Orange Honey Cake

This is my penultimate post as part of the 2018-19 Abrams Dinner Party, but I'm not done with these cookbooks. I will keep cooking and baking from my favorites moving forward. The cake this recipe comes from is one of those that will serve as an endless source of inspiration.

When I first went through Icing on the Cake by Tessa Huff, I had marked the pink lemonade cake to try. But then I ran out of strawberries, and then I ran out of butter. And then I didn't pay enough attention to the strawberry mixture and burned it, and that was the last of them. So I had to put the ideas aside for a week. But I kept thinking about this cake that had salted honey and orange together and it just seemed so perfect for spring, and when a co-worker announced her resignation I knew it would be a good one to bring for the goodbye break.

As laid out in the cookbook, this cake would have three 6-inch layers, a salted honey custard, an orange cake, and a honey buttercream. I think I've said before that I don't have three 6-inch cake pans, nor would I have a cake holder that would fit a cake that high if I did. So I was adapting this recipe to two 9-inch layers. This mean I wasn't sure it was worth making the salted honey custard for just one layer, but I do think it would have been a nice textural and taste contrast to the other two parts. I also didn't do the flower petal icing technique on the outside that she shows, choosing instead to borrow the side technique from the cake I originally intended to make, and use the rest of the remnants of that to just put a few things on top. I will only include the parts below that I used.

I was worried about the sweetness of the buttercream, which seemed very sweet when I first made it. But I made this cake two days before the party, and the buttercream the night before, and apart from two separate 15-minute periods where I put the cake in the fridge to set it, I left it out at room temperature. By the time I tasted the final product around lunchtime the next day, it all was lovely and mellow, but you could still taste the honey and orange. This may be the perfect tea party cake, or Easter, or baby or bridal shower. I know I will be making it again.

Orange Honey Cake
(adapted from the Orange Salted Honey Cake in Icing on the Cake)

For the Orange Butter Cake:
2 1/4 cups (295 g) cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest from about 2 large oranges
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh orange juice
2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks/170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs

For the Honey Buttercream:
4 large egg whites
2/3 cup (160 ml) honey
2/3 cup (135 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups (4 sticks/450 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Make the Orange Butter Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease and flour three 6-inch (15-cm) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, rub the orange zest and granulated sugar together between your fingertips until fragrant. In a separate bowl, stir together the orange juice and buttermilk.

In the bowl of a stand mixture with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the sugar-zest mixture and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer to medium-low and add the vanilla. Add the eggs one a t time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. Mix until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.

Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. After the last streaks of the flour mixture are incorporated, mix on medium for no more than 30 seconds.

Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely, right-side up, on the wire rack before removing the parchment. Level the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife as needed.

Make the Honey Buttercream
Put the egg whites, honey, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Gently whisk them by hand until just combined. In a medium saucepan, bring an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place the mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler (be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Whisking intermittently, heat the egg white mixture until it reaches 160 F (70 C) on a candy thermometer.

Carefully affix the mixer bowl to the stand mixture (it may be hot) and fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg white mixture on high for 8-10 minutes, or until it holds medium-stiff peaks and the outside of the bowl has returned to room temperature.

Turn the mixer down to low and add the vanilla. Add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stop the mixer and swap out the whisk for the paddle attachment.

Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat until the buttercream is silky smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

(Please see cookbook for assembly directions since I went rogue!)

This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party. 

Icing on the Cake came out April 2, 2019. 

Inside you will find recipes for beautiful and decadent cakes, cupcakes, pies, tarts, and even two styles of macarons. When I have some days off I plan to come back to this one and maybe try macarons again. So far they have eluded me but her directions are so clear!

Banana Pudding

Growing up in the northwest, we would have "a barbecue" and that might mean a picnic or gathering or potluck, whether it included meat or fire or not. Here where I live in the south, we would never use the word barbecue that way, and barbecue is serious business. In my state of South Carolina alone, there are four different bbq regions (with different sauces) and even a BBQ Trail Map. One of my coworkers has been trained as an official bbq judge. Only in the last few years have I even eaten meat, so I'm still learning about the difference in meat styles. But up to that point (and part of me may still believe this now) I thought that bbq was like Thanksgiving - it's important that the meat centerpiece is good but that people are more interested in the sides.

One side you see everywhere in the south is banana pudding, from seafood shacks to the finest dining establishments downtown (ten years ago I made Soby's White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie for friends visiting from Oregon, and I think that was intended as an elevated banana pudding.) But just like macaroni and cheese, a side-dish I also made from this same cookbook, you never eat the same pudding twice. Everyone has their own take, their own technique. This recipe has you assemble the pudding and bananas and cookies at the last minute, where many southerners would have had you put the pudding and cookies together overnight so everything is soft. Maybe we all find our own way.

Banana Pudding(from BBQ&A with Myron Mixon)

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
Dash of kosher salt
2 cups whole milk (do not use skim)
2 tbsp unsalted cold butter
2 tsp vanilla extract*
18 Nilla wafer cookies, coarsely crushed
3 ripe bananas, thinly sliced*

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, gradually bring the milk to a boil. Gradually whisk the milk into the egg yolk mixture until smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture (back) to the saucepan. Cook over moderate heat, whisking, until the pudding is thick, about 3 minutes. Scrape the pudding into a bowl and whisk in the cold butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours, or overnight.

When you are ready to serve the pudding: spoon the pudding into 6 bowls. Garnish with the thinly sliced bananas and sprinkle all over with the crushed Nilla wafers. Serve cold, right away.

Note: You can serve the cookies without crushing them - just allow 3 per bowl. You can also add a couple tbsp of banana or almond liqueur (or a combination of both) into the pudding mixture right after you transfer it to the saucepan.

*Notes from JennyBakes - I substitute banana liqueur for the vanilla because I've always thought it was strange that the only banana in banana pudding is the bananas! I wouldn't cut the bananas until right before serving, OR put them in a dish and smother with the pudding to chill, and top with the Nilla wafers so they get a little soft... this seems more standard for southern pudding. This recipes leaves the Nilla wafers pretty crunchy.

BBQ&A with Myron Mixon came out May 7, 2019, from ABRAMS Books, and has a lot of practical how-to information, diagrams too, that should be an asset to anyone wanting to up their barbecue game.

This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party.

Bread Pudding French Toast with Bacon and Rosemary-Orange Maple Syrup

Peter Sherman is the founder of BarBacon in NYC, a restaurant centered around bacon. His new cookbook, The Bacon Bible (by Peter Sherman with Stephanie Banyas,) came out April 23rd. It has a lot of what you might expect but also some surprises. I'm relatively new to eating meat again but of course one of the great pleasures of a meat eating life is bacon. BLTs! Cobb salad!  I wanted this bacon to be special so I bought local, from the Swamp Rabbit Butchery. 

I found I had marked a bunch but I kept coming back to this sweet and savory brunch recipe and decided to give it a try. Since not everyone in my household eats bacon, I made a half recipe by cutting everything in half and just using 4 eggs, and cutting back on cooking times a bit (20-25 minutes with the foil, 15 without) and it worked perfectly. The bacon is present but not overpowering, and overall the dish is not too sweet and has a lot of balance (don't skip the orange rosemary syrup which helps with this.)

Bread Pudding French Toast with Bacon and Rosemary-Orange Maple Syrup

Ingredients:
1 loaf semolina-golden raisin bread, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes*
7 large eggs
2 cups (400 g) sugar
2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 thin slices bacon, cooked until crisp, finely chopped

Rosemary-Orange Maple Syrup (recipe below)
Confectioners' Sugar for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spread the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until a pale golden blond color, turning once, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Increase the oven temperature to 350 F.

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter and nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Add the milk, cream, orange zest, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the bacon. Add the bread to the custard mixture and stir well to combine. Let the mixture sit, stirring a few more times, for 20 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed all the liquid.

Transfer the bread mixture to the prepared pan, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until puffed and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes longer.  Cut into squares and serve with the Rosemary-Orange Maple Syrup and a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar.

Rosemary-Orange Maple Syrup

1 cup pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
Zest of one large navel orange
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, zest, and rosemary, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep for thirty minutes. Remove the zest and rosemary and reheat before serving, if needed. Makes 1 cup.

*If you prefer your french toast made with brioche or challah, feel free to use either, just add 1/3 cup golden raisins and 1/4 tsp fennel seeds to the egg mixture. (Or if you're like me, just wing it... I found a challah with regular raisins and called it close enough.)

I had a few pieces of bacon leftover so I made chocolate covered bacon from the candy section of the cookbook.

Other recipes I've marked to try include:

Bacon Ramen
BarBacon Cobb
Skillet Pasta Carbonara
Peanut Butter and Bacon Bars

This post is sponsored by ABRAMS Books, as part of the ABRAMS Dinner Party.

Mexican Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

By the time you see this cake, it will be 364 days until the next Cinco de Mayo, so write it down and come back. Or make it sometime this summer, whatever the reason. It is super moist, not too sweet, and refreshing. I made a half recipe and baked in a 9x9 pan for 30 minutes and that worked out great!

Mexican Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

from Greens n Chocolate blog

Yields 9x13" cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

For the milk mixture:
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup chocolate milk


For the whipped cream topping:
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease 9x13" baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
3. Combine hot coffee and butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter is melted. If the butter doesn't melt all the way, microwave for 30 seconds.
4. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar, stirring until well combined.
5. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring until well combined.
6. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stirring until about halfway combined, then add coffee mixture, stirring until well combined.
7. Stir in chopped chocolate.
8. Pour batter into the pan.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with some loose crumbs on it.
10. Let the cake cool completely.
11. Once cake is cooled, combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and chocolate milk and stir well to combine.
12. Poke lots of holes in the cake with a toothpick or a fork - the more the better, so it soaks up all the milks!
13. Pour the milk mixture over the cake.
14. Refrigerate at least an hour.
15. Make whipped topping by combining heavy cream, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and whipping until stiff peaks form. I use my electric mixer for this but if you want a good arm workout - use a whisk and your arm!
16. Spread whipped topping over chilled cake.
17. Dust with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of more cayenne, if desired!
18. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is