madeleine, je t'aime!

some things in life are just worth the calories and these classic little shell shaped cakes from france are definitely one of them. ummm, let me restate that — this recipe definitely makes them worth it.

as we all know, not all recipes are created equally. having tried/tested quite a few versions over the years, this one (from baker florence edelmann), is really one of the best. madeleines can be of a very light and spongy (génoise) variety or a slightly heavier, almost poundcake type, one. these fit the latter description however there are purists who will say they should be of the former texture. that is up for debate.

as génoise recipes are fussy and can be difficult for the average baker, this is a good alternative. note that a génoise does not use baking powder but only the eggs itself as a leavener. this recipe includes a leavening agent in addition to the eggs. there are, however, many variations of madeleine recipes. you should also plan ahead for this recipe as you need to chill the dough overnight. trust me though, it's all well worth your effort .... after trying these, you won't say no to them — in fact, you won't be able to stop with just a single one.

these small cakes, best eaten the same day they are made, should be sweet, light and buttery (not to mention memorable). these ones are all that and more. the only drawback is that you must use a madeleine pan which come in two sizes: the regular size (large) and the mini (about the size of half your thumb). i recommend buying the standard sized pan. you may want to invest in a non-stick one. i have the regular kind which must be well buttered and floured (an essential step).

whichever type of pan you end up buying, fill them up with this cake batter and watch some really wonderful french pâtisserie come out of your oven :)


madeleines classiques

it is best to make the mixture the night before and let it chill in the refrigerator until the next day. you can, in a pinch, use it right away. the dough can also be kept until the day after, if not baking all the madeleines that same day.

makes ~ 24 +

ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 c - 1 tbsp (150g) sugar
1 pkg (2 tsp) vanilla sugar
8 tbsp butter (1/2 c) = 125 g, at room temperature
1 c + 2 tbsp (150 g) AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 - 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)

1 tbsp dark processed cocoa (for 1/2 the dough; double it for all chocolate)

method:

place the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar in a medium sized bowl.

in another bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. set this aside.

divide the butter into 3 equal portions and set aside. make sure it is at room temperature before blending it in (see following).

with an electric beater, beat the eggs and sugars for about 4 to 5 minutes until it is pale yellow and very thick. this is very important (1 to 2 minutes of beating will not suffice); the idea is to have the sugar melt completely & incorporate enough air so as to form a very thick mixture.

once the eggs and sugar have been mixed, add the butter and flour in 3 separate additions, beating well each time.

after the butter and flour has been added, decide how you want to flavour the batter.

you can have it all vanilla (add the lemon zest, if wanted) or make a half batch of chocolate or all chocolate.

if making a chocolate batter, you'll need to sift the cocoa very well first into another bowl. either take half the batter (or all of it - double the amount of cocoa (2 tbsp) here) and blend it with the cocoa.

take note: the chocolate madeleines do not release as well as the plain vanilla so take extra care to flour your pan very well.

at this point, refrigerate the dough overnight or for several hours (overnight is best).

before baking, set your oven to 375 F (170C).

remove the cake batter from the refrigerator; it will have solidified. this is correct. well butter your madeleine pan(s) and flour them.

using a tablespoon, measure out enough batter for each and place it in the center of the madeleines.

you may need about 1 tbsp and 1/4 tbsp more for the chocolate batter. it seems to require a little more than the plain vanilla.

bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.

remove and LET COOL COMPLETELY. with a butterknife, carefully pluck each madeleine out. the chocolate ones tend to be fussy so proceed carefully in extracting them.

enjoy with a nice espresso or cup of strong tea!

applicious

i had an aunt who was always in a rush, busy doing "things". who had time to waste, she would ask rhetorically when questioned why she was incessantly racing around. the joke was she was a disaster in the kitchen: she figured the higher the heat, the faster whatever she was making would cook. her quest to be uber-efficient led to many a burnt dish. of course, it wasn't her fault because "something must be wrong with the recipe" she'd utter (LOL). in her defense, however, there were a few things she made very well and what i am posting here was one of them.

this is a version of an apple cake she made during the holiday period which is now quickly coming upon us. everyone always loved it, especially while it was slightly warm. this rosh hashanah (or any day) cake is really ridiculously simple to make and requires one bowl and a pyrex (8 x 8 in) baking dish.

the texture of the cake batter — once baked — is airy soft. underneath it, and baked into the cake, is a layer of apples perfumed by cinnamon and flavoured with dollops of tart apricot jam and a spattering of brown sugar. as it bakes, you'll want to grab it from the oven and eat it right away .... guaranteed or your money back! :)

not much more to say than simple, quick and delicious for this one. the recipe can be doubled also and baked in a larger pan.

oops, forgot to add — for a sephardi version of this cake, you can do as we did and use fresh figs, stems trimmed and cut in half, instead of the apples. you will probably need between 12 to 15 figs, depending on the size of them. add 1 tbsp orange flower water instead of the vanilla.


gâteau express aux pommes

makes approx 9 servings

ingredients:

1/2 c oil
1 egg
1 c sugar
juice of a large orange
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 c flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod

5 large apples, appropriate kind for baking*
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp apricot jam, slightly heaped**

*replace the apples with fresh figs, cut in half; enough to cover the bottom of the pyrex;
**you can use a sour cherry jam or a plum one.

method:

preheat your oven to 350F and grease your pyrex and set it aside.

place all the batter ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

stir or whisk the batter for about 45 seconds until it is blended.

make sure there are no lumps and set it aside to continue the recipe. it should be pourable.

take the apples and peel them. core and slice each apple thinly and place them in the pyrex.

dust about 1 tsp of cinnamon over the apples evenly.

place the brown sugar over the apples, distributing as you go, and then place dollops of the jam over the brown sugar.

stir the batter once more and pour it over the apples. make sure to get all the batter out of the bowl! you will see pieces of apple peaking through - that is how it is supposed to look.

bake the cake for 50 to 60 minutes until it is fully golden brown. as it bakes you should see little areas where the juices from the apples, the brown sugar and jam are bubbling through.

it can be served warm or at room temperature.

enjoy!

the lighter & heavier side of the honey cake

in most jewish homes, especially ashkenazi, come rosh hashanah, tradition is to serve slices of honey cake to welcome the new year. this means there are a million and one recipes for this particular cake, with every family usually having that one special recipe that is baked year after year, a recipe which has been passed down over the generations. often however, people also try out a new recipe every year — in addition to what they traditionally make.

honey cake can be one of those things that people either love or hate, usually for one or two reasons. it's no secret that some can be as heavy as lead and dried out, usually the sign of a bad recipe or something having gone wrong along the way. i mean, really, who would want to eat that every year?!

honey cakes are traditionally a denser type of cake; in other words, they typically have some heft to them. this is mostly due to the ratio of ingredients and the method of baking. of course, there are different variations of the same theme which give rise to honey cakes of the lighter side. these are usually achieved by beating the eggs whites and incorporating them into the cake to make an airier texture.

another issue comes down to spices. not everyone is a spice lover, especially in cakes. children sometimes avoid eating honey cake, lamenting that "it's too spicy!". as a child, i have to admit, i didn't much like it either! invariably there is often an adult guest at rosh hashana who won't touch it either for that same reason.

so, to that end, i bring you the best of both worlds....

the first recipe in this post is for a honey cake which is amazingly good — in fact, excellent — one which involves zero spices, is incredibly light in texture and deep in flavour. the best part is that it honestly improves over the days you keep it. the top of the cake, once baked, is somewhat sticky and caramel-y tasting. the best thing though is how easily & fast it can be thrown together: it's called chiffon style for good reason. no beating of the egg whites with the benefit of a really light texture. the only caveat to the recipe is that you need a large loaf pan, 9 x 5 x 3 inches (don't use the smaller one or you'll have the cake overflow in the oven). since it needs to slowly bake and rise, the cake pan is not greased. you will therefore need to cut out a rectangle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. not following this step will result in you never being able to get the cake out of the pan. after all this said, it's really worth a try! believe it or not, without a single spice in it, it still tastes like a honey cake ;)

the second version — the antithesis of the first — is for that heftier type of cake. this one is equally as good but has spices and requires the egg whites to be beaten and incorporated. the pan, in this case, is greased. you can use a tube pan or a large bundt type one. the recipe makes a very large cake (for a crowd!) but it freezes well for the month of the upcoming holidays.

for several more honey cakes i've posted, look here. check this, too.

have a sweet new year!

chiffon style honey cake

makes 1 loaf (10 - 12 slices) - double the ingredients for a large cake but use a tube pan with removable insert or angelfood cake pan.

use: 23 x 13 x 8 cm [1.9 liters] - 9 x 5 x 3 inches loaf pan UNGREASED.

ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 c brown sugar (packed) or reg white sugar
1/2 c oil
3/4 c honey
1/2 c strong coffee (or tea)

1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

method:

if using a loaf pan (you need the standard large one), cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. DO NOT grease the pan -- very important.

if you're doubling the recipe, use an angelfood cake pan with a removable insert, you don't need the parchment paper AND don't grease the pan either). do NOT use a bundt pan as it will not release from it.

preheat the over to 350 F.

mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

beat eggs with sugar -- add the rest of the wet ingredients.

add the flour in 3 parts to the wet ingredients.

pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. lower the oven to 300F and bake for about 1 more hour. test the cake with a toothpick -- it may need longer or you can raise the temp to 325F. to finish it. don't open the oven before 1 hour or it can fall.

* * * * * * *

rosh hashanah spiced honey cake

makes a LARGE cake (18 to 20 slices) - recipe can be halved

ingredients:

3 tbsp shortening*
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 egg yolks, 4 egg whites
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 c honey
3 tbsp whiskey or brandy**
zest of 1 orange & its juice
3/4 c warm very strong coffee (or strong tea)
3 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each: cloves, allspice, cinnamon & ginger***

*can use (parve) margarine also
**you can omit this and replace with more coffee or o.j.
***or you can use 1 tsp cinnamon alone

method:

1. large bundt pan or angel food cake pan -->well greased and floured - preheat oven to 325 F.

2. mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl; do NOT include the brown sugar in it.

3. beat the egg whites until stiff.

4. blend all the wet ingredients together with the brown sugar in another bowl or mixer until well combined.

5. mix the wet mixture into the dry one until well blended.

6. carefully add the egg whites in several additions to the mixed batter to keep the volume.

7. put the cake batter in the cake pan and bake for about 1 hour or longer -- maybe ~ 1 hr 15 min. test it with a toothpick to make sure the center is cooked. don't open the oven before 50 minutes or so or it will fall.

8. remove from the oven and let cool for approximately 15 minutes. if you are using the angel food cake pan, do not turn the cake over to cool because it will fall out!

9. after initial cooling, remove and let cool completely.

enjoy!

banana business

it goes without saying that there are probably a million or more recipes for banana breads around — everyone having his/her own favourite version. banana bread is something which i only really make whenever i have bananas that are fully ripe or over-ripened and while it's not an item i'd runnnn to the kitchen to bake on a regular basis, it is one of those staple kind of any-time-of-the-day snacking cakes, good for mid morning coffee breaks or late night kitchen raids which i do enjoy baking a few times a year.

the following recipe, which comes from a friend, is as particularly good as it is surprising since there are no dairy products in it or is there very much fat to speak of. in fact, it only uses 1/3 c of oil for a whole loaf. most of the moisture is provided by the bananas themselves and the honey content. the loaf will stay perfectly good for up to 5 or 6 days, if well-wrapped. it can be sliced and frozen for longer keeping if you like.

if you're organized, this recipe shouldn't take much time at all to throw together. having things premeasured and the baking pan ready saves you a lot of time. in terms of ingredients, i've added pecans and chocolate chips to the recipe; you can use either, both or none at all and just serve it plain. if you don't have pecans, you can use chopped walnuts. the recipe also uses part whole wheat flour — so, if you're thinking, "yuck!", don't ..... it's quite the opposite. it's healthier and tastes just as good as using only all purpose flour.


no nonsense banana bread

makes 1 loaf

ingredients:

1 c wholewheat + 3/4 c AP flour (or 1 3/4 c all purpose flour)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

2 large bananas, very ripe (or 3 small-ish ones)
2 large eggs (or egg replacement)

1/3 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey (or brown rice syrup)
1/2 c (soft) brown sugar, packed

optional:

1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 - 1/2 c chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

method:

in large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt. set aside.

peel and mash the bananas in another bowl. add the eggs and mix all together well.

in another bowl, mix together the oil, honey and brown sugar. it is easiest to measure the oil first and then the honey - it will slip right out of the measuring cup. at this point, you can mix this into the eggs and banana mixture or keep it separate. either way works. just make sure there are no hard bits of brown sugar (that won't dissolve) as you want the mixture to be uniform. if your brown sugar is not fully soft, you can microwave it (covered) for 15 to 20 seconds first to soften it up.

measure out the nuts and chocolate chips, if using.

before mixing everything together, preheat your oven to 325F and well grease a regular sized loaf pan (approx 8" x 5").

mix the wet ingredients into the dry and combine until all is blended together. do not overmix.

add the nuts and chocolate chips and pour into your greased pan (or muffin pan).

bake at 325 F for approx. 1 1/4 hrs or until the center is cooked -- test with a toothpick.

let cool for at least 20 min before removing.

stays good for several days and can be sliced and frozen.

enjoy!

putting on the pounds

eat all of this and you surely will put on pounds! but a little piece here and there never hurt anyone ;p

there are many versions for this pound style cake. this one works. it's also scaled down (by me) to a more reasonable size. the original was massive! a good "snacking" cake, this is sure to please and uses the "secret" ingredient of lemon-lime flavoured 7 UP (if you don't have 7 UP, you can use any other similar carbonated drink).

i've made it so that this version is parve, or without any dairy or animal products. the original uses butter and lots of sugar — this one is less sweet. if you like you can switch over to just butter but i can't vouch for results.

the (original) recipe calls for lemon extract/essence which may not be accessible to everyone. if you can't get this replace it with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of finely grated lemon zest.

to get a nice lemony flavour without adding excess liquid, i add something called 'sour salt' which is essentially citric acid crystals. see the links in the ingredients list to read about it.

in any case, this is a nice cake and worth the time to make it. it has a great interior texture and a sweet mouth-puckering icing! it will disappear quickly :)


7UP pound cake with lemon drizzle

makes 1 regular sized loaf (8 - 12 servings)

ingredients:

for cake:

1/2 c margarine (1 stick or 125 ml)
1/4 c crisco/vegetable fat [shortening] (60 ml)
2 eggs
3 tsp lemon extract (don't use less)

1/4 tsp "sour salt"* (use it if you can get it)**
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

1/2 c 7 UP drink (not diet!!)

*don't exceed this amount as it is very pungent and effective :)
**replace with 1 - 2 tbsp lemon juice & 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

lemon drizzle:

1 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice (as needed)

method:

grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 F (325 F if using glass pan).

cream margarine and shortening until well blended.

add eggs one at a time until completely incorporated.

mixture will seem curdled at first. whip to buttercream texture for about 3 minutes.

add the lemon extract or whatever you're substituting. mix again.

in another bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

add half to buttercream.

blend and add 1/4 c of 7up.

blend again and repeat with rest of dry and wet ingredients.

add batter to prepared pan.

bake for 1 hr 10 min approximately. test with a toothpick. do not overbake. let sit 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

let the cake cool completely before making the icing. it will take about 1 1/2 hrs.

make lemon drizzle:

mix together completely softened margarine with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the icing sugar.

make a thick paste. adjust amount of icing sugar if necessary (different countries have different qualities of same product).

add more lemon juice to make a thickish but pourable drizzle.

pour over completely cooled cake.

enjoy!