Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Szarlotka
September 25, 2023 at 8:27 pm | Posted in BWD, cakes & tortes, groups, pies & tarts, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, scones
What is a Szarlotka? It’s a traditional Polish apple dessert that’s kind of a cake and kind of a pie. Kind of, kind of. It actually reminds me more of jam bars I like to make that use the same dough for both the crust and the topping than either of those. Here, a sticky, sweet dough is rolled out and pressed into a cake pan, filled with a mix of sweetened apples and raisins and then sprinkled with more of that dough, grated this time for a crumbly topping.
I thought I got a bit of the “French bake” on the sides and bottom of my szarlotka, where the dough was in contact with the metal cake pan, and I was worried it was too dark. Thankfully, it didn’t taste over-toasted at all and was super good, with the consistency of a cakey cookie. Every September, I hold off on buying apples until there is pretty much no other trace of summer fruit left to be found, so this was my first apple dessert of autumn 2023, and I’d say it was a winner.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Everyday Dorie: Brown Sugar-Spice Cake
September 22, 2023 at 9:42 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, everyday dorie, groups, simple cakes, sweet things | 8 CommentsTags: everyday dorie
I found it kinda funny that the title of this recipe, Brown Sugar-Spice Cake, makes no mention of the plums that are its key component. For the past few years, I just flipped by it, thinking it was a “plain” spice cake, until I really took a look at the ingredients list before nominating it for the month. Fortunately, Italian prune plums, which I don’t really like eating out of hand, but are great for baking, are at the greenmarket now.
The batter has a bit of cornmeal, and of course brown sugar and spice. A friend recently brought me a little tin of something called “maple dessert spice” that I asked her to get me from an amazing spice shop in Montreal…the blend has stuff like vanilla, mace and tonka and is like the best thing I’ve ever smelled. I replaced the spices in the recipe with some of that mix, and it was fabulous with the plums. I made a third of the recipe in my six-inch pan, and was only able to squeeze in two plums cut in fourths. I love the way the batter waved and buckled up and around the plums, which basically turned into jammy bloops in the baked cake. So cute! A honey glaze finishes this off and gives it some extra sweetness and moisture.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our cakes this week.
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Banana Breakfast Squares
September 12, 2023 at 8:30 pm | Posted in breakfast things, BWD, cakes & tortes, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 7 CommentsTags: baking, scones
This Banana Breakfast Squares recipe is banana bread with all the healthy, hearty, sweet-but-not-too-sweet things you need for a morning boost. In addition to bananas, there’s whole wheat flour, oats, pecans, dates, flax seeds and the most essential thing for brekkie– espresso powder. I made just a third of the recipe in my six-inch square pan and still got nine soft and chubby squares out it. TBH, I’m never up early enough to actually make breakfast treats for breakfast. When I make muffins or scones, I usually just wind up having breakfast for dessert, which these squares are fine for, too, but they’re such good keepers that I actually have been able to enjoy them with my morning coffee for the last couple of days.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Double-Corn Tomato Crisp
August 22, 2023 at 7:45 pm | Posted in BWD, groups, other savory, savory things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, savory, tarts
Dorie’s Double-Corn Tomato Crisp may make you do a double-take if you see it on the counter. This sports a rubbly crisp topping made with cornmeal, but underneath you won’t find peaches or blueberries. Instead fresh corn kernels mingle with summer tomatoes and herbs. It proves that crisps aren’t just for dessert…they can be lovely savory side dishes, or even main courses, as we ate ours with a dollop of sour cream, a salad and a glass of wine.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan, get it and join us as we bake through it twice a month. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Raspberry Cheesecake-Chocolate No-Bake Pie
August 22, 2023 at 7:23 pm | Posted in BWD, cheesecakes, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, pie
Ok, well, there was a little bit of baking that went on to create this Raspberry Cheesecake-Chocolate No-Bake Pie. I opted to crank the oven for a few to make a homemade Chocolate Tart Dough crust, because even though there is a layer of dark ganache hiding inside this tart, more is more if chocolate is involved. Dorie goes with strawberries as the fruit component in her tart, but I found some black raspberries at the market and couldn’t resist swapping them here (also, I am not the biggest fruit and chocolate fan, but razzies I can do). I didn’t have quite enough to also use them as the second surprise layer hiding beneath the filling, so I just spread raspberry jam on top of the ganache and saved my black raspberries to tumble on top of the finished tart.
I am often suspicious of no-bake cheesecakes, because sometimes “no-bake” means the filling is set with gelatin, which I don’t like. This one thankfully skips that, and is kind of mousse-like, with whipped cream and melted white chocolate folded into cream cheese and sour cream. It is really a very sophisticated and lighter cheesecake for Summer 2023.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan yet, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Everyday Dorie: Tomato and Berry Gazpacho
August 11, 2023 at 3:34 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, savory things, soups | 4 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, savory, soup
I made this Tomato and Berry Gazpacho two summers ago now, so it’s not so fresh in my mind. With deep red summer tomatoes and sweet strawberries spiced with ginger, mint and harissa, it is fresh in flavor, and I do remember that. While I could probably chug an entire blender jar of traditional gazpacho pretty easily, I found this one was best in small servings, as Dorie suggested.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Everyday Dorie: Sour Cherry (not Mixed Berry) Pie
July 28, 2023 at 3:52 pm | Posted in everyday dorie, general pastry, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things | 5 CommentsTags: everyday dorie
This one was supposed to be a Mixed Berry Pie, but truth is, I make like one pie a summer, and this summer it was gonna be sour cherry. I followed Dorie’s recipe for the crust and her technique of turning a portion of the filling into a jam to hold everything together. And then, of course, I used my new fave pie technique from Baking with Dorie–brushing glaze on the top crust once baked, because I wanted the vibe of those Hostess pies I was never allowed to have as a kid. I know that any pie that bubbles juices up like that is going to be good, and this one certainly was.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our pies this week.
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Lamingtons
July 25, 2023 at 8:34 pm | Posted in BWD, cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, brekkie, cake
Lamingtons are a treat I became well-acquainted with during the two years I lived in Sydney. Cake, chocolate and coconut…all my favorite things in one delicious square, and I could find them everywhere I sat down to a flat white. Back in this hemisphere, I have made lamingtons myself several times, although they are easier to buy in NYC now than they used to be, since a few Bourke Street Bakery locations have opened in the last few years and Aussie cafes continue to be all the rage. Lamington Day was on July 21, so I decided it was time to make a celebratory batch!
Dorie’s version of lamingtons uses a genoise sponge, made the day before, so the cake is less crumbly when cubing and coating in chocolate glaze. Sometimes, before getting dipped in glaze and rolled in coconut, the cake cubes are cut in half and sandwiched together with jam or cream (or jam and cream), but these ones are straight-up cake. The process of dipping and coconutting is a bit messy, but the set-up and procedure is not too dissimilar to a breading station for chicken cutlets. You have to wash your hands a few times along the way… it’s worth it. Desiccated coconut shreds are the usual shaggy covering for these treats, but I added a few larger chips to my mix as well, and for a friend who doesn’t like coconut, I coated a couple in chocolate flake sprinkles instead (an idea I took straight from MaddiCakes). These were so tasty, and I think that rather than getting drier over the next day or two, they got softer as the cake absorbed moisture from the liquidy glaze.
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan yet, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays! You can also find this recipe here. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll (be sure to visit our friend Mardi for lots more info on lamingtons!) and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie.
Everyday Dorie: Roast Chicken with Pan-Sauce Vinaigrette
July 14, 2023 at 4:13 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things | 1 CommentTags: chicken, everyday dorie, savory
Roast Chicken with Pan-Sauce Vinaigrette is another “chicken in a pot” dish where the chicken gets roasted in a covered Dutch oven, along with some aromatics and liquid (here, white wine). Cooking it this way makes a moist, but pale-skinned bird. No matter– you can brown the skin under the broiler a bit more at the end of cooking, like I did. The mellow garlic that was roasted along with the chicken and the flavorful pan juices are incorporated into a mustardy vinaigrette that makes an absolutely delicious sauce to serve with the chicken (although full disclosure: I used more drippings and less water than Dorie said and made my vin to taste, because I refuse to measure for things like that).
We are a family of just two, so my “big” Dutch oven is only 3.5 quarts. I brought home a small chicken to fit nicely in it, and I adjusted down the recipe’s roast time a bit to not cook the heck out of it. I could not bear to throw out the schmaltzy carrot slices that were roasted in the pot with the chicken, so I plated them, and some roasted broccolini, with the meat and vinaigrette. I don’t roast a whole chicken that often, but when I do, I’m always happy to have leftovers for a couple of days and bones for a small batch of homemade stock.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Tuesdays with Dorie BWD: Cottage Peach and Strawberry Cobbler
July 11, 2023 at 9:32 pm | Posted in BWD, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, pie
Of course I bake a pie every now and then, but in the summer when I buy too much fruit (if there even is such a thing) at the farmers’ market, what I really like to bake are cobblers, crisps and crumbles. So much easier than pie, IMO, and every bit as good, with whatever fruit you have in abundance. I took Dorie’s Cottage Berry Cobbler and, taking inspo from her “Playing Around” variation, swapped a combo of peaches and strawberries for the mixed berries. If you wonder what a “cottage cobbler” is, the cobbler biscuits here have cottage cheese in the mix…a sweeter take on the Cottage Cheese Biscuits we made last year. Diane pointed out a typo in the cobbler biscuit recipe, which I saw too late, so mine didn’t have quite the amount of flour they should have had. The cobbler was totally delicious anyway, but mine definitely looks like it came out of an old cottage kitchen oven…the biscuits didn’t hold the same modern, cool-looking and well-defined shape the photo in the book shows. There’s plenty of time left his summer to try again, though!
If you don’t have the book Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan yet, get it and join us as we bake through it every second and fourth Tuesdays! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and all the other participation deets over on Tuesdays with Dorie!
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