Pudding Cakes

While I was on the road I was teaching students about Lemon Pudding Cakes; since it's spring, and lemon is such a fresh flavor to serve with berries, it was the perfect ending for many of the classes that I taught. That being said, when I mentioned that there was a Chocolate Pudding Cake that makes its own hot fudge sauce in the pan, the groans were loud and long.  Having promised my students in the Simply Fish class at The Kitchen Shoppe in Carlisle, PA this recipe, I hope you'll all try it, it's really amazingly simple, and scrumptious!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Serves 8

    2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

    1 ½ cups water

    2/3cup cocoa powder

    1/3 cup brown sugar

    1 cup granulated sugar

    6 tablespoons unsalted butter

    2 ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

    3/4cup all-purpose flour

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 tablespoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract

    1/3 cup whole milk

    ¼ teaspoon salt

    1 large egg yolk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat the inside of eight 4-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. Set ramekins on baking sheet. 
2. Stir instant espresso into the water; set aside to dissolve. 
3. Whisk together 1/3 cup cocoa, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in small bowl. 
4. Melt the butter, remaining 1/3 cup cocoa, and chocolate in small saucepan, and whisk until smooth. Set aside, and cool slightly. 
5. Whisk flour and baking powder in small bowl to combine and set aside. 
6. Whisk remaining 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in medium bowl until combined and whisk in the yolk. 
7. Add chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. 
8. Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is evenly moistened. 
9. Divide the batter evenly among ramekins (about 1/4 cup per ramekin) and level with back of spoon; sprinkle about 2 tablespoons cocoa/sugar mixture over batter in each ramekin. 
10. Pour 3 tablespoons coffee mixture over cocoa/sugar mixture in each ramekin. 
11. Bake until puffed and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Be careful not to over bake! 
12. Cool ramekins about 15 minutes before serving, the cakes will fall.  Serve with vanilla ice cream, or unsweetened whipped cream. 

Pudding Cake in a 9-inch square pan

1. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread evenly into sides and corners with rubber spatula.
2. Sprinkle cocoa/sugar mixture over batter. Mixture should cover entire surface of batter.
3. Pour coffee mixture gently over cocoa mixture, bake 20 to 30 minutes until puffed, and no longer jiggly.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.   

Wishing you a blessed Easter and Passover, and I will leave you with a few spring photos from Washington, D.C. 

Cool and Creamy

Here in San Diego we have been experiencing the coldest summer on record. While my kids in NYC, and Bloomington, IN are sweltering in the heat, I've got the slow cooker out making soups and stews! If you want to beat the heat, this cold strawberry soup is not only refreshing, it's lick the bowl delicious!  Simple to prepare, and refrigerate ahead of time, try this as a starter for your next dinner on the patio; it's cool, creamy, and topped off with sweet and salty almonds to give it a nice crunch. 

Cold Strawberry Soup with Sweet and Salty Almonds

Serves 6

1 cup water
1 cup rose wine
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 quart (4 cups) strawberries, washed, hulled, and pureed
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
1cup crème fraiche

1. Combine the water, wine, sugar and lemon juice in a 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Add the strawberries, and cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and cool.
4. When the mixture is cool, combine the whipped cream and crème fraiche and fold into the strawberry mixture.
5. Chill, and serve in small cups with sweet and salty almonds for garnish.

Sweet and Salty Almonds

Makes 2 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups sliced almonds
2 tablespoons Fleur de sel
1. In a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter and add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cayenne pepper. Stir until the sugar melts.
2. Add the almonds, and stir until the almonds are coated, and the almonds begin to turn golden brown.
3. Transfer the almonds to a mixing bowl, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the Fleur de sel.
4. Toss the almonds, and spread out on a baking sheet or paper toweling to cool. The almonds can be kept in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 6 months, or at room temperature for about 1 week.

An overabundance of  cherries at La Combe en Perigord led to making this delicious lemon pudding cake.  Although cherries are still available in many markets you can substitute any number of different fruits on the bottom (think blueberries, raspberries, nectarines).  The lemon pudding cake is an old recipe from the 60's where the cake separates into a nice cake on the top, but the bottom forms a pudding like mixture.  Adding fruit to the lemon pudding gives it a really nice texture and flavor.  I love this served with creme fraiche, but sweetened whipped cream, or ice cream works well, too.  If you are using cherries, get yourself a cherry pitter to make quick work of the cherries--we used Chuck Williams old cherry pitter to make the chore easier---almost like using one of Julia's old tools! This recipe is similar to the post using plums instead of cherries. 

La Combe Hot Lemon Pudding Cake with Cherries
Serves 6


1 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries, rinsed and stems removed
4 large eggs, separated
grated zest of one lemon
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 2/3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream, whipped stiffly with 1/4 cup sugar for garnish or 2 cups creme fraiche

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Coat the inside of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Spread the cherries over the bottom of the pan.
4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and blend in the zest, juice, butter and milk.
5. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and salt and add to egg yolk mixture beating until smooth and fold into the reserved egg whites.
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is firm. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving warm, with sweetened whipped cream.

Farmer's Market Bag Class

This morning I taught a class at Great News called, "It's in the Farmer's Market Bag"  The premise of the class was that we would use what was in the Specialty Produce Farmer's Market Bag this week and create a menu of delicious food that the students could make when they took THEIR Farmer's Market Bag home with them.  This is a look at some of the produce and some extra recipes that I didn't teach in the class but work well with this week's produce.   

Plums from Fitzgerald farms, so how about a plum lemon pudding cake??  I LIKE IT!
Hot Lemon Pudding Cake with Plums


Serves 6 to 8

1 1/2 cups peeled and pitted plums, cut into 1/2-inch wedges (about 3 plums)

4 large eggs, separated

grated zest of one lemon

1/3 cup lemon juice

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 2/3 cups milk

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream, whipped stiffly with 1/4 cup sugar

OVEN METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Coat the inside of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Spread the plums over the bottom of the pan.

4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and blend in the zest, juice, butter and milk.

5. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and salt and add to egg yolk mixture beating until smooth and fold into the reserved egg whites.

6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is firm. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving warm, with sweetened whipped cream.

SLOW COOKER METHOD

1. Coat the insert of a 5 to 7-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Spread the plums over the bottom of the slow cooker.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and blend in the zest, juice, butter and milk.

4. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and salt and add to egg yolk mixture beating until smooth and fold into the reserved egg whites.

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 2 ½ hours.

6. Remove the top of the slow cooker, turn off the heat, and allow the pudding to rest for 15 minutes.

Baby Arugula and Blood Oranges

In class we made a delicious salad from arugula and the blood oranges, but I'd like to share my blood orange sorbet recipe here.  If you don't have blood oranges, then use navels, they will work in the recipe.

Blood Orange Sorbet
Serves 6

Makes about 6 servings

3 cups blood orange juice

3/4 cup sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat the juice and sugar, until the sugar is dissolved. Chill the juice mixture thoroughly.

2. Add the juice to your ice cream maker, and process according to the manufacturers’ directions.

Note:  if you are low on oranges, add some navel orange juice to the blood orange juice. 

Heirloom Tomatoes!!!  We did a nice pasta salad with them, but they are delicious sliced with some olive oil, salt and pepper sprinkled over them. 

I will try and post a bit more later this weekend, but for now, enjoy your weekend, and remember to eat local and organic!