Spice Cake

A family friend has their birthday today and according to my sources they *LUV LUV LUV* spice cake.  After perusing the web for a while I found a few themes, or key ingredients, that I think are required,  For a good spice cake it must contain buttermilk for richness.  It should also have a combination of butter and oil for moistness and mouthfeel.  The spices should not only have more cinnamon than other spices but also contain clove, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.  Last but not least it should be made with brown or raw sugar instead of granulated.  I supposed you could always add molasses to get the same feel, but why add another ingredient when it is not necessary?

SPICE CAKE

1 stick butter (1/2 c)
2 c raw sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 c olive oil
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t clove
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1/8 t chipotle
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
3 c cake flour

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Preheat oven to 350

2)  Cream butter in stand mixer

3)  Cream raw sugar into butter

4)  Slowly add eggs into mixture one at a time

5)  Add oil in slowly

6)  Add in cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger, chipotle, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla

7)  Slowly mix in buttermilk

8)  Mix flour in 1 cup at a time

9)  Grease and flour your pan

10)  Bake for about 1 hour until a toothpick comes out clean

SUGGESTED FROSTING

There are several different flavors for the frosting, but the only acceptable frosting is a cream cheese buttercream.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb creamcheese
2 sticks butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 T desired flavor (vanilla, maple, orange, orange zest, rum, etc...)

BROWNIES and RUM BALLS

This year in my Christmas boxes I am making Rum Balls.  I was disappointed when I discovered my dear grandmothers recipe called for Nilla Wafers held together by corn syrup.  I was more disappointed when I discovered that was the standard.  Do not get my wrong I LOVE my grandmothers Rum Balls.  I just can not bring myself to using a commercial cookie filled with all kinds of crap when I am making goodies to send them to my loved ones.  Realistically I could have just make sugar cookies or shortbread for the base but I, being who I am, decided to find something that would be closer to the origination of Rum Balls.  That it starts with a cookie tells me that it was a way of not letting stale baked goods go to waste.  That is when I found Martha Stewart's Rum Ball recipe.  She made it with Brownies and Rum.  It made perfect sense, after all all of the Rum Ball recipes I found also had chocolate.  I had to scour the web to make certain it was not a fluke.  No I do not think it is likely that they originated with brownies.  But, I do think they were stale confections mashed up with rum and the chocolate aspect may have been added later.

This post will have recipes for both Brownies and Rum Balls.

The brownie recipe I am posting is not an original.  It has some modifications from a recipe I have had for over 20 years.  But it makes some of the best brownies I have ever had.

BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

1 c butter
1 c coffee (hot)
1/4 c cocoa powder
2 c flour

2 c raw sugar

1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t baking soda
1/2 T vanilla

DIRECTIONS
1)  preheat oven to 400
2)  mix coco powder into coffee and bring to boil
3)  pour coffee & cocoa mixture over butter to melt it
4)  mix buttermilk and rum into coffee and cocoa (this shall now be called liquids)
5)  in mixing bowl beat eggs until light and fluffy
6)  mix sugar into eggs until thick and creamy
7)  mix liquids into egg mixture until smooth
8)  sift together flour and baking soda and add to combined ingredients being careful not to over mix.
9)  pour into a well buttered 11x17 pan and bake for 20 minutes
10)  cool and frost if desired then serve

Timpano

I have no idea how I have not published this recipe yet.  Timpano, Italian for little drum, is a decadent and fun casserole/pie.  I do love it.  When I make it I usually make several small batches and freeze them because it is a fair bit of work.  You could also make the components over a few days.

TIMPANO

INGREDIENTS

FILLING
I love to layer 3 meats, 3 cheese, 3 pastas, and a red sauce inside the crust.
Meats:  1 lb meatballs
             1 lb hot italian sausage
             1/2 lb peperoni or salami, thinly sliiced
Cheese:1 lb mozzerella
            1/2 lb ricotta
            1/2 lb romano, or other hard italian cheese
Pasta:  1/2 lb spaghetti
            1/2 lb tube pasta like rigatoni
            1/2 lb tortilini or other small filled pasta
Sauce  48 oz tomato sauce
            1 large red onion
            8 oz crimini mushrooms
            1 T garlic
            1/2 T salt
             1 T crushed red pepper flake
            1/2 T marjoram
            1 T basil
            1/2 T oregano
            1/2 T thyme
            1 T fennel

Crust-a good crust makes all the difference.  It took several tries to make it just right.
           4 c flour
           2 t baking powder
           2 t salt
           1 c milk
           1 c olive oil
           2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BISCOTTI-gluten free

 I have long held that Juilia's Biscotti could be made with almond flour.  Before today, I have never tried it.

This comes from my beloved mother in law.   This biscotti will last for a week easily, if you don't eat it all first. It has only lasted more than a few days in my house because it was misplaced. INGREDIENTS 1/2 c butter 2 T olive oil 3 egg yolks 3 eggs 1 1/2 c sugar ( I prefer the rich flavor of raw sugar) 1 T anise seed 2 t vanilla 6 c almond flour 1 c cocoa powder 1 c almonds 1 bag dark chocolate chips 5 t baking powder  3/4 t salt DIRECTIONS 1)  preheat oven to 375 2)  melt butter and cool by adding olive oil 3)  beat eggs until soft and foamy 4)  mix sugar into eggs until thickened and lemon color 5)  mix in oil butter mixture then slowly add chocolate chips, almonds, vanilla and almond 6)  sift together almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt then mix into wet ingredients in about 3 additions 7)  divide dough into half and like cookie sheet with parchment paper 8)  form two long, flat bars the length of the cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes 9)  cut each bar crossways into 16 cookies and lay on cut sides then bake for 10 more minutes 10)  cool and serve This is very rich.   The texture is just a bit different, but not in a bad way.