The Ninja Baker - #TheCakeSliceBakers

Plum Wine Cake, #TheCakeSliceBakers

NinjaBaker — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 18:58:51 +0000

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of bakers from around the world.
Every month a new challenge arrives...Currently, we are presented with the opportunity to bake one of four selections
from Southern Living’s The Southern Cake Book.

Amaretto-Almond Pound Cake called to The Ninja Baker. Alas, Italian Amaretto was vacant from this baking ninja’s kitchen.
So, Japanese plum wine was substituted and resulted in scrumptious success!

With the arrival of spring across the Northern Hemisphere, Japanese plum wine is spot on for sipping or pouring into cake. In Japan, flowering plums precede its more famous sakura cherry blossom cousin. Plum blossom viewing parties also commenced long before the idea of a cherry blossom viewing party came into fruition. The change in popularity occurred about the time political allegiances transpired. (When the capital of Japan moved from Nara to Kyoto. The current capital of Japan is Tokyo.) However, the Japanese plum blossom was never banished.

America's traditional Southern pound cake gets friendly with ancient Japanese plum wine.

Plum blossoms may currently take second place to the cherry blossom in terms of popularity. But, Japanese plum blossom festivals and parties are sprinkled throughout Japan. The flower and fruit of the Japanese plum blossom continue to thrive in Japanese culture and cuisine.

Here are 3 reasons why the Japanese plum blossom is still revered:
1. The pretty flowers whisper the promise of the spring.
2. Japanese plum blossom trees are said to ward off evil spirits.
3. The fruits of the tree beckon prosperity because of the restorative qualities of the Japanese plum.
(See The Ninja Baker’s Japanese Plum Sushi post.) Umeboshi - pickled plum - is also added to rice to stimulate the appetites of those who are ailing.

Cheers to your good health and prosperity with Japanese plum wine and cake!

Need any more reasons to bake with Japanese plum wine? Well, try the recipe below and treat yourself to a buttery pound cake infused with pink wine! P.s. Perhaps the Japanese plum wine balances out all the butter and sugar…I don’t guarantee the healthiest cake on the planet. But I do promise you a fusion of Japanese and American yumminess!

Plum Wine Cake

Buttery pound cake of the American South finds a friend in the ancient Japanese plum. The wine of the revered Japanese plum adds a touch of tart to the traditional Southern pound cake.

Adapted from The Southern Cake Book’s Amaretto-Almond Pound Cake recipe on page 217.

Ingredients:

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
Lots of butter or coconut oil for greasing your bundt pan
1¼ cups softened butter for the cake batter
3 ounces softened Neufchâtel
2½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons Japanese plum wine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Drops of rose food coloring
2½ cups all-purpose flour
6 large eggs at room temperature

Directions:

Set your oven to 325 degrees. Rub lots of butter or coconut oil in a 10” (12 cup) bundt pan to ensure release of the cake after baking. Sprinkle the walnuts onto the bottom of the pan.

Whip together the butter and Neufchâtel in the bowl of a kitchen stand mixer. In a steady stream add the sugar. Let the sugar, butter and Neufchâtel dance into fluffiness for about 5 minutes. On low speed, stir in the Japanese plum wine, vanilla extract and drops of rose food coloring. Slowly add the flour. Add the eggs one at a time. Pour the smooth batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a bamboo skewer or knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before flipping the bundt pan onto a plate.

Ninja Note: Oh, so gently insert a frosting spatula or thin knife along the edges of the bundt pan to encourage an easy release of cake.

Optional Japanese Plum Wine Glaze:

In a saucepan, over a medium-low flame, bring to boil: ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup Japanese plum wine, 2 tablespoons water and drops of rose food coloring. Be sure to continually keep stirring. (Cleaning burnt sugar in saucepans is no fun!) Let the mixture reduce. The process should take 3 to 5 minutes. Drizzle the hot glaze over the cooled cake.

You can also spread a bit of the glaze on the bottom of the cake while still hot and in the pan. Once the cake is cooled and the glaze is set, it creates an extra sugary wine crunch on the bottom of the cake.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wishing you a spring which blossoms with happiness!

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

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Banana Nut Pocky Cupcakes, #TheCakeSliceBakers

NinjaBaker — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 04:12:34 +0000

Banana bread is one of the first distinctly American baked goods I remember as a child. I was eager to emulate my glamorous stepmother, Barbara, so I was eager to adopt the same likes and tastes. An especially easy task when something as scrumptious as Barbara's banana bread is served.

My stepmother, Barbara, swept into my life on my sixth birthday party. The birthday balloons, the cake, and probably my dress were pink. (Note the Ninja is still dressed in pink.) My soon-to-be stepmother stepped into the room and all eyes turned. Barbara exudes charm. It’s a good thing, too. Barbara starred alongside some pretty big names in a Japanese TV series. The show was taped live. One script called for her to utter words of distress about her lost key – kagi – in Japanese. Instead she cried out, kaji, kaji – the words for fire. A a bit of panic ensued on set until everyone realized it was a pronunciation problem. All was quickly forgiven and the show went on.

The Ninja Baker's Banana Nut Pocky Cupcake

Carole Water's Great Cakes Banana Nut Cake is the star of today's Cake Slice Bakers post. Banana bread and banana cake are cousins in my book. The difference is how you dress them up. What do you think?

For the Cake Slice Bakers, I went to town accessorizing Carole Walter’s Banana Nut Cake recipe by swirling chocolate buttercream and strawberry Pocky biscuit crumbles on top. Also, I converted Ms. Walter’s sheet cake recipe into cupcakes. The result was a cake with a whimsical note of banana supported by a sturdy walnut crunch. My chocolate buttercream accented with rich cocoa, cream cheese and Greek yogurt mixed on top with Pocky crumble garnered rave reviews.

A banana split sundae in cake form:
Strawberry Pocky crumble, chocolate frosting atop banana nut cake.

Due to copyright issues, I respectfully refrain from publishing the recipe. But, I found a similar recipe here. Add a pinch of nutmeg and you've nearly got an identical recipe. (Good news: In October, the Cake Slice Bakers will have a new cookbook with more recipes available for reprint.) Also, I can offer you my Vegan Chunky Monkey Banana Bread recipe. If you are a Pocky fan, click here for my Pocky Cake Pops.

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of bakers from around the world. Currently, the challenge is to bake one of four preselected Carole Walter's Great Cakes recipes.

Banana Nut Cake - with a Japanese Pocky twist - was this
Ninja Baker's winning choice.

The chocolate buttercream made with whipped cream cheese is the Ninja Baker's creation. Enjoy the delicious frosting atop banana nut cake or any other "great cake"!

P.s. For the Pocky crumble, place a package of Pocky into the food processor. Pulse until a fine dust appears. Sprinkle atop cupcakes, ice cream or enjoy on top of toast for a faux Pop Tart flavor. The Pocky crumble can be kept in the freezer for a month.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and Pocky Crumble

Fluffy chocolate buttercream is an ideal frosting for cake decorators who are health conscious. Cream cheese, Greek yogurt, unsweetened (ideally organic) cocoa blend with butter and vanilla to create a frosting ideal for piping. Of course, you can simply slather the stuff on any sweet, too!

The Pocky crumble is a nifty crunch topping. Pocky crumble is a perfect substitute for those who are allergic to nuts.

Ingredients:

Frosting:

8 tablespoons of softened butter (1 stick)
6 ounces of whipped cream cheese (almost a whole tub)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar (1 box)
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Crumble:

1 (2.4 ounce) package of Pocky (Chocolate, Strawberry, Green Tea or your favorite seasonal Pocky!)

Directions:

Frosting:
Fluff up the butter and cream cheese in a kitchen stand mixer. Add the vanilla.

Slowly pour in the powdered sugar.
*Ninja Note: Scraping the frosting bowl often helps to incorporate the powdered sugar and cocoa thoroughly.

Spoon in the yogurt.

Beat in the cocoa.

Crumble:
Pulse the Pocky in the food processor until a fine crumble appears. Sprinkle atop cakes, cookies or ice cream.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wishing you the freedom to go a little bananas and have a bit of crazy fun!

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Follow Ninja Baker @NinjaBaking's board NinjaBaking.com Sweets on Pinterest.

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#TheCakeSliceBakers

Lemon Velvet Squares, #The Cake Slice Bakers

NinjaBaker — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 01:46:45 +0000

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of bakers from around the world. We vote on a recipe and then bake the sweet from the same cookbook every month. Our current book is Carole Walter's Great Cakes. This month's sweet assignment? Lemon Velvet Squares!

A buzz of excitement was in my chest. (A sensation akin to watching U.S. Olympic ice dancing champions, Davis and Waters glide to gold.) The blades of my mixer were swirling lemon and orange zest across cubes of cold butter. However, the results of the lemon-orange zest twizzle - required elements in Carole Walter’s Great Cakes Lemon Velvet Squares recipe - fell to a bronze for this Ninja Baker.

A Lemon Velvet Square with the Ninja Baker's Yuzu Glaze.
(Yuzu is a Japanese citrus which has a lemony-limey taste.)

I was awed by the lightness of the Lemon Velvet Squares’ pale crumb. (A wonder similar to seeing the silver ice dancing medalists, Virtue and Moir, Quickstep in Sochi.) But the citrus element of the Lemon Velvet Squares was oh, so subtle. The cake-like treats needed oomph – a way to make them shine. Fortunately, I’ve always got yuzu (a Japanese citrus) juice in my pantry.

Carole Walter's Great Cakes Lemon Velvet Square recipe
produces a cake with a feather light texture...If you like a lemon pucker,
double or triple the required zest.

So, I whisked together a glaze similar to the one I made for yuzu scones. The Lemon Velvet Squares immediately garnered a gold medal! I’ve reprinted the recipe as seen in Great Cakes and at Food.com. I highly recommend doubling or tripling the teaspoons of zest. Love to hear how you score these lovely Lemon Velvet Square treats.

Lemon Velvet Squares

As seen in Carole Walter's Great Cakes and at Food.com, this Lemon Velvet Squares recipe will produce a light dessert. My Japanese citrus yuzu glaze gives a squirt of lemon-lime flavor. But if you love a lemon pucker, double or triple the lemon zest.

Ingredients:

For the Lemon Velvet Squares:

2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (cold)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon freshly grated navel orange rind
1 1/3 cups superfine sugar or 1 1/3 cups caster sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice

For the Japanese Yuzu Citrus Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2½ tablespoon yuzu juice
½ tablespoon French Vanilla Half and Half
1 tablespoon meringue powder
Drops of yellow food coloring
Yellow sanding sugar (optional garnish)

Directions:

For the Lemon Velvet Squares:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or coat a 13” x 9” inch baking pan with butter flavored cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.

In another bowl (for a stand mixer) place the butter and cream with the paddle attachment.

Add the lemon and orange zest. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes.

Pour in the sugar - 1 tablespoon at a time. (Allow 5 to 6 minutes to incorporate the sugar with the butter and citrus.)

One at a time, whisk in the eggs at one-minute intervals.

In a small bowl, stir the water, lemon juice, and orange juice together.

Dividing the flour mixture into 3 parts and the liquid into two parts, add in the dry ingredients. Start and end with the flour. Mix well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. When ready the cake will spring back with a touch. The surface will also be slightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean.

Cool the cake before drizzling with glaze.

Tip: Scrape the bowl often as ingredients are added and combined.

For the Glaze:

Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2½ tablespoons yuzu juice, ½ tablespoon French Vanilla Half and Half and 1 tablespoon of meringue powder.

Add drops of yellow food coloring to brighten the glaze.

Drizzle the glaze atop the cake. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Cut the cake into golden squares.

Another treat: U.S. Gold Ice Dancing Olympians Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wishing you days of gold medal winning moments.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

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