APPLE COFFEE CAKE WITH CRUMBLE TOPPING AND BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

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Thanksgiving is in the air! Food Network and the Cooking Channel are filled with recipes for thanksgiving. Even google’s search page had a thanksgiving doodle by Ina Garten (of Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa fame). Its such a wonderful festive time. After Thanksgiving its time for Christmas! I think this is the best time to be in the US. Everybody is in the festive mood and in the mood to EAT! Loads of cook shows, loads of recipes, loads of calories to put on!

Now, V doesn’t eat any other meat than chicken and sometimes, lamb meat (though prefers it only when it is in a kebab form). So turkey for thanksgiving was out of the question. Even though after watching so many thanksgiving shows I was really keen on trying my hand at one. Alas! Acceptance (like my dad said)- thats a key to a successful marriage – and that’s what I did and made my peace with it.

We are having a pot luck on Friday at V’s friends place in Phoenix, and somehow living 4 hours away doesn’t justify not bringing something to eat and since this is going to be like a Thanksgiving feast but with Indian dishes, I thought of taking a dessert that would be somewhat true to Thanksgiving. Now, its not the traditional pumkin pie, or any other kind of pie- because I don’t know how well it will hold off till the next day (but, to tell you the truth, the actual reason is that I’m still not confident with pie crusts- they are still my nemesis-hopefully soon that would change- fingers crossed!). So, I decided to make an Apple coffee cake with crumble topping instead. The recipe is from the Food network site and its Emeril Lagasse’s. Well, what can I say about that guy, I love the guy and his show Emeril Live! Reading the reviews (its got a five-star rating), I am hoping the recipe won’t disappoint.

Note: I did double the crumble topping because I love the crumbs on top! I also took out a few pieces for us for two reasons- one, so that I know what I am serving is good and two, well it smelled so darn good that it was hard to resist!

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HERBED GREEN ONION BREAD

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I am getting back to my old routine and finally over the initial withdrawal symptoms experienced due to the absence of my in-laws in the house. After what seemed like ages, I met my friends and caught up on all the gossip that I had missed in the last one month. I have also got back to my morning gym routine with my friend P, and occasionally going to the track for a run. My friend, J, or how we jokingly call her Jillian (after the tough-as-nails trainer from TV’s Biggest Losers), is our motivator- pushing us to our limits and making sure we don’t give up!

On Monday, for the first time I went to a chicken pen to water and pick eggs, since my friend, who owns the pen is out of town, and in return, for taking the trouble, I got free farm fresh eggs! Woo hoo!

Another first is that V is growing a mosutache! He is doing so in support to Movember. Each year, Movember (Moustache November!!) is responsible for the sprouting of thousands of Mo’s (Australian slang for moustache, where the movement began) on men’s faces around the world, raising vital awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically for cancer affecting men.

Men who grow moustaches for the month of Movember, called Mo Bros, become walking, talking billboards for the cause, raising awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. So, V has become a Mo bro! And the moustache makes him look so funny. He is going to kill me for posting his Mo bro photo on the site. But, what the heck, I’ll do it anyways!! 🙂 🙂

Now, on the baking front, I got this book from the library exclusively on bread recipes. Had been itching to try the recipes in it but wasn’t able to find the time. I remember V’s mom wanted to learn how I make bread and thus, I got the opportunity to explore the book. Since I had spring onions on hand at that time, I decided to give the book’s version of Herbed Green Onion Bread a try with great results. V’s parents loved it and so did I! Of course V loved it too!

My mom-in-law found bread making pretty time consuming. I guess perception and passion plays an important part in how you feel about the work you do – I like bread making- I actually enjoy it and don’t find it too much work. Yes probably it is time-consuming in the sense you have to be in the house. Probably you can knead the dough and run a quick errand before it rises to double. But as for actual work- there’s only the first kneading that takes a little time but that’s just it. I love the dough- the flavor yeast gives to it and the pleasure you get eating a freshly baked loaf of bread. I am not the kind who likes what I cook- probably because of the effort it takes but when it comes to baking- I always like what I make if it turns out well- maybe its the passion I have for baking and not so much for cooking mundane things?

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CHOCOLATE CHIFFON LOAF CAKE

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A light and soft chocolate chiffon loaf cake flavored with orange liqueur. A simple and easy recipe, perfect for any occasion.

hocolate Chiffon Loaf Cake

Edited to add on April 30, 2018: This recipe for chocolate chiffon cake is super easy and yields a fluffy, soft and moist chocolate cake. Addition of orange liqueur elevates the taste of this chocolate chiffon loaf cake taste even more. Feel free to skip it in case you don’t have any on hand. While the top most picture on the post is the most recent, the one directly above went with the original post that went live on November 18, 2010. I am happy to say that I have learnt a lot about photography in the last few years and I hope I continue to grow and never stop learning.

Original Post:

So, we are back to just the two of us in our house. Said bye to V’s parents on Sunday and came back home to an empty house. After one month of Mom’s cooking lessons, catching up on family gossip, Papa’s watering the garden, and celebrating festivals together, V and I are both alone again in the house. From being so busy to not find time to log on to the net, I now have ample time on hand, and of course, back to having nothing to do in the afternoon. Which means- I am back to blogging :)! And, that too with a chocolate chiffon cake! There couldn’t be a better way to come back!

This cake is very, very soft- like the name suggests its like chiffon- light and soft. The recipe is adapted from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax. I couldn’t find vanilla essence in my house, which came as a shock to me, because its never happened that I don’t have a bottle of vanilla essence in my pantry. So, instead I used a teaspoon of Godiva chocolate liqueur (like I needed an excuse for doing that!), notching up the cake a little.

hocolate Chiffon Loaf Cake

CHOCOLATE CHIFFON LOAF CAKE
 
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Serves: 1 9 inch loaf
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch- process cocoa powder (in case, dutch process cocoa is not available, switch the baking powder called below for 1 tsp baking soda)
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 1 tsp instant coffee powder
  • ¾ cup cake flour ( I have used all purpose flour too with good results, though cake flour is ideal)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (use an oil which is neutral in taste)
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp grand marnier (optional)
  • 4 large egg whites
  • Pinch cream of tartar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Line a 8 by 4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl sift the cocoa powder. Add boiling water and instant coffee. Whisk till blended. Add the oil, egg yolks, vanilla and grand marnier to it. Whisk well.
  3. In another bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder and ½ cup of the sugar.
  4. Add the cocoa-water mix to the flour mix and stir till combined. Don't over mix.
  5. In a grease free bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tart until soft peaks.
  6. Gradually add in the sugar and beat whites till stiff peaks.
  7. Fold ¼ of the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture, to loosen the batter.
  8. Gently fold in the remaining batter, making sure to not deflate the whites.
  9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan; smooth the top.
  10. Bake until toothpick comes clean when inserted in the centre of the cake, about 50 minutes (start checking after 40-45 minutes, depending on your oven)
  11. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert and let cool to room temperature. Enjoy!
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