Kitchen Kat

The Bundt cake. For some sweets lovers it’s the ultimate retro dessert. Still others write off this dense confection as pure kitsch. At times I’ve found myself in both camps. One look at that perfectly fluted ring and I flashback to elementary school and all the Bundt coffee cakes that my mother would bake. Iced with a mixture of confectioner’s sugar, milk and florescent yellow, orange or red food coloring, these day-glo treats were the psychedelic stars of her late 1970′s kitchen.

Chances are that Bundt cakes popped up my grandmothers’ kitchens, too. In 1949 the Minnesota-based cookware company Nordic Ware produced its first Bundt pan. Crafted from heavy cast aluminum, the 10-cup mold was derived from a ceramic, German cake pan. Unique to the Nordic Ware creation, the form’s fluted sides allowed for even, easy slicing.

Initially, consumers baked pound cakes in the pan. As the years passed, cooks discovered other uses. Quick breads, molded salads, Jello, steamed puddings and ice cream cakes could all be made in it. Although I’ve yet to shape a salad or layer ice cream in my Bundt pan, I nonetheless could thanks to “Bundt Cookbook” (Nordic Ware, 2004).

And just what do I do with my Bundt pan? Bake kitschy, retro Bundt cakes, of course.

ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHUNK CAKE
Adapted from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Parties” (Clarkson Potter, 2001)

For the cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated orange zest
3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the orange syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

For the ganache:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the beaters still running, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with each addition. Add the orange zest and beat again.

Sift together 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl combine the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla. With the mixer running, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures — alternating in thirds — to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.

Toss the chocolate chips together with the flour. Add the chips to the batter and stir to combine. Spoon the batter into the greased Bundt pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown on top and a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wire rack and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.

In the interim make the orange syrup. Place the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the cake from its pan and place it back on the wire rack. Slide a baking sheet beneath the rack; this will collect the excess syrup. Evenly spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips, cream and instant coffee in a glass, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has melted completely. Drizzle the ganache over the top of the cake.

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As a kid, I thought of toffee only as the dark, crunchy center found in those chocolaty Hershey’s treats, Heath bars. It wasn’t until adulthood, when I ventured into Scotland, the land of sweeties and sticky toffee pudding, that I realized how versatile and tasty this confection could be.

Although my toffee epiphany happened in the UK, the sweet itself comes not from Great Britain but from Canada. There a 16th century French educator, Marguerite Bourgeoys, created a molasses candy to attract, as she reputedly called students, the “little savages” to her French Canadian school.

While Bourgeoys’s toffee featured molasses as its main ingredient, British and American versions use a combination of sugar, butter and water or cream. The three are boiled together in a large saucepan until they reach a temperature of anywhere from 260 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The higher temperature produces a brittle, tawny candy while the lower yields a luscious, amber syrup.

If firm candy is the goal, the hot toffee is poured out to set. Once it has hardened, it is broken into pieces and either dipped in melted chocolate or doled out as is. In the case of a toffee sauce the liquid is cooled slightly and then drizzled over pudding, cake, ice cream, crepes or other desserts.

In Scotland I sampled several types of toffee. “Sweeties,” the generic term for toffee and other boiled sweets, could be hard, chewy, or almost fudge-like. Flavored with nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, ginger or whisky, these decadent confections bore little resemblance to the Heath bars of my youth.

The same could be said for sticky toffee pudding. This quintessentially British dessert featured a date-filled, cake-like pudding steeped in warm toffee sauce. Just one bite of this velvety last course and I was hooked. Who knew that something as simple as toffee could taste so good?

BANANA ICE CREAM WITH TOFFEE SAUCE
Serves 6 to 8

For the ice cream:
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
8 egg yolks, beaten
1 ½ ripe bananas, mashed

Place the milk, cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and slowly add half of the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. Once the hot liquid has been incorporated, pour the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan and return to the stove. Whisk the ingredients over medium heat until they begin to thicken, about 5 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer and into a bowl and set in the refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, place in a blender with the 1 ½ ripe bananas and blend. Freeze in an ice cream maker and then follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making ice cream. When ready to serve, place several scoops into small bowls.

For the sauce:
1 2/3 cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup whole milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan melt the butter and sugar, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, add the milk and vanilla and cook until thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Cool slightly and then drizzle over the scooped ice cream.

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I have an embarrassing confession. Although I spend my workdays researching and writing about exotic, far flung foods, I eat the same lunch pretty much every afternoon. And just what is my inevitable meal? It’s a black bean veggie burger with organic ketchup on a slice of high fiber wheat toast. Delicious? Not really. Quick and easy? Absolutely.

After months of dining on this not-so-tasty repast I finally caved in and started considering other fast, protein-rich, high fiber, low fat lunch options. Salads didn’t quite fit the protein criteria. Plus, a few hours after eating a salad, I felt hungry again. Tuna sandwiches proved more satisfying but they didn’t offer much in the fiber front.

What ultimately saved me from a lifetime of black beans was the slender “Meatless Burgers” cookbook. Written by Louise Hagler, “Meatless Burgers” (BPC, 1999) offers over 50 easy, international recipes for this quintessentially American dish. With nutritional values provided at the end of each recipe I had a wealth of healthful lunch options right at my fingertips.

As I love chickpeas, I rightly assumed that I would adore Hagler’s falafel burgers. A Middle Eastern street food that originated in Egypt, falafel are small fried patties or croquettes made from pureed chickpeas and/or fava beans. After being fried, they are stuffed into a pita or wrapped in flat bread and blanketed by such toppings as chopped lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, pickled vegetables and tahini.

Pureed chickpeas likewise form the base for falafel burgers. Mixed together with chopped onions, parsley and bread crumbs, these burgers are light yet filling. As an added bonus, they can be oven-baked as well as pan-fried.

Falafel Burgers
From Louise Hagler’s “Meatless Burgers” (BPC, 1999)
Makes 6 to 8 burgers

2 cloves garlic
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups bread crumbs (Note: I used whole wheat bread and lightly toasted the crumbs under the broiler)
1/2 cup onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a baking sheet and set aside.

In a food processor mince the garlic. Add the chickpeas, water, salt and black pepper and process until creamy. Add the onion chunks and pulse several times to chop and incorporate them into the chickpea mixture.

Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Spoon in the chickpea mixture and stir until well combined. Add the parsley, mix the falafel again and form it into burgers. To ensure thorough baking, flatten the burgers to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness.

Arrange the burgers on the oiled baking sheet and bake for roughly 15 minutes on each side until browned. (Note that these also can be pan-fried in olive oil but they will be higher in fat. As is, the burgers contain only 1 gram of fat, 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and 101 calories.)

Serve on whole wheat buns with tahini, lettuce and sliced tomatoes.

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This year’s final tribute to spring produce brings me to a pungent little perennial that grows wild in eastern North America. Known as a wild leek or ramp, this delicate-looking vegetable possesses small, white bulbs, slender, pink stalks, and broad, green leaves.

While this petite plant may appear fragile, the flavor and aroma that it imparts pack powerful punches. Think of the combined bold scents of garlic and onion. Add to these an earthy, lingering aspect and you have the potent smell and taste of a ramp.

Wildly popular in the Appalachian region, ramps are heralded for their culinary as well as medicinal uses. In the latter case locals employ them as seasonal tonics to stimulate dormant appetites and open sinuses long blocked by winter’s chill.

Beyond their role in folk medicine, ramps star in a series of springtime food festivals held throughout West Virginia. At fairs such as the Feast of Ramson in Richwood, W.Va. they are cooked in bacon fat and served alongside ham, beans, potatoes and cornbread. At the International Ramp Cook-off and Festival in Elkins, W. Va. they crop up in everything from burgers and spaghetti to hard tack candy.

Usually, ramps appear in simpler offerings such as “ramps and taters.” A traditional Appalachian recipe, this dish consists of ramps and potatoes fried in bacon fat and served alongside slices of bacon. While potatoes are commonly viewed as the perfect partner, ramps also compliment peas, asparagus, new carrots, chicken and salmon.

When selecting ramps, choose ones that are firm with bright leaves, pink stalks and intact roots. Avoid any slimy or wilted ramps.

Refrigerated, ramps will keep for one week. To store, simply wrap the bulbs and roots in a damp paper towel, put them in a heavy plastic bag and refrigerate. The bag will help stop the odor from overtaking the refrigerator.

Before using, remove the roots, peel off the first layer of the bulb, and trim off the leaves. Wash the ramps thoroughly to dislodge any dirt and then start chopping.

RAMP CASSEROLE
Serves 6 to 8

This recipe comes from “Follow Your Nose . . . Ramp Festival Gourmet Ramp Recipes,” a compendium of the International Ramp Cook-off and Festival contestants’ recipes. The cookbook is published by and available at the Randolph County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Elkins, West Virginia.

8 medium bunches of ramps, diced into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oil

Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F. Butter a medium-sized baking dish.

Heat the 3 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan. Add the ramps and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about five minutes.

Pour in the cream and ¼ cup of parmesan cheese. Stir the mixture together and pour into the prepared baking dish.

In the same frying pan heat the oil over medium until hot but not smoking. Add the breadcrumbs and sauté, stirring constantly until they reach a golden brown, about three minutes.

Top the casserole with the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese then bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Their robust flavor compliments such foods as potatoes, peas, asparagus and salmon.

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