Improve your KitchenAid mixer

Jam crumble bars

1/31/2019

These buttery, jammy, crunchy and crumbly bars are one of the easiest recipes we've featured here. You probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen...so why don't you make some today?

Perfect for a casual dessert, afternoon snack or dare we say breakfast, these simple to make bars can use any kind of jam you have on hand. We used a combination of peach and strawberry so we could clean out our jars :). Feel free to do the same or even make your own jam if you're so inclined.

A stand mixer is not required for this recipe, but we found it was helpful in getting all the ingredients incorporated. Plus, we try to make all our recipes using SideSwipe to show how well it works!

This recipe, which can easily be made gluten-free, is from Brian Hart Hoffman's Bake from Scratch, volume 1. Yields about 16 square servings. (our photos picture 1/9 size servings)

ingredients and equipment

1-1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (100g) old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (73g) firmly packed brown sugar (dark or light)
2 teaspoons (6g) kosher salt
1-1/2 cups jam (any flavor, homemade or store bought)
8- or 9-inch square pan

instructions

Heat oven to 350F.
Line an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper, allowing extra on two sides to form a sling. (The two ends of the sling will allow you to lift the finished product out of the pan for slicing).
Spray the paper and sides with cooking spray with flour
In your stand mixer or a medium bowl, mix the salt, sugars and melted butter until well combined. Add in the flour and oats and mix on low until a crumbly dough forms.
Press half the dough evenly on the bottom of the baking pan.
Cover with an even layer of jam
Sprinkle the remaining dough across the top of the jam layer.
Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 55-60 minutes.
Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.
Bars can be kept at room temperature for 2 days. Store afterward in the refrigerator.

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Why is vanilla so expensive?

1/29/2019

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Like us, you may be wondering why in the world vanilla extract has doubled in price in recent years. We found that a number of factors have caused the price to skyrocket: vanilla bean theft (!!), difficult pollination, extreme weather, habitat loss and rapidly growing demand because of the natural food movement. The bottom line: the once basic, "boring" vanilla may wind up becoming a rare sought-after delicacy.

So what's a baker to do? We'll provide information on your alternatives (not very many, we're afraid) in a blog post next week.

We found a great article on the subject in Business Insider. We're reprinting excerpts from the body of their article below. They also include a cute graphic video in their online article, which you can see here.

vanilla is hard to grow

One reason vanilla has gotten so expensive is, it's hard to grow. Vanilla vines take two to four years to fully mature, and their flowers only bloom for one day of the year. In order for the plants to produce beans, they have to be pollinated that day. In most places where vanilla is grown, it isn't a native plant, and there aren't bugs or birds capable of pollinating the flowers. Vanilla is native to Mexico, but deforestation there has greatly reduced its natural habitat. In Madagascar, where over 80% of vanilla is produced, the flowers have to be pollinated by hand. The pods need several months to cure after harvesting. The whole process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. But the record high price of vanilla also has to do with changes in the vanilla market.

artificial vanilla is less popular now

In the 1980s, cheaper artificial vanilla overtook the market. Vanilla farmers cut back production because they weren't making enough money. But around 2011, demand for real vanilla rose again. Big companies were joining the all-natural trend, pledging to eliminate artificial flavorings from their products. It's taken a while for the vanilla farmers to get back in the game and many no longer want to.

black market vanilla

Growing vanilla is a stressful and volatile business because there is such high demand, vanilla beans are a target for theft. After working hard to cultivate their crops some farmers have their beans stolen. As the stolen beans move up the supply chain, they get mixed in with legally purchased beans making it difficult for buyers to know which are which. The prevent theft, farmers pick the beans before they're ripe and unripe beans means lower quality vanilla. Farmers also try to prevent theft by branding their vanilla crops with a metal pronged brand. That way buyers can identify what farm the vanilla came from.

weather problems have added to the shortage

Farmers also run the risk of having their crops destroyed by extreme weather events. Cyclones are common in Madagascar and climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of those storms. If a cyclone were to wipe out vanilla crops next year, it would take until at least 2022 for new plants to start producing beans, and farmers might not want to take that risk. So the supply could continue to drop even further.

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Lamingtons

1/28/2019

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Never heard of them? We tried our first lamington in Australia, where they are a iconic, beloved dessert of kids and adults alike. They're on every grocery store shelf and a favorite at school bake sales. Lamingtons are sponge cake surrounded by a soft chocolate glaze and rolled in coconut. Layers with jam or chocolate inside are optional. If you love coconut and chocolate, you'll love lamingtons!

Our lamington, which includes a layer of raspberry jam, is adapted from a recipe by David Lebovitz. It's a fairly simple recipe, but takes some patience, as the sponge cake doesn't include leavening (no baking powder), so you'll need to whip your eggs and sugar for a long time. You'll also need your stand mixer for this recipe - unless you have some pretty impressive arms for whisking. We also, of course, used our SideSwipe, but if you don't have one yet, use your whisk attachment, not your flat beater for this one. We deviated on some of the directions to make it easier on ourselves. Fell free to make as listed or according to our notes.

NOTE: This recipe requires unsweetened, shredded coconut for the coating. We found ours at Trader Joe's, but you might also find it at smaller, natural food type markets.

ingredients

For the spongecake:

6 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups (175g) cake flour
2-1/2 ounces (70g) melted unsalted butter at room temperature
9-inch square cake pan (23cm)

For the filling (optional):

2/3 cup prepared jam (we used raspberry)

For the chocolate icing:

4 ounces (113g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce (27g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (130ml) milk, whole or lowfat
1-1/3 cups (147g) powdered sugar
4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process (sifted if lumpy)
4 teaspoons boiling water
2 cups (134g) unsweetened shredded coconut

instructions

To make the spongecake, butter a 9-inch (23 cm) square cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or your whisk attachment, whip the eggs and granulated sugar and salt on high speed for five to ten minutes, until thick and the batter forms a well-defined ribbon that remains on top of the batter when you lift the whip. The mixture shown above is about halfway to where you need to get. Our finished mix was a paler yellow, was very light and fluffy and achieved about twice its original volume. We have it on a video, and will post the video here later (formatting issues).
Stir in the vanilla.
Fold the flour into the egg mixture by putting the flour in a sifter or mesh strainer and sifting the flour over the top of the beaten eggs. Mix the flour in on the lowest setting ONLY until wet. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and hand fold the remaining dry ingredients that you will likely find in the bottom of the bowl. Do this gently by hand - using the mixer to finish will reduce the air you waited so long to incorporate!
Again, by hand, fold in the melted butter until no streaks of butter are visible. If you're not sure, mix less. Overfolding will reduce your cake's height and make the texture heavy.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
When cool, unmold the spongecake onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Trim the ends and cut the cake in half horizontally using a serrated bread knife. You can cut the cake in half before doing so - or do what we did and cut into squares, then slice each square in half.

Make the chocolate icing by melting together the chocolate, butter, and milk in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pan of simmering water when smooth, then whisk in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
Spread a generous 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the chocolate icing over one layer of the spongecake, then top with the other half of the spongecake, sandwiching the two together with chocolate icing in the middle.
Cut the cakes into 9 or 16 squares and whisk two tablespoons of boiling water into the icing. Put the coconut into a shallow baking dish or bowl.
Use your hands to dip the Lamingtons into the chocolate, rolling them around to make sure each side is coated with the chocolate icing, then wipe off any excess on the side of the bowl. Place the Lamingtons in the vessel of coconut, tossing them around gently to get them coated on all sides.

Once iced and tossed in coconut, place the Lamingtons on a wire cooling rack and let stand until the icing firms up a bit.

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Blood Orange Almond Cake

1/21/2019

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Winter is orange season, and nothing is more dramatic than a blood orange. And few upside down cakes offer this kind of burst of color to brighten up the winter blues. Blood oranges are available from December to March in North America, but seem to be most prevalent in January. We had to try to showcase them in this cake!

This blood orange almond cake is complex in flavor and texture – sweet, citrusy, nutty, and moist. Our oranges did not offer the super-dark red flesh some varieties offer, but ours were still unique and delicious. Ask at your supermarket or specialty grocer to see what you can expect.

The recipe, by Linda Schneider on Taste, calls for fennel seed, but we chose not to use it. We did include almond extract, and highly recommend that extra boost of almond flavor.

ingredients

Cake

7 ounces (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
9 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
Grated zest of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
Grated zest of 1 lemon
10 ounces (2¾ cup) almond meal
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3½ ounces (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 teaspoons ground fennel seed (optional)
Pinch of salt
3 to 4 blood oranges, thinly sliced into rounds, rind removed, for the top of the cake

Blood Orange Syrup

Juice of 2 large or 3 small blood oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup sugar

directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides of the pan.
Place the butter, sugar, blood orange, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a SideSwipe or flat beater attachment.
Beat on low to medium speed until the butter and sugar are just combined.

Add half of the almond meal and beat at low to medium speed until incorporated.
With the mixer running at slowest speed, add the eggs one at a time. NOTE: We don't normally recommend adding ingredients while the mixer is running, mostly because of the mess factor. But since this recipe specified this technique, we gave it a try. We think you can stop and add each egg separately if you wish.
Add the remaining almond meal, flour, almond extract (if using) and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
Slice the oranges into 1/4-inch slices and trim off the rind with a sharp knitLine the blood orange rounds in a single layer on top of the parchment.

Pour the batter into the baking pan. Level the batter with a palette knife.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
When the cake is almost done, prepare the blood orange syrup: Juice one lemon and about three blood oranges until you have about ½ cup of juice. Pour into small saucepan with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep warm until cake comes out of the oven.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke the cake all over with a wooden skewer (about ¾ of the way through the cake). Pour the hot syrup over the cake.

Let cool completely before removing it from the springform pan. Place a large plate over the cake and with one swift motion carefully invert the pan so that the orange slices are on top. Peel off the parchment. Slice and serve.