Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Pots de Crème
May 31, 2011 at 5:38 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 8 CommentsTags: baking, custard, dessert
Remember those ultra-luxe little custards called “Pots de Crème“? Lucky for my taste buds, we are making them again, but instead of chocolate, this time I have Caramel Pots de Crème. I like to take my caramel fairly dark, so it’s not too sweet and has a just a hint of a bitter edge.
It was only after I baked these that I realized the recipe doesn’t include any salt. I solved that by sprinkling a little of my precious Aussie pink salt over the whipped cream I heaped on top (as though there wasn’t enough cream in the custards!). I fired up the oven to bake these off a few weeks ago, when it was still relatively cool out…but if I were making them in the mid-80s humidity-a-thon we in the middle of now, I think pots de ice cream à la Mike would be the ticket.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Peggy the Baker, as Peggy picked it this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: A Tourtely Apple Tart
April 19, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 12 CommentsTags: baking, dessert, tarts
Thinner than your typical apple pie, this double-crusted Tourtely Apple Tart has a gently spiced, chunky applesauce sandwiched between layers of sweet tart dough. Since sweet tart dough is a cookie-like crust, the damp filling makes it soften up over time– in a very appealing way. Something about it reminded me of the Cranberry Shortbread Cake we made a while back. I think the way bumpy top crust drapes over the apple chunks is just beautiful. I look forward to making this again in the peak of apple season.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read The Whimsical Cupcake, as it was Jeannette’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Strawberry-Rhubarb Double Crisp
April 12, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cobbler/crisp/shorties, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 53 CommentsTags: baking, dessert, fruit
We’re in that weird in-between time of year when there really isn’t any good fruit here. The rhubarb has still not made its long-awaited (for me anyway) appearance at my Greenmarket, and the leftover apples just look like they’ve been banging around in storage for the last few months. This Strawberry-Rhubarb Double Crisp is so tasty that I wanted to make it again this past week before TWD posting, filled with whatever, but I couldn’t find any fruit that really spoke to me. Luckily, I do have a crisp to show you…one that I made at the end of last May, when the rhubarb was still around and the strawberries were red through and through. The combination made for an intensely colored and flavored fruit filling.
If you’d like to know what the heck a “double crisp” is, it’s a crisp with a topping AND a crust…so that makes it double good. In addition to the usual suspects like oats and nuts, this crisp mix has a gingery zip to it, which I king of dug, but if it’s not your thing, simply leave it out.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here on NPR’s site) or read Teapots and Cake Stands, as it was Sarah’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Honey-Nut Brownies
March 22, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 15 CommentsTags: baking, dessert
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flipped through the book and wondered what this Honey-Nut Brownie would be like. Well, now I don’t have to wonder anymore. If, for you, the word “brownie” immediately calls to mind a rich, fudgey square of chocolatey goodness, then you may want to adjust your mindset a bit if you go off to make these. There is still goodness, but it is more cakey than fudgey, and tastes more of honey than chocolate. There is a little chocolate in the base, but “blondie” may be a better description here. A few extra chocolate chips in the batter and a quick ganache icing on top will boost the cacao factor, though, if that’s what your after.
Even though the texture is on the cakey side, it’s still chewy, I guess thanks to the honey. It occurred to me that slicing these brownies in half and sandwiching them with vanilla ice cream might be tasty. That’s what I did with half of my tray (I iced the other half with ganache). They weren’t firmed up by photo-time, but I assure you, they were pretty good!
I used Tremblay Apiaries’ Summerflower Honey and almonds in my brownies. For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Suzy Homemaker, as it was Suzy’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Olive Oil Citrus Cake
February 19, 2011 at 10:49 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, simple cakes, sweet things | 14 CommentsTags: baking, cake, dessert
We’ve had a long, cold winter here, but for two days this week we got a little peek of spring. The temperature has gone back downtown, but two days of melting snow and no jackets required has left me feeling less weighed down and in the mood for something fresh and light. I have heaps of citrus in the fridge right now, and have had my eye on this Olive Oil Citrus Cake from a sweet little book called Rustic Fruit Desserts for a while. It is bright and sunny in flavor (kind of reminded me of Fruit Loops!) and moist and springy in texture. It puts me in the mood for more things citrus.
The recipe calls for a whole cup of fruity extra virgin olive oil, so I broke out my special bottle. To be a little more thrifty in terms of both dollars and calories, next time I may experiment with 2/3 cup of oil and 1/3 cup of low-fat yogurt. Sounds like it would work here, no? The recipe calls for grapefruit, lemon and orange zests, but these can definitely be switched up. I didn’t have a grapefruit on hand, so I subbed lime zest in the cake and orange juice in the glaze. I’m sure this cake would be excellent even made with only lemon or orange.
Olive Oil Citrus Cake– makes a 9-inch cake
adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson
Steph’s Note: Use a fruity olive oil here rather than a peppery one. Feel free to mix up the citrus, depending on what you have at home.
1 1/4 c unsifted (5 oz) cake flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t fine sea salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 T plus 3/4 c (5 1/4 oz) granulated sugar
zest of 1 grapefruit
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t lemon oil (optional)
1 c extra-virgin olive oil¾ c powdered sugar
2 T freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
-Preheat the oven to 350° F. Using a paper towel, coat a 9-inch by 2-inch round baking pan with olive oil (I also lined mine with a parchment round), then sprinkle it with about 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
-To make the cake, sift flour, baking powder, and salt together twice. Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and zests on high speed for 5 minutes, until the eggs are thickened and lighter in color. Add the vanilla and lemon oil. Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed and drizzle the olive oil into the batter, pouring slowly along the edge of the bowl. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
-Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden and domed slightly in the center. Cool to room temperature.
-To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add the grapefruit juice, and whisk to combine. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake.
-Wrapped in plastic wrap, this cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Bourbon Bread Pudding
February 8, 2011 at 12:01 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 20 CommentsTags: baking, dessert, pudding
My husband has been out of town for the last few days at a work conference. This was the first time in many years that I have not had to endure the Super Bowl (although apparently I missed a good rendition of the anthem). I spent Sunday night with four hours of “Emma” on Masterpiece Theater instead (dorky, but so good!) and this big fat slice of Bourbon Bread Pudding. Hellooooo alone time!
Dorie has taught me how to make bread pudding at home. You need lots of the good stuff (cream and egg yolks) for it to come out lush and soft. Now, here’s where I admit to you that I did cut back on the cream by a third (and upped the milk by a third in its place)…but not to worry, there was still plenty of cream and yolks in there. And I used challah bread, which is pretty rich in itself. You can see that I added almonds and dried cherries to mine. You can’t see that I quadrupled the bourbon, but trust me on that. My custard base tasted like eggnog! This was a mighty fine bread pudding, not to mention a most amiable television companion.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan or read Simply Southern, as it was Sharon’s pick this week. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
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