Recipe Notes: Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

25 September 2019

Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, recipes from The Perfect Cake, America's Test Kitchen, 2018, pp. 116 and 401; also available online.

Autumn is the time for spiced desserts. Thus when I had an opportunity to make a cake for some meetings I went to the sheet cake section of The Perfect Cake and found this recipe. 

Some advance planning was needed as several ingredients (butter, eggs, and buttermilk) needed to be at room temperature. The powdered spices (cinnamon, cardamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg) were mixed together and a small portion was set aside for the frosting. The butter was put into a skillet, melted, and browned. The spices were added to the hot, nutty brown butter to bloom their flavors. After the butter mixture had cooled to room temperature, the dry ingredients were whisked together in a bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla were whisked together. Butter, sugar, and molasses were creamed in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Grated fresh ginger was added along with the the butter mixture and half of the egg mixture.  These were mixed until combined then the remaining egg mixture was added. The flour mixture and buttermilk were added and mixed into the batter, alternating flour and buttermilk additions to help prevent the formation of lumps. The batter was placed in a greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan and baked at 350° for 31 minutes. The cake came out of the oven 1 hour and 45 minutes after starting.

The frosting was made by beating together cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla and salt until smooth then beating in confectioners' sugar and the spice mixture from the cake. This was spread on the cake after it had cooled.

When I first ate the cake I must admit I wasn't a fan. The cake and frosting had a great texture, both were light and moist. However I found the frosting to be too tangy (remember that I am not a big cheese eater) and the cake uninspiring. However, the flavors grew on me over time. I think resting in the refrigerator helped the flavors to mellow and blend which I liked. This is a cake that I might serve  again some day, but if I did it might be worth making it a day in advance and letting the cake sit for a day in the refrigerator before serving.

Recipe Notes: Challah

24 September 2019

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2019; recipe is also available online

Challah is a soft, rich Jewish bread often served at holiday meals. I made it once before and remember how beautiful the braided loaf was. Unfortunately my blog post didn't include many details beyond mentioning the three-braid loaf so I can't compare that loaf with the one made with this new recipe. However, this recipe uses some newer techniques and ingredients and I was eager to try it.

Preparing the dough was pretty standard except for the addition of an egg, two egg yolks, and some vegetable oil. The dough included a paste of flour and water, tangzhong, which is used to good effect in several other bread recipes I regularly make. The flour paste was whisked together with the egg and yolks, oil, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Bread flour and yeast were added, mixed until combined, then allowed to rest for 20 minutes. Sugar and salt were added and the dough was kneaded for about 9 minutes. The relatively dry dough was then placed in a large measuring bowl and left to rise until doubled in volume. The risen dough was transferred to a counter and cut into four equal-weight pieces. These were rolled into 18-inch long ropes which were braided to form the loaf. This was covered loosely with plastic wrap and left to rise until doubled; this took 2 hours rather than the 3 hours listed in the recipe. An egg wash was applied and the bread baked until golden brown. Total time from beginning to removing the finished bread from the oven was about 5½ hours.

Like the older recipe, this one produced a beautiful loaf of bread. I used it mostly for sandwiches. I appreciated the more uniform shape of the 4-braid loaf compared to the earlier 3-braid loaf which was more triangular than rectangular. The bread was soft and rich and made good sandwiches. I didn't try it for French toast but hope to do so one day, Challah is said to be the best bread to use for French toast.

Recipe Notes: Cod and Potato Cakes

23 September 2019

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2019, also available online

A recent issue of Cook's Illustrated included a fish recipe. As I have relatively little experience or knowledge about fish cookery I was happy to have another recipe to try. This one looked to be easy to prepare, using readily available fish, and good to boot.

I halved the recipe from the magazine which serves 4. A russet potato was cooked in the microwave, cooled, then pressed through a ricer. ⅜ cup of tightly-packed mashed potatoes were put into a bowl and fluffed with a fork. In a skillet, minced green onion whites (from 1 green onion), garlic, thyme (I had to use dry thyme as the supermarket had no fresh thyme), salt, and pepper were cooked in butter until softened. Pieces of cod (other white fish could be used: hake, haddock, pollock) was added to the pan and cooked, flipping it after about 3 minutes, until it just began to flake. The cod mixture was added to the potatoes along with sliced green parts of the green onion. This was mixed, allowing the fish to fall apart. Half of a lightly beaten egg was gently stirred into the mixture. Using a ⅓-cup measuring cup, the mixture was scooped up and placed on a plate, creating four cakes that were placed in the freezer for 15 minutes then coated with crushed panko bread crumbs. These were cooked in a thin layer of oil in a skillet until brown. Preparation time was 75 minutes.

We enjoyed having these cod and potato cakes for dinner and look forward to having them again. They are easy to make and require no exotic ingredients or techniques. They have a nice crispy outside and soft inside. Foods with a crispy exterior like this generally don't work well as leftovers so it was good that we finished all four cakes at one sitting. (A "for two" recipe usually provides the two of us two dinners.) Diane thought they would benefit from a sauce, something creamy or a garlic butter sauce. The recipe in the magazine includes instructions for making a quick tartar sauce that is probably worth trying. 

Recipe Notes: Indian Butter Chicken

10 September 2019

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, May 2019, also available online.

We don't eat out very often, preferring to home-cooked meals. When we eat out it is likely to be American food. Thus, we have limited experience with food from India or other countries. Cook's Illustrated seems to be featuring more recipes for dishes inspired by food from outside the U.S. I welcome this change, after all how many different recipes do you need for roast chicken? The recipe for Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) seemed reasonably familiar with no ingredients unique to this one dish so it was worth trying.

I used the "for Two" version of the recipe that I found online. Preparation consisted of two distinct parts: creating the sauce and cooking the chicken. For the sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, and a serrano chile (ribs and seeds removed and discarded) were cooked in butter. When the aromatics had softened, spices—garam masala (a readily available spice blend), coriander, cumin, and pepper—were added and cooked for about three minutes. Water and tomato paste were whisked into the mixture followed with sugar and salt. Off heat, cream was added and the sauce processed with an immersion blender until smooth. Finally it was returned to the heat, brought to a simmer, and some additional butter added. Next, the chicken was cooked. One pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs were coated with plain European style yogurt. (The recipe specified plain Greek yogurt, but the supermarket had none.) These were cooked under the broiler, flipping half way through, for about 16 minutes. After resting, the chicken was cut into chunks and stirred into the warm sauce and finished with some chopped fresh cilantro. Total time was about 80 minutes.

We enjoyed this dish. We served it with rice and, like most ATK "for two" recipes, it was good for the two of us for two meals. The chicken was tender and juicy. The sauce was rich and smooth with a complex flavor but not too rich and not too spicy for our wimpy palates. It tastes and looks like an Indian dish and it is worth making again.