Date, Banana, Coconut Cake

After my last post where I lamented about all the sugar in the cake I made, I decided to make a cake without refined sugar. This cake is plenty sweet, as the sweetness comes from the natural sugar found in the dates, banana, and coconut.  I think sugar is sugar, regardless of the source, but I feel a little more righteous about its not being the refined stuff.

Sniff, I admit to missing the refined sugar, which gives baked goods tenderness and volume (which is why folks should be careful about tinkering with the amount of sugar called for in baking).  This cake, though tasty, was a bit toothy (read: rubbery).  I don't mind it, but for those who are acutely aware and particular of texture and tenderness, you might feel less forgiving and put off by it. 

I found this recipe in The Herb Companion, a magazine I greatly enjoy for its wholesome and healthy advice and articles on living better. 

Date, Banana, Coconut Cake

1/3 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups chopped dates

Topping
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour a 9x12x2 inch baking pan.

Mash bananas and butter together until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla and water; beat.  Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well. Stir in dates.  Spoon batter into prepared pan. 

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.  Bake 20-25 minutes  or until wooden toothpick inserted in center of cake tests clean.

Cool cake in pan on wire rack.

Apple and Date Turnover

I want you to come to my kitchen just so I may serve you a steaming hot cuppa and a generous slice of this simply outstanding apple and date turnover. Our mouths will be so full with the sweet, cinnamon-y, apple-y, hint of date flavors that there will not be room for words nor will we want anyone to break into our reverie as we enjoy and savor. 

Apple and Date Turnover

(BBCGoodFood.Com)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour,  plus extra for dusting

375 gram package all-butter puff pastry **
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eating apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 pitted dates, finely chopped
25 gram (6 1/2 teaspoons) sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
 
If you are using frozen puff pastry, allow time for thawing before proceeding and follow the directions on the back of the box for rolling it out. 
 
Preheat oven to 400*Fahrenheit.  Place a baking sheet in the oven.
 
Lightly flour a work surface and roll the puff pastry into an 8" x 12" rectangle. 
 
In a medium sized bowl, mix the apples and dates, 1 tablespoon flour, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.  Spoon over one half of the pastry, leaving a border around the edge.
 
Brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the egg.  Fold the other half of the pastry over the filling, pressing the edges of the pastry together, sealing well.  Slash the top with a knife and brush with the remaining egg.
 
Place the turnover in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up the pastry and then carefully lift and place onto the hot baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Drizzle with icing if you wish.
 
**My Notes
Because the puff pastry has to go into the freezer before baking, I used a sheet of parchment paper, floured, as my work surface. By doing so, I was able to move it from the counter, to freezer, to baking sheet.
 
This recipe is pretty forgiving.  The puff pastry I used came in a 495 gram box (so my rolled out pastry was larger than 8 x 12; I didn't measure it, but the length equaled the length of my cookie sheet) so I increased the filling amounts.  I used 5 apples (using a mixture of 3 Granny Smith and 2 MacIntosh; my apples were smallish), and increased the number of dates to 8.  I also increased the flour to 2 tablespoons, and the cinnamon to 1 rounded teaspoon.  After sealing the edges, I trimmed them with a knife to neaten it up. 
 
I used a simple confectionery sugar glaze:
Mix together:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 
Gradually add
1 tablespoon milk, a teaspoon at a time
Continually stirring until desired consistency is achieved.

 
 

Date Nut Bread

When was the last time you made a really terrific date nut bread?  For me it has been ages and then it was from a boxed mix (blushes), probably Dromedary (do they even make that anymore.  I haven't even thought to look).

It was pure happenstance while perusing the Boston Globe's food section that I saw this recipe for Date Nut Bread.  I had some dates left over from an earlier enterprise (The Wedding Appetizers, see previous posts), and it was about time, I decided,  to try making date nut bread again.  The author  of the article persuaded me when she stated this is a family favorite, and I can, without hesitation, confirm that it is now a family favorite here as well.  This moist,  sweet ( from honey and brown sugar),  chewy (from the dates), crunchy (from the nuts) delectable bread is my go to date nut bread. 

Date Nut Bread

(From the Boston Globe)

1/2 cups chopped, pitted dates
1 cup boiling water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts

Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 325* Fahrenheit.
Place your chopped dates in a large bowl and pour the hot water over the dates; let sit for 2 minutes.  Add the butter, honey, and brown sugar, and mix gently until the butter is melted.  Mix in the lightly beaten egg and the vanilla.
In a separate, smaller bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the date mixture and stir until just blended.  Mix in the walnuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and place in the preheated oven.  Bake at 325* Fahrenheit for about 65 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from the pan to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
**Note:  My loaf was was not done at the end of 65 minutes.  I had to cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 12 minutes.  Even then I thought the loaf was still a little too moist, so I shut the oven off, left the aluminum tent on the loaf and let it sit in the cooling oven.  After about 20 minutes or so, I checked on it again, and the loaf was cooked perfectly.

An Appetizer Wedding

My, my, my.  It has been quite some time since I've been here. However, Ole Sweetie-Pi's youngest daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Jerrad, had a breathtaking  wedding vow commitment ceremony (they had eloped some 3 months earlier, little sweetie rascals!)  in the seacoast town of Cape Neddick, Maine, that I was honored to be asked to participate in. Would I make cold appetizers, Elizabeth asked.  I would be honored! I answered.

From that moment,  I had spent every available minute (and brain cell, it seems) in scouring the internet and my cookbooks for delicious, unique, and portable appetizers.  I was challenged by distance (3  hours travel time one way) and not having  the comfort of my own kitchen for last minute preparation work. A flurry of support, encouragement and ideas from my long-time dear friend Jane, and blogging friends, Coleen of Coleen's Recipes, Ingrid of 3B's...Baking, Baseball and Books and Rhiannon Nicole of Hey Gorgeous poured in and kept me sane.  Thank you, ladies, I owe my success in large part to you!  Hugs!

So where to start.  I brought eight items; some where more favored than others (which always happens doesn't it) and a couple where a surprise it.  I'll break these down into two or three posts to keep them reasonable short.

This was a huge surprise.  I made the bacon-wrapped dates more as an afterthought because I thought I hadn't made enough food (!) and wanted something quick and easy.  Little did I know just how delicious they are.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Dates wrapped in bacon.  No recipe really needed for these, just an explanation of method.  Take a whole pitted date (I made a mistake of buying dates with the pits still in them, but they were still wonderful) and wrap half a slice of bacon around the date.  Place the wrapped dates on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350*F oven for about ten minutes, seam side down, turn the dates over, and bake further until the bacon is cooked, turning as necessary.  Be careful, these get mighty hot and should be served barely warm or at room temperature.  I think with a  pound of bacon I made 32 wrapped dates, but I could have done another whole batch and I believe all those would have been eaten as well. Guests were just in awe of these sweet and salty morsels.


Chevre Cheesecake with Biscotti Crust

(from my esteemed blogging friend, Megan's Cookin')

If you ever want a unique and elegant appetizer, you must try this recipe!  Oh my gosh is it lovely.  When I explained to guests that this is not a sweet but is a savory cheesecake, (savory is so much nicer with champagne, grins) they couldn't wait to try it, and this rich cheesecake enthralled those who tried it.  I made this in two 11 x 7 inch pans because that's the pan sizes I have.  Megan makes hers in a tart pans, which I think is a much prettier pan, but in my little country city (an oxymoron!) tart pans of this size are not available. We don't have an Italian bakery here, so I made the biscotti from scratch (that recipe to follow).

Crust
6 ounces soft butter
1-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup biscotti crumbs
1/2 cup ground walnuts

Filling
2 cups cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup goat cheese (chevre)
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Place butter, confectioners' sugar, flour, walnuts and biscotti crumbs in a 5-quart mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.

Press the dough into pan(s), being careful to press the dough evenly on the bottom and sides of pan. Place pan(s) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the dough to set.

Place cream cheese and goat cheese in a 5-quart mixing bowl with paddle attachment and beat on low speed until incorporated. Add eggs one at time until incorporated. Add sugar, rosemary, and salt. Mix for one minute.

Remove pan(s) with crust from the refrigerator and pour the batter into the pan(s). Place in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick or cake tester. The toothpick will be clean and the cheesecake will not be fluid. If the batter is still runny, turn the oven off and allow cake to remain in the oven until firm. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Two Kinds of Biscotti

It seems I forgot to take a picture of the finished biscotti, so I can only provide you with a picture of part of the baking procedure. Here I had baked it once and sliced it in readiness for the second bake. I made two different kinds of biscotti, one for the crust for the chevre cheesecake, and the second to dunk into coffee or wine, or simply to enjoy.  The biscotti, though different,  looked similar, so I never did take a picture of the second recipe.  Here are the recipes.

Biscotti

(King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook)


This recipe is the first biscotti I ever made and is still my favorite and is the recipe I used for the Chevre Cheesecake, above.  

1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 (1 ounce) bottle (equals 2 tablespoons) anise extract
3 eggs
 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, plus 1 teaspoon water (beaten together for egg wash)

Preheat your oven to 325* Fahrenheit.

Combine the sugar, baking powder, butter and eggs.  Blend in the entire bottle of extract and then the flour, one cup at a time. Remember that flour can absorb whatever moisture is in the air so on a humid day you may have to add a little more flour to your dough.

Spoon the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (I use parchment) to form two longs 1 1/2 inches wide by 1 inch high.  to shape the logs, wet your hands and pat the top and sides of the dough.  Brush the logs with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and cut the logs diagonally into slices, 1 inch thick, to produce cookies.  turn the cookies on its side and rebake at the same temperature for an additional 15 minutes.


The second version of biscotti I baked is a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.  It contains brandy and almonds, and is definitely a more "grown up" biscotti.

Anise Biscotti

(Allrecipes.com)

2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brandy

1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup almonds

2 tablespoons anise seed

	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.
	In large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine brandy, anise extract and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Alternately add dry ingredients and brandy mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the almonds and aniseed.
	Drop dough by spoonfuls onto prepared sheet, forming two 2 x 13-inch long strips on each sheet. Smooth dough into logs with moistened fingertips.
	Bake about30 to 35 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Place cookie sheets on racks and cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
	Cut cooled logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Place slices on cookie sheets.
	Bake for about 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, until dry and slightly brown. Remove to a rack and cool.

Oatmeal Struesel Date Bars

I am rediscovering the date ~ no not the one where Ole Sweetie-Pi and I go out to a restaurant and make goo-goo eyes at each, though that's nice too.  I am talking about that Middle Eastern fruit the Medjool date that is grown on palm trees and eaten whole or dried.  I am talking about that plump, sweet, chewy  little jewel that that can be eaten out of hand or used in cooking. The date is nature's own candy.

My grandmother always often had a package stashed in her tiny white pantry.  At the end of the school day when I'd go and visit her, she'd take the rectangular package from its place, and she'd take out two dates, one for each of us, and we  would savor just the one and she'd put the package away again. She could make a package last a long time, smiles.

So, here's a simple little bar cookie.  And like the dates I used to share with my sainted Grandmother, you can only eat one very sweet little square at a time, preferably with a large cup of tea or coffee.

Date Bars

3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups pitted dates, chopped **
1 teaspoon vanilla


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 cup old fashioned oats **
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)  butter, diced, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9x9-inch baking pan with foil, first in one direction, and then crossing over in the opposite direction with a section piece.  Butter sides and bottom of tin foil..

Bring 3/4 cup water to simmer in medium saucepan. Add dates; simmer until very soft and thick, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla.baking pan

Combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl; stir to blend. Add butter using fingertips or a pastry cutter, and rub in until moist clumps form. Press half of oat mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish. Spread date mixture over. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture; press gently to adhere.

Bake until golden brown and set in center, about 20 minutes, taking care not to overbake. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Using the edges of the foil, lift out the cookies. Peel down the foil from the edges and cut into bars and serve.

**Buy the whole dates, not the kind that are prechopped and presweetened.
**I used One Minute oatmeal, and it worked just fine.

Railroad Cookies

Pictured: 1957 Lionel Flatcar courtesy of Earl aka Ole Sweetie-Pi

Do you like model or toy trains? We do. Ole Sweetie-Pi is a model train collector and now I've caught the bug. Model or prototype, there's just something magical about trains. Maybe because trains remind me of slower times, old-fashioned values, romance coming and going via rails, or maybe it's those black and white Christmas shows that had magical scenes of electric trains circling beneath glorious Christmas trees.

And no surprise to anyone, I am equally as interested in the foods served in the dining cars. (How handy to be able to tie in two interests.) To my knowledge, these cookies were not served in any dining car (those recipes will follow someday soon, I think), but they are called railroad cookies as their pinwheel look reminds some people of spinning train wheels. Whatever the origin of the name, these cookies are something special.

They remind me of a filled cookie in that they have a luscious, sweet date and nut filling. They are alternately soft and crisp at the same time due to the sugar cookie that encases the filling. These cookies take time to make, though most of the time is refrigeration time. I found the sugar cookie portion a little difficult to work with; it wants to crack and crumble as it's being rolled out, out and crack and crumble again it's rolled around the filling. I had to keep pinching the dough together as I worked with it so that the filling would not spill out. I found that the dough worked a little bit easier if I let it slightly come to room temperature before trying to roll it (even though the directions say otherwise).

In spite of my angst, I really like this cookie for its uniqueness and flavor and would definitely make it again. I think of this as a special occasion cookie, probably more for the holidays than for everyday.

Railroad Cookies
(Heirloom Recipes by Marcia Adams)

1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup packed, light brown sugar
3 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Date Nut Filling

2 cups dates, finely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pecans, ground

In a medium sized bowl, cream the shortening and the two sugars until well blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

In a separate bowl, combine and whisk 2 cups of flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cream of tartar and salt. Add to the creamed mixture; beat well. Gradually add the remaining 2 cups of flour; dough will be firm. You'll probably need to do step by hand as the dough is quite heavy. Divide the dough into two equal parts, wrap in plastic wrap, and set in your refrigerator to chill, for at last two hours, or overnight.

When read, take out one of the halves. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 9" x 13" rectangle, 1/3" thick. Spread half the filling over the entire surface, then starting at one long edge, proceed to roll the dough into a cylinder. Cover the roll with plastic wrap and again refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Repeat with remaining second half of dough and filling.

Preheat your oven to 350F. Slice each roll into 24 slices, abut 1/2" thick and place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cooking sheet. (I strongly recommend using parchment because the sugar in the filling can caramelize and make the cookie difficult to remove.) Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let it rest on the cookie sheet a minute or so as the cookies are soft and then remove to a rack to finish cooling. Store in a tightly covered container, with waxed paper between layers.

To make the filling

In a medium saucepan, combine the dates, sugar, and water and cook over medium heat for about three minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will become nicely thick but will still have some texture to it. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Cool. Add the ground up pecans and stir well.

When spreading the filling on the dough spread to the edges of three sides, leaving a narrow margin along one long side so that the filling does not ooze out.