Toasted almonds

Just wanted to add a quick post on how to easily toast almonds.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place almond slivers on a baking sheet, spreading evenly so they don't overlap. Toast them in the oven for 8 minutes.
Use them as topping in salads or anything you like.

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down is one of my favorite cakes, if not my favorite!
I believe I first saw this cake when I was probably 10 or 11 years old on TV, being made by Sanjeev Kapoor. That used to be a time before the internet, and I would sit in front of the TV with pen and paper writing down the ingredients and procedure. Who does that anymore?
I took the recipe to my mom and we made it together. And our family loved it!! I eventually lost that recipe. But now we have the internet, and I found a good recipe of Epicurious.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake begins with melting butter with brown sugar until it starts to caramelize. This mixture is then poured into a cake pan and fresh pineapple slices (or you can use canned pineapple slices) are placed on top. If you like you can also garnish the top with maraschino cherries or candied red cherries (as shown in picture). A buttery cake batter is then poured over the pineapple slices and the cake is baked until golden brown. Once the cake cools, it is inverted onto a cake platter so the top of the cake features the pineapple slices that have become wonderfully soft and sweet from absorbing all that delicious caramelized sugar.

This is also one of the first cakes I baked after moving to the US, and my husband devoured it!
The second time I made it was a complete disaster, I'm guessing because I got a 'stick' of butter wrong and used 2, thinking I had half sticks. I didn't make it for a long time after that.
This spring, I came across a huge line of fresh pineapples at our local farm. I decided to buy one, as they come in really handy for snacking at the office. My husband however wanted the cake, so I decided to bake him one again. It turned out pretty close to the first time I tried it.
The recipe on Epicurious uses a cup of sugar, but I reduced it to 3/4 cup because I read many reviews suggesting it, and also I don't have a big sweet tooth. That was perfect for us. But if you like it sweet, go with 1 cup. Also, many reviews said that 3 tsp of cardamom powder was too much, or too overpowering. I used all 3 tsp since we love the flavor (we're Indians, duh!) and I thought it compliments the pineapple. If you don't like cardamom, then reduce it to 1.5 or 2 tsp, and you will get a more subtle flavor.
Also the recipe suggests you make this in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. I did not have one, but I highly recommend using it if you have. It will help get the pineapples nice and caramelized.
I used a 9 inch springform, which I regret because the caramel was oozing out the sides. I remedied it in time by wrapping the pan with aluminum foil. But next time I would use a regular cake pan, or hopefully a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients:

For topping:
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 to 1 cup packed light brown sugar
5 or 6 maraschino cherries (optional)

For batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake (Black Seal or Myers would work great!)

Special equipment:
a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the cake pan.

Make topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Continue cooking, without stirring, for a few more minutes or until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges of the mixture (the sugar starts to caramelize). Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly. You can also cut the pineapple into semi-circles and arrange them like in the photo below (taken when I made it the first time). I also arranged a few halved maraschino cherries upside down, for added color coz I had them lying around. But this is purely optional.
A traditional method is to have the whole pineapple rings arranged in a circle with a marschino cherry in the center of each ring. I find this pretty but there's a lot of wasted space and you may not get enough pineapple with every bite.
Note: The original recipe asked for 3/4 cup brown sugar. I used 3/4 cup initially but found there was still a lot of butter, so I added another 1/4 cup of brown sugar. What you're looking for is a sticky caramel sauce.

Make batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Tip: If you dont have a sifter for the dry ingredients, just combine them all in a bowl using a wire whisk.

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.
Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

This cake may be made a day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Fresh Apple Cake

Apples are in season. My neighbor, Kathy, made this amazing apple cake one weekend, and was kind enough to share two pieces with us. She even included a print of the recipe for us, in case we wanted to know if we were allergic to any of the ingredients, like nuts. Being Indians, I guess we're lucky not to be allergic to most ingredients. The cake was so moist and it had a beautiful glaze over it. We loved it so much that we decided to make a whole batch next time we got apples. And it was simply amazing, just like Kathy's! Special thanks to her.
The recipe was from the Deen family.

No pictures for this post. Sorry. Will post it when I bake this again.

Ingredients:

Honey Glaze:

    1 cup confectioners' sugar
    2 tablespoons honey
    2 tablespoons milk

Apple Cake:

    3 cups diced Granny Smith apples, about 2 apples
    1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 cups sugar
    1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
    3 eggs

Method:

Glaze: Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth. Set the bowl aside.
If you don't have readymade confectioner's sugar like me, just powder some regular sugar in a spice grinder, until its fine like dust.

Cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a Bundt pan or tube pan. I used a large rectangular pan for lack of these.

In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer beat the sugar and oil, in a large bowl, until its well creamed for about 10 minutes. Break eggs into this one by one, beating well with each addition. Add in the dry ingredients and mix gently until well incorporated. About 10 folds and that's it, just stop and walk away. You don't want to mix it too much and activate the gluten. Now fold in the apple mixture.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan, about 1 hour, and then turn it out onto a plate.

Drizzle the apple cake with some of the honey glaze, serve and enjoy!

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Date & Nut Rugelach

How can Christmas be complete without baking cookies! I was debating if I should bake a cake or cookies. I knew they had to have dates in them, because it reminds of my chidlhood and Christmas with my family in Saudi Arabia, where dates are always in the house.
I was searching for recipes on Epicurious and came across this recipe for a Rugelach. This seemed intriguing to me because they looked like mini croissants with a date filing in them. The recipe wasn't too complicated so I decided to give it a try. I also referred Ina Garten's rugelach recipe (video available in link) for the dough.
Initially I found it messy and difficult, but I played around with a few batches and got the hang of it. Refer my notes for pointers. They all tasted really good, so no problems there!
This brings an end to year 2013's series of Christmas recipes. Hope you enjoyed them, and try them any time of the year!

Ingredients:

For the dough:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

Confectioners' sugar for rolling out dough
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

For the filling:
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup fig preserves

Method:

Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overwork it or the dough will become tough. (I combined the flour with my hands) Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the filling, finely chop dates and walnuts and in a bowl with your hands toss together dates, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until combined well.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons fig preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough.

Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges—cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Notes: Chilling the dough is key. It will make it more manageable.
The first time, I rolled out the dough without any extra flour. It stuck to everything and rolling it with the filling was a nightmare. It did not shape very well and was all mangled. I thought it was going to be a disaster. I even cursed Ina Garten for ruining Christmas for me. But I decided to bake the messy globs anyway. The finished product was really tasty and I forgot all my frustrations.

The glob (first batch - Christmas dessert)

The next batch, I placed the chilled dough between two sheets of cling film. I then rolled it out. The dough rolled out much better this way. I removed the top film and dusted a little flour on the dough. Turned it over, and removed the other sheet. Spread the fig jam and sprinkled the filling, cut it into triangular sections and rolled them perfectly.
The last one, I did the same procedure while rolling it (between cling films). But then I stuck it in the freezer to chill, to avoid dusting flour on it. It turned out to be brittle, so rolling them into crescents were a bit difficult. I think the second option works best.
You can also use confectioner's sugar for dusting instead of flour - in hindsight, I wish I'd done that. Oh well, next time. :)

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Baked Brie - Brie en Croute

Baked Brie!! This is a pleasant new discovery for me last month. Anyone who knows me, will know that I love cheese, and trying various cheeses. During my business trip to France in 2010, I was in heaven when my manager took me to a famouse cheese restaurant in Strasbourg called La Cloche à Fromage. Anyone visiting Strasbourg, I highly recommend this place - you will need an advance reservation and I hear its a little difficult to get in, but totally worth it! It has a huge cloche (a bell shaped cover) that is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest in the world. We were a table of four, and had the cheese fondue with a variety of breads. And also a cheese board, where you work your way up, so there is a particular order in which you have to try each cheese. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. Other tables were having the raclette, that I saw for the first time. But that's a LOT of cheese and I think its good if you are a large party.

At La Cloche à Fromage in 2010

Now I'm not really a big fan of cheeses that taste strong and musky, gives that sharp tart or bitter kick in the throat. It's hard to explain, but I've felt this with Camembert and Goat cheese. Particularly, the outer rind of Camembert. Or that fungal fumy feeling you get up your nose, like with blue cheese. I don't mind trying it during a cheese tasting, but I don't love it.
Now Brie is a like a milder cousin of Camembert. They're both soft white cheese. Initially I mistook Brie for Camembert and always avoided it. Then at a team dinner with my colleagues, the baked brie was ordered as an appetizer. It looked really pretty, covered in puff pastry and was accompanied by toast and a fruit compote. When it went around the table, I decided to take a small chunk of it. It completely changed my opinion about brie! It was warm, gooey and creamy in contrast with the crumbly flakiness of the puff pastry, just divine! After I came back from the dinner, I could only gush about the baked brie to my husband! I had to get some at my next trip to the grocery store. There were many imported ones, but I opted for a medium size round one by the Président brand. Next to it there was this pretty little bottle of fig and orange jam, from Croatia. This is one of the best jams I've tasted in my life! Not too sweet, and goes really well with toast.
The first time I baked brie, I only used the brie in the puff pastry, just like how I tasted it at the dinner. This was the appetizer for our Christmas dinner.
I tried it again this month, by also adding some fig jam in the puff pastry. I like both versions, depending on my mood - plain cheesy, or hint of sweetness.
The term "en croute" indicates a food that has been wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven.

Here is a good video that I used to make my first one (he used the same brands as I had):

Here's another great video with some interesting variations:

Ingredients:

Président 8 oz Brie round
Puff Pastry - 1 sheet (I used Pepperidge Farm)
Egg wash - 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water (optional)
Fig Jam (or jam of your choice) - 2 tbsp

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Thaw the sheet of puff pastry. Lay it flat on your work surface.
Use the cover or the Brie wheel to lightly make an indentation in the center of your puff pastry sheet, to use as a guide as to where you're going to place the Brie.
In this circle, spread the jam of your choice, if using. If you want it on the sides as well, you can extend it a little outside the circle.
Unwrap the Brie. Place it over the jam in the circle. Now wrap the pastry over the brie, like a small package. Flip it and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
If you want the top to shine, you can brush lightly with an egg wash. Some people like to use some extra puff pastry, cut a design with a cookie cutter and place it on top for a pretty design (using egg wash as adhesive), like in the second video.
Place the wrapped Brie in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins in my oven to get a golden crust and a pastry that's cooked through.
This is an important step. Once the brie is out of the oven, leave it out to rest for half an hour. If it hasn't cooled before you cut into it, the Brie is going to ooze out everywhere and create a huge mess and you can potentially burn yourself.

Damage control tip: If for any reason, the puff pastry wasn't sealed properly or if there was a hole somewhere due to improper handling, and you notice that the cheese is oozing out, plug it immediately with a small piece of bread.

Note: If you're trying cheeses for the first time, I think Brie is a good way to start. Then you can work your way up from there. When you're ready you can go for something more stronger, try the Camembert. I think I'll try Camembert again. So far I've had it just on its own, and it was cold. A warm "en croute" may change my opinion about it. After that, try the goat cheese, and then a blue cheese, or an expensive one like Roquefort.
There is also a Light Brie available. I'll try it sometime. I'm guessing it's even milder than Brie, or maybe uses low fat milk.
Here is a good link on how to taste cheese

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