Bear Cuisine

Kentucky Whiskey Cake

Every year I make fruitcakes to give away to friends. After years of scoffing taunts about fruitcake, I make sure that these friends are worthy of the gift. Our friends, Katie and Joseph, have been among the recipients of my efforts. After Christmas, Katie wrote an especially lovely note of appreciation which I reproduce here .

OK, let's discuss fruitcake.  I am one of those (I guess?) rare people who really love it.  My beloved Aunt Carol, my mom's really fun younger sister, used to make it in about July, wrap it in cheesecloth, drench and soak it in some fabulous forbidden spirit, and wrap the whole mysterious loaf in colored tin foil.  We'd get it in the mail around Christmas, and my mom would already start sucking in her breath and rolling her eyes about it as she opened the box.  She'd unwrap it and slice off impossibly thin slices that she'd pass around.  It was so fume-y, so aromatic from the brandy or whatever, that the inside of your nose would wiggle.  The cake itself was an astounding dark, loamy color that looked perfectly ancient.  The fruit was transparent.  The whole thing held together by some kind of trust or bond, between the evolved flour, egg; perfectly normal ingredients, I'm sure, that had reverted back to some primordial state.  As it settled upon your tongue, it would melt apart into weirdly rubbery (not in a bad way) nuts, chewy fruit, and that batter.  My mother, a complete teetotaler, would polish off micro-slice after micro-slice (for gods sake, give this woman something to drink!) as she exclaimed that it was the best year ever, sniffing inconspicuously at the damp, weathered cheesecloth.  As I opened your lovely fruitcake (we had waited very impatiently until January 1st as you instructed), all of those years of Aunt Carol's came rushing back in what is actually a very happy memory for me.  I'm not sure I mastered the micro-slicing, however.  Sadly, we ate the last of it tonight.  Thank you for carrying on this amazing, maybe medieval, unfairly scorned at, tradition!  love Katie

Aside from her thanks, which I gobbled almost as greedily as she ate the fruitcake, I love the associations that she has with this food. Love and family, which don't always go together, being chief among her memories. I know that when I cook a dish that is one of Hallie's particular favorites, I am consciously trying to create food memories for her. Whatever life may dish out, I hope that some of these meals have created a memory of a time when she was cosseted and cared for , warm and comfortable, loved and cherished.

One of the cakes I made this year is an "Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake" from My Mother's Southern Kitchen by James Villas. This cake should season at least a week before you eat it, but it is more than worth the wait. This year I mixed the fruits and the batter with a mixer instead of by hand. That change had the effect of making the cake a very Christmasy pink. We liked the results of this accident. Maybe we can replicate it next year.

KENTUCKY WHISKEY CAKE

1. 1 pound candied cherries halved
2. 1/2 pound seedless golden raisins
3. 2 cups bourbon
4. 1 1/2 cups ( 3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
5. 2 cups granulated sugar
6. 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
7. 6 large eggs, separated
8. 5 cups all-purpose flour
9. 1 pound chopped pecans
10. 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
11. 1 teaspoon baking powder

In a bowl, combine the cherries, raisins, and bourbon and let soak overnight.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and two sugars together with an electric mixer till fluffy, then add the egg yolks and beat well. Stir in the soaked fruit and bourbon. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the flour with the pecans and set aside. Add the remaining flour, nutmeg, and baking powder to the creamed mixture and mix well. In a bowl beat the egg whites with an electric mixer till stiff peaks form and fold them into the mixture Add the floured pecans and fold gently.

Grease a 10-inch tube pan and line it with greased brown paper or waxed paper.* Pour the batter into the pan, "spank" the bottom to distribute the batter evenly, and bake till a straw inserted into the cake coms out clean, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Cool the cake, turn it out of the pan, peel off the brown paper and store in a tightly covered container about 1 week before serving.

I used two loaf pans which worked very well.
 

Golden Fruitcake

I seem to have been in a fruitcake frenzy this year. I had made three different kinds and was going to stop there. Then I read a recipe for "Golden Fruitcake" in Canal House Cooking, Volume No. 2 and I just had to try it. I'm so glad that I couldn't stop myself. This cake has a lively tart and tangy quality and is cooked more like a pudding than a cake. The result is a cake that is quite light while at the same time dense with fruit. I liked it very much and sent one of the cakes off to my friend Tina in Philadelphia for her family's visit the week after Christmas. I hope they like it as much as I do.

GOLDEN FRUITCAKE

1. 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted
2. 3/4 cup candied lemon peel, minced
3. 3/4 cup candied orange peel minced
4. 1 cup golden raisins
5. 1 cup dried apricots, minced
6. 1 cup candied ginger, minced
7. 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated on the large holes of a box grater
8. 1 cup orange liqueur
9. 1/2 pound plus 3 tablespoons, unsalted butter, softened
10. 1 cup flour
11. 1 teaspoons baking soda
12. 1 teaspoon ground mace
13. 1/2 teaspoon salt
14. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
15. 1 cup dried fine white bread crumbs
16. 1 cup sugar
17. 4 eggs
18. 1/2 cup sour cream
19. 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
20. 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
21. Cognac or brandy

Combine the almonds, candied citrus peel, raisins, apricots, ginger, apple and orange liqueur in a bowl. Set aside. Let macerate at room temperature overnight.

 Fruits and nuts in orange liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two fluted 4-cup tube pans with 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside.* Sift or whisk the flour, baking soda, mace, salt and cloves together in another mixing bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs and set aside.

Beat 16 tablespoons of the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar and beating until the butter is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the macerated fruit and liquid.

Divide the butter between the prepared pans. Grease 2 sheets of foil withe remaining 1 tablespoon butter then cover the tube pans with it. Set the tube pans into a deep roasting pan. Ad enough hot water to come one-third up the sides of he tube pans. Bake the fruitcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Unmold the warm cakes onto a rack. They are ready to serve. If you like them a little boozy, sprinkle them with a little Cognac each day for a week Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Unwrap them each day to give them a little drink.

*I used loaf pans which worked just as well as tube pans. The cooking time remained the same.

 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Olive oil sounds as if it wouldn't be such a great ingredient for a cake. Believe me this is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever eaten-moist, dense and so, so chocolaty. When I say this is a great cake, believe me. Usually, I don't even like cake and I couldn't stop eating this one. Before I forget this is another of Christine Hickman's recipes. What a treasure she is.

CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE*

1. 4 cups unbleached all=purpose flour
2. 2 cups sugar
3. 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
4. 1 teaspoons baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
7. 1 tablespoon white vinegar
8. 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
9. 2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour 2 9-inch cake or spring form pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer. With a hand mixer or the standing mixer on low speed, beat in the oil, vinegar, vanilla and water until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. The cake should be firm to the touch.

Place the cake pans on cooking racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pans to cool completely.

Makes 2 9-inch layers.

* This recipe is for high-altitude cooking. (Santa Fe is at 7000 feet above sea level.) At sea level, use 2 teaspoons baking soda and 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Decrease flour to 3 1/2 cups.

I frosted the cake with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting from Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor. Not too sweet with just a hint of tanginess from the sour cream. Perfect for this cake.

SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finally chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 21/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan and melt over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool slightly, then stir in the sour cream.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl With an electric mixer on low speed, add half the confectioner's sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water, beating to incorporate. Then add the remaining sugar and water and continue beating until the frosting comes together into a spreadable consistency without lumps. Stop the machine, add the vanilla, and blend well, 30 seconds.

Use at once.

 This was all that was left after our dinner party

Julia Child's Fruitcake

I was thinking about what to make for the members of my French class and wasn't having much luck. I knew that a Buche de Noel was beyond my skill and my cookbooks were of no help. Then I remembered having read Julia Child's take on fruitcake in her book, From Julia Child's Kitchen. What could be better than a recipe from Saint Julia. It is an interesting take on fruitcake and if you like mincemeat you will love this cake

MRS. CHILD’S FAMOUS STICKY FRUITCAKE

(A Christmas Cake)

 The fruit and nut mixture: to be macerated 12 hours 

1. 4 pounds diced mixed glaceed fruits: part of this may be diced dried dates, pitted tenderized dried prunes or apricots, or raisins, or currants
2. 1 pound (2 cups) prepared store-bought mincemeat
3. 1 pound mixed unsalted whole or chopped nut meats (such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, filberts)
4. 2/3 cup dark Jamaican rum
5. 1/3 cup Cognac or Bourbon
6. 1Tablespoon instant coffee
7. 1/4 cup dark molasses
8. 1 teaspoons cardamom
9. 1/2 teaspoon each: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace
10. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

The dry ingredients

1. 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 tablespoon double-action baking powder

The remaining ingredients

1.  1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
2. 2 cups white sugar
3. 1/3 cup light-brown sugar
4. 2 Tablespoons vanilla
5. 6 large eggs

 

Macerating the fruit and nuts. Turn the candied fruits into a very large mixing bowl, pour on boiling water to cover, stir about for 20 to 30 seconds, then drain thoroughly: this is to wash off any preservatives. Return fruit to bowl, add the mincemeat, nuts, liquors, instant coffee molasses, spices and salt; stir about. Cover airtight and let macerate for 12 hours (or longer).

 

Completing the cake mixture. Stir half the flour into the fruits and nuts, sprinkle over the baking powder and the rest of the flour, and stir to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together in a separate bowl until light and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla, and the eggs, one at a time, beating 30 seconds after the addition of each egg. Blend the egg-sugar mixture into the fruits.

 

Baking. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Butter your cake pans, line bottom with wax paper, butter that, roll flour around in the pan to coat interior, and knock out excess flour.

Turn the batter into the pan, filling I to within 1/4 inch of rim (and mold any extra cake mixture in a muffin tin). Bake in middle level of oven for 2 to 2 3/4 hours or longer, depending on size and shape of pan. Cake will rise about 1/4 inch, top will crack in several places and it is done when it shows the faintest line of shrinkage around edge of pan in several places; a skewer, plunged down into cake through a crack, should come out clean. Remove cake from oven and place pan on a rack to cool for 20 to 25 minutes; cake should shrink a little more from sides, showing it is ready to unmold. Turn cake upside down on rack and give a little shake to unmold it. Peel paper off bottom, and turn cake carefully right side up.

(From Julia Child’s Kitchen)

 

This cake is a cross between traditional fruitcake and gingerbread. Even if you think you don’t like fruitcake, give this one a try. You might be converted. Store cake in the refrigerator; it slices much more easily when cold.

Shrove Tuesday

Called Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) or Shrove Tuesday , this day is to be a blow-out in terms of food and drink. The day before Ash Wednesday we are to use up all the fat in the house because, theoretically, we will abstain from meat and meat products on the week days of Lent. Whether you observe a Lenten fast of this sort or not, the foods that are associated with this day are wonderful and could tempt anyone to abandon her diet. In Pennsylvania, doughnuts were the feast food, but my favorite comes from New Orleans --King Cake.

Here is Emeril Lagasse's recipe for this taste treat.

KING CAKE

(12 servings)

• 2 packages dry active yeast
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• 5 egg yolks
  
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F.)
  
• 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  
• Vegetable oil
  
• 8 ounces cream cheese
  
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  
• Juice of one lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons milk
  
• Purple, green and gold sugar sprinkles
  
• Plastic baby toy
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.

Combine the yeast, sugar, butter and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the milk. With the mixer on low speed, beat the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast. If the yeast mixture doesn't begin to foam after a few minutes, it means it's not active and will have to be replaced.

In  a separate large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until it lightly comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball and climbs slightly up the dough hook.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap set in a warm, draft-free place and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix well.

In another small bowl, combine the remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk Mix well and set aside. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out 30 inches long and 6 inches in diameter. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal all sides completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring. Place a well-greased 2 pound coffee can or shortening can in the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Press the plastic baby toy into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm, drat free place. Let the dough rise about 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. With a sharp knife, make several slits around the top of the ring Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown After baking remove the coffee can immediately. Allow the cake to cool. Drizzle the cake with the sugar glaze. Sprinkle the cake with sprinkles, alternating colors.

Time was short this year, so this cake came from Whole Foods. In the past, I have made this cake using this recipe and it looks pretty much like the one pictured here.