The Cake Slice: Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake
June 20, 2010 at 1:23 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 13 Comments
Hey– Happy Father’s Day! Why not do something nice for pops and make him a Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake today?? It’s super easy, I promise. You can even make it by hand without breaking a sweat. I’d make it for my dad, but he lives clear across the county.
This cake is nothing fancy…plain, but soft and good. It reminds me of a blueberry muffin, which made it perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee.
Here’s a printable link to the recipe. Or get your hands on a copy of Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. I made a couple of tiny tweaks…a little spelt flour in place of some of the AP, and a bit of lemon zest for extra flavor. Cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our blueberry cakes this month!
Chocolate Peanut Crinkles
June 14, 2010 at 11:02 am | Posted in cookies & bars, sweet things | 9 Comments
I was lucky enough to receive a gorgeous new book, The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark. Bill Yosses is the Executive Pastry Chef at the White House. If the President’s Pastry Chef has something to say, I’m all ears (or eyes, as the case may be). I couldn’t wait to dive into this book. I had to start wih something chocolate, though…gosh, it’s been so long and I’ve been jonesing for it lately…Chocolate Peanut Crinkles sounded like a good place to start.
I like crinkle cookies. Not only are they chocolaty and tasty, but they are strikingly pretty and interesting-looking. Ground peanuts give this recipe a little somethin’ extra-special. And the raw dough tastes like a Mr. Goodbar…you should go discover that for yourself.
For maximum white-on-brown contrast, go heavy on the powdered sugar rolling, and do it just before you pop the cookies into the oven. Go lighter if you prefer more of a crisp sugar glaze. Bake them until they are nicely crinkled but still look moist inside the cracks, and they will be soft-centered and chewy.
P.S.: I’m in London for most of the week, and won’t be able to post TWD. I’ll catch up when I get back!
Chocolate Peanut Crinkles– makes about 3 dozen cookies
adapted from The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark (reprinted with permission of WW Norton & Company)
Note: If you aren’t a peanut-eater, use another nut, like hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans or almonds.
2/3 c toasted, skinned unsalted peanuts
2 T granulated sugar
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 T Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 1/2 c light brown sugar
8 T unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 c whole milk
1 t pure vanilla extract
3/4 c confectioners’ sugar
-In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, finely chop the nuts with the granulated sugar. In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate.
-Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the melted chocolate, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides before beating again. Mix in the milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, and mix until just combined. Fold in the nuts.
-Form the dough into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or overnight.
-When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside.
-Place the confectioners’ sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Coat generously with sugar and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and sugar.
-Bake the cookies, turning the sheets from back to front and swapping racks halfway through, until cracked but not completely firm, 12-15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for about 2 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to wire racks to cool further. They may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Tender Shortcakes
June 8, 2010 at 1:10 am | Posted in cobbler/crisp/shorties, sweet things | 33 Comments
My first job out of college was in finance. It kinda boggles my mind that I was able to get that job, and boggles it even more that I was able to stick with it for six years. Anyway, the guys who worked on the trading desk would size up and dole out nicknames to every new person who came through. Some were just goofy riffs on a person’s real name, some were looks or personality-based, some were funny and some were evil. Whether or not you liked the name you were rechristened with, you had to be prepared to answer to it because you were stuck with it for the rest of your time there. Thankfully, they liked me…my reddish hair and willingness to bring them baked goods earned me the nickname “Shortcake.” From time to time I still see some of these guys, and they still call me Shortcake.
I had been planing to my namesake dessert this summer, even before Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose these Tender Shortcakes for TWD. I had originally wanted to use a recipe that incorporated buckwheat flour, because it sounded a little interesting and I’ve had a bag of buckwheat flour in the fridge for some time now. That’s easy enough to do with any recipe though, so I simply swapped out 25% of the AP flour in Dorie’s recipe for buckwheat flour.
I was a little nervous to make these shortcakes, because they are really biscuits afterall, and my last foray into biscuitdom was a bit of a personal letdown. These turned out much better, thankfully! And true to their name, they were so tender, I had to really be careful when splitting them in half. FYI, the recipe yielded more than I expected. I halved it, thinking it would make five shortcakes based on the serving amount listed, but I really got eight. That’s fine…R and I have no problem eating extra shortcakes with strawberries and cream.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read The Tortefeasor. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Almond-Rhubarb Snack Cake
June 4, 2010 at 2:03 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, simple cakes, sweet things | 12 Comments
‘Tis the season for me to be churning out rhubarb compote by the buckful. It really turns my morning granola into something extra-special, but I’m always looking for new things to make with rhubarb, too, and this Almond-Rhubarb Snack Cake is a prime example of how nice it is in baked goods. Frankly, anything that calls itself a “snack cake” has my immediate attention. Usually snack cakes are really easy to make and stay nice and moist for a solid few days. And I love the thought of snacking on cake, even if I am really desserting on it instead.
This simple cake was just what I was hoping it would be– sweet and tart all at once. The flaked almond topping is a nice touch…it gives a good crunch, but you could certainly skip it if you’d rather forgo the extra sugar. Be sure to cut the rhubarb into the nice, thin slices recommended. It cooks quickly and evenly that way, and gives the cake almost puddingy soft insides.
Almond-Rhubarb Snack Cake– makes one 9-inch round cake
adapted from Baking for All Occasions by Flo Braker
Steph’s Note: A half recipe bakes up nicely in a loaf pan. Just be sure to start checking it 10-15 minutes early, as it will take less time to bake.
For the Cake
1 ¾ cup (7 oz/200g) cake flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1/8 t baking powder
4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (7 oz/200g) granulated sugar
½ t pure almond extract
½ t pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup (6 fl oz/180ml) well-shaken buttermilk
4 ½ oz narrow rhubarb stalks (about 3), trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices, to yield 1 cup packed
½ cup natural or blanched sliced almonds
For the Almond Topping
2 T unsalted butter, melted
1 T all-purpose flour
1 T heavy cream
½ cup (2 ¼ oz/65g) granulated sugar
½ cup (1 oz/30g) natural or blanched sliced almonds
-Before baking, centre a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round springform pan with 2 3/4- or 3-inch sides. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
-To make the cake: Have all ingredients at room temperature. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Add sugar in steady stream, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat on medium speed until mixture is very light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Add the extracts during the final moments of mixing.
-With mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, about 3 T at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. When mixture is fluffy, reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions alternately with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition only until incorporated. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of the bowl after each addition. Fold in the rhubarb slices and almonds with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the pan and spread evenly with the spatula.
-Bake the cake until a round wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out free of cake batter, 40-45 minutes.
-About 15 minutes before the cake is ready, begin making the Almond Topping: In a small saucepan, mix together the butter, flour, cream, and sugar and stir over low heat just until blended.
-About 10 minutes before the cake is ready, remove the cake from the oven, pour the topping mixture over it and sprinkle the almonds over the top. Return the cake to the oven and bake until the topping spreads over the cake and just begins to bubble, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes.
-Slowly release the springform clasp and carefully remove the pan sides. Let the cake cool on its base on the rack for 10 minutes longer. Then invert a wire rack on top of the cake, invert the cake onto it, and carefully lift off the base. Slowly peel off the parchment liner, turn it over so that the sticky side faces up, and reposition it on top of the cake. Invert another rack on top, invert the cake so it is right side up, and remove the original rack. Let cool completely.
-Serve at room temperature, cut into wedges with a sharp knife. Cover any leftover cake with aluminum foil and store at cool room temperature for up to 2 days.
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
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!
Black Raspberry Ice Cream
May 28, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Posted in ice creams & frozen, sweet things | 15 Comments
I’m going to the Yankees game tonight…I already have my Teixeira shirt on and everything. At about 8:00, I’ll probably be having a chocolate Carvel soft-serve out of a little plastic helmet (along with a beer chaser–classy!). That’ll be pretty great, but I know it won’t be as tasty as the Black Raspberry Ice Cream I made last week.
If this summer is anything like last summer, I’ll be able to get fresh black raspberries at the Greenmarket in a month or two. But they’ll also cost like five bucks a half-pint, and make this one super-expensive batch of ice cream. I noticed frozen black raspberries at Trader Joe’s late last year…one thing I’ve learned about TJ’s since they arrived in NYC is that if I see something that looks interesting, I should just chuck it in my basket, because the next time I go, I’ll be told that it’s been discontinued (or that it’s “seasonal,” which I’m pretty sure is a euphemism for discontinued). I snapped up a bag right away, and unfortunately I haven’t seen them in my local store since.
If you can’t find black raspberries, just use red…heck, the recipe below was originally for red raspberry ice cream anyway. Your ice cream will be less purple and more pink, but it will be every bit as good. If something can taste like summer, this is it. And just like summer, you might even cry a little when it’s gone (not that I’m admitting to having done this).
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend!
P.S.: I cannot even tell you how awesome the ice cream was with this cake…..*sigh*
Black Raspberry Ice Cream– makes a generous quart
modified from David Lebovitz’s recipe for Raspberry Ice Cream in The Perfect Scoop
Steph’s Note: Make the purée by whizzing the black raspberries in a blender or food processor and pressing through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Lebovitz says you should begin with 6 cups (or 750 g) of berries to get the required amount of purée, but I got all I needed from one 340 gram bag of frozen black raspberries, coupled with about 3/4 cup of frozen red raspberries (because one bag of the black was all I had).
1½ cups (375ml) half-and-half
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1½ cups (375ml) heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1½ cups (375ml) strained black raspberry purée (from fresh or thawed frozen berries)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
about 1/8 t xanthan gum (optional; helps keep ice cream scoopable)
-Warm the half-and-half, pinch of salt and about half of the sugar in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
-In a separate medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar. Slowly pour the warm liquid into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
-Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Vigorously whisk in the xanthan gum, if using, and quickly pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Mix in the raspberry purée and lemon juice, then stir until cool over an ice bath.
-Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, but to preserve the fresh berry taste, churn the ice cream within four hours of making the mixture.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Banana-Coconut Ice Cream Pie
May 25, 2010 at 1:10 am | Posted in groups, ice creams & frozen, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 21 Comments
I know I’ve told you before that I’ve been turning my nose up at raw bananas since I was a kid. But I try to keep an open mind, and I want to bake along with everyone, so I always give banana recipes a go anyway. Well, guess what. I think I’m starting to accept them…maybe even like them a little. I didn’t at all poo-poo Spike’s choice of Banana-Coconut Ice Cream Pie for TWD this week. In fact, I enjoyed it! What’s happening to me?? 🙂
An ice cream pie is what it sounds like– a crust (cookie-coconut in this case) topped with ice cream. I made mine in a springform rather than a pie plate, but that’s a nitpicky detail. Dorie uses chocolate ice cream as the base in her recipe…I assembled this pie at the same time I made that burnt sugar ice cream, so I used it instead. I didn’t want to miss out entirely on the chocolate, though, and made a cocoa fudge sauce to go on top.
Raw bananas make three different appearances here. There’s a layer of them between the crust and the ice cream, there’s a rum-banana smoosh stirred into the ice cream, and there are a few decorative slices for the top. Further proof that I am beginning to appreciate bananas: I thought the burnt sugar ice cream with rum and bananas stirred in was just killer!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Spike Bakes. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Raw Asparagus, Pecorino and Red Onion Salad
May 22, 2010 at 11:24 am | Posted in savory things, veggies | 9 Comments
What is that?? Does seeing a salad here blow your mind just a little? Would you be surprised if I told you that I love veggies even more than sweets? My head is positively spinning seeing all things green popping up at the farmers’ market. I am snapping up asparagus while I can, and this raw salad is my favorite new thing to do with it. I know that raw asparagus sounds a little strange, but I have been eating up huge bowlfuls of this stuff all month long.
Take those skinny-minny stalks of raw asparagus, add red onion, sharp pecorino and a quick dressing and you get something super fresh, crisp, and snappy. Not to mention so easy…my only real advice is to use a big cutting board for prep, because otherwise those little coins of asparagus will want to go mobile all over your counter.
Raw Asparagus, Pecorino and Red Onion Salad– makes 6 to 8 servings
from a recipe by Anne Burrell
1 bunch pencil (the skinny stuff) asparagus, tough bottom stems removed
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup coarsely grated aged pecorino
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
-Cut the asparagus, including the tips into very thin slices, crosswise and place in a medium bowl. Add the red onion and pecorino and toss to combine.
-Dress with the vinegar, olive oil and salt and toss again. This salad should be fairly heavily dressed. The vinegar will sort of “cook” or tenderize the asparagus. It is best to do this about an hour or so in advance to let the flavors marry.
The Cake Slice: Lemon-Poppy Seed Cake with Almond-Cream Cheese Frosting
May 20, 2010 at 5:12 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 13 Comments
I almost forgot to bake this cake. That’s not quite true…I didn’t forget about the cake, I just didn’t realize the 20th is already here! For the month of May, we Cake Slice Bakers have mixed it up a bit and are throwing back to last year’s book, with a recipe for Lemon-Poppy Seed Cake with Almond-Cream Cheese Frosting from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes.
It’s pretty, isn’t it? Something about this cake seems so sweetly charming and old-fashioned…like something my grandmas might bake (except for my grandmas have never been much into baking). Underneath the almond-cream cheese frosting is a light white cake, flecked with lemon zest and poppy seeds. I added a few drops of lemon oil to the batter, just to enhance the lemon flavor.
The lemon oil was my only tweak to the recipe (also not quite true…I cut back on the almond extract in the frosting just a tad), although I did a wackadoo two-fifths of the original amount of batter and frosting (I only wanted to use two egg whites). I baked the cake in a quarter sheet pan, then cut it into three strips for frosting and stacking. I like the change from the usual round layer cakes, although I do find squares and rectangles to be a bit trickier to frost.
Poppy seeds are so freakin’ cute! Their amazing ability to get absolutely everywhere, though, really isn’t.
Here’s a printable link to the recipe…it’s really a keeper. 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 mile-high cakes this month.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Apple-Apple Bread Pudding
May 18, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 23 Comments
Elizabeth of Cake or Death? chose Apple-Apple Bread Pudding for TWD this week, but I actually baked this baby back in October. I’m not really sure anymore why I made it then…probably some combination of warm apple desserts sounding good to me at the time and having a couple of orphaned yolks to use up. Whatever…what’s important is that I remember how good it was. Caramelized apples and custard-soaked bread (or…umm…croissant). So squidgy and good. A little caramel sauce might have been gilding the lily, but I recommend it anyway.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Cake or Death?. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Baked Fresh Weekly
Blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
a whisk and a spoon 