Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze

Greetings! I know it may seem like I've been neglecting my baking duties (which I take very seriously!) because I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, but I have been busily baking away. I was on this cornbread kick trying to fulfill a special request from a work colleague. And, of course, I was hoping to post about my fabulous cornbread results.

Alas, not such good results. Even using a recipe from the grand Dame of Southern food, Edna Lewis. Her recipe produced a bread with incredible texture, but really, severely, lacking in taste. This was so bad it went directly into the trash. My next attempt was with a recipe from Dean Fearing (formerly of the Mansion on Turtle Creek, now at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas). Again, nice texture, not so good on flavor. My husband re-purposed this as a stuffing mixture for delicious pork chops he made the next night. At least not a total waste.

So while I'm not giving up on finding a great cornbread recipe, I needed a little deviation this week. I went to one of my favorite bakers, Gina DePalma, for inspiration. Her "Zucchini Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze" proved to be the ticket (from her wonderful book, Dolce Italiano - see Amazon link under "Books I Love"). The trio of spices in the recipe (cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg) provide that all-important autumnal aroma, and the cake has a wonderful moist, light crumb. But let me tell you about the taste. It's got this unusual sweetness to it, not your typical harvest-y type flavor, but almost like a healthy, good for you, type sweetness. Probably from the zucchini, or at least that's what I'm attributing it to. Either way, this is one terrific cake. The lemon glaze is not too sweet either, in case you were worried about that. Although it feels like an autumn cake to me, obviously you could leverage this recipe when your zucchini harvest is at full throttle in the summer and you don't know what to do with your zucchini overload. Seems like a perfect excuse to me to bake a cake! But don't wait until next summer to try this -- it's too good. Mangia bene!

Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze

Makes one 10" cake, approximately 12 servings

Cake

1 C walnut pieces

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 t kosher salt

2 t ground cinnamon

1 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground nutmeg

3 large eggs

1-3/4 C granulated sugar

1 C extra-virgin olive oil

2 t pure vanilla extract

2-1/2 C grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)

Confectioners' su

gar, for dusting (optional)

Glaze

1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 C confectioners' sugar

To make the cake: preheat oven to 350 F and position rack in center. Grease a 10 cup Bundt pan using nonstick cooking spray or butter, then dust with flour to coat completely, tapping out excess flour.

Place walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until they are golden brown and aromatic, 12-14 minutes. Cool walnuts completely, then finely chop them in food processor and set aside (CT note: I opted for not-so-fine a chop as I really like the texture and crunch of walnuts).

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in medium bowl and set aside. In electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and olive oil together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula after each addition. Beat in dry ingredients all at once on low speed until they are thoroughly combined, then switch mixer to medium speed and mix for 30 seconds. Beat in the zucchini and walnuts on low speed until they are completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with spatula. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time to ensure even browning. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from sides of pan.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze: in medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and granulated sugar, then whisk in the confectioners' sugar until the glaze is completely smooth.

Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack. Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the glaze over the entire surface of the warm cake, using all of the glaze; it will adhere to the cake and set as the cake cools. Allow cake to cool completely and the glaze to dry completely.

Transfer cake to a stand or serving plate and, if desired, lightly dust it with confectioners' sugar. Any leftover cake may be wrapped in plastic and served the following day.

See photo below - I wouldn't normally post a photo like this, but I wanted you to be able to see the beautiful texture and the flecks of zucchini throughout the cake.

The MOST Incredible Cookie - Part II

Welcome back.  Sorry to have run off and left you with only a photo and no recipe earlier today, but I promised you I'd post it tonight and here I am.

The official title of this cookie is "Bittersweet Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies," but "brookies" is so much better, don't you think?  And let me just stop here for one second to thank my good friend, Christino, for coming up with that name - thank you. Brookie really fits this because when you bite into it, it is chewy on the inside with a nice crust, just like a brownie. But, IMHO, it is way better than a brownie because it is cute and bite-sized (just like a cookie).  May I present, the brookie.

When they come out of the oven, the powdered sugar you rolled them in prior to baking has melted into the cookie and they look like little licorice disks all lined up on the cooling rack (see in-progress photos above). But the taste and the texture - that's what I'm talking about here. The not-too-finely chopped hazelnuts gives them this wonderful mouth-feel; and the taste is sublime - dark, bittersweet chocolate just runs rampant through your mouth. This little cookie, excuse me, brookie, is just the perfect little pick-me-up in between meetings or at the end of the day. Or perhaps served for dessert on Saturday night with some cinnamon gelato...oh yeah, I can totally see that. 

Well, you've waited long enough.  Here is the recipe.  But before I forget, this recipe comes from the wonderful pastry chef, Gina DePalma. Gina is the pastry chef at Babbo in NYC and this recipe is from her book titled "Dolce Italiano, Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen." Thanks to my friend, Phyllis in California, for sending me this fabulous book last summer. The other thing I love about this book, obviously besides the recipes, is Gina's narrative about Italy - her descriptions about the little bakeries and munching on cookies while meandering the narrow streets of Rome are the kinds of things that fuel my hunger to go back to Italy. You might notice that this book is on my Amazon list of favorite books on the right-hand side of the page. If you can't get to Italy anytime soon, this book will at least keep you happy and well-fed. Mangia bene!

Bittersweet Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 C unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 C whole hazelnuts, skinned or unskinned

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 t pure vanilla extract

5 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1-1/2 C confectioners' sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Place the hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse them 2 or 3 times to chop them medium-fine. Add the hazelnuts to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine them.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients, followed by the chocolate, and beat just until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Lightly grease two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or butter or line them with parchment.

Place the confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl. To form the cookies, roll 1 scant tablespoon of dough into a 1-inch ball, then flatten it slightly with your fingertips to form a small disk. Roll the cookie in the confectioners' sugar to coat it evenly and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the dough is used, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

Bake the cookies until they are puffed and cracking, 8-10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees halfway through the baking time to ensure that the cookies bake evenly. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer them gently to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, dust with additional confectioners' sugar.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment paper, and kept in a cool, dry place for up to 1 week.

Makes approximately 5 dozen.