Leprechan Pudding Cake

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

File for Rainbow Leprechan Image is filed under Creative Commons-Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

Prep time: 15 to 20 minutes

Bake time: 25 to 35 minutes

Makes One 9-inch round cake

For Saint Patrick's Day this year, I feel like cake - but a healthy kind. Along the lines of carrot cake, I decided to use a neutral vegetable that would also serve as a natural colorant. You got it - spinach!

The end result is a moist cake with a texture as smooth as pudding. Moms - when your little Leprechans eat this delicious cake, they'll have energy to play for hours. Just be sure to serve this cake early in the day - lol!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup thawed spinach, packed (thaw a package of frozen spinach first, drain it and then measure)

2 large eggs

1/3 cup cold water

1-3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil (safflower or sunflower preferred)

1/2 cup milk (whole or 2% milk fat)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

Candy sprinkles (nonpareils)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform or regular cake pan; set aside.

2. In a blender, purée the spinach with 1 egg and 1/3 cup water until mixture becomes creamy and uniform. If needed, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons water until spinach mixture is uniform. Set aside for later use (you will only need 1 cup of this spinach mixture).

2. In a 1-quart bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a stand mixer or in a 4-quart mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together 1 cup of  the spinach mixture, sugar, cream cheese, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla.

4. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients and beat until batter is smooth.

5. Pour the batter into prepared pan.

6. Place the pan on a rack positioned in center of oven.

7. Bake the cake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, insert a knife in center of cake. If knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes and test doneness again. 

8. If needed, bake for an additional 5 minutes.

9. Cool Leprechan Cake completely.

10. Mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons milk to make a glaze. Pour it over cake and decorate with candy sprinkles.

Text and Cake Photograph ©2013 Nancy DeLucia Real

Emilian Spinach Pie (Erbazzone)

Active Prep Time: 20 minutes (with ready-made pie pastry)
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes (baking)
Serves: 8 to 10

Popularized in the Middle Ages, the culinary tradition of making savory pies continued throughout the Renaissance. Nobility would be served pies filled with meats, poultry and fish at dinner and at banquets. Other varieties were made with spinach or chard. In the northern region of Emilia Romagna in Italy, cooks would go out to the "orto" or garden and pick these leafy plants. They would then combine them with ingredients such as cheese, eggs and herbs. Placed between two rolled-out pastry sheets, this type of pie was called "erbazzone" which derives its name from "erba" (Italian for "grasses" and "plants with stalks"). In this day and age, my yummy Emilian Spinach Pie can be served at lunch with a green salad or as an appetizer at dinner time.

Ingredients -

For the pastry:
Two ready made pie pastries for a 9-inch pie (thawed, if frozen)
-or-
Pate Brisee Recipe (makes two pastry sheets for a 9-inch pie)- recipe posted on this blog on May 12, 2010

For the Spinach-Leek Filling:
2 pounds fresh spinach, boiled (drained and cooled) and finely chopped
-or-
2 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small white or brown onion, finely chopped
1 large leek, white parts only, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (about 3 to 4 ounces)
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 to 1-1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Dash each ground pepper and nutmeg
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water (for egg wash)

Butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. Gently fit one pastry sheet into the plate and trim edges to a one-inch overhang. With a fork, make random holes in pastry and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Meanwhile, prepare the spinach filling by melting the butter in a 14-inch skillet set over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and leek; stir fry until onion is clear. Combine the onion mixture and the spinach in a large porcelain, glass or stainless steel bowl. Stir in the cheese, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg until mixture is uniform; transfer the spinach filling to pastry-lined pie plate.

Top the filling with second pastry sheet, trimming it to a one-inch overhang. Pinch and seal the edges. With a fork, make random holes over top of sealed pie and brush with egg wash. Cover and seal pie edges with one-inch aluminum foil strips. Transfer pie to a rack placed in center of preheated oven.

Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil during last 5 minutes of baking. Serve warm.

Text and Photographs © Nancy Real 2010