My Hawiian German's Chocolate Cake

Do you know that out of the twenty-something cookbooks I own (yes, I’m an addict and I admit it) only one cookbook contained a recipe for German Chocolate cake? I thought it was a classic!
And did you know that it is German’s cake, not German cake, as in not a cultural identity but a singular person?
Bakers’ German’s Chocolate was introduced in the early 1900s and the recipe for German’s Chocolate Cake was a promotion to use their brand of chocolate.

In all honesty, the only reason I called this Hawaiian was because I used macadamia nuts instead of pecans. The only reason I did that was because pecans were more expensive than the Hawaiian grown macadamia nuts. So yeah, there’s not much difference from a traditional recipe. I could have called this recipe German’s Chocolate Cake Inspired By The Outrageous Price Of Pecans... but I thought it overly dramatic.
Another difference from a traditional recipe is the frosting. In addition to the traditional frosting, which consists of a caramel, coconut, pecan mixture, I topped the cake with a chocolate ganache for extra flavor and richness. It also helps keep the cake from drying out.
I have included a basic chocolate cake recipe with macadamia nuts substituted instead of pecans in the frosting and the chocolate ganache recipe I used.

Sabre’s “Hawaiian” German Chocolate Cake
I cheated and used a boxed chocolate cake mix (really). You can use a boxed cake mix or you can make your own. if you feel like making your own, here is a basic recipe.

Cake
Makes one 13” x 9” or two 8” round cakes
2 c. cake flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
5 tbsp. boiling water
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs. 1/2 milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together into a medium bowl flour, baking powder, and salt.
Melt the unsweetened chocolate over low heat, in a double boiler, or in a microwave. Add the boiling water to the chocolate.
Cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the cooled chocolate mixture. add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 parts alternatively with the milk. Flavor with vanilla.
Pour into cake pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Filling
2 eggs
10 oz. condense milk
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. toasted macadamia nuts, chopped
2 c. toasted coconut

Beat together eggs, condensed milk, and sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat together over low heat. Bring to a slow boil and allow to cook until thickened and caramel-like. Stir in toasted nuts and coconut. Use in between and on top of cake layers.

Chocolate Ganache
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 c. heavy whipping cream

In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium low heat until hot but not boiling. Pour in chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Stir gently until well combined. Used while warm to frost cake or dip stuffed cupcakes in for easy frosting. Cover entire cake, filling and all with this ganache while still warm. Allow plenty of time to set up or place in the refrigerator to set.

Spring Garden Pictures

Enjoy some lovely pictures of my garden.

Strawberries!!!

After discussing my “top 10” with my husband, he suggested I add eating crawfish boil in Galveston on our honeymoon. I agreed. It was a memorable experience. My husband sucked the juices and brains out of the  head; I did not.
He also listed several of my favorite restaurants, food carts, dives in Stillwater; I admit that I have been very spoiled in my international college town.
But on to the recipes!
Strawberries! are in season. For a few bucks pick up a few pints this week and eat them with honey sweetened whipped cream.
And if you don’t eat them all and you fear they are going soft, make this sauce combination for a peanut butter and jelly breakfast treat. I made these two sauces the previous weekend and served them on top of French toast.
Sauces can make a meal very special. Think of your Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry sauce or giblet gravy. Or a ice cream sundae with no hot fudge. Sauces can make the meal.

 

Strawberry Sauce
1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and roughly chopped
1/2 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. water

Mix all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until the berries are softened. At this point you can puree the mixture and strain out seeds for a beautiful ruby sauce or mash with the back of a wooden spoon and leave chunky for a rustic sauce.

Peanut Butter Sauce
1/4 c. peanut butter, smooth or chunky
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter alternately with sugar and milk. Whisk vigorously to loosen the peanut butter at first.

If you find you have some Strawberry Sauce leftover, make this butter cream to frost cupcakes, as I did, or to spread on warm biscuits.

 

Strawberry Butter Cream
1 stick of butter, room temperature
1/3 c. strawberry sauce, pureed and strained
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat with an electric mixer butter and strawberry sauce until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. If the frosting is too heavy or thick for your liking, thin with milk.

How Family changes Our Eating Habits and Traditions

    Eating Traditions took a little vacation last week. I had a good case of writers block and I couldn’t convince myself to write about anything.
    But on to business...
    When I met my husband at school, I had no idea how much we would influence each others eating habits. We ate a lot of meals together at the student union while at school.
    Jeremy was the first person to introduce me to sushi. I had not eaten fish other than fried catfish, but then he started taking me to sushi and seafood restaurants.
    I introduced him to new vegetables: asparagus, spinach, and brussel sprouts. First starting with cheesy concoctions and then moving on to other options.
    Together we’ve explored new cuisines neither of us were exposed to growing up. Indian curries, Japanese hot pots, artichokes, and sting rays are all part of our culinary journey together.
    We’ve torn apart each others family favorites. Jeremy’s Mexican casserole was influenced by his childhood in Arizona. My skillet breakfast is almost exactly how my mom would use only one skillet to cook breakfast and then toss it all together.
    We also try to push each others taste buds.
    I love spicy foods. I love the kind of spicy foods that make you cry when you eat them. The kind that clear out your sinuses and make you go “I can smell everything”. This is not the case with Jeremy.
    Jeremy loves sweet, savory food and trys to avoid extremely spicy foods. Bread and butter pickles are one of his favorite treats that I don’t like. Give me sour dill pickles any day.
    All in all, I never realized how much my cooking and eating habits had changed since I met my husband and started sharing my meals with him. Some of my most treasured memories of our dates are when we’re trying new foods and bonding with that experience. So I offer this simple list of suggestions for things to try eating or cooking with your friends and family. Whether you end up loving them or hating them, you tried something new and hopefully made good memories.

My Top 10 Most Memorable Meals/Cooking Experiences/Foods
10. Japanese Hot Pot with Sting Ray at Tokyo Pot in Stillwater
9. Smoked Trout Salad at Smoke on Cherry Street
8. Learning how to cook in a wok and eating stir fried meals for 1 week
7. Eating a Chicago hot dog at Portillos
6. Eating smoked pheasant for Thanksgiving
5. Eating my Grandma Purna’s Chocolate Gooey Cake
4. Learning how to perfectly poach eggs with a running center
(goes well with asparagus, bacon, and toast)
3. Having a latte that made me go “Whoa, that’s good coffee”
 at Intelligista in Chicago
2. Learning that to make the perfect pie crust you need vodka
(more about this in the future)
1. Eating cheeses, salami, olives, and pickles on State St. in Chicago

Vegetarian Tendecies - Chickpea Loaf

This week I had the hardest time picking a topic on which to write. I had nothing, diddly squat, beans. Oh, beans! Then I realized, in the last week I had eaten beans 3 times, talked about bean recipes a few times, and read one cooking essay on cooking for one which involved beans. How did beans escape my radar?

Beans are, or should be, a diet staple. Beans are a great source of protein, fiber, and ... . They can be boiled to a stew consistency, mashed and shaped into patties, or added to many dishes for texture and flavor.

One of my favorite snacks, which I don’t always associate with beans, is hummus, which is a dip made of pureed garbanzo beans, garlic, and lemon juice. It is a savory snack, perfect with crisp vegetables and soft pita bread.

Another great dish is a simple serving of brown beans, corn bread and fried potatoes. I ate many servings of beans and corn bread with my family. My grandpa Bill especially liked the corn bread drizzled with honey or topped with jam for dessert.

But, the kind of meal that came to my mind when I decide to write about beans (such an odd declaration) was using beans as a meat substitute for a vegetarian meal. If I haven’t told you before, I have vegetarian tendencies. That means I’m not a vegetarian, but I sometimes find myself eating meatless meals for periods of time because that is what sounds good. I’m thinking of starting a "Meatless Monday" tradition to encourage my habit (and to eat more vegetables).

This recipe is a great substitute for meatloaf. The original recipe came from "It’s Your world: Vegetarian Cookbook". The only changes I made were to had more spices. I actually added a Thai Spice blend to the mixture. It included crushed red pepper flakes, one teaspoon of soy sauce, and lemon zest in addition to the lemon juice. I think you could also add some more vegetables to this loaf such as bell peppers, mushrooms, or carrots.

Chickpea Loaf

2/3 cup dry garbanzos beans (chickpeas)

1 c. cooked or canned tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped roughly

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. chopped parsley

1/2 c. slivered almonds

1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice

Soak the garbanzo bean in 3 cups of water for 30 minutes. Drain the garbanzos and whiz in a blender with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil, lemon juice, and seasonings; pour into a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 375°F for about 1 hour until loaf is firm.