Banana Dogs

If you came looking for one of these...

                             

... you're out of luck.  If, however, you're looking for a delicious treat, read on...

When I get creative in the kitchen, it can be dangerous.  It always (okay, almost always) ends up being decadent.  Take, for example, today's recipe:  what happens when you put a caramelized banana in a brioche bun and add toppings?  Deliciousness, that's what.

Quantities are approximate and negotiable.  Here's (more or less) what I used:

1 ripe but firm banana, about the length of your roll
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 brioche roll, sliced lengthwise without cutting all the way through
peanut or almond butter
chocolate sprinkles
whipped cream (optional)

In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the banana and fry until golden, turning gently to get all sides.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and allow to melt and caramelize.  Meanwhile, lightly toast the inside of the brioche roll.  Spread one side of the roll with the nut butter and sprinkle with chocolate.  Add the banana and drizzle with the melted butter from the pan.  Top with whipped cream for extra decadence.

Conclusion:  These were pretty tasty.  Two would go down easily, but you probably shouldn't.

Happy Halloween! Chocolate Red Wine Cake

 This isn't my first foray into the chocolate/booze experience.  The first was this chocolate rum cake-- good, but I didn't rave about it.  I tried these red wine brownies and had a mixed reaction.  I even tried a red wine chocolate cake once before, but was unimpressed.  So why try again?  Because I'm convinced this is a delicious combination-- I just have to find the right mix.  Is it the recipe that makes the difference?  Maybe.  Food & Wine, the source for today's recipe, has a well-deserved reputation.  Review comments on this recipe, however, seem to put great stock in the wine used.  Seems Bordeaux is the prime choice, while Cabernet Sauvignon did not work well.  Not very helpful, since Bordeaux reds are a blend of grapes, one of which is Cabernet Sauvignon.

Not willing to invest a quality wine to what might end up a mediocre bake, I bought a bottle of Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon, otherwise known as 2-buck Chuck (now $3.99 Chuck).  Despite its low cost, Charles Shaw wines regularly receive surprisingly good reviews, probably because it's actually drinkable, while other wines at that price point are better reserved for salad dressing.  That said, the wine in the final result was completely undetectable, even in the ganache.  I didn't point out it was a red wine cake when I served it, and no one asked about any subtle flavoring.  It was, however, an amazing chocolate cake!

I was bringing this cake to a Halloween party, so I baked it in my Wilton skull pan, but kept it simple.  (I've used this pan previously here and here.)  No fancy decorations this time.  The original recipe is for a 12-cup Bundt; I halved the recipe and baked it in just the face half of the skull pan.  It would probably work fine in an 8" x 4" loaf pan, or a single 9" round cake pan.  Here's what I used:

1 cup all-purpose flour 

3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

5/8 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

7/8 cup sugar

1 large egg 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

5/8 cup dry red wine 

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour a 6-cup pan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes longer. Working in two batches, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and the wine, until just incorporated.

 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack; let cool completely. Drizzle or streak the ganache around the sides of the plate and just a little in the center (to help hold the cake in place.) Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar, then place on the plate. Serve with whipped mascarpone cream.

 

Ganache:
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons red wine

pinch of salt

Heat the chocolate and butter in a double boiler until melted; stir together.  Add the wine and salt and stir until smooth.

 

Topping
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (118 grams) chilled heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip together until soft peaks form -- don't over whip. 

 

I over baked this cake, and it still turned out great, but I'm frustrated with Wilton-- they included a recipe with the cake pan for a pumpkin cake that requires a long bake time.  I think it must be the moisture in that particular batter requiring that lengthy bake, because I keep over baking the cakes when I use another recipe.  It was nice of Wilton to include the recipe, but guidance for a standard cake recipe would have been more helpful.  I used a thermal cake strip around the pan, which is supposed to help the cake rise more evenly.  I baked it for 65 minutes, and even though it was overdone, it sank in the middle.  The edges were a bit crusty, but the whole thing was delicious.  The pan probably needs only a normal bake time.

 

Conclusion: This was amazing! Semi-sweet, and so good! Rich and moist and chocolatey, made even more so with just a little bit of the ganache -- you don't need a lot.

Recipe:  Chocolate Red Wine Cake via Kristin Donnelly at Food & Wine

Blueberry Muffins IV

Still on the quest for the perfect blueberry muffin, this is attempt number IV....  It is very promising!  (Here are attempts I, II, and III.)  This recipe is very similar to the Maine Blueberry Muffins recipe in II.  That recipe was published in Redbook in 1988, one year after this one.

Compared to the Maine Blueberry Muffins, this recipe uses more blueberries, a little more sugar (which I wanted in the other), buttermilk instead of plain milk (with corresponding baking soda), the addition of vanilla, and slightly more butter.  Curiously, though baked at the same temperature, these are in the oven considerably longer, which did not produce a desirable result.

As with the Maine Blueberry Muffins, I made half the recipe.  For 6 muffins, here's what I used:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh blueberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 400F.  Grease 6 muffin tins.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl.  In a small dish, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and melted butter.  Pour this mixture all at once into the dry ingredients.  Quickly stir just to partially blend; add the blueberries.  Carefully fold together just to moisten; the batter will be stiff and lumpy.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins; the cups will be full.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.  Or, if not using paper liners, tilt each muffin in its tin.  Serve warm.

 

The batter was very thick and rose nicely.  I did watch my oven temperature, but I think it was hotter than it was registering because they still seemed overbaked.  I took the muffins out of the oven a little shy of 25 minutes, but they were quite brown and a little tough on the exterior.  Otherwise, the texture was nice.  Since there's no benefit to a browned crust on these muffins, I'll use the silicone liners next time and/or reduce the oven temperature.  Then again, based on the other recipe, perhaps they just needed less time in the oven.

I made these with salted butter, then threw in another pinch, but they could have used a little more.  (Looking at the Maine recipe, I should just use salted butter and the full salt amount.)

Conclusion:  This might be... the one!  I always liked the Maine Blueberry Muffin recipe, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.  This one comes much closer, although I might try adding a little oil to make them a little more moist.  Also, if possible, I think I could squeeze a little more batter into the tins to produce 5 larger muffins!  I'd like that, as long as they rose up and not out.

Recipe:  Blueberry Muffins via Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood

No-Knead Fruit and Walnut Bread

I've been wanting to remake this No-Knead Chocolate-Cherry Pecan Bread with a few changes, and I'm finally getting to it.  Mostly it is a matter of the mix-ins--- I didn't care for the chocolate at all, and wanted to try some different fruit instead. 

Then there's the question of how much yeast to use--- I went for more than before (because I did have some issue with the rise) but not as much as they recommend.  (See asterisk.)  King Arthur reduced the water content--- wise move, as the dough was extremely wet previously.  I accidentally reduced the amount of salt because I wasn't paying attention.  I changed up the directions a little and am using a Romertopf clay baker rather than a pie pan.  The changes shown now are deviations from the original King Arthur recipe, but some are also deviations from my previous attempt.  Here's what I used:

 3 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 1¹/₂ cups whole wheat flour
2¹/₂ 1¹/₂ teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast*
1¹/₂ cups cool water
3/4 cup chopped dried tart cherries
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons finely diced, candied lemon peel
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1¹/₂ cups chopped pecans walnuts, toasted

Sometime the day before (and before it gets too late), mix together the flours, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Around 7:00 or 8:00 pm, add the water and stir well to make a very soft dough.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 12 hours.  In the morning, the dough should be bubbly and puffy.

Before and after its overnight rise

If possible, simply add the fruit and nuts to the bowl and mix to combine.  (A heavy-duty electric mixer with the kneading arm might be useful here.)  Otherwise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.   Roll out slightly and sprinkle on the fruit and nuts.  Roll up tightly, then knead gently a few times to disperse evenly.  Let it rest 15 minutes, then form it into a ball. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, smooth side down.** Cover and let rise at room temperature about 2 hours, until a slight indentation remains when poked with a finger.

During the last 30 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 450°F and place a bread crock (or a heavy, 4- to 4¹/₂-quart oven-safe pot) in the oven while it heats. When the dough has risen, remove the crock from the oven and turn the dough out of the bowl and into the crock; the smooth side will be facing up**. Shake the crock gently to settle the dough, then cover with the lid and return to the oven. Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the bread is deep brown in color and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205°F. Remove the crock from the oven, turn the bread onto a rack, and cool before slicing.

*There was some confusion about the yeast quantity in the original recipe.  It called for only 1/4 teaspoon (and that's all I originally used, total), but the King Arthur blog post made reference to an additional 1/2 teaspoon to be added to the main dough mixture before the second rise.  They now mention that the yeast quantity has been increased from the original, and it's now all added to the soaker.

**Alternatively, you can line the bowl with parchment, and then transfer the dough, parchment and all, into the crock.  Leaving the smooth side down will produce some interesting crenelations on top that become nicely crusty.

 

When I mixed the soaker together, it was the consistency of a normal dough.  (Not surprising, since whole wheat flour is more absorbent than AP.)  I should really stop referring to this as a "soaker", as there's no additional flour added later.  (The idea that it should be a shaggy mixture is what messed me up.)  Thinking it was too dry, I added more water until I got something more porridge-like.  Mistake.  It was impossible to handle.  I added more flour as I tried to knead it, but mostly I ended up handling it as little as possible, and then only with silicone mat and spatula.

There was no way I was going to be able to handle the "loaf" after it had risen, which was necessary, since I was using a Romertopf clay baker that had to be pre-heated.  I greased a piece of parchment paper and fitted it into a 10 x 7 x 2.5" casserole, then sprinkled the bottom with corn meal.  I scraped and rolled the dough off the silicone sheet where I'd mixed in the add-ins, plopped it onto the parchment (it filled the casserole completely after rising), covered it loosely, and let it rise for about 2.5 hours.  (I don't know what I was looking for other than a slight indent when poked.)  

I let the clay baker soak for about 15 minutes, then placed it in the cold oven, lid on, to heat along with the oven for about 30 minutes.  I bought the Romertopf used and it probably could have done with a deep cleansing--- it smoked terribly when I removed it from the hot oven and the bottom was black.  (I suppose at some point they become too saturated with grease?) Here's a video of someone showing how he uses a Romertopf baker for a no-knead recipe, just dumping the soft batter in straight from the bowl.

I remember an issue with fruit on the dough surface getting burned, and recommendations to try to cover it.  Last time I tried poking them deeper, but it didn't work very well.  This time I pulled bits of dough over top of the fruit as best I could before transferring the dough to the clay baker.  (Since the dough was so wet, I didn't have a skin on the surface.)

On its way into the oven

I baked the bread as directed.  It didn't get too dark on top, which is fine with me.  Surprisingly, the bottom was very light.  It burned black for some people, and since I have a bottom burner I usually end up with baked goods darker on the bottom.

Conclusion:  It all worked as well as before.  Nice crunchy crust and chewy interior. I think I like it better without the citrus to maintain a sort of "dark" flavor.  The lack of salt was noticeable -- too bad about that error.  Next time, I think I would be able to fit the dough into my smaller clay roaster, which would give the loaf a better shape, not so flat.

Recipe:  No-Knead Chocolate-Cherry Pecan Bread via King Arthur Baking