This week I am the host of the Weekend Herb Blogging, that is already in its 3rd Year, created by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen and now Kalyn has passed it on to Haalo, of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. I am already very curious about the entries of the fellow foodies out there!
Here is what you have to do: prepare a recipe using herbs, vegetables, plants, edible flowers or fruit on your own blog, and email the link over to me ( friedblogs [at] gmail [dot] com) before Sunday the 14th December.The rules:
Post about any herb, plant, fruit, vegetable or flower - read the rules to ensure that your post does qualify. Please include a link to both this post and to Haalo’s announcement post.
Send an email to friedblogs AT gmail DOT com with WHB#162 in the subject line and the following details:
Your Name
Your Blog Name/URL
Your Post URL
Your LocationAttach a photo: 300px x 200px
Emails must be received by:3pm Sunday - Utah Time
9pm Sunday - London Time
8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Timeor you can use this converter to find out the corresponding time in your location.
You can also check out who’s hosting for the rest of the year at this post and find information about hosting WHB.
Christmas is knocking on our doors, many of us has already baked a bunch of cookies. My cookie factory is going to open this week, but until then I thought to present something that warms us on a cold winter day: a spiced black tea with cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom and star anise, my entry for the WHB #162, introducing star anise.
Star anise contains anethole, the same ingredient which gives the unrelated anise its flavor. It is not only decorative, and gives a special touch to this tea, but it is also a remedy for rheumatism. It is widely used in the Chinese cuisine where it is a component of the five-spice powder and Indian cuisine where it is the major component of garam masala. It is also used in a Vietnamese noodle soup and used in the production of Sambuca, pastis, and many types of absinthe.
Ingredients: a small piece of ginger
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon clove
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tablespoon black tea
Peel and slice ginger and cook together with cardamom, clove, cinnamon and star anise in 500 ml water for about 5 mintues. Sieve and cook it for another 3 mintues together with te black tea. Serve with brown rock candy.
This month's Daring Bakers challenge hosts are Dolores of Chronicles of Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie and Brownie, Jenny of Foray into Food and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go. The recipe for the caramel cake comes from the pastry chef Shuna Fish Lydon behind the blog: Eggbeater.
Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.
Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
Sift flour and baking powder.
Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients.Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.
Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.
Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.
Caramel Syrup
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.
Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers.
Caramelized butter frosting
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
salt to taste
Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.
Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Being a bison fan, I could not resist to buy this beautiful entrecôte.
The only question was: how to prepare? Some days ago by accident I found a dose of vanilla salt in my pantry and it was clear that I am going to give the meat a vanilla touch. I fried it in butter together with a vanilla pod, sprinkeled with vanilla salt and hoped for a decent vanilla taste. Well I was a lot disappointed! No smell or taste of vanilla while eating. Anyone an idea why?
This simple and delicious cake, that I learnt from my mom, has a very intense vanilla taste. Let me introduce the white beauty to you.
Ingredients:500 g flour
2 eggs
100 g powder sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda3 tablespoon milk
150 g butter
For the filling:
1000 ml milk
1 pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar1 vanilla pod
5 tablespoon flour
200 g sugar
4 egg yolks
50 ml milk
250 g butter
Knead flour, eggs, powder sugar, in 1 tablespoon milk dissolved baking soda and butter to a dough. Cut dough in 4 or 5 pieces, depending on the size of the baking form you want to use. Turn a rectangle baking form on the top and butter it. Roll out dough about 3 mm thin, so that you can almost see through. Bake one by one on 200°C for 8-9 minutes.
For the cream heat milk with a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and a vanilla pod. As soon as it starts to boil stir in the following mixture: whisk flour, sugar and egg yolks with milk until mixed well. Cook the cream until it is thick enough and let it cool. When it is completly cooled down stir in butter.
