Archive for October, 2009

Photos by Edward Pond

On November 6th, Cuisine Canada and the University of Guelph celebrate Canadian cookbooks and food writing with their annual Canadian Culinary Book Awards. Among the shortlisted cookbooks is The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book published in 2008 by Transcontinental Books and one dandy baking book suited to Canadian home kitchens and ingredients, not forgetting our home bakers.

I have a theory that I write about in the book, and that is that Canadians are hard-wired to bake. Be it the climate, the influence of easy-to-use cookstoves early in settling the country, immigrants who brought baking traditions with them, the availability of butter, eggs and fruit, for example, in the largely agricultural population, inexpensive sugar and flour ... whatever, Canadians love to bake. And they do it often. When others turn to bake-shops for their celebration cakes, their Sunday dinner tarts or special treats, Canadians head to the kitchen to check the fridge for eggs, fruit and milk, their cupboard for chocolate and raisins, and bake a cake. Or a pan of squares, a batch of cookies or a flaky fruit pie. 

Our baking skills come in handy in so many ways. What a benefit they have been to our communities. Take the bake sale. How many rinks have their roofs, teams their jerseys, religious institutions programs and new carpets thanks to the prowess of members' baking skills? Think of all the cookie exchanges every holiday season - what a great excuse to get together with neighbours, work colleagues and good old friends - incentive and price of being part of the group? 6 dozen really fine cookies. Think of the clincher in many a relationship when a lemon meringue pie is produced, or thick fudgy brownies. How many hearts have been won over. It's not a coincidence that cake is served at weddings. And sweet foods of consolation at times of grief.

So, The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book reflects this love of baking at the same time as it encourages it. For inexperienced bakers, the book is rich in step-by-step photos that get the baker right into the nitty gritty of cutting in butter or whipping egg whites to stiff peaks. For readers whose measuring cups have had a good workout, the cookbook  provides them with a reliable reference, inspiration to try something new, and a selection of darn good recipes. 

It would be wonderful to win gold, but if The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book doesn't, there's still the satisfaction of knowing that the book has introduced many Canadians to the art and skill of baking and provided sweet and savoury dishes for the pleasure to all the recipients of bakers' care. Bake on, Canadians. 

 This moist cake came to the test kitchen via Adell Shneer, one of Canadian Living's talented bakers. And the recipe came to her via her husband Michael's aunt, Malcah Sufrin who serves the cake with the orange syrup in the recipe. We added another option for finishing the cake - an orange glaze. Both versions will make your cake-baking reputation whether the cake makes its appearance with tea in the afternoon, with a citrus fruit salad to finish dinner, or as the sweetie at brunch and coffee time.

1 cup (250 mL) butter, softened

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) granulated sugar

4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature

1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated  orange rind

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) each baking powder and baking soda

1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) sour cream

Syrup:

1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (125 mL) orange juice

1/3 cup (75 mL) orange liqueur such as Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau

. Using a bristle pastry brush and soft butter, thoroughly coat the inside of a 9-inch (2.5 L) fancy of classic Bundt or tube pan, making sure to grease the crevices. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoonfuls of all-purpose flour into the pan; rotate and tilt the pan, tapping the pan to coat its inside thoroughly. Turn the pan over and tap out excess flour. Set the pan aside. 

. In a large bowl, beat the butter with 1 cup (250 mL) of the sugar until light coloured and fluffy. Reserving the egg whites in a large clean bowl, beat the egg yolks into the butter mixture, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the orange rind and vanilla.

. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of sour cream.

. With clean beaters, beat the egg whites until frothy.  Beat in the remaining sugar 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten the batter; fold in the remainder. 

. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan several times on the work surface to ensure that batter reaches all the pan's crevices.

. Bake in the centre of a 325°F (160°C) oven until a cake tester inserted in the mid point of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

. Let cake rest in pan on a rack for 20 minutes for the structure to firm.

. Gently loosen cake around the edge and centre. Place a rack over the cake. Wear oven mitts or use pot holders to grasp the bottom of the pan and, holding the rack firmly on top, turn the cake over. Lift the pan up and off. If, horrors of horrors, the pan sticks, Turn the cake and rack back over and with a thin, flexible plastic blade, loosen the cake further down the side. Repeat the turning action

. Syrup: Meanwhile, on a small saucepan, bring sugar, orange juice and liqueur to a boil over medium heat; reduce the heat to low and simmer until the syrup is reduced to 3/4 cup (175 mL), about 7 minutes.

. Let syrup cool for 5 minutes. Brush half over the warm cake. Let cool. (Make-ahead: Wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day or overwrap with heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Serve with remaining syrup.

Orange Glaze: Let the cake cool completely. In a bowl, mix 1-3/4 cup (425 mL) icing sugar with 4 tsp (20 mL) orange juice, adding a little more juice if necessary to make the mixture pourable. Slowly pour or spoon over the cake. Let stand until dry, about 1 hour. 

Thanks to: I had the pleasure of working with the test kitchen, in particular Heather Howe and Adell Shneer in preparing the recipes, choosing the best ones from years of excellent examples. Tina Anson Mine had the important role as project editor, and Michael Erb as designer. The fact that the book looks so good, is so well edited and contains such reliable, tested-til-perfect recipes is a testament to these people, and to the whole magazine team from editorial assistants, senior editors, copy editors, the editor-in-chief to test kitchen staff.

When I think of applesauce, pictures pop up in my mind. The first, as a kid when dessert was always on the menu for weeknight suppers. In the spring, a more or less steady supply of stewed rhubarb, then summer's succession of fresh berries, peaches and when summer turned to fall, applesauce. If there was nothing else, the rounded white Leonard door opened to a bowl of applesauce. It was one of the first things I learned to cook - so simple: peeled apples, a splash of water, some heat, a little elbow grease with the potato masher and a touch of sugar or honey for sweetness. 

The second applesauce image comes from a visit to a boyfriend's family home near Pittsburg in the US. The boyfriend loved applesauce - only for breakfast. During the visit, after I'd been OKed by his family, his mother took me to the chest freezer to show me the quarts of applesauce -frozen in the fall, ready for when the golden boy came home from college, yearning for his applesauce breakfast. As I remember, it went with strips of crisp bacon, and I may have imagined this part, cinnamon toast. On reflection, this was Mom passing the applesauce baton onto me, future wife and cook. The guy's long gone from my life, and but not his applesauce.

Move the kitchen up to the 70s when Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was a best seller, and all the rage - the first time round. The book inspired the introduction of Charlotte aux Pommes (Apple Charlotte) and Tarte aux Pommes (Apple Tart)  to my entertaining dessert repertoire. Simply put, a charlotte is a moulded dessert, in the case of apples, a rich thickened applesauce surrounded by butter crisped strips of bread, baked, turned out and eaten with lightly whipped cream. The Tart features artfully arranged and glazed  apple slices over applesauce simmered to a lustrous deep golden apple "marmalade". A far cry from a humble  bowl of applesauce, well beyond the companion to cinnamon toast and bacon, these desserts are  the "haut" of the applesauce world. 

So why, in the 21st century would anyone take a perfectly good apple and bother to make applesauce? Is it frugality? What was thrifty eating now has the cachet of  local and seasonal. Apples are not expensive, especially at markets and roadside stands. Applesauce is simple to make - a good introduction for kids interested in cooking. Best of all, different varieties of apples make different tasting applesauce - and you don't get that out of a jar in the supermarket!  You can sweeten as you like and according to the sweetness of the apples - not much for Gala, a touch more for Cortland or Northern Spy. And applesauce is a delightful ingredient, adding the essence of a crisp fall day to muffins, quickbread loaves, puddings, and as they say, much more...see below. 

Very Simple Applesauce

This template recipe yields about 4 cups (1 L) applesauce - enough to enjoy for a few suppers and breakfasts. Double or quadruple the amount if you want to freeze or preserve some in jars for cold times. While cinnamon is almost wedded to apples and sauce, I recommend making the sauce without so you can enjoy the clean taste of the apples. You can always add cinnamon or a grate of nutmeg to the sauce at serving time.

10 cups (2.5 L) peeled, cored and sliced apples (7 large apples or 3 lb/1.5 kg)

1 cup (250 mL) water

1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar, optional

. In a medium-large saucepan, bring the apples and water to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 20 minutes. 

. Mash with a potato masher or fork for chunky sauce, or for silky smoothness, press through a food mill or puree using an immersion blender or stand blender.

. Taste, adding sugar if desired.

. Makes about 4 cups (1 L) applesauce.

Microwave Applesauce: Pack the apples with the water into a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave uncovered on high for 12 minutes, stirring twice; let stand for 2 minutes. Mash as desired.

Rosy Pink Applesauce: If you're making sauce with red apples such as Cortland, McIntosh, Spartan or Empire, wash the apples thoroughly and leave the skins on when you're coring and slicing the apples. Press the cooked sauce through a food mill or sieve to remove the skins - but not the colour they've added to the sauce. Or puree the cooked sauce in a food processor or blender so the skins become part of the sauce.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

This nicely tarted up applesauce comes from the brand new Canadian Living/The Slow Cooker Collection, Transcontinental Books, $22.95. But again, nothing could be simpler than putting the ingredients in the slow cooker and buzzing off for a few hours of fun...work or errands. 

8 cups (2L) sliced peeled and cored apples

1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar

1/4 cup (50 mL) apple cider or juice

1 strip lemon rind

2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice

Pinch each cinnamon and nutmeg, optional

. In slow cooker, gently toss together the apples, sugar, cider, lemon rind and juice.

. Cover and cook on low until apples are tender and break down, about 6 to 8 hours. Discard lemon rind.

. Using an immersion blender or potato masher, puree or mash apples to the desired texture. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, if using. (Make-ahead: Let cool. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.)

. Makes 4 cups (1 L)

Preserving Applesauce

. Freezing Applesauce: The simplest way is to pack cooled applesauce into freezer containers, bags or rigid. Mark "applesauce" on the container, the date of production and the amount. I don't know about you, but it's so easy to forget what's in the containers. (The freezer seems to wave a wand of sameness over the containers.)You will bless yourself when you go to look for the applesauce and can find it easily. Pack it away in amounts that suit your household needs, especially if you're planning to use the sauce as an ingredient.

. Canning Applesauce: To preserve in jars (funny how the word canning is still  used even though jars have replaced cans for home preserving), pack piping hot applesauce into hot preserving 1 or 2 cup  250 or 500 mL) jars leaving 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) headspace. Seal with new discs you've softened for a few minutes in hot water, and bands tightened until resistance is met, then to fingertip tightness. Place in the rack of a boiling water canner about 2/3 full of very hot water. Add boiling water if necessary to cover the jars by 1-inch (2.5 cm). Cover and bring to the boil; boil for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and uncover until boiling subsides. Using canning tongs, lift out and set on a rack to cool for a day. Check that the seals have flipped downward before storing in a cool dark spot.Refrigerate and eat up any that haven't sealed properly within a week. If you respect the headspace, new lids and good preserving jars rules, all your jars should seal properly. 

What To Do With Applesauce

. Eat it for breakfast, either half and half with plain or vanilla yogurt, or to top a bowl of oatmeal or granola. Spoon over pancakes.

. Treat it as a snack for after school with cinnamon toast.

. Spoon applesauce into bowls and top with frozen vanilla yogurt for a quickie weeknight dessert.

. Pack it for lunch - for adults and kids in a reusable container.

. Serve it with latkes for Hannukah.

. Moisten and flavour stuffing - add a cup of thick applesauce to stuffing for a turkey, alongside, of course, the usual onions, celery, herbs and cubed bread.

. Make Apple Fool,  a 5-minute mini dessert:  If your smooth applesauce is unsweetened, or only somewhat sweet, stir in 1 to 2 tbsp. (15 to 30 mL) liquid honey into a cup of applesauce. Whip 3/4 cup (175 mL) 35% cream. Layer applesauce and cream in demi-tasse cups or small glasses, finishing with cream. Dust with cinnamon or nutmeg, or top with toasted sliced almonds. Makes 3 to 4 desserts.

. Count on applesauce to go with grilled pork chops, lusty sausages, crispy roast pork loin and tenderloin. Delicious with goose and duck too.

. Mix into pureed rutabaga to temper the rutabaga's bitter edge.  Or stir into pureed parsnips or sweet potatoes to add another dimension to the vegetable. 

. Preserve applesauce either processed in jars (see above) or in plastic freezer containers in handy 1 cup (250 mL) amounts. Then you have applesauce handy for Applesauce Raisin Loaf, Applesauce Muffins and much more. Even a fancy French Charlotte.

Glazed Applesauce Loaf

The recipe is slightly adapted from Judith Comfort and Katherine Chute's Apples, Apples, Apples published by Doubleday in 1986 - still one of the best books on the fruit. 

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened

1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1-3/4 cups (425 mL) all-purpose flour

1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder

1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda

1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg

1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cloves

1 cup (250 mL) applesauce, unsweetened preferred

1/2 cup (125 mL) walnut halves, chopped

1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins or dried cranberries

Glaze:

1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar

1 tbsp (15 mL) apple juice or milk

. Line a 9 -x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan with parchment paper - 2 layers are best, or grease; set aside.

. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well blended and light. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each.

. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with 1 addition of the applesauce.  

. When the last addition of the dry ingredients is almost incorporated, sprinkle the surface with the walnuts and raisins. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.

. Scrape into the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly. Tap the pan lightly on the counter. 

. Bake in the centre of a 350°F (180°C) oven until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. 

. Let cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a rack, using a second rack or a small rimless baking sheet to turn the loaf upright and to slide it back onto the rack, top up. 

. Glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the icing sugar and juice. For a clear glaze,  brush the glaze over the loaf while the loaf is warm , or for an opaque glaze, drizzle over a cool loaf. 

. Makes about 10 to 12 slices. 

Make-ahead Tip: The loaf freezes well thoroughly cooled and without the glaze. Freeze either the entire loaf, sections or slices that suit your household's needs. Wrap the pieces using quality plastic wrap and enclose in a freezer container or bag. The loaf also stores well at room temperature. Wrap or enclose in an airtight container, sneaking the odd little slice to test for mellowness and keeping qualities. 

Applesauce Muffins

This is an easy bake recipe, ideal for kids interested in helping make school lunches or make-ahead breakfast items.

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar

2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda

1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon, optional

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1 large egg 

1 cup (250 mL) applesauce, unsweetened preferred

1/3 cup (75 mL) canola oil

1/2 cup (125 mL) diced peeled and cored apple

1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped walnut halves

Cinnamon Crunch Topping:

4 tsp (20 mL) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon

. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease; set aside.

. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda , cinnamon, if using, and salt.

. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, applesauce and oil. Pour over the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the diced apple and walnuts over the wet ingredients and with a wooden spoon, swiftly and neatly stir the ingredients until just blended.

. Scoop into the prepared muffin tins.

. . Cinnamon Crunch Topping: Stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Spoon a generous 1/4 tsp (1 mL) over each scoop of muffin batter.

. Bake in the centre of a 375°F (190°C) oven until domed, firm to the touch and fragrant, about 20 minutes.

. Let cool in pans on rack for about 5 minutes; remove from pans to cool on a rack. (Make-ahead: Let cool; store in airtight container for up to 3 days. Or wrap in quality plastic wrap, then enclose in a freezer container. Freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

. Makes 12 muffins.