Tuesdays with Dorie: Dulce de Leche Duos
March 23, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 27 Comments
So, I was standing in an aisle at the store, staring crossly at a $7 jar of DdL, wondering if these Dulce de Leche Duos, chosen by Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake for TWD, would be worth it. Then I suddenly remembered I had an opened can of condensed milk in the fridge. Score! I went home and put David Lebovitz’s oven-baked method to the test. It worked like a charm, and I think I will go with this technique (rather than boil-in-the-can) in the future.
With dulce de leche both in the cookie batter and acting as the filling, these cookies are sweet, to be sure. I imagine, though, that the chewy cookies could hold their own as-is, no sandwiching required. But gilding the lily a little doesn’t hurt either…these are tasty!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Beansy Loves Cake. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
The Cake Slice: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
March 20, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 15 Comments
The Cake Slice Bakers are flipping out some Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes this month. Sounds good, right? Looks good, too, I think. The taste…ehh. I used fresh pineapple and dried cherries in my topping, and boy was that yummy, all baked up in buttery brown sugar. But the cakey bit seemed heavy and doughy. It was a relatively lean cake, with only four tablespoons of butter and just one egg…maybe that had something to do with it. I dunno, but I think I’ll stick with this recipe, which I remember liking quite a bit.
If you do want to give it a shot, here’s a printable link to this month’s recipe. Or get your hands on a copy of Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. To see if anyone else had setter success with this recipe, cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart
March 16, 2010 at 1:01 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 25 Comments
For the last five weeks, I’ve had a smile on my face that I haven’t been able to scrub off. You see, I gave notice at work…five weeks’ notice. It’s been a long time coming, but my last day is…tomorrow! I really have only good things to say about my experience at the bakery, but after a year and a half of making cupcakes and brownies, I think it’s time to move on. After a little break, of course. I’m excited to go out West to visit my parents…I haven’t seen them since before I started. I’m excited to have weekend breakfast with my husband…we work opposite schedules, with never a day together. But first things first….I’m excited to nibble on the Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tarts that Rachelle of Mommy? I’m Hungry! chose for TWD.
Here, I made individual tartlettes…only because I am in love with my little ring molds. The shells are pretty shallow, so I left the berries out of the filling (I didn’t want them poking through the top) and just used them as garnish, along with a little mascarpone. The filling, not quite a straight-up ganache, yet not quite a custard, is baked. It makes a really delicious basic chocolate tart– one that I’m certain could easily be paired with a lot more than just raspberries. Just an FYI: my little guys, sans berries, took under fifteen minutes to bake.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Mommy? I’m Hungry! Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys
March 9, 2010 at 1:00 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 36 Comments
So here, thanks to Mike, I present you with my first batch of Thumbprints. OK, I’ve had two thumbprints all my life, but if those ones ever get me caught red-handed, these ones just might help me get out of trouble!
Not only are they cookies cuties, they are tasty too. They have a crumbly shortbread texture that melts in your mouth. Make them bite-sized and they won’t be messy. Only because I have a bag of almond flour in the fridge, I used ground almonds instead of hazelnuts. Some I filled with strawberry-raspberry jam and others with blueberry-cherry.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Ugly Dude Food. In fact, check out Ugly Dude Food even if you don’t want the recipe…he’s one of our lone dude members, and deserves props just for playing along with all of us girls every week! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Toasted-Coconut Tart
March 2, 2010 at 8:49 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 36 Comments
Beryl the Cinemon Girl picked something right up my alley for TWD this week– Dorie’s Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart! Oh yeah…I’ve been waiting for this one for awhile. Not only do I like rummy, coconutty desserts a lot, but these custard tarts gave me the chance to do two of my favorite things in the kitchen: make pastry cream and form tart shells!
This sablée-style sweet tart dough is super easy to work with (I did individual servings here), and it’s crisp sweetness is an important part of the dessert. I don’t normally have sweetened coconut in the cupboard, so I stirred toasted desiccated coconut into the pastry cream filling instead. It became pretty stiff in the fridge, but I just folded in a little of the whipped cream topping, and it loosened right up.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Cinemon Girl. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Honey-Wheat Cookies
February 23, 2010 at 1:19 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 27 Comments
If you’re looking for a nice little tea biscuit to have with your cuppa, then you might want to give these Honey-Wheat Cookies, chosen by Michelle of Flourchild for TWD, a shot. They are soft and cakey in the center and crisp around the bottom egde…a really nicely textured cookie. And they taste like honey, lemons and wheat…just the right thing to nibble on while you destress with a cup of tea and a magazine.
Are you up in the air about buying a jar of wheat germ for this recipe? You can really do a lot of things with it, as long as you remember you have it (not gonna lie, I can be a total space-cadet sometimes)! I store mine in the fridge, and put a tablespoon into things like smoothies and pancake batter. Incorporating a little bit into muffins or crisp topping is nice, too.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Flourchild. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Dorie’s Best Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
February 16, 2010 at 1:06 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 29 Comments
Frankly, I’m shocked that TWD has been at it for more than two years, and we are only now getting around to the recipe for Dorie’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (and that’s thanks to Kait of Kait’s Plate). I really thought that this would be one of the first to cross off the list… but finally here these cookies are, and let me tell you they are worth the wait!
It’s hard to argue with Dorie’s suggestion that chopped bar chocolate makes tastier cookies than chips, so I bought a couple of my favorite Theo 70% bars, and put my knife to work. I left out the nuts and added in espresso powder, as well as a teeny sprinkle of pink salt midway through baking. Some folks had issues with spreading cookies, but mine turned out to be not too flat (although my dough had been in the freezer for a couple days before I baked it). A little chew in the center and lots of gooey chocolate made these a gold medal winner in my books!
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Kait’s Plate. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Winter Buckwheat Pancakes
February 11, 2010 at 5:07 pm | Posted in breakfast things, pancakes/waffles | 16 Comments
Yesterday was the messiest, snowiest, slushiest day New York City has seen all winter. A yucky day outside makes for the perfect day to hibernate inside (luckily, I usually have Wednesdays off from work)…and the perfect day to make homemade pancakes! Ummm….have I told you that I love pancakes? I may have mentioned it a few times, right?
I’ve been noticing a lot of buckwheaty recipes lately, so I picked up a bag of buckwheat flour at the shop the other day. I put it to quick work in my first batch of buckwheat pancakes. Normally when I think of buckwheat pancakes, I imagine little yeast-risen blini with caviar or smoked salmon, but these guys are more in-line with buttermilk breakfast pancakes. The buckwheat flour gives them an earthy color and slighty nutty taste. These pancakes are hearty and delicious, and just the thing to make you feel cozy on a snowy day.
P.S.: My friend Lauren and I met up with Dorie Greenspan at her pop-up CookieBar today. She is nicer that I even imagined her to be, and her cookies are damn good, too! I was so excited that I forgot to tell her I’d made (and devoured) these pancakes…the recipe is hers!
Winter Buckwheat Pancakes– makes 4 servings (about 12 pancakes)
from a recipe in Pancakes: From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan
Steph’s note: You can reduce the butter in the recipe (I used 3T) if you’d like. The recipe halves wonderfully if you are just feeding two.
3/4 c buckwheat flour
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 c milk
3/4 c buttermilk
2 large eggs
4 T unsalted butter, melted
3 T honey
maple syrup or honey and butter, for serving
-In a medium bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. In another bowl, thoroughly whisk the milk, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and honey together. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk, stopping when everything is just combined (don’t worry if the batter is a bit lumpy). You will have a thick, dark batter that looks as though powdered coffee has been sprinkled through it; as the batter sits, it will become thicker, stickier and more elastic—that is fine.
-Lightly butter, oil or spray your griddle or skillet; preheat over medium heat or, if using an electric griddle, set to 350°F; if you want to hold the pancakes until serving time, preheat your oven to 200°F.
-Spoon 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake, allowing space for spreading and use a spatula or the back of your spoon to lightly press the batter into rounds. When the undersides of the pancakes are golden and the tops are speckled with bubbles that pop and stay open, flip the pancakes over with a wide spatula and cook until the other sides are brown.
-Serve immediately with suggested toppings, or keep the finished pancakes in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia
February 9, 2010 at 6:00 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 27 Comments
For some reason, I’ve been having a hard time getting this post up. Writer’s block? I dunno…maybe it’s just that these brownies, chosen by Chocolatechic Tanya for TWD, were too good for words!
If you’ve made this recipe, or have even read through it, then you’ll have noticed something unusual…it requires a mixer to whip the heck out of the eggs and sugar! These are certainly fudgy brownies, but whereas the brownies I make at work are quite dense, you can feel what the whipped-in air does to these…they have a softer texutre and some chew. I read some reports of underbaked goo, so I baked my batch in a slightly larger pan than the recipe calls for, left them in the oven for a few extra insurance minutes and popped them in the fridge for half an hour before cutting into them. Perfect squares of deliciousness, with a paper-thin top crust.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Chocolatechic. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake
February 2, 2010 at 10:45 am | Posted in bundt cakes, cakes & tortes, groups, simple cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 41 Comments
Although Kristin of I’m Right About Everything chose Dorie’s Milk Chocolate Mini Bundts for TWD this week, here I present you not with multiple mini bundts, but with one mini-ish bundt. I do actually have a mini bundt pan, but it’s one of many, many things that have been boxed up in storage since we moved back from Australia. Our apartment is just not big enough for too many non-essentials, so I made do here by baking the full amount of batter in my 6-cup bundt tin. Still kinda mini, but really cute!
I don’t often bake with milk chocolate. It doesn’t give you that in-your-face chocolate flavor, but instead something more subtle and light. Sometimes that’s all I need, though, and much like when I made milk chocolate brownies, I found the flavor of this cake to be quite pleasant. I left out the nut swirl in the original recipe and used buttermilk instead of regular. My glaze started out a little wackadoo (something I think many of us experienced), but I smoothed it out with a couple spoonfuls of hot water. When I’m finally able to retrieve that mini bundt pan, and I make this again, I’ll try a ganache-style glaze instead.
I have to say that in terms of both looks and taste, this reminded me of a big fat chocolate cake doughnut, and I can’t say that I minded one bit! For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read I’m Right About Everything. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
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