Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate Gingerbread (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 89. 

This is very moist and delicious gingerbread although I have to say I don't really taste the chocolate in it.  When I was making it, I was remembering other gingerbread recipes of Maida's that I had tried so I'm thinking they are similar.

Note the icing is not in the recipe - in fact, this is in the chapter called "Old Fashioned Cakes Without Icing". I thought that the icing might be a nice touch. This is a cream cheese/pecan frosting that is similar, if not identical, to the one I use for carrot cake.

This is made in a 9" x 13" pan so it is a large, flat cake. I decided to freeze half of it and will report on how that turns out.

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) sweet butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup boiling water or hot coffee
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup light molasses
4 large eggs
Optional:  1/3 cup candied or preserved ginger

Preheat oven to 325. Adjust rack 1/3 from bottom of the oven. Butter a 9" x 13" pan and dust with fine dry bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and all-spice. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Add the hot water (or coffee)
and mix until the butter is melted.

Mix in the brown sugar.

Mix in the molasses.

Mix in the eggs.

Mix in the chocolate.

Gradually add the flour mixture.
Stir in the optional ginger, if using.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top springs back when gently pressed.
Cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack.

The following is the icing that I added. (This is not in the original recipe)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 lb. (1 stick) butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well. Add the vanilla. Add the pecans. 

Bishop's Bread

Bishop's Bread
Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 59.

This is not really a bread but more like a coffee cake. It is an Austrian-German recipe called Birchofsbrot. I've seen other variations that use more candied fruits and some that use regular chocolate instead of white. The cake part is very light, very much like a sponge cake. 

Maida recommends using a long, narrow loaf pan for this. I have one that measures 12.5" x 5" and it worked well. 

I would suggest that you start checking it at 55 minutes. I baked this for one hour and it was ready (she states 1 hour, 10 minutes) and I actually think it could have come out 5 minutes earlier. It was a bit dry around the outside edges. This could have been from me using a dark pan. A lighter pan is recommended.

Note that the instructions say to let it sit wrapped in plastic overnight. I'm not sure what the purpose for that is but it is good to know beforehand.

4 oz. (1/2 cup) pitted dates, cut into small pieces

2 1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) unblanched almonds, chopped

3-4 oz. white chocolate, chopped into 1/4" pieces

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup unsifted unbleached flour

2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) raisins

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

5 large eggs, separated

3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

Confectioners sugar (to sprinkle on top before serving)

Preheat the oven to 350. Use the bottom 1/3 rack.

Line a 10-cup loaf pan (see earlier comments) with foil. It is best to cut two strips for each direction. Butter it well and coat with dry bread crumbs.

Sift 2 tablespoons of the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the dates and use your fingers to coat them with the flour. Then add the raisins and nuts, coating them with the flour as well.

Beat the egg yolks and the 3 tablepoons of sugar at high speed for 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the flour/fruit mixture and fold together.

Let stand for a moment and then sift the cocoa over the fruit mixture.

In a clean mixer bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until the whites hold a shape. Lower the speed and add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed and mix until the whites hold a semi-firm shape. Do not overbeat.

Add the egg white mixture a little at a time and fold in.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 55 - 70 minutes until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool in the pan for 40-50 minutes. Then invert the pan onto a wire rack and remove the foil. Let the cake finish cooling upside down on the rack. 

Wrap in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, if desired, when serving.

Babka

Babka
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 218)

A Polish cake traditionally served at Easter but is good anytime, particularly great for breakfast with coffee or tea. I read that most are filled with cream mixtures but this one is not. The lemon zest gives it a notable zing. 

The only trouble I had with the recipe was that it stuck to the Bundt pan that I used. The recipe does call for a tube pan but she says that a Bundt pan is fine as well. If I make it again (and it is good enough to do so) I will be sure to butter the pan generously. If using a shiny, metal pan, the cake will be pale.

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar
6 oz. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter
6 egg yolks
3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
Finely grated rind of 2 medium lemons
5 oz. (1 cup) raisins (either dark or light or a mix)
Optional: Confectioners sugar

Place the 1/4 cup of warm water (105 - 115 degrees) in a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and add the 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir with a fork and let it sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, the mixture will thicken.

Beat the butter until softened and mix in the sugar.

Add the eggs.

Add the yeast mixture.

Add half of the flour.

Add the salt.

Heat the milk to 105 to 115 degrees.

Add the milk.

Add the other half of the flour. Beat on low speed until smooth. Continue to beat for about 3 minutes and then remove the bowl from the mixer.

Spinkle the lemon zest over the batter. Stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.

Stir in the raisins.

Butter a 10-cup tube pan (I used a Bundt pan and the cake did stick so butter generously)

Pour the batter in the pan and smooth with a spoon.

Butter a piece of plastic wrap, large enough to cover the pan.

Let this rise for about 2 hours (I place mine in the oven with the light on)

Bake the cake at 400 for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. The total baking time is 35 minutes. The top of the cake should be slightly browned. If the cake is becoming too brown, cover with foil during the last part of baking.

Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely. Wrap the cooled cake and let it stand overnight or several hours. The cake can also be frozen. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 81.

I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of pumpkin and especially pumpkin-flavored desserts. However, if I must eat it, what better way of doing so than with chocolate? It sounds like a winner and sure enough, this cake is really nice. I decided to skip the nuts in this one because I have two other desserts for Thanksgiving with nuts and I often get annoyed with Maida because 95% of her recipes call for nuts. If you haven't noticed, they are very expensive these days!

The original recipe calls for a baking time of 1 1/2 hours! I started checking mine at 55 minutes and felt that one hour was enough. I usually tend to underbake my cakes slightly because they continue to bake after you remove them from the oven. So, I give a baking time of 1 hour to 1 hour fifteen minutes, but use your best judgement and keep checking.

2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
2 sticks sweet butter (softened)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/2 cups walnuts (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 325. Generously butter a 10" Bundt pan and dust with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Beat the butter until soft. Add the vanilla and the sugar. Mix well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well.

On low speed, add half of the flour mixture...

Alternating with the pumpkin...

And ending with the last half of the flour mixture. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the nuts.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour to 75 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. (See the note in the introduction. My cake was ready in 1 hour).

Let stand for 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.