Happy Easter! Sicilian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

These are actually traditional Christmas cookies, and the heady aroma from the fruit, wine, and spices in the filling is definitely reminiscent of the winter holidays.  But these cookies are festive and colorful, and I thought the egg shape would work well for Easter.

A little digging also revealed that these are generally made into stuffed pillows, like Fig Newtons (probably where Nabisco got the idea).  However, there is also a tradition for making them into elaborate animal shapes with elegant patterns snipped into the dough.  According to Christopher Gronlund on his blog The Juggling Writer, when made like this they are called "cosi di ficu".

Photo from The Juggling Writer.

I hope to make these again eventually, but I will try a different shape.  A more simple version of the cosi di ficu would be nice, and I think would give a better filling-to-pastry ratio.  The balls presented here made cookies that are too large -- that's a lot of fig! -- and the thin glaze did not work nicely on them.  (I discuss that below.)

Europeans don't usually include salt with their sweets, so I adjusted the original recipe slightly to more closely match American taste.

For the Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch 1/8 teaspoon of salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For the Filling:
1 cup whole almonds, toasted
1 cup dried figs, stemmed
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 2 tablespoons (approximately) fresh orange juice*
nonpareils, for decorating

For the dough, pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like coarse meal. Whisk together the yolks, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice, then add to the food processor and pulse until the dough holds together when pinched. (Stop before it gathers into a ball).

Very dry and powdery, but holds together when pinched.

Turn out onto a sheet of waxed paper and knead into a log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.  (Dough should be firm, but still workable.  If it's been chilled for several hours, let it warm up a little until you can work a piece without its breaking.)

Meanwhile, make the filling. Pulse the almonds in a clean food processor until coarsely chopped; transfer to a saucepan. Pulse the figs in the food processor until finely chopped and add to the saucepan along with the orange zest, wine, honey, cocoa powder, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Let cool.




Slice the dough into 24 equal pieces.  Working with one piece at a time, flatten each into a 2-3" disk.








Flatten it further while pinching it into a rough bowl shape, then fill with about a tablespoon of filling. (There's plenty of filling -- be generous.)  It helps to shape the filling into a ball first.

If the day is warm and you find the dough getting too soft, work with portions at a time and keep the rest chilled.  The dough should be cool and firm, but workable without falling apart.





Wrap the pastry over the filling and seal closed, then roll into a smooth ball.

Place on ungreased baking sheets, cover, and refrigerate about 30 minutes.  (This step can probably be omitted, especially if your kitchen is cool.)






 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar and orange zest in a bowl.  Add enough juice to make a thin but stable glaze that isn't too runny.  (*The glaze in the original recipe is VERY thin -- it's supposed to just give a shine to the cookies. That concept works nicely with a flatter shape, especially if they've been cut into animals or other decorative designs.  In that case, you would brush the glaze on.  But with this ball shape, the glaze just ran off, it didn't look very nice, and there was WAY too much left over.)  Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze, and then sprinkle with the nonpareils. Let set, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.  (These were actually better the second day, but after that the pastry crust lost some crispness.)

Conclusion:  These were very time-consuming, but worth it.  The light, crumbly, shortbread crust paired nicely with the rich fig filling.  I feel the filling still needed something... a tiny bit more salt, perhaps, and I'm thinking maybe some orange flower water.  That said, they received rave reviews just as they were.  One of my co-workers even convinced a vegan they were worth breaking his policy for, and on tasting one I got a high-five.  High praise, indeed.

Original recipe:  Sicilian Fig Cookies via Food Network Kitchens

Irish Stout Chocolate Cake for a milestone birthday

It's not every day that you pass the half century mark.  It called for something special.  With its rich chocolate cake, boozy frosting, and decadent dark chocolate ganache, this cake had been calling to me for some time.  Now was the time.  

Somewhere in my recipe search, I saw this referred to as Irish Car Bomb Cake -- a not-very-PC name referring to the famous (and delicious) drink:  

It was perfect for this occasion, since turning 50 comes with all the shock and terror (if not the fall out) of a violent and destructive car bomb.  I just had to make one small, and warranted, adjustment to the recipe -- the addition of Irish whiskey.

1 cup Irish stout (such as Guinness®)

1 cup butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1½ teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

3 cups confectioner's sugar, or as needed

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

3 1 tablespoon Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys®)

2 tablespoons Irish whiskey (as needed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.

Pour the beer into a saucepan, add the butter, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until the mixture is smooth; allow to cool. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sour cream together until smooth with an electric mixer; stir in the stout mixture to make a smooth, thick liquid.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour the stout mixture into the flour mixture, and gently combine with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake in the preheated oven until the cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool in pans for 5 minutes before inverting the cakes onto wire racks to finish cooling.

Place the chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to almost boiling in a small saucepan, and pour over the chocolate. Add the butter, and stir the mixture until the chocolate melts and the mixture is very smooth. Allow to cool until the mixture is thick but pourable, about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, beat together the confectioner's sugar, butter, liqueur, and whiskey until the mixture forms a smooth and spreadable frosting.  (Add more sugar or whiskey as needed to create the desired consistency.) Spread about 1/2 cup of the frosting on top of one of the cake layers; top with the second layer.  Frost the rest of the cake with a thin layer of frosting, starting with the sides and finishing with the top.  (See Conclusion.)  Pour the chocolate ganache carefully onto the top of the cake, covering the top completely, and encouraging it to slide down the sides. Don't be stingy -- you'll want lots of this.  More than what's in this photo.  (In fact, you'll probably want to wear it.)

Conclusion:  This was every bit as decadent and delicious as it appears to be.  I find fault only with the frosting, which was excruciatingly sweet.  Therefore, I recommend using less of the frosting recipe and applying it sparingly.  The ganache is not very sweet at all, so it's really important to pair the two appropriately.  This cake was better the second day.   

Original recipe:  Chocolate Stout Cake with Bailey's Frosting via allrecipes

April ABC challenge: Mini 100% Whole Wheat Cranberry Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I've been cutting down on my intake of breads and sugars lately, which is sort of tough on a baker.  But I decided the way to get around that is to simply make less when I do bake.  With that in mind, I cut this month's recipe down not in half, but to ONE THIRD!  (I figured a third of a loaf is only a few slices, right?)

Here's what I used:

Starter
1⅓ ounce (38g) cool water
1/3 cup (40g) whole wheat flour
a dribble of wild yeast sourdough starter

Dough
5/6 (2.3g) teaspoon active dry yeast  (roughly measured)
1⅓ ounces (38g) lukewarm milk
1⅓ ounces (38g) orange juice
2⅓ tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
4 teaspoons dry whole milk
1½ - 2 ounces (50g) Russet potato, peeled, microwaved and mashed (or 4 teaspoons potato flour)
2/3+1/4 cup (110g) white whole wheat flour

Filling
1 egg, beaten, to brush on dough
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon turmeric (for the health benefits -- the flavor is undetectable, but the color isn't)
1½ tablespoon finely chopped fresh cranberries
1½ tablespoon finely chopped walnuts

There were comments in the blog regarding sourdough and the KA response in every case was that this was NOT a sourdough and they had to use commercial yeast.  Interesting response, since KA's usual response to substitutions is, "Try it and let us know how it works!"  Nonetheless, I didn't want to be bothered with whatever tiny amount of yeast I would have needed for the starter.  Besides, I'm not convinced yeast is even needed at this point.  The real task is to hydrate your flour and let it start to autolyze; yeast isn't necessary for that.   (I also had to use regular whole wheat for the starter because I was out of the white.)

After 12 hours, the starter looked like it had puffed up, which actually surprised me.  But when I poked it, it didn't feel aerated, so I'm not sure whether it activated or not.  No matter -- there's plenty of yeast in the rest of the recipe.

Good window pane effect.

The dough mixed up a little dry, so I added about another tablespoon or so of plain water rather than OJ, just because it was easier. I realize there is a danger in small-batch baking to disregard what seem like infinitesimal quantities -- a dash here or a pinch there.  But when your ingredients come in fractions of an ounce, it might make a difference!  I thought about adding some orange zest into the mix, but decided I wanted the flavor of the bread to come through and not be covered with anything else.

That said, since I happened to have some fresh cranberries that I had just started dehydrating, I threw a few of those into the filling, along with a few walnuts for crunch.  Since my bread wasn't going to be very sweet (coconut sugar isn't nearly as sweet as cane sugar), I thought it might benefit from a little extra flavor boost in the filling.

                               

Finished proofing, it's ready for shaping...

Start with a log...

...roll out to 16 x 3.5".
(A 16" tile helps.)

Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture...

... and the cranberries and walnuts, keeping the filling
lighter on the inside part (close end) and heavier on the
outside part, where it has to service more bread mass...

...and roll up tightly.

Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

Aluminum pie pan, final decision.
And ready for the oven.

I followed the rest of the directions as given, reducing the baking time to 35 minutes, when the internal temperature registered 195 F.

Conclusion:  Fantabulous!  Loved it!  Only 11 ounces; very soft, but with a nice chew.  I really loved the tiny bits of tart cranberry here and there -- just a hint.  And it still was plenty sweet for my taste.  A little warm butter was the only dressing I'd recommend.

Original recipe:  100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread via King Arthur Flour