Almond Fail Cake

Ever had one of those times where you really want to do something but somehow it just won’t happen? Well, for me it’s been two weeks of just that… when baking. I made granola a few days ago and turned out all clumpy, and in the final stages of baking I stepped away for 5 minutes (I kid you not) and the entire granola had a burnt taste. Then, I’m developing an Foodies’ Original recipe for muffins, and they tasted like the taste of the pan transferred to the muffin bottoms… weird. And yesterday, I attempted to make an Almond Fail Cake and failed miserably.

After weeks of being swamped with work (both from Design as well as from Foodies), I was craving to go back into the kitchen and bake. So after a quick glance on Pinterest, I found a recipe that seemed easy and quick enough to prepare and bake for an afternoon coffee. I got all my ingredients ready, very Mise en Place, preheated my oven and got to work. I whisked the dry ingredients, then added the mixed wet ones, poured the batter into a greased and floured pan, drizzled with almonds and honey, and then into the oven. The kitchen and dining room smelled amazing. Honey on top of cakes is heaven.

50 minutes in the oven, I checked with a cake tester… and it came out a bit undercooked, so back into the oven. One thing that surprised me is how much it rose (over two inches) and the cake seemed dense. 15 additional minutes later, cake tester came out clean so I take out the cake from the oven. 15 minutes after it cooled in the pan, I transferred it into a cooling rack… when surprise! The bottom was well undercooked. I transferred it back to the pan, and into the oven. I baked it for 30 minutes longer and the cake puffed again, only to deflate after cooling. Cake tester came out again clean.

Now, when I transferred it to the cooling wrack, the bottom seemed baked.Fast forward to the next morning, I woke up early to take pictures of the cake. It’s not the same to take pictures on a poorly lit kitchen at 10:30PM than in the front porch at 7AM. Light was gorgeous. The cake looked shiny on top because of the honey, and the almonds, a perfect topping that would. See?

Even though it looked perfect, when I picked up the cake, it was heavy. That meat that the cake was still dense, fudgy and definitely not cooked through. I baked it once again (covered in foil and on top of a cookie sheet), for 40 minutes more – even though deep down inside I knew the cake was already a flop. The surprise came when it was time to cut the cake. I cut a piece of it and surprise, surprise, it was just as I thought: fudgy and dense. Because I am not a person who just gives up (you might call it stubborn, I call it determination) , I even attempted to grill slices of cake to see if direct heat might do something to it.

Final word? It didn’t do a thing, more than a few caramelized edges, it still didn’t save the cake. So for now, I will bake my next recipe over the weekend: an old family favorite that will get my baking mojo back to me. But, how can I not give you a tested recipe? I am sharing one of my favorite recipe adaptations: Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake.

Kitty

Winner Cocina al Chile Cookbook

Thank you so much to all for being part of our First Giveaway! We were over the moon when we saw all the entries.

Congratulations to Betsy de San Juan, our Winner!

2013-05-27-Cocina-al-Chile-05-Winner

She was chosen as a winner by a Random Number Generator. Since we had 49 entries, we counted from the first to the last one, the number 45, and this is her winning comment:

Ganadora

Random org

Thank you all for entering and stay tuned for more surprises!

Kitty & Helga

Roasted Red Grapefruit with Honey and Yogurt

Roasted citric fruits is a novel concept for me. I’ve been looking around and there are quite a few recipes in which you can try this. For example, chicken with roasted limes, it’s said that the flavor of the limes rises to whole new levels and I am eager to try some.

I wanted to choose a simple recipe for roasted citrus fruit so I could really get a taste of it, so when I was at the grocery store and eyed these red grapefruits, I knew it was just the thing to try this method with. It is perfect to serve for a fancy brunch, or as a light dessert following a heavy meal. You could serve it with vanilla ice cream, instead of yogurt and try the recipe out with regular oranges or blood oranges.

Oh wait, I didn’t tell you what they taste like! Of course, the added sugar makes these sweet and because we’re putting them under the broiler, the natural sugar in the fruit also caramelizes. You get a tender texture, with sweet-caramelized-citrus flavor. The added yogurt and honey are a must have when you try this. The combination is delicious.

Helga

Roasted Grapefruits with Honey and Yogurt

Recipe from Cookie and Kate

Ingredients:
3 grapefruits (I used Ruby Red)
6 tablespoons raw sugar or brown sugar (you’ll need two tablespoons of sugar per grapefruit)
sprinkle ground ginger
sprinkle ground cinnamon
dash sea salt

For Serving:
Plain yogurt
Honey, for drizzling
Granola (optional)

Procedure:

Preheat broiler. Make the bases of your grapefruit halves flat so they don’t wiggle around: slice off about 1/4-inch of the peel on the base end and the stem end of each grapefruit. Then slice each grapefruit in half, parallel to your initial cuts. Place the grapefruit halves face-down on paper towels for about five minutes to absorb excess moisture.
In a small bowl, mix together the raw sugar or brown sugar (I used a mixture of both) with a sprinkle of ginger and cinnamon and a dash of salt. On a rimmed baking sheet or a 13×9-inch glass baker, place the grapefruit halves face up. Sprinkle each halve liberally with the sugar mixture, using about 1 tablespoon per halve. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes, until the sugar is melted and turning a deep amber. Let the grapefruits cool for at least a few minutes; serve warm or at room temperature with a big dollop of yogurt (swirl in honey if you’d like) and a handful of granola is also a good choice.