The Week of Baking, Days 1 - 3
Because I am staying at my parents’ house in Chicago for the week, I have access to their kitchen. This kitchen has an oven. If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that for the past four months I have lacked an oven, as well as most other things kitchen-related, because I whine about it constantly. What a jerk I am.
A few days ago I decided to make this The Week of Baking, in which I would sift through my enormous pile of recipes ripped compulsively each month from Gourmet and Food and Wine and try to make something every day.
On Saturday, I baked a batch of Joe Froggers. This was not a recipe culled from a food magazine, but rather from one of my mother’s friends. They’re ginger-molasses cookies, and they’re quite good. Here they are:
The only thing odd about them is that they quickly became rock hard. I can't stay ahead of the Midwest weather; when I make these in the summer, they practically ooze off the plate from the humid air. In the winter, they resemble gingersnaps. It's a conundrum.
Sunday’s attempt was a Cider Spice Cake from the October issue of Gourmet. You know when you’re halfway through a recipe, and you can sense imminent disaster? Or at least imminent mediocrity? That’s what happened here. I was too lazy to read through the comments on Epicurious, so I went full steam ahead and baked a bad cake that only 65% of users would make again. This was stupid of me. Those Epicurious users know their stuff, and often suggest alterations that can transform frequently-weird Gourmet recipes into things that are palatable.
What was Gourmet thinking? And more importantly, what was I thinking? The frosting for this cake is quite foul. It was basically two sticks of butter mixed with a small amount of flavorless apple cider goo. Here it is, the goo:
Doesn’t it remind you of something on Iron Chef? Something that would be dished up in a large bowl, and all the panelists would scoop it up gleefully and talk about how it lacks a fishy smell and reminds them of being a little girl, and how comforting it is? Isn’t it interesting how Americans are so disturbed by gelatinous things?
Anyway, there were a number of problems with the cake. Some are my fault, and some are not:
1) The only apple cider available at my supermarket was the generic brand, which was thin and lacked a robust flavor.
2) The recipe was already criticized for producing very thin cakes, and I worsened this by using cake pans that were one inch larger than what was called for.
3) The buttercream frosting was just bad. Way, way too much butter, and the weak cider added no additional flavor. A tangy cream cheese frosting would be better.
4) I suspect that this cake will get stale very quickly.
5) It needs something crunchy for texture, like nuts. If I make it again, I will scatter some carmelized walnuts or pecans over the top.
Luckily, all my family members are butter-hounds, and don’t seem to be repulsed by the fact that the frosting is essentially two sticks of butter smeared all around the cake. In fact, I think they like it. They are also all on cholesterol-lowering medications.
Today is Russian Easter Bread Day. I’ll follow up in a few hours when it comes out of the oven.
A few days ago I decided to make this The Week of Baking, in which I would sift through my enormous pile of recipes ripped compulsively each month from Gourmet and Food and Wine and try to make something every day.
On Saturday, I baked a batch of Joe Froggers. This was not a recipe culled from a food magazine, but rather from one of my mother’s friends. They’re ginger-molasses cookies, and they’re quite good. Here they are:
The only thing odd about them is that they quickly became rock hard. I can't stay ahead of the Midwest weather; when I make these in the summer, they practically ooze off the plate from the humid air. In the winter, they resemble gingersnaps. It's a conundrum.
Sunday’s attempt was a Cider Spice Cake from the October issue of Gourmet. You know when you’re halfway through a recipe, and you can sense imminent disaster? Or at least imminent mediocrity? That’s what happened here. I was too lazy to read through the comments on Epicurious, so I went full steam ahead and baked a bad cake that only 65% of users would make again. This was stupid of me. Those Epicurious users know their stuff, and often suggest alterations that can transform frequently-weird Gourmet recipes into things that are palatable.
What was Gourmet thinking? And more importantly, what was I thinking? The frosting for this cake is quite foul. It was basically two sticks of butter mixed with a small amount of flavorless apple cider goo. Here it is, the goo:
Doesn’t it remind you of something on Iron Chef? Something that would be dished up in a large bowl, and all the panelists would scoop it up gleefully and talk about how it lacks a fishy smell and reminds them of being a little girl, and how comforting it is? Isn’t it interesting how Americans are so disturbed by gelatinous things?
Anyway, there were a number of problems with the cake. Some are my fault, and some are not:
1) The only apple cider available at my supermarket was the generic brand, which was thin and lacked a robust flavor.
2) The recipe was already criticized for producing very thin cakes, and I worsened this by using cake pans that were one inch larger than what was called for.
3) The buttercream frosting was just bad. Way, way too much butter, and the weak cider added no additional flavor. A tangy cream cheese frosting would be better.
4) I suspect that this cake will get stale very quickly.
5) It needs something crunchy for texture, like nuts. If I make it again, I will scatter some carmelized walnuts or pecans over the top.
Luckily, all my family members are butter-hounds, and don’t seem to be repulsed by the fact that the frosting is essentially two sticks of butter smeared all around the cake. In fact, I think they like it. They are also all on cholesterol-lowering medications.
Today is Russian Easter Bread Day. I’ll follow up in a few hours when it comes out of the oven.
posted by cindym at 11:09 AM
2 Comments:
Hey Cindy, I was intrigued by your comments about this cake when you were here. After all my snide comments about typos and such, I think there is really nothing wrong w/ the recipe. I think the issues lie more with technique and understanding how to 'build' a buttercream frosting, etc. Next time your in Chi-town (just kidding- I hate 'Frisco' too) let's make it at my house when we talk.
Cindy, as the friend who gave your mother the Joe Frogger recipe (actually, I got it from my sister, a wonderful cook), I have a hint for you: If you don't want them to get rock hard, underbake them a wee bit and store them, once cooled, in a very air-tight container. They are wonderfully chewy that way and not like a gingersnap. They will eventually get hard or crumbly, but we usually polish off a batch before that can happen. As you said, this recipe is a bit trickier in humid weather. That's why I make it in the winter. The cookies are great with a cup of hot tastey cider, the kind you can get at a farmers market. We buy a bunch in the fall and freeze it so we have some to enjoy all winter long. I could have given you some for your cake!
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