Tuesdays with Dorie: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart

August 24, 2010 at 9:43 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 23 Comments

crunchy and custardy peach tart

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve suddenly become a very busy girl, with reasons that have nothing to do with working (heck–I am not even working right now…still on a self-proclaimed “summer break”) or blogging.  I’m learning a lot of weird stuff that, up until now, I had no reason to know or care about.  I think you’d find it a little boring if I went into details about it now, as it’s all more of an idea than a reality at this point, but I’ll fill you in soon. 

No matter what’s going on, I’m never to busy to bake, and even if Rachel of sweet tarte hadn’t decided on Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart, I was still planning on making it this month.  I think the peaches here have been great this year, and I’ve picked up a tree’s worth of them at the market.  This tart combines those peaches (which I didn’t even bother to peel) with custard and almond streusel and puts them all inside a delicious, cookie-like sweet tart (hey– is that why Rachel picked this?) shell.  Yeah, I liked this one a lot, even if it didn’t photograph too well.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read sweet tarte.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

August 17, 2010 at 12:06 am | Posted in breakfast things, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 22 Comments

oatmeal breakfast bread

Thank you, Natalie of Oven Love, for choosing Oatmeal Breakfast Bread for TWD!  I have dropped a couple of hints in the past that this is one recipe I’ve been itching to make…not only that, but I’m always happy when someone chooses a brekkie thing, as I kinda feel we ignore this section of the book.

I’m pleased to report that this oatmeal bread was everything I hoped it would be!  It’s really soft and nicely spiced, and completely perfect with coffee…you can cut into slices like a bread or bigger chunks like a coffee cake.  I used dried apples and pecans in mine, and baked it the night before (who wants to get up at 5am to do it, especially when it keeps so well?).  I baked a half recipe, and it took a little less time to cook than Dorie indicated for a full batch.  I can’t wait to make it again in cooler weather…a whole recipe next time, for sure!

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Oven Love.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

August 10, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in groups, ice creams & frozen, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 24 Comments

chocolate ganache ice cream

It’s not often that I crank out straight-up chocolate ice cream, so it took Katrina’s pick of Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream to make me remember how insanely good it really is.  After letting it temper a bit, you need nothing but a cone or a spoon to enjoy it in its purest form.  But you can also turn it into wicked treats, like sundaes topped with marshie fluff and salty peanuts, or boozy bourbon milkshakes.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Baking and Boys.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Gingered Carrot Cookies

August 3, 2010 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 30 Comments

gingered carrot cookies

Natalia of gatti fili e farina chose Gingered Carrot Cookies for TWD— an overlooked recipe whose time I’m glad has come.  These cookies are full of tasty bits and are just sweet enough.  At first glance, the recipe looks like it might make carrot cake in cookie form.  Shredded carrots and coconut, raisins, ginger and pecans…I was certainly surprised to see mine bake up as little hearty, lumpy-bumpy mounds instead.  Dorie says these are scone-like, and she’s right (of course she is– it’s her recipe afterall).  If I’d thought to scoop out a couple of triple-size ones, I bet they would have made a great breakfast!

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read gatti fili e farina.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chewy, Chunky Blondies

July 27, 2010 at 12:09 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 22 Comments

chewy, chunky blondies

I never make blondies (except for this batch, obviously).  I don’t know why…they are like chocolate chip cookies on steroids, and who wouldn’t like that?  Nicole of Cookies on Friday picked Chewy, Chunky Blondies for TWD, and they are certainly juiced up with chocolate chips, toffee (or butterscotch) chips, walnuts and coconut.

I love butterscotch, but I hate those fake-tasting chips…I still have toffee bits left in the freezer from the Caramel Crunch Bars (yeah, apparently they last forever), and I was happy to use those instead.  With all that’s going on in these blondies, I wanted to tame the sweetness a little, so I cut back just a bit on the sugar and used unsweetend coconut flakes.

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Cookies on Friday.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake

July 20, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 29 Comments

lots of ways banana cake

I think about the two years we spent in Australia everyday, sometimes for bizarre reasons.  For example, when I looked at the recipe for this week’s TWD pick, the first thing that popped into my mind was that when we first moved to Sydney, the country was just beginning to recover from a banana shortage.  I let my little trip down memory lane steer me in a particular direction while making this cake…it is called “Lots of Ways Banana Cake” afterall, so I didn’t really feel like I was overstepping any bounds by adding macadamias, wattleseed and chocolate to the bananas and coconut already in the mix.

While I could have chosen to go the layered and frosted route with this cake, that wasn’t what I was in the mood for.  I just wanted an unfussy snack cake, so I baked half a recipe in an 8″ square pan and left it at that.  (It only took 25 minutes to bake, instead of the 45 I was expecting.)  It was delicious– soft, and full of things that taste great together!

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Kimberly’s post on Only Creative Opportunities.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tarte Noire

July 6, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 30 Comments

tarte noire

A Tarte Norie is pure and simple, and all about the chocolate, so break out the good stuff! I had a déjà vu moment while making this, and then I realized that it’s the very same thing as the Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart we made awhile back, minus the caramel and nuts.  Dark ganache inside a crisp, sweet pastry shell…I was perfectly happy to experience that again!

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read bliss: towards a delicious life.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cake

June 29, 2010 at 1:30 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 28 Comments

rum-drenched vanilla cake 

I only have a few words to say about this cake.  It has a perfect crust, a perfect crumb and it’s saturated with vanilla and rum.  It is simply the best poundy-type cake I’ve baked up.  I would be totally happy to devour it plain, but as luck would have it, there were poached cherries in my fridge.  Big, no, huge thanks to Wendy for choosing this for TWD!

rum-drenched vanilla cake

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Pink Stripes.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake

June 22, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 27 Comments

dressy chocolate loaf cake

Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes showed us that a loaf cake can be fancy, too, with her choice of Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake for TWD.  I baked this the week before I went to London…glad I did, because I packed on a couple extra (now totally unwanted) pounds on that trip, and I may have had a hard time justifying making this afterward!

Both the cake and the frosting contain a good amount of sour cream.  Chocolate-sour cream frosting is on my list of “world’s tastiest stuff.”  The heaviness of the cake is cut by two layers of jam sandwiched in-between.  I don’t usually go nuts for fruit and chocolate combos, but I must say that this was tasty! 

For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Amy Ruth Bakes.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

Tuesdays with Dorie: White Chocolate Brownies

June 1, 2010 at 12:27 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 24 Comments

white chocolate brownies

Ooph…getting this one up late today!  Here, I present to you the tenth brownie recipe for this blog.  I would say that I’ve exhausted this topic, but you can tell by looking at them that these are definitely not your run-of-the-mill brownie.  Marthe of Culinary Delights chose these White Chocolate Brownies with raspberries for TWD this week.

The full recipe makes a BIG batch, and one that a lot of folks had some difficulty getting to cook through.  Fearing enough brownies for a lifetime, I scaled it down to a quarter recipe and baked it in a loaf pan.  The original version also calls for a baked meringue topping, which I skipped in lieu of a sprinkling of sliced almonds.  My meringue-less little batch cooked nicely in about 30 minutes. 

These were good…sweet, though.  I found the texture to be less like a fudgy brownie and more like a tea cake with a little chew.  For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Culinary Delights.  Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!

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