Because she wanted this one :)
This icing first made the rounds of my family a few years ago when my sister discovered it hiding in the pages of a lovely book called The Cake Mix Doctor by Ann Byrn. There was also a version of this that my grandmother made quite a long time ago (as in, I don't remember eating it) that was more of a butterscotch fudge recipe than an icing. After several years of mutual experimentation the recipe below is the one we usually stick closest too. Mine can come out soft or so crackly it falls off of the cake, my sister's tends to be softer and grainer due to her use of a spoon over a mixer and mom's can be anywhere in between.
Ann Byrn's book is a great one to pick up if you're not much of a baker but want to be or need to be quickly. The recipes feature a box cake mix as a base and ways to "doctor" them that render truly wonderful desserts. One I found all over the place in conjunction with her version of this icing was a banana cake topped with caramel icing and salted pecans. Sounds good to me. My sister's most requested accompaniement to this icing is a chocolate cinnamon banana cake. Sounds odd, but the whole thing comes together very well.
Caramel Icing
(Start to finish, this takes about 10 minutes)
Ingredients:
-8 tablespoons (one stick butter)-1 cup packed brown sugar (light, dark, doesn't seem to matter too much. use whichever one you like)
-1/4 cup milk (skim, whole, half & half--whatever is on hand)
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
Directions:
Place the butter and the brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. You can use a spoon for this, but I have my hand mixer set up and waiting when I start and use that.
Use icing immediately. As soon as the powdered sugar is incorporated the icing will change texture and become creamy/pasty instead of just liquid. To ice a cake I usually just pour the icing directly from the pot onto the cake. this works best for bundt cakes and sheet cakes that are still in the pan. If you've got a rack you can set the cake on while you pour you'll have a cleaner edge to the bottom of your cake, but where's the fun in that? Work as quickly as you can without burning yourself, and if you need to spread the icing do it as soon as it hits the cake--it will set in seconds. If you want a smooth finish, be careful and pour evenly.
Notes:
-Sift the powdered sugar. If you don't, you'll have little bits of clumped powdered sugar all throughout the icing, and it's not pretty. Tastes fine, looks creepy. If you're icing a cake for halloween that's supposed to look awful, then not sifting and not quite mixing thoroughly is the way to go.
-Fill the pot with water as soon as you're done with it. Trust me on this one. It's far easier to clean out later if it soaks for a while, as this icing is very nearly a fudge recipe and scrubbing candy off a pot that has had time to cool and dry is a royal pain.
-Have a spoon on hand to scrape out the pot a bit before you stick it in the sink. The benefit here is two fold: there's less in the pot to scrub out later, and the icing that hardens on the spoon is quite good on it's own.
-This should probably go without saying, but if you use a mixer, use caution. Boiling sugar and skin do not mix well, so start it at a low speed. I like using a mixer because it does such a thorough job so quickly and results in a smoother texture. Using a spoon is fine, but results in a slightly grainier finish to the icing. Either way, it tastes great.
-Cupcakes. My sister has iced cupcakes with this, and it's quite good that way. To do that, put the pot back on the stove when the icing is mixed and keep it on low and stir frequently to keep it malleable. Use the spoon to drizzle globs of the icing over the cupcakes, but keep the cupcakes in their tin while you do so. This saves your counters from drips (mostly).
-If the icing seizes up too quickly and you still have a large portion of it in the pot, you can warm it on the stove and melt it back into useablility. You can add a spoon of water or milk, but if you add too much that will change the texture.
-The longer the sugar boils the harder the icing will set. One minute or so will yield a firm, breakable icing when it sets. if you want it softer, don't boil it quite so long. You will probably need to make this a few times to get the hang of how it will react and what consistency you like best. I have found that this is a very easy way to finish a cake that just about everyone loves, so getting failed experiments out of your kitchen shouldn't be too difficult, assuming whoever else might be in your house lets you.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Simplicity, Elevated
Ok, so it's been a really long time since the last post. Apologies if anyone is actually watching this. I've got a handful of things to post over the next few days, but thought I'd start with a recipe for mujadara, a Lebanese lentil, rice and onion dish that was one of my staples a while ago and I started making again a few weeks ago and can't get enough of. The method is time consuming, though fairly simple, and the results are worth exponentially more than the sum of the parts.
Bonus points: This is really cheap to make, especially if you happen to find a 10 pound bag of onions for $3, as I did this weekend. If you've not already found your nearest international grocer, you may want to start looking. The produce alone is usually worth it, as are the wonderful deals on all sorts of ingredients you'll never find in a regular grocery store.
Mujadara
Ingredients:
-¼ cup olive oil
-about 1 ½ lb. finely chopped yellow onions (2 medium/large ones, or about 4-5 small)
-1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over
-1 cup basmati rice
-1 tsp. salt or 2 bouillon cubes (vegetarian, beef or chicken)
-3 1/2 cups water
Directions:
In a large (at least 12 inch, with lid) saucepan or dutch oven warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very caramelized. burnt in spots is fine, and encouraged. you want the onions very brown, as the caramelized onion flavor is the backbone of the dish. This could take anywhere from 30-50 minutes, depending on your stove and your pan. While the onions are cooking, place the lentils in a medium saucepan, add water to cover by an inch or so, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Drain the lentils, and set them aside. When the onions are ready, stir in the rice. Then add the cooked lentils, along with 3 1/2 cups of water and the salt or bouillon cubes. Stir to mix well, and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook. This can take anywhere from 25-40 minutes, depending on the pan you've chosen. The wide saucepan I use takes 25 minutes, a dutch oven will take longer. The dish is done when the liquid is absorbed and the rice is no longer crunchy. If you check and the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still underdone, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water, recover the pan and allow to steam for another ten minutes or so before you check again.
Serve with additional salt--this is one of those dishes that blooms when a little additional salt is added at the table.
Notes:
-This dish will make a full pan if you're using the saucepan, so enough for 4-6 servings depending on whether you're having it as a main dish or not. Round out the meal with a salad of chopped romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. I recommend finishing with a dish of greek yogurt with honey and peaches.
-Mujadara can be eaten cold, warm or hot. This makes it excellent packed lunch/picnic fare.
-This recipe is vegan if you use veggie bouillon or just salt.
-You can use this as a base for other toppings to make a more substantial meal, if you feel the need. One thing I like do to it is to top it with a poached egg. It adds some protein (and uses up an egg). Not quite eggs and toast, but you get the idea.
-This is one of those dishes that improves with a day or so in the refrigerator. It doesn't have much opportunity to do that in my house, but it does make for fantastic leftovers straight out of the fridge.
Bonus points: This is really cheap to make, especially if you happen to find a 10 pound bag of onions for $3, as I did this weekend. If you've not already found your nearest international grocer, you may want to start looking. The produce alone is usually worth it, as are the wonderful deals on all sorts of ingredients you'll never find in a regular grocery store.
Mujadara
Ingredients:
-¼ cup olive oil
-about 1 ½ lb. finely chopped yellow onions (2 medium/large ones, or about 4-5 small)
-1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over
-1 cup basmati rice
-1 tsp. salt or 2 bouillon cubes (vegetarian, beef or chicken)
-3 1/2 cups water
Directions:
In a large (at least 12 inch, with lid) saucepan or dutch oven warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very caramelized. burnt in spots is fine, and encouraged. you want the onions very brown, as the caramelized onion flavor is the backbone of the dish. This could take anywhere from 30-50 minutes, depending on your stove and your pan. While the onions are cooking, place the lentils in a medium saucepan, add water to cover by an inch or so, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Drain the lentils, and set them aside. When the onions are ready, stir in the rice. Then add the cooked lentils, along with 3 1/2 cups of water and the salt or bouillon cubes. Stir to mix well, and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook. This can take anywhere from 25-40 minutes, depending on the pan you've chosen. The wide saucepan I use takes 25 minutes, a dutch oven will take longer. The dish is done when the liquid is absorbed and the rice is no longer crunchy. If you check and the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still underdone, add 1/4-1/2 cup of water, recover the pan and allow to steam for another ten minutes or so before you check again.
Serve with additional salt--this is one of those dishes that blooms when a little additional salt is added at the table.
Notes:
-This dish will make a full pan if you're using the saucepan, so enough for 4-6 servings depending on whether you're having it as a main dish or not. Round out the meal with a salad of chopped romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. I recommend finishing with a dish of greek yogurt with honey and peaches.
-Mujadara can be eaten cold, warm or hot. This makes it excellent packed lunch/picnic fare.
-This recipe is vegan if you use veggie bouillon or just salt.
-You can use this as a base for other toppings to make a more substantial meal, if you feel the need. One thing I like do to it is to top it with a poached egg. It adds some protein (and uses up an egg). Not quite eggs and toast, but you get the idea.
-This is one of those dishes that improves with a day or so in the refrigerator. It doesn't have much opportunity to do that in my house, but it does make for fantastic leftovers straight out of the fridge.
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