First, this traditional sourdough rye. No baker's yeast added!
Notice how the heel of the bread mysteriously acquired a coating of butter and lost a bite or two before I got around to fetching the camera.
This one turned out nicely. I described my last couple of disasters to Hannah and she suggested modifying my routine to shape the bread only an hour or so before baking it, so the shape wouldn't collapse. That seemed to help.
So now the sponge -- I think that's what it is, it's some fresh sourdough plus the flour and water from the recipe -- is resting for several hours; it's getting mixed with the other ingredients (things like oil, sugar, caraway) in the bread machine the night before; I'm letting it sit in the bread machine pan, covered, overnight, on a heating pad that takes it up to 78 degrees F or so; in the morning or early afternoon, I'm shaping it, letting it recover for an hour or two tops, and baking it at 350 deg F until it reaches an internal temperature of 210 deg F.
Another thing different about this loaf is that it's a white/rye combination. So far my rye-white traditional sourdoughs are turning out better than my whole-wheat-rye traditional sourdoughs, and my 100%-whole-wheat traditional sourdoughs are turning out better than my white-flour ones. No idea if that's just random or if there's some reason for it.
Oh, and this time I did an egg wash, which certainly made it LOOK nice. Now if only I'd slashed the top maybe it wouldn't have split along the side -- you can't see it, it's the other side of the bread...
Tastes great, by the way.
Here's my other success from yesterday evening:
Not too bad for a rank amateur, I thought. Milo is my little apple devourer -- he eats apples like an autumn piglet. I think he eats at least three pounds of apples a week. Anyway, it seemed like a nice enough theme for an October birthday, so that's what I put on his cake.
And of course, it's an apple spice cake, too. I used this recipe from Bon Appétit for Fuji apple spice cake with cream cheese frosting. The recipe promised a "not-too-sugary cake" that was "inspired by carrot cake," and I don't like a hugely sweet cake, so that's what I went for. (Remind me to search for the term "not too sweet" in the future.) I still thought it was pretty sweet! I substituted whole wheat for 2 of the 3 cups of all-purpose flour, which makes for a tenderer cake as well as a more healthful one (and works extremely well with spice cake). I also added an extra egg yolk just because I had one lying around after the egg-white wash on my sourdough bread. And, of course, I didn't split and fill it, but instead put it in the 9x13 pan and decorated it with green and yellow apples and chocolate writing. I think raisins would have been very nice in this cake but I was afraid some children would not like them so didn't try to add any.
I think it's easier to write on a cake with melted chocolate from a snipped Ziploc bag than with any sort of frosting contraption.
I think the cake was appreciated more than the sourdough.
The birthday is really Wednesday, but with friends coming over we thought it was as good a day as any to have a birthday cake.
Incidentally, this came after one of the nicest get-together dinners (foodwise) we'd had in a long time. It was T. O. M.'s idea, after he came back from a business trip to Brazil. They brought black beans and rice, oranges, and (weirdly, I thought at the time) a couple of bags of pork rinds. We grilled kielbasas and cooked a pot of garlicky collard greens with a little kale and cabbage thrown in. When it was all together on one plate with the juices running together, and the pork rinds crunched up on top, it was a kind of magic, let me tell you. Lubricated with bottles of Crispin's Hard Cider, Extra Dry, over ice, a perfect autumn dinner.
Here's the apple spice cake recipe from Bon Appétit, minus the fancy decorating information and with my changes in orange. Click over if you want a 2-layer filled cake decorated with pecans.
INGREDIENTS
CAKE
• 3 cups all purpose flour [I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup APF]
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 large eggs [I added 1 egg yolk to this as well, only because I had it]
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bourbon, apple brandy, or rum (optional) [I used Maker's Mark bourbon, and it was yummy, let me tell you -- forget bourbon-and-Coke, anyone want to come over for my new cocktail called "Bourbon 'n' Cake (batter)"?]
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 2 medium Fuji or Gala apples (13 to 14 ounces total), peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/3-inch cubes [one of my organic Fujis was rotten when I got it home from the store, so I added enough McIntoshes to make up the weight -- I think the important thing is to have a firm apple here]
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (about 6 ounces)
FROSTING
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar (measured, then sifted)
PREPARATION
CAKE
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper round. one 9x13 inch glass dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla, then bourbon, if desired (mixture may look curdled). Add flour mixture to egg mixture in 3 additions alternately with applesauce in 2 additions, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in apples and pecans. Divide batter between cake pans; Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 50 minutes [it was about 1 hour 10 minutes, I think, and the cake got a little done on the edges, but no harm for a birthday cake] . Transfer cakes to racks and cool in pans 15 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto racks; peel off parchment paper. Place another rack atop 1 cake and invert again so that cake is rounded side up. Repeat with second cake. Cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap each cake in plastic and store at room temperature. I just stuck the cake in its dish in the fridge for a while.
FROSTING
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla extract and pinch of salt. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
• Using long serrated knife, trim off rounded tops of cakes to make level; brush off any loose crumbs. Transfer 1 cake to platter, trimmed side up. Drop half of frosting (about 1 1/2 cups) by spoonfuls atop cake. Spread frosting evenly to edges of cake. Top with second cake, trimmed side down. Drop remaining frosting by spoonfuls onto top of cake, leaving sides of cake plain. Spread frosting to top edges of cake, swirling and creating peaks, if desired. Sprinkle with pecans. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour to allow frosting to set slightly. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature at least 2 hours before serving. Aaaah. I frosted the cake. What more do you need to know?
Wow! Can't believe our Godson is 6!!! Oh boy, that means Sebastian will be 6 soon too! I have such sweet memories of their baptism day.
The cake looks great - perfect for your apple-loving Milo and I love the picture of him glowing in his candles! Wish we could have been there to celebrate and to taste your cake :)
Happy Birthday to Milo!
Posted by: Kim (in IA) | 18 October 2009 at 11:00 AM