CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT TOFFEE

It has been a busy cookbook season! I spent last night reading through the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Cookbook and am revisiting everything I have bookmarked in Aran’s Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple while it is rainy this week and we can work on some baking projects. If you eat gluten free, by need or choice, Aran is your gal. You may know her from her gf sourdough tutorials on instagram.

Aran is one of my favorite food people. Most importantly, she is a lovely and generous person. Just as humble and charming as her photos lead you to believe. Her photos are romantic, the recipes are clear and uncomplicated and she offers subs for all sorts of dietary issues. She is the gluten free baking master, and always where I go for reference. The book does call for some specialty flours, but if you cook gluten free and make a few things from her book, they won’t go to waste. My favorites have been the Lemon Curd, Lemon Pound Cake, Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and this toffee! I love how short the list of ingredients is, you may even have everything to make a batch today.

Congrats, Aran!

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT TOFFEE

Makes one 9x13 pan

This makes an excellent gift around the holidays. We kept it in the fridge for when you just need a sweet nibble after a meal. If you are nut free, you can sub in some candied pepitas or some crushed candy canes and cocoa nibs on top.

Ingredients: 

¾ cup (100 g ) raw hazelnuts

1 cup unsalted butter (or dairy free butter) cut into cubes

¾ cup sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup water, room temperature

½ tsp. Kosher salt

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

¼ tsp baking soda

4 ounces 70% chocolate, finely chopped

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 325’ and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 

On a second sheet, spread the hazelnuts and roast for 15-20 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown. When they are cool enough to handle, transfer them to a large kitchen towel and rub together to loosen their skins. Once they’re mostly peeled (a bit of skin is ok), transfer them to a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, stir together the butter, both sugar, water and salt. Cook over medium-high heat, undisturbed, until it registers at 300’, about 15 minutes. The mixture will be dark brown and smell caramelized. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the vanilla, it will splatter. Stir in the baking soda until it is distributed - do not overmix. You want to preserve some of that gas. 

Pour the toffee onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with the chopped chocolate. The heat of the toffee will melt it. Spread it evenly with a spatula. Distribute the chopped hazelnuts across the top and press down so they stick into the chocolate. 

Let the toffee cool completely for a few hours, or speed up this process in the fridge. Break the toffee into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a month.

©2021 by Aran Goyoaga. Excerpted from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple by permission of Sasquatch Books.

EGGPLANT + TOFU WITH SWEET-HOT CHILI GLAZE

Dinner seems so hard sometimes. I cook for SKCC during the day, so we have wonderful lunches, and obviously there are leftovers, but that leaves me not following my own advice as far as having a plan for dinner most nights. Ironic isn’t it? I have plans for lunch, we rotate the same few things for breakfast, but why does everyone eat so often? I have so so many cookbooks, and always turn there when inspiration eludes me. I’ll add a short list here, should you need some new ideas yourself. My family is not vegetarian, but we try to eat vegetarian meals often. The list below (amazon affiliated) includes both omnivorous and vegetarian authors from books (not new!) I’ve been turning to for inspiration lately:

Anna Jones (vegetarian, more carb heavy but simple, she has a few great ones!)

Green Kitchen Stories (strong vegetarian meals, colorful and present well)

Six Seasons (new ideas and combinations, but not fussy. Great side ideas)

At Home in the Whole Foods Kitchen (a cornerstone, easy to change ingredients by season, very “healthy”)

Canelle et Vanille (Aran’s photos are transcendent and romantic and her food is delicious. All GF)

Super Natural Everyday (my favorite of Heidi’s, great vegetarian meals and wholesome snack and breakfast ideas)

Salt Fat Acid Heat (for when I have lots of ingredients, but no ideas. Not a cookbook per se, but gets my mind going)

Mandy’s Gourmet Salads (mostly for me, but they are sturdy salads when I can pull things out easily for the kids)

The recipe here is from the beloved Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner, A Love Story. Her recipes are quintessential family dinner type of cooking. Easy to find ingredients, not overly fussy, likeable for adults and kids. While it may not be what you’d pull out for entertaining or something unique, it is dependable and practical, which is what we all need most nights. I have tried her brothy beans and this dish below and both were hits! Look forward to pulling from this for quick weeknight meals.

EGGPLANT + TOFU WITH SWEET HOT CHILI GLAZE // Serves 4

This was so delicious with all that sauce! I put mine in a lettuce wrap to get more greens in, or could see it with some thinly sliced cabbage.

Recipe from Weekday Vegetarians By Jenny Rosenstrach
(I reduced the amount of oil to personal preference)

1 15 oz. block of extra-firm tofu, pressed, drained and cubed
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
1 lb. eggplants, preferably graffiti, cubed
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup sweet-hot-chili glaze*

4 cups cooked rice

FOR SERVING

cilantro, sliced radishes, scallions, toasted cashews

Preheat the oven to 425’. Arrange one rack on the top rack and one on the middle. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, toss the tofu cubes with half of both oils, soy sauce, cornstarch. Use a slotted spoon, place the tofu on one of the prepared pans.

In the same bowl, add the remaining oil and the eggplant, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place the eggplant on the other sheetpan.

Place the tofu on the top rack of the oven and eggplant on the middle rack. Bake until the tofu looks crispy and golden, 20 minutes. Remove the tofu to a shallow serving bowl, move the eggplant to the top rack and continue to roast another 10 minutes until golden.

Remove the eggplant and transfer it to the dish with the tofu. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the glaze over the tofu-eggplant mixture and gently toss to coat.

Serve over rice with desired garnishes.

SWEET HOT CHILI GLAZE

3 Tbsp. hot chili sauce (such as cholula or Pete’s)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (or vegan alternative, we love Miyokos)
fresh black pepper

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the chili sauce, honey, brown sugar, pinch of salt and simmer until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove the pan from the heat and while the mixture is hot, whisk in the butter to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

MAPLE BANANA CAKE WITH YOGURT FROSTING

I really wanted to push this as a smash cake idea, but I must tell you that in retesting, it is quite delicate. It is DELICIOUS, but she is not a sturdy, easy to frost cake. I’ll give it to you straight in case you have dreams of a Pinterest-worthy sprinkle dream cake. We’re using banana and maple here, and with the sweetness and tang of the frosting, it all balances to be quite the treat. I tested it with both maple and sugar, the prior resulting in a more damp cake, and certainly less sweet, and the later a bit more traditional (and easier to frost). It gets sweetness from over ripe bananas, and I used Greek yogurt to help “frost” it. Know that Greek yogurt does not hold well at room temperature any longer than an hour, so I would suggest making the cake in advance and assembling it with the yogurt just before serving. Alternatively, if you need it to be sitting out over an hour, or hold stronger for decorating, I would make a half batch of this frosting, and just go easy on the amount. This is so many suggestions! I’m sorry, but there is cake.

MAPLE BANANA CAKE WITH YOGURT FROSTING

Make one 8” cake

I call for quick oats, which may sound annoying and you can use old-fashioned oats with a little pulse in a food processor or blender to break them down a bit. If you want a nicer textured cake, less dense, cake flour in its place here will help. If you do not time your life to have brown bananas in time, canned pumpkin does the trick.

A high fat content Greek yogurt is important here. Regular yogurt or anything runny will not work.

Egg Free: Make a flax egg by mixing the flaxmeal with a Tbsp. of water until it starts to thicken. The banana helps hold things, this doesn’t work as well with the pumpkin swap.

Gluten Free: Use a GF 1:1 flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour.

Ingredients

1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup mashed, overripe bananas (about a medium)
1/3 cup coconut oil, warmed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour or cake flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats, or pulsed oats (blitzed in a food processor or blender)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

YOGURT FROSTING

2 Tbsp. butter, room temp
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, room temp
6 oz. full-fat Greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar for a firmer frosting, maple works
dash of vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350’. Grease and parchment line a 8” pan or three, 6-8” cake rounds (this will yield much thicker layers).

In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the maple, smashed bananas, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs. Mix well to combine. Add the flour, pulsed oats, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt, and give it a few more stirs to just combine. Tip it into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked in the center. Remove to cool completely.

In a mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese until smooth and aerated a bit. Add the yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla and mix until combined and smooth. This can be done in advance and kept in the fridge for a few days. Chill to firm up it needed.

If you’re leaving this as a 8” cake, just frost and enjoy. If making a smash cake, use a round tupperware, jar or larger glass to get 2 to 3 circles from the cake and eat the scraps. Layer the cakes with some frosting between, and then over the sides and top. The cake is easier to work with if it is cold! It does need to be kept in the fridge once frosted!