FFWD: Marie Helene's Apple Cake

Apple Cake

Marie Helene's Apple cake had a few simple ingredients: flour, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, baking powder and rum. I ended up subbing bourbon for the rum. Not sure this was an entirely good idea, although I think it still tasted pretty good.

Mixing up the apples.

Side view.

Lots of apples.

Another issue I had is that I didn't have a springform pan (I know I should just buy one!) I decided to use a regular cake pan instead. I lined it with wax paper as some other FFWDers suggested. My cake doesn't look as pretty as the one in the book, and I'm not sure if it could have used another 5 minutes in the oven. I also kept opening the oven (another no-no). I might try making this one again, as I loved the way the apples tasted, but was a little less enthused about the cake.

Warm slice.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Cookies and Cream Frosting

The masterpiece.

As I may have mentioned earlier, we have started a nice tradition of celebrating birthdays at my office with team lunches. It is a great way to spend some time with my coworkers and a great excuse to bake! I was feeling a little cupcake fatigue and decided to bake a cake. I really wanted a classic chocolate cake. I asked my mom to recommend a couple, and decided that chocolate whiskey cake might be a bit too fancy for such an occasion. I ended up going with the classic Hershey's Heritage Chocolate cake.

This recipe is pretty traditional in that it uses buttermilk, cocoa, flour, eggs, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. I tweaked the recipe slightly, substituting cake flour for the all-purpose. I think it resulted in a lighter, fluffier cake.

Fluffy, thick, cream cheese goodness.

After baking the cake I had to decide what kind of frosting I wanted to make. I was leaning towards a classic chocolate buttercream, but AJ called it B-O-R-I-N-G. So I asked him what he would suggest. Of course he said cookies and cream! He probably didn't believe there was a recipe for that. But the internet is a wonderful thing, and I came across a cream cheese cookies and cream frosting recipe. Seriously, what could be better than cream cheese frosting with crushed Oreos?

Crushing up the Oreos.

The fun part about this recipe is that you get to smash a bunch of Oreos. Baking can be very therapeutic. Once you have beaten the cream cheese, butter, and sugar together, you add the oreos. This step is critical in that you do not want to overbeat the mixture - otherwise you will end up with a gray mess.

Perfect color - you can still see the white of the frosting base.

The frosting is a little tough to spread as a result of the chunks of cookie. Just pile it on, it is easier to spread if you start with a lot of frosting in the middle and work your way out to the edges. This frosting was insanely delicious. I think I could have eaten the frosting just by itself (oh wait I did...)

Slice of perfection.

This cake got some rave reviews. AJ said it was the best cake I've ever made. I don't know if that is true, but I do love a happy customer. I would definitely recommend this cake, especially when left in the fridge. It tastes amazing cold. So go on - indulge your youthful love of the Oreo.

When life hands you meyer lemons you make Lemon Loaf

Look at the beautiful lemon glaze.

Recently I have been on a lemon kick. But not just any lemon will do. I am in love with the meyer lemon, something I only first tasted after I moved to California. If temperate climate and beautiful landscapes haven't convinced me to stay, the meyer lemon may have tipped the scales.

Meyer lemons were brought over to the U.S. from China in 1908 by Frank Nicholas Meyer, a Department of Agriculture employee. Since then, they have been widely grown in California. The meyer lemon is thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. This fruit is more golden in color than your typical lemon and bears a sweeter and brighter flavor.

Golden orbs of goodness

I have been buying mine at our local farmers' market, but I have seen them at Whole Foods and Safeway as well. With a bunch of meyer lemons staring at me yesterday, I began looking for a good recipe. My mother gave me the Barefoot Contessa Parties! book last Christmas, and I found a lovely recipe for lemon loaf.

I pulled out all of the ingredients: the flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, salt, leavening, vanila, and meyer lemons. I measured everything out and mixed together the dry ingredients, including the zest. Zesting meyer lemons is a pain in the butt, because their skin is softer and thinner than regular lemons. It actually becomes more of a paste. I creamed the butter and the sugar. I mixed together the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. I alternated the dry with wet ingredients, forming a lovely batter. Everything was going swimmingly, until I read that I was supposed to make a syrup with lemon juice and sugar. Oops! I added a 1/4 cup extra sugar and 1/4 cup extra juice. At that point it was too late, so I scooped the batter into a pan and popped it in the oven. 50 minutes later it was done.

Lemon Loaf

I decided against the syrup, and instead just made a simple glaze with lemon juice and confectioner's sugar. The cake was delicious. Extremely moist with wonderful lemon flavor. The glaze gave it a little crunch. I brought it into work and it was gone before 10am! I will have to try the recipe as it was originally written, but it is safe to say that my "tweaks" to the recipe worked well.

Lemon Loaf Cake

Barefoot Contessa (my notes in parentheses)

1/4 lb unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 extra large eggs

2 tbsp lemon zest (or as much as you can get from 5 meyer lemons)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/8 cup meyer lemon juice

3/8 cup milk (I used 1% milkfat)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan. Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar (I used 1 1/4 cups) until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the zest. In another bowl combine 1/8 cup of lemon juice (I used 3/8), milk, and vanilla. Add the flour and the milk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 45-60 minutes (I baked mine for 50 minutes).

(I IGNORED THIS PART) Combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup lemon juice in a small sauce pan and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. When the cake is done let cool ten minutes. Spoon the syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

(I USED THIS GLAZE) Combine lemon juice and sugar and mix until smooth. Pour glaze over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Happy St Patty's Day - Chocolate Guinness Cake

Chocolate Guinness Cake

I was reading the NY Times' "The Moment" and came across this article:

http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/now-contemplating-irish-desserts/. It seems that every bakery and grocery store takes this holiday as an opportunity to dye anything green. However, this does not a traditional Irish dessert make.

A little research reveals that traditional irish desserts revolve around fresh and dried fruits, cream, and chocolate. Apple cake is especially popular. While the addition of guinness to cakes is probably more of an Irish-American tradition, it does mimick the use of whiskey often used in chocolate cakes.

Melting the butter, Guinness, cocoa, and sugar.

I had seen a recipe last year for chocolate guinness cake from Nigella Lawson. Her recipe is cute in that not only does it use Guinness stout, but the frosting of the round chocolate cake mimicks a frosty pint!

I tweaked the recipe slightly:

Chocolate Guinness Cake

1 c Guinness stout

10 tbsp butter (JAM Note: only used 8 tbsp)

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa

2 c sugar, superfine if possible

3/4 c sour cream (JAM Note: Used a cup of nonfat yogurt to compensate for lack of extra butter)

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cup all-purpose flour (JAM Note: Used white whole wheat flour)

2 1/2 tsp baking soda (JAM Note: Used 2 tsp)

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a circular 9" pan, and line with buttered parchment paper. In a saucepan combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat, until butter melts. Remove from heat and add cocoa and sugar, whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, whisk until smooth. Pour into buttered pan and bake until firm about 45 minutes. Place on rack to cool.

For frosting, place sugar in food processor and blend until fine. Add cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add cream until smooth and spreadable. Ice top of cake so that it resembles frothy pint of Guinness.

HAPPY ST PATTY'S DAY!

Early Birthday Dinner with the Fam

Seared yellow fin tuna with lentils, turnip gratin and broccoli rabe.

Seeing as Malia and I are going to be throwing our own party next weekend, we wanted to share a quiet bday dinner with our family. Malia and I had heard good things about Willow Restaurant, conveniently located by the Ballston Metro. I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to enjoy dinner, because I had been suffering a nasty cold, but luckily the weather decided to warm up just for me (right?)

Cornbread, asiago cheese biscuit, and sweet wheat roll.

The entrance of the restaurant was warmly lit by candlelight highlighting the rich wooden floors. The red hughes are inviting, and the casually dressed wait staff give the place a comforting atmosphere. Unlike some upscale restaurants I felt like I could actually eat here.

Surveying the menu, I spotted a butternut squash soup, one of my weaknesses. I knew I would have to start with that, as well as their wild mushroom flatbread to be shared with the table. Malia ordered a beet salad, Veronica and my dad, the organic field greens salad, and my mom, the salmon carpacchio. My dad ordered a bottle of prosecco to celebrate our almost 24th birthday.

Butternut squash soup with scallions and toasted pepitas.

Beet (they're hidden) salad with pears, candied walnuts, blue cheese, and frisee.

Smoked salmon carpacchio with sour cream, beets, and potato latkes.

The Willow - flatbread with fontina, wild mushrooms, and truffle butter.

While we waited for our sparkling wine to arrive, we were served three different rolls. I love it when restaurants do something special like this. Individual wheat rolls, cornbread, and an asiago cheese biscuit were served to each of our bread plates warm from the oven. The overall favorite was the wheat roll, a soft slightly sweet bread that really hit the spot. The cornbread was nice with a kernel of fresh corn here and there. The asiago cheese biscuit was a little dry, but the tangy cheese was a nice touch.

Our wine was brought out. The sommelier was very informative, sharing that this bottle was one of his favorite proseccos because it has a lot of flavor compared to others. He let us keep the tag that tells you exactly what row of grapes the wine was produced from - pretty neat!

The appetizers came out quickly thereafter. My mom enjoyed her salmon, but felt that the accoutrements of beets, sour cream, and potato latkes took away from the simple yet elegant flavors of the fish. I enjoyed the soup, but felt that the butternut squash flavors were slightly overpowered by the cream in the dish. The scallions and pepitas were a nice textural and flavor contrast to the sweetness of the soup. The field greens and beet salads were enjoyed by all parties, with a special fondness for the roasted almonds found in the former. The flatbread was my favorite appetizer - the dough was crisp, the cheeses sharp, and the mushrooms earthy. I was sad that our waiter forgot to wrap it up for us to take home.

Flounder with crab and artichoke heart crust with zucchini, tomatoes, gnocchi, and littleneck clams.

Potato wrapped rockfish with brussel sprouts, bacon, and ricotta pancakes.

Pan seared scallops in a potato 'boat' with broccoli rabe.

Our entrees took quite some time to arrive after we had finished our appetizers. While the hostess came over to let us know our entrees would be out shortly, we weren't super impressed with our server. We weren't sure what caused the delay, but were quite ready to dig in when our plates were set down.

The portions are rather large, without sacrificing quality of flavor. Often times I feel that restaurants pile their plates with food without paying as close attention to the quality of the preparation. This was not the case at Willow. The presentation of the dishes was beautiful. I especially enjoyed the potato basket that my mom's the sweet buttery scallops were served in. Her dish was probably the smallest, but still filling.

My dad really enjoyed his potato crusted rockfish. Strings of potato are wrapped around the fish which is then seared or baked, creating a crispy exterior that contrasts the sweet soft flesh. This dish was served with some light and fluffy ricotta pancakes.

Malia's yellow fin tuna was a little well done for her medium liking, but overall the flavors were great, especially the salty and smoky lentils. Veronica and I enjoyed the light yet flavorful crab and artichoke heart crusted flounder. The tomatoes, zucchini, and basil gave it a definite Italian flare. The butter added a richness that wasn't overpowering and was nicely complimented by the lemon juice and briny capers. The gnocchi were a nice treat, but a little too starchy.

Overall, we were thoroughly stuffed. I would definitely go back, and would love to try some of their desserts. I have heard the sticky toffee pudding cake is divine.

Time to blow out the candles!

While the thought of ordering dessert was tempting, we had a delicious cake waiting for us at home, baked by my mom. Homemade desserts baked by your mother just can't be beat. I had been craving gingerbread all winter and had yet to taste any, so my mom was gracious enough to fulfill my request. Malia was down for some ginger cake as well, with cream cheese frosting being her favorite! Malia also had the honor of blowing out the candles for the both of us, as I did not want to contaminate the cake for everyone. My mom had to help her. She is not used to blowing them out all by herself. Hahaha.

Ginger cake with cream cheese frosting.

This cake packed some punch with a whole cup of fresh minced ginger going into the batter. The spiciness was awesome, and the molasses gave it great color and depth of flavor. The cream cheese frosting was sweet and tangy - the perfect pairing for the ginger cake. I could seriously eat this frosting all by itself. Super good for me, right? But it's my bday and I'll do what I want to! Hands down this cake takes the cake. It was the highlight of the evening for me (oh and the wonderful company of course).

Ginger Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ginger Cake:

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup unsulfured molasses

2 large eggs

1/3 cup hot water

9 oz fresh ginger, peeled and minced (1 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl. Cream butter and sugar wiith a mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses to butter mixture and then eggs one at a time.

Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients to bowl in 3 additions. Alternate with hot water, ending with dry ingredients. Pour batter into 13x9 in pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool fully before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 lb confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Let butter and cream cheese soften at room temperature. Combine butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Blend until smooth.

2.5 out of 3 JAMs

Willow Restaurant

4301 N Fairfax Drive

Arlington, VA 22203

2 out of 3 JAM

Natalia's Elegant Creations

Europe is known for its elegant, quaint cafes and bistros where you can leisurely sip cafe au lait or munch on a freshly baked pastry while watching the hustle and bustle of passersby. These types of locally owned shops are often harder to come by in the U.S. To my delight Ariel and I happened to come across a lovely cafe and bakery still fairly new to the Northern Va dining scene. One drizzly afternoon Ariel and I had our sights set on finding a lunch destination that would satisfy our craving for a good bowl of soup and a sandwich. We remembered passing by Natalia's a little while back and decided to head on over and give it a try.

Elegant mini pumpkin caramel cheesecake

Natalia's may be better known in the area for the wide assortment of cakes, cookies, pastries and tarts, but they also serve a number of sandwiches, salad and soup. Ariel and I were excited to see that they had a "soup and half sandwich" combo and jumped on the chance to try the dairy free mushroom barley soup. I ordered the roasted red pepper sandwich and Ariel went for the turkey, gouda and apple. Both orders arrived with a lovely little accompaniment of crudite and fruit.

After one spoonful of the mushroom barley, Ariel and I were hooked. This soup was so good we licked those bowls clean. The mushrooms were earthy and the broth picked up the richness from the mushrooms, and had just the right amount of seasoning. The barley was hearty and the nutty flavor paired well with the mushrooms. All in all an excellent winter weather soup.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Roasted sweet Red Peppers, fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced Cucumbers with a creamy Artichoke Spread

Display case full of goodies

After a rather healthy lunch, we felt like we could peruse the display case full of goodies. How could we come to an establishment known for its baked goods, without sampling them? We overheard the ladies next to us raving about a flourless chocolate torte, so we decided to order one of those. Looking around the case, we found something a little more festive - a pumpkin cheesecake. As you know, pumpkin cheesecake is one of our favorites - so we decided to put Natalia's version to the test.

Pumpkin Cheesecake and Flourless Chocolate Torte

The chocolate torte was extreme rich and dense. A chocolate lover's heaven. It was a little too rich in our opinion. A couple forkfuls satisfied our chocolate craving. The pumpkin cheesecake was the clear winner. It was light and creamy, with wonderful spicy pumpkin flavors. The graham cracker crust was sweet and slightly crunchy, which played off nicely against the cream filling.

We will certainly be back to sample some of her tasty creations again!

2 out of 3 JAMs

Natalia's Elegant Creations
230 West Broad St
Falls Church, VA 22046
http://www.nataliaselegantcreations.com/