Spiced Apple Brown Butter Cake

I love the words "brown butter" and find myself instantly drawn to recipes with it included in the title.  I'll often stop and read a recipe in full if I see it mentioned in a cook book or magazine. So, I can honestly say I've tried dozens of recipes advertising the nutty deliciousness of brown butter - chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, shortbread cookies, various cakes, biscotti, Madeleines and the list goes on.  However, while a lot of the recipes I've attempted indeed lived up to the hype, some have been disappointing by ending up a little dry or the nutty flavour of the browned butter was lost in the mix. Essentially, I find the balance between brown butter and the other ingredients in a recipe (such as flour, sugar and eggs etc) must be just right.  Considering brown butter or beurre noisette (hazelnut butter) as it's called in French, is made by melting butter and letting it cook until nicely browned - some of the moisture evaporates as it cooks which can cause some dryness when baking with it.

My recipe for Spiced Apple Brown Butter Cake definitely ticks all the boxes I'm looking for when baking with brown butter.  The cake has a deep buttery flavour, is moist and rich without being heavy or too intense.  As well, the addition of spiced apples nicely compliments the brown butter without overpowering it.  I also like to make a pecan brittle topping to sprinkle over the top of the cake before baking, as I find this adds a really nice crunch and enhances the flavour of the cake.

Nonetheless,  the recipe still turns out wonderful with just a sprinkle of turbinado sugar over the top or simply nothing at all.  Despite the fact that this cake has a decidedly wintry list of ingredients and spices, I really find it to be a season-less recipe.  While apples are technically in season during the fall, I can find great apples almost all year long.  As well, spices like cinnamon and nutmeg etc., are the quintessential season-less ingredient since that's exactly the point and purpose of drying and preserving herbs and spices - using them all year long.    

I'm well aware this recipe has a lot of components to it and may seem like a lot of work for a simple loaf cake.  Notwithstanding, the finished product is so deeply spiced and buttery you'll be dreaming of this cake after eating it.  While I love a simple recipe that has minimum effort for maximum benefit, I'm more than willing to put in a little effort for a such a splendid cake.  

Overall, I find this recipe is a nice addition to my loaf cake recipe roster considering I often find myself in a perpetual Banana Bread cycle.  It's exciting and refreshing to have a new and fabulous loaf cake recipe on hand for those times when you want to wrap up an extra special homemade treat to bring to a friend's house as a gift.  I can think of nothing more charming that a homemade cake wrapped in parchment paper and tied with string to surprise a friend with.

Pecan Brittle Topping:
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped to a small dice
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Combine all the ingredients together and spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 350 F oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until the nuts are fragrant and toasted and the maple syrup and butter have slightly caramelised.  Set aside to cool and then transfer to the fridge to cool completely.

Spiced Apples:
4 granny smith chopped into a medium dice
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
Freshly ground nutmeg (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
Pinch of ground star anise
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of maple syrup

Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the chopped apples and saute until they start to brown.  Lower the heat to medium low, add the brown sugar and spices tossing the apples until they're are evenly coated.  Continue to stir and cook the apples until they have softened and reduced down quite a bit (you need about 1 cup of spiced apples to be added to the cake recipe). Then add the maple syrup and stir into the apples letting the liquid reduce slightly. Transfer the spiced apples to a dish and place in the fridge to cool.

Brown Butter Loaf Cake:
5 ounces of unsalted butter (browned)
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup spiced apples (see recipe above)
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice
Freshly ground nutmeg (or 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg)
1/2 cup of chopped toasted pecans tossed with 1 tablespoon of flour

Grease a standard 9 by 5 inch loaf tin with butter and line with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 F.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat and continue to let it cook until it's nicely browned. As the butter is browning, stir often help it brown evenly and prevent it from burning. Once the butter has turned a caramel colour, pour it into a bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the butter has cooled to room temperature, mix with the brown sugar and beat well until combined, then stir in the vanilla, eggs and yogurt.  Add in the cooled spiced apples and stir everything well.  Add the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, Chinese 5 spice, and nutmeg.  Then add the toasted pecans (which have been tossed in 1 tablespoon of flour, which will prevent the pecans from sinking to the bottom of the loaf) and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with the pecan brittle that has been broken into small pieces.  Bake

for 45 to 60 minutes or until the loaf is fully cooked through (a toothpick or skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean).  Let cool in the tin and then wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper until ready to eat.

Welcome back with a fresh spring pea risotto and lemon salmon.

It's been a while since I last posted here on Cleverlicious and I must say I've missed this quite a lot. I've been happily cooking away in my kitchen and wanting to post my latest recipe or creation, but never quite getting there.  Taking up most of my time is a busy toddler, hungry husband, cuddly dog and a lazy cat - but probably most hindering of all, a broken camera lens.  Nonetheless, spring has now sprung bringing with it all kinds of ingredients I haven't cooked with in a while, leaving me feeling revitalised, excited to cook and post.

When I think of spring, ingredients such as peas, asparagus and glimpses of fresh herbs starting to peak out of my perennial herb garden come to mind.  As well, I live in British Columbia where salmon is abundant and the season is now kicking off, bringing with it endless delicious recipe ideas. One of those ideas is fresh spring pea risotto served with lemon salmon.

The idea of making risotto can be scary and send most people running in the opposite direction.  If you're a fan of the reality show Top Chef, you'll know that a bad risotto has sent more than a few chef's home. However, I find cooking risotto to be a very soothing and therapeutic exercise that I relish.  As well, it's really not complicated to make; it requires attention and a little bit of time, but not that the cook be a professional chef.

Here is my recipe:

Spring Pea Risotto:

Before I list the ingredients and method; I just want to make a point of mentioning that I never measure my ingredients exactly when making risotto.  As opposed to baking, cooking doesn't need to be quite so precise for the most part.  I cook by tasting and adapting as I go, so the ingredients I've listed here are just a rough guide and in some cases I've listed things in approximate or rough measures.

As well, in the ingredients list I mention using white wine or Vermouth.  I must explain that I overwhelmingly use Vermouth because I keep a bottle of it on the counter next to my stove top ready to use any time a recipe calls for white wine.  It has the same flavour as dry white wine and can sit out at room temperature for weeks.  I hate opening a bottle of wine just for one recipe, unless I'm having guest over and I know the wine will get used up.

Few tablespoons of olive oil
Tablespoon of butter
1 small or medium yellow onion chopped finely
1 clove of garlic finely minced or grated
Pinch of salt
Black pepper
Few sprigs of fresh thyme, or a sprinkle of dried thyme
Roughly 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
Splash of dry white wine or Vermouth
Roughly a litre of chicken stock or water
Squeeze of lemon juice
Large dollop of butter
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
About of cup of fresh or frozen peas

Start by chopping the onion and garlic and set aside while you heat a medium to large sized pot (I find my Le Creuset dutch oven works really well) over medium to high heat.  In another smaller saucepan or pot, add the chicken stock or water and heat on a medium to low heat for later. Add the olive oil and butter to the pan and then saute the onion and garlic and add in the thyme.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper and saute the onion mixture until softened and translucent.  Then add the Arborio or Carnaroli rice stirring in with the onion mixture allowing the rice to be coated in some oil and butter.  Then add a splosh of white wine or Vermouth and stir until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.  Next, add a ladle full of the warmed chicken stock or water to the rice mixture and continue stirring as the liquid absorbs into the rice.  Once most of the liquid has cooked into the rice, add another ladle full of stock.  Keep going this way until the rice has absorbed most or all of the stock and has become swollen and has released it's starch into the mixture.  This creates the most luscious and creamy rice dish - almost like a savoury rice pudding.  Now stir in a squeeze of lemon juice, dollop of butter and grate over some fresh Parmesan cheese (I would be remiss if I didn't mention that using true Parmigiano Reggiano makes a world of difference with this recipe).  At this point, I taste the mixture to see if it needs more salt or pepper and adjust as necessary.  Add your peas and serve (if using frozen peas I would add them just before the lemon juice, butter and cheese)

Risotto is best when served immediately after being prepared - if it sits out for a while it tends to clump together and you lose that oozing quality.  I tend to put my salmon on to cook when I'm roughly half way through the risotto.

Salmon recipe:

Four small to medium pieces of salmon fillet
Salt and pepper
Few tablespoons of olive oil
Tablespoon of butter
Lemon juice and zest

When the risotto is about halfway through, start heating a large cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan on high heat.  Add the olive oil and butter and then add two of the salmon filet's to the pan (it's important not to overcrowd the pan, otherwise the salmon will end up braising instead of searing). Allow to sear for roughly three minutes before flipping to finish on the other side.  I know the salmon is done by gently pressing on the top of the salmon and it feels firm but not hard to the touch (I do this towards the end of cooking before removing from the pan).  You could also pierce the flesh with a knife to see if the inside is still raw.  Remove the salmon from the pan to a plate so it can rest while you finish the risotto.  Just before serving, sprinkle some fresh lemon juice and zest onto the salmon.

I like to serve this dish in a shallow, wide bowl with the risotto on the bottom and a piece of salmon sitting on top.  In the pictures I've plated the salmon skin side down - I love to eat salmon with the crispy skin side up but my family usually end up flipping it back over.

Happy Spring and bon appetit!