Polenta Cake with Buttermilk Ice Cream

So, I am managing to squeeze one more post in before A and I embark on the big adventure. This post is particularly important for reasons completely unrelated to our trip... it is the first time in awhile that I have successfully gotten away with ignoring the dessert ban.

It was a Friday afternoon; I had just finished my work for the day and was flipping through an issue of Bon Appetit to find some inspiration for dinner when I came across a recipe for polenta cake with plums and buttermilk icing. A quick scan of the recipe indicated that I had all the ingredients on hand and might actually be able to whip up an entire dessert before A called to check in. I had to do it. I had nearly a quart of whipping cream and buttermilk spoiling in the fridge - what a great way to knock them down... and polenta cake isn't super sweet so maybe A won't even notice I have made dessert. No plums on hand, so the pound of strawberries in the fridge would have to do. Voila, a frosty interpretation of strawberry shortcake!

All of the prep for the cake was finished in about 15-20 minutes, including measuring ingredients. It really does not get easier than that. 50 minutes in the oven... and then 15 more minutes of prep work to prepare the buttermilk custard for the ice cream... To serve I cut a thick slice of cake, garnished it with quartered strawberries and then topped it with two spoons of ice cream. That was all it took to have fresh, summery baked goods that are magazine worthy on hand all weekend.

The pound cake was dense and moist with a unique texture due to the polenta. At the same time, it was not overly sweet making it perfect for breakfast. Yes, for three days in a row I ate cake and ice cream for breakfast. My mother would probably be horrified. It was good.

Buttermilk ice cream is a little funny because the buttermilk gives it a tart flavor that is not particularly appealing on its own. Pairing the ice cream with something is the best way to enjoy it. After we had finished the cake, A and I ate the rest of the ice cream paired with fresh fruit such as strawberries. The ice cream is so easy to make that it would be great to have on hand through the summer for when you are craving a cold sweet treat.

So now we are sitting at JFK airport in the "oasis lounge" awaiting our departure. With a stroke of luck, we were able to move our flights up a day and minimize the number of connections. Let's just say it was a scramble to make the flight - I ended up needing to cancel my last meetings of the day and leave the office early so that I could dash home and tend to laundry, old food in the fridge, the trash, kill my sourdough starter (I nearly shed a tear, but who was going to feed the beast for the rest of the summer while I was away) and all of the other glamorous chores that must be done before you close up your house for a month.

Next stop - Singapore!

Recipes for the cake and ice cream below!

Raspberry, Cinnamon and Orange Ice Cream

I am a terrible blogger. Hoboken Cupcake has suffered some true neglect this month, which can be blamed equally on A's fatwa on desserts, my hectic job and trips to California and Rhode Island to visit friends and family. I can't believe that a month has gone by. A MONTH HAS GONE BY!!! Hooray for summer! I can't believe it is finally here. And what does summer mean? Ice cream, of course... and sorbet... but mostly ice cream! It also means that I really need to use all of the raspberries I have in my freezer. They have been there for an embarrassingly long time - embarrassing enough that I am not going to say when I put them there. Let's just say that raspberries freeze well. 

 

My ice cream maker is rapidly becoming my favorite kitchen appliance (thanks to the salpedros, who got it for us as a wedding gift... after I embarrassingly told them that it is what they should get us... nothing like telling your friends to buy you presents... I got some class). Nothing beats homemade ice cream. You can control the stuff that goes in it, raising or lowering the fat and sugar as you wish. You can also create any flavor that you can dream of - flavors like raspberry cinnamon and orange. No more standing in the freezer section searching for the perfect flavor to accompany the pie you made... instead you can make it yourself.

Like most things from scratch, ice cream does take a bit of planning. You can't just decide you want some and then enjoy it 30 minutes later. It takes a least a full day from start to finish, in order to ensure proper freezing. That being said, most recipes only require about 20-25 minutes of active time. The rest of the time is spent waiting... and waiting... and waiting some more. It is definitely worth it. 

An aside - A and I finally decided to get a fancy camera. While I don't think that I will suddenly be posting award winning photography on this blog, I do expect my photos to get much sharper and have better lighting. Alas, I didn't get a macro lens, just a DSLR, but it's about the baby steps, right? Macro lenses are expensive and I have flour to buy!

Recipe after the jump!

Easter Supper for Eight: Taking full advantage of spring produce!

Easter weekend marked the first real spring weekend in New Jersey. A few months ago, our friends were kind enough to invite themselves over for easter supper (haha!), so A and I were left with no choice but to pull together a spring-themed feast.

A handled the shopping. Initially, I thought this was a great idea, as it gave me time to grab lunch with one of my girlfriends. Then A got home. I walked into a kitchen filled with more produce than I had ever seen in my life.

- Honey, what is all this?

- You told me to get baby vegetables, so I got everything that could have been considered a baby.

- You what????

- Well, yeah, and I hope that nobody else is planning to buy baby vegetables today because I bought everything they had.

- But we just needed carrots, and a few other root vegetables. Did you get baby beets?

- No, I didn't get beets. But I did get fresh baby corn, baby artichokes, baby fennell, baby turnips, baby potatoes, fiddleheads...

- You bought fiddleheads? But why? We don't even know how to cook those.

- They are baby ferns. I told you, I bought everything they had that was baby.

Seriously? All I could do was shoot him my best "exasperated wifey look" and make a mental note to never let him do the shopping alone again. With hindsight, I must admit, it is a good thing he bought every vegetable they had because everything got eaten. Once the last guest had left, there was scarcely a leftover to be seen.

Here is the menu:

Goats Cheese and Olive Tapenade Crostini

Manchego Crostini with Romesco Sauce

Fresh Fava Bean, Baby Corn and Feta Salad

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Tomato and Fennel Vinaigrette

Roasted Baby Vegetables

Sauteed Asparagus and Fiddleheads with Chanterelles

Strawberry and Orange-Scented Mascarpone Tart with a Port Wine Reduction

Homemade Vanilla and Cinnamon Ice Cream

Pistachio Macarons with Pistachio Gianduja

Guests J-squared (ha!) brought a lovely fig and orange toast with goats cheese that I somehow did not manage to take photos of! Probably because it got eaten too quickly.

Prep for the party took about a day and a half. While none of the recipes were particularly difficult, the sheer volume of vegetables meant several hours of sousing. A decided after peeling 3 lbs of asparagus that we might not ever serve asparagus again. While I do enjoy it, I am okay with sacrificing asparagus if it means I never have to peel them again. Tossed with fiddleheads, chanterelles and tarragon, they were lovely, but probably not worth the trouble.

Crostini is definitely our new go-to appetizer. It is very low stress, as the spreads can be made in advance, and the bite-sized pieces are crowd pleasers. For the two varieties we made this weekend, the romesco sauce was leftover from a week night dinner (shh!) and the olive tapenade can be prepped up to a week ahead of time. Garnish with your favorite cheese (in our case goats cheese for the olive spread and manchego for the romesco sauce) and you are good to go. For the bread, I pulled together a batch of pain a l'ancienne from the Bread Bakers Apprentice, a must have book for anyone who is interested in making bread at home.

The weather was very much in our favor - bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. If anything, it was almost too hot! A tossed some lemon and mint into a pitcher of water to keep everyone refreshed, and offered up sun-screen to accompany glasses of white wine.

   

Dessert continued the spring theme. Two of our guests, D and J, gave us an ice cream machine as a wedding gift a few years ago. As such, whenever they come over, I make it a point to whip up a batch of fresh ice cream. Today was no different, and I looked to my favorite recipe for vanilla bean and cinnamon ice cream. A and I had run out of serving dishes, so the ice cream was served as a "palette cleanser" in mini-martini glasses. It looks like we were being fancy, but really, we just didn't have any more dishes.

The ice cream was followed by a decadent strawberry mascarpone tart. I made the mascarpone myself, and added sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, orange juice and vanilla to flavor it. The entire tart was drizzled with a port glaze before serving.

 

We closed the meal with pistachio macarons because I just don't think I can host a party without them anymore. For the macarons shells, I used the same recipe I have referenced before on this blog, but subbed in ground pistachios for half of the almond flour. I also added green food coloring. For some reason these macs had much softer texture than those I have made in the past. Maybe it was the pistachios?

All in all, it was a successful event. Maybe hosting easter supper could become a tradition for us. I honestly think I enjoyed it more than our annual barbeque.

Honestly, there is just too much here for me to write-up all of the recipes. Recipes taken directly from other sites are linked above. After the jump, recipes for the pistachio gianduja, fava bean salad and the ice cream. If you want other emails, leave a note.