Last weekend, Annette and I were out for a drive to check out some new spring plants at one of the countless nurseries between Guerneville and Santa Rosa. It seems like everything is in bloom right now. Spring has certainly sprung around here! On the way home, we took a detour down a road less traveled. Along the way we stumbled across a farm selling the most amazing duck eggs! These eggs are amazing for two very important reasons. The first reason is the price. I got them for $6 a dozen! I could not believe it. These babies usually sell for as much as $40 per dozen! I've seen them at Whole Foods and other "natural" food stores every now and then. They usually are sold by the half dozen or less. I'm not sure how long their ducks will be laying eggs, but I intend to go back and get more very soon.
By now you may be wondering why anyone would be so excited about duck eggs? As you can see in the picture above, duck eggs are much larger than the more common "large" chicken egg on the right. But that is only the beginning. A duck egg yolk contains about twice the fat and is higher in other nutrients of a chicken egg*. The flavor of a duck egg is slightly more gamey than a chicken egg, although I would suspect that it really depends upon the species and diet of the ducks. The eggs I got came from Pekin ducks. These particular ducks looked pretty happy and well fed!
This brings me to the second reason I find duck eggs so amazing. All that extra fat and albumin really helps to make the most amazing pastries, cakes, custards, and other baked delights! The extra fat adds richness, and the albumin in duck eggs makes them whip up better than chicken eggs. I thought my brioche recipe was pretty decent until I whipped up a batch substituting duck eggs in place of chicken eggs. That's all it took. Suddenly my mind was racing with different ways I could use my new favorite eggs. The one dessert that kept coming back to mind was a pound cake. Not just any pound cake, but a rich and velvety smooth chocolate pound cake. Click on the "Read More" below to check out the recipe. Enjoy! :)
*Source
http://www.localharvest.org/blog/16682/entry/duck_eggs_vs_chicken_eggs
By now you may be wondering why anyone would be so excited about duck eggs? As you can see in the picture above, duck eggs are much larger than the more common "large" chicken egg on the right. But that is only the beginning. A duck egg yolk contains about twice the fat and is higher in other nutrients of a chicken egg*. The flavor of a duck egg is slightly more gamey than a chicken egg, although I would suspect that it really depends upon the species and diet of the ducks. The eggs I got came from Pekin ducks. These particular ducks looked pretty happy and well fed!
This brings me to the second reason I find duck eggs so amazing. All that extra fat and albumin really helps to make the most amazing pastries, cakes, custards, and other baked delights! The extra fat adds richness, and the albumin in duck eggs makes them whip up better than chicken eggs. I thought my brioche recipe was pretty decent until I whipped up a batch substituting duck eggs in place of chicken eggs. That's all it took. Suddenly my mind was racing with different ways I could use my new favorite eggs. The one dessert that kept coming back to mind was a pound cake. Not just any pound cake, but a rich and velvety smooth chocolate pound cake. Click on the "Read More" below to check out the recipe. Enjoy! :)
*Source
http://www.localharvest.org/blog/16682/entry/duck_eggs_vs_chicken_eggs
Ready for the oven...
Time to cool...
Ready to enjoy!
Chocolate Pound Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Yield 1 10" bundt cake
3/4 cup butter (softened to room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 duck eggs (substitute 3 extra large chicken eggs)
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder (preferably aluminum-free)
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt (sour cream can be substituted)
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp *instant espresso powder (optional, but well worth the addition)
Directions
1. Thoroughly butter a 10" bundt pan and set aside.
2. Sift and combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside
3. Mix together the plain yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, and optional espresso powder in a small bowl or large measuring cup and set aside.
4. Place the softened butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix the butter and sugar together on a medium speed until fluffy.
5. Add the duck eggs, one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, allow each egg to fully incorporate into the batter before adding each additional egg.
6. Turn the mixer down to low speed and begin adding the remaining milk/yogurt mixture and flour/cocoa mixture alternating wet and dry ingredients until fully combined.
7. Pour the batter into your buttered baking pan.
8. Bake for about 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes:
This cake is good enough to eat on its own with or without a glaze. I just threw together some powdered sugar, a touch of vanilla extract and a bit of milk for the glaze. It also goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Yield 1 10" bundt cake
3/4 cup butter (softened to room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 duck eggs (substitute 3 extra large chicken eggs)
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder (preferably aluminum-free)
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt (sour cream can be substituted)
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp *instant espresso powder (optional, but well worth the addition)
Directions
1. Thoroughly butter a 10" bundt pan and set aside.
2. Sift and combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside
3. Mix together the plain yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, and optional espresso powder in a small bowl or large measuring cup and set aside.
4. Place the softened butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix the butter and sugar together on a medium speed until fluffy.
5. Add the duck eggs, one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, allow each egg to fully incorporate into the batter before adding each additional egg.
6. Turn the mixer down to low speed and begin adding the remaining milk/yogurt mixture and flour/cocoa mixture alternating wet and dry ingredients until fully combined.
7. Pour the batter into your buttered baking pan.
8. Bake for about 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes:
This cake is good enough to eat on its own with or without a glaze. I just threw together some powdered sugar, a touch of vanilla extract and a bit of milk for the glaze. It also goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
RSS Feed