cooking ala mel

Rock Cakes, Revisted..with yeast!

July 13, 2011

With Deathly Hallows Part 2 coming out this Friday, there’s NO way I’m missing the chance to make as many Harry Potter related recipes as possible. It’s the end of the era..seven books, eight films..almost done (except for Pottermore, yeah? – maybe it’ll never end!). I spent the past few days rereading the seventh book to prepare myself for the end, although it’ll probably guarantee that I hate the movie (I can never handle the differences between the books and movies!).

I’ve made rock cakes before, but I decided I’d change them up a bit (mostly because I wanted some cinnamon raisin bread, but I was more concerned about doing something HP related) by using yeast instead. These aren’t your traditional rock cakes; you probably wouldn’t find Mrs. Weasley serving these with tea (or Hagrid..but I don’t think any traditional recipe resembles Hagrid’s, either!), but they’re still spot on with the flavor of a rock cake, just a little fluffier. I’m so happy about how these turned out.

I used a traditional cinnamon roll dough (healthified), divided it into pieces and filled each piece with cinnamon, raisins and truvia. They look like regular buns on the outside, but you get a little surprise once you bite into them..and yummmm is it delicious!

Just a fun fact about the book pictured here. I’m obviously from the US, but my dad got me the boxed set of the adult UK editions of Harry Potter for Christmas to read when I got my wisdom teeth out. It was so much fun to see the differences in wording between the editions! What’s sort of bothersome to me, though, is that it was only my second read through of this copy, and I already have a few pages coming out (you should see my hardcover US editions..they’ve seen better days). I obviously throw my HP books around too much..or read them a bit too thoroughly.

It’s going to be a fun week with Harry Potter recipes leading up to the movie! I have a few planned, but I’m not quite sure when they’ll be completed, since I’m also working! I won’t be seeing the movie until at least Saturday, so I have lots of time. 🙂

Yeasted Rock Cakes

makes about 20

For the dough:

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 t salt

12 packets truvia (or 1/2 cup sugar)

2 1/4 t yeast (1 package)

For the dough:

about 16-18 raisins per cake (probably about a cup total?)

3 packets truvia

2-3 t cinnamon

Warm the milk in the microwave for about 40 seconds. In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast into the milk and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add the truvia, applesauce, salt, eggs and flour and mix thoroughly. Knead for 5-10 minutes with a dough hook, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with oil. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Divide the dough into about 20 equal pieces (more or less depending on the size you make them). Flatten each piece into an oval about 1/2″ thick and place 16-18 raisins on top. Sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon and truvia. Roll the dough starting with the shorter side and then pinch the edges together so that it forms a tight seal, so that you cannot see any of the raisins. Place the seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough balls.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for a second time, about 15-30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350ºF in the meantime. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve.

Mini Cheddar Chive Scones

July 9, 2011

I’ve been having too many sweet things for breakfast lately. Whether it’s pancakes, blueberry muffins, banana date breakfast cake, a bowl of berries.. it’s always sweet. Alex has been having to put up with that lately, when I know he really quite enjoys having savory. I had a short day at work, so I decided I’d whip something up for our breakfasts that was more on the savory side. Since we just got some fresh chives from Al’s grandma (thank you!!), I decided on cheddar chive scones. I found a recipe at Padma’s Kitchen, and I adapted it to make it a bit healthier.

These scones are absolutely perfect with a dollop of sour cream. The fresh tang really balances out the more robust flavor from the cheddar. I mixed in some fresh chives into the sour cream, too, to add a bit of a zing to what otherwise may be boring… fantastic.

I love how easy these are to make. And with them being mini, it gives you a reason to have a few more…and I am always looking for that excuse, as I’m sure everyone has noticed with all the mini things throughout this blog…and they’re so darn cute, too!

Savory is good. I should do this more often.

Mini Cheddar Chive Scones

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
½ t paprika
¼ t pepper

2 T minced fresh chives

¼ cup grated cheddar, plus more for sprinkling
1-5.3 oz. container of plain greek yogurt

3/4 cup skim milk

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, pepper, chives and cheddar. Place the greek yogurt in a liquid measuring cup and fill to the 1 cup line with skim milk. Whisk together until lightly blended. Pour the yogurt/milk mixture into the dry ingredients and fold just until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a rectangle about 3/40-1″ thick. Cut squares into the dough about 2×2″, and then cut each square in half diagonally to form triangles. Place the triangles onto a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit of cheddar. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400ºF, until lightly browned. Serve spread with sour cream!

Chocolate Avocado Strawberry Upside Down Cake

July 4, 2011

With starting my new job at Dunkin Donuts, there’s been a lot less free time and subsequently, a lot less baking around here. With the fourth of July comes lots of picnics, of course, and Al’s aunt and cousin came in from Canada to visit, so his grandparents had a picnic today (the third). With today being my only day off of the week, as soon as I got off from work last night, I started baking the dessert for today’s picnic. Al’s mom gave me a few suggestions: chocolate, fruit, dairy free..so I decided to combine a bunch of recipes together and came up with a double layer strawberry upside down cake with a chocolate avocado cake base and a light ganache drizzled over top.

This cake surpassed all of my expectations. The cake was light while still being slightly dense, moist and almost spongy in texture. The strawberries added a nice tang but still added the perfect sweetness. The dark ganache balanced out everything else beautifully, adding a bit of decadence.

I was a bit wary of using the avocado, but it made the perfect texture – and no, you can’t taste it one bit! I love that it added healthy fats and made it so much better for you without weighing you down. It gives you a reason to take that big slice of chocolate cake!

Because I was making sure it was lactose free, I used lactose free milk for the ganache (fat free also), so it was a thin glaze, rather than an extremely rich, thick ganache that most of us are used to. It added the flavor without bogging you down too much.

Everyone loved this cake, and I’m SO glad it worked out as well as it did. It’s a little scary trying out a recipe for the first time for a small crowd, but it really paid off..delicious!

Chocolate Avocado Strawberry Upside Down Cake

makes one 2 layer 8-inch round cake

For the strawberry topping:

about 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

4 T Smart Balance spread (or butter)

1/2 cup brown sugar

Place 2 T of the spread (or butter) each in two 8 inch round cake pans and place in a 350ºF oven until melted. Swirl around so it coats the edges of the pan and then sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar on the bottom of each pan. Place the strawberries down in a single layer of each pan until they completely cover the bottom.

For the cake:

3 cups white whole wheat flour

7 T cocoa powder

1/2 t salt

2 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

1 1/3 cups agave nectar, maple syrup and honey (equal amounts of each – or just one is also fine!)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup mashed avocado (about 1 medium avocado)

1 cup water

2 T white vinegar

2 t vanilla

Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all of the wet ingredients and whisk together on medium speed until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour equal amounts of batter into the two prepared cake pans and smooth out with a spatula. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then slide a knife along the edges to loosen. Invert the bottom layer onto a cake plate. Spread with ganache and then invert the second layer on top. Drizzle the rest of the ganache on top, enough so that it drips down the sides. Chill the cake so that the ganache solidifies a bit or serve immediately.

For the ganache:

about 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup fat free milk (I used lactose free)

1/2 t vanilla

Heat the milk in a small sauce pan over medium heat until just boiling. Place the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add in the vanilla and stir. Allow to chill in the fridge until completely cool before drizzling over the cake. For a thicker ganache that is more spreadable, use cream in place of milk.