A delicious cake!

I made this cake for a Mother's Day dinner. It was a big hit- there was hardly any left!

Smith Island Ten-Layer Cake

Found in the Food Section of The Washington Post, April 23, 2008.

Ingredients:

For the cake

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing the pans
3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup water

For the icing
2 cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
5 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°. Grease 10 9-inch round cake pans, or use 2 or 3 at a time and re-grease them as needed.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

3. Combine the sugar and butter in an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beat until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, and add the prepared dry ingredients one cup at a time, beat until incorporated. Still on low speed, add the milk, vanilla, and water, beating until combined.

4. Place three serving spoons full of batter in each prepared pan. Use the back of the spoon to spread batter evenly. Bake two or three layers at a time on the middle rack of the oven for 8 to 9 minutes- a layer is done when a sizzling noise can no longer be heard.

5. While the cakes are baking, make the icing: Combine the sugar and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. The icing will thicken as it cools.

6. When the cake layers are baked, run a spatula around the edges and ease them out of the pans. Allow them to cool. Place the bottom layer on a cake plate. Spread two or three tablespoons of icing on each layer. Cover top and sides with remaining icing..

Serves 16.

I added a couple of things- I heated 1 cup of sweet orange marmalade and ½ cup of Triple Sec, and used a pastry brush to spread the mixture on every layer before the icing. I also used orange extract instead of vanilla for the icing.

This cake could become the official dessert of the state of Maryland- though there is some controversy on its origins. It resembles the tortes popular in Austria. There are many variations, but the plain yellow cake with chocolate icing is the “official” version. In any case, it’s delicious!


My cake:



Look at those layers! Yum! Baking each layer separately makes it less soggy from the icing.

Derby Day treats!

Today was the Kentucky Derby, so I had a little Derby Day feast. As usual, I made Benedictine sandwiches (I've posted the recipe here before). I added country ham with biscuits, and cherry cream cheese sandwiches. They're the easiest thing to do- just mix in a food processor: 8 ounces cream cheese and a jar of maraschino cherries (drained). Spread on very thin white sandwich bread.

I found this little tea time treat in Paula Deen Celebrates .

Dinner for one!

I found this great recipe in the Washington Post a few weeks ago. I made a few changes to the original, and also made a vegetarian version. I simplified the cooking directions a bit.

Chicken Marsala Wearing a Jacket

1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for brushing mushroom
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
1 (4 to 5 ounce) chicken breast, cut into pieces (vegetarian version: three thin slices of eggplant)
Fine sea salt
1/4 cup red wine, such as Marsala or merlot
1/4 cup chicken chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large portabello mushroom cap


Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar and onions, stir to coat. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 5 to 7 minutes or until onions are caramelized. Add the chicken (or eggplant) and cook until browned (or the eggplant is tender).

Add wine, broth, and lemon juice, and cook down for a few minutes. Reduce heat to low, and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Lightly brush mushroom cap with olive oil and a bit of lemon juice and salt. Broil the mushroom for a few minutes on both sides until mushroom has softened. Transfer to a plate, and fill the cap with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

I served mine with sides of risotto and salad greens. The chicken and mushrooms were delicious. The sauce was sweet- I loved the combination of brown sugar, red wine, and lemon juice. This recipe is a keeper! I've found many good recipes in the Washington Post.

Leftover bananas!

I hate wasting bananas. I had four brown bananas that were perfect on the inside- just about to turn to mush. One more day, the bananas would have been no good except for banana bread, which I hate. I had to use them right away, so I made fritters, and they were delicious...

The basic batter recipe, from The Joy of Cooking:

Sift together in a bowl:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a seperate bowl, mix together:

2/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Four medium sized ripe bananas, sliced

Add liquid ingredients to the dry mixture, then add the bananas.

Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil to 375°. Drop batter into the oil, about 1/4 cup each fritter, and fry until puffy and golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle powdered sugar on top to serve.



The original recipe called for two egg whites, beaten and folded into the batter, but mine came out fine without them.

No recipes this week, but...

I did want to share a book I recently found:

The Sweet Spot

Absolutely lovely Asian-inspired desserts- recipes include cakes, cookies, candies, and drinks with ingredients from just about everywhere- China, Japan, Vietnam, India...it is really pan-Asian. Some of the desserts are Western-style adapted for the Asian market, such as layer cake with green tea icing. Others are classics such as red-bean paste stuffed sweet sesame balls- a staple in China, and one Americans who frequent dim sum houses know very well. I'm going to try a few recipes in the coming weeks.

Two holiday recipes!

St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, but I thought I'd share a great quick bread recipe. This was a big hit at a party I had to cook for.

Royal Irish Soda Bread from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum



Oven temperature- 375°

1 scant cup raisins or currants
½ cup Irish whiskey or hot water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ liquid cup plus 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (this is my own addition)

1. Soak the raisins/currants in whiskey or water for half an hour or until softened. Drain and reserve remaining whiskey for Irish whiskey butter (next recipe).

2. Preheat the oven to 375° for twenty minutes before baking.

3. Mix and knead the dough. Cut butter into 8 pieces so it will soften and be easier to blend into the flour.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, caraway seeds, and salt. Using your fingertips or a pastry blade, blend in the butter until the mixture resembles soft crumbs. Stir in the raisins/currants. Add the buttermilk and stir until moistened and the dough comes together.

Empty the dough onto a flat surface and knead 8 times. Scrape dough if it sticks to surface- don’t add more flour if possible.

4. Shape the dough. Roll dough into a six inch round. Place on a prepared baking sheet (book suggests parchment paper, but I used PAM. It worked well.).

5. Bake the bread for 30 minutes until it is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool the bread on a rack.

Irish Whiskey Butter

3 tablespoons Irish whiskey
1 tablespoon sugar
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

In a small microwavable bowl, stir together whiskey and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 20 seconds or until hot. Stir to dissolve sugar, cover and allow to cool completely.

With a whisk or spoon, gradually stir whiskey mixture into the butter until incorporated. It will be a caramel brown color. Serve with Irish soda bread. Can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.


This is just about the best recipe for Irish soda bread I've found. The only changes I made were to add the caraway seeds and to use currants instead of raisins.

This is a great baking book...I also love Beranbaum's Cake Bible.


From today's Easter dinner...

Spanokapita

This recipe was adapted from a cookbook compiled as a library fund raiser almost a decade ago. My mother and I tweaked the recipe, adding seasoning and pine nuts, as well as deciding to make individual pies instead of one big pie, as the original recipe called for. I've made it for every family Easter dinner for the last ten years, and it is always a hit.

1 package filo dough
1 stick butter
8 ounces ricotta cheese
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 small packages feta cheese
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen spinach, boiled, drained, with excess water squeezed out
3 tablespoons pine nuts, slightly toasted
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°.


Mix together the cheeses, spinach, garlic, eggs, pine nuts, seasoning, and onion. Let the mixture chill for at least an hour.

Melt the butter. Set aside. Place filo dough on wax paper, cover with damp towel to keep dough from drying out.

Working quickly, take one sheet of filo and brush with butter. Fold the sheet in half lengthwise. Take one tablespoon of spinach mixture and add it to one end of the dough. Fold the dough into triangles as if folding a flag, using more butter to stick the sheets together. Repeat with new sheet of filo. Brush the top of each pie with more butter, and bake until browned, at least 25 minutes.

This recipe should make about 36 pies.



My usual Easter menu includes these pies, ham, lamb, asparagus, scalloped potatoes, and pineapple au gratin (that recipe was posted here several months ago). The pies are usually the most quickly devoured...

Still cooking!

Wow! I haven't updated in four months! I've been trying out a lot of new recipes, but just haven't gotten around to posting them. Here are two that I've tried recently:


Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Garlic, and Parsley

From Lidia’s Italian Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

Salt
¼ cup olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 ½ pounds assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced ¼ inch thick (about six cups)
Freshly ground black pepper
8 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 pound spaghetti
1 cup vegetable broth or water
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic in skillet until golden, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and toss in salt, pepper, and sage. Cook mushrooms until they wilt, then until they are sizzling and brown, about ten minutes (boil off any liquid the mushrooms give off first).

Cook spaghetti until al dente.

Add the broth to the mushrooms and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Drain pasta, and add mushroom mixture to pot. Add parsley and bring the pasta and sauce to a boil. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Remove from heat, add cheese, and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

I left out the sage, and added ¼ cup chopped fresh basil instead. I used a combination of white and porcini mushrooms (there were no suggestions in the book), but any combination of mushrooms will work. This is a lovely main course or a side dish for meat or seafood dishes (I made it with turkey scallopine with lemon sauce).

Baked Rigatoni with Cauliflower in a Spicy Pink Sauce

From Fine Cooking magazine, March 2007

3 Tbs. olive oil
2 28-oz. cans whole tomatoes
1 pound yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp. crushed red peppers
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound cauliflower, cut into 1 to 1 ¼ inch florets (about 4 cups)
10 oz. shredded Fontina cheese (about 2 ½ cups)
2 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about ¾ cup)

Heat oven to 450°.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with 1 Tbs. olive oil.

Pour off 1 cup of juice from one of the cans of tomatoes and discard. Purée tomatoes and remaining juice in a food processor or blender.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and ¼ tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Push onions to one side of the pot and add garlic, cooking until it begins to sizzle, about 10 seconds.

Add puréed tomatoes, cream, and remaining salt (add slowly to avoid splattering). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the sauce thickens somewhat. Add the parsley and pepper flakes, and cook until the flavors meld (about 5 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Cook rigatoni until slightly al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and add to the sauce. Cook cauliflower until barely tender, about 2 minutes, and add to pasta mixture.

Add 1 ½ cups shredded Fontina to the pasta and toss well. Transfer to the baking dish, and top with remaining Fontina and the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Bake uncovered until the cheese is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Be careful with the crushed red peppers! A little goes a long way. I actually only used half of the amount in the recipe, and the dish was still very spicy.