Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Cherries

Somehow July sneaked past me and decided not to stop by to say hello. If you asked me what I did last week, I would think I just watched the fireworks booming over Lake Michigan. Sitting on the Michigan-side shores and looking back on a town of my childhood. But apparently that happened just about a month ago, if you believe the calendars. Personally, I think a Time Lord visited Madison and erased my memory to hide our wild adventures.

Yep. That's my story. Time Lord. In July… in Madison, Wisconsin. Quite logical really.

So that means that I made this cake just a few days ago if we're thinking back to last week, "the beginning of July." Rumor has it there was a nasty heat wave that swept though the region and made me think of my stove as the catalyst to the apocalypse. Good thing that "hasn't happened" yet and I made this cake pre-heat wave for a wonderful lady named Kate.

Kate and "A" are grad school friends and soon after moving to Madison we bonded over being Michiganders and living approximately five doors down from each other. After many potlucks, late-night group beers, dog sitting and crazy landlady adventures, I can honestly call this gal a good friend.

And anyone who knows me knows friends get cake, especially on their birthday. And what's a Michigander girl to do for a Michigander's birthday? Make a Michigan "Kate Cake." Ok, maybe the term "Kate Cake" isn't hot yet but trust me! It will be as it is composed of (only what I assume is) Miss. Kate's favorite things: Michigan cherries, (Michigan) red wine and dark chocolate. It doesn't hurt that it's utterly delicious and one of my favorite cakes that I've made! 

Anything that has a tight but moist crumb, chocolate and is easy to decorate is a win in my book. I also can't discredit the fact that it's relatively low sugar and incorporates fresh fruit! So while the cherries are still blooming and the temperatures are mild, make someone you know a Kate Cake! They won't hate you for it.

Chocolate Red Wine Cake

Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted goat butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I used a little bit less)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups dry red wine

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes longer. Working in two batches, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and the wine, until just incorporated.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack; let cool completely. Top the cake with pitted and sliced cherries reduced in a small sauce pan with a little bit of water.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cocoa Nib Cherry Cookies

I finally got up the guts to blog a bit more. It's been a while, I know. I could make excuses until you felt like slapping me in the face but I won't. I'll save my face and your soul. Guys, I'm just kinda tired and my bedtime is ever so slowly creeping up to 7:00pm. Not that extreme, but definitely something like 10:00pm. A girl can dream.

But these cookies need little introduction. The cherry season was too short this season and my craving was never fully fulfilled. My pit spiting was never perfect and not enough cherry pies were made. I just had to work with what nature gave me and used some dried cherries. And the combination of cherry and chocolate.

I brought these suckers to "A's" work BBQ and I'm proud to say they were the first baked good to run out. As I've been in a bit of a baking lull lately, I've been riding that back-patting train for a while now. So I present with little comment some of the greatest "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" cookies this little Madison kitchen has ever produced.

  

Oatmeal Walnut Cherry Cocoa Nib Cookies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) goat butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugars.  Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beat in eggs.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute on medium speed between each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add flour mixture all at once to the butter and egg mixture.  Beat on low speed until the mixture just comes together, don't fret if there are still some pockets of flour (they'll be taken care of later.)
4. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. With a spatula, mix in the oats, walnuts, cherries, cocoa nibs, and chocolate chips. Make sure no flour pockets remain.
5. Scoop dough out by the tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes until toasted brown on top.  Remove from the oven.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cherry & Apple Venn PIEagram

This recipe has been simmering on the back-burner for a while now and it’s finally ready to claim its place in the spotlight.  I made it the week I found out I couldn’t eat gluten or dairy and I knew that I wanted my next few posts to be for food that I could eat and drool over without feeling guilty.  Now, my masterpiece is ready (I also feel like this would be an appropriate time for an evil laugh, too) for general consumption.  Welcome to my deliciously geeky creation: a venn PIEagram.

There is a little bit of a backstory with this culinary creation and I need to give credit where credit is due.  A few months back (sometime during March Madness) my boss sent me a picture of a of a venn pieagram and I never turn down a challenge.  Ever.  Seriously.  Ask all my old co-workers at the Bivouac and Michigan Radio.  Ask my friends.  Ask anyone who I beat and is not crying in a corner with their inferior biscotti (not that I’m implying anything *wink wink* Lester).  Cut to the end of March Madness and I made this pie as a celebration for both the championship game and the fact that men of the world suddenly had a lot more free time on their hands.

Evidenced by the photos, I chose to make an apple pie with a crumble top and a tart cherry pie with a lattice crust.  I wanted to have two pies that would both contrast well and taste good together when they inadvertently mixed in the baking process.  Anyways, aren’t apple and cherry pie the definition of American?

If you want to make this (and if you want to impress people, I recommend you do), you’re going to have to use a few special and cheap supplies.  In hindsight, I should have taken pictures to show you how I jiffy rigged two disposable cake pans together but hopefully this (incredibly poorly drawn) picture will help:

I know, you wonder why I didn’t go to art school.  I ask myself this too.  Just call me the queen of MS Paint instead.  So as you can obviously see, get yourself two disposable cake pans, cut out a section from one of them and then tape them together.  Tada!