Oscar’s Rum Cake
By Lauren Wood, Winner of the Tastes Like Home Recipe Contest
Ingredients
King Arthur All Purpose Flour 240 g 1 240 g
Chopped Pecans 1 cup 1 1 cup
Baking powder 2 tsp 1 2 tsp
Unsalted butter 8 Tbsp 1 8 Tbsp
Granulated sugar 300 g 1 300 g
Instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4-ounce box 1 3.4-ounce box
Salt 1 tsp 1 1 tsp
Eggs, room temp 4 eggs 1 4 eggs
Vanilla extract 2 tsp 2 2oz
Vegetable oil ½ cup 2 ½ cup
Milk, room temp ½ cup 2 ½ cup
Dark rum ½ cup 2 ½ cup
Glaze:
Unsalted butter 8 Tbsp 1 8 Tbsp
Granulated sugar 1 cup 1 1 cup
Water ¼ cup 1 ¼ cup
Dark rum ½ cup 1 ½ cup
Vanilla extract ½ tsp 1 ½ tsp
Method of Preparation:
1. Sift dry ingredients together. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt cake pan
3. Sprinkle pecans on bottom of the pan
4. Sift dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add vegetable oil and mix on medium until incorporated
5. Beat in the milk and eggs, one at a time. Scape the bowl down to fully incorporate.
6. Fold in the rum and vanilla and pour into prepared bundt cake pan
7. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour and remove once cake tester pulls clean
8. Leave cake in the pan and prepare the glaze in a pot
9. Melt butter over medium heat and add sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes stirring continuously or until sugar has dissolved. Stir in rum and carefully prepare to pour half into the cake pan.
10. Prick bottom of cake all over and pour or brush the glaze on top of the cake
11. Allow the cake to absorb all the glaze and flip out of pan. Pour the rest of the glaze over top of the cake and serve once room temp.
My papaw always said it was served best the next day because it absorbs all the “good juices” and served with a hot cup of dark decaf coffee.
Shiitake Gruyere Pithivier
By Noah Swader, Winner in the Savory Category
Ingredients
Pie Crust
1 ¾ King Arthur AP Flour
1 tsp kosher salt
75g butter
75g vegetable shortening
4 tbsp ice cold water
Potato Gratin
6 Idaho potatoes
500 ml heavy cream
2 tbsp dry minced onion
1 tbsp kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper
1 tsp fennel
2 tsp rosemary, thyme, oregano
100g butter
Roast Vegetable Medley
38 oz shiitake, oyster, button mushrooms
8 oz carrots
2 large white onions
200 ml extra virgin olive oil
6 oz Boar’s Head hickory-smoked Gruyere
Puff Pastry
2 ½ King Arthur AP Flour
1.25 tsp kosher salt
1 cup water
1 cup softened unsalted butter
Wine Reduction
500 ml Pinot Noir
2 tbsp King Arthur AP Flour
75g butter
100 ml heavy cream
Miscellaneous
Aluminum foil
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap
2 eggs, 100 ml cream
Shaping bowl
Method of Preparation:
Mise en Place
Day before, fabricate puff pastry, pie crust. Peel 6 potatoes, let soak in cold water. Shave gruyere with a vegetable peeler. Quarter mushrooms, cut carrots into a small dice. Julienne white onion. Grind and combine dry spices.
Puff Pastry
Combine flour, salt in stand mixer. Using dough hook, slowly incorporate water until dough is formed. Shape into ball and let rest in cooler for 10 min.
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, smear butter across ⅔ of the dough.
Fold unbuttered side in, and other side over that. Roll into rectangular shape.
Form, plastic wrap and set in cooler.
Every 30 minutes, turn and laminate puff. Repeat this process for four turns.
After final turn, roll puff in a flat circular shape and place in cooler.
Pie Crust
Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in cold butter cubes and cold shortening. Slowly incorporate ice cold water until wet sand consistency forms.
Empty out onto parchment paper, and knead by hand with additional drizzles of the ice water. Do not overwork.
Roll out in parchment paper, fold over. Place in cooler for 20 minutes and repeat that lamination. After cool, use shaping bowl to cut the crust just barely larger than the circumference of the bowl itself.
Potato Gratin
Slice peeled potatoes into 1/16ths with mandolin. Marinate in cream. Shingle the potatoes in buttered bread pan, seasoning each layer with salt, pepper, ground dry mince onion and ground spices. Press down with another bread pan, bake at 350f for approximately 50 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour before placing in refrigerator, let rest overnight. Next day, remove from the fridge and cut from pan into rectangles. Over medium-high height, toast each side of the gratin rectangles. Save to side for final assembly.
Vegetable Medley
In a large sautee pan over medium heat, add in quartered sliced mushrooms. Start the mushrooms from cold. After they’ve lost about 50% moisture content, toss with olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and ground spices. Save to the side.
In the same pan, over medium-high heat, add butter and sautee carrots until golden brown. Save to the side.
In the same pan, over low heat, caramelize julienned onions. Save to the side.
Wine reduction
Deglaze veggie pan with pinot noir, sherry vinegar. Reduce to ⅓. Add cream, reduce to ⅓. Mount in cold butter cubes. Save to the side.
Assembly:
Pull shaped pie crust and lay flat. Line shaping bowl with plastic wrap. Place potato gratin first, followed by half of the shaved gruyere. Press down firmly, then add in roast vegetables. Incorporate the other half of shaved gruyere, then push down firmly. Line bowl with potato gratin.
Cover with excess plastic, and invert onto pie crust. Remove plastic and bowl. Pull flat puff pastry and drape over pie fillings. Trim excess puff, roll flat and place in the cooler. Crimp edges with a paring knife, score surface in a wave pattern.
Cut the steam hole in the center. Pull excess puff pastry when cool enough to work, and use a lattice roller to create a lattice-patterned puff sheet. Drape over pithivier, and place a cylinder of aluminum foil in a steam hole to hold shape.
Use eggs and cream to make egg wash, apply to the entire pie. Place in the cooler at least 20 min before baking.
Baking:
Bake at 350f for approximately 80 minutes. Rotate at 30, 50, and 70 minute marks respectively.
Pull pie and transfer onto cooling rack. Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
Serving:
Slice pithivier into 8 equidistant pieces. Garnish plate with wine sauce, and place pie slice directly on top. Serve hot, with cold Guinness Extra Stout.
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
By Kaitlen Nettles, Winner in the Sweet Category
Yield: Approx. 18 cookies
For the cookie:
1 ½ cup (7.1 oz) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
¾ cup (5.9 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
4. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the mixing bowl and mix just until combined. Don’t overmix, this step can be finished by hand.
5. Scoop dough onto a parchment lined sheet with a 1 ½ Tbsp scoop and chill in the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes.
6. Bake until the edges become slightly browned, about 12-14 minutes.
7. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Top with Italian meringue and strawberries.
For the Italian Meringue:
1 ¼ cup (9 oz) sugar
½ cup (4.5 oz) pasteurized egg whites
Salt to taste (I used about a pinch)
Vanilla extract to taste (I used about 1-2 tsp)
1. Whip egg whites and 1/3 of the sugar to stiff peaks.
2. While the eggs whip, add the rest of the sugar to a heavy bottom pot with just enough water to cover the sugar. It should look like a wet sandy beach.
3. Heat the sugar on medium-high heat until it reads 240F on a candy thermometer, brushing the sides of the pot with a wet pastry brush occasionally to avoid sugar crystals.
4. Once the egg whites are at stiff peaks and the sugar is heated to 240F, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites while whipping on a low speed. Once all of the sugar syrup is added, whip the meringue until the bowl is cool to the touch.
For the strawberries:
1 cup chopped strawberries.
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1. Stir the chopped strawberries and sugar together, and rest for at least 10-15 minutes.
Orange-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
By Josephine Abi Cabrina Arraj
Yield: 14-16 people
Topping:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoon cornstarch
2 large orange (thinly sliced,halves)
Cake:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pistachios
1 cup King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons packed orange zest
4 tablespoon orange juice
1 ⅓ cup dried cranberries
For the topping:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Grease a 10-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the melted butter over the bottom of the pan and swirl to evenly coat. Place the thinly sliced oranges in a swirled design on top of the butter. Make sure to overlap the orange slices to create a beautiful design when flipped over at the end.
2. Next, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl and then sprinkle evenly over melted butter and orange slices.
For the cake:
3. Place the walnuts, pistachios, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground. Then transfer flour mixture to a bowl.
4. Continue to use the food processor, place sugar and egg in an empty processor and blend until very pale yellow, about 1-2 minutes.
5. While the sugar egg mixture is mixing, melt the butter, and combine the butter, vegetable oil, orange juice and orange zest in a bowl. While the egg mixture is mixing begin to slowly add in the butter orange mixture into the processor until just incorporated. Add the flour mixture back into the food processor with the egg mixture, and begin to pulse 5 to 7 times until everything is incorporated and mixed well together. Then add the dried cranberries to the batter and fold them in until they are submerged in the batter. Then add the batter to the pan on top of the oranges and sugar.
6. Bake until the center of the cake is set and bounce back when you gently press and the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Once the cake is done, place it on a wire rack and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Carefully run a paring knife around the sides to release everything around the sides of the pan. Next flip it onto a plate and make sure to be careful when flipping the cake. Let the cake cool for about 1 ½ hours.
Once completely cooled, cut it into wedges, serve, and enjoy!
Deep Fried Beef & Shrimp Dumplings
By Zakiera Herring
Portions: 10 – 12 Rose Dumplings
Ingredients
All Purpose flour; sifted 8 oz
Water; just-boiled hot water ¼ cup; plus, more as needed
Kosher Salt ¼ tsp
Flour for Dusting As needed
Olive oil As needed
Water As needed
Filling:
Garlic; minced ½ tsp
Ginder; minced ½ tsp
Green onion; minced 1 oz
Mushroom; minced 1 oz
Shrimp; peeled, deveined, tail off; chopped 3 oz
Ground Beef 7 oz
Sesame oil 1 tsp
Teriyaki Sauce 2 Tbsp
Beef Broth ¼ cup
Salt ¼ tsp
Pepper ¼ tsp
Onion Powder 1/8 tsp
For the Sauce:
Water 1 cup
Soy Sauce ¼ cup
Brown sugar; packed 5 tsp
Honey 1 Tbsp
Ginger; ground ½ tsp
Garlic powder ¼ tsp
Cornstarch 2 Tbsp
Cold water ¼ cup
Method of preparation:
Make the gyoza wrappers:
1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add salt to the hot water and stir until completely dissolved.
2. Add the hot water to the flour a little at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula. Mix until flour and water are combined completely. If the flour is still not incorporated, add more hot water, ½ tsp at a time until you can form a ball.
3. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead the dough for 3 minutes.
4. After 3 minutes, the texture of the dough will be much smoother. Round the dough to form a ball. Plastic wrap the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
5. While the dough is resting, make the filling by mixing the filling ingredients.
6. After 30 minutes unwrap the dough and flour the work surface.
7. Press the ball onto the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. If the dough shrinks, let the gluten relax and try again. Don’t forget to cover the dough to prevent drying out. Make sure to roll out the dough very thin.
8. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut the rolled-out dough into 3-inch wrappers.
9. Using your finger, rub the right edge of a dumpling wrapper with water. lay another dumpling wrapper over the edge so that it slightly overlaps, sealing tightly. Repeat with 1 more wrapper.
10. Scoop a spoonful of filling onto the middle of each dumpling wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrappers and fold each wrapper over from top to bottom, ensuring that the edges are still overlapped, sealing tightly. Gently roll the dumplings from one end to the other, starting from the left side, creating a flower shape.
11. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the dumplings to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Add a splash of water to the pan and cover with the lid. Steam for 3 minutes. Open the lid and let the water evaporate.
12. When the water evaporates, flash fry the dumplings for about one minute or until light crisp golden brown at 375 F. Be sure to let it drain on a paper towel.
13. Serve warm with teriyaki sauce.
Make the teriyaki sauce:
1. Combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, ginger, and garlic powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until nearly heated through, about 1 minute.
2. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cold water in a cup; stir until dissolved. Add to the saucepan.
3. Cook and stir sauce until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Cocktail Cookie
By Lauryn Gulledge
Ingredients
Butter 273 grams
10X Powdered Sugar 172 grams
Vanilla 3 grams
Lime Zest 9 grams
Salt 6 grams
AP Flour 301 grams
White Chocolate Chips 175 grams
Craisins (optional) 100 grams
Egg 1 egg
Demerara Sugar or Turbinado Sugar 150 grams
Fleur de sel To Taste
1. Cream together butter and 10X powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla and lime zest. Mix to combine.
3. Add flour, salt, white chocolate chips, and crasins (if using). Mix just to combine.
4. Portion dough into 500 gram pieces. Roll into 1.5-inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, approximately 1 hour. —OR— if using Shape+Store Smart Cookie tray, take 500 grams of the dough and place it inside 1 container and chill until firm.
5. Slice cookie into rounds —OR— take cookie pieces out of Shape+Store Smart Cookie tray.
6. Roll the edges of the cookie in the egg and then in the Demerara Sugar or Turbinado Sugar.
7. Place cookies on a parchment-paper lined sheet tray and sprinkle with Fleur de sel.
8. Bake at 300℉ for 25 – 30 minutes. Turn sheet trays at 15 minutes.
Adam Rosen’s Orange Walnut Bundt Cake recipe is currently unavailable. For the stories behind the recipes published earlier this month click here.