Molasses Sponge Cake Roll with Orange-y Buttercream Frosting

 This year, I anticipated having two separate Christmas dinners, so for each I made a different Bûche de Noël. Since my parents would be enjoying both meals, and I didn't want them to be bored with the Same Stuff, Different Day, two different flavors of cakes were in order.  And since my recipe for white chocolate/orange liqueur mousse is enough to fill two cakes with plenty to spare, I needed to make them both compatible with said filling. The first was a given: chocolate. Been doing it for a decade, now (even during the 2020 shutdown, when I sliced it & shipped it out to everybody in local extended family). 

Cake the second, though, needed to be Christmassy without peppermint or chocolate. My final choice: a variation on Grandma's Molasses Sponge Cake. Clearly, I couldn't use it as written, as their version is baked in a tube (Bundt) pan, & I needed a sheet I could roll. Also, I had to adapt to gluten-free formula, for certain persons who shall remain nameless (wink, wink)…

So here is what I came up with:

Dusted with a little cardamom/cinnamon/powdered sugar, and garnished with sugared cranberries, a Christmas delight

Molasses Sponge Cake

Ingredients:
3/4 cup gluten free 1:1 flour (I now use King Arthur's Measure-for Measure)
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon finely grated zest of orange or tangerine (I used 3 Cuties)
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or other)


Directions:

Line bottom of 15"x 21"x 1" baking pan with greased parchment, also oiling the sides of the pan.

Preheat oven to 325º F, with rack in center.

In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together flour, starch, and salt. Set aside.  In bowl of stand mixer, with paddle, (or with regular beaters) beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until lemon-colored and fluffy. Gradually add in molasses (you may want to turn off mixer and drizzle in small amounts at a time toward the center, so the beater doesn't spray it all up the sides of the bowl). When all is mixed in, beat this mixture at low speed for another 3 minutes. Stir in zests, lemon juice, and liqueur.

Gradually add in flour mixture, 1/3 of it at a time, until fully incorporated. When all has been added, beat until light and fluffy.

Now for the meringue part of the sponge cake batter:

Scrape out the fluffy batter into the bowl which used to hold the flour mixture and then thoroughly  clean the mixing bowl and whisk attachment, wiping dry and then re-wiping with vinegar-soaked paper towel, or, if you're blessed as I am with 2 stand mixers, you can get this going on slow at the same time you mix the above...

Making sure you have NO oils in the bowl or on the whisk/beaters for the mixer, beat the egg whites on low until they become slightly foamy. 1or 2 teaspoons at a time, add in the granulated sugar, making sure it mixes in completely and has a chance to dissolve before adding the next portion. Continue to whip on medium until soft peaks can be formed.

Add 1/4 of meringue to bowl of batter, stir to "lighten" the latter. Then add the batter to the remaining meringue, folding just until no streaks of white can be seen in the batter. Pour into baking sheet, smooth the surface, and tap the pan on tabletop or countertop to force any large bubbles up and out.

Bake at 325º F for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, and/or surface of cake springs back at slight pressure of fingertip.

If you're making a roll cake, allow to cool about 5 minutes. In the meantime, lightly dust top of cake with corn starch, flour, or cocoa powder, lay a clean kitchen towel over it, and set a cooling rack over that. When the cake has just cooled just enough for you to handle it, flip the whole thing, remove the pan, peel away the parchment from the cake bottom, and letting the excess towel cushion the core, start rolling it along the lengthwise edge (unless you want a BIG FAT Yule log, in which case you roll it crosswise).

Seal the cake roll (towel and all) in plastic wrap and allow to rest several hours or overnight.

Make the filling just before you're ready to use it, and, once the cake is filled, allow to freeze for at least 3 hours (or overnight) before trying to frost it.

My choice of frosting, for just about any cake, is buttercream. For this cake, it cried out for oranges, of course.  And so, decadent orange-y buttercream is born

Orangey Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (or more, if needed)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons orange liqueur (I recommend Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
2 teaspoons orange or tangerine zest, finely grated
2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Directions:

In stand mixer using paddle attachment, beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and liqueur until completely mixed. Add zest and orange juice concentrate. Beat until light and fluffy.

Apply to your cake as you see fit (hey, it's buttercream. You can slather it on with a trowel, or you can pipe it on like a dandy). It's just enough to generously cover a single yule log or modestly cover a 12" x18" sheet cake.

This can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a month, if you can resist dipping into it.

Also, sugared cranberries go really well with this cake combo…

Zippy Fajita Soup… because why not?

Some of us like fajitas, but aren't supposed to have the tortillas that are usually a major part of the process. In the past, I've dumped my filling on top of a heap of rice (Spanish-style or just plain), but December weather being what it is, this week soup seemed to be in order.

Therefore:

Fajita Soup

Ingredients:

Marinade:
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar

The rest of the stuff:
1 portion of your favorite dry fajita spice mix, divided (like this one, or even pre-packaged from the store)
1 small flank steak (I used a 1-lb portion)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium onion, sliced into slivers
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 small leek, diced (optional)
3 cups beef broth
2-3 tablespoons corn starch or other thickener
2 cups sliced (or diced) fresh tomatoes

Optional toppings:
diced avocado
sour cream
shredded or crumbled cheese of choice
salsa
fresh onions or scallions, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Score steak, top and bottom, in a diagonal grid pattern. Rub the steak with 1/2 of your spice mix. Place in sealable bag, then pour marinade over it and allow to rest, sealed, at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, but no longer than an hour.

Remove meat from bag, pat dry, and, in the bottom of an oiled heavy-bottomed stock pot or kettle, sear the meat well at high temperature. Remove from heat, allow to rest while you stir-fry your peppers, onions, and leek (if you want it) in the same pan. Reduce temperature to medium low, add remaining spice mix to cover veggies, then remove from pan & set aside.  Pour in 1 cup beef broth to deglaze the pan. In a small bowl, stir together starch and 1/4 cup room-temperature broth until all lumps are gone. Add starch mixture to hot broth in pan, stir until thickened. Add remaining broth, stir until smooth.

Slice the meat into thin strips, cross-grain, then cut into bite-sized pieces and stir into the broth. Add peppers and onions, stir and allow to return to simmer.

A few minutes before serving, stir tomatoes into simmering soup. Remove from heat source.

Top with your preferred additions, serve hot with tortilla chips, Spanish-style rice, and/or flat bread.

Of course, if you're the sort to make fajitas for a large crowd, and you have leftovers, you can use that as a shortcut… You just need be able to add broth and thicken it a little, and, perhaps, add a few more peppers and onions. Either way, adding the fajita seasoning and stir-fried (or grilled) peppers is a great way to pep up an otherwise basic beef soup.