Daring Bakers' June 2012 ~ Going Batty For the Jubilee

It is the month of June, and off we go to England and celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Last minute or not, it was quite a formidable and exciting challenge, as you will come to see.

In Mandy's words ..."our challenge, fantastic DBers, is to make a Battenberg cake. It must be in the traditional shape (square oblong) and must have at least two different coloured checks as well as be covered in a firm edible covering like marzipan."

Battenburg cake was introduced to the chefs of the British Royal family during Queen Victoria's reign. It was first made to celebrate the wedding of the Queen's grandaughter and took the name Battenburg after her husband to be, Prince Louis of Battenburg. This intitially German style cake  made use of bright colours and marzipan, (almond paste). So, tagging along in its creative tradition is some impressive, unvarnished royal descent.

I'd heard of the London afternoon tea delight, but never had the pleasure of knowing a bite of it's  sophisticated form. Mandy's depthful discourse on the origin, making, and ingredient components of a true Battenburg cake left  us quite knowledgable as to the what, the where and the how of this illustrious treat.

We were given the option to choose colors that were to flood our pattern and also choices of  some splendid flavor pairs. Marzipan making was encouraged (a good thing, since I've never attempted it and so desperately wanted to give it a try), though fondant or chocolate plastique (modelling clay) could also be used to cover the cakes. Rich buttercreams, curds, ganaches were just a few suggested examples for tasty cake binding adhesives .

I actually felt a tad grander and a wee bit taller from my all of 5 ft 3'' frame whilst putting together this dessert of grandiose quality. It was a sweet task indeed.

During all this, though, a confusing conundrum happened upon me, when, throughout the typing of my Battenburg post, my brainspeak turned into a queer sort of Britspeak. I guess, strange things happen when you make a dessert of this magnitude, volleying straight from the ovens of the Royal Kitchen.

Going forward, then, I set out to make my two Battenburg cakes.

I made the Coffee Walnut Battenburg first, using Mary Berry's recipe provided from the challenge page. This is because coffee and cake are a totally insane combination and completely awesome together. Not only did this cake contain all the finest ingredients on earth, coffee in the sponge as well as the buttercream, almonds in the cake, almond- pasted marzipan, and copious amounts  of butter - it was utterly gorgeous, to boot.

It took a while to bring everything together, I have to admit. Almost comparable to putting together a small building which had different components to assemble and techniques to remember, I had several  make ahead preparations. I baked my cakes way in advance, then packed away to freeze. The frozen cakes were much easier to shape.

Next, was the forming of the marzipan, which I must say came together quite effortlessly. Though, I was wary of the Evil Lord of high heat and humidity, that Mandy gave mention of and hid it in the fridge until right before rolling out.

Thereafter, mixing together the sponge ingredients and baking the cake were not much of a problem. The shaping of the four cubed logs were the challenge, here. I wanted to get them perfect and would shave off more cake each time to achieve perfection. Finally, after sturdy wrapping of marzipan, it compliantly went into the  checked pattern and held perfectly into true block form.

For the second cake, I experimented with the flavors. Since the idea of lemon, coconut Battenburg sounded like a vibrant combination, I put together recipes for the lemon/ coconut sponges and wrapped them in a fun chocolate clay wrap. Altogether, pretty and light, with my daughter's favorite colors pixeling its edible canvas, this also was a stunning piece of cake.

Tension arose when I noticed careless hands trying to bring a knife to my cakes. Yes, we are family, but really?! I wasn't going to allow anyone to possibly ruin my checkered pretties. No one but my trusted self, that is.

Every morsel of both the cakes was decadent and crazy good. From the sweet, fresh almond flavor of marzipan coating, combined with  rich coffee/nut batter to the bright flavor of lemon/coconut  balanced by tangy raspberry preserves, one can't help but be totally besotted with Battenburg.

The smallness of the indulgent treat led to it being devoured, very, very fast.

A must mention; I loved the elaborateness of the whole process, here. It was not over exertingly difficult, but, was a thorough challenge indeed.

Cheers to you, Mandy for this ace of a task. It truly pushed my cake making abilities, helping me to create a beautifully baked and assembled Battenburg.

As I round off this post, humming a few bars of "God Save The Queen", polishing off one of few slices left, I can't help but offer my regal salute to this indulgent monarch of cakes. 

Cheerio!

Coffee and Walnut Battenberg:

(Source: Mary Berry's recipe from the DB Challenge page)

Ingredients :

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks)  unsalted butter, softened & cut in cubes
• *¾ cup caster sugar
• *1¼ cups self-raising flour 
• 3 large eggs, room temp
• ½ cup ground almonds (Can be substituted with ground rice)
• ¾ tsp  baking powder
• 3 tsp milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp instant coffee powder
• 3 tbsp walnuts, roughly chopped

To Finish~

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 c powdered sugar
• ½ tsp instant coffee
• 1½ tsp milk or cream
• *1 cup marzipan

First time whirring up some marzipan .

Method:

• Preheat oven to moderate 350°F.
• Grease an 8”square baking pan with butter. Line with parchment paper, creating a (thick)  stand up divide in the middle with foil and parchment, or prepare Battenberg tin by brushing the tin with melted butter and flouring.

Constructing the pan divider

• Whisk together dry ingredients (except walnuts and coffee) and combine with the wet ingredients in a large bowl (except vanilla and milk) and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth. 
• Spoon half the mixture into a separate bowl and stir in the vanilla, 1½ teaspoons milk and chopped walnuts.

• Spread the walnut mixture into the one side of the prepared pan.
• Dissolve the coffee in the remaining 1½ teaspoon milk and add to the remaining batter, stir until just combined.
• Spoon the coffee batter into the other half of the prepared baking pan.
• Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner.  
• Bake for 25-30 mins until the cake is risen, springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack
• Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife.
• Cut each sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge

Freeze cakes a few hours in advance and your cut ups will look neater.

• Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible.
• Combine the buttercream ingredients (butter, sugar, coffee and cream) together and mix until combined.
• Spread a thin layer of buttercream onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern .
• Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the marzipan in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake.

• Spread the top of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream.
• Place the cake on the marzipan, buttercream side down
• Spread buttercream onto the remaining three sides.
• Press the modelling chocolate around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over
• Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife, you can also crimp the top corners with your fingers to decorate.
• Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess chocolate clay by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.

Notes:
1 c self raising flour = 1c all purpose flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt ( omit if salt is in recipe)
For the marzipan, I used this recipe.
Caster sugar is superfine sugar. I processed granulated sugar to get the fine texture.

Lemon, Coconut Battenburg~

( My own adapted to the techniques on the challenge page)

Ingredients:

• ½ c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ c plain greek yogurt
• 3 large eggs, room temp
• ½ tsp vanlla extract
• ½ c  ground almonds 
• ¾ c caster sugar
• 1¼ cups self-raising flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon rind
• ½ tsp milk
• ¼ c coconut
• red food colouring, paste, liquid or gel

To Finish~

Not all even cubed- no worries- they come together when wrapped

• 1/3 cup raspberry jam
• 1 cup chocolate clay 

Method:

• Preheat oven to moderate 350°F.
• Grease an 8X8 " square baking pan with butter.
• Line pan with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle with foil and parchment, grease with flour and butter. Otherwise, grease and flour battenburg cake tin.
• Whisk together the dry ingredients ( except for the lemon rind and coconut) then combine with the wet ingredients ( except for the lemon juice and milk) in a large bowl and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth
• In the one half, stir in lemon juice and rind and combine. Add milk, coconut and red food coloring to the remaining batter. Stir until color is distributed and ingredients are combined well.
• Smooth both halves into each side of the divided pan, smoothing batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner
• Bake for 25-30 mins until the cake is well risen and a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center.
• Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack
• Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a serrated knife.
• Cut each coloured sponge in half lengthways so that you have four long cubed strips of sponge.
• Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is neat and even.
• Gently heat the jam .
• Brush warmed jam onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one yellow next to one pink. On top of that, one pink next to one yellow)
• Dust a flat surface with icing sugar then roll the clay in a rectangular shape, wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap it.

• Brush the top of the cake with raspberry jam
• Place the cake on the clay, jam side down.
• Brush the remaining three sides with jam
• Press the chcocolate clay around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over. Roll the cake tightly over to have clay cover it fully.
• Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with  the blunt end of a knife.
• Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess clay by trimming off covered cake on both ends to reveal a neat checkered pattern.

Notes:

I made my chocolate modelling clay from candy melts. The recipe found can be found here.

******
It's all you need ~

"Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8 (NLT)

Kozhukatta ~ steamed, sweet dumplings

Before you even attempt to say that word up there in the title, let me just clarify and shed light on the fact that there are many pronunciations and sounds that do exist in the English dictionary, but really can't cover the vast number of enunciations in the Malayalam language. They are different and varied and sometimes one's tongue just does not twist and turn the way a Keralite's does when conversing.

So before you attempt to  erroneously say "kozee- catta", I will supply you with a solid, but not direct  English translation. For you see, there is no real translation to kozhukatta, which literally means "plump block". Not too attractive sounding, right? The elements that make this dish are anything but that horrendous definition. So nix it and know that a kozhukatta is a steamed dumpling with a sweet core.

In essence, dumplings  made of rice flour, set with a soft, moist coconut filling nestled into it's center.

As part of my ever growing to do list, I had always and very desperately wanted to make kozhukattas. Dissuaded from even attempting, I felt it would end up on my record of kitchen disasters, and believe me, there are many. So, I had in me the fear of trying the unknown.

Today, I charted that unknown territory. After taking out a tattered, very old, page- missing cookbook, where the author did everything from scratch, I found my kozhukatta recipe. Out of the 10 or so existing pages from my culinary print source, there it was, waiting for me to find it.

There are all but 4 ingredients to the dumpling recipe and each element counts for a lot. The two main  components of rice flour and water is what the dough turn out relies heavily on. Too much water leads to super sticky dumplings, that end up looking like loose jackets over the filling. Too much flour has you with a compacted dough bearing zero moistness. It really depends upon how much and how fast you add and stir in the flour to your moisture.

By now, you know I love coconuts. There is no help for me in this. I admit it, rightly nodding to my South Indian heritage. The coconut for the filling is grated, which if you have a grater and availability to fresh coconuts, good for you and those arm muscles. For the rest of us, there is the shredded, unsweetened alternate you purchase frozen or dried at many specialty stores. It's the easier, lazy man's standby, almost as tasty as it's fresh cousin.

What I fancy most about these plumped rice spheroids is that that they are a pretty healthful choice for a hunger induced nibble. The sweetened coconut, enhanced with cardamom, plays off the rice flavored overlay so deliciously well, I guarantee your first thought on tasting one, would perhaps be, "oh, delectable goodness, where were you all my life?" .

These are exactly the kind of specialty delights you'd serve to guests or bring along as hostess gifts. Singularly reckoned as the unsurpassed queen (or king) of the Kerala kozhukatta you'd be, and that's a totally good thing, yes, it is. 

Recipe adapted from Mrs. B. F. Varghese' recipes

Kozhukatta~

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp oil (canola)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• On high heat in a deep sided saucepan, bring water to a boil.
• Add oil and salt.
• Reduce flame to medium-low, add flour by half cupfuls stirring vigorously, all the while. Add enough flour until mixture pulls into a translucent dough, not too sticky, kind of elastic consistency.You may not need all the flour, so judge accordingly.
• Remove from heat. Let cool completely.
• In the meantime make the filling (below).
• Take off pieces from the dough. Form  flattened circles from the dough using lightly oiled hands, about 2" in diameter. 
• Place about a teaspoon of the filling in the center of the circle.
• Bring all sides of dough together over filling, pinching together the the opening over the top of filling. Roll the dumpling into a ball carefully so as not to break the cover. Cover and pinch dough over any exposed filling.
• On medium heat, and using a *steaming apparatus of your choice bring  water a fourth of a ways up steamer pot, to a simmer. Spray the steamer's surface with a non-stick vegetable spray to prevent sticking. Place as many dumplings as will fit onto surface, without touching each other. Cover and steam for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, light simmer. Remove the dumplings. Repeat until all are are cooked.

Filling~

• 1 cup grated fresh coconut or unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup sugar or 1/2 cup grated jaggery
• 1 cardamom pod, powdered or crushed

Mix together coconut, sugar and cardamom pod. If using jaggery, use your hands to gently rub through with the coconut and to combine.

Note: For steamers, I use a steamer basket. I will mention I use the microwave when the recipe calls for steaming and today it duly popped out moist dumplings as well.
The coconut/ jaggery combination has been used in aval vilayichathu and is similar to the brown sugar filling in my nazook DB challenge recipe.

We love jaggery with these dumplings, not cloyingly sugary, but it lends just the right amount of sweetness.

* Update* I am sending this to my friend Julie, who blogs at Erivum Puliyum. A most fantastic spot is what Julie has over there at EP, where she cooks up many an ingenious and creative recipe, Indian and otherwise. She is hosting a series for Kerala Kitchen, a virtual cooking club, comprising a superabundance of shared deliciousness- recipes, all influenced by the flavors of God's own country, Kerala.  So, here goes my entry- The Kerala Kitchen- June 2012 . Thanks Julie! 

******
No need to fear~

"Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,”they said, and cried out in fear.
 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14: 25-27 (NIV)