0 A Final Whirl

Dear Kind Readers,

I wish this post was about my beloved KitchenAid stand mixer, but unfortunately it's not. With a heavy heart I must take a little hiatus from blogging. I haven't had much time to bake lately. There are some matters that require my full attention and I need some time to sort it all out. I hope to eventually return, but it's hard to say what else life will throw at me. Thanks so much for following my baking journey over the last couple years. You've made the internet a sweeter place.

Yours truly,
Mary

0 It's Like Magic

Pudding cakes are, as the name implies, cake and pudding together. But you don't make the cake and the pudding separately and then combine the two. No, you actually make one batter and, through the magic of science, the batter separates as it bakes and you get two distinct layers in one cup: cake on top with pudding on the bottom. It's like a self-saucing cake! I'm not entirely sure how it works but I think it has something to do with the water bath.

And by the way, never bake when you're in a rush. I was in a bit of a rush so I didn't let my cakes get golden on top. They were still done, but just not golden brown done. So they look a bit anemic. Also, my pudding layer ended up being a little bit runnier than a pudding, custard or curd should be. I'm not sure if baking it a couple minutes longer would have firmed up the pudding layer. But even with these minor issues, the pudding cakes still tasted really good.



Lemon Pudding Cakes
(adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2)
(6 servings)

2 tbsp (1 ounce) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1-2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs, separated
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup milk (lowfat or whole)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter 6 (6-8 fluid ounce capacity) ovenproof cups or ramekins.

Using a mixer or a wooden spoon, cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in lemon zest and egg yolks until mixture is smooth. Mix in flour and baking powder. Add lemon juice and milk and mix until mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. (Make sure your bowl and whisk are clean or the egg whites may not reach full volume.) Gently fold beaten egg whites into the lemon mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Place ramekins in a 9x13 inch pan and fill the pan with enough warm water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 350F for 23-27 minutes until slightly golden on top. The top should spring back when lightly touched but leave a slight indentation. Carefully remove the ramekins from the water and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.

0 Toffee Almond Bars

People who know me know that I never use boxed cake mix to make cakes. I am definitely a cake from scratch girl. And although I don't use them to make cakes or cupcakes, I do use boxed cake mix to make "crust" for two recipes.

The first recipe is something we like to call "that pumpkin thing". I guess its official name is pecan pumpkin pie. I got that recipe from a restaurant on West Portal Avenue here in the city (and I will probably post the recipe on my blog in the future). And the second recipe is the one you see here for toffee almond bars. The toffee almond bar recipe was adapted from a recipe I found on the side of a yellow cake mix box.

The funny thing is that these are my two most requested recipes. I think maybe there's something in the cake mix that people seem to really like. Cake mix has a very specific and distinctive flavor that is like nothing else. I personally don't like that cake mix flavor, but I admit that I keep a box of yellow cake mix around just in case someone else has a craving for these toffee almond bars. In fact, they have been dubbed the "evil bars" by one of my coworkers since she can't resist them. But she also calls them "little bites of heaven".



Toffee Almond Bars
(makes one 9x13-inch pan)

Crust:
1 - 18 ounce box of Pillsbury yellow cake mix
*(I've also use Betty Crocker brand successfully)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg

Filling:
1 - 14 fluid ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
*(NOT evaporated milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
6 ounces toffee bits
*(I've used bits with or without chocolate as well as chopped up Skor or Heath candy bars)
1 cup sliced, slivered or chopped almonds

Instructions:

Mix the yellow cake mix, butter and 1 egg together and press into the bottom of a well-buttered 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 F degrees for 7 minutes (the crust won't look done).

In the meantime, mix the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, 1 egg, toffee bits and the almonds. Pour over the warm crust and bake at 350 F degrees for 24 to 30 minutes until the top looks slightly golden brown. Cool before cutting.