February 5, 2014 at 11:34 pm
· Filed under Cake, Chocolate, Events, Nutella
Today is the 8th annual World Nutella Day. As if I needed an excuse to eat Nutella. But if you insist, I made banana bread with a tunnel of love. The trouble with baking Nutella though, is its smoothness and flavor degenerate with heat (as evidenced in my Nutella babka). It’s also candy sweet. So I added a bit of cream for smoothness and chopped chocolate for complexity.
Mission accomplished: my cake had lava-like craters of chocolate. I ate three pieces in one sitting, and someone else ate four. It was brown and caramelly because of coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar (my favorite new baking ingredient) is a whole, unrefined sweetener from coconut nectar. It has 412 times the potassium of cane sugar and also contains magnesium, zinc, iron, and B vitamins. It has a low glycemic index too: 35 compared to agave (42) and cane sugar (68). Most importantly, it tastes good, like a tropical toasted marshmallow. You can generally substitute it 1:1 for white sugar. Just know that coconut sugar has some moisture (add more cream of tartar to meringues), and while it resembles brown sugar, the latter has more acidity (adjust leavening accordingly, or only use in place of white sugar). I dig Big Tree Farms because it’s fair trade and not diluted with other sweeteners. Find it at Whole Foods, Amazon, or Vitacost (use the link for $10 off an order of $30 or more).
Thanks to Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso for hosting World Nutella Day. For 700 more recipes, check out the website. Remember, keep calm and eat Nutella.
Nutella-Swirl Banana Bread
Ingredients
1/2 cup Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread
2 tbsp cream
4 medium overripe bananas, the blacker the better
1 cup coconut or granulated sugar
scant 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips or finely chopped dark chocolate (60-70%)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the Nutella and cream. If mixture is stiff, microwave for 10 seconds at 50% power.
- In a large bowl, mash the peeled bananas with the sugar. Beat in eggs, oil, and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture and beat on low speed just until combined.
- Pour 1/3 of batter in pan. Take half of the Nutella and cover the batter with tablespoon-sized dollops. Sprinkle half of chocolate on top. Add 1/3 more batter and layer again with remaining Nutella and chocolate. Add the rest of the batter. Zig zag a knife through the pan (just once through, so chocolate streaks remain).
- If pan is more than 2/3 full, place a piece of foil below the pan to catch drippings. If pan is more than 3/4 full, prepare for major spillover or add excess to another pan.
- Bake for one hour, or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without batter (melted chocolate may stick). Chocolate may ooze out, and center may sink when cool. Don't worry, your cake just has character.
- Cool and serve from pan (cake will be too delicate to unmold).
3.1
http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2014/02/nutella-swirl-banana-bread-recipe/
Related Links:
Homemade Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread
Pierre Herme’s Nutella Tart
Nigella Lawson’s Nutella Torte
Full Nutella Coverage
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February 3, 2014 at 1:26 am
· Filed under Asian Influences
What’s worse than getting poppy seeds stuck in your teeth? How about black sesame? That stuff can stain, but it’s worth it. Besides being one of my favorite flavors, black sesame is high in anthocyanins (the stuff of blueberries), calcium (more so than white sesame), magnesium, and other minerals. It’s even used in Chinese herbal medicine. Black sesame lends an almost smoky flavor to brittle, soup, and sticky rice desserts. Curiously, it’s not in nian gow, but I set out to change that.
Nian gow literally means “sticky cake,” but since it also sounds like “higher year,” folk wisdom says it’s good luck to eat on Chinese New Year. Sweet versions have sticky rice flour, water, sugar, and sometimes red beans or dates. They’re steamed, and leftovers are pan fried till crispy. Since I don’t have a large steamer, I prefer to bake mine and skip straight to the golden brown deliciousness. If you like brownie edges, you’ll like baked nian gow. Some years ago, Chow posted a baked version, and people cried fowl over the nontraditional recipe. So what? I’m Chinese and I approve. So does my family. In fact, they’ve eaten it 24 times in a year.
Black Sesame Chinese New Year Cake (Nian Gow)
Sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour or mochiko, is made from ground sticky rice grains. It's actually gluten free and not the same as regular rice flour. Find it in Asian markets or health food stores in the baking or starch section. It typically comes in one-pound bags.
You can use Chinese black sesame paste (tahini is different; its seeds are untoasted) and sweeten to taste, but it's less expensive to make at home. If starting with raw seeds, heat in a pan over medium heat. Keep shaking the pan (so seeds don't burn) til two or three seeds jump. Remove from heat immediately and cool completely.
Black sesame paste inspired from Just One Cookbook; rice cake inspired from Frances Kai-Hwa Wang.
Ingredients
For the black sesame paste:
1 1/2 cups toasted black sesame seeds
5-6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
For the sticky rice cake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 lb. (about 3 1/4 cups) sweet rice flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the black sesame paste:
- Combine the sesame seeds with 2 tablespoons oil in a food processor, occasionally stopping to scrape the seeds down the side. Process until smooth, adding oil by the tablespoon as you see fit. It will take take some time for the seeds to release their oils and smooth out.
- Add the honey and process till smooth.
Make the sticky rice cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9"x13" pan and dust with rice flour.
- Combine all ingredients except sesame paste and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed for two minutes.
- Add vanilla and mix just until combined. Batter will have the consistency of a thin milkshake.
- Pour half the batter in the pan. Drop the sesame paste by rounded teaspoons evenly into batter (the paste will be too difficult to spread). Pour the rest of the batter on top.
- Bake for 40-50 min., or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and cut into squares. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Notes
Dairy-free version: substitute the milk with 2 cups water.
3.1
http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2014/02/black-sesame-chinese-new-year-cake-recipe/
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