Coconut Cake...New Years Eve Birthday Cake

My friend Suzanne has a birthday on New Years Eve and wanted me to bake her a coconut birthday cake.  Her wish was my command...I was given this recipe by my friend Ernie....the Queen of Cakes in my opinion . She never steers me wrong, and this was no exception. We all loved this cake. It has Cream of Coconut in the cake as well as in the cream Cheese frosting...
I also added a touch of organic coconut extract to the icing...it was divine. It had me wishing it was my birthday!
Happy New Year everyone....all my best wishes for a very happy and healthy one!

Coconut Layer Cake
adapted from Bon Appetit/ December 1999
The Shubox Café, Cedar Grove, New Jersey

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)*
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Pinch of salt

Cream Cheese Frosting* recipe follows...

4 cups sweetened shredded coconut

*Canned sweetened cream of coconut is available in the liquor section of most supermarkets nationwide.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients and then buttermilk, each just until blended.
Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.
Divide cake batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.
Place 1 cake layer on cake plate. Spread 1 cup Cream Cheese Frosting over cake layer. Sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining coconut over cake, gently pressing into sides to adhere. (Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.)

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (8-ounce) packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar ( plus up to an additional cup)
1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon natural coconut extract(optional)

Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until fluffy. Add butter and beat to blend. Add sugar, sweetened cream of coconut and vanilla extract( coconut extract if using) and beat until well blended. I added almost an extra cup of powdered sugar to the frosting.  This frosting comes out quite loose, you need to let it set up in the fridge for about an hour before icing the cake.

Christmas Eve Paella....

Paella and Tapas were the dinner of choice here on Christmas Eve ...I may have gone a bit overboard with the addition of too much seafood...but it was delicious. I know it is not traditional to mix seafood with meat, not  in Spain anyway, but there is a bit of chicken and some beautiful chorizo in mine this time and lots of seafood. I treated myself to a new 15 inch Paella Pan ...we set the pan in the middle of the table and everyone just  dug in. My son had brought me a bag of Bomba Rice and some beautiful saffron from Spain, he was happy that I used it.  We had lovely Spanish wine to drink and made a lovely night of it. It was great fun...in fact by the time we had dinner it was 11:00PM...

This recipe is what I used and  loosely adapted from for my Christmas Eve Paella...it is from La Tienda.  It gives you a really nice starting point. I did add some dry diver's scallops, I used mussels and clams, I had some gorgeous Rock Lobster tails that I split in two, also shrimp and some boneless skinless chicken thighs. I had wonderful chorizo from D'artagnan...I also bought some authentic Piquillo peppers from Spain.  Mine served 8 with the amount of seafood I used...

Paella Mixta

This is by far the most popular paella recipe in Spanish restaurants in America. Mixing seafood, meat and chorizo is close to heresy in Valencia, but this 'Americano' version is very tasty and features a variety of flavors sure to please a crowd.
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 1 hr.

Ingredients:

1 tsp thread saffron
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 medium onions, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
8 piquillo peppers, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 chicken thighs, skinned and cut into 2 inch pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper
12 large shrimp, peeled
12 mussels (or clams)
1 lb Spanish cooking chorizo, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
2 cups Bomba or Calasparra rice
6 cups chicken broth
Lemon wedges

Preparation:

Add stock, paprika and saffron to a pot and heat, covered. In a separate 15" paella pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and brown the chicken pieces and chorizo, about 5 minutes. Remove. Add the remaining olive oil and cook the onions over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and garlic and simmer for another 5 minutes, until they have a sauce-like appearance. Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour in the rice and stir until the rice is covered with the tomato mixture (known as 'sofrito'). Add chicken and chorizo pieces. Slowly add all of the broth to the paella. Stir the rice mixture around until it is evenly distributed throughout the pan. Important - do not stir after this point.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, then place the shrimp and shellfish into the mixture one-by-one, evenly distributing throughout. Simmer for another 15 minutes, or until all of the broth has been absorbed, adding extra liquid if necessary. Remove from heat, gently cover with foil and let sit for another 10 minutes. Garnish with piquillo pepper slices and lemon wedges.

This would be great fun for a New Years Eve dinner as well.  Before the Paella we had Serrano Ham, assorted Spanish cheeses, Piquillo Peppers with garlic and Spanish Olive Oil, bread, olives, Marcona Almonds...and some other things as well.         

Happy Holidays....

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas ...Happy Chanukah....Peace and light...
Thanks you all for your friendship...your support and your love...

Latkes...Chanukah Joy and Light....

 Happy Chanukah...

  I have made Latkes for more years than I can count. I usually do not use a recipe, but last year I started making these. I will make them again this year. They are light and crisp...what could be better? I never met a latke I did not like, but these are especially nice.

On Wednesday night we will have our Chanukah dinner, the kids will be home...we will all be together...I know there will be Latkes, applesauce and sour cream...not sure what else yet.

Potato Latkes...

Mimi Sheraton, "From My Mother's Kitchen", (Harper Collins, 1991)

Makes 6 servings

These should be prepared and fried as close to serving time as possible.
7 or 8 medium old potatoes (about 2 ½ pounds)
1 large onion peeled
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons potato flour or matzoh meal
1 scant tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
Corn oil, for frying
Applesauce, as accompaniment
1.  Peel the potatoes and cover with cold water until you are ready to make the pancakes. Grate the potatoes and onion into a strainer that is suspended over a bowl to catch the juices. If this is hard for you to manage, grate the potatoes into a bowl, then turn into a strainer suspended over another bowl. Grate the potatoes and onion alternately, as the onion juice will help prevent the potatoes from darkening. Using a wooden spoon, or picking up handfuls of the grated potato mixture, squeeze or press out as much liquid as possible. Reserve all liquid and let it settle in the bowl for 2 or 3 minutes.
2.  Put the pressed potato and onion mixture in a clean bowl. Carefully pour off the watery part of the reserved liquid but do not discard the thick, starchy paste at the bottom of the bowl. Scrape that into the potato mixture. Add the egg yolks, potato flour or matzoh meal, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Beat the egg whites to stiff and shiny peaks and fold them into the potato mixture.
3.  Heat a ½-inch-depth of oil in a heavy skillet, preferably of black cast iron. Drop the potato mixture into the hot oil, about 2 tablespoons per pancake, and fry, turning once so the pancakes are a deep golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Total frying time for each batch of pancakes should be about 10 minutes. Keep fried pancakes warm while the rest are being fried. To do that, put the fried, drained pancakes on a rack in an open baking pan and place in a low oven (about 250 degrees). Do not hold for more than 15 minutes before serving or they will become soggy. Serve with applesauce and/ or sour cream.

Pecan Pie....

There is pecan pie and there is pecan pie....I have made many recipes...none bad...but this one is our absolute favorite...I may just make another one for Christmas...

Many years ago I cut this recipe out of the San Francisco Chronicle and still have that now yellowed clipping...this is from none other than Dear Abby...it is not too sweet which can be an issue with some pecan pie recipes, and there are not too many nuts according to my kids...a very easy recipe. Use your favorite pie crust recipe. I use Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee....you can freeze the other half of the recipe well wrapped in plastic and put in a zip lok bag for a month or so.

"Dear Abby's Pecan Pie"

1 unbaked 9" pie crust

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecan halves ( you may need a few more depending on the size of the pecan halves)

Heat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and vanilla; mix well. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust; sprinkle with pecan halves.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is set. (Toothpick inserted in center will come out clean when pie is done.)

If crust or pie appears to be getting brown, cover with foil for the remaining baking time. Remove from oven and cool.

We serve with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.
Sometimes I arrange the pecan halves in a decorative spoke pattern
on top of the filling...you can do as you please....if you do that you may need a few more or less than a cup.

Pate Brisee
adapted from Martha Stewart

The pie dough may be made one day ahead and refrigerated, well wrapped in plastic, or frozen up to one month.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
* 1 Teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 Teaspoon sugar
* 1 Cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter cut into pieces( or 1/4 cup cold shortening to replace 1/4 cup of the butter)
* 1/4 to 1/2 Cup ice water


Directions

1. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, pouring it through the feed tube with the machine running, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.
2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces, and place on 2 separate sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form 2 disks. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

Ernie's Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti ...

These just "feel" like the holidays to me...I have posted them before, but they are worth posting again. This recipe is from my friend Ernie...one of the best bakers I know.  I have not even uploaded my Thanksgiving pics yet and here it is almost Chanukah and Christmas. Life flies by...but that is ok with me.
  
Cranberry/Pistachio Biscotti
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon orange oil (I sometimes use King Arthur's Fiori de Sicilia, which is a blend of citrus and vanilla, or just vanilla extract instead of the orange oil)
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees(F.) Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the orange zest and orange oil.
4. With mixer on low speed, gradually stir in the flour mixture until smooth, then stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
5. Divide the dough into thirds. Shape each piece into a 12 inch log. Place two logs on one sheet(apart) and the other in the middle of the other cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the logs turn a light golden color and are somewhat firm to the touch. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and reduce oven to 300 degrees.
Let cool about 15 minutes, then using a serrated knife, slice diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Place upright on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, until dry and lightly golden. Let cool on rack, enjoy!
Makes about 3-4 dozen biscotti 

Though it is not necessary at all....I sometimes gild the lily and drizzle some melted white chocolate over these babies. The recipe makes a lot and they disappear very quickly...

I want to wish each and every one of you a most magical holiday season....

Thanks to the Graphics Fairy for the pretty greens....

Old Fashioned Apple Pie and other news....

 I really have not been here much lately at all. It seems that one thing after another happens, keeping my computer time to a minimum...our little pre- Halloween snow storm turned into a powerful Nor'Easter, 5 days without power, and a landscape that looked like a war zone. So many trees down all over...during the storm you could hear the branches cracking. It was very unnerving. The leaves still on the trees just could not take the weight of the heavy wet snow...I still had my annuals out on the deck.

 I lost the entire contents of my fridge and freezer except for a few things. It really was not fun...I can not complain all that much though, some people had no power for much longer than us and had trees fall onto their homes and cars. You can still see many branches hanging off the high branches, just waiting for the next storm to fall.

 We really have been hit hard by Mother Nature so far this year...an earthquake, the hurricane and now the freak snowstorm. Whats next? Locusts? I hope not! The beautiful candle, a gift from a lovely blogging friend, provided magical light for us while we ate our dinners in the dark....thank you again Shel...xo

I baked this pie on the quick last Sunday afternoon after we received a last minute dinner invitation and I had to be fast on my feet thinking about what to bring. I had wanted to try this recipe and I still had some beautiful Farmer's Market apples in my fridge that needed to be used. I really liked that the crust is made with milk rather than ice water....the dough rolled out with great ease, almost like a piece of fabric. I think this might be a great crust for the pie crust challenged. I did adapt the recipe a little bit...I used 2 1/4 cups of flour for the crust and I added two more tablespoons of sugar to my apples because they needed the extra sweetness.You have to taste as you go, even when baking.  I also baked the pie in a regular 9 inch glass pyrex pie plate rather than a 10 inch dish. The apples were piled high and it worked just fine.The amount of flour in the filling is perfect, the apples held together nicely and did not run all over the place when it was cut. It was still warm when cut as well. The pie tasted just as good the following day as it did on the first.
My only issue with this recipe was that it bakes entirely at 350*. I pre-heated my oven long enough and chilled my pie in the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking. My beautifully crimped edge kind of drooped and I think it was either my oven acting up or the oven was not at a high enough temperature to set the crust quickly . I think next time I will start the pie out in a hotter, 400* oven for about 15-20 minutes and then reduce the temp to 350*. The droopy crust did not effect the taste however. My husband proclaimed this the best apple pie I have ever made and he is not a huge apple pie fan. I seem to be turning into a walking advertisement for "Mad Hungry"...but I must say that every recipe from Lucinda I have made has been a winner.  My men and boys all agree!

Old Fashioned Apple Pie
To qualify as a great apple pie, the mixture of apples should create a combined sweet-tart flavor balance. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream or with a wedge of cheddar cheese. From the book "Mad Hungry," by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan Books).


Yield Makes 1 double-crusted 10-inch pie

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 apples (4 tart, 4 sweet)
1 Basic Pie Dough *
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves ( I used a pinch of Allspice instead of the
cloves)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Position the racks in the center of the oven and in the lower third.
Squeeze the lemon juice into a large bowl. Peel, quarter, core, and thinly slice one apple at a time. Toss the slices in the lemon juice to prevent browning. Repeat with each apple.
On a well-floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to about 12 inches in diameter and lay it in the bottom of a standard 10-inch pie plate. Trim the edges of the dough flush with the edge of the pie plate's rim.
Add the 1/4 cup sugar, the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to the apples and toss to coat. Pile the apples into the dough-lined pie plate. Dot with butter.
Roll out the top crust to a diameter of 12 inches. Lay it over the apples. Trim the edge of the top crust so it hangs over the bottom crust by at least 3/4 inch. Tuck the top crust under the bottom and roll it under all around. Pinch it together to close. Crimp the edges with fingers or press with a fork. Chill the pie for a few minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Cut a few slits in the crust top to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the egg mixture evenly over the whole crust, being careful not to block the slits. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Place a cookie sheet on the lower rack to catch any overflowing juices from the pie. Place the pie on the center rack and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and there is a sign of bubbling juices. Cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 1 hour. Slice and serve.

One week from today is Thanksgiving....my favorite holiday! My boys will be home and we will all be together...I can not wait! Wishing all of you who celebrate....a warm and wonderful holiday...I am very thankful for you all.