Daring Bakers Sourdough --OR-- Third Time's a Charm

I have done it people. I have successfully made sourdough.

A year and a half ago I attempted my first batch of sourdough starter. Two days later I took my new little bundle on a vacation. It didn't make it. Then last year, in the midst of Christmas madness and nearly freezing to death in the funky Victorian, I started and failed another batch. The first attempt was a matter of pure neglect. The second attempt I chalked up to the cold. But this time, when I saw the December Daring Bakers' Challenge was sourdough (from scratch, from the beginning), I knew I didn't have anymore excuses. It was do or die. Literally.


It was a rough start, but catching wild yeast never did sound like an easy task. But I did it. I did it, I did it, I did it!

I know that is not an incredibly eloquent way of telling about the whole experience, but I really can't think of anything else to say. I understand now why Clotilde squeals every time she pulls out another loaf of her natural starter bread or her pain au levain--it is just that exciting. I too, did a little dance when I realized my serious sourdough woes were comfortably behind me. Once you get a dough to sour and rise in your own kitchen properly, you know you can do it again and again and again. And I plan to.


I've heard it likened to having a gold fish, but along the way, I found myself smelling my starter, or chef, as the professionals call it, just like I would smell the top of my newborn baby's head. Now I know why bakers name them. It is way more like having a baby than a gold fish, and so much more interesting. The chef is slightly less demanding than a baby, and if we're really trying to nail down a true comparison, the commitment level and difficultly of caring for the chef is somewhere in between.

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

We were supposed to pick one starter--either rye or wheat--but I couldn't decide, so I chose both. I wanted to increase my chances for success. Do yourself a favor and just try one at a time. My starting both at once was like having twins: twice the work, twice the headache, (twice the love), and twice the dough to chase around when the chefs are finally active. While you're doing yourself favors, be sure to watch Jessica's video links. They are what took my first awful flop of a loaf (dense, wet, wet, wet wheat slop) to the normal, open-structured glory we ate on Christmas Eve with the soup.


We were also supposed to come up with a showcase recipe in addition to playing with wild yeast. Well, with the first flop, I didn't want to eat it, but the flavor was so good, I didn't want to throw it away either. So, I made bread pudding. And now we have the showcasing.

We've done bread pudding and caramel before, but I assure you, the recipes are different enough to try each. The previous persimmon one is soft and gooey with the sauce poured on at serving time, but this one is hearty and caramel crusted. I like them both for different reasons. I hope you do too. Happy souring.


Sourdough Bread Pudding (pudding recipe adapted from my Nana's microwave pudding, bread recipes exactly as Jessica gave out)

This is one of those should be the easiest-thing-you've-made-ever recipes. Use what you have, don't fret about the caramel, it cooks more in the oven, and ponder toasting the walnuts a little before you add them. The recipe is your reward if you actually made sourdough from scratch, regardless of how beautiful (or hideous) it turned out.

4-6 cups cubed sourdough bread
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
butter, for the pan

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add bread, walnuts, and raisins and stir well. Let sit to soak for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan with the brown sugar, stirring constantly. Cook until bubbly and golden brown.

Pour bread mix into the prepared pan, mashing it down and pushing it around a bit if it is not wanting to fit, and spread the caramel sauce over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, give or take ten minutes, depending on the amount of bread used, or until golden brown, puffed, and no longer liquid in the center. Serve hot, alone, with yogurt, or ice cream. Enjoy!

Russian Rye Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves and excess rye starter to keep for further baking.

Rye Starter - Day 1:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml) (25 gm/1 oz) whole (dark) rye flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) water (at 104°F/40°C)
Total scant ½ cup (110 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86°F/30°C if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer. It should be a very sloppy, runny dough, which will bubble and grow as it ferments.

Rye Starter - Day 2:
Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml) (25 gm/1 oz) whole (dark) rye flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) water (at 104°F/40°C)
scant 1/2 cup (110 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant 1 cup (220 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Rye Starter - Day 3:
Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml) (25 gm/1 oz) whole (dark) rye flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) water (at 104°F/40°C)
scant 1 cup (220 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (330 ml) (9 oz/255 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place. If you notice it has a grey liquid on top, just stir this back in and continue as normal.

Rye Starter - Day 4:
Ingredients
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (50 ml) (25 gm/1 oz) whole (dark) rye flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) water (at 104°F/40°C)
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (330 ml) (255 gm/9 oz) starter from Day 3
Total about 1¾ cups (440 ml) (12 oz/340 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

Rye Starter, ready for baking.

Russian Rye Bread - Step 1: Production Sourdough
Ingredients
1/4 cup less 2 teaspoons (50 ml) (50 gm/1 ¾ oz) rye leaven (starter)
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) whole (dark) rye flour
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) water
Total 2½ cup (600 ml) (500 gm/17½ oz/1 lb 1½ oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. Cover and set aside for 12-24 hours, until bubbling. Set aside the remaining starter for further loaves – see the Notes section for tips!

Russian Rye Bread - Step 2: Final Dough
Ingredients
2 cups (480 ml) (440 gm/15 ½ oz) production sourdough (this should leave some (½ cup) to become your next loaf of bread!)
2 1/3 cups (560 ml) (330 gm/11 ⅔ oz) rye flour (light or whole)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm/.2 oz) sea salt or ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (2½ gm/.1 oz) table salt
3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons (200 ml) (200 gm/7 oz) water (at 104°F/40°C)
Total 5 cups plus 3 tablespoons (1245 ml) (975 gm/2 lb 2⅓ oz)

Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together to form a soft dough. With wet hands, scoop the dough up and put it in a well-greased loaf tin.

2. Put the tin inside a large plastic bag, blow it up, and seal it. This should make a good little dome for your bread to proof inside. Set aside somewhere room temperature to warm.
3. The dough should be ready to bake with in anywhere between 2-8 hours, depending on how warm it is. I proof mine by a sunny window in about 4 hours. If the dough was halfway up the tin when you started, it will be ready when it reaches the top (i.e. almost doubles in size).
4. Preheat the oven to very hot 470°F/240°C/gas mark 9. For a large loaf, bake for 50-60 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after about 10-15 minutes. If baking in small loaf tins, bake for 35-45 minutes, reducing the temperature after 10 minutes. If you are unsure about whether it is done, give it a few minutes longer – it is a very wet dough, so the extra time won’t hurt.
5. Leave to cool on a cooling rack, and rest the loaf for a day before eating it.

Shaping it for the tin

Fully proofed dough.

Cross-section of rye loaf. Good, open structure – also what you want to see in your wheat loaf. The rice loaf will be a bit denser.

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking

Wheat Starter - Day 1:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 3:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 4:
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven
Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough
Ingredients
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Directions:
1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS3raEGdwk
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPO97R4iO4U
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoJRCMfclE
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

A wheat loaf, with a slightly rumpled crust.

Christmas Day Cookery

I've been cooking nonstop. My latest ventures include real mincemeat (with real beef and real pork, and real--weird--beef suet) but I've also been playing with sourdough starters, quince jelly, and spiced purple sauerkraut. Those might not sound like holiday treats, but for some reason, they are for me!

Christmas day meals are are planned and nearly made already. I've made the stollen ahead, mother will whip up a batch of her breakfast frittata, and dad will make something meaty. We'll snack helplessly throughout the day to keep our strength up, and then we'll have standing rib roast with chard, roasted potatoes, and dilled carrots. We'll have a myriad of desserts, from whiskey-spiked chocolate fruitcake and mincemeat to the usual pecan and apple pies.


In case you're still deciding what to make for your Christmas noshing, I've gathered up some of my recipes I thought might be nice.

Christmas Day Breakfast:

For the cake-eaters: Cardamom Coffee Cake

For the health-conscious: Orange Marmalade Baked Oatmeal

For the protein-needy: Eggs Baked in Cream

For the sweeted-out: Savory Seedy Nut Bread, with salted cream cheese

For the traditionalist: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

For the knowing: Stollen, of course.


Some recipes for the Dinner and Beyond:

For those in need of freshness: Fruit and Nut Tabouli, great with beef, lamb, or poultry, but I can imagine it going especially well with duck--like an unstuffed stuffing.

For the hungry: Warm Sprouted Grain (and Butternut) Salad, filling and delicious (even without sprouting)

For the grain gurus: Kamut Dinner Rolls, soft and buttery.

For the bored: Curry Goat, no really! It's spiced, savory, and deep. It's slow-cooking. And its goat! Serve with a crisp green salad, and maybe roasted carrots, if you like.

For the bundters: Grand Marnier Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake or Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

For the delicate: Mara's Marzipan Chocolate Cake

For the creamy: Chocolate Cream Pie


Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! And happy eating too!

Momma's Minestrone

Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother has made a pot of soup for Christmas Eve. The soup is always potato, and there is always an abundance of accompanying bread, crackers, and cheeses. She goes all-out, as if that night were the real deal, as if Christmas dinner were just the hyped-up side-show.

I love Christmas Eve. I love that Christmas morning hasn't happened yet, that there is still a day full of frivolity waiting, and that we sing all our carols and create sister-centric dance routines to cheesy music. I love the midnight mass, the paper bag lanterns, the darkness of the church and the sleepiness in my bones as I try to stay awake though the sermon.

It could be the anticipation of prezzies to give and get. It could be my forward-looking spirit. Or, it could simply be my mother. She made Christmas Eve special. We always read the Christmas stories--a balanced mishmash of Saint Nick and Virgin Birth and other ones of giving to loved ones till it hurt; we always had a present to open: homemade pajamas or slippers or both; and we always had that gorgeous, filling, warming pot of soup.


The only real change in the night before Christmas menu in all these years was the switch from the minestrone soup we had when I was a kid, and the potato soup we have now. My mother, for some delightful reason, is the queen of minestrone. But when my sister and I became experimental vegetarians in junior and senior high school, we had a Christmas dilemma. Mom puts beef in her minestrone, and that is, for both my parents, the only way to have it. So they compromised the best way they knew how. And now that we have the potato soup, we can't let it go.

I must have been feeling nostalgic or something this last weekend, because I knew there was only one soup I could possibly have for the wee family Christmas party we had: the long lost Minestrone Soup. So I made it like mom makes it, more or less.

I am writing about it now because I am under the impression that if you do Christmas, then you might ponder a pot of soup on Christmas Eve. It's just nice. And if you're going to go that far in listening to my advice, then you might as well try this Minestrone Soup too. Serve it with crusty Italian or French bread, lots of butter (forget the cheese and crackers, they're better with potato), and top it with Parmesan cheese. Gather with family and friends because that is the glorious goodness about holidays. Eat well, be filled, and enjoy!


Winter Minestrone Soup (adapted from Soup in Season, by Tom Wuest, Karen Hollenbeck Wuest, and Peter La Grand)

A few things: 1) This soup is best when made slowly and allowed to simmer. There is just a lot going on in there, and the flavors develop best at a sauntering rate. Consider an overnight in the fridge before the feast. Plan accordingly. 2) I have never been good about the water quantities in soup recipes. I always ignore the suggestions. I include them here as a starting point. But be prepared to add more liquid. 3) If you are vegetarian, this soup can still be for you! Just omit the beef, and then ponder if you'd like to still use the red wine, or swap it out for some white. Have fun.

fresh rosemary sprig
2 cups cooked beans (with pot liquor) or 1 can beans (I used the voluptuous Eye of the Goat, but kidney beans look great, garbanzos are classic, or some other medium-sized pot bean is good too)
4-6 cups water, V8 juice (trust me), or stock*
1 lb beef, cubed and dried with a cloth
olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups beans (I used Eye of the Goat, but cranberry, barlotti, garbanzo, or kidney works well too)
1 potato, cubed
2 carrots, cut into moons or half moons
2 celery stalks, split lengthwise, slice crosswise
4 cups chopped raw spinach, kale, collards, or chard, sliced in 1/2" ribbons (I used spinach)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, split lengthwise, washed well, slice crosswise
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (or whole, chopped, or otherwise decimated)
1/4- 1/2 lb. uncooked mini pasta (mom uses shells; I used orzo; I like shells better)


First order, cook yourself some beans. You can used canned, but come on, get yourself over to Rancho Gordo, Purcell Mountain Farms, or your whole foods grocery and get some of the good stuff. When you cook them, covered and with plenty of water (which you will not throw out, but rather, add it to the soup pot), put in the large sprig of rosemary.

Brown the beef in an oiled, fairly hot pan, more than medium but not too much. Place in a stock pot and deglaze the frying pan with red wine or broth. (Don't let all that gorgeous, caramelized meat juice go to waste!) Add the beans (if not from a can), the water/broth/juice, and bring to a boil. If you did not have a pot of beans to add the rosemary to, add it now. Let simmer through the addition of vegetables.

Begin your vegetable chopping. As you finish chopping each vegetable, add it to the pot. (Add potato first, then carrots, celery, kale or collards. Chard and spinach will cook faster and do not need to be added until later.)

While vegetables are cooking, heat some olive oil over medium heat in the meat pan. Add onion, 1/2 t salt, basil and oregano. When onion is soft, add garlic and thyme. Continue to saute until onion is translucent. Add leeks and saute for another couple minutes.

Add saute to the soup pot, deglazing the saute pan with the rest of the red wine. Add tomatoes, the canned beans if you are using them, 1/4 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper.

Once the vegetables are tender, taste and adjust seasonings. Fish out the rosemary. Add a little honey if the tomatoes are too acidic, add more juice if there is a need for veggieness, or broth or bouillon. Salt if it tastes bland. Then add the pasta to the soup pot. (I have a sliding scale for the amount. If you like pasta, go for it. I always feel there is too much pasta in my Minestrone, but it seems essential. If you feel like me, go for the lesser amount). It will take 10-15 minutes to become tender.

Taste again and assess broth level. Add more liquid if needed, and taste again. In the last 5-10 minutes, add the chard or spinach (if using). When the soup tastes pleasing, and the mix is thickish but still soupy, serve in bowls with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan on top, and some parsely, if you like. Enjoy!

*Beef broth is probably logical, but I find it makes the soup too beefy. My preference is water, vegetable stock, and/or V8 juice (or equivalent). The latter is fabulous because it has a pronounced celery flavor which I find is essential to a good Minestrone. If you use the V8, consider using it in collaboration with the water or stock, as it is a fairly strong flavor and can overpower.

How the cake fits into my day

I am moments away from literally chaining myself to my desk chair. I am desperate. I've been pacing all morning, trying to beat down that monster some brilliant man called Resistance.

How did I learn to cook, after all? I went to grad school, of course. I'm pondering a doctoral program so I can become a world-famous pastry chef.

In the meantime I am writing this book. This blasted, wretched, wonderful book. The funny thing that is not so funny is I can never manage to describe the darned thing to anyone who asks. They are casual: "Oh, you're writing! Well, what are you writing? A book! Well, now, what's the book about?"

"Uhh--well, now, let's see. It's about land, er, California, and uh, it's about spirituality...and it has a lot of fire in it...yes, it is definitely elemental. In short, it's, um...it's about a lot of things."

I say this, when I should say something more like this: "I am writing a coming of age book following my move from Redding to Vancouver, and finally, home. It is about identity and place, and how they are inexplicably linked. My hope is for the book to be a fresh example of of what Kathleen Norris did in Dakota, Annie Dillard did in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and Terry Tempest Williams did in Leap. There will be poetry, history, geography, and personal essay."

That might sound intelligible, as if I were actually the one writing it.

Instead, I sound like I have eaten too much cake (which I admit, I have) and have washed it down with too much coffee, or port, or fairy water, and am having an awkward time making sense.

That is how I sound all the time, which is, perhaps why I am having trouble writing.



This obviously has nothing to do with this really good cake I made for my sister-in-law's baby shower a couple weeks ago. But it is how this cake fits into my day today. The cake we had then and the time we had it in was much more civilized than today: it was all tea, cake, conversation, presents, and prayer. Now we are verging on delirium. It is a different cake (a second bake-off to be sure, very sure of the proportions), and a different time. It is December. For me, it is Advent, which means coming. It is about waiting. I've only been pacing, but it's time to settle down--to not pace but be patient. Time to be expectant--that means hopeful, not distraught (at my complete lack of productivity). This is, in fact, the beginning of the liturgical year. It seems every other second I am talking about beginnings, but for some of us, beginnings are what life is about. Every day, God, don't I pray, is a beginning. The cycle can calm. It can take me out of pacing and slicing off bits of cake and structure my life a little more soundly.

Look, I'm calmer already.

About the cake: You may want to know that the cake is suited for many occasions: baby showers of course, late-night planning sessions with your spouse or partner, early morning treats to get you writing, afternoon snack with tea, Christmas parties, generic holiday parties, mid-morning nibbles, or midnight munchies after a movie. The possibilities are endless. I advise you to not slice the cake too generously though. I find the cake tastes best in slivers no wider than a half-inch. Go back four times if you must, but let the slices be small. It tastes better that way, I swear.


Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake (adapted from Sunset Magazine)

For this cake, the chocolate glaze makes it look fabulous, and the pistachio makes it taste fabulous. They are what makes the cake special. If you have a favorite ganache recipe of your own, use it instead of the glaze. Just be sure the chocolate you use is edibly delicious and semi-sweet. As for the pistachio creme, I would toy with adding even more next time, though it may disrupt the baking time perfection. As it is, be sure not to over bake this one. I did the second time around, just barely, so that no crumbs were left on the skewer, and I could tell.

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 ground cloves
3/4 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup pistachio creme*
Chocolate glaze (recipe follows)
1/2 cup slivered pistachios**

1. Make the pistachio creme (preferably the day before so you don't wear yourself out). I used Heidi's fabulous recipe, with a couple specifications and tweaks: A) Take two cups shelled, raw, unsalted pistachios and blanch in boiling water for a minute or two. Drain and cool a bit until easily handled. Then, proceed to pinch off the skins. If they are beautiful pistachios, and truly raw, the skins slip in one determined pinch. If not, you'll be pawing them off for a while. Use this quiet, repetitive time for meditation, conversation, or movie-watching. B) When you're done, put the pistachios and 1/2 cup hot water, in a large bowl. Using a hand blender, puree the pistachios until smooth and creamy. (I could never get rid of the soft bits of texture--which I liked. Store bought is closer to normal nut butters, my homemade becomes more of a pistachio mousse.) Alternatively, I assume you could use a food processor. Blend the nuts and add the water through the feed tube. C) When smooth, add a large pinch of salt and 3/4 cups plain sugar--not agave nectar (which I have tried and disliked). Stir well. Store in the refrigerator for who knows how long-- a couple weeks at least. I'll keep you posted.

2. In a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Scrape half the mixture into another bowl.

3. To make pumpkin batter: Beat pumpkin into half the butter mixture until well blended. In another bowl, stir together 1 and 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed or fold in with a flexible spatula just until blended.

4. To make chocolate batter: In another bowl, mix remaining 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cocoa. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the other half of the butter mixture (starting and ending with flour mixture), beating after each addition just until blended.

5. Spoon half the pumpkin batter into a buttered and floured 12-cup bundt pan. Pipe half of the pistachio creme in a circle or zigzag with either a pastry bag and tube tip or a plastic baggy with the corner cut off. I used about an inch wide tip, but if you want to zig-zag, use a little smaller. Drop half the chocolate batter by spoonfuls over (but not entirely covering) the pumpkin batter. Pipe the remaining pistachio creme as you repeat to spoon dollops of the remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters in pan. Gently run the blade of a butter knife around the center of the pan a couple times and around the outer edge too, then draw the knife across the width of the pan in 10-12 places to swirl batters.

6. Bake in a 350 degree oven until a wood skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 55-65 minutes. Let cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack, lift off pan, and cool cake completely.

7. Pour warm chocolate glaze over the top of cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle glaze with pistachio slivers, if desired. Let stand until glaze is set, about 2 hours, or chill about 30 minutes. I think it improves with age. Enjoy!


Chocolate Glaze:

In a heatproof bowl, combine 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate, 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon corn syrup. Bring an inch or two of water to a boil in a pan that the bowl can nest in, then remove from heat. Place chocolate mixture over water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes.


*I originally just wanted to buy the pistachio creme (for another cake, actually). I didn't have time to order it online, though you could easily (for a price) get it here, or here. I tried to track it down in stores and ran out of patience. In the end I am glad I made it at home. I have worked with prepared creme before (lovely)--the texture is very different than what developed in my kitchen. For this cake, I recommend homemade.

**I did not have any more pistachios on hand to top the cake, but against the dark chocolate glaze, the added green would look stunning. And although I have never actually seen slivered pistachios for sale in my humble natural-foods store, I am sure you can order them online if you, like me, cannot track them down otherwise. Or, just skin and chop some extra skinned pistachios from your creme makings and use those.