Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

It's Potluck Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), our last theme for 2017. It has been a wonderful year baking and cooking with my friends at IHCC. And looking forward to another delicious year ahead.  For a sweet ending for 2017, I've made Nigella's Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake. 

The cake is moist  and dense yet very tender and slightly crumbly. I did reduce the dark brown sugar to only 1 cup (loosely packed) and it was just right for us. And have used salted butter.

Another winner from Nigella. 

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

(How To Be A Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson)

1 cup soft unsalted butter

1-2/3 cups dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces best bittersweet chocolate, melted

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plus 2 tablepsoons boiling water

9x5-inch loaf pan

Preheat the oven to 375F, put in a baking sheet in case of sticky drips later, and grease and line the loaf pan. The lining is important as this is a very damp cake; use parchment or one of those loaf-pan-shaped paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar, either with a wooden spoon or with an electric hand-held mixer, then add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well. Next, fold in the melted and now slightly cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but being careful not to overbeat. You want the ingredients combined; you don't want a light airy mass. Then gently add the flour, to which you've added the baking soda, alternately spoon by spoon, with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour into the lined loaf pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325F and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.

Place the loaf pan on a rack, and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. (I often leave it for a day or so; like gingerbread, it improves). Don't worry if it sinks in the middle; indeed, it will do so because it's such a dense and damp cake.

Makes 8-10 slices.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

December 2017 Potluck

I wish everyone A Happy New Year! 

Clove-Scented Chocolate and Apricot Loaf

This is my third bake for The Cake Slice Bakers for this month. We have the option to bake from any of our previous featured books before we start with a new book in January. Those previous books are ;

Sky High : Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Southern Cakes

Cake Keeper Cakes

The Cake Book

Vintage Cakes

Great Cakes

The Southern Cake Book

Maida Heatter's Cakes

World Class Cakes

Once again I've baked from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. The cake I've chosen is Clove-Scented Chocolate and Apricot Loaf, which I've wanted to bake for ages. It is a chocolate cake, which has a spice ingredient that is not always used in bakes, ground cloves. Described by the author "Just a small amount of ground cloves gives this chocolate loaf a mysterious and complex flavor. Apricots add moisture, color, and a beautiful acidity that complements the chocolate and spice".

The cake is moist, with tender crumbs and delicious! Everything combines together perfectly, the cloves, cinnamon, cocoa powder and the apricots, with a very nice aroma from the spices. The only thing is, the chopped apricots sunk to the bottom of the cake, looks like I did not chop the apricots fine enough.  But not an issue, as the cake is really good. I will chop the dried apricots to smaller pieces the next time, as this cake is worth a repeat!

Clove-Scented Chocolate and Apricot Loaf
(from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
serves 8 to 10
1 cup dried apricot, finely chopped
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons)
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and dust with flour.
2. Combine the apricots and 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl. Set aside. Whisk together the remaining 1 cup flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium mxing bowl.
3. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.
4. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Turn the mixer to low speed and add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the milk. Repeat, ending with the flour. After the last addition, mix for 1 minute on medium speed. Stir in the apricots.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.
7. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Do visit The Cake Slice Bakers official blog to see what everyone has baked this month. If you would like to join us, please leave a message with the administrator, you can find it on the left side bar.

I'm also linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #24 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Marble Chiffon Cake

My second bake for The Cake Slice Bakers for this month. We have the option to bake from any of our previous featured books before we start with a new book in January. Those previous books are ;

Sky High : Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Southern Cakes

Cake Keeper Cakes

The Cake Book

Vintage Cakes

Great Cakes

The Southern Cake Book

Maida Heatter's Cakes

World Class Cakes

This second bake is from Cake Keeper Cakes, one of my favourite baking book. I like that the bakes in this book are fuss free and the cakes are all perfect for anytime snacking, makes a nice breakfast and tea-time treat with a cup of coffee or tea. 

According to Lauren Chattman, this is her older daughter's favourite cake out of all the bakes in this book. I can see why it is, the cake is light, fluffy, moist and so, so good! I've already made this a few times, and each time, it was gone pretty quick!

Chocolate Marble Chiffon Cake
(Cake Keeper Cakes, by Lauren Chattman)
serves 8 to 10
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
2 tablespoons water
1-1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 large eggs, 5 separated, 2 left whole
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup water * (refer notes below)

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Have ready a 9-inch ungreased angel food tube pan with a removable bottom.
2. Whisk together the cocoa powder, water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly to break up any lumps. Set aside.
3. Place the egg yolks and whole eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until lightened in colour, about 3 minutes. With the motor running, add 1 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream and continue to beat until the mixture is light and increased in volumn, about 5 minutes longer. With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the remaining 1/2 cup oil and continue to beat for 1 minute longer.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 the water mixture, then another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining water mixture, and the remaining flour mixture, scraping down the bowl once or twice as necessary. Stir in the vanilla.
5. With clean beaters and using a clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat on medium speed until the egg whites begin to turn white. With the mixer still on medium speed, pour in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream and whip until the whites hold stiff peaks.
6. Fold 1/4 of the yolk mixture into the whites to lighten. Then fold the remaining whites into the yolk mixture, gently but thoroughly.
7. Transfer 1/3 of the cake batter to another bowl and gently fold in the chocolate batter. Pour half of the yellow batter into the tube pan. Top with half of the chocolate batter. Repeat with the remaining yellow and chocolate batter. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together, taking care not to overmix. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and the top springs back when you touch it, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
8. Remove the pan from the oven. If your pan has feet, invert the pan onto a heatproof surface and allow it to cool. If your pan doesn't have feet, invert 4 heatproof drinking glasses on the counter and rest the inverted pan on top of the glasses to allow air to circulate around the cake while it cools. Let the cake cool in the pan completely, about 2 hours.
9. To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp paring knife around the edges, being careful to leave the golden crust intact. Remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter. Run the paring knife under the removable bottom of the pan and lift it off the cake. Slice and serve.
10. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Kitchen Flavours notes :
Some changes I've made to the recipe :
~ reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp for the batter, 1/4 cup for egg white meringue
~ instructions mentioned about adding water at step 4, water is not listed in the ingredients, so comparing with her other chiffon cake recipes in the book, I've added 1/4 cup water *, and it works out great

Do visit The Cake Slice Bakers official blog to see what everyone has baked this month. If you would like to join us, please leave a message with the administrator, you can find it on the left side bar.

I'm also linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #24 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

An InLinkz Link-up

Filled Coffee Cake

This month at The Cake Slice Bakers (TCS), we have the option to bake from any of our previous featured books before we start with a new book in January. Those previous books are ;

Sky High : Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Southern Cakes

Cake Keeper Cakes

The Cake Book

Vintage Cakes

Great Cakes

The Southern Cake Book

Maida Heatter's Cakes

World Class Cakes

I only have five of these books and out of the five, my most favourite is The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. I have made quite a number of recipes from it with very good results. So for this month's free baking, I've made another one of her fabulous recipes, Filled Coffee Cake, which is really a sweet yeasted bread, with apple-pecan-raisin-cinnamon filling. 

Start by preparing the apple pecan cinnmon filling which needs to be cooled down before using it as a filling for the sweet bread. Chopped apples are sauteed with some melted butter, add some brown sugar, cook till apples are tender, then add some flour, cinnamon, raisins and pecans. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

The dough has the softness of a brioche dough as most sweet breads are, and lovely to work with. Soft, supple and not at all sticky. It was really easy to roll. Slice the rolled filled dough into 2 inch pieces and place in a greased springform pan, allow to rise, brush with some egg wash, then bake as directed in the recipe.

I did reduce some sugar for both the bread and the filling.

The bread bakes up really nice and golden. Allow to cool, then glaze with White Drizzle Glaze. I do not usually eat my sweet breads glazed, as I prefer them without, but for this time, I decided to include the glaze. To make the White Drizzle Glaze, mix icing sugar, vanilla extract and some cream to the desired drizzle consistency.

This sweet bread is pretty good! With moist, soft crumbs, delicious with the apple filling, a slice is just wonderful with a cup of tea. Another keeper recipe from this wonderful book!

An InLinkz Link-up

Healthful Herbal Chicken Soup

A healthy delicious chicken soup, made with Chinese herbal ingredients, which can easily be found at any Chinese herbal shops. The Chinese herbs used are Chines yam (shan yao or huai shan), astragalus (huang qi), goji berries (gou qi zi), and Chinese red dates (hong Zao). According to the recipe, the herbs are to be tied in a cheesecloth (except for the goji berries and red dates), then add to the pot and simmer, so that they can be easily removed before serving the soup. I have however, did not use any cheesecloth and simply placed the herbs in the pot.

I have omitted the soy sauce since I have used a small pinch of salt. The herbs are not meant to be eaten, though the goji berries and red dates can be consumed, they contribute the sweetness to the soup. Use free range chicken if possible, it makes a whole lot of difference to soups like this. 

This is a tasty soup with healthful properties from the herbs. 

The dried herbs

Healthful Herbal Chicken Soup 
(Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen by Yuan Wang, Warren Sheir and Mika Ono)
2 to 3 pounds chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, etc.. or chopped from 1/2 chicken)
8 cups water
a pinch of salt
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, slivered into 1/16-inch slices
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 to 8 medium-size pieces (20 grams) dried Chinese yam (shan yao or huai shan)
6 medium-size pieces (about 20 grams) astragalus (huang qi)
1 rounded tablespoon (10 grams) goji berries (gou qi zi)
6 to 8 (10 grams) Chinese red dates (hong zao), seeded
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 green onions, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces, roots and tough tips discarded
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste (omitted)

1. In a large soup pot, combine the chicken, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Skim off any excess oil or fat.
2. Tie the ginger, garlic, Chinese yam, and astragalus together in a piece of cheesecloth (just place the herbs in the center and tie the ends). This will make it easy to remove the herbs later.
3. Add the cheesecloth bag of herbs and the goji berries, Chinese red dates, and wine to the pot. Bring it back to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for 45 to 60 minutes. Skim off any excess oil or fat.
4. When the soup is done, remove and discard the bag of herbs.
5. Add soy sauce to taste and garnish with the green onions.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #24 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

French Chocolate Bark

It's time for Chocolate and Vanilla, over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). Having missed last week's theme, I am not about to miss this week's too.  I've made Ina Garten's, French Chocolate Bark.

This is super easy, and I have all the ingredients in my pantry. Well, almost, with some subs of ingredients. Ina uses salted roasted cashews, which I have replaced with almonds. I did not have any dried cherries (they are very expensive!), so I have used dried cranberries. And also did not have semi sweet chocolate, so I have used milk chocolate instead, which is melted together with bittersweet chocolate. 

Melt both chocolates, spread on parchment paper, then scatter the rest of the ingredients over the chocolate spread. Ina has given the instruction on which ingredient to be scattered first. I was tempted to mix the ingredients in a bowl and then simply scatter them over the chocolate spread. But on second thoughts, decided to follow Ina's instructions instead.

The melted chocolate is spread in a 9x10-inch rectangle. The rest of the ingredients ; toasted almonds, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, golden raisins and chopped crystallized ginger.

 I did not use all of the almonds, and there's some balance of the dried cranberries and golden raisins. The chocolate spread is already full!  I am glad that I did not mix all the almonds and the dried fruits together in a bowl.

 Ina says to set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm, then cut to serving pieces. Well, mine did not set at all, so I pop the bark in the fridge to set.

The chocolate bark sets nicely in the fridge. But they started to melt within minutes after cutting. Our hot and humid weather does that to chocolates, that is why we can never keep our chocolate at room temperature, they are always kept in the fridge. So the cut pieces were kept in an airtight container and store in the fridge. These barks are yummy and addictive! Not that kind of addictive snack that you would be eating pieces of it at one sitting, but rather addictive in a way that you would think of having another piece after half an hour and still think about it another hour later! They would not last long in the fridge, that's for sure!

French Chocolate Bark
(source from barefootcontessa.com)
1 cup whole salted, roasted cashews (almonds)
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (milk chocolate)
6 to 7 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried crystallized ginger, 1/2-inch diced
1/2 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries)
1/2 cup dried apricots, 1/2-inch diced
1/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a pencil, draw a 9x10-inch rectangle on a piece of parchment paper placed on a sheet pan, then turn the parchment paper over.

Spread the cashews in one layer on another sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Place the semisweet chocolate and half the bittersweet chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 20 to 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch). Stir with a rubber spatula. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the  chocolate is just melted. Immediately add the remaining bittersweet chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into the drawn rectangle. Sprinkle the top evenly in the following order; first the ginger, then the cooled whole cashews, the cherries, apricots, and raisins. Set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in 18 to 20 pieces and serve at room temperature.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week 

Chocolate & Vanilla

American Sandwich Bread

This simple white bread from Bread Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen is a lovely bread. It has nice crust and soft airy crumb.

Very easy bread to make and bakes up to a lovely loaf. I did reduce the salt though, using only half the amount called for, 3/4 teaspoon instead of 1-1/2 teaspoons. 

I like it's beautiful soft crumbs. Great as a sandwich bread, or spread with your favourite jam and salty butter. It is lovely toasted, spread with a generous dollop of cold salty butter, which will melt onto the hot crispy toast, perfect with a cup of hot steaming coffee!  

American Sandwich Bread
(Bread Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen)
2-1/2 cups (13-3/4 ounce) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup (2-2/3 ounces) water, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk milk, water, melted butter, and honey in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until honey has dissolved.
2. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Grease 8-1/2 by 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter (side of dough taht was against bowl should now be facing up). Press and stretch dough into 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.
5. Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, pressing dough gently into corners.
6. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches 1 inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
7. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Mist loaf with water and bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers 205 to 230 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking,
8. Let loaf cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before serving.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #24 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Zucchini Pancakes

It's Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are free to choose any recipes from IHCC current or past featured chefs. And I've made Ina Garten's Zucchini Pancakes for our brunch snack. 

Zucchinis are grated using the coarse side of the box grater. Stir the grated zucchinis together with grated onion, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. I've added red chillies to the batter, deseeded and thinly sliced.  I find that the batter is quite runny and have added a few extra tablespoons of flour. The next time I will squeeze out some of the juices from the zucchini. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the batter and pan-fry in hot oil on both sides until golden.

These may be eaten with sour cream, or with your favourite sauce. I've made one of our favourite and simple dipping sauce, a mixture of mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce, which we love to dip our fritters or savoury pancakes. These pancakes are delicious and makes a wonderful brunch snack.

Zucchini Pancakes

(recipe by Ina Garten, from foodnetwork.com)

2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)

2 red chillies, deseeded and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons grated red onion

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

unsalted butter and vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater. Immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too thin from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

November 2017 Potluck