Vanilla Buttermilk Cake (Foodie Book Club: A Homemade Life)

As I mentioned earlier (when I made bouchons au thon), this month's selection for the Foodie Book Club was A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette.

If you are not familiar, this book is an autobiography of Molly's life. Each short chapter tells a story and ends with a recipe. The stories span from her childhood to college to Paris to her father's death and finally her romance with her now husband Brandon, whom she met through her blog. I think what I love most about this book is although it is definitely about food, it is actually more about the people in her life. Each recipe is tied to a specific person or a specific memory and Molly invites you into her world and describes it so well that the recipes end up being an added bonus.

And what an added bonus they are! The first time I read the book last summer it seemed that at the end of every chapter I was making a mental note: "Must make this soon!" Soon, I was wondering if I would come across anything I wouldn't want to make. Since then, I have made several recipes from this book, as well as her blog, and not a single one has been disappointing. I made her Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger at Christmas, the Tarte Tatin, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, roasted rhubarb, the bouchons au thon earlier this month, countless others I can't recall at the moment, but mostly, her Buckwheat Pancakes.

The Buckwheat Pancakes have become my go-to pancake recipe. I make them maybe once every month or two (in fact, I made them this morning before dropping my little sister off at the airport). I almost always make them with sliced bananas and sometimes, when I'm feeling indulgent, a few dark chocolate chips. But that was a complete tangent. I'm not writing about those pancakes today, but the Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Creme Fraiche.

I made creme fraiche for the bouchons au thon and knew I would have some leftover. I happened to flip past this recipe and decided it would be the perfect way to put that extra creme fraiche to use, along with the buttermilk I used to make the creme fraiche in the first place. It fit perfectly. Molly's version actually includes glazed oranges, but I decided to omit them. The cake turned out perfectly. Tangy, light and not too sweet. Molly says that it is best on the day it's made, but leftovers "make a nice 'dessert' after breakfast." I actually kept the cake around for maybe even 5 days. It did dry out slightly but was still delicious. I wasn't sure about this after-breakfast dessert thing, but every mid-morning that the cake was around, I found myself cutting off a thin slice, so I think she was definitely onto something.


(The macaroons pre-chocolate ganache)

Just as the bouchons led to this cake, this cake led to Molly's coconut macaroons with chocolate ganache. The cake calls for 4 egg yolks, leaving you with just enough egg whites for her recipe, which yielded rich, chewy sweet macaroons dipped in a bittersweet chocolate ganache. A definite must if you make this cake and are feeling naughty enough to go for something indulgent instead of the usual healthy Leftover Egg White Omelet.

All in all, I am a huge fan of Molly/Orangette. We are actually going to Seattle for our honeymoon and I am definitely making sure we eat at Delancy (her and Brandon's restaurant) while we are in town!



Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Creme Fraiche
From Molly Wizenburg's A Homemade Life

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 cups cake flour (I was too lazy to make my own and used whole wheat pastry instead)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

Creme fraiche (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Line with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and set aside.

Put the sugar in a medium mixing bowl and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl. Use your fingers to rub the seeds into the sugar and break up any clumps. Add the flor, baking powder, and salt and beat at a low speed for a few seconds to combine.

Cut the butter into pieces and add to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the buttermilk. Beat on low until moist and then medium to combine for about one minute. Add the egg mixture in 3 doses and beat well inbetween each addition. The batter will be thick, airy, smooth, and pale.



Pour into the ban and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and then cool completely. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Irish Car Bomb Cake

I have a thing for baking cakes.

Especially cakes with two layers or more. A cake with one layer is no cake at all. I get a intense feeling of satisfaction after successfully leveling each layer, spreading the filling, placing the last layer on top, and frosting the whole thing up. I'm not sure where it came from. It might be from the memory from my childhood when I tried to turn my parent's anniversary cake into a layer cake. I made it out of a boxed cake mix and baked it in a large rectangular pan. One of my best friends was over and we decided it would be cool to cut the rectangle in half and make a two-layered version. Disaster ensued. We ended up putting all the pieces back in the pan (at this point there were more than 2) and frosting over it, with a big cross to cover up our incisions. It. was. not. pretty.

So last summer when I decided to make a layer cake for my graduation party, I was very scared and convinced it was going to be incredibly tricky. Maybe if I had not thought it was such a big deal, I wouldn't have been so pleased when it came out perfectly. And then maybe I wouldn't dream of all the different flavors and fillings I could make or spend hours looking at recipes, dying for an excuse to start preheating the oven.

This week, I did just that. A cake version of the popular drink: the Irish Car Bomb. Chocolate Cake made with Guinness. Chocolate ganache with a hint of Irish whiskey. Buttercream froting made with Irish Cream. This is not your kids' birthday cake. It is an adult cake. Rich and chocolaty with a hint of booze. What more could you ask for?



Irish Car Bomb Cake
Adapted from here and here

Cake:
1 cup Guinness (or any stout)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Filling:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (I only had unsweetened, so I used 4 oz and added sugar to taste, about 4 tbsp)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 tsp Irish whiskey

Frosting:
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3-4 tbsp Baileys or milk (I used both milk and caramel flavored irish cream since we already had a bottle)

(I ended up making 1.5x the recipe because I'm better at cake frosting if I have more to work with. I had some leftover so you could probably get away with using the recipe itself.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans.

In a saucepan, simmer the stout and butter over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt. In a separate bowl, blend the eggs and the sour cream. Then beat in the chocolate-stout mixture until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Divide between the cake pans and bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 300 and bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, about 15 more minutes.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a saucepan or double boiler. Add in the cream, butter, and whiskey and mix until smooth. Allow to cool until thick. You can put in the refrigerator to speed up the process, but make sure you stir it occasionally.



For the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, fully incorporating it each time. I usually don't measure it out, just taste it frequently and stop when I think it is sweet enough. Then beat in the milk and/or Bailey's.

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake

Sometimes, a girl really needs some chocolate cake.

Sometimes, the girl is out of some of the integral chocolate cake ingredients, like eggs and butter. But don't worry, she has....avocados?

Wait a minute, please. Don't stop reading. I know it sounds a bit strange. I had the same thoughts when I randomly saw this on Joy the Baker's recipe index. But I was intrigued. And out of eggs.

Maybe what you need to do to accept this combination is reimagine your idea of an avocado. Yes, the first thing you might think of when you see an avocado is guacamole, but take a step back. The avocado is a fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, oranges, bananas...they all get to hang out with chocolate all the time. They never invite the avocado. The avocado feels left out. It's sad. But it doesn't need to be. One bite of this cake and you will agree with me. Really, I promise.

And yes, that is also avocado frosting. It is not bad. It does taste like avocados, but also like sugar. Lots of sugar. It's probably not a combination you've ever tasted before and if you don't like something about this cake, it would probably be the frosting. It's probably not for everyone, but I like it. The cake, however, is delicious and you cannot taste the avocado at all. Feel free to swap the avocado frosting for chocolate or vanilla or whatever your frosting of choice may be. But if you ever find yourself sans eggs, plus avocado, don't be afraid! Let the avocado have some fun for once.



Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker

3 cups white whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose or whole wheat pastry if you would prefer)
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/t tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup walnut oil (you can also use vegetable oil)
1 medium mashed avocado (use the ripest avocado possible)
2 cups water
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:
2 medium, very soft avocados, mashed
2 tsp lemon juice
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans (8 or 9 inches).

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed avocado, water, oil, and vinegar. Then add the sugar. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once and beat with a whisk until smooth.

Pour batter into the cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on wire racks before frosting.



While the cake is in the oven, put the mashed avocados for the frosting into a bowl with the lemon juice. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Then add the powdered sugar a little at a time and mix until incorporated.