April ’11: Buttermilk Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Malted Milk Cookies

• Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Malted Milk Cookies

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

with purple white chocolate ganache

This is a keeper! It is very moist even even after a few days.  It’s very similar to the mocha cake I made in March, 2011.

This is the first time I used old baking soda and I learned my lesson the hard way.  The cake won’t rise properly 😕 . Next time I might try with another popular method of 1:1 butter and oil.

 Adapted from http://www.bestmoistchocolatecakerecipe.com/

Ingredients:

Unbleached all-purpose flour…………………..2 cups
Sugar…………………………………………………..2 cups [cut to 1 cup]
Cocoa powder……………………………………….3/4 cup
Baking soda…………………………………………..2 teaspoons
Large eggs…………………………………………….2
Salt……………………………………………………..1 teaspoon
Buttermilk……………………………………………1 cup
Oil………………………………………………………1 cup
Vanilla extract……………………………………..1 1/2 teaspoons
Hot brewed coffee…………………………………1 cup

Settings:

Temp: 300C
Time: 20 mins for cupcakes; 1 hour for 13 x 9 pan

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chocolate Malted Milk Cookies

This was surprisingly not very sweet.  Dough was very sticky so I don’t like this recipe very much.  It’s not very chocolately but it had a nice malted milk taste to it.

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, taken from browneyedbaker

Yield: 18 large cookies

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour……………………………….1¾ cups
Malted milk powder……………………………1 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder……………….¼ cup
Baking powder…………………………………..1½ teaspoons
Salt…………………………………………………….¼ teaspoon
Unsalted butter, softened……………………1 ½ stick
Brown sugar……………………………………….2/3 cup
Eggs……………………………………………………2
Vanilla extract…………………………………….1 teaspoon
Milk………………………………………………..….¼ cup
White chocolate chips…………………………1 cup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Whisk together the flour, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing just until it disappears into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With the mixer still on low, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the malted milk balls and chocolate chips.

Drop about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth of dough (I used a large cookie scoop) onto the sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until puffed and set but still slightly soft to the touch. Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

April ’11: Pumpkin Chili

No you don’t serve chilli with pretzels.  I just happened to have a large soft pretzel the other day 😛 Finally got rid of some of my butternut squash 🙂 The two pots of chilli was simmered for 3 hours.

Ingredients:

Stewing beef cubes………………………2 lbs
Butternut squash…………………………2 entire squashes
Pumpkin puree……………………………1-28oz can
Tomato puree (no salt)…………………1-28 oz can
Banana peppers………………….…………1 cup
Beef broth………………………………….4 cups
Onion, diced……………………………….2 cups
Garlic………………………………………..handful of cloves
Cumin……………………………………….3 teaspoons
Chili powder……………………………….1 tablespoon
Mirin…………………………………………….1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce……………………..1 tablespoon

Methods:

Add beef, salt and pepper to a large soup pot. Brown meat. Add diced onion and garlic. Cook until translucent.

Add pumpkin puree, tomatoes, beef broth, cumin, and chili powder. Stir well. Bring soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Adjust seasonings to taste. Simmer far at least 1 hour, stirring from the bottom every 10 – 15 minutes.

April ’11: Sirloin steak with mushrooms and peas

Red Grill Angus boneless top sirloin steak

With mushroom and green peas

Angus top sirloin steak was on huge sale at Metro for 2.99/lb (usually 9.19/lb to 9.39/lb).  This one should be around 10oz.  Lovely deal in this time of inflation! 😆
*Cut from Cananda AAA or USDA Grade Choice grade beef

April ’11: Flädlessuppe mit Markklößchen

This was the inspiration for making Flädlessuppe mit Markklößchen.  Recently I came across Flädle, and a quick google search led me to this recipe.  It took 3 days to prepare, but it was a fun project.

Adapted from: http://columbusfoodie.net/index.php?s=markklosschen

Knochenbrühe

Ingredients:

Onions
Garlic
Parsley roots [used Chinese radish]
Carrots
Celery stalks
Black peppercorns
Cloves
Bay leaf

Directions:

Exact same way as making consommé.

Markklößchen

Ingredients:

Marrow………………………………..3oz
Finely cut parsely………………….2 teaspoons
Eggs, unbeated……………………..2
Paprika…………………………….….1/4 teaspoon
Soda crackers, rolled fine………1 cup [I used Rye crackers + whole-wheat flour]

I also added soy sauce and mirin.

Directions:

4 to 5 servings

Scoop marrow from beef shank bone and press through a course sieve. Add remaining ingredients in order given and beat until thoroughly blended. Let stand 2 minutes to stiffen slightly for easier handling. Shape level tablespoon of mixture into balls with hands. Drop into boiling soup, cover and boil gently 5 minutes. Serve at once in soup.

Flädle

Ingredients:

Flour…………………..200g (1 ¾ cups) [I used a mixture of organic spelt + millet]
Eggs……………………2
Milk………………..….1 cup plus 1 tablespoon
Salt………………….…1 pinch
Fat for frying

Directions:

Mix the flour and milk, then add the eggs, and season with salt.

In a skillet, melt a little fat over medium heat. As soon as the fat is hot, hold the skillet at a slight angle and pour in the batter in such a manner that the whole bottom of the skillet is covered with a thin layer. As soon as the bottom of the pancake develops yellow spots, carefully loosen the edges with an egg turner, then flip the pancake to cook the other side. Once the Flädle is done, set it aside for cooling.

April ’11: French Onion Soup

Another good partner for the ox-bone consommé.

I reckon I probably chopped up 5lbs of onions here.  Look how much it reduced in the end.

Caramelized onions are a wonderful treat, and the flavour that a wonderfully caramelized onion has is absolutely unbeatable.  Caramelizing onions basically means cooking them slowly so that the sugars in the onion turn a deep brown, giving off a sweet, rich flavour.  Caramelizing onions is easier than it sounds.  Just put some oil or water in a pan over low heat, chop up the onions, throw them in, and cover them.  Stir them occasionally, and be sure to add more liquid if you need so they don’t burn.  After you do it a few times you’ll get the hang of the right ratio of liquid to onion.  They take about 30-45 minutes (it took me maybe an hour here for 5lbs of chopped onions).  They are great to do on the side while you are preparing something else.

After the onions have caramelized, add enough consommé to cover the onions and let it simmer until it’s done.  There you have a French Onion Soup that is luscious with its deep, sweet caramelized onion flavours.  I’m not a fan of cheese on top of my soup, but you can proceed with adding some old crusted bread (French, Focaccia, Italian or any baguette) and add some shaved French Gruyère style cheeses (eg  Comté and Beaufor) on top, put it in the oven and let broil for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.