Mack the Cake...Jaffa style

 Orange cake with Belgian dark chocolate buttercream and orange whiskey marmalade filling.

Lee Mack has made me pee my pants twice. To be fair the first time was shortly after giving birth, but the second--I have no excuse.

For those of you who do not know this funny man I implore you to get to know him. Start with The Sketch Show, then alternate between his sitcom Not Going Out, his stand-up shows Lee Mack Live and Going Out, and the panel show Would I Lie To You. He's the kind of funny you can laugh freely at without wondering if you've set women's rights back 50 years by doing so. That's not to say he isn't confrontational, or cheeky...just not disturbingly on the edge like many of his peers in his industry.

I have much to thank Mr. Mack for. First, for making me laugh so hard I had complete sphincter failure. And second, inspiring me to get back into writing. He did a short interview, posted on the BBC Not Going Out website, wherein he states:"...people will argue that there are loads of great female (comedy) writers but the truth is all the great female writers are busy...there are more men in comedy than women..." for some reason that struck a chord. In a good way. A little bell went off, "You're a writer. Try your hand at writing comedy." So I dived into books for writing comedy and sitcoms. I wrote an episode for a sitcom as practice and in a moment of delusion sent it on to the production company. I've been building a repertoire of sitcom and feature film synopses ever since. I'm no stranger to film. I have a masters degree in Cinema/TV production. But it has been collecting dust for a dozen years. It's nice to be back.

I was eager to read his autobiography because I wanted to know what it takes to get into comedy and if I had the goods. 

His autobiography reads like a timeline but he cleverly ends each chapter with conversations in script form with a psychiatrist...for, you know, (*whispering*) the touchy/feely bits. He says you don't have to be special to write comedy. But after talking it out with the psychiatrist he also worries he might have ADHD and mentions schizophrenia...both of which sound pretty special to me. Also "Mack" is a stage name not his real name, so he puts on someone else when he's writing or performing comedy...as a "defense mechanism" (a term that comes up a lot).

So I gleaned from his psychiatrist that to make it in this business you have to be convinced your real life is normal, but put on the armor of a hyperactive alter ego with attention deficit so no matter what people throw at you, it isn't really you they're beating...and somehow that gives you the strength to persevere and keep getting back on stage until the beatings turn into sitcoms and theater tours.

Right.

As this information was sinking in, a line he says in an episode of Not Going Out kept playing over and over in my mind, "If I only had a Jaffa cake right now, life would be grand." Of course you like Jaffa cakes. They're the most schizophrenic treat on the planet. Are they a cookie or a cake? Probably a cookie at home but a cake for the fans.

Jaffa Cakes...sort of a sponge biscuit with orange jelly with a thin coating of chocolate.

Since we'll only really ever know the Mack side of his personna, cake it is. So, inspired by Lee Mack and his psychiatrist I created a version of a Jaffa Cake layer cake, but one that is more sophisticated than it leads on and without additives or a punishing chemical aftertaste...much like the man himself, I suspect.

In line with my series of posts on autobiography inspired treats, if Lee Mack was a cake he'd be an orange cake with Belgian dark chocolate buttercream and orange whiskey marmalade filling.

Cheers, Mr. Mack. And thanks for the laughs!

Orange whiskey marmalade

use buttercream to make a dam to prevent marmalade from oozing out the sides

 

Orange Cake with Dark Belgian Chocolate Buttercream and Whiskey Marmalade filling

Cake Adapted from Martha Stewart
Orange Whiskey Marmalade recipe
Dark Belgian Chocolate buttercream recipe (read *UPDATE for correct version)

Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups granulated sugar
7 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
zest of 2 oranges

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. prepare 3 8" round cake pans (butter and dust with flour and add a parchment round to the bottom of pans)
3. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt.
4. in a mixer fixed with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until fluffy
5. add eggs one at a time scraping down the bowl after each addition and blend until smooth
6. add vanilla
7. add orange zest to flour
8. add flour and yogurt alternately beginning and ending with the flour
9. divide batter among pans
10. bake 25-30 minutes until tops give a little bounce.

Let cool completely before filling and icing.
Prepare dark Belgian chocolate buttercream.

When layers are ready cut the tops to make and flat even surface. Use the buttercream to make a "dam" and prevent marmalade filling from oozing out. You don't have to cover the cake with buttercream if you prefer less icing. It's just as flavorful with some on top and the "dams" in between the layers.

Marmalade gets tipsy...

Orange Whiskey Marmalade

"I looove marmalade!" (she shouts and jumps up and down on Oprah's chair) It is the Katie Holmes to my Tom Cruise...well, when the love affair first happened. And I'm not planning to brainwash my marmalade or use it to get a seat on the big space ship after I die (or however that religion works). So I don't see us breaking up any time soon. I do, however, plan to get it a little drunk.

I've been wanting to make it for some time to use as a filling for a cake befitting of an autobiography I've been devouring. But regular marmalade just wasn't going to cut it. No. This had to have a touch of gourmet...an unsuspecting twist on a very popular flavor...slightly more posh than it appeared, but quietly so.

I came across this beautiful blog and recipe on Edible Ireland: Seville Orange Marmalade with Whiskey and Ginger and I knew it was just what my marmalade filling needed. Because I had a very specific cake in mind I chose not to add the ginger, but I certainly will on the next round. Also, Seville oranges are not available in small town Canada so I used navel oranges and adjusted the recipe a little. The key to this marmalade: the whiskey!

I have tried to like whiskey on its own but it's tricksy. It smells beautiful and full of caramel...I think we'll be friends, but when I have a taste, it sucker punches me. But in this marmalade it transforms to the flavor I've longed for. It is the best thing to ever happen to whiskey.

wash oranges really well, best to use organic.

let peels soak over night. helps activate the pectin

boil to 220 F

you'll know its ready when you put a few drops on a really cold plate and it firms enough to wrinkle when you push the drops.

I'm not a whiskey connoisseur but I was pretty sure this would serve the marmalade well.

let boiled and ready marmalade sit for 10 mins before adding the whiskey

make sure jars are sterilized

let firm up overnight

testing with orange cake and chocolate buttercream for new blog post.

Orange Whiskey Marmalade
Adapted from Edible Ireland

Makes 3.5 liters of marmalade
Just a note: this process could take 48 hours or longer before you're gobbling it up.

Edible Ireland says: When making preserves, you need to use spotlessly clean, sterile jars, lids and rings. If you have a dishwasher, you can simply run everything through a hot cycle. Otherwise, wash everything in hot, soapy water, rinse well, then place the jars and lids on a baking tray in an oven heated to 140°C (285°F) and keep them there until you’re ready to use them.

1 kg navel oranges (if you have access to Seville oranges - use those instead!)
10 cups water
4 lb granulated sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup whiskey

1. Scrub the oranges well and cut each orange in half. It is best to use organic if you can find them.
2. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and set aside. 
3. Slice the peel, including the pith, into whatever thickness you like, i.e. thin or thick cut. *NOTE* the pith and peel is where the pectin lives. Don't scrape out the pith thinking it might make it too bitter. If the marmalade is going to set properly you need the pith.
4. Put the orange peel slices into a large bowl along with the orange juice, then pour over the water. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the oranges to soak for 24 hours.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large preserving pan or nonreactive pan (such as an enameled cast iron Dutch oven). Make sure the pot is big enough to accommodate all the mixture so that none splashes out, as all that boiling sugar can burn badly. 
6. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, until the peel is tender. It’s important that the peel is soft before you add the sugar, because once you do, it won’t ever get any softer.
7. Add in the sugar and lemon juice (also packed with pectin), stirring until the sugar has dissolved (if the sugar hasn’t dissolved before it comes to the boil, it will crystallize once it cools). 
8. Raise the heat to a rolling boil and keep boiling, without stirring, until the setting point is reached (either when a sugar/preserving thermometer reads 105°C (220°F) or when a teaspoonful of the marmalade wrinkles up when placed onto a fridge-cold plate and you push it with your finger), which should take 20 to 30 minutes but could take longer. Once it’s done, take it off the heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. 
9. Stir in the whiskey, which may cause the mixture to bubble up a bit again. 
10. Pour the marmalade into warm, dry, sterilized jars (see above) to within a few millimeters of the rim and seal immediately. Store in a cool, dry place and use within two years.

The first time I tried this it didn't set...it was very runny. But I had scraped much of the pith off the peel and didn't have enough lemon juice. So I put everything back in my dutch oven and added more lemon juice (adjusted in the recipe above) and boiled it longer (about an hour) but tried to keep it at 222°F and re-jarred it in sterilized jars. It firmed up considerably more the next day but next time I will leave the pith in tact and I think I'll have a jammier marmalade.

Bali Hai Chai - ish

Coconut Cream Vanilla Chai Tea

It's 2013! The Mayan's were wrong and I am glad for it. I'm determined that this year is going to be more organized and disciplined. I'm not setting crazy unreachable goals but I have made a few adjustments in my lifestyle that I know (from previous attempts) will help my faltering immune system and maybe even set me up to handle the ever looming (whispering) "change" (pronounced "shawnj") women my age (and their families) dread.

The hardest decision I made was cutting out refined sugars and flours. Oh, believe me. The irony isn't lost on me. It doesn't mean I won't be using them to make treats for others...after all, it is a joy for me to bake and come up with interesting new ideas or attempt others' creative ideas. It's also a great challenge to come up with nutritionist-approved versions of the treats I love.

Of course, as soon as I give up sugar I crave sweets that are not only on the naughty list, they're virtually impossible to find. Like the Bali Hai Chai.

My first Bali Hai Chai at a Borders Bookstore (may it rest in peace) was possibly my first encounter with euphoria. It was eyes-rolling-into-the-back-of-my-head magical. I've never been able to reproduce that glorious sweet, creamy, coconutty, spicy flavor swirl and I cannot find the ingredients list online...though I didn't search very deep. I have a 3-page Google limit if you know what I mean.

So desperate to fulfill that sweet memory I grabbed:

• some homemade vanilla chai concentrate and 
• a can of coconut cream.

My chai concentrate is neither sweetened nor caffeinated - good list - (I don't add the tea until I'm ready to make a cup, but in this instance didn't add any) and coconut cream, though high in fat it's the good kind of fat your brain craves. Coconut milk would be fine too. But I only had the cream in my cupboard.

I frothed the coconut cream as I would have milk and added it to my 2/3 full cup of vanilla chai concentrate. Garnished with cinnamon stick and star anise and voila! Coconut Cream Chai that almost tastes like a Bali Hai Chai...if you don't need to give up sugar add a dollop of honey and you'll get even closer! For those going without sugar, the coconut cream (or milk) and the cinnamon satisfies the sweet and creamy craving.

For Paleo/Primal Blueprint followers on a scale of 1 to Paleo this probably falls at about a 7. No sugar, no caffeine, use of coconut milk...though I don't know how the experts feel about coconut cream for their weightloss adherents...and I'm not sure if any of the spices in the chai are no-nos...but I can't imagine why they would be.

Feet up. Cozy blanket. Pinterest-ing healthy food. Sipping my Bali Hai Chai -ish.

Happy 2013!


RESOURCES
If you're in a similar place - making dietary changes for the better - I highly recommend these resources in order:
In Balance Lifestyle Management - Brenda Wollenberg (also has a book out for kids which is great for anybody, not just kids). Brenda has taught me a great deal about nutrition. All the things I thought I knew about nutrition were tossed out the window. She's an amazing resource. Pick this lady's brain about body typing...it will revolutionize your world.

Balanced Bites - Diane Sanfilippo (holistic and Paleo education) Diane seems to have a balanced approach to the slightly controversial Paleo diet. She's more of a "hey, see if it works and make adjustments as you go" than a "my way or the highway" kind of gal. I appreciate that.

The Mood Cure - Julia Ross (fueling your brain to recover from anxiety, blahs, depression etc.) A great resource to learn how to recover from the blahs with high-protein, healthy fat and veggie rich diet and amino acids. I've read this book three times and have had amazing results following her suggestions.

An Homage to SprinkleBakes

Double Ginger, Honey, Raw Cocoa Spiced Hot Chocolate Sticks

I have a food crush on Heather Baird of SprinkleBakes. She is a true culinary artist. Her culinary creativity and her imaginative sense of beauty are unmatched (in my opinion) in the sugar-coated world. She inspires me to push the boundaries of flavor profiles and challenges my eye for the pretty.

She posted a beautifully crafted Spiced Hot Chocolate on a Stick to the ModCloth blog before Christmas and I vowed to attempt it so my 5 year-old could have a unique gift to give her teachers. But sickness fell on our house like an anvil...Maddie missed her last week of school and we all spent most of the Christmas break trying to recover from respiratory issues.

On the eve before she returned to school and our bodies mostly in clear, we gave Heather's recipe a whirl. It was easy and tasty. Mads was so excited to try it. But I couldn't help but think that part of the reason we haven't been able to get over our colds is related to the amount of sugar we consumed over the holidays.

So I adapted the recipe in a way that would still excite my 5 year-old but would put less stress on her hard working immune system. Her only disappointment was that she wasn't allowed to eat the chocolate right off the stick...she is my carbon copy, afterall.

I eliminated the confectioners sugar and added a little raw organic honey and substituted raw organic cocoa powder in place of regular cocoa powder. Both are high in antioxidants so though this is a treat for my little one and not to be consumed daily, it will work with her instead of against her.

The taste is reminiscent of this recipe for Ginger Honey Shot Chocolate I posted earlier...only this version is portable and giftable! Just let the recipients know to stir it into 6 oz of hot milk or non-dairy alternative.

Note: my husband broke his camera lens so I am without his fancy camera and have to use my iPad...this is in no way an attempt to be trendy! :)

Double Ginger Honey Raw Cocoa Spiced Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Adapted from SprinkleBakes guest entry on ModCloth blog.

You will need:
8 oz 70% dark chocolate (I use Callebaut)
1/2 cup pure organic raw cocoa powder (I use Organic Nectars)
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon (plus a little to sprinkle on top)
1/4 tsp cloves
2-4 tbs raw organic honey (optional)
Ziploc or piping bag
1 oz paper or plastic cups (or silicone mini muffin tray or rounded ice cube tray might work)
wooden popsicle sticks, lollipop sticks, bamboo/wooden spoons, or a pretty vintage silver spoon (whatever you'd like to use to make the "stick")
star anise and/or cinnamon sticks to garnish

In a double broiler (simmering water in a pot, place bowl with chocolate on top of pot, not touching the water) melt the chocolate until nearly melted. Remove and stir until all chocolate is melted.

Sift in the dry ingredients and stir. It will be quite thick. Stir in honey, if you choose to sweeten, until everything is well combined. It might look a little grainy but that's ok.

Scrape into piping bag (or Ziploc) and squeeze into cups (about 1 oz). Place "stick" in the middle...should be thick enough to hold it upright. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and place a star anise or cinnamon stick (or both) to garnish.

Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes until hard. Should pop out of plastic cups, but you may have to cut it out of paper cups.

Pour 6 oz hot steamed milk over and let melt for a few minutes, then stir.
Enjoy!

If you give a book a cookie...

Rose water shortbread with bittersweet chocolate base.

I have been eyeball deep in autobiographies and I absolutely love them. I don't know what kicked off this obsession but I'm glad to have it as reading about the lives of others has sparked a curious baking endeavor. As I've been reading these life stories some kind of sweetie comes to life in my mind that is in someway reminiscent of the storyteller. It may seem strange...it certainly caught me off guard, but I love that it has challenged my penchant for unusual flavor profiles. I'll be posting the recipes inspired by these books over the next few weeks.

Great Great Uncle James.

The first in this new series of posts belongs to my great great uncle: James Wedgwood Drawbell. Uncle James was a tenacious Scotsman who forged a name for himself in the newspaper publishing world with over 20 successful years in the industry. In his early days of journalism he rubbed elbows with the likes of Noel Coward and Scott Fitzgerald. At 26 he turned a faltering Sunday paper in London into a success and over the years became known for recognizing new talent, pushing publishing into a new era of ideas and advocating important causes...which led to frequent and timely conversations with George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, D.H. Lawrence, Dorothy Thompson and then there was one kicker of an afternoon tea with Adolf Hitler.

He is a masterful storyteller. His use of language is captivating. It's easy to journey through his life as though having been present at every turn. It gives me hope that somewhere in my genetic make up there's a little of the same storytelling DNA floating about.

It seems his purpose for telling his story is twofold. One, the nuts and bolts of successful newspaper publishing. And two, to show that with faith, determination and gumption anyone can succeed in their vocation. Do I hear an Amen?

 The most important part of the book is the first 80 pages. It is the most heartbreaking part of his story and the most triumphant. The section is called The Thistle and The Rose and it recalls his childhood under the weight of poverty, the unpredictability of a tormented father and the protection of an adoring mother and siblings. It is this part of his story that inspired the recipe. James describes at length the love and devotion he has for his mother. Her tiny stature juxtaposed with the inner strength of a freight train, and her delicate kindness a gift to her children but a curse to her married life. His father, on the other hand, goes unnamed. James calls him the Pupil Teacher after his brief encounter with employment. At the deepest depth of his depravity this unnamed man was packed up by his sister and shipped off to a colony never to be heard from again! And the family, led by James' tiny mom, started a new life. His mother the Rose, his father the Thistle. However painful the thistle was in James Drawbell's life he managed to turn wounds into wisdom and walked away with a hearty sense of self worth and confidence.

So, inspired by his family and formative events in his childhood, I created a shortbread recipe: Rose water with bittersweet chocolate. Slightly obvious: shortbread being Scottish, rose for his mom and the bittersweet chocolate the stamp on his life left from his father. Before attempting this recipe I researched rose water pairings--I often use it with white chocolate and pistachios. I was delighted to see that it had been used with the darker chocolates in a handful of recipes (some savoury, oddly enough) so I gave it a whirl...or whurrrrrl. (*sigh* wish the accent also traveled genetically). The rosy aromatic buttery cookie with the melt-in-your-mouth intensity of the dark chocolate is a feast for the senses. A cookie befitting of a man who's life, though laced with the bitter, was tempered by the sweet.

Rose Water Shortbread with Bittersweet Chocolate

Adapted from 3 Martha Stewart shortbread recipes: here, here and Classic Shortbread recipe in the 2010 Holiday Cookies issue.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup + 2 Tbs confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
1 Tbs rose water
5 oz bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Spray an 8 inch square pan or round tart pan with removable bottom or stone cookie mould generously with spray oil. If using a regular pan I also line with parchment and add a little more spray oil on to that. My first three attempts with the baking stone I didn't spray enough! Set aside.
2. Combine flours, set aside.
3. In a mixer fixed with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar. Add rose water. *If you are not going to add chocolate later reduce rose water to 2 tsp. The chocolate will overpower the rose  if not enough rose water, but the rose will overwhelm the shortbread if too much.* It is important to add the rose water at this stage. It will change the texture entirely if added at the end or after the flour is added.
4. Add flour mixture all at once until combined. It will be crumbly at first but keep going until it forms a stiff dough.
5. Place dough on plastic wrap and using the wrap form dough into disk. Place disk in middle of stone mould and press into whole mould using the plastic wrap. Same process with other pans. Let chill for 20 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
7. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, pierce dough (not all the way through) all over. Bake until light golden brown and firm-ish in the center. This can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes. depending on pan. Re-pierce (not all the way through and not as often) with wooden skewer or chopstick to make slightly larger holes - this will grab the melted chocolate later and keep it from easily flopping off when all is cooled and done. Let cool 10 minutes on wire rack.
8. To unmould, place a tea towel onto a cutting board and then turn over onto mould so tea towel is between mould and cutting board. Invert so mould is upside down on teatoweled cutting board. Tap mould and cutting board very firmly on hard work surface. You may need an offset spatula or knife to loosen the edges first. Lift mould and using tea towel drag shortbread back onto wire rack to cool completely.
9. In a double broiler (pot with a few inches of simmering water and bowl placed on top - not touching the water) melt chocolate. Let cool.
10. Invert shortbread again so the bottom is facing upwards. Spread a thin layer of melted chocolate and let harden.
11. Turn over, slice into wedges and enjoy! 

Shortbread can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.