Mary Korn

Mary and Tim worked together at UCSF.  Her notes on the recipe state that she usually lowered the oil, used skim milk, and omitted the walnuts.

• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cup hot water

Sift together first 5 ingredients.  Add milk, oil, and vanilla.  mix until smooth.  stir in nuts.

pour into greased 8″x8″ greased baking pan.  Combine brown sugar, cocoa powder, and hot water.  Pour over batter.

Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes.

Ernest Weil

A Famous Cake That Originated in San Francisco
Yield: One 9″ cake, serves 10 to 12
Well worth the 3 hours it takes to complete.

Advance Preparation:

• 1 recipe Coffee Crunch
• 1 recipe Butter Sponge
• 1 recipe Coffee Whipped Cream
• 1 recipe Simple Syrup

Equipment and Utensils:
Serving spoon, hand wire whip, pastry brush, plastic spatula, offset metal spatula, two 9″ corrugated boards, plastic wrap, two bowls.

Procedure:
First bake the two 9″ butter sponge layers. Split each layer horizontally so you have four layers. When cool, separate each layer with foil and place in the refrigerator or freezer. While the layers are baking, prepare for cooking the crunch, but do not start cooking the crunch until the layers are out of the oven. (You may cook the crunch the day before). As soon as you have the layers and coffee crunch ready to go, you can prepare the coffee whipped cream.

Procedure:
Place in a bowl, 6 cups of coffee whipped cream, and add 2 cups of coffee crunch, and set aside. Place in a different bowl, 3 cups of coffee whipped cream and set aside.

To Assemble the Cake:
Place one split layer, bottom side down on a corrugated board and brush lightly with simple syrup. Then cover generously with the coffee crunch whipped cream. Cover with a cake layer.

Using a corrugated board, press down to level. Repeat the procedure with the other two layers. (You now have a four-layer cake). If you have any coffee crunch whipped cream left, use it to cover the top and sides. Complete icing the cake with the other 3 cups of coffee whipped cream without the crunch.

If you serve the cake the same day, cover generously with coffee crunch and keep refrigerated until serving time.

If you prepare the cake 2 to 3 days ahead of time, it is better not to cover the cake with crunch. (The crunch melts very fast.) Place the cake in the freezer, and when frozen, wrap well in plastic wrap. 4 to 8 hours prior to serving the cake, remove from the freezer, and remove the plastic wrap. Place the cake in the refrigerator. Apply the coffee crunch shortly before serving the cake.
The cake will keep refrigerated for 1 to 2 days, but the crunch will start to melt. You can freeze the cake, preferably without the crunch, for 1 to 2 months and apply the crunch before serving.

Coffee Crunch (For Filling and Topping)

Yield: For 1 – 9″ cake
(Caution: Syrup is extremely hot, be careful not to burn yourself!)

Equipment and Utensils:
A pot at least 6″ deep and 8″ wide, plastic bag, measuring cup filled with hot water to safeguard the thermometer, small spoon, two pot holders, small pot, plastic spatula able to be used with 300° syrup, serving spoon, four 12″ x 16″ trays, hammer, thermometer.
Advance Preparation:
Four 12″ x 16″ baking trays, place 1 hour in the freezer to get cold. Upon removal, cover the top tray only with nonstick foil, the nonstick side facing up.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP. baking soda
• 1 TBSP. confectioners’ sugar

• 1 TBSP. instant coffee crystals
• 1 TBSP. hot water
• 1 TBSP. vanilla

Procedure:
Sift baking soda and the confectioners’ sugar in a cup, two times, and then set aside.
In a small pot dissolve the coffee with 1 TBSP. hot water and vanilla and set aside.

• 2 cups granulated sugar (14.5 oz.)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup com syrup

Place the sugar, water, and com syrup in a large pot, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot for 5 minutes and let it boil. Uncover the pot and insert thermometer.

Take trays out of the freezer and place on the table. When the syrup reaches 280° (this could happen when you first uncover the pot), remove a serving spoon full of syrup and stir it into the small pot of dissolved instant coffee. In the meantime, the syrup in the large pot will reach 310° (the hard crack stage). Move immediately off the stove and place the pot on a tray resting on the table.

Immediately stir the contents of the small pot into the large pot and sprinkle the mixture of baking soda and confectioners’ sugar on top of the syrup, stirring vigorously. This will allow the syrup to foam up. Make sure the baking soda is stirred in well.
As the syrup foams up, it should turn from dark brown to a dark golden color. Pour the foam on the cold foil covered tray with the cold extra trays underneath. To get the foam syrup out of the pot, use a spatula that can stand 300° and scrape the pot clean.

As the syrup gets cold, it will harden and form a sheet. After 15 minutes you can turn the sheet over. (It might take 1 hour to completely harden, before you can break it into small pieces.) Place the crunch in a plastic bag and hammer it into small pieces. Place the crunch into an airtight container until you are ready to use. Keep at room temperature. Can be kept 1 month.

Butter Sponge Layers Yield: 2 – 9″ layers

Advance Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray the sides of two 9″ spring forms with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottoms of each with parchment paper or nonstick foil cut round to fit the form.

Equipment:
Upright or hand held electric mixer, wire whip, small bowl, nonstick cooking spray, medium size pot for water bath, screen, sieve, 9″ corrugated cake circle, two 9″ spring forms, offset metal spatula, plastic spatula.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup cake flour (6.6 oz.)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cube unsalted butter, melted (3 oz.)
• 2 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• I TBSP. lemon zest
• 6 large eggs (10 oz.)
• 3 large egg yolks (2 oz.)
• 1/1/3 cup granulated sugar

Procedure:
Sift all the dry ingredients except the sugar into a small bowl and set aside.

Next heat the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then add the lemon zest and vanilla. Set aside.

In a medium size pot heat up enough water so that the mixing bowl can be placed on top and not touch the water. Place the eggs, yolks, and sugar in the bowl of the electric mixer and heat over medium heat. Whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch, 110°. Remove the bowl and set into the electric mixer, fitted with a wire whip.

Whip on #6 for approx. 3 minutes. Do not whip on high. (When the wire whip is lifted out of the batter, the batter should flow like a ribbon.) Lift the bowl out of the mixer and, in three increments, gently fold in the dry ingredients, alternating with the melted butter, until thoroughly incorporated. Pick up the batter from the bottom of the bowl, so the butter does not settle on the bottom.

Baking The Cake:
Divide the batter evenly into the two spring forms and place directly on the screen in the center of the oven. Bake the layers for 20 minutes at 325°.

Bake until the top of the cake springs back when gently touched and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven. With a small knife, gently run around the sides of the pan to release the cake. Invert the cake out of the pan onto a corrugated cake circle and remove paper or foil, then ,invert it right-side up onto another corrugated cake circle. If you use the layers at a later date, they will keep well wrapped up to 2 days refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup granulated sugar

Procedure:
In a small pot stir the water and sugar and bring to a boil and let it boil for approx. 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep 2 to 3 weeks. Generally it will take ½ cup of syrup and liqueur, if added, for a specific recipe.

Coffee Whipped Cream yields: 9 cups of whipped cream

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar (3 oz.)
• ¼ cup instant vanilla pudding powder (2 ½ oz.)
• 1 1/2 TBSP. instant coffee crystals dissolved in
• 2 TBSP. hot water (to suit your taste)
• 4 cups heavy whipping cream (2 pints or 32 oz.)
• 4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Procedure:
Mix confectioners’ sugar and instant vanilla pudding powder and sift. Set aside.

Pour the cream, vanilla extract, and dissolved instant coffee into the bowl of the electric mixer. With the wire whisk attachment, on medium speed #4, whip until the cream starts to thicken, approx. 4 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla pudding powder into the cream and mix on medium high speed until the cream reaches a firm peak. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Helen Kane

Since receiving this recipe more than 25 years ago, I have purchased Love To Bake Pastry Cookbook by Ernest Weil, the founder of Fantasia Confections in San Francisco, and the creator of the original Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake back in the 1940’s!

Blum’s was an institution in San Francisco – it was where mothers brought their daughters – dressed in their Mary Janes and gloves – and where blue-haired matrons held court over tea, and sumptuous desserts. I worked at the downtown Blum’s in 1966 – and it holds the distinction of being the very first job I was ever fired from… I got this recipe from Helen Kane who volunteered with me at Project Open Hand, April 1995.

Cake:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup egg yolks, (about 7 or 8 )
• 1/4 cup water, cold
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup egg whites
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Coffee Crackle:

• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup coffee, strong
• 1/4 cup Karo light corn syrup
• 3 teaspoons baking soda, sifted

Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 1 1/2 Cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cake:

Angel food cake pan, oven at 350.

Combine sugar & flour. Make well. Add egg yolks, cold water, vanilla. Blend. In large bowl, mix egg whites, salt cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar. Beat until eggs peak. Pour batter slowly over egg whites, folding until blended. Bake 50-55 minutes. Invert pan and hang until cold.

Coffee Crackle:

5 inch deep sauce pan. Stir sugar, coffee and Karo syrup to combine. Put on heat, bring to a boil to hard crack stage. Remove from heat -right away add 3 tsp baking soda free from lumps, Stir fast until thick. Pour into a 9×9 ungreased metal pan. Let stand until cool. Rock out of pan and crush between waxed paper with rolling pin.

Split cake into 3 layers. Frost with whipped cream, cover with coffee crunch.

Jenny Ocon

I received one of those “recipe exchange” emails a while back. I usually just hit delete, but this time I sent it out. I received this from my cousin’s daughter, Jenny. (My first cousin, once removed?!?)! She wrote:

I’m sending this recipe as part of the recipe exchange….  It’s REALLY good chocolate cake that I just made for my mom’s 60th birthday (from Barefoot Contessa).  Enjoy!  -Jenny

Ingredients for cake

• butter for greasing pans
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans.  Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.  Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.  In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.  With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them onto a cooling rack and cool completely.  Place one layer flat side up, on a flat pate or cake pedestal.  With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting.  Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Ingredients for chocolate frosting

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (use bars, not chocolate chips)
• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes.  Turn the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.  Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water.  On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended.  Don’t whip!  Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Christine Leishman

This recipe comes via the web…

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Preheat oven: 375F

Ingredients

• 4 cups Turkish dried apricots
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, toasted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed

Method

Simmer the apricots with the water, orange juice, sweetener, seasonings and butter. When they are tender, remove from the heat and cool slightly before chopping into small pieces. Set aside while you prepare the phyllo.

Lay the phyllo flat and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Mix together the nuts, crumbs, sugar and spices. Cut the phyllo the size of the pan you are cooking in (I use an 11x7x 1-1/2 Pyrex dish) and spray the bottom of the pan with nonstick spray. Lay one sheet of phyllo, spray, lay another sheet and sprinkle with half the nut mixture, lay another sheet of phyllo, spray and lay a final sheet of phyllo. Gently spread the apricot mixture evenly across the top being careful to not rip the layer below. Top with a sheet of phyllo, spray, lay another sheet, sprinkle with the remaining nut mixture, lay a sheet of phyllo, spray and lay another sheet of phyllo. Cut three long strips and then cut four strips across. Cut these rectangles in half on the diagonal to form triangles. Spray the top with nonstick spray and bake for 25-30 minutes. Drizzle the warmed honey on top and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Yield: 12 servings
Per serving (3.5 oz.): Calories 225; Fat 3.4 g; Saturated Fat <1 g; Cholesterol 2.7 mg; Sodium 80 mg; Carbohydrate 49 g; Dietary fiber <1 g; Sugar 24 g Protein 3.6 g; Vitamin A 520 RE; Vitamin C 14 mg; Calcium 40 mg; Iron 3.2 mg. This recipe is 14% fat.

Carol Connor

Bake at 350° until tender but firm 4 medium potatoes.

Cool, peel, and chop. Set aside.

Melt 2 tbsp butter. Stir in 1 tbsp flour. Stir until foamy.

Add slowly, 1 cup heavy cream. Cook and stir until cream mixture bubbles.

Add potatoes, mix well, spoon into baking dish.

Dot with 2 tbsp butter, salt and pepper.

Bake at 350° about 30 minutes.

Serves 4.

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine. Phoebe made these at their housewarming “Open House” and nary a bite was left!

These are now the only baked beans I make.

• 1/2  cup minced shallots
• 1  tablespoon ground cumin
• 1  tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2  cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste – I never have puree in the house!)
• 1  tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4  cup honey
• 1/4  cup cider vinegar
• 2  tablespoons molasses
• 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 2  chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
• 2  (28-ounce) cans baked beans

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.

Nancy Mitchell

This comes to us from Nancy. They made it at their Open House and, as Tony the Tiger says… GREAT!

• 1 lg head cabbage, shredded
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 tsp Celery seed
• 2 or 3 green onions, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• mayonaisse to taste

Mix and chill. It’s that simple!

Karen Cameron

This is another recipe from our friend, Karen. She says it comes from a nifty little cookbook called Food Editor Favorites, from newspaper food editors all over the country, published in 1983.

• 1 lb. carrots, sliced in 1/4 in. rounds
• 2 T horseradish
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch pepper
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 1/4 C dried fine bread crumbs
• 2 T butter, melted

Place carrots in saucepan with just enough water to cover: simmer ’til just tender. Drain well, but reserve about 1/4 C cooking liquid. Mix reserved cooking liquid with horseradish, onion, salt, pepper and mayo.

Arrange carrots evenly over bottom of buttered 9-in. pie plate. Pour horseradish mixture over carrots. Mix bread crumbs with butter and sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 for 20 min. or until crumbs are nicely browned.

Jessica Weingarten

• 4 large carrots, cleaned, with the tops cut off
• One 20 oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 large orange

Put carrots through a food processor using a fine shredding disk, place in large bowl.
Add pineapple and all the juice.
Add shredded coconut.
Add raisins.
Juice the orange, and pour over the salad.
Mix and serve.

• 1 med head cabbage, quartered
• 2 lb potatoes, scrubbed and sliced with skins left on
• 2 leeks, washed and sliced
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp mace
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cube unsalted butter

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cabbage until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain and chop the cabbage. Set aside.

Bring another pot of water to a boil and boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.

Put the leeks in a saucepan, cover with the milk and simmer until tender. Set aside.

Add the mace, salt and pepper, and garlic to the pot with the potatoes and mash well with a hand masher. Add the leeks and milk and mix in with the potatoes. Add a little more milk if necessary to make it smooth. Mash in the cabbage and the butter. You want to achieve a smooth-buttery-potato with pieces of leek and cabbage well distributed throughout.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish and place under the broiler to brown.