Eat | Drink | Cheap Episode 42 – Baking For The Holidays

Another holiday season is upon us, so everyone stay calm! Shawn and Simon are bringing the chill, mindful vibes this Christmas along with boxes of scones, macarons and fruitcake. 

Questions, comments or corrections? Hit us up at email@eatdrinkcheap.ca

eatdrinkcheap.ca

eadrinkbreathe.com/podcast

Music by John Palmer

Show notes and Shout Outs:

Ann Rice’s Interview With The Vampire on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/interview-with-the-vampire-netflix-date-cast-details

Strawberry Hotel by Underworld: https://underworld.bandcamp.com/album/strawberry-hotel

The Many Works of David Lebovitz: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/chocolatecherry/

Macarons by Pierre Herme: https://www.pierreherme.com/en/macarons.html

Savoury Scones

  • 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons (5 grams) baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground paprika
  • 6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter, grated
  • 1/2 cup (40 grams) grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup (25 grams) cooked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces (about 4 slices)
  • 2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped 
  • 3/4 – 1 cup (180 – 240 ml/grams) cold buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 200C or 400 F. Mix it all together to a shaggy mess. Roll out into a block. Cut into shapes. Lacquer with one beaten egg and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and puffy.

Chocolate-Cherry Fruitcake

Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz

I’ve revised and updated this recipe over the years, adding a bit more flour (previous versions of the cake sometimes dipped in the middle when cool, which didn’t affect the flavor) and making other adjustments. In place of rum, you could use kirsch, whiskey, or amaretto. If you have an issue with the cake sinking in the middle, I posted a

to show how I followed the recipe and how the cake was prepared. To make it easier to slice, I like to chop the cherries a bit before adding them to the rum.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (180-200g) dried cherries, sweet or sour, chopped
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) plus 2/3 cup (160ml) rum
  • 1 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (180g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process or natural
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups (400g) sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup (180g) buttermilk or plain yogurt
  • 1 cup (135g) walnuts, pecans, or almonds, toasted and finely-chopped
  • 3/4 cup (120g) chocolate chips

Method

A day or two before you make the cake, toss the cherries in ¼ cup of rum. Cover and let macerate, stirring a few times.

  1. To bake the cakes, butter two 9-inch (23cm) loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
  2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or by hand in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir together the eggs and yolk with the vanilla in a small bowl, then dribble them in while beating at medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure they’re getting completely incorporated.
  4. Mix in one-third of the flour and cocoa mixture, then half of the yogurt or buttermilk. Then mix in another third of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the yogurt. Finally add the remaining dry ingredients, and gently stir in the nuts, chocolate chips and cherries. (Which should have absorbed all the liquid. If not, add that as well.)
  5. Divide and smooth the batter into the two prepared loaf pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center just about comes out clean, but avoid overbaking it.
  6. With a toothpick skewer, poke 50 holes in the cake and spoon 1/3 cup (80ml) of liquor over each cake. Let the cakes cool completely.

Chestnut Soup with Crispy Pancetta

Many years ago on a whim I purchased a rather strange cookbook by Lois Anne Rothert dedicated entirely to the various soups of rural France. Normally I don’t pitch in for something so bizarrely specialized but something about this tome’s yeomen charm captured my imagination and it’s survived many cookbook purges over the years when shelf space became scarce.

Now, three months deep into my still-UN-identified illness this book has more than earned it’s keep with such soul-satisfying and sanity-soothing soups as Country Sorrel and Potato, Oyster and Cognac stew, Lentil Potage and this deeply savoury winter soup of pureed chestnuts, aromatics and crispy pancetta. Read More

Ultimate Steak, Part 2 : The Steakening!!!

Ultimate SteakAs the berries rot and the leaves spiral in the wind, there’s no denying it… Summer is giving way to fall. Sure, it’s still balmy every weekend (perhaps a St. Matrin’s Summer?) and I can still get from the door to the car without pants, but only just barely.

It is therefore essential to soak in as much of this gorgeous, late summer-corncobs ‘n beachfires- groaning as mom calls you in for dinner- sunshine as possible! One last big BBQ weekend!

I’m ‘gonna bring out those big-gun steaks we got from Gunter Bros, season those beasts well, grill ‘em fast and furious and then bang out a quick sauce to take it over the top. Heat ye coals, fill the flagons and gird thy loins; The Steakening is at hand! Read More