Tuesdays with Dorie: Mixed Berry Cobbler
June 24, 2008 at 5:04 am | Posted in cobbler/crisp/shorties, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 46 Comments
I figure that I’ll have to opt out of a few TWD recipes between the months of June and August. While it’s prime fruit and berry season up in the Northern Hemisphere, a packet of raspberries or blueberries would pretty much bankrupt me here ($15 for skinny plastic packet of raspberries and $11 for blueberries at my local produce shop– ouch!!). Beth of Our Sweet Life may have chosen Mixed Berry Cobbler for this week’s TWD recipe, but I’m not SOL just yet becasue luckily Dorie designed this one to use frozen berries. Those I have plenty of!
Even though my berry fears were assuaged, I was still a little apprehensive about this recipe. Lots of TWDers who made it early in the week thought that the topping was bland and disappointing. Shoot– I didn’t want to be let down, but I was also curious as to what I’d think of it. I will say that I made one change to Dorie’s ingredient list, and I really only did this because we are moving over the weekend. She uses heavy cream to bind the cobbler topping together, but I used sour cream. Even though we’re just moving locally, I’ve been trying hard to use up what I have already, rather than add to the stuff in the fridge. Anyway, it worked really well as a substitution (and probably gave the topping a flavor-boost as well). I also sprinkled a little raw sugar over the topping before I popped in the oven. I like the extra sweetness and bit of crunch it gives, so I almost always do this with pie crusts and cobbler toppings.
Maybe I’m just not that picky, but I really liked the simplicity of this dessert. I’m sure it would great with a hit of vanilla or cinnamon in the topping, but I thought it was good as is, too. The biscuit-style crust is buttery and homey, and my berries were just sweet enough to make the whole thing taste like summer. A little vanilla ice cream doesn’t hurt much either. And you know what else? I think it’s really beautiful with the purpley-pink juices running everywhere!
One last note: I only wanted three portions, so I cut the recipe back to one-third the original size and put it in a small (about six-inch) square ceramic baker. It took just under 40 minutes for the top to be golden and the berries to be bubbly.
Thanks Beth! As always, the recipe’s in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, but she also has it here on NPR’s website as part of an interview she did for All Things Considered. And don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Peppermint Cream Puff Ring
June 17, 2008 at 4:16 am | Posted in groups, other sweet, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 67 Comments
When I saw that Caroline of A Consuming Passion had chosen Dorie’s Peppermint Cream Puff Ring for TWD, my fist thought was that it reminded me of Christmas, but that’s actually quite right for the weather over here. I even had a bunch of mint in the fridge that I was looking to finish off (why is that stuff so hard to use up?)–perfect!
Have I ever told you that I love making pâte à choux, the base for cream puffs, eclairs, profiteroles and the like? This wasn’t always the case though. In culinary school, we had to use all these crazy tests to tell if we had added the “proper” amount of egg to the dough. And for baking–turn the oven up, then down, then off. Argh! Then I went to work in a restaurant and it was like, “just use four eggs and bake them at 375° till they’re done.” Freed of all that egg ambiguity and temperature trickery, choux became really fun and easy!
Dorie calls for the choux paste to be piped out in the shape of a large ring that is later cut in half and filled, similar to a Paris-Brest. Partly because several other TWDers had their choux rings deflate on them, but mostly because a big ring sounded a bit too much for our small household, I decided to pipe individual cream puffs instead. For these cream puffs, I made a half recipe of choux, using two whole eggs. (One tip that Dorie doesn’t mention is to paddle the cooked paste in the mixer for a minute to cool it off a bit before adding the eggs one by one. It should still be warm, but it is good to let some of the steam out before the eggs go in.) This yielded about 24 two-bite puffs (using a 1/2-inch tip to pipe about 1 1/2-inch mounds).
I baked off nine right away and put the rest in the freezer to bake later. Since I was already switching up the shape of Dorie’s choux, I decided to proceed with her baking instructions rather than my one-temperature method. I baked my puffs for 15 minutes at 425°, then about 10 more at 375°. While I was at it, after they were fully baked, I used a pairing knife to put a small slit in the side of each baked puff, and further dried them out in the turned-off oven, which I cracked open with a wooden spoon, for about 30 minutes. This baking process was much less painful than I remembered it in school (but then again, most things are).
The cooled puffs (or ring) were sliced in half and filled with a mint-infused whipped cream. A little sour cream or crème fraîche folded in gave it a bit of tang, but it would have been just as tasty without. Capped off with dark chocolate glaze and toasted almonds, these were perfect little bites. And just for Dorie, I presented my puffs in the form of a (rather dodgy-looking) “ring!”
Thanks Caroline! As always, the recipe’s in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, but this time she also has a version of it here on Epicurious. And don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: La Palette’s Strawberry Tart
June 10, 2008 at 5:32 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 66 Comments
They say that within simplicity lies beauty, and this strawberry tart (our TWD recipe of the week) is a case in point. At its bare bones, it’s just a sablée crust, strawberry jam and fresh berries. It’s delicious as is, and even better tricked out with a couple of Dorie’s minor embellishments. I put a little hazelnut meal into the tart dough and tossed the cut berries in kirsch, a sprinkling of sugar and a hit of black pepper. Dorie recommends serving this with a little crème fraîche or whipped cream, but I had mascarpone in the fridge, so that’s what I used.
I decided to make individual tarts so I could bake the shells off as needed, which is a good idea when there are only two of you, and a great idea when its been so damp all week. I really loved the ultra-crisp crust, although I admit it was a little tricky to cut into. Reminiscent of a linzer cookie, the tart shells are sweet and nutty, and filled with the jam and berries moments before serving. It’s not exactly strawberry season over here, but I did find one lady still selling them at the monthly growers’ market, and happily they were pretty good.
This week’s recipe was chosen by Marie of A Year in Oak Cottage. If you want to read about the inspiration for this tart from the woman herself, look for the recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or on Serious Eats. And don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
TWD Rewind: Perfection Pound Cake
June 4, 2008 at 6:57 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 22 Comments
Sydney is one grey and wet city right now. We’re in the midst of what’s supposed to be a week of non-stop rain, so to pass the time indoors, I decided to play TWD catch-up with Dorie’s Perfection Pound Cake. To give my pound cake an extra element of sunshine, I chopped up a little candied lemon and orange zest that I had leftover from my meyer lemon bombe plate garnish and threw that into the mix.
What did I think? Well, to tell you the truth, I thought the cake was just a tad dry (and after reading other blog posts about this same cake, I found that it was not an uncommon reaction). But I took a little of the simple syrup I’d been storing the candied zest in, brushed the cut sides of the cake with it, and then it was perfection! With some whipped cream and a quick sauce from frozen raspberries, it definitely chased the clouds away.
TWD leader Laurie picked this recipe (back when there were only four members and she could actually get a couple choices of her own!), and you can find it on her site or in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.
Tuesdays with Dorie: French Chocolate Brownies
June 3, 2008 at 6:04 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 67 Comments
Next in the queue for Tuesdays with Dorie is the recipe for French Chocolate Brownies, courtesy of Di from Di’s Kitchen Notebook. I first heard of this recipe about a year ago when it was included in a New York Times article about brownies…I saved it and (even though it doesn’t call for nuts) have been wanting to make it ever since. Seems Dorie originally intended these to be a fondant-style cake when she served them at a dinner party for French friends, but they just assumed that their American hostess had made them brownies. Dorie, not missing a beat, went right along with it, and everyone loved them!
Some TWDers noted long baking times and a dry crust as drawbacks of this recipe. Mine came out with quite a nice thin crust layer, and it wasn’t overly crackly either. I made a half recipe in a loaf pan…I took them out at the 45 minute mark, although I admit that I accidentally baked them at 325°F. Oops–I’m not always paying complete attention, but luckily no brownies were hurt due to negligence! Not quite a fudgy brownie, and not quite a cakey one either, these had an almost silky texture that I liked a lot when eaten at room temperature (not so appealing cold, though).
Something really funny that I’ve learned from TWD is that there are a lot of raisin-haters out there. I thought maybe I was the only one, so I feel better knowing I’m actually in good company. This brownie recipe called for rum-flamed raisins to be mixed into the batter, which sounded less than thrilling. I’m all for a good flambé, though, so I decided to ignite some chopped dates instead. The dates worked really well…just kind of melding into the overall sweetness of the brownies, rather than being too conspicuous.
To go alongside these faux French pastries, I made Dorie’s recipe for Faux Crème Fraîche, near the back of the book. It’s just a little vanilla whipped cream with some sour cream folded in, but somehow it made the whole thing très chic.
Open up Di’s Kitchen Notebook or Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan to find the recipe. (Dorie has also written about it on Serious Eats.) Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
May 27, 2008 at 4:47 am | Posted in breakfast things, groups, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 52 Comments
Oh yeah–pecans and brioche laquered in brown sugar and honey goo. Does it get any better than that? I think not.
Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen chose Dorie’s Pecan Honey Sticky Buns for this week’s TWD, but I actually made these awhile ago (luckily I had the forethought to take a few pictures). These sticky buns share the same brioche base as the Brioche Raisin Snails the group made back in March. I had a little extra dough from those snails and I turned it into these sticky buns the following week.
I only made two buns, but they were probably double the size of Dorie’s. I don’t always think that bigger is better, but with sticky buns, I sure do! Since I was so drastically scaling down the recipe, I just eyeballed the ingredients for both the filling and the glaze. I added some chopped toasted pecans to the cinnamony-sweet swirl inside the buns as well.
With a big cup of black coffee, these are a delicious (if not quite nutritious) breakfast! You can find the recipe here on Madam Chow’s Kitchen or in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Traditional Madeleines
May 20, 2008 at 3:37 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, cookies & bars, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 55 Comments
I’d been crossing my fingers that Tara of Smells Like Home would choose a cookie for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. Then Tara picked Dorie’s Traditional Madeleines–score! I know that a madeleine is really cake in cookie’s clothing, but after all the hard-core desserting I’ve been doing (and still have left to do this month), I was happy to have something that’s just a sweet bite.
I have fond voluntary (as opposed to Proustian-ha!) memories of these little scalloped-shaped cuties. Actually my memories are quite recent, as we made madeleines as part of the petits fours plate at the restaurant I last worked for. That recipe uses browned butter and almond flour, and we made a variety of flavors, from lavender to lemon-thyme, depending on what we felt like or what we had available.
Dorie’s recipe is flavored with lemon zest, and even though she doesn’t instruct you to brown the melted butter, I went ahead and did it anyway. Browned butter just has such a beautiful flavor, I used my non-stick mini madeleine pan (which is the only one I have, and trust me, you still need to grease it well) to bake them off, and made half of Dorie’s recipe. Rather than sprinkling them with powdered sugar before serving, I tossed the still-warm madeleines in some finely ground vanilla sugar.
I will say that these make very good little lemony tea cakes. They are soft and light and tasty (do bake them right when you are ready to eat them though, as they stale quickly). But I have one gripe. If we are talking about “tradition” here, then madeleines are supposed to have a bump on their backsides. We learned in culinary school that the bump is desirable, and our instructor said that madeleines are often presented with their bums in the air (rather than scalloped side up) to show them off. Dorie calls for chilling the batter for at least three hours to help form this bump. The same day I made the batter, I baked up half of it after letting it chill for several hours. No bump. The next day, I baked up the remaining batter (it had now been chilling overnight). Two madeleines had the bump…the rest didn’t. Ah well…after conferring with other TWDers, this seemed to happen to most everyone. And as Ulrike pointed out, even the Traditional Madeleines pictured in Dorie’s book don’t have bumps!
If you’d like to try your hand at baking madeleines (and see if you get the coveted golden bump!), you can find the recipe here on Smells Like Home or in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Florida Pie
May 13, 2008 at 4:08 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 57 Comments
“What the heck is Florida Pie?” you ask. It’s basically a key lime pie with a couple of coconutty embellishments, and it happens to the TWD pick o’ the week from Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes. Dorie’s Florida Pie has the standard crumb crust and lime juice/condensed milk filling, but it also has a layer of coconut cream in between said crust and filling, and coconut folded into the meringue topping. I decided to go for mini pies, and half a recipe of filling gave me three babies. Mini pies do have a higher crust to filling proportion than full size pies, so I probably used about 2/3 recipe of crust.
I didn’t stray too far from Dorie’s instructions this time, but I did make a couple tweaks. I used regular (not key) limes and condensed low fat milk in the filling, which worked nicely. And for the coconut cream layer, I used way less cream than she called for, probably just a few tablespoons, and wound up with something more like a tasty goo. I also toasted my coconuts (both the shredded stuff I used in the goo, and the fine desiccated stuff I folded into the meringue), because I think it really brings out the flavor of packaged coconut, which can be pretty lackluster as-is.
“How did it taste?” you ask. Pretty darn good. Next time, I’ll add a little lime zest to the filling. I really like the combination of coconut and lime, but if you aren’t a coconut fan, just leave out the cream layer and keep your meringue unflavored. You’ll still wind up with a fantastic key lime pie. If you’d like to be transported via baking to Key West, Del Boca Vista, or the Floridian destination of your choice, put on your Lilly Pulitzer and check out the recipe here on Dianne’s Dishes, or in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to go look at the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Peanut Butter Torte
May 6, 2008 at 4:27 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 65 Comments
There are a few recipes in Baking: From My Home to Yours whose pictures and titles are so alluring, I’ve been surprised no one’s chosen them for TWD yet. Well, the time has finally come for one of these, as Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food has picked Dorie’s Peanut Butter Torte as our recipe of the week! Kind of like the Snickery Squares, I think Dorie has played candy bar dress-up here, except this time the candy in question is a Reece’s cup. I don’t mean to sound like a buzzkill, but the ingredient list is a little frightening, I have to tell you…Oreos, peanut butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, chocolate and peanuts. April was my busiest posting month to date, so that means it was also a very busy eating month. If I didn’t want to feel my heart racing (in a bad way) with each bite, I knew I had to tweak this torte a bit.
It was a given that was not going to make a full-sized torte. I rarely make a full-sized anything for the two of us. My six-inch springform would be prefect for a half recipe, and I’d still get six pieces out of it, but even a half batch seemed like so much cream and peanut butter. After some intense volume calculations (not really), I decided that I could still use my six-inch pan and get away with just a quarter recipe of the filling. Sure, it wouldn’t be as high as the one in Dorie’s picture, but I didn’t mind if my torte looked more like a tart.
I am a peanut butter fanatic, and I love the sugary, salty, junky stuff. I am sorry to say though that I don’t think the Aussie peanut butter is very good…it’s pale and doesn’t have peanuty specks in it. That may explain why, according to an informal poll taken by yours truly, it doesn’t seem to be a popular food item here (I was even told by someone that my favorite lunch, PB&J, is gross!). No matter–I’ve been “importing” my own peanut butter since my first trip back to the States. My current PB of choice is reduced fat Jif (smooth, never crunchy) so that’s what I decided to go with in this torte.
Back in the US, I wouldn’t think twice about swapping full fat cream cheese for the light Philly they label “Neufchâtel.” Here, though, the light Philly doesn’t have the same consistency at all…it tastes good, but even straight out of the fridge, it’s incredibly soft. Further inspection of the package says that it’s a blend of cream cheese and cottage cheese, so I guess that’s why. I didn’t think my filling would set up properly if I used it, so I went with the light version of a New Zealand brand called Mainland.
I also decided that rather than using Oreos to make my crust, I’d save a few more fat grams and use some almond cookie crumbs that I had in the freezer already. Adding cocoa powder turned them into chocolate crumbs.
I’m happy to report that my filling set up nicely after several hours in the fridge, and although I can imagine how wonderful the full blown PB torte would be, the skimpy version was still great! I loved the chocolate-peanut crunchy bits throughout the filling. Now you know my tricks, but you can find the original version of this recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and on Elizabeth’s site. Don’t forget to go check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
April 29, 2008 at 4:18 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 45 Comments
This cake reminds me of the kind of thing my Italian nonna would make, if I had an Italian nonna. No wonder my husband, who is half Italian, scarfed this up! Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose this, Dorie’s Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake, as our TWD recipe of the week.
Polenta in this case is just another name for yellow cornmeal, so the cake had sort of a sweet cornbread feel to it, but combined with ricotta and honey, it was quite moist. And you can’t tell from the outside, but hidden in the cake are…dried figs! Normally, I am not a fan of dried figs (a lasting side effect of my childhood aversion to Newtons), but they work really well here. Their little seeds give a pleasant crunch to the cake. I did use a couple less than the recipe called for, though, and I chopped them into quarters so I could more evenly scatter them throughout the batter.
I wanted to follow Dorie’s suggestion to put a few thyme leaves into the batter, but then of course I forgot! So I made thyme whipped cream instead, by rubbing thyme leaves into the sugar that sweetened it. Please, no judgements about the massive amount of cream in that photo–I know I went a little overboard!
This was a lovely cake…simple and homey and good for breakfast (maybe without the mountain of whipped cream). I made a half batch, which fit perfectly into my 7 1/2-inch tart pan. Early reports from some other TWDers were that the cake was a bit too sweet. I went a little skimpy on the measurements for both the sugar and honey, and it came out just right. The only thing that left me scratching my head was the extra little hunk of butter that gets dotted on top of the cake before it goes into the oven. It didn’t seen to do much but make some pale colored spots on top…I think I’ll leave it out if I make the cake again.
You can find this recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and on Caitlin’s site. Now go check out the TWD Blogroll!
Baked Fresh Weekly
Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
a whisk and a spoon 