fold-over pear torte

10/19/2010 By

You didn’t think I’d miss a week of Tuesdays with Dorie, did you? I’ve been in the group for two and a half years, haven’t missed a week yet, and don’t plan to start now. Being late is, of course, a different story. Being late is what I do.

Although if I’d realized how involved this recipe was, I might have procrastinated enough to be even later – pie crust, peeled and chopped fruit, and a custard that involves a mixer. Having overzealously planned my weekend cooking (as always), I jumped in, rushed, without looking at the recipe, with the kitchen counters covered in dinner dishes.

My measurements were imprecise, my rolling was sloppy. While the tart baked, I shaped over-risen bagel dough, realizing too late that the tart and the bagels needed the same oven at the same time but at very different temperatures. The bagels won and the tart (torte?) was under-browned.

But good nonetheless. Pears and rummy custard and dough are such a great combination. Even if it was a lot of steps. It’s worth it to keep my unbroken record of not skipping a week (although not necessarily being on time).

Cakelaw chose this for TWD and has the recipe posted.

One year ago: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart
Two years ago: Lenox Almond Biscotti

Filed Under: alcohol, custard, dessert, fall, fruit, pie, tuesdays with dorie, winter/holidays

double apple bundt

10/05/2010 By

I’m all confused about fall this year. I see bloggers baking with pumpkin. Pioneer Woman is sharing her Thanksgiving recipes. People are planning their Halloween costumes. And I just keep thinking: Isn’t it a little early?

It really isn’t. It’s October, which for years has been my official welcoming of fall. That’s when I accept that summer is over and that it’s time to bundle up, enjoy the leaves, and cook with pumpkin and apples. But in southern New Mexico, fall just means that it isn’t quite so hot all the time. It’s still hot. Just not in the morning.

Tuesdays with Dorie is going to convince me it’s fall even if the weather doesn’t, with a month of apple and pumpkin recipes.  Bundt cake with apple flavor coming from both fresh grated apples and apple butter is enough to make me pretend it’s fall here.  I’ll just close my eyes, enjoy this perfect cake, and imagine I’m surrounded by tall trees with fire-colored leaves.

Lynne chose this and has posted the recipe. I doubled the salt, left out the nuts and raisins, and did some complicated thing (you don’t want to know, trust me) to the glaze to make it caramelly.

One year ago: Cottage Cheese Pufflets
Two years ago: Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

Filed Under: cake, dessert, fall, fruit, tuesdays with dorie

tarte fine

09/28/2010 By

My boss and I both teach a course at the local community college, in addition to our day job. It keeps us busy. Yesterday he said that he’s considered taking semesters off from teaching, but then he wonders what he would do with the extra time.

I’m taking next semester off, and I can tell you all sorts of things I’m going to do with that time. I’m going to work out more. I’m going to brew beer. I’m going to pay attention to my husband in the evenings. I’m going to keep in closer touch with my friends. I’m going to make petits fours again. I’m going to go to bed earlier and buy birthday presents on time and keep my house cleaner. (Okay probably none of that last stuff will happen, because I’ll be too busy making petits fours and brewing beer.)

Until then, thank goodness for easy apple tarts that can be made after a Sunday evening faculty meeting; whose flaky crust and softened apples make for a just reward for going to a work meeting on the weekend, while softening the blow of another rushed week ahead.

Leslie chose this tart for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. In between grading exams and writing blog entries on Sunday, I managed to make my own puff pastry. I’d forgotten how easy it is.

One year ago:  Flaky Apple Turnovers
Two years ago: Crème Brulée

Filed Under: dessert, fall, french, fruit, tuesdays with dorie

raspberry lemon petits fours

09/26/2010 By

Making petits fours is like giving birth. Right afterwards, you’re convinced, NEVER AGAIN, because that freaking sucked. As time passes, you start thinking, well, maybe I could do that again. It’s worth it in the end, right?

It all seemed so simple at first. I baked the cake in advance and froze it. I wasn’t going to brush the cakes with syrup, and the filling I was using was storebought jam – how hard could this be? You smear your cake with jam and frosting, cut it into cubes, drizzle pourable fondant over everything, and slap on some decorations. Clearly every blog entry I’d read on petits fours, in which the person swore that they would never be doing that again, was an exaggeration.

It’s the fondant that complicates things. Pourable fondant, made of warmed powdered sugar and water and corn syrup, is, quite frankly, a big pain in the ass. You’re lucky if ten percent of it stays on the squares of cake; the remainder drips onto a pan below. The lost fondant repeatably needs to be scraped off the pan back into a double boiler to reheat. It doesn’t coat very thickly, so multiple coats are necessary, and it doesn’t dry very solid, so the finished petits fours are sticky.

Okay, so they’re not perfect, and the process was frustrating and made me late for work. (This was back in those days when “work” was teaching one course in the evenings, which now I do in addition to my full-time day job.) On the other hand, they’re so cute! And completely delicious, since they are really nothing more than cake, filling, and frosting. Yes, I will definitely be trying again. If you’d asked me four months ago, when I made these, I don’t think I would have been so certain.

One year ago: Green Chile Huevos Rancheros
Two years ago: Pan-Seared Steak with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Printer Friendly Recipe
Raspberry Lemon Petits Fours

Makes about 30 petits fours

This is what I did, which is not the same as what I’ll do next time. Next time I’ll use Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake, because it isn’t as moist, and regular, rolled, fondant, probably a marshmallow version.

For decorations, consider fresh fruit to match your flavors; royal icing flowers (purchased or homemade); piped royal icing; or something more interesting that I’m not creative enough to come up with.

½ recipe White Cake (my adaptation), baked in a 9×13-inch pan for 16-22 minutes
¼ cup raspberry jam
½ recipe of Dorie Greenspan’s Buttercream
1 recipe Pourable Lemon Fondant (recipe follows)
decorations

Cut cake in half crosswise. Spread jam over one cake half. Spread buttercream over jam; you might not use it all. Top with remaining cake half. With a serrated knife, trim cake edges; cut cake into 1¼-inch squares. Arrange the squares on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Use a squeeze bottle, pastry bag, or ziploc bag with a hole cut from a corner to cover cake squares with fondant. As necessary, scrape fondant from baking sheet back into double boiler; rewarm. Allow fondant to dry before adding decorations.

Pourable Lemon Fondant: (from Use Real Butter)
2¼ cups (10 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
drop of yellow food coloring (optional)

Combine all ingredients except coloring in double boiler. Heat until lukewarm. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring.

Filed Under: cake, citrus, dessert, french, fruit

peach upside-downer

09/14/2010 By

I’ve struggled with September the last few years. I’m never ready to give up summer, but I can’t deny the signs of impending fall either. Tomatoes are just starting to come into their own in September, and there are still peaches, although the berries are gone and you can’t depend on corn anymore.

Down here in the desert, you actually can deny the signs of fall in September. Our high temperatures are still in the 90s. I won’t be making chili and cornbread for a while yet, and I certainly don’t think I’ll be able to find cranberries. The peaches, however, are ripe and fragrant.

You know what makes good peaches better? Cake. Especially cake with a little bit of cinnamon and whole lot of butter. This was good with late summer peaches, and, I think for once, I’m looking forward to the fall version of something, in this case with cranberries, even more.

Sabrina chose this for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. You’ll need about two peaches, peeled and pitted, to replace the cranberries. Dorie recommends skipping the nuts for the peach version, but I enjoyed a few sliced almonds. Peaches are sweeter than cranberries; I recommend reducing the sugar in the glaze to 4 tablespoons if you make this substitution.

One year ago: Flaky Apple Turnovers
Two years ago: Chocolate Chunkers

Filed Under: cake, dessert, fruit, summer, tuesdays with dorie

rhubarb crumb coffee cake

08/30/2010 By

Did you know rhubarb has a second harvest in the late summer? It was news to me, but very happy news, as I’d missed the early spring crop in the busyness of starting a new job. Every time I saw rhubarb at the store, I thought, Next time. Next week. Next week I’ll have more time, more opportunities for baking, a rhubarb recipe I just can’t resist.

You know how this story ends. Finally, I said, Enough! I’ll make scones! I’ll shape the dough and freeze the scones to eat whenever the mood strikes! And then there was no rhubarb.

Taking pity on me, my friend in Tacoma sent me a jar of homemade strawberry rhubarb jam. And then another, bigger jar of strawberry rhubarb jam when the first didn’t last through a week. And then, finally, the perfect birthday present for someone like me: rhubarb from her garden.

After the freezer was stocked with scones, I still wanted rhubarb for breakfast. And I always want cake. Especially this one, with its fluffy and soft cake studded with sweet-tart rhubarb and topped with a layer of sugary crisp crumbs. I’m so grateful for that second harvest of rhubarb – and to friends who send me produce as gifts!

One year ago: Amaretto Cheesecake
Two years ago: Fruit Bruschetta

Printer Friendly Recipe
Rhubarb Crumb Cake (from Smitten Kitchen via the New York Times)

Serves 6-8

For the rhubarb filling:
8 ounces rhubarb, trimmed
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
⅓ cup (2.33 ounces) dark brown sugar
⅓ cup (2.33 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
1¾ cups cake flour

For the cake:
⅓ cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb ½-inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and refrigerate.

3. To prepare the cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and a spoonful of the sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until the flour is moistened. Increase the speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add the remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about ½ cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into the prepared pan. Spread the rhubarb over batter. Dollop reserved batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break the topping mixture into big crumbs, about ½-inch to ¾-inch in size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Filed Under: breakfast, cake, dessert, fruit, spring

crunchy and custardy peach tart

08/24/2010 By

It’s hot.  Usually at this time of year, I’m glaring at everyone who is eating chili and baking pumpkin treats and looking forward to fall, wondering how anyone could possibly want to move on from the sunny days of summer.  But now it’s too hot, and I just want a few days where the high temperatures are below 90 degrees.  Below 90…that’s all I ask.

On the other hand, I’m not ready to give up summer food!  I haven’t had anywhere near my fill of stone fruits, berries, and tomatoes.  I’m lucky that Rachel’s choice for Tuesdays with Dorie this week gave me a chance to use peaches.  You can’t go wrong with a good summer peach.

In this case, those summer peaches were sliced, spread over tart dough, covered in rich custard, and dotted with streusel.  All of those extra textures and flavors just enhanced the perfection of the peaches.  Unfortunately, it involved an hour and a half of oven time.  Delicious though it was, perhaps I wouldn’t need yet another cooling shower right now if we’d eaten the peaches plain…

Rachel has this recipe posted on her blog.  I think I undercooked mine.  It was still very juicy, and the streusel wasn’t browned.  On the other hand, the tart crust was getting too dark, and the custard seemed curdled.  I don’t know the answer, although perhaps one isn’t necessary, as we certainly weren’t complaining about the tart as it was.

One year ago: Lime Cream Meringue Pie
Two years ago: Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte

Filed Under: custard, dessert, fruit, nuts, pie, summer, tuesdays with dorie

oatmeal breakfast bread

08/17/2010 By

I finally admitted defeat this weekend. For the first time this year, I bought bread. I also bought pre-chopped vegetables, hummus, and pre-washed lettuce. Why do I force myself to do all these things from scratch? Preparing my snacks and lunches for the work week has been seriously cutting into my favorite Sunday activity (sitting outside with a margarita and a book, of course). The only things I’m still making from scratch are hard-boiled eggs and muffins for Dave.

I’m lucky that so far the quick bread chapter in the Tuesdays with Dorie cookbook has been seriously overlooked, so I can double task lunch prep and TWD. (The celebration cake chapter is DONE, which, for me, is cause for celebration.) It also helps that muffins are so easy and bake quickly.

These are a perfect example of why I can’t bring myself to buy muffins. These aren’t perfectly healthy, but they’re certainly better for you than anything storebought – not to mention how sweet and tender and soft they are as well. I’m definitely willing to sacrifice a bit of Sunday margarita time to make muffins like this.

Natalie chose this recipe, and she has it posted on her site. I used raisins for the dried fruit, but these were so perfectly spiced for fall that I wish I’d used dried apples instead.

One year ago: Applesauce Spice Bars
Two years ago: Granola Grabbers

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fall, fruit, nuts, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie, whole grains

gingered carrot cookies

08/03/2010 By

I was complaining to my sister about these cookies, all, wwahhh! I don’t like carrot desserts! when she told me that her husband had made carrot-raisins-nut-coconut muffins that day, and her 4-year-old refused to eat them. “I don’t like the carrot muffins”, he claimed.

Great, I have the tastes of a 4-year-old.

On the other hand, cookies than contain vegetables are clearly acceptable for breakfast and thus the perfect detour from my no-dessert-before-beach-trip rule. And judging by how many of these I ate, I do not, in fact, have the tastes of a four-year-old. I’m not sold on carrot cake, but carrot cookies, apparently, I can do.

Natalia chose these for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted.

One year ago: Banana Bundt Cake
 Two years ago: Black and White Banana Loaf

Filed Under: cookies, dessert, fruit, nuts, tuesdays with dorie, vegetables

lemon curd tart

07/25/2010 By

After the lemon cream tart, I was pretty sure I was done with lemon cream. With thirty tablespoons of butter in the whole tart, there is no reasonably sized serving. And then there’s my favorite lemon tart, which uses the whole lemon, peel and all. But I was making this for my mom, and I had a feeling she wouldn’t enjoy the pucker of that one quite as much as I do. There’s a third option for lemon tarts, probably the most classic version, and that is filled with lemon curd.

The ingredients in all three are the similar – there are eggs, lemons, sugar, and butter, but the ratios and the method for combining the ingredients differ. Only the tartest lemon tart includes heavy cream, but the most important difference between the recipes aside from that is the amount of butter – 21 tablespoons in the filling for the lemon cream and 8 tablespoons in the tartest make the four tablespoons here (plus what’s in the crust of course) seem downright skimpy.

The lemon cream manages to hold 21 tablespoons of butter in only 4 eggs and ½ cup of lemon juice because it’s emulsified when the butter is slowly added to the other ingredients.  The tartest tart is the simplest, in that the ingredients are just thrown together and blended, then baked, like lemon squares. For the curd, the ingredients are mixed in a double boiler. (I seem to have added all the ingredients at once instead of slowly stirring the butter in after the other ingredients heated. It apparently worked.)

This curd reminds me of why lemon cream, to me, isn’t worth it. Yes, it’s smooth and balanced and so, so good, but this lemon curd tart is so, so good too. It’s different from the cream, yes, but not worse. My favorite lemon tart is still the tartest though – I love that bitter hint from the lemon peel. This, however, is a crowd pleaser.

One year ago: Casatiello
Two years ago: Soba Salad with Feta and Peas

Printer Friendly Recipe
Lemon Curd Tart (adapted from Joy of Baking)

Serves 6 – 8

tart crust for a 9-inch pan, completely baked and cooled (I used Dorie Greenspan’s)
3 large eggs
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon lemon zest

1. In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, whisking constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes pale in color and quite thick (like a hollandaise sauce or sour cream) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C on a thermometer). This will take about 10 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest, cover, and let cool to room temperature before filling the pastry crust. (Note: The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Covering the lemon curd with plastic wrap prevents a skin from forming on the surface.) Serve plain or with softly whipped cream and fresh berries.

Filed Under: citrus, custard, dessert, fruit, pie
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