To Try Tuesday - Getting Figgy

It seems that every time Mr. Hairy Legs and I go out to dinner he always orders something I wish I had ordered. He has this theory about ordering in a restaurant - always go with fresh fish first, then if you don't like the sound of that go with steak, then chicken, and finally pork.  It sounds unbelievable, but 99% of the time he orders the best dish.  I know it seems a little old-fashioned but I am thinking that for all future dinners I am just going to let him order for me.  It will be a "win" situation for him too since he will then be able to enjoy his meal in peace, rather than having me ask for another bite. 

On a visit to 12th Avenue Grill, one of my favorite restaurants on Oahu, he ordered figs that had been stuffed with cinnamon goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto, then grilled.  They were delicious and, needless to say, he generously shared them with me.  I had never had figs before, and was taken with how good they were.  I really meant to buy some and try making this recipe, but for some reason I never got around to it.

Costco had figs over the summer and I kept eying them every time I passed by them. I kept thinking that I could try and replicate the dish we had tried.  I did pick up a tray but then I saw a recipe for Vanilla Balsamic Fig Jam on La Dolce Pita and I couldn't resist.  This is such an easy recipe with delicious results.

Vanilla Balsamic Fig Jam

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Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1 Tablespoon aged Balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt

Preparation

1. In a small pot over medium-low heat, bring the honey to a simmer. 
2. Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for 15-20 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until figs have considerably broken down and liquid has reduced a bit. 
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and let cool completely before serving. 
4. Jam will thicken upon cooling and makes approximately 3/4 cup.

Original recipe by  La Dolce Pita

Passion Fruit Curd

My love affair with passionfruit continues.  We had a vine in our backyard when I was younger and I loved grabbing a passionfruit and scooping the pulp over vanilla ice cream.  One of my favorite summer treats when I was growing up was going to get an ice cream cone.  Our corner milk bar always had a choice of three flavors of ice cream - vanilla, chocolate, and passion fruit.  They didn't even bother asking which flavor I wanted as it was always passion fruit.  Later they added strawberry to the roster but it made no difference to my choice.  Having passion fruit as a choice seems strange now that I think back, but it has always been a popular flavor in Australia.

The pulp of a passionfruit has a tart-sweet taste and lots of crunchy black seeds.  It is commonly known here in Hawaii as lilikoi and there are a couple of different varieties - a yellow skinned and a light purple skinned (the purple tends to be slightly sweeter).  It is lilikoi time right now so I suspect there may be a few posts that include them in the near future :) .

Surprisingly, passion fruit can be hard to find here in Oahu, but if you are lucky you can buy it at the Farmers' Market, or sometimes you are fortunate and find a vine growing wild.  When Whole Foods first opened in Kahala they sold it, but unfortunately I haven't seen it there since that time. Lucky for me I was able to find some recently and decided I really wanted to make some passion fruit curd.  I love it on my toast on the morning, but it also makes a wonderful filling for cakes, a delicious topping for ice cream, and can be enjoyed with scones rather than using jam.

Passion Fruit Curd
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 125g butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of passion fruit pulp (strained of seeds, whole, or a mix) 

Preparation

1. Heat the juice, butter and sugar in a heavy based pot until the sugar has dissolved and it reaches boiling point. 
2. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly for about 4 minutes. At this point I actually strained the mixture into a separate bowl, reserving about 3 tablespoons of the seeds which I added back in - this is optional.  Place back into the pot and allow to cool.
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl,  add a small amount of the hot juice mixture to temper the eggs (and prevent curdling), making sure you continue to whisk.  Add this mixture back into the pot.
4. Place the pot back on the heat and whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick, about 10 minutes. 
5. Cool the mixture in the pot which allows it to thicken a little more, then transfer to a sterilized jar(s) and store in the refrigerator. 

This recipe makes approximately three 8 oz jars.

Recipe adapted from Drizzle and Dip.

Chocolate Mint Pots de Crème

Sometimes I do things backwards.  Instead of seeing a recipe I like and then wondering what I could make it in, I see a beautiful baking tin, pie plate, or in this case ramekin, and then I go looking for a recipe to suit it.

In this case I came across a recipe for these beautiful Pots de Crème in Sunset magazine.  I just loved the sound of chocolate mint and the pretty pale green color of the custard.  Who wouldn't like the idea of a custard that tastes like a peppermint patty?

I had never heard of chocolate mint before but I was lucky enough to find a plant at my local farmers' market.  This amazing herb comes from the spearmint family and has a purple stem with green leaves. You can use it like any mint plant in drinks, salads, desserts, sauces or as a garnish. I have it growing in a big pot and it has taken off like crazy.  I think this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship.

You need to start this recipe earlier in the day if you plan on serving it on the same day since it needs to steep for two hours to infuse the mint flavor, and then it requires chilling after you have made the custard.  Other than that it is a very simple dessert that will impress everyone after the first bite.

 
Chocolate Mint Pots de Crème 
(Printer Friendly Recipe)
 
Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 3 ounces (3 big handfuls) chocolate mint sprigs, plus leaves for garnish
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 large egg yolks
• Sweetened whipped cream
• 1/2 cup chocolate shavings

Preparation   

1. Heat together cream, milk, and mint in a medium pot over medium heat until mixture starts to simmer. 
2. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep about 2 hours.  
3. Preheat oven to 300°F. 
4. Set 8 ramekins (4 oz. each) in a large roasting pan or baking dish.  
5. Reheat cream mixture to a simmer; strain into a medium bowl. 
6. Whisk together sugar and yolks in a large bowl, slowly add cream to yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  
7. Pour mixture into ramekins, dividing evenly. 
8. Fill pan with hot water until it reaches halfway up sides of ramekins.  
9. Cover pan with foil and bake until custards are set and jiggle only slightly in the center, about 30 minutes. 
10. Remove from oven and let sit in hot water 30 minutes. 
11. Transfer ramekins to a baking sheet, cover, and chill at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.  
12. Serve with whipped cream, fresh mint leaves, and chocolate shavings, if desired.

 
Recipe by Sunset magazine

 

The Cake Slice July 2011 - Zebra Cake

It is Cake Slice Baker's time and this month we are baking a Zebra Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. We have been baking from this book since October of 2010 and I have to say that I have had so much fun and each of the cakes has been something special, and I have yet to need a cake keeper since they are gone in no time.

When I heard that this cake had been chosen I was a little nervous.  It is one of those cakes that I have seen in magazines and wondered how did they do that? As the time got closer to making the cake I asked myself if I was up to the challenge? After reading through the recipe I kept thinking can it be that simple?  And before I embarrass myself more by telling you about more of the conversations I have with myself, let me say that this cake could not be any easier and you will wow people with it.

This cake gets its flavor from a vanilla and a chocolate batter that is intertwined.  To make the chocolate even more intense I used one tablespoon of  Black Cocoa that I purchased from King Arthur Flour, along with one tablespoon of the regular Dutch-process cocoa.  My chocolate batter seemed a little thick so I had to add a little more of the vanilla batter to it because it was not spreading out as it should in the cake pan.

Once again the Cake Keeper Cake got an excellent rating from my family.  Everyone loved that the cake had both vanilla and chocolate flavors, and it was nice and moist.  I could really see this cake working well with other flavors too.

Please join me in checking out all of the other Cake Slice Bakers blogs by clicking on this link.

Zebra Cake

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk, whole or 2%
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease a 9 inch pan, line with a circle of parchment paper, grease the parchment and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. 
3. Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. 
4. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the milk, butter, oil and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. 
5. Stir in the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time.  
6. Transfer a third of the batter into another bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder.  
7. Place a quarter cup of the vanilla batter into the centre of the pan and let it stand for a few seconds so it spreads out slightly. 
8. Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter right on top of then vanilla and wait another few seconds until it spreads. 
9. Continue alternating vanilla and chocolate until you have used up all the batter and it has spread to the edges of the pan.  
10. Bake until the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 
11. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. 
12. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a cutting board. Peel away the parchment paper and re-invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slice and serve. 
13. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for 3 days.

Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman.

To Try Tuesday - Roasted Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Toffee Topping

Sometimes I think I want to give up my blog.  I love the cooking part but I just get so frustrated with taking photos.  They just never seem to turn out the way that I would like them to.  I have these beautiful visions in my head but what I see is not what I get.  I really have no one to blame but myself.  I should learn the ins and outs of my camera, I should take a class in photography, I should read more books on food photography, I should buy some proper lighting.  Lots of "shoulds" but not enough time or finances to do so at the moment.  One day.

Anyway, back to the task at hand.  I had lots of bananas quickly ripening in the fruit basket and I wanted something new to try rather than my go-to recipe for banana bread.  I went through my trusty "To Try" list hoping to find something.  Sure enough there was a great-sounding recipe for Roasted Banana Nut Bread with Browned Butter & Toffee Topping on Karissa's site Baking For Her Soul.

The only changes I made were to omit the nuts and I did not lay the slices of banana on the sides like she did.  The roasting of the bananas brings out the sweetness and adds such a wonderful flavor to the bread.  The crunchy topping was also good, and I can imagine a few different directions to go in if you did want a different topping - a sprinkle of coconut, a cream cheese and passionfruit frosting, even something with peanut butter would be yummy.  And should the bread last long enough to be re-purposed I think it would make an awesome base for a bread pudding.

Roasted Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Toffee Topping

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 medium bananas
• ⅔ cup brown sugar, separated
• 4 tablespoons butter, separated
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅓ cup toffee pieces for sprinkling on top, optional
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on top, optional

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
3. Peel and slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter in a foil-lined baking dish.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6. Reduce oven heat to 350°F.
7. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and set aside. 
   
8. On medium heat, brown 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, swirling the pan several times for about 5 minutes until the butter has started to brown.
9. Remove from heat and add 1/3 cup brown sugar and salt.
10. Add the bananas to the browned butter and mash into mixture, until just combined.
11. Add eggs, vanilla extract, oil, and the yogurt to the butter, sugar and bananas, mix until combined.
12. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and mix to incorporate fully, but don’t mix past the point where it’s just combined.
13. Pour into prepared pan.
14. Sprinkle the toffee bits on top, and then sprinkled the entire top with sugar.
15. Bake at 350°F degrees on center rack for about 40-50 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and top is browned.
16. Remove from oven and allow to cool in loaf pan for about 10-15 minutes before removing the loaf.
17. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Baking For Her Soul.