added to spice rack

I'm glad we ordered extra spice tins when we did the spice rack project. A couple days ago, I printed new labels for:

celery salt
chervil
chive flowers (really!)

Here we come a wassailing...

OK, so it's not wassailing, but it *is* English-themed, and it's pretty brilliant. I made a double batch for the company potluck and I'm told that it was almost gone within an hour. (Of course, ~700 people attend our potluck, but still....)

This came from Sunset magazine online (I KNOW! I was surprised, too!), but the original format was a train wreck so I've re-written the thing to make quantities and prep easier to follow. Happy Holidays and wishing you opportunities for growth, challenges, and curiosity in the coming year!
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Sticky Toffee Trifle with Cranberries
Yield: Makes 16 to 20 servings

DATE CAKE

• ¾ cup chopped pitted Medjool dates
• ½ c boiling water
• ¾ c butter, room temperature
• 1 c firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
  

1. Put 3/4 cup chopped pitted Medjool dates in a blender or food processor. Pour in 1/2 cup boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes. Whirl until smooth.


2. In a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed (use paddle attachment with standing mixer), beat butter, brown sugar, and the date purée until well blended and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.


3. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir into butter mixture until well blended. Scrape batter into a buttered and floured 9-inch square baking pan.


4. Bake in a 350° oven until a wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto rack; remove pan and let cake cool completely.


5. Trim off dark edges of cake; reserve for another use or discard. Cut remaining cake into 1-inch cubes.

TOFFEE SAUCE

• 1 ½ c firmly packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ c (1/8 lb.) butter
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 1 ½ c whipping cream

In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and cook 1 minute longer. Whisk in whipping cream and remove from heat. Makes 2 cups.

[Kim's note: you will have extra and this is a good thing. Drizzle it on ice cream, your waffles, your chicken and waffles...you won't be sorry!]


POACHED CRANBERRIES

• 1 ½ c orange juice
• ¾ c sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 12 oz cranberries, rinsed and sorted, thawed if frozen

In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, stir orange juice, sugar, and vanilla until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries; simmer gently just until skins begin to split, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and chill until cool, at least 30 minutes.

[Kim's note: skip the cranberries at your peril. The tartness balances the overwhelming sugar and fat of the rest of this dessert and without it, you're much more likely to hurt your sweet tooth. Think I'm kidding? Consume a few spoons of the aforementioned toffee sauce by itself and see if you don't keel over.]


TRIFLE

• 1 quart whipping cream
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• Date cake
• Toffee sauce
• Poached cranberries
• 1/4 cup slivered pitted Medjool dates*

1. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, whip 2 cups cream with 2 tablespoons each granulated sugar and rum until soft peaks form.


2. In the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart trifle dish or straight-sided glass bowl, spread a third of the date cake cubes level. Drizzle 1/3 cup toffee sauce evenly over cake. Spoon about 1 cup poached cranberries (including juices) over sauce. Spread about half the whipped cream evenly over cranberries. Repeat with another layer of cake, sauce, cranberries, and whipped cream. Layer remaining third of the cake cubes over the whipped cream, drizzle with 1/3 cup toffee sauce, and spoon remaining cranberries over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours.


3. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, whip remaining 2 cups cream with remaining 2 tablespoons each granulated sugar and rum until soft peaks form. Spread over trifle and garnish with slivered dates.*


4. To serve, scoop portions onto plates. Pass remaining toffee sauce to add to taste.

* Kim's note: I prefer 1/2 cup roughly broken Heath or Skor bars. just put them on a wooden cutting board and whack them gently with a large metal spoon (the slotted kind seemed to be better at preventing them from shooting all over the place).