Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake

C inspired me to make this cake and by inspired I mean dropped every hint possible that he was in the mood for cinnamon and walnuts preferably in a batter that combines the two. Story time! We shop at Costco a couple of times a month. Most of the time, we're in a mad rush to finish shopping and get home to lunch or dinner. Once in a while, we amble through every (food) aisle and make an impulse buy depending on how hungry we are. Last week, I was looking around for some fruit and realized C was gone. Picked up my honeydew and went on a search for him only to find him circling the baked good section, eyeing the 3 lb (!) banana nut bread loaf and the cinnamon walnut coffee cake. I've made banana nut bread a million times before so I thought I'd try the cinnamon walnut coffee cake as it's something new. Also, I'm not buying a Costco sized cake for two people...

After extensive googling (read: first 5-star recipe I saw after typing in "cinnamon walnut coffee cake recipe"), I found this recipe. I was a little dubious seeing all the positive reviews, thinking there has to be SOMEONE who had a problem with this recipe, but nope, they all loved it. Having tried it, I can say I would leave a similar review - it's delicious!! I would cut down on the sugar in the streusel topping, mostly because very sweet cakes leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. The recipe listed below is my amended version. 

Also, I don't own a bundt or tube pan so I used my 8" cake pan with 4" wall. The cake rose to the very top, so a regular 8" cake pan with a 2" side won't work. Also, extra baking time is needed (20 minutes extra in my oven) because there's the center of the cake to deal with when using a regular baking pan. 

On to the cake!

Ingredients

Batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

Streusel topping:

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325F. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I sifted all the ingredients - I think it makes for a softer cake, but it's not necessary if you don't have a sieve. 

3. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until the mixture has a custard-looking appearance. Basically, you shouldn't see any grains of sugar or lumps of butter. It will also have a slight sheen. Tip: Use the paper the butter was wrapped in to butter the baking pan. If you have it, place parchment on the bottom. 

4. Add the dry ingredients to the egg-butter-sugar mixture and beat on low speed until moistened. Add the yogurt and beat until smooth. 

5. Combine streusel ingredients in a separate bowl. 

6. Spread 1/3 of the batter in the pan. Top with 1/3 of the streusel mixture. Repeat until both batter and topping have been used. 

7. Bake at 325F for 45 mins if using a bundt pan or for 1h 5 mins if using a regular baking pan. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or a butter knife into the center. They should come out clean. 

Observations while making this cake:

a. The cake doesn't come out with a layered look like I was expecting it to have. As you can see from the picture above, the topping is distributed all throughout the cake so the next time I would make it a three layer cake - two layers of cake with the streusel topping in the middle and maybe some on the top. 

b. The batter will be thick. 

Enjoy! Let me know how you enjoyed this cake!

'Til the next dish...

Basic Layer Cake with Ganache

This year, Thanksgiving was just the two of us, so I thought I'd try a new dessert idea. First I thought of a yellow cake with an apricot preserves filling, topped with a chocolate ganache. Then I looked up the recipe for a yellow cake and was scared off by all the egg yolks (6!!) that went into the cake. Fast forward a few minutes, and I decided on this basic layer cake recipe by Martha Stewart. I followed the instructions to the letter, with the exception of the butter. I only used 1 stick instead of the 1.5 sticks in the recipe. The cake came out a little dry, but I think that can be solved by brushing a little sugar water on to the cake layers before adding the filling.

Ganache

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used the generic brand and it came out tasting delicious, so I don't think brand names matter)
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1/2 cup skim milk
Double-boiler OR a pot -bowl combo with the bowl sitting 2-3 inches above the pot bottom.

A couple of ganache recipes I looked up called for 1 pint of cream to be added to the chocolate chips, but C can't handle full-fat dairy so I used butter and nonfat milk instead. It works out to the same ingredients, essentially...

1. Heat water in pot so that it is simmering, not boiling.
2. Place bowl in the pot. Add chocolate chips, butter and milk.
3. Stir continuously until ingredients are completely melted (5-7 minutes) and chocolate looks shiny.
4. Take chocolate off heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
5. Set up cake layers on wire rack over a baking pan with foil (to catch drips).
6. Pour ganache over cake. Use an offset spatula to evenly distribute ganache so that it drips down the sides.
7. Allow ganache to set for 10- 15 minutes. Transfer finished cake to serving plate and chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

'Til the next dish...

Jhatphat Dosa

This is another childhood fave...I would get so excited to see this brown crispy, yet soft dosa on my plate. I attempted to make it a year ago, working on memory for a list of ingredients. It did not turn out well. C ate it, most likely because we were still in the honeymoon phase of our marriage and he felt obligated. I made it once more trying to perfect it, this time with help from the Konkani cooking goddess (a.k.a. my mom). It came out better, but C was not a fan. Then, inspiration struck and I added a lot more water and voila! It came out perfect! This time, I added too much salt, so C was just about done with this dosa but nevertheless, I persevered. I begged him to try it justonemoretimepleaseifyoureallylovemeyou'lljusteatitandstopbeingapain pretty please and he did and whaddaya know? It came out perfect. He is now a jhatphat dosa fan. Not as big a fan as I am, but I'll take it! :)

On to the recipe!

Serves: 3-4

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1.5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp freshly grated coconut
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
3 green chillies, chopped
4 curry leaves (karbev)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sasam)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp oil

1. Place chopped chillies, coconut, ginger, salt, asafoetida and sugar in a bowl. Muddle until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add flour and stir. Gradually add water until batter has a thin consistency.
2. Add 1 tsp oil and mustard seeds to a pan on medium high. When mustard seeds start to pop, add curry leaves. Be careful, because the oil will splatter once you add the leaves.
3. Quickly take pan off heat and add oil/seeds/leaves (phan) to the batter. Stir until mixed evenly.
4. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a hot, well-oiled pan. Batter should spread instantly and bubble. If it does not spread, add more water. Mix batter before pouring as some ingredients will settle to the bottom. Place a little oil at the circumference of the dosa to make it easier for removal. Flip dosa until both sides are browned to your satisfaction.
5. Put on a plate and serve!

'Til the next dish...

Bread Upkari (Spiced bread)

I thought I would break the monotony of Indian/Konkani dishes by throwing in a Pad Thai dish. That didn't last too long because here I am again with a Konkani dish. For me, the point of this blog is to create an online recipe book for myself, so that I have a record of the winning recipes for my favorite dishes. :) 


Bread upkari isn't a 'fixed' recipe and by that I mean there are tons of variations on the recipe I'm about to post. I've looked online for some and found that people add peas and carrots to theirs. I'm a purist (or rather, I grew up eating a purist recipe) and I don't like adding peas and carrots and whatnot to my bread upkari. Although, there's nothing to stop you from adding them if you prefer them. :) 


Ingredients:


1/2 pound slightly stale bread (1/4 a sliced loaf), cubed
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps plain non-fat yogurt*
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium red onion, sliced
3 green chillies, sliced
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
3 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp fresh lime juice 
1/2 cup water


*Omit if using fresh bread


1. Place bread cubes in a large bowl and add the turmeric, salt and yogurt. The yogurt is used to soften the slightly stale bread, so do not use it if the bread is fresh. Mix until the turmeric is evenly distributed. The bread should have a slightly yellowish hue to it, so add a little turmeric and then increase if it looks very pale. 

2. Heat oil and butter in a pan. Add mustard seeds until they start to pop. Then quickly add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for about 10 seconds and add the sliced onions.

3. Cook onions until they are translucent. Add the bread and stir. Once the bread and onions are well mixed, add two tbsp of water around the edge of the pan and quickly stir the bread. Continue to add water (sprinkling is better than pouring) until bread achieves soft and slightly moist texture. 


4. Add coconut, cilantro and lime juice. Stir until well mixed and serve!


'Til the next dish..

Pad Thai

I guess if I'm posting a recipe for Pad Thai, it's safe to say I love Pad Thai. :) I used to get by with using this premade Pad Thai sauce even though it tasted *nothing* like restaurant Pad Thai. I told myself that it was probably better than attempting to make the sauce myself. That is, until I happened to come across this website. It's still not restaurant Pad Thai quality, but it's a helluva lot better than the premade sauce that's for sure! So it's a keeper.


Sauce Recipe:


1/2 cup hot water
3-4 tsp tamarind paste
4 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
1 tbsp peanut butter (optional)


1. Boil rice noodles until they are almost cooked. My method of testing the 'doneness' of the noodle is to stop it when I think it needs a couple more minutes to get the perfect consistency. Once noodles are cooked, drain and separate into portions. I separate right away because once the noodles dry, they tend to stick in clumps that makes it hard to separate them.

2. Stir fry vegetables and 2 eggs (optional). Heat 2 tsps of oil in a wok and bring it to high heat. You can use any vegetables you like or would like to try with your Pad Thai. I usually add napa cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, and sliced carrots. Remove vegetables when done. I like my vegetables to have a slightly charred look. I think they taste better that way. Also, don't forget to lightly salt the veggies while they cook. 

3. Prepare sauce by dissolving tamarind paste in hot water. Tamarind paste looks exactly like tar. It also has a very bitter (?) taste. If you've never eaten it before, add half the amount. Once the paste is dissolved, add the soy sauce, brown sugar and peanut butter. I use the crunchy peanut butter so that there are flecks of peanut in the final dish. Creamy peanut butter is an equally good alternative.

4. Pour enough sauce for a portion into the wok. Wait until it bubbles. Add noodles and stir until they are coated with the sauce. It will look like there is too much liquid, but keep stirring and it will thicken. Add the vegetables and stir until they are coated as well.

5. Serve and eat!! :)


'Til the next dish...

Spiced Corn

I'm not sure if this is an Indian dish or something my mom invented...Regardless, it's yummy and oh-so-simple, so it's a quick go-to recipe if you're jonesing for a snack or a salad topping (my preferred use).

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen corn nibblets (Recommended: Steamfresh Green Giant brand. A little pricey, but amazingly fresh taste)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

5-6 curry leaves (karbev)

3 green chillies, chopped (more, if you like it spicy)

Salt to taste

1. Thaw bag of corn. 

2. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add chillies and curry leaves.

3. Add thawed corn. Salt to taste.

4. Stir until well mixed and serve!

See, super easy. Since this is a really easy and quick recipe, I'm including another recipe for today. :) 

'Til the next dish...

Curried bell peppers and potatoes

This one is a personal favorite of mine. Again, I'm not sure if this is my mom's invention or an Indian dish. I think it's my mom's invention because I haven't seen it served at other people's houses. Ever. Go Mom!

What makes this recipe even more attractive is how simple and quick it is. Don't you just love knowing you have one dish out of the way in 20 minutes? Love.this.

Ingredients:

1 medium potato*, chopped into bite size pieces

1 medium bell peppers, chopped into bite size pieces

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp coriander/cilantro powder 

Salt to taste

*boiled preferable as it's faster, but raw works too. 

Side note: If you only have dhan jeera (a 1:1 combination of jeera and coriander powders, use 2 tsp instead of 1 tsp each of jeera and coriander powders)

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add potatoes and stir. Salt to taste. If using raw potatoes, put on low heat, cover and cook for 5-10 minutes (or until soft). If using boiled potatoes, cook for 3 minutes each side or until browned.

2. Add chilli, jeera, coriander and turmeric powders. Stir until potatoes are evenly coated with spices.

3. Add bell peppers and stir.

4. Put on low heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until bell peppers are soft. They will also turn a lighter shade of green than when they were raw. 

Plate and serve!

'Til the next dish...