Tuesdays with Dorie: A Fig Cake For Fall
October 25, 2011 at 12:15 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 14 Comments
Fresh figs are a rare treat in my house…they are not so hard to find at the shops when they’re in season, but they don’t come home with me often. I was excited to buy a pint to make this cake with TWD. Beneath these flashy ruby port-poached figs is an appealingly rustic and sturdy cake, flavored with honey and cornmeal. I brushed a little of the reduced port syrup on top of the figs after the cake had cooled. Whipped cream on the side was a must.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Cookie Rookie. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Ginger-Jazzed Brownies
October 18, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 9 CommentsTags: baking, brownies, chocolate, dessert
Chocolate and ginger together? Yes, please! This is a combo I like a lot when the weather gets cool, and it makes for a brownie with some heat. The mixing method was kind of unusual for brownies– creaming rather than melting the butter– and my Ginger-Jazzed Brownies were more on the cakey side than the fudgy side (but not fluffy cake, like this delicious chocolate gingerbread). Perhaps that’s because while I made a half recipe, I used two eggs instead of the 1.5 I technically should have. Or maybe it’s because instead of the corn syrup called for (for chewiness, I guess?), I used golden syrup, but I usually make this swap and it doesn’t seem to affect other recipes. Or maybe that’s just how they’re supposed to be…I’m curious to see results from the other TWDers to compare. With ground and grated fresh ginger, these were good, and even better with a little frosting and candied ginger bling.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Bubie’s Little Baker. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Basic Buttermilk Biscuits
October 11, 2011 at 12:20 am | Posted in biscuits/scones, breakfast things, groups, tuesdays with dorie | 15 CommentsTags: baking, biscuits, breakfast
…or something like that. I had intended to make Buttermilk Biscuits. I had followed the recipe…it said it was “basic.” I had been having such good luck with scones recently that I thought biscuits would come out of the oven. I’m pretty sure that, while what came out was delicious, it was technically not a biscuit. It was something more bready, with a bottom that had essentially fried in its own butter on the baking sheet. More English muffiny maybe. Whatever happened, this little breakfast roll was great with homemade jam…both apricot and concord grape. I’ll have to try again for proper biscuits though.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Cooking for Comfort, as it was Jennifer’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Apple Nut Muffin Cake
October 4, 2011 at 12:09 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, breakfast, cake
This Apple Nut Muffin Cake is quintessential fall baking…apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, walnuts and raisins…all things that make your house smell great. Rolled oats (and swapping a little whole grain flour for AP) make this easy breakfast cake feel even more wholesome. It is just like a muffin in terms of technique and texture, but, not that I would ever really call muffin-making fussy, you simply slap the batter into a cake pan and go….ready for coffee in about 35 minutes.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Baking and Boys!, as it was Katrina’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Flip-Over Plum Cake
September 27, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 11 CommentsTags: baking, breakfast, cake
Plums are one of the last tastes of summer fruit. Let’s not be too sad to see the summer go…instead, let’s celebrate with plum cake– Flip-Over Plum Cake. This is the world’s easier batter to throw together…a quick whisk and that’s it. It doesn’t even have any eggs. That was kind of a curveball, actually– I had to, like, quadruple check the recipe to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Scatter the plums over top and toss it in the oven. The plums magically turn into a sweet-tart jam layer on the bottom, and the bizarrely egg-less batter turns into delicious cake!
Dorie has this in the breakfast section, and it’s so tasty, I’m sure it would be a fabulous way to start the day, but a little whipped cream turns it into a perfectly lovely dessert, which is how we ate it over here. I’m betting it would also be great with peaches or nectarines, although I am partial to that intense plum-red color bleeding though.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Project Domestication, as it was Becky’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Salt and Pepper Cocoa Shortbreads
September 20, 2011 at 4:50 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, chocolate, cookies
Chocolate shortbread with a little hit of salt and pepper? Sounds exotic, but the s&p doesn’t overpower (even though I added 50% more of each than the recipe called for). It just gives the slightest tickle on your tongue. I used a little of my precious Aussie pink salt here…love that stuff. After I baked off what you see here, I put the other half of my dough log into my freezer cookie stash. I’ve built a good selection in there at this point, and while I must admit that this one may not bring about world peace, it’ll be a nice addition to that massive cookie platter I’ll one day make from all the leftover dough hunks.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Buttercream Barbie, as it was Tia’s turn to pick again. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Classic Brownies
September 13, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 15 CommentsTags: baking, brownies, chocolate, dessert
I have made lots o’ brownies with TWD (I think there are even still a couple more versions to go), but this is Dorie’s classic…no honey, no cheesecake, no Peppermint Patties…just straight-up chocolate and walnuts. This is a solid brownie, in both the solidly-good sense, and the fudgy-but-not-raw-in-the-middle sense. It’s the one to take to a bake sale, the one to put in a lunchbox, the one that will please everyone (unless they don’t like nuts, but then you just leave them out!).
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Anne Strawberry. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Spice Quickies
September 6, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 12 CommentsTags: baking, cookies
I thought TWD was a pretty PG-group, but this week’s recipe sounds a little racy. Too much talk about spicy quickies might make me blush.
Ok, so these are just quick to make food processor cookies, flavored with spices and chocolate. No ID required. I read that they weren’t actaully very spicy at all, so I doubled the amount in mine. I used allspice, and doubling it makes it noticable, but it’s not in your face. Ground almonds give the dough cute little speckles.
When my quickies turned out soft instead of crispy, I was kind of confused. Ahhh….seems I didn’t read the recipe intro…the one where Dorie says they are chewy. However, as you can see, her side note about turning them into ice cream sandwiches did not escape me! She’s right, they have the perfect texture for ice cream sandwiches.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read the delightful My Baking Heart, as it was Jessica’s turn to pick again. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf
August 30, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in breakfast things, groups, muffins/quick breads, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, breakfast
An earthquake and a hurricane in the span of a few days– what a weird weather week for New York City! If it weren’t for Irene cancelling work this weekend and keeping me housebound, I would not have gotten to make this Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf. Something about baking at home helps calm my nerves if I’m feeling anxious, and wondering if our house would make it through the big storm without any major damage was making me fret (more than just a bit). Thankfully, a little water in the basement was the extent of it for us. If you are on the East Coast, I hope you managed to stay safe.
Whether you are baking to take your mind off something, or just because you want a tasty breakfast treat, this loaf works. It’s totally made by hand…theraputic, quiet and easy. And it’s hearty and satisfying to eat…cornmeal and apples (fresh and dried) give it great texture. It’s not too sweet, so it definitely leans more towards a comforting breakfast or snack than dessert.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read the always enjoyable Engineer Baker, as it was Caitlin’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Golden Brioche Loaves
August 23, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in groups, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, bread
When I first saw that we’d be making Golden Brioche Loaves this week, I thought, “Haven’t we made this one already?” Well, yes and no. We’ve made brioche on a few occasions, but always for an end result other than a simple loaf. Jules pointed out that last week, King Arthur wrote a post on brioche made in a 9″x4″ pullman pan. Go figure, I have that same pan at home! Doing a little back-of-the-envelope math, I geusstimated that 2/3 of Dorie’s full recipe would make enough dough to fill one 9″x4″ pullman to the lid. I had to add about 10-15 minutes to Dorie’s baking time, but I had a gorgeous (and golden) square-cornered loaf.
I bet some people find brioche to be intimidating, but to me it’s one of the easier yeast breads to make. The dough is soft and supple, and comes together easily by machine. Also, great brioche bakes up nicely in a home oven, unlike, say, a great baguette, whose perfectly shattering crust seems to elude me at home. And the dough freezes well, so you can have fresh brioche buns in a snap.
This recipe really does produce a delightful loaf. I can’t lie, though…the fact that I made a single loaf of bread that contains two entire sticks of butter is somewhat horrifying to me! Nevertheless, I enjoyed a fat slice with homemade apricot jam (made identically to this plum jam), and, you guessed it, more butter (I have a weakness for fancy French salted butters on my toast and bread).
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Tea and Scones, as it was Margie’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
P.S.: I got a new camera…what do you think?
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