[Baking] Olga's Prune Cake

Interesting! I googled this (Because my copy of the recipe is typed up, which means Baba came across it and liked it, and so kept making it) and found these rather-similar recipes.  My copy is at least 35 years old, so I have no idea who gets the credit.  Except me, when I make it.  I get so much credit.   (I do dig the bit about soft-ball stage - we note the color change and do it then)

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/make-this-cake-today-trust-me/

https://www.solofoods.com/recipes/spicy-buttermilk-prune-cake

First of all, I grew up thinking this was kinda gross, because who wants to eat baby food? Once I became a parent, I learned that baby food has no extra ingredients, making it ideal (and removing the food processor requirement from the recipe). 

Second of all - my word this is simple and delicious. We made it with a spoon and like 2 bowls in about 10 minutes. The icing takes a little longer and requires a large (5-quart+) bowl to make, because of the crazy reaction when boiling buttermilk + baking soda.  Remember, kids, heat makes reactions stronger!

1.5 cups sugar

1 cup salad oil (preference is Mazola corn oil, but Wesson will also work)

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp cinnamon

3 eggs (jumbo)

1 cup prunes (we use 2 of the small jars of beech-nut)

1/2 cup nuts (we use pecan, in pieces)

1 tsp vanilla (preferred Mexican vanilla)

Combine sugar, oils and eggs in large bowl and mix well (I mix until the color starts to change.) Sift dry ingredients (so measure out 2 cups of flour into the sifter, pour the other dry on top, and then sift it all). Add prunes, buttermilk and vanilla. (This definitely thins out the batter and makes the whisk you used on the first part usable again). Stir in nuts. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Topping/icing/frosting/whatever: 

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick)

Put all in 4+ quart pot. Mix everything in. Boil for 5 minutes. At about 5 minutes the color changes to be more yellow, and at that point, we pour it over.

Poke a bunch of holes in cake, and, while this and the cake are still hot, pour this over the cake. 

The cake is together...

Making the foamy frosting...

After pouring the icing over...

And after it's absorbed.

[Baking] Olga's 11-layer Cake (aka 7-layer Chocolate Cake) or Torte

(pictures forthcoming)
This is my Baba's famed Eleven Layer Cake.  Also known as the Seven Layer Cake (we'll get into that)

I have no idea where she found this.  She says she found it in a cookbook, probably in the 50s.  She said it was a German Chocolate Torte.  What it is, to be honest, is divine.  A royal pain to make, but worth it.

It's an all-afternoon affair.  Since I hadn't made it by myself, I split it into 3 nights.


On the first night, I baked the 7 layers.  As I got better at it I figured out why it used to be an 11 layer cake and is now a 7 layer cake - even with just 7 layers it's an amazing-looking cake, and you probably don't miss them.  If you practice on the first couple until you get it right, it'll easily spread into 7 layers.  Once I'd gotten the hang of it, I see how you could conserve frosting and wind up with 11 - but it'd be a beating.  Next time I do want to try 11, just to see if I can.

On the second night, I made and applied the filling.

On the third night, I "glazed" (iced/frosted/coated/etc) the cake.

On the fourth night, I rested.

On the fifth night, PARTY!

Here's the recipe.  Originally in high-altitude, low-humidity.  I didn't have to change anything.
The ONE tip I would give: weigh the intermediate steps.  If I knew exactly how much batter I had to work with on each layer, it would have gone MUCH more smoothly.

 

1 cup sugar

3 jumbo eggs

2 sticks butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon (mexican) vanilla

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cup flour

 

In mixer, mix butter and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add baking powder, vanilla and cornstarch and mix well.  Add flour and mix well (getting the picture-mix well!).  This will make 6 layers in a 9-inch cake round.  Spread the batter in a thin layer (with a super old blunt butter knife) in the bottom of the cake pan and bake at 350 degrees about 7 minutes.  It should be brown all over when you pull it out.  Let cool in the pan a few minutes then put on a colling rack to finish cooling.

 

Filling:

3 egg yolks

3 cups milk

1/2 cup Nestle Quick (Nesquik) chocolate drink mix powder 

3 tablespoon Hershey's syrup

1/3 cup sugar

8 tablespoon flour

 

Mix yolk and sugar until smooth.  Add Nestle Quick and Hershey's syrup and mix well.  Add flour and 1/2 up milk.  Mix well.  In a 3 quart pot, boil the remaining milk and add the chocolate mix.  Blend well and stir until it starts to boil.  Simmer for 1 minute.  Shut off stove and let cool.

 

Soften 2 sticks unsalted butter.  Beat well with mixer and add to cooled chocolate mixture.  Mix well.

 

Take 1 layer and put it on the cake dish.  Frost the top portion and add layers until done.  Leave the top portion unfrosted.  You will use the "Glazing".

 

Glazing:

1 1/2 cup powder sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

OR  1 1/2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup hot water

 

In small pot, add butter and chocolate together and melt on stove.  Add sugar and water.  Mix well.  It should be thick like syrup.  If it is too thick, add water.  If it is too thin, add sugar.  Frost cake.

Kulich - Russian Easter Bread

FINALLY, something baking related! It's been too long, I've been resting on my laurels.

I'll update this once I've made it myself. One other way to make it is inside a coffee can - I need to get details on that, since that's how I always had it - bullet-shaped, funnily enough, with a sprinkle-laden glaze on top.

6 cups sifted flour
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 and a 1/2 packages yeast (come in a pack of 3)
1 and 1/4 cups WARM (not hot) milk
1 stick (1/4 pound) melted butter. 
 (Let cool off so it's not hot.)


Put yeast and milk in bowl and mix.
put eggs, sugar and salt in another bowl and mix on low speed.
Put milk and yeast together with the flour.
Add the eggs,sugar, salt mixture in.
Add melted butter.
Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Knead the dough mixture about 10 minutes (maybe more).
Dough needs to be soft.
Put a cover over the bowl so it can rise.
Dough needs to rise for an hour or more.
Needs to become twice its size.
Separate into 2 loaves.
Put 1 cup raisens for each loaf
Preheat oven to 350.
Use loaf pan sprayed with PAM or greased with butter.
Let dough rise again for 40-60 minutes.
If you want a shiny crust, use the whites from the 3 eggs.
Beat the whites for just a minute with a fork and brush the mixture
over the crust before you put in oven.
Bake 45-60 minutes.
Check dough with toothpick at 45 minutes to see if ready.
Pull the bread out and put on a towel.

[Entree] Gordon Ramsey Cookalong Lasagna, Take 2

I've been following Gordon Ramsey's "Cookalong Live", albeit a bit delayed. However, I have to share and show off my attempt at his Lasagna Al Forno. The first time I did full mise en place, and it took about 75 minutes to put together. The second time it took about 45 minutes, and is utterly fantastic. Only takes a few ingredients that you might not have, nothing really too special (except for the pre-cooked lasagna sheets), and comes together VERY easily.

Highly recommended. There's even videos on how to make it.
Two hints
1) Tomato paste, not puree - the brits apparently name things differently.
2) Mince - ground beef, about 2/3 - 3/4 of a pound. I use 85/15 ground beef and it comes out wonderfully.

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/gordon-s-lasagne-recipe_p_1.html

And since they can't be arsed to keep the recipe in one place (or even searchable on their own site...)

2 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
25g butter
25g flour
300ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
60g Cheddar cheese, grated
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 sheets of 'non-cook' lasagne sheets
For the salad
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 x round lettuce head, rinsed and dried
METHOD

How to make Gordon's classic lasagne al forno
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/ gas mark 7.

2. Heat the olive oil in a hot pan. Grate the onion and carrot and crush the garlic before frying together. Season with the bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper. Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan. Place the mince in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up. Add the tomato puree and allow to cook out for 30 seconds. Continue until all the meat has browned nicely. Add the wine and cook off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside (watch Gordon's video on how to prepare bolognaise).

3. To make the cheese sauce, first melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a paste. Over a gentle heat add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming. Add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese. Stir and remove from the heat (watch Gordon's video on how to make the best white sauce).

4. Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and place pasta sheets on top (break the sheets if necessary to avoid any overlapping). Next, pour in just under half of the cheese sauce, and spread evenly using a spatula before spooning the remaining meat on top. Add the final layer of pasta and use the spatula to pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

5. Finish with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle with another pinch of oregano. Add a light seasoning of salt and pepper before cleaning the edges of the dish and placing in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

6. In the bottom of your salad bowl use a fork to whisk together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully open the head of lettuce, season inside with salt and pepper. Upend the lettuce headfirst into the salad bowl. Holding the root, wipe the leaves around the bowl to coat in the vinaigrette. Twist the root and pull it out. Turn the dressed head of lettuce onto a large plate and gently open out.

7. Portion out the lasagne and serve alongside the salad.

[Sweets] Nutella Biscotti

And now for something actually baked.

Recipe from here: http://bakingbites.com/2005/06/nutella-biscotti/ Note that my picture doesn't look as good as their picture. But I will say, it came out quite well following the recipe as written.

[Bake] Baking tip - let your oven heat up!

So, for years we used the "preheat" cycle on our oven. 4 minutes and we can start cooking things? Awesome! Or so we thought.

One day we bought an oven thermometer, mostly so I could work on my barbecuing method (smoked-meat barbecue, not charcoal grill barbecue). Lo and behold, the temperature was 220 after the preheat cycle was finished. Gee, I think I know why we felt our oven was temperamental and not all that good.

Ignore the preheat cycle - it just warms the air inside up, and not all that well.
For 350 degrees, let it heat up for 15 minutes.
For 400 degrees, let it heat up for 20 minutes.
(etc, etc).

This will instantly make your oven MUCH better than it ever was before.
-- TBD