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Very Weird Baked Goods


tryska

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So a twisted co-worker and I were talking about some of the festivities at the Company Picnic this year.

Apparently one of the events will be a cakewalk with the prizes of course being cakes. We were also asked to donate said prizes.

So anyway - my coworker says - I'm gonna make a bundt cake. A DILL Bundt Cake!

and we were both sufficiently grossed out by the possibilities of a dill poundcake.

but as i started thinking about - i've gotten fascinated with idea of making a palatable cake out of dill. I was thinking maybe even with olive oil.

Olive Oil and Dill Pound Cake.

Do you think there is a way to make this savory herb a palatable sweet?

Edited by tryska (log)
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once i met this guy, very strange but kinda fun, interesting weird musician type. he was telling me about how one time it was his birthday, so he made himself a chocolate cake. and then he wondered what it would be like if he added old bay seasoning to it, so he did.

he said it was terrible, unsurprisingly enough.

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Wasn't there a recipe around a few decades ago for a cake made with a can of tomato soup?

And I know I've made a chocolate beetroot cake - I think I've even got the recipe somewhere.

[edited because I remembered the beetroot cake after I posted1]

Edited by The Old Foodie (log)

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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[edited because I remembered the beetroot cake after I posted1]

darn- does that edit mean it isn't worth sharing?

I've been meaning to make beet marshmallows since christmas (when I got my stand mixer). Our downtown grocery store carries powdered beets, which would mingle with sugar well,

I think!

flavor floozy

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On the subject of cakes with beet roots, last month I made a chocolate cake that called for grated beets in the recipe. The beets melted into the batter when it baked, making the cake incredibly moist and turning the cake a lovely deep reddish brown.

I've also made two other kinds of chocolate cakes with unusual ingredients. One was a chocolate mayonnaise cake. The other cake was a chocolate sauerkraut cake for my brother-in-law who loves sauerkraut.

Adding dill to a cake doesn't sound all that far-fetched to me, although olive oil in a sweet cake doesn't sound good. How about adding a tsp of dill to a butter/pound cake recipe and dousing it with a bit of sweet dessert wine after it's cooked?

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I'd avoid recipes for butter based cakes like pound cake and check out oil based chiffon cake recipes. I think the savoury additions would shine more brightly.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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[edited because I remembered the beetroot cake after I posted1]

darn- does that edit mean it isn't worth sharing?

I've been meaning to make beet marshmallows since christmas (when I got my stand mixer). Our downtown grocery store carries powdered beets, which would mingle with sugar well,

I think!

I think I only made it once - my sister-in-law's recipe if I remember right (and she has probably still got it!), but perhaps LBHowes will part with the recipe?.

Is pumpkin used much in cakes in the US? we associate you with pumpkin pie, but there are quite a lot of recipes around (in Oz) for pumpkin in cakes, especially fruit cakes, and sweet breads.

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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Some people make zucchini loaf, maybe you could add a little dill for a nice twist but try to steer away from the garlic. ;-)

my roommate and i were tossing around different possibilities and i had mentioned a zucchini loaf as I was rattling through my head of what goes with dill (salmon in a cake doesn't sound good)

other possiblities were making some sort of dill cake w/ a lemon icing, or incorporating the dill into the icing for a lemon cake.

On the subject of cakes with beet roots, last month I made a chocolate cake that called for grated beets in the recipe. The beets melted into the batter when it baked, making the cake incredibly moist and turning the cake a lovely deep reddish brown. 

this sounds intriguing - did the end result look or taste like a Red Velvet cake?

I'd avoid recipes for butter based cakes like pound cake and check out oil based chiffon cake recipes. I think the savoury additions would shine more brightly.

Agreed - in looking over my intial post - substitute bundt for everywhere i mention pound cake - i'm not sure why, but i conflated the two - perhaps because I expect the olive oil to make a dense pound-cake like batter. What are your thoughts on using honey as the sweetener instead of sugar?

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I had a Moutai-Sauternes infused foie gras brulee (upper right of photo) at CourtYard, in Beijing. Foie gras brulee sounded like one of those cases of combining two great things that ends in disaster, but I was glad to be proven wrong; the result rivalled even the classic seared preparation!

gallery_36558_3077_44235.jpg

How unusual is this dish? Have you see it anywhere else? Google turns up only 138 hits for "foie gras brulee".

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I love zuchini and pumpkin bread/loafs. Poppyseed loaf is good too.

I don't like the idea of dill loaf though....eeeek. If anyone can pull it off, I KNOW egulleters can! :wink:

~Radio7

the tall drink of water...
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I had a Moutai-Sauternes infused foie gras brulee (upper right of photo) at CourtYard, in Beijing. Foie gras brulee sounded like one of those cases of combining two great things that ends in disaster, but I was glad to be proven wrong; the result rivalled even the classic seared preparation!

gallery_36558_3077_44235.jpg

How unusual is this dish? Have you see it anywhere else? Google turns up only 138 hits for "foie gras brulee".

I had something very like this in Alsace, France - in Strasbourg. I think the restaurant was called Chez Yvonne. It was a couple of years ago. It was fantastic.

Happy Feasting

Janet (a.k.a The Old Foodie)

My Blog "The Old Foodie" gives you a short food history story each weekday day, always with a historic recipe, and sometimes a historic menu.

My email address is: theoldfoodie@fastmail.fm

Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it. N. Scott Momaday

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my roommate and i were tossing around different possibilities and i had mentioned a zucchini loaf as I was rattling through my head of what goes with dill (salmon in a cake doesn't sound good)[...]

Not along with sugar, only in a savory cake. (I know I'm stating the obvious; I just can't help myself. :laugh:)

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Dill seed or dill weed? If you wanted to use dill seed you could make a seed cake, with dill instead of caraway. My seed cake recipe is just like pound cake, with caraway seed and some chopped candied cherries. Maybe with dill you'd use candied lemon peel instead, or just fresh zest. I think the seed wouldn't be nearly as peculiar as the weed!

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that's what i'm trying to figure as well beccaboo - seed would give me some more room to make a tasty cake - however, weed would provide a greater challenge.

altho dill seed does have a licorice taste - perhaps matched with anise...

Edited by tryska (log)
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I had a Moutai-Sauternes infused foie gras brulee (upper right of photo) at CourtYard, in Beijing. Foie gras brulee sounded like one of those cases of combining two great things that ends in disaster, but I was glad to be proven wrong; the result rivalled even the classic seared preparation!

How unusual is this dish? Have you see it anywhere else? Google turns up only 138 hits for "foie gras brulee".

I had something very like this in Alsace, France - in Strasbourg. I think the restaurant was called Chez Yvonne. It was a couple of years ago. It was fantastic.

I know they serve it at Bouley's Danube restaurant, and I've also made foie gras brulee at home. I don't use any sugar in the custard base. I serve it with sauteed wild mushrooms cooked in stock, port, butter, some herbs, and a healthy drizzle of white truffle oil.

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For Channakah/Christmas, I made a Tunisian blood orange cake (Claudia Roden was the original source according to the friend who gave me the recipe) that includes entire oranges, skin, pith et al, and olive oil. We all LOVED it. There was a faint greenish tint, gorgeous and appropriate for the season against the stunning fuschia blood of slices I glazed and placed on top.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Wasn't there a recipe around a few decades ago for a cake made with a can of tomato soup?

I might have mentioned this in a post some time back. It was regular picnic fare when I was a kid. Loved it. Basically a spice cake with buttery frosting.

There are lots of Russian, Slavic & Northern European cakes that require vegetables, aren't there? Not as "weird" as the dillweed* cake that inspired this thread, but I've also made a chocolate one with mashed potatoes. (Someone's already mentioned another that calls for sauerkraut.)

Long before Clotilde's C & Z blog, I used an excellent Gourmet magazine recipe for chocolate-zucchini cake sent in by a reader.

ETA: Not a baked dessert per se, but BIG TIP: tarragon is FABULOUS in French toast with maple syrup :wub: !!!

*As for the musings that inspired this thread, I confess I am not a fan of dillweed as a flavor, largely because I OD'ed on the stuff when I first was introduced to the fresh herb in college. The only thing I still enjoy with dill is an onion cottage-cheese bread; the smell of it baking is incredible, so maybe... There are teacakes that call for savory herbs such as thyme, no? As long as there is lots and lots of butter, why not? I'd perhaps go for something with a complementary "outsider" quality, like the tang of buttermilk. Also, carrots and dillweed go together, so try it or another listed vegetable. Just omit raisins, pineapple, walnuts... I might start with muffins to experiment, adding dillweed in various quantities to SOME of the batter just in case you decide it is the attempt and not the deed that was most enjoyable.

Edited by Pontormo (log)

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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(salmon in a cake doesn't sound good)

Maybe not in "regular" cake, but I make a mean smoked salmon cheesecake. Been craving it for weeks, as a matter of fact, and was planning to make one for the wedding I catered (and hosted, actually) yesterday, but just plain ran out of time, what with doing the actual wedding cakes, too.

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For Channakah/Christmas, I made a Tunisian blood orange cake (Claudia Roden was the original source according to the friend who gave me the recipe) that includes entire oranges, skin, pith et al, and olive oil.  We all LOVED it.  There was a faint greenish tint, gorgeous and appropriate for the season against the stunning fuschia blood of slices I glazed and placed on top.

This is my husband's favourite cake. I do add more blood orange than the recipe calls for, and also kind of douse it in an orange syrup while it's hot. Just delicious. I wish I had a better source for blood oranges as it's pretty much the only cake I'll bake that isn't too sweet for him to eat.

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(salmon in a cake doesn't sound good)

Maybe not in "regular" cake, but I make a mean smoked salmon cheesecake. Been craving it for weeks, as a matter of fact, and was planning to make one for the wedding I catered (and hosted, actually) yesterday, but just plain ran out of time, what with doing the actual wedding cakes, too.

sweetened cheesecake?

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I might start with muffins to experiment, adding dillweed in various quantities to SOME of the batter just in case you decide it is the attempt and not the deed that was most enjoyable.

this is an excellent idea. I would hate to waste a mess of good ingredients to experiment, but if i break up a batter into different formulations, that will go a long way.

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Dill can go sweet:

carmelized onions with white wine and dill and olive oil. Sweet and delicious.

There's a Filipino sweet pastry filled with carmelized onions.

So, there's room for a riff on those, to make a sweet dill cake.

Flavor the cake with white wine, use a mild olive oil, and mix in the dillweed. Perhaps use finely ground carmelized onions as a tunnel in the cake? Then glaze with a sweet wine glaze.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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