January 21: National Granola Day, and a Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe

Well, today is both National Granola Day and National New England Clam Chowder Day. I care maybe a little bit about the former, not too much at all about the latter. Sorry to devotees of both of those foods. I wish you a wonderful day.

But as for me, I think I will stick with a big bundt. Big bundt cake, that is. 

Because I like big bundts and I cannot lie! 

And as bundt cakes go, this one is extra-special. It looks like a regular (awesome) chocolate bundt cake, and then you cut into it and see that it has a full inch or more of chocolate buttercream hidden under the frosting. Sort of hi-hat style. OMG.

I'm super proud of this chocolate cake, which has a fascinating flavor owing to the use of extra virgin olive oil in both the ganache and the cake part. It gives it a nutty, unique, and totally addictive flavor. The inch-plus of chocolate buttercream certainly hurts nothing. 

I enjoyed a slice of this cake with a big slice of milk the other day while watching Sleepless in Seattle, and I need to tell you that it was the most pleasurable moment of my week. 

Make this cake! Here's the recipe.

What Happens When You Make Buttercrunch Without Corn Syrup?

January 20: National Cheese Lover's Day. National Coffee Break Day. And...National Buttercrunch Day!

Well, I'm going to stick with the latter, and enjoy it with the one right before it. Or maybe I could garnish cheesecake with buttercrunch and enjoy it with coffee and have a food holiday trifecta?

Nah, I think I will stick with the buttercrunch since I've never made it before. 

Have you ever made buttercrunch? Do you know what it is? Are you annoyed that I keep on saying the name? 

To the uninitiated, buttercrunch (I LOVE THE NAME and will not stop saying it btw) is a confection featuring a hard caramel candy coated on the top and bottom with chocolate and nuts. Sometimes the nuts will be almonds, sometimes pecans, whatever. You get the general idea, though: this is good stuff. I associate it with confectionery stores that sell chocolate bark and truffles by the pound - not necessarily the precious chocolate shops of the modern age, but the types of places like my family favorite, Jean Louise Chocolates in Spring Lake!

But most recipes for it call for corn syrup. I don't really like to use corn syrup, not because I am morally opposed to it but because I don't make enough recipes that call for it to warrant having it around, and as I was looking through recipes, I didn't want to make an extra trip to the store. So, I wondered, what would happen if I made it without corn syrup?

So, I substituted honey instead of corn syrup. What would happen? 

I wasn't sure if omitting the corn syrup would make the candy grittier in texture, or if it wouldn't set up properly, but I wanted to find out. 

Here's the recipe, along with photos of the process. For a printable recipe, click here. 

Homemade buttercrunch without corn syrup

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 cups pecans, finely cut, toasted
• 2 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate, finely cut  

Fit a candy thermometer on the side of a large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Place the butter in a large saucepan. Heat on low until melted. Add the sugar, salt, water, and honey. (this is normally when you'd be using the corn syrup, usually; I added the honey).

Raise the heat to medium. It will come to a boil. Once it does, keep a close eye on the temperature. Keep the mixture bubbling until it reaches 290 degrees F. Since this will take a little while (like 10-15 minutes), you can perform the next steps concurrently. (I performed these steps concurrently with plenty of time). At this point, it was still hard to tell if there would be any difference. 

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.

Lightly grease a half-sheet bake pan or the inside of a casserole pan. Line with a strip of parchment paper to use as a handle later. Scatter half of the nuts on top, and then gently spread half of the chocolate on top, trying to keep the mixture from tearing up the nuts. 

By now, your candy mixture is probably nearing 290 degrees F, so let's go back to it.

Once the mixture reaches between 290 and 295 degrees F, remove from heat and immediately pour on top of the nut/chocolate mixture. try to pour in such a way that the candy mixture evenly coats the chocolate in a single coat. It will begin to "set" quickly. That is OK.

Gently spread the remaining chocolate on top. Gently! Scatter the rest of the nuts on top. You can gently press the nuts holding a sheet of parchment paper to adhere them to the chocolate. 

Let the mixture set. Once the chocolate appears to be getting firm, but not waiting until it gets hard, use a spatula to loosen the candy from the pan. Once loosened, let the mixture set in the pan. Once set, cut into shards to serve. This is a little messy because I should have waited longer to cut, but gosh-darn, it was delicious. 

The finished candy had a texture that was perhaps slightly less smooth than some buttercrunch candies I have tried, but perfectly firmed, and the flavor was spot on. The honey offered a nice mellowness to the sweetness. I would absolutely make buttercrunch this way again!

UPDATE: Here's a picture of the butter crunch after it had set and I broke it into chunks! Yum City, population ME.

Enjoy! 

January 19: National Popcorn Day

Poppin' fresh news: today is National Popcorn Day!

While popcorn is most famously associated with movies and microwaves, I'd like to take a few moments today to celebrate delicious uses for popcorn in baking and as a dessert component. So here you go - a collection of 12 fascinating and delicious sweet popcorn recipes!

Peanut butter cup popcorn. I can't stand it! (Chocolate Moosey)

Funfetti brownie popcorn. Awful / awesome. All at once. (CakeSpy)

Toffee popcorn bark. Yum! (Kitchen Mason)

Drizzled black sesame popcorn balls. Elegant! (Gringalicious)

POPCORN ICE CREAM. (James Beard Foundation)

As advertised on the site: IT’S A CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CAKE WITH SOME SALTED CARAMEL FROSTING (DYED IN PINK CAUSE YOU KNOW) AND TOPPED WITH  A POPCORN MOUNTAIN. How could you not love this? (Carmela Pop)

Popcones! (Martha Stewart)

Salted caramel popcorn brownies. (Love Swah)

Birthday cake popcorn. Sweet! (Tikkido)

Caramel corn cupcakes. YUM! (Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)

White chocolate buttered popcorn cookies. Yum! (Joanne Eats Well With Others)

Big Bird's Popcorn Pudding. Sesame Street-approved! (Sesame Street)

Do you like popcorn in dessert?

January 18: National Peking Duck Day, and a Chocolate Mousse Cake Recipe

Did you know that January 18 is National Peking Duck Day? I'm going to be honest: I will not be celebrating this holiday. Not with duck, anyway. Although if you love Peking Duck, then I hope it is the best day ever for you. But as for me...

... I will be enjoying this rich chocolate olive oil cake with a fat wedge of mousse sandwiched between layers and ganache all over the top. Yes, that is how I will be celebrating.

Let's talk for a moment about how great this cake is. I'll highlight 5 of its most delectable attributes:

1. Chocolate olive oil cake is unlike anything you've ever tasted.

I don't know how to describe what happens to a classic chocolate cake when you make it with olive oil instead of butter. It is light and springy, yet rich in flavor. It is complex. It's nutty and interesting and if you don't know what the "secret" ingredient is, it piques your interest. It's good stuff.

2. A THICK MOUSSE FILLING.

Chocolate cake = good. Splitting it in the middle and stuffing it with a thick layer of chocolate mousse? Seriously. 

3. Chocolate ganache topping.

What isn't improved with the addition of chocolate ganache? Well, maybe cheeseburgers or pizza, but I have never tried it, so never say never.

4. It's easier to make than you'd think.

It may seem like a complex recipe, but it's really not. It's more like three mini recipes: a single layer cake (which you cut in half to stack), a simple mousse, and easy ganache. Then combine. 

5. JUST LOOK AT IT. 

Just a reminder: this cake looks as great as it tastes. 

Enjoy National Peking Duck Day--I know I will be, with this cake. 

Recipe for chocolate mousse cake here.

January 17: National Hot Buttered Rum Day

Good morning! And Happy National Hot Buttered Rum Day. Now, be honest...do you know what hot buttered rum actually is?

A creative hot buttered rum. Photo licensed via Creative commons by Flickr member lemon168

Until writing this post, I actually didn't. If you had asked me and I didn't have my phone to look it up on the spot, I'd probably give a vague definition: a sort of hot toddy with rum. But I didn't actually know if contained real butter, or if it was named for a "buttery" texture thanks to another ingredient. 

So, for National Hot Buttered Rum Day, I found out. 

Apparently, hot buttered rum is a long-standing winter tradition in the United States. It all began when molasses began to be imported into the colonies from Jamaica. It didn't take long for the settlers to take up distilling, and when it got cold out, they augmented other cold-weather beverages such as teas with rum. Naturally. 

I found this part interesting. Because the puritans looked down on garish celebration of religious holidays (and upon liquor as part of the celebration), toddies and spiced rum drinks were more associated with holidays like Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve, days on which the rum wouldn't offend baby Jesus. 

While hot buttered rum was absolutely enjoyed in the early days of the states, its first known mention by that name is from a 1917 publication called The Ideal Bartender.

OK, so if you want to make a hot buttered rum, what do you need? Well, your ingredient list will likely include rum, butter, nutmeg, and sugar. It might include citrus, or it might include milk/cream, but from what I have noticed, usually not both.

To make a hot buttered rum today, I liked this recipe which I found on the New England Distilling page. I am copying it here because they may change the site seasonally. The recipe features half a stick of butter, sugar, spices, rum, hot water, and some orange juice, and sounds tremendous. It doesn't list how many servings there are, so it's possible that if it's one serving, it contains half a stick of butter. OK, I don't think it's for one serving, but it was a funny thing to think about for a moment. 

Here's the recipe: 

Hot Buttered Rum

according to New England Distilling 

4 oz. butter, room temperature
.5 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
.75 tsp cinnamon
.75 tsp ground ginger
.5 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 oz Eight Bells
.75 cups boiling water
Fresh orange juice

Beat butter, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a mixer for about a minute.

Combine 2 tablespoons butter mixture with rum and boiling water in a glass mug and add a splash of OJ.  The mixture can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks.

Now that you know how to make one, how about some fun links about creative variations of hot buttered rum tastiness?

Five Interesting Hot Buttered Rum Links 

Hot buttered rum recipe. (Luna Cafe)

Hot buttered rum pecan sundae. WHOA. (The Hungry Mouse)

Hot buttered rum cheesecake with brown sugar rum sauce. (Betty Crocker)

Hot buttered rum cookies. (Barefeet in the Kitchen)

Hot buttered rum pound cake. Yum. (Hummingbird High)

Bonus: butter rum pop-tarts recipe. Awesome! (Lighter and Local)

Have you ever tried a hot buttered rum?

January 16: National Fig Newton Day

Aaaaand a happy National Fig Newton Day to you! 

Now, there are plenty of ways you could choose to celebrate this hallowed day. Most obvious, perhaps, would be buying some Fig Newtons and eating them. That's an idea.

Or, you could cover them in chocolate and put them on sticks!

I created this tutorial for Serious Eats a few years ago and quite frankly, it still delights me. Maybe it will delight you, too.

Recipe here. 

If you prefer to explore Fig Newtons in greater depth, read on:

Five links of interest for Fig Newton Day:

An interesting look at the Fig Newton's history. (Eatocracy)

Homemade Fig Newtons. Healthy-ish. (My Whole Food Life)

Fig Newton cupcakes. Also healthy-ish. (Amy's Healthy Baking)

Fig Newton coffee cake. (Just a Pinch)

Caramelized fig and Fig Newton ice cream. WOW. (Sprinkled Side Up)

Do you like Fig Newtons?

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links for National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Don't ask me WHY today is National Strawberry ice cream day. It's nowhere near strawberry season, and ice cream isn't going to be the most appetizing prospect on a cold day. But then again, why not? These links celebrate the magic that is strawberry ice cream. 

Learn the laws of strawberry ice cream. (Serious Eats)

Neapolitan ice cream's story! Because strawberry is a third of the equation. (CakeSpy)

A strawberry ice cream "good enough to be served at Ben & Jerry's". (Food.com)

Blondie ice cream sandwiches with strawberry ice cream. Yesssss. (CakeSpy)

Dark chocolate strawberry ice cream. OOooh. (Love & Olive Oil)

White chocolate strawberry ice cream. OOooh again. (We Are Not Martha)

Strawberry milk ice cream cake. This thing is like joy in cake form. (Taste and Tell)

Bi-Rite's strawberry-balsamic ice cream. (Serious Eats)

Chocolate covered strawberry ice cream pie. INTO IT. (Handle the Heat)

Strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. Yes. Please. (Life Made Sweeter)

Strawberry ice cream bars inspired by Good Humor. Love this. (Big Red Kitchen)

Strawberry "ice cream" cupcakes. Cute! (Australian Kitchen)

Not actual ice cream: strawberry ice cream cookie pops. SO cute! (Wilton)

Book of the week: The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. Remember this book? It's not at all a recipe book, but when I came across it while looking for book inspiration for the week I had to include it. This classic kid's book was part of my collection, and it's bound to offer enough delightful nostalgia to inspire you to create something sweet.

January 14: National Pastrami Sandwich Day, and a Smoothie Recipe

Happy National Pastrami Sandwich Day! I don't really care, so I'm going to talk about smoothies instead. Stay with me.

Re: Pastrami. In spite of its "you must go to Katz's" fame and presence in romantic comedies, I have never-ever-ever been into pastrami sandwiches. But I do want to acknowledge the occasion. So if you're into pastrami, please, enjoy. Eat your heart out. 

If, on the other hand, you prefer not to indulge in pastrami, how about a smoothie?

Smoothies are another food that I don't particularly care for, among the ranks of frozen yogurt. They usually bore me, quite honestly. I'd rather eat some fruit and nuts than drink it all pureed. 

However, when I was tasked with coming up with a smoothie recipe, I have to say, I think I did a good job. This smoothie has chocolate and banana and almond butter, which I suppose veers it slightly into shake territory, but I don't think anyone will complain.

Oh, and that leads me to the diet tip of the day: HOW TO MAKE ANY MILKSHAKE HEALTH FOOD INSTANTLY. 

Here's how: call it a smoothie. 

Ha! Of course, on the flip side, if you really want to make your smoothie a treat, enjoy it with a homemade ring ding.

OK, enjoy Pastrami day, enjoy a smoothie, you choose your own adventure, OK?

Smoothie recipe here. 

January 13: National Peach Melba Day

Happy Peach Melba Day! Wait, what the hell is Peach Melba? And why is its National Day nowhere near peach season? 

Photo licensed via Creative Commons by Flickr Member Eric Molina

Good questions. Well, I have no idea about the latter, but I can tell you about the former, and a few more things, too. Enjoy!

Six interesting facts about Peach Melba

1. Peach melba is a dessert.

Peach Melba is a dessert composed of peaches atop ice cream, with a raspberry sauce. Sometimes with slivered almonds. I guess that makes it like a sundae, but not a sundae? A health food sundae. How about that.

2. It was named after a singer.

Australian Soprano Nellie Melba was all the rage in the late 1890s, and wherever she went to perform, it caused quite a flurry. When she deigned London with a visit in 1892, famed pastry chef Auguste Escoffier, who at the time was making dessert at the Savoy Hotel (and who had a penchant for naming desserts after ladies: Poires Mary Garden is another example), created a special dessert inspired by the singer, composed of (a fancy version of) peaches atop vanilla ice cream. 

3. For authentic presentation, you need an ice sculpture.

Apparently, when the dessert was presented, it was not in any old bowl, but in an ice sculpture of a swan. The sweet little swan (inspired by the opera in which Ms. Melba was performing) acted as a bowl, carrying vanilla ice cream topped with peaches and spun sugar. 

4. This is not the only food named after Nellie Melba.

When you're a big deal, you have a food named after you. When you're a really big deal, you have more than one food named after you. Guess what? The same person who inspired a tasty peaches and cream dessert also inspired the name for...dry toast. Yep: Melba toast is named after the same person as Peach Melba! Apparently, during times of sickness, Nellie Melba really only ate dry toast. Her association with this deeply boring food apparently caught on, and commercial varieties now bear her name. 

5. It has an interesting history.

Read about it in this awesome entry on toriavey.com. 

6. You can make it as a cake.

Too cold for ice cream? I understand. Enjoy the Peach Melba concept in cake form! Epicurious has a nice-looking recipe. 

P.S. This is not the only dessert named after a person! I have a rather nifty roundup of Desserts Named After People, which you can view here.

Have you ever tried Peach Melba?

January 12: National Curried Chicken Day, and a Recipe for Chocolate Cake

January 12 is National Curried Chicken Day. I am going to tell the truth: I do not care about this national holiday at all, so instead I am going to be posting a chocolate cake recipe.

Listen. It's not that I am directly opposed to curried chicken; in fact, if you said "hey, let's go to this place that has the best curried chicken in the world!" I'd be calling shotgun and jumping in the car. But as a holiday, not so much. So having acknowledged that it is a date of note for curried chicken, I am going to go ahead and share a chocolate cake recipe with you.

This is a chocolate cake that I have tweaked slightly from Hershey's packaging, and I think it's a swell one. While my primary chocolate cake love is a dense, rich, flourless chocolate cake, sometimes you need a cake that is well suited for layering and frosting. This is that cake. Easy to make and devoid of any hard to obtain ingredients, it's a good one to keep on file. 

I actually cut these cakes into mini cakes and made homemade Ring Dings - the recipe for that will come soon. But in the meantime, the basic chocolate cake recipe! 

Basic Chocolate Cake

Makes one 2-layer chocolate cake - printable recipe here 

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1-2/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 -1/3 cups whole milk

1. Make the cakes. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease, flour, and line with parchment paper two round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set to the side.
3. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes--to make it nice and fluffy. Pause mixing. Add the eggs, one at a time, pausing to mix on low for a few moments before adding the next egg. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the vanilla. 
4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, in 2-3 additions each. Mix until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Divide the batter between your two prepared pans. 
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (rotating the pans at the 15 minute mark), or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven, and loosen the edges of the cake with a sharp knife. After a couple minutes, invert the cakes on to wire racks and let cool completely.
6. Once cooled, level the cakes. Frost as desired. 

This cake can be made in advance. Simply bake, level, and cover in plastic wrap then stick it in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Let thaw before frosting. 

How will you celebrate National Curried Chicken Day? 

January 11: A Loving Look at Milk, for National Milk Day

Happy National Milk Day! Well, it's also National Hot Toddy Day. Not to sound like a teetotaler (which I am not), but I really don't have a ton of interest in hot toddies. So I'm focusing on the beverage much nearer and dearer to my heart: milk. 

I love milk. In particular, whole milk. The richer the better. 

I'm most certainly not glugging milk from the container: for me, milk is an exquisite beverage, to be enjoyed in small, almost espresso-like amounts. A shot of milk is like heaven to me. 

When I was young, my beverage of choice was milk with ice. That sounds weird to even me now, but it was my favorite thing, maybe not quite in the world, but close to it, when I was roughly 3 to 7 years old. 

I loved milk with cookies. Bucking cultural dictates, however, I never-ever-ever dipped my cookies. That would really only muck up both the milk and the cookie, and I didn't care for it. They were accompaniments. Equal parts of the equation of deliciousness...but always separate. A bite of cookie, a sip of milk.

I know you might not even believe this, but I was never into cake with milk until about 3 years ago (I am 34! I know, 31 years wasted!). 

It happened because of my sweetheart. He loves chocolate cake, the darker the better. And he ALWAYS has milk with it. It's to the point where he actually will decline the cake if there is no milk around (what!?). I can't say I remember exactly when, but I too started to take a bit of milk with my cake--first with chocolate cake and brownies, but eventually with all cakes. And now, I couldn't imagine it any other way. In fact, I would say that my love of cake + milk eclipses my love of milk + cookies. 

Cake with milk. It is the best. 

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

What makes cake with milk so great? Over the past day or so, I have given it a bit of thought. Here's what I have come up with.

Milk is motherly. This is exactly the part that grosses out the part of the population that thinks milk is gross: it's from a cow's (usually) teat. While I am not necessarily attached to that aspect of milk, there is something about milk that is innately nurturing and comforting, like a mother's love. Cake, to me, also tastes like love--and happy memories. Together, these happy and nurturing foods make a beautiful culinary experience.

Fresh milk is unlike anything else in the world. The quality of milk is directly related to its deliciousness. Have you ever tried milk directly from the cow? It's like drinking straight cream, and it's fiiiiiiine. When paired with cake, it's almost like adding whipped cream on top. Awesome. 

Milk moistens cake. Even the moistest of cakes can feel like they get a little stuck in your throat. Milk is the perfect complement, moistening it, coating your throat sweetly and helping the cake mainline to your belly. 

Cake brings out milk's natural sweetness. Have you ever taken a bite of cake then a sip of milk and thought "is there sugar in this milk?". Milk is naturally lightly sweet, and a cake accompaniment really brings that out. 

Milk and cake is pretty. Is there anything prettier than a beautiful piece of chocolate cake paired with a glass of snowy-opaque milk? It's possible that on pinterest, something prettier exists. But in terms of a pretty combination that tastes as good as it looks, I will stick with milk. 

Do you love milk with cake?  

January 10: National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

Happy National Bittersweet Chocolate Day. Which leads to an important question: what the heck is bittersweet chocolate, anyway? And how is it different from the semisweet chocolate you use in chocolate chip cookies? 

As it turns out, not all that different. Both are considered types of dark chocolate, with some key differences.

Semisweet and bittersweet chocolate

Bittersweet chocolate has a high cacao percentage, and contains at least 35 percent pure chocolate, to which sugar (a low percentage) and possibly flavorings have been added. Bittersweet chocolate is dark chocolate. 

Semisweet chocolate is similar, also containing at least 35 percent pure chocolate, but it typically has a higher amount of sugar, is more likely to contain flavorings or emulsifiers, and has lower cacao percentage. Because of its sweeter flavor, semi-sweet is more commonly used in baking, and it’s the go-to chocolate type for chocolate chip cookies. Semi-sweet chocolate is dark chocolate too, but not quite as dark as bittersweet. 

Can I use them interchangeably?

Yes! You can absolutely use bittersweet chocolate in chocolate chip cookies. In fact, I think that a lot of baked goods taste more refined and kind of French-y when you use bittersweet chocolate.

However, my advice is that you consider your audience when using darker chocolate in baking. Especially if you are making a baked good that kids will be eating, because in my experience, fancy chocolate is wasted on young children (including my nephew), who would probably rather be eating milk chocolate or the sweeter semisweet chocolate. 

Dark chocolate for baking and eating 

Dark chocolate, as well as semi and bittersweet chocolate, can all be eaten out of hand, or used in recipes. Its deep flavor makes it a good choice for chocolate fillings, chocolate chunks in cookies, or even a rich ganache which can be used as a filling or topping (or both!). 

Four recipes with bittersweet chocolate for you to enjoy today:

Chocolate-filled chocolate cookies. (Colavita)

Bittersweet chocolate truffles. (Chowhound)

Four ingredient chocolate ganache pie. (CakeSpy)

Whole Foods copycat chocolate cake. (CakeSpy)

What is your favorite type of chocolate for baking?

January 9: National Apricot Day

Happy National Apricot Day! 

Now, in case you are uncertain of what an apricot is, the dictionary defines it thusly, which amused me for whatever reason: "a juicy, soft fruit, resembling a small peach, of an orange-yellow color." Apricots are indeed like lilliputian peaches, but with what I think of as a more mild flavor. I am not sure how to describe the flavor of an apricot other than to treat it like a primary color. Apricot is apricot, it can't be mixed or replicated. 

To celebrate this delightful little fruit, I'm going to give you some little apricot-tidbits. Every other one will be a factoid, alternated with a recipe idea. 

6 Recipes and tidbits to help you enjoy National Apricot Day

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

1. The apricot is symbolic in Chinese culture.

Apparently, the Chinese associate apricots with medicine and education. As I found on wikipedia (I know, I know), "the classical word 杏壇 (literally: "apricot altar") which means "educational circle", is still widely used in written language.

2. Recipe: white chocolate apricot cookies.

These easy drop cookies are refined and a little fancier than chocolate chip cookies. (CakeSpy)

3. They don't just look like peaches; they are related.

Apricots are a member of the rose family, and are related to peaches and plums. In Latin, the apricot is called praecocquum, which means "early-ripening peach."

4. Recipe: apricot and cranberry stollen. 

Yes, it's a holiday tradition, but this sweet bread is tasty all year round. (CakeSpy for Craftsy)

5. When are apricots in season?

According to The World's Healthiest Foods,

"Apricot season in the U.S. runs from May through August. In the winter, apricots are imported from South America. Look for fruits with a rich orange color while avoiding those that are pale and yellow. Fruits should be slightly soft. If they are too firm they have not been tree-ripened, and tree-ripened fruits always taste best. For the most antioxidants, choose fully ripened fruit."

6. Recipe: Mazurka bars.

This is one of my favorite recipes. It can be made with any type of jam; one of my faves is apricot.(CakeSpy)

Do you like baked goods with apricot? 

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links for National English Toffee Day

Happy National English Toffee Day! (January 8). Let's celebrate with a batch of Friday links devoted to the stuff. And (totally unrelated to English toffee) just while I have it on my mind, be sure to listen to this awesome food podcast featuring ME.

Uncertain of what English toffee is? Let's briefly discuss.

Toffee is a type of candy. Food writer Harold McGee claims it to be "from the Creole for a mixture of sugar and molasses". It can be a hard or soft candy, and personally, I think of it as a buttery brown sugary mixture which is firm or even hard, but softens quickly in the mouth. 

English toffee is the tricked-out version of regular toffee, featuring nuts (often almonds) and a chocolate topping. 

Glazed English Toffee Cake. (Hershey's)

English toffee cookie bars. (Hershey's Canada)

Homemade English toffee. (Taste of Home)

English toffee bites. Cute! (Shugary Sweets)

What's the difference between English toffee and American toffee? (Etoffee.com)

Chocolate covered English toffee bars. Yum. (Taste of Home)

I can't wait to order English toffee ice cream the next time I stop by Oklahoma-based Braum's. (Braum's)

Make your own English toffee cappuccino mix! (Food.com)

English toffee scones! (Mad in Craft)

English toffee cheesecake! (Smuckers)

Giant chocolate toffee cookies. (Epicurious)

Irish toffee shortbread bars. OMG. (The Kitchn)

What to drink alongside English toffee? An English toffee martini, of course! (Daydreamer Desserts)

Make everything you make taste like English toffee with English toffee flavoring oil. (via Amazon)

Book of the week: English Toffee Cookbook. Only available as a kindle/online read, this recipe booklet isn't JUST for English toffee, but does include a nice collection of cheeky British recipes. I found it charming and worth checking out. 

January 7: National Tempura Day

It's no mere weekday. It's National Tempura Day. If you don't succeed, fry, fry again! 

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

To celebrate this savory day, let me share with you five creative and interesting types of tempura I've spied around the web. Which one is your favorite?

1. Donut tempura (OK, not really). 

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

It may look like a donut, but it's actually shrimp. I'd still take a bite. 

2. Tempura ice cream

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

Ice cream. Wrapped in batter and fried. It might sound like a bit much, but one bite and I bet you'd be saying "just enough".

3. Octopus tempura

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

I'm not sure if I could eat something that looked like it might attack, Syfy movie style, but it is interesting to know that this exists. 

4. Tempura squash blossoms

Photo licensed via Creative Commons on Flickr

I'd hit that. You?

5. Banana tempura

Yep: that's a fried banana dessert, served a la mode. I am hungry and longing for this thing. 

Have you ever sampled a creative tempura variation? 

January 6: National Shortbread Day

Did you know that January 6 is National Bean Day? Well, now you do. Insert fart joke. But more importantly, it is also National Shortbread Day.

Shortbread. Am I the only one who gets happy just at the very sight of the word? It's a happy word, and a happy thing. In spite of its sliced bread-sounding name, it's actually cookies: nuggets of sugary-butter-bliss.

It being National Shortbread Day, I thought I would celebrate by exploring 6 interesting aspects about shortbread.

1. What is shortbread?

Shortbread is a crumbly, buttery cookie. With only three main ingredients (flour, sugar and butter--with a dash of salt for good measure)--traditional shortbread isn't a complex thing, but we would be hard-pressed to call it simple food. Because certainly there is an art to mixing those ingredients, to yielding the elusively perfect, buttery crumb.

2. Where does the cookie come from?

As Historic-UK.com informs us, the story of shortbread begins with the medieval biscuit ("twice-baked"), wherein leftover bread dough was baked a second time to form a type of rusk--this is to say, if you picture a family tree of cookies, this would mean that shortbread, rusks and biscotti all share some relatives.

While by some accounts they existed as far back as the 12th century in Britain, it seems to us that it is truly Scotland where shortbread as we know it was developed: it is here that gradually the yeast began to be replaced with butter, and oat flour, which were some of their agricultural staples. These "short" bread cookies were a fancy dessert, reserved for the wealthy and for special occasions. And certainly their popularity was bolstered by the fact that in the 16th Century, they are said to have been a favorite of Mary, Queen of Scots (she liked a variation which included caraway seeds, in case you were interested).

3. Why are they called "short"?

It's all about the butter, baby! According to Everything You Pretend to Know about Food and Are Afraid Someone Will Ask, which is like, our favorite book ever,

short pastry is a nonyeast pastry that has a high ratio of butter to flour. Short pastries bake up crumbly rather than chewy and tend to keep well, owing to their high fat content.

4. What is the proper shape for a traditional shortbread cookie?

We've seen them round, rectangular, diamond-shaped, and cut into wedges from a larger round--so what gives? Is there a proper shape for a traditional shortbread cookie? Once again according to Historic-UK.com,

Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle divided into segments ("Petticoat Tails"); individual round biscuits ("Shortbread Rounds"); or a thick rectangular slab cut into "fingers."

Of course, having taste-tested each of these traditional variations, we can report that while they may differ in look, each shape is delicious.

5. Cornstarch can be your secret ingredient.

Although it is hard to imagine bakers in the olden days of Scotland pausing to add cornstarch to their shortbread, there is a strong case for its use in modern times. Chances are, in times gone by, the flour had a lower protein and gluten content than all-purpose flour, which is used today. The cornstarch can “soften” the harder wheat for an end result that might possibly mimic old-fashioned results even more than using all-purpose flour.

Many will claim that one or the other is the only authentic shortbread. However, given how long shortbread has been around, it’s inevitable that variations will exist. Many recipes, therefore, can truthfully be called authentic.

The recipe shared in this post is a traditional shortbread recipe with cornstarch. What makes it a keeper, though, is how delicious the cookies are: tender in the center yet crisp on the edges, and full of buttery-sweet flavor.

6. Shortbread is incredibly easy to make.

I think (if I do say so myself) that I did a great job of explaining how to make perfect shortbread in this post for Craftsy. You can find the recipe and technique all detailed in the post!

Five shortbread recipes to try

• Perfect shortbread. (CakeSpy for Craftsy)
• Brown butter shortbread (Completely Delicious)
• Fleur de sel shortbread with vanilla halvah (As seen on CakeSpy)
• Matcha green tea shortbread cookies (Kirbie's Cravings)
• Nanaimo bars with a shortbread crust (CakeSpy)

Do you like shortbread?

January 5: National Whipped Cream Day

What. A. Fine. Day. It. Is. Happy National Whipped Cream Day!

Why on earth would National Whipped Cream Day be right when so many people in the world are taking on a deeply boring eat-healthy New Year's Resolution? Well, that's because January 4 is the birthday of Aaron "Bunny" Lapin, who you may not know but you probably love, because in 1946, he developed an aerosol canister designed for delivering whipped cream: yes, Reddi-Wip.

Mr. Bunny (that's how I am referring to him from now on) was a salesman who switched from the apparel industry to the food industry during World War II, when he began selling a whipped cream made specifically to reflect war shortages, using a little cream and some vegetable fat. He sold it with a sort of extruding machine.

But according to the New York Times,

"in 1946, when the Crown Cork and Seal Company introduced the first seamless, lined and lithographed aerosol canister -- the Spra-tainer, Mr. Lapin became one of the canister's first customers.

He put his product in the aerosol cans under the brand name Reddi-wip, initially selling it through milkmen in St. Louis. Distribution quickly expanded throughout the United States and Canada.

Within five years, Mr. Lapin was worth millions. In 1951, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called him ''Bunny Lapin, Whipped Cream King.'' Aerosol Age, a trade publication, wrote, ''He bought Cadillacs two at a time and lived in Gloria Swanson's furnished mansion in Hollywood.''

While Mr. Bunny didn't invent whipped cream, he might as well have for all of the delightful fuss this invention created.  All of a sudden, whipped cream became an anytime topping, not just reserved for special occasions. It became a sundae topper, a slice of pie garnish, commonplace on top of hot chocolate. According to the New York Times, Reddi-Wip still accounts for about 50% of all whipped cream sold in the USA.

Making whipped cream.

While I find all of the above fascinating, I'll tell the truth: I still think there is nothing like homemade whipped cream. It is a very good thing that for some reason, people think is complicated.

Well, it's not. Here is how I always make whipped cream; it is a fearless and easy method. I've made whipped cream a zillion lazy, non-perfect ways, and I can tell you that most of them work. You can fuss all you like (people get really crazy about the type of bowl, etc, etc), but this is ultimately what it comes down to. Don't worry about whether your bowl is stainless steel or glass. It's still going to work, people. 

The one thing you don't want to do here is use cream that is not cold. It's important for the cream to be cold so that it can capture air bubbles and gain density. If you try to whip warm cream, you will get lukewarm results. 

If you have time, put your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 10 minutes. It is not going to make or break the recipe, but it will help you attain a great texture. If you don't have time, proceed. Your cream might just be less firm, which is generally not a problem because everyone will just be delighted to have homemade whipped cream. 

Whipped cream

Makes about 2 cups. You'll need:

• a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or a hand mixer
• a mixing bowl
• a rubber spatula
• 1 cup whipping cream (make sure to use whipping cream, as half and half or light cream may not have enough fat to whip)
• confectioners' or granulated sugar: either none, or up to 2 tablespoons 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, if desired 

1. Place your cream in the bowl. Mix with your hand or stand mixer on high until the cream begins to puff and gain thickness. If you pause the mixer and lift the beater, it should softly cling to the beater but not hold a defined shape; this is known as "soft peaks". 
2. Once your mixture has reached the soft peak phase, stir in the vanilla and sugar, if adding. I wrote you might not want to add these in the recipes, and this depends on what you are topping. If it is a super-sweet dessert, say an ice cream sundae with sprinkles, hot fudge, and cookie bits, you might not need any sugar; the cream itself will be a complement to the already-existing sweetness.
3. However, if it is a dessert that is not terribly sweet, like a bittersweet dark chocolate torte or a fruit pie that is tart, you will probably want the sugar. It's totally up to you. Ditto with the vanilla. I think it adds a little extra flavor, but it is not necessary. 
4. Once the sugar/vanilla is added, keep on beating until the mixture holds firm peaks (you can pause beating and the mixture feels stiff, like it will stay right where it is if you piped it or spread it). Once it has firm peaks, STOP mixing because the whipped cream will begin to separate and you'll make butter if you keep on going. Use right away; store leftovers in the fridge.

More tips:

If you do overbeat your whipped cream, go ahead and make butter. (Craftsy)

Stabilize your whipped cream, so it holds its shape and lasts longer, like so. (Craftsy)

You can make savory whipped cream, too. (Craftsy)

Whipping cream will double in volume (roughly); so if you want 2 cups of whipped cream, whip one cup of cream. Get it? Cool. 

See? Easy. Enjoy some whipped cream for National Whipped Cream Day!

January 4: National Spaghetti Day

Hello, friends. If you're reading this in 2016, you probably went back to work after an extended holiday today. I'm sorry. Maybe the tremendously wonderful fact that today is National Spaghetti Day will brighten your day and give you something to look forward to for dinner? 

Listen, in general I don't write about savory food on this site, but in the name of the holiday, allow me to entertain you for a few minutes, with 8 tasty bits of info and trivia about the starchy stuff. 

1. What is spaghetti?

Spaghetti is a type of pasta which is characterized by its shape: long, cylindrical, solid strings. If you'd never seen spaghetti noodles before, I'd say they're sort of like shoelace licorice, but in pasta form. If you'd never seen shoelace licorice, I would need to have a moment then I'd invite you to the closest grocery store for an education. 

Personally, I like Eatocracy's definition: "Spaghetti is a thin, round-shaped pasta from Italy that the rest of the world can’t seem to get enough of."

2. What's with the funny name?

According to the dictionary, spaghetti is "the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, a diminutive of spago, meaning "thin string" or "twine". " I feel satisfied with that, don't you?

Photo licensed via Creative Commons by Flickr member Sira Harchana

3. Marco Polo brought pasta from China to Italy...NOT. 

According to The Atlantic, pasta has been kicking it in Italy since 1100 BC (though this story seems to have a few holes, the general gist is: pasta is OLD and has a long story in Italy). I think they win!

4. You can study spaghetti in a museum.

In Italy, there is a Pasta Museum. Of course there is! This is more interesting than any museum I ever went on a class trip to, how about you?

5. Pasta is a religion.

At least in Georgia, that is. One self-proclaimed Georgia "pastafarian" defended his right to wear a colander in his driver's license photo on account of religious belief. Believe it. 

6. Spaghetti can be dessert, too.

Think spaghetti is only for dinner? Think again. Emeril Lagasse makes chocolate spaghetti! Or, a version such as this savory-LOOKING mango "spaghetti" would be a fun trompe-l'oeil to serve.

7. Think your bowl is big? 

As I found out here, The world record for the largest bowl of spaghetti was set in 2010, when a Buca di Beppo restaurant filled a swimming pool with more than 13,780 pounds (6,251 kg) of pasta" 

8. You can make your own spaghetti.

Seriously, you guys. You can make your own spaghetti. Well, technically this version I made sans pasta attachment is more like fettucine, and it does include egg, but it should act as proof that homemade pasta noodles are possible in your own home. This post offers a lot more info.

Do you like spaghetti?

January 3: National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day

Think today is an ordinary day? Think again: it's National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day today.

Photo licensed via Creative Commons by Flickr member Shannon O'Saurus

Today is a great day to enjoy a chocolate covered cherry--the most popular variety of which, in the United States, are cherry cordials. Cherry cordials are an interesting treat: a cherry sealed in a sort of sugary-boozy syrup and sealed into a chocolate shell. 

I don't know about you, but my relationship with cherry cordials has always been...complex. As a child, I coveted the shiny red box of cherry cordials that my mom said "weren't for kids" and hid from us. Well, mom wasn't just being mean: the first time I tried one, I was so disappointed by the taste. I associated cherries as a cupcake topping, so in my mind I thought the cherries might have the the taste of a rich pink buttercream-topped cake served with a maraschino cherry on top, and all covered in chocolate. The Queen Anne Cordials my mom had? Definitely not that. 

From childhood into adulthood, I mainly regarded chocolate covered cherries with a sort of detachment. 

While I wouldn't say it was a huge moment of epiphany, I do remember at some point in adulthood trying a chocolate covered cherry (not a cordial, just the fruit) from Chukar Cherries in the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was a pleasant surprise; "this is nice," I thought to myself, enjoying the contrast of tart cherry, and sweet, dark chocolate. 

While I would not consider myself a great follower of the chocolate covered cherry even today, I want to make it clear to you that I appreciate them. I appreciate their visual appeal, I appreciate their elegance, I appreciate their contrasting textures and flavors. 

And since I've been looking them up a bit for this post, I can say that I find them very interesting. 

Turns out, chocolate covered cherries are no new phenomenon. As this article on Candy Favorites reports, the road to the cherry cordial was largely a matter of timing.

In the 1700s in Europe, cordials were gaining popularity as a kind of cure-all, used to settle stomachs, improve health, and even act as aphrodisiacs. Concurrently, a candied cherry-and-chocolate confection known as griottes was gaining popularity. Somewhere along the way, some brilliant mind decided to make a delicious mash-up of these culinary trends, and cherry cordial chocolates took off. 

By the 1800s, they were officially in production in the United States; one major brand, Cella's, has been cordially offering up the classic treats since 1864 (it is now part of the Tootsie Roll Family); Queen Anne Cordials have been in production since 1948 (the company has been around since 1921).

January 3 has been designated (and is recognized by the National Confectioners' Association) as National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day.

Photo licensed via Creative Commons by Wikipedia

Want to know more? Here's some interesting info. 

As I learned on Candy Favorites, the cherries are made one one of three ways:

1. Shell molding: chocolate is poured into a mold but left hollow on the sides and without a seal of chocolate. It is then filled with liquid and the cherry, and more chocolate is melted and used to create a seal; that last bit will become the bottom of the candy when unmolded. 

2. Enrobing: The cherries are placed in trays with the sugar syrup, which after a time will set, not totally firm, but firm enough to be covered with chocolate, which will seal it into place. 

3. The crazy science method which incorporates enrobing and liquid, both: according to the site, "an enzyme called invertase is added which acts on solid sugar centers and reverts them to liquid. Adding invertase can be done after the center has been covered in chocolate, simplifying the whole process." Weird, right?!?

Five ways to celebrate chocolate covered cherries today:

Chocolate covered cherry stuffed cupcakes recipe. Pictured above. (CakeSpy)

Learn more about how the Brock Candy Company of Tennessee got into the chocolate covered cherry game. (Appalachian History)

Simple chocolate covered cherries recipe (non-alcoholic). (Taste of Home)

Cherry cordials with booze. (Saveur)

Read a taste-test review of the primary purveyors of chocolate covered cherries. (Sugar Pressure)

Do you like cherry cordials?

January 2: National Cream Puff Day

Happy New Year, again! AND, happy National Cream Puff Day. Can you guess how I will be celebrating? 

Cream puffs. Doesn't that pairing of words just send a shiver of joy through your heart? There's no bad part about these sweet treats: a light as air pastry puff, piped or filled with rich, sweet cream. They are a Good Thing. 

We've been enjoying cream puffs in the USA since at least 1851, but they were probably around before that, just going by different names. They're closely related to the French profiterole, and from my reading on the subject, it's likely that cream puffs are a mere adaptation of the profiterole. 

The concept for these sweet treats is said to have gotten to France when Caterina de’ Medici, wife of Henry II of France, brought the recipe over from Italy (or, more likely, one of her servants brought over the recipe!). But she ought not be considered the inventor: cream puff-esque pastries are documented in Europe as early as the 1300s.

The word "profiterole", which goes back as early as the 1600s, is said to translate roughly as a "roll baked under the ashes". I wouldn't take this too literally--I would guess that this means the profiteroles were probably baked in the residual heat of an oven as it cooled, when the fire was reduced to ashes. But that is just a guess on my part. 

Regardless, the cream puff concept remained alive and well in Europe, and in the 1600s the dough was commonly referred to as "choux" pastry, because of the resemblance of the puffs to little mini cabbages. ("Chou" = cabbage). 

By the 1800s, profiteroles were a commonplace item in France and England, often gracing upper-class tables, and created in fanciful shapes (swans, etc). 

The concept came over to the US with settlers at some point, and my guess is that this is where "cream puff" and "profiterole" began to take slightly different paths. For me, a profiterole is basically a cream puff, but always with a vanilla cream and chocolate on top, whereas a cream puff could have just cream filling, or include various flavors of filling and/or icing. So, that is to say, a profiterole is a cream puff, but a cream puff doesn't have to be just a profiterole. 

These days, cream puffs are a commonplace item on dessert menus and in bakeries. Not quite as common as cupcakes or chocolate chip cookies, so they feel a little special when you come across them. In my opinion, cream puffs are best served like cannoli: filled to order, and enjoyed immediately. 

Like many other food holidays, pinpointing exactly how and why January 2 was designated National Cream Puff day, and by whom, seems a bit elusive. But really, are you going to argue the chance to enjoy a cream puff? I'm not. 

Five bits of cream puff trivia:

The world’s largest cream puff was created and presented at the Wisconsin State Fair. Weighing in at 125 pounds, it was made by Dave Schmidt and Team Cream Puff. Apparently, cream puffs have been a tradition at the fair since 1924.

The Wisconsin State Fair also has a celebrity cream puff eating contest. 

Something called the bossche bol exists in the Dutch city of Den Bosch. It is a huge profiterole-style cream puff, coated all over with chocolate. 

Gougères are basically savory cream puffs. 

Beard Papa is an international cream puff chain. They have well over 60 locations in the US, and internationally (as widespread as Guam, El Salvador, and Indonesia!).

Three Cream puff recipes:

Classic cream puffs, easy to follow recipe via King Arthur Flour

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cream Puffs: an easy recipe and an entry in the Bake-Off a while back. on CakeSpy.

Cream puff cake. YES! Via The Domestic Rebel.

Do you like cream puffs?