Maple Spice Cake Squares & Mocha Glaze Icing

Pumpkins? Apples? Nuts? Perhaps. However, to my nose and tastebuds, there is nothing that magically transforms a kitchen into an autumnal one more than the addition of fragrant, sweet spices and maple syrup to cake batter.

INGREDIENTS
using a 9x9 inch pan, makes nine 3 inch squares, recipe can be doubled, using a 9x12 inch pan

Cake:
Flour, plain, white, 8 fluid ounces
Baking soda, 1/2 tsp
Baking powder, 1/2 tsp
Salt, 1/8 tsp
Cinnamon, ground, 1.5 tsp
Cloves, ground, 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg, freshly grated, 1/4 tsp
Butter, sweet, softened to room temperature, 4 T
Sugar, white, 5 T
Maple syrup, 4 fluid ounces
Yogurt, plain, 4 fluid ounces
Egg, large, beaten, 1

Glaze:
Sugar, icing/confectioner's, powdered, 4 fluid ounces
Cocoa, unsweetened, powdered, 1 T
Coffee, brewed, cooled, 2-3T

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the cake, in the smaller of two mixing bowls, put all the dry ingredients except the sugar.

The spilled spices resemble fall leaves

Blend until the mixture has an even beige tone.

In the larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Using a fork, it takes about five minutes to get the fluffy consistency of mashed potatoes.

Add the maple syrup.

Blend well. The mixture will look a little curdled, but it will be fine.

Mix in the yogurt and then the eggs. Stir in the dry ingredients in several batches.

The batter will have a thick, smooth consistency.

Liberally butter the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Give the filled pan a good shake or two to even out the batter.

Bake around thirty minutes until top is nicely carmelised and sides are pulling away a bit from the pan. After a few minutes, carefully remove:  I used a thin spatula to loosen the sides and bottom, placing a plate onto the top of the pan and flipping it over while firmly holding the plate and pan together. Then I slid the cake from the plate onto a rack (I use one from the oven).

The carmelised crust will stay crisp and not become soggy as it would if cooled in the pan

When the cake is completely cool, cut into nine squares and place on a flat surface, like a glass chopping board or large plate. Make the icing.

Put the icing sugar and the cocoa powder into a bowl. Starting with one tablespoon of the brewed coffee, whisk all the ingredients, adding more coffee to get the preferred consistency. Using a small pitcher, I poured various patterns (lattice, circular, zigzag) onto the squares. Letting the icing stand for about fifteen minutes will allow more control of the stream.

Using a spatula, pile the squares on a serving plate. The crumb has the right amount of fluff, the spiciness is on target, and the glaze gives a smooth, additional shot to the headiness of maple. When refrigerated, the texture is more of a blond brownie.

If applying the icing before cutting the cake, you won't get this drenched effect

The onions are now in storage, there's a few tomatoes still on the vines, and the fig harvest is just around the corner. It's time to sun dry red peppers!

Drying basket hanging on a rose bush

The asters, in full flower at present, resemble soft, blue clouds shape-shifting in the cool wind.

The pink flowers are double Japanese anemones and the white are oleanders

As we live with Dirac the kitten, the more we get to know him. Funny how that works. The Calm One who handles the feline food detail--he measures out four prescribed portions each morning and then responsibly despite beguiling craftiness from a certain furry party of diminutive stature doles them out during the day--suddenly announced, our kitten's name should be Percy, Percy for Persistant! As various nicknames accumulate, mongoose mouth is for example one of many, why not another?

Dirac the five-month-old kitten

Obviously Percy!

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINKS

Lena Levin's (artist who painted the still life of strawberries on our mantle) website
The terroir of maple

Baby Onion, Fennel, Green Bean & Sausage Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin is not just a clever and delicious way to do apples, but also vegetables. Each season, our onion crop has some runts. Appreciating their tiny round form and dazzling flavour when carmelised, I let these underperformers shine in an upside-down savory tart.

The fennel and green beans are also from our potager

Though stovetop carmelised baby onions are lovely, going the extra step of cosily covering them in short crust pastry and letting the oven do its thing, brings them into such succulence that the eater ceases all thinking as she becomes one with the onions.

This plump morsel first delivers a moist pop in the mouth before it melts!

INGREDIENTS
makes an 8-inch tart

Baby onions, blanched, peeled, 14 fluid ounces
Sausage, cooked, crumbled, blotted, 8 fluid ounces
Green beans, cooked, cut into 1 inch pieces, 4 fluid ounces
Fennel, fresh, minced, 1 T
Maple syrup, 1 T
Butter, sweet, 1 T
Sherry vinegar, 1 tsp
Chicken broth, up to 6 fluid ounces
Short pastry, homemade or store-bought, enough for a 9 inch round

The runts on the right are about one inch in diameter (Stutgarter variety)

To facilitate peeling, throw them into boiling water for a minute or two, and then fish them out and put in a bowl of cold water. Slice off the root end.

The peel will come off almost on its own willpower.

Put the maple syrup and butter into a heavy-bottom skillet and over low heat, melt the butter.

Stir in the onions and coat well with the glaze.  Add the broth in increments throughout the carmelisation. When the liquid is mostly gone and the glaze looks gooey, add a little more of the broth.

Those ice cubes are comprised of my own frozen homemade broth!

Keep the skillet covered. After thirty minutes, add the sherry vinegar and simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add the beans and sausage and stir well.

Toss in the fennel and stir again. Salt to taste.

Lightly oil a baking pan (I used a twelve-inch pizza pan). Spread the mixture in a single, circular layer as much as possible. If needed, deglaze the empty skillet with a little broth and pour that onto the filling.

Place the pastry over the tepid veggies, tucking under the edges. Bake around thirty-five minutes.

Let cool a bit, about five minutes, then carefully go under the tatin with a thin, flexible spatula. Hold firmly the right sized plate over it and turn the whole lot over. The glazed goodness will now be visible.

Served best warm, this delectable tart is brimming with autumnal comfort.

In the garden, blue asters, pink Japanese anemones, and white oleanders are softly rustling in the cool breeze.

The fat, green pods in the upper right belong to a rose of sharon

An important focus in the potager is weeding the beds now empty of veggies.

An another is to improve the soil of those beds with compost so they can be productive next season.

Yet to be sieved!

Dirac the kitten continues to make us laugh with his antics...

...and soothes us with his composure and beauty.

À la prochaine!

Sweet Red Pepper & Green Bean Pakoras

These will always be known chez nous as thunder blackout fritters. Last night as I just was going to shallow fry some pakora batter a tremendous clap of thunder occurred, and then the lights went out. Dirac the kitten was playing with a clove of garlic around my feet before this surprise événement. From the sound of it, he still was. I stayed put because I didn't want to stomp on him. The Calm One's well, calm, voice boomed out from the dark depths of the house, are you two OK? Being informed of the situation, he quickly did what was needed to be done, and there was light once again. Into the fry pan the fritters did go!

The flower is a blue cranesbill

All the Piments doux très long des Landes in our potager have turned red encouraging me to come up with recipes containing them. There is also a late flush of young, tender, and very slender green beans.

The snap beans are a bush French variety:  haricots nains extra fins de bagnols

Adding some corn starch to the pakora batter is something that several cooks knowledgeable in Indian cuisine have told me will make these fried goodies nice and crisp. They are absolutely correct as I did some with and without. I regard proper frying closer to steaming and am never reluctant to go the sizzle route.

Chick pea flour is fantastic, I love its pale yellow colour!

INGREDIENTS
makes around twenty five 3 inch fritters

Chick pea flour, 8 fluid ounces
Cornstarch, 2 fluid ounces
Water, 6 fluid ounces
Salt, 1/2 tsp
Red pepper, sweet, thinly sliced, 4 fluid ounces
Green beans, finely sliced, 4 fluid ounces
Garlic, crushed, 1 tsp
Ginger, finely minced, 2 tsp
Hot red pepper flakes, a large pinch, more if you want HOT
Garnishes/Accompaniments: fleur de sel, lime slices, chutney, yogurt
Enough fresh frying oil like sunflower or canola to cover a skillet a 1/2 inch with it; if you have already used oil, add about a tablespoon of that into the pan

Mix the first four ingredients with a spoon then switch to a whisk and blend until the smooth consistency of a pancake batter.

Add the next five ingredients and stir.

Heat the oil. To test for the right temperature, insert the handle of a wooden spoon to check if a continuous stream of tiny bubbles is being made.

For safety, use a tablespoon to measure the batter (make sure each spoonful has enough veggies in it) into a long-handled ladle and then carefully pour that amount into the oil. Leave enough room between the fritters so they will not touch each other. In my eight-inch skillet, I was able to make seven pakora at a time.

Fry for about a total of four minutes, two minutes on each side. Check the oil temperature for each batch; if too hot the bubbles will be large during the wooden spoon test. Fish out the tiny bits that break off the fritters during frying after each batch or else someone may rush into the kitchen wondering what's that burning smell. Blot the finished pakora well with paper towels.

I use a metal skimmer for turning and scooping them out

They are best when piping hot, but I had no problem polishing off the still crisp leftovers straight from the fridge the following day. They were very much like thick veggie chips. A sprinkling of fleur de sel is a nice touch as is serving them with chutney or lime slices.

The bits of red and green are a cheery colour combination. 

Not to mention dipping them in yogurt is very refreshing!

Our garlic player, Dirac, continues to grow. When having a timeout from his strenuous kicking of cloves, he sits in the rocking chair near my computer. When he gets bored, he notices his reflection in the full length mirror close by and charges right into it like the determined athlete that he is.

À la prochaine!

RELATED POSTS

Fusilli with sweet red peppers, garlic, and capers

Fresh Raspberry Maple Oatmeal Bars & Cream Cheese Icing

One recent cool day, our neglected oven abruptly demanded, turn me on! But what to bake? The raspberry bushes energetically nodded, us of course! Harvesting yielded just two cups and before I could think that was not enough for serious baking, the smallish and exceedingly stylish ceramic casserole that my sister-in-law and I agreed was a must have when we went to Emmaus* during her visit from Britain a few weeks ago, breathlessly uttered, use me, my dear!

These juicy, fruity, buttery bars make a wonderful dessert...or breakfast...or brunch...or snack. Their flavour stands up even after they spend the night in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS
(makes six 2 x 2.5 inch rectangles if using a 5 inch x 6 inch dish though recipe can be doubled and doubled again necessitating a 8 inch x 8 inch pan for the former and a 9 inch x 12 inch one for the latter)

DOUGH
Flour, white, plain, 4 fluid ounces
Oatmeal, 4 fluid ounces
Sugar, white, 2 fluid ounces
Maple syrup, 1-2 T
Baking soda, a large pinch
Salt, a small pinch
Cinnamon, a large pinch
Nutmeg, freshly grated, a small pinch
Butter, sweet, softened, 4 T

FILLING
(makes about 8 fluid ounces of filling plus around 3 fluid ounces of juice for the icing)
Raspberries (reserve 6 for garnishing), fresh, 16 fluid ounces
Sugar, white, 1-2 T
Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, 1 T

ICING/TOPPING
Strained raspberry juice from cooking the berries, around 3 fluid ounces
Icing sugar/confectioner's/powdered, around 2 T or to taste
Cream cheese, 2-3 T, more can be added for thicker consistency
Raspberries, 6

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take butter out to get to room temperature. Add the maple syrup to the sugar.

It's a nice substitute for brown sugar

Rinse the berries. I tossed in the few strawberries remaining in the potager.

Strawberries were coarsely chopped, the raspberries were left whole

Heat gently all the filling ingredients, mashing them a bit as they cook for around two minutes. Reserve.

Mix all the dough ingredients except the butter together.

Work in the butter. Using my fingers, it took me about five minutes. The mixture needs to look like coarse, damp sand.

When properly mixed, the dough will clump if a small amount is pressed in your hand.

Spread ten fluid ounces of dough into a generously buttered pan. Firmly press down.

Spoon the strained berries and spread them 1/4 inch from the edges of the dough so the side of the bars will mostly stay dry making it easier to remove from the dish.

Scatter the remaining over the top and lightly press down.

Bake around 35 minutes or until nicely browned.  As the kitchen is being suffused with the most appetising aroma, make the icing. Strain the berry juice through a fine sieve.

Add the powdered sugar and cream cheese. Start mixing with a spoon, mashing the cheese. When almost smooth, switch to a wire whisk. Put in the fridge; when cold, it thickens.

Let the cake cool completely before cutting into bars.

Top with a dollop of the icing and a raspberry.

The icing added an appreciated creaminess to the crunch.

Dirac, after being with us for three weeks, is putting on weight. Not only does Dirac love his food, he also loves our food, and so fervent is this love that he kisses us after we finish a meal especially if there was cheese in it.

If any fingers recently have handled butter, he ensures that they will be clean in no time flat. His meow is closer to a cranky sheep's baah which when Dirac is being denied butter and confined inside lasts for a very long while.

Because of Dirac's over-eager mouth, pens, the more fragile of computer cables, anything really, is put away and put away in such a rush that we have no idea where we have put them. In a way, it is packing, but we have no place to go!

À la prochaine!

*All of us, that is, four adults and two kids had agreed to meet at a designated spot around closing time. One adult did not show up. So another adult went into the cavernous main building to see if any help was required. A few minutes passed and yet another adult decided to check the situation out. Noting the concerned faces of my nephew and niece, I solemnly promised, The building that eats adults will not get me.