Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake

The week before Christmas is insane. Dealing with the flurry and excitement of family traditions and obligations, spending too much on gifts and stressing over what to buy people, rushing to get christmas cards out all while trying to relax and enjoy a season that is supposed to be magical seems somewhat impossible. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, a holiday potluck with almost twenty people two weeks later, had a friend from out of town visit last weekend, and I'm currently neck-deep in grad school applications, and honestly this year we are just over it. My plans for homemade butternut squash ravioli on christmas eve are going to turn into Indian food take out. And I'm ok with it. 

I've been projecting my exhaustion on my students this week by attempting to gift them with the 10-minute savasana, a rare gem in modern yoga classes and the ultimate christmas gift. It's something we could ALL use. Unfortunately I haven't been to a yoga class in over a month and I'm started to feel it big time. 

But seriously, my husband has never been a big fan of Christmas, he's always been all about Thanksgiving - gratitude, celebrating with family and friends, opening your doors to everyone, and being thankful for what you have, no gifts necessary. And I'm started to think he's onto something, because really who needs to collect more junk? We don't. I'm trying to embrace this by making edible gifts and gifting simple practical things. When my brother told me he wanted glass storage containers for food, preferably used, for christmas I about hugged him through the phone. Have I mentioned my brother pretty much lives off the grid? We have become our conservative consumerist parents' nightmare. My mom called me the other day stressing over whether to make ham, prime rib, or salmon for christmas dinner. I honestly don't know what kind of answer she expected from her vegetarian daughter but all she got was a big laugh. I say all of this being totally guilty myself. I worry about giving people the perfect gift, I stress about getting christmas cards out to the people we care about in time, and I've been obsessing over a holiday Pinterest board for weeks. 

So I'm posting this cake. Then signing off. Attempting to relax and take a break from standing over the stove. Let someone else cook for me, give grad school applications a break, and snuggle with my husband and my puppy. I hope you take some time to do the same. Maybe even go big and give yourself a 10 minute savasana. Then, if you have time, make this cake. It's simple, christmas-y and delicious. Rich dark chocolate and bright sour juicy cranberries become best friends and play beautifully together under the buttery pecan crumble sun. 

I am so tired. Can you tell? Over and out. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Be well, my friends. 

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Crumble Cake
Makes 1 large 9-inch cake
Adapted by Smitten Kitchen  

For the cake: 
2 cups minus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
8.5 ounces, or 2 heaping cups, fresh cranberries
7oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped 

For the crumble: 
5 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and cold

Heat oven to 375. Butter and lightly flour a 9" cake pan then line base with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugars and zest until light and fluffy - around 5 minutes at full speed. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, pour in 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated, follow with 1/2 of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, the other 1/2 of the milk, and finally the last 1/3 of flour beating until incorporated between each addition. Remove bowl from the mixer and stir in cranberries and chocolate until evenly distributed- because the batter is super thick, I found using a wooden spoon worked much easier than a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth over the top. 

Make the crumble. In a small bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, pecans and salt. Using your hands or a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembled chunky sand - there should still be small bits of butter. Sprinkle the crumble over the cake and cook for 40-50 minutes until the crumble is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, flip to remove from cake pan and serve. 

Notes:

We left it at room temperature and like Deb says, it does get more moist the longer it's out. It was devoured within 36 hours, but she claims it will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature, after that pop it in the fridge. 

December 2015 update: I tried it with Trader Joe's Gluten-Free flour and it was tasty but the cake didn't hold together when cut. The lack of gluten made things really fall apart. 

Photography - our awesome neighbor came over the night I baked this and let me play with his camera. Needless to say it was far superior to my current camera which is an iphone...So if you're wondering why some of these photos look better than any I've ever posted that's why!

Homemade Dark Chocolate Nutella {vegan!}

My favorite part about being married is the idea that my husband and I get to become our own family, start our own traditions, and build a life on our terms. It's pretty awesome. Obviously, one of our family values is good food. We gladly spend the extra couple cents for organic produce, our favorite date nights revolve around food, and cooking together, however challenging it can be in our little kitchen, is one of our favorite activities.

So last year I, unknowingly, started a tradition by making Nate homemade nutella for christmas. I sneakily bought all the ingredients and whipped it up while he was at work then wrapped it and put it under the tree. It was everything nutella should be and more. It was nutella but fresh and real tasting with texture and warmth from real roasted hazelnuts and creamy melted chocolate, minus the chemicals and preservatives. I remember thinking I never realized how processed nutella tasted until I had the good stuff. 

So this year while we were brainstorming unique gift ideas we knew we had to re-create the homemade nutella. We made the first batch with classic milk chocolate. Then with leftover hazelnuts we figured we'd make ourselves a batch, the only problem was we ran out of milk chocolate. We figured since it was just us we'd experiment with dark chocolate. After some taste tests, we upped the amount of hazelnuts a tad and decreased the amount of chocolate a tad. Then to make up for the added bitterness and decreased sugar from the dark chocolate we added an extra tablespoon of sugar. And tada it was just as good as the original with added richness from the dark chocolate. As we stood over the sink comparing the two while licking the spatula and bowl of the food processor we realized our new version is vegan! 

So literally minutes after accidentally creating it, I'm writing to you about homemade dark chocolate nutella: the perfect diy christmas gift. It's so rich, so creamy, and so real tasting. It really does put processed traditional nutella to shame. Because really, what says "I love you, you're special, merry christmas" like a giant jar of homemade nutella? You can bet your chocolate smeared fingers it will be enjoyed until the spoon hits the bottom of the jar! 

Homemade Dark Chocolate Nutella {vegan} 
Adapted from Buzzfeed Food 
Makes 1 pint or 2 cups 

3 tbsp baking soda, if your hazelnuts contain skins
1 1/4 roasted hazelnuts
11 oz dark chocolate (I used 55% cocoa) 
3 tbsp grapeseed oil (or canola oil) 
4 tbsp confectioner's sugar - see notes
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 - 2 tsp sea salt 

Ideally, look for hazelnuts with the skins already removed. If you can only find hazelnuts with the peels intact (like me) you will need to peel them. The easiest peeling method is to bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once water begins to boil add 3 tbsp baking soda, it will foam. Add your hazelnuts and continue to boil for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove 1 nut and test to see if the skin is easily removable. If not, boil longer then retest. Once the hazelnuts are done transfer them to a bowl of ice water. Remove the skins, they should easily peel off, and dry the nuts. 

Toast the hazelnuts at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned, even if your hazelnuts are pre-toasted like mine I still do this step as I feel it boosts the flavor. Set aside. 

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. If, like me, you don't have a double boiler, in a small saucepan, bring an inch of so of water to a bowl. Top saucepan with-heat proof bowl, I used pyrex, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Once the water boils pour the chocolate into the bowl and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. 

In a food processor blend hazelnuts and oil until they reach the consistency of smooth paste. You made need to scape down the sides with a spatula a couple times. Add the sugar (starting with 4 tbsp - you can add more later, if needed), cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt and process until completely combined. Pour in the melted chocolate and process until completely smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust sugar and salt if needed. 

Notes: 
Depending on how dark your chocolate is you may need to add more sugar. I used 55%, so if you're using something much higher you will definitely need to add more sugar to combat the bitterness. We found salt also helped a surprising amount in bringing out the flavors and decreasing the bitterness, so feel free to up that as well. Just taste to gauge. 


 

Apple, Rosemary, & Sharp Cheddar Galette with Caramelized Shallots in a Buttery Parmesan Crust

Guys, less than a week till Christmas. Are you ready? Maybe you're Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas. If that's you, let me say first Happy 4th night of Hanukkah, and second, I have recently developed a crazy intense love for latkes, and for a non-jew the amount of them I've managed to get my hands on in the last week is pretty remarkable. Seriously making me question my catholic upbringing. But anyway, chances are regardless of what holiday you celebrate, you'll probably be attending some festive gatherings in the next two weeks. Lucky for you, I've got the perfect dish. 

I've had a long time fascination with sweet and savory things that don't seem like they'd fit together, but surprisingly pair quite fantastically, making you question everything you thought you knew. For me this is sharp cheddar and apples. Sure they could work together on a cheese plate, but what about all stewed up nice and steamy in a rustic galette? Even better.

For those of you who've never had the opportunity to throw together a galette, or who might not know what it is, it's basically a rustic, no-fuss, much easier version of a pie. No crimping the edges, no rolling out perfectly round measured circles, no covering the crust with tin foil (ain't no body got time for that), and no nervous transferring of a crust to a pie dish. You just mix up your dough, roll it out (and seriously the more imperfect the better here) and throw whatever kind of fillings you like inside. Fold up the edges, again imperfections here add to the rustic-ness, and pop it in the oven. No fuss. The result is handmade and charming. 

And the apples and cheddar? They make quite the dynamic duo. And along with toasty caramelized shallots and winter herbs this thing comes out of the oven smelling super cozy. But even though the filling is great, I still think this crust is my favorite part. It's flakey, buttery, with just a the perfect hint of pepper and parmesan. So far this season I've cooked it up for Thanksgiving, a weeknight dinner, and the holiday potluck we had last weekend. 

Apple, Rosemary, & Sharp Cheddar Galette with Caramelized Shallots in a Buttery Parmesan Crust
Serves 6 as an appetizer 

For the dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed and frozen for 15 minutes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4-5 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the filling: 
3-4 shallots, sliced
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tbsp rosemary
1/4 tsp salt
1 giant, or 2 regular size Honeycrisp apples, peeled & sliced
1 heaping cup grated extra sharp cheddar
1 egg

Make the dough. Pulse flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper and parmesan in a food processor until combined. Add frozen butter chunks and parmesan and pulse until butter breaks up to the size of peas. Add 1/2 the water, pulse, add the other half, pulse, then add the olive oil and pulse until cohesive dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 2-3 times, form into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes and up to two days. 

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a small skillet, sauté shallots over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes until soft and golden brown. Set aside. Finely shop thyme and rosemary and mix with salt, set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Assemble the galette. Cover a flat work surface with a large piece of parchment and lightly dust with flour. Roll out the dough to a 14" imperfect circle - seriously, keeping it a little uneven, with jagged edges adds to the rustic feel. Top with cheddar, leaving about 1/2 inch boarder on all sides. Top cheddar with shallots and 1/2 of the herb salt mixture. Top with apples - I layered mine in two overlapping rows but you could do any design you'd like. Sprinkle with remaining herbs. Using a bench scraper, fold uncovered edges of the galette over. Whisk egg and brush crust with a liberal amount of egg wash. Drizzle entire galette with olive oil, freshly grated parmesan, and salt & pepper. 

Transfer galette, keeping it on the parchment paper, to a large baking sheet. And cook for 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes and serve. 

Notes: 

• Photos updated November 2016
• The galette is just as great at room temperature as it is warm. 
• Reheats best in the toaster oven.