Red Velvet Cake

My brother, Will, is not a baker. He is also not cook. He never has been. Sometimes he sautés onions and garlic together to eat over pasta, but that's about the extent of his kitchen skills- or so I thought. My mom and I were shocked when he went to the grocery store yesterday (thats a shocker to begin with!!) and came home with a bunch of ingredients for some kind of dessert. He wouldn't tell us what it was, but, whatever it was, he wanted to make it completely by himself. My brother ended up baking one of the best red velvet cakes I have ever had in my life completely from scratch.

Red Velvet Cake:
Vegetable oil for the pans
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crushed pecans for garnish

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. Let cool completely in the pans. Once cooled, carefully turn the cakes out onto separate plates or cooling racks.

To make the frosting, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter with a mixer on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy, occasionally scraping down the bowl. Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using.

To frost the cake, place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a cake stand or plate. Spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. Spread enough frosting to make about a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans.

Recipe by: Cakeman Raven, Cakeman Raven Confectionery, NYC

Chocolate Caramel Puffs

On Sunday, I had my whole afternoon free and was looking for a challenge, so I searched for difficult recipes online. When I came across this recipe for chocolate caramel puffs, I knew I had found the challenge I was looking for. It combines two difficult recipes, one for homemade caramel and the other for a choux pastry, into one magnificent dessert. The fluffy, lighter-than-air chocolate pastry is filled with a rich chocolate and caramel ganache. If that doesn't scream "chocolate lovers' fantasy", then I don't know what does.
However, this recipe is not for the inexperienced baker or for those who are pressed with time. If you are confident in your baking skills and don't have any major plans for a few hours (and are up to the challenge), then this recipe may be for you.

Pastry:
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs

Chocolate Caramel Ganache:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pastry:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl or large piece of wax paper. Set aside until needed.
Heat the water, butter, and sugar in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted and the mixture is hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and add the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, stir until the flour is completely incorporated and mixture comes together in a ball. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and stir vigorously to thoroughly incorporate each egg before adding the next. (At first, the eggs won't want to combine, but if you keep mixing energetically, they will eventually incorporate)
Scoop into level tablespoons and place on 2 non-stick baking sheets, 12 evenly spaced portions per sheet. Place the sheets on the top and center racks of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sheets and turning them 180 degrees around halfway through. Remove the puffs from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Caramel Ganache:
Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.
Heat the heavy cream and two tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to keep the cream hot, but not simmering until needed.
Combine the sugar and lemon juice in a 3 quart saucepan. Stir with a whisk to combine. Caramelize the sugar over medium-high heat for about 7-8 minutes. Use your best judgement with the temperature and time to keep it from burning. Sometimes, I have to remove the mixture from the heat and whisk vigorously to keep it from burning, then replace it on the heat again. When the sugar is light brown and smooth, remove from heat. Bring the cream to a simmer again***, then carefully add one ladle-full of the hot cream to the caramelized sugar. Use a wooden spoon to stir the caramel until it stop bubbling.
(If your cream is not hot enough, the caramel will harden into a ball and will not combine with the cream. If this happens, put the mixture back on the stove and heat until the caramel is melted again, and stir until it combines with the cream. Be careful not to let it burn).
Add the remaining cream and stir until smooth. Immediately pour the hot caramel over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes before stirring. Stir the mixture until smooth and shiny. Refrigerate the ganache until just slightly firm, but not too hard. If the ganache is too firm, it will be difficult to fill the pastries with it.

With a sharp knife, cut each puff in half horizontally. Fill the bottom half of each puff with about 1 tablespoon of ganache and sandwich the top half of the puff onto the bottom half.

Recipe from: Marcel Desaulniers

Aloo Mutter

Cooking Indian food can seem intimidating at times, and sometimes it really is. However, this dish is pretty simple. Even though its pretty quick and easy to handle, it certainly doesn't lack flavor. The cumin gives the curry a bold base while the turmeric adds beautiful color and appealing aroma. This dish is warm and hearty, and is sure to please almost anyone.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp whole cumin seed
½ cup sliced red onion
2 medium tomatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
¼ tsp ground turmeric
3 medium red potatoes, about 1 pound
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup water
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
½ tsp Garam Masaala

Cut the potatoes into about 2-inch pieces and cook until almost done, around 7 minutes. Remove from the hot water into a colander and run cold water over the potatoes until they are cooled.
Add the oil to a 2 quart saucepan and add the cumin seed. Heat over medium to medium-high heat and let the cumin sizzle for about 15-30 seconds, making sure the pan does not become too hot. Carefully add the onions (if the pan is too hot, the oil may splatter) and stir fry until they are golden brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. Stir fry until the tomatoes are softened.
Stir in the remaining ingredients except the Garam Masaala. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes, then uncover and let simmer for 5 more minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the Garam Masaala when you are ready to serve.

Recipe from Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking by Raghavan Iyer

Long Rise Pizza

This week was the first full week of summer break and now that I have all this extra time, why not make long rise pizza dough? When I first made this dough, I didn't anticipate how long it would actually take. I started mixing it together about 4 in the afternoon, but the pizza wasn't ready until around 10 that night! Late night pizza is a great summer meal for us night-owls because we can stay up late and sleep in. However, if you're a morning bird, I would suggest starting the pizza dough in the morning. That way, it will be ready by dinner time. Either way, this dough is just as easy as any other pizza dough, but richer. The great flavor comes from the sponge and the long rising time.

Sponge:
¼ cup warm water
1 tbsp quick rise, or one ¼ oz. package active dry yeast
¼ cup all purpose or bread flour.

Dough:
1¾ cup warm water
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
4¾ to 5¾ cups all purpose or bread flour

Pizza:
Dough
Desired Sauce and Toppings
Cornmeal

To make the sponge:
Combine the ¼ cup warm water, yeast, and ¼ cup flour in a large mixing bowl and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes. The more time the sponge has to sit, the more flavor there will be in the dough.

To make the dough:
Add the water to the sponge and stir with a whisk until the sponge is completely broken up and dissolved into the water. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir to blend. Add the salt and stir until it dissolves.
Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until 4¾ cups have been added. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
**If the dough is too sticky to work with, add a little more flour. However, be careful never to add too much flour to the dough. Too much flour will create a dense and tough rather than a light and fluffy crust. It's better that the dough be a little on the sticky side rather than on the dry side**

Once the dough is smooth, shape it into a ball. Add the two teaspoons of olive oil to a LARGE bowl and put the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat completely with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for 5-8 hours.
**yep, 5-8 hours. During that time, the dough will almost triple in size and develop the rest of its rich flavor!**

5-8 hours later, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Punch down the dough and turn it onto a LIGHTLY floured work surface. Divide the dough into halves or thirds, depending on how thick/thin you like your crust or how big you are making your pizza. Shape each portion into a disk and cover with a damp towel while you prepare your sauce and toppings.
**From here, you can wrap the dough in a plastic bag and freeze it. Remember to remove dough from the freezer about 45 minutes before using it**

Coat your pizza pan with a thin layer of cornmeal. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the pan. Place your dough disk in the middle of your pizza pan and spread it out using your fingers, do not roll with a rolling pin. On the edges, pull about an inch or two of dough over the edge and roll it over itself, creating the rolled outer border. Poke small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent it from puffing while it's baking. Bake your pizza until the crust is almost done, 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your dough.
Take out of the oven, add your desired sauce and toppings and return to the oven until the cheese has melted.

Recipe based off of "Long Rise Pizza Dough" from The Doughmakers Cookbook by Bette Laplante and Diane Cuvelier.