Chocolate Tea Bread

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 92.

An easy to make, plain loaf cake that is not overly sweet. I would have preferred pecans over walnuts and perhaps chocolate chips over raisins. This was done in 50 minutes for me (Maida says 1 hour and 15 minutes!). The cake has a delicious chocolate scent when you uncover it.

1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 oz. butter (softened)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. instant coffee or espresso

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts, cut into coarse pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and dust it with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Beat the butter until softened. Add the vanilla and sugar and mix well. Beat in the egg. On low speed, add the espresso and cocoa. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions. Scrape bowl as necessary. Add the raisins and nuts.

Transfer the mixture to the pan (it will be slightly thick). Smooth the top.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.

The top of the cake will be cracked (this is normal). Refrigerate before slicing to avoid crumbling.

Buttermilk Loaf Cake

Buttermilk Loaf Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 26). 

As you can see in the photo, I made this as a Bundt cake instead of a loaf cake and I also changed it a bit and turned it into a Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake. I found a recipe in "The Fanny Farmer Baking Book" that was identical to this with one exception - the additional of lemon extract. I also added the glaze which I think adds to the taste of the cake. Perfectly wonderful, with or without. 

So, here is Maida's recipe and the optional ingredients can be added if you want the added lemon flavor.

4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter (16 TBS.)
1 TBS. grated lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. lemon extract (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (do not use if using the lemon extract)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 10-inch loaf pan or you can use a Bundt pan or even two smaller loaf pans.

If the eggs are not already at room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for several minutes. (Note: This isn't in Maida's recipe but the Fanny Farmer mentions it and I think it is a good tip).

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy. Slowly add the sugar, beating until well blended.

Add the eggs one at a time until blended.

Add half of the flour mixture and beat until well blended.

Stir the lemon or vanilla extract and lemon rind into the buttermilk. Add half of the buttermilk mixture to the batter.

Add the remaining flour and buttermilk mixtures and beat until the batter is smooth and well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake it to level it. Bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hour if using the Bundt pan. If using loaf pans, baking for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely. 

If you desire, add a lemon glaze. Combine 1 cup of confectioners sugar and add several tablespoons of lemon juice until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners sugar
3-4 TBS. lemon juice

Chocolate Hermits

Source: Happiness is Baking (Little, Brown & Company, 2019 ed.), pg. 134 and
Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 19.

How have I went this long baking Maida's recipes without making the Chocolate Hermits? These cookies are the bomb! Seriously, we can't stay out of them. 

Hermits are old-fashioned cookies that has been around since the 1800s. How they got their name is a mystery. I don't know why I thought the cookies would be hard. They are not but in fact super soft with an intense chocolate flavor with a delicious hint of cinnamon. They remind me somewhat of the Snackwell's Devil's Food cookies. They almost melt in your mouth. 

This is definitely one my new favorite cookie recipes!

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
4 oz. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnut or pecan pieces

Glaze

1/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 TBS. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TBS. milk or light cream
Pinch of salt 

Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or foil.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa, cinnamon and coffee.

Cream the butter and add the vanilla extract and sugar, beating well. 

Add the egg and the melted chocolate.

Add the milk.

Add the sifted flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the raisins and the nuts.

Scoop the batter out in a rounded tablespoon and place them on the cookie sheets about an inch apart.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until the cookies are firm and bounce back slightly when lightly pressed. Do not overbake.

While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze.

Stir all the glaze ingredients (confectioners sugar, butter, vanilla and milk) until it is smooth. It should have a slightly runny consistency. You can adjust it by adding more milk (if too thick) or sugar (if too thin). In my experience, I had to add a bit more milk.

When the cookies come out of the oven, place a dollop of the glaze on each cookie. (I wasn't too happy with the way the glaze looked on mine so I will try and be more careful when I make them again).

After the glaze has dried, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container. Use wax paper to separate layers.

Two New Maida Heatter Books Out in April

Voracious Publishers (an imprint of Little, Brown & Co.) will publish two new books by Maida Heatter on April 7, 2020. Thanks to NetGalley, I was given the opportunity to review digital copies. Like last year's Happiness Is Baking, both books are compilations of her most popular recipes.

The first is Cookies Are Magic: Classic Cookies, Brownies, Bars, and More. The recipes in this book have been assembled from Maida Heatter’s previously published books, including Happiness Is Baking, Maida Heatter's Cakes,  Maida Heatter's Cookies, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts.

There are chapters on Drop Cookies, Bar Cookies, Icebox Cookies, Rolled Cookies and Hand-Formed Cookies. A More! chapter includes recipes for macaroons, crackers, marshmallows and other items that don't necessarily fit into any of the previous categories.

The book includes some of the recipes that I have tried and shared on the blog here, such as Palm Beach Brownies, Pennies From Heaven, Pinwheels, and Positively the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. The large majority, however, are recipes that I haven't tried so I have my work cut out for me. Some of the ones that I need to try are Mrs. L.B.J's Moonrocks, Norman Rockwell's Oatmeal Wafers, Johnny Appleseed Squares, Lebkuchen, Vienesse Marzipan Bars, Maxines and the list goes on. 

The book contains a foreward by Deb Perelman which was unavailable on the galley. The colorful illustrations are by Alice Oehr, who also did the ones for Happiness is Baking. Maida Heatter's notes on equipment, ingredients and how-to's are included in the preface.

The book appears to be designed exactly like Happiness Is Baking, which has a very attractive layout. My only gripe with it was that it is impossible to keep the book open so you have to use a weight to hold the pages down.

Chocolate Is Forever: Classic Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Pies, Puddings, Candies, Confections, and More  follows the same format and features Maida's chocolate delicacies.  The recipes in this book are compiled from the same titles listed above.

Chapters include Simple Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes, Cookies & Bars, Pastries, Pies, Puddings & More and Candy, Fudge and Chocolate Drinks. I have made many of these recipes and they include some of my all-time favorites, such as 86-Proof Chocolate Cake, St. Louis Chocolate Layer Cake, Country Fair Chocolate Cake, Frozen Chocolate Mousse and Rocky Roads. But there are also a number that I haven't tried, chief among them are the September 7th Cake, Robert Redford Cake, Queen Mother's Cake, Hungarian Seven Layer Cake, Mocha Velvet, Chocolate Bread and a host of others. Just seeing the list of contents reminds me, that despite blogging her recipes for the past decade, I still have tons of recipes to go!

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 79.

You will have to forgive me for veering slightly off track with this recipe. I normally make everything exactly as written. There is a popular recipe website that I refer to often and I always read the user reviews because they have helpful tips from people who have actually made the recipe. Often, however, a person will have changed so many ingredients that it no longer resembles the original recipe. It drives me nuts!

I made 2 changes for this and I feel they are slight ones. First, I decided to use chocolate chips instead of raisins. So many of Maida's recipe call for raisins but after all the holiday baking, I was sick of them. The second change made me wary but I decided to cut the sugar back and substitute applesauce. I do this on other non-Maida recipes and it works fine. This recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar (a lot!), so I used 1 1/4 cups of sugar and 3/4 cups applesauce. Of course, this is additional applesauce with the 2 cups already called for. In all, 2 3/4 cups applesauce. The recipe supplied below, however, is the original recipe as supplied in the book. Do with it what you will.

The results were spectacular. Like she says in the introduction, this is a very moist, pudding-like cake that slices beautifully. I've even made super thin slices from it and there is no crumbling or collapsing whatsoever. The cake has a mild chocolate-y flavor and it is not overly sweet. Now, if you use the 2 cups of sugar called for, perhaps it would be sweeter? Not sure - if you make it with all the sugar, let me know. It was sweet enough for me and you also get the slight kick from the cinnamon and nutmeg.

And, as for the chocolate chips, they provided occasional soft spots with chocolatey goodness. I liked it!

3 oz. raisins
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup plus 1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa (preferably Dutch process)
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans, in medium-sized pieces
Optional: Confectioners sugar for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a plain tube pan that measures 10 inches across and line the bottom with parchment paper. (Note: I used a Bundt pan for this and did not line in, just sprayed it with a baking spray and heavily dusted it with bread crumbs. I had no issues with sticking).

Cover the raisins with boiling water and let them stand for about 5 minutes. (Or you can skip this step and use chocolate chips!)

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

Cream the butter and add the sugar, beating well.  Add the eggs one at a time. Beat at high speed for one minute after adding the last egg.

Lower the speed and slowly add the sifted dry mixture in three additions, alternating it with the applesauce. The mixture will have a curdled look.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the nuts and the raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 70-85 minutes. The cake will come away from the sides and spring back lightly when pressed when it is done. 

Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack and carefully remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely. 

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, if desired.

Yum