Monday, March 15, 2010

Marble Bundt Cake


I had been wanting to make something from my copy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito for some time now, so when I was asked to make a cake for a recent family gathering, I knew this was my opportunity. I decided to make the Marble Bundt Cake from the book because it was simple yet complex. You make one batter and then add one third of the batter to melted chocolate, this is used to make the chocolate swirl.

I found this cake to be sweet and moist with prominent vanilla and chocolate flavors. I think it would be too sweet if there was a frosting on the cake, but a dusting of powdered sugars looks and tastes nice. I think this cakes goes well with a cup of coffee and makes a nice after dinner dessert. It also tastes great the next day.


Marble Bundt Cake
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the chocolate swirl:

  • 6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

For the sour cream cake:

  • 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 16 oz sour cream
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar (if desired)


Make the chocolate swirl:
In a double boiler set over simmering water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a 10” bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to combine the chocolate mixture and cake batter to make a smooth chocolate batter.

Spread half of the remaining plain cake batter in the prepared pan. Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the chocolate cake batter directly on top of the plain cake batter. The dollops will touch and mostly cover the plain batter, but some plain batter will peek through. Pour the remaining plain batter over the chocolate batter, and use a butter knife to pull through the layers to create a swirl.



Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake and invert it onto the wire rack and let it cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cake will keep for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.


Thursday, March 4, 2010

CEiMB: Peppercorn Au Poivre


This week's pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Rachel of Rachel Hearts Food. She chose for us to make the Pork Au Poivre from from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This is a simple recipe where pork tenderloin is coated with Dijon mustard and sprinkled with a generous amount of coarse ground black pepper. The pan is then deglazed with red wine and chicken broth. I made a few changes to the recipe, unfortunately, my local grocery did not have pork tenderloin available for portioning, so I decided to go with thin cut pork loin chops. Additionally, I omitted the wine in the recipe. I didn't have an open bottle, and since I am heading out of town, I didn't want to open a new bottle for just 1/2 of a cup. Therefore, I added a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a pat of light butter to the pan to make the sauce more robust.

This is another winner from Ellie. The sauce is so flavorful, and the black pepper adds a nice heat that burns subtly in the back of your throat. The pork is light and moist, and I added the pork back to the sauce at the end to rewarm the pork to impart more flavor of the sauce into the pork itself. I will be making this again, and I would love to try the sauce with chicken as well. I served my pork with brown rice and roasted vegetable for a delicious, healthy meal.

Thanks again to Rachel, and be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their recipe.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw




I was looking for a light and flavorful dish to cook for a easy weeknight dinner when I came across this recipe for Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw in the March 2010 edition of Cooking Light Magazine. This recipe is extremely simple, I think it took me 15 minutes from start to finish to make this meal. My jerk seasoning was quite spicy, so it was a nice balance with the cool coleslaw. You can always omit the jalapeno that is in the slaw if you don't want too much heat. The natural sweetness of the catfish complimented the tangy coleslaw. I will definitely be making this again in the future.


Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw (adapted from Cooking Light, March 2010)

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and about 2/3 cup slaw)

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw mix
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper
  • Cooking spray
  • 4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
  • 4 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with jerk seasoning. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; serve fish with slaw