A Million Marvelous Loaves

A million cakes with one recipe.  Years ago, I found this cake in an one of my old Fine Cooking magazines. I couldn't count how many times I've made it. With infinite variations depending on the season or taste of the moment, it is simply a great loaf cake recipe, finally now posted. Hooray!!

Our most recent variation is a winter cake with white chocolate and cranberries detailed below, this and some other ideas we have tried at the end of the recipe. Pre- heat oven to 350F.

Basic foundation, whisk to combine in a medium bowl:

2 cups of flour

3/4 c. white sugar- decrease to 1/2 c. if using other sweet add in's like chocolate etc.

1 tbsp. baking powder (heaping)

1 tsp. salt

Any spices and any dry add ins.

1 c. milk, or buttermilk- use 1/2 c. milk if using more wet add ins for the second 1/2 cup

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla, or any other flavour profile

Mix: wet goes into dry, and then add 1/2 c. (1 stick) melted butter and fold into the batter. This is the KEY to this recipe! 

Into a pam-etized loaf pan, and cook for about 50 min or until done.

That's it!

A few ideas for some terrific flavour profiles, just use your imagination!!

• white chocolate chips, hazelnuts and cranberries
  
  orange juice and zest
• dark chocolate chips, orange juice and zest, and orange glaze on top
• milk chocolate chips, almonds, almond extract
• lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds and blueberries, lemon glaze
• any chocolate, crushed peppermint candy and peppermint extract
• Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, pecans and pumpkin puree- fabulous!!
• Cardamom and orange flavours, juice and zest

And on, and on, and on...

Love this cake!!

 

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Five Spice Duck, Mandarin Noodle Salad and Peanut Sauce

This is such a fun and scrumptious dinner, light and bright! The key is to use "duck confit" ( so, already cooked sous-vide) which you whip into a fabulous base for thid crunchy sweet and savory meal.

Duck prep: cook the duck per instructions. Usually a boil in the "sous -vide" bag, then baked for a few minutes. For this dish, a sprinkle of Five-spice and a good crisping up under the broiler, in a frying pan or high heat oven.

Vegg prep: a thin julienne of cucumber and scallions are a must, lots! If you wish you can add carrot, radish, iceberg lettuce, snow peas and any other vegg you like for a good crunchy texture. Long thin slices...

Sauce: Hoisin is essential. A quick side sauce mixture of Sambal Oelek (thai chili sauce) and soy sauce is also fun to dab into for a spicy kick. 

Asian pancakes are fun to use for a duck wrap. We tried rice paper, and although it worked, not a pretty sight and hard to maneuvre. Otherwise, the duck is awsome on top of salad!

The Noodle Salad: Pre cook rice noodles. Boil for a couple of minutes, rinse under cold water, and drizzle with sesame oil to keep from sticking. We love mixing any crispy lettuce, thinly sliced cabbage, red is fun. Add shredded carrot, scallions, radishes, celery,  Top with mandarin/clementine/orange segments and toasted almond slivers. Mango slices are a yummy addition too. Lots of fresh coriander and fresh mint.

A fresh citrus Asian inspired dressing: in a jar mix, 1 tsp. grated ginger, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, rice wine vinegar, bit of balsamic vinegar, squeeze of lime juice, squeeze of fresh orange juice, a hit of soy sauce and a hit of maple syrup. To this, add a 2 to 1 hit of olive oil or canola oil. Shake and taste. Balance the flavours as per your taste. Add salt and pepper if needed. 

Peanut sauce can be added to any of the above, it's just so damn good!

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter, add a bit of water until desired consistency. To taste: add rice vinegar, touch of maple syrup, soy sauce, chili paste (crazy for Sambal Oelek) minced ginger. That's about it. Just keep adjusting until you like it best. Can be jarred and kept in the fridge for a long time...great for dumplings!!

 

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Barb's Glorious Gingerbread Cookies

I have no idea who Barb is, but this is her recipe in my sister-in-law's recipe book. What can I say, over the holidays we keep making more as they don't last long. THE BEST!!!

Pre-heat oven to 325F.

3/4 c. softened butter
1 c. white sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. molasses

Cream the butter and sugar, add egg and molasses.

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground clove

1/4 tsp. nutmeg ( I added this...love nutmeg, but can be omitted!)

Combine the dry into the wet. It is a stiffer dough that you can actually knead by hand at the end. Make small perfectly rolled balls and dip into a bit of sugar. These cookies spread into nice rounds, so space well on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-9 minutes, do not overbake. 

OH SO CHEWY!!!!!! Great with a cuppa tea...

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