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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Black Pepper and Red Wine Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers


It has been so long that I participated in Bundt Bakers that I feel like a newbie. I'm checking the to-do list not just twice but thrice. And I am still sure that I have forgotten something. I almost skipped this month also since things were even more uncertain in my life. However, a couple weeks ago I was visiting a friend and she insisted that I do some baking. I went through the list of themes for upcoming group posts and decided to tackle this one.

June of How to Philosophize Cake challenged us to bake a cake with an unusual flavour combination that though seemingly strange, tasted great. This is a really fun theme but it was really difficult choosing a pairing. I kept thinking of flavours that just were not that strange. Eventually,  I asked my friend to pick an ingredient - she chose red wine - and I then looked for an unexpected complement. Red wine and black pepper is actually not that unusual. It's just very unlikely to see both show up in cake.

I had no idea how this would turn out and several times thought that maybe I should make something else and avoid wasting the wine. But my friend encouraged me to go for it. Neither of us drink much alcohol but we really love alcohol in desserts. If I hadn't used the wine in the cake, then the wine would have just sat there untouched for a very long time. That would have been wasting it.  When I tasted the batter, I realised it wouldn't be a waste of ingredients afterall. It was really good. In the final product, you taste a lovely wine flavour when you first bite into the cake, you almost forget that there should be black pepper but then it hits at the end. The heat lingering in your tongue for a bit.





Be sure to check out all the other strange but good Bundts below and a huge thank you to our host, June at How to Philosophize with Cake!




Black Pepper and Red Wine Bundt
Recipe by: Kelly   Adapted from: Baked Element's Triple Rum and Black Pepper Bundt
Yield: 1 standard Bundt cake

Ingredients
Cake
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 yolk 
1 cup milk 
3/4 cup red wine

Syrup
1/2 cup butter 
1/3 cup sugar 
1/4 cup red wine

Glaze 
1 cup confectioner's sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons red wine


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and  flour a 10 - 12 cup Bundt pan thoroughly.
Whisk together flour, black pepper, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and yolk one at a time beating for about ten seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl then beat again for another ten seconds. 
Whisk together milk and wine. 
Alternate adding the flour and wine mixture to the butter mixture. Start and end with flour. Mix for about ten seconds after each addition.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another ten seconds. 
Pour into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes then remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. 

When the cake has cooled, make the syrup. 

Gently stir together butter, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of water over medium heat. Keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Increase the heat to high and let the mixture boil for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat if the mixture starts to reach the top of the pan. Remove from heat and whisk in the wine. Whisk thoroughly. 

Return the cake to the Bundt pan and use a long skewer to poke several holes into the cake. Slowly drizzle the wine syrup over the cake. Let sit in Bundt pan for at least three hours then invert onto a plate. 

Whisk together confectioner's sugar, melted butter and wine. Pour over cake. 
Notes








BundtBakers


#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page.


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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Chickpea Fudge - Crazy Ingredient Challenge




The winning ingredients for this month's Crazy Ingredients Challenge are chickpeas and honey. My personal challenge with this  group is to always try to make something different from the standard fare or relatively unexpected with the ingredients. That doesn't always happen of course as all I often want to make is bread. I fought that urge this month and decided on this fudge.

Fudge made with chickpeas just sounds a bit "wrong" doesn't it? I actually made chocolate chip cookies years ago that had chickpeas instead of flour. I don't think I liked it so I'm not sure why I jumped on the fudge bandwagon. While a chickpea fudge may sound unusual to me, it's pretty standard fare in Indian cuisine. They combine chickpea flour with sugar and ghee . I've also seen condensed milk.

The fudge is surprisingly good. You definitely do not taste the chickpeas at all. I thought it needed to be a little sweeter - we're calling this fudge after all - but I stopped myself from adding a lot of extra honey or even sugar. You don't have to show the same restraint. Some chocolate chips would be a great addition too. That would add an extra sweet touch. I haven't crunched the numbers but I think with all the chickpeas and nuts included here, this may work well as a protein snack after a gym session.

Be sure to check out the other chickpeas and honey recipes from the other CIC bloggers below. Additionally, I'll be sharing a really unusual use for chickpeas next week. Look out for that!



Chickpea Fudge

Ingredients
1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions
Line a 9" x 5" pan with plastic wrap.
Blend all the ingredients except the walnuts together until it is smooth. Taste and add extra sweetener or spices, if desired. Stir in the walnuts then scoop into the prepared pan. Freeze for at least 5 hours then cut into small squares to serve.

Keep frozen.




Crazy Ingredient Challenge

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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Cocoa Cranberry Swirl Bread - CIC


Things have been quiet around here as I get ready for some major life changes. I've been without my kitchen for a while so even though I desperately needed to make something, anything for my sanity, I couldn't. I also really missed participating in the various groups. I had access to a kitchen yesterday so I quickly kneaded this bread for the last Crazy Ingredients Challenge of 2015.

 It's weird to think that 2015 is over. Anyway, our challenge ingredients this month were cocoa and cranberries. It's not a difficult combination - nothing crazy about it at all. But with all the busyness of the season, I guess it's good to have one less thing to spend a lot of time worrying about. 

I adapted this bread from a Cocoa-Nut Swirl Bread in a cookbook called Chocolate Fantasies. Hope the holidays are treating you well. Be sure to visit the other blogs to see what they made.

 Cocoa Cranberry Swirl Bread
 Dough
 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups flour
 2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg

 Filling
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 dried cranberries, chopped

 Combine all the dough ingredients and knead until you have a soft dough. You may need to add more flour. You could also use a little less milk. Keep kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled.

 After the dough has doubled, turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out to a 15" x 7" rectangle. Brush it lightly with water. Combine the sugar and cocoa then add just enough milk to form a smooth paste. Spread evenly over the rectangle then sprinkle with chopped cranberries.

 Starting at the short end, roll up the dough, seal and fold the ends under. Place in a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled.

 Bake at 375℉ for 35 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Loaf may be glazed if desired.