Hodge Podge

There are so many things I've made over the past few months that have been reasonably successful that I've simply failed to post.  So here is my desperately late post about the hodge podge of meals, desserts, and odds-and-ends I have been concocting.

I figured I'd start from five minutes ago and work my way back in time. I made a light, fluffy pastry this morning for breakfast.  Well, maybe pastry isn't the right word.  Or light.  Or fluffy.  I made what I thought would be a light, fluffy pastry.  Instead it turned out to be an undercooked, sweet egg.

 

But that was my fault; it still tasted good. You see, since it was a balmy 80 degrees outside (yes, even at 9 in the morning) I decided to bake this German pancake in the toaster oven rather than the large oven, therefore avoiding heating the apartment up more than necessary.  I was, however, unaware that the pancakes puff up above the pan (and, in my case, into the toaster elements).  I had to let the pancake deflate before allowing it to continue cooking in the toaster, so the inside was not as fluffy as it should have been. 

Yesterday I was craving something for dessert (at nine in the morning, mind you) so I spent a few hours browsing through recipes looking for what I wanted to bake.  I decided on whoopie pies, which may not have been the best of ideas in 90 degree weather; then again, baking in 90 degree weather isn't the best idea anyways.  I have to try more recipes for whoopie pies over the next few months to get just what I'm looking for: a cakey, moist bun with a semi-sweet, creamy filling.

What I made yesterday was tasty, don't get me wrong, but the bun, while cake-like, was slightly drier than I had hoped and the filling wasn't as creamy as I was thinking.  Of course, making a creamy filling and hoping it would hold two cake buns together while melting is near impossible.  Maybe whoppie pies are a winter snack.  None the less, I enjoyed the recipe, so I'm posting it.

Last month I was experimenting with making my own tacos.  I had a great recipe for homemade taco seasoning, so all I needed was the tortilla to put everything in.  I figured it couldn't be too hard to make four tortillas, and it wasn't, but there are a few things I would do differently next time I make them.  For one, the recipe I followed advised that all the water be added to the dough mixture at one time.  This was a huge mistake because the amount of water will be different each time you make it.  The suggested amount of water was too much for my dough, so I ended up getting a sticky ball of goo to which I had to add a lot more flour.   And the tortillas have to be rolled really thinly.  Almost to the point where you think they'll rip when you pick them up.  They were tasty with all the taco mixtures in them, though.

The last recipe I'm going to share today is a cheesecake I have made at least twice.  It is amazing.  There are no other words for it.  The first time I made it, I took it to a girls night where everyone who had a piece was slightly tipsy (or more than slightly tipsy) and everyone claimed it was the best thing they ever had.  I was even offered a position as a personal baker in England (without pay, of course, but I could live in a closet for free).  The second time I made it was for a birthday celebration where no one was tipsy and everyone loved it.

German Pancake

From Smitten Kitchen (the original recipe was for 2 9-inch pancakes.  Since I was using a single 6-inch pan, I divided the recipe by 2-2/3.  These measurements are in parenthesise).

4 eggs (1.5 - I had half an egg from the day before)

1 tablespoon sugar (1 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon salt (I realized, as I was writing this, that I forgot the salt)

2/3 cup flour, sifted (1/4 c.)

2/3 cup milk (1/4 c.)

2 tablespoons soft butter (2-1/4 tsp.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Beat the eggs till they're light yellow in colour and slightly frothy.  Add the sugar, salt, and flour and blend well.  Stir in the milk and butter till the mixture is smooth (as I was using a whisk, I could not get the butter to mix smoothly into the mixture, so it was a bit chunky.  I don't believe this had an adverse effect on the outcome, however). 

Pour the mixture into the pans and bake at 400 for twenty minutes.  Lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another ten minutes.  Serve with your favourite pancake topping (I used maple syrup).

Whoopie Pies

Adapted from Joy of Baking (I ended up thirding the recipe below, to make four pies rather than 12).

Cake:

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup  sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk (I did not have buttermilk, but you can make your own by adding 1 tbs of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk)

1/2 cup lukewarm strong coffee

Filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup light corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminium foil or parchment paper.  Sift the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a mixing bowl.  Cream the butter and sugar till smooth.  Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture.  Alternate adding the dry mixture and the coffee/buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.  Using a tablespoon, place drops of the batter onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 9-10 minutes.

It was so warm out that the coffee from the freezer was steaming.

To make the filling, cream the butter.  Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix well.  Beat in the vanilla and corn syrup.  Once the filling is mixed, put it in a cool pace.  Once the cookies have cooled, use the frosting to hold two together.  I would recommend putting them in the fridge so they don't slide apart.

Taco Seasoning

From AllRecipes

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a spice jar or bowl and use to season dishes. 

Flour Tortillas

From Cynthia Pineda (makes 10-15 tortillas)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening (I used butter)
1 1/4 cups warm water (approximate)

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl.  Cut in the butter one tablespoon at a time.  If you don't have a pastry cutter, you can use your hands (I did!).  Keep adding butter until the mixture is crumbly, but will stick together if squeezed.  If the mixture falls apart, you need more butter; if the mixture makes a hard lump, you need more flour.  

Once you have the right consistency for the mixture, slowly add water (I'd start with 1/2 cup and add 1/4 cup at a time).  I mixed the dough by hand, but you can use a fork or other implement if you wish.  You want the dough to be like pizza dough - slightly sticky, but able to hold itself  in a ball shape.  Once the dough has reached the correct consistency, knead it till it is softer and not very sticky.  Let the dough rest (covered by a towel) for 5-10 minutes.  Next, make 10-15 small balls of dough from your mixture, kneading each one as it is made.  

You're going to need a cast iron pan (usually a comal is used) for this next step.  You can either make a tortilla while one is cooking (which I did) or you can make one tortilla, let it cook, and then make the next one.  Each tortilla only takes about 45 seconds to cook. 

Place your cast iron pan over medium-low heat.  While the pan is heating up, flour your work surface (I used a wooden cutting board) and roll out one of your small balls of dough into a thin disk.  I ended up leaving mine 1/8" thick in some places, and I wished I had made them thinner.  Once you have the tortilla ready to be cooked, butter/oil the pan (I used a basting brush to lightly coat the pan, because I wanted to oil it in between each tortilla).  Place the tortilla on the pan, it will start to get air bubbles.  After 20 or so seconds, flip the tortilla over to cook the other side.  Once both sides look nicely brown in some spots the tortilla is done. 

Brownie Cheesecake

From Smitten Kitchen

Brownies:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter

1 3/4cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

Crust:

1 1/2 cups or 5 ounces finely ground cookies such as chocolate wafers (I used chocolate graham crackers because I couldn't find chocolate teddy grahams)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Cheesecake:

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 cups brownie cubes (from recipe above)

Deb also has a ganache glaze for the cheesecake, but I have never used it, I think the cheesecake is perfect without it.  For the birthday cheesecake, I made a quick chocolate icing to pipe on words.

Chocolate Icing:

From my sister-in-law: makes 2 cups

1/2 c. butter, melted

2/3 c. cocoa powder

3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

I would suggest making the brownies a day ahead.  To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil (I use a 11 x 7 pan and it works just fine), butter the foil.  Melt the butter and chocolate over a simmering pot of water; once melted, remove from the heat and mix well.  Add the sugar.  Beat in the eggs.  Add the vanilla and salt.  Slowly mix in the flour in small batches till well combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted comes out with crumbs).  Do not overcook.  Once done, cool the brownies.  I usually put them in the fridge to cool.  Once cooled, cut the brownies into small (<1") squares.  You will have left over brownies.  The best thing about this is that you can put the leftover brownie cubes into multiple ziplock bags and put them in the freezer (to be transferred to to refrigerator once the previous bag has been consumed).

To make the crust, grind the cookies in a food processor and add the other ingredients directly into the food processor to mix.  If grinding the cookies by hand, simply mix the other ingredients in by hand as well.  Press the crumb crust on the bottom and sides (leave half an inch at the top) of a 9-1/2" (24cm) spring-form pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the cream cheese until fluffy (I used a food processor, but you could use a stand mixer or do it by hand).  Add the eggs.  Add the vanilla and sugar and mix well.  Stir in the two cups of brownie cubes.

Place the spring-form pan (with crust in it) on a shallow baking tray and pour the filling slowly into the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the centre is slightly wobbly, but the rest is firm.

Wait till the cake cools and enjoy!  If you're making the icing to pipe on, simply mix everything together in the bowl/pan used to melt the butter.