tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77482398528157107822024-03-05T10:24:56.955-08:00Lamb's Munchings and Musings...about baking, cooking, and consuming food.Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-11777726289444345152015-10-20T11:39:00.000-07:002015-10-20T11:40:07.619-07:00Pear Birthday Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a milestone birthday a number of years ago, I first made this <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-Cake-with-Lemon-Honey-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-104048" target="_blank">pear cake</a> and it has been a standout in my memory ever since. I am always curious about people who say their favorite cake is carrot, and if they really just mean they like moist spice cakes. Pear is such a great flavor and texture and to me is far superior and more original than carrot cake and I love to incorporate them in baking. </span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqidT75YBj2PPUDMrlNuwxkhpafi6hr82zU8i6Lvu24yalNa71P7P0kfof_tMa9I7U_uqu_sJvvb9dFSnpCR0OahTIo0N-L9pBeGcdj34dgC2mhJEUdNJixLcj2uDt7-NjfQPYGaD0Mc/s1600/IMGP2958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqidT75YBj2PPUDMrlNuwxkhpafi6hr82zU8i6Lvu24yalNa71P7P0kfof_tMa9I7U_uqu_sJvvb9dFSnpCR0OahTIo0N-L9pBeGcdj34dgC2mhJEUdNJixLcj2uDt7-NjfQPYGaD0Mc/s320/IMGP2958.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The original pear cake</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was looking through new fall cake recipes and came across a pumpkin version that I thought would work well with a pear substition. I am thrilled with the exceptional three layer cake that resulted, which is moist and dense without being heavy. I used a very sweet cinnamon filling, but the frosting itself is a light and smooth buttercream flavored with caramelly browned butter. Absolutely Fantastic!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWHDLeupRi_GFGuSWjPkW6aRr3Fryt3742cENxtrrp0iRBScczwTWKq5FA-alH9mQHRw3XdvIDKZqEiTtiPPJjVexPD04ol3YJv2KpOXhdg6utxAtjvF_ostf1w0IGOgAJDOdthzGmWY/s1600/IMG_20151016_164330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWHDLeupRi_GFGuSWjPkW6aRr3Fryt3742cENxtrrp0iRBScczwTWKq5FA-alH9mQHRw3XdvIDKZqEiTtiPPJjVexPD04ol3YJv2KpOXhdg6utxAtjvF_ostf1w0IGOgAJDOdthzGmWY/s400/IMG_20151016_164330.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br /><b>Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Frosting</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Inspired by <a href="http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/brown-butter-pumpkin-layer-cake.aspx?nterms=50052#reviews" target="_blank">Fine Cooking</a></i><br /><br /><b>For the pears</b><br />2 large ripe bosc pears, peeled, cored, and pureed </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>For the cake</b><br />6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter; more for the pans (4.5 ounces browned butter)<br />9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans<br />1-1/2 tsp. baking soda<br />1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />1 tsp. ground ginger<br />3/4 tsp. table salt<br />1/4 tsp. ground cloves<br />1-1/2 cups granulated sugar<br />2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar<br />2 large eggs<br />1/3 cup buttermilk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1 1/2 cups pear puree<br /><br /><b>For the frosting</b><br />8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter<br />16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature<br />1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar<br />10 oz. (2 1/2 cups) confectioners’ sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)<br /><br /><br /><b>Make the cake</b><br /><br />Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.<br /><br />Butter and flour three 8-inch round cake pans with removable bottoms (or line the bottoms with parchment, butter the parchment, and flour the pans). Can also use two 9-inch pans and bake 28 minutes.<br /><br />Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and let stand until cool but not set, about 15 minutes.<br /><br />In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves. In a large bowl, whisk 1-1/2 cups of the pear purée with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk until very well blended. With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Gently whisk in the brown butter until completely incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.<br /><br />Bake the cakes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto racks, remove the pan bottoms or parchment, and cool completely.<br /><br /><br /><b>Make the frosting</b><br />Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and let stand until the solids settle at the bottom of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the bowl to the freezer and chill until just firm, about 18 minutes. Using a spoon, carefully scrape the butter from bowl, leaving the browned solids at the bottom; discard the solids.<br /><br />Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and the brown sugar has dissolved, 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Assemble the cake. Garnish with candied spiced pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, chopped crystallized ginger, or other festive fall decorations.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7L-jaOJQVG22zTLG3CrZ8vH88gQS33XgYv3WdSht4sUAH_lpECkw6z7dE1jyVaz8ErboIqZCMceLxu4Oo-hfNZoTBGbk_BubsXbBikJpe9NO7TzSc6k46jdKCvWpUUIFmpQXvFzNoDxI/s1600/IMG_20151016_210728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7L-jaOJQVG22zTLG3CrZ8vH88gQS33XgYv3WdSht4sUAH_lpECkw6z7dE1jyVaz8ErboIqZCMceLxu4Oo-hfNZoTBGbk_BubsXbBikJpe9NO7TzSc6k46jdKCvWpUUIFmpQXvFzNoDxI/s320/IMG_20151016_210728.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw96wj8iYs-J2nXz4TifdXLItlc1FVtadyKojaHLIetm-nQY5TlZBzghGhY9DUzNmKcdkX3pkNDkPId-3OkIKgRoI4LaKQH22aN40eJuYPeuol_wgy7fzDfPG8g0s38dYhICvaOaCY0c/s1600/IMG_20151016_210736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrw96wj8iYs-J2nXz4TifdXLItlc1FVtadyKojaHLIetm-nQY5TlZBzghGhY9DUzNmKcdkX3pkNDkPId-3OkIKgRoI4LaKQH22aN40eJuYPeuol_wgy7fzDfPG8g0s38dYhICvaOaCY0c/s320/IMG_20151016_210736.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Note that for the cake pictured above, I used my favorite <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7748239852815710782#editor/target=post;postID=736274627183627335;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=3;src=postname" target="_blank">cinnamon buttercream</a> as the filling between the layers and half a recipe of the browned butter frosting for the exterior. This obviously is extra work (unless you keep frosting on hand in the freezer like I do!) but I loved it. LOVED it. The cinnamon frosting would be too sweet to use alone, because the cake is sweet as well. The buttercream would be excellent as both frosting and filling. Though it uses 2:1 cream cheese to butter, the consistency is much smoother and more like a standard buttercream than the typical stickier cream cheese frosting. </span></div>
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<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-43368365192352956442015-10-03T14:17:00.004-07:002015-10-03T14:17:50.918-07:00Apple Kuchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfYyybD02JvcpDn5XCP75OZWuCPPOq66Xm6Mm-U9f79vB6fWC2JmtN09Vveh84cMr-Yd4hZISwGjjRzMz6qv0jxVNgrv4h9YLuyeArFs7pgIsvk3eyq7mTX-pAtETGivPM9C67AEbdig/s1600/IMG_20151002_224303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfYyybD02JvcpDn5XCP75OZWuCPPOq66Xm6Mm-U9f79vB6fWC2JmtN09Vveh84cMr-Yd4hZISwGjjRzMz6qv0jxVNgrv4h9YLuyeArFs7pgIsvk3eyq7mTX-pAtETGivPM9C67AEbdig/s320/IMG_20151002_224303.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This beautiful apple kuchen was featured as a <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/apple-kuchen-for-a-sweet-jewish-new-year" target="_blank">Rosh Hashanah</a> article and I just loved the technique with the apples. They aren't slices, but are cut just part-way through so that they fan when baking. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took this to a brunch gathering. It's very sweet from the honey glaze, even though I only used about half of what the recipe called for. The cake itself is dense, and very gingery which I love but some people might feel lis overkill. I will definitely use apples sliced this way in the future, whether or not I use this exact recipe again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though the recipe called for lemon, I only had orange, so I substituted orange zest and juice. The baby gala apples I used were just right in both size and texture. Ultimately, mine needed 15-20 additional minutes (after 45), even though my oven is hot and was close to 350 for most of the time. </span><br /><br /><u style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the cake:</u><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), plus butter for greasing pan</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting pan</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling apples</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¼ cup raw honey</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 eggs</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon grated ginger</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 ounces candied ginger, diced</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½ teaspoon grated lemon zest<br />½ teaspoon salt<br />2 teaspoons baking powder<br />3 small apples, peeled and quartered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><u>For the glaze:</u><br />¼ cup sugar<br />¼ cup honey<br />3 tablespoons lemon juice<br /><br />Preheat oven to 325. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan (springform pan or removable bottom).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cream together butter and sugar, then add honey and whip for one minute until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well incorporated, then whip for two minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stir in grated ginger, candied ginger, and lemon zest.<br /><br />Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend in with wet ingredients to make a stiff batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.<br /><br />Cut slits in each of the apple quarters on the rounded, outer part of the wedge, slicing partway through at 1/4-inch intervals. Arrange apple quarters slit-side-up over the batter and sprinkle surface with 1 tablespoon sugar.<br /><br />Place cake pan on a baking sheet and put on middle rack of oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer emerges dry. If cake is browning too rapidly, tent with foil until done.<br /><br />Cool on a rack, then carefully unmold.<br /><br />Make the glaze by bringing sugar, honey, and lemon juice to a boil and stirring until sugar is dissolved. Paint surface of cake and apples with warm glaze. Cake will keep for several days, tightly wrapped, at room temperature.</span></div>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-47763826311498938902015-09-29T10:19:00.001-07:002015-09-29T10:19:14.213-07:00Double Chip Cookies<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These cookies bake out thin and chewy but crispy around the edges. Take out of oven when golden but still puffed and they'll cool to a craggy deliciousness. I'd like to try with just chocolate chips and see if it works as my new go-to-recipe.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNBWTo7WMDK3wm3ye3yz-Ec6s9_1aIptY6xIrsTqyiii286WzZvC3ajJU2_m5OqXM_c3Q3b50LrLJjelAKmQ111qi8xPfJKAnxJM9M_4pOT6ybcheeGCkiu5f8Fx8jVX_-7eiYIgAsdg/s1600/IMG_20150928_212023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNBWTo7WMDK3wm3ye3yz-Ec6s9_1aIptY6xIrsTqyiii286WzZvC3ajJU2_m5OqXM_c3Q3b50LrLJjelAKmQ111qi8xPfJKAnxJM9M_4pOT6ybcheeGCkiu5f8Fx8jVX_-7eiYIgAsdg/s320/IMG_20150928_212023.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 cup butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup white sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup light brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons vanilla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10 ounces peanut butter chips plus 8 ounces chopped milk chocolate bar (try 16 ounces semi-sweet chips or chunks)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cream butter and sugars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix in eggs and vanilla.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine dry ingredients and blend in. Stir in chips. Drop by large teaspoonsful on ungreased baking sheet, leaving room to spread. Bake 12-14 minutes. Cool on sheet before transferring to rack to cool completely.</span><br />
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<i>found at <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/reeses-original-peanut-butter-chip-cookies-289943?photo=133010">food.com</a></i><br />
<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-69813924328082841252015-08-30T11:47:00.002-07:002015-08-30T11:47:56.986-07:00Nectarine Crisp<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Served with brown sugar-cinnamon ice cream</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 375. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Butter a deep dish pie plate or 2 quart baking dish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Topping</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 cup flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cardamom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon ground ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 oz marzipan or almond paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 tablespoon cold butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 sliced or chopped almonds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup quick cook oats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pulse the flour, spices, and sugar </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in a food processor</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add marzipan and butter and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pulse until pea sized clumps form. Mix in with almonds and oats with your hands or a spoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fruit</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About 2 pounds nectarines, sliced ~1/4 thick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toss fruit mixture until well combined. Layer into pie plate. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Squeeze clumps of topping into coarse chunks and spread across top of fruit mix until fully covered. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bake 35-40 min at 375. Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.</span><br />
<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-7153107428681893622015-08-28T16:42:00.002-07:002015-08-28T16:42:42.487-07:00Brown Sugar Ice Cream<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got the idea for this ice cream from the amazing <a href="http://munchingsandmusings.blogspot.com/search?q=cinnamon+buttercream" target="_blank">cinnamon frosting</a> that is flavored with brown sugar, and from the fact that I finally feel I have a "go to" ice cream base recipe, and I was ready to start playing with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I took it to friends for dessert after a Sunday evening barbeque. The last time I'd offered to take dessert to share with them was on Fourth of July and my ice cream mixer wasn't completely frozen so the ice cream never set. We still poured it over apple pie, but needless to say I was disappointed. Having good ice cream to make up for that experience was essential, but this recipe far surpassed "good" and I'm making it again for my father-in-law's birthday to serve with a nectarine tart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another thing I tested with this recipe was a shortcut to the process. Instead of heating all the cream and milk in the process of tempering the eggs, I only used some so it wouldn't take so long to get to temperature. I didn't notice any difference in the final product so this will be my new procedure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups whipping cream (I use 30% butterfat)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 whole eggs (room temperature) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cinnamon stick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 cup dark brown (or light brown) sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup milk (I use skim, but any type is fine)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon vanilla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon dark rum</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heat cream and sugar over medium heat until simmering and sugar is completely dissolved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a separate bowl, mix eggs until blended. Add a few tablespoons of hot cream mixture to blend, and bring slowly up to temperature, then gradually stir egg mixture into hot cream over medium heat until it reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Lay plastic wrap on the surface of the liquid and chill overnight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day, remove cinnamon stick from mixture and stir in vanilla and rum. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. </span><br />
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<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-22549624931533579972015-02-01T05:03:00.001-08:002015-02-01T05:03:24.608-08:00Eggnog Cake<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The next evening, I made a cake for another holiday party, and decided on an </span><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2013669582_web15eggnogloaf.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Eggnog cake</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> that had just appeared in the Seattle Times. I love eggnog, and this was a party at my grandmother's elder home, so the mildly-throwback-ness of eggnog seemed appropriate. I had also decided I wanted to use my other shaped pan, a snowflake, and believed the pound-cake-esque loaf recipe would do well in the pan, holding it's shape as well as releasing from the mold. On this point, I was exactly right. The cake inverted painlessly, maintaining all the lovely details of the showy snowflake shape in golden-crumbed glory. For a frosty presentation, I merely dusted with powdered sugar and a light sprinkling of white sugar granules.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I ended up initally rather disappointed with the cake, I did like the gently-spiced, buttery flavor, but I found it quite dry, and was surprised the recipe hadn't called for a light glaze, or brandy-laced whipped cream. While those would unquestionably be </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">exceptional accompaniments under any circumstances, I don't think it was just my imagination that this cake aged well, becoming moister and more flavorful the next day. I will probably make this again, and even confidently bring out a shaped pan in which to bake it, I will probably try a thin glaze, or maybe even a light brandy soaking syrup, and serve with whipped cream or hard sauce.</span><br />
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Made as called for in a loaf pan with an eggnog glaze of 1 tsp eggnog whisked with powdered sugar.</div>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-12731090365190457412015-02-01T05:03:00.000-08:002015-08-30T11:49:32.907-07:00Baby Carriage Cake<div style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I did have the perfect opportunity this very weekend in my offer to make a baby shower cake for a friend. I had already determined I wanted to make a cake with champagne. What better way to celebrate the joy of a new baby than to pop open a bottle of bubbly, and what more responsible way for a pregnant mama to enjoy said effervesance than to bake away the alcohol. I hadn't yet crafted a visual for this cake though, so after I formulated my plan, I realized my design could easily incorporate two different kinds of cake. What to do for cake #2? The standby favorite go-to white cake!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">The parents decided not to find out the baby's gender, so the design</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">for this cake incorporated a pink and blue question mark.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The champagne cake is really something quite remarkable. I have made one before, but </span><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2012958710_web29soadpopcooking.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">the recipe</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> I used this time was far superior. Simply replace the soda called for in the recipe with a sparkling wine of your preference (I used Ste. Michelle blanc de blanc). Be sure to taste the batter before you bake it, in case it needs extra sugar. Eliminating the soda removes significant sweetness, and I was prepared to add up to one additional cup of sugar to the batter, but in this case it didn't need it, so the only substitution I made was with the liquid. The result is startling when you first bite in if you are not expecting it. But if you know in advance that the cake is made with wine, you will instantly appreciate the sophisticated flavor. It is moist and slightly spongey, though without being at all eggy as some sponge layers are. At the same time, the texture is very firm which makes it nice for cutting into shapes and sculptures, as well as for frosting, and simply for slicing beautiful, even pieces. But my favorite part of this cake is the yeasty aroma and slight aftertaste, like eating a delicious piece of freshly baked bread. What makes this cake so special for me is that it brings together elements that I don't generally envision together, in a way that makes them seem all the more unique and well-matched. Plus, I just love champagne and it is a great gesture of joyful celebration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I wanted to fill it with vanilla custard on this occasion, but I had some snafoos with that recipe and ended up with a lightly sweetened whipped cream filling. I think the cake would be terrific with traditional champagne pairings like strawberries and oranges such as a strawberry mousse filling or a "mimosa" with orange curd and orange glaze.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This cake was very time-consuming to decorate due to the basketweave of the frosting (this is actually a delightfully clever and simple </span><a href="http://www.wilton.com/technique/Basketweave"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">technique</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, but it does take some patience and some solid wrist control.) But the structural engineering couldn't have been simpler: bake in standard 9-inch pans and cut away one quarter. Cupcakes and mini-cupcakes comprised the tires and the question mark. This is what inspired this subject of this post... good cake (or, in this case, dry, powdery, tasteless cake).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As I said above, my intention with this blog is to document my own experiences and offer something of value to other bakers and eaters. I don't want to criticize, but in this case, sharing my disappointment with a recipe is an important part of establishing what criteria for later positive reviews and recommendations. That said, I couldn't be more unhappy with the "go-to white cake" lauded by 17andbaking.com. Even my husband when I silently offered him a taste - whose default answers are "it tastes delicious, you look great, you can decide" - took one bite of this cupcake and paused to think about how he is supposed to react. As he smacked his lips apart in paste-y disgust, I answered for him, "it's terrible!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, in all fairness, the cake has a firm texture that helps it hold up well to cutting, layering, and frosting. The lack of taste also warrants it an easy accomplice to all sorts of frosting and filling combinations. Given this, it's especially important to determine why you think a cake is good; if you want something that is easy to mix, bake, and work with, this is a winner. But if it's not going to taste good on it's own, why would you want to drown it in disguising toppings? Frostings and fillings should enhance a cake, not rescue it from inedibility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The Cake Bible </em>addresses this topic very plainly, stating that while cakes can be works of art in their own right, ultimately they are created to be enjoyed orally, so if they don't taste good, in the end it doesn't really matter how pretty they are. I believed after reading those passages that <em>The Cake Bible </em>would have all my answers to ideal cake recipes. As it turns out (more about that in other posts), only some of the recipes are really to my liking, and many have let me down. But knowing what you want out of the cake in advance will get you all the closer to finding just the right one.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">All that was left after the party.</span></td></tr>
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Update 3 days later:</span></strong></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am too frugal to throw away the leftover white cake cupcakes, but I was too embarrassed to share them at work, so I've just been eating off them a bit each day. I've been surprised at how they are not nearly as "flavorless" as I found them on the first day. A day and two days later, the cake is sweeter and more lemony so I am wrong to call it tasteless. I stand by my assessment of the texture being powdery; it still has a stick-in-the-throat pastiness. Nevertheless, I may give this recipe a second try using all-purpose flour; I've found over many experiments in the past that I find the fine grain of cake flour to result in a cake that is too dense and it's possible that is a factor here. Stay tuned.</span></div>
Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-17812613041779431722015-01-11T16:23:00.002-08:002015-02-01T05:04:14.166-08:00Limoncello Layer Cake<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">October 17, 2010: Today is my birthday, so naturally, I baked myself a cake. There have been a couple of articles in the Seattle Times the past few weeks about cookbooks that came out this year devoted exclusively to incorporating alcohol into baked goods. I have a few recipes I've been making for years that do this (chocolate kahlua cake, rum cake) but there are some very intriguing and au courant versions available now. Hence my revisiting the champagne cake for last weekend's baby shower, and again today with a lemon layer cake with campari frosting. There limoncello (Italian lemon liquer) in the batter which bumps up the lemonyness more than juice and zest can alone.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is unquestionably the best lemon cake layer I have ever tried, so I will definitely be making it again. It is totally worth investing in the bottle of limoncello if you don't already have some. The frosting is flavored with campari which is an Italian bitters. It has a nice herbal forward, but the aftertaste is bitter. My husband loves it, and has spent months incorporating it into different cocktails, though our favorite is just a tiny splash (instead of vermouth) with gin for a sunset martini. I don't really like the bitterness, though the sweet and citrus of the rest of this cake definitely make for an enjoyable experience. Another benefit is the attractive peachy hue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Limoncello Cake Layers</strong></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from "The Boozy Baker", by Lucy Baker</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups all-purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup cake flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 cup buttermilk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon grated lemon zest</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 8-inch round pans, and line with parchment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in one third of flour mixture, then half of buttermilk, and repeat until well-mixed. Stir in limoncello, juice, and zest just until combined. Divide batter between two pans and bake for 32 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool on racks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Campari Marscapone Filling</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2/3 cup heavy whipping cream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 cup sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon campari liquer</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 oz marscapone cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beat cream and sugar together until soft peaks form. Stir in campari and continue beating until desired consistency. Loosen marscapone with fork, and fold in gently to cream. Fill cake layers with filling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Frosting</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did a total mash-up of some icing and some leftover vanilla custard sauce that I'd already mixed with some other leftover cream cheese frosting. It ended up making an amazing frosting for this cake, so I'm actually quite disappointed that I'll probably never be able to recreate it. But to come as close as possible, here is what I can offer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/3 cup vanilla custard made from the custard filling recipe in the Joy of Cooking</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2/3 cup vanilla cream cheese frosting from the recipe in Joy of Cooking</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cups powdered sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 stick butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon buttermilk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon campari</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon limoncello</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt these all together over medium or medium low, just until combined, then stir with a rubber spatula over an ice water bath until thick but still spreadable.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hD27ebFPb7wfGizSF5Cs3nKXJgO9C_LO0S_h1P5Cvq5FuFsjfPzp5Pqpc-L0U5fnr_SBKiShGoMH4zDeh8EGs6cdRy7d9pjWTT8dy_J7Umr5JC36oKBEZ2EnQ8I6GGRoHYaX248rWHrH/s1600/Birthday-cake-slice.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hD27ebFPb7wfGizSF5Cs3nKXJgO9C_LO0S_h1P5Cvq5FuFsjfPzp5Pqpc-L0U5fnr_SBKiShGoMH4zDeh8EGs6cdRy7d9pjWTT8dy_J7Umr5JC36oKBEZ2EnQ8I6GGRoHYaX248rWHrH/s400/Birthday-cake-slice.gif" ex="true" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I had to take this photo in the restaurant and the lighting was very poor. The cake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">managed to survive transportation, but after we'd cut and served it and transported</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">it back home, the 1/4 that was left had completely slipped apart due to the softening </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">of the filling. It was pretty ugly, but still tastes delicious as leftovers!</span></td></tr>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-89570971909193154072015-01-11T16:22:00.003-08:002015-02-01T05:04:14.176-08:00Holiday Bundt<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Finally, for Christmas Day, I was quite excited about the </span><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2013380758_xmasbourboncake10.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Holiday Manhattan Bundt</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> cake recipe from Kathy Casey. Rum cake is one of the moistest cakes I know, and I've always loved it, so I really liked the idea of a holiday cake swimming in bourbon and studded with marachino cherry jewels. This was the biggest disappointment to serve, because it stuck in my very well-oiled pan, and in an attempt to cover the tears, I used extra glaze, but it was already a thick, gloppy, and not very well balanced glaze (just powdered sugar and bourbon, so it had that chaulkiness and over-sweetness.) I was literally embarrassed to take this to my party, and had it been anyone other than family, I probably would have started over. But the cake slices themselves, as you can see in the photo, were pretty much just what I had in mind, and I really did love the flavor of this cake. It was quite strong in the alcohol taste, yet still appropriately balanced, and festive. It was also a very nice texture, moist and dense without being gummy. I will probably make this again, and leave to cool in the pan longer than suggested, as well as use a different glaze.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcd6m7DGQCn1Z7kXMkqfVK5g_bWv-SehwOwO_Uew_41HECNlKXYSOkxeuF6Peshinck_PGWckAWNel602an-QtV9l8-ee77E_3EpSLi-3Bn32rA_B5zJ1x7dZ2-S4UOLlfIjAzOiNTBG-M/s1600/cake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a><br /></div>
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<tr><td><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg116BxmfE2Kto6CIGoMdlnGTXSuGFz9lE9HkjeCv4K6-TXOCfhi9sdwVBzOUeDAalZfzzBnMtYmM1kkvGLo2TItwrnkA6VcwBSSPcYfF_LmDDF_FdSq6UV51dH30MWnq-JXlAyjWyJbk-U/s400/cake+1.jpg" height="300" n4="true" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2013380758_xmasbourboncake10.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Manhattan Holiday Bundt Cake</span></a></td></tr>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-4580057454928102622015-01-11T16:16:00.001-08:002015-02-01T05:04:14.171-08:00Honey Spice Beer Cake<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Year after year, I struggle along with adoreable shaped pans, making hideous shaped cakes. These pans are made for a standard pound cake or cake-mix cake, but try anything with a little flair or pizazz, and I guarantee it will stick, to the pan, and make a ^&*(%$! mess on your wall where you throw the pan with the cake gummed inside. I'm amazed my husband hasn't stolen the pans under cover of night and secreted them to the dump, given how many times he's heard me swear "I will <em>never </em>make another cake in these again!" as I tear around the kitchen trying to salvage whatever I can for whatever event I'm doubtlessly on my way to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41f2L-00XbtzU9KWzciLV-aDwtsPfvHE4V0Yi7S6KheOKiljxePXFsBkXDxEkYtSd9DMQDT7SgKazqdB1vdboG0d-z_I2sCuGfqxJLjk52tisbdr1fPOfOhX76-LUsno9ISBGiQBINA1k/s1600/DSCN3098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41f2L-00XbtzU9KWzciLV-aDwtsPfvHE4V0Yi7S6KheOKiljxePXFsBkXDxEkYtSd9DMQDT7SgKazqdB1vdboG0d-z_I2sCuGfqxJLjk52tisbdr1fPOfOhX76-LUsno9ISBGiQBINA1k/s400/DSCN3098.JPG" height="400" n4="true" width="330" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recently, I'd saved the recipe for what is called "</span><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2010/07/15/honey-spice-beer-cake/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Honey Spice Beer Cake</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">" from the Booze Cakes cookbook as it appeared in The Washington Post. I love spice cake anyway, and it seemed a seasonally-appropriate selection for my girlfriend gathering. What better way to holiday-it-up than to bake it in a snowman pan!?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The cake is sticky from the honey, and really should have been made - as the directions call for - in a 9x13" pan (or a half-recipe in an 8" square pan, because it makes a lot) lined with parchment. The cake itself is delightful, moist, with a carmelized crust and a sweetness that is mellowed by the spices. I figured I could cover the rips and tears in the snowman's head and arms with frosting, but the frosting called for by the recipe - while also delicious (and the place where the beer in the recipe really comes through with a surprising and addictive flavor) - is definitely more a glaze than a frosting, as you can see from the significant "melting" my snowman was experiencing around the edges. Let's just say Seattle isn't known for our white christmases. But I will definitely make this again for a filling, satisfying, snack cake. I think it could work well in a straight-sided tube pan where the glaze drizzled over and some candied fruits would make an attractive serving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Note: I was unable to find the beer referenced in the recipe, but look instead for a sweeter, spicier, weiss. I found a German weiss beer at Central Market which had tasting notes saying it had cinnamon and nutmeg tones (veering away from the varieties described as citrusy).</span><br />
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-11767285799635874192014-01-19T14:30:00.004-08:002014-01-19T14:30:43.516-08:00Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Cookies<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adapted a recipe from <a href="http://heritagerecipes.blogspot.com/2012/11/chocolate-chip-cookies-peanut-butter.html" target="_blank">this blog</a>, based on the appearance of the texture of the cookies in the photo. They turned out very delicious and very attractive, but were very crunchy, which I love but which was unexpected based on their appearance. They baked into very even cookies with a creased and crackled top that looked like a soft molasses cookie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">½ cup sugar</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">1/3 cup brown sugar</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">½ cup butter</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">1/4 cup peanut butter</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">½ tsp. vanilla</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">1 egg</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">1 tsp. baking soda</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">¼ tsp. salt</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">1 cup flour</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup oats</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about 10 oz peanut butter cups (used Trader Joe's milk chocolate) - chopped. Maybe be easier to chop cups if they are frozen first.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;"> cup instant oats</span><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: justify;">Cream butter, sugars, peanut butter, vanilla, and egg until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheet before removing the cookies.</span></span><br />
<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-28899557898618070502013-12-25T07:08:00.003-08:002013-12-25T07:08:36.122-08:00Candied Kumquat and Ricotta Tart<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For years and years, I've saved a candied kumquat and gingerbread cake recipe to make at the holidays. I love the idea of it, and the festive, jewel-like sparkle of candied fruit. But gingerbread just always sounds too heavy or substantial to follow what always ends up being rich and elaborate holiday meals. So when I came across this recipe also using candied kumquats but instead atop a delicate tart with a light ricotta filling, (on a day I just happened to unrelatedly click through a Facebook link to a blog post about making your own ricotta in the microwave!) I knew I had a winner. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM2oa24wCHgjgoZmRQ24OG83VxtogU82N78mbFJmYewMdvCtUoJ6jHVE0tdbzypIstBmQAi96LYugNrXl1oq7xw4zWP_2KWEGq3fr-GQlATeh3W0IB9WNXxmFvxivLVtTPE3xdfCafzs/s1600/20131224_191733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM2oa24wCHgjgoZmRQ24OG83VxtogU82N78mbFJmYewMdvCtUoJ6jHVE0tdbzypIstBmQAi96LYugNrXl1oq7xw4zWP_2KWEGq3fr-GQlATeh3W0IB9WNXxmFvxivLVtTPE3xdfCafzs/s400/20131224_191733.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have read previously about making ricotta at home and how easy it is and how superior it tastes to store-bought versions, but I'd still felt intimidated. Nor am I enough of a ricotta fan to notice sub-par commercial cheese in the few applications I ever use it. But when I read <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/02/how-to-make-fresh-ricotta-fast-easy-homemade-cheese-the-food-lab-recipe.html" target="_blank">this posting</a> for making it in the microwave literally in minutes, I had to try it if for no other reason than novelty. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The recipe says 2 cups of milk yeild about 1/2 cup of ricotta. I repeated the recipe twice (used 1 quart milk total) and ended up with slightly less than a cup of cheese, which was just the right amount for the tart filling. I strained through paper towels for maybe 10 minutes and after refrigerating 24 hours, the cheese was quite firm and hadn't separated any more liquid. It was a lot of fun to watch the curds and whey separate so quickly and easily after just a couple minutes zapping, and in spite of the ridiculous ease, I didn't mind bragging that not only was the tart homemade, but so was the ricotta.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also made <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Sweet-Tart-Shell-107783" target="_blank">the tart crust</a> the day in advance, pressed into the tart pan and refridgerated unbaked. Other reviewers on epicurious were not as enamored with the crust, but I found it to be exactly right with this tart. It didn't crumble when sliced, it held up well against the soft cheese, and it was a tender crunch of sweetness. I only used just over half of what the recipe called for, and found it plenty thick in the pan. More would have disrupted the balance between flavors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Slicing and deseeding the kumquats was by far the most time-consuming task. But put on <a href="http://www.king.org/The-Christmas-Channel/15158779" target="_blank">some good music</a> and it only takes about 40 minutes. I thought I did a really good job but when the kumquats were candying, a number more seeds floated to the top which I removed, and when I assembled the final tart, I found a number more that I couldn't retrieve, but which did not impact the final taste or texture. So, be conscientious in your removal, but absolute vigilance is not necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I completed all steps the day in advace and kept components chilled separately overnight. The afternoon of the dinner I baked the crust, and as it takes just minutes to spread the filling in and top with kumquats, it was easy to assemble after it had cooled and still have time before dinner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One reviewer suggested slicing the tart before topping with the kumquats to make it easier to create attractive servings. I didn't have much trouble cutting through the full slice, but that is a good recommendation. My family all asked for seconds and were really impressed with the play of flavors in this tart. Happy Holidays!</span><br />
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<br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-84339070020385042532013-11-22T15:14:00.002-08:002015-02-01T05:04:14.174-08:00Fun Decorated Cakes: Seal and Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUTEfwVOf3bEBOISQjSrsUnnQoofLYFEUrusGi2lTmoUu-GkU8KVrTEGYVgP4hOKC2ENJ8w7Vph7lbhGnQGmknOovcUUuZEERQ7Cih_gjC5ohzK2MpfwcFGabwljT6jrjCjG5Jdw42_k/s1600/2013-11-01" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUTEfwVOf3bEBOISQjSrsUnnQoofLYFEUrusGi2lTmoUu-GkU8KVrTEGYVgP4hOKC2ENJ8w7Vph7lbhGnQGmknOovcUUuZEERQ7Cih_gjC5ohzK2MpfwcFGabwljT6jrjCjG5Jdw42_k/s320/2013-11-01" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-Cake-with-Lemon-Honey-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-104048">http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-Cake-with-Lemon-Honey-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-104048</a><br />
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Baked one recipe in a 9x13 pan.<br />
Frosted with cream cheese frosting from Joy of Cooking (really only needed about 1 recipes worth, made 3 batches.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfTkAstlFJnD7uA5ZyhgXij5hOzWkZfnJAZYtr7WvrAlDiZpZZAaj8mGTQ1_kaexLft7i16eDkmakJOTs0w9iAeZgfo3lUQ7oeS9VkOqCYk-IQsWOIlA5188-6m7zANxvzXMF5AA0XIo/s1600/20131101_132028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfTkAstlFJnD7uA5ZyhgXij5hOzWkZfnJAZYtr7WvrAlDiZpZZAaj8mGTQ1_kaexLft7i16eDkmakJOTs0w9iAeZgfo3lUQ7oeS9VkOqCYk-IQsWOIlA5188-6m7zANxvzXMF5AA0XIo/s320/20131101_132028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-23534125459802322192013-09-09T07:13:00.002-07:002015-02-01T05:04:47.939-08:00Honey Spice Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uqXUc6Rc1_ngA3VpfLhmyxJn6KRgskzFBol8G55huADat5Ot-A5RhXNlDqlOjrLTHwDp8Vj_UCJ0Vd3672K9ZMULQ-TYfHPYsF667n94HSY5NKXx6O1E1a5QUYwxQlCeNcNpjxEuuCA/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uqXUc6Rc1_ngA3VpfLhmyxJn6KRgskzFBol8G55huADat5Ot-A5RhXNlDqlOjrLTHwDp8Vj_UCJ0Vd3672K9ZMULQ-TYfHPYsF667n94HSY5NKXx6O1E1a5QUYwxQlCeNcNpjxEuuCA/s400/cake.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94MliWL1lJIBW1HQlFo-ufNElbGwKgGfpVtBNeY98n6WOtG1z6iiu38GNCFfD5haPSqq-nLlHaYk_RJMiagBAqzpVyysTSoFzsn8Cs5xNBx6viQKd1jn2k8XTjQWgI7W46tYm6XPZplA/s1600/slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94MliWL1lJIBW1HQlFo-ufNElbGwKgGfpVtBNeY98n6WOtG1z6iiu38GNCFfD5haPSqq-nLlHaYk_RJMiagBAqzpVyysTSoFzsn8Cs5xNBx6viQKd1jn2k8XTjQWgI7W46tYm6XPZplA/s400/slice.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014998/Red-Wine-Honey-Cake-With-Plums.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014998/Red-Wine-Honey-Cake-With-Plums.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">SO good. So moist, with great carmelized texture on the crust and soft and spice interior. I would like to go back and try it with coffee next time, if it didn't overwhelm the spices. Ginger cakes are my favorite and the oil makes it so moist for days. I substituted nectarines for the plums because I couldn't find golden plums, and the thyme mixture was amazing.</span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-36121202747293867662013-08-24T13:14:00.004-07:002014-06-22T17:37:40.604-07:00Mortarboard Cake<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What have I been doing that I haven't posted in a month?? I've been graduating! I finished up my Master's degree in August, with all the wrap-up and transitions that go along with it. But in the end I had a fabulous party to celebrate with friends and family (a few very notable exceptions were sadly not in attendance) and I made these cakes to mark the occasion. The design was really easy (which I needed because it had to be large enough to serve 60 people!) but super adorable and festive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I used the <a href="http://munchingsandmusings.blogspot.com/2013/03/browned-butter-layer-cake-with.html" target="_blank">browned-butter cake</a> layers that I made for Will's birthday, and quadrupled the recipe. I browned all the butter (3 pounds) at once, but it still took over 45 minutes to brown the butter on medium low. And that was the only step I could combine; I had to make each recipe separately (ie: the same thing 4 times) otherwise my mixer would overflow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">One-and-one-half times of an 8 or 9" cake recipe will make 10" layers, but I baked each batch in my 2 10-in pans for 32 minutes each. This made thinner layers, which worked just as well for this application.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">My party was on Saturday and I prepared the cakes on Wednesday, then froze the layers that evening. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmJ1JCwG2E_M0UAS5By9lL2GEW426oWwnsEQU5QrwrSbZA8fBicqqB5NF27eeNfh7Xu6NeSef2OoF0f8UXgp9sJx7lLJ3p8dup5gmJ9HgI2WAXmHpcVQ5goW1OpGiylkF7AvJaFlXBkD/s1600/DSCN8178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mmJ1JCwG2E_M0UAS5By9lL2GEW426oWwnsEQU5QrwrSbZA8fBicqqB5NF27eeNfh7Xu6NeSef2OoF0f8UXgp9sJx7lLJ3p8dup5gmJ9HgI2WAXmHpcVQ5goW1OpGiylkF7AvJaFlXBkD/s400/DSCN8178.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were a lot of cake layers!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZED-vC3PUcfX47NX5oNNoFNkgsoizPqoa0JvhZqxFjztYUbbl_0GWmpW3HxMRhU45xPPv1DzLVzo4l8sjDzzAaYw9l8ajyr9kiROfvVmAwSncsHKIFaMAZzO0V9yJf_3nV5I59z7Rweyt/s1600/DSCN8179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZED-vC3PUcfX47NX5oNNoFNkgsoizPqoa0JvhZqxFjztYUbbl_0GWmpW3HxMRhU45xPPv1DzLVzo4l8sjDzzAaYw9l8ajyr9kiROfvVmAwSncsHKIFaMAZzO0V9yJf_3nV5I59z7Rweyt/s400/DSCN8179.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I frosted with a double batch of milk chocolate buttercream.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY2l0L23PWrvKg9HGckm22uiS6dfUYmeZ7WrAYxavylsyhNEPWSdoY8Oe3aUBUSmX3Hg5NtpvpXawv5Igww1SAfdnOfRHawIflKP3fjiCY34L2NDeVXoOTlQs-etkWf9SakV16QuF4171/s1600/DSCN8180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUY2l0L23PWrvKg9HGckm22uiS6dfUYmeZ7WrAYxavylsyhNEPWSdoY8Oe3aUBUSmX3Hg5NtpvpXawv5Igww1SAfdnOfRHawIflKP3fjiCY34L2NDeVXoOTlQs-etkWf9SakV16QuF4171/s400/DSCN8180.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refrigerated chocolate cookie dough rolled out into a sheet and baked on <br />
parchment makes an easy mortarboard for my graduation cap cake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPi1iVv_vP9EylGNNTXK0Msuwcoz3XJO22u2kYHmpGxbaReYdQg-x9fFe_vVu5KjFagZtupjQRIveLpvKgnKu5kF6WaYec4GcSVI_2okjmZgV7_2VI7B4MoU_UgOZREhi2XOYt7S3VzLbb/s1600/DSCN8181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPi1iVv_vP9EylGNNTXK0Msuwcoz3XJO22u2kYHmpGxbaReYdQg-x9fFe_vVu5KjFagZtupjQRIveLpvKgnKu5kF6WaYec4GcSVI_2okjmZgV7_2VI7B4MoU_UgOZREhi2XOYt7S3VzLbb/s400/DSCN8181.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two three-layer 10" round cakes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0RuHkiJoUPbe7i7aUiEP23M1c1LNWlTHFKR8IPz-FeHDbj9PLS7oEeGdtv2E1hqZpZyY6o7cwQbDA_5Y2Xp4MDti-afmQ6vg9sGOcXENab9qbL6jyyQcEkvQ4Q47YYR5GAPPlyM6DgKL/s1600/DSCN8182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0RuHkiJoUPbe7i7aUiEP23M1c1LNWlTHFKR8IPz-FeHDbj9PLS7oEeGdtv2E1hqZpZyY6o7cwQbDA_5Y2Xp4MDti-afmQ6vg9sGOcXENab9qbL6jyyQcEkvQ4Q47YYR5GAPPlyM6DgKL/s400/DSCN8182.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ganache goes on over the buttercream.</td></tr>
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Glazed with bittersweet <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnJ4e86znvsOUCkm4WZYWC9iKn9fDkS53mj28S-dLXLjBMDJr_u4UoM246ghiOl2B6E3ys9wHtPv0-YuzYsj0fbnDXezi1FUbDEo-gRoACLBf5FzO1XnFA8FAi4UpRtM9uqY4cS39qM2c/s1600/DSCN8183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnJ4e86znvsOUCkm4WZYWC9iKn9fDkS53mj28S-dLXLjBMDJr_u4UoM246ghiOl2B6E3ys9wHtPv0-YuzYsj0fbnDXezi1FUbDEo-gRoACLBf5FzO1XnFA8FAi4UpRtM9uqY4cS39qM2c/s400/DSCN8183.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mortarboard cookie needed some structural support to keep from sagging; <br />
I constructed a platform from thin tagboard.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And decorated with a package of chocolate cookie dough, rolled flat and trimmed to a square. A dollop of ganache held the tassel in place, and gold sprinkles made the caps particularly festive. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_ssU82eOlYkSjFpcs9JN2xa4irgTjP6ATAUzIdLCL12nnaeiNvYtMRefqVguhoJt0YjjZQs22Kvxqgjy54R9ARdCuF-B8OUfuMTi40ffdMQqZxpub9nRqu7ASL6xfyCO350ydERdD7q8/s1600/DSCN8188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_ssU82eOlYkSjFpcs9JN2xa4irgTjP6ATAUzIdLCL12nnaeiNvYtMRefqVguhoJt0YjjZQs22Kvxqgjy54R9ARdCuF-B8OUfuMTi40ffdMQqZxpub9nRqu7ASL6xfyCO350ydERdD7q8/s400/DSCN8188.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished cakes, and the relieved graduate.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>To make two 10" cakes each with four layers, I mixed the recipe below four times, and divided each between two 10" cake pans for slightly thin layers.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Browned Butter Cake Layers</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>by</em> <em>Tom Douglas as found in <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brown-butter-layer-cake"><span style="color: #cc6611;">Food and Wine magazine</span></a></em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 sticks unsalted butter (12 ounces), plus more for greasing the pans</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 2/3 cups sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped <em>(I used 1 tsp clear vanilla instead</em>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 large egg yolks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 large eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature</span><br />
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<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a medium saucepan, melt the 3 sticks of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until foamy, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 4 minutes longer. <em>(Note, it took closer to 20 minutes for me.)</em> Scrape the melted butter and browned bits into a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in an ice water bath until the butter begins to set around the edge, about 8 minutes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour with the baking powder and salt.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remove the bowl from the ice water and scrape up the hardened butter. Transfer the butter to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla seeds and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks followed by the whole eggs. Beat in the dry ingredients and milk in 3 alternating additions, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as necessary.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert them onto a rack to let them cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.</span></span><br />
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<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Chocolate Buttercream</strong><em>From The Cake Bible</em>2 pounds milk chocolate</span></span></div>
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<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 pound bittersweet chocolate (I use Lindt 70%)</span></span></div>
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<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">24 ounces unsalted butter, softened</span></span></div>
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<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt chocolate, then stir until smooth and room temperature. Beat butter until smooth. Beat chocolate into butter until smooth.</span></span><br />
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<strong>Bittersweet Ganache Glaze</strong></div>
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9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt 85%)</div>
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1 cup heavy or whipping cream</div>
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1 tablespoon dark rum</div>
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Chop chocolate. Heat cream to simmer, and pour over chopped chocolate. Allow to rest a few minutes, then stir until smooth. Stir in liqueur. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over cake spreading till smooth but don't try to work it too much or it will streak and clump.</div>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-12032621897688980722013-07-29T09:25:00.001-07:002013-07-29T09:25:09.425-07:00MM-Inspired Barley Salad for Picnic<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I needed a good side dish to take to a bbq, and wanted to take a pasta salad but was worried that everyone else would do the same, so checked my cabinets and saw other delicious grains like quinoa and red rice, but selected barley as my base. I could easily swap barley for pasta and toss with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives. Or with cherry tomatoes, basil, and corn kernals. But I wanted something with more vegetables and more protein. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This party was BYOM where the grill was fired up by we were supposed to bring our own grillables. I didn't really want any meat so I wanted to build my salad around some beans. A google search of barley and garbanzo revealed these two recipes which I used as inspiration.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chickpea-barley-and-zucchini-ribbon-salad-with-mint-and-feta-173373" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Chickpea, Barley, and Zucchini Salad with Mint and Feta</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moroccan_chickpea_barley_salad/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Moroccan Chickpea Barley Salad</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup barley </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 15 oz can garbanzo beans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 small zucchini, diced or cut into matchsticks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 medium carrots, diced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup fresh parsley (I used Italian parsley), chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">zest from 1/2 lemon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dressing:<br />1 tablespoon freshly squeeze lemon juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">couple pinches of ground cardamom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cook barley by toasting over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring periodically, until some kernels are starting to turn golden and it smells nutty. I added 1 cup broth and 2 cups water, but you can use all water or all broth, and not all will be absorbed, so you can use a little less. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the kernels are tender all the way through. Cool. Toss with remaining ingredients except cheese. Drizzle with about half of dressing, and toss to coat. Add remaining dressing to taste. If not serving right away, reserve remainder of dressing, and toss just before serving, then sprinkle cheese over top and mix in lightly.</span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-34864008960204157732013-07-27T06:49:00.003-07:002013-07-27T06:49:44.618-07:00Dad's birthday blueberry pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dad's birthday is always a time for blueberries or peaches. I have tried multiple different desserts for him over the years, generally a blueberry tart or a peach pie. This year I offered up a blueberry pie and his level of anticipation kinda went through the roof. He was pretty pleased with the results, especially with the accompanying homemade coconut ice cream, which is good when you're 67 and have had all matters of different types of birthday celebrations and are getting a bit tired of the chocolate cake your mother buys your or the fancy restaurant your sister wants to take you too when it is the middle of July and all you want to do is sit on your deck in the sun grilling steak and prawns and sopping up buttery pie crust with some blueberry juice and melting ice cream. So go dad for doing what you want one day when all the rest of the year you do for others!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Everyone loved this pie and the <a href="http://munchingsandmusings.blogspot.com/2013/07/salted-caramel-ice-cream-and-coconut.html" target="_blank">coconut ice cream</a> was an excellent accompaniment. I will not make it again, because I thought it was too gelatinous in consistency. It was also a bit sweet, but that could be a factor of the berries and not the amount of sugar - but perhaps 1/2 cup sugar would be plenty. I try to avoid pies in general that use thickeners, but I saw this <a href="http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/Blueberry-Pie/36618?extcode=L3GN4AA00" target="_blank">Cooks Country recipe</a> that calls for the pectin from an apple as part of the thickener along with a bit of tapioca and I might find that more to my preference for next time. Even my tried-and-true Joy of Cooking doesn't really have any berry pie options that sound much better, and that could just be the reason I'm not a huge fan of them. But if any of you readers have suggestions for great fruit pie recipes, please post them in the comments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I do think the rum added a nice depth to this pie and countered some of the sweetness, and the slices were attractive and not so messy when served, which was also nice. I thought about plums as another source of pectin that might be complementary to blueberries in that they wouldn't be very noticeable but could still add some tartness and deeper notes, particularly in the version made with wine. Readers - try that and let me know! In any case, happy summer baking!</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Blueberry Pie</strong><br /> From <em>The Boozy Baker, </em>by Lucy Baker <br /><br />2/3 cup sugar<br />3 T cornstarch<br />¼ t cinnamon<br />¼ t salt<br />¼ cup dark rum (or fruity red wine for a “sangria pie!”)<br />4 cups fresh blueberries, divided<br />1 T unsalted butter<br /><br />I used the other half of the Smitten Kitchen <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/" target="_blank">all-butter pie crust</a> I had left in the freezer from two months ago. It bakes much more like puff pastry than what I think of as pie crust, meaning that it is totally delicious, but not necessarily always what you would want. As it was selected to accompany cherry pie, it absolutely worked well for an open-faced blueberry pie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, rum (or fruity red wine), and 1/3 cup water in saucepan. Add 1 ½ cups blueberries and bring to boil over medium. Boil 1-2 minutes until very thick and clear. Remove from heat, add butter and stir until melted.<br /><br />Add remaining 2 ½ cups berries and pour into piecrust, then chill until set.<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-56528411184374857822013-07-21T06:37:00.000-07:002013-07-27T06:03:11.748-07:00Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Coconut Ice Cream<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Perfectly divine. Salted caramel is a trendy craze whose time - in Seattle at least - is over-the-hill in my opinion. But that doesn't make the salty sweet caramelized flavor of this decadent dessert any less delectable. I offered to bring homemade ice cream to a small dinner party and didn't have any guidance on the menu or other taste preferences. So I wanted to break out of the vanilla mold, especially since I wasn't trying to pair with a cake or pie or other baked good. I wanted a flavor that could stand on its own as dessert.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This ice cream is incredibly rich, and it is quite sweet, but I did not find it cloying and in spite of the heavy ratio of cream to milk, because of the caramel it did not have that greasy coat-the-spoon texture of some ice cream that is really just TOO rich. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">When it was finished churning, it still <em>poured </em>out of the freezing canister (rather than being scooped) so I was a bit concerned about how it would set up. But what that really meant is that after a couple of hours of freezing, this ice cream had an absolutely perfect, creamy, scoopable consistency. Just don't expect to make and serve this right away, you'll want to plan enough time to return the churned product to the freezer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I like to add a bit of alcohol to my ice creams, to preserve the consistency by preventing a completely solid freezing of the mix and to inhibit the particular formation of ice crystals that diminish an ice cream's consistency. In this case, dark rum - even in such a small quantity - adds a lot to play off the deep notes of caramelized sugar. This is absolutely a full-star recipe and I can't wait to make it again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Salted Caramel Ice Cream</strong><br />Adapted from </span><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gourmet Magazine</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup sugar<br />2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided<br />1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such (I had fleur de sel)<br />1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />1 cup whole milk<br />3 large eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon dark rum (or brandy)<br /><br />Heat 1 cup sugar in a heavy, dry 10-inch pan over medium heat, stirring to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt. Stop stirring and allow sugar to melt to a dark amber, swirling occasionally. Once it gets going, it happens quickly, so watch the pan carefully. <br /><br /> Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. This can take awhile, and at first the sugar will all turn into a hard clump, but jut keep stirring the simmering cream and it ultimately will all dissolve. Strain caramel into a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature. <br /><br /> Meanwhile, bring milk and remaining cup cream just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally. <br /><br /> Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add a bit of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until custard coats registers at least 160°F (do not let boil). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Note: </em>most of my ice cream recipes use a maximum of two eggs and 3 cups of milk/cream so the ratio of this step of the custard making is much different. As a result, the eggs come to temperature much more quickly and it's easy for them to curdle, so be sure to whisk constantly and watch carefully. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel. Chill overnight, then stir in 1 scant tablespoon dark rum before freezing in ice cream churn. Allow enough time to return churned mix to the freezer to freeze for a couple of hours before serving. Mixture will still be quite soft after churning but will firm to the perfect consistency.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coconut Ice Cream</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I chose coconut ice cream to accompany blueberry pie for my dad's birthday. It was an excellent accompaniment with good strong coconut flavor, but the consistency of this batch was not comparable to the few I've made. I can blame it on coconut, which is not my favorite flavor to begin with, or I can blame it on the fact that I "upgraded" to heavy cream (which is 40% fat) compared to the 36% fat whipped cream that I usually use. I very carefully calculate the percentages of fat in all my recipes, accounting for whole versus skim milk, and I did not do that this time, and I think it makes a real difference. It could be an improvement that I am just not used to, or it could actually be what pushes it over-the-edge to "too rich." In any case, it worked great with sweet, fruity, berry pie but Will will have to work through the leftovers in the freezer on his own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bring 1 1/2 cups cream to simmer then stir in 2 cups toasted shredded sweetened coconut. Cover, and steep 30 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Strain mixture and stir in 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup milk, return to simmer. Separately beat 2 eggs, then slowly whisk in part of hot cream mix, then return egg mixture to remainder of cream and whisk constantly over medium heat until it reaches 160 degrees. Remove from heat immediately and stir in additional half cup milk and half cup cream, along with 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract and 1 tablespoon light rum. Chill overnight then churn and freeze.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-8370848135414112702013-06-10T06:59:00.000-07:002013-06-10T06:59:06.762-07:00Little Piggy Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I've talked about my friends' Cinco de Mayo party in </span><a href="http://munchingsandmusings.blogspot.com/2011/05/never-too-late-for-cinco-de-mayo.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">a previous post</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, along with the recipes I've made to take which are not necessarily traditional Mexican dishes, but then neither again is the holiday itself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This year, as the date approached, other media sources were building up with discussions of festivities and ways to participate, and NPR raised the topic of <em>cochinitos, </em>or "piggy cookies." These are not something I had heard of before, though apparently they are ubiquitous all over Mexico year-round. I suspect that now that I know them, I will notice them everywhere, but it was fun to make a new discovery. They are a cinnamon-spiced honey or molasses cookie in the shape of a pig.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The recipe called for <em>piloncillo,</em> a type of brown sugar that is packed in a cone shape. It can be cut from the cone with a serrated knife, or grated. I tried multiple ways to prepare it, because it is quite firm, including serrated and chef's knives, box grater, and microplane. I found the microplane to be easiest, though for this particular recipe, because it is combined with water until it dissolves, I don't think the sugar has to be prepared quite so carefully, just cut into small enough pieces that it can dissolve evenly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On my trip to the Latin market to purchase some, I checked their bakery section for already made piggy cookies, which naturally they had. I bought a few so as to have a comparison with my homemade version. The cookies from the store were very molasses-y, but the texture was quite similar. I baked my cookies the day of the party, so as the recipe explains, they were very soft and cakey. The guests all raved about them (though I suspect that could partially have been a result of the only other dessert being some dry brownies), so we didn't have enough to last days and see how they tasted as they got a little crunchier. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">[For the shape, I used a pancake mold that I happened to have from a set of farm animal shapes that had been given to me due to the sheep, and the pig and cow molds were just the bonus. If you know of any "cow cookie" recipes, send them my way!]</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Piggy Cookies</span></strong><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Pati Jinich, from </span></em><a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/05/02/179090872/this-little-piggy-cookie-is-a-sweet-mexican-find"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>NPR</em>.org</span></a><span id="goog_1485401686"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 3/4 cups (10 ounces) firmly packed grated <em>piloncillo</em> (or dark brown sugar)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 cup water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Ceylon cinnamon stick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature, plus more for the cookie sheets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons honey</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature, plus</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 large egg, lightly beaten, for glaze</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Confectioners' sugar for dusting </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. In a medium saucepan, combine the <em>piloncillo</em>, water, and cinnamon and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the <em>piloncillo </em>has dissolved and the liquid thickens to a light syrup. Turn off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add the butter and honey and stir until they melt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the <em>piloncillo </em>mixture. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. Add 2 of the eggs and stir until thoroughly mixed. The dough will be very sticky and gooey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Place two long pieces of plastic wrap, one running horizontally and one vertically, in a medium bowl, letting the ends overhang the edges of the bowl. With a rubber spatula, scrape the dough onto the plastic wrap, then bring the edges of the wrap over the dough and secure tightly (leave the dough in the bowl). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Preheat the oven to 375°F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Butter two cookie sheets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Sprinkle flour on a work surface and a rolling pin. Cut the dough in half. Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough about 1/4-inch thick. Using a 3-inch piggy cookie cutter, press straight down on the dough to cut out cookies, moving the cutter slightly on the work surface to make it easier to lift up the cookies. Gather the scraps into a ball and roll out again. Transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1-inch apart. If the dough becomes too sticky, roll it into a ball, wrap it again in plastic wrap, and place it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes before rolling again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Gently brush the cookie tops with the remaining egg. Bake in batches for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and golden on top. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sift confectioners' sugar on top of the cooled cookies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-22882982368180258972013-06-03T20:05:00.001-07:002013-06-03T20:05:28.762-07:00Tropical Carrot and Pineapple Cake with Coconut Frosting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the best carrot cake. It is so moist and sweet but it also gets an amazing caramelized crust. I frosted with coconut buttercream in this photo, but the coconut cream cheese frosting is also good. <br /><br />I used the recipe as written to bake 12 cupcakes and two six-inch rounds. The cupcakes went with me to a party and the rounds went in the freezer. As it turned out, they ended up saving me from having to bake the very next weekend, but I know they would have lasted and still been delicious for much longer.</span></div>
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<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Tropical Carrot and Pineapple Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting</strong><br /><br />2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour<br /> 1 teaspoon baking powder<br /> 1 teaspoon baking soda<br /> ½ teaspoon salt<br /> 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon<br /> 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg<br /> ½ teaspoon ground allspice<br /> ½ teaspoon ground cloves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons minced crystalized ginger<br /> 4 large eggs<br /> 2 cups superfine sugar<br />2/3 cup plain vegetable oil<br /> ¼ pound (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled<br /> 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract<br /> One can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple in natural juices (I drained about 3 hours)<br /> 2 1/3 cups lightly packed grated carrots (I used the grate blade of the food processor, but if I had patience, I would prefer the smaller shreds from a box grater.)<br /><br /> Coconut Buttercream or Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or baking pan with parchment. Enough for 3 8" rounds or 24 cupcakes. <br /> Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside.<br />Beat eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed 1 minute. Blend in sugar and beat 1 minute. Blend in oil and melted butter. Beat in vanilla and drained pineapple. Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.<br />On low speed, add sifted flour mixture in two additions, beating just until flour is absorbed. Stir in carrots and ginger. Scrape into prepared baking pan. Bake 20-24 minutes for cupcakes, or 40 to 50 minutes or until risen and golden brown on top; a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake should test clean. The cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pan. Let cake stand in pan on a cooling rack. Cool completely.<br /><br /><strong>Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting</strong><br /><br />Makes about 4 ½ cups<br /><br /> 12 ounces cream cheese, softened<br /> 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened<br /> 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract<br /> 5 cups unsifted powdered sugar<br /> 1 teaspoon coconut extract<br /><br />With an electric hand mixer, or a food processor, beat cream cheese and butter together until well combined. Blend in extract.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On low speed, add powdered sugar in three additions, beating until thoroughly combined before adding the next batch. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Use the frosting within 30 minutes of mixing.<br /><br /> <strong>OR</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Coconut Buttercream</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from Laura Temple</span></em><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1 1/2 cups of sugar </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6 large egg whites </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4 cubes of unsalted butter (1 pound) softened to room temperature</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3/4 teaspoon coconut extract<br /><br />Put egg whites and sugar in top of double boiler over simmering water. Whisk until temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove from heat and move to a stand mixer bowl. Whip on medium high until they are room temperature. (Wrap ice packs or bags of frozen vegetables around the base of the bowl to speed cooling).</span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /><span>Once the whites/sugar mixture is at room temperature, keep mixing, and add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time until all is incorporated. It might looked curdled part-way through, but just keep going and it will come together. Add the vanilla and mix just enough to incorporate it fully. Stir in any optional food coloring. This makes a great stark-white buttercream on its own.<br />Use immediately, or keep at room temperature and re-beat for a minute before using. If you want to freeze the leftovers, make sure to bring it completely to room temperature before you re-beat or it will curdle.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-50734277596077787402013-06-03T12:36:00.000-07:002013-06-03T12:36:56.323-07:00Beet and Barley Salad with Kale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I decided to take it upon myself to be the healthful contribution to a Memorial Day "meat-a-pooloza"
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">© </span>extravaganza. I had some amazing beets from the farmer's market, huge lovely golden ones. They formed a colorful base for this delicious and hearty side that was perhaps more autumnal than most would choose for Memorial Day season, but happened to pair perfectly with the 50-degrees and torrential downpour that pushed all grilling under the eaves and onto the stovetop.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Barley Beet Salad</strong><em>Serves 8</em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup barley, cooked in 2 cups chicken stock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">2 large (8 oz each) golden beets, roasted at 375 for 45-60 minutes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1 bunch (8 oz) kale, center ribs removed then chopped in bite-sized pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">2 cloves roasted garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 cup dried cranberries</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Toss with lemon mustard vinaigrette</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bring 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water to boil, stir in barley, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 35 minutes or until done. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile, dice onion and sauté in olive oil until tender. Stir in smashed roasted garlic and kale. Cover and heat over medium until kale is wilted. Stir in cranberries and toss with cooked barley and diced beets. Toss with a vinaigrette of your choice - I used lemon/mustard. Serve warm or chilled. </span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-43049711319614696412013-05-26T08:16:00.002-07:002013-05-26T08:16:40.158-07:00Sour Cherry and Blueberry Ginger Pie with Almond Crumble Topping<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This </span><a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/07/sour-cherry-pie-with-almond-crumble/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">SmittenKitchen post</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> was the inspiration for this recipe, but what I actually constructed is available below. A number of years ago I read some articles about sour cherries and became very intrigued. One year in Chicago, I saw them at a farmer's market, but had no way to transport them home (the same problem that plagues the entire industry!) so I've never actually had them. I think a couple people around Seattle have one growing in the yard, because I think I've seen them when out on walks, but with basically no hopes of trying fresh sour cherries, I bought a couple of cans at the grocery store one time when they were on sale. There they sat in my pantry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When we were invited to a Memorial Day barbeque, a pie just seemed like a better dessert contribution for cake, but especially in our region, it's still much too early in the season for any kind of fresh fruit. So I thought about pulling out those cans of cherries. I am always embarrassed to not use fresh ingredients - especially for guests! - but this seemed like a good time to give it a try, so I started my recipe search.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I screened out recipes using sweet cherries, since I was unsure what the conversions on sugar quantity would need to be, and I eliminated recipes calling for tapioca or other thickeners that I don't have on hand. I liked the crumble topping idea from Deb's Smitten Kitchen (mostly as a way to avoid the lattice top that I traditionally associate with a cherry pie! but also because she said it helps absorb some of the moisture in the pie to keep it less runny) so went with her version. Not to mention that Deb is universally trustworthy in all matters of baking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">What I especially liked about the post was her discussion of pie crusts. I have referenced before the New York Times article, Heaven in a Pie Pan, by Melissa Clark, and Deb points to that as well as she explains her decisions not only to go all butter, but also to eschew the food processor as a blending method. I highly recommend <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/">reviewing this link</a> for a better understanding of pie crusts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">For this pie, I did not blind bake, and I was impressed and amazed with how perfectly the final pie came out. We were able to cleanly slice and remove unbroken, lovely wedges from the pie pan. In addition, the crust was crispy on the bottom, not soggy, which I attribute to heavy draining of the cherries, but also to an excellent base recipe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">When I prepared the filling, it just did not look like enough to fill a pie. That is partly because I was using my favorite Emile Henry cherry red enamel pie pan, which happens to be a deep dish version. So to backfill, I added some large blueberries I still had in the freezer from last season when they were fresh. It ended up being just the thing and perhaps pectin from the berries helped hold the whole thing together in the end. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Finally, I wanted a bit extra flavor.as a way to add my own touch to the recipe, but also because I was anxious that a "canned" residue flavor might lurk from my shameful use of processed food. I decided on ginger and mixed some minced crystallized ginger into the fruit along with a dash of cardamom in the crumble topping. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQplSA0xChCeMkOosLoUTDKuIVDmdC2Fy70kTIPF_LBLaO9R6JXc6toTawtZ5HHzBAWaxz0J0nsSDG2F3L9x0n5ycDjCWuQdUE__dSGklIS2IvyMrUOCXR8aWiXFx5sxdRJh3PPXhPXiX/s1600/20130525_101454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQplSA0xChCeMkOosLoUTDKuIVDmdC2Fy70kTIPF_LBLaO9R6JXc6toTawtZ5HHzBAWaxz0J0nsSDG2F3L9x0n5ycDjCWuQdUE__dSGklIS2IvyMrUOCXR8aWiXFx5sxdRJh3PPXhPXiX/s400/20130525_101454.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unbaked pie ready to go in the oven.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Pie Crust</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/2 cups (315 grams) flour<br /> 1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar<br /> 1 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt<br /> 2 sticks (8 ounces, 225 grams tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 - 3/4 ice water (on a Spring Seattle morning, I used 1/2 cup + 2 T)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Blend flour, sugar, and salt in large mixing bowl. Put in fridge while you cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Put butter in freezer for a couple minutes after cutting, to make sure it's all really cold. Sprinkle butter cubes over flour mixture and mix by hand using a pastry blender, until mostly even crumbles the size of small peas. Do not overmix. It's better to have pieces slightly too large or uneven.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Sprinkle 1/2 cup water over and continue to cut through with pastry blender. If necessary, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 1/4 cup more, just until the dough comes together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Divide in two pieces, form into discs, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, or freeze (defrost before using). If using canned cherries, start draining them now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Roll out dough into 12" round and transfer to 9" pie plate. Preheat oven to 375 and prepare filling. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cherry-Blueberry Ginger Filling</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cans sour cherries (14.5 oz each) - can replace frozen or fresh, drained</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1 cup blueberries (I used frozen, partially thawed, rinsed, and dried)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">3 tablespoons corn starch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">3/4 cup sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1/4 teaspoon kosher salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (use a microplane)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Start draining the cherries as early in the process as possible. I let mine sit over a strainer for almost three hours, stirring them periodically to release juice. Toss remaining ingredients together. Pour into unbaked pie crust.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Almond Crumb Topping</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup oat flour (or 2/3 cup whole oats, ground to a flour in a food processor)<br /> 1/2 cup all-purpose flour<br /> 1/2 cup sugar<br /> 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom<br />1/2 teaspoon kosher salt</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> 3/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly crushed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Pour cooled butter over and stir with spatula until it comes together. (I felt this made too much topping for a 9" pie, so used all but 3/4 of a cup of the prepared crumb topping, but didn't want to scale back the original proportions here.) <br />Use your hands to crumble the dough over the fruit filling, smooshing into pieces the size of grapes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bake at 375 for 70-75 minutes until topping is golden and filling is bubbling. Since I was using a deep dish pie plate, there was no spillover, but it's a good idea to put a cookie sheet in your oven on the rack below the pie to catch any juices that might bubble over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cool on a rack to set.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfectly cohesive slice of baked pie, great with vanilla ice cream!</td></tr>
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-80525146597198254922013-03-17T10:46:00.001-07:002013-03-17T10:46:15.781-07:00Happy St Pancakes Day!<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The best pancakes are buttermilk pancakes from the Joy of Cooking, but since Will likes pancakes every week, I generally just use a mix. The best we've found is </span><a href="http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/oatmeal-pancake-waffle-mix/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Snoqualmie Falls</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I added a few drops of green food coloring, and tried to shape the batter into shamrocks. May the luck o' the Irish be with you today!</span><br />
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-14373898993662642592013-03-07T16:42:00.000-08:002013-03-07T16:42:06.289-08:00Browned Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate-Whiskey Mousse and Dark Chocolate Buttercream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I always ask Will what kind of cake he wants for his birthday, though I know what the answer will be: "chocolate frosting." Yep, his answer to what kind of cake he wants is frosting. Does he want dark chocolate ganache made from fine swiss chocolate? Naw, he wants Crisco-style sugary frosting with the dried crackly crust from the big sheet cakes at Costco. So, like a loving, doting parent, that's exactly what his mom bought him. There were four of us at his birthday party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I would admit to it being ridiculous that I would bake Will a cake the very next day to celebrate his actual birthday with a couple of friends, except that I think the ridiculous part isn't that I would bake a cake with a Costco sheet cake less four slices in the fridge, but rather that someone would buy a Costco sheet cake for four people in the first place. That puts ridiculousness squarely on the shoulders of my in-laws, and frees me up for a caramelly golden cake smothering milk chocolate whisky mousses and drenched in dark chocolate buttercream with whiskey buttercream trim. Nope, not at all ridiculous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Will said this cake is his favorite of any I've ever made. I have a couple other contenders, but this is definitely near the top of the list, not just because each component is an excellent recipe, but also because as an aggregation, the combination of textures and flavors were spectacular, and the presentation was stunning. As always, my decorating skills are the weak link, but I loved this cake and frosting for how servable it is... the slices hold together perfectly and slice perfectly and yet still taste luxuriously, divinely homemade. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtisQFKV1AL1HAJBu159QoMu_62NLlBK2OQVvqoTniaM5_Ilju0qau4bc0fp727ueLiEqVp02vSHSPVbwULo7YEf9wO3rX_xtMQpm2LChVFsue-rTw_kroROSDPkgFKCk-ENgN14ae_Mga/s1600/DSCN7890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtisQFKV1AL1HAJBu159QoMu_62NLlBK2OQVvqoTniaM5_Ilju0qau4bc0fp727ueLiEqVp02vSHSPVbwULo7YEf9wO3rX_xtMQpm2LChVFsue-rTw_kroROSDPkgFKCk-ENgN14ae_Mga/s400/DSCN7890.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Browned Butter Cake Layers</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>by</em> <em>Tom Douglas as found in <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brown-butter-layer-cake">Food and Wine magazine</a></em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></em> <br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 sticks unsalted butter (12 ounces), plus more for greasing the pans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 2/3 cups sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped <em>(I used 1 tsp clear vanilla instead</em>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 large egg yolks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 large eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span itemprop="ingredients" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature</span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a medium saucepan, melt the 3 sticks of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until foamy, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 4 minutes longer. <em>(Note, it took closer to 20 minutes for me.)</em> Scrape the melted butter and browned bits into a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in an ice water bath until the butter begins to set around the edge, about 8 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour with the baking powder and salt.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remove the bowl from the ice water and scrape up the hardened butter. Transfer the butter to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla seeds and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks followed by the whole eggs. Beat in the dry ingredients and milk in 3 alternating additions, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert them onto a rack to let them cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5WSbSAveqG6TejDXAtV12DaGpNrg4xsSaZ2thjMrQ89F5UccmNVfLdwwJTfy9bsqy_cZoQhnTt1iCrLmrDSUMN4luDABBUcq5AH45wSVrKcEH-DEng6DF18HY_NNedN7MxXDo8-eF9ll/s1600/DSCN7897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5WSbSAveqG6TejDXAtV12DaGpNrg4xsSaZ2thjMrQ89F5UccmNVfLdwwJTfy9bsqy_cZoQhnTt1iCrLmrDSUMN4luDABBUcq5AH45wSVrKcEH-DEng6DF18HY_NNedN7MxXDo8-eF9ll/s400/DSCN7897.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Chocolate-Whiskey Mousse</strong></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">inspired by but not adapted from Tom Douglas</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons scotch whiskey (or bourbon)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup whipping cream</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pinch of salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt chocolate (can be done in the microwave, stir after 1 minute, then every 15-20 seconds). Set aside to cool. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 tablespoon whiskey until softened, about 5 minutes. Heat remaining whiskey in microwave about 25 seconds until boiling and stir into gelatin mixture until dissolved. Beat cream in separate bowl until soft peaks for. Stir in sugar and salt. Add gelatin/whiskey mixture to chocolate then combine with whipped cream and whip until combined. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Chocolate Frosting</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a sweet chocolate buttercream that is pretty easy to make and similar to a store-bought frosting. Will and I both love the sticky, sugary frosting on store-bought cakes though we are often embarrassed to admit it. It's frequently too sweet to be a suitable accompaniment to many more subtle cakes but I thought it would work with this carmelly golden cake, and it does! The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate to counter all the sugar, and I didn't have any so I had to calculate the ratio of sugar and butter to replace, but I think I'll keep this version because I rarely have unsweetened chocolate around. This spreads super smooth and holds its texture wonderfully for piping.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (60-70% cocoa), melted and allowed to cool</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 tablespoons corn starch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 cups + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (no need to sift)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 sticks minus 2 teaspoons butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 tablespoons whole milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 teaspoons vanilla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 cup cocoa powder (your preferred brand, I just used Hersheys)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the white decorative piping, I just used some leftover buttercream I had in the freezer, and flavored it with the same whiskey as in the mousse. The flavor was quite pronounced and really delicious. </span><br />
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRECIE!<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7748239852815710782.post-41686912309994090902013-02-05T12:56:00.003-08:002013-02-05T12:56:37.338-08:00Sicilian Sardine Pasta<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I really enjoyed this dish for many reasons; it is: delicious, easy, healthy, unique. I was
very excited to try it after having a sardine pasta at La Medusa in Seattle - an
excellent Sicilian restaurant. Theirs uses tomatoes and olives as well, and
while I really liked this version, I think just a bit of acidity would have
helped such as from tomatoes, or olives, or as another person suggested, lemon.
(Perhaps my wine was just a bit too sweet.) Otherwise, even with using a cheap
piece of grocery store sliced bread for bread crumbs, this is a really great
recipe!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Sicilian-Style-Pasta-with-Sardines-106272#ixzz2HGP09Kv7" style="color: #003399;">http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Sicilian-Style-Pasta-with-Sardines-106272#ixzz2HGP09Kv7</a><br />
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Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977509133681565764noreply@blogger.com0