Tuesdays with Dorie: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

June 28, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 12 Comments
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sour cream chocolate cake cookies

Hooray, Spike, for finally giving these Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies their fifteen minutes of fame.  This is one of the first recipes in the book that really piqued my interest, mostly because I couldn’t imagine what the heck a “cake cookie” could be.  But then, after making approximately a hundred zillion whoopie pies at the bakery in Red Hook where I used to work, it dawned on me that these might something similar.  Although Dorie says they are thin and plain, somehow mine came out chubby and rounded– like little cakes in cookie-mound form.  These are nice and moist, and to boost the chocolaty-ness, I used my darkest cocoa, replaced the cinnamon and nutmeg in the recipe with a bit of instant espresso powder and left out the currants entirely.  While they are pretty good on their own (just grab a glass of milk or iced coffee and have at ’em), I think they’d be great filled with buttercream.  Since it’s so schwetty out here, I decided to make them into ice cream sandwiches instead, using a bit of the caramel gelato I help to make at the shop where I now work.

For the Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookie recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Spike’s blog.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Date-Nut Loaf

June 21, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 18 Comments
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date-nut loaf

I hate to admit it, but I didn’t think this Date-Nut Loaf seemed like much when it came out of the oven.  It was kind of pale, and when I sliced into it, I thought it looked a little dry.  Boy, I was wrong!  This was a great cake with a cup of coffee for breakfast.  It’s actually really soft and has a tender crumb.  My husband was pumped for this, because he loves dates.  They taste like soft brown sugar nuggets in the cake.

I made a half recipe in my little loaf pan, so I shortened the baking time to under an hour (and didn’t bother to foil tent it).  Because it sounded like a good candidate for a little whole grain flour swapping, I subbed about a quarter of the AP for whole wheat pastry flour.  I haven’t yet tried Dorie’s suggestion of toasting left over slices, but if there’s any remaining tomorrow morning, I might give it a shot.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Popsicles and Sandy Feet, as it was Mary’s pick this week.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake

June 7, 2011 at 5:06 pm | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 15 Comments
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blueberry-brown sugar plain cake

A trip to up Boston for my Wellesley reunion this past weekend meant that I wasn’t able to make this Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake until this morning.  Glad I got around to it though, because it is just plain good.  It has a hint of cinnamon, a kiss of brown sugar and a big whomp of blueberries.  With almost as much fruit as batter, I think it should stay moist for a good long time…although I won’t find out, because we’ll be polishing it off for breakfast tomorrow!  (Hey–don’t judge–I only made half a recipe…we can’t eat that much cake in two days!)

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here on Culinate) or read Everyday Insanity, as it was Cindy’s pick this week.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

P.S.: I forgot to mention that I swapped out some of the AP for spelt flour, one of my favorite flours to use in muffins and fruity cakes like this.  Also, I think this cake would be tasty with raspberries, and I may try that out later in the season.

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