Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

I've been wanting to make this one for awhile: a soft, cake-like brownie generously topped with a sticky, gooey, caramel pebbled with salty peanuts. When I learned that some friends would be coming over last night, I thought it would be a fine opportunity to make this treat. After all, it's not a good idea to make something like this when you are, apparently, on a diet and have nobody to share it with.

This dessert provides enough contrast to be interesting: the dark chocolate brownie-cake, which is light, soft, and moist, and a salty/sweet/crunchy topping. When you serve this, be generous with the topping--it's the best part.

You'll have lots of leftover caramel with this recipe. Save and use it as an ice cream topping or just eat straight out of the fridge with a spoon for that secret late-afternoon pick-me-up. (Not that I have ever done that...)

Recipe notes: This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, a great all-around baking book.

* I added a couple of extra tablespoons of flour to the batter to compensate for the high altitude (I live at 5500 feet). 

*I used semisweet chips rather than bittersweet chocolate, and it turned out fine. However, I wouldn't use milk chocolate. You need a dark chocolate to offset the sweet topping.

*Don't despair when your brownie cake stays risen on the sides and falls in the middle. That's what the one in the picture looked like, and that's what mine looked like, too. 

*I also used an 8" square pan instead of a 8" round springform pan and it turned out fine. Rather than topping the entire cake, I served the cake in squares and topped them individually.

*When making the caramel topping, be sure to let the water/sugar/corn syrup mixture get to a deep amber. But be careful, because it seems like it takes forever to get there, and once it gets going, it darkens very fast.

Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

For the cake:

1 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 lg. eggs

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

3 T. light corn syrup

1/2 t. vanilla

For the topping:

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

1 1/2 T. corn syrup

2/3 c. heavy cream

2 T. unsalted butter at room temp

1 c. salted peanuts

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the butter and chocolate in the bowl and heat, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are just melted -- you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. remove the bowl from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars together until well blended. Whisk in the corn syrup, followed by the vanilla. Whisk in the melted butter and chocolate. Still working with the whisk, gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. you will have a thick, smooth, shiny batter. Pour the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan a bit to even out the batter. 

Bake the cake fro 40 to 45 minutes (mine was done earlier than that), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cook the cake for 15 minutes, then run a blunt knife between the cake and the pan and remove the sides of the pan. During baking, the cake probably will have puffed to the top of the pan; don't be concerned if it sinks a little or if it develops a little crater in the center. Cool the cake to room temperature.

When the cake is completely cook, invert it, remove the base of the pan and peel off the paper. Wash and dry the pan and return the cake to right side up. Refasten the sides around the cake. (Or, ignore all of this silliness and just bake it in a square pan and serve the squares with the topping.)

To make the topping:

Put the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat. Heat, without stirring, until the caramel turns deep amber,  to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your saucepan and the intensity of the heat. As the sugar is caramelizing, wipe down any splatters on the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. to test the color of the caramel, drop a bit on a white plate. Don't be timid about the color -- if it's to pale, it won't have much taste.

Lower the heat a bit and, standing back from the pan, add the cream and butter. when the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps. Stir in the peanuts, and pour the caramel and peanuts into a 1 quart Pyrex measuring cup or heatproof bowl.

You've probably got more caramel than you need, but you want to get all the peanuts on the cake, so spoon the peanuts out of the caramel and onto the cake. After you've done that, pour or spoon on enough caramel to cover all the nuts. You'll have a layer about 1/4 inch high, give or take a bit. Allow the topping to set at room temp - about 20 minutes - before serving.

Thai Rice Noodles

Do you ever feel like there's not enough time to try new things, and that our days are filled with too much routine? Well, that's the way I feel about cooking and baking. I look at my collection of cookbooks and there are so many things I want to try, and yet I find myself still making the same old stuff. I even did the math once: if I live fifty more years and try one new recipe per week, I'll get through 2600 recipes. While that may sound like alot, it doesn't come close to all of the cookbooks I hope to get through.

This week's new recipe is the Thai Rice Noodles from the Food Network Kitchens Favorite Recipes. I love pad thai and I was hoping that this would be a similar dish. 

Rice Noodle Nerves

I approach using rice noodles with some fear, as I have tried to use them in the past and they have turned out very chewy. Perhaps my soaking method was inadequate. Worried about repeating that mistake, I purchased the thin rice stick noodles rather than the medium-thick ones called for below. That may have been a mistake, but I saw some noodle recipes that call for them and I thought it would be an acceptable substitution. I covered the noodles in hot water and soaked them for about 45 minutes, but even these noodles seemed to have an odd texture (not the smooth texture I was expecting). Does anyone know what I did wrong? Still, they were edible so I continued with the dish.

Don't Fear the Fish Sauce

I had already purchased fish sauce for some Thai curries that I did over the summer, and it contributed a really nice flavor to them. However, the 3 tablespoons of fish sauce in these noodles may have been too much for me. I wasn't able to taste the garlic, jalapeno, and ginger I had also put in, and the noodles seemed to absorb much of that sauce. (Again, do I have a noodle problem?)  Next time, less fish sauce.

The verdict: I went with basil instead of mint, and added some shredded rotisserie chicken. Overall, I thought it was pretty good but was disappointed by the odd texture and unusual flavor and think that these may have been due to "user error". I'd give it 2.5 stars out of five.

Lessons for next time: Part of being a good cook is figuring out what makes a dish succeed or fail. I'm going to try this recipe again with different noodles, less fish sauce, and more vegetables. Trying this new recipe has been instructive and I hope to have more success next time.

Thai Rice Noodles

8 to 10 oz. medium-thick rice noodles (also called rice sticks or jantaboon)

3 T. fish sauce

3 T. sugar

3 T. soy sauce

2 T. peanut oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

1 jalapeno, stemmed and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed peeled, and roughly chopped

1 c. mung bean sprouts

2 handfuls fresh mint or basil leaves (about 1 cup)

1/2 c. cashews or peanuts

1 lime, cut into  wedges

Put rice noodles in bowl with hot w, add a cup or sof of quick -cater to cover. Soak until tender and pliable, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the fish sauce, sugar, and soy sauce; set aside.

Drain the noodles and set aside. heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and when hot, add the scallions, jalapeno, garlic, and bean sprouts. Cook, stirring until the vegetables begin to brown and the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture; gently swirl around the pan. Ad the drained noodles and toss to coat them with the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat and coarsely tear the mint into the skillet. Sprinkle in the nuts. Toss a few more times to incorporate the mint and nuts and mound into a large serving bowl. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

To upgrade the dish, try the following: toss in 1 to 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, extra-firm tofu cubes, thinly sliced cooked pork tenderloin, or 1 lb. ready-to-eat shrimp. Or, add a cup or so of quick-cooking vegetables. You could also add some chopped ginger with the garlic, 1/4 c. canned coconut milk, or sprinkle on some chopped chiles before serving.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

What to do with the leftover pineapple? It was good enough to eat out-of-hand, but I couldn't resist making it into a cake. It is difficult to get through a long Sunday afternoon without baking something. 

I normally make this cake with a recipe from Baking in America that uses a buttermilk batter, but I didn't have any buttermilk. I found an alternative recipe in King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. The cake batter is a geniose-type batter, meaning you beat the eggs first until their thick then add the sugar and rest of the ingredients. This batter also doesn't have any added fat, if  you don't count the butter that's melted on the bottom of the pan. 

I sometimes worry when I make these types of cakes as they are a departure from the familiar creaming method, but this one turned out nicely. Remember that your eggs must be room temp or slightly warm for best results. Also, I used fresh rather than the canned pineapple called for in the recipe. The cake was light and spongy with the butter/brown sugar/pineapple mixture adding just enough moisture and richness to balance it out. All it was missing was a little whipped cream. It's not a tall cake, so don't freak when you turn it out onto a plate.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

5 T. butter

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1 can (16 oz) pineapple rings (I used fresh pineapple)

12-16 maraschino cherries (I didn't use these)

16-20 pecan or walnut halves (I would have used these, but the kids were eating this cake)

1 c. reg. or cake flour (I used cake flour)

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. reserved pineapple juice (I extracted some from the fresh pineapple and added water)

1 1/2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

2/3 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter and place the pineapple on top. Arrange the cherries and nuts on top, if using.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Combine juice and vanilla and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they're thick and lemon-colored and the whisk leaves tracks as it travels through them. With the mixer still running, gradually sprinkle in te sugar. Add the juice, then slow down the mixer. Add sifted dry ingredients all at once and beat on medium speed for one minute.

Pour the batter over the prepared fruit in the pan. Bake the cake for 45 minutes until its center springs back when touched lightly and it is barely pulling away from the edges of the pan. (Note: my cake was done at 40 minutes.) Invert onto a serving plate and leave the pan on top for 5 minutes while the hot toppings drip down over the cake.

For Laura:

Caesar Dip with Crudités

Makes about 12 appetizer servings

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon anchovy paste
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
Assorted fresh vegetables, such as romaine hearts separated into leaves, carrot, celery, and cucumber sticks, mushroom caps, cherry tomatoes, and Garlic Crostini (page 12), for dipping

To make the dip, mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

To serve, transfer the dip to a serving bowl and serve with the vegetables.

Pineapple Express

I'm not the best at meal planning, often buying what looks good at the store and spending half an afternoon what to do with I brought home. So I grabbed a pineapple for a great deal and picked up a rotisserie chicken from Costco. (Side note: never, ever go to Costco on a Saturday afternoon. It will make you grouchy and poor. I went in for cheese and came out with dish detergent, toiletpaper, cheese, an area rug, and lounge pants. Yes, lounge pants. I'm so ashamed.)

So what to make with with pineapple and rotisserie chicken? Some sort of Hawaiian chicken salad? Nah. Haystacks? Too involved. What about some "pulled chicken" sandwiches with seared pineapple and bbq sauce? Alrighty!

Ed's version.
The kids' toned-down version.

What made these good: a quick sear of the pineapple on a hot non-stick pan gave the pineapple a nice color and flavor; the red onion and lettuce lended color and texture.

What would have made them better with more time or resources: bacon (of course), topping them with a chile/garlic mayonnaise or a tangy coleslaw (a la pulled pork sandwich), homemade bbq sauce, toasting the buns, and maybe seasoning the pineapple with a little cayenne or chile powder before searing.

A Clean Plate

In the spirit of the new year, I'd like to dump the few remaining food pictures that have been waiting patiently to be blogged. I'm going to save myself 4 hours and not include recipes, but let me know if you want me to post one. Ready, set, go!

Blackberry Hand Pies from Gourmet. For the filling: heat 2 cups blackberries, 1 grated golden delicious apple, sugar to taste (1/4 to 1/2 c.), pinch of salt, cinnamon if you want, and 2 T semolina (or other) flour. Use your favorite crust. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or so.
My mom's amazingly retro Christmas cookie cutters. Something about them gives me major warm fuzzies. No, the one on the lower left is not a uterus.
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Dough

Coconut Brownies and Lemon Bars

Dinner at Britton's. Yum.

Caprese Salad


Carrot Cake
Clean out the fridge chef salad

Chicken Parmesan


Cranberry Galette

Penne with Mini Garlic Meatballs

German Oven Pancake. I love breakfast-dinners.

Grilled Potatoes with Fresh Herbs

Guacamole - on my list of "desert island" foods.

Nothing says I love you like a jam tart made from pastry scraps.

Oatmeal raisin scones with sugar/cinnamon topping. These are like big, soft, cakey oatmeal cookies. Great with a glass of cold milk, and I don't really like milk.

Making my mom's Sunday pot roast.

Adding the vegetabls. Coat them in dry onion soup mix or au jus powder.

Roast Chicken with aromatics

Roast Potatoes

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Banana Custard Tart

Cream of Potato Soup

I remember as a kid, after Saturday morning chores were done, our dad would take us over to the Cottonwood Complex to go sledding. As a parent I can now appreciate this. When my kids ask to go sledding, my reaction is a little whimpy. ("But it's going to be so cold. Do I even have snow boots?, etc.) It's one of those requests that makes me feel old, because I shouldn't be afraid go and brave the elements. I mean, I've whipped down the mountainside at Mountain Dell on a rickety sleigh and nearly killed someone. I've cross-country skied up Big Cottonwood and down Millcreek. I've hiked up random mountainsides and slid down on garbage sacks. I was pulled on an inner tube from the back of a truck down Lambs Canyon. I even took ski program! And now I don't even know if I have snow boots? Sheesh.

Anyway, Saturdays and sledding always remind me of my mom's potato soup. Made with onion, bacon, milk, shredded potatoes, and lots of black pepper, it was the soup de jour on a snowy Saturday. Because I'm turning into my mom (that's a good thing), I made my version of this soup. I love this soup for it's flexibility and simplicity, and it's so much better than any of the greasy, overly-thickened slime you'd get if you ordered this in a restaurant. Even if your pantry is nearly empty, you should be able to make this.

Cream of Potato Soup

2 T. olive oil

2 yellow onions (or 1 lg.), small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 celery stalks, small dice

diced ham or bacon, to taste (optional) (I used leftover ham from the weekend party)

1 can (or equivalent water and bullion) chicken broth

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

water, enough to cover potatoes

milk, to taste

cream, to taste (or use evaporated milk or half & half)

roux for thickening, if desired (2 T. butter, 3 T. flour, cook in saucepan 1-2 minutes. Add 1-2 c. warm milk, whisk until thickened, add to soup)

salt and pepper to taste

If using bacon, cook bacon until crispy. Remove and set aside, reserving 1 T. bacon fat for cooking the vegetables. Cook onions, garlic, celery, and ham in oil until softened. Add broth, potatoes and enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to boil and cook potatoes until tender. If you want a thicker soup (see picture) make the roux with the 2 c. of milk and add to soup. Bring to boil to thicken. Reduce heat to low and add as much cream as you want. (I added about 1/2 c. Add more or less to taste.) Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with bacon, if using.

There's No Crying in Baking

Sunday we had all of the family over for Emma's birthday. I thought I was prepared. Saturday I made up three pans of funeral potatoes to cook for Sunday. I bough a ham and had it sliced. I made a Jell-O with raspberries. I should have made the birthday cake too, but it was the ward party Saturday night and I ran out of time. (Guess what we had? Funeral potatoes, ham, and Jell-O.)
So I had most of Sunday afternoon to make rolls, a birthday cake, some backup brownies (yeah , we have a big family), put together a green salad and maybe a veggie platter.
Oh how I wish I had pictures to describe the chaos that ensued. I think a timeline will work best:

12:15-- We get home from church, everyone is cold and starving and demanding lunch. Ed has a meeting in 30 minutes so I'd better get chopping. Swiping some ham from the dinner, I threw together a brunch (or lunchfast as Emma called it) of ham, scrambled eggs, toast, leftover cinnamon rolls, and orange juice. Uh, you're welcome guys.
12:45-- Ed's gone. Ed usually does the dishes. I do dishes fast while trying to decide what cake I'm going to make.
1:00-- I make the roll dough. I scald the milk and nearly burn it (because, you know, I'm doing the darn dishes). The milk is taking forever to cool. Put milk mixture in garage to cool and nearly spill it on the dog food.
1:30-- Decide on a lovely yellow butter cake that uses the reverse creaming method. How intriguing! Prepare my mise en place.
1:45--Milk is cool. Finish preparing the roll dough, knead, and dump in an oiled container to rise.
2:00-- I'm running late! Wash bowl dough was kneaded in and start preparing cake batter. Forget to preheat oven. Realize that reverse creaming takes a long time.
2:15-- While reverse creaming, visiting teachers come over unannounced. Bring me a nice poinsettia and we chit chat. I'm wearing paint splattered sweats and covered in flour. Sensing my anxiety, visiting teachers leave.
2:30-- Finish cake batter. Hmmm, it calls for 8" rounds. I have a lot of batter. Will it fit? Yes it will! Barely. Oh, crap. Preheat oven. Should I use 9" rounds? Nah. I like tall cakes!
2:40-- Oven is preheated. Cake batter is divided evenly, smoothed, and comes dangerously close to the top of the pan. The picture in the cookbook shows a fine crumb and tight texture, like a pound cake. Perhaps it won't rise much. Put in the cake.
2:50-- Batter is rising and flowing over to the edge of the pan. Will the surface tension hold it together? Please?
2:52-- Cake batter is dripping over the edges. Dangit! What should I do? Wait. Maybe it will stop. It won't. Burn finger while spooning some of the batter out of the pans onto a plate.
2:54-- Cake batter is still dripping. Put a pan underneath to catch the drippings. Taste the batter on the plate. Not bad!
2:55-- Oven is taking on a nice smoky smell. I wonder if the cookbook says something about using tall cake pans! No, but clearly they do. Wish you would have bought those 8"x3" cake pans at Gygi's.
3:00-- Cake batter is steadily flowing out of the pans, but only out of one side, creating a divet around the rising cake, a beautiful volcanic valley of golden batter. Start thinking about making some brownies. You're definitely going to need a backup.
3:10-- Wash mixer bowl and start making texas sheet cake brownies. A crowd pleaser! Put flour and sugar in mixing bowl.
3:15-- Cakes are finally finished and boy are they ugly. In a brief flash of maturity, Emma pats me on the back and says "It's okay mom."
3:20-- What's that burning smell? Is it still the oven? Ah! the cocoa/water/butter mixture on the stove is bubbling away at a dangerous pace. Remove from heat and dump in flour sugar mixture. Mix in everything else. While pouring batter in pan, give it a taste. Hmm, it doesn't taste very sweet. Did I put in both cups of sugar? I can't remember!
3:25-- Pace around kitchen and finally decide to add another cup of sugar to the brownie batter. Scrape batter from pan into bowl, add sugar, scrape back into pan, and place into still smoky oven.
3:30-- Wash saucepan. Start making icing for brownies. Melt butter, cocoa, and milk in pan. Get distracted trying to get birthday cakes out of the pan. Frosting mixture scorches on the bottom but I'm mad and add the powdered sugar anyway. I think it tastes a little burned. Ed things it tastes fine, albiet with a pleasant smoky finish.
3:40-- Still with the burning smell? What's wrong? Look in oven and see brownie batter bubbling over the edge of the pan. Crap!
3:45-- While looking for a pan large enough to catch the falling batter, note that the brownie batter is now overflowing the pan in thin, beautiful sheets of chocolate. Double crap! Kitchen is dangerously smoking. Everyone in family opening windows. I try not to cry. There's no crying in baking!
3:47-- Flames erupt on the bottom of the oven in the shape of a sheet pan rectangle. Pull brownies from oven, covering my oven mitts in batter. Throw on baking soda to stop the fire. Take a deep breath and remind yourself you still have 3 potato casseroles, a ham, and 4 pans of rolls to bake.
3:50-- The rolls! Turn and see the dough overflowing the container. Punch down dough with more force than necessary, turn it, and tell it gently to wait a few minutes.
3:50 - 4:30-- Turn off oven, let it cool down, pull out racks, wash and dry them, scrape off burned batter from the bottom of oven. Call mom and ask her to make brownies. Give silent prayer thanking God for moms.
4:30-- Shape rolls and try to clean up the disastrous kitchen.
4:30-- Crank oven up and cram it with ham and funeral potatoes. Turn on the convection fan, baby!
4:40-- Make dip for vegetable tray. Decide not to make homemade salad dressing. Ask Ed to whip the cream for the Jell-O.
4:45-- Make chocolate buttercream frosting for cake.
4:50-- Try and make something from the cake-tastrophe. Slice tops of cake to make even with divet. Save tops. Patch together cake so it's roughly even. Even use some of the pieces that had falling into the other pan. Frost cake. Hey, this isn't too bad!
5:00-- Decorate cake with Junior mints and little peppermint patties that have white frosting snowflakes on them. Be glad you didn't cry over the cake - it turned out okay.
5:15-- Check on potatoes and ham. Almost there. Thank you convection! Swap everything out for a pan of rolls.
5:20-- Realize you're still in your sweats and the doorbell just rang. Ah! Change clothes, dash downstairs and get out salad stuff.
5:30-- Get nice sister-in-law to help you finish salad. Put in more rolls.
5:40-- Almost everyone's here. I made it!

Remember: any tears in the kitchen should be tears of joy. I will make that dang yellow butter cake again, with different pans, and I know it'll be great.