COCONUT LAYER CAKE WITH COCONUT FRENCH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

What could be more Southern than coconut cake?  This is my own recipe and it's rich and filling, so two 8" layers go a long way.  Expect to serve 12-14 with this moist, tender and tight-crumbed cake that resembles poundcake.

The French buttercream frosting is silky smooth and ultra rich.  If you've never heard of French buttercream, it's a vintage recipe, and it's not hard to make.  Back in the 60's we used to make it with shortening, and we called it "mock whipped cream frosting," but it's so much better made with butter.  Some people call it "custard frosting," because you make a pudding first, then beat it into the whipped butter/sugar mixture.

Everyone has their own idea of what coconut cake should be.  Actually, I like them all, and I'm throwing mine in the ring as another option.  A perfect Easter dessert....I'm just sayin'.  Get the recipe....

BANANA-NUT SHEET CAKE WITH MILK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

An old favorite from a vintage Pillsbury cookbook, banana-nut cake would be a hit at any pot-luck you attend or at any family dinner.  Back in the day, shortening was the preferred fat in cakes, and it did produce a fluffy texture.  My current preference is to use butter, or sometimes coconut oil.  I’ve even been known to substitute applesauce for some of the fat in cakes and use some whole wheat flour to add fiber.  This time, I used the full amount of butter with regular flour.  You will love the moist, tender crumb and the full banana flavor.  The nuts add some complex notes.  Topped with chocolate buttercream, this cake is a real winner.

You can also make 24 cupcakes with the batter, if preferred.  Sheet cakes are so easy, I decided to take the lazy man’s approach.   I’ve included my recipe for Chocolate Buttercream below.  Of course, you can use whatever frosting you want, but, if you’ve never put chocolate frosting on banana cake, please do try it.  You may never go back.

P. S.  My favorite banana cake is “Ultimate Banana Cake.”  It has my highest rating for best texture and flavor.  It’s also a sheet cake, baked at 275F, then placed in the freezer to cool for 45 minutes.  Weird, but delicious!

Banana-Nut Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

CAKE (adapted from Pillsbury): 2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, whisked, then lightly spooned and leveled 1-1/4 cups sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened 2 large eggs, room temperature 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium-large) 1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt* 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract  (I used my homemade vanilla extract) 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans + 1/3 cup for garnish Heat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.  Line with parchment to fit bottom. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into bowl of stand mixer.  Add butter, eggs and bananas.  Beat at lowest speed to barely combine, then beat on low for 1 minute (1-1/2 minutes if using hand mixer).  Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat 1 minute on low (1-1/2 minutes if using hand mixer).  Stir in nuts, taking care not to overmix batter.  Turn into pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs.  Cool pan on wire rack 10 minutes; turn cake out onto rack.  Peel off parchment.  Cool completely, then turn cake back into pan before frosting.  Yield:  12-16 servings MILK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (my recipe):  1/3 cup unsalted butter, soft 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1-1/2 Tbsp. Kahlua or other coffee brandy of choice (or strong coffee) optional:  1/2 tsp. chocolate flavor 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder In medium bowl, cream butter and salt on medium speed of electric mixer.  Stir in flavorings, 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cream and beat till well blended.  Whisk cocoa powder and remaining sugar in small bowl, then gradually add to butter-sugar mixture.  Add remaining cream, 1 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to reach proper consistency.  When proper consistency is reached, beat on high about 1 minute, or till very smooth.  Frost top of cake and sprinkle with toasted chopped nuts.  Yield:  enough frosting to generously cover a 9x13 cake.

BUTTER PECAN CUPCAKES WITH SALTED CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

These are possibly the best cupcakes I've ever made, no kidding.  Is it the ultra-light and tender cupcake studded with pecans that have been baked in butter, or is it the amazing salted caramel buttercream that tops them?  Both.  This is a marriage made in heaven.  Yes, this one is worth blowing your diet.  Read more...

SPINACH LASAGNE WITH MEAT SAUCE

Lasagne is a wonderful dish for easy entertaining.  You can make it ahead of time, even the day before, hence hassle-free dining.  If you’re a small family and prefer to keep the lasagne for yourself, you can freeze it in smaller portions and have several hassle-free meals from one recipe. 


This particular recipe has wonderful complex flavors and cuts firmly and cleanly and is a little bit easier to make than my previous post on spinach lasagne.  The noodles are moist, not dry.  The sauce recipe yields a generous 3 quarts, giving you more than enough for this recipe.  The leftover sauce can be frozen and used for raviolis or spaghetti at a later date.  Don’t be tempted to use all the sauce on the lasagne, because one of the secrets to a clean-cutting lasagne is to use less, not more, sauce.  Another is to let it sit for 20 - 30 minutes before slicing.

The yield will depend on what you serve with the lasagne and the appetite of your diners, but roughly figure on feeding 12 people.  

Spinach Lasagne with Meat Sauce  Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

MAKE SAUCE: 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup minced fresh onion 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced 3/4 lb. lean ground beef 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed 2 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1 tsp. crushed anise seed 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil 1/2 tsp. crushed fennel seed 1/2 tsp. dried Mediterranean or Greek oregano leaves, crushed 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley In a Dutch oven, saute onion in oil over medium heat till transparent, about 4-5 minutes.  Stir in garlic.  Add meats and 1 tsp. salt; mash with fork or wooden spoon till large clumps are smoothed out.  Continue to cook until well browned.  Pour grease off.  Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, broth, anise seed, basil, fennel seed, oregano, cayenne, parsley and remaining 1 tsp. salt.  Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for about 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if needed.  Sauce may be used immediately, refrigerated for up to 4 days, or frozen for future use.  Yield:  about 3 quarts COOK NOODLES: Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.  Add 1 tsp. salt (or to taste) to water and 15 lasagne noodles.  Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes, or till noodles are al dente – just a bit firm to the bite but cooked through.  Drain noodles through colander; rinse with cold water to stop cooking; set aside.  MAKE FILLING: 16 oz. ricotta cheese 1 egg 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese + 1/2 cup for layering 1-1/2 cups frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed of excess moisture 3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated 1-1/4 cups shredded Provolone cheese  In medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, nutmeg, parsley, salt and 1/4 cup Parmesan with spatula or spoon, mixing well; set aside.   In small bowl, stir together mozzarella and Provolone; set aside. ASSEMBLE THE LASAGNE: Heat oven to 375F.  Spray a 9” x 13” heavy Pyrex dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Make an assembly line of sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella mixture and Parmesan.  Spread a thin layer of sauce on bottom of dish (about 1/2 cup).  Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over sauce.  Spread with 1/4 of ricotta cheese mixture;  top with 1/5 mozzarella mixture; spoon about 3/4 cup meat sauce over mozzarella; sprinkle with about 1-1/2 Tbsp. Parmesan from the remaining 1/2 cup.  Repeat 3 times.  Lay the final 3 noodles over the top; spread with 1 cup meat sauce; sprinkle remaining mozzarella mixture and Parmesan over top.  Top with foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to protect cheeses.  Bake in preheated oven 25 minutes.*  Remove foil; bake an additional 25 minutes, or till bubbling and very hot.  Cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Yield: 12 servings *Baking time is assuming ingredients are at  room temperature.  If you refrigerate lasagne before baking, allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before placing in oven, or start in cold oven and increase baking time.

JENI’S INFLUENZA SORBET AKA JENI’S HOT TODDY SORBET

 Feeling achey and feverish?  Coming down with the flu or some other nasty virus?  There is a new product to help you battle the illness:  a citrus sorbet that’s spiked with Maker’s Mark whiskey.   It’s a new take on the old-time remedy of honey, lemon and whiskey. 

Originally called Jeni’s Influenza Sorbet, the product has received so much publicity it’s been renamed to Jeni’s Hot Toddy Sorbet.  Jeni’s, located in Ohio, will ship a pint to you for $12 plus shipping, and I hear the whiskey content is not skimpy.

Even if it doesn’t work to cure your ills, we may have found a new dessert.  You can read all about it at healthland.time.com.  Type jeni’s influenza sorbet in the search bar.  Or go directly to www.jenis.com where you can enter your zip code and find the nearest retail location where you can buy her unique products or place an online order. 

VALENTINE'S CHOCOLATE RECIPES

Here is this year's list of favorite chocolate recipes for Valentine's Day, aka National Chocolate Day.

Frosted Cream Cheese or Goat Cheese Brownies are easier to make than you think.  You don't need a mixer, just a bowl and spoon.  If you don't want to make your own frosting, just spread the top with Nutella or canned frosting or leave these delicious brownies plain.  

Old-Fashioned Cocoa Devil's Food Cake, made with a mixture of unbleached all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour, is a denser but very enjoyable creation, especially when it’s covered with chocolate ganache, then trimmed with coconut swiss buttercream frosting and toasted unsweetened coconut chips.  You can make it with just unbleached all-purpose flour for a lighter version.

Almost-Old-Fashioned Whoopie Pies never fail to please.  These are made with butter, not shortening, and nonfat Greek yogurt.  Light, moist and chocolatey, these will get you raves.

Chocolate-Almond Cream Pie is a dessert made in heaven.  A tender and flavorful almond graham cracker crust holds a rich and chocolatey filling with a mild almond undertone.  The whipped-cream topping is spiked with almond liqueur and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.  It has my highest rating and will make any celebration memorable.

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes:  Full of flavor, very light and moist, this one is a definite winner!  The banana flavor comes through, but in a background sort of way.  

Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding is silky smooth and creamy with a mild hazelnut flavor hiding under the chocolate. 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies are fudgy, tender and flavorful, and hold a wonderfully light peanut butter-mallow filling that really steals the show.  These cookies are sweet, rich-tasting  and utterly delicious.

Chocolate Guinness Cake is everything you ever wanted in a chocolate cake.  The ale bumps up the chocolate flavor and delivers moistness as well.  This is one cake you’ll remember for a long time.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are moist, chocolatey, flavorful and even have fiber and some food value.   One muffin will definitely fix your chocolate craving, and you won't blow all your calories.  They have my highest rating and they don’t taste healthy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing are sure to please almost everyone.  Moist, tender, velvety and not-too-sweet chocolate cupcakes are topped with fluffy peanut butter frosting.  Buttermilk and sour cream make the cupcakes tender and moist; coffee and brown sugar enhance the chocolate flavor; and the peanut butter icing is creamy, sweet and delicious.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Heath Bits Cookies are delicious cookies with a nice peanut-butter flavor.  The pecans and semisweet chocolate chips tone down the almost cloying sweetness of the Heath bits.  Just enough crunch, just enough sweetness.  With crispy edges and insides that are soft and almost chewy, these are sure to become a favorite.

100% Whole-Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting are light and moist.  And no one is the wiser…..unless you tell them.  You can make these even healthier by using a sugar substitute and nonfat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.

Nutella Mascarpone Cheesecake with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust is a rich, creamy, firm, New York-style cheesecake that delivers a subtle Nutella flavor from Nutella that is spread over the cooled crust before adding the cheesecake filling.  The filling, itself, has hazelnut liqueur added, and the cheesecake can be topped with shaved chocolate or more Nutella.  Either way, it’s absolutely delicious.

Lava Rocks are chocolatey, chewy delicious little morsels that are also low-fat.

Happy Valentine's Day to all; be sure to spread the love with or without chocolate.

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN RUSTIC ALMOST NO-KNEAD BREAD

I know this is chocolate month, and I should be posting a chocolate recipe, but you can smear Nutella on this fabulous crusty bread and call it a chocolate dessert.  Besides, it’s cold outside, and warm-from-the oven bread slathered with anything sounds pretty good right now.

Jim Lahey and Rick Flaste of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, authors of the 2009 book “My Bread,” introduced a revolutionary no-work, no-knead method of baking bread sometime in early 2000’s.  The New York Times published one of their recipes, and received more emails for it than any other recipe.  (Now that the hype is over, you can buy their $29.95 book for about $17 through Amazon.com.) 

America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) got inconsistent results when they tried the Sullivan Street Bakery recipe, so they worked to improve it.  The original recipe condenses bread making from 6 steps to 4, by using a wet dough and letting time do the work.  ATK changed the hydration rate from 85% to 70%.  Instead of using a dip-sweep method of measuring, better results were obtained by weighing the flour.  The success of the recipe hinges on using the correct ratio of flour to liquids.  Instead of just water, ATK added some beer, which they found improved the flavor of the finished bread. 

This was the easiest -- and by far the best -- rustic bread I’ve ever made.  It would easily stand up to the best bakery’s rustic loaf.

America’s Test Kitchen Rustic Almost No-Knead Bread Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

INGREDIENTS: 15 oz. (about 3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting 1-1/2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast 7 oz. room-temperature tap water 3 oz. mild-flavored beer, such as Budweiser 1 Tbsp. white vinegar Whisk flour, salt and yeast in large bowl.   Add water, beer and vinegar.  Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms.    Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 8-18 hours.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured board; knead lightly 10-15 times to form a smooth, round ball; shape into round by pulling edges of dough up onto the middle.  Lay 12” x 18” sheet of parchment over a 10” cast-iron skillet; spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Place dough round in parchment, seam side down; spray dough with nonstick cooking spray also.  Cover with plastic wrap; let rise about 2 hours, until double.  (If you poke a finger into the dough and the dent remains, it’s double.)  About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position; place a 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven* (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500F.    Remove plastic wrap from dough; sprinkle top with some flour; score top with razor blade or sharp knife, making a gash about 6” long, 1/2” deep.   Carefully remove heated pot from oven and place on a heat-proof surface; remove lid and place on another heat-proof surface.  Pick up edges of parchment and use like a sling to transfer dough into the hot Dutch oven.  Let any overhang of parchment lay outside the pot.  Cover pot with lid; place in oven.  Reduce heat to 425F; bake 1/2 hour.  Remove lid and bake, uncovered, 20-30 minutes, till bread is deep brown and center of loaf registers 210F on an instant-read thermometer.  Carefully remove bread from pot and place on wire rack to cool.  Let cool 2 hours before slicing.  Note:  This bread is best eaten the day it’s made, but freezes beautifully.  Cut slices; wrap individually in plastic wrap and place inside freezer bag.  *Be sure the pot and handles can withstand 500F temperatures.  TIP:  ATK says you need a Dutch oven that can withstand 500F temperatures.  I don’t have one, so I improvised.  Using my 10” cast-iron fry pan with a 9” x 12” pan of steaming hot water underneath, no lid was needed.  Of course, I used a shorter piece of parchment -- 12” x 12” did the trick.