Back in the Apron
Since the January diet, things have changed around here. There seems to be a direct proportional relationship between time spent in the kitchen and my waistline. The January diet was actually a very fast and easy diet. There were no elaborate food preparations or time-consuming mixing and measuring. Nope, it was mostly oven-roasting and sauteing, meat and vegetables. No sauces, no starches, maybe a drizzle of oil or a sprinkling of spices, but that was it. Even though the J-diet ended six weeks ago, I've been too busy to get back in the habit of spending a lot of time in the kitchen. That, plus the incredibly shrinking waistline and the superlative blood work results have kept us on a slightly less-restrictive version of the January diet.
Baking is my stress reliever. More than I like eating baked goods (which I do, oh yes!), I find it relaxing to be in my tiny kitchen with ocean-blue walls, mixing, measuring, stirring, making a delicious mess and tantalizing smells. Perhaps I like the alchemy, starting with various amounts of dissimilar ingredients, mashing them all together and heating them until I have a final product that tastes good. Whatever the reason, though I've enjoyed having more free time to pursue other projects, I miss baking.
Saturday afternoon, I donned my apron and returned to the kitchen. First I baked a dark chocolate pound cake for a party that night. I don't think I shared the recipe the last time I made this cake. It's awesome. See for yourself:
Dark Chocolate Pound CakeI chopped the dark chocolate instead of grating it, so there were pieces of chocolate in the cake, which I like. Add mini chocolate chips for an even more decadent and delicious cake.
3 c. flour
¾ c. cocoa (I used dark chocolate cocoa, usually available only around Christmas)
½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1-½ c. unsalted butter, softened
3 c. sugar
5 large eggs
1-¼ c. milk
4 oz. dark chocolate, grated
1 T. vanilla
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Fresh berries and mint sprigs, optionalPreheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 10-c, 10” tube pan.
In sifter, mix flour, cocoa, powder and salt. Sift into large bowl.
In large bowl, with mixer at high, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
Alternately beat in flour mixture (in fourths) and milk (in thirds), beginning with flour. Beat in grated chocolate and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan, spreading top evenly; bake 1 hour + 15 minutes (rotating halfway through if your oven has hot spots) or until tests done.
Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto rack. Cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Garnish with berries and mint if desired.
Serves 16.
While that baked, I also made a loaf of my grandmother's banana bread (winner of the Ultimate Snackdown Banana Bread Battle) to take with me to Mexico. I usually take a loaf of her bread with me to Mexico because it travels well (frozen) and is a quick and easy breakfast. This time, I lightened the recipe from the Snackdown version, replacing the sugar with Splenda and substituting applesauce for half of the oil. The batter tasted as good as it always does, but the bread didn't rise very much. Oh well, more room in my suitcase!
To be continued...