Thank God It's Pie-day

Puffy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-02-08T08:30:00.004-07:00

A cookie made with 100% shortening and no butter sounds unappealing, doesn't it? I know, it sounds unappealing to me too. BUT, there's something about that shortening that makes these cookies stay puffy, not chewy, not crispy.

And that's what my kids wanted. So, I figured it was worth a try. And I have to say, I was truly surprised at how delicious they turned out to be. I think the flavor combination of the tart cherries and the semisweet chocolate sort of cuts through the shortening, so you don't taste it. But they don't taste overwhelmingly of cherry, even mr. (who is not the biggest cherry fan) really liked these.

The texture is lovely, it's more of a cakey cookie (probably due, in part, to the cake flour), soft with just a tiny bit of crisp on the outside.

Here's the recipe:

Puffy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies *click here for printable version*
adapted from “The Puffy” by Alton Brown
(most of the alterations are for altitude)

1 c. butter-flavored shortening
½ c. granulated sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
2-1/2 c. cake flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. dried tart cherries

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine shortening and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl and set aside.

Add the eggs to the shortening mixture one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla and beat well.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the shortening mixture along with 2 tsp. water and beat to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cherries. Chill the dough for approximately 30 minutes. Using a #20 ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets. Bake for 13 minutes, until golden and puffy, turning the pan halfway through for even baking. Cool and store in an airtight container.

TGIP Rating--Puffy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies--KEEPER. I just loved everything about these. Easy to make and delicious. I don't know if I'll ever go back to making regular size cookies, between these and the giant Gingersnap Cookies I made a few weeks ago.

Next up: Finalizing my Coconut Cream Pie recipe. It's just about perfect. And when I say perfect, I mean, you will LOVE IT.

Margarita Cupcakes

2012-02-01T08:30:00.001-07:00

Limes are delicious. And so is tequila. Especially more tequila than I put in these cupcakes. If what you were looking for was an intensely flavored lime cupcake, this batch would have been perfect for you. Of course, mine may have tasted extra limey because my limes were as big as apples. Literally.

But I did compensate by only juicing and zesting 1-1/2 limes instead of 3. Seemed like the right equivalent.

ANYWAY...if what you're looking for is a MARGARITA cupcake...then you'll need to add more tequila than I did. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of tequila to be brushed over the warm cupcakes. I brushed each cupcake with barely a brushful and ended up leaving most of that 1/4 cup in the cup. Next time, ALL of it will go on them. Maybe more. The recipe also calls for 1-2 T of tequila in the frosting. I opted for only 1, but next time I will use at least 2.

Here's what I did right. I made a few altitude alterations: increased flour by 1T, decreased baking powder by 1/4 tsp, used 1/4 c. shortening and 3/4 c. unsalted butter, rather than all butter (I don't know if that's necessarily an altitude thing, but I find that when I use some shortening in my cakes they just work better. And I'm not afraid of organic non-hydrogenated shortening), increased the buttermilk by about 2 T, and baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

And nothing sank and nothing spread everywhere. They turned out perfect, for my taste. Not too puffy, not too flat. (Please don't ask me why my cupcake papers want to separate from the cakes, I still haven't figured that out.) (Also, please don't ask why pink and green cupcake papers. It was what I had.)

I also sprinkled some margarita salt on top of the frosting, in addition to the lime zest and I think that made a big difference. A margarita is not a margarita without salt. You can't really see the salt in this picture. Well, maybe if you click on the big version you can see something sparkling on one of the cupcakes. That's salt.

But, you know, a margarita also isn't a margarita without tequila. So, next time, more tequila there shall be! And next time will be relatively soon because I have leftover frosting in my freezer.

Also exciting...Swiss Meringue Buttercream is really the way to go. It turns out perfectly every single time. I may never make another type of buttercream. Ever.

TGIP Rating--Margarita Cupcakes--Could be my bad on the tequila front, so I won't judge the recipe. Otherwise it's summery and delicious and I can't wait to try them again.

Next up: Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies. My plan is to adapt this recipe for altitude and add some dried cherries. Gross to some, but YUMMY to me!

Coconut Cream Pie (almost!)

2012-01-25T09:00:00.001-07:00

So, attempt #2 was a taste success. I just have a little work to do on the texture. But never fear! I'll get there, and I'll share the recipe with you. There are a lot of elements, BUT they all work together so well, I really think it's worth the effort. Even people who don't generally like coconut seem to like this pie, so that's something, right?!

I will give you this one little hint: there's a surprise at the bottom.

Next up: A couple of things. I might cobble together a couple of recipes to make cherry chocolate chip cookies. And I think I'm going to try these. And I might make another attempt at Coconut Cream Pie. All depends on how much time I have.

Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

2012-01-18T10:00:00.005-07:00

I have some really vague memories from childhood of perfect ginger cookies. Or molasses cookies. Or ginger snaps. I don't remember what they were called. I just remember two different but perfect ginger-y molasses-y cookies. One was so thin and crisp we would put them in the palm of our hands and push down with one finger to see how many pieces it would break into. The other was a little crisp and sugary on the outside, but perfectly soft and chewy on the inside. I have had a difficult time finding a recipe that matched the second (and frankly, more important to me) of these. I think partially because I'm a victim of my altitude. This recipe comes very close. The people responsible for it live in Salt Lake, so I think part of the magic is that they've already done the altitude work for me (you). The cookies didn't deflate and flatten like a lot of cookie recipes tend to do here. So, that was a happy surprise.

The recipe could not be easier. I whipped them up in less than half an hour. Add in cooking time for 3 batches--total time was just over an hour. The texture is perfect. A little crisp with the sugar on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The taste...is good. For me, they could use more ginger. I like my ginger cookies to have a little kick. Just a little one. But the white chocolate chunks just don't do it for me. They add a flavor that I don't even know how to describe, but for my taste, it doesn't work with ginger. And...confession...I figured that would be the case with these, which was why I made them...so I WOULDN'T eat them. But my kids will! They love them.

TGIP Rating--Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks--KEEPER. If I wanted to make a batch that I would eat, I'd just leave the white chocolate out. And add a bit more ginger. And maybe some black pepper.

Next up: Remember when I made my first attempt at Coconut Cream Pie? I'm determined to come up with a delicious recipe for this, so I'll be making another attempt. With a surprise ingredient!

Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake

2012-01-11T15:42:00.004-07:00

Before we go any further, I neglected some important shout-outs in my 2011 Year in Review post:

My friend Jonny McBride for insisting that we make this cake together. It was a brilliant evening.
Teresa Sanderson, Melody Downey, and Alton Brown for each contributing some aspect of what ultimately became this cake.
My niece Amber for actually believing that I could make her wedding cake. I didn't end up doing it because we both realized it would be a terrible idea. But having somebody believe in my baking skills that much is...amazing.

Now, on to the business at hand...You are going to be surprised when I tell you...I didn't really love this recipe. I liked the cake itself. I added a little rum and made some adjustments for high altitude (which, apparently didn't really work all that well):

And I liked the burnt sugar liquid that's used in the cake and the frosting (although, I think maybe I didn't get mine quite dark/burnt enough):

And the caramel shard topping was certainly beautiful (although, since I didn't get the liquid dark enough, I accidentally compensated by TRULY burning the caramel for the shards). Still pretty:

But the frosting. It was just too sweet. As it was, I messed up the texture by beating it in the mixer instead of pulsing it in the food processor (I was distracted because I was making this at the same time):

So, it was WAYY too liquidy:

And if I had added less powdered sugar and made it less sweet, it would have been nothing more than a glaze. Which we all kind of decided is exactly what this cake should have. The cake itself is so flavorful, and has such a lovely, rich texture, I honestly don't think it needs a heavy frosting on top. In fact, it might not even need the glaze. Maybe just a dusting of powdered sugar.

TGIP Rating--Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake--KEEPER, with alterations. I need to go back to the drawing board on the high altitude adjustments, for one thing. And the frosting situation needs to be changed. Then it will be perfect.

Next up: I have to keep my kids in cookies for bag lunches. And I'm sick of buying crappy cookies filled with shortening or whatever horrifying thing. So, I'm going to give these a try.

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-04T10:00:00.003-07:00

That year went past fast! I feel like 2011 was less impressive in the baking department than I wanted it to be. Maybe if I review I can prove myself wrong. Here are some things I baked (and liked):

Pies/Tarts:

Cakes:

Cookies/Bars:

Bread:

Other (it was the year of the whoopie pie):

Most epic failure:

Hot Cross Buns

Shout-outs/thanks for sharing/inspiring me:

The BAKED boys--always and forever. Is it too much to say that my life would be empty without you?!
All of my amazing friends who oooh and aaah over even the most minor of my baking successes. And challenge me to try things I haven't considered. Now, please come over more often and eat all of these extra baked goods.

Okay, so not as pathetic of a year as I thought it was. But still, lots to get on to in 2012. Namely:

Bread. No, really this year. I am armed with a book I trust. I will learn.
Figure out that Sarno's Italian Rum Cake I've been meaning to work on for YEARS. I have all the pieces (I think), I need to put them together. In time for my birthday. I'll make my own cake this year.

First up: Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake. Meant to do it before 2011 ended, but illness prevented me from even thinking about eating, let alone baking. This Sunday is the day.

December 2011--The Lost Month

2011-12-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

Please don't ask me what I did this month. I might tell you. And then you'll be sorry. I know there was a lot of driving, a little Disneyland, a wedding, a little Christmas, and lot of illness. Plus a bunch more stuff. Even with all of that I baked (but obviously didn't diligently blog about or photograph):

almost 300 Chocolate Whoopie Pies

250 Candy Cookies

2 loaves of Whole Wheat Bread

2 Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pies

1 Chocolate-Malt Stump de Noël

Still to bake before this wild month ends:

challah (for egg nog french toast, naturally)

Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake

Hopefully the addition of these last two projects will bring health to our house in time for the new year.

TGIP Rating--Chocolate Whoopie Pies--which I didn't even blog about in detail--KEEPER. They turn out more perfectly when baked at sea level than they do at my altitude. Which means I need to make some alterations. Which I will. Because they are super delicious. I prefer them mini-sized. Regular size is kind of like a giant, super-sweet hamburger. Which sounds good in theory, but in reality is JUST TOO MUCH.

Next up: Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake. There's nothing not good about this recipe. I can't wait to try it.

P.S. Santa brought me this for Christmas. I was a better girl than I even realized this year! Double the ovens means double the baking. Or the same amount of baking in half the time. I'm thinking, if nothing else, I can bake a pie and a loaf of bread at the same time. Which is good for everyone.

Cream Puffs

2011-11-30T09:30:00.006-07:00

I don't know how it is that I haven't blogged about these yet. I guess I haven't made them in a few years. But they are one of my favorites from childhood. And in spite of the fact that they are SUPER EASY to make, they are also impressive and people think you are magical when you make them. The Pie Queen used to make big ones filled with pudding. I like to make little ones. Mostly because they remind me of this...

I've always made them with chocolate filling (see below), but decided to try a couple of different things this time, namely Raspberry Whipped Cream and Caramel Whipped Cream. And they were incredibly delicious. The caramel is probably my new favorite substance on planet earth. I am thinking of more and more things I can put it on for eating. It's not particularly easy to make. I'll give you this hint: the caramel will seize up when you pour the cream in. It just will. But put the whole thing back on the burner and keep stirring and the caramel will dissolve into the hot cream and you will be so happy you were patient about it.

Here's the recipe:

Cream Puffs *click here for printable version*
(yield approx. 10 large or 40 small)

½ c. butter
1 c. water
⅛ tsp. salt
1 c. flour
4 eggs

In medium saucepan combine butter, water, and salt. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate.

Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes. (I put mine in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment at this point, but you can beat with a wooden spoon, the old-fashioned way if you want) Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown (30-35 minutes). Cool and split to remove uncooked inside. Then fill and replace top.

Note: For mini puffs, drop batter by heaping teaspoons and bake for 20-22 minutes until golden brown.

Do not split when cool. Make filling and fill pastry bag with medium-hole tip. Insert tip of bag into bottom of puff and fill.

Chocolate Filling:

Whip 4 T sugar and 5 T unsweetened cocoa (or more, to taste) into 1 quart of heavy whipping cream until stiff.

I stabilize my cream when it's part of a dessert that's going to be sitting in the fridge for a while. Use 2 tsp. of powdered milk per 1 cup of cream, and just whip it in when you are whipping the cream.

Oh, and P.S. the Chocolate Filling recipe makes A LOT. Probably as much as you would need to fill 10 of the large-size puffs, but too much for 40 small. Adjust as you see fit. And the recipes for raspberry and caramel each only fill about 20 small puffs. You might want to quadruple the caramel recipe just because you will want to eat it by the spoonful. Or stick your head right in the mixing bowl and lick your way out. Was that TMI?

TGIP Rating--Cream Puffs--KEEPER. I've kept it since childhood and will always come back to it as a comfort dessert. Probably more often now that I've discovered the Caramel Whipped Cream.

Next up: I'm baking treats for my niece's wedding reception in mid-December. I told her I'd make sample batches for her and her fiancée to try. So, that's going to mean small batches of Candy Cookies and Chocolate Whoopie Pies (I'm making miniatures). Both recipes by BAKED. Of course.

Thanksgiving Piespiration

2011-11-23T09:30:00.002-07:00

"Thanksgiving is one percent perspiration, ninety-nine percent piespiration." -spiker

I'm not making anything new this year. I'm making these, by request:

(I know, NOT a pie. But we decided it is, in fact, socially acceptable to have cake at one's Thanksgiving feast.)

More piespiration for you (click on pictures to go to posts that contain recipes):

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Fun reading. Literal food for thought.

No Pie But Pie

2011-11-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not making pie right now. That's next week. But I'm sharing with you this brilliant quote about pie. If you get...well, any Sunday paper probably...this was in last weekend's Parade section:

Regarding a University of Indianapolis debate over which greater served mankind, pie or ice cream, a 1902 New York Times editorial wrote:

"Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished. It is a significant historical fact that England's glory was greatest in the days when her gallant sons ate pie."

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2011-11-03T08:30:00.002-06:00

Whoopie pies may soon become my "go to" dessert for taking to parties, potlucks, people who need cheering up, etc. There's none of that pesky VEGETARIANS DON'T EAT LARD business that happens when I show up with a regular pie. There's a million different kinds of whoopie pies. AND, they're delicious. And fun. And cute. And filled with nostalgia (and cream cheese frosting). Okay, so there's butter and eggs and cream cheese, so vegans can't eat them. But, sheesh. Also, their name contains the word whoopie. And the word PIE. So.

And these particular whoopie pies (from the first BAKED book) are delicious. Easy. Quick (if you're not making a million). And delicious. Did I mention that? Fall-ish. Spicy. Creamy. A little sticky, if I'm being honest. But I think that's the pumpkin at work. It seems like everything that contains pumpkin (bread, muffins) is sticky. Right? Because the cookie part wasn't underdone. It was cakey and moist.

And the filling was tangy and sweet (but not overly).

They were so good I got at least one marriage proposal! I can't remember, there might have been two.

TGIP Rating--Pumpkin Whoopie Pies--KEEPER. Another dessert that I have to find a way to make every Fall.

Next up: I found this recipe for Brown Sugar Oat Scones a while back. The blogger is someone who lives in my area. I'm going to try them because they sound like sweet, yummy, hearty Fall fare. And it's that time.
EDIT: No, I'm not making scones. I have a birthday celebration, a bridal shower, and other events coming up before Thanksgiving. I don't know what I'm making for any of them yet. Maybe cheesecake. Maybe cream puffs. Maybe teeny tiny whoopie pies. Assuredly, anything BUT pie.

Midweek Sightings: Halloween Edition

2011-10-26T09:30:00.001-06:00

Saw these at my local Whole Foods. And bought them. Obviously. Most clever pumpkin decoration I ever saw. And the ghosties--I think their eyes are made out of chocolate covered sunflower seeds! They're so cute I almost don't care what they taste like. Almost. Lucky me--they are delicious. The chocolate cake is a little bitter, like a sour cream cake, which I love. And a good ratio of frosting to cake. And also, SPOOKY CATS! IN FRONT OF FULL MOONS! So cute!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting

2011-10-20T11:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to my Prima! (2 days ago)

She's not a particularly spooky kid, but the past few years she's embraced the fact that her birthday is in the same month as Halloween and she's asked for Halloween-themed cakes. This year was a little different--she was more interested in the flavor of the cake than the decorations. 12-year old brain waves, I'm saying. She likes the combination of pumpkin and chocolate, so I took components of two other recipes and mashed them together. The Pumpkin Cupcakes were really pretty delicious (that was me surprised, because this isn't one of my usual recipe sources--the only alteration I made to the recipe was in baking time, baked each batch of cupcakes for 20 minutes). Light tasting, not muffin-y at all. Which actually turned out to be a little bit of a problem because the Fudge Frosting (a recipe I've used before) was pretty rich and the cupcakes couldn't really compete. The pumpkin got...well...overpowered by the chocolate. Not always (or necessarily) a bad thing. But, I would have liked for them to have been evenly matched. If I were to make something like this again, I would make a milk chocolate frosting. I think that would match the pumpkin flavor without being too much.

TGIP Rating--Pumpkin Cupcakes--KEEPER. A super easy, but not heavy, fall treat. Probably also yummy with the cream cheese frosting in the recipe. Will have to try.

Next up: EVEN MORE pumpkin. One of the few recipes I never tried in the first BAKED book is the Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies. I'm on it.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Hazelnuts

2011-10-05T09:15:00.005-06:00

This. Is the easiest "fancy" cake you'll ever make. Here's persuasion: I made it while drinking (which is also why there's only one photo...I...forgot to take pix). A lot. With friends who are awesomely distracting. So, if I can do that, you can make it while sober and undistracted. You can find the recipe here.

This. Is also about the best way to usher in Fall. Spicy, pumpkin-y, nutty. So so delicious. Before it's refrigerated (which it will have to be if you don't eat it all in one sitting), the cake is fluffy and light and has a perfect texture (it gets a little more dense BUT STILL DELICIOUS after refrigeration). The frosting is lovely. A little tangy, a little sweet. To tell you the truth I have no idea how much powdered sugar I added, I just kept adding until the consistency looked "right". So. But the best part. The candied hazelnuts. I didn't do them exactly right. Didn't let the sugar boil long enough to dissolve, so it was still a little grainy. And yet still amazing. Spicy and crunchy. And stayed crunchy after refrigeration. Amazingly good. Truly.

TGIP Rating--PCCw/CCF&CH (it's a long name for a recipe, right?!)--KEEPER. I will make this again. And probably often. Maybe even for our Thanksgiving dessert extravaganza. Notes for ME: a half recipe of frosting was perfect for 3-layers; next time do the candied hazelnuts RIGHT. A note for YOU: DO toast your spices. Even if only to make your house smell delicious for two days.

Next up: More pumpkin. Prima has requested Pumpkin Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting for her birthday (12!). So, I'm on the hunt for a good pumpkin cake (not pumpkin carrot) recipe. If you have one, fling it my way. And I want it to be cake-y, not muffin-y.

Rhubarb Pie

2011-09-21T08:30:00.003-06:00

Looks like a celery pie, right? Rhubarb is a strange creature. I've somehow managed to avoid it my entire life until now, thinking it would be gross. I was so wrong. I still think it's a weird fruit (?) vegetable (?). What is it anyway? And do people ever do anything with it other than make pie? Seriously, I'm asking.

Thing is, most of the time when you encounter rhubarb in a pie, it's paired with strawberry. I don't like baked strawberries. I just don't. Baking takes all of the love out of them and they become these shriveled up tiny things. So, I've never been tempted at all to try that combination. Shriveled strawberries and some sort of weird pink celery baked together in a pie? Mmm, no thanks.

But rhubarb on its own, I thought that sounded appealing. And it's kind of pretty, isn't it?

What I didn't expect was the flavor. I tried a little piece of it raw just to see what it tastes like. I would recommend NOT trying that yourself. Any moisture that has ever been or will ever be in my body was immediately obliterated by that thing. But, baked? In a pie? With sugar and lemon zest? A whole different story. It's a little tart, a little sweet. Tastes like something lemony and refreshing and summery. I loved it. I used Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe from my new Pie and Pastry Bible. Lovely. Easy and perfect. Here's a link where someone else posted the recipe, and BONUS, directions for how to make a lattice crust, which I opted not to do this time.

And, I'm happy to report that even though I vowed not to make another pie until we were well and truly into Autumn, my pie crust mojo is back.

Beautiful. Tender and flaky. I'm working on spending more time with my crust edges. Making sure they look beautiful, but also have the right thickness. I still have some work to do on that but I'm getting there. And I am discovering that refrigerating the pie for at least 30 minutes once it's ready to go in the oven really does prevent the shrinkage problem. *crossing fingers* At least so far. Incidentally, in the Beranbaum book, she has several different pie crust recipes using different kinds of fat, including duck fat. I might have to give some of those a try.

TGIP Rating--Rhubarb Pie--KEEPER. Rhubarb, I'm your newest fan. And maybe now that I'm no longer afraid of you I'll try a cherry rhubarb pie.

Next up: Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Hazelnuts--if I can get my friend Jonny to come bake with me. Time for Fall baking!

S'mores Bars

2011-09-14T08:30:00.002-06:00

Yum. But we're not there yet. Closer. Much closer than this. But not quite there. Here's the recipe. You will no doubt be surprised to hear that my problem with this recipe was the dark chocolate.

It was too much. Were you suprised? It was delicious, no question, but I felt like it overpowered the toasty marshmallow flavor. I worked hard with my little kitchen torch to get each and every marshmallow perfectly toasted.

So to have that flavor completely masked by the dark chocolate was a little disappointing.

Other than that small problem, these are lovely. The graham cracker layer is the perfect thickness. The cocoa krispies add a crunchiness that is sort of hard to place, but just right. And the marshmallows. You know, they're marshmallows, what could possibly be bad about them?

I actually ended up using a whole bag of mini marshmallows, not just 4 cups. I used 2 cups in the chocolate mixture and the rest of the bag on top. Otherwise it would have been pretty sparse up there.

I can't help but wonder if it's possible to get that real s'mores flavor with anything other than a real s'more. A friend sent me this link with lots of other possibilities to explore. Try them and let me know what you think. Or perhaps I'll just bookmark it and try one of those recipes next summer when I do my (apparently) annual "I didn't have time for enough campfires this summer!" post.

TGIP Rating--S'mores Bars--KEEPER. Next time I'll try it with milk chocolate. I know. But that's what a s'more tastes like to me--plain old Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars.

Next up: Rhubarb found. Pie imminent.

Midweek Ruminations: 2 (or maybe 3) Things

2011-08-31T08:30:00.002-06:00

Thing 1--I said I was going to make Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins next. And I did. I just neglected to take any pictures as documentary proof. So, you'll have to trust me that they were amazingly delicious. Mostly because of these tasty little morsels:

And, that link may be your best way to find them. We visited several different grocery stores looking for them, found them on maybe the 5th or 6th. Were they worth the hunt? OH YES. And now I'm trying to think of other ways I could use them. In pancakes? Yes. In Snickerdoodles? Why not?! And now that I know where to find them, I'm set!

Thing 2--Remember these sweet little babyangels from my Wine Cake post?

I have, for a while now, been occasionally checking ebay and Etsy to see if anyone was selling a set, and SUCCESS! A complete set, in perfect condition, still in their original box.

I think they're a little smaller in scale than The Pie Queen's, and will therefore require skinnier candles, but still! Aren't they the cutest things you ever saw?!

I can't wait for an opportunity to use them.

Thing 3--Sometimes I am a cupcake whore. Somebody gave me one of these at work yesterday:

(from Mrs. Backer's Bakery in Salt Lake City) and it made my day in ways you can't even imagine. They're not the best cupcakes on the planet. But they're certainly not the worst. And it was JUST what I needed. So my message to you is this: if you have a cupcake to spare, give it to someone who looks like they need a cupcake, you have no idea how happy you might make them.

Who am I kidding? Is there any such things as a SPARE cupcake? No. Except in my office, apparently. Weird.

Next up: I had a magical summer doing this. The only problem is that nightly rehearsals leave little time for summer evening campfires or...more specifically...s'mores. So. Before Labor Day comes and shuts the door on summer, I'm making a s'mor-ish dessert. Nothing complicated or fancy. But it looks so yummy to me, I have to try it.

Fresh Blaspberry Pie

2011-08-17T08:30:00.006-06:00

I intended to bake a rhubarb pie this week. All rhubarb, no strawberries, no cherries. Just rhubarb. Because my friend Dan issued the challenge. And it was his birthday. But, silly me, having never worked with rhubarb before AT ALL, I didn't realize it's out of season right now. And when rhubarb is out of season it is apparently not available ANYWHERE. So. I made this instead. Partially because a stylish birdie told me Dan likes berry pies. And partially because he's my favorite BLASPhemer. And I could make a clever pie name for him--BLASPberry. It works for me even if it doesn't for you.

And to tell you the truth, I didn't taste this pie. I tasted a little bit of the filling as I made the pie, but that was about it. I liked what I tasted. I liked the way the lemon zest sort of accentuates the other flavors. Not too sweet, just right in the "glaze" department. I heard reports that the pie was good, but I can't confirm that first hand. You'll have to make it and tell me what you think. Because I'm not making it again anytime soon. But only because I've had enough heat-induced pie crust trauma this summer to last me a couple of years. So I vow to make no more pies until Autumn comes. For real. Not that fake Autumn that we sometimes get in September only to return to over-90-degree weather. Real Autumn that comes in October and brings crunchy, smoky, brownish, spicy things with it.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Fresh Blaspberry Pie *click here for printable version*

1 baked 9 inch crust, cooled
1 c. sugar
16 oz fresh blueberries
18 oz fresh raspberries
2/3 c. water
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
½ tsp lemon zest
Whipped cream

Crush 4 oz of the blueberries and 6 oz of the raspberries together. They don’t have to be crushed too finely, some chunks are fine. Mix the sugar and crushed berries together with the ⅔ cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Mix cornstarch and ⅓ cup water to make a slurry. Add to the sugar and berry mixture and cook over medium low heat until thickened, stirring almost constantly. Stir in lemon zest. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Mix remaining berries together and place in cooled pie crust. Pour sauce over fresh berries. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Top with whipped cream.

From what I can tell...

TGIP Rating--Fresh Blaspberry Pie--KEEPER. Although, I have to admit, I'm partial to the regular, old Fresh Raspberry Pie. When rhubarb is back in season, I WILL make a pure rhubarb pie for Dan. Somebody set an alarm for me, or something.

Next up: Cinnamon Zucchini Muffins. You know you're about to have 25 pounds more zucchini than you know what to do with.

TGIP Field Trip: So Cupcake

2011-08-10T08:30:00.001-06:00

Looks pretty. Brightly colored, etc. Tastes like crap. Seriously. Overly sweet. I couldn't taste anything but sugar. The key lime cupcake tasted exactly like the red velvet, WHA?! The shop was dark and dingy. I was decidedly unimpressed. Note to cupcake shops: The Sweet Tooth Fairy's in town, you need to step up your game.

TGIP Rating--So Cupcake--NEVER AGAIN. I had to go to The Sweet Tooth Fairy 2 days later to wash the taste and memory out of my mouth.

Coconut Cream Pie

2011-08-03T08:30:00.008-06:00

This is a work in progress. Which may require several more tries to reach perfection. I don't think anyone in my house is going to complain about that. Once perfection is reached, I'll post the recipe. In the meantime, know this: liquor does, in fact, make an already flaky pie crust even more flaky and doesn't change the taste. So, that's good to know. Enjoy some pretty.

Birthday Prezzies

2011-07-28T08:30:00.000-06:00

My people take such good care of me. Seriously. Beautiful cookbooks with all sort of new recipes for me to try!

Look at these pies and tarts. So gorgeous and delicious looking.

Pie contest in a box! Who will take me on?

Marble rolling pin! Put it in the fridge for a 1/2 hour before rolling pie dough and the chill makes rolling easier (especially in these ridiculously hot summer months).

And this teeny tiny pie necklace! Have you ever seen anything so adorable?

Birthdays are awesome!

French Apple Tart

2011-07-20T08:30:00.001-06:00

It's my birthday. Shh. I don't actually usually tell people that. Not because I'm one of those women with an "age thing". The number of my age doesn't bother me. The wrinkle and sag of my age does, but that's something I can't hide. So. I'm telling you it's my birthday because you'll need to know that I'm not, as it turns out, making my own birthday cake. Time...is not on my side these days. But, I do have a fantastic husband who promised me a selection of cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy. That'll do.

I was going to make a Coconut Cream Pie this week. Truth is, I was going to make a French Silk Pie, a French Apple Tart, and a Coconut Cream Pie. But I succeeded only in the first two. My stomach/brain had other plans for me on Sunday. Coconut Cream Pie next time.

Here's the recipe I used for the French Apple Tart (you already have my recipe for French Silk Pie). It's from Baking with Julia, a series I loved watching and a book I love to use for recipes. This recipe is by Leslie Mackie. I used my own pie crust recipe, but tried to make it vegetarian, since I was taking the dessert to a party.

Bad idea. Lard is my friend. Lard is your friend. Embrace it, even if you're a veg. Seriously, even if you eat as many pies as I do each year (which you don't), you'd end up eating over the course of the year probably less than 1 cup of lard. That will not kill you! I promise. I might never make a vegetarian pie crust again. It's just so hard to work with. Blugh. It all turned out okay, but caused me no end of grief.

Anyway, I like this tart. It's not earth-moving, but it's yummy. I used quite a bit of lemon juice in it because I really dislike how apple desserts can so easily be overly sweet.

I think I found a good balance with this. It's pretty. It's yummy. With an easier to manage crust, it would be a super simple tart. Except for this one small (and weird) thing: I had to bake the tart at least twice (probably closer to 3 times) as long as the recipe says in order for my apples to turn dark brown.

Trust, I checked my oven temperature. It was just getting nowhere. And I had sliced my apples thin enough that I really thought they'd brown in no time. Maybe that was the problem? Maybe they were too thin? Next time, I might try a hotter oven. Or maybe not place the tart pan on another pan--I didn't experience any dripping anyway, so I don't really understand the point of that.

TGIP Rating--French Apple Tart--Yummy but had some mysterious baking problems. Still trying to decide whether or not I like this better than a good, old-fashioned apple pie...

Next up: Coconut Cream Pie. For real this time. Still planning to try a little something different with my pie crust. Still using lard. Let's not get too crazy now.

TGIP Field Trip: The Copper Onion

2011-07-13T08:30:00.002-06:00

You might notice that I like to go to brunch. I DO! It's one of my favorite things to do. Especially Sunday brunch. Especially here in Salt Lake, where only the SOTE (inside joke that will stay inside, thanks) venture forth to spend money on the sabbath. My people.

And now I have a new favorite place to engage in this brunching activity: The Copper Onion. Everything there was delicious. And the best thing IMO? The toast. What? Yes. They grill it or do some other magical thing to it and it is the most delicious bready thing ever. Don't take my word for it. Just go get it.

In addition to toast I had some fantastic scrambled egg thing with duck. I don't even know what was in it. The waitress said "duck" and it was mine. And then...then...we overdid it on desserts. We ordered one for each person. Overdoing. But, it gave us the opportunity to try 4 different things!

I ordered the Fried Apple Pies. For research. I still plan on making hand pies one of these days. Had to see how they did theirs. They were yummy. Not how I want to do mine, but yummy all the same.

The Tiramisu was also yummy, but *whisper* not as good as mine.

Lemon Tart? Delicious. The kicker, though...the Flourless Chocolate Torte. Holy mother of brunch. Rich, complex, with caramel sauce to put it right over the edge. We all spent so much time mooning over it I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it. I guess I'll have to go back. And while I'm there I'll also have to try the Almond Brown Butter Cake (zoinks!) and the Homemade Cheesecake (just to see how good their bakers really are...).

TGIP Rating--The Copper Onion--Highly Recommended. And for more than just their baked goods. Next time I'm going to find out if they do all their own baking or if they outsource. Also for research. Who's joining me?

Blackberry Pie

2011-07-03T09:30:00.004-06:00

Easiest. Pie. Ever.

Also, quite possibly, the most expensive pie ever. (I probably wouldn't say that if I lived in Seattle and made this pie during blackberry season)

Also, quite possibly, the most beautiful pie ever.

Will it also, quite possibly, be the yummiest pie ever? Could be, but we'll all have to wait until I cut into it on Monday to find out (I'm only posting this now so I can meet the BAKED Sunday Mornings posting deadline). I did taste the filling before I put it in the pie shell and it was dee-licious. The brown sugar gives it a little complexity that I really liked and the lemon and lemon zest give it a freshness that counterbalances that complexity perfectly. I used my own pie dough recipe though. Of course.

Stay tuned...

Update as promised...

Please witness the lake of blackberry juice:

Delicious tasting blackberry juice, but still. Seems that lots of other bakers had the same experience. Next time I use this recipe (planning a future visit to Seattle sometime during blackberry season for this very reason) I'll try some other thickening method and/or more thickener. Because other than that, it's a lovely summer pie. Fresh and sweet and perfect.

TGIP Rating--Blackberry Pie--KEEPER. Just needs some help in the thickening department.

Next up: Coconut Cream Pie. I'm going to *gasp* try something different with my pie crust for this one. Wish me luck. The rest will be a recipe mash up of sorts. Using some elements from this recipe and some from discussions I've seen on...yes...the Food Network.

TGIP Field Trip: Utah Shakespeare Festival

2011-06-29T08:30:00.006-06:00

Does this count as a Baker's Field Trip? YES!! Because there are all sorts of tasty baked treats to be had at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. You're going, right?

Okay, these pictures are terrible. But just trust me.

So, the Festival has adorable little concessions-sellers in booths or wandering around with baskets selling foods you might find in Shakespeare's time/place (really? I don't know. I wasn't there). There are Meat Pasties (below) and (with a short 'a', as in Daddy, otherwise you might accidentally wind up with one of these), Scottish Pies, cookies, homemade chocolates, etc.

But the hit for all of us was the tarts ("Fresh Fruit and Cream Cheese Tarts!"--if you hang around outside the theatre between 7 and 8, you too will come away with this call stuck in your head). Lemon, Raspberry, Blackberry, Apple, and Cream Cheese. And, okay, they're more like a danish than a tart. Or maybe they're closer to an Olde Tyme-y tart. Who knows, but I just made myself laugh, so that works. We tried all but the Apple and loved them all. Especially the Cream Cheese and Lemon. The dough was flaky and sweet and tender. The filling delicious. Even my anti-cheese Prima loved the Cream Cheese tart. I think they're made by a local (Cedar City) bakery. We drove by a place that had a sign in the window proudly stating "Shakespeare Tarts!" Which we assumed meant they were the bakers of these lovely morsels, but we didn't investigate further. Next time.

There are lots of other delicious sounding/looking treats there, but we loved the tarts so much, we ate them two nights in a row and couldn't bring ourselves to try anything else. Do yourself a favor, go to the Festival, enjoy the beautiful atmosphere, and eat something delicious at intermission. **Just don't rattle your concessions once the second act starts.** For real.

P.S. There's also plenty of tasty theatre to be had there!

P.P.S. Special thanks to my friend SLIM who gave us the heads-up on the tarts, otherwise we might not have tried them at all.

P.P.S.S. (?) On this day in 1613, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre burnt down. Sad day. It was rebuilt the following year. The Adams Theatre in Cedar City is so close in approximation, though, that the BBC filmed some of its Shakespeare series in the theatre in the early 1980's. Cool, right?!

Tres Leches Cake

2011-06-22T08:30:00.001-06:00

What a surprise! I don't know who had the idea to make a cake and then pour a mixture of milks over it, but, whoever you are, WELL DONE. I've never tasted Tres Leches Cake, so I really had no idea what to expect. Part of me thought it would turn out soggy. Part of me thought it would be kind of tasteless, you know, like MILK. All of me was wrong.

I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks! and it was really, really easy. So easy that I was absolutely astonished at how perfectly sponge-y and golden brown-y the cake was at the end of baking. It rose so perfectly and came out of the pan so smoothly. Look at all those little holes! Beautiful.

I didn't exactly follow the directions about how much of the milk mixture to pour over the top of the cake. Mainly because I didn't want to cut the sides of the cake off, I wanted to try to get them as soaked as the middle of the cake. So, in my attempt, I used almost all of the milk.

The cake wasn't able to soak all of it up and I ended up using paper towels to mop up the extra. Which is okay. It was worth it to get milk all the way to the edges of the cake. I also didn't use the "traditional" maraschino cherries...because...they go in Manhattans, and that's about all maraschino cherries should be used for. And I only used real cherries on half of the cake because mr. isn't really a fan of them. So.

Delicious. Moist. Sweet and yes, milky, but in a good way. Almost caramel-y. A little rum in the milk mixture wouldn't go wrong, would it? It would be a Dulce de Leche Tres Leches Cake, right?

TGIP Rating--Tres Leches Cake--KEEPER. I had absolutely no idea it would turn out to be that delicious.

Next up: I'm going to make Blackberry Pie with the BAKED Sunday Mornings folks (and probably try my hand at Fresh Blueberry Pie as well). I've never made a baked berry pie, so this will be interesting. And, most likely, yummy.

TGIP Field Trip: RubySnap

2011-06-15T08:30:00.000-06:00

RubySnap is a local (Salt Lake) gourmet cookie shop that has been in the news a good bit over the past year or so for a run-in with a much bigger corporation that decided to bully them for their previous name. You can google it if you feel the need. Thank goodness they didn't let it beat them and they are still kicking. Hard. Mostly because they make awesome cookies. And they're not just the standard flavors you'd expect, there's always something different, always something unexpected. I'm partial to the Lilly which has lemonheads (!) and the Maris which has a caramel center (good lord, yes), not to mention the Frida which has a spicy chile de arbol ganache center (for real!). There are several cookies on their regular menu that I still haven't tried, and Tami (the genius whose brain I would very much like to pick) is always experimenting with new and seasonal cookies.

Cute polka dotted packaging for fresh cookies.

However, here's the real genius of this operation: the frozen dough.

Super functional ziptop packaging for frozen dough in the background. You can cook as few or as many cookies as you want and they'll be fresh!

The cookies in the shop are delicious, no doubt. But when you can use that same dough and make a fresh cookie in your own home with virtually no trouble (I even popped a panful in the oven while I was down with a cold) and eat it hot out the oven, that is priceless. The frozen cookies bake up tender and delicious and, in all honestly, taste as good as homemade. Maybe better.

TGIP Rating--RubySnap--Very highly recommended, especially for frozen take-home dough. Next time, I'm picking up some dough for the Nina--"Coffee. Toffee. What else is there to say? Well, how about 'brazil nut and chocolate?'" They speak my language. Also, out-of-towners--they ship frozen dough.

P.S. In case you were wondering, this is what my dreams look like. Sweet little shop with bright colors, well-lit display cases, and a shiny industrial kitchen. Except PIE.

Orange Creamsicle Tart

2011-06-08T08:30:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I was too late to post as part of the BAKED Sunday Mornings crowd. Sometimes I have a cold and can't bake. I know, what?! But, if you head over there quick-like you'll see the recipe before they take it down.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I'm a lover of Orange Creamsicles like you wouldn't believe. I prefer them to all other frozen treats. ALL OTHER. But maybe that makes me picky about treats that try to mimic that flavor. The flavor is right in this tart. Perfect. But, the consistency doesn't really work for me. Part of that is my fault, I'm sure. My crust was a little tough, at least in part due to overworking it to try to get it in a 9" springform pan when I realized I didn't have a 9" tart pan. And my filling didn't set as solidly as I would have liked. Seems like some of those who posted on Sunday Mornings had a similar problem with the filling not setting up or getting up to the right temperature on the stovetop. I had hoped that, like theirs, mine would set solidly in the fridge, but it didn't quite seem to get there. Almost. But not quite.

But the biggest problem for me was the temperature. That taste goes with frozen. I don't know how else to say it. So, next time (yes, next time), I'll make mini tarts and freeze them to get a really good chill on them before serving. I think that will solve all my problems.

Tiny orange-shaped tart dough cookies.

TGIP Rating--Orange Creamsicle Tart--Good. Very good. But I need to tweak it for my personal tastes.

Next up: I've never baked or tasted a Tres Leches Cake, but it sounds like pretty much the best thing on earth. I've also never tried any of The Pioneer Woman's recipes. So, that's my plan. Unless one of you has a recipe of your own you're willing to share *eyebrow waggle*.

Book Review (?) & Pain Au Levain

2011-05-25T08:30:00.002-06:00

Okay, maybe it's a stretch to say that this is a book review. I only made one recipe from it. But, I've discovered a new way to "preview" cookbooks: check them out from the library! It's perfect. I can pore over the recipes, decide on one or two to try and use those experiments as a measure of whether it's a cookbook I want to buy. Of course, so far, of the 5 cookbooks I've checked out from the library, I want them all. Anyway.

This is the book:

I've been hearing and reading a bit about using a cold fermentation process for bread dough. It makes it possible to spread the bread making process over several days rather than setting aside an entire day for rising, etc. (because, who has an entire day anymore?!). There are several books out there that use this method and this is the first I've tried. The thing is, for me, spreading the process over several days means that I spend EVERY HOUR of each of those days obsessing about what I'm supposed to do next. Three days thinking about bread with only working on the dough for (at most) an hour each day...I don't know if that trade-off works for me. Maybe it gets easier once you're used to the method and you can just work it into your weekly routine.

That criticism aside, this bread was unbelievably delicious. And incredibly easy. I used my own sourdough starter (thank you, John Graham for this piece of you that CAN'T move out of state). It's a little more loose than the starter in the book, which meant making small, but simple adjustments in the amount of flour I used. A Pain au Levain is a lot like San Francisco sourdough. I think the only difference is the addition of a small amount of whole wheat or other multigrain flour (I used rye). This gives it a little heartiness, a little color, a little texture. I love it. Not that I don't still have a giant place in my heart for San Francisco sourdough. But this was probably one (2) of the best (and most beautiful) loaves of bread I've ever made. Chewy outside, not too soft inside. Nutty, hearty, sour. We used it for panini sandwiches (filled with herbed turkey breast, thinly sliced apple, avocado, and gouda) and it was so so good. Sometimes homemade food IS actually better than what you can get at a restaurant/deli. Okay, sometimes it's always that way.

TGIP Rating--Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day--Judging on this recipe alone, I will most likely buy this book. There's one other book that uses cold fermentation that I want to try first.

Next up: Oy. Apparently I'm gun-shy of the hand pies. I am. It's the same but different and I feel like I really need to gird up my loins to move forward with making them. I don't want to use any of the recipes I've seen because they're not mine. I want to use my pie dough recipe and my filling recipes, but I think the filling will need to be altered a little. Anyway, it is eluding me right now. I need a little time to work up my courage--maybe I'll do it in June. In the meantime, BAKED Sunday Mornings has the Orange Creamsicle Tart up next on their schedule. I'm all over that.

Sweet Potato Pie (and also LARD)

2011-05-18T08:30:00.003-06:00

Okay, so we had a little change of plans. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? We've been getting a lot of sweet potatoes this Spring through Bountiful Baskets. Prima and Seconda (and, frankly even mr. and I) have gamely tried vegetables that are not our usual fare, and found some new things that we like. A lot. Sweet potatoes have been kind of a sticking point. We've tried making french fries with them (somewhat successful), we've tried using them in curry, like we do regular potatoes (too sweet), and we've tried making hash browns with them (complete failure). Seconda is not interested in any of these formats for sweet potatoes. So, I told her next time we had sweet potatoes we'd try pie and see if we liked that. And now was the time. Mind you, I have an aversion to candied yams. I won't go anywhere near that nonsense on Thanksgiving. And I was afraid that sweet potato pie would be just like that. Well, I was wrong.

Of course, I used a recipe from Alton Brown (who, if you haven't heard, is ending the glorious Good Eats that has been a source of unspeakable joy for us) (was that too much?). He just knows how to balance flavors right, in my opinion. And he may be the reason why we will be fans of Sweet Potato Pie henceforward. If I had tried any other recipe, I think I would have been disappointed. This was not as sweet as I imagined (was afraid) it would be. In fact, it was tangy (plain Greek yogurt). And light. mr. said it tasted like Springtime Pumpkin Pie. Which it did. Not as spicy, not as heavy, but equally delicious.

I don't know that I could eat buckets-full of the filling on its own, but combined with the crust and the nuts (I didn't do the maple syrup drizzle--because I don't believe in maple) it was perfect. Crunchy and sweet and tangy and a little spicy (I added maybe a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger along with the other spices--and probably a full teaspoon of salt).

Yum. Naturally, we had freshly whipped cream on top, but we thought it would also have been fun and delicious to top the pie with marshmallows and toast them a little with the kitchen torch. Playing on the idea of candied yams, but without all the overly sweetened-ness.

Now, here's the only problem I had with this pie: the crust. My crust. WHAT? You may (or may not) remember my hunt for leaf lard. I wasn't able to find a local source, but I did find some available to purchase on the internet, and paid more to ship it (in refrigerated packaging) than I paid for the lard itself. And I would have been willing to continue doing that if the lard had turned out to be everything I'd heard it could be. If it had changed the flavor and texture of my pie crust in magically delicious ways. But it just hasn't. In fact, it has made the dough harder to work with (less elastic) and not as tasty. I think I like the slightly savory flavor that regular lard gives my crusts--the saltiness balances with the sweetness of whatever filling I'm using. So, yeah, disappointed by that a little bit. But, BONUS, I won't have to take out a second mortgage on my house to buy lard in the future.

TGIP Rating--Sweet Potato Pie--KEEPER. Who knew?!

Next up: I really will be making hand pies next. Cherry and apple. Just like the Golden Arches. Except delicious. And real.

Friday Ruminations 2: Baking for 42

2011-05-13T11:02:00.007-06:00

So, my birthday is less than 2 months away. I'll be 42. Which is apparently the answer to life, the universe, and everything. But, I haven't read that book (maybe I should, for my birthday), so I don't know for sure. I'm feeling sort of *meh* about my 40s thus far, so you won't see a big hoopla over here in my corner when the day rolls around.

Except CAKE. When I was a kid, The Pie Queen made (upon my request) (and, more than once) an angel food cake with cherry frosting for my birthday. Back in the Paleolithic age, we could buy frosting mix in a BOX. If I remember correctly, you just added butter (and maybe milk?) and ended up with creamy yumminess. In my memory the boxed cherry frosting was about the most delicious substance on planet earth. But it's not around anymore. And frosting in a tub is...yucky. And, I haven't found a cherry buttercream recipe that I LOVE yet. So, I need a replacement for the cake in my memory. A birthday cake to beat all.

AND, I'm going to make it myself. I know. I have often said that nobody should bake their own birthday cake. And I believe that. Except when it comes to me. I can (and should) bake my own. Thing is, my favorite bakery is generally closed for the month of July, so that's out. We have gotten ice cream cakes for my birthday several years (summertime), which are good, but not what I want this year. And mr. is a fantastic cook, but not a great baker, so I don't want to set him to the task. So, I'm committed. I'm making my own birthday cake. And I'm already thinking about it (confession: I've been thinking about it for months).

Here are the top contenders:

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Buttercream Cake with Ganache Drizzle (from Sweetapolita)

Best Birthday Cake (from smitten kitchen)

Campfire Delight: 6-Layer Rich Chocolate Malted & Toasted Marshmallow Cake (also from Sweetapolita)

Which do I choose? Which would you want to eat? Which would you want to make for yourself? Or would you go for something non-traditional like this:

Creamsicle Cheesecake with Buttery Shortbread Crust (from vanilla sugar)

(Because nothing says summer like Creamsicles. For real.)

The truth is, I want them all. But that would be too much. Help me decide!

BAKED Sweet & Salty Brownies

2011-05-11T08:30:00.000-06:00

(Open this picture up big. No, really! Click on it and look at all that gooey caramel yumminess!)

Do you have cookbooks that you keep around for one recipe? What's the matter with you?! I totally do! I'm certainly not saying that Baked Explorations is one of those cookbooks. For me. I am saying that even if this was the only recipe you liked in the book (which it wouldn't be), it would be worth keeping for THIS ONE RECIPE. Seriously, if you haven't bought this book yet...what are you waiting for!?

Gooey. Chewy. Salty. Sweet. Chocolate-y. Caramel-y. Rich. Completely amazing. And not all that difficult to make.

BUT. I'm not giving you the recipe for this one. Because you need to go buy the book.

P.S. I recommend a nice glass of bourbon as an accompaniment (my favorite is Knob Creek). I'm serious.

TGIP Rating--BAKED Sweet & Salty Brownies--Such a KEEPER. Wow.

Next up: Hand Pies. Like turnovers. Or those nasty things from McDonald's. Only much better. I hope. I have no idea how to make these. We'll learn together.

Devil's Food Cake with Coffee Buttercream

2011-05-04T08:30:00.008-06:00

Next time you come over to my house for dinner, this is probably what I'll make for dessert. And we'll each have a piece. And then I'll send the rest home with you, because otherwise I'll eat the entire cake and gain 12 pounds. Just so you know.

The cake is super easy. And if it weren't for a little situation named "high altitude", this recipe would have turned out perfect. I know better. I even blogged about it. But, I trusted Alton's temperature reading instructions more than my instincts. Next time I won't try to get the cake to 205 degrees internal temp, I'll just do the toothpick trick. It works every time. And, if I'm ever in a situation again where I need to make a cake a couple of days before serving it and need to refrigerate it, somebody remind me that a soaking with simple syrup or something similar can repair any amount of refrigerator (or freezer) drying out. Not that the cake was a crumby, dry mess or anything, it just wasn't as moist as I know it should be.

The frosting. Okay, I'll admit, I borrowed heavily from the BAKED boys. I love their buttercream and I wanted to do something similar. This is the frosting I developed when I was entering cupcakes in this contest. And it's perfect. I've made it twice. The consistency and flavor have turned out absolutely perfect both times. So here's the recipe:

Coffee Buttercream *click here for printable version*
Frosts 1 2-layer, 9-inch round cake (with some left over)

Ingredients:

7 T whole coffee beans (I use good quality espresso roast)
2 c. heavy cream, plus more
2 c. granulated sugar
4 T cornstarch (packed)
2 c. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, just slightly cooler than room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Place whole coffee beans in a coffee grinder and process until you have a coarse grind.

Heat 1-1/2 c. of heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stovetop until just simmering.

Pour coffee grounds into heated cream and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve or coffee filter. If you have French press this would be a good use for it. Add enough cream to make a total of 2 c.

Whisk together granulated sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Whisk in coffee-infused cream and place saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, and mixture comes to a boil and starts to thicken.

Pour sugar mixture into the bowl of a mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed until mixture is cool.

Cut butter into small pieces. With mixer at medium speed, gradually add a few pieces of butter at a time. Mix until it is thoroughly incorporated. Switch speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

The cake and frosting go together so nicely. The cake is not too sweet, but also not too dark/bitter. It tastes chocolate-y and is light and lovely. The flavor of the frosting doesn't overwhelm the cake at all. The two flavors also don't really blend together, they just GO together.

TGIP Rating--Alton Brown's Devil's Food Cake with my very own Coffee Buttercream--KEEPER. Easy enough to make that it doesn't even have to be a "Special Occasion" cake.

Next up: BAKED Sweet and Salty Brownies. You know you want them.

Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-27T08:30:00.004-06:00

You've probably heard the nursery rhyme reference to Hot Cross Buns. What you may not have known, is that they're associated with Good Friday. Which is why I made them this weekend, of all weekends in the year. And why I'll probably wait for my 2nd attempt (necessary, read on) until next year at this time.

They're actually easy to make (if you don't get cocky) and delicious. I used a recipe of Martha's. Except, I thought, instead of using the "Bun Crossing Paste" I'd cut a cross in the buns, like you do with, say, soda bread. Bad idea. My thinking went like this: the frosting cross is kind of a cop out. And gross. But, Martha's Bun Crossing Paste is not frosting, it's just flour and vegetable oil, and I should have trusted her. Because things started out well:

Before rise

After rise

Little round buns

And then quickly went south:

Had been risen--then crossed and deflated

They don't look quite so bad after baking (although I may have done that for just a titch too long).

But, they weren't what they were supposed to be. It's a tasty recipe, though. I just have to leave out the raisins for the sake of my children next time. Honestly.

TGIP Rating--Hot Cross Buns--KEEPER. Next time I'll actually follow the recipe as written and not think that I know better than Martha Stewart, of all people! And I'll leave out the raisins.

Next up: mr. has a birthday in a week! So, I'm making him a Devil's Food Cake with Coffee Buttercream.

P.S. I made the Honeyed Brown Butter from this smitten kitchen post to spread on the buns. It's delicious, but not right for these buns. Would be perfect on Whole Wheat Toast. Which reminds me, I still need to work out a recipe for Brown Butter Shortbread.

English Muffins

2011-04-20T08:30:00.001-06:00

So, it turns out English Muffins are incredibly easy to make. They require some planning (sitting in the fridge overnight)

and some patience (rising for an hour before baking).

But other than that, a breeze. And delicious. I used a recipe of Alton Brown's, which is part of his Eggs Benedict recipe. But he also has this version, which doesn't require the overnight refrigerating, or quite as long of a rising time. I'll have to try that one next time.

Because. There must be a next time. We have a long family association with Eggs Benedict. It's what my parents used to make for breakfast on Christmas morning when we were kids (and still do, but I'm not usually there). Took a long time. And then we had to clean up the breakfast dishes. BEFORE opening presents. I know. My point is, I should know how to make hollandaise, right? I don't. I've never made it. *shame* I tried Alton's recipe. I've watched the episode where he makes it a couple of times. Still, utter failure. Broken sauce. I have an electric stove that comes on and off as it sees fit, and I don't have a laser thermometer so that I can take quick temperatures like he can. I think there must be an easier way. Pie Queen? (and by easier, I don't mean using a Knorr package)

Anyway, with the failed hollandaise, we regrouped and decided to make homemade Egg McMuffins.

Yummy. The English Muffins were perfect. Not quite as nook-and-crannyish as Thomas', but I didn't expect them to be. Just very delicious and homemade-ish.

TGIP Rating--English Muffins--KEEPER. Next time though, I'll probably try Alton's other recipe. And I'll also toast one and slather it with butter to see how the muffins are in their "pure" form.

Next up: I think I'm making Hot Cross Buns for Easter breakfast. Am I?

Zucchini Treats

2011-04-14T08:30:00.002-06:00

I know you all know what it's like to have too much zucchini on your hands. Granted, there are people who will actually eat it outside of a baked good (I'm one of them, if it's not overcooked). But it's pretty common to find yourself at the end of summer with a gigantic zucchini on your kitchen counter and a houseful of people who want nothing to do with it. SO, I give you two options. Both delicious.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Found the recipe here. And then tried to get fancy by baking it in a bundt pan (for 60 minutes). However, I had run out of my usual cooking spray, so I used generic cooking spray...and whether it was because of that or other factors, some of the cake stayed in the pan.

Which, honestly, has never happened to me with a bundt cake. I tried valiantly to salvage it by cutting off more of the top to make it sort of a short, flat-topped tube cake.

Then poured this over it:

Ganache

Stir together 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, 3/8 c. whipping cream, 3 T unsalted butter in a heavy small saucepan over low heat until chocolate and butter melt and mixture is smooth.

Thing is, with the top (crust) of the cake removed, the ganache sort of soaked into the cake.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It made it really fudgy and moist and delicious.

I think the cake would be perfectly delicious had it worked out as expected, with the ganache poured over it, but I don't really know. Chances are we'll see a lot more zucchini in our kitchen over the next few months, so I'll have more opportunities to experiment.

Different Zucchini Bread. I don't know where this recipe comes from. My sister gave it to me a few years ago, but I don't think she made it up (Quilter, correct me if I'm wrong). Anyway, regular zucchini bread is fine, but this goes one step further. The ginger and lime give it a fresh and bright taste that I really love.

Different Zucchini Bread *click here for printable version*

¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
1 c. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
zest and juice from one lime
¼ c. canola oil
2 eggs
1 c. grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and coat with plain bread crumbs.

Combine both flours, sugar, baking powder, ginger, salt, and lime zest in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Whisk together lime juice, oil and eggs and stir into dry ingredients. Fold in zucchini and stir until combined, but do not overmix. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

It's a short (ish) loaf, but so much more interesting than any zucchini bread you've had (or made) before. In both recipes I used the grate, then process technique that I used in the carrot cake. I like NOT discovering long strings of veggies in my baked goods.

And P.S. Toasted zucchini bread with butter or cream cheese is delightful.

TGIP Rating--Chocolate Zucchini Cake--KEEPER
Different Zucchini Bread--also a KEEPER

Next up: This Saturday is National Eggs Benedict Day. I'm going to try my hand at homemade English Muffins.

Grasshopper Pie

2011-04-06T08:30:00.002-06:00

Meh. No really. Meh. Taste=strange. Texture=strange. Visuals=nothing special. I have enjoyed Grasshopper Pie when I've had it before. But this. I don't know. The recipe is from the same book as the Irish Cream Pie I made a while back. Same use of gelatin. Which I'm just not sure of. I don't think I like the texture it produces. Is it because I'm using powdered gelatin? Does anyone have any experience using gelatin sheets? I did like the crust made from Thin Mint cookies, but that was pretty much the only part that is a keeper at all. I would say that I'd try to come up with my own version without the gelatin, but I don't know that I like Grasshopper Pie THAT much. And I have other recipes to try...so. Onward and upward.

TGIP Rating--Grasshopper Pie--LOSER. Just really not worth the time/effort/calories.

Next up: I have a passel of zucchini and no household members who like it (except in bread and cake). So that's what I'm doing. Chocolate Zucchini Cake. And probably also some kind of Zucchini Bread. If you have a killer recipe, send it!

Carrot Cake (part 2)

2011-03-30T08:30:00.010-06:00

Success! Isn't it beautiful? And so tasty. Every problem that I had with my previous attempt was magically solved.

Here's the recipe:

Three-Layer Carrot Cake *click here for printable version*

adapted from Teresa Sanderson, Melody Downey, and Alton Brown

Cake:
1-1/2 c. cake flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. sugar
1-1/2 c. canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. raw carrots, shredded, and then processed (8-10 average size carrots)
1 tsp. orange zest

Combine both flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Cream together sugar, oil and eggs in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients and beat on medium just until combined. Add carrots and orange zest and stir by hand just until combined.

Pour batter evenly (I actually weighed my empty batter bowl and then the bowl filled with batter so I would know how much total the batter weighed, then placed each pan onto the scale to measure exactly a third of the batter into it) into three 8” round cake pans (greased, bottom lined with parchment, then greased again). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean (depending on your oven, you may need to rotate your pans halfway through cooking time). Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

Frosting:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. kosher salt
27 ounces powdered sugar
chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

Cream together the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar, with mixer on low, beating until smooth between each addition. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before using.

Assembly:
After frosting, pat chopped nuts around sides of cake and/or sprinkle on top if desired.

Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.

TGIP Rating--Three-Layer Carrot Cake--KEEPER. I love this cake like I have never loved carrot cake. I will make it many times in the future. A hint--if you want a frosting that is absolutely delicious on homemade cinnamon rolls (like these), use the frosting recipe as is (maybe a half recipe), plus 1/2 tsp. of orange zest. So delicious.

Next up: Grasshopper Pie with Thin Mint Crust.

Carrot Cake (part 1)

2011-03-23T08:30:00.003-06:00

Well, I think I found "my" carrot cake recipe. Chances are it's the same one your mom uses. And your aunt. And possibly you. I put out a call for carrot cake recipes and was astonished by how much they are all pretty much the same. Except the ones that call for coconut. Or pineapple. I rejected those ones because Thing 2 doesn't like coconut and mr. doesn't like pineapple. And I wanted an unadulterated, pure carrot cake. That said, shoutouts go to the inimitable Teresa Sanderson and to Melody Downey (who has never met me, but was willing to relinquish her carrot cake recipe at her daughter, my friend's, request). And to Alton Brown. And to Zoë of Zoë Bakes. More on that...

Thing is, I'm not ready to call this one yet. Not ready to give you a recipe. I have more experimentation to do. Because, as you can see, my cake slid. Started out like this:

Ended up like this:

Of course, it didn't help that I had to transport this cake. Or that in order to transport it I had to move it onto a large plate from the cake stand I originally put it on. Now, the question is, is this because carrot cake is just too heavy to stack 4 layers tall? Can't be. I've seen plenty of carrot layer cakes. Or is it because my frosting wasn't thick enough? Because I didn't allow the frosting to refrigerate long enough? Is there a very good reason why carrot cake is most frequently seen in 13x9 shape? I want a carrot LAYER cake! I'll make it fit! And in the process, I will make some adjustments and most likely incorporate ideas from a few other recipes.

I did learn a couple of things that I need to remember for the next trial, which probably won't be too long from now.

Zoe of Zoe Bakes had a brilliant idea (link above) to shred the carrots and then put them through the food processor. I don't like the idea of stringy carrots in cake, so I did this. And it worked perfectly.

Refrigerating cream cheese icing goes a long way towards making it stiff enough to frost rather than...you know...plop...and slide.

In his Devil of a Cake episode, Alton Brown made a Red Velvet Cake (link above) and talked about why it is that two cakes well-known to be Southern staples, Red Velvet and Carrot Cake both traditionally have cream cheese frosting. Thing is, buttercream doesn't hold up well at room temperature in those hot (and slide-y) Southern temperatures. But the addition of cream cheese makes the frosting more stable. Fascinating, right?!
Toasted walnuts are delicious with Carrot Cake. But I prefer them on the outside, not the inside.

And also--a mystery...the outside of the layers was pretty crunchy, the way banana bread gets. Is it from the sugars in the carrots? Is there a way to prevent this happening? Ideas?

TGIP Rating--Carrot Cake--Delicious tasting. I mean, really delicious. The cake was good enough to say that it's not just a vehicle for the frosting, which was the goal. I just need to tweak some things. And the cake is good enough that, honestly, experimenting isn't a problem.

Next up: Another stab at Carrot Cake? This week's BAKED Sunday Mornings recipe? A pie using my new leaf lard from Prairie Pride Farms? Grasshopper Pie with a Thin Mint cookie crust? I can't decide!

Salt-N-Pepper Sandwich Cookies

2011-03-13T08:30:00.001-06:00

Obviously I had a little change of plans in the baking department. We're having some friends over for dinner this weekend and I have never made a pie for them. So, I've opted to make pie (pieS actually, French Silk and Cherry, if you must know) rather than Carrot Cake. And, since pie is nothing new, I decided to do this week's project on BAKED Sunday Mornings. Salt-N-Pepper Sandwich Cookies. Because I clearly need more things going on in my life. And more sweets around the house. *sheesh*

I know. You're skeptical. The blurb at the beginning of the recipe says these are sort of an homage to Oreos. Okay. But they don't taste like Oreos. They're about a billion times more delicious. Sweet and savory and spicy and crunchy and a little chewy (cause that's the way we like them). The creamy filling is a little reminiscent of Oreo filling (I'm still iffy on the usage of so much shortening, but...) and yet it's so much more delicious. There is just so much flavor going on here. The spice of the pepper sort of hits you after you've chewed and swallowed (and maybe pondered for a minute or two). And the salt. Is. Perfect.

Plus--they're super easy to make. Recipe is here if you want to try it for yourself. Don't be afraid!

My dough was a little crumbly, but it all mashed together just fine for me to cut out the cookies.

I love having a legion of cookies on my counter.

The best part is that, unlike Oreos, these cookies are so packed with goodness you don't have to eat a pontoon* of them in order to feel like you've had a good treat. 1 or 2 are enough. Or maybe 3.

*You're better off not asking. But. We have made-up words that we use at my house for eating a lot of something. If you eat a whole row of stuck together Peeps, that's a RAFT. If you eat a stack of Pringles, that's a PONTOON. I know, it doesn't make any sense. I told you you'd be better off not asking.

TGIP Rating--Salt-N-Pepper Sandwich Cookies--KEEPER. With some homemade ice cream this summer, these will be delicious.

Next up: Have Carrot Cake recipe. Will bake. Promise.

Lard and Measuring Tools

2011-03-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've been threatening to do it for a while and today I...almost did. I would like to start using leaf lard in my pie crusts. I've read that it is far superior to the lard that can be found in the grocery store. And I've heard great things about a couple of online sources. Here's the rub: one of them requires a phone call (really?? It's 2011 and my boss would overhear the conversation and lard has nothing to do with my job), and the other charges more for shipping than for the lard itself (insulated packaging--also, really?? It's the dead of winter. I dare the lard to get melty between Minnesota and here). My search will continue. I'll try some local places and see if they have a source. Although, I'm skeptical. So, if you know a hog butcher who doesn't know what to do with all that kidney fat...send him my way.

At any rate, here's the best tool I've found for measuring lard. Obviously, these work equally well for other sticky substances: honey, molasses, peanut butter, shortening, you get the idea.

Because you load up the dry measuring side and then just plunge it right out. I have the somewhat less fancy version of this kind of tool. And the markings are starting to disappear. So, now you know what to get me for...St. Patrick's Day.

Alton Brown's Protein Bars

2011-02-25T08:30:00.006-07:00

So, this isn't my usual ingredient list. Nor is it my usual baking style. Tofu? Soy protein powder? Uh, no. I don't know why, those things don't seem like "real" food to me. Although I like tofu, and soymilk and other soy products. It's just that...in terms of baking...that stuff seems like Jetson's food.

I made these bars because...well, it's kind of a long story. It's because of this play I'm doing. In which my character, who is skeptical of all things eco-friendly, says "I don't want whatever puffed amaranth alpha and omega-3 super bar you've got, okay?" The line has changed somewhat. In the original version of the play there were more things listed as ingredients of this bar (which our actor-friendly playwright kindly put in alphabetical order) and there was also at least one profanity used in describing this bar.

Anyway, I wanted to give the women I've been working with a token of affection as an opening night gift. So, these bars seemed...fitting.

Are they a delicious treat? No. Are they a passable protein bar? Absolutely. Are they better than actual brand-name Power Bars? Oh, yes. Far less with the chewy. Will I make them again? Brace yourselves for another long story...probably not. Prima is allergic to peanuts, and although her allergy is not severe (we use peanut butter all the time--just not in her food), this is the first time I've baked in our home with it. She was mortally offended. And frankly, it's not worth it to me to make these. Because they're okay, but they're not GREAT. Did I give them to my theatre companions for opening night anyway? Yes. With homemade wrappers that used the line from the play as the name of the bar. If nothing else, I'm sometimes clever.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

2011-02-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday for making whoopie.

Pies.

Aw, c'mon. You had to have seen that one coming.

I actually made these for a baby shower for one of my younger sisters who is finally having a girl baby after having four wild and wonderful boy babies (whoopie!). And babies sometimes come from making...you guessed it...whoopie.

This was also my first Whoopie Pie experience--both baking and eating (whoopie!).

Okay, I'll stop. If you want to see the recipe, go here. And when you go there you'll see that there are some terribly smart and clever people here on the internet who keep things fun and interesting for the rest of us.

First surprise--this was a really easy recipe. I don't know why I thought it would be more difficult, but I did. Okay, so I maybe cooked some of the cookies/cakes a little too long,

but my oven isn't very deep so I was trying to cook one pan on each--the top and bottom racks. I think that maybe didn't work so well. Lesson learned.

Second surprise--maybe I bought the industrial strength food color? Because WOW. I didn't even get a full tablespoon out of the little bottle I bought and mine are WAY more red than the ones in the book. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Just unexpected.

Third surprise--Whoopie Pies are delicious. Cakey, creamy, yummy, squishy, cookie-whoopie-ness. Thank god they're easy to make because I'm probably going to make every incarnation of them I can find.

Notes for next time:

Only cook one pan of cookies/cakes at a time.
Be more generous with the filling, there's plenty to go around!

TGIP Rating--Red Velvet Whoopie Pies--KEEPER!!

Next up: I want to make a perfect Carrot Cake. That means if you have a good recipe, you need to send it to me.

TGIP Field Trip: The Wild Grape

2011-02-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

I know. I just posted a Field Trip entry last week. I'm rehearsal-ized right now, so this is the best I can do.

And okay, The Wild Grape isn't actually a bakery. It's a local restaurant. But they make one of my favorite pastry treats in the world: beignets. What's funny...to me...is that they don't call them beignets anymore because people didn't know what they were so they didn't order them. So now, on their brunch menu you'll find "House-made Doughnut Holes". Fine. But they're about the biggest doughnut holes you could ever imagine. And they are so yummy. Not greasy--cakey and warm and crusty. Perfectly sugared. They serve them with a warm chocolate sauce and an orange crème anglaise, both of which are delicious.

And also, sometimes I don't have a camera with me so you have to put up with iPhone pictures. This will probably happen a lot in Field Trip entries. But...I kinda like it.

TGIP Rating--The Wild Grape--Highly recommended for brunch beignets. I still need to go there for dinner sometime and try their dessert menu: Chocolate "S'mores" Torte (!), Pear Crisp (!), Pt. Reyes Blue Cheesecake (!!), Roasted Banana Bread Pudding (!). Yeah, I def need to go there for dinner. Soon.

TGIP Field Trip: The Sweet Tooth Fairy

2011-02-02T08:30:00.002-07:00

I'm starting a new occasional feature: Field Trips! I like to visit bakeries to see which ones I like. To see which ones I would visit when I don't feel like (or have time for) baking myself. To get ideas for baking projects. And of course, to eat delicious treats! I might even make a habit of finding bakeries to visit when we go on family vacations. Get an idea of what's going on in the baking world outside my own backyard. And I'll share all my experiences with you in words and (hopefully) beautiful photographs.

First up: The Sweet Tooth Fairy. This company started out (if memory serves) as an online only cupcake business. They have grown rapidly and now have 5 locations. And with good reason. Often, cupcakes don't have the right proportions for my taste. They have too much frosting, the frosting is applied to make the cupcake too tall. You can't actually pick it up, take a bite, and get the right amount of cake and frosting in that bite. That is not at all the case with Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes. They are perfectly proportioned. No fork required.

(Cupcakes pictured clockwise from top left: Va-NIE-lla Squared, Root Beer Float, Strawberry Shortcake, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip)

They also have a variety of really wonderful flavors. I've tasted several. In fact, the last time we got cupcakes, Prima, Seconda and I passed our cupcakes to each other so we could taste that many more flavors. Their cupcakes are moist and delicious. Their frostings have a perfect consistency and are not too sweet (with one exception). They also make Cakebites, which the girls and I really like, though mr. doesn't.

(Cakebites pictured: German Chocolate, Double Chocolate Fudge, Fairyfetti, Coconut, Lemon, Red Velvet)

It's like a more dense and moist cake cut into small pieces and dipped in a more glaze-like frosting. Lovely little treats. The bars were kind of unimpressive, but that could be because the one I tasted had been in the bakery box on our counter for a couple of days before I ate it.

Some specifics:

Red Velvet Cupcake--has a hint of almond in the frosting that I really liked. The Va-NIE-lla Squared cupcake had the same hint. Really lovely.

Root Beer Float Cupcake--when I asked the girl at the counter about it she said it was a root beer cake with a vanilla ice cream frosting. I was sort of mystified at the idea of ice cream flavored frosting, but it was! It had a thicker consistency than most frosting, so it stayed like a little scoop on top of the cupcake, and it tasted like vanilla ICE CREAM.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake--perfect wintertime dessert.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcake--I haven't tasted this, but mr. has. A modern conundrum: what is really the difference between a pumpkin muffin and a pumpkin cupcake? He's very clear--theirs is a cupcake, not a muffin.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake--This is the only item that I've tasted that I would say is too sweet. The frosting...if I'm being honest...hurt my teeth.

Cakebites--My favorites are Egg Nog and Fairyfetti. I have no idea what it is that the Fairyfetti tastes like--ground up fairies? If so, they're delicious! It almost tastes like a sugar cookie--but cake.

(pictured: Cookies n' Cream Bar, Peppermint Chocolate Brownie, Seven Layer Bar)

TGIP Rating--The Sweet Tooth Fairy--Highly Recommended. I would not be ashamed at all to show up at a party with their goodies in my hands, rather than a dessert I baked myself.

ETA 2/7: I tried their "Foxy Bar" on Friday...YUM. Butterscotchy, marshmallowy, deliciousness.

Irish Cream Pie

2011-01-26T08:30:00.003-07:00

One of my fantastic Christmas presents from my fantastic mr. was this cookbook:

He knows very well that I like booze. And I like baking with them--they add complexity of flavor that you can't get with anything else. And there are so many recipes in here that I'm itching to try. Now, before you get all het up about my boozy baking and feeding baked goods to children...don't. The very last thing I need in my house is for my 8- and 11-year olds to be walking around buzzed. They sass me enough as is. So, trust.

Anyway, Sunday was National Pie Day--one of three annual celebrations of pie that I know of (not including Thanksgiving, AND there really should be more, IMO), and I wanted to make a pie that I hadn't before. This little book had the perfect thing: Irish Cream Pie. It's a basic cream pie--gelatin, sugar, egg yolks to make a custard--with a little Irish Cream (Bailey's only at our house, Carolan's=NO), folded together with whipped egg whites and whipped cream. All piled up in a chocolate cookie crust.

So so so delicious. I make a cheesecake that is very similar, so I thought I'd do what that recipe calls for and add chocolate chips. It was a stroke of genius. If I was to make this recipe again (which I probably will--on St. Patrick's Day, or I'll try the alternate version using Kahlua instead of Bailey's), I would do two things differently:

Strain the "custard" before adding the Bailey's. There were some little masses of eggy, gelatinous stuff that I didn't really like the look of. It didn't affect the texture of the pie ultimately, I just didn't like the looks of them.
Use mini chocolate chips or chop regular-size chips into smaller pieces. The regular-size chips work well in cheesecake because it is baked, so they get a little soft. In this, it was sort of jarring to have a relatively large crunchy piece in opposition to the soft creaminess of the rest of the pie. A little smaller crunch would be perfect.

TGIP Rating--Irish Cream Pie--KEEPER. Make a couple of fixes and try the alternate version.

Next up: I'm about to go into rehearsal, so it will be a couple of weeks before I bake again (never fear, there will still be interesting things here). But when I do bake next, it will be for Valentine's Day. And it will be Whoopie Pies. Which I don't think I've ever tasted, let alone baked. I can't wait! And yes, you can look forward to many jokes about making whoopie.

Mostly Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

2011-01-19T08:30:00.008-07:00

Such a great success with this recipe! I added a little more white flour to the original recipe, used bread flour, as opposed to all-purpose and added a huge dose of patience. I also used a new starter, from my friend Frankie Pistlekahk. It's a very unassuming starter, no fireworks. But the two recipes I've used it in have turned out perfectly. So, I guess I don't really know which of those factors made for a better result, but I'm not going to argue with it. Here's the recipe:

Mostly Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread *click here for printable version*
adapted from an unknown source
Makes 2 8x4 loaves

Make the sponge:
1 c. sourdough starter
1-1/2 c. hot water (I heat mine in the microwave for about 2 minutes)
2 c. whole wheat flour

The night before you intend to bake the bread, put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk together until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the oven with the light on (a warm place) for 8 to 10 hours or overnight. The sponge will become very frothy and almost double in volume.

Make the dough:
1 c. warm water (I heat mine in the microwave for about 1 minute)
2 packages (4-1/2 tsp.) dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c. white bread flour
2-1/2 c. (or less) whole wheat flour

1 T melted butter OR 1 egg white (optional)
sunflower seeds or sesame seeds (optional)

Remove the sponge from the oven and stir it down. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and stir. Sprinkle the salt over the top and add the warm water. Stir for 2 minutes.

Add the bread flour and the whole wheat flour ¼ cup at a time. Stir until it is completely absorbed before adding the next ¼ cup.

I recommend doing this in your stand mixer with a dough hook--only add as much flour as needed for an elastic, only slightly sticky texture. That may be 1/2 cup less than called for in the recipe. After you have added all the flour you need, cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. After resting, knead the dough on low for 5 minutes, then as it becomes more elastic, turn it up to medium and knead for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle a small amount of flour in as necessary to control stickiness.

If you are doing this by hand, you can stir until it becomes impossible and then use your hands to mix the flour into the dough. Again, only use as much dough as necessary for an elastic and not too sticky consistency. After adding the flour, cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. After resting, knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to control stickiness

After you have kneaded the dough (by either method), allow it to rest, covered with a damp towel, for another 15 minutes.

Divide the dough in two and form into balls. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Form each loaf by flattening one of the balls by hand into an oval slightly longer than your bread pan (use 8x4 inch pans). Fold the oval in half lengthwise and pinch the seam together. Turn it over, seam side down, to place into the pan, tucking the ends underneath.

Cover the pans with a dry towel and set back in your oven with the light on. Allow to rise until the dough is above the top level of the pans, approximately 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Before baking, if you want a decorative loaf, brush the tops with melted butter, or with egg white if you want to sprinkle seeds and have them stick. Then slash the tops of the loaves with a very sharp knife. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes. When they are done, the loaves should be brown and sound hollow when you thump them.

Turn the loaves out onto a rack to cool.

The best thing about the way this turned out is that it has a great sourdough flavor and texture, a little chewy, a little, well, sour. It doesn't taste like whole wheat bread, it tastes like a hearty sourdough. It's dense enough to be easily sliced into thin slices for sandwiches, but it's not heavy at all.

I have to say, it's one (or two, as the case may be) of the best loaves of bread I've ever made.

TGIP Rating--Mostly Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread--KEEPER

Next up: Sunday (the 23rd) is National Pie Day, so naturally, I'm making a pie. What kind I make is still the subject of great debate in my house. Seconda doesn't want anything with caramel, but I do. Prima wants a grasshopper pie. I have a decision to make. Help?

Midweek Projects 3: Watergate Cake--A Prima Project

2011-01-12T08:30:00.001-07:00

Feeling nostalgic. Kind of. Remember when recipes were basically just a list of pre-packaged ingredients you could find at any grocery store: one 14.5 oz can of fruit cocktail, one box yellow cake mix, one box vanilla instant pudding, etc.? I appreciate the convenience of these kinds of ingredients. I appreciate the fact that their wide availability revolutionized the way we cook in our homes. I don't particularly like to bake using these kinds of ingredients anymore (with this notable exception. And, god knows, I mercilessly mock people who've made a career out of using these kinds of ingredients. But, BUT, they are great for young kids who are learning to cook. There's less chance of failure or less than desirable results, so it builds confidence in cooking ability while a child is learning techniques such as measuring, cracking eggs, etc. That's how I started out baking: packaged cake mixes, packaged brownie mixes.

My Prima and her friends make up skits to perform for their class at school. They call themselves the Lima Beans. (Keep reading--this does have something to do with baking)

They've gone high-tech since Prima got a Flip video camera for Christmas. They decided they wanted to do a Lima Beans Birthday skit and film it. Naturally, a birthday requires a cake. AND, coincidentally, Prima had found a recipe for a green cake in one of her American Girls cookbooks. This one to be exact:

This American Girl (Julie) is from the 1970's, and the recipes in this book are "70's inspired". The Pistachio Cake recipe is original. From when Jell-O first introduced pistachio pudding.

Which, it needs to be said, doesn't taste anything like pistachio. This cake is sometimes called Watergate Cake, and the reason for that...is the stuff of urban legends. Go here to see some interesting history and original Watergate Cake recipes from the 1970's. I love stuff like that.

For me, it was too sweet, too processed. BUT, Prima did it almost completely by herself (I had to help with frosting the cake--it's harder when you're using a loose, cool whip-y frosting), and she felt great about the result.

It did make me want to come up with a modern version of it. One that actually tastes like pistachios. Of course, there's the Aunt Sassy Cake in BAKED: Explorations, which I fully intend to make this Spring. But I want something that is very light with a (real) whipped cream frosting, and is reminiscent of the Watergate Cake. Perhaps not so...green.

Will add it to the list of projects to do.

P.S. I sing the praises of silicone bakeware. I might have to start amassing my own collection (this one belongs to Prima).

Breakfast Pastries

2011-01-05T08:30:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me how it happened, because the camera is usually to be found in the kitchen these days--but I neglected to take pictures of Christmas morning's Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts. You'll just have to trust me that they tasted delicious and looked beautiful. The BAKED boys win again--this recipe is CONSIDERABLY easier than the cake doughnut recipe mr. has been using up until now. And even more tasty. The chocolate glaze is a little rich, especially for kids. And we didn't try the vanilla glaze. But frankly, all I want from a doughnut is cakey goodness--no filling, toppings, glazes or sprinkles required. I know others feel differently about that, namely, my children. But for me, this recipe, NAKED, is perfection.

I did, however, remember to take pictures of New Year's morning's Monkey Bubble Bread.

Okay, so it's not quite as pretty as the one in the book, but who cares?!--it tastes yummy! The dough is not overly sweet, so the sweet coating is allowed to sort of...be the star. There were 6 of us at breakfast, one of us (not me) hardly ate any, and somehow the whole thing was devoured within 10 minutes. When they say there won't be any leftovers, they mean it. I used the "don't get up too early" method: prepped all of it, up to the rise, the afternoon before and refrigerated it.

Then I got up about 8 am, shoved the thing in the oven with the light on (a warm place), went back to bed and let it sit there until probably 10, when the balls were puffy enough that their sugary coating was starting to crack, then baked it.

Overall, a super easy recipe--Prima even helped me with the sugar coating.

Not easy enough to be something that I'll do every weekend, but easy enough to be something special on those weekend and holiday mornings that call for something better than boxed cereal.

TGIP Rating--Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts and Monkey Bubble Bread--both KEEPERS. This Doughnut recipe especially will be well-loved (and likely stained) from future Christmas Day usage.

Next up: Remember how I mentioned the extremely large amount of whole wheat flour I currently possess? I'm going to use some. To make whole wheat sourdough bread. I have a recipe that I vaguely remember trying, but not blogging about. In my vague memory it was kind of a fail. This time I have some ideas about how to make it better--those ideas include, but are not limited to: setting aside enough time for rising, and giving myself a big dose of patience.

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-29T08:30:00.012-07:00

Well, another year has passed. A year of experimenting in the kitchen, pretending I know something about cooking science, and generally playing with my food. I didn't do as much baking as I had hoped. I don't even know what that means. Is it possible to EVER do as much baking as you really want to? Unless you're a full-time, professional baker? At any rate, it's probably for the best. My expanding waistline needs to be halted. (And no, I'm not going to start baking "light" desserts, I just don't see the point. I'd rather have something real once a month than something light twice a week. Truly.) I did have some great successes and some equally great failures this year. Here are my favorites:

Pies:

Cakes:

Cookies/Bars:

Bread:

I don't have any idea how I neglected to photograph Hillman's Challah.

Other:

Most epic failure:

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Shout-outs/thanks for sharing/inspiring me:

The BAKED boys--always and forever. I'm going to tattoo your buttercream recipe on my arm. I love your style. I love your commitment to bringing back classic American desserts that have been lost and/or forgotten/forsaken. I'm looking forward to baking EVERY RECIPE in Explorations.
Priestess/Hillman--when I'm senile and arthritic will you come take over my kitchen?
Smitten Kitchen--if I'd cooked like you do when I had a young one...I'd be a superhero like you.
Mir--your food snobbery truly does inspire me. :) And you share awesome recipes.
The folks at allrecipes, King Arthur Flour, Epicurious, and Food Network--simply because you exist.
Romina at Les Madeleines--not only a great teacher and sharer of recipes, but a reliable source for amazing baked goods when I'm not in the mood to bake them myself.
My little chefs, Prima and Seconda--for helping me to remember to slow down in the kitchen and let them help. The rewards are well worth the extra time.
Frankie Pistlekahk--for sharing your baby starter. I am trying to tend to it appropriately.

Looking back at everything I've baked this year, I realize I've gotten a little more bold. I've been adapting more recipes, and forayed into making up my own recipes. It's hard work, but it's so rewarding to be able to say it's mine. And double bonus when it tastes delicious.

2011? Wow. Lots I want to do:

Figure out how to make bread. I mean really figure it out. The way I focused on figuring out pies. That's a big goal. It's a lot more difficult than people make it look. I don't know if I'm plagued by altitude issues or climate issues or both, but the unpredictability is getting to me. In addition, a good amount of my bread baking will need to be whole wheat because I accidentally bought a 25-lb. bag of whole wheat when I thought I was buying all-purpose flour. So, now I have 50 lbs. of whole wheat flour. That's a lot of bread!
Take a cake decorating class. For real this year. And now that I've found this place, you'll always know where to find me.
Start in on my ever-growing list of ideas of baked goods to try, not to mention my library of cookbooks that I have only begun to crack.
Do more baking with friends. If nothing else, I can send goodies home with them so I won't have to eat them all. I might even film some of these events and start my own youtube cooking show. MIGHT.

So, in short, there's lots more to come.

First up: You're in for a glut of goods from the new BAKED cookbook.

I bought the book when it first came out in October, but thisandthat have kept me from trying any of the recipes. Until now. mr. makes homemade doughnuts for breakfast every Christmas morning, and this year he's decided to try their recipe for Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts. And then, on New Year's morning, I'll be trying the Monkey Bubble Bread recipe. Can't wait!

Merry Bakemas!

2010-12-25T11:29:00.005-07:00

Every year on Christmas Eve, since I was a little kid, we've had a family gathering with a talent show followed by a feast of desserts. A feast, people. And it seems to get bigger every year. There were new things this year, and all of it was delicious. I come by my penchant for baking quite honestly, you see.

I hope whatever holidays you celebrate, they are filled with loads of yummy baked goods!

Cupcake #2 Attempt #1

2010-12-22T08:30:00.005-07:00

So, I've done away with the idea of doing three cupcakes recipes for the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest. My plate is full of holiday baking. And my stomach will be soon. HA!

2 cupcake recipes will have to do. Especially because #2 was super yummy, and if the judges don't decide to bake it and eat it themselves...they'll be missing out.

I call this one a Coffee Shop Cupcake. It's a chocolate cupcake, filled with rich milk chocolate pudding, frosted with coffee buttercream and topped off with a small pie crust cookie. I wanted to recreate the flavors of a chocolate pie and cup of coffee, like you would have in a coffee shop. And, in one try, it's right. I did a lot of tweaking and research to figure out the problem with the chocolate cupcake of #1, and improved on it greatly. 2 minutes less baking time would make it perfect. I'm still working on getting enough filling into the cupcakes using my new Bismarck pastry tip, but I'm getting there. And the coffee buttercream. When I post the recipe you'll see--it's beyond delicious. Great texture, great taste. The coffee flavor is good, but not too strong (both my kids gobbled the entire cupcake down). And even with the combination of coffee and chocolate, I managed to avoid the whole thing tasting like a mocha, which was the goal. I wanted the two flavors to GO together, but not BLEND together. It's a pretty rich cupcake, all told, but who wants something light in the middle of winter anyway?!

I submitted my recipes on Monday. Now I wait...until February 27 (or thereabouts) to find out my cupcake fate. I won't win the contest, so after that date, I'll post the recipe here. And you can tell me how much you love it.

TGIP Rating--Coffee Shop Cupcakes--DELICIOUS. Could be a contest winner. Provided the judges have some good sense and good taste. :)

Next up: 2010 Year in Review.

Midweek Ruminations: The Most Dangerous Gift

2010-12-15T08:30:00.004-07:00

This is the most perfectly delicious substance on planet earth.

Perfect for dessert, for breakfast, for lunch. You get the idea. Which is why...

THIS is a very dangerous idea.

If making pie becomes too easy, EVERYONE will do it ALL THE TIME. And people will eat nothing but pie. Egads! Or is it just me that would eat pie 3 meals a day if I had one of these? Because I would.

Cupcake #1 Attempts #1 & #2

2010-12-08T08:00:00.006-07:00

It's no secret that I'm working on at least 2 (probably 3) cupcake recipes for this contest. The recipes themselves ARE secret. Top secret.

Not really.

#1 is a Meyer Lemon Truffle Cupcake. I wanted to mimic the flavor of See's lemon truffle.

So, it's a dark chocolate cupcake, filled with a Meyer lemon pastry cream, dipped in dark chocolate ganache.

Lemon and chocolate are an odd combination. I like the combination in the See's truffle, so I figured I could make them work together for this contest. It's complicated to try to balance the flavors--the tart and the sweet, the acidic and the creamy. What I've produced thus far is not perfect, not by a long shot. In fact, Attempt #1 was an epic failure on all fronts. But with Attempt #2 I got closer to the final product, and I will use at least one of the elements in my Cupcake #2, so I should be able to get all the parts working together by the time I need to send in the recipe.

Once I find out that I have not won the contest (which I'm confident will be the case), I'll post the recipe here. And you can tell me what you think of it. And how it can be improved.

TGIP Rating--Meyer Lemon Truffle Cupcakes--stay tuned.

Next up: Cupcake #2. It involves Sumatra coffee beans. And pie crust. And I have great faith in the idea.

Friday Ruminations: Creating and Choosing

2010-12-03T08:00:00.004-07:00

1. Creating recipes from scratch is hard work. Obviously, I don't have enough training to TRULY do it from scratch. So, I'm referencing some recipes that work well for me, making some changes, adjusting for high altitude, etc. It's scientific and mathematical and...frankly...it makes my brain hurt. But it's also fun or I wouldn't do it. Instead of baking I should start calling it testing hypotheses. And this is what my lab looks like:

2. I have no less than 100 cookie recipes I would like to try. I have to choose 3 to make for Christmas this year. This will also be hard work. The choosing part, that is. The eating of the final product will be delightful.

Copycat Berger Cookies

2010-11-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am not from Baltimore. I have never been to Baltimore. Well, maybe I was in an airport there once. But I definitely have never had the pleasure of eating an original Berger Cookie. Just wanted to make all of that clear. So you know that I can't, with any authority, tell you how close these cookies are to the real thing. But I can tell you, with some authority (because I ate several) that they're very delicious. And when I use them to make a Berger Bomb Pie, that too will be delicious.

They're unlike any cookie I've ever had. In fact, they're almost like a snack cake (apologies to those who can't stand the combination of those two words).

The cookie is very soft and cakey, and the icing is not just fudge-like, it IS fudge. Once it sets up, it is thick and sweet and like a true layer of fudge on top of the cookie. A layer that is easily as thick as the cookie itself. Which is, apparently, the way it's supposed to be.

They're also surprisingly easy to make. Beginning to end only took me about an hour and a half. I thought they would be much more difficult because of the icing factor, but that part was really very simple. On some of the cookies in this batch, I got a little hasty adding icing on after the dipping step, and it dripped off the side. But, it only happened to a couple of them. Even before it sets up, the icing is so thick, it pretty much stays put.

Can you imagine how these cookies will behave when crumbled up and baked into a pie? I can. The fudge icing will get sort of melty and infuse the whole pie with a wonderfully rich chocolate taste. And the soft cookies will give the pie a lovely texture. I can't wait to try it. Should I do it for Thanksgiving? Hm. Will have to ponder.

OH!! AND!! I also made chocolate chip cookies. Didn't have time to cook all the batter, so I scooped it into portions on parchment paper and froze it, then bagged it up, all ready to pop in the oven like the kind you buy at the store. Except...well...homemade!

TGIP Rating--Copycat Berger Cookies--KEEPER.

Next up: As you probably know by now, my favorite pie holiday is next week! Yay for Thanksgiving! I still haven't decided what pie(s) I'm going to make. But cherry is on the shortlist. And a couple of days after that, I'm making up a cupcake recipe. Also have no idea what I'm doing for that. No worries, I'll figure it all out.

Midweek Kitchen Recommendations 4: Cooking/Baking with Kids

2010-11-10T08:00:00.002-07:00

My one regret about my schooling? Although it's something I had virtually no control over? I wish there had been a food science class when I was in high school. The Home Economics classes I took hardly even involved anything that a person could call "cooking", let alone anything that would be considered "science". In an ideal world--the one where we're independently wealthy and I don't have to work in order to provide my family with health insurance...I spend my time getting food science classes into the junior high schools and high schools in our area. I just think there's no better way to get kids interested in science. In math. In environmentalism. In real food. In health. In life, for heaven's sake. Food is life.

I am doing what I can by trying to involve my own kids in the cooking we do at home. Prima is especially interested in baking, so for her 11th birthday we gave her her own cooking tools and a couple of cookbooks. From this series. She loves these cookbooks. She has been checking them out of the school library one by one for the past couple of months. And I love them for her. The recipes are written in a way that almost everything can be done by a child over the age of 10. Usually all a parent needs to do is help with getting things in and out of the oven and supervising the use of an electric mixer, if it's called for. The books also give historical context for the recipes. For example, in the Molly cookbook (Molly is a girl from the 1940's), there's a sidebar about food rationing and one about the use of margarine vs butter at the time. And more. That's just what I noticed on a brief glance through the book. And she has already done her first "by herself" cooking project: Ginger Cookies. She had a great time. I think it gave her a sense of independence and accomplishment. And bonus: they're delicious!

I have vivid sensory memories of cooking with The Pie Queen, especially around the holidays. I hope my kids find as much joy and comfort in our traditional home-cooked foods as I have my whole life. But, I also hope that cooking with my kids will eventually help my words of advice to sink in: that math is useful in everyday life; that science is fascinating; and that food cooked at home is infinitely more delicious than food at a restaurant (especially one of the fast-food variety).

Salt Lake Bomb Pie

2010-11-03T08:00:00.003-06:00

I completely stole this idea. From the folks at Dangerously Delicious via Duff Goldman. Sometimes stealing is good. And seriously, there is nothing at all wrong about this pie. It has such an interesting texture. A texture that is different throughout the pie, some areas are crispy, others are dense and cake-like, others are more soft and gooey. So many different layers of sweet and delicious flavor.

I crumbled Black and White cookies from Les Madeleines (my favorite Salt Lake bakery) into my pie crust (prebaked),

poured this Chess Pie filling over them, and followed the baking instructions for the Chess Pie. The only thing that could have made it better? More chocolate. Soooo...next time I'm making Berger cookies myself. I guess that will mean it's no longer a Salt Lake Bomb. Maybe that will just make it a Fossen Bomb. Annnddd...I'm also going to try it with chocolate chip cookies--a Nestle Toll House Bomb. And you should know, it's about the easiest pie you could ever make.

TGIP Rating--Salt Lake Bomb Pie--KEEPER. And then some.

Next up: Prima complained the other day that I don't make cookies anymore because I work full time. I shall remedy that. I'm going to try at least one recipe for copycat Berger cookies. And I'm also making good old-fashioned Toll House cookies. Cookies=Love.

Midweek Projects 2: Scharffen Berger Cupcake Contest

2010-10-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm entering. With at least one recipe. Are you?

Birthday Cake with Fondant

2010-10-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

Whatever you do, DON'T look at the back of this cake!

Aaaaaaahhhhhahahaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I told you not to do that.

*sigh* Let's add "find a how-to video on draping fondant on cakes" to my to-do list, shall we? They make it look so easy on TV. They simply cut away after the fondant is first draped over it, and don't come back until it's all neatly smoothed on. What happens in between? Seriously, there's bound to be extraneous fondant (I'm sure there's some geometry proof I could use as evidence, but I've forgotten all of that), so what do you do with it? How do you get it smoothed out? *FRUSTRATED*

One side turned out okay, but then I got to the part where there was...excess. And there was much cracking and other nonsense. Which I tried to cover up with spider webs. Using storebought (and obviously very runny) black and white (with sparkles!) frosting. The results, as you can see...not aesthetically pleasing.

At least the birthday girl was happy.

In other news, although it didn't look particularly delicious, the cake tasted yummy. Could have been yummier, but my life is crazy right now, so I had to make the cake almost a week ahead of time and freeze it. I think that caused it to not be as moist as it should have been. But the frosting--so easy. Easiest frosting I've ever made (food processor!).

And super super delicious. The fondant, too, was actually nice tasting (I used storebought--Duff Goldman's new brand). But I'm too frustrated with it to give it high praise.

TGIP Rating--Birthday Cake with Fondant--Meh. The cake and frosting I'll definitely use again. I would be perfectly happy to never use fondant again. Ever. I understand why people like it--the clean look for a decorating base. But I'm far from being a professional baker/decorator, so the look of something is less important to me than the taste. Now, to win my children over to my point of view.

Next up: Duff (twice in one post!) talked in an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate about a pie from the Dangerously Delicious bakery in Baltimore called the Baltimore Bomb Pie. They use crumbled Berger cookies and a chess pie filling. I'm making my own version and calling it the Salt Lake Bomb Pie. I'll be using black and white cookies from my favorite Salt Lake bakery, Les Madeleines. I think that's about as close as I can come--a cakey cookie with a fudgy frosting. But, really, it's all about the fact that I'm craving pie.

Pumpkin Muffins

2010-10-06T08:00:00.005-06:00

A million years ago (approximately), when I worked at UC Berkeley, the department I worked for was full of people who appreciated food. We had food parties a few times a year where everyone brought a passage from a book, or a scene from a movie that involved food, and a dish inspired by that. It was always fun and always delicious. One of those foodie co-workers brought a loaf of the most delicious pumpkin bread to work one morning and the recipe to share. I made it once, way back then, and haven't made it since. But I've always remembered how delicious it was and have always meant to revisit the recipe. Well, now I've revisited AND revamped it.

The most obvious revamping is that I made it into muffins. So much easier to manage, store, take, and eat than a loaf, or even a slice of a loaf. I also replaced half the oil with applesauce to make it a tiny bit healthier. I have tried replacing all oil with applesauce in other recipes and I feel like it makes sweet breads a little too tough. I'm willing to eat a little oil if it means that the muffin is tender. There is still a good bit of sugar in the recipe, but I'm not sure what can be done about that. At least it's not HFCS. :)

You can use an electric mixer if you feel you must, but it's not necessary at all. And I don't know about you, but I like, sometimes, just for a change of pace, to make a recipe that can be done with a bowl and a spoon. So simple.

Pumpkin Muffins *click here for printable version*

adapted from “Joan’s Pumpkin Loaf” from an unknown source
yield: approximately 18 muffins, or ?? mini muffins, or 1 large loaf (10x5x3), or 4 mini loaves

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar or brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 cup Canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 pound (2 cups) canned pumpkin--NOT pumpkin pie filling
8 ounces (1 cup) pitted dates, cut into pieces
4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnuts, chopped or broken into medium-size pieces

Adjust an oven rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin, or use cupcake papers (if using a loaf pan, use 10-cup capacity, butter, then dust the pan with fine, dry bread crumbs, then shake or tap out excess crumbs).

Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs just to mix. Add the sugar, oil, and applesauce and beat lightly just to mix. Mix in the pumpkin and then the dates.

Now add the sifted dry ingredients and stir, mix, or beat only until they are smoothly incorporated. Stir in the nuts.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one muffin comes out clean (for large loaf pan, bake 1-1/2 hours).

Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

When these are warm, they're obviously delicious with butter that gets nice and melty. And when they're cold, I like them with a little whipped cream cheese spread over them. Yummy. Cheesy. Spicy. Creamy.

TGIP Rating--Pumpkin Muffins--KEEPER. Still good after all these eons. Even better as a muffin.

Next up: Prima's 11th birthday is soon. She wants a cake. Of course. But with pink fondant. Yikes. I'll aim to deliver.

Canned Pumpkin: scarce?!

2010-09-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

The Pie Queen mentioned something on Facebook recently about a canned pumpkin shortage. To which I replied, "What?!". Apparently, it's no joke. But then there's this article that says it's over. I don't know. What I do know is that there isn't even a spot for it in the baking aisle at my local Target. So, you be the judge. I suggest taking a casual look for it everywhere you happen to go. That's what I've been doing. Found a small trove at my Winco and snatched up 3 cans. Of course, I've already used two of them.

Whether the shortage will continue into this Fall or not, I guess it's about time I learned how to use the meat of a real pumpkin for a pie. Because I simply can't imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Here's a site that details how to prepare the pumpkin puree (using either microwave, stovetop, or oven), for those of you like me who have never done it. And another. I will still use my own recipe beyond the point of pureeing, just because I like that mixture of spices.

Hopefully the Great Pumpkin will arrive before November and bless all the sincere pumpkin patches with a bounteous harvest.

Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie

2010-09-22T06:30:00.012-06:00

A while back I went to a port party, hosted by the inimitable Peter Brown. A lovely evening. With gorgeous port, wonderful food, and delicious people. One of the dishes that was brought was an amazing Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse. I had never tasted anything like it. It went perfectly with the port. And I decided then I would have to make it. And make it into a pie.

I only found one recipe online for Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse, and it wasn't a very good recipe. So I found a recipe for Chocolate Mousse Pie and I...messed with it. I don't know, I thought adding cinnamon to each level of the whole would make it more...complete. And I might have been right. Although I don't have a control to test against. But it's so perfectly delicious. A little reminiscent of Mexican Hot Cocoa. But cold. And with lots of air.

Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie *click here for printable version*

adapted from Bon Appetit and smitten kitchen
Serves 8

Crust
5 T unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1-1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (10 cinnamon graham crackers-pulsed in food processor until finely ground)
2 T sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

Mousse
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (divided)
1 T + 1-1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
3-3/4 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter 9- to 9-1/2 inch pie plate. Stir together all ingredients and press evenly into bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake 12-15 minutes, until slightly browned, then cool on a rack to room temperature.

For Mousse:
Combine chocolate, vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor. Bring 1 cup cream to boil in a heavy small saucepan. With processor running, gradually pour hot cream through the feed tube and process until chocolate is melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Beat 2 cups cream, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl to stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture. Spoon mousse into prepared crust. Chill until set, about 6 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)

Beat remaining 3/4 cup cream in medium bowl to firm peaks. Spoon a small portion on each slice of pie as you serve.

TGIP Rating--Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie--So good I wish I had made two.

Next up: Pumpkin muffins. It's time.

Top Chef Just Desserts

2010-09-15T09:00:00.002-06:00

This starts tonight! Squee!

And one of the contestants works at BAKED Brooklyn! (And, btw, he stole the life I was meant to have)

And BAKED Brooklyn is giving away mini whoopie pies from 1-3 pm in honor of Top Chef Just Desserts Day! *angry fist that I don't live in Brooklyn*

/end, fangirl rant

Farmers' Market Challenge

2010-09-08T09:00:00.002-06:00

So, here's what I found at the Farmers' Market this weekend:

Of course, I found a lot more than that. But these were the things that tasted the best, looked the best, etc. So I bought them and brought them home.

And then I made these with them:

Smitten Kitchen's Peach Shortbread

Fresh Peach and Blackberry Pie

The shortbread was new and interesting. I probably made the bottom crust too thin and the top crumbs too thick. I also probably cut the peaches too thin.

But they still turned out to be delicate, spicy and buttery. These brown bits you see in the crumbs are bits of brown (but not burnt) butter...so delicious.

I saved some of the crumbs to make myself a little baked peach with white streusel later in the week when all of these yummies are gone and I need a little something. The brown butter is something (as I've said before) that I need to find more uses for. I might try making our family Scotch shortbread recipe with it this Christmas. Brown butter shortbread with caramel drizzle maybe? Yes.

The pie. What can I say? My standby fresh fruit pie recipe that I've admittedly stolen from Dave/Miriam is so easy and delicious and adaptable.

I used 1 cup of blackberries and 1 cup of peaches (with a little less water than the recipe calls for) to make the mashed up jammy filling stuff, and 2 cups of peaches for the fruity part.

What a delicious, not too sweet, perfectly fresh tasting combination.

TGIP Rating--Baking with fresh peaches--KEEPER. My aversion to peach flavored foods is still well intact, but I think it no longer extends to peaches themselves. At least not the fresh ones. Yum.

Next up: I am going to make something that involves almost no baking. But it sounds delicious to me in a "Fall is coming" way.

Birthday Cupcakes...again

2010-08-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Not much new to see here. I used the same recipe that I used for Seconda's birthday cupcakes last year. And colored the frosting almost the same color. But it was all on request, so blame her. I did attempt to fill them with BAKED milk chocolate frosting (again, on request),

which was delicious, but without the right kind of pastry tip, my technique was lacking. I need one of these:

But they looked pretty.

And the birthday girl blew out 8 candles in one try.

I have vowed never to use these again.

(Wilton baking cups. The Reynolds brand is just fine. These ones pull away from the cake as you can see. Which can be pretty problematic)

Oh, and, I participated in my first bake sale.

And it wasn't even for my kids' school. It was for a theatre. Bet you could have guessed that one.

Next up: Farmers' Market challenge. I don't know what I'm baking next. I'm going to visit the Farmers' Market on a Saturday morning, see what there is to be seen, and make a decision about what to bake. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be more than rhubarb and collard greens available.

Throwdown

2010-08-18T07:32:00.004-06:00

The BAKED boys will be on Throwdown with Bobby Flay tonight. Making banana cream pies. I have no idea what time. I have gotten myself into making brownies for a bake sale. BAKED brownies. So, that will be keeping me busy tonight. BUT I am recording the show and plan to take copious notes when I watch it!

High Altitude Baking

2010-08-11T09:00:00.001-06:00

After this unfortunate outcome, I decided it was time to do a little research into high altitude baking. I've never really given it a lot of thought. I use the high altitude directions for Nestle Toll House cookies--because otherwise my cookies end up flat--delicious, but flat. But that's about the extent of thought I've put into it before now.

And in my research I discovered that...wait for it...my elevation doesn't even count as high altitude. I'm at 4,350 feet. The high altitude directions for Toll House cookies specify "5,200 feet". I visited Zuni this past weekend--with an elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level. I'm guessing they probably need to make more alterations than I do. Which might account for the casual mention of lard in their sourdough...or not...but that's another blog.

Nevertheless I found some interesting information. This is from an article by Martha Archuleta, Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist at New Mexico State University:

LEAVENED CAKES AND BREADS
At altitudes above 3,500 ft, increase the oven temperature 25° over the temperature required at sea level unless using glass pans when no increase is needed. (Glass does not conduct heat as efficiently as metal.) For example, cakes baked in metal pans at sea level at 350° should be
baked at 375° at all altitudes over 3,500 ft. Faster baking “sets” the cell framework within the flour mixture and helps prevent falling. Use this adjustment for all leavened foods that are high in sugar and shortening.

In areas of low humidity, dry ingredients (specifically flour) become excessively dry unless stored in air-tight containers. A scant decrease in flour or an additional tablespoon of liquid per cup of flour will often bring a batter or dough to the correct consistency. Recipes must be adjusted for flour mixtures that contain considerable amounts of sugar and shortening and
that are leavened with carbon dioxide gas from baking powder or soda and acid.

Some sea-level cakes are delicate and defy adjustment to varying altitudes. Other recipes, especially commercial cake mixes, are so well balanced that little, if any, adjustment may be necessary up to 5,000 ft.

Cakes without fat: Air from beaten eggs is the leavening agent. For angel food cakes beat egg whites until they form peaks that droop slightly; in sponge cakes, beat eggs or egg yolks until slightly thickened.
Cakes with fat: Solid shortening gives good results in high altitude baking because the emulsifier enables the shortening to tolerate a larger amount of liquid. Solid shortening is preferred for “speed-mix” cakes with a high sugar ratio.

You can find the whole article here (that's a downloadable pdf file).

Alton Brown corroborates much of what she says in his book I'm Just Here for More Food. In addition, he says about shortening, "Shortening is amazingly useful stuff because it's everything that butter isn't. It remains plastic between 98 degrees F and 110 degrees F, which means that shortening will be workable when butter would be either rock hard or soup." And, "Unlike butter, shortening is 100 percent fat."

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not advocating replacing butter with shortening in all of your favorite recipes. I am postulating that the all-butter situation is what caused my cupcake mishap. Butter is partially water and has a "narrow window of plasticity" according to Alton. So, it melts quickly and the water portion can cause "trouble". I think the reason for my success with cakes that contain SOME shortening (not all) is that the shortening tempers the butter's tendency to melt quickly. And I'm okay with using shortening--I don't believe it's the devil. I use organic, non-hydrogenated shortening, and usually in recipes that call for mostly butter, so they still taste delicious.

But, really, what do I know? And why does any of this effect me since I'm not really at a high altitude? Questions for another day. The bonus part of this: pies don't generally require any altitude adjustments!

P.S. Alton also has something interesting to say about baking bread at high altitude: "Rising times for yeast breads should be reduced slightly so that bread doesn't overproof. And when working with yeast, go with a high protein flour. A higher protein content will result in stronger gluten capable of stretching with quickly expanding bubbles."

S'more Pie

2010-08-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

This summer break has sort of gotten away from us. It was the first summer that both of us have worked since before we had children. The girls have been at home all day with mr. (while he tries to work), pretty much driving him crazy. And then we've been at rehearsals and performances most evenings. So we haven't had many traditional summer activities. No picnics up the canyon (yet), no slip-n-slide...it's kind of pathetic, isn't it? So, in a shoddy attempt to mend that, I...made a pie. A pie that I thought would taste like those missed campfires. And...it kind of did...I guess. But can anything really take the place of a s'more? Eaten outside? With hands possibly covered with charcoal and/or pitch? In the dark? Knowing you'll come home smelling like campfire? I really don't think anything can.

I had planned to just sort of make this up from various sources--a basic graham cracker crust,

a BAKED Diner-Style Chocolate filling, a marshmallow topping (which I planned to toast with my kitchen torch).

But then I found this recipe at smitten kitchen and decided to trust her. And it turned out pretty good. Not one of my triumphant baking successes, but good. Good enough, apparently, to cause one of my castmates to piegasm (thanks for the word, Mel!). But for my taste, it wasn't great. I liked the way the torched marshmallow topping got crusty just like the outside of a toasted marshmallow would get. I liked the overall effect. But the chocolate filling...just sort of left me unimpressed. It's different than any I've done before--custardy and baked.

And I don't know that that was the texture I really wanted.

TGIP Rating--smitten kitchen's S'more Pie--PRETTY GOOD. If there's a next time, I'll probably use all but the chocolate filling from her recipe and the BAKED Diner-Style recipe for the filling. See how that goes.

Next Up: Seconda is turning 8. She's been watching Cupcake Wars, and Ace of Cakes, and Good Eats a lot lately, so she has had all sorts of fancy ideas about what sort of cake she wants for her birthday, as you can imagine. I think we've settled on cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes. With raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream frosting.

Baker's Birthday

2010-07-28T09:00:00.001-06:00

This is what it looks like when a baker has a birthday:

My loved ones are very good to me.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

2010-07-21T09:00:00.002-06:00

Umm...nope.

Probably my biggest fail yet. I'm pretty sure the reason this happened is not related to my serial over-filling. I think it has more to do with the fact that it's an all butter recipe, and I live at a high altitude. It didn't occur to me until after the fact (obviously), but when I looked over other recipes I've used and had success with, they all had some butter, some shortening. So, did I re-work and re-try? No. No time these days. I had a very small window of baking time. But, like I said, the point was that I wanted to test her recipes before making full cake versions, now I know I've got to change the proportions of fats if I want to use them.

I may try this recipe again sometime, I'm intrigued by the salted caramel frosting. But I think I'm going to try something more summery next...something reminiscent of campfires.

TGIP Rating--Chocolate Cupcakes (didn't even attempt the Salted Caramel Frosting)--FAIL, but might work if I adjust the fats.

Next Up: S'mores reinterpreted.

Midweek Projects: Threadcakes

2010-07-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

Yep, this is another blog about Threadcakes on another baking/cooking blog. Why? Why am I jumping on the blogging bandwagon? Because it's a completely awesome contest that I want to enter. If you are unfamiliar, the basic idea is for people to make/decorate/enter cakes that are based on a tee-shirt design at Threadless. Any tee-shirt design you like. And the thing is, the designs at Threadless are really interesting. There's tons of good stuff to maybe make a cake version of.

By way of illustration, here's last year's winner:

Based on this tee-shirt design:

Pretty cool, right? And there's tons more to look at, some with detailed pictures of the process of making the cake.

Here are some designs that I particularly like/would like to take a crack at:

THIS YEAR?!! Oh, hell, no. The deadline is August 16. That might still be enough time for YOU to do something like this, but not me. Not this year. I want to enter SOMEDAY. I have no aspirations of winning. I want to do it because it looks fun, because it would give me a decorating challenge, and because it would give me an excuse to figure out how to work with fondant (more than likely). See any designs over there on Threadless that you like?

Cherry Brown Butter Bars

2010-07-07T09:00:00.005-06:00

These little guys are...dangerous to me. And by "dangerous" I mean "make me have too many thoughts". But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Summertime=cherries in the mind of spiker. I love them. I could live on a diet of fresh cherries alone and be completely content. When I was pregnant with Prima I stopped at the grocery store on my way to work every morning (during the summer months), bought a pound of fresh cherries and ate them all for breakfast. They made me sooo happy. My midwives scolded me for eating so much fruit and told me my baby would be huge. She arrived 6 weeks early, and yes, huge for her gestational age (a whopping 5 lbs., 8 oz.), which is probably why she never had to have oxygen supplementation or a feeding tube, and came home after only 6 days in the NICU. I owe it all to those 50 pounds of cherries I ate that summer!

So, needless to say, when I saw cherries in the grocery store for the first time this season, I wanted to find an amazing recipe to use them in. Searched and searched and found...a dearth of fresh cherry recipes on the internet. I guess people don't bake with them so much. And why is that? I'm a little mystified. But, I did find at smitten kitchen, this recipe for Cherry Brown Butter Bars. Perfect.

I have never made anything before that required brown butter. Holy. The smell when it's browned is probably the best thing I've ever smelled. And the slightly brown sugary, almost smoky flavor that it gives to these bars is...heavenly. I am going to have to find a way to use brown butter in...more recipes. Maybe even some that don't call for it at all. Didn't Julia have something brilliant to say about butter?

Now, back to the ideas running around in my head...the bars are perfect just as they are...buttery, crispy, delicious little morsels with just a little fruit to cut through it. But, the mind boggles at the possibilities. You could leave the cherries out completely and make the most buttery Blondies in the world. Then you could top those with a drizzle of dark chocolate sauce, or a raspberry coulis, or you could replace the cherries with pears, or raspberries, or god forbid, chocolate-covered toffee bites! I know, it's getting a little out of hand over here.

TGIP Rating--Cherry Brown Butter Bars--KEEPER. Try alterations.

Next up: The Priestess just turned me on to The Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit. You should know that in general, I prefer regular-size cakes over cupcakes. But she has some very intriguing recipes that I'd love to try as full-size cakes. For now, I want to give a test run to her recipes by making cupcakes for the cast of the show I'm in. I think I'll do Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting.

P.S. I think this is my favorite of all the photos I've taken for my blog.

BAKED Explorations

2010-06-30T09:00:00.001-06:00

You know how I've baked (and blogged about) altogether too many (and yet, not nearly enough) utterly, fantastically, delicious recipes from this book:

And remember how you still haven't bought your own copy?

Well, they're coming out with a new book this October. And you can pre-order it now:

I did! And when we both get our new cookbooks, we can make things together! Virtual baking parties! Won't that be fun?!

Almost as fun as this:

Croissants and Danish

2010-06-23T09:00:00.002-06:00

You should know, first off, that I didn't make this dough myself. I went to a class at Les Madeleines in which I learned how to make these laminated doughs, and at the end of the class, dear Romina gave each of us a big piece of each: danish dough and croissant dough. This was in February. I put them in my freezer. Possibly for too long.

At any rate, the cutting and shaping and rising and baking of these kinds of pastries is all new to me, so that's what this project was all about.

I learned that I get very frustrated with yeast doughs. The rising is so finicky. It seems like the air has to be just the right temperature and have just the right level of humidity for it to work out right. Putting it in the warming drawer of your oven is not a great idea because that just makes the butter melt. In the future, I will have to have a day full of plans that will keep me busy while the dough rises, so I won't fret over it.

I also learned that I need to just attempt to make this dough from scratch. The frozen and thawed dough didn't rise quite as much as it should have and didn't have the highly anticipated tender flakiness.

The cutting and shaping itself was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

And if I hadn't messed up by adding an extra egg (please don't ask) into the almond cream for the danish, all of the pastries would have been beautiful to look at. They all tasted delicious, just weren't quite as flaky and puffy as they should have been.

TGIP Rating--Croissant and Danish--KEEPER. Next time (sometime when I'm feeling exceptionally brave) I'll make the dough myself.

Next up: Fresh cherries are one of my favorite foods in the world. And I want to use them in a delicious dessert. So, I'm making smitten kitchen's Cherry Brown Butter Bars. And I may add my own little tweak to the recipe. Maybe.

Midweek Recipes 3: KAF Rustic Sourdough Bread

2010-06-16T09:00:00.002-06:00

Highly recommended.

Over a year ago, when we moved and transferred items from fridge to fridge to fridge, my sourdough starter that I had been given by The Pie King kicked the bucket. I don't know that I had ever taken proper care of it. But we did use it almost once a week for sourdough pizza crust, before its untimely demise. And it was delicious. I never tried making regular loaves with it because I couldn't find a recipe that seemed right without being overbearing, if you know what I mean. I've been missing it (and I need it if I'm ever to make Bread and Puppet Theater bread). So, I ordered some from King Arthur Flour a while back. It's highly active. Or hyperactive. I'm not sure which.

And then I used their recipe for Rustic Sourdough Bread. So easy. So good. Next time I'm going to try their Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Obviously, sourdough is perfect for sandwiches or to serve with soups. But, how do I like to eat mine? Toasted. With butter. Also highly recommended.

Biscotti

2010-06-09T09:00:00.001-06:00

Having never made biscotti before, I certainly have no business altering the recipe of the BAKED boys, who apparently both have Italian grandmothers who are opinionated on the subject. But I did. Their recipe is for "Hazelnut Cinnamon Chip Biscotti", and honestly, I'm not a big hazelnut fan. I know. So I reverted to a more traditional version: Almond. All I did was replace the hazelnuts in their recipe with toasted almonds. And yet. FAIL. Witness:

Turns out gooey chocolate and not-all-the-way-cooked dough are not very easy to slice through, as a combination. In fact, in the process, I destroyed the Silpat I've used (and loved) forever. *cry* Never daunted, I decided to try again, making two smaller logs of dough for the first bake and leaving the chocolate chips out (they come into the picture later).

That plan worked out much better. The baked dough was easy to slice through and the individual biscotti crisped up so nicely during the second baking. Once cool, I dipped one long side in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Just a thin coating, but perfect.

And the whole experiment worked out so well, I decided to try the BAKED boys' own variation of Pistachio Cherry Biscotti. I'm partial to those two things: pistachios and dried cherries. And those also worked out beautifully. The cookies are actually incredibly easy to make. You just have to be willing to keep an eye on turning, etc. during the second bake to make sure that all sides get to the level of crispy you like. And whatever recipe you use, you probably shouldn't be married to the baking times that are suggested. Feel for firmness to know the first bake is done. Look for golden brownness and feel for crispiness to know the second bake is done.

Here's the thing about biscotti: they're pretty crispy. They're supposed to be. So you can dunk them in your espresso, or tea, or whatever (Grand Marnier, maybe?!) and they'll take a little liquid, but not get soggy. The concept doesn't work quite as well if you're dunking them in gelato. Unless the gelato is melted. Just a little something to keep in mind when you make these guys yourself. And that was a public service announcement from me--trying to save you tooth breakage.

TGIP Rating--Chocolate-dipped Almond Biscotti AND Pistachio Cherry Biscotti--KEEPER

Next up: I'm finally using the dough that the fabulous Romina of Les Madeleines gave me at the croissant/danish class I took from her in February. (And when I clicked on that link myself I discovered that once again they will be closed for almost the whole month of July--my birthday month. Romina what are you doing to me?! I know you need a vacation. You deserve it more than almost anyone I know. But how will I ever have one of your treats for my birthday?!)