The Lamington Curse

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Mr. P over at Delicious, Delicious, Delicious has been cursed in my kitchen a few times during the making of these lamingtons. You see it was his idea to have a contest focusing on these Australian treats. For anyone also not familiar with them, basically they are a small square piece of cake which is covered in chocolate and then coated in coconut… I know …yum! I quite honestly had not heard of them before Mr. P came into my life.

I had some grand ideas as well as a few ideas to make life a bit easier…come on two young kids necessitates short cuts on occasion! I had planned on buying 2 premade pound cakes as the base but on shopping day I could not find a pound cake to save my life (1st cursing of Mr P). But did this stop me? No way! I decided to do it the old fashioned way and make two pound cakes from scratch both, yet again, by Rose Levy Barnabaum and her Cake Bible. The first was her double vanilla pound cake and the second was her chocolate bread (chocolate pound cake). I forgot to take pictures of these (curse #2 on Mr P).

I am always looking for ways to involve the kids and this event was no exception. I wanted to colour the coconut spring colours to make up for the very day greys we've had lately in Vancouver. So the kids got to the pick colours for our Spring Lamingtons – pink and green. I added the colour gels to a cup of coconut placed in Ziploc bags. We put on some music (Mary had a little “lamb”ington was not among them!) and shook the bags until the coconut were beautiful shades of pink and green.

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I thought the only way to make these delectable morsels of cake and chocolate even better would be to add a tasty bit of delicious, buttery caramel sauce right in the middle. To do this I placed a small indent in the middle of the cake piece and then used my turkey baster to add the caramel sauce. Afterwards I capped the hole with a little bit of cake.

From lamingtons

From lamingtons

Curse #3 on Mr. P came while trying to glaze my cut-up pound cakes. The chocolate glaze was easy to make but getting it to the right consistency was a bit more difficult as it had to cool to the right pouring temp. I was vigilant until American Idol came on and then well, “pants on the floor” guy came on and I was sucked into watching it!!! By the time I finished laughing my glaze was a bit too stiff. It still tasted fantastic and was more than useable, but I had to frost it like a cake rather than just pour it over the cake as I had hoped.

My other idea for lamingtons was “reverse lamingtons” – chocolate cake with white chocolate glaze and toasted coconut. But to be honest by the time I finished icing the Spring Lamingtons there was no more “spring” in my step… it was waaay too late for another glaze and I had a tonne of the original chocolate glaze left. Curse #4, Mr P.

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So I made “lamington surprise” versions instead – they look like regular lamingtons but…surprise… chocolate cake!

I took most of them to work the next day and I have to say everyone LOVED them (well, except the guy allergic to coconut). The kids thought they were the best thing ever- “even better than cupcakes, Mom.”

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From lamingtons

So now I take back all of the cursing I have placed upon Mr. P because thanks to him my coworkers satisfied their sweet-tooths, my kids had a great time, and I tried something new in the kitchen… thanks Mr. P :)

From lamingtons

From lamingtons

The Story of the Peanut Butter and Jam Banana Cake

Ever act before you think? Well, on occasion I do. Take, for instance, last week when I asked the kids if they wanted me to make a cake to take Grandma's house. "Yes" was the answer and that wasn't the no thinking act. It was my next question... "what kind of cake should i make?". I figured chocolate would be the answer - as usual. But it wasn't. The answer from my son was banana...not bad until my daugther added "with peanut butter and jam!" Oh man. Of the many desserts I have made in my life, I can honestly say I have never made a peanut butter and jam banana cake. But I am not one to shy away from a challenge.

First, the banana cake. In my Cake Bible by Goddess Rose, there is a banana cake I have wanted to try for years but as you know from previous posts I am rarely able to live up to my self imposed Rose standards. But I was on high from my first huge success with a Rose cake and thought I could pull off another.

That led to the peanut butter and jam aspect of the cake. Luckily, I had just seen a post at My Baking Addiction with a beautiful peanut butter/cream cheese ring so I thought I would try it in this. To make life easy, I thought I would "sandwich" the peanut butter between 2 layers of seedless raspberry jam.

When it came out of the oven, the scent of sweet bananas filled the kitchen.... a good start! I promised the kids that they could help me frost it the next day. I wasn't sure what flavour would work best and in the end I decided on a white chocolate ganache and a drizzle of raspberry jam. Again, I thought I would use Rose's recipe for ganache. The problem... I hate to wait. So even though she clearly stated to completely cool down the heated chocolate and cream before adding it to the whipped cream, I convinced myself that my mix was cool enough. It wasn't. It separated and tuned into a messy puddle... it still tasted good but it was not pretty and did not glide nor would it cover the cake with the beautiful white sheath I had envisoned. Oh well, I slopped it on anyways and then drizzled the jam. Hmmm, it did not look like the cake I had baked in my mind.

I have to admit that it didn't taste like it did in my mind either. The flavours weren't quite strong enough - especially the peanut butter but it is very moist. The kids loved it, of course, and they are so proud of it that they tell everyone that they "invented" their cake. Their smiles when they do this fill their small, angelic faces.

I guess the moral of the Peanut Butter and Jam Banana Cake is that sometimes things don't work out as we imagine they will, and that's ok...sometimes what comes of it is even better.

Spaghetti Squash..worth rethinking!

I do not like spaghetti squash. Someone once promised me that spaghetti squash tasted just like pasta... what a crock! It does not taste like pasta - at least not any pasta I've ever eaten. I, in fact, have avoided that squash since that day oh so many years ago. Then I had kids. For anyone who didn't get the memo - kids change everything.

We ask our two young children to step out of their comfort zone now and then and try new foods. It's served us well so far - our son pretty much likes everything and our 5 year old daugther tried eel the other day! But I should have known it would come back and bite me in the butt one day.

On a trip to the grocery store a few weeks ago I was in the veggie section and passed by the pile of squashes that I have passed without thought for years now. For some reason a beautiful crayola yellow spaghetti squash caught my eye. OK it was staring at me... it seemed to be willing me to buy it. I was about to dismiss it with a flick of my hair but I could hear my kids "Mom, if you make us try icky things why don't you have to?" Like I said, kids change everything. I bought the dang thing.

Once I got it home, I had to figure out what to do with it. I certainly was not going to treat it like pasta - no tomato sauce whatsoever was going near it. I decided to keep it simple. I cut it in half lengthwise and dug out the seed with an avocado slicer (it never seems to fit any avocado I buy so I was glad to find a good use for it!).

From spaghetti squash

I also sprinkled the flesh with salt, pepper and a little thyme. Then I put them, cut side down, in a large pan and poured in a 900ml container of beef broth.

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With my oven preheated to 350 degrees I baked it for about 50 minutes, until the flesh was soft.

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Being careful not to burn myself, I separated the strands of the squash and put them into a large bowl.

From spaghetti squash

From spaghetti squash

I added butter, cream cheese and grated parmesan. I then separated the squash into smaller bowls and put a bit more butter and parmesan on top.

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Finally, I broiled them until the cheese browned.

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The verdict? Yum! Spaghetti squash is back on the friendly vegetable list. If you are trying to keep it healthy then just add salt, pepper and any other spice - it will still be good... I, however, will not be adding tomato sauce anytime soon. Enjoy.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

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From Hummus

Tahini isn't always in my pantry but we often crave hummus. This is the recipe we use when the craving hits but the pantry is empty (of tahini). It's great with a variety of fresh vegetables as well as a spread for turkey and roast beef sandwiches!

Ingredients:
1 can 15 oz chickepeas, rinsed
1/8 cup - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small jalapeno, minced
juice of 2-3 lemons
1/4 garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup roasted red peppers

Preparation:
In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Start with lower ammount of oil and add more if you would like it smoother.

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Sushi Cake!

From sushi cake

It's Saturday night and it's the kids turn to pick what we will have for dinner. The choice is Sushi Cake also known as sushi pizza. I first came across this dish while reading Bonnie Stern's Heart Smart Cooking for Family and Friends. Now my kids aren't fans of the smoked salmon version in her book (though many others are!) so I simplified it to suit my kids. If you follow Bonnie's more sophisticated recipe it would be great to serve at a dinner party.

My little ones love avocado rolls when we go out for sushi so our version is very simple avocado sushi cake. Other than cooking the rice it is a very kid friendly, hands on recipe. Also great is the way you can add whatever suits your own taste.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked warm sushi rice
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 ripe avacados, sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning
• 1 sheet toasted nori - enough to fit pan
• sesame seeds optional

What to do

• Line 8x8 pan with plastic wrap.
• Lightly toss rice wine vinegar with rice.
• Arrange avocado slices in a single layer in pan.

From sushi cake

From sushi cake

• Place 2 cups of cooked rice evenly over avocado slices.
• Place nori (cut to size of pan if needed) over rice.

From sushi cake

From sushi cake

• Add remaining rice and pat down with wet hands.

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• Cover with plastic wrap and place another 8x8 pan on top on rice. To this pan add heavy cans, or books etc to weigh down "cake". Keep at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

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• Remove top layer of plastic wrap.
• Flip over pan onto serving plate to unmould.
• Remove last of plastic wrap.

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• Garnish with sesame seeds. Other possible garnish includes roe, green onions, lemon slices, pickled ginger, wasabi etc.

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• Although not necessary it is also great to have soy sauce available.

The Baking Gene and Rose Levy Beranbaum's Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake

My Mom is a self taught, home style baker. She makes the kinds of cookies, loaves, and bars people drool over just thinking about. I like to think I was lucky enough to get at least a slice of her baking gene. I hadn't really dabbled in cakes though. So as a young adult, out on my own for the first time, I decided I should start making some fancy and delicous cakes. Of course, my first purchase was The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The information and science behind her cakes was amazing, the directions so specific and the pictures were  mouth watering. How could I not become a master cake baker??

Well, I am no Rose. The cakes I tried were flat and no matter how I tried to fix them, I could not (often) get my cake to look like Rose's. I still believe The Cake Bible is one of the best cake books out there. I am still trying to create a Rose worthy cake from it. But I did question how big of a baking gene I inherited.

I found out a few days ago that Rose has a new book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes. Hmmm, I think to myself, could this be a book from which I could finally recreate a Rose perfect recipe??? I have chosen Rose's Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake thanks to a contest and sprucetv.

The recipe, of course, was pretty exact.... 2 cups + 2 tb flour etc...as were the instructions that were down to the second. Yikes... will my 35 vs 30 seconds of mixing screw up this recipe? I'm already worried! A bead of sweat is forming on my perfectly shaped (I just got them waxed) brow but I perservere. The measuring, mixing, timing, and pouring is done. I open the oven door and place the fluted pan in the oven with just a slight bit of trepidation. Now, I have to wait at least 50 minutes...tick tock tick tock...sigh this is taking waaay too long but finally all 50 minutes pass by. I pull out the pan and ... well... it looks great. I put in a toothpick to see if it's done...it's not! It's still pretty goopy. I quickly pop it back in the oven. I should have known this would not be simple :) As I close the oven my husband asks if he can heat up some tortillas on the rack above my cake???? Seriously?? Has he not seen the sweat? The look of concern on my face all night?? He soon realizes the error of his ways and looks towards the microwave. Ding! Ten minutes are up. The cake still looks better than any other Rose cake I have attempted. The height is right and the smell is devine.

I wait the required 15 minutes before I turn over the pan, say a little prayer for it to come out in one piece and try to separate the pan from the cake....success! The cake is in one piece! It cools...slowly. Rose suggests dusting it with sugar or cocoa. I opt for the sugar and then drizzle it with a bit of chocolate icing.

IT LOOKS ROSE WORTHY!! I am impressed with not only myself but also Rose and her new Heavenly Cakes!

The final piece of the pie (or cake) is the taste test. I brought in my husband for this in order to make up for his microwaved dinner. He gives it his "yum" of approval. It is light, yet fudgy, sophisticated yet fun to eat, it is a truly beautiful cake. In fact, this cake has made me believe I really have inherited my Mom's baking gene. Thanks Rose.

Rainbow Veggie Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

From rainbow salad

My 5-year old daughter visited an urban farm a few months ago. While there she tasted some new (to her) veggies including kale and beets (which I'm also sure she would have hated if I put them in front of her :) Since then she has, off and on, mentioned this visit and her experience. When I suggested that we makeup a recipe with  the vegetables she tasted she jumped on the idea.

So this weekend we went to the market where she hand picked kale, beets, carrots and broccoli. She decided on a salad because she prefers most veggies raw (except the broccoli which she insisted on steaming). The many colours of the combined veggies reminded her of a rainbow so she named it "Rainbow Salad".

She also isn't a big fan of dressings as she doesn't like anything too tart thus the rather large amount of sweet orange juice. It was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped kale
• 3 medium shredded raw beets
• 4 large shredded carrots
• 1 cup broccoli - slightly steamed
• 1 diced avocado

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
• kosher salt
• pepper

What to do:
Toss vegetables in mixing large bowl.
Combine dressing ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Lightly mix veggies with dressing. Plate and serve!

Although this is a great salad the moment you make it, I thought it was even better the next day as the veggies had a better opportunity to marinate in with the dressing.