Fluffy Zucchini Cornbread

We love this cornbread!  Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

INGREDIENTS

 1/2 cup (3 ounces) yellow cornmeal
 3/4 cups (3.75 oz) all-purpose flour

 3/4 cup (3.75 oz) whole wheat flour
 1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) granulated sugar
 2 teaspoons baking powder
 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 3/4 teaspoon salt
 1 cup buttermilk or milk
 2 eggs, lightly beaten
 4 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
 2 cups unpeeled shredded, drained zucchini (8 ounces)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x9 inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Gently stir in the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter (or coconut oil) and zucchini. Stir just until combined.  Don't overmix.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 30-32 minutes until the top springs back lightly to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas with Taco Slaw

So flavorful and filling.  Yield: 6 quesadillas, serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2 small or 1 large fresh poblano chiles
1 small head cauliflower, cored and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking quesadillas
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated Monterey jack cheese
12 small (7-inch) flour tortillas (to make gluten-free, use corn or almond tortillas)

1.  Char peppers: Over a gas burner turned to high, hold the poblanos over the flame with tongs and char them until they are black and blistered all over.  (Or you can use the broiler, turning often).  Put the poblano chiles in a bowl and cover tightly with foil. Set aside to steam and let their skins loosen while you cook the cauliflower.

2. Char cauliflower: In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat heavy 12-inch pan over high heat until almost smoking.  Add cauliflower cook until each piece has a few black spots but is not mushy, turning and moving it frequently to ensure even cooking for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

3. Mix filling: When poblanos are cool enough to handle, peel the charred skin (with your fingers or paring knife).   Pull out and discard stems and seed clusters, and slice peppers into 1/4-inch wide strips. Add to cauliflower on board and give both a rough chop together, reducing the cauliflower to no bigger than 1/2-inch chunks. Return cauliflower and peppers to the large bowl, add scallions, lime juice and salt to taste. You should have about 2 cups of cauliflower filling.

4. Assemble and cook quesadillas: Put a 1/3 cup cauliflower filling and 1/3 cup shredded cheese on each tortilla. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Cook quesadillas until lightly browned about 3-4 minutes on each side. Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve with your choice of fixings. 

Cumin-Lime Crema

1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
A few gratings fresh lime zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together, adjust seasonings to taste, and serve alongside quesadillas.

Lazy Taco Slaw

1 bag coleslaw mix or (as used here) 3 cups finely shredded red cabbage and 1 coarsely grated carrot
Coarse salt
Juice of half a lime
2 scallions, sliced thin
A dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt
A dash of hot sauce (optional)
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves

Mix cabbage salt and lime together in a large bowl.  Set aside for 5 minutes (it will shrink a bit).Then toss together with scallions, then yogurt and hot sauce. Adjust seasonings/ingredients to taste, add cilantro.  

Dark Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

This recipe is adapted from Cakes By Courtney.  It's our favorite chocolate cake recipe.  We love this salted caramel frosting.  But we also love the cake with vanilla, chocolate, whipped chocolate, or peanut butter buttercream.

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 3/4 cups  plus 2 tablespoons (225 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups  minus 2 tablespoons (375 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups (88.5 g) good quality dark cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) kosher salt
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (236.6 g) hot water

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL & FROSTING

• 6 oz of Trader joe's salted caramel (or make from scratch), room temperature
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar sifted*
• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly softened*
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

1. Gather ingredients--buttermilk and eggs need to be at room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, then spray the pans again. Set aside. 

2. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
3. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

5. Evenly fill the batter into the prepared pans (I weight the batter and then divide between the number of pans).

6. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
8. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.  Level your cake layers to ensure a completely even surface for frosting and stacking.

FOR THE FROSTING

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, powdered sugar and 6oz of the caramel together in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. 
2. If the icing seems to thick or stiff, add 1-2T of cream or milk a little at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

ASSEMBLY

1. Place the first cake layer bottom-side down, in the center of the cake board. Using an offset palette knife, spread about 3/4 cup frosting evenly across the cake layer. If desired, Drizzle with about a tablespoon or two of the extra caramel sauce.
2. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top of the second cake and optional drizzle with another tablespoon or so of caramel.
3. Place the third cake layer, top side down, on top of the frosting. 
4. Crumb coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and freeze for about 10 to 15 minutes to set.
5. Once the crumb coat is set, continue to frost the cake with the remaining frosting, and then use the remaining caramel sauce as a drip. 

*FROSTING NOTES/TIPS:  

Sifting your sugar helps make sure the frosting is silky smooth.  Measure powdered sugar first, then whisk it through a mesh strainer.

Semi-Cold Butter.  You don't want your butter too soft when making frosting.  Take it out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before making the buttercream.  

Cinnamon Rolls, Gloria's

These are amazing cinnamon rolls.  They make a ton (24-30 big cinnamon rolls)!  Perfect to share or freeze for later.  

INGREDIENTS

ROLLS:

 4 cups milk (whole milk is best, but not necessary)
 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
 1 cup sugar
 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
 1 3/4 tablespoons instant yeast (see note)
 4 large eggs
 11-13 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or half white whole wheat)

FILLING:

 3/4 cup butter, softened 

 1 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 1/2 t cardamon or all spice (optional)

FROSTING:

 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 2 teaspoons maple extract/flavoring
 Pinch of salt
 2 pounds powdered sugar
 Cream or milk for consistency

INSTRUCTIONS

For the dough, scald the milk in a medium saucepan (heat the milk until right before it simmers/boils - it little bubbles will form around the edge of the pan and steam will rise). Pour the milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix until the butter is melted.  Let the mixture cool until warm but not hot (<120 F).

Add the yeast and eggs and mix until combined.

Add the flour about 1 cup at time.  How much you add will vary, so watch for when the dough clears the sides of the bowl (about 12-13 cups, but sometimes more or less).  The dough should be soft and just slightly sticky without leaving a lot of residue on your fingers. Let it knead for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled (about an 60-90 minutes).

On a lightly floured counter, divide the dough in half. Roll or pat each portion of dough into an 18-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Spread 6T of softened butter over each rectangle.

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and spices. Sprinkle half on each rectangle of dough. Pat it down gently. Starting with one long end, roll up the cinnamon rolls as tightly as possible, pinching the seam lightly to seal.

Take one roll and divide into 12 equal pieces.  I like to cut it in half, then cut each half in half again (forming four equal portions).   And then cut each of those pieces into thirds.  

Evenly spaced on a parchment-lined or silpat lined rimmed baking sheet about 11X17-inches (or 12X18-inches).  Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until double (about an hour). 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake the rolls for about 18-22 minutes until slightly golden on top.  Let the rolls cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes.  I like to then transfer to a cooling rack (optional) so the bottoms don't get soggy.  

To make the frosting, in a large bowl, whip together the cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla, maple and salt and mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until thick and creamy. Add cream or milk a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable to your liking.  Spread the cinnamon rolls with frosting once mostly cooled.

NOTES:

To make ahead of time: 1. Place shaped rolls on lined baking sheet.  Cover with lightly grease plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for up to 24 hours.  Remove and bring them to room temperature and to rise until double in size (this takes about 2-3 hours).  Bake as directed above.

To freeze already cooked and frosted rolls, let them cool.  Place in a ziploc bag. To reheat, remove the roll from the bag.  Place one roll at a time on a plate in the microwave for about 1 minute.