Only on your birthday.

In a perfect world I could serve a cake with one slice missing. I could make a cake in the daylight hours, cut a slice out and spend 20 minutes taking pictures, changing settings, creating the scene around the plate. In this way I could photograph properly; in the right light, at my leisure, before people arrive instead of quickly rushing to snap pictures and then scurrying off with a slice for a rushed mini photo shoot while everyone else eats and mingles. If I could just take one slice out I wouldn't have to worry that my pictures won't come out in the dim evening light. If I could just take one slice out, I could even put it back untouched. I could be clever about it and spread the frosting just so.* Then no one would notice right away. They may, however, find it strange when they don't see me snapping away at the shutter and would quickly discover what had transpired. Of course since it's a perfect world, it would be okay.  

However, since we don't live in a perfect world, and I can't actually take a slice out of a cake made for someone else, I reserve this right for my own birthday cake. 

It's my birthday, it's my cake, I made it, I do what I want. 

I took a piece out this afternoon, photographed it and ate it, right there as I was lying on the floor with the camera. Then without even thinking twice I cut another one and ate that too. 

If I had predicted what part of this cake I would like best I easily would have guessed the frosting; but when I tasted it, it was not the frosting, but the actual cake that demanded another taste. Sure the frosting complemented it nicely but it was the cake that I wanted to keep eating bite by delectable bite.

I'm not sure why I made a carrot cake. It's certainly not my favorite cake but something pulled me to it. When I thought of what I would make for today, I didn't even blink twice. This was it, I was certain - I wanted this cake. My mouth must have already known the warm autumn flavor that awaits, my nose already taking in the rich cinnamon emanating from my oven and lingering on as it bakes. I think it was the frosting that caught my attention, after all what sounds better than fresh ricotta lightly sweetened with maple syrup?? In the end though, the frosting was a bit disappointing, forgettable, the maple flavor almost too faint to detect. On the other hand the cake, well the cake was perfect. Moist and richly flavored with cinnamon, the prefect texture thanks to finely ground carrots instead of coarsely grated. I did as Shannalee suggested and baked it the day before to let the flavors come together, don't skip this step and you too will posses a deep seated need to cut a slice (or two) before you serve it to anyone else. Just remember, only on your birthday.

*This is sort of like the cut-a-piece-of-cake-from-middle-and-fill-it-with-frosting trick 

Spelt Carrot Cake

Adapted from Ripe the Organic Grocer via Food Loves Writing

I used a 10-inch spring form pan because I didn't want to buy a 9-inch round - either works fine.

Replace the white whole wheat flour with white spelt flour to make this gluten free. Next time I might even just try 100% whole grain spelt flour.

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup whole grain spelt flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups raw turbinado sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 large eggs

3/4 cup olive oil

1 pound carrots processed finely in a food processor

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix eggs lightly. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add egg and oil, and mix through. Add grated carrot, then mix till combined. Bake in a greased nine-inch-round cake pan lined with greased parchment paper, for around 35 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

Ricotta Maple Frosting

To address my disappointment in the frosting - next time I'm going to try smoothing out the ricotta in a food processor and straining it in cheesecloth (the way I would for cannoli filling). Then beating it with vanilla and maple syrup and gradually adding just a bit of powered sugar to thicken it as needed. If its not too thin without the powered sugar then I'll leave that out and add 1 extra tablespoon of maple syrup instead. For now I have left the recipe as is.

2 cups fresh ricotta

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients together with a spoon

Frost cake.

In the meantime

I know I've been a little absent lately, you'll have to excuse me it's graduation week and I'm overwhelmingly busy. I have been baking my butt off though, and I'll have plenty of delicious things to share when I return. In the meantime I'll leave you with this almond cake from 17 and baking. I made it a few weeks ago for Jason's birthday and I have to say, the frosting was really the star of the show - it's mostly mascarpone and it tastes like a cannoli. (Have I told you about my obsession with mascarpone? It's getting a little out of control).

This cake is exactly everything I could ever want in an everyday cake; simple yet impressive, downright elegant with a generous layer of wonderfully light mascarpone frosting on top and a sprinkling of soft blueberries nestled inside. It's similar to a coffee cake in that it's a little dense and definitely needs a good cup of coffee to go with it, but it's perfect for a quick everyday breakfast cake. Best of all, it takes about 40 minutes from the time I roll out my mixer to the moment I pull it out of the oven.

Blueberry Almond Mascarpone Cake

From 17 and Baking

If you don't have buttermilk you can replace it with a 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 tablespoon the white vinegar or lemon juice. Just combine the milk and lemon juice or vinegar and let sit 5 minutes until a bit foamy. If you use frozen blueberries, do not defrost them first or they will dye the whole cake cake bluish-purple.
Makes one 9" cake. 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup almond meal (click here to read about almond meal)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tsp whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Butter a 9″ round pan, and then flour the pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in the extracts and lemon zest, then beat in the egg. Working on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the buttermilk mixture, then another 1/3 of the flour, the last of the buttermilk, then the last of the flour. Mix until just combined.
Toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tsp flour and stir them gently into the batter.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting. If frosting the cake with mascarpone frosting, store the cake in the refrigerator.

Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
From 17 and Baking
Makes enough to frost one 9″ round cake

3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Zest of half a lemon
1/4 tsp vanilla

Beat cheese and cream together until smooth and creamy and slight peaks begin to form. Sift in the powdered sugar and zest and beat until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and spread on cooled cake.

Topfenkuchen (Austrian Cheesecake)

Does anyone notice what's wrong with this picture? Yep I put the number 1 in backwards. Way to go Lisa. Nobody even noticed until the cake was on the table and the candles were blown out. Oh well.

My housemate, Arthur, turned 21 last week and I simply couldn't let this go unrecognized, after all, 21 is a big number. 21 deserves a cake. I needed something that would come together quickly. It was a weeknight and I wasn't about to fuss with a layer cake. Not to mention, I recently had a little mishap with my only frosting bag - as a result, I no longer own one. My inability to trim a frosting bag aside, there would be no cake decorating on a monday night. Not this one anyway. I much prefer to take my time shopping for ingredients and baking with a sense of calm. Not rushing through it while checking the clock. With that in mind I wanted something simple but not boring. I'm tired of quick breads and I fall back on my chocolate pound cake (which I have yet to share with you) far too frequently. No I wanted something different. Something new to my kitchen. 

Simple is the name of the game (currently) and what could be less demanding then a cheesecake? No, not the fussy american kind that must be is supposed to be baked in a water bath. I'm talking about it's Austrian cousin, the one that's light and airy, a bit lemony, and fluffy from the whipped egg whites. The one I prefer most of the time. The one who's texture and taste is closely related to what Arthur is used to; the polish cheesecake.

This particular cheesecake is typically made with quark and is referred to as käsekuchen, in Germany. If you are unable to find quark you can easily replace it with pot cheese as I did. Although my original intention was to use quark, it's only available at one local supermarket and is extremely expensive ($4.99 for 2oz). If you are lucky enough to locate it at reasonable price, as I suspect you will be if you live in or near a larger city, then by all means use it. It has a much creamier, richer consistency than the pot cheese.

Topfenkuchen

Just  for the record, if you are thinking of making this without a crust... don't. I maintain that the cheese is always the best part so I doubled the filling recipe and made 8 little crust-free ramekins of cheese in addition to the main cake. Unfortunately they were dry, and crumbly and a bit soupy at the same time. It turns out the crust isn't just for show - it also properly balances the moisture from the cheese. If you are set on making it crust-free, to lower the carbs or something crazy like that, try coating the bottom of your pan with a thin layer of ground nuts. I have yet to try that but I'm curious, so let me know how it turns out. 

Don't worry if you don't have a spring form pan - I don't either. I used a 13-inch pie dish and only put the crust on the bottom. However, if you do have a 10-inch spring form pan, use it.

This is the part where I cite my sources but, honestly, I looked at about five recipes in the depths of cyberspace and then made it up as I went so I think it's safe to call this my own.

Serves about 9.

Graham cracker crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used about 24 graham crackers)
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons of honey

Filling

1 lb pot cheese or quark
60g melted unsalted butter
125g sugar
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325°F

Grease a 10-inch spring form or 13-inch pie dish with butter.

Grind the crust ingredients in a food processor until they form a ball. Press intensively into the bottom of the spring form or pie dish.

Bake for about 13 minutes, remove from oven and turn the temperature up to 350°F

In a mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer because I'm lazy), combine pot cheese or quark, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Beat until well blended then mix in the melted butter.

In a clean bowl, using an electric hand or stand mixer beat the egg whites on high until they form stiff peaks, 5-10 minutes. 

Carefully fold the egg foam into the pot cheese/quark mixture 

Pour mixture into the spring form/pie dish 

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes (or until done). The top should be lightly browned and the filling should be set. 

Turn off oven, open door and let cool for another 15-20 minutes. 

Remove form from oven, run a knife around the edge and open the spring form. If you used the pie dish just leave it in the dish.

Let cool well before serving, at least 3 hours.

Lemon Chickpea Salad with Goat Cheese and Cilantro

This is one of those recipes that evolved from whatever I had in my fridge. The basic idea stemmed from Susan at Farmgirl Fare but in the spirit of not wasting food, I switched it around a bit. Good thing I had a jar (or a few) of pre-cooked chickpeas lurking in my freezer. Twenty minutes before I catch the bus(!) to class is not the time to start cooking dried chickpeas.

This was super quick and easy but tasted wonderfully complex. Cooking the onion and garlic in olive oil took the edge off and forced them to really release their flavors. It's lemony without being acidic and the goat cheese melts slightly for a bit of creaminess. The cilantro adds a great dimension but can be replaced with parsley if cilantro is not your thing. If I had both at home I would have used a combination, but I was out of parsley and needed to use up copious amounts of cilantro from my Superbowl chili.

As per usual I didn't measure anything as I put this together but I will give you my best estimate. Salads like this are not that exact anyway and I find they come out best when I just throw things in until it tastes right.* 

Lemon Chickpea Salad with Goat Cheese and Cilantro

I used a yellow onion because I have a ridiculous quantity on my counter but red onions and shallots would be just as good or better. To read about cooking dried beans click here.

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if desired
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves finely chopped fresh garlic
10oz cooked chickpeas (I used dried that I had previously cooked and frozen)
A Handful chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 lemon
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
A handful of grape tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
A small handful of chopped kalamata or black oil-cured olives (I used Nicoise)

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add the onion, stirring to coat.
Cook over medium or medium-low heat, stirring often, until it is soft and starting to brown
While onion is cooking, stir together the garbanzo beans, cilantro, goat cheese, grape tomatoes, and lemon juice in a large bowl, set aside.
Add garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about one minute; don't let the garlic brown. 
Remove from the heat and mix into chickpea salad.Add Salt and Pepper to taste but remember the olives are salty and you may not need much.
Enjoy immediately or, in my case, run out the door to class with pyrex full of chickpeas, fork, laptop and tea in hand ;)

*Honestly, unless I'm baking, I really never measure anything. Food just comes out better when its made with a little love instead of by a strict recipe. The measurements that I record on this blog are for readers to get an idea of the quantity I'm looking for.

Guest Post: Cath Eats Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter-Pecan Frosting

I'm still in Aruba so here is my friend Cathy to talk about this delicious dessert we made for New Year's Eve.

"After talking Lisa into co-hosting a New Year's Eve party at her house Binghamton, we had to come up with some recipes to serve.  Lisa and I love to experiment with new ingredients, recipes and healthy substitutions, but she gently reminded me that not all of our friends are as adventurous as we are.  We settled with roasted banana bars with browned butter-pecan frosting.  I have a thing with bananas, and we figured there was enough sugar in these guys to keep everyone happy.  

We started off with ripe bananas and roasted them in butter and brown sugar for about 35 minutes.  Next step: giving Lisa's new Kitchen-Aid stand mixer a whirl!  It mixed the cake batter perfectly and was simple to use, what more could you ask for?  We used whole wheat pastry flour instead of the cake flour, and used a regular milk and vinegar substitute for the buttermilk (thanks Google!).  While waiting for the cake to cool, we browned the butter and beat it into the confectioners sugar and cream cheese to make the frsoting.  Finally we topped the bars with some candied walnuts I had made before the holidays.  They turned out perfectly." -Cath

Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter–Pecan Frosting

Adapted from Cooking Light. Makes about 20 Bars. 

Roasted Bananas:

2 cups sliced ripe banana (about 3 medium)

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

Cake:

1 tablespoon butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

9 ounces whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup skim milk with one tablespoon white vinegar (or 1/4 buttermilk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups unrefined pure cane sugar

2 large eggs

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup (3 ounces) organic neufchatel cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup Cath's candied pecans (see below for recipe)

Preheat oven to 400°

To Roast Bananas:

Combine banana, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter in an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake 35 minutes, stirring after 17 minutes. Cool slightly

Reduce the oven to 375°. 

Cake:

Combine fry ingredients (flour, soda, and baking powder) in a medium bowl, set aside.

Combine roasted banana, buttermilk (or milk vinegar mixture), and 1 teaspoon vanilla in another medium bowl.

Cream 1/2 cup butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer; beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs to mixer bowl; beat to combine. Add dry ingredients to the mixer bowl alternating with banana mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter into a greased 9x13in pyrex or pan Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (took about 25 minutes in my oven) Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Frosting:

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Combine browned butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread frosting over cooled bars. Arrange Candied Pecans on top. 

Cath's Candied Pecans

10-12 oz. Pecan Halves

2 Egg whites

1/2 tsp salt

1C Pure cane sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2C Butter

Preheat oven to 325

To toast pecans, bake them dry on cookie sheet for 8 minutes

Beat 2 egg whites until fluffy.  Add salt and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.  

Add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat.

Fold the toasted nuts into the meringue (I do mean fold. DO NOT stir them.) 

Melt butter in a jelly roll pan (or a cookie sheet with sides)

Fold in nut/meringue mixture and bake for 30 min flipping every 10 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy plain or on top of roasted banana bars.

A couple guests at our small New Year's gathering

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Simple. Delicious. Try not to eat the batter with a spoon--it will be a struggle.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Adapted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg (of Orangette). Serves 9

Cake

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

zest of two lemons

1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt (I used stony field farm because I had it home)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup light tasting olive oil

Syrup

1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup lemon juice

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

3 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350
Grease 9-inch round cake pan (or in my case, the heart pan my Mom gave me a couple years back) with organic olive oil spray (I really hate to use cooking spray and such but I just haven't weaned myself off its convenience, not yet anyway).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, lemon zest and eggs, stirring to mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir to just combine. Add the oil and stir well.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto wire rack.
Flip back over so that rounded top is up. Set the rack over a pan or large plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the syrup ingredients and spoon the syrup slowly over top of warm cake.
Let cake cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients. Whisk well so that sugar is completely dissolved. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake.
Cake can be served immediately, but glaze will be set after about 1 hour.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream

Lately I've been looking for good cupcake recipes but until recently I really haven't had any that lived up to my favorite box mix- Duncan Hines Devil's Food. (I hate to admit that cause box mixes are full of so much crap and generally not as good as homemade but the devil's food has always been my favorite). I had a few failed attempts at red velvet earlier in the year and gave up for a couple months but Colin's birthday is coming up so I decided to try again. He really like mint things (ice cream etc) so I decided to make mint chocolate chip cupcakes. I went with a devil's food recipe from CHOCKYLIT. Her recipe calls for mixing everything straight in the bowl which left me a bit skeptical but I went with it and they came out great! Moist and chocolatey and far better than any mix (I'll never buy Duncan Hines again).

For the frosting I used a simple buttercream but instead of adding vanilla I added 1/4tsp peppermint extract. It might have been just a little too minty for me and I think next time I would start off with 1/8tsp and add a little more if needed.

Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

I used organic fair trade unsweetened cocoa powder from my local food coop and they came out great but if a fair trade cocoa isn't available near you than a high quality cocoa such as Ghirardelli or Valrhona will work just as well (maybe better).

makes 24 cupcakes

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups unrefined pure cane sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Measure out everything but the eggs directly into your mixer bowl.
2. Mix on low speed just until incorporated.
3. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
4. Add eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes.

Measure out into cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers. A 2" ice cream scoop works great for this. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool slightly in the pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Peppermint Buttercream

Frosts 24 Cupcakes or 9in 2 layer cake.

2 sticks unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar (don't bother using organic here, it turns out kinda grayish)

1/4 cup skim milk

1/8-1/4 tsp organic pure peppermint extract

Beat butter and powdered sugar with an electric hand or stand mixer add milk and and peppermint to taste. Beat until thoroughly combined. If not using right away store covered in the fridge up to a day or two or freeze. Bring to room temperature before frosting. If using now, fit pastry bag with desired tip (I used the star), and frost cupcakes.

Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.