Uncategorized « DinnerCakes

Winning Over Skeptics Everywhere – Spicy Lentil Walnut Burgers

November 13th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Without a doubt, this is my favorite dinner in the rotation.

At first I was skeptical. I’ve never been a crazy lentil-lover like Edwin. And as I’ve hinted, despite my passion for cooking and baking, my palate isn’t terribly adventurous! When Edwin gets excited and exclaims to me that he found green candied cherries for baking Christmas cookies, I respond with, “bleh!” When my husband suggests to me that I make a fajita for lunch using leftovers, I look at him with horror (I don’t really like eating leftover meat… it’s a weird thing, I know).

So, when searching my favorite, tried and true cookbook for something new and delicious, my eyes only lingered over “Lentil-Walnut Burgers” long enough to conjure images of frozen veggie burgers and strike fear into my heart. The next time I picked the book up I paused over this recipe again, considering it. And so it went like this for a few weeks until I finally found the courage to dive in.

This story also illustrates a fact about me that friends over the years have found enormous pleasure in teasing me about – apparently, if there’s ever something that I react to immediately with vehement hate, chances are in time I’ll grow to be head over heels in love with it. I’ll never admit this to be true, but I can’t exactly say they’re wrong either…

Ghost Baker’s Favorite Dinner, Putting the Spice in Spicy:

I’ve made this recipe several times since the first time, and I’ve even made it for dinner guests. Be warned that my recipe for these little dinner cakes is spicy! I adore spicy food and lots of garlic, but I do like to serve them with milk. I add two more cloves of garlic than the original recipe calls for, as well as more red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I also love the texture – they should be just a tad crumbly and grainy. The second time I made them I mixed the ingredients a little too much and I think you lose something. The recipe says to use a food processor; however I don’t have one and I don’t think one is absolutely necessary (again, you don’t want to over-blend). It also suggests serving with a yogurt-cilantro sauce, but I don’t do cilantro.

My husband enjoys these burgers with the same accoutrements you would add to a hamburger, I like mine plain on the bun, and one of my dinner guests once asked for cheese on his – so have fun with it! We typically accompany these with a side of Szechuan green beans or couscous.

*Note – I would have taken a photo of all four burgers together with some toppings and sides, but when I turned around I caught a glimpse of my husband running into the other room with a burger in one hand yelling, “Take a photo of THIS!” and stuffing it into his mouth…

Spicy Lentil-Walnut Burgers
adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Makes 4 burgers (serves 4), Prep time about 40 min, Cook time about 20 min

3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
5 garlic cloves, minced (or use a garlic press)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg
4 Hamburger buns

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place lentils in a small saucepan, cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the lentils are tender but holding their shape, 15 to 20 minutes (it’s important that you don’t overcook them and make lentil-mush). Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, spread the chopped walnuts on a baking sheet to toast in the oven for about 10 minutes. They should be a little darker and very fragrant. Set the walnuts aside to cool.

When the walnuts have cooled I like to chop them a little more finely. Then combine them in a large bowl along with the breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander (if you have whole instead of ground, just put them in a plastic bag and crush with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or even a can), red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon. It should appear finely ground except for some pieces of walnut.

Add the lentils and 1 tablespoons of the oil. Don’t be afraid to be a little rough in your mixing – the contents of the bowl should appear chopped and fully incorporated but with some lentils remaining whole.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add it to the lentil mixture. Mix well, but be careful here not to mix it into mush. Divide it into 4 equal-size parts and roll into balls; flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning carefully with a thin-edged spatula, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Do not turn more frequently or else they will start to crumble. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.

Add to your bun and serve!

6 Comments »

The Wonder of the Wok (Sorta Simple Chick Stir Fry)

November 11th, 2008

by Chef Edwin

Growing up in a German and Italian family (and being quite “American”), we never did Chinese food at home much. Maybe this is why it always seemed so special, so exotic, so friggin’ tasty. Nowadays in my kitchen the ethnic variety is subject only to my cravings. Yes, nowadays, the Asian cuisine is much more prolific. I love my wok, but oh it was a journey (and still is). First there was the frozen stir fry in a bag phase, the half frozen, half vegetable phase (worse. idea. ever.), the non-stick wok routine…. you get the idea.

Much more refined these days, but still much to learn. I really enjoy Tigers & Strawberries as a resource to not only learn recipes of all kinds of Asian cultures, but also the fundamental cooking techniques of those cultures. I do find her stuff to be a bit challenging at times and her recipes will definitely tax the supply of your local non-international grocery store. This recipe, with a marinade and custom sauce, isn’t the simplest of choices; but won’t overly tax your skill set or ingredient needs.

Couple things worth noting for stir fries. First, don’t go non-stick on the wok. Woks are an exception to the “you get what you pay for” rule. The simple cheap woks are often the best. Carbon steal is a nice choice. Second, uniform size. You want all your pieces of a particular vegetable to be of the same size (roughly. this doesn’t have to be exact) so it all cooks in the same amount of time. Third, HEAT. Wok cooking is fast cooking. Using fresh ingredients and a hot wok, the time from when the first ingredient hits the oil to the time it’s ready to serve is in the span of 10 minutes. There is much much more to learn about wok cooking, and I strongly recommend Wok Words at Tigers & Strawberries as a good starting point. Now on to the recipe!

Sorta Simple Chicken Stir Fry

1/2 pound chicken breast; cut and sliced into thin strips.
1 celery stalk; cut into thin strips
1 head of broccoli; stalk optional. Cut the heads in halve and the stalks in thin strips.
1 inch ginger; minced
4 tablespoons oil (peanut, canola, vegetable)

Marinade:
1 egg white
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 teaspoons rice seasoning (or rice wine)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Seasoning
1 teaspoon chili oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon corn starch
3 tablespoons water or stock (chicken, preferably)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Prep: Mix the marinade together and combine with chicken. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to mix the seasoning as well before moving on.

Parboil the celery and broccoli in a pot of water for about 30 seconds. Drain and set aside.

Wok Action: Heat the wok to high (if you’ve got a non-gas stove, you’ll probably never lower the temp). Once hot, add two tablespoons of oil and swish around (carefully!) until wok is coated approximately 2/3 of the way up. Add the chicken and “stir fry” (toss) for about 2 minutes, until the chicken is firm. Remove to a plate.

Let the wok reheat and throw in another two tablespoons of oil. Recoat and throw in the veggies, chicken and seasoning. Combine until everything is coated with a light glaze; a few minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

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Hints and Pinches, Fried Apples

November 10th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

If you went apple picking this season like Edwin, then you may have a few extra apples in your kitchen. Apple pie is delicious, but many people don’t have the time to wrestle with dough and pie crust (and some don’t want to be tempted to eat a whole pie by themselves). Of course, this is sad for me because my favorite part is the crust! But most people, my husband included, just love the taste and smell of warm apples.

This weekend my in-laws gave us a bag of leftover apples. The apples are on their way to going bad, and they’re really too mealy to eat by themselves. But Morgan’s father offered that he thought they would be perfect for frying – and he was right!

Fried apples are difficult to get wrong, but you should decide how you want them before you start. I like a crispier apple, my husband likes mushy. I like my apples peeled and thinly sliced, and he prefers non-peeled chunks. We decided to experiment separately.

She said, Fried Apples (Crispy and Thin)

I chose a medium size apple, washed and peeled it. Use an apple slicer to cut it into 8 pieces, removing the core. Use a small knife to make thinner slices.

Heat up a small skillet and add 2 tablespoons of butter when hot. After about 30 seconds, add the apple slices to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring and turning the slices once or twice.

Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar over the apples. Stir one or twice to coat both sides of the apples.

Remove immediately from heat so that they’re still crispy. Serve with a side of fat-free cool whip.

He said, Fried Apples (Mushy and Thick)

Morgan washed two medium size apples and used an apple slice to cut into 16 pieces total (skins on). He added butter to a hot skillet, and then included the apples.

After cooking for about 1 minute, add cinnamon, brown sugar (about 1/4 cup), nutmeg and allspice. Continue to cook the apples, stirring occasionally, for about 4-5 minutes.

Morgan served his fried apples without cool whip (a tragedy, it’s true).

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An Adventure In Cabbage (Cabbage Rolls)

November 8th, 2008

by Chef Edwin

Good. Lord. it’sbeenalongexhaustingweek. Sometimes I think I’m too awesome; that I have too much amazing for even me to contain. Then I laugh and remember who we’re talking about here. But I digress. In short, this was a long work week with a lot going on and not a whole lot of time. No cooking, no baking. Just salads, leftovers, and take out (once). Sadness.

Friday was well received. No plans. No commitments. No obligations. No nothing.

I had recently signed up for produce delivery service from Washington’s Green Grocer. Sadly, I had to cancel their service. The produce was great, but with demanding schedule a few too many items were spoiling before I could get to them. Alas. Perhaps some day in the future…

My last delivery with them included a large head of cabbage. I’ve never done much with cabbage, considering it to be the disappointing child of some kind of lettuce family (“Your brother Romaine made an excellent salad today. Why can’t you be more like him?”). This is probably heavily biased from my childhood when my mother would cook red cabbage in traditional German style. There was no escape from the horrid smell emanating from the kitchen. Guh.

Doing a little research on cabbage I eventually came across a dish called dolma; a rolled or stuffed cabbage. Remembering my recent discovery of the awesomeness that are stuffed grape leaves, I found my Friday plans. I decided to prepare a quasi-indian meal and create a rolled cabbage recipe from scratch (with a little inspiration from the wonder that is the internet).

Overall, I was pretty happy with the results of my concoction. The filling seemed weak until I added the lemon sauce; so that is something I will definitely explore in the future (and encourage you to as well). This recipe does not make full use of a head of cabbage, so either double/triple the recipe or save the cabbage for a soup or stew (I know I will).

Rolled Cabbage, quasi-indian style, with lemon sauce
Makes about five rolls of cabbage.

Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
1/2 cup red lentils, cooked and drained
1/2 cup curried rice, cooked
1 large carrot; chopped
1 large shallot; chopped (onion would work too)
2 cloves of garlic; minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste
2 eggs
3 teaspoons of corn starch
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Prep:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Core the hard part of the cabbage (the stem mostly) from the base. Boil in a large pot of boiling, salted water. In about 5-10 minutes, when the leaves begin separating, remove from the pot, saving a one cup of the water. Let cool.

Filling:
Sweat the the carrots, shallots, garlic and celery in a medium sized pot; about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, rice, lentils and spices. For lack of a better word, let “mingle” for 5 minutes on low heat then remove from heat.

Place approximately two heaping spoonfuls of the filling onto one end of a cabbage leaf. Roll, following the length of the stem, then fold over the other sides. Please the roll onto the baking pan. Repeat until no more filling.

Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes; until the leaves are tender. While roasting, prepare the lemon sauce.

Lemon Sauce:
Whisk/mix the lemon juice and corn starch together. Bring the reserved water to a boil. Reduce the water to the lowest heat and add the lemon slurry. Beat the eggs in a small heatproof bowl and mix in the almost-lemon-sauce. Use this as a dressing. Enjoy

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Zucchini Bread, A Fall Treat

November 7th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Gold of a ripe oat straw, gold of a southwest moon,
Canada thistle blue and flimmering larkspur blue,
Tomatoes shining in the October sun with red hearts,
— Carl Sandburg, “Cornhuskers,” Falltime (1918)

I never had zucchini bread until last fall, but it was love at first sight. Zucchini and pumpkin are brothers.

Though I’ve noticed many people seem to make bread to get rid of extra zucchini, I really just love the taste of zucchini bread! Despite being a summer squash it’s a perfect complement to fall recipes including butternut squash, stew, or turkey. And I appreciate any opportunity I have to combine cinnamon and cloves!

Everyone has their own taste as to how they like their quick bread – moist, nutty, rich, etc., but you want something that won’t dry out immediately. I have two recipes that I like to work with, the first one is a Betty Crocker zucchini bread (which can also easily serve as pumpkin bread by substituting 1 can of solid packed pumpkin for the zucchini), and the second one is a more adventurous recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

Moist and Aromatic Zucchini Bread – Because For Ghost Baker, Fall is just Beginning:

You can find thousands of versions online and in cookbooks of certain dishes, so when I find two that I like I try to see how I can combine them and what I can learn from each. The Betty Crocker recipe is great because of its similarity to pumpkin bread, using cinnamon and cloves, and it’s versatility. However the cook time is a little off. I baked my loaves for 60 minutes as suggested and they came out just a little too done. 101 Cookbooks suggests slightly undercooking the loaves because they will continue to cook while cooling after being taken out of the oven. As with anything you bake, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on things towards the end of the cook time (If you click on our Flickr photo stream, the first photo in the zucchini bread series is from the time I used just the 101 Cookbooks recipe; you’ll see it comes out dense and the cook time was perfect).

I also like to grate my zucchini, including the skins, a little more finely. Make sure you drain them so that your loaves don’t get to watery. You want your batter to be relatively thick.

And if you think I enjoy Zucchini Bread, just wait for my Aunt Sue’s Pumpkin Bread recipe!

Zucchini Loaves
adapted from Betty Crocker and 101 Cookbooks

3 cups grated zucchini, including skins
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Move oven rack to the low position so that tops of pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans and sprinkle lightly with flour.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs and mix. Stir in remaining ingredients leaving out nuts. Once incorporated, add the nuts leaving out a handful to be sprinkled on at the end – do not overmix your batter.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Use a rubber spatula to level the batter. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top of the batter.

Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Loosen sides of the loaves from the pans and remove from pans, placing the loaves top side up on a wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before wrapping tightly (if you wrap your loaves before they cool completely, you’ll get mold!). After wrapping, store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Prep: 15-20 minutes, Bake: 45 minutes, Cool: 2 hours
Makes 2 loaves, or about 24 slices each.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

November 5th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Next week my husband is beginning a new career that he’s very excited about, and he asked me to bake something to take in to his office as he says his good byes. I sent him a few recipes to choose from, including 101 Cookbooks’ Amazing Black Bean Brownie Recipe that I’ve been dying to try, but Morgan wasn’t having any of it. He said he wouldn’t want them to think, “Who’s this crazy guy bringing in brownies made of beans? We’re glad he’s leaving!”

Back to the drawing board!

I can’t really argue with him – office culture is not the most welcoming environment for exotic new recipes. In fact, people in general can be incredibly wary of trying new things (I should be looking in the mirror as I say this; I’m sure Morgan will be incredulous that I’m even suggesting that I’m outside this category).

I remember a number of birthday parties growing up where my mom would amass enough food to feed an army, an assortment of all my favorite things including an amazing sherbert punch. But the sherbert punch contained a lot of different ingredients along with scoops of rainbow-flavored sherbert that would float to the top – this was clearly not Kool-Aid. And so the punch would go untouched. Hmpf, kids!

But I just couldn’t bring myself to make a chocolate chip cookie or basic brownie recipe this week. This week is different! Historic and amazing things have happened in my home state of Virginia and across the country. Electricity is in the air. If anything is possible, then maybe Morgan’s office will accept something ever so slightly off the beaten path?

I kept coming back to two recipes: Chocolate-Pumpkin Brownies from RecipeGirl.com and Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from Smitten Kitchen (though I have to be honest, even I am almost pumpkined out for the season). The RecipeGirl brownies looked more chocolatey and had less pumpkin and pumpkin spices, and the Smitten Kitchen recipe looked great but Deb seemed a little unsatisfied. I decided to compromise and try to incorporate the best of both pumpkin brownie worlds.

Ghost Baker’s verdict and suggestions for an irresistible medley of chocolate and pumpkin:

Deb at Smitten Kitchen said she kept wishing her brownies were either all chocolate or all pumpkin and the RecipeGirl brownies looked more chocolate than pumpkin. I tried to change the recipes so that one taste might slightly overpower the other. Being that I love pumpkin, I added a whole can of pumpkin along with cloves and more nutmeg. Sometimes I think brownies run the risk of being a little bland, but adding the extra spices really kicked them up a bit. I liked them even better after they set overnight.

Deb also described her chocolate batter as being too thick. To smooth it out and make it more pourable I included 1/2 cup of cream cheese. It was certainly not as thin as the pumpkin batter, but it did help.

I also used a 13×9 pan to keep the brownies from being too enormous and thick.

Update – Success! Morgan said these brownies were scarfed down at his office in no time.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Recipe Girl

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 can solid-pack pumpkin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 baking pan and line the bottom and two sides with parchment paper. Grease the paper as well.

Melt chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl for 50 seconds; stir to incorporate fully.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer if you don’t have one). Beat until fluffy and pale yellow, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in flour mixture in two parts.

Pour half of your batter(about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the softened cream cheese and stir unti combined.

In the other bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Transfer half of your chocolate batter to the prepared pan and smooth and level with a rubber spatula. It will be relatively thin. Top with half of the pumpkin batter. Repeat with another layer of the chocolate batter followed by the last layer of pumpkin. You have to work relatively quickly to keep the batter from setting.

With a butter knife, marble your two batters – make sure you take the knife all the way down to the bottom of the pan.

Bake approximately 27-30 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, then remove brownies by lifting parchment paper and cool completely on your wire rack.

Makes about 36 brownies.

2 Comments »

Hooray For Soup

November 4th, 2008

by Chef Edwin

Soup. Is. Awesome. That’s right, I said it. I am no longer the reckless youth I once was. I no longer eat what can be barely considered food. I no longer leave a pot of Campbell’s Soup sitting on the stove over night only to eat it the next day. No, today I am mature. Sophisticated. And sophisticated, mature people (read: OLD) eat mature things, like soup.

It’s safe to say there is rarely a week that I don’t eat some kind of soup. It’s delicious (when done right), it’s healthy (when done right) and if you prepare a big enough pot it can last you the whole week (or you could freeze it, depending on the soup). This is usually want I do. Come the weekend I cook a pot of soup for lunch throughout the week. It’s also nice for a quick last minute dinner, but when you’re already eating the stuff once a day for a week already, the addition of it on the dinner menu gets old.

One of my staples is lentil soup. Legumes (beans) are an excellent source of protein and lentils are the second highest source in the legume family (soy takes first). Lentils are also great because you can buy them dried (cheap) and don’t have to worry about softening them prior to cooking. This dish also demonstrates another great thing about soups: their flexibility and versatility. You can really do a lot to vary this recipe and chances are it’ll still come out delicious (unless you do something wacky like add peanut butter or cheese or something. i offer no guarantees if you go all “mad scientist” on this thing). This can really be considered a “base” recipe. I often up the veggie ratio. Go nuts with this one. And better yet, let us know how it turns out!

And yes, I totally acknowledge how visually unappealing this soup is.

Simple (Healthy!) Lentil Soup
adapted from Alton Brown

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion; chopped
1 carrot; chopped
1 celery stalk; chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
8 cups of water or broth (I normally use eight cups of water and some frozen stock, but bouillon cubes could also work)
10 oz of lentils; picked over, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (whole or stewed could also work in a pinch)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Sweat the onions, carrots, celery and garlic with the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot for about 10 minutes. The onion should start appearing translucent.

Add everything but the salt (simple, huh?). Let simmer for 45 minutes. Add salt to taste. Done. Eat. Be full.

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Red, White and Cupcakes

November 3rd, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Happy Election Day! When I thought about what to cook on election day I kept thinking about hot wings and nachos. Unfortunately I seem to associate super bowl food with election food. Maybe it’s apt; I think it will be a battle! In any event I decided to settle for cupcakes.

There were probably several points in this recipe where I should have turned back and abandoned ship, but I had a dream of red, white and blue patriotic cupcakes in honor of election day. I wanted white cake, white icing, and a splash of colorful strawberries and blueberries.

While searching for a white cake recipe in my cookbooks, I was surprised to find that I actually owned a book completely about cupcakes called Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. I knew that using this book would go against one of Edwin’s core values (thou shalt not use box cake mix), but because I was in a pinch for time and I enjoy thwarting Edwin, I went for it.

Flipping through the first few chapters I found some neat suggestions including 5 ways to fill a cupcake. One of the suggestions is to place a large berry on top of the batter before baking – fitting nicely with my theme of berries and white cake. I also wanted to trim at least a little fat from this recipe, so I decided to top off the cakes with a dollop of fat free cool whip instead of buttercream frosting – something like mini strawberry and blueberry shortcakes. Unfortunately for me the grocery store had other ideas, and they weren’t carrying very impressive blueberries. But blackberries are just as good, if not better, right?

In addition to box cake mix (sorry, Edwin), the batter called for other ingredients such as milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, and white chocolate chips. The white chocolate chips sounded amazing to me as an addition to the batter, but they gave me trouble. I had to work quickly and make sure not to let the melted white chocolate sit, because after only a minute the smooth mixture hardened into large chunks.

Adding a berry to the top of the batter before baking was also problematic. I tried it a few different ways, sometimes hiding a thin slice of strawberry or a blackberry inside the batter and sometimes leaving it on top. The cupcakes with strawberry slices had to cook for an even longer time than the blackberry cakes – approximately 22 minutes. The cook time for all of the cupcakes was a little tricky, and on my very first batch a few of the cakes just completely sunk in the middle.

Ghost Baker’s Tips to Avoid Trouble at the Polls:

Work quickly to avoid having your white chocolate harden and ruin your batter. Make sure it’s fully incorporated into the batter. If you’d like to add a berry filling, stick to either small blueberries or blackberries or just a half berry. Set it gently on top of the leveled batter right before it goes in the oven. Adjust your cook time as needed, but make sure the area around the berry slightly springs back when you touch it lightly after taking it out of the oven. Make sure there are no pockets of uncooked batter.

Red, White and Cupcakes with Berry Filling
adapted from White on White Cupcakes in Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor

24 Paper Liners for cupcake pans
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 package white cake mix, extra moist
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries or blackberries (approximately)
1 container of cool whip for frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 and line°F and line your cupcake pans. Set aside.

Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 50 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir with a rubber spatula until the chips are smooth. Set aside.

Mix cake mix, milk, oil, egg, egg whites, vanilla, and melted white chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Blend with a stand mixer or electric mixer on low for 1 minute, then medium for 2 more minutes.

Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, scoop batter into your lined cups, filling it approximately two thirds of the way. Level your mix with a spoon. Lay a small berry or half a berry in the center of each cake; do not push down.

Bake approximately 22 minutes, checking after 20 minutes to make sure your cakes don’t burn. They should be light golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. The batter surrounding the berry should not be runny.

Cool for 15 minutes, then top with a dollop of cool whip and decorate with berries as desired.

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The Cuter Side Of Halloween (Meringue Ghosts)

November 1st, 2008

by Chef Edwin

I’m normally not one to decorate for decoration’s sake. Part of this is because I suck at the aesthetics. I was not blessed with an overabundance of artistic skill. When it comes to drawing, I peaked at stick men (side note: I did write my own stick man comics in elementary school. it rocked). I’m also more about the food than the presentation. As my dad says, it’s going to look worse on the way out (thanks, dad).

Every now and then I like to flex my puny artistic muscle. Normally this serves a reminder as to why I don’t do this very often. Every now and then, however, things work out. Thursday was one of those days.

Like I said before, holidays have great themed culinary conentations. The eyeball cupcakes were a hit at work and I have to say I was quite pleased with these meringue ghosties. I got the idea from a post at 101 Cookbooks.

Meringue is a mythical beast for some; myself included. Sometimes it feels like you can do everything “right” and still crash and burn. Because of this I strongly recommend having a can of meringue powder ready in case disaster strikes. With this, you have two options. You can use it as back up or you can just screw from-scratch and follow the recipe on the can. I did the former. My from-scratch attempt was faltering so I added a bit of meringue powder and water. Success!

Ghost Meringues
adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Two large egg whites, room temperature
Three-finger pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
Meringue powder and water (as backup!)

Cinnamon decorating decors for the eyes

Prepare a baking ban with a sheet of parchment paper and preheat the oven to 250 °F.

Combine the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar into a bowl and, using a hand or stand mixer, mix until frothy. Medium/medium-fast works fine here. At this point set your mixing speed to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar. Add it quickly and you’ll get a nice cloud of sugar dust.

Mix. Keep mixing. Mix some more. You’re going to be mixing for at least 20 minutes; probably more. The volume should increase significantly (double/triple in size) and the consistency should be thick and light. The meringue should form stiff peaks. (somewhere during this stage I concluded I was down the road of failure and started adding meringue powder and water. No measurements on this!)

Once at this point add to a pastry bag or a large plastic bag with a tip cut off and begin piping. I piped these similarly to the way you fill a cone with softserve ice cream. Start with a circle the size you want and keeping narrowing the spiral as you reach the top; eventually reaching a tip. Put two cinnamon decors on each as the eyes.

Put in the oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, poke a “test” ghostie with your finger (should not be too hot, but be careful). It should be fairly solid. If not, leave in the oven for longer. When solid, turn off the heat, open the door a few inches and let sit for 15 minutes. At this point the ghosties should be farily stable and ready.

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The Eyes Have It (Eyeball Cupcakes)

October 31st, 2008

by Chef Edwin

Halloween has to be the best “holiday” of the year. Don’t get me wrong; Christmas is cool, Thanksgiving is fun, but Halloween is a free pass to go nuts. Whether you’re one of thousands of girls who take advantage of the one day it’s socially acceptable to tramp it up, an individual who plays out his/her secret fantasy without fear of judgment (furries are people too, or so I’m told), or just someone who likes a little make-believe; this day has something for you. Halloween is the best night of the year to go out. No other day will complete strangers be so open to meet you; so willing to start random conversations.

And then of course, there’s the baking. The great thing about every holiday is the themed baking. There are plenty of ideas out there on Halloween-themed culinary delights and I took full advantage. Last year’s vampire cupcakes were a hit, but here at DinnerCakes we are ever venturing forward; forging new paths. This will be a two-parter, folks. And by two parter, I mean two posts that are Halloween themed. (ok, so I guess that’s not really a two-parter at all. whatev.)

My friend Lindsey and I were talking, discussing potential works of art to bring to her party and she mentioned recently coming across “eyeball” cupcakes. Doing a quick search on foodblogsearch gave me plenty of examples. Having dabbled in fondant before (sometimes successfully), I decided to give it a shot.

This is more of a how-to on the decorative process than it is a recipe. For the cupcakes, I used a recipe from Joy Of Cooking (also known as my bible). You could use anything. Like yellow cake? Do that. All about red velvet? Go for it. The world is your oyster (pantry).

Eyeball Cupcakes (of DOOM!)
Two dozen cupcakes (give or take)
Two pounds of white fondant (this is more than enough, you WILL have leftovers, but this is unavoidable)
Two cups royal icing in a pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip cut off (butter cream also works well)
Red and black icing for veins and pupil, respectively (royal works well, but any icing in a tube at the store will work)
Lifesavers

After the cupcakes have cooled, begin working on the fondant. Start with half and work it in your hands; warming it up. When it’s comfortably pliable, set it on a clean working surface to roll it out. Note, some fondant can stick to some (most?) surfaces. Not as big a deal with the small shapes we’re making here (pastry cutter for the win), but you could always dust the surface with corn starch. Roll out your fondant like you would a pie crust; from the center out. Feel the surface of the fondant to see how smooth and even it is. You’re going for 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick. This process is really forgiving since you’re going to be making really small shapes. Use a pie cutter of the proper size (or a glass or anything round) to cut the whites of the eyes for each cupcake.

Spread a layer of icing on the top of each of the cupcakes. This is your glue. Glue your eyeball whites onto the cupcakes. Depending on your icing, it might dry somewhat quickly, becoming less awesome in the glue category. You may want to consider only icing half first, gluing on the whites, then continuing with the other half.

Next, the veins with the red icing. Start from the center, drawing squiggly lines out; as many as you want. Don’t worry too much about how pretty the center is. After you’re done with this, you’ll place lifesavers at the center and dot its hole with black icing.

And then, BAM.

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