Espresso Bundt Cake - National Library Week 2011 Day #1

Espresso Bundt Cake for National Library Week 2011

Whooooo Hoo!! It's National Library Week!! This is my third year celebrating NLW on the blog. Every day, I’m highlighting a library thing, baking something and giving something away. Sound like a plan? Okay, here goes Day 1.

The Library Thing:

Dude, of course today’s library thing is your library. It’s a fantastic place where you get to grab stuff and bring it home. FREE. You just need to bring it back. How many other places let you do that? McDonald’s? Starbucks? Your cable company? Nope. The library gives you stuff free. Cool. Go. Visit. Check out stuff. Tell your friends. And treat our DVDs nicely please.

Yes, there is the Librarian Action Figure. It's based on real-life librarian and author Nancy Pearl (you can hear her on NPR). And she's showing you this cake has coffee and instant espresso. It's caffeinated and good.

The Baking Thing:

A Bundt. What else would I make?! This is a DELICIOUS bundt. The crumb is awesome. It's from Sarabeth's Bakery: From my hands to yours - a lovely new cookbook by Sarabeth Levine. This is the first item I've made and it rocks. Can't wait to try some more recipes...and if you want to make some, keep reading for a chance!

This has coffee and espresso in the batter and glaze. But it isn't overpowering...just a great cake that is perfect with, you guessed it, a cup of coffee or tea.

Look at that lovely crumb!

The Giveaway Thing:

Day #1: I'm giving away a brand new copy of Sarabeth's Bakery: From my hands to yours cookbook!
To enter, just leave a comment on this post. If your email isn’t associated with your Blogger account, please be sure to leave your email in the message.
Note: This giveaway is limited to United States mailing addresses.
Deadline: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at midnight, Pacific Daylight Time
Disclosure: This giveaway and shipping is paid for by me.
*** Updated: Contest is closed. Congrats to Ann (entry #95) ***
Recipe:

Espresso Bundt Cake

Adapted from: Margaret's Espresso Cake in Sarabeth's Bakery, From Hands to Yours (Sarabeth Levine)
Find it on Amazon or check to see if your library has it here!

Printable copy here

Cake:
1 cup hot strong coffee (I used one packet of Starbucks Via)
3 Tablespoons instant coffee or espresso (I used instant espresso)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
2 sticks butter, chilled and cut into cubes
2 cups sugar (recipe calls for superfine sugar, but I didn't have any)
1 t vanilla extract
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature

Glaze: (This is different from the cookbook. Check page 117 of the cookbook for Sarabeth's version. She heats the glaze and uses brewed coffee and espresso powder)
1 teaspoon instant espresso
1 Tablespoon boiling water
1 Tablespoon milk (I used soy milk because I had that on hand)
2 cups powdered sugar

Cake:
1. Prep bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix hot coffee and espresso powder to dissolve. Let cool.
3. Sift together dry ingredients (flour, powder, salt) in a bowl.
4. Beat butter in mixer with paddle attachment at high speed until smooth (1 minute or so). Gradually add in sugar. Add vanilla. Beat until light in color.
5. Add the eggs yolks one at a time, blending in each one before adding the next.
6. On low speed, alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mix and 1/2 of the coffee mix, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until combined, but don't overbeat.
7. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks.
8. Fold some of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then carefully fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter.
9. Pour batter into Bundt pan. Smooth out the top and place in the oven.
10. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven. A cake tester should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Make sure the Bundt is cool before glazing it.

Glaze:
1. In a bowl, dissolve instant espresso in boiling water. Add milk. With a whisk, gradually add the powdered sugar. The consistency should be pourable...add some powdered sugar (to thicken) or milk (to thin) if necessary.
2. Pour over cooled Bundt cake. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting.

Coffee Jello & Coffee-Break Muffins (Wake Up Care Package)

Question: How can you help friends turn from night people into early morning people?
Answer: Caffeine.

I have some friends who switched their work schedule and now start really early in the morning. By the second day of the new schedule, it looked like everyone just got off a transatlantic flight and had some major jetlag.

So, I made a Wake Up Care Package. Everything with sugar. Everything with caffeine. That's how I roll. Well, that's how I gift.

I made Coffee Jello. Since I first created and posted this recipe, it has been much clicked on and made. And I must say, It. Is. Fantastic. If you are a coffee drinker, you'll like it.

I also made Dorie Greenspan's Coffee-Break Muffins.

The only problem with this care package is that as I was preparing it for delivery, I kept eating the end pieces of the Coffee Jello and had to try one of the muffins (quality control people, quality control). But I don't drink caffeine so I got so. freaking. wired. My heart was racing and I was talking a mile a minute. I already talk fast, so I was like that "vintage" FedEx commercial guy.

Then I got a big headache and remembered why I don't have caffeine. Anyway, make these treats for a friend (who is accustomed to caffeine) as an edible wake up call.

P.S. Come back on Saturday as I lurch toward my 40th birthday. I'll be 39 8/12 and I'll be having another giveaway!

Recipes:
Coffee Jello (blog entry and printable recipe)

Coffee-Break Muffins
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup strong coffee, cooled
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (1 stick)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I added)

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Prep 12 muffin cups.
2. In a big bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Stir in the brown sugar, making sure there are no lumps.
4. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk the coffee, melted butter, egg, and vanilla until combined. (I used Starbucks VIA (one packet). Since the coffee needs to be cool, I used about 1/3 cup boiling water, mixed til dissolved, and filled it with 2/3 cup cold water.)
5. Add mini chocolate chips. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and, with a whisk, gently but quickly stir to blend; don't overmix.
6. Scoop into muffins. I use an ice cream scoop.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

National Library Week Day 3: Coffee Jello & Disney Giveaway

Coffee Jello
Yeah, this isn't the stuff you get in the hospital.

It's National Library Week! This is the 2nd annual celebration on my blog. As I say, I'm putting the Librarian in the Food Librarian!

Last month, I had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, and my friend ordered Vietnamese coffee - a combo of espresso and condensed milk. I love Vietnamese coffee, but I can't handle caffeine so I just had a sip. I knew I wanted to make it in Jello form. Right away.

The Japanese also make a coffee jello - sweetened black coffee gelatin cubes or cups. Often, it is served with cream. But I wanted mine all mixed together so it can be served easy-to-eat finger jello style.

I made this with Starbucks VIA (Starbuck's new instant coffee), Knox unflavored gelatin, and sweetened condensed milk. Because the milk is sweetened, I didn't add any additional sugar.

This was a CROWD favorite at the library. My co-workers love all coffee and mocha desserts. I brought it out at 3 pm and it was a perfect pick-me-up! Of course, you can make them with decaffeinated coffee...but the coffee drinkers will just look at you weird and wonder why anyone would do that.

I used mini-cupcake liners to serve the coffee jello. These are about 1-inch squares.

The Librarian Action Figure (modeled after real-life librarian and author Nancy Pearl) can eat a whole plate of coffee jello.

All this week, I'm highlighting a library thing (usually a public library thing b/c that's my gig). Today, it's Downloadable Media. My favorite provider is OverDrive. You can download audiobooks and eBooks to your home computer and transfer them to a portable device (such as MP3, iPod, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook). Remember that crazy 30 days of Bundts I did in November? I wouldn't have made it through all that baking and blogging without downloadable audiobooks. Downloadable media is free, easy to use and there are never any overdue fines. See if your library subscribes to OverDrive on their website.

I'm having 5 days of giveaways during National Library Week!

To celebrate Day 3 of National Library Week, I'm giving away the following to one lucky winner:
a. Two Disney kitchen towels
b. Two Mickey Mouse shaped egg or small pancake molds

Living in Southern California has some disadvantages (our seasons are: Fire, Flood, and Earthquake) but sooooo many advantages. And one is buying the Disneyland Annual Pass. So, I picked up these cute kitchen Disney-themed items for today's giveaway!

I have a set of the molds and made this last year (post here). Enter the contest so you can greet friends and family with fun shaped food. :)

To enter the Day 3 Giveaway, simply leave a comment below (one entry per person) and I'll pick the winner from a hat (aka Random). Deadline for all contests: Monday, April 19, 2010 at midnight PDT. If your comment isn't linked to a blog where I can find you, please leave your email. Shipping to U.S. addresses only. Librarian action figure not included.

Also, don't forget to enter the Day 1 Giveaway: Cookbook and Chef Post-its and Day 2 Giveaway: Loaf Pans. Good luck with the giveaway, make some Coffee Jello, and see you back here tomorrow!
- mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Click here for the printable recipe

Coffee Jello / Coffee Gelatin
1/2 c cold water
2 cups strong coffee, hot. I used two packages of Starbucks Via. The coffee needs to be strong. This isn't the time for Sanka instant. :)
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
3 packages of Knox unflavored gelatin

1. Place 1/2 c cold water in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 unflavored gelatin packets over the water. Let sit until the gelatin blooms, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the hot coffee and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
4. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.
5. Pour into glass pan. Thickness of finished jello depends on the size of the pan. I used a 7 x 11 pan but a 9 x 13 pan will give you thinner pieces and an 8 x 8 pan will give you thicker pieces.

Note: The combo of coffee and sweetened condensed milk is inspired by Vietnamese coffee. You can probably adapt this to use coffee or espresso, cream and sugar (be sure to dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee and gelatin). I find that 1 packet of unflavored gelatin will firm up 1 1/2 cups of liquid to finger jello "strength" (according to David Lebovitz's "How to Use Gelatin" post you can mold 2 cups with one envelope - but I feel finger jello needs to be stronger).

Dorie Greenspan's Coffee-Break Muffins with Chocolate

Coffee-Break Muffins

...with some added mini chocolate chips (1/2 cup)

I started a new schedule at work where I work 10 am - 7 pm on Thursdays. I have big dreams. My plans are to get up at the same time as normal (my body likes routine) and bake something that needs to be eaten warm or can't be refrigerated overnight. I imagine waltzing into the library holding a croquembouche (that crazy beautiful French cream puff tower surrounded by spun sugar).

Well, at least I can say I still have lots of dreams and aspirations.

I stayed up too late staying up watching Top Chef (Thank Goodness Leah the Quitter, Crazy-flirt-home-wrecker got kicked off...and poor Fabio with his finger and best quote of the season...Karla is growing on me...can't wait til next week's episode) so this morning I tried to salvage my baking dreams by making these quick muffins.

This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking book, page 15. With instant espresso powder and cooled strong coffee, it has some caffeine for an edible coffee break. Here I am cooling my instant coffee over an ice bath. The recipe uses melted butter so it comes together pretty quickly. The recipe makes 12 muffins, but I got 15. Next time, I'll fill them more to get a domed top.

Coffee-Break Muffins with mini-chocolate chips

Quick, easy. A coffee break with the coffee built in!