Barefoot Bloggers- Sheet Cake

I am a day late with my first Barefoot Bloggers. What a crazy week I had...it seems that every time we have a holiday weekend we pay for it by having to jam 5 days worth of work into 4 days. Thank God, the weekend is here!!! Going back to Barefoot Bloggers again...The first September recipe was chosen by Susy of Everyday Gourmet. She chose Birthday Sheet Cake. For the record, I LOVE Ina and every single recipe I've ever made of hers (and I made LOTS) I was very happy with...with this being said, I was somewhat disappointed with this one... The cake flavor was good but the ganache frosting was kind of runny and didn't quite set the way it should... I also thought that is was a boring recipe. There was nothing special about it. Essentially, it was a yellow cake with very blahhh chocolate frosting. I can't believe that I just wrote Ina and blahh in the same post but this cake didn't do anything for me. To be fair, I am not a huge cake fan, so it was a hard sale to begin with. The bottom line is that if you like yellow cake with chocolate frosting you probably will like this cake. I mentioned earlier that it was a sheet cake, but I do not like sheet cakes, so I decided to stack my cakes and make 3 layer cake covered in frosting. Here is what I've ended up with:




For the cake:

* 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 3 cups sugar
* 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 lemon, zested
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

* 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.

For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.

Spread the frosting evenly on the cake. Have the children decorate the cake with chocolate candies.

Barefoot Contessa Coffee Cake

There is nothing better than hot, steamy cup of coffee in the morning! If you are a coffee drinker you know what I mean...It does generally get the job done for me, but we had company this morning so I decided we need something to go with it! What would be better than coffee cake? Now, I love a good slice of coffee cake with my morning brew, but find that a lot of coffee cakes are bland and dry...that is not the case with this one. Ina has done it again! This cake is moist and delicious, nuts in the streusel topping add a little crunchiness which provides lovely contrast. I also added 1/2 cup of raisins to streusel.

Coffee Cake



* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar ( I used 1 cup)
* 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups sour cream ( I used Greek yogurt)
* 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

* 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 tablespoons real maple syrup


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Greek Panzanella Salad

I saw a new episode of Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics yesterday... As you know Ina is one of my favorite if not THE Favorite chef. One of the recipes she made on the show was a Greek panzanella, a twist on a traditional Italian salad but with olives, feta cheese and Greek vinaigrette. It was a HUGE HIT!!! If you like traditional panzanella, you will love this one as well.



* Good olive oil
* 1 small French bread cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
* Kosher salt
* 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
* 1 red bell pepper, large diced
* 1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
* 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
* 1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
* 1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:

* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

The tale of a cupcake...

My husband is obsessed with Hostess Cupcakes... He is not into sweets at all but has few choice desserts he enjoys, supermarket cupcakes being one of them. As any self respected baker and a little bit of a cupcake snob I absolutely hate that he buys those every time he grocery shops. This was an experiment to see if any chocolate cupcake will do, or is his obsession Hostess Cupcake specific? I've decided to try Ina Garten's chocolate cupcake recipe, they are moist and delicious and most importantly covered in chocolate ganache that I spiked with Grand Marnier (orange) liquor. George LOVED IT!!!



Here is the recipe:

* 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 cup sugar
* 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
* 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:


* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
* 1 Tabelspoon of Grand Marnier

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache.

Tomato Feta Salad

* 4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
* 1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
* 1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
* 6 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
* 1 1/2 pounds feta cheese

Directions

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.