Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Bundt

It has been so hot in Los Angeles that I can only bake at 4 am. Crazy, yeah. But look at the cute result! Of course, it's a Bundt. This is an old Nordic Ware Bundt...the Fiesta Party Pan. That is a strange name. I called it my "Tree Bundt".

Since my last post was all about Jury Duty, I wanted to update you. Whoo hoo! I'm free. Los Angeles has a one day or one trial system. If you make it through one day without being sent to a trial, you are home free. So I sat in a room with over 100 other citizens for hours. They started the day with five possible trials. At 11:45 am, they said they were down to two trials (never been so happy for a plea bargain or continuance). At 2:30 pm, they finally called about 20 jurors. My fingers were cramping because I was trying to use my iPod Touch and I was crossing my fingers all day! :)

Finally, at 3:00 pm, they were going to call 35 jurors, and if you weren't on the list, you were going home! Tension filled the room like the set of "American Idol" (only in reverse...don't pick me, Ryan Seacrest!) When she said, "Mary..." I gasped. But it was a different Mary. Whew. Then she said, "Mary..." again! And, would you believe it, there were at least three Mary's in that room? Lucky for me (and unlucky for them), it wasn't me!

Whew! This calls for a celebration...and the Bundt is perfect for that!

I saw this cake on Jessica's What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen? blog. Jessica found it on the back of the Bakers & Chefs brown sugar package from Sam's Club! Don't you just love those "back of the bag" recipes?! This recipe's technique is similar to the Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt and Texas Sheet Cake. Both of those recipes melt and boil ingredients, and this one melts the chocolate and butter in boiling water.

I placed 3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (chopped up) and 1 stick of butter (cut into pieces) into a bowl. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the top. Stir until melted.

In my Kitchen Aid mixer, I placed 2 cups packed brown sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. I used the paddle and let it spin on low to mix the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly add the melted chocolate mixture. Once the batter is well blended, add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla. Then raise the speed to medium and beat for one minute. And that's it! Easy peasy, no?

Grease and flour the Bundt pan (or spray the heck out of it with Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour). I suggest a 10 or 12-cup Bundt. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Rest 10 minutes then depan and cool completely. I dusted mine with powdered sugar. Jessica added a chocolate ganache drizzle. Yum!

I used my Nordic Ware Fiesta Bundt (I don't see it on their website...I've had it for years). I believe it is about 9-cups and that why it is a little too full for this recipe.

Can you see a face profile in this slice?! See that little eye? Yeah...I've looked at too many Bundts and the heat has fried my little brain!

Have a great holiday weekend! Be safe and have fun!

Recipe:
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen?
From back of the Bakers & Chefs brown sugar package from Sam's Club

Espresso Cheesecake Brownies - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell chose Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, page 104 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I baked this week's entry early this morning before my first (and hopefully only) day of jury duty. It has been too hot in Los Angeles to cook any other time. I am now starting this post using my iPod Touch and free WiFi at the courthouse...how do you iPhone people manage this keyboard?! My finger is cramping, I keep hitting the wrong letters, and oh my gosh, I'm getting motion sick seeing those letters pop out at me. (I have an LG Envy phone and it has a "raised" touchable QWERTY keyboard that I can use without looking. Um, I need to be schooled by my iPhone peeps or eventually forget getting the iPhone and pick up the Blackberry.)

Swirl the brownie batter with the espresso cheesecake batter before baking

I skipped the sour cream topping and don't really have a review because I can't eat them...dairy is pretty much a foe of mine now. I'm crazy not happy about that. Sadly, I now chew (to check if I accidentally used salt instead of sugar and to check the texture) and then I spit it out. Sigh. However, the flavors I did get were pretty tasty!! :)

...Back home now for lunch, shoot some photos and post this entry (using a real computer keyboard! :) I am crossing my fingers I don't get picked during the second session of jury duty. They haven't called anyone yet and there are over 100 of us reading, surfing the net, and dozing off. Los Angeles County uses a one trial or one day system...so if I can just make it to 5 pm...

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Melissa's Life in a Peanut Shell blog post has the recipe
Dorie's awesome book, Baking: From My Home to Yours (just buy it, you'll love it), page 104.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Lime Glaze in a Rose Bundt - Williams Sonoma

Dear George Clooney,

Hi. You don't really know me, but I've known you from the days of Facts of Life. Detective Falconer on Sisters? My UCLA roommate and I planned our weekends around Sisters. When you got killed off? Oh, the pain and heartache. But then there was a little show called ER. Happiness again.

Anyway, I'm just saying I'm not a Johnny come lately girl. Um...unlike your recent cocktail waitress flings, I was actually alive when you started your career. Just saying...experience is a good thing.

So, if you do happen to finally realize that you really need a librarian and baker in your Italian villa...I'm here. And if you want to send me flowers, I'd like a bouquet of Rose Bundts. Like you being named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive (twice!!!), this Nordic Ware pan is totally the Sexiest Bundt Alive!

I made the William Sonoma's Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Lime Glaze. I don't know what happened, but I must have over beat the wet ingredients into a tizzy or something. By the time I slowly mixed in the dry ingredients, it was practically coming out of the KitchenAid bowl. Since the recipe was made to fit into the pan, I just threw in all the batter. Mistake. Luckily, I had some parchment in the oven to catch the overflow. So, note to self: don't over beat and don't overfill! :)

Isn't this sooooo pretty?

Enjoy this lovely pound cake with lime glaze. You can also use lemon as JustJenn does in her adaptation.

Recipe:
From Williams Sonoma: Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Lime Glaze

Mark Bittman's Olive Oil Cake

I can't believe it has been 8 weeks since my last blood donation. The summer is just flying by. September in a few days? What the heck? Last time I gave blood, I brought my own post-donation cookie. This time, I can't have dairy so I made an Olive Oil Cake.

I just picked up Mark Bittman's two classics from the library: How to cook everything and How to cook everything vegetarian. They are going on my wishlist of cookbooks.

This cake was really lovely. It was moist and light. The eggs provide a nice sponge, and the glaze a bit of sweetness. I think you'll like it. And it was a delicious treat after giving blood! :)

I'll try this again with either lime, lemon or grapefruit...I love me the citrus.

Whipping the egg whites separately and folding them into the batter gives this cake a nice lift.

And don't forget...if you can give blood, it is much needed. Jan, the RN, at my blood donor center told me that the percent of eligible donors is now 46% of the population. And of the 46%, only 5% actually donate. So, if you can, please think about rolling up your sleeve to help out! Contact you local hospital or the Red Cross.

Olive Oil Cake
Adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"

2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c sugar + 1/4 c sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/3 c freshly squeezed orange juice
2 t grated or finely minced orange or lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree.
2. Grease two 8- or 9-inch layer cake pans or one 9 x 13 pan. I used 9 x 13.
3. Combine in small bowl: flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Mix together oil, 3/4 c sugar until creamy. Add 4 egg yolks and beat until thick and fluffy (5-7 minutes)
5. Mix in dry ingredients until smooth. Add the orange juice and zest, and stir until blended. The batter will be pretty thick.
6. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy, then add the 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until soft peaks.
7. I stirred 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the wet ingredients to lighten the batter. Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
8. Pour into pan(s). Bake for 35 minutes. If you used rounds, let them cool for 15 minutes before depanning. If you used the 9 x 13 pan, let it cool in the pan. Let cool completely before glazing.

Orange Glaze
1/2 c freshly squeezed orange juice
1 T grated orange zest
1/2 t vanilla extract
3 c confectioners' sugar
Mix together. Glaze the cake.

Recipes:
How to cook everything vegetarian by Mark Bittman, page 852 (has optional glaze recipes)
How to cook everything by Mark Bittman (10th Anniversary Edition) page 914 | glazes on page 919 and 924

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - King Arthur Flour

Have you been blessed?
No, not in a religious sense (although that is good too!)
But blessed with summer's green log. The zucchini.

Someone "conveniently" leaves them on your porch?
Or did you plant all the seeds in the packet because they so small (really, how many zucchini could result?!)...and now you are "rewarded" with zucchini coming out of, well, you know?

Here's something to do with your gift from the garden. Make King Arthur's Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Em of the Repressed Pastry Chef made this recently and I knew I would be blessed with another zucchini soon, so I quickly bookmarked it. Em made a chocolate ganache topping. Check it out on her blog (and keep reading her blog...she's amazing!)

You don't even taste the zucchini, but you'll benefit from the moistness it imparts. And the frosting is beyond easy. Throw some chocolate chips on top, let it sit & melt, then spread out with a spatula. Sweet.

Recipe:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake by King Arthur

B Star Bar, San Francisco

I traveled 400 miles for this salad.

Last weekend, I took a quick trip to San Francisco and was slated to go to Burma Super Star. (Unfortunately, Los Angeles doesn't have much Burmese food. I've been to the Golden Triangle in Whittier, but Burma Super Star is a lot better.) I was hungry when I got off the plane!

However, by the time my UCLA roomie, Diane and I arrived at Burma Super Star, there was a typical Saturday night 1 1/2 hour wait. Ugh. The hostess said Burma's sister restaurant was just down the street...B Star Bar.

We headed there and entered heaven. I'm not kidding! We were so fortunate...we walked in and got seated at the counter instantly. The place is cute and has a different menu than Burma with lots of Asian-inspired food...but with some of their favorites including the Rainbow and Tea Leaf Salad.

We split my favorite salad on the planet...Tea Leaf Salad (see above). A delicious combination of romaine lettuce, ginger, fried garlic, sunflower, sesame seeds, tomatoes, peanuts and tea leaves. Soooo good. $9

My friend, Diane ordered the Basil Chili Tofu. Pressed tofu, eggplant, bell pepper, asparagus...over coconut rice. Oh that rice! So delicious. The dish was pretty spicy. While I'm not a fan of the pressed tofu, Diane liked her dish. $11

Although I wanted to try a bunch of different items on the menu, I kept looking at the Ochazuke. This a Japanese comfort food that just says, "Mom." It's the equivalent of tomato soup and grilled cheese for me. Of course, my mom's is nowhere near this fancy.

Rice, salmon, poached egg, topped with an umeboshi (pickled plum) and surrounded by pickled greens and crunchy rice...all in a green tea broth. Delicious! If this dish were a person, I would hug it. $11

The Tea Leaf Salad is tossed and the green tea is poured over the ochazuke tableside. Here are my action shots!

If you are in San Francisco, head over to B Star Bar or Burma Super Star!

B Star Bar
127 Clement (between 2nd and 3rd)
San Francisco, CA 94118
They do take reservations (unlike Burma Super Star)
(415) 933-9900

Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Linda of Tender Crumb decided on Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie on page 337 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Have you checked out my friend Linda's blog, Tender Crumb? She's well on her way to being a superstar pastry chef! Everything she makes is yummy and pretty. And, as I learned after a trip with JustJenn, two food bloggers should not shop at Surfas together...it is simply an exercise in enabling. Linda is a UCLA Bruin too (Sproul Hall rocks!) Awesomeness!

I had some issues with the cream. You need to get it to 180 degrees....but I was using "new math" or something and only got it to 150 degrees.

First, my digital thermometer didn't work (hum, digital thermometers need batteries...duly noted). Then, I tried to use a candy thermometer and "manual/non-digital" thermometer. But I couldn't get it up to 180. Sure, I got thickness. Dorie says the filling "will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks." Dude, I had more tracks than Sid & Nancy. But I only had 145-150 degrees.

As I was trying to hold the metal pan over a double boiler with a potholder as well as the thermometer with the left hand, and whisk with my right hand, the pan kept moving around...letting out some of the steam. I was getting such a facial. Who knew the spa qualities of this dessert?!

Finally, after 12 minutes, I had a thick cream that tasted good and gave up on the temperature. It was cooked and wouldn't kill anyone, I decided! :)

I found that I wanted to make just a small dessert so I deconstructed it and laid some graham crackers on the bottom, the cream and a little meringue that I piped out and broiled a bit.

Thanks Linda for a fun pick! I'm going to try it again and make the full size dessert!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Dorie's book, page 337, Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Linda's blog, Tender Crumb: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Honey Spice Cake in Chrysanthemum Bundt

I can stop at any time.
Really.

Caitlin the Engineer Baker seems to think I have a problem. To quote her tweet: I think you have a problem. A bundt pan problem. If you need, I can stage an intervention and take some off your hands...

Yes, I just bought TWO new Bundt pans. However, in my defense, I MAKE a lot of Bundts but don't have that many pans...I have the 12 c Nordic Ware traditional Bundt, the 6 mini Bundt pan and the 12 mini-mini Bundt pan, and the tree looking Bundt. Sure, that's probably more than most people, but wouldn't you say that it isn't the Amy Winehouse of Bundt collections?

Well, now that I'm adding these two new pans...that does bring it up to 6 Bundt pans...with more on my wish list.

Oh darn. I know I'm going to run into Caitlin at BlogHerFood in SF next month and I'm going to end up in a room with Jeff VanVonderen of Intervention.

First up, the super duper pretty Chrysanthemum Bundt. You could put sludge in this and it would be pretty, no?

I made the Honey Spice Cake that is on the cardboard sleeve that covers the Bundt pan! Like a recipe from the back of the box, or in this case, the back of a Bundt. It is dairy free. (I'm in week two of my no dairy, doctor imposed three-week torture test. And of course, I'm going to San Francisco this weekend and can't have butter?! Ugh.) Honestly, I think the cake is prettier than it tastes. It was okay, but it didn't quite rock my world.

I think I should tap the pan on the counter next time...do you think that would remove some of the bubbles I got on top?

Honey Spice Cake
Adapted from Nordic Ware
1. Grease and flour the heck out of your Bundt. (My words there. I use shortening and flour and a pastry brush. This sucker better come out so spend time doing this!)
2. Mix 1 c hot water with 1 t instant espresso powder (or instant coffee), and set aside.
3. Mix 1 c honey, 3/4 c sugar, 1/2 c veggie oil (I used olive oil because that's what I had on hand), 4 eggs in a large bowl. The instructions say "until very light and fluffy" but I never got fluffy, even after adding the eggs one at a time. I got soupy, but never fluffy.
4. Mix together in a separate bowl: 3 c all-purpose flour, 2 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, 1/2 t salt 1/2 t ground cloves, 1/2 t allspice (I added 1/4 t cinnamon because I love cinnamon).
5. I alternated the dry with the coffee mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
6. Pour into pan (it gets pretty full but doesn't overflow) and bake in 325 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before depanning.
7. Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

Somen Noodle Salad in Inarizushi - Fried Soybean Skins/Pockets

Making salads "to go" is hard. Remember when McDonald's came out with the Salad McShaker in the 90's? I saw people eating that in cars...before cell phones took over as major distractions.

Put the plastic container and long fork away. Try this summer somen salad to go!

Kamaboko is steamed fish cake. It isn't too fishy, and adds pretty colors to the dish. I bought prepared "Inarizushi No Moto" pouches in a can, but you can also make them yourself. See links below for instructions from JustHungry.

Inarizushi pouches, abura-age, and inari age (lots of name for this...and "age" is not pronounced "what's your age in years?" but "ah-ge" (ge as is "get") is basically a fried tofu pouch that is seasoned...you can open the pouch and stuff it with yummy stuff. Most often it is used for inari sushi (or footballs as we called them as kids).

My salad contained: Somen noodles, eggs strips, kamaboko, frozen peas (thawed), green onions. See my earlier post about somen noodles.

You could add anything you want to this salad...edamame, fake crab, lettuce, cucumber, and other veggies. You can also top the salad with nori (seaweed).

I mixed up a quick dressing of: 1 T sesame seeds, dash of salt, 2 T sugar, 2 T sesame oil, 2 T veggie oil, 1/4 c rice wine vinegar, 2 T soy sauce...then stuffed the pouches with the salad!

Top each pocket with some sesame seeds!

Forget the Salad McShaker. Go for the Somen McSalad instead.

Additional Information and Recipes:
Cooking the somen noodles from Food Librarian's earlier post
Inarizushi: Sushi in a Bean Bag from Just Hungry
Making your own fried tofu skins from Just Hungry

Applesauce Spice Bars - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Karen of Something Sweet by Karen picked Applesauce Spice Bars on page 117 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I want to thank you all for the love, support and e-hugs about the loss of my cat, Q-Tip. I so appreciate it. When I was making these bars, I kept expecting her cute face to come over and visit with me.

Apple, nuts, raisins and glaze. Pretty simple and sweet. Some people say they didn't have enough glaze and doubled the recipe, but I like a light touch on any frosting so it was fine with me.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Applesauce Spice Bars on Something Sweet by Karen blog
Page 117 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours