About Chocolate Cake

So this isn't the cake recipe that I shared in my video but it's the only shot I had of a chocolate cake.  It's actually a photo of a delightful birthday cake my partner-in-crime made me a few summers back.  Gotta love a man that bakes you a cake, especially one containing beets!  Beets?! Yes, those red root vegetables that appear in the pages of old fairy tales.  My cake was delicious and ever so subtle reddish hue was the only hint that it contained a vegetable. 

At any rate, back to the My Favorite Chocolate Cake...

There were some questions about the inclusion of vinegar and as explained in the video it's purpose is to react with the baking soda.  Vinegar is and an acid and when mixed with an alkaline or base, in this case baking soda, it causes a chemical reaction that creates carbon dioxide gas.  The carbon dioxide bubbles continue to fizz and expand during baking and creating all of those crumby pockets inside the cake.  Look carefully the next time you eat a piece of bread or cake; you'll see what I'm talking about.  The goal is well-risen poofy cake, so we add the vinegar at the end to conserve as much of the CO2 as possible.

Also a note about baking soda vs. baking powder.  This are NOT interchangeable.   In a recipe that contains only baking soda there's usually an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt) to react with it to create a leavening reaction.  Baking powder on the other hand, is a combination of baking soda and an acid that just just water to activate.  Sometimes recipes call for both leaveners, which I've read is to counteract baking powder's sometime have a bitter, metallic flavor.   The alkaline baking soda is used to neutralize the remaining acid found in the baking powder.  Whew!  Now that we've gotten through the technicalities of chemical leaveners, let's talk chocolate cake.

My Favorite Chocolate Cake 
adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook
If you're looking for a no frills chocolate cake, this is your recipe.  It sweet enough to be a cake but not so rich that you regret your indulgence.  It's just right.

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/3 C. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. oil
1 C. cold water or coffee
2 t. vanilla extract
2 T. vinegar
1 - 1 1/2 C. chocolate chips (non-dairy if making a vegan cake)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (180 C).  Sift together the dry ingredients.  Separately mix the wet ingredients except for the vinegar  Add liquid ingredient to the dry mix well.  Add chocolate chips and vinegar, stir quickly leaving some swirls of bubbling; don't over mix.   Pour batter into a greased 9" cake pan or into a muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes for a cake pan, 18-20 minutes for muffins, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Channeling Grandma

My paternal grandma was a lot like this bao.  She was warm, round and filled with goodness.  She was also a great cook and delighted spoiling us grandkids with sweets and 7-up.

I did my best to channel her while making my first batch of baos —the Chinese version (in this case steamed) of Hot Pockets— imaging her pleating technique and gentle warnings of overfilling.

And in the end, I was happy with the results.  The recipe's simple enough that I hope to keep an everlasting supply in the freezer to warm both my belly and heart.  Here's the recipe if you care to try them out. 

Basic Steamed Baos
adapted from Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen 
You can fill these up with whatever you like but traditional fillings include sweet bean paste, char sui pork, or chicken.  I opted for a sweet and savory version, one using store-bought anko (sweeten adzuki bean paste) and the other beef curry —both were delicious.

2 1/2 C. Japanese bread flour (substitute with all-purpose)
2 t. baking powder
2 T. sugar
2 T. canola oil
3/4 C. lukewarm water
1 1/2 t. rapid rise yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it rest a minute before adding the canola oil.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar, baking powder, and flour.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the water/yeast mixture.  Knead for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with placitc wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled. 

Divide the dough into half.  Roll the divided dough into a 12" log and cut into 8-16 pieces depending on the size of your bao.  Roll each piece in to a ball.  When ready to fill, flatten  the ball out into a 1/4" disk and use a rolling pin to create a 2 1/2"- 3" disk, keeping the perimeter thinner than the center.

Cut parchment paper into 3" squares.

Fill each disk with 2-3 t. of filling and pleat to close and place on parchment.

Allow the baos to rise approximately 30 minutes or until doubled before steaming.

Steam on medium-high heat for 12 minutes for small baos and 15 for medium.   Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Cool completely before freezing. 
Makes 8-16 baos.