• Make
  • Cook
  • Read
  • Think
  • My Story

created for joy

~ make today

created for joy

Tag Archives: orange

Chocolate-Orange Pound Cake

26 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chocolate, holiday baking, mini-chocolate chips, moist, orange, orange juice powder, orange oil, pound cake, Terry's Chocolate Orange

poundcake1

Have you ever had a Terry’s Chocolate Orange? It is an orange-flavored chocolate sphere, wrapped in printed foil so it looks like a piece of fruit. Before eating, you thwack it hard against the table so it splits into twenty neat little segments. When I lived in England growing up, it was a Christmas tradition, and for me, December + nostalgia = inventive baking. :)

Enter Chocolate-Orange Pound Cake. It is bright and moist, orange-scented and chock full of mini-chocolate chips. It has a dense, tender crumb and a hint of tart citrus tang in the glaze. Pound cakes are not the simplest to make, but they are worth the effort. This just sings of holidays and making memories for me.

poundcake2

Chocolate-Orange Pound Cake
makes one Bundt-style cake, two large loaves, or four small loaves

For cake:
1 c. unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 oz.)
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract
3 tsp. orange oil (see Recipe Notes)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (not coarse)
5 large eggs
3 Tbsp. espresso powder or instant coffee powder
1/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. creme fraiche or whole-fat sour cream
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 c. all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur)
1 c. semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips, plus more for topping glazed cakes (I use Ghiradelli)

For glaze:
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/4 c. orange juice powder (see Recipe Notes, can substitute zest of one orange and use freshly squeezed orange juice in place of water)
3 Tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. orange oil

Oven 325F. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a medium mixing bowl for 3 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffy. Add vanilla, orange oil, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and beat again for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time while blending and beat well after each addition. Scrape sides of bowl often with silicon spatula. (Quick tip: it may be tempting to cut short the blending time, but this part is key to a moist, tender pound cake. Your patience will pay off, I promise.)

Dissolve espresso powder in warm water in a small bowl. (Another quick tip: coffee really brings out the best in chocolate; if you don’t have espresso powder, use 1/4 c. dark brewed coffee in place of the warm water.) Whisk in milk and creme fraiche/sour cream. In separate small mixing bowl, whisk or sift together cocoa and flour. Beat this dry ingredient mixture into the batter, alternating in turns with the liquid. Take your time, being sure mixture is thoroughly blended and sides of bowl are scraped after each addition. (Add liquid, blend, scrape; add dry, blend, scrape; repeat… again, totally worth your time.) Your reward will be a homogeneous, fluffy, dense batter, worthy of a tussle over who licks the beaters. Gently stir in the mini-chips with a silicon spatula, being sure to fold in batter from the bottom of bowl to evenly distribute all the little chocolaty morsels.

Pour into well-greased or parchment-lined pans; you have several size options, depending on your needs. This recipe produces 8 cups of batter which can be baked in a 12-cup capacity Bundt-style pan, two 5″x10″ glass loaf pans, or four 4″x7″ small loaf pans. (I used these nifty French Bake-and-Give Wooden Bakers, which come with single-use wooden pans and parchment paper liners; they make for such beautiful gifts.)

Your cooking time will differ based on the container you choose, but approximate times are: one hour, twenty minutes for Bundt; one hour, ten minutes for two large loaves; and one hour even for four small loaves. Watch yours closely and pull them from oven as soon as a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (Beware the rogue melted chocolate chip which pretends to be raw cake batter; always test twice, just in case. It would be a shame to overcook your cake and waste all that earlier effort.)

Allow cakes to cool 15 minutes in pans on cooling rack, then turn out of pan if desired. (I usually leave cakes in loaf-style pans and just slice in the container before serving.) Allow to cool completely before glazing. To make glaze, whisk ingredients in small mixing bowl until thoroughly blended and smooth. Drizzle over top of cake(s) and then sprinkle liberally with more mini-chocolate chips.

Photobucket

Recipe Notes + Tips:
The key to getting intense orange flavor in this recipe is the use of orange oil. It is cold-pressed from the peel of the fruit, and it takes about 44 oranges to make each ounce of orange oil. I use Boyajian brand citrus oils; see their site for availability near you, but you can always find it on-line at King Arthur Flour or Amazon. It is absolutely worth having in your pantry.

The glaze in this recipe features a second source of orange flavor in the form of orange juice powder, also available from King Arthur Flour. It is essentially all-natural orange juice in solid, concentrated form. I love the flavor punch you get from such a small amount, but unlike orange oil, it’s really not necessary to have it for the recipe to work. As mentioned above, simply substitute the finely chopped zest of one orange and 3 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed orange juice for the orange juice powder and water. However, if you’re an adventurous cook/eater, I’d encourage you to try out orange juice powder, as well as its compatriots, lemon juice and pineapple juice powders. (I’d also love to hear about any recipe inventions they inspire. :)

Advertisement

Turkey Stock

22 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

allspice, cook, herbs, orange, recipe, Thanksgiving, turkey stock

yum

It stands to reason that I would love Thanksgiving: I love to cook, I love to have family and friends over, and I have an awful lot to be thankful for. Right now my kitchen smells like Thanksgiving heaven, redolent with smoky turkey, onion and celery, sage and thyme, orange and allspice. My children firmly believe we would make millions if we could just figure out how to capture the smell of turkey stock in candle form.

If you’ve never made homemade stock before, now is the time to try it. You are virtually guaranteed to have access to a turkey in the days ahead, and even if you didn’t cook it yourself, most hosts are happy (if slightly amused) to send their guests home with a carcass care package. Cooking stock is surprisingly simple and makes sense both ethically and economically because you’re getting the most you can out of the animal. I also find it’s a great way to use fruit and veggies that are a bit past their prime; our stock this year includes a few old apples and a rutabaga that were rolling around unwanted in the produce drawer.

The recipe below makes several scented, savory quarts, perfect for soup, stew, and pot pie. It will keep for a week or two in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer. Feel free to change the seasonings or vegetables to suit your palate and pantry.

Turkey Day Stock
Makes about 5 quarts

1 turkey carcass, including bones, skin, and leftover meat (I use a smoked turkey for Thanksgiving stock)
2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut into quarters
8 carrots, unpeeled and cut/broken in half
4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut into thirds
1 bunch celery (about 10 stalks, no leaves), broken/cut into halves
zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. whole allspice berries
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. crushed brown mustard seed
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh sage
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns

Put all the ingredients in your largest stockpot (must hold at least 8 quarts) and cover with water. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for several hours. When liquid reduces by half, fill with water again and simmer for one hour more.

Strain hot stock into large bowl or second pot. To store in refrigerator for use in next two weeks, fill sterilized quart-size mason jars with hot stock, leaving 3/4″ space at top of jar. Put on fresh lids and allow to sit out on counter until you hear the pop of each lid sealing, then refrigerate. (Steam will seal jars well enough to buy you extra time in the fridge.) If you prefer to freeze your stock, allow it to cool completely, then place in quart-size Ziploc freezer bags labeled with date; freeze up to three months.

(If you figure out that whole candle thing, let me know. :)

Sweet Orange Scones

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

citrus, cook, orange, scone, sweet, zest

flour mixture orange zest scone round
scone closeup

Scone purists, avert your eyes. :) This glazed scone recipe is more shortcake-pastry hybrid than anything traditionally found at a British cream tea. That said, it is also one of my favorites and a moist, delicious way to celebrate the entrance of winter citrus. I made up this recipe after I got a craving for Panera’s orange scones (off limits for me now because of food allergies), and I couldn’t be happier with the result. They’re like sunshine in your mouth.

Sweet Orange Scones
Makes 12 scones

For scones:
3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur Flour)
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. fine salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
zest of 1 orange, finely chopped
1/2 c. unsalted butter (one stick), softened
1 egg
1 tsp. real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (I am a vanilla bean paste devotee)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. buttermilk (or for quick sour milk replacement, see below)

Oven 400F (375F for dark-coated pan)
In medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and zest. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture is soft and crumbly. I love the buttery orange scent at this stage.

In small mixing bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla and almond extracts, and buttermilk/sour milk. Add to dry mixture and mix well until combined into a sticky dough. (You may need to add an extra 1/4 c. flour if it’s very humid.) Spread dough into a lightly greased 9″-round cake pan. Bake 30-33 minutes, until golden brown and tester in center comes out clean. Cool five minutes, then turn out on to rack and flip again so it’s right-side up. While cooling, make glaze.

For glaze:
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 orange
zest of 1/2 orange, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

Whisk together juices, zest, and extracts, then add powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. Place cooled scone round on plate and cut into twelve wedges. Pour over glaze and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving — this gives the glaze time to thicken and soak in to the edges of the scones… yum. If you use all the glaze, there will be a puddle on the plate that will sweeten the bottoms of the scones as well. I don’t see that as a problem, but to each her own. :) These just cry out for a glass of cold milk or a cup of hot Earl Gray tea.

*Quick sour milk: if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, as is often the case for me, you can substitute homemade sour milk. Just put the juice of a lemon or 1 tbsp. vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and add milk until it totals one cup. Stir briefly and let sit 1-2 minutes before using.

Recipe Notes + Tips:
It’s a little extra work to make fresh zest and juice, but it’s worth it. No matter the quality of your favorite commercial orange juice, it cannot compare to fresh-squeezed. Full disclosure: I never squeeze a dozen oranges before I have a glass of OJ with breakfast, I pour it out of a plastic container just like everyone else. But this recipe wouldn’t be the same without the fresh juice.

There is also no replacement for fresh citrus zest. Be sure to zest only the peel, not the bitter white pith. If you don’t have a citrus zester, you can use the smallest holes on your cheese grater; just scrape the inside of the grater with a silicone spatula when you’re done to get all of it.

I am an unashamed citrus zest hoarder — my family thinks nothing of finding naked fruit in the fridge, pre-zested and clothed only in plastic wrap. It makes me happy to know there are little bags of chopped lemon and orange peel in my freezer, waiting to be added to compound butter, roast chicken, soup, and stock. I say take comfort wherever you can get it. :)

Follow created for joy on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search

Recent Posts

  • Almond Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches
  • Bacon and Egg Breakfast Muffins
  • Loving the Kitchen
  • Creamy Chicken Noodles
  • Double Chip Molasses Oatmeal Cookies

Categories

  • Cook (48)
  • Easy-Peasy (3)
  • Make (37)
  • Read (24)
  • Think (20)

Archives

  • October 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (1)
  • October 2012 (1)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (4)
  • June 2012 (7)
  • May 2012 (4)
  • April 2012 (6)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (9)
  • January 2012 (14)
  • December 2011 (15)
  • November 2011 (17)
  • October 2011 (6)

All original content © Spring Barnickle, Create Joy LLC, & createdforjoy.com, 2011-2014.

Feel free to link to createdforjoy.com or provide excerpts with clear credit and directions to original content; please ask before copying posts or pictures to your site or publication.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • created for joy
    • Join 96 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • created for joy
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar