Honey Buttermilk Oatmeal Coffee Cake: For The Daring Bakers February Challenge

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& Muffins, Baking, Bread and Pastries, breakfast, buttermilk, Cake, coffee cake, Cupcake, daring baker, daring kitchen challenge, honey, oatmeal, pecan, quick bread

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Bread that is quick to make because it doesn’t require kneading or rising time. That’s because the leavener in such a bread is usually baking powder or baking soda, which, when combined with moisture, starts the rising process immediately. In the case of double-acting baking powder, oven heat causes a second burst of rising power. Eggs can also be used to leaven quick breads. This genre includes most biscuits, muffins, popovers and a wide variety of sweet and savory loaf breads.

Some tips from Lisa:

•Quick breads can be sweet or savory, they are a modern innovation they became common after the introduction of baking powder and baking soda.
•Baking powder is a combination of acid and alkaline that reacts together when moistened to form gases that raises the baked quick bread. Usage 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of flour.
•Baking soda (an alkaline salt, sodium bicarbonate) is used when the liquid is acidic, such as buttermilk, honey, molasses, tomato sauce etc. Usage ½ to 1 teaspoon per cup of acidic liquid.
•Be sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh.
•Measure ingredients accurately, using the measuring tools and techniques suggested.
•Preheat the oven to the correct baking temperature. Arrange racks so that the bread will bake in the center of the oven which has the best heat distribution in the oven.
•To allow for good air circulation while baking, leave at least 1 inch of space between pans and between pans and sides of oven. Switch pan positions and rotate pans halfway through baking.
•The two top secrets to moist, tender quick bread is 1)in the mixing always use a quick light technique so you don’t over-mix the batter 2) don’t over-bake since this cause dryness in the final baked product.

Biscuits, coffee cake, muffins_ they’re all quick breads. My recipe for the quick bread challenge is for the coffee cake, simple, light and healthful, perfect for afternoon tea or breakfast with tea or coffee.
A lot of thanks to Lisa and the Daring bakers for sharing with us some tips and recipes for quick breads.

Honey Buttermilk Oatmeal Coffee Cake

The honey mixture bakes at the bottom of the pan for this dessert. Then flip the finished cake over to reveal a sweet glaze on top.

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. light-colored corn syrup
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
4 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
Honey (optional)

Grease a  baking pan. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup honey, 1/3 cup melted butter, corn syrup, lemon peel and lemon juice. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Pour into prepared pan; set aside.

For cake: In a blender or food processor, blend or process oats until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, 1/4 cup melted butter, and vanilla. Add the milk mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Spoon batter evenly over honey mixture. Bake in a 375 degree F oven about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately invert cake onto a serving plate. Cool about 10 minutes. Serve warm drizzled with additional honey, if you like. Makes 9 servings.

A Tip From My Kitchen:

I learnt from Martha Stewart Very helpful tip about buttermilk.
When I buy a quart of buttermilk, I never need all of it. Luckily, it freezes well and is great to use later in pancakes, cakes, or marinades.

Chickpea Patties “Falafel”(The Daring Cooks’ February Challenge: Flipping Fried Patties!!!)

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arabic salad, chickpea patties, chickpeas, daring cooks, falafel, falafel spices, fried falafel, legumes, middle eastern food, pita bread, pita sandwiches, sandwiches, tahini sauce

The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!

A Middle Eastern delight: Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans and they’ve been fast food in the Middle East forever. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread. The falafel patties are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel patties may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze. Falafel patties are appealing to children and are a good source of protein.

The origin of falafel is unknown and controversial. A common theory is that the dish originated in Egypt, Where is known as ta’amiya, possibly eaten by Copts as a replacement for meat during Lent. As it generally accepted to have first been made in Egypt, where Alexandria is a port city, it was possible to export the dish and name to other areas in the Middle East. It has also been theorized to a lesser extent that falafel originated during Egypt’s Pharaonic Period or in the Indian subcontinent. The dish later migrated northwards to the Levant, where chickpeas replaced the fava. Falafel has become a dish eaten throughout the Middle East and the fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food. In modern times, falafel has been considered a national dish of Egypt and for the levant countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and specially for Palestine, where also the Israeli’s now claimed it to them selves after occupying the lands of Palestine in the mid 1900′s.

As with the falafel, dried chickpeas are a must for this recipe; the canned version are simply too soft and patties will fall apart.
Don’t use a food processor; it makes the mixture too runny to shape into patties. You can shape the Falafel by hand or use the falafel mold or scoop “Aleb Falafel”, it’s used both commercially and at home to shape the falafel and drop them straight into the hot oil.

1 pound dried chickpeas
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bundle of Parsley, washed and stems trimmed
1 bundle of cilantro, washed and stems trimed
2 slices of stale bread
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground dill seeds
1 tablespoon dried dill weed or chopped fresh dill weed
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, optional
Salt and pepper, as needed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1\2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
sesame seeds, optional

Make the Falafel:
Rinse and clean the chickpeas, then soak in water for at least overnight or 24 hours. Check if it needs more water, and make sure it’s all covered and the water is 2 inch above the chickpeas.
Drain the chickpeas and place them with the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and the bread in the bowl, then grind them in the meat grinder. I use the kitchen aid meat grinder, try not to use the food processor because it will make the batter too runny and mushy.
Run the ingredients through the grinder the first time, add the bread after grinding all the other ingredients, as this will help get every bit remaining of chickpeas and parsley from the grinder.
Add the spices and mix it together, then run the mix for second time through the grinder and grind it very fine, I used the smallest size of the grinder disk.
At this step, you can divide the mix into patches and freeze some for a quick and handy prepared falafel mix, just you have to defrost first then continue with the next step.
When you are ready to fry the falafel, add the salt, pepper, baking soda and baking powder. Mix will, and let set for 10 min before frying. If you see the mix too dry add a couple of tablespoon of water and mix.

Heat the oil. Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls, or patties shape. you can use the falafel mold to shape it, sprinkle with sesame seed if you wish, and deep-fry or pan-fry in hot oil.
If you want a lighter falafel version, you can bake them, and you will get the healthier and still have the same delicious taste, You will have to arrange the patties in an oiled oven sheet, then spray the patties with oil and bake. But the traditional way is to fry falafel, to me I hardly die for fried ones.

Sandwiches:

to make the sandwiches, it’s a traditional way to serve with pita bread, the pocket pita is the perfect. you can use any size of pita, here I used the mini size “the griddler pita”, it’s the same recipe for pita bread but the only thing is it baked on the griddler.

6 to 8 pita, lightly toasted and warmed (recipe will posted soon in a separate post)
tahini sauce, recipe follow
Arabic simple salad, recipe follow
Hummos (recipe will posted in a separate post)

Make the Sandwiches: Stuff the pita with falafel patties inside, top with salad, and drizzle with the tahini sauce. Serve immediately.

The Arabic simple vegetable salad:

1 cup Shredded lettuce
1\2 cup Tomato, chopped
2 tablespoon red onion, chopped
1\2 cup cucumbers, chopped
1\2 cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper.

Tahini Sauce:

1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice

Mash the garlic and salt together. Add the tahini, mixing well. The sauce will thicken. Gradually add the water, blending thoroughly. Then add the lemon juice. Blend well.

Note: This can be a thin or thick sauce, depending upon the use and preference. Simply adjust with lemon juice and water. This can be used with vegetables or in combination with other recipes.