TWD: Date Nut Loaf

Why yes, don't mind if I do.

Dates are one of those foods that I was convinced I hated, probably because of their visual association with prunes--oh, I'm sorry, dried plums. Yeah, good luck with that rebranding, prune industry.

Anyhow, I was certain that they were sticky and gooey and gross and I didn't like them. And when I first had dates, I didn't. They were probably a little past their prime, and they were sort of dry and sickly-sweet without a lot of flavor. Life's too short for bad dates, ifyaknowwhatImean.

But then a marvelous thing happened. I moved to Los Angeles--yep, still hung up on this city--and started shopping at a supermarket with a large Armenian food section. And what that means, in addition to a mind-boggling selection of feta cheese and yogurt, is that I was exposed to first-class dates for the first time. These are soft, juicy, hunka hunka burnin' love dates, bursting with flavor and absolutely delicious.

I finally understood that "nature's candy" wasn't just a lie made up by my mom to get me to stop mainlining sugar. Nature's candy exists, and it goes by the name of dates.


For the most part, I don't do much with my dates. (Sooo many possible ways to go with that sentence. Let's stick to the culinary, shall we?) I tend to eat them plain, as a pre-running snack. If I'm feeling frisky I'll split them and fill them with nut butter for some added flavor and calories. But I haven't baked with them much, until now.


This Date-Nut Loaf was really more like a poundcake than any sort of bread, quick or otherwise. It had a really tight, cakey crumb and a lovely flavor from the vanilla and almond extracts. When they baked, the date pieces almost melted and became little pockets of sweetness scattered throughout the cake, broken up by the crunch of toasted walnuts.

My favorite way to eat this cake was to cut a thick slice and toast it, then spread it with sweet butter. I imagine this would also be amazing with some fresh ricotta on top, or a little bit of creme fraiche and honey. I can also see this making a killer trifle--the texture is just right for layering with whipped cream, mousse or curd. Full recipe plus pics can be found on Mary's blog.

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TWD: Chocolate-Orange Marbled Loaf Cake

Ahhh it feels good to be back in the warm embrace of Tuesdays with Dorie. I've taken more than a few weeks off lately, and although it was necessary, it's so nice to be back in a routine, blogging with some of my favorite people!

Fun fact: this week's recipe, a Marbled Loaf Cake, looks an awful lot like my first TWD post ever, for Black & White Banana Loaf! I remember that bread being a-mazing, although I do think the pictures have improved around here since then...

I flavored half of the batter chocolate, and added orange oil and orange zest to the other half, to make a subtly scented orange-chocolate loaf. Haters gonna hate, but I'll always love the orange-chocolate combo.

I had too much batter for my loaf pan, so with the extra I made the sweetest little 3" mini loaf. It was actually better than the full-sized one (didn't get as brown and crusty on top) and I wish I'd baked all mini loaves. The tiny tin is from Sur la Table.

This is a soft, fine-crumbed cake that seems perfect for afternoon tea, or a light dessert with maybe a touch of lightly whipped cream and some berries on top. You can find the recipe at Carol's blog, The Bake More.

Thanks also for the well-wishes about my big race last weekend! It was kind of epic. There were high highs and low lows, but overall it was wonderful and I finished feeling great, even though I couldn't stomach all of the chia I'd packed. By the end, I just wanted brownies and Coke. (Which, PS, is a very bad combination. Learn from my mistakes.)

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TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

Whew! Whadda day. Everything about this Tuesdays with Dorie post snuck up on me, from the actual baking of the oatmeal breakfast bread to the posting of this here very blog post. Apologies, but I was busy doing very important things like making the world's largest Tootsie Roll:


Whadda Roll.

Aaaaaanyhow, back to the oatmeal breakfast bread. Here's the truth: I like my breakfasts healthy and my desserts deadly, and rarely should the twain meet. This way, I can gorge on all the warm chocolate-chip cookies I want in the evening, but console myself with the memory of the virtuous oatmeal or egg-white scramble I had for breakfast. So a recipe that commingles these two very distinct categories?

Ehhhh.


This oatmeal breakfast bread was fairly healthy, as far as baking projects go. Some of the oil was replaced by applesauce, and oatmeal stood in for some white flour. I added pecans, dried apricots, dried cherries, and--okay, you caught me--just a handful of mini chocolate chips. I'm not made of stone, people.

I thought the oatmeal gave it a lovely chewy, moist texture once it had cooled down, and all the different dried fruits and nuts were great additions. But I have to say, it was just a bit too healthy-tasting for me. My favorite part was the cinnamon-sugar-pecan crust on top, which I think cancels out most of the healthy attributes.


So although I think there's lots to love about this bread, it's just not my bag, baby. We'll keep eating Ginormous Tootsie Rolls around here, and leave the healthy breads to the other folks.

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The Best Idea I've Had All Year

Last week I was invited to a fondue party. It was all of my favorite things in one room: friends, melted chocolate, and an immense smorgasbord of bite-sized dippable goodies. What a world we live in, that communal chocolate-dipping is a socially accepted--even celebrated--ritual!

For the fondue party, we were all asked to bring some sort of dipper. I wanted to bring something besides fruit or pound cake, as those are classics I was sure someone else would gladly cover. I debated between homemade marshmallows (good), gourmet rice crispy treats (gooder), until I settled on the most genius idea I have ever had in my life:

BANANA BREAD


I am here to tell you that the combination of moist, fragrant, spiced banana bread and melted chocolate is pure bliss. But you don't have to go to the trouble of whipping up a batch of chocolate fondue to recreate the experience. Adding chocolate chips to your banana bread is almost as good, and it's a heck of a lot easier to transport in lunches and things.


I don't want to be immodest, but this was truly one of the better things I've baked so far this year. As soon as I tasted it, I wondered why I wasn't baking banana bread on a weekly basis--it's that good. Moist, flavorful, with a hint of cinnamon and--let's be honest--way more than a hint of chocolate, I couldn't stop nibbling and picking at it. The recipe is right after the jump...


Moist Banana Bread
Yield: 2 large loaves

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil (I used half vegetable, half coconut--you can use all veg)
3 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (about 5-6 large)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 cups mix-ins like toasted nuts, chocolate chips, etc (optional)

Spray 2 9x5 loaf pans well with nonstick spray, dust lightly with flour, tap out any excess flour. Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, set aside.

Beat together eggs and sugars in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and any mix-ins thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

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TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread

This week's Cocoa-Nana bread had me all excited. I like the chocolate-banana combo (although I was surprised to hear how many people hate it), I loooove adding chocolate chips to banana bread or banana muffins, and we all know banana cake is best when topped with chocolate-sour cream frosting. And my very first TWD recipe was for her chocolate marbled banana loaf, which is still one of my very favorites. So basically, all this bread had to do was wink at me from the corner and I was prepared to love it forever.
However, this bread was the rarest of all specimens: the baked good that looks better than it tastes. Charlatan.
I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either, and I was so ready to love it. Mostly I guess my taste buds were confused. The banana flavor wasn't very prominent, so I mostly just tasted the chocolate. And the texture was more like a cake than a quick bread, but because of all the cocoa it wasn't sweet enough to be chocolate cake. What...who...how...huh?

[How cute are sea otters?! That is all.]

The one thing this bread did have going for it was big chunks of chocolate. The nice folks at Dove sent me a Valentine's package with their milk and dark chocolate hearts, so I chopped up a bunch of those (a wee bit more than the recipe calls for, perhaps. Ahem.) and they added some nice pockets of melted chocolate for my tasting pleasure.

(Also, did you know that they're currently partnering with Martha Stewart, and inside each wrapper is a Martha-approved tip for making your Valentine's picture-perfect? Some are rather smurfy, but some are going to be used as weapons of husband hypnosis to ensure that I'm spoiled this holiday. Red roses in bud vases arranged in the shape of a heart, here I come!)

So yes. This week was a reluctant thumbs down for me, but it did remind me of how much I loved the marbled banana bread, so I may go ahead and make that and call it a success after all.

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TWD: Mango Bread

Mango bread? Never heard of it! Apparently it's a Southern thang. After making mango bread for the first time this week, I think it's going to be a regular thing--sorry, thang--around my house from now on, because I totally dug it! Here are the main flavor components of mango bread:
Yes, the dreaded raisins strike again. Why anyone would want shriveled grape carcasses in their delicious spiced mango bread is beyond me, but never fear--I left them out and was all the happier for it.

I'm a big fan of most quick breads--banana bread and pumpkin bread are both high on my list of fast and easy desserts/snacks/breakfasts/etc. This bread was very similar in texture to banana bread, right down to the amazing crackly, sugary crisp top layer. I pretty much never eat the bottom half of these breads, but could devour the top half in one sitting. If anyone ever opens a Seinfeld-esque Top of the Muffin bakery, for reals, I would be their biggest customer.I was surprised at how subtle the mango flavor was in the final product, since there was a lot of mango added. But it seemed to blend in very nicely during the baking, and I thought the balance of ginger, lime, and mango flavors was perfect. My one quibble with the recipe would be the pan size, since I got the Mt. Vesuvious of bread eruptions in my oven from using an 8.5 x 4.5 pan. I really debated using the pan, since it seemed so small (oh hindsight, call me next time!) but decided to follow the recipe, like a sucker. Next time, my larger 9.5 pan for sure.
One last note, because I think I have some Eddie Izzard fans reading. He does one particular sketch where he's talking about making breakfast, and he sings about "freshly squeeeezed mango juuuuice!" and that phrase has been on a loop in my head every time I think about this bread, only it goes, "Freshly baaaaked mango breeeead!" And um, I don't really know how to finish this anecdote, because I guess it isn't really that funny out of context. The end.

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Lemon Tea Cake

I am in love with citrus desserts. My obsession usually takes the form of chocolate-orange concoctions, but I have been known to binge on lemon treats now and again. So when I saw this drool-worthy recipe for Lemon Tea Cake on Sugarchef's blog, it immediately moved to the top of my Must-Bake List.This bread has a triple hit of lemon flavor. There's a lot of lemon zest and juice in the loaf itself, and then after baking the warm loaves are soaked with a lemon sugar syrup, and the whole thing is finished with a tart lemon glaze. People, this is lemon heaven. After their lemon-syrup bath

When freshly baked, these cakes have a very soft crumb, a vibrant lemon flavor, and a cakey texture. I froze several loaves (they freeze beautifully) and upon defrosting, the texture was a bit more like a poundcake or loaf bread. They're absolutely delicious as an indulgent breakfast, or with ice cream for dessert.

This recipe makes two large loaves, but I opted to make one large loaf and three small ones. The minis are a perfect size for snacking, and they'd make an adorable hostess or holiday gift.

I actually defrosed a loaf this week for a quickie dessert. I was making pizzas on the grill (fabulous, by the way, it's one of my favorite summer rituals) and I threw some fresh nectarines on the grill along with the pizzas. I served the warm nectarines with a slice of lemon cake and a generous helping of leftover chocolate sauce from August's eclairs experiment. It sounds busy, but it was really phenomenal: the rich chocolate, the fragrant, tart cake, the juicy nectarines--three complex elements merged into one simple dessert. Perfection.




LEMON TEA CAKE
8 Ounces Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Lemon Zest (use a microplane for fine zest)
4 Large Eggs (room temperature)
3 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Four
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed and strained)
3/4 Cup Buttermilk (room temperature)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For the Syrup
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed and strained)

For the Frosting
2 Cups Powdered Sugar (sifted)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed and strained)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line with parchment paper two 8 1/2" X 4 1/2" loaf pans. [I used one 9x5 pan and three mini loaf pans.]

Put the 2 cups sugar and the lemon zest in a bowl and rub it between your fingers to release all the lemon oil into the sugar.
Cream the butter and the 2 cups lemon-sugar in the bowl of a 5 quart stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, scraping a couple of times. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to incorporate.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter between the pans. There was about 1 pound 9 ounces batter per pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when checking. Do not overbake.

While the tea cake is baking combine the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the syrup thickens slightly. Set aside to cool.

When the tea cakes are done remove them from the oven and let them cool for about 15 minutes before inverting them. Poke holes in the bottom of the tea cakes with a thin skewer, then ladle the syrup over the holes to soak in a little. Turn the tea cakes over and ladle the remaining syrup over the tops of the tea cakes. Let cool completely before frosting them.

While the tea cakes are cooling make the frosting. Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a smooth but slightly loose frosting. Pour over the cooled cakes and let sit at room temperature for the frosting to crust over. Cakes can be frozen or refrigerated, simply wrap them tightly in several layers of cling wrap.

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