[skeptic7]

Here is the recipe I used, Richard Sax's from Best Home Deserts

Election Cake

[skeptic7]

I think it would freeze well. Sorry the reply is still incoherent I meant that the two loaf pans were simpler than a tube angel food type pan or a bundt pan. Me and Bundt pans don't get on well. I find it hard to pry the cake out, I prefer Tube cake pans with the removable bottoms and sloping sides.
I think I've made only a couple of other yeast raised cake recipes and they were more like bread then this recipe. I wonder if I did something wrong especially in not beating this more to strengthen the gluten or in not adding more flour.

[skeptic7]

Its that cake. I was surprised by the texture and taste but liked it well enough. It was softer than a batter bread and sweeter. Its not very much like anything else, it has a looser texture than a pound or butter cake, its denser than a sponge cake and with bigger holes. Its more moist and sweeter than a raisin bread. It has much of the same ingredients as a hot cross bun; currants and fruit peel and spices but the texture is its own. Its made in two bread loaf pans which was easier to deal with than a loaf plan. I didn't glaze or frost it as it was sweet enough in its own right.
I'd like to try this again, but mix the sponge part to develop the gluten before adding in butter and sugar and eggs.

My initial posting is a little disjointed as the quick breads inserted themselves into the middle of the election cake posting instead of being their own paragraph.

[skeptic7]

I did Election Cake this week, using the Recipe from Richard Sax, "Best Home Desserts". I started the sponge on Sunday, made up the batter on Monday night, and let it rise. It was a wet batter and I made it in a stand mixer. It was too thin to knead and definitely too thick to stir so I am glad I didn't have to do this by hand. By Tuesday morning it had risen to half the pan, but I didn't have time to bake it until Tuesday night and it had risen to the top. It was a very interesting cake and came election results, that I didn't want to keep the poor cake around.
I also made some whole wheat bread on Sunday the 6th. Sugarless apple bread for a diabetic friend and currant orange for an martial arts practice.in two loaf pans. I am glad I didn't try a tube pan as it was easy to remove from the pan and easy to slice. I gave it away save for a couple of slices on Wednesday. I was so disappointed in the

[skeptic7]

The best books I have found for whole wheat bread is "Laurel's Kitchen Bread book" and the Peter Reinhart book.
What is a lot easier than a loaf of whole wheat bread is quick breads. I bake my low and flat like cornbread and don't have to worry about whether it was kneaded sufficiently or would rise high enough. WWW and WW flour both work fine in these recipes. You can use buttermilk to mellow the flavor, or add honey or sugar if you are not avoiding sugars.

I like the Reinhart method of a soaker and a sponge which seems to avoid a problem of the dough fermenting too much and softening the gluten.

Another trick is to make English Muffins or Focaccio since they are more flexible in terms of height. I use more or less the same recipe for pizza dough and Focaccio would you like them?

[skeptic7]

What I hate is getting 14oz for a package of cookies, it looks like a full pound but it isn't. It makes it hard to compare prices when some cookies come in 10oz and 12 oz and the last 14oz. I like gingersnaps because they can still be bought in 1 lb packages

Also jelly and jam come in different size containers. Trader Joe's has 16 oz jars but to be truly accurate the price of heavy glass should be considered

[skeptic7]

I live in a quiet subdivision and had perhaps 20 trick or treaters. I gave out several miniature Hershey bars to each one.
I was rooting for Cleveland since it was so long since they had won a series, but I was glad that after more than a century the Cubs won. This was a very hard fought game and I am so glad for the Cubs.

[skeptic7]

I haven't written in any site for a while. I did do a chocolate buttermilk cake at the beginning of August and two double patches of my absolutely perfect brownies this month. I know the brownies are absolutely perfect and I hit anyone who disagrees. I am still feeling peeved at King Arthur Flour and tired of their advertisements and special offers.

[skeptic7]

I've seared roasts for a more colorful brown crust and for the flavor gotten by browning the outside. I remember doing this for rib roasts and then cooking on low 250 degrees. This was recommended years ago by Cooks Illustrated.
I've seared eye of round roasts, and then finished them in the slow cooker. A roast in a slow cooker won't get a beautiful color or the tasty brown crust.
How did you even write this article, for the last month I could only bake in the early morning because it was so hot and even then there were days it was too hot to turn on the oven at all! I ate strawberries with little ricotta pancakes because it was too hot to bake biscuits.

[skeptic7]

Oh lemons! Do you have any news about Mrs. Cindy? I haven't heard anything lately and I don't want to ask for lemons if her health has degraded.

[skeptic7]

Happy Birthday!

[skeptic7]

I live in Virginia so my rosemary has been outside for the past three years. Before that I lived in an apartment and took the rosemary inside during the winter. The last year it wasn't getting enough sun as it was such a big pot that the smaller plants were between it and the window, so when I moved into a house I planted it outside and hoped for the best.
Its on the South side of a brick house so that shelters it from the worst of the winter wind and cold. I lost a lot of branches this past winter but that was partly the cold and partly a very severe scale infestation. I tried oil sprays but couldn't get the scale under control and many of the weakened branches died.
I only have experience with one Rosemary plant in one location, but I think keeping it alive in the winter requires a lot of sunlight meaning a South or West window. It doesn't need a lot of water indoors but shouldn't be let to dry out. Possibly water it throughly once a week.

Chives are very hardy. You should be able to grow them outside in even the coldest of climates. Mine have recovered from the fungus or whatever and are now lush and green again. Have you tried washing off the aphids with soapy water? Put the whole pot in the kitchen sink before starting to reduce the mess? Or try washing it off with plain water too.

[skeptic7]

I am so glad to hear more news about Mrs. Cindy. I am sorry about the pain on her hip, and the cancerous cells on her arm.

[skeptic7]

Hi I'm back! My favorite knife is a Chinese Cleaver too. I need to sharpen it and my other knives soon. I've been using Accusharp to touch up the edges but the knives are at a point where I need to start with a Medium Grit water stone and work up to fairly fine.

[skeptic7]

The surviving chives seem to have recovered and now look green and strong. Does anyone have advice about rosemary? Any favorite recipes?

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