Mad About Maida

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Source:  Maida Heatter's Cakes  (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed. , pg. 165). Also in Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. pg. 104. Coffee Cake is very popular in this household and this recipe got smashing reviews. For some reason, I kept skipping over this one but I've made several others. The Blueberry Crumb Cake is excellent. My favorite is the Budapest Coffee Cake - if you haven't tried that one, you are in for a treat. What exactly is a coffee cake? According to food historians, it has evolved over time and across many countries. In the United States, Dutch and German citizens brought it to prominence. They have been popular here in the U.S. since the 1870s. A coffee cake can either be a streusel or a crumb cake although technically, the streusel cake has swirls of cinnamon within the cake and a crumb cake features a topping. If that is the case, then this would be considered a crumb cake. The toppi...

  Small Walnut Torte Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 24.   Maida Heatter has entire chapters on tortes in several of her books. In looking at my checklist, I see that I have only tried a few. This one turned out so well that I plan to try more soon. The Dobosh Torte, an ambitious project, has long been on my radar and I'd love to attempt it this winter.    This recipe is a simple one. There is no oil or flour. The cake is light and the icing is rich. It is delicious and an elegant dessert, perfect for an after-dinner dessert.   The only problem I encountered was that the cake layers were not uniformly shaped. You can tell by the photos that the cake looks a bit lopsided. The entire cake came out with a slight dome shape. I have no idea what caused this but it is a minor nuisance unless you are entering a contest.   I sprinkled some chopped walnuts around the top edge of the cak...

  Espresso Date-Nut Loaf Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 94 .   If you like dates and nuts, you should like this. It is packed. The cocoa powder gives it a slight chocolaty taste. However, this has a very light and mild flavor. It is perfect for a breakfast bread with coffee or perhaps served with some whipped cream (I haven't tried that yet).    It is very easy to put together. The baking time was way off - she recommended 1 hour and 10 minutes. Mine was done in 50 minutes. Be aware of that and check accordingly.   This would be a nice recipe for the holidays!   10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) pitted dates 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup boiling water 2 cups sifted unbleached flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 TBS cocoa powder 3 TBS instant espresso powder 2 large eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or canola) 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup raisins 1 1/2 cups walnuts, br...