Tag: baking

Summertime

Crisp Rosemary Crackers

by Rebecca4 Comments on Crisp Rosemary Crackers

It’s finally beginning to feel like real summer here!  And when it’s summer, my eating habits change a bit.  I eat later dinners each night (think 8:30-9:00 pm), dine on fresh Hermiston Watermelons, and make huge veggie salads for lunch.  I’m not sure if these habits are because of the season, or as a result of habit from growing up on the hot side of the state, where true summers actually exist!

Lately too, I’ve been craving crispy, savory crackers and yesterday had a snack-lunch of crackers, hummus, and fresh vegetables.  There might have been a couple slices of salami thrown in there too, but, ahem, we ate it!  The rosemary and black pepper give a small hint of uniqueness to these little rounds, but even so, they pair nicely with a variety of other foods!  (Think cheese board, if you’re fond of eating cheese).

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

Crispy Rosemary Crackers, adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

3/4 cups gf flour mixture
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour (about 8 oz. of gf flour all-together)
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Place a baking sheet on the middle rack to preheat.

Stir together the flour, minced rosemary if using, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.

Knead the dough gently in the bowl.  It should be compact but not stiff.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with a towel) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round.  Cut into cracker rounds with 3-inch round cookie cutter.  Remove excess cracker dough from rounds on the parchment, so the crackers won’t have to be picked up and moved.  Gently score the top of each cracker with a knife with a design of your choosing, if desired.

Then lightly brush the top of each cracker with additional oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, if desired.  Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Once baked, transfer parchment to a rack to cool.  Continue this process with remaining cracker dough on fresh parchment.

Spring

Armenian Nutmeg Cake for a Fabulous Spring Tea Party

by Rebecca6 Comments on Armenian Nutmeg Cake for a Fabulous Spring Tea Party

I grew up not far from a spectacular place. My mom used to take me to visit the nursery as far back as I could remember. In my memory, the sun was always shining, the flowers were always in bloom, and a spectacular family lived in the house   separated by a wooden fence.  I liked to think the house was a real-life version of the secret garden, hiding behind the fence enclosed with vines.  One day when I was small, one of the little girls from that house and nursery offered me a piece of her zebra stripe gum, and a lifelong friendship was formed.

The other little girl that lived in the house had a fondness for tea parties.  She collected cups, and like many little girls are wont to do, had parties with stuffed animals and held mock weddings pretending she was marrying the neighbor boy.  Or that’s how I remember it.

These two special people are still my friends to this day, and happily enough, have each in their own way helped me to celebrate and prepare for a real wedding–my own.  Even though K is thousands of miles away, S stepped in with the tea and hats, photos, and friends.  And A, a third friend, brought out her fabulous party and people coordinating abilities.  It was a special time in the garden, with the sun shining and the flowers blooming.  The only difference from my childhood memories was there was real tea served, more friends to celebrate  beyond the stuffed animals, and the wedding this time around is really happening!

Now the cake–which is perfect for afternoon tea, was the April Daring Bakers Challenge recipe.  The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.  While it may seem as if this is just a standard spice cake, it really is special, with the crumbly crust and sweet hint of spice, not overpowering despite the amount added.  To top it off, I made this cake both gluten and dairy free, though you can certainly substitute the butter and wheat flour back in!

Tea Party photos are credit to my dear friend Shannon at FotoNovella.

Armenian Nutmeg Cake, makes one 6-inch cake
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
5 oz. whole-grain gf flour mix* (about 1 cup)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
4 oz. brown sugar (a bit over 1/2 a cup)
2 oz. coconut oil (1/4 cup)
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
toasted sesame seeds
1/2 an egg (I broke an egg, whisked, and separated half by weight.  I mixed the other half into fried rice for dinner!)
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Whisk the baking soda into the milk.  Set aside.
  • Put the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and the brown sugar into your food processor. Pulse until uniformly mixed.
  • Spoon in the coconut oil, breaking into small pieces as you do so.  Pulse until uniformly mixed into tan-colored crumbs.
  • Pour HALF of the crumbs into your cake pan. Press out a crust using your fingers and knuckles.
  • Pour the egg into the food processor with the rest of the crumbs still in it.  Add the nutmeg to this addition.  Pulse until well-incorporated.
  • Pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until a slightly lumpy tan batter is formed.
  • Pour the batter over the crust in your cake pan pan.
  • Using a small bit of sesame seeds in your hands, gently sprinkle over the batter until it’s covered to your desired amount.
  • Bake in a preheated moderate oven for 35-40 minutes. It’s ready when the top is golden brown, and when it passes the toothpick test.
  • Cool the cake in the pan, and then dig in.  It’s amazing with a nice cup of tea, I’m telling you!
*A big batch of my gf whole-grain flour mix consists of the following:
2oo grams brown rice flour
200 grams millet flour
200 grams sorghum flour
100 grams gluten-free oat flour
150 grams cornstarch
150 grams white rice flour
  • Sift all the flours together.  Use 1 cup for this recipe and save the remaining for other uses.
Spring

Carrot-Parsnip Easter Cakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Carrot-Parsnip Easter Cakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Last week, I had a pleasant surprise.  When teaching my young garden recruits, I had them taste parsnips at the end of the lesson.  We try to taste a seasonal vegetable each time we meet.  Since spring is so very late this year, and if we were truly eating locally, we’d be eating parsnips and wild nettles and very little else, I thought this would be a great new vegetable for my kids to try.  I didn’t expect the results.  Because I’m not a great fan of parsnips in their natural form, I figured my little munchkins wouldn’t be either.  Boy was I wrong!  I fried up some thinly sliced parsnip crisps and sprinkled them with a nice bit of salt and then brought along some raw parsnips to compare.  In two different groups, there was an astounding preference for the raw ones!  I was not only amazed but quite proud, since I really don’t want to encourage fried food amongst my young group!

While we’ve been eating quite a bit of parsnips these last few weeks, turning them into carrot-parsnip mini-cakes has got to be the best arrangement yet!  These are perfect for your Easter festivities, assuming you’ve forgotten to plan ahead today! If not, it’s still spring, and our greens are a bit behind, so go–try some parsnips.  I bet you’ve been missing out.

Carrot-Parsnip Mini-Cakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, adapted from Dishing Up Oregon
Makes 5 jumbo size mini-cakes or about 10 regular mini-cakes.
 
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 Tbs. white or dark rum
1 cup whole-grain gluten free flour mix (or 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (omit if not making gluten-free)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 plus 2 Tbs. grapeseed or canola oil
2 eggs or 2 flax eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely grated peeled carrots (about 2 medium)
3/4 cup finely grated peeled parsnips (about 2 medium)
 
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. orange zest
1-2 tablespoons orange juice
  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line five jumbo muffin tins.
  • Combine the raisins and the rum in a microwave-safe bowl.  Cover the bowl and microwave the raisins for about 30 seconds.  Uncover and set aside to cool.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl.
  • Beat the brown sugar and grapeseed oil together on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Mix in the applesauce and vanilla.  Mix in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
  • Fold in the carrots, parsnips, and 2/3 of the raisins until combined.  Fill the prepared muffin tins 3/4 full.  Bake until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
  • Remove the cakes from the oven and cool slightly before removing from tin.  Set aside on a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • For the frosting:  Blend the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl on medium speed. Mix in the vanilla, orange zest and one tablespoon orange juice.  Sift in the powdered sugar, beginning with 1 1/2 cups.  Add more as needed to reach desired consistency.  Add remaining tablespoon orange juice as needed.
  • Ice using a decorating tip or knife.  Top each cake with remaining raisins if desired, just prior to serving.
My Whole-Grain Gluten Free Flour Mix
2oo grams brown rice flour
200 grams millet flour
200 grams sorghum flour
100 grams buckwheat flour
150 grams tapioca starch
150 grams arrowroot starch
  • Sift all the flours together.  Use 1 cup for this recipe and save the remaining for other uses.