King Arthur Flour's Chocolate Stout Cake

I made this last year for St. Patrick's Day but for some reason I cannot find the picture.  So, here is the pic from King Arthur Flour's web site.  I hope they don't mind me borrowing it!  


Even though they always tout this recipe for St. Patrick's Day (because of the recommended stout beer, Guiness), it is excellent any time of the year.  Another great thing about it?  It tastes better the 2nd and 3rd day.  So if you want to make it the day before, that's even better!  


Since it has been a year that I have made this, I would like KAF's Baker's Banter blog post to give you the details which includes step by step pictures.  Here is the link:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2009/02/26/chocolate-stout-cake/


One thing I do recommend, use the ingredients as they have listed, no substitutions.  If you do, it will probably be to disastrous results.  

Here is the recipe:

CAKE

• 2 cups stout or dark beer, such as Guinness
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream

FROSTING

• 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8" or two 9" cake pans, and line them with parchment paper circles. Be sure your 9" pans are at least 2" deep.

2. For the cake: Place the stout and butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cocoa powder.

3. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

4. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sour cream.

6. Add the stout-cocoa mixture, mixing to combine.

7. Add the flour mixture and mix together at slow speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix again for 1 minute.

8. Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans. (See tips section for hints on weighing out the batter if you have a kitchen scale.)

9. Bake the layers for 35 minutes for 8" pans, or 45 to 50 minutes for 9" pans, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their pans and returning to the rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.

10. For the frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan.

11. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is completely smooth.

12. Stir in the vanilla. Refrigerate until the icing is spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

13. To assemble: Trim one cake layer to have a flat top, if necessary (otherwise the layer will crack when you place it upside down on your cake plate).

14. Line the edges of a serving plate with parchment or waxed paper to keep it clean, and then place the layer upside down on top. Spread 2/3 cup of the icing over just the top of the layer.

15. Top with another cake layer, top side down, and repeat the process. If you baked three layers, add that one also.

16. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Remove the parchment or waxed paper. Sprinkle with shamrock sugar decorations, if you have them. Yield:  1 large cake, 16 servings

Enjoy!

Strawberry-Stuffed Hawaiian Bread French Toast

I apologize for not getting a better picture of this delicious French toast.  As you know, you can only cook up so many slices at a time and as I set each batch on the table I only have a few seconds before my family dives in for their slices.  So this pic was definitely done on the fly.

In this post, you will be getting two recipes.  One for making your own homemade Hawaiian bread and the other for strawberry-stuffed French toast.  Do I have to make my own Hawaiian bread, you're asking?  No, but if you do want to you will love this recipe.  If you have been reading my posts, I'm sure you are aware of how much of a fan I am of King Arthur Flour.  I found this recipe on the Baking Circle part of the web site and one of the rock stars of that forum goes by the screen name Moomie (but I believe she might have changed it).  I have her recipe for white bread which can be used for hamburger & hot dog buns, cinnamon swirl bread, rolls and just a simple loaf of white bread.  It is amazing and so is her recipe for Hawaiian bread. I also make this recipe into rolls every time I serve ham.  They are the perfect complement to ham and make wonderful mini-ham sandwiches the next day.  So on to the first recipe:

Moomie’s Hawaiian Bread

Ingredients:

·       1/2 cup water     

·       1/2 cup pineapple juice

·       1 egg

·       1 tsp. vanilla      

·       2 tbsp. butter

·       3 cups flour       

·       1/3 cup brown sugar   

·       1 tbsp. instant potato flakes or potato flour

·       1 tsp. salt  

·       pinch of ginger  

·       3 tsp. yeast (preferably SAF gold yeast)

Directions:

    Place all ingredients in the bucket of your bread machine. Select dough cycle and allow to run full cycle. 

You can also mix and knead by hand or mixer (using a dough hook).  Cover the dough and allow to rise 1-2 hours or until nearly doubled in bulk.  Gently deflate dough and continue with desired shape(s).

    For the traditional round free form:  Preheat oven to 350º Form dough into a boulé shape and place in a greased 9" round cake pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

    Bake for 20 minutes uncovered.  If getting too brown, cover with foil for remaining 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately remove from pan onto a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.

    For Sandwich Loaf:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Gently deflate dough and press into a rectangle.  Fold over top third if dough and press seam with heel of palms.  Fold over another third, press and repeat again. 

    Place dough in loaf pan sprayed with nonstick spray.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. 

    Bake for 20 minutes uncovered.  If getting too brown, cover with foil for remaining 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately remove from pan onto a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.

For dinner rolls:   Preheat oven to 375º.  Divide into 12 to 24 pieces, depending on the size you like. Shape into balls and spray pan with nonstick spray. 

For 12 rolls, place in a 8" x 8" square pan; for 16 rolls either 2 8" round cake pans or a 9" x 13" pan; and for 24 rolls in a 9" x 13" pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap let rise until doubled, from 30 to 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375º.

    Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  

You can either form the dough into the traditional round loaf like you see in the store or make into a regular loaf.  If you use a regular loaf pan, it will rise pretty high so you might not want to have a rack above the pan.  I use a pullman or pain de mie pan.  It's longer and narrower.  

This recipe calls for pineapple juice.  I buy the little 6-pack of Dole's pineapple juice.  Each can is 6 oz. so you're only wasting 2 oz. versus a whole bottle of juice.  The potato flour or flakes gives it a nice, soft texture.  Either one works fine.  

It also calls for a dash of ginger.  Ever have those recipes that call for a dash, pinch or smidgen?  Did you know there are actual measuring spoons for these?  I got mine at Williams-Sonoma and there were not too expensive.  

And lastly, the yeast.  I use two different yeasts, both are SAF-instant.  For normal use, I use SAF red yeast.  You can find this at most stores.  I buy mine at Smart and Final.  This can be used whether you are using a bread machine, mixer or your hands.  SAF is amazing yeast.  But, you must keep all yeasts in an airtight container in the freezer.  Believe it or not, KAF sells containers for yeast!  They will keep for much longer and you will not have to worry about whether it will perform properly.  For sweeter bread recipes, I use SAF gold yeast. I have not been able to find this one locally, so I order it from KAF.  But it will last a long time.  Here is how KAF describes it:

TEST KITCHEN TIP: Sweet breads can be agonizingly slow risers. Why? Because sugar attracts water, and when it's in bread dough, it pulls water away from yeast - leaving the yeast thirsty and unable to grow. The special strain of yeast in SAF Gold is "osmotolerant" – it requires less water. So it's able to grow happily despite sugar's attempts to leave it "high and dry." 

I make mine in the bread machine, but only to the "dough" stage.  Why you ask?  Where I live, Las Vegas, it is very dry year round. By making it in the bread machine, the dough is mixed, kneaded, and the first rise in a warm, moist environment.  Also, I use a Zojirushi (aka a Zo) bread machine which is proven to have better results than by hand or mixer. The regular size model has two mixing paddles so it can handle anything, including brioche. This is considered the Cadillac of bread machines.  And while tests have proven that the mixing and kneading action by the Zo produces superior breads, I do not like to actually bake in the machine. I always form my breads by hand, allow to rise and then bake in the oven. Even the Zo does not bake evenly the way a oven will.  If you decide to use a bread machine, my recipes always list in order how you should put the ingredients into the bucket.  I always put the salt at each end of the bucket. I then do an indent into the center of the ingredients and place my yeast there. This keeps the yeast away from the salt (which can retard or kill the yeast) as long as possible.  

If you do make your own bread, make this the night before. You always want your bread at least a day old and slightly dry when making French toast.    Now on to the next part.

King’s Hawaiian Strawberry French Toast

Ingredients:

·      1 loaf of homemade Hawaiian bread or 4 (1 1/2”) thick slices King's Hawaiian Bread         

·       2 cups sliced strawberries

·       4 large eggs        

·       1/2 cup milk      

·       1/2 tsp. vanilla

·       1/8 tsp. nutmeg  

·       1/4 tsp. cinnamon       

·       1/4 cup sugar, optional

·       1 tbsp. orange zest, optional         

·       butter or vegetable oil for frying

·       powdered sugar, for garnish         

·       maple syrup, for garnish

Directions:

    Cut each slice into approximately 2-3" wide pieces.  If using the round loaf, cut the slices in half.  Using a serrated knife, cut a pocket in edge of each slice and gently fill with strawberries. 

    Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and if desired, sugar and orange zest. 

    Heat griddle over medium heat. Grease with butter or oil. 

    Quickly dip (do not soak) slices in egg mixture.  Cook until golden brown on both sides.  Keep egg mixture well blended. 

    Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with additional strawberry slices.  Serve immediately with warm syrup.

Servings:  4-6

I found this on King's Hawaiian Bread site at kingshawaiian.com.  They have many recipes using their products.  You may not use all the strawberries it calls for, it just depends on how much you wish to stuff in the pockets.  I usually use half of what the recipe calls before, but only because my husband and son aren't as excited about strawberries as my daughter and I.  So, I only stuff half the loaf with strawberries.  

It calls for an optional 1/4 cup sugar.  I have tried it with different amounts of sugar and without.  I like to use 2 tablespoons of sugar which is half of the 1/4 cup.  It seems just right to us.  The orange zest is optional also, but do not leave it out!  When strawberries are baked, it does dull their flavor.  The orange zest gives it a little extra zip.  You will barely taste it, but it will enhance all the flavors.  

I always keep a whisk nearby, because the cinnamon always wants to separate and clump in the batter.  So I always give it a quick whisk between batches.  When dipping the slices in the batter, do it quickly.  This is a very soft bread and it will get soggy easily.  I use a non-stick spray instead of oil.  I've tried both and butter and the non-stick spray gives it the texture I like.  But, everyone is different so use what works for you.  I would say cook them on medium high.  They are large slices so you don't want to cook them too fast, but you do need them to get warm in middle.  Watch them carefully.  My favorite way to serve them? I spread a little bit of butter on top, sprinkle some powdered sugar and enjoy.  But I'm a strange one. I just don't get that excited about syrup.  Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Here's another awesome recipe I found thanks to Pinterest.  It is from the web site, LaaLoosh.com.  I have made this dish twice now, and it is awesome!

If you love the flavor of lemon, you will love this dish.  But, I do have to admit something.  Both times I have made it, I have used a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables.  Since softball and baseball season has started, time to make dinner has drastically shrunk.  If there isn't the standard practice, there's batting lessons.  So, I feel no shame in using a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies to speed things along.

The store I shop at has two different varieties of stir-fry veggies.  I have tried both and both are excellent.  This recipe is so simple and quick.  I made white rice as a side and that probably took the longest to prepare.  I used jasmine rice and cooked it in chicken stock.  I took 2 parts boiling chicken stock and 1 part jasmine rice in a saucepan.  Place lid on pan, turn down to low and cook 15-20 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to sit at least 5 minutes then fluff.  So on to the main recipe:

 Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

·       1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

·       1 lemon

·       1/2 cup fat free chicken broth

·       3 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

·       2 tsp. cornstarch

·       1/2 tsp. black pepper

·       1 cup red bell pepper, chopped into bite size pieces

·       1 cup sliced carrots

·       2 cups snow peas, stems and strings removed

·       1 bunch green onions, cut into small pieces

·       4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

    Spray a large, non-stick skillet with non-fat cooking spray, and set over medium-high heat.

    Grate 1 teaspoon lemon zest and set aside.  Juice the lemon and whisk 3 tablespoons of the juice with broth, soy sauce, pepper and cornstarch in a small bowl.

    Add chicken to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

    Add bell pepper and carrots to the pan and cook until the carrots are just tender, about 5 minutes.

    Add snow peas, green onions, garlic and the reserved lemon zest. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Whisk the broth mixture and add to the pan; cook, stirring, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

    Add in chicken and any accumulated juices; cook, stirring, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Servings:  4 Weight Watchers Points+ 4

As I mentioned before, I used a regular-sized bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables.  If using, defrost and drain before cooking.  The only "fresh" veggies I used was the garlic and green onions.  It says to use one bunch, so I used 4-5 green onions.  Enjoy!

Light Crock Pot Three-Bean Turkey Chili

I am loving Pinterest.  I was a little leery when starting Weight Watchers because it is so hard to find full-flavored food that is also light and good for you.  I have to tell you, Pinterest has been a lifesaver!  I found this recipe of course on the site which led me to another great site, Skinnytaste.com also known as Gina's Skinny Recipes.  You will never guess that this recipe is light.  As with normal chili you can add cheese and sour cream, but I only added some chopped red onion and it was excellent!  So here goes:

Light Crock Pot Three Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

·       1.3 lb (20 oz) fat free ground turkey breast

·       1 small onion, chopped

·       1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

·       1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce

·       1 (4.5 oz) can chopped chilies, drained

·       1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, undrained

·       1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, undrained

·       1 (15.5 oz) can small red beans, undrained

·       2 tbsp chili powder

·       Topping:

·       1/2 cup chopped red onion

·       1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro for topping

·       shredded cheddar to top (extra pts)

Directions:

    Brown turkey and onion in a medium skillet over medium high heat until cooked through.

    Drain any fat remaining and transfer to crock pot.  Add the beans, chilies, chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato sauce and chili powder mixing well.

    Cook on high 6-8 hours.

    Garnish with onions, cilantro and cheese and enjoy!

Servings:  12 Weight Watcher's Points+ 5

I love the idea of crock pot recipes.  Just dump in and turn it on, but I for some odd reason rarely get the crock pot going in time.  So I have to admit, that I did not cook for the full 6-8 hours.  I actually cooked it for almost 5 hours.  Guess what, it was still great.  I think the idea of 6-8 hours is more beneficial if you're leaving the house for that amount of time.  I'm a domestic engineer, so that cooking time isn't always necessary for me.  There really isn't much more to add.  It's that easy.  Enjoy!

King Arthur Flour's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had some real ripe bananas just sitting there begging to be baked.  Of course I made a loaf of Flour Cafe's Banana Bread (see blog post), but I still had some left over.  I kept thinking of banana batter with chocolate chips, so I went to King Arthur Flour's web site to search for a muffin recipe.  King Arthur Flour is always my first go-to when looking for a baking recipe.  This is the recipe that came up and what I liked about it is that half of the flour is whole wheat flour which makes them somewhat healthier for you!  


Probably a lot of you use the traditional red whole wheat flour, or maybe that's what you use but didn't realize it comes from red wheat. Red wheat has more tannins than white whole wheat, giving it a slightly bitter taste.  Also, whole wheats contain more oils than other flours, which can cause them to go rancid giving it an even more bitter taste.  The best place to keep whole wheat flour (and if you have room, all your flours) in an airtight container in the freezer.  It will then keep for quite a long time.  Now if you want your whole wheat recipes to taste even better, you have to try KAF's white whole wheat flour. I usually find this variety at Albertson's or Whole Foods.  It may be different in your area.  It is well worth the search!  


I have altered this recipe quite a bit, which you will find out if you look it up.  The original recipe calls for walnuts and if you've read past posts, I am not a big fan of nuts in baked goods (yes I'm weird, but I'm ok with that). It also calls for cinnamon chips. I have read reviews on the site and that a lot of people love them, but I have not ordered them yet and just didn't get excited about them in this recipe, so I left them out.  The recipe also has butter rum or coconut flavorings.  Again, I did not have (but will try them soon), so I left them out.


So what we have left is a basic banana chocolate chip muffin recipe.  But it is excellent!  I'm not usually a muffin person, but I loved these.  And so did everyone else.  So here's the recipe:

King Arthur Flour's Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

·       1/2 cup (4 oz. butter)

·       2/3 cup (4 5/8 oz.) sugar

·       1 cup (8 oz.) mashed banana, about 2 medium or 1 1/2 large

·       1 large egg

·       1 tsp. vanilla

·       1/3 cup (2 5/8 oz.) 1% milk

·       1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

·       1/2 tsp. baking soda

·       1/2 tsp. salt

·       1 cup (4 1/4 oz.) all-purpose flour

·       1 cup (4 oz.) white whole wheat flour

·       3/4 cup (4 1/2 oz.) chocolate chips

·       coarse white sparkling sugar, for topping (optional)

Directions:

    Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease 12 standard muffin cups.

    In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar till smooth.  If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.

    Beat in the mashed banana, then the egg, vanilla, and milk.

    Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours, stirring till smooth; if the mixture has a lot of lumps, beat at a higher speed until they've nearly disappeared.

    Stir in the chocolate chips.

    Heap the thick batter into the prepared muffin cups, mounding them quite full; a muffin scoop works well here. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired.

    Bake the muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the middle muffins in the pan comes out clean.

    Remove the muffins from the oven, and tilt them in the pan to cool a bit; this will prevent their bottoms from becoming soggy. As soon as you can safely handle them, transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

Servings:  12, Weight Watcher's P+ 7

Make sure your bananas are very ripe.  Banana flavoring is very volatile, so a lot of flavor will be lost when baking.  If you start out with slightly ripe bananas, you will have very little if no flavor at all.  

You can bake these directly in a muffin pan, or line them with cupcake liners.  I would do the latter.  Makes them easier to store.  If you use the liners, spray the inside of them with non-stick spray just like you would do inside the pan.  Make sure you beat the butter and sugar until creamy, which will take about 3 minutes.  

Sprinkling the tops with sparkling white sugar is optional, but you should try it on a few if you're iffy about it.  It gives them a beautiful and professional appearance and a nice slight crunch when you bite into them.  

You probably won't be able to wait for these muffins to cool completely, but do it anyways.  What most people don't realize is that most baked goods do not develop their full flavor until they are completely cooled.  This is especially true of banana batters.  It will be worth the wait.  Enjoy!