Sweet Somethings
Lemon Thyme Rhubarb Cake
Tart, sweet and dramatically red, rhubarb never tasted so good in this Lemon Thyme Rhubarb cake. The cake is moist and fluffy on the inside with a slight crisp on the outside edge. The sharpness of the rhubarb combined with the delicate pungency of the lemon thyme make this a most wonderful offering of spring’s bountiful harvest.
.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan or cast-iron pan
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, add rhubarb, sugar and water
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb has softened
- Strain, reserve juice
- Set rhubarb aside to cool while you make the rest of the cake
- Cream butter and sugar together until smooth
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (batter should look light and fluffy)
- Gently mix in the baking powder, salt, lemon thyme and flour - be careful not to over mix
- Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the batter
- Spoon the rhubarb compote over the top of the batter
- Using a butter knife, swirl the compote through the cake batter, being careful not to scrape the bottom of the pan
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the reserved rhubarb compote juice over the top
- Sprinkle with the rest of the lemon thyme and sugar
- Bake 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center of cake comes out clean
- Serve warm or room temperature
- Enjoy with more of the rhubarb compote mixed with whipped cream or Greek yogurt, served on the side
Ginger Snappiest Cookies
These Ginger Snaps are the snappiest in town and offer a classic belly warming tingle all season long. Equally at home with a glass of milk, egg nog, hot cocoa or a cocktail, they offer a petite bite of concentrated spice. We added a sprinkle of sugar to our finished cookies for some holiday sparkle.
Yum!
So pretty and delicious on the plate, and so yummy straight off the rack!
Do we have to wait?
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light. Then beat in the egg, followed by the molasses and maple syrup.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and incorporate well using a sturdy wooden spoon. This batter takes a little muscle.
- Cover the bowl and set aside to rest for half an hour.
- The dough could be refrigerated or frozen at this point for later use. I like to keep some around from November until January!
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a teaspoon for portioning, roll a small balls of dough lightly between your palms, and place onto the sheet pan. Fill the sheet, leaving about an inch or so between the balls of dough. Rinse your fingers with warm water and pat each ball flat.
- Bake 10-13 minutes until browned. Remove and slide parchment onto a rack to cool.
Chinese Five Spice Apple Cake
This simple apple cake was baked by my great-grandmother on a wood stove over 100 years ago, and I’m happy to still be cooking it today. This recipe is timeless, rustic and highlights the flavors of both the apples and the spice. This old family recipe was one of the first that I adapted to experiment with the amazing world of spices and I’m thrilled to share it. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
Great Grandmother Carter’s Apple Cake….with Chinese 5 Spice
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla.
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in apples and nuts.
- Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees in a greased 9" x 13" pan.
More Than a Minute for Chai…
.
The trains of India are legendary- they wind through the vast countryside and into the crowded cities, packing in locals and adventurers alike. Merchants selling traditional tea beverages- or chai wallahs- announce their wares at every stop, circulating through the cars to provide passengers with cups of steaming brew in low-fired clay cups (that you throw out the window when you’re finished!), jumping from the train as it pulls away from the platform.
Chai is such an integral part of the Indian culture that even if you’re miles away from food or potable water, there will always be someone to give you a hot cup of chai. The classic version is an aromatic brew centered around a black tea base, flavored with spices, and tempered with milk and a sweetener. Traditional chai beverages are brewed with different proportions of warm, sweet spices such as ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and clove.
World Spice offers a variety of original chai blends to suit most any palate. Our most popular Sweet Chai is most traditional, with a little orange peel added for a full, aromatic flavor. Our Roast Chai makes use of deeply toasted spices to produce a sumptuous brew reminiscent of cocoa- and is also fabulous infused in to alcohols, or ground and used in desserts. Northwest Chai is our Puget Sound twist on the chai theme, using sage to pay homage to the wild sage that grows in the Cascade foothills here. Our Chipotle Chai is the chile-heads’ dream- flavorful, smoky, and spicy. The heat of the chile warms from the inside-out, no matter how frigid the drizzle.
We like to brew chai in a 16 oz. french-press pot, because it allows us to steep in two stages, getting maximum flavor from the spices while preventing the tea from becoming bitter. Add two tablespoons (or more!) of freshly cracked chai spice, and fill the pot half way with boiling water. After steeping for three minutes, add two tablespoons of black tea- our favorite is Assam- and top off the pot with more boiling water. Steep another three minutes, press, then add warm milk and honey to taste. Feel free to adjust the spice to tea ratio for a perfect personalized cup. If you’re accustomed to processed, syrupy chai concentrates, this process will be a revelation. Though a bit more of a time investment, you’ll find the reward well worth the effort- both for the steamy and fragrant amber brew, and for those few minutes you’ll learn to delight in taking for yourself.
Spice Up a Holiday Classic!
Sri Lankan Curry has none of the turmeric that we often expect in our curries, but is made up of a melange of warm, sweet spices. Each component is individually toasted before being mixed in perfect proportion, yielding an intensely dark and aromatic blend, so intoxicating that most customers who give it a whiff, can’t leave without it. To answer the call for alternative uses of this irresistible blend, we adapted a very classic Southern sweet potato pie filling to feature it, and we are so proud of the result! The sweet potatoes are a perfect canvas for the deep, toasted flavors of the spice, with just a pop of orange zest here and there for contrast. The crust is a dense, almost shortbread-esque shell, made special by the chopped pecans within. This pie is sure to please all who grace your autumn table!
.
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the dough: Whisk together nuts, flour, sugar, salt, and zest in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, work butter in to the dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of peas.
- Make a well in the center of the dough. Whisk yolk and egg in a small bowl, and pour into the well. Gradually draw flour mixture into center, kneading until combined. Shape dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight (up to 3 days).
- Let dough come to room temperature; roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9 inch spring form pan, pressing and patching so that dough reaches up sides of the plate. Chill in freezer while you make the filling.
- To make the filling: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, and pierce them in several places with a fork. Place on a baking sheet lined with tin foil or parchment paper, and roast for 45-55 minutes or until very tender. Puree in a food processor, mash with a potato masher or in a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment.
- Combine dry ingredients in small bowl.
- Beat sweet potatoes in medium bowl, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
- Add sugar, beat to incorporate
- Add Sri Lankan Curry, milk, butter, and vanilla, and beat at low speed to incorporate everything evenly and well.
- Pour filling in to prepared crust, and bake at 350 degrees until puffed and firm, 40-50 minutes.
Ghost Chile Honey Cake
The combination of chile and chocolate is irresistible, and this Ghost Chile Honey Cake is a mouth watering example. By infusing the chile into honey, we were able to mellow the heat and reveal the subtle fruity flavor of the Ghost Chile. The fudgy and fiery creaminess of the frosting, the moist chocolate cake, and the synergistic tang of the marmalade combine together to make one luscious cake. While it’s perfect for a Halloween party, we’ve made this cake for birthdays, holiday gatherings, and just when we wanted a thick slice of a really good chocolate cake. Enjoy!
.
The Ghost Chile Honey infusion in progress.
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the Ghost Chile infused honey - A "honey bear" works great for this, as it will also give you a container to store it in. Empty the honey into a small pan and turn the burner to low heat. Put a tiny slit in 3 Ghost Chile pods, and place in the honey. (Make sure you push them down in the honey, so you get all of that wonderful flavor.) Let steep for about 1/2 hour. Cool to room temperature and pour the honey and chile pods back in the "honey bear" (or a clean jar with a lid). This can be made ahead.
- Preheat 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch sides with pan spray. Cut a piece of parchment to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, infused honey, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Whisk in the vegetable oil, then half of the flour mixture. Whisk in all of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mixture. Pour into your prepared cake pan.
- Bake the cake about 55 minutes (or until your cake tester comes out clean). Your cake will have a slight "dome", but that's ok. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Remove parchment.
- While the cake is cooling, you can make the frosting. Fill a small saucepan halfway up with water, and put on a medium-high burner. Get a non-plastic bowl that will easily fit on top of the saucepan. You now have a double-boiler, which is used to melt chocolate (so that it doesn't burn). Put the chocolate in bowl, and stir until it's almost melted. Set bowl aside. Pour out the water from the saucepan and pour in the honey and cream. Bring to a boil, then pour over the melting chocolate and stir until smooth. Let it cool.
- Assembly - When cake is cool, carefully cut it in half horizontally. Place the bottom of the cake onto a plate. Spread the marmalade over the cake bottom, being careful not to spread it all of the way to the edge. Place the other half of the cake on top of the filling, and gently press down. (This is why you don't want to spread the filling all of the way to the edge - it will ooze out when you press on the cake.) With a butter knife (or offset spatula), frost the cake. (After you've put all of the frosting on the cake, you can 'smooth' it out by dipping a clean knife into hot water, wiping it off, then using the warm knife to 'smooth out' the frosting.)
- Keep cake in an airtight container, so that it won't dry out.
Chinese Five Spiced Apple Carrot Pie
Tender carrots are surprisingly sweet when baked in a brown sugar-y syrup, especially when united with perfect Washington apples and plump little raisin gems. The fresh ginger is such a classic pairing with the carrot, and is highlighted perfectly by the Star Anise in our Chinese Five Spice. The all-butter crust recipe I’ve included is a long-time standby of mine, and produces some of the flakiest and best pastry I’ve ever tasted. It will definitely be making an appearance at my Thanksgiving table this year!
.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
- Pour boiling water and 1 tablespoon of the sherry over raisins, and allow to soak
- In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture mostly resembles coarse meal, with few pea-size pieces remaining. This can be done without a food processer, using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your hands, but be wary of over working it.
- Sprinkle in cold water, beginning with 3 tablespoons. Pulse until dough is crumbly, but holds together when squeezed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until this happens, but again, do not overprocess.
- Turn dough out onto a cutting board. Divide in to two equal portions, and form each portion in to 3/4-inch-thick disks. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
- While dough chills, assemble filling.Peel and core apples, and cut in to slices 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut carrots on the bias so they’re approximately the same size as the apple slices, but 1/16 of an inch thick.
- In a large bowl, toss apples, carrots, ginger, sugars, Lemon Crystal, Chinese Five Spice, salt, and flour until well incorporated.
- Drain raisins, and incorporate with other filling ingredients. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of sherry to filling mixture.
- Unwrap dough; place on a large floured cutting board. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate. Using a fork, prick holes all around the dough to allow crust to vent and prevent shrinkage.
- Fill crust with filling, pressing gently to tamp down. Dot top of filling with softened butter.
- Roll out second dough disk to a ten inch round. Wrap around rolling pin, and drape over filled pie dish.
- Trim overhang, and crimp top and bottom crusts together.
- Bake pie at 425 for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 for another 35 minutes, or until crust is golden, juices are bubbling, and apples and carrots are tender. Cool for four hours, and serve alone or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Indian Coriander Energy Bars
Sometimes I get so busy doing things that I forget to eat breakfast and/or lunch. I know, I shouldn’t do that, but I do. I’ve tried various power or energy bars, but I find them too sweet, lacking in flavor, or really just not very healthy. So I set out to make an energy bar that tasted good, was high in all of the “good” stuff we’re supposed to be eating every day, and was full of things that I loved (like Indian Coriander). I’m also a huge fan of chia seeds, and using them eliminated the need to use oil or eggs in my energy bars. (Chia seeds are full of essential fatty acids, antioxidents, calcium, iron, fiber, and are a source of natural extended energy.)
I’ve found this to be a great recipe for experimentation and using up tasty odds and ends. Got a quarter cup left of fig butter? Put it in your next batch. Found an apple or banana you need to use? Mash the banana or grate the apple, and add it to your next batch. (These are also good with grated carrots, too.) I’ll make these every week or so, and bring them into the shop. Somehow, they always seem to disappear…there are even some days where I might actually get one or two pieces! (We have some sneaky people here at the shop, especially where baked goods are concerned.) They’re always a big hit, and no one feels guilty about eating them. Yes, I will admit to sometimes putting chocolate chips in them, but chocolate is good for you, too, right?
Dried cherries and almonds make this a tasty treat…and it’s good for you, too!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, making sure that you have extra hanging over the sides. (This will make it easier to take the bars out of the pan, as there is no fat used in this recipe. Just pull the foil & bars out, and your pan is still clean!)
- In a small bowl, add the chia seeds and water. Whisk together with a fork, being careful to make sure that all of the seeds are submerged in the water. Set aside for 10 minutes, gently stirring after 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the Indian Coriander, high-fiber cereal, non-white flour, oatmeal, salt, nuts, dried fruit and Poudre Douce. Mix together well.
- Add the maple syrup or honey and the orange zest and juice to the rehydrated chia seeds. Stir well. Add to the ingredients in the large bowl, using a rubber spatula to scrape out all of the chia seeds. Gently mix all of the ingredients together. (It will look like it won’t come together, but it will. If it find that it might need some more liquid, add a tablespoon or two of orange or grapefruit juice. You just want the ingredients to “bind” together – it won’t look like any batter you’ve worked with!) This makes a slightly soft bar - if you want a more cake-like bar, add about 1/4 cup more juice.
- Scoop out into the foil-lined pan and press down to fill every corner, smoothing out as you do it. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes – when you touch the center of the bar mixture, it should be very firm.
- If you want a drier, firmer bar, cook for an extra 5 - 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan. Then remove, using the foil.
- Place a cutting board on top of the pan and flip it over, so that the pan is on top of the board. Unwrap the bar from the foil carefully, and cut the bar into pieces. It’s great cut into bite-sized pieces, or just cut into 16 bars. Place in a zip loc bag or covered container and keep in the refrigerator. These will keep for over a week.
Ras El Hanout Plum Preserves
Her name was Edna Nosworthy, and she had the same birthday as I do- only eighty years difference. She had a bottomless stash of Tootsie Rolls, made a mean Snickerdoodle, and had a sprawling green lawn dotted with fruit trees- apples, pears, cherries, and Italian plums. It’s been more than fifteen years since she passed, but I still choke up when I talk about her. Every summer, the other families lucky enough to know Edna would gather in her yard to harvest her fruit, which she would then turn in to vats of phenomenal home goods- pickles, preserves, jams, and pie fillings. What I wouldn’t give to have a Ball jar in my cupboard with her spidery scrawl on it now!
These preserves are an homage to all of the “Greatest Generation” who inspire us to use what we have, and share with our neighbors. The global update is lent by the Moroccan staple, Ras El Hanout, whose complex flavors support and feature the sweet-sour plums. Any variety of plum will do- and the choices abound! A loop around your local Farmer’s Market will alert you to the bumper year it’s been for this stellar stone fruit in the Northwest, or if you’re lucky enough to have an Edna Nosworthy in your life, you’ll opt for Italian, all the way. Serve them over ice cream- as we’ve pictured- or as a dipping sauce for a juicy lamb kebab.
.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Coarsely chop plums and stir together with water, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a 2 quart, heavy saucepan.
- Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, stirring more often as cooking process progresses.
- Mixture will thicken and reduce to about 2 1/2 cups within 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Discard cassia stick, and stir in Ras El Hanout.
- Cool preserves, and transfer to an airtight container to chill and store.
Quatre Epices Cake
This recipe from our friends at Sunset promises a citrus and sweet taste, followed by a glow or a kick — depending on whether the signature French four-spice blend is made with white or black pepper. Well, our Quatre Epices delivers the best of both, with prized Sarawak White and Tellicherry Black peppercorns!
This French Quatre Epices cake delights everyone who tastes it!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan. In large bowl, beat softened butter, brown sugar and zest until fluffy. Add eggs and beat batter until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour and remaning dry cake ingredients.
- Blend into batter at low speed one third of dry mix and half of buttermilk, alternately. Spread batter in pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on rack 10 minutes. Loosen cake from pan with slender spatula, and invert gently onto rack, then re-invert onto another rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Frosting: Set medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook butter until deep golden brown, swirling occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a mixer bowl and allow to cool.
- Chill butter bowl until butter is firm enough to beat, about 30 minutes. Add remaining frosting ingredients, except for nuts, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Split cake horizontally with long serrated knife. Lift off top layer with 2 large spatulas and carefully set aside. Set bottom layer on platter, and spread upper surface with half of frosting. Replace top layer, and spread upper surface with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with nuts.
Notes
Recipe and photo from Sunset Magazine, October 2010.
