Tag Archives: baking

  • Mocha Layer Cake

    May 30, 2012

    11 Comments

    Mocha Layer Cake.

    We had a busy weekend with family, friends and our eldest’s Memorial Day wooden bat baseball tournament (great, low-key fun, btw). But Memorial day weekend also means a few birthdays and anniversaries, so we usually end up entertaining. We always enjoy entertaining, but it’s sometimes a challenge to decide what to make. But, as we often remind ourselves, successful summer entertaining is all about simplicity. With cocktails, we make it easy and serve punch or home-made Margaritas, guests serve themselves at their own pace and we get to visit. For dinner we grill meat, a nice piece of fish and fresh veggies from the garden with a few tortillas, guacamole and fresh salsa. And for dessert Carolyn bakes a big ol’ cake.

    And for a party, particularly on a holiday weekend, nothing beats a good cake. Everyone likes cake (or at least frosting), it lasts a few days and you can eat it any time (and yes, there has been breakfast cake enjoyed here at the farm…;-). When baking for us, Carolyn makes small cakes with 6 inch pans. But when a large group is coming, Carolyn pulls out the 9 inch pans and makes 2, 3 (and sometimes 4) layer cakes with loads of frosting. You know it’s a good party when the host pulls out a big, beautiful, homemade cake. Add a scoop of ice cream and suddenly the kids are quiet (but not for long) and the parents are smiling and enjoying a well-earned indulgence. There is no hurry. Feels like summer now.

    While we like to keep things simple, it is still good to branch out and learn new techniques and try new recipes. In this case Carolyn adapted a recipe from Susan Purdy’s “A Piece of Cake” that included a new technique she wanted to try. Usually baking a cake is straight-forward, albeit time-consuming. Melt chocolate (if using), cream butter and eggs, add other wet and dry ingredients. Blend batter until smooth and fluffy. Bake.

    Grease and dust the pans with cocoa powder.

    Melt the chocolate.

    Mix your batter.

    Ready to bake, note using a scale to evenly divide the batter.

    But for this recipe, we add a cup of boiling water with coffee powder (or very hot coffee) to the batter. The batter sags with the heat, but then reconstituted itself with added mixing. We are unsure of the chemistry involved here, normally we would assume the boiling water helps with activating baking powder, but there is only baking soda in the recipe. Something to figure out, as we like to know why things happen in the kitchen. Regardless, the cake was unusually moist and rich, and Carolyn already makes very moist cakes. The flavor was very good as well, with the coffee really bringing out the chocolate. Continue reading →

  • Cinnamon-Filled Scones

    May 28, 2012

    18 Comments

    Cinnamon-filled scones.

    The concept of the “lazy days of summer” doesn’t really apply to Carolyn. While the boys and I are still snoozing on Saturdays, she is up making pancakes, scones or muffins. She takes very good care of us, we are very lucky. And this weekend we were very,very lucky and got some cinnamon-filled scones. And they were great. Along with a few berries from the garden (the berries in the photos are part of this weekend’s haul) and a cup of coffee, this was a perfect breakfast. Lots of happy faces at the table this morning.

    Notice the “cake-like” crumb. This is a good thing.

    These scones are a bit different as well. Based on a King Arthur Flour recipe (and you do know about King Arthur Flour, don’t you?), these scones have a mixture of cinnamon chips and a rich cinnamon filling. The filling impacts the moisture of the scone while baking, and the result is a more tender and slightly less flaky scone. This recipe is almost “scone as coffee-cake”, and since scones are much easier to make, this is a very good thing, and a very good recipe.

    The recipe is pretty standard for scones, with the exception of the cinnamon filling and layering it into the dough. The filling is a combination of sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and milk that, if the butter is soft, takes just a few minutes. Otherwise the steps should be familiar to the home baker (and similar to our Maple Syrup Scones). Dry ingredients are combined and butter is cut into the mixture. Wet ingredients are combined and then added to the dry ingredients and then the whole is lightly kneaded into a dough.

    Cinnamon filling is easy to make.

    Cut the butter into the dry ingredients.

    Combine wet ingredients with dry to form the dough.

    The extra step for this recipe is splitting the dough in half so you can place a later of cinnamon filling in the scone. This can be done two ways. The first way is to simply layer half the dough in a 9-inch baking pan, spread the cinnamon filling in and then layer in the rest of the dough. We like it this way, as we get a more rustic appearance. But if you like a more uniform look, split the dough and roll out two circles that will fit in the baking pan. Then simply place a circle of dough in  the pan, layer on the cinnamon filling and place the other circle on top. Finish with a light brushing of milk and a sprinkle of sugar.

    Layer in 1/2 the dough and then the cinnamon filling. Continue reading →