Nordic Ware is Love

So, this week is all about Nordic Ware. And it's time for me to come clean...I love these pans. They are so beautiful, it's hard to eat the cakes that I bake in these pans. Sadly, though I could wax long and eloquently about my love of Nordic Ware, I do not have the time. So, I'm throwing up the White Chocolate Bundt recipe mentioned in the article and will follow tomorrow with the Gingerbread recipe.

Hope you have as much joy from these as I have.

“White Chocolate Lemoncello Cake With Fresh Berries and Mascarpone Cream”

By Andrea Gaskin, grand-prize winner of Nordic Ware's "Bundts Across America" contest

Preparation Instructions:
Cake
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup lemon zest (4-5 lemons)
4 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/4 cup lemoncello (lemon liqueur)
Lemoncello Syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemoncello
Mascarpone Cream
½ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
½ cup powder sugar, sifted
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
½ pint blueberries
½ pint raspberries
Mint leaves, for garnish

Baking Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray with flour (ie Baker’s Joy). Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in an electric mixer, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the eggs and the egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing between each addition. Add the lemon zest and white chocolate.

In a 1-cup glass measuring cup combine the buttermilk and lemoncello. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Once cooled, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

To prepare the lemoncello syrup: Combine the sugar with water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemoncello. Spoon the syrup over the warm cake.

To prepare the mascarpone cream: Whisk the softened mascarpone cheese with the lemon zest in a large bowl. In an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cold heavy cream on medium speed while slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form. Fold ¼ of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Then fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Combine the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serving Recommendations:
To serve: Cut a slice of cake and place on a dessert plate. Spoon some berries on the cake and top with a dollop of mascarpone cream. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

Cupcake Love

I love cupcakes. My affair with cupcakes began as a child with Hostess cupcakes. Of course, my mother, a lifelong baker made homemade cupcakes but it was all about Hostess for me, especially the Snowball and traditional Hostess cupcake.
As an adult, my tastes are naturally a bit more refined and now it's all about cupcakes made from scratch - chocolate cupcakes with white icing; filled cupcakes; cupcakes that combine the flavors of my favorite desserts with the wonderful goodness of cake.

Over the past five or so years, it seems that the rest of America has caught up with me. The current cupcake craze began some 10 years ago when the Magnolia Bakery in New York was looking for something to do with its left over cake batter. People loved the idea of the diminutive cakes that after a visit to the bakery they decided to spread the trend to their city of residence. There's Sprinkles in Los Angeles and here in Baltimore that's why Tracy Rice started The Baltimore Cupcake Company in Locus Point.

Baltimore's other cupcake maker, Sandra Long, owner of Charm City Cupcakes on Charles Street, it was a bequest from her great-grandmother.

According to Long, while her great-grandmother left everyone else in the family money, she gave Long her recipes. As the fourth generation in her family to use the recipes that means baking and cupcakes are in her blood, she said.

The rise of cupcakes is surprising in part due to the brouhaha that broke out after the esteemed epicurean magazine, Gourmet, put a tower of the diminutive cakes on the cover of its January 2004 issue. A vocal contingent of subscribers vowed to discontinue longstanding subscriptions to the magazine because it had the temerity to put the dainty treats on the cover.

Since 2004, the magazine has been vindicated by the ever-growing popularity of the small cakes. Cupcakes take center stage at a host of events now where once cakes reigned supreme. The day I spoke with Charm City Cupcake's Long, she was busily baking 300 cupcakes for a DC wedding. Not just any event, famed Chef Wolfgang Puck had tapped long to make the cupcakes guests would eat during the reception held at the Newseum. Just a few weeks before that, she turned out 16,000 cupcakes for another event.

Last spring, Martha Stewart hosted a weeklong cupcake event on her show, highlighting the glorious things bakers, both professional and amateur, have been doing with cupcakes.

Home bakers may not be making the tiny cakes for a high profile wedding or churning out thousands of cakes at a time. But, those who want to put down the boxed cakes and try out a recipe from scratch should not be daunted by the prospect, Long told me.

"The best cupcake is made from scratch, that's the foundation and my recommendation," she said.

Whether newbies or experienced bakers, it's all about trying out different things until you perfect the recipe, she continued.

"It's trial and error. You may bake it once and it comes out right or you bake it many times until you get it right. Even for starting out bakers you just keep trying to do it - from scratch first and with love," Long said.

Chocolate Snowballs

CUPCAKES

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
2/3 cup buttermilk

* Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In bowl of electric mixer, place butter and sugar, beating on medium speed until mixture is light yellow and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, and add chocolate, mixing until just combined. Scrap down the bowl, and on medium speed add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined. Add vanilla and mix, about one minute.
* Add in sour cream and mix well. Reduce to low speed and add half of flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and mix. Add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Using a 1/4 cup scoop, fill each cup with batter. Place in oven and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
* Cool cupcakes in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool another 10 minutes.


VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING From Martha Stewart)

Makes 10 cups (8 cups Chocolate and 2 cups Vanilla)

* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 9 large egg whites
* 4 cups (8 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

In a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water, whisk together sugar and egg whites until sugar is dissolved and mixture is very warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat on medium speed until completely cooled and stiff peaks have formed, about 10 minutes.
With mixer on medium speed, add butter a few tablespoons at a time until completely combined. Add vanilla. Beat on low speed until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Measure out 2 cups vanilla buttercream; set aside. Add chocolate to remaining buttercream; mix on low until combined.Use immediately.

Frost the cupcake with a vanilla or chocolate buttercream, creating a 2- to 4-inch mound of icing. Carefully pat handfuls of shredded, sweetened coconut onto frosting, until completely covered. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 10 minutes before serving.


One of my favorite desserts is Key Lime Pie, and after a bit of trial and error I came up with a recipe that features a lime-flavored yellow cake filled with Key Lime curd and toppeed with a limey vanilla frosting dusted with a light coating of crushed graham cracker crumbs.

Warning: This recipe has a couple of steps and maybe complicated. You can substitute store bought lime curd and also use store bought frosting adding the lime juice and lime zest, rather than making your own.

Key Lime Cupcakes
Makes 12

CUPCAKES

* 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 2 tbsps key lime juice
* 1 tbsp key lime zest, finely grated
* 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 3/4 cup buttermilk

LIME CURD
*4 large egg yolks
*2/3 cup sugar
*1/4 cup fresh key lime juice
*4 tbsps cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
*1 1/2 tbsps freshly grated key lime zest

VANILLA KEY LIME FROSTING

* 1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1 tsp key lime juice
* 1 tsp key lime zest, finely grated
* 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
* few drops green food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line pan with 12 paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one egg at a time,until each is fully incorporated. Add in lime zest and lime juice and mix well. Reduce speed to low and add one-third of flour mixture, then half of buttermilk. Add one-third flour, mix well, then add remaining buttermilk, mixing well and then add final one-third of flour. Scrap down bowl and give batter a couple of stirs to mix in any dry ingredients. With a spoon scoop about 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and continue to cool.

While the cupcakes are baking....
In a heavy saucepan whisk together yolks, sugar, and lime juice. Over medium-low heat, cook, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, one piece at a time. Strain curd through a fine sieve into a bowl and stir in zest. Cover with plastic wrap so that plastic touches curd and cool, chilling at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

The frosting...
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream butter until smooth and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, milk, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 1 cup of confectioner's sugar to thicken frosting.

To make the final product...
With a small knife cut out a small plug, about 1/2-inch wide and 1-inch deep, from the top of the cupcake. Using a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip, #5 or #6 and filled with curd, insert curd into cupcake. Return plug and frost cup cake. To finish, sprinkle frosting with 1/2 teaspon finely crushed graham cracker crumbs.


Another one of my current favorites was featured on the Martha Stewart Show, the Hi-Hat Cupcake, a chocolate cupcake with creamy frosting that is then dipped in chocolate.

I've replaced the chocolate cupcake in the recipe with one handed down in my family, but have included the original recipe from the book "Cupcakes!"


Hi-Hat Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 12 cupcakes.

* FOR THE BATTER
* 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup sour cream

* FOR THE FROSTING
* 1 3/4 cups sugar
* 3 large egg whites
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

* FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING
* 2 cups chopped (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate
* 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Prepare the batter: Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, and set it over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. On low speed, mix in melted chocolate. Increase speed to medium, and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat until mixture is creamy and color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in sour cream. On low speed, add half of reserved flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Mix in 1/2 cup water. Add remaining flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated.
4. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with enough batter to come 1/8 inch from top, about 1/3 cup. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.
5. Use a small knife to loosen any tops stuck to the pan. Carefully invert cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn cupcakes right side up, and let cool completely.
6. Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.
7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.
8. Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.
9. Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
10. Carefully remove paper liners from cupcakes, and discard. Place cupcakes on a serving platter, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let coating set. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours more. Serve cold. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Crab Lovers Don't Put Your Mallets Down

For years, Labor Day represented the end of the crab season for my family. A few years ago though my mom suggested we go to a Dundalk area crab house in December! I was skeptical but since I'd been living in New Orleans - where they boil, not steam crabs - I put aside my doubts, and at the restaurant ordered up 2 dozen steamed crabs.

What a revelation that night proved to be. The jumbo #1 males were fat and heavy, filled with crab meat. From then on I was a convert and now my family enjoys crabs from the start of the season in April until the last crabber pulls down its shingle in December.

Fall crabs are luscious and delicious. They are all the more precious because I know it will be several months before we'll be able to have them again. That's why nothing goes to waste. If we have leftovers - and this is true in the spring, summer and fall - that's just an opportunity to indulge in some of our favorite crab recipes the next day.

Years ago when buying crabs was still relatively inexpensive, my best friend Christy and I would drive down to Monroe St., get a 1/2 bushel of #1 and #2 crabs for just the two of us. We would buy so many because in truth we just wanted to make Cream of Crab Soup the next day. Rich and wonderfully creamy, the recipe is everything cream of crab soup should be.

Garlic Crabs are a big favorite and so simple. The only time consuming thing about 'em is that you have to clean the crabs first. Depending on how many crabs you have left over this could take a few minutes or an hour.

I've also been working on my own take on Maryland Crab Soup. I've had many versions of the stuff served in fine dining and dineresque settings. What stands out to me in most instances is that the tomato soup base they use - much like that for a vegetable soup - is too heavy for the delicate flavor of crab meat. It completely overwhelms the crab and all you're left with for the most part is the sense that you've just had a spice bowl of tomato soup with a few bits of crab added for looks.

I'm behind though with my day job...so the recipes will follow shortly!

Viva Tomatoes!

I love tomatoes. Not those perfectly round, unblemished, often mealy tomatoes you find in the grocery store even in the heart of winter. I love heirloom tomatoes! In all their imperfect glory heirloom tomatoes burst with flavor and come in so many varieties that you could almost have a different tomato each day of the tomato season that stretches from June/July to November.

Heirlooms tomatoes are descendants of tomatoes developed up to 500 years ago. They come in a range of colors from white to black; in a plethora of sizes from tiny currant-sized tomatoes to hefty beefsteaks; and in flavors from sweet to tart.

My mother introduced me to heirlooms as a child. An avid gardener, she converted a portion of my grandmother's super sized backyard into a large garden. She grew several varieties, chiefly Brandywines, a big, beefsteak sized tomato. Brandywines are an excellent tomato with their slightly sweet and tart flavor and are available in red, pink, yellow and black varieties.

This year in our backyard garden, we have 10 varieties, several Brandywines, Black from Tula, Pineapple, Jubilee, Green Zebra, Chocolate Cherry, Mirabelle Blanche Cherry, Sun Gold Cherry, Red Grape and Green Grape.

Our plants are heavy with fruit this time of year. We pick tomatoes several times each week and there is nothing better than tossing back a tomato just picked from the vine.

Even if you don't have a backyard, though, you too can have fresh tomatoes, either grown in pots or from Baltimore's excellent Jones Fall Farmer's Market on Sundays. While there are smaller markets held during the week in Baltimore and Towson but the Sunday market is far larger and filled with stalls selling an enormous variety of tomatoes.

We love to eat the tomatoes simply so as not to mask their magnificent flavor. Speaking of flavor there's just one thing to remember when it comes to tomatoes...NEVER PUT A TOMATO IN THE REFRIGERATOR!

Store them at room temperature on the counter. Cold temperatures cause the fruit to lose its flavor something to do with the fact that they are sub-tropical fruit. The cold will also cause overripe tomatoes to soften more quickly. Don't throw overripe tomatoes away. Instead throw them in pot and make sauce or a soup base. Put the cooled sauce in a Ziploc bag or plastic container and put it in the freezer for later use.

If your tomatoes are not quite ripe, either place them in a sunny spot or put them in a paper bag with a ripe tomato or banana for a day or so. Green and underripe tomatoes are good for frying and chutneys.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad
1/2 pint each, yellow or orange, red and pink cherry or grape tomato
1 pint bocconcini (small balls of fresh mozzarella)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
coarse ground sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise in place in a medium sized bowl. Cut bocconcini in quarters and add to the bowl.
In a small bowl with a whisk, mix the parsley, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour over tomato, mozzarella mixture and add coarse sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Fried Tomatoes
1 Beefsteak tomato, (Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, etc.)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg, well-beaten
4 tbsp canola, safflower or olive oil

On a cutting board cut tomato into 1/2-inch slices. In a small bowl combine cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper.

Heat oil on medium-high in a large skillet or cast iron pan. Working quickly, one at a time, dip tomato slice in egg and then in the cornmeal flour mixture. Place slices in pan and cook two to three minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Children & Lunch

For children and parents, packing a lunch for school is seldom easy. Adults want their children to eat something healthy and kids just want something tasty and familiar. While they may not seem like divergent goals, in reality, the two groups - parents and children - are often miles apart.

Chef Ann Cooper has spent most of her career trying to educate children, parents and school systems about providing healthy lunches. In her latest book, Lunch Lessons and the accompanying Web site Cooper provides valuable advice on cooking up the best lunch possible.

According to Cooper, parents should focus on "packing numerous small items -- veggies w/ dips - fruit w/ dips - nut butters to spread on things," instead of simply a sandwich and a piece of fruit.

Using heirloom and new varieties of fruits and vegetables like orange, yellow or green zebra tomatoes, yellow or orange watermelon can make eating vegetables and fruits interesting and fun.

Homemade salsa - 2 heirloom tomatoes, coarsely chopped, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and half of a small onion (optional) - served with slices of cucumber, zucchini, summer squash and carrots or baked tortilla chips.

Wraps and pitas are better than sandwiches, anyway, because they add variety to the lunch sack. If, however, sandwiches work best for your family, experts recommend using whole grain breads instead of white bread. Parents can make sandwiches fun by using large cookie cutters or sandwich or crust cuttersto cut out sandwich shapes.

Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine is an excellent resource. The monthly publication includes a Lunchbox recipe.


Zesty BLT
1 multigrain tortilla, wheat pita or 2 slices multigrain bread
2 strips turkey bacon
1 slice tomato
2 leaves romaine lettuce
2 tbsp light mayonnaise
1/8 tsp chile powder
1/4 tsp lime juice

Place turkey bacon on a rack on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake turkey bacon in an oven preheated to 375 degrees until crispy.
In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, chile powder and lime juice.
Spread mayonnaise mixture on tortillia, inside the pita or bread. Add lettuce and bacon. Wrap it up in saran wrap or place in sandwich container. Put tomatoes in a plastic ziploc-type bag or another lunch container.

To make this sandwich into a club, add half of a turkey cutlet that has been seasoned with Season-All and sauteed for 6 minutes on both sides.

Veggie Wrap
1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow or red pepper, thinly sliced
1/8 cup carrots, shredded
1 small summer squash, thinly sliced
1 small zuchinni, thinly sliced
1/4 cup hummus or 2 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 multigrain tortilla

Spread hummus or mayonnaise on tortilla. One layer at a time add veggies. Roll up and insert toothpicks every 2 inches. Slice wrap into pinwheels.

Welcome!

Food - is where it's at for me. I come from a family with a tradition of transforming fresh ingredients into fabulous dishes. And, while it may take a while longer my mother and grandmother always emphasized the importance of cooking from scratch.

The contents of this blog will also reflect the inspiration I receive from some of the most well known names in cooking today - Martha Stewart, Rick Bayless, Mario Batali and a host of others.

Now, I'm sharing with you what I have learned over the past 30 years of cooking for my family and friends! I hope you enjoy the recipes and please feel free to add any feedback you may have.

Many of the recipes on this blog appear weekly in the Thursday edition of the Baltimore Examiner