Chocolate Rum Cake

 

1½ cups unsalted butter
3/4 lb bittersweet chocolate , broken
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark rum
2 cups strong, brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup rum, for soaking cake (optional)

Preheat your oven to 300F.  Butter a 4½-inch-deep (12-cup) Bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder flour. In a medium pot, melt the butter; remove from heat and stir in the chocolate pieces. Cover and let melt. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir the rum, vanilla extract, coffee, and sugar into the melted butter mixture. Slowly combine butter mixture with dry mixture (add about half, whisk until smooth, then add remainder.)  Add the eggs and beat until a smooth batter forms.  Scrape the sides as needed to work in all the flour.  Pour into Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 50 minutes.  (Be sure to leave at least one inch clear at the top of the Bundt pan so that it doesn’t overflow.)  Let the cake cool to room temperature on a rack, then turn out. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. (Optional: poke it all over with a skewer and sprinkle on a shot or two of extra rum. Be sure to let it sit overnight to soak it up evenly.)  Dust with a flurry of powdered sugar, slice thickly, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
 

This was a lot of cake--- it made a small extra loaf.  This could easily be reduced to 2/3 or 1/3 using a loaf pan.  I used the small airbake pan under the cake and had trouble getting the cake to release, so not a good idea.  Others also had trouble getting it out of the pan. (Recommended Baker’s Joy.)  The cake rose very high and crusted, then fell while cooling and the edges separated. 

Some interesting alternatives by other bakers:  some added more rum (1 cup) and let it mellow a day, and more chocolate (2-3 oz).  One added orange peel.  Some added more coffee, or used instant, or substituted espresso.  One frosted with cream cheese/whipped cream.

Conclusion:  Cake was very good; light and delicate, but very rich. Could have used a bit more salt, maybe ½ teaspoon.

Recipe:  Midnight Mocha Rum Cake via Global Table Adventure

Apple Bacon Kuchen

 

I didn't save the recipe!  Can't believe it.  But on a search, this was the only one that popped up, and I know I've accessed this blog before, so maybe it's the right one.  And hers looks like mine.

Topping
8 strips of bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 granny smith apples

Kuchen
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten, room temperature
1 tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Cook the bacon in large skillet until nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Pour the bacon fat out of the skillet and reserve. Wipe out the skillet to remove any bits and pieces.  Add back one Tablespoon of bacon grease and the butter and melt over medium heat.  Stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup.  While the buttery brown sugar is melting together, peel and core the apples and cut them into small chunks.  Drop the apple pieces into the butter as soon as you chop them to prevent discoloration and stir to coat well.  Sprinkle over the cinnamon and stir to combine.  Cook until the apples are soft and the syrupy brown sugar is reduced and just coating the apples.  Cut the bacon into small pieces and stir into the apples. Set aside to cool.  The topping can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat until combined.  Beat in the maple syrup. Mix in the flour, baking powder and baking soda alternately with the sour cream.  Beat until well combined.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it out to the corners.  Spread the apple-bacon topping over the batter to evenly cover the top.  Press the filling in a little bit with a spatula.  Bake the kuchen for 25 – 30 minutes, until the kuchen is puffed and brown on the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm cut into squares.

The bacon was tough, so next time I wouldn't cook it until crispy.  I had some other thought about dealing with the bacon/topping, but I don't remember what it was.

Conclusion:  I wasn't bowled over with this, which is probably why I didn't save the recipe, but my co-workers thought it was great.

Recipe:  Apple Bacon Kuchen via The Runaway Spoon

Green Tomato-Apple Pie

 

Weird flex, right?  But it made sense to me.  Green tomatoes would give a tartness and the apples and sugar and spices a nice sweet flavor, so I gave it a go.

Here's what I used:

3/4 cup seedless raisins
2 cups seeded and diced green tomatoes
2 apples peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1⅓ cup sugar
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (9-inch) double pie pastry
1½ tablespoon butter, cut into pieces 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, apples, lemon rind, lemon juice, and vinegar.  In a separate bowl, combine the salt, sugar, flour, cinnamon and ginger and mix well. Roll out 1 of the pie crusts to fit a pie plate and place in the plate. Set aside. Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour into pie shell. Dot top with butter.  Add top crust and slit the top of pie. Bake 15 minutes, and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 45 minutes.

Conclusion;  Spectacular!  Maybe could have used more tomatoes, though, as there wasn't much tang. (Check out this pie made with all tomatoes.) It tasted like a delicious apple pie!

Recipe:  Mom's Green Tomato-Apple Pie via Linda Moran on the Food Network