Holiday recipe: Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins - The Mercury News

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Holiday recipe: Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins - The Mercury News

Holiday recipe: Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins - The Mercury News

Posted: 30 Nov 2020 06:45 AM PST

In his already celebrated new cookbook, "Fruit Cake: Recipes for Curious Bakers" (William Morrow Cookbooks, $32.50), author and food stylist Jason Schreiber uses fruit to boost the flavor and moisture in traditional cakes and desserts.

His techniques and new combinations, like this Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins, expand and elevate our relationship with the retro Christmas cake. Liqueur? Yes. Fruit? Yes. Candied green bits? Heavens, no.

Pan Goo, by the way, is a mixture of equal parts flour, oil and shortening, whipped together.

Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins

Serves 8 to 10

Pound cake ingredients:

Pan Goo, for greasing the pan (equal parts flour, oil and shortening)

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup quick-cooking (but not instant) polenta, divided

2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Spiced mandarin ingredients:

5 large mandarin oranges

4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, preferably Valencia (from 2 oranges)

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, preferably Valencia (from 2 oranges)

2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec

2 whole cloves

1 star anise pod

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center position. Brush a standard 8½- by 4½-inch loaf pan with Pan Goo.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons polenta. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water and the orange liqueur to a boil over medium heat. Sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup polenta, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and letting the polenta fall at such a rate that you can see the individual granules as they tumble through the air. Return the mixture to a boil and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until you can see the bottom of the pan in the wake of the spoon, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time, until all of it has melted. The mixture will be very greasy. Whisk in the sugar, which will cool down the mixture so the eggs don't scramble. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the zest and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture with the wooden spoon, then transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to dislodge any large bubbles.

Bake until the cake is golden brown, springs back when gently pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 75 minutes. Tent it with foil after an hour, if the top is darkening too quickly.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Allow the cake to rest in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then carefully unmold it onto the rack to cool completely.

While the cake is in the oven, make the spiced mandarins: Peel the mandarin oranges and separate the segments, removing every last bit of pith you can. Place in a medium bowl. Add the orange zest and juice, orange liqueur, cloves, star anise, vanilla seeds and pod. Let the flavors meld together for at least 1 hour. (The spiced mandarins can be made the day before and refrigerated.)

Serve slices of the pound cake with the mandarins and their juice. The moisture from the polenta keeps this cake fresh, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 1 week.

— From Jason Schreiber's "Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker" (William Morrow Cookbooks; $32.50)

4 new holiday cookbooks to inspire festive appetizers, cocktails, cakes and more - The Mercury News

Posted: 30 Nov 2020 06:55 AM PST

The fall cookbook avalanche brought with it some wintery favorites. A cookbook with platters for small holiday gatherings, a collection on warming, winter cocktails and a veritable masterpiece on modern fruit cakes from a Martha Stewart alum are among the inspired picks.

And for those who want to escape to classic, Edwardian-era dishes, there's even a new Christmas-themed cookbook delving into the holiday foods of the PBS series "Downton Abbey." Here are four fabulous holiday-inspired cookbooks.

"Share + Savor" by Kylie Mazon-Chambers (Page Street Publishing) 

Share + Savor

Cheese and charcuterie platters are about to get even better. In "Share + Savor: Create Impressive and Indulgent Appetizer Boards for Every Occasion," (Page Street, $22) author and blogger Kylie Mazon-Chambers adds appetizers and inventive finger foods to 20 eye-catching platters, transforming them into perfect meals with three or four easy, homemade elements.

Mazon-Chambers, the creator of Cooking with Cocktail Rings, even gives her boards cultural, regional or holiday themes. The Greek-Inspired Board, for example, features easy-to-make Spanakopita Bites and Sweet and Spicy Tzatziki. And the Southern-Inspired Board includes Green Tomato Chutney and sausage-laced Boudin Balls with Cajun Aioli.

There are 60 recipes in all, everything from dips and crostini to dumplings. Add in complementary veggies and crackers and you'll be eating pretty for years to come.

Jason Schreiber's new cookbook expands the definition of your grandmother's fruitcake. (William Morrow) 

Fruit Cake

Food stylist Jason Schreiber has transformed his lifelong love of baking and high-profile stints with Martha Stewart and celeb cake king Ron Ben-Israel into a visually stunning and somewhat game-changing first cookbook about the role of fruit in cake.

Featuring 38 different fruits and 75 tantalizing recipes, Schreiber's "Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker" (William Morrow, $32.50) reimagines the much-maligned fruitcake in modern recipes that use fruit to enhance flavor and moisture. Chapters are organized by cake category, such as "Soaked," and recipes run the gamut from winter-perfect Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins (Constant Cravings) and Banana Tiramisu (Soaked) to Passionfruit Lime Pavlova (Showstoppers).

You'll never think of fruitcake the same way. Now, it's fruit and cake.

The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook

You don't have to be an English aristocrat to enjoy Yorkshire Pudding, Spinach Balls á L'Italien or the other indulgent dishes in "The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook" (Weldon Owen, $35).

In this new collection, author and British culinary historian Regula Ysewijn unveils 85 Edwardian-era holiday recipes inspired by the Emmy-winning PBS show, "Downton Abbey."

While Jugged Hare with Prunes and Raisins may never grace your Christmas table, the classic Coq Au Vin, Hazelnut Cake with Coffee Icing or deceptively easy Anchovy Eclairs, an hors d'oeuvre made with puff pastry and  anchovies, certainly and deliciously could.

Winter Drinks

Ubiquitous mulled wines and eggnogs get a delicious makeover in this small, yet mighty new collection. "Winter Drinks: Over 75 Recipes to Warm the Spirits including Hot Drinks, Fortifying Toddies, Party Cocktails and Mocktails" (Ryland Peters & Small, $15) is organized into chapters such as Comforting (hot chocolates, warm milks), Invigorating (coffee drinks, teas), Restorative (revivers, mulls) and Celebratory (sparklers, party drinks). Classics loll alongside unexpected twists, like Toffee Apple Hot Chocolate, Catalan Coffee Punch, Manuka Honey Tea and Winter Gin Tonica, made with ginger ale and a clove-studded garnish.

Cocktail or mocktail, these recipes, compiled by editorial director Julia Charles, will keep you warm and cozy all season long.

Olive Oil-Walnut Cake With Pomegranate Recipe - The New York Times

Posted: 30 Nov 2020 04:30 AM PST

Extra-virgin olive oil gives this easy cake richness and a tender crumb. The cake keeps well for several days, as does the syrup, so it makes sense to prepare it in advance. However, wait to add the syrup until the day you serve it.

Featured in: Weary Of Cooking? This Simple Dinner Will Invigorate. 


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