the mighty toaster oven

pre-bangkok, i had a heavy bias towards cooking over baking. baking required too much measuring, was too inflexible, and i could always buy something better than anything i could make for reasonable prices. now that i'm living in asia and am not a huge fan of the margarine-laden, eggy pastries, i've put my 2nd-hand toaster oven to work. so, presenting...three of my favorite baking endeavors in the last couple months.

brandied plum chocolate cupcakes
12 servings.3/4 lb. soft-pack pitted prunes, cut into raisin-size pieces
1/3 c. brandy
3 Tbsp sugar
9 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
5 Tbsp brandy
2 tsp instant coffee powder
14 Tbsp. (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened.
3/4 c sugar
14 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground allspice
5 eggs, separated, room temperature
pinch of salt
pinch of baking powder
1/4 c sugar (yes, more sugar)

combine prunes, 1/3 cup brandy and 3 Tbsp sugar in heavy small saucepan. bring to simmer, stirring constantly. remove from heat. cover and let steep.

melt chocolate with 5 Tbsp brandy and coffee powder in heavy 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. whisk in softened butter (softened butter helps shorten the stove time. too long of a cook-time makes the chocolate lumpy). mix in 3/4 cup sugar, flour, cinnamon and allspice. blend in yolks. set aside mixture to cool slightly.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. (if using cupcake tins, butter and dust with flour. i prefer using silicone cupcake cases which require no work. if you're going for a larger cake, make sure it's a bundt for even baking). beat whites, salt and baking powder until soft peaks form. add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, and beat until almost stiff but not dry. whisk chocolate mixture to loosen. gently fold in egg whites. gently fold in brandied prunes.

pour batter into cupcake cases (or mini bundt tins!). bake until center is firm to touch and a toothpick inserted into center comes out cleanly, about 1 hour. cool for a half-hour. invert onto rack and cool completely. to store, wrap tightly and let stand at room temperature overnight.

dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve.

my thoughts: i got the idea because the combo of prune and chocolate seems so trendy and i wanted to see what all the fuss is about. these are so ludicrously decadent; the prune adds to the richness of chocolate and the amount of butter speaks for itself. also, notice how i didn't use the word "prune" in the title? it's because everyone i told that i made "chocolate prune cupcakes" was like, "oh. that should be...interesting."


tea scones with lemongrass lime curd
about 10 scones
2-5 Tbsp buttermilk (make your own buttermilk: 1 Tbsp vinegar in 1 c milk)
1 3/4 c self-rising flour
pinch salt
5 Tbsp butter, softened
3 Tbsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp milk

lemongrass lime curd:
3 eggs
1 Tbsp finely shredded lime zest
1/3 c fresh lime juice
2 stalks lemongrass, crushed, sliced into 2 inch pieces.
3/4 c sugar
4 Tbsp butter, softened

preheat oven to 425.
dump the flour and salt into a bowl, and, using your hands, rub the butter into the mixture. mix in sugar. separately, beat the egg and 2 Tbsp of the buttermilk then add to the dough with your hands – it should be playdoh-y but not sticky (if the dough seems too dry, add a little more buttermilk, a teaspoon at a time).

form the dough into a ball, roll it into a circle on a non-stick surface, re-fold, and re-roll a couple times for layers. in the final rollout, roll dough into a circle about 3/4 - 1 inch thick (the secret of well-risen scones is their thickness). cut out the scones by biscuit/cookie cutter or into triangles with a knife. keep the edges rough, don't smooth off the cut sides because it looks prettier. ball the trimmings back together to roll out again until you can cut out the last scone.

flour the bottom of the scones and plop on a non-stick or parchment papered baking tray, brush tops with the egg wash. bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they are well-risen and crusty, then stick them in the broiler for 10 or so seconds to brown the tops. transfer to a wire rack to cool.

lemongrass lime curd: cream butter and sugar. beat in eggs (beating in eggs before cooking eliminates clumpiness). mix in the lime juice. throw in lemongrass. cook in a heavy saucepan over low heat, constantly stirring until it resembles a thickness of hollandaise sauce. remove from heat, pick out lemongrass and add lime zest. refrigerate up to 1 week.

my thoughts: we held a scone competition after having a super overpriced afternoon tea at a hotel over easter. this was my favorite recipe out of a couple i tried because of the crustiness and subtle sweetness. i also experimented with a couple flavors of scones (like almond, etc.), but the plain ones were by far the best tasting. so, for the creative piece, i threw in the lemongrass lime curd.


red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and pecan praline
makes about 2 dozen
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c buttermilk (again, the 1 Tbsp in 1 c milk is perfect)
2 eggs
red food coloring (however red you want it)
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

cream cheese frosting:
8 oz cold cream cheese
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

pecan praline:
1 c sugar
1/4 c water
1 c pecan halves, toasted

preheat oven to 350. combine all dry ingredients and set aside. combine wet ingredients and whisk dry into wet.
bake for 40 min. cool on a rack for a couple hours.

cream cheese frosting: there is no good frosting that is not cream cheese frosting. combine softened butter and powdered sugar as best as possible. add cream cheese as cold as possible and combine. if it gets too warm, the icing will be to runny. refrigerate immediately.

pecan praline: spread wax paper over a baking sheet. combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over a medium simmer for 15 minutes without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms. remove from heat, stir in pecans. pour mixture onto baking sheet. let cool and then chop into little bits.

frost your cupcakes, bejewel with pecan praline and serve.
my thoughts: i made mine into american flags for 4th of july. they turned out a little salvador-dali-meets-food-party-with-thu-tran. i'm bummed the pic turned out so overexposed. anyhow, red velvet is my #3 favorite cake of all time after chocolate zucchini and carrot. this recipe turned out be SUPER moist and goes perfectly with the cream cheese frosting. i made this twice in 3 days.