Tuesdays with Dorie (on Thursday!): Thanksgiving Twofer Pie
November 27, 2008 at 10:42 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 18 Comments
Pumpkin or pecan? Pecan or pumpkin? What to do? Which to eat? If you’re as bad at making these major life decisions as I am, then maybe Dorie’s Thanksgiving Twofer pie (chosen for us by the lovely Vibi of La casserole carrée) is for you. It starts with a pumpkin pie custard, and then gets topped with a pecan pie goo– no need to choose!
Okay, so it is not the most beautiful pie I have ever made (even though I tried to gussy it up with a little powdered sugar for its photo session). No matter– it’s what’s inside that counts, right? And what’s inside is really tasty. To tell the truth, it was not exactly what I was expecting. I thought the two layers would stay separate and distinct. The nuts themselves remained suspended on top, but the pecan goo intermingled with the pumpkin custard…it was really quite delicious, though. I spiked mine with bourbon instead of rum (cause that’s what I like with pecan pie), and piled the whipped cream high!
I made half a recipe and used my new cute little red dish. Tracy from Cake Batter and Crumbs sent it to me, and I just love it!! My only beef with Dorie’s recipe is that it took much longer to bake than she indicated, even with the small size. I kept upping the oven timer…five more minutes, five more minutes. I feel like I did it a zillion times, but I probably tacked on an extra 15 to 20 minutes in all. I was a little worried it was overkill and that I’d wind up with a curdled mess, but I can give thanks that my Thanksgiving pie came out just right.
I wish all of my American friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Even though everything feels a bit more challenging this year than last, everyday (and with every news broadcast) I’m reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for. For the pie recipe, look in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You can also find it in Vibi’s post. Check out the TWD Blogroll to find plenty of other baking tips for this pie!
The Cake Slice: Sweet Potato Cake
November 20, 2008 at 4:41 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 30 Comments
I just realized that today’s the posting day for the second installment of The Cake Slice! This month (or yesterday, in my case) we baked up a Sweet Potato Cake from the delicious book Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne.
If you are thinking that this cake sounds a little weird, the sweet potato puree makes the cake really moist (and orange-hued), but I think the flavor actually isn’t so noticeable. The cake batter has all of the nice, warm fall spices…cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves…and they are what really shine here.
The spice cake is great with the frosting…a chocolate cream cheese frosting, that is! According to the recipe, the chocolate cream cheese mix is just used to frost the outside. The cake “should” be filled with an orange cream cheese filling. I’ve said this a trillion times, but I don’t like fruit and chocolate, so I went chocolate all the way! I am missing a few kitchen essentials right now, like a scale and a sieve. I had to wing the frosting, adding powdered sugar and chocolate to taste (which for me means less sweet and more chocolate). Since I wasn’t able to sift the sugar, I had a few lumpies in there, but that’s not gonna end my world.
This is a cake I’m really glad I made– it’s moist, spicy tall and tasty! Visit Katie for the recipe (or get your hands on a copy of Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes), and cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our sweet potato cakes!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Arborio Rice Pudding
November 18, 2008 at 1:42 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 41 Comments
Isabelle of Les gourmandises d’Isa chose Dorie’s Arborio Rice Pudding for this week’s TWD. Cool and creamy, I’m a huge fan of rice pudding…but I don’t make it often, so I was really looking forward to Isa’s pick!
Dorie’s recipe calls for parboiling arborio rice, the type often used in risotto, before cooking it down in sweetened milk. By the way, if you have her book, you will see the cooking time listed as 30 minutes…after some reading some tales of rice soup on the TWD comment board, Dorie herself told our group that this is an error. Cooking time is more like 55 minutes. She only uses 1/4 cup of rice for four servings (and 3 1/4 cups milk). I like my rice pudding, well, ricey, so I doubled the amount of arborio, keeping the milk the same. Doing this cut my cooking time dramatically, as the extra rice absorbed the liquid pretty quickly. The trick to a creamy (instead of stiff) rice pudding is to cut off the heat when you can begin to see the grains of rice peeking through the liquid. The rice won’t have absorbed all the milk…the mixture will still look relatively loose, but as it chills in the fridge, the starch should thicken it up nicely.
My mum puts rum into her rice pudding (ahh…fond childhood memories!). I love it that way, but I haven’t rebuilt my liquor stash just yet. Instead, I steeped two cardamom pods in the milk, and stirred in a healthy dose of vanilla extract and some dried cherries at the end. This was a tasty treat. The arborio held its shape and texture without turning to mush, and the milk thickened into a cardamom-perfumed cream.
The recipe, of course, is in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You can also find it in Isabelle’s post. Check out the TWD Blogroll to see what the rest of the group had to say!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Kugelhopf (or Kugel-loaf??)
November 11, 2008 at 2:59 am | Posted in groups, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 47 Comments
Yolanda, The All-Purpose Girl, chose Kugelhopf for TWD this week. Kugelhopf is made from a yeast dough, and I don’t have my KitchenAid– ack! In the absence of a dough hook, I knew I’d have to make a wooden spoon do the trick…something I was not looking forward to, trust me. Turns out, it was pretty easily do-able by hand, especially since I made half a recipe. Barely even broke a sweat. The kitchen in this place is pretty warm, so the dough rose nicley without me having to stress too much about what was (or wasn’t) going on inside the bowl.
Kugelhopf is traditionally baked in a special turban-shaped tube pan. I actually looked in several shops for a kugelhopf pan that would hold a half recipe, but I couldn’t find the right size…everything was too big. I decided that the half-sized loaf pan I already own would make a fine substitute.
Dorie says that kugelhopf is “part bread, part cake.” That may be true, but I definitely think that bread is the dominant gene here. Soft, sweet bread, with a beautiful golden sugary crust. I used dried cherries instead of raisins in mine. A little pat of butter, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and yum-yum.
The recipe, of course, is in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You can also find it here and in Yolanda’s post. Check out the TWD Blogroll to see what the rest of the group had to say!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Rugelach
November 4, 2008 at 1:10 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 55 Comments
We have made it back to New York, safe and sound. Thanks so much for all the well-wishes in the past few posts! Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to a more regular blog-checking schedule now. We’re staying in a temporary furnished apartment all the way downtown in the Financial District. Strange place to live, but hopefully we’ll find a “real” apartment of our own soon. At least this place has a big oven, so I was able to crank out the Rugelach that Grace of Piggy’s Cooking Journal chose for TWD this week.
I don’t have any fond childhood memories or stories of rugelach. In fact, I’d never had them before I moved to New York, and I’d never made them myself till the other day. If you’re not too familiar with rugelach either, it’s basically a cream cheese pastry that’s rolled out, schmeared with a sweet filling, and rolled up. They kinda look like mini croissants, no?
Dorie suggests using the food processor to bring the dough together. I won’t see my Cuisinart anytime soon (it’s been living in a storage facility, along with all my plug-in kitchen appliances, in New Jersey for the past couple of years), so I made it by hand…just a half recipe. It was super-easy, too. Rather than using cold butter and cream cheese, I brought them to cool room temperature, then just used my right hand to squish them together with the dry ingredients. No utensils needed, and very little chance of overworking the dough.
You can be really flexible with rugelach filling. I used apricot jam, cinnamon sugar, walnuts and dried cherries. You can use whatever jam you like (or no jam at all), different nuts, different dried fruits…Dorie even adds chocolate. I left that out of mine because I don’t like fruit and chocolate combos. I made a bit too much cinnamon sugar, so I sprinkled a little extra on top before baking. It’s important to chop up the chunky ingredients, like nuts and fruit, pretty well, because big bits can make the cookies hard to roll up neatly.
I think they came out quite cute, if I do say so myself. After rolling the cookies into crescents, I stuck them in the fridge for a couple hours. That way, they were nice and firm, and held together well in the oven. There was a little jam leakage out the sides, but nothing major, and I was able to pick it off when I lifted them off the sheet tray. These cookies are just lighty sweet from the filling (the dough has no sugar at all), and really good with the warm beverage of your choice. I think I’m gonna put a few of these in a baggie and munch on them while I wait in line to VOTE today!!
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 for some extra rugelach tips and flavor suggestions, read this post on Dorie’s site. Don’t forget to read Grace’s write-up and check out the TWD Blogroll to see what a zillion-trillion other people had to say!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes
October 28, 2008 at 4:56 am | Posted in cupcakes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 38 Comments
Growing up, Halloween was totally my favorite holiday (or sort-of holiday, really). I was like Linus, waiting all year for the Great Pumpkin to appear. I went trick-or-treating long after I really should have stopped…until I was 16! Every year, when I would get home with my loot, I’d go immediately to my bedroom, tip the contents of my plastic pumpkin onto the floor and form a sort of crude candy hierarchy out of it. Things like raisins, Raisinets, Chunky Bars and Good ‘N Plenty went immediately to my parents. Then the chocolate bars were divided into order of preference– Kit Kats, Twix, Charleston Chew and Reese’s were at the top of the heap. From the “other” category, I was a special fan of rootbeer Dum Dums and Now and Laters. I wouldn’t gorge on the candy, but it eat it slowly and methodically over the month of November…the whole process seems quite demented now that I think about it.
When Clara of I Heart Food4Thought asked us to put a costume on the Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes she’d chosen for TWD, I was happy to get in the spirit of things, so to speak. I was chin-deep in packing materials when I made these, however, so I didn’t have too much time for creativity– thank goodness for colored sprinkles!
If you have Dorie’s book, you may notice that my cupcakes don’t look quite the same as hers, and it’s not just that mine are crawling with spiders! I finally polished off a bag of white chocolate pistoles, that had been my life’s mission to use up before I left Sydney, by making white chocolate frosting instead of dark. (That accomplished, I’ll now have to find a new, and hopefully less frivolous, life’s mission.) I didn’t actually measure the powdered sugar in the frosting recipe…just kept adding until it was spreadable.
These were good…nothing life-altering, buy hey, they’re just simple chocolate cupcakes after all. I’d make them again, though, for sure. Do test them early, as there were several reports of dry cupcakes in the TWD group…I pulled mine from the oven about two minutes before the recommended time, and they were just fine. For the recipe, look in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read CB’s post. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see what over 250 other people had to say! Happy Halloween!!
The Cake Slice: Cappuccino Chiffon Cake
October 20, 2008 at 6:39 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 33 Comments
I’ve joined a new baking group, and I couldn’t be more excited! Gigi and Katie thought it would be fun to actually use the cookbooks they have on the shelves, and so The Cake Slice was born. The premise is easy: we bake from one book per year, making a different recipe each month. This year’s book is a great one, covering a subject dear to my heart–Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne.
The first of what promises to be twelve amazing layer cakes is a Cappuccino Chiffon Cake. Chiffon cake is light as cloud, and relies on air (in the form of a meringue) to give it a sky-high rise, with a little baking powder mixed in for “insurance” purposes. Because it’s made with oil instead of butter, it’s not incredibly flavorful in and of itself, but its texture makes it a perfect vehicle for soaking up a flavored syrup.
This cake looks and tastes sophisticated, but it’s really quite basic–three layers of espresso-flavored chiffon soaked in a coffee simple syrup, finished off with heaps of whipped cream. Wanting to pack as much cappuccino flavor as I could into the cake, I skipped over to the coffee shop on the corner and bought a few shots of strong espresso to use in the cake batter and the syrup. The only change I made to the recipe was that I switched out the rum in the soaking syrup for Kahlua.
I love the lightness of whipped cream frosting, but I have to admit that I’m always a little nervous when actually icing a cake with it. It’s so fragile that messing around with it just a bit too much can overwork it in a hurry. As someone who will muck about with buttercream icing for half an hour trying to get it just so, I had to try hard to just get the whipped cream on there, throw the spatula in the sink and walk away.
I wondered how the whipped cream would hold up, but this cake lasted nicely for a couple days in the fridge. It became even tastier as syrup soaked its way through the cake layers. There’s a little cinnamon in the cake batter…I really love it in combination with the espresso. I don’t allow myself to have an afternoon coffee any more (too many sleepless nights), but I’ll make an exception anyday for a slice of cappuccino chiffon cake!
Visit Gigi and Katie for the recipe, and cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our chiffon cakes!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Lenox Almond Biscotti
October 14, 2008 at 4:28 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 60 Comments
Is this picture ridiculous? Of course I did not store the Lenox Almond Biscotti I made for TWD in this jar. I couldn’t close the lid without destroying them. That would be dumb, possibly even self-defeating. I just need better props.
Anyway, we have Gretchen of Canela & Comino to thank for this week’s recipe choice. I knew before baking these biscotti that they would go over well. R, being the good half-Sicilian that he is, loves crunchy, almondy Italian bakery cookies.
You probably know that biscotti are sturdy, crunchy and “twice baked”…they first go into the oven as large log to set the dough, and then again when that dough is sliced into individual cookies. During the first bake, my biscotti log certainly spread, as I knew it should, but it didn’t poof. The finished product was much flatter than I expected or hoped. I decided to cut them a little wider to compensate for their sad, deflated look. I must have done something screwy, because I’ve seen others make this recipe with picture-perfect results. I was kind of pissed at myself, but they tasted *fantastic*, so I got over it soon enough.
I definitely had to increase the times for both the the first and second bakes…I can’t really tell you how much extra time I added, but for the first bake, I left the log in the oven until it no longer had visible raw spots. For the second bake, I made sure the slices were crisped through before taking them out of the oven.
I followed Dorie’s cue to add a couple extras to the dough…a big pinch of cinnamon (that was for Gretchen, although I chickened out on the cumin!) and a handful of white chocolate chunks (there is still a tiny bit left in the bag). The full amount of almond extract sounded quite overpowering, and too much can be a little artificial-tasting, I think, so I did choose to go skimpy on that. Also, I used slivered almonds instead of sliced, because that’s what’s I had.
The finished cookies were crunchy and craggy– perfect with coffee, or with ice cream! Quite sweet, too, but then again I did add white chocolate. The cornmeal in the recipe gives a golden boost to the color of the cookie dough, and a rustic, gritty crunch (which I like, but I know some aren’t crazy about).
For the recipe, look in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (she also has it here on NPR’s website) or read Gretchen’s post. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see what over 250 other people had to say!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake
October 7, 2008 at 5:11 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 63 Comments
My blog buddy Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy picked a winning recipe for this week’s TWD–Dorie’s Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake. These are three good things that go well together, let me tell you!
Although it’s called a “brownie cake,” it’s not as dense and fudgy as a brownie. It definitely has a cake-like crumb, but is quite moist. (Mine dipped a little in the center as it cooled, but Dorie suggests that that’s normal.) I’m running a little low on vanilla extract, and trying to save my last few drops for something where it’s really needed. Here I replaced it with a sprinkle of instant espresso and a splash of Kahlua added to the warm melted chocolate and butter. I often put espresso powder in my brownies, so hey, why not here?
You can probably tell from the top picture that I made a half-recipe (a 6-incher). I made even less caramel…I figured 1/3 of the full amount was all I’d really need. Rather than pour the caramel-peanut sauce over the whole cake, I spooned it over the cut slices. That way I could easily (and cleanly) wrap and save the remaining cake overnight.
Sweet and salty, this has all the flavors of a yummy candy bar! For the recipe, look in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Tammy’s post. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll to see what over 250 other people had to say!
White Chocolate Ice Cream
October 4, 2008 at 3:31 pm | Posted in ice creams & frozen, sweet things | 20 Comments
I want to start by saying thank you for all the good wishes regarding my last post! We are getting our act together over here and slowly sorting out the move details. Luckily, the move itself probably won’t be too painful, as we really don’t have much big stuff to send back. I’ll keep posting till we go, and I hope you’ll follow me back to New York!
OK, time to get back on topic–did I ever tell you about that one kilo bag of white chocolate I bought a few months back? I probably did, as it was dumb purchase that I am continually kicking myself for. I am determined to not waste it, but I can’t seem to use it up either. It taunts me from the cupboard…in fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be multiplying in the bag.
The days have suddenly gotten quite warm (and a little muggy, too) here in Sydney, so I thought maybe a white chocolate ice cream would kill two birds with one stone: use up some some of that stash, and beat the heat at the same time. I found a recipe to almost exhaust the bag– the white chocolate ice cream from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. It uses a whopping 8 ounces of chocolate…that’s about double any other recipe I’ve seen. With all that white chocolate, you can probably guess that it’s a pretty rich ice cream. It’s quite dense, but silky smooth. Although I’ve photographed it plain and simple here, it’s great with sliced strawberries, or if you are feeling naughty, a big splash of Kahlua poured over the top works, too.
If you have The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, you can find the recipe there. If you don’t, you can find a version with fresh ginger here on his site (omit the ginger and you’ll get the same recipe I’ve used).
One last thing…I cringe at the thought of using my blog as a pawn shop, but if anyone in Sydney is interested in purchasing a very gently used (gorgeous!) pistachio KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer or a Braun Multiquick stick blender with lots of attachments, shoot me an e-mail for the details. I apologize. I know it’s tacky, but these electronics won’t work back home (without a transformer, which I don’t trust and would rather not bother with). Also, to buy them new, they are much more expensive here than in States, so if anyone wants a deal, I thought I’d throw it out there.
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