Tribute to Sheila Lukins: Decadent Chocolate Cake

As you probably already know, Sheila Lukins died of brain cancer in August at the young age of 66. I was so sad when I heard the news. She was in my pantheon of cooking goddesses. She was co-owner of The Silver Palate gourmet food shop in New York City, and co-author of The Silver Palate Cookbook, as well as three other cookbooks. She was also the food editor at Parade magazine for 23 years--taking over when Julia Child left that position.

I really liked her spirit--much as I liked Julia Child's. I read a quote once that said something to the effect that "Julia Child brought French cooking to America, while Sheila Lukins brought American cooking to Americans." Both women were interested in opening up cooking to a larger audience. Lukins was quoted as saying, “The whole idea is to make people feel very comfortable preparing a meal,”and, “The best compliment I ever get is that cooking from these recipes is just like having a friend helping you in the kitchen.” What lovely sentiments.

The recipe for Decadent Chocolate Cake is one of my favorites from The Silver Palate Cookbook. It's everything you want a chocolate cake to be: moist but not gummy, easy to make, with a killer frosting. Yup, it's perfect.

I was just down in my hometown of Monterey, CA for my sister, Laura's birthday, and I made this cake for her celebration. Everyone loved it. Even her daughter, who has publicly stated that she hates cake and won't eat any. She had the whole piece and asked for more. High praise indeed. I don't need to tell you that it was gluten-free and no one noticed or cared.

One thing I like about this recipe is that it is made in a tube pan--which gives it a nice presentation. Also, the frosting is a cross between a ganache glaze and a frosting--scrumptious. I always have some frosting left when I make it, which serves as a "take-a-spoonful-every-so-often" snack in our household.

The original recipe calls for adding the egg yolks separately from the whites, beating the whites, and folding them in at the end. I've made it both ways and haven't found much of a difference in the texture of the cake between the two methods. Therefore, I've eliminated that extra step from my adaptation.

Gluten-Free Decadent Chocolate Cake
-adapted from the original in The Silver Palate Cookbook

Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:
Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4-1/2 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the cake)

Special Equipment Needed
-stand mixer or hand mixer is nice is nice for mixing ingredients
-tube baking pan

Ingredients
2 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 C boiling water
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 TBL (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C sugar
2 large or extra large eggs
1/2 C sour cream
Chocolate Frosting (recipe below)
extra butter and tapioca flour for pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-butter and flour pan with tapioca flour, knock out excess
-in a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder, set aside
-put unsweetened chocolate and butter in medium bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 1 minute to melt all, then whisk to combine
-put eggs into bowl of mixer, beat on high until foamy
-add sugar, continue to beat
-add vanilla, mix to combine
-add butter-chocolate mixture, beat on high to combine
-add sour cream, mix to combine
-add flour mixture--mix until just combined, do not overmix
-pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes (until tester comes out clean)
-remove from oven, let cool in pan for 10 minutes
-carefully unmold onto cooling rack and let cool completely

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
2 TBL unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 TBL heavy cream
1-1/4 C confectioner's sugar, sifted (I start with 1 C and add more if I want it to be sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth. Watch carefully--do not burn
-take off of heat, whisk a bit more
-let cool until frosting is thickened. You want it to be in a state where it's not so warm that it will run off of the cake, but not so cool that it is too stiff to frost with. I let it sit on the counter for awhile and watch it while doing other things. I whisk every so often. It will take a bit of time, but it will reach optimal consistency.

Frost cake. Don't forget the little inner ring. It will further cool into a shiny glaze. It will be beautiful!

I usually have some frosting left over--store in fridge for spoonfuls of decadent midnight snacks.

Enjoy!
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Kiwi Berries

The strange little things above are Kiwi Berries. Or, to be more accurate, Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta). The are not baby kiwis, they are a cousin plant. When you slice them open, though, they look just like tiny kiwis.



And they are delicious. The great thing about them is that you can eat the whole thing--like a grape. And they taste just like kiwis. They are in season right now and are a lovely snack. I've been munching on them for weeks now.

I got mine at our local organic grocery, PCC, but people I know have also gotten them at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Luckily for me, they are grown in Oregon, so they can be considered local for us Seattleites.

Check them out!

Ranch Dressing

I've been meaning to post this forever. Ranch dressing is a handy thing to have around. But I've never really liked commercially made ones--they're usually gummy and weird. Also, many of them have additives that contain gluten--which rules them out for me. So, a couple of years ago I started experimenting with my own version. This version contains buttermilk and mayonnaise, but not sour cream--which is often included in other recipes. I find that it is thick enough to serve as a dipping sauce--my daughter and her pals love it with their carrots and celery--but not so heavy as to be "gloppy" as a dressing on salads.

While I was developing this recipe, I looked up the history of ranch dressing (from Wikipedia, ranch dressing):

"In 1954, Steve and Gayle Henson opened a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California, and named it "Hidden Valley Ranch". As a side business, they sold to guests a special dressing that Steve had developed in Alaska. The dressing was popular, and they began selling bottles that guests could take home, and later opened a factory to sell packets of ranch seasoning that had to be mixed with mayonnaise and buttermilk (packets that are still available to this day). In 1972 the brand was bought by Clorox for $8 million."

Wow, do you think Clorox would want to buy my recipe? They could call it Four Chickens Coop Dressing. Ha!

This recipe is easy and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Of interest is the fact that I actually like dried parsley in this recipe versus fresh. There's a nice flavor that the dried gives that is slightly different from fresh. The dill weed is good fresh or dried. During the fall and winter seasons, I use dried.

Ranch Dressing

Ingredients
3/4 C mayonnaise
1/2 well-shaken buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp brown mustard
2 tsp dried parsley (or 2 TBL fresh)
2 tsp dried dillweed (or 2 TBL fresh)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
3/4 tsp onion powder (not salt)

In a medium bowl, whisk mayonnaise and buttermilk together
-whisk in lemon juice and mustard
-whisk in all seasonings

Makes 1 1/4 cups of dressing.

Store in a glass jar. It will keep for about 5 days in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!
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Baking Tip: Pan Sizes

I was thinking it would be nice to include a regular feature of baking tips in my blog. You know, things that make the baking process go a little more smoothly.

Today's baking tip is a link to the Joy of Baking's Pan Sizes Chart. I've printed out this chart and it's hanging on my refrigerator.

I've found this to be especially helpful when a recipe calls for a pan by cup size. I usually don't know how many cups any particular pan has. But this chart lists pans by cup size and correlates that to the pan's dimensions, in inches and in centimeters. It's a great tool!

Coffee Cake Friday: Orange and Poppy Seed Quick Bread

This week's coffee cake is actually a small loaf--like a tea cake. Yes, I know it's for Coffee Cake Friday, but you can eat all of these cakes with the beverage of your choice. I decided to include a smaller type of cake for those times when you want a little something but don't need something as big as a bundt cake. I've used this recipe over the years as my quick recipe when I have guests coming over shortly and I've not prepared anything. I usually have the ingredients on hand and they come together easily. It's got a light, delicate crumb, and the poppy seeds add a bit of a nice crunch.

Interestingly enough, I adapted this recipe from a free card I picked up at Whole Foods. I love gathering recipes from local stores. And the origin of this recipe illustrates my tendency to gather recipes from many different sources. If you have a Whole Foods in your area, you should check in with them to see if they have free recipes. Here in Seattle, they always have several out in their bulletin board area, usually in keeping with the season of the year. I think I got this one around Christmas. I've also recently discovered that they have many recipes on their web site.

One thing that's nice about this bread is that you can either eat it as is, or you can slice it, toast it, and add butter and/or jam for an even more decadent snack.

Orange and Poppy Seed Quick Bread
-adapted from one from Whole Foods

Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:
Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4-1/2 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the bread)

Special Equipment Needed
-hand mixer is nice for mixing the batter
-6 C loaf pan (8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2)

Ingredients
1 1/2 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C milk
1/3 C orange juice (I like to use freshly-squeezed)
Zest of one orange, finely grated
6 TBL butter, softened
2/3 C sugar
2 large or extra-large eggs, room temp
3 TBL poppy seeds
extra butter and tapioca flour for pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-butter and flour pan using tapioca flour
-in a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt
-in another small bowl, whisk together orange juice, zest, and milk
-in a large bowl, beat butter with hand mixer until fluffy
-add sugar and beat more
-add eggs, one at a time, beat after each addition
-alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture to butter mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture
-fold in poppy seeds
-pour batter into prepared pan--smoothing top
-thump pan on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles
-bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes--until a tester comes out clean
-cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto rack to complete cooling



Enjoy!
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Graham Crackers!

I've been thinking a lot about graham crackers lately. They're so handy. And good. This past summer, they would have been great for smores. And as I ponder the upcoming baking season, I think they would be handy for cheesecake crusts. And, they're always nice to have around as a snack.

Originally, graham crackers were made from graham flour, which is a combination of fine-ground white flour and coarse-ground wheat bran and germ. They have an interesting history. Apparently, the Reverend Sylvester Graham, who lived in Connecticut during the late 18th century through the middle 19th century, was an early advocate for dietary reform. He promoted vegetarianism, temperance, and eschewed additives in food (yes, even then), all in order to curb lust (!?). Graham crackers were part of the diet he developed. Originally, they were not nearly as sweet as modern graham crackers and were considered bland. They were kind of a mix between a savory cracker and a sweet cookie (info from Wikipedia, graham crackers). Nowadays, they are mostly made with whole wheat flour.

Anyway, over the years, I've played with various recipes for making gluten-free graham crackers. The recipe below is the happy result this experimentation--it makes great crackers! I quite pleased with it because it tastes good and stays crisp. It uses part white flour and part whole wheat flour. To mimic this, my adaptation uses part Jeanne's Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Mix, and part sorghum flour (also known as jowar). Sorghum flour is a whole grain flour and is slightly sweet. It's heavier and a bit more coarse than rice or tapioca flours. For all of these reasons, I've chosen sorghum flour to replace the whole wheat flour in the recipe.

Gluten-Free Graham Crackers

Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:
Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4-1/2 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the crackers)

Special Equipment Needed
-a food processor is quite handy for mixing all of the ingredients, but you can always use a pastry blender
-wax paper
-rolling pin
-I use a fluted square cookie cutter that is 2 1/4 inches across. You can also use a fluted pastry cutter, or large knife for cutting dough into small squares
-fork to create the design on top of the cookie

Ingredients
1 1/4 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
1 C sorgum flour (also called jowar)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 C dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
8 TBL (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 TBL honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 TBL ice water
extra tapioca flour

In the bowl of a food processor, place flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse a few times to mix (or mix in a large bowl with a pastry blender)
-add brown sugar and pulse a few times to mix (you may have to spread the sugar out in the flour mixture)
-add the butter pieces and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like coarse sand
-add honey, pulse a few more times to combine
-add vanilla, pulse to combine
-add water, pulse to combine
-you should now have a fairly stiff dough that sticks together
-divide the dough into two balls. Roll out each ball between two pieces of wax paper until the the dough is about 1/8 inch thick (the thinner the dough, the more crisp the crackers)
-this dough is sticky--you may need to sprinkle some tapioca flour on either side of the dough before rolling it between the pieces of wax paper for it to release easily
-put rolled out dough into refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up
-preheat your oven to 350 degrees
-once the dough is firm, take out the first rolled-out portion
-working quickly but carefully, using your cutter, cut out the crackers. Carefully place each cracker onto a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper (or that is greased)
-re-roll your dough between the sheets of wax paper and repeat the cutting and transfer process until all the dough is used.
-you will have about 15-20 crackers
-take a fork and prick three rows of holes down the center of each cracker (see above photo). Don't prick all the way to the other side--just to the middle of the dough to create a nice pattern.
-place cookie sheet into preheated oven
-bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes
-remove from oven, let rest on sheet(s) for a few minutes, and then transfer crackers to cooling rack to cool completely
-Repeat entire process for the 2nd sheet of dough. Or you can store the second sheet of dough in the fridge for a couple of days until you need it.

Store baked crackers in an airtight container.

Enjoy!
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Election Night Community

Yesterday was Election Day in Seattle. Or, rather, the day by which mail-in ballots were due. King County (our county), eradicated voting in person a couple of elections ago. While I think it's a good move--it makes voting easier--it eradicates the communal spirit that I used to love on election day. I really liked going to vote, seeing my neighbors, and feeling the energy of voting day. Mail in voting doesn't quite have the same feeling. Or didn't until yesterday.

Last night, engaging in my usual habit of procrastination, I ran to the post office at 6:30 pm hoping to drop off my completed ballot. It was due by 8:00 pm. Apparently, many other people had the same idea, and we were all disappointed that the post office was closed. I kinda knew this was going to be the case, since I actually read the ballot materials, which said, and I paraphrase: "if you are a total doofus and waited until the last minute, you may bring your ballot to a neighborhood drop station with all the other doofuses and do the walk of shame to and from the drop box." But, I went to the post office just in case something magical happened and I didn't really have to drive to the more distant drop box.

Anyway, I mentioned this to the other people gathered at the post office. Everyone groaned (because, again, the neighborhood drop station is not in our neighborhood). One lady was panic-stricken because she had an electric car (this is Seattle, after all) and it didn't have enough of a charge to drive over to the other neighborhood. Another woman had a car full of kids who were about to lose it. Each person had various reasons why this was going to be a much bigger burden for them than it would be for me. I offered to collect and take everyone's ballot to the drop place. They were extremely thankful. It's funny because it wasn't much of a hassle for me--I had to drive over there anyway--but it was a huge help for these people. As I started to drive away, I saw another woman screech up in front of the post office--clearly hoping to mail her ballot. I drove back over and offered to take her ballot. She was surprised and, again, so thankful.

I was thankful, too, because I got my election night community even in this new era of mail-in ballots.

(photo by Shutterstock)

NaBloPoMo and Me

So, you may have seen the new button in the right margin of this blog. I'm attempting to do the NaBloPoMo this month. This crazy acronym stands for National Blog Posting Month. The month of November has been set as the one in which to do a blog post each day. I've never felt inspired to do this in the past, but this year I'm going for it. Further, I have decided to have a theme of sorts for my posts--community and conviviality. I may run out of steam on either or both of these (as evidenced by my utter and complete failure to complete NaKniSweMoDo, even my own "lite" version--I knit exactly 1 sweater out of the 12--but we shall not speak of this), but I will try. I hope you will bear with me as a clumsily try to flesh out some of the thoughts I have on these topics and how they relate to my life.

Of course, I will continue to include gluten-free recipes--pie crust and graham crackers are coming soon! And I will explore my knitting every so often.

Wish me well on this journey. Eek.