I had a free morning last Thursday and made one of my favorite and foolproof cakes: smittenkitchen’s yellow layer cake with sour cream chocolate frosting to celebrate my friend’s 23rd birthday. Cake batter and chocolate frosting for breakfast? Check and check :)

I didn’t want to cut a slice to take a photo of for this blog before I actually served it, and I actually got a little worried that there wouldn’t be any left over for me to take a picture of. Luckily, everyone had maxxed out of sweets by the end of the week and I was able to save this last bit. Yum :)

Best Yellow Layer Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Yield: Two 9-inch round, 2-inch tall cake layers

4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (480 grams) cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
2 sticks (1 cup, 1/2 pound or 225 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml), well-shaken

Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour. Optional: while cake is still warm, brush some water or simple syrup onto the cakes to make sure your cakes are moist later.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Adapted from The Dessert Bible

Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a two layer 9-inch cake

15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup (I boiled about 3/4 c water with a LOT of sugar)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

additional warm water to thin out the frosting, if needed

Melt chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and if needed, add additional corn syrup in one tablespoon increments until desired level of sweetness is achieved.

Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency (about 30 minutes). If the frosting is very stiff, even after you leave it outside to warm up, whisk in some warm water until it becomes spreadable.

When the weather gets chilly, I imagine myself wearing a fleece pullover and thick wool socks, curling up in a huge sofa in a cottage somewhere by the sea, with a large steaming bowl of soup and my favorite book. I also start craving really simple rustic foods – tomato soup, roasted tomato pasta, leek and potato soup (all posts to come!) – no frills, light but hearty.

This apple berry crumble is one of those foods. It came together in minutes, required very little additional sugar and butter, and just let the simple sweetness of the fruits shine through. I had the leftovers for breakfast the next day and it was just as good – if not better.

Apple and mixed berry crumble

Ingredients
3/4 stick cold butter, diced; keep the wrapper to grease the pan
2/3 cup sliced almonds
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2-3 tart baking apples, cored and cut into medium dice (I used Pink Lady)
1 pound frozen berries (I used 8oz each blueberries and raspberries)
Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Lightly butter a 9″x13″ baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine almonds, brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, oats and flours. With your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine apples, frozen berries, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, spices and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss gently to combine well. Pour fruit mixture into prepared baking dish and dot with the reserved butter.

Spread topping evenly over dish, leaving a bit of the fruit peaking out at edges. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Allow to stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

One of Lily’s favorite types of cakes: funfetti from the box. But why make it from the box when you can make it from scratch? So a white cake frosted with buttercream, mixed with a healthy dose of multicolored sprinkles, was made, delivered, and delivered.

I wasn’t expecting too much from the cake since I’m a terrible baker (I even bought a box of funfetti cake mix just in case)…but I was so so so wrong, and it turned out so so SO RIGHT.

I wouldn’t be lying when I say that Lily and I had this cake for breakfast (and lunch, and mid-afternoon snacks, and dessert..) for the entire week after. You’d think that would be gross, but we couldn’t stop talking about how much better it got with each day.

What a great way to celebrate a great lady’s birthday. Happy birthday Lily! :)

Recipe adapted from cakespy.com

Made this last night: farmer’s market asparagus, shrimp from the shrimp truck  that Maria brought over, homemade basil walnut pesto, and linguine. I tried some of Bon Appetit’s tips – cooking the asparagus/shrimp with some pasta water definitely made a nice sauce, but I failed at implementing their plating tips (twirl in pan, plate, and retwirl) – I was more successful at whipping food around the kitchen than I was making a pretty plate of pasta!

Summer is here! Almost everyone is off traveling the world, but a few people, including me, are still in town. Rochelle and Maria came over for dinner the other night; they’re off to Ghana to do some pretty neat cervical cancer research (and lots of pap smears…exciting!!) On the menu was southwestern pizza, herbed polenta fries, watermelon salad (that Maria made and I don’t have a picture of!), and almond berry sorbet. It was probably one of the easiest (appetizers, entree, and dessert in less than 45 minutes and minimal clean up. get out!) and healthiest dinners ever…enjoy!

So excited to eat!!!

Herbed Polenta Fries from Gourmet.

Polenta is seriously my new favorite food. It might also be because I tend to eat it with a good amount of parmesan, salt, herbs, and butter. Meh. Either way, this stuff is good and I’m sad I didn’t discover it earlier. I added some salt, and used rosemary and thyme. I broiled them for about 15 minutes before getting impatient and just setting the oven at 450 and baking them for another 10 more (about 2″ from the top element). So crispy and delicious! They flew right off the plate!

Southwestern Pizza from TheKitchn

 Black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and avocados. Talk about healthy and delicious…and so much better than taco bell. We bought whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s, and used Trader Joe’s hot sauce instead of the chili en adobo that the recipe called for. So beyond delicious; we would have had seconds if we weren’t already so full from the fries and watermelon salad.

Almond berry sorbet from FitBottomedGirls.

This made me rethink my secret desire to buy an ice cream maker. And I’ve been emailing my friends about buying an ice cream maker for the better part of the year – even during the middle of winter. So this is kind of a big deal. It was a little runnier than a true sorbet, but definitely fulfilled the sweet dessert cravings. We used a mix of frozen blueberries, strawberries, and (lots of) raspberries. The almonds really added something too. So freaking good.

I laughed when I saw the following in the instructions for these cookies: “As soon as they [the cookies] feel firm to the touch, remove them from the oven. You can’t judge by color because they start out black. “

She wasn’t kidding.

I managed to burn my way through the first three batches and found myself hovering over the oven as my fourth and final batch was baking. Lesson learned. But at least I’m pretty good at differentiating between shades of brown now..

Recipe

I bought tempeh about a month ago and, after several weeks of buying potatoes with the purpose of making this, I finally got off my butt and made it today. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about tempeh because the texture is all different and it honestly just tastes strange (there’s a weird bitter aftertaste…am I eating rotten tempeh?).

I kinda secretly hoped that this recipe would make me a tempeh-convert, since it’s supposed to be a healthy alternative to meat (other than the fact that it’s…NOT), but at the end of the day, I liked all the other ingredients in the recipe more than I did the tempeh. Maybe I should have called this “Potato, spinach, and try-at-your-own-risk tempeh curry.” In any case, I think I’ll give it one more chance  before I officially declare my apartment a tempeh-free zone!

Tempeh Curry (adapted from 101Cookbooks)

1 pound small waxy potatoes no bigger than a small lime, halved
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup water
dollop of plain whole milk yogurt

8 ounces tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 ounces baby spinach, chopped

1. Cook potatoes – I steamed mine, but you can bake them also.
2. In the meantime, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over low heat and add onion and cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the chili powder, curry powder, and turmeric, wait about thirty seconds, then stir in the tomatoes, water, and the salt.
4. Remove from heat, stir in the cream and blend in a blender (I blended half of the sauce and left the other half whole. It’s up to you!)
5. Once the curry is back in the pan, add the tempeh and bring barely to a simmer. Let the tempeh cook for 5 minutes or so, then add the potatoes and spinach.

Serves 4 – 6.

I was in Boston for our spring break all last week. Since we’re in the middle of a class, it was less of a break and more of “protected studying time.” I spent my days studying in my favorite cafes and bakeries (which were always near good shopping locations for some reason. weird.) eating pastries while drinking coffee like it’s a food group. Scratch that, it is a food group.

Flour Bakery is one of my favorites and I decided to try the banana bread rather than have my 5th sticky bun of the week. Was it a good decision? It was such a good decision that I bought the cookbook. No joke.

Anyway, I had 10 brown bananas in my fridge so I coerced my friend Ryan into making it with me this weekend – although I pretty sure he was on board when I said “banana bread”. You don’t need 10 bananas for one recipe, but you probably wish you did so that you can make another loaf…or two…or three…

Banana Bread (adapted from Flour Bakery)

1½ cups (210 grams) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
~ 2/3 cup (180 grams) sugar – the original recipe had a little more than 1 cup of sugar…I think you can adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you want it and how sweet your bananas are.
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
3 very ripe medium bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5-8 minutes.
4. Continue mixing and slowly drizzle in the oil. Be sure NOT to pour the oil in all at once; add it slowly so that it has time to incorporate into the eggs and doesn’t deflate the air you’ve just beaten into the batter.
5. Add the mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla and mix by hand until just combined. Fold in the dry ingredients and nuts until thoroughly combined, so there are no more flour streaks in the batter
6. Pour the batter into a 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, until the top of the banana bread is golden brown and springs back when you poke it in the middle. If your finger sinks when you poke it, it needs to bake a little longer.

The recipe said to let it cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then cool some more on the rack. We could only 5 minutes before digging in. Then again, we were shooting a rubber band at each other for 10 minutes while waiting for it to finish baking. Moral of the story: this banana bread is kid-proof and can be enjoyed hot out of the oven.

Dinner tonight: broccoli, garlic, chili flakes, parmesan. My broccoli didn’t quite form a sauce like the recipe I used said it would (I think I didn’t have enough oil, or water; or maybe I had too much broccoli..), but it was good nonetheless!

Recipe follows…

Pasta e broccoli (adapted from Serious Eats)

Pasta
1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes, or to taste
3 T  freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (I used Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the broccoli florets. Cook until tender, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking water before draining.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and red chile flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add broccoli and toss well in the oil, cooking until completely tender, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add pasta to the pan with the broccoli and toss well to coat. Add half the Parmesan and reserved pasta cooking water little by little until it creates a sauce that clings to the noodles. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with remaining Parmesan.

My friends Lily, Jack, Megan, and I made Chinese steamed buns a few weeks (but let’s be honest, it’s been more like a month) ago and I’m just finally getting around to posting the photos. (On a side note, I think I broke my SLR because all my photos are turning out blurry! Whoops )

We made 3 kinds of filling: chicken and shitake mushroom, Char-siu style TVP (vegan!), and lop cheong (Chinese sausage). They were all beyond delicious – I’m pretty sure we ate our way through the first batch in less than 5 minutes after they came out of the steamer, which is probably why I don’t have any photos of the chicken and lop cheong versions ;) Just kidding…but seriously.

Recipes/links follow…

For the dough (adapted from Just Hungry)

• 400g / 14 oz. all-purpose white flour
• 1 packet (7g) dry yeast
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil (such as canola, safflower)

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together well. Add the warm water a little at a time, mixing all the time, until it forms a shaggy ball. Add the oil and knead in the bowl until the dough cleans the sides. Place on a board (lightly floured if necessary) and knead until smooth. Form into a ball, place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave until risen to about 2 1/2 times its original size, about 1 hour.

Take out the dough and roll into one long sausage. Cut the dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover with a damp towel to prevent from drying out and let rest for a bit.

Char siu-style TVP Filling (adapted from veglicious)
1 c. textured vegetable protein – we got this from the bulk section of our local health food store
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 green onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. oyster sauce (mushroom-based)
1 tbs. bean paste
1 tbs. honey
4 tbs. water
1/4. tsp. sriracha (optional)
1 tbs. canola oil

Soak the TVP in the warm water for about 15 minutes, or until softened (it’ll depend on the size of your TVP.) Drain and set aside. Mix the sauce ingredients (soy sauce through sriracha) thoroughly and set aside.

Saute the green onions and garlic in the canola oil for a few seconds, then add the TVP. Stir over med-high heat for 1-2 minutes, then add the sauce mixture. Keep stirring and cook for 2-3 minutes more to caramelize a little. Pour into a dish and let cool.

Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Bao Filling (adapted from asiandumplingtips)

2 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
1/3 cup chopped shallot or red onion
2 large dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, reconstituted, and cut into small dice (1/4 cup) – you can get this at your local Asian grocery store
1/4 cup chopped garlic chives or scallion , green part only
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 or 2 pinches of salt
1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons egg white, lightly beaten
6 ounces coarsely ground or hand-chopped boneless, skinless chicken thigh
2 tablespoons cup coarsely chopped cilantro, leafy tops only
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (we used frozen)

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until they start to caramelize. Add the mushroom, sprinkle in 1 or 2 pinches of salt, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from the heat, stir in the garlic chives. Set aside to cool completely.

2. In a larger bowl, combine together the cooled vegetables, chicken, cilantro, and ginger.  Stir together, making sure the ingredients have commingled well.

3. In a small bowl, combine the 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and egg white. Beat with a fork to blend well. Pour over the chicken and vegetable mixture, and stir, fold, and mash everything together into a cohesive mixture.

4. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

To assemble:

Flatten each ball of dough so that the middle is slightly thicker than the edges. Put about a tablespoon or so of filling in the middle. Gather up the edges and pinch them firmly together to seal, then turn the bun over and place on a square of parchment paper. Alternatively, you can pinch together the edges, give it a little twist, and place the seal face up on the parchment paper to make your buns look like the one in the second photo. Let the buns rise for 15-20 minutes before steaming.

Steam in a steamer for 20 minutes. Eat while piping hot with a dollop of sriracha sauce.