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Fudge Cake with Cocoa Peppermint Icing

For Denny's birthday, I made a Fudge Cake (adapted from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food) with Cocoa Mint icing (from the Hershey's 1934 Cookbook, published in 1971).  The result was delicious...the frosting itself tasted like a brownie.  Yum!  

Dylan had fun helping to make his Daddy's cake.  He especially enjoyed putting on the frosting–which really meant stabbing the cake with the knife, creating lots of pockets for frosting–I should always have him help (see below).  He also enjoyed eating a slice.

 

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Fudge Cake

Source: Alton Brown (with my changes in brackets)

113 g (8tbsp) unsalted butter

383 g (2 1/4 cups) brown sugar

3 large eggs, one at a time

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 oz (3 squares) Unsweetened Baking Chocolate  [I used 3 oz of Hershey's cocoa powder...half the regular kind and half Special Dark.]

305 g (2 1/4 cups) All Purpose Flour [I used half AP and half whole wheat, I also added in flaxseed]

2 tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream [I used plain lowfat yogurt]

1 cup boiling water

Cream together butter and sugar.  Then add the eggs and vanilla slowly.  

In a food processor, pulverize the Unsweetened Baking Chocolate until there is nothing but chocolate dust and small chunks. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and pulse several times until the chocolate and flour are completely homogenized. Set aside. 

[OR, mix the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt together before adding.]

Alternate adding three doses of the flour mixture with two doses of sour cream [or yogurt].

Then, with your mixer on low, add the boiling water and continue mixing until a loose but uniform batter is achieved.

Pour the batter into a prepared 9x3-inch round cake pan or a 9x13-inch rectangular pan.  Bake for 1/2 hour at 350º, then reduce the oven to 300º and bake for another 1/2 hour.  

Remove cake from the oven and let it sit in  the pan for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack.  Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Note:  My mom always put wax paper and a plate over the top of a cake and inverted it onto the plate, leaving the pan on.  This makes for a super moist cake, and is a good way to let your cake sit overnight before frosting.  I used the 9x3-inch pan and sliced the cake into 2 layers with a serrated knife.I frosted with the Cocoa Peppermint Icing (below) and then sprinkled on crushed peppermint candy).

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Cocoa Peppermint Icing
Source: Hershey's 1934 Cookbook

1/2 cupful butter

1/2 cupful Hershey's Cocoa

3 2/3 cupsfuls (1 pound box) powdered sugar

7 tablespoonfuls milk

1 teaspoonful vanilla

1 tablespoonful crushed peppermint candy

Melt the butter in a saucepan; add the cocoa and heat 1 minute or until smooth, stirring constantly. Alternately add sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Blend in vanilla and peppermint candy.

Yield: About 2 1/4 cupfuls icing or enough for an 8- or 9-inch layer cake.

Orange Ring Biscuits

This is one of Denny's favorite special breakfasts from when he was a kid.  I made it for his birthday breakfast...it always reminds him of home.  The picture above isn't the best...but these are really tasty.

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Orange Ring Biscuits

Source: Sue Pack (Denny's Mom)

3 cans refrigerator biscuits

1 1/3 cups butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

grated orange rind

Arrange biscuits in bundt pan (or tube pan) side by side all the way around. Melt butter, sugar, orange rind together until dissolved.  Pour butter mixture over biscuits.

Bake 15 minutes at 375º then 10-12 minutes at 340º

korean feast

Bulgoki is usually eaten with rice and wrapped in lettuce.  In Japan, Bulgoki has been transformed into Yakiniku (literally "grilled beef").  In yakiniku restaurants, the meat is brought out raw and you cook it over a charcoal grill set into your table.  However, you have to order the rice and lettuce separate...some yakniku restaurants don't have the lettuce...which was very disappointing to me since that's the way I love to eat it.

Many years ago, before we moved to Japan and were still living in Macon, Georgia, I learned how to cook a few Korean dishes from my friend Janine.  Janine is from Korea, and has actually since, moved back.  I really enjoyed learning more about her culture and learning how to cook and eat delicious korean food.  I haven't made these dishes in a very long time (the one I make most often is the cucumber salad) and was hopeful that they would still be as delicious as I remembered.  I made this asian feast for Denny's birthday dinner.  It's easier than you would think because several things can be prepared ahead of time (the meat can marinate overnight).

The Bulgoki marinade and the Spicy Pork marinade.  Leftovers of the meat can be used in fried rice or on top of a bowl of rice with stir fried veggies and topped with a sunny side up egg (like bibimbap).

Bul-go-ki (marinated beef)

1 lb thinly sliced beef

5 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Mirin

1 tbsp chopped green onions

1 tbsp crushed garlic

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

ground pepper 

1 thinly sliced onion

1. In a bowl, mix garlic, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, sugar sesame seeds, Mirin, green onions and pepper. 

2. Add beef and onions to the sauce and coat the beef with the sauce. Marinate it for a couple of hours (or overnight). 

3. Cook on a heated pan with onions. [I used cast iron and it browned up nicely...high heat works well]

Spicy Pork 

The spicy pork is really spicy!

1 lb thinly sliced pork

vegetable oil 

4 tbsp red pepper paste

1 tbsp red pepper powder 

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Mirin 

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp chopped green onion

2 tbsp crushed garlic

3/4 tbsp sesame seeds (freshly grounded) 

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp ground pepper 

1. In a bowl, add red pepper paste, red pepper powder and sugar. Mix well. 

2. Add soy sauce, Mirin, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, pepper and sesame oil. 

3. Add pork in the bowl and coat it well with the sauce. 

4. Marinate it for a couple of hours (or overnight). 

5. Cook it on a heated pan with a little vegetable oil.

Okonomiyaki (or seafood pancake)

Janine used to make this and I had always thought it was a korean thing.  They do this in Japan too and call it Okonomiyaki..usually it has more toppings though).  I topped ours with store bought Okonomiyaki sauce.  At Janine's house we usually just dipped it in soy sauce.

I used shrimp in my pancake as squid is hard to find here.  I also didn't add the mayo on top (Janine never did that part for the korean style pancake).  In Japan, the mayo is a must (japanese mayo is different than american mayo however, so if you can find it at an asian market, pick some up).

1 whole squid (or shrimp or whatever seafood you have on hand)

1/2 pound cabbage 

150g (1/3 pound) bacon

2 green onion 

1/2 onion

3 tbsp sesame seeds 

2 eggs

1 cup water 

200g (1/4 pound) flour

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

oil

Anchovy-flavor seasoning 

sauce 1: Worcester sauce 

sauce 2: Soy sauce + vinegar 

1. Wash and skin a squid. Keep it in the freezer for a while and cut it into thin slices. 

2. Shred the cabbage and soak them in cold water and drain. 

3. Cut onions (thin slice) and cut green onions sideways. 

4. Boil bacon in boiling water for a few seconds and drain. Chop the bacon. 

5. Mix Anchovy-flavor seasoning with a cup of water and flour. Add squid, cabbage, bacon, green onion, onion, and sesame seeds. Mix well. 

6. Make a pancake on a hot pan with generous amount of oil. Cover. 

7. When it’s almost done, put a tablespoonful of mayonnaise on the pancake and cook until it’s done. 8. Serve with a sauce.

Cucumber Salad

2-3 cucumbers, sliced

coarse salt

red pepper flakes

sesame seeds

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice vinegar

Lay out the cucumber slices in one layer on a couple of layers of paper towels.  Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and  let sit for 10 minutes.  Pat dry with more paper towels and put into a bowl.  Dress the cucumbers with the sesame oil and rice vinegar (my measurements are approximate, give a taste to see if you need more of either flavor), and sprinkle on red pepper flakes (to taste) and sesame seeds.  Toss together and put in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

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Bean Sprout Salad

mung bean sprouts

sesame oil

salt

Toss mung bean sprouts with sesame oil to coat lightly and sprinkle on coarse salt to taste.  

Gimbap

Gimbap is like korean sushi but without the raw fish.  Gimbap is traditionally made with some sort of protein (I used seasoned ground beef), and a variety of vegetables.

A sushi mat is a helpful tool when wrapping the gimbap.

Sushi rice (sticky rice)

Seaweed wraps (in korean that is "gim")

pickled radish (danmuji)

carrots

cucumber

spinach (i forgot to add this, but it's a nice addition)

Saute the ground beef and season with soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar to taste (while it's cooking).  If you are using spinach, saute it with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  The rest of the vegetables should be sliced into sticks.

To assemble, lay a piece of seaweed on your sushi mat.  Using a wet spoon, put cooled rice onto the seaweed.  Spread it flat, leaving a 1 " space at one end.  Lay your ingredients sparingly in the middle of the roll (I wish I had taken pictures of the process).  Carefully pick up the end closest to you and roll it inward, pressing firmly but not squishing too hard).  Once your roll is made cut it into one inch pieces. These rolls are usually served at room temperature or cold.

No Bake Cookies--Powerballs

I found this recipe in Wondertime magazine, and it was an improvement over the No Bake Cookies Dylan and I have made before (with a recipe randomly picked from AllRecipes.com.  Dylan loved mixing it together and especially enjoyed helping me make the little balls.  Although, I think his favorite part was eating them.

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Powerballs
Source: Wondertime Magazine, September 2008

These wholesome little snacks are simple to make and rival cookie dough eaten right out of the bowl (not that we'd do that). The easiest way to make them is to comibne all the ingredients in a stand mixer, but the fun way is to push up your kid's sleeves and let her mush it all by hand.

Mix together 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup honey until smooth.  Gradually add in

3 cups old fashioned oats and 1/2 cup ground flaxseed.  Add 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup of any combination of nuts and soft dried fruit (I used cranberries and golden raisins) and gently mix and smush together.  Roll into Ping-Pong-size balls and, for maximum presentation value, put in paper mini muffin cups.  You can eat them right awawy, but they'll be less sticky after a night in the fridge. They freeze well too, layered on wax paper in an airtight container.

Tonkatsu

For a quick trip to Japan, I decided to make Tonkatsu (breaded and pan-fried pork) when we got back from vacation.  It's super easy and delicious.  I served it over a bed of microwaved rice in a cup (I needed a quick quick meal) and a side of steamed broccoli.  

Tonkatsu

I'm sorry I don't have exact measurements.  You could always go by the recipe on the back of the Panko bag if you need exacts.

pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2 inch portions

1-2 eggs

flour

panko (japanese bread crumbs)

soy sauce

canola oil (or olive oil)

Put a nonstick pan (I like to use my cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive or canola oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  Pound the pork until it is about 1/2" thick.  Prepare your dipping stations...one bowl of flour, one bowl with the eggs beaten with a dollop of soy sauce, and one bowl of panko.  Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on the pork.  Dip the pork into the flour, turn and coat, then shake off any excess.  Dredge it in the beaten egg and soy sauce mixture, then put into the panko.  Coat it well with the panko then put it into your preheated pan.  Cook about 3-4 minutes on the first side (until the crust is golden) then flip.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes and remove to a paper toweled lined plate.  Cut into slices and serve over rice.  Top with Tonkatsu sauce (I get mine at the local asian market).