Month: August 2022

Noodles with Eggplant and Mango Salad

Noodles with Eggplant and Mango Salad

“A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.”                                                  …

Oldies But Goodies: Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt

Oldies But Goodies: Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a tasty main dish, Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt.   You will find a link…

From Breakfast to a Late Night Snack, This is An Exceptional Spice Cake

From Breakfast to a Late Night Snack, This is An Exceptional Spice Cake

 

This is a spectacular little spice cake for just about any time of the day. (I’ve done personal research.)  The spices in the cake really sing, reminding me of the spicing in a good cup of chai. The cake is moist with a fine texture. I’m thinking you will bake this cake over and over and over again. It is that good!

This recipe is from Yossy Arefi’s cookbook Snacking Cakes. You can find the book at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.  You could check it out from your public library, too.

Here is the way I baked this Spice Cake in my kitchen.

All The Spices Cake

August 14, 2022
Ingredients
  • For The Cake:
  • 3/4 C. dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 C. buttermilk
  • 1/2 C. grapeseed oil
  • 2 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1 t. ground ginger
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 t. ground cardamom
  • 1/4 t. ground cloves
  • 1/4 t. grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 t. kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 C. all-purpose four
  • 1 1/2 t. baking powder
  • For the Glaze:
  • 1 C. powdered sugar
  • 2-3 T. milk
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Step 2 Butter a 8 by 8 inch cake pan and line it with parchment. Leave two of the sides of the parchment long so that they hang over the edge of the pan. Use those long sides as handles to lift the cake out of the pan after it is baked.
  • Step 3 To make the cake, whisk brown sugar and eggs until they are foamy and light colored. This should only take a minute or two. Add buttermilk (well shaken), oil, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and salt to the egg mixture. Whisk to combine. You want the batter to be smooth.
  • Step 4 Whisk flour and baking powder together. Add to the egg batter and whisk until the flour has been fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. (I prepared my cake in the bowl of my stand mixer using the whisk attachment for all the mixing in this recipe.)
  • Step 5 Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top of the batter.
  • Step 6 Bake the spice cake for 30 to 40 minutes. When the cake is done, a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean. Remove the baked cake from the oven and let it cool completely before pouring the glaze over the cake.
  • Step 7 Prepare the glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt together until you have a smooth glaze. Adjust the amount of milk in the glaze if your glaze is too thick. Conversely, add more powdered sugar if the glaze is not thick enough.
  • Step 8 Pour the glaze over the cake. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before cutting the cake.  
A No Recipe Recipe: Mushrooms In Puff Pastry

A No Recipe Recipe: Mushrooms In Puff Pastry

You can go home again! After a too long Covid-related hiatus and with a nudge from some good friends, I finally made it back to the Long Beach Marina Farmers Market.  As I strolled through the trimmed-down market, I was reminded of the many reasons…

Blueberry Cornmeal Shortbread Tart: It’s a Cinch!

Blueberry Cornmeal Shortbread Tart: It’s a Cinch!

Pie crust.   Let’s see a show of hands from those of you who love love love the taste of a crisp and flaky homemade crust but find making  it challenging–particularly during these hot summer months when those pea-sized balls of butter that are critical…