I’m only 24 years old, but I’ve already inherited an heirloom. An heirloom recipe, that is. Last year, I praised my grandmother’s carrot cake as one of the best desserts ever. That’s saying a lot because chocolate is my favorite food. I have fond memories of that cake because it accompanied me since I was four, from birthdays to holidays to “every day.” Like I said before, it was the standard by which I compared all other carrot cakes. No others came close. Sadly, my grandmother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and stopped cooking several years ago.

Up until that post, I was afraid that the cake would be a distant part of my memory. No one knew the recipe except for my grandmother. Thanks to my readers’ comments, I mustered enough courage to ask for the recipe. It seemed like such horrible timing; my grandmother was in and out of the hospital all the time.

Finally, my aunt tracked down the recipe. My grandmother hid it in her purse for 15-20 years! Although she was very frail, my grandmother laughed when she heard that I wanted the recipe. “I can still make the best carrot cake,” she said. About a month later, she fell into a coma and died.

When I made this cake, I was not disappointed. It was just spicy enough and had lots of carrot flavor. Trust me, I’ve exhausted all the variables for the best carrot cake (Nuts or no nuts? Pineapples or raisins? Cinnamon AND nutmeg? Coconut?), but this one is worth its weight in gold.

Here it is, as my mother translated it from Chinese.

Grandma’s Carrot Cake

This receipt is from Jessica Su’s Grandma. She used to bake this cake for the family and it’s enjoyed by everyone.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour
2 Teaspoons Banking Powder
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
2 Cups Sugar
1 ½ Cups Oil (may reduce a ¼ cup)
4 Eggs (in room temperature)
½ Cup Crashed Walnuts
3 Cups Shredded Carrots
1 Cup Minced Pineapple
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Direction:

1. Shift the flour, banking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
2. Beat the egg
3. Mix the dry ingredients, beaten egg, oil, carrot, pineapple, walnuts, and vanilla
4. Pour the mix in a bundt cake pan (don’t need to oil the pan)
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degree, and bake for 1 hour.

Notes/tips:

• For cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes. Yields about 2 dozen.
• I used 1/2 cup of oil and 1 cup of applesauce. It still yielded a moist and airy crumb. Actually, maybe a little too airy! I like carrot cakes that are denser. To combat this “problem,” I recommend using half whole-wheat flour. You may also use 100% whole-wheat pastry flour or white whole-wheat flour.

The term “culinary arts” is a misnomer, since cooking is as much science as it is creativity. One book that makes this clear is What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained. The “cookbook” debunks kitchen myths in several sections, like “The Salt of the Earth,” “Sweet Talk,” and “The Fat of the Land.”

There’s even a couple pages devoted to my favorite food, chocolate. Chocolate, the book explains, has a luxurious texture because its natural fat (cocoa butter) melts at body temperature. To show off the wonderful properties of chocolate, the book provides a recipe for dairyless mousse. Keep in mind that cream-free doesn’t mean low-fat or vegan. The recipe has raw eggs, but that should be the least of your worries: a generous addition of olive oil more than makes up for the missing butterfat. Don’t knock olive oil in dessert till you’ve tried Otto’s olive oil gelato, chocolate toast with olive oil, and chocolate-covered olive oil potato chips. Yes, olive oil and chocolate go together! Think about it: the words fruity, floral, musky, spicy or nutty are commonly used to describe both of these products.

The idea of this mousse sounded good, but tastewise, it resembled a science project. It was as “buttery” as chocolate frosting: delicious, but not something to eat by the cupful. I recommend doubling the egg whites and/or replacing half the oil with boiling water (cool the chocolate mixture before adding it to the whites, of course). Hot water brings out the chocolate’s flavor. Contrary to popular belief, water and chocolate do go together, so long as there’s LOTS of water (at least 1 tablespoon of liquid for two ounces of chocolate, according to Cocolat).

To cut the richness of the dessert, sprinkle it with coarse salt. BTW, What Einstein Told His Cook says that artisan salt (like $33/pound fleur de sel) is virutally identical to shaker salt. Both are 99% sodium chloride. Fancy sea salt “tastes” better because its irregularly shaped flakes are crunchy and provide sudden bursts of saltiness.

For another kitchen experiment, you can actually whip chocolate like you do cream. All you need is chocolate, water and some know how, courtesy of In Praise of Sardines.

Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse

No, it will not collapse. No, it does not taste oily. Basque chef Teresa Barrenechea makes this silky chocolate mousse at her Manhattan restaurant, Marichu. “More and more, people don’t want to eat so much cream,” she says. “I don’t tell guests this dessert contains olive oil when I serve it. I wait until I hear them murmuring, ‘Mmh-mmmh.’ ” The chocolate flavor is intense, and there’s a hint of berry, but in spite of the generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, its flavor is subtle.

6 ounces very good dark chocolate (such as Valrhona, El Rey or Lindt), chopped
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted after measuring
1/4 cup double-strength espresso coffee or 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons Chambord or Cointreau (optional)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or in a saucepan over very low heat. Let cool to lukewarm.

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the coffee and Chambord just to combine. Then stir in the melted chocolate. Add the olive oil and mix well.

Thoroughly wash the beaters so that they are free of grease. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites until almost stiff. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and whisk until patches of white disappear. Repeat, whisking the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture, 1/3 at a time, until patches of white disappear. Do not overmix.

Transfer the mousse into a pretty bowl or individual dessert dishes, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve cold. Makes 6 servings.

My sweet tooth has convinced me that virtually any food can be dessert. Olive oil potato chips, for example, are excellent in chocolate fondue. The fruity/floral flavors go so well with chocolate that I’m surprised olive oil truffles aren’t out on the market. Nutella pizza from Pie (”pie” is New York-speak for a whole pizza) is a novel idea, although it can be replicated by spreading Nutella on any white pizza (with ricotta cheese and no tomato sauce).

So when I had a leftover zucchini, my immediate thought was to make it into something sweet. Zucchini bread was a well-known option, but I wanted something acceptable for breakfast. So I took a trusted pancake recipe and added a cup of grated zucchini and slightly reduced the liquid to compensate.

I also substituted the milk and eggs with vegan ingredients for health and environmental reasons. I am a “casual” vegan, a term that will probably anger strict vegans and confuse everyone else. In short, I avoid meat, dairy and egg products because their plant-based counterparts have the same proteins, but more antioxidants and fiber. However, the amount of animal products in baked goods is so negligible that I’m not going to cry over them. I also make exceptions for treats, like ice cream/gelato and Shake Shack burgers. As a whole though, I don’t depend on animal products for nutrition.

“Casual” Vegan Zucchini Pancakes

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

If the idea of five-grain flapjacks sounds like a five-pound rock in your stomach, give these a try. They are hearty but not heavy. You won’t taste the zucchini, just like you don’t taste carrots in carrot cake. Try these with grated carrots or apples, too!

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal, preferably stone ground
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
pinch of freshly grated or ground nutmeg

Whisk together in another bowl:

1 3/4 cups + 1 Tbsp plain soy milk
3 Tbsp oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup ground flax seeds

Add to the wet ingredients:

1 packed cup (about 1 large) grated zucchini

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together, mixing just until combined. Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto a heated (medium heat or 350 F), greased griddle for each pancake, nudging the batter into rounds. Cook until the top of each bancake is speckled with bubbles and some bubbles have popped, then turn and cook until the underside is lightly browned. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 F oven while you finish cooking the rest. Serve with pure maple syrup or honey.

Makes about 24 4-inch pancakes.

Notes/tips:
The batter is thick, so it will puff up but not spread.

Soy milk and flax seed brown quickly, so turn down the heat if the insides are taking a relatively long time to cook.

For traditional pancakes, use 1 1/4 cup milk, 3 Tbsp melted unsalted butter, and 3 large eggs (instead of the flax seed).

To completely veganize the recipe, substitute the honey with an equal amount of agave nectar or golden syrup. Or, use a scant 1/3 cup of vegan granulated sugar and reduce the soy milk by 3/4 Tbsp.

Pancakes freeze beautifully. Wrap cooled pancakes in plastic and re-heat (no need to defrost) in a toaster. The edges will re-crisp, giving you a fresh-off-the-griddle sensation.

Vegan Resources:
The Post Punk Kitchen’s guide to veganizing baked goods

Vegan food pyramid-how to plan your diet accordingly

Why go vegan?

Pop quiz: what does Cinco de Mayo have to do with the French? First, it marks the Mexican victory over the French troops in the Battle of Puebla. (If you thought it was Mexican independence day, you were wrong.)

Second, and more relevant to this blog, Cinco de Mayo marks the day to eat a French-inspired dessert. Perhaps Mexico’s most famous pastry is the churro, a deep-fried, cinnamon-dusted dough. It is not a Mexican doughnut. It is an unfilled Mexican cream puff.

Doughnuts traditionally fall into two schools: yeast-raised (ie Krispy Kreme) or cake batter (ie Dunkin Donuts, which gets its leavening by baking powder or soda). Churros contain neither yeast nor baking powder/soda. Instead, they are leavened by eggs, and the dough is cooked on the stovetop before it’s shaped. Heating the liquid with the flour tricks the dough into abosorbing more moisture, and it makes it more gelatinous. This method is the same as the French dough, pate a choux. Pate a choux makes cream puffs and eclairs, but if it’s deep fried and unfilled, it makes churros.

Deep frying gets a bad rap because the food is “boiled” in fat. However, if the oil is at the correct temperature, it will not penetrate the food. Besides health reasons, frying seems dangerous, with the potential of splattered hot grease and exploding food. Just use some common sense, and it won’t be any scarier than a pot of boiling water. Don’t go “bombs away!” when dropping the food in. Plop it in gently and away from you. The oil won’t bite. I promise.

Churros
Sources: Recipe Gullet, Bon Appetit and Mexico One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless

Dough:
1 c milk
1/4 c (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 c all-purpose flour
2 eggs

Coating:
1/2 c sugar
1/2 T cinnamon

Canola oil for frying, about 3 cups

Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add flour; stir vigorously with wooden spoon until shiny dough mass forms, about 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl; cool 5 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat in eggs, 1 at a time; continue beating until smooth, shiny, sticky paste forms. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

Heat oil to a depth of at least 2 inches in a heavy large skillet over medium heat to 350°F (the oil will shimmer on the surface and give off that characteristic hot oil aroma). Working in batches, spoon batter into pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe batter into hot oil in 3 1/2- to 4-inch-long ribbons (use knife if necessary to cut batter at end of star tip) and allow batter to slide into oil.

To test the oil temperature, cook one churro, turning occasionally, until it is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove it to drain on paper towels and let it cool a minute, then break it open to check for doneness-it should be just a little soft inside, but not too doughy. Too low an oil temperature, and the churros will “boil” in the oil, absorbing grease but bursting apart before they’re brown; too high a temperature, and they’ll brown quickly but not cook enough.

Fry the rest of the churros, about 3 at a time. Transfer to paper towels and cool 5 minutes, then toss in cinnamon sugar while still warm. Best when eaten quickly. Makes about 12-16 churros.

Notes/tips:
If you’re inexperienced with frying, be sure to do a test churro. Otherwise, you may find out too late that the entire batch is either raw inside or overcooked.

You can safely re-use the oil after you let it cool, strain it through a cheesecloth (to get rid of burnt food particles) and refrigerate (oil doesn’t like heat or light). Keep in mind that every time you re-use oil, the smoke point goes down as much as 10 F. For example, canola oil has a smoke point of 400 F. Heat it any more, and it breaks down and becomes hazardous to your health. Canola oil that’s used a second time can safely be heated to 390 F. If your oil turns dark or smells funny, it’s bad.