The Cake Slice: Pistachio Petit Four Cake
August 20, 2009 at 1:47 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 26 Comments
With marzipan roses on top (however garishly colored–oops!), this Pistachio Petit Four Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes may be the ultimate ladies’ treat– something that you’ll want to eat with your pinkie curled in the air.
It’s not just for the girls though…R was completely happy to have it as his birthday cake this past week (want to see last year’s, or the year before’s?). And he’d have been crazy not to want it. Pistachio butter cake stacked with rolled marzipan, apricot jam and chocolate ganache make for a layered affair that is not just beautiful to look at, but tastes beautiful, too.
Sounds like a lot of fuss for a cake, but it’s completely worth it, and it’s not really that hard…at least not compared to stuggling through the petits fours glacés section of a French cooking school curriculum! Buy the jam, and what the hell, buy the marzipan, too. Even though there were instructions in the recipe for homemade marzipan, I confess that I just got the stuff in a log (one log worked great for the six-inch cake I made, but if you are doing a full-sized cake, I’d suggest two).
Here’s a printable link to the recipe. Better yet, get your hands on a copy of Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne. Cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our sky-high cakes this month.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Applesauce Spice Bars
August 18, 2009 at 1:23 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, cookies & bars, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 27 Comments
Apples, cinnamon and brown sugar…these are flavors that make me instantly think of fall, but, really, I enjoy them anytime of year. Karen of Something Sweet by Karen must, too, because she’s picked Dorie’s Applesauce Spice Bars for this week’s TWD.
These bars weren’t exactly what I expected, but I mean that in a good way. I was thinking they’d bake up into something chewy and kind of dense, but they were actually like a snack cake..super moist and with a cake-style crumb. A toffee-like glaze sweetly seals the deal. I couldn’t just stop at the itty-bitty bar-sized potions Dorie suggested, so we ate bigger squares. We enjoyed them so much that next time I’ll make more than just a third of a recipe (which baked up nicely in a loaf pan).
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Something Sweet by Karen. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Brownie Buttons
August 11, 2009 at 1:26 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 50 Comments
Boy, are we cruising through the brownie section of BFMHTY. Who knew there were so many types of brownies out there? The latest take on these little squares of chocolatey goodness are actually not squares at all, but Brownie Buttons, chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen.
Baking the batter in a mini-muffin tin is all it really takes to turn your brownies into “buttons.” There is some optional orange zest in this batter…I’m not usually a fan of fruit and chocolate, so I opted out. I said “yes, please” to the white chocolate topping, though.
These gave a good little chocolate pop, but I won’t lie and say that I was only able to eat one at a time! For that reason, I’ll probably stick to regular brownies (OMG– who else made these?!?), but I can see myself making these again if I need to do a cookie platter.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Classic Banana Bundt Cake
August 4, 2009 at 1:21 am | Posted in bundt cakes, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 49 Comments
At the end of every month, just before the new list of TWD recipes comes out, I do a little dance in the hopes that a Bundt cake will be chosen. My efforts to summon the cake gods have gone unrealized every time, but leave it to Mary The Food Librarian, herself a lover of all things Bundted (seriously, she has made a bazillion of them), to finally chose Dorie’s Classic Banana Bundt. Yay!! (Now I am doing my happy dance!)
I love Bundt cakes, and this banana one is no exception. It’s dense and moist, not unlike a banana bread. It’s full of banana flavor, and the inside is full of those little black squigglies…do you know what I’m talking about? Those fascinate me, and I must study them in every slice.
I made half a recipe of this cake in my treasured six-cup Bundt pan. I switched out a quarter cup of the AP flour for whole wheat, and added in a sprinkle of nutmeg. I also used half sour cream and half yogurt in the batter. The coolest thing about any Bundt is how pretty it is, no thanks to me– it just comes out of the pan that way (provided I spray it well)! I drizzled a quick and easy milk chocolate ganache over this one, because hey– bananas and chocolate are great together!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read The Food Librarian. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Vanilla Ice Cream
July 28, 2009 at 1:32 am | Posted in groups, ice creams & frozen, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 40 Comments
Do I really need to say anything at all about vanilla ice cream? It is good…so good…not to mention good with everything (sweet, that is). It is fantastic if you make it yourself. And it is amazing if you make it yourself and use real beans in your custard. I dare you not to lick every last bit off your machine’s dasher!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (Dorie also has it here on her website). Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu chose it for TWD this week, so she’ll have the recipe, too. Don’t forget to scan the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Blanc-Manger
July 21, 2009 at 1:16 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 34 Comments
Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy went midevil on us this week and selected Raspberry Blanc-Manger for TWD. It’s been awhile since I’ve had such a sophisticated dessert here! Time to class up this joint! Blanc-manger is actually something I had never eaten before tonight, because it contains gelatin, which (since I don’t eat most meats) I try my best to avoid. After some initial hesitation and thoughts of skipping this week’s recipe, I got my hands on a Kosher vegetarian gelatin called KoJel, so I gave it a go.
Blanc-manger may have its roots in the Middle Ages, and may have historically been prepared with chicken (what?!?!– did you read the link?), but the modern-day version is basically almond milk and whipped cream set in a mold with the aid of gelatin. I scaled back Dorie’s recipe to just a third, and made two individual portions in ramekins. I folded a combination of fresh raspberries and red currants into the mix before chilling it, and served it with a raspberry coulis. While I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this dessert at first, it is light as a feather (although not low-cal in the least) and absolutely delicious with the berries and currants. Quite beautiful, too, I think.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. Don’t forget to scan the TWD Blogroll!
The Cake Slice: Marbled Lemon-Blueberry Butter Cake
July 20, 2009 at 2:41 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 27 Comments
I really look forward to Cake Slice time every month. The best part, of course, is getting to eat homemade cake!! But the second best part is getting in a little decorating practice. I always keep it simple, mainly because I don’t have the finishing skills to make it fancy, but simple suits me best anyway. One thing I’ve discovered is that a few easy to crank out gumpaste or fondant flowers can make even a mediocre frosting job look pretty good!
I was a little on the fence when I saw we’d be making this particular cake, though. It felt like we’d just done the Triple Lemon Chiffon…although looking at my archives, I now realize that was back in March. My, how time flies– I guess we are due for another lemon cake!
This one’s a different animal from the chiffon altogether. You can tell it’s a butter cake, with its nice tight crumb…it is definitely lemony, which I loved (although I do admit to never measuring zest, and may have been heavy-handed). The frosting is a really rich buttercream…but the kicker is the homemade blueberry jam in the middle (and in the marble). How perfectly summery!
Here’s a printable link to the recipe. Better yet, get your hands on a copy of Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne. Cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our sky-high cakes this month.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Brioche Plum Tart
July 14, 2009 at 1:35 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 37 Comments
I’ve been itching to make a tart with the gorgeous summer fruits that are popping up at the Greenmarket. Thanks to TWD and Denise of Chez Us, I got the push I needed this week…albeit in a slightly different direction. Rather than a pastry dough, the tart shell here is made from brioche. It’s pressed into a ring and topped with jam, fruit and nuts. Juice from the jam and fruit seeps into the brioche while it bakes. The end result is a really classy tart that temporarily turned my teensy-weensy Manhattan kitchen into a European bakery! By the way, this particular brioche recipe is the easiest I’ve ever made. The butter is melted, and all the ingredients are basically chucked into a bowl at once and mixed. (I’m thinking cinnamon rolls may need to start making more frequent appearances at my breakfast table!)
Although Dorie intends this tart to be a breakfast or tea-time treat, due to my work schedule this week, we enjoyed ours for dessert. As you can see from the picture, I made a couple of indiviual tarts so I wouldn’t have soggy leftovers. One night I used some little purple plums, hardly bigger than golf balls. They softened up quickly in the oven, which is good because the brioche browned awfully fast! The next night, I pressed out a couple more shells and used sweet cherries instead. With a little vanilla whipped cream, both were good, but I think I liked the cherry tarts better…next time, I should give it a go with apricots and a bit of my homemade jam!
The recipe, of course, is in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and is also on Chez Us. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll and Denise’s post over at Chez Us!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Tribute-to-Katharine-Hepburn Brownies
July 7, 2009 at 1:09 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 42 Comments
As a child, there were a few movies I was a bit obsessed with…so you don’t think I’m too demented, I won’t mention that as a six-year-old I could recite lines from The Elephant Man or pretty much the entirety of Mommy Dearest. Instead I will tell you that I’ve seen On Golden Pond, starring none other than Katharine Hepburn, more times than I can count. So for years I’ve known what a wonderful actress she was, but until Lisa of Surviving Oz chose Tribute-to-Katharine-Hepburn Brownies for TWD, I did not know that she was also an accomplished brownie-baker. (By the way, our guest hostess Lisa designed our fantastic new TWD logo, which you can see over there in my sidebar.)
These dark, deeply chocolate brownies are made with cocoa powder and lots of bittersweet chunks. They’re on the thin side, and since they have very little flour (one of Miss Hepburn’s tips for good brownies), they are really fudgy. I know that some people fervently oppose nuts in brownies, but I’m a die-hard with-walnuts fan, so I was glad to see them here. I also liked the strong hit of coffee from the espresso powder in the recipe, but I left out the suggested cinnamon so I wouldn’t have too many competing flavors. After reading a comment from Caitlin, I cut back on the butter by a tablespoon, and they were still wonderfully rich. A half-recipe baked up nicely in a loaf pan, although these were so good, we could easily have polished off a full batch!
The recipe, of course, is in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, but she also has it here on NPR’s site, and Lisa of Surviving Oz has it as well. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Perfect Party Cake
June 30, 2009 at 1:21 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 52 Comments
Like many of you, I’ve made the Perfect Party Cake before, but it was so good that when I saw that Carol of mix, mix… stir, stir picked it for TWD, party or no party, I was happy to give it a second go! Since I had stayed pretty true to the original last year, this time around I thought I’d switch up the flavors a bit. Instead of using lemon zest and juice, I put almond extract in the cake itself and matcha powder in the buttercream frosting (I just added both flavors to taste). I skipped the jam component and sprinkled toasted sliced almonds over each layer. Good, good stuff!
The original cake is made from two thicker layers that are halved to make a four-layer cake…I simplified things a bit here, and just baked three thinner ones and used them as-is (or as-was, I guess). After making it twice now, the cake doesn’t seem to be an incredibly high-riser…but it was soft, moist and had a great fluffy texture both times, so I’m assuming that’s the norm. Dorie herself weighed in on the TWD site with some tips to achieve party cake perfection– check them out here.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read mix, mix… stir, stir (Carol always has some cool tricks up her sleeve, so definitely check her post out). Don’t forget to scan the TWD Blogroll!
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