Always Cake

When I first started dating my husband, I made a huge error in judgement—I baked a chocolate cake for no occasion at all. Actually, I made the mistake of baking three chocolate cakes. It was sort of an accident, the recipe I used made so much batter that I had to divide it between one regular-size cake pan and two smaller ones. I baked the cakes and frosted each one with sweetened whipped cream. When he came over, I fed him cake. And then I sent him home with a cake of his very own…Oops. He jumped to the obvious conclusion: with me around, there would always be cake. He expects multiple cakes, cakes all the time, cakes just for him, to share with no one else. A feeling of cake entitlement. I think he married me just for the cake.

Though my husband wouldn’t understand it, meeting this sort of demand for cake isn’t always easy. So I’ve devised an indulgent and fantastically quick and easy chocolate cake recipe that tastes a lot like devil’s food cake. But my recipe requires no sifting of dry ingredients, no creaming of butter and sugar and eggs, the ingredients don’t even have to be at room temperature. The buttercream frosting’s a snap too.


Quickie Chocolate Cake
Printable Recipe

For the cake:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
8 ounces all-purpose flour
5 ounces sugar
5 ounces light brown sugar
2 ounces cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs
½ cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or scant 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the buttercream frosting:
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan. Whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Combine the butter and chocolate in a small bowl, place the bowl over a small pan of simmering water, and heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Whisk into the egg mixture. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Transfer to the cake pan and spread evenly.


Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to shrink away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and finish cooling completely.

Make the buttercream frosting:
Place the chocolate into a small bowl, place the bowl over a small pan of simmering water, and heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Let cool slightly. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium until light and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until blended. Add the chocolate and continue to beat until smooth, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Assemble the cake:
Transfer the cake to a cake plate. Spread the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake, swirling decoratively. Cut into portions and serve.

Makes 1 9-inch square cake, serving one husband, or if you manage to hide it from the husband, 9 to 12 other people. Keeps well and stays moist for several days tightly sealed at room temperature. The recipe can be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch rectangular cake pan—it’s a tight fit, but I’ve done it.

Special Request

It’s not often that my husband asks me to make something specific for dinner. Most of the time when I ask him what he wants he just shrugs and says, “I dunno, you’re the chef.” Either that, or he suggests burgers. Needless to say, I’ve spoiled him, and the meal planning is pretty much all on me. But the other day, he made a special request for my Beef, Barley & Mushroom Soup.


Beef, Barley & Mushroom Soup it is!

Beef, Barley & Mushroom Soup
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ½ pounds beef chuck, cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red wine
3 quarts beef broth
1 ½ cups pearled barley
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley

Heat a large, heavy pot over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add half of the beef and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, tossing about 2 times, until crusty and brown in spots.* Using a slotted spoon, remove the beef to a plate. Sear the remaining beef in the same manner and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Add the celery and carrot and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and sauté 6 to 7 minutes more, or until soft. Add the wine and simmer for a minute or so, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot with a heat-proof spatula. Return the beef to the pot and add the broth, barley, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the beef and barley are both tender. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and thyme sprig, and skim off any fat from the surface of the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8 as a main course. This is hearty, satisfying comfort food, and perfect for the coldest of days. The recipe makes a lot, but it’s even better the second day.

*Searing the beef in this manner adds tons of flavor to the finished dish. For everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores in the fall of 2010.

Excuse

It’s so cold outside that I’m looking for any excuse to crank up the oven. No matter what the weather, the kitchen should always feel warm and cozy. Here's my latest excuse.


Vegetable Calzones
Printable Recipe

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch dried oregano
Pinch dried basil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound broccoli florets, blanched
4 ounces marinated artichokes hearts, quartered
10 ounces crumbled feta
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered
1 recipe Simple Pizza Dough

Combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Let cool.

Preheat the oven to 500˚F with a baking stone on the center rack.

Gently deflate the dough, cut it into quarters, and form each quarter into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes. Toss together the broccoli, artichoke hearts, feta, and olives in a large bowl.

Gently stretch each portion of dough into an 8-inch circle. Place the crusts onto a sheet of parchment paper on a baker’s peel. Arrange a quarter of the broccoli mixture over half of each crust, leaving a 1-inch border at the edge. Top each mound of filling with ¼ cup of the tomato sauce. Fold the other half of each crust over the filling, forming a half circle, and firmly pinch the edges together to seal. Cut 3 1-inch slashes in the top of each calzone with a paring knife. Carefully slide the calzones with the parchment onto the baking stone in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Meanwhile, reheat the remaining tomato sauce over medium-low heat. Divide the sauce among 4 ramekins and serve the calzones immediately with the sauce.

Makes 4 large calzones. The oven needs to be good and hot for calzones, so preheat it for at least an hour while the dough rises. Be sure to drain all of the filling ingredients well so that the calzones have crisp, not soggy, crusts. I like to use parchment paper rather than semolina for sliding the calzones off the peel into the oven. It’s less messy and absolutely foolproof, eliminating any chance that the calzones will stick to the peel. And if you don’t have a peel that’s large enough to hold 4 calzones, use a baking tray that’s turned upside down.

Waste Not

I love Meyer lemons so much that, whenever I cook with them, I can’t bear to waste a single precious bit. That’s why when I had tons of Meyer lemon rinds left over from making my Meyer Lemon & Blood Orange Gelée, I couldn’t just throw them away, could I? So I turned them into candy instead.


Candied Citrus Peel
Printable Recipe

2 ounces citrus peel, cut into 2×¼-inch strips
1 cup sugar, plus more for coating

Combine the citrus peel and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and drain. Repeat twice. Return the peel to the saucepan and add the sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the peel is translucent and the syrup thickens slightly. Drain the peel, reserving the syrup for another use. Using two forks, arrange the peel in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking tray and let cool. A few at a time, transfer to a plate of sugar and turn to coat. Shake off any excess sugar and enjoy!

Yields about 3 ½ ounces. Try this with Meyer lemons, lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, and even kumquat slices. For the best results, be sure that the citrus peel is free of any flesh or membranes before candying it. Blanching it will eliminate any bitterness. Keeps for about a week in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dry place. And the syrup that remains makes a lovely sweetener for tea.