Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Apple Weekend Cake
March 13, 2018 at 9:49 pm | Posted in BCM, breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake
I like the concept of a “weekend cake.” It’s good to have a simple, sturdy cake that lasts for several days and travels well. Something reliable and something that everyone will like. This Apple Weekend Cake fits the bill nicely. It’s good for dessert, afternoon tea or for breakfast, so it’s multipurpose as well! Though it’s meant to be a loaf, I baked my batter off in a muffin tin. I swapped out a third of the plain flour for rye flour and kept my apple pieces chunky for some texture. I like that in addition to cinnamon and vanilla, there’s some rum in the batter. Apples and rum are BFFs in baked goods. The apple keeps this cake very moist. It hadn’t dried out at all three days later…in fact, I think it tasted better over time. I drizzled my cakelettes with a bit of reduced apple cider that I boiled down a couple of weeks ago.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Cheesecake, Alsace Style
February 13, 2018 at 9:16 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, cheesecakes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake, cheesecake
A Cheesecake, Alsace Style is something very different from the thick and hefty cream cheese cheesecake that New York is famous for. This Alsatian cheesecake is made much lighter with fromage blanc (or a Greek yogurt and heavy cream combo if you can’t find it). It’s the type of cheesecake that soufflés up in the oven and then falls as it cools. If a dessert can be beautiful and schlumpy at the same time, this is it. The base is a tall galette dough crust, and the fluffy filling is dotted with rum-soaked raisins. I used to be a raisin-hater but I appreciate them now, especially when they get a rum bath! Other dried fruits could be used, of course. And the cheesecake is nice served with fruit, too. I spooned some candied kumquat slices and syrup over the top to dress up my slices.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Cabin-Fever Caramel Banana Bars
January 16, 2018 at 10:49 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, cookies & bars, DC, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake, cookies
It’s cold here in New York…I just want to flop on the couch and watch Victoria with a big cookie and a warm drink. Cabin-Fever Caramel Banana Bars make fine TV snacks, although I have to say that this is a cake recipe, not a cookie recipe. But I won’t quibble over semantics– these are yummy, whatever they’re called! The base is a moist brown sugar banana cake that I think would be just as great plain as it is topped with melted chocolate and nuts. The only tweak I’ll make to this next time is that I’ll leave the chopped peanuts out of the cake itself and just keep them on top. Or maybe I’ll do away with the nuts entirely, swipe Mardi’s idea and sprinkle the bars with 100s and 1000s instead.
For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll and please join us if you haven’t already!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Moka Dupont
October 10, 2017 at 8:42 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: cake, iceboxcake
I have a one-track mind when it comes to sweets and I had been pushing to make this Moka Dupont for months. Finally, the time is now! It’s an icebox cake– creamy chocolate frosting and store-bought cookies dunked in espresso– that melds together after a long rest in the fridge. Apparently it’s very popular in France, where it’s made with Thé Brun cookies (which I happily got to use myself because I asked a friend to bring me a packet back from a trip– my souvenir from Cannes!). Over here, Petit Beurre cookies make a good stand-in. The chocolate buttercream frosting is made with butter, sugar, egg and plenty of melted dark chocolate. This is not a light dessert, but I am not one to complain about something being too rich, so I enjoyed every bite.
You can assemble a big square or rectangular cake, or plate up individual ones like I did. I had some extra cookies and frosting, so I made each babycake four cookies high instead of three. After a night in the refrigerator, I had a lot of fun decorating these with chocolate curls (I used a vegetable peeler) and some wacky decor called “bronze crunch” that I picked up at Waitrose on my last trip to London. Yes, my cabinets are filled with food souvenirs from foreign lands…I know yours are,too.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Double-Corn Tea Cake
August 8, 2017 at 5:05 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake
Double-Corn Tea Cake is a simple summer loaf cake that’s easy to put together and is great with fruit. This recipe is made with both corn kernels and corn flour (not to be confused with cornstarch), which is much more fine than cornmeal. I don’t know that I’ve ever noticed corn flour at the grocery store, but I found it from one of the millers at the Union Square Greenmarket. I’ll have to look for some more ways to use up the bag.
I suppose you could serve this cake like cornbread, although it’s a bit sweeter and more buttery than what I’m used to. I liked it with roasted strawberry sauce and whipped cream and I’ll probably try it toasted with cherry jam, too.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Martine’s Gâteau de Savoie
July 11, 2017 at 8:17 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 6 CommentsTags: baking, cake
Martine’s Gâteau de Savoie is the kind of simple cake I’ll want to make all summer long. It’s the perfect thing to go with roasted strawberries, a pile of raspberries, sliced plums, whatever. It’s an easy to make separated egg sponge– no butter, oil or baking powder needed. I baked mine in a mold that’s traditionally used for something I’ve never made called a trois freres cake, but a bundt pan will do nicely here. I have a jar of scented geranium sugar in the cupboard that I made quite a long time ago and always seem to forget about. I made a mental note to bake with it here, thinking that its light floral taste would go nicely with the roasted strawberries I would be serving alongside the cake. I was too embarrassed to photo the extra large blob of whipped cream I also spooned on top, but you can take my word that shortcake-style ain’t a bad thing.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Les Whoopies
June 13, 2017 at 3:09 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 CommentsTags: baking, cake, whoopiepies
It doesn’t matter if they’re called Les Whoopies or whoopie pies, I’m a big fan. I used to work in a bakery where we made heaps of them (the chocolate and the pumpkin ones were my favorites), so I know my whoops. These are great– moist and chocolatey, like little devil’s food sandwiches, with peanut butter filling. I always like how good whoopee pie cakes are a little sticky on my fingers. Is that weird? I made these a few months ago actually, but now that I’m looking at the picture I took, I should go make them again!
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. It’s also here. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
TWD BCM Rewind: Tarte Tropézienne
May 30, 2017 at 4:52 pm | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, puddings, custards, mousses, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 4 CommentsTags: baking, bread, cake
A year ago, the group made Dorie’s Tarte Tropézienne, a pastry cream-filled, sugar-sprinkled brioche cake. I did not. That’s why rewind week comes in handy. I’d never had a Trop before…now I know what I’ve been missing. I really like pastry cream. And brioche.
Trops come in various sizes. I chose to make individual ones rather than slice up a large one. Mine came out looking a little more like burger buns than like the flatter cakes they should be…I clearly didn’t press the dough out enough. No matter, they were still delicious. I served them with chopped strawberries alongside, but next time I may put the berries inside instead.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Plain and Simple Almond Cake
May 9, 2017 at 12:01 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 10 CommentsTags: baking, cake, glutenfree
If you think Plain and Simple Almond Cake sounds a little unexciting, just change the “plain and simple” to “light and delicious” and go get to cracking yourself some eggs. While you’re at it, separate those eggs, too, because this easy almond cake is made like a separated egg sponge with almond flour replacing the normal wheat flour. This cake is light and moist, with great flavor. Since it’s plain and simple, you can dress it up however you like…we ate it at home with some fig sauce. I gave a big chunk to a chef friend of mine who is gluten-free and a little cake-deprived. Poor guy! He was so happy and said it was the best cake he’d had in a long time. I’ll make it again for sure.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie BCM: Pithiviers
March 28, 2017 at 10:33 am | Posted in BCM, cakes & tortes, general pastry, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 9 CommentsTags: baking, puffpastry
The last time I made Pithiviers was in cooking school about 15 years ago. I have never forgotten how delicious it was though. I’m all for two rounds of flaky puff pastry with a filling in between, traditionally almond frangipane (one of my favorite things) and a bit of jammy fruit. The pithiviers recipe is in the “Fancy Cakes” section of the book, but this was a pretty simple one for me. I used store bought puff pastry, had some frangipane in the freezer from another project and instead of making prune filling, I used some black plum jam that I made last summer. Really, the only thing I did have to make for this was egg wash!
Rather than make one large round Pithiviers (that’s too much for us in one sitting), I made a couple of babies. The puff rose nice and high. Because I was making an odd size, I eyeballed the filling amounts. I do wish that I’d used a bit more of the plum jam. I was worried about leakage (there wasn’t any), so I was too skimpy. Next time– these are so easy and good. I’d like to experiment with savory fillings, too, as the concept isn’t really any different from a turnover.
For the recipe, see Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
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