Houston's Premier Scuba and Dive Shop Oceanic Ventures Inc.

(713) 523-3483 (dive)
5808 Newcastle Drive
Houston, TX 77401

Chef Eric

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Chef Recommended Osmanthus Cake

In looking through my email today I found an unusual cake recipe, Osnanthus Cake from the Woks of Life website. You are probably asking what is Osmanthus? Well… Osmanthus is a sweet, fragrant flower native to East Asia. You may find it as a dried tea, in syrup for baking Chinese desserts, or as a flavoring in wine for braised meat dishes. The closest equivalent you might know of is elderflower. Both elderflower and osmanthus share the same lightly floral, yet not overpowering flavor.

You can find the complete instructions for making this cake including photographs at the Woks of Life Website but here is what you will need:

Osmanthus Cake

This cake is the perfect dessert dressed up with whipped cream and berries (or just a scoop of ice cream), or the perfect breakfast and afternoon tea cake..

  • Servings: 12
  • Prep Time: 25 Minutes
  • Cook Time:35 Minute
  • Total Time: 1 Hour

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter(at room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup oil (we’ve used neutral flavored coconut oil, regular coconut oil, avocado oil, and vegetable oil with success)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup osmanthus syrup
  • 1 1/3 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup self-rising flour (plus extra for dusting)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Glaze

  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar(sifted)
  • 4-5 tablespoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons osmanthus syrup

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan. You can also use an 8-inch square pan, but the pan should not have a dark non-stick coating, or it’s likely it will burn. 
  • Add the room temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 minute. If your coconut oil is solid, add it at the same time as the butter. If it’s liquid, add it after the butter and sugar have had a chance to cream together.
  • The mixture may be a little separated if you are using liquid rather than solid coconut oil. That’s okay. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and then add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. It should be golden in color and thickly emulsified. Mix in the osmanthus syrup. Give the bowl another scrape to make sure everything is mixed evenly.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, self-rising flour, and salt. Turn the mixer speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredients in three batches.
  • Pour the mixture into your prepared pan. Immediately place into your preheated oven, and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F, and tent the cake with foil. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
  • The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. NOTE, poking the cake prematurely may cause it to collapse in the center. (If this happens, it’ll still taste good, so don’t worry!). Remove the cake from the oven to cool. It should be a deep brown color.
  • Cool for 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. A paring knife around the rim of the pan helps loosen it. Let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
  • If glazing the cake, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, and osmanthus syrup until you get a smooth glaze. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk and only add the last tablespoon if the glaze looks too thick. Pour over the cooled cake.

Let me know how it turns out for you….

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Chef Eric Recommends a Peanut Butter Cup Tart

Ann was bored the other evening and while this is hard to believe, she started watching a cooking show! One receipe that caught my attention was a Peanut Butter Cup tart. It looked just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with a crust. And for those of you who know me — I love chocolate! Send me a note about how yours turns out or better yet, bring over a slice! So here is Martha’s recipe (Recipe courtesy of Martha Bakes)…

Make Martha Stewart’s Peanut Butter Cup Tart from the Impressive Chocolate Desserts episode of Martha Bakes.

Yield: Makes one 10-in tart

Course: Dessert
Theme: Family Friendly

Yield: Makes one 10-in tartCourse: Dessert
Theme: Family Friendly

  • Crust:
    • 35 chocolate wafers (8 ounces), broken into pieces
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
    • Pinch of kosher salt
  • Filling:
    • 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
    • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
    • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
    • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • Pinch of kosher salt
  • Topping:
    • 10 ounces semisweet (55 to 61 percent cacao) chocolate, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
    • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
    • Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)
    • Peanut brittle, chopped, for serving (optional)
  1. Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse wafers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter, granulated sugar, and salt; process until well combined. Press mixture firmly into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until crust is fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  2. Filling: Sift confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl; set aside. Combine butter, cream, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until butter and peanut butter are just melted. Pour over confectioners’ sugar in bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour into cooled crust and spread to edges with a small offset spatula. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface, and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
  3. Topping: Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat; pour over chocolate mixture. Let stand 5 minutes until chocolate has softened, then stir together with a rubber spatula until emulsified. Let cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until ganache is thick, glossy, and just holds a line but is still pourable, 30 to 40 minutes.
  4. Place tart on a revolving cake stand. Pour ganache into center of tart and carefully spread just shy of the edges. Using a small offset spatula held at an angle, create a spiral pattern in the top of the tart by spinning cake stand while slowly sliding spatula out from the center of the tart to the edge. Let stand at room temperature until ganache has set, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream and peanut brittle, if desired. Tart is best served the same day but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

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Dumplings! Back from Taipei…

Dumplings
Lunch!

Ten days in the Philippines, another two and a half  days in Taipei and my tour of the East ended with a late night flight back to Houston. But don’t worry, we kept us with the Astos, listening to the play-by-play during our surface intervals in Malapasqua! I now have 2000 photos to go through along with an hour or two of video.  So, I thought instead I would come back to that and tell you that I have had my Tex-Mex fit and now I am missing the dumplings!  I could really have used some soup dumplings for lunch today.
So, I guess I will have to make some!  I found a link here with step-by-step instructions and a recipe.  Of course, I am now a month behind at work so I ma not sure when I will have time to try it.
We had a great time on both trips and I promise to have a video and a trip report soon.  In the meantime, if you feel like trying some dumplings and have a few to spare, remember I am at 5808 Newcastle, Bellaire, TX 77401 and I would love to try yours!

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A Mediteranian Treat Recommended by Chef Eric

This past week I found some eggplants in the outside refrigerator that were about to go bad so I needed to find something to do with them.  Then I remembered Madison’s favorite party contribution so I decided this was the perfect answer — Baba Ganosh.  Madison’s go-to recipe for his version is in “My Paris Kitchen” by David Lebovitz.  Fortunately, I have that cookbook as well so I was off to the races!  This recipe lets you use one of my specialty kitchen gadgets — a culinary torch!  It is far cleaner than using the flame on the stove and certainly much more fun.  you can find this recipe on David’s website.  You can also change the basic recipe by adding some other flavors like roasted peppers, cumin, black pepper or any other combination of spices you feel like using.  My only caution is to use small amounts. you can always add more after you taste it.  Thanks, Madison for the inspiration!  My recommendation is to have it with some fresh pita bread, maybe a little wine and think about your next dive trip.

Bon Appetite!