to share what I bake. A couple days after Christmas we were going to a family dinner for nine, so I decided to bake a Bundt cake since that can serve a good number of people. I found a recipe for a Gingerbread Bundt Cake on King Arthur Baking website and I even had the ingredients for it.

It really did make a delicious cake, but the texture was pretty delicate, not the usual fairly solid and sturdy texture that a Bundt cake needs. Since I baked it in a snowflake Bundt pan it wasn't surprising, given the texture, that it didn't come out of the pan in one piece. So, here I was a few hours before leaving for the dinner with no cake to take and not enough time to make another...what to do??

I suspect that I had read somewhere that you can create a dessert with broken cake, but I really have no memory of it. I just had this brainstorm to combine the cake pieces with softened vanilla ice cream and with whipped cream and then pack it into a cake pan and to freeze it so that it became a dessert rather than a cake. To tie it all together I made my Mom's recipe for Fresh Lemon Sauce to drizzle over each serving. It was a hit! The photo I took was of what was left after the first servings...not a great photo, but the only one I have. Trust me, it tastes far better than it looks.

Because I only had a pint of vanilla ice cream and a half pint of whipping cream, I didn't use the whole cake...I used about 3/4 of it. I lined a 9x13-inch pan with heavy duty foil, added the ice cream-whipped cream-cake mixture and leveled it, then put that into the freezer. Sweetie found our old ice chest and so it traveled with ice below and above the dessert. It didn't really look that pretty, but the lemon sauce helped a little to dress it up and really added to the flavor. If you've never had gingerbread and lemon sauce, do try it. The recipe for the Lemon Sauce is HERE.

I'm not going to give the recipe for the Gingerbread Bundt because you can get it from the King Arthur baking website. I suspect that this would work with gingerbread made from a mix from the grocery store, too. Hope that your family loves it as much as mine did!

A Good Save Gingerbread Dessert

About 3/4 of a 10-12 cup Bundt cake that is Gingerbread
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/2 pint whipping cream, cold

Tear the gingerbread cake into chunks and tiny pieces, mixed and put into a large mixing bowl.

Let the vanilla ice cream soften slightly.

In a cold bowl with cold beaters, whip the cream until firm peaks form.

Combine the softened ice cream, the whipping cream and the cake pieces. Most of the cake should have at least a little of the dairy in/on the pieces.

Line a 9x13-inch cake pan with foil. Add the cake mixture and use a spatula to level the mixture. Cover with more foil and freeze for up to two hours.

To serve, use a sharp knife to cut the dessert into squares about 3x3-inches each. Serve on a plate and drizzle (optional but really good) with Lemon Sauce. Serve at once.

Eggnog Overnight Waffles

I've loved a recipe for overnight waffles for ages...I even created a gingerbread variation. It was  based on a recipe from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe' Cookbook. 

This eggnog one sounded interesting, although it was based on a Marion Cunningham recipe instead, so we made it one morning while the family was here...and ate them all in one sitting, so I have no idea if the batter actually does keep in the fridge.

I found the eggnog flavor very weak in these waffles, but if you enjoy a mild eggnog flavor in your waffles, these are the ones to try. The waffles came out of the Belgian waffle iron very crisp and light and a lovely golden brown.

I've changed the directions slightly. My additions are in italics. 

Eggnog Waffles
Makes about 16 waffles, or 8 Belgian waffles
An adaptation, in the Press Democrat (12/11/24), of Marion Cunningham's Overnight waffles
in the Fanny Farmer cookbook

1 1/4 oz. dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups eggnog, gently warmed
8 tablespoons butter, melted (and cooled to room temperature)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Dissolve yeast in water in a large mixing bowl and let sit until foamy, about 8-10 minutes.

Gradually stir in the flour into the yeast mixture. Add eggnog, butter, salt, and sugar and mix to combine. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap (or a clean shower cap) and allow batter to sit at room temperature overnight.

The next morning, preheat an electric waffle iron. Warm the eggs if straight from the fridge in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and baking soda in a small bowl, then whisk into the batter until thoroughly combined.

Pour about a 1/2 cup of the batter into a hot waffle iron (see endnote) and bake until the waffle is crisp and golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Keep waffles warm in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve.

Serve with maple syrup and butter.

Batter will keep, refrigerated, for several days.

Endnote: 1/2 cup will fill a conventional waffle iron. Belgian waffle irons may need up to 1/4 cup more per waffle. If using a mini single serve waffle iron, us 1/4 cup of batter.

A Grazing Board Christmas

 

In our family we have a tradition of a big breakfast on Christmas morning (sorry, no photos this year), followed by snacking the rest of the day. On Christmas Eve we usually have a fairly fancy meal, but this year it wasn't terribly fancy since Sweetie was getting over a cold and had little appetite. Still sliced ham, steamed sweet potatoes (red yams) and a big salad was pretty nice.

For some of the snacking on Christmas evening I put together my version of a charcuterie board. We had purchased some lovely cheese well before Christmas, plus thinly sliced salami and an assortment of crackers. A favorite on Christmas was the French Comte' from Costco that is the biggest cheese on the board, but the aged Gouda was also a hit. 

Sweetie bought a great dried fruit and nut assortment at Costco a couple of days before Christmas and we had some smoked salmon in the freezer, which I thawed. Once thawed I rolled individual slices...they looked a bit like rose buds. I had also bought some macaron almonds in advance as well as black olives.

I didn't photograph it, but an additional plate held Honeycrisp apple slices, walnuts, and mandarin oranges. It all went together fairly quickly and we really enjoyed relaxed conversation while we sampled different combinations of meats, cheeses, crackers, nuts and fruits...and dark chocolate squares.

Hope that you and yours had a great Christmas, too!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Greetings of the Season to all of you, dear reader! We are now officially into the Winter Season since the Solstice has passed. The days will begin to get longer as we head to Summer. In nature this is a season of calm, of resting, of renewal, so I wish you a time of rest and relaxation, too. Time to enjoy yourself and your time with family and friends if you like. And, of course, plenty of good food and drink, especially baked goods!

XO, Elle 

Gifts from the Kitchen

One of the satisfying things about baking is that you know that you can make delicious treats to give away to family, friends and neighbors. This is especially true at Christmas time because home made goodies are usually far better than the overpriced cookies and sweet breads that you are encouraged to buy for Christmas gifts.

This year some of the things that I had hoped to make and bake ahead of time were scotched by a week in bed with a winter cold/flu. Fortunately  I was able to bake some sweet tea breads for our neighbors. There won't be any photos of sliced breads, but I do have one of them wrapped up ready to gift.

The breads I baked included three small loaves of Tea Brack with warm spices, raisins and candied orange and lemon, a large and a small loaf of cranberry orange walnut bread, and a large and small loaf of cherry chocolate pecan bread.

There is a link to the tea brack bread (above) and below are the recipes for the other two kinds. Truthfully, for the two breads below you can mix and match the dried fruit and the nuts used as long as you keep the proportions and keep the same measurements of the other ingredients. I've made it with apricots and pecans, too, and that was delicious as well.

Happy baking and Happy Holidays!

Cranberry Orange Walnut Loaf

a variation of a recipe in Dorie Greenspan's marvelous Baking: From my home to yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries, dusted with a bit of flour 
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or two regular sheets stacked on on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer and paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes. You can do the same thing using a hand mixer and a large bowl.

Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, another 3 minutes or so. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. The batter may look curdled (mine did), but don't worry, it will come together after you add the flour mixture.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the flour mixture, mixing only until they are incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cranberries, orange zest and walnuts. (This step is important. Folding in the fruit and nuts makes for a lighter loaf than adding them with the mixer would.) Turn the batter into the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. Cover the top of the loaf loosely with a foil tent and bake for another 40 minutes or so (total baking time about 1 hour, 20 minutes), until the top is honey brown, bumpy and cracked and a thin knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (Since I used one 8 x 4-inch pan and one very small pan, it took about an hour for the larger pan and 40 minutes for the smaller pan.)  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool about 10 minutes before turning the loaf out of the pan, then cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Cherry Chocolate Pecan Loaf

a variation of a recipe in Dorie Greenspan's marvelous Baking: From my home to yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup dried cherries (chopped if very large), dusted with a bit of flour 
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or two regular sheets stacked on on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer and paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes. You can do the same thing using a hand mixer and a large bowl.

Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, another 3 minutes or so. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla and almond extract. The batter may look curdled (mine did), but don't worry, it will come together after you add the flour mixture.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the flour mixture, mixing only until they are incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dried cherries, chocolate chips or chunks and pecans. (This step is important. Folding in the fruit and nuts makes for a lighter loaf than adding them with the mixer would.) Turn the batter into the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. Cover the top of the loaf loosely with a foil tent and bake for another 40 minutes or so (total baking time about 1 hour, 20 minutes), until the top is honey brown, bumpy and cracked and a thin knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (Since I used one 8 x 4-inch pan and one very small pan, it took about an hour for the larger pan and 40 minutes for the smaller pan.) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool about 10 minutes before turning the loaf out of the pan, then cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

The Fragrance of Gingerbread Scones

 Sweetie and I visited our daughter, son-in-law and grandson last weekend and had such a great time. It was rainy but that meant that baking gingerbread scones with Raine was even nicer since the warm spices of gingerbread scones gave a wonderful holiday spice fragrance to the whole downstairs.

I used a recipe off the internet and stayed pretty close to it, although I increased the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon, but everyone agreed that another 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon would have made the scones even better. They did taste better the next day, so perhaps in another day they would have been just right without more cinnamon, but scones are best right after you bake them, usually, so I'm going to write up the recipe with that extra 1 teaspoon.

These are lovely scones, just a bit crumbly, enriched with molasses as well as brown sugar, plus the spices of winter. Half of them were given a drizzle of icing and even Sweetie, who had asked for a drizzle-free scone but tried one with the drizzle, agreed that the drizzle improved them, so go for the drizzle!

Gingerbread Scones

by Liren Baker of Kitchen COnfidate Blog

Ingredients

For the scones:

• ▢2 1/2 cups

  all-purpose flour


• ▢1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢1/2 cup brown sugar
• ▢1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢1 1/2 teaspoons

  ground cinnamon


• ▢1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢1/2 cup unsalted butter very cold, cut into small pieces
• ▢2 large eggs
• ▢1/2 cup buttermilk, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing the scones
• ▢1/4 cup molasses
• ▢2 teaspoons sparking sugar 

For the glaze:

• ▢1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar or more, depending on consistency, sifted
• ▢1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢Pinch ground cloves
• ▢1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

For the Scones

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture, until you have coarse crumbs. This can also be done with two knives or a food processor.
• Whisk the eggs lightly and combine with 1/2 cup buttermilk and molasses. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moist. The dough will be sticky.
• On a well-floured surface, turn the sticky dough out and knead very lightly until the flour is fully incorporated into the dough. If the dough feels too sticky, lightly add more flour as you shape the dough. Form the dough into a disk about 7-inches in diameter and 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F.
• Once the scones are chilled, lightly brush with remaining buttermilk. Stir together the sparkling sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the scones. Bake for 20 minutes, or until puffed. Transfer to a wire rack.

For the Glaze

• Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in the maple syrup, whisking until smooth. If you find that it’s too thick, add more maple syrup or a few teaspoons of water. If you find that the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle over or dip the scones and set on the wire rack.

A Winter Cold

Wish I had that baking angel doing Christmas baking for me!

That rain that I was hoping for (in my last post) is making a lot of noise outside, mostly because there are also high wind gusts. We should get a good soaking...something like three inches tonight and Saturday.

I wouldn't mind usually, but I have been laid up with a bad winter cold for the better part of a week and now that I'm feeling a little better I was hoping to go tomorrow to get a Christmas tree. Looks like it will be Sunday instead, when the rain should be gone. I haven't been out of the house in days...starting to get cabin fever or something.

One of the nasty things about this cold is that I had major brain fog. Not only couldn't I do simple things like write Christmas cards, I couldn't even figure out how to get started doing that...couldn't contemplate starting to figure it out. Of course there were plenty of days of constant nose blowing, more days of deep, wet coughing, lots of days with naps...and I don't usually do naps...and no appetite. 

Guess you can tell that this isn't going to be a cheery post about baking Christmas cookies, right? The one piece of good news (other than getting more rain) is that they delivered our new refrigerator today. Fits perfectly, makes less noise than our old fridge, but otherwise is less than exciting because it's almost identical to our old fridge. Turns out that enclosing the fridge with cabinets overhead and a wood panel below the cabinets, with walls on two other sides and a doorway right where the fridge is makes it almost impossible to purchase another brand or size of fridge. Fortunately I liked the old one and like the new one...and it was on sale.

Hope that you, dear reader, are cracking on with Christmas baking even if mine has to wait a bit yet.

Happy Friday the 13th! 

Hoping For Rain

When we travel to Washington state at this time of year we almost always get some rain, but here in Northern California it's sometimes hard to believe in the 'rainy season'. We did get a lot of rain in November, but December, so far, has been dry and is supposed to stay dry for the next week or two. Fingers crossed that the rain comes for a few days mid-month and then stops for the Christmas holiday...but that's not a sure thing, either.

For a number of years I've checked out the pyracanth shrub berries each fall to see if I can guess how wet a winter it will be overall. It seems to be a fairly good harbinger. In the years when there are lots of berries packed onto the branches we have a wet winter and in the years when the shrubs have berries spread apart on the branches and a smaller number of berries we tend to have a dryer winter with less rain overall.

This year the berries are packed (see photo above), so I expect that by March we will have had a good wet winter. Check back in March and see how we did!

Cooking and baking recipes will be suspended for a few days but then I expect to post some pie made with one of the grandsons...probably on Monday or Tuesday.