Finding My Marbles!

This week was a very emotionally charged one for many of my friends - not only did I finish exams (and the accompanying school year), say goodbye to my friends and professors, and take a great trip to Yorkville with my mom today, but I had the chance to really brighten a few people's days too! Of course, I opted to bring the smiles with sugar and chocolate (is there anything better?).

This was actually the second cake I was commissioned to make this week, though it was due first so got prime ranking in our (already overburdened) fridge! It was a cake that served a double purpose, as it turned out... both as a celebratory gesture for my friend Magdalena's work anniversary and a sorrow-drowning tactic for the team as they had to say goodbye to my mom, who was shuffling jobs (and therefore offices). While it's depressing to think that I won't be able to drop by and hang out with everyone at once as easily as I used to, at least we don't have to move across the province for her new position (or out of province - that would really suck). In fact, mom's the only one who's doing any moving at all, since her new office is a grand 15 minutes down the street!

Magdalena (who the cake was actually ordered for - by my mom no less!) is a huge fan of my banana bread, and I had also heard through the grapevine of women at the office that there was a call out for something chocolate too! I knew the combination was already a winner... heck, banana chocolate chip bread was one of my absolute favourite snacks as a kid... the trick was how to combine them into a somewhat fancy cake-like object that would serve the horde, decorate it and transport it in one piece! I wound up deciding on marbling the two flavours - I've always adored marble cake! - and figured a double-decker sheet cake would fit the bill nicely since I had the perfect filling in mind!

Nicole at Baking Bites (as seems to be my go-to source these days) gave me the perfect inspiration for a recipe: her Black and White Marble Sheet Cake looked just what I was after. After flipping back and forth to the recipe a couple, oh, dozen times, it occured to me that it was basically only the method that needed to remain the same. I ditched the notion of sheeted layers for a triple-decker round instead, with a base of chocolate instead of the vanilla in the original. That part was fairly simple, since all I had to do was remove a smaller portion of plain batter to flavour / colour with banana before making the large portion chocolate. The fun part (speaking as someone who abhors math in any way, shape or form) was realizing that everything needed to be multiplied by 1 1/2, not simply doubled as I thought before. Sigh! I guess that's what calculators are for, right??

At any rate, the cakes came out beautifully, smelling to high heaven of caramelizing sugar and rich cocoa (as I HOPE heaven smells like - really, if I can't bake in the afterlife I'm not too sure I'll strive towards nirvana, thank you very much!). A simple peanut butter buttercream filling glued the works together, before I got down to work smearing gratuitous amounts of espresso-fudge frosting over the body. Two hours after starting that little endeavour, I chucked it into the fridge to firm up, then later I finished it up by making a gorgeous (if I do say so myself) banana-chip sunflower with a dash of sanding sugar for sparkle. It may not have been the fanciest cake I've put out, but it was one of the most special to me.


Marbled Banana Cake
Serves 20
3 cups flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter, use 1 1/2 tsp)
1 1/4 cups sugar
5.5 oz salted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup full-fat, Greek-style vanilla (or plain) yogurt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp banana extract
1 tsp yellow food colouring (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup hot water
---
Filling
2/3 cup buttercream icing
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (preferably unsweetened)
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
---
Chocolate-Espresso Frosting
2 cups buttercream icing
3 tbsp unsweetened (preferably Dutch process) cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, grease two 10" springform pans well and line the bottoms with parchment.
2. Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until light.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and yogurt.
5. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture, ending with flour, mixing thoroughly.
6. Scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the batter and put into a separate bowl. Add banana extract and food colouring if using.
7. Combine brown sugar, cocoa powder and water in a small bowl, then stir into vanilla batter, beating well.
8. Pour chocolate batter into pans.
9. Top with dollops of the banana batter, then drag a skewer or knife through to create a swirling pattern - don’t over marble.
10. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until tests done.
11. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, filling and frosting.

Filling:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until thick and rich-textured. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Frosting:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, beating until thoroughly blended.
2. Mask and finish cake as desired. Store in fridge.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 423.6
Total Fat: 17.2 g
Cholesterol: 51.7 mg
Sodium: 157.3 mg
Total Carbs: 64.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
Protein: 6.7 g

The guys at the office got the honour of hacking dividing it up, but I don't think the women minded at all! I only wish I could have been there to watch the sugar comas that ensued!

Bar Hopping

These past couple days have been non-stop energy... bordering on insanity! My last two exams came and went this week with so little fuss and fanfare (on my end, anyway) that I didn't even bother mentioning them - in all honesty it took me longer to drive to the school than write the darn things. Even though I've been waiting on it for what seems like eons, I can't believe that the school year is actually over now! I'm kind of sad about it in a way, though... it means saying goodbye (for the most part) to my best friends for the Summer since they're either working full-time or traveling back home. A couple of us have talked about a trip downtown before Johana leaves, so with luck we'll have one last hurrah. If we can get my stomach et al to quiet down for all of 30 minutes, that is!

Speaking of hurrahs, I have had a fair few of those this week too! I'll let you in on more details in my next post (hey, I have to keep you all reading, right?) but the two biggest ones involved copious amounts of sugar, butter and flour (and if you really want, you can check out Flickr for a couple hints). The other big one is I finally figured out the beast that is Twitter (yes, I'm a tad behind the times!). So now, I'll be able to update even if I don't have time for a full-out blog! Just don't hold out for any Twecipes... I'm too verbose for that kind of junk!

For now, I'll talk about a subject near and dear to college students' hearts everywhere, especially come post exam party time - bars! Of course, I don't mean the alkiehol-type (the booze on this blog is all in baked form!)... I mean the rich, dense cookie-type bars - in this case, banana-rich! I'm going to kill two birds with one stone here, since if I don't they'll NEVER be written about!

These first bars are fudgy and dense, made with a touch of yellow corn flour (this isn't cornmeal or cornstarch, mind you!), only 1/4 cup of margarine and a single egg white! Definitely a lighter indulgence for lunchbox or after school noshing too... I added banana chips and Craisins for texture, and I definitely wouldn't leave out the chips. You could add chocolate chips or nuts instead of the Craisins, or leave those out entirely!

Banana Chip Blondies
12 bars
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn flour (not cornstarch!)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp custard powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup craisins
1/2 cup (slightly crushed before measuring) banana chips

1. Preheat oven to 375F, grease or line a 9" square baking pan.
2. Whisk together flours, custard powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl, set aside.
3. Cream together sugars and margarine.
4. Beat in vanilla, egg white and water until smooth.
5. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until well incorporated, the fold in the craisins and banana chips.
6. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake 13-15 minutes. Cool completely in pan before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 174.3
Total Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 51.6 mg
Total Carbs: 32.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
Protein: 2.5 g

I'm actually surprised at the outcome of these other bars - since they had copious amounts of sour cream, heavy bananas and tofu in them (without an egg or butter) I thought they would be heavier and thicker-textured than they were. The pans (I modified the 9x13" recipe to make two 9" square pans instead, topping one with walnuts... it works the same!) came out comparatively fluffy, with a light crumb that makes me think they'd work out well as a layer cake. Maybe a layer of peanut butter in between? Or strawberry preserves?? The possibilities are endless!

Tarzan Ape - Man Bars
24 pieces
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned or "quick", not instant)
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves)
2 tbsp canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sour cream (light's fine, NI is for 14% M.F.)
1 tbsp vanilla
6 oz silken tofu (I use Mori-Nu lite), pureed
3 medium-large bananas, mashed
Walnuts or chocolate chips for topping (optional, not included in NI)

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease and line a 9x13" pan or two 8" pans.
2. Whisk together flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda and pie spice in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat together oil, brown sugar, honey and applesauce until smooth.
4. Add sour cream, vanilla and tofu puree and again beat smooth.
5. Add flour and bananas in alternate batches, starting and ending with dry.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan(s), top if desired.
7. Bake 25 minutes, rotating pans after 15 minutes.
8. Cool completely in pans (or chill if possible) before cutting.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 110.2
Total Fat: 3.5 g
Cholesterol: 4.2 mg
Sodium: 30.8 mg
Total Carbs: 18.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 2.1 g

Definitely Not "Just Bananas"

What do you do when, all of a sudden, you realize you have a bounty of culinary resources hidden away in the back of your pantry and fridge? I'm completely guilty of the "European" method of shopping - I'm perfectly content to run out for bits and pieces of the evening meal each day, picking up produce that's fresh and bright (provided I'm lucky enough to be there shortly after stocking) and arriving home only to find that there was an extra whatever lurking in the fridge from the big shopping the weekend before. I especially tend to get suckered in to the "mini-trip" mindset when I'm downtown in Roncesvalles Village, because it always seems like new goods are flooding into the produce stalls and the shop owners are always able to point out the best stock and even some new finds (like mini kiwis and ground cherries). It was there that I bought the quince that I turned into sauce. I always look forward to trips down to my acupuncturist because it gives me that window to browse... like a mini Kensington or St. Lawrence market at my fingertips!

I think I began the "market shopper" mindset when I was living in Ottawa: the famous, gourgeous lifeblood of the city known as the Byward Market was only a short bus-hop away from the university residence (and later, the apartment I shared with Andrew), and I can vibrantly remember one particularly freezing cold winter night during exams when Andrew, my suite-mate Allison and I walked for an hour (in the wind and blowing snow) off campus to escape the cabin fever brought on by cramped quarters and too many text books. We wound up in a Loeb of all places (how very chic, I know), buying a loaf of crusty, almost-stale bread and a wheel of Vache Qui Rit to share back at the dorm. I don't think I ever had a better meal that first year.

But that is a major digression from what I originally started out talking about! Reminiscence can be a powerful thing, eh?

Anyways, fridge finds. I have to admit, this was made a heck of a while back and I'm just getting around to posting it because I've been a lazy blogger! Basically, I had a bunch of ingredients languishing in various areas of my kitchen - which seems to be a constant these days (especially since recently I've been so nauseous that what I do buy at the market lacks luster to my heart come dinner) - including a half-cup of ganache from my mom's birthday cake, the dregs of a jar of jam and three brown-verging-on-black bananas. What would you have done??

Well, I decided to toss everything together with my basic banana bread recipe - yup, ganache and all - bake it off and see what happened! The butter-consistency of the cold ganache filled the fat component of the recipe, and allowed me to significantly reduce the amount of sugar added to the loaf. A cup of yogurt made for a tender, more cakey than bread-like crumb and a loaf so moist that when I initially tried to unmould it, it folded in half! Lesson learned - when something says to cool completely in the pan, there's a good reason for it!

Banana Berry-Truffle Bread
Serves 14
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup room temperature chocolate ganache (truffle filling... use the full sample recipe below if desired)
1 cup plain yogurt (low or full fat is fine)
2 tbsp strawberry jam
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
---Ganache---
2 ounces bittersweet (65% +) chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a large loaf pan.
2. Beat together bananas, vanilla, ganache, yogurt and jam in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl whisk together remaining ingredients.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the banana mixture until just combined, scraping the bottom to ensure even mixing.
5. Bake 55-65 minutes, tenting with foil after 30 minutes.
6. Let cool in the pan completely before unmoulding.
   ---
7. Ganache: Place chocolate into a heat-safe bowl. Bring cream to a low boil, then pour over the chocolate, stirring to melt completely. Set aside to cool for 45 - 50 minutes, until the consistency of room temperature butter.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 147.6
Total Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 8.1 mg
Sodium: 11.1 mg
Total Carbs: 26.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
Protein: 2.9 g

"Ate" Huzzah!

You will have to blame thank my little sister for the title of this post - she's been using that expression ever since she did factorials in math class (back in, what... October??) when she and her friends would refer to anything with the "!" symbol as "(number) huzzah". Apparently her teacher had a fondness for 8!, so now it's stuck itself permanently into my brain. Hence now, "ate" huzzah.

Actually, though I always thought it just meant "yay" or "Hallelujiah", Ripley's says that "huzzah" translates into "paradise". Paradise... yup, that would be a good marker for this loaf. Dense, slightly chewy, riddled with onions and garlic with that "just so" touch of roasted sesame oil, I wouldn't hesitate to pair this bread with (garlic?) butter, or even a crabapple jelly would be awesome! The original inspiration for the bread came from one of my favourite baking blogs - Baking Bites - where Nicole made Caramelized Onion Bread in a tube pan. I halved the recipe to fit it nicely into the awesome stoneware pan my dad gave to me for my birthday this year (I was dying to try it out!), then fiddled with the ingredients to use what I had on hand and use up the granulated garlic I had bought for a batch of (as yet unblogged) bagels and only used part of. Originally, for the colour contrast, I had planned to use a red onion that I had spied in our bin, but upon cutting it open I was - shall we say - a little less than thrilled with the black and slightly oozy innards. Plan B worked out perfectly in the taste department though, since really, how can you go wrong with a Vidalia in anything?

A long, slow, super-fragrant cooking of the onions was the critical first step in this venture, and the smell of them alone is reason to make this bread ASAP! Actually, after the bread was out of the oven and the whole house smelled like Italy, all I could think of was another name for the loaf: "last date bread". Mind you, I couldn't date someone who couldn't stand onions and garlic... they are the base of my blood! However, even if you do wind up dining on slabs of this alone, the aroma will caress you all night long... so you still get a date out of the deal. It'll even come to bed with you, and it will still respect you in the morning (as a base for your scrambled eggs!). I've submitted this loaf to Susan (of WildYeast fame), who is hosting her event YeastSpotting.

Caramelized Onion, Garlic And Sesame Bread

Serves 16

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional but highly reccommended!)
1 package active dry yeast (about 1 1/4 tsp)
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 cups flour, divided
1 tsp gluten flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt

1. In a medium sauce pan, cook onions and oil over medium-high heat until onions are translucent.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until onions are light golden, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Stir in the sesame oil and cook 1-2 minutes further.
4. Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.
5. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), combine yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup water. Let stand until foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Add remaining water, mixing well.
7. In another bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, gluten, whole wheat flour, garlic, pepper and salt.
8. Add this mixture to the wet mix in the bowl and beat well to blend.
9. Stir in onions.
10. Add remaining flour gradually until dough comes together into an elastic ball (you may need more or less).
11. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes.
12. Place dough in a greased bowl, and let rise 1 hour.
13. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x5" loaf pan.
14. Gently deflate risen dough, shape into a loaf and place in the loaf pan.
15. Cover with greased Cling Wrap and let rise about 45 minutes.
16. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 - 40 minutes, until dark gold.
17. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Amount per Serving

Calories: 106.1
Total Fat: 1.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 1.5 mg
Total Carbs: 20.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
Protein: 3.3 g

Unfortunately, some of us have to live with families who are less than accepting of culinary odours *cough cough*. Luckily enough for me, I was approached by Charlie Kondek (my good schwag buddy!) who was toting a smell-fighting arsenal from Febreze - not only did I get some air-misting sprays (they call them AirEffects) for the immediate damage-control, but the huge gym-bag they sent to me had some candles and their NOTICEables oil warmer plug-ins too. All the scents I was sent (ooh boy, we're getting into homophones!) were part of their new line of destination scents, featuring Morocco (my personal favourite), Brazil and Hawaii as inspiration. Now, I'm pretty sensitive to the "air freshener" types of scents (and perfumes in general), so I was really disappointed when I found the Moroccan NOTICEable that I had stuck in my room was making my eyes and throat burn (fair warning: use these in large spaces like a front hallway - enclosed rooms are no good!). The AirEffects sprays have the same, shall we say, effect when my mom uses them in the house, because she can easily hold onto that trigger for a year! I was okay when I used short spritzes of them in the kitchen and bathrooms though, which I'm sure were closer to the intended purpose! The candles smell wonderful and are lightly scented enough that you pretty much have to snort the wax before you'd get any sort of overload. I can't wait to see if they release the Moroccan flavour for those in the future!

If you do wind up trying one of the new scents, and you fall in love with the idea of being in either Brazil, Hawaii or Morocco (and really, who doesn't? I could be in any of those places right now in a heartbeat!), Febreze is running a sweepstakes until July 5 for Canada and USA residents! The grand prize is a trip for four to one of the locations mentioned, and you even get a little spending cashola ($1,000 US). And really, who doesn't want some extra moola these days?? Good luck to those who enter!

And a second huzzah moment that I had overlooked until now - I'm over halfway done with my exams now!! Yeah, it involved me spending almost all of this glorious, 27C Saturday in school, but only two more left!!

Keeping Up with the Times

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Hopefully everyone is finding something "eco-friendly" to fill their time with today (you know, when you don't have things like work or school... yeah, remember those?). Our household was kind of thrown into a forced water-conservation movement this morning, awaking to find out that our kitchen faucet was, to quote my Grandpa (who came over to try fixing it), "peeing sideways". Leaky didn't even begin to cover it - when we turned on the tap, we got a geyser! So now our kitchen is back to the Pilgrim times, sans running water. How fun it is to do dishes by lugging bowlfuls upon bowlfuls of hot water from the laundry room (the only faucet that runs hot enough in this house!). It's like camping, but without the convenience of a spigot (or the bugs, come to think of it...). At least our oven and fridge still work! I tell you, if those two ever died (God forbid at ONCE!) we'd be out to lunch... and dinner... and breakfast.

Well, the lack of water didn't dissuade me from embracing Spring, and I even did my part to use up stuff lingering in my pantry and fridge before it went south (except for a single red onion... though that story must wait for another post). This week's English class was not only the last one before exams (yay!) but was also the date I was slated to perform a demonstration / instruction presentation for everyone. When the project was announced originally, I got it stuck in my head that I would do something food-ish. And sweet. "Ah," the brain began to say, "why not decorate cupcakes? You can bake them and frost them before and all that's left is assembly!". Now if my head was screwed on right at the time I would have been able to see well in advance the sheer amount of planning and work that would go into that 10 minute time slot. But no, all I could think of was "Cake! Frosting! Pretty things!", and I was sunk.

Luckily, I have the world of blogging at my fingertips - having decided on a "Springy" lemon-flavoured cake base with a poured fondant icing (gross, I know, but easy... and I used a mix) I knew I would have to find a recipe that was vegan in case there were any allergies in the room. I found one heck of a winner with Bryanna's wedding cake recipe, though tweaked it to (obviously) reduce the volume it made and make the prep method seem a bit more "usual" to me (though if anyone can tell me why her's is made that way and if it works, let me know!).

The cake prep was super easy, and I was rewarded with exactly what I was looking for: light, spongy, perfectly tangy and just slightly sweet (I didn't want the blend to be cloying with the fondant). It sliced wonderfully (Andrew happily took the bits) and turned out to be a great base for the glaze. So, thanks Bryanna!

The fondant is (obviously) where I began to struggle. I had never done anything with that kind of poured or rolled frosting before, and have limited success with royal icing and even simple sugar glaze, erring on the side of too much liquid. I was extra-careful this time and got it to a good consistency, but the issues began when it came to the whole coating process. The cake wasn't completely level, apparently, and the cupcake I did for the demo pictures was even less so but I failed to notice in time. So, sliding fondant and subsequent re-covers filled up a good portion of my Friday morning!

After all that was sorted out and the cakes were dry, I got down to the business of decorating. I had made the pretty pretzels earlier in the week (melted candy coating and storebought twists!) so it was mostly assembly. Andrew was a complete doll by helping me dole out chocolate frosting (for the body, antennae and "glue") into Ziplocs for the class to use, too! Smarties provided the heads and in all I think they turned out pretty nicely. They don't visually live up to their inspiration though, but who can when you're dealing with The Martha? According to my mom, my demo cupcake was perfectly delicious, and my classmates didn't complain either! Of course, getting everything into the classroom in one piece and one trip was a production in itself - if anyone was in the GTA this past Monday you can attest to the deluge that beset us that day!

Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake
Serves 12
10 oz sugar
4 oz margarine
2 tbsp lemon juice
grated zest of 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon extract
12.3 oz flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup (soy or rice) milk - I used soy

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Cream together sugar and margarine. Add lemon juice, zest, vanilla and lemon extracts and beat well.
3. Whis together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Mix the water and soy milk in a measuring cup or small dish.
5. Add dry ingredients alternately with the liquids, beating well after each addition.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until cake tests done.
7. Cool completely in the pan before turning out.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 272.3
Total Fat: 8.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 100.7 mg
Total Carbs: 47.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 4.0 g

Ironically, and sort-of-but-not-really on topic, I also picked today of all days to do a mass of baking. Including bagels, which as we know require boiling, which requires water. I never thought that our tub's faucet would get such a workout! I did a deliciously odiferous bread too, and this cake again, but you'll find out all about those later. Fingers crossed our faucet feels better soon!