two recipes

1. red velvet cupcake. behold.
i figured i’d be trotting out the ol’ martha stewart one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe yet again, but when i came across luckykat’s red velvet post a couple of weeks before the kid’s birthday, i knew that i’d have to make them. you know how it is… so hard to resist the mythological cuisine of the american deep south. more importantly though, it looked like a simple enough pair of recipes. lucky, kat had already sourced and tested them for me.

so the day before the birthday saw us two roaming the streets of balmain, buying red food colouring — pillarbox red, as artificial as you can get; raspberries — suddenly up to $8 a punnet; buttermilk — aggravatingly unstocked at the supermarket, but i tracked down the last carton on the peninsula at the local deli, for about twice the going rate. so far, so burning a hole in my wallet.

the cake recipe called for a whole bottle (just a bit more, actually) of red, into which you dissolve a surprisingly small amount of cocoa powder. the cocoa was measured with my wonderful new measuring spoons, a completely surprise present in the mail from the green bananas. look! the bowl of it is actually a miniature mixing bowl!! thanks, santos!!!

and then i chucked a few more things in the batter, and suddenly everything went like molten lava. i filled a tray of regular-sized cakes, and then another of mini ones — and ok, i overfilled so i wouldn’t have to wait for a second round of oven time, the cakes rose dramatically and i was vexed until i figured out that i could hide it all with frosting, hurrah!

this recipe yielded a voluptuous and pillowy soft frosting. there are other versions out there with half the cream cheese, which i guess gives you more definition when piping the icing on. however, i applied mine by dipping each cupcake headfirst into the mixing bowl and then slathering on quite a bit more with a butter knife. the texture was lovely and rich, perfect for licking off the beater at the very end — breakfast of champions…

… although maybe after three or four cupcakes, things go a little funny.

these were great cakes! moist, not overly chocolatey, and very, very sweet. i will definitely make them again, although i may not have to just right now, because there is a box in my freezer with three unfrosted cakes, and another box with a quantity of leftover frosting, and any day now i will complete the experiment called “does cream cheese frosting freeze ok?”. does red velvet cake? we shall see.

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2. spanakopita
a few weeks ago, when spinach was $1 a bunch, i googled a recipe on the internet, and because i neither bookmarked it nor printed it out, i cannot remember where i got it from. tchk. however, because it turned out to be a really good recipe, this afternoon i fished about my recycling bin, and retrieved the scrap of paper on which i’d scribbled down these notes from the screen:

2 pounds spinach — wash, coarsely chop. 907g
2 tbs olive oil
cook onion, chopped, scallions 4
add chopped spinach, handful at time
5 mins, wilted, liquid released
cook on high until dry
stir in 1/4 cup dill
cool. squeeze liquid

large bowl:
4 eggs, beaten
add spinach
8oz feta crumbled 226g
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper

melt butter
1 pound filo
8 sheets bottom
8 top

oven 375°F 190°C
bake 45min

helpful, huh? but see, i cooked off these notes, and it was delicious. i think i may have used just three eggs, and brushed the filo with olive oil instead of butter, to no ill effect. i ♥ spanakopita.