Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

Well this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection was chosen by Caitlin. It was definitely out of the box for me, which is part of why I love this event! I'll admit I was a little wary, though, so I used my new little tart pans and halved the recipe- it yielded four tartlets. I used a dried fruit mix from Trader Joe's that included raisins and berries and they were delicious. I also skipped the butter on top of the batter and instead brushed the finished product with butter and sprinkled the cakes with sugar so they were cute and shiny. Personally, I thought they tasted like really sweet buttery cornbread (not quite what I was hoping for!). My husband thought they tasted like really sweet buttery cornbread (and he loved it!) So I guess it worked out in the end! I also dropped off a few pieces to my Brazilian friend since I heard this was similar to something they eat there- I'm still waiting for her verdict! Make sure to check out how everyone else did!

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
from Baking by Dorie Greenspan
About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed (I used dried raisins and berries instead)
1 C. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
½ C. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 C. ricotta
1/3 C. tepid water
¾ C. sugar
¾ C. honey
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half. (I used a raisin berry mix and plumped them first)

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter. (I omitted the butter)

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely. (I brushed the cakes with butter and sprinkled with sugar)

Lemon Shrimp Linguine

I've had some frozen shrimp falling out of the freezer everytime I go hunting for some chicken, so I thought I would try this recipe out again. I made a few modifications but it got a "make it again" review so I guess it's a keeper! I served it with fresh green beans and think broccoli could be delicious too. My husband doesn't like seafood so I might try it with chicken next time, I think it would work well (and would make me feel less guilty for adding cheese, which I think it needed!) I always love Giada's recipes and this was no exception!

Lemon Shrimp Linguine
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

For the pasta:
1/2 pound linguine pasta
2 T. olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb. frozen shrimp
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 t. kosher salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 C. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes (be careful not to burn!). Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add a few red pepper flakes if you like it hot. Add the cooked linguine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, parsley, cheese, and pepper. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

TWD- Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Up until about four years ago I didn't like avocados. I don't know where I got this idea but since I'd spent many years not liking them, I was shocked that when I finally tried them, I realized I LOVE avocados! I guess I have the same problem when it comes to Carrot Cake. When Amanda from Slow like Honey chose it, I figured, well at least I wont be tempted to eat it! Wrong again. I decided I'd better half the recipe and make cupcakes so I could easily distribute them to friends without keeping them at my house. So with Baby's help, I shredded the carrots and got to work, and here as my first mistake. Instead of using the small grater, I did the big size, and I think they weighed down the batter too much.

The half batch of batter made 12 regular cupcakes, 6 minis, and a LOT of dishes. I put them into the oven and by the recommended time (I'd heard 25 minutes) all I had was flat mush. That's right. I baked them a little longer. They were still raw and funny looking. I ended up taking them out and just prying them out of the pan and dumping what I could salvage into a bowl that everyone snacked out of and topped their ice cream with.

While my cupcakes collapsed and didn't quite work out, they tasted ridiculously delicious. So good I almost forgot I don't like carrot cake. I didn't make the frosting since I didn't have cupcakes but I use a similar recipe all the time and add lemon zest to it. I will try again another time with cakes, not cupcakes, and lemony- cream cheesey, delicious frosting.

Make sure to check out the rest of the TWD peeps- hopefully they had better luck!

Bill's Big Carrot Cake
from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I used Walnuts)
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:

Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Death by Chocolate Frosting

A couple months ago my friend Anna made the most delicious frosting to top some birthday cupcakes. She used the Sprinkle's recipe from Candace Nelson on Oprah and everyone loved it (more than one person just licked the top off a couple cupcakes after devouring their first!)

So naturally, I got the recipe from Anna and when I saw the pound of butter I almost fainted. I mean, it tastes good, but that's really not helping my skinny jeans goal! Let's be honest, any cupcake isn't helping that goal. Either way, I attempt to thin it out a little bit and I still think it tastes ridiculously delicious. After I frost my cupcakes I use the extra to make graham cracker cookies (our technical term for a cracker slathered with frosting and topped with another cracker, then frozen. Yum). Trust me, this is one recipe where you'll be licking off the beater. And the spatula. And the bowl (and then you'll be too sick to eat a cupcake, which is a fair trade for me!).

Death by Chocolate Frosting
1 Bag dark chocolate chips
2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 bag powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla (use the good stuff)
1/3 C. Sour cream
2 t. Meringue powder

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and set aside. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and vanilla until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder slowly (I usually add it all, cover the mixer with a towel, and turn in on low) and then beat until fluffy and smooth. Add the sour cream, mix, then add the chocolate and mix just until blended. Frosts two dozen cupcakes.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Since I made two batches of marshmallows, I've had six egg yolks staring me in the face everytime I opened the fridge. So I decided to make Dorie's Pastry Cream again and thought chocolate sounded perfect. She didn't have a "playing around" option for chocolate so I found my old cook book from my college class and she said to keep everything the same and add 1/3 cup of cocoa to the dry ingredients. I added an extra egg because the mixture was too thick at first. It ended up cooking up nice and thick and delicious. I think next time I will also increase the milk by a 1/2 a cup or so. This pudding was a little thick to eat plain so I made it into a chocolate cream pie (and immediately took it over to the neighbors, it was way too tasty!) Forgive the store bought graham crust- I have a one year old and no food processor, okay? :) Next time! I also think this would be amazing in cream puffs. Mmmm...

Chocolate Pastry Cream (Adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan)
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks (I used 7)
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted (I hate sifting)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. (I skipped this step and just added it immediately after the vanilla) Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold.

Spoon the pudding into a graham cracker crust and serve with whipped cream enjoy.