The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bake Your Bounty
If it seems as if I have been focusing on fresh produce these past few weeks, you are right. I have been trying to eat a more wholesome, plant-based diet as many of us are today.
Those of us who like to garden and shop the farmers markets are often looking for new ways to use and celebrate fresh produce in our kitchens.
When the word “baking” is mentioned, most think about something sweet and gooey. They are not thinking about using nature’s bounty as an ingredient in both savory and sweet baking recipes. The title of the book “The Harvest Baker: 150 Sweet & Savory Recipes Celebrating the FreshPicked Flavors of Fruits, Herbs & Vegetables,” by noted cookbook author Ken Haedrich (© 2017, Storey Publishing, $19.95), caught my attention. He talks a little bit about his book at bit. ly/2tmMauf.
If you think about it, many of us are already harvest bakers; think carrot cake, zucchini bread or using unsweetened homemade applesauce or pumpkin puree to replace oil and other fats in recipes. Perhaps not as mainstream is the use of crushed black beans in brownies, beets in red velvet cake, or mashed potatoes in biscuits and bread. From a summer squash loaf with olives and cheese and spiced sweet potato and chocolate chip bread, to peach pecan shortcake and bolognese slab pie with broccoli rabe, there is something for every taste in the book. Ken hopes this book will awaken the artist in every home baker.
I was delighted to interview Ken, whose ingenuity, gained over three decades of baking, shines through his collection of recipes. I asked why would we want to turn on the oven this time of year? He responded, hard-core bakers don’t go by the season on turning on the oven. Quick breads and muffins bake in 20 minutes to a half hour.
Take advantage of baking with the freshest local summer produce, he said. What kind of peaches will you get in December to make a peach pie? Ken is drawn to rustic pastry rather than fancy decorated cakes. He said produce items are the “paints” to a baker.
One of the things he loves most about harvest baking is serving familiar produce in unfamiliar ways that surprise and delight people. The cabbage pie recipe and the recipe below for chocolate sour cream zucchini cake with chocolate glaze are two examples of using vegetables in a creative way.
For the recipe for grilled flatbread with hummus and veggies visit bit. ly/2uWUFhP.
I was curious to know why so many people are afraid of making pie crusts and what is the remedy to this fear? Haedrich said not to expect to be an instant expert, but you can become proficient in a short time. People see the perfect-looking pies in food magazines, and when their creation doesn’t look similar they become intimidated and give up.
What they don’t realize is that those picture-perfect pies took perhaps three days to make with food stylists, photographers and lighting specialists doing their magic. Ken suggests lowering your expectations, take your time, have a relaxed attitude about your results, follow the instructions, and make 10 crusts; each one will come out better.
Those who take his online “no more tears pie pastry” course, he said, have perfected their craft, doing it for the pure joy and being on the journey. Check it out at thepieacademy.com. For those who really want to immerse themselves in pie-baking alongside of Ken and other passionate bakers, check out the Lowcountry Pie Getaway at bit. ly/2umlWfq.
After reading “The Harvest Baker,” I know I have gained a deeper appreciation for the colors, flavors and textures that the harvest provides. Now, it’s time to get out your baking gear!
CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM ZUCCHINI CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE
Butter for the pan 3 cups grated zucchini (about 2 smallish ones) ¾ teaspoon salt, plus more for salting the zucchini 2½ cups all-purpose flour 2⁄3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 2⁄3 cups sugar ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened ½ cup vegetable oil or light olive oil 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1¼ teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature Chocolate glaze (recipe below)
Put the grated zucchini in a colander placed over a large bowl. Salt it lightly, tossing gently to mix. Set aside for 30 minutes to drain.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-9inch cake pan. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and ¾ teaspoon salt into a bowl. Combine the sugar, butter, oil, eggs and vanilla in another large bowl. Using an electric mixer (handheld is fine), beat the ingredients on mediumhigh speed for 2 minutes, until well blended.
Add one-third of the dry mixture to the liquid and blend it in on low speed. Beat in half of the sour cream, followed by another third of the dry mixture, the rest of the sour cream, and the remaining dry mixture. The batter will start to get heavier late in the mixing, and you may want to do the last bit of mixing with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Lift the zucchini out of the colander and give it a gentle squeeze, but don’t squeeze out all the moisture. Add the zucchini to the batter and fold it in with a rubber spatula until evenly mixed. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth with a spoon. Bake the cake on the middle oven rack for 60 to 70 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool thoroughly. When the cake has cooled, prepare the glaze, rewarming it if it has firmed up. When it has thickened slightly but is still thin enough to pour easily, slowly pour it over the cake, tilting the cake to spread it around. Cool for 10 minutes. Makes 16 servings.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
¾ cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon powdered instant espresso or coffee 1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
Bring cream to a near boil in a small saucepan. Remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla or espresso powder. Immediately add the chocolate chips. Tilt pan this way and that so the hot cream runs over them. Set pan aside for 5 minutes, then stir the mixture briefly to start smoothing it out. Let mixture rest for another 2-3 minutes, then whisk briefly, until smooth. The glaze will be a little runny at first. If you want thicker coverage, let glaze cool some more.