Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

When our friend Sara posted a recipe for Peanut Butter Oreo Brownie Cakes, I knew it was something I could run with.

The concept is solid.  Alas, after making my first batch, I thought the brownie was, too.  I decided that chocolate cake batter would work better - making them a bit lighter which would allow for a fabulous icing.

I made them with both peanut butter and boysenberry jam, but all the while dreaming about peppermint for Christmas.

Tonight, I decided to do a test run.

I took peppermint sandwich cookies and placed them in cupcake holders.  On top of the cookie I added some cream cheese mixed with just a tad of creme fraiche and peppermint extract.  I added another cookie, another dollop of cream cheese, and then about 3 tablespoons of cake batter.

Into the oven at 350° for about 18 minutes.

Here's Ina's cake recipe. It's a really simple cake to throw together.

Ina’s Chocolate Cake

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla.

Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

When they cooled, I made a peppermint cream cheese icing:  1 8oz block of cream cheese, 1 stick butter, powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and a bit of heavy cream.  I piped it on top and added a chocolate waffle cookie for decoration.

Oh my goodness gracious!  These are good!

I'm going to bring the bulk of them into work tomorrow morning because I'll eat every one of them if I leave them here.

But another batch will be made for Christmas!

Yum.


Chicken Soup and Cornbread

How many ways can a person make Chicken Soup?!?

A lot.

I had planned on having roasted chicken for dinner last night.  Alas, I spent a few hours in the ER at Paoli Hospital getting poked, prodded, CT scanned and pharmaceutically comfortable.

I actually went to the Dr because I had a severe pain in my abdomen.  It felt like a classic diverticulitis.  On a scale of 1-10, pain was at a 12.  Even at that, it took a bit of convincing by Victor that it was a prudent thing to call the Dr.  I think he said something like "I'm only doing to mention this one more time, and if you don't call the Dr I'm going to make your life hell."  We're very subtle with one another.

I took the cue.

My primary care Dr poked and prodded and thought the same thing - the location, the symptoms...  But the degree of pain was worrisome.  I really couldn't even stand up straight.  In order to get the proper type of antibiotic, they would need more information.  He called the ER, gave them his thoughts, told them to expect us, and off we went.

I love Paoli Hospital.  Every single Employee/Dr/Nurse/Tech/Whatever I have dealt with over the years has been great.  Upbeat, positive, professional - my kind of place.  And the ER was textbook perfect.

Fortunately it was a slow afternoon - I was admitted in minutes, and within another few minutes I had an IV in my arm.  After taking my vitals, the most woooooooonderful little drug was introduced that made all the pain go away.  Gotta love modern pharmacopeia.

After a few hours of tests, the end result was NOT diverticulitis, but,"Undetermined Cause."  I was sent on my way with instructions to get back with my PC Dr next week and a prescription for Peroset.

Today, the cold is still with me but the pain has pretty much abated.  I only took one pill this morning.

So back to the chicken...

I needed to get the chicken cooked - it had been in the 'fridge long enough.  So last night after dinner - leftover chicken soup - I just threw it in the oven.  Salt & Pepper.  That was it.  Out of the oven, into the fridge.  Me into bed.

This afternoon, I pulled all the meat off the bird and cooked the carcass down.

I ended up with a really rich broth to which I added potatoes, brown rice, a few split peas, carrots, celery, peas, corn, white beans, a can of diced tomatoes, little scoops of a lot of different grains in the cupboard, and some of the chicken meat... I then let it simmer.

Perfection.

And to round out our perfect soup, I decided we needed cornbread.  Not just any cornbread, mind you, Adluh Cornbread!

It was great!  Light and cake-like, but not sweet!  Excellent texture and loads of corn flavor.  It's a just-add-water mix that makes a perfect 8x8 pan.

I had bacon grease in the fridge so I greased the pan with it but brushed to top with melted butter after it came out of the oven.

It was the perfect accompaniment to a big bowl of soup.  We weren't in the mood for too much food tonight, but I could just imagine this with honey or fresh jam.  And it would probably be perfect for a cornbread dressing.

Yumlicious!

Adluh is down in South Carolina but you can get their goodies sent right to your door!  Take a look and support small businesses!

 

 

 


Spice Cake Fail

Take a look into that pan.  That's not a beautiful dome.  No, it's a big indentation.  It fell like there's no tomorrow.  Both layers.

Bummer.

Cakes can fall for any number of reasons, but this is my go-to-never-fail recipe I've used for years.  I've played with it, tweaked it here and there, and have never had a problem with it - until tonight.  And the only thing I can think of that was radically different this time from all the other times I've made this cake is I used cake flour instead of all-purpose.  I wanted to see how the Daisy flour worked in a pretty standard cake.  It didn't in this one.

I thought I had compensated by adding some additional flour, but I guess it just wast enough.  Or something.

Whatever it was, it didn't affect the flavor - which was excellent.  The texture was more crumbly than normal, but fortunately it was a moist and tender crumbly.

The cake was good.

There was no way the sides were going to get iced - it just wasn't happening.  And it may have looked like hell, but I'll be damned if I wasn't going to eat it, anyway!  I made a nutmeg buttercream frosting and put apple butter between the layers.

What it lacked in looks was made up for by the taste.

And a big note to self:  Use all-purpose flour next time.

BH&G Yellow Cake

  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1-3/4 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cups milk

directions

1. Grease and lightly flour two 8",  9" round baking pans or grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each. Add dry mixture and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just till combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).

3. Bake in a 375° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool layer cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove layer cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks. Or, place 13x9-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting.

 

 


Bread and Beef

Tonights dinner came about courtesy of Cooking Light magazine.

I've subscribed to Cooking Light on and off for years.  It can be good for ideas now and again and it can have some useful information now and again, but I rarely actually follow any of the recipes.

Nothing unusual in that as I rarely follow any recipes...

We had some dates in the 'fridge that needed using up and this months issue had a recipe for chicken and dates.  The Cooking Light recipe, printed below, really sounded fun.  Problem was, I didn't have any chicken.  But I had some beef. Not having an ingredient has never been a good reason not to make something.

A recipe was born!

Chicken with Dates, Olives, and Cinnamon

David Bonom, Cooking Light
October 2011

Ingredients

  • 12 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 4 cups sliced onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 18 pitted manzanilla (or green) olives, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
  • 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup whole pitted dates, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Preparation

  1. Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 6 chicken thighs to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and remaining 6 chicken thighs.
  2. Add onion and ginger to pan; sauté 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add olives; sauté for 1 minute. Add flour and the next 4 ingredients (through cinnamon stick); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 1 minute. Return chicken to pan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 12 minutes. Stir in dates; simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in juice, and garnish with basil.

I more or less followed the recipe, substituting cubed beef for the chicken thighs and beef broth for the chicken broth.  The spices worked perfectly with the beef - and I'm sure they'd work equally well with just about anything.  It was rich without being overpowering.

Of course, what started the whole stew-ish dinner idea was that I wanted to bake a loaf of bread.  I still have starter from my last pugliese loaf and thought a cruisty loaf of something would be the perfect way to enjoy this slightly-chilly day.

What I didn't expect was for it to literally be an all-day event.

This particular bread calls for a biga - a starter - but doesn't call for any more yeast - as do most other breads.  Since I was starting out with a refrigerated starter and the house wasn't exactly hot, it took several hours for the various risings to happen.  But it was worth the time!

Pane Di Como Antico

Carol Field The Italian Baker

  • 3/4 c  Biga
  • 1 1/2 cups water at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup  Whole wheat flour
  • 3 cups  To 3 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Cornmeal

Cut the starter into small pieces in a large mixing bowl. Add all but 1 to 2 Tbsp. of the water and mix until the starter is in fine shreds and the liquid is chalky white. Stir in the whole wheat flour and most of the all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time. When the dough is a fairly rough and shaggy mass, stir in the salt dissolved in the remaining water. Knead on a floured  surface, sprinkling with up to 1/2 cup additional flour and using the dough scraper to scrape up the fine film of dough that will accumulate on the sork surface, as well as to turn and lift the dough. After about 5 minutes of kneading, slam the dough down hard several times to help develop the gluten. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, a total of 8 to 12 minutes. The dough should still be soft, moist and sticky.

By Mixer:
Mix the starter and all but 1 to 2 Tbsp. of the water with the paddle in a large mixer bowl. Mix in the flours and then the salt dissolved in the remaining water. Change to the dough hook and knead at medium speed until soft, moist, and sticky but obviously elastic, about 4 minutes. Finish kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface, sprinkling with additional flour, until smooth but still soft.

By Food Processor:
Refrigerate the starter until cold. Process the starter and 1 1/2 cups cold water with the steel blade and remove to another bowl. Change to the dough blade and process the flours and salt with 2 or 3 pulses to sift. With the machine running, pour the starter mixture through the fed tube as quickly as the flour can absorb it. Process 30 to 45 seconds longer to knead. The dough will be moist and sticky. Finish kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface, sprinkling with additional flour, until the dough is smooth but still soft.

First Rise:
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it has numberous bubbles and blisters under the skin.

Shaping and Second Rise:
Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface without kneading it. Shape into 2 round loaves. Let them relax under a cloth for 20 minutes. Line baking sheets or peels with parchment paper and flour the paper generously. Roll each ball into a fat cylinder and place seam side down on the paper. Dimple the loaves all over with your fingertips or knuckles, as for focaccia, to keep the dough from springing up. The dough should feel delicate but extreme.ly springy. Cover the loaves and let rise until doubled, with many visible air bubbles, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Baking:
Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven with a baking stone in it to 425° F. Sprinkle the baking stone with cornmeal. Carry the peel or baking sheet to the oven and very gently invert the dough onto the stone. Gently remove the parchment paper, peeling off very slowly. Immediately reduce the heat to 400° and bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.

This dough can be made ahead and placed in the refrigerator for the second rise; the flavor is better with the long cool development of the yeast.

Serve this with stews and meats with rich sauces, with green salads, fresh cheeses, sliced salami, and smoked meats.

The long, slow rising made for a most excellent bread!  This was very reminiscent of the San Francisco sourdough breads of my youth.  It was crusty, chewy, and really flavorful.

It's amazing what nothing more than flour, water, salt, and yeast can produce.


Leftovers and Pane Pugliese

Tonights dinner was really nothing more than having a reason to get bread and butter into our mouths.

Not just any bread, though...  Pane Pugliese - one of my most-favorite rustic breads.

This recipe comes from The Italian Baker by Carol Field.  I’ve been making this particular bread forever – and really do like it.  It's a dark, crusty, hearty bread that just screams for soup or stew or pasta sauce to sop.  It calls for a biga - a starter - that needs to be made the day before.  There's also about 4 hours of rising time, so plan accordingly.

Pane Pugliese

  • 1 packet dry yeast (or 1/2 package fresh yeast)
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3 cups water; room temp
  • 1 cup biga
  • 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp salt

Proof the yeast in the warm water. Add 1 1/2 c water and the biga, mix till blended. Add flour and salt, mix till dough comes together and pulls off the sides of the bowl. Knead 3-5 minutes in a mixer, longer by hand. Dough will be very soft and elastic. Let rise about 3 hours, shape into 2 small round loaves or 1 big flattish one. If you have baking stones, place loaves on baking peel or on baking sheets sprinkled corn meal. Let rise about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450°, and 10 minutes before baking flour the loaf tops and dimple them with your fingers. Bake 50-60 minutes for big loaves, 30-35 minutes for small. Tap the loaves to test for doneness (hollow=done) and cool on a rack.

Biga

  • 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or 1/10 package fresh yeast)
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 1/4 cup water (room temperature)
  • 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Stir the yeast into the warm water and let stand until creamy – about 10 minutes.  Stir in the remaining water and then the flour, one cup at a time.

Mix with the paddle attachment on the mixer at the lowest speed about 2 minutes.

Remove to a slightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours.  The starter will triple in volume and still be wet and sticky when ready.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

And the timing could not have been better.  Earlier today, my sister booked our vacation rentals in Italy for June.  A week in Rome and a week in Florence - with day-trips here and there...  We won't be as far south as Puglia to get a loaf of this particular bread, but I can't wait to stray off the tourist path and besides eating fabulous meals - actually buy groceries and do a little cooking there!

What fun.  I have to get going on my Rosetta Stone Italiano program!


Adluh Flour

I've been having so much fun with our local Daisy flour that friends down in South Carolina decided it was time I tried their local flour - Adluh - grown in South Carolina and milled right in Columbia!  They've been in operation since 1900 and the mill is the third-oldest continually-operating electrically-powered soft wheat mill in the United States!

And today, just as I was getting dinner together, the UPS man arrived at the door with a package - from Kay in South Carolina!

I'm actually speechless - which is pretty unusual for me!  The box contained 8 different packages of totally unique products:

  • Stone Ground Yellow Grits - a true stone ground product from South Carolina grown yellow corn.
  • Stone Ground White Grits - a true stone ground product from white corn.
  • Sweet Potato Mix - a complete "table-tested" mix that is easy to use requiring only water, milk or buttermilk to be added.
  • Pancake/Waffle Mix - a "table-tested" blend of our patent flour and just the right amount of quality ingredients to make the best pancakes or waffles you've ever eaten. Just add water or milk.
  • Cobbler Mix - a complete "table-tested" mix that is easy to use, requiring only water or milk to be added.
  • Cornbread/Muffin Mix - a blend of prize-winning Adluh flour and corn meal products with just the right additives to create a multi-purpose mix.
  • Yellow Flake Biscuit Mix - a complete biscuit mix blended from enriched soft wheat flour.
  • Carolina Breader - a complete mix which is "table-tested" for a variety of uses. No additional spices or ingredients need to be added!  It's used as a coating or breader for fish, seafood, chicken, pork chops, country-style steak, squash, okra and other vegetables.

This stuff is fresh!  Every package has a stamped milling date.  None of it is a week old!  Each package had a recipe printed on the label - and Kay included pages of additional recipes to use with the various mixes.

I've always loved grits.  Grits are Southern Polenta that can be served at any meal.  These are a perfect grind - just coarse enough.  I think I'll be saving these for winter when I'm really needing warm, stick-to-the-ribs comfort-food.

And Sweet Potato Mix.  This one really has me thinking!  From Sweet Potato Biscuits to Sweet Potato Apple Cobbler with Pecans, this mix has serious potential!

Pancake/Waffler Mix.  I see a Sunday Breakfast in our very near future.

And I'm looking forward to the Cobbler Mix.  When I make cobblers, I generally make a pie crust topping or a simple sweet drop biscuit.  My Southern-Belle (as in Southern California) mother used to make a cobbler that had more of a thick batter topping.  This looks like it may be more like that.

And I already know that the Cornbread Mix is going to be used for corn sticks!   When Mike and his wife Barbara stayed with us a few years back on their way to NYC, they brought - among other things - a cast-iron corn stick pan that I've used many times.  Yum!

I don't know what yellow flakes are.  I may just make this one according to package instructions.  I can't go wrong!

And, finally, Carolina Breader.  I may just need to make a chicken-fried steak with sausage gravy.  Back when we lived in San Francisco, we would go out to dinner at Lyon's with my parents now and again.  I would invariably order the chicken-fried steak.  I miss those meals.  It would be fun to make.

So we have lots and lots of meals planned!

And when you have a moment, check out the Adluh Store website.  They have LOTS of great products at extremely reasonable prices!

Thank you, Kay!


Vanilla Pound Cake

I am just having so much fun with all of this flour!  Every day is just a new reason to make or bake something.

I'm still doing my experiments and I'm still working on The Classics.  I do think that a products true quality lies in how simply it can be used.  And simplicity really is the key.  I've heard that French restaurants will test a prospective cook by making them roast a chicken.  If you can't do the basics well, you'll never be able to master the complex.

So back out came Baking With Julia.  I really liked the series when it ran on PBS and the recipes are written well.  Not to mention the variety of recipes - from pound cake to wedding cake - and so much more.

I followed the recipe as written except I played with the flour.  It calls for 3 cups of all-purpose flour  so I used 11 ounces (about 2.25 cups) of Daisy pastry flour and  5.5 ounces (1.125 cups) of Daisy bread flour.  There is a bit of an adjustment for using the Daisy flour by volume.  I also used Irish butter, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, and organic eggs.  What the hell.  Quality In - Quality Out.

My ratio was perfect.  The cake was moist with a rich buttery-vanilla flavor.  The kind of flavor that could have one sneaking into the kitchen to keep slicing off thin wedges - over-and-over.  Just dense enough without being too heavy and a perfectly browned - and tender - crust.

I really could eat this one all night.

A few hints... Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature and you sift your flour.  Also, take the time the recipe calls for.  Whip the butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Take a full four minutes to add the eggs.  It really does make a difference.  Cooking is an art and baking is a science.  You really do need the proper ratio of tenderizers (sugar and butter) to proteins (flour and eggs) and you need to take the time to properly emulsify the butter, sugar, and eggs before adding the milk and flour.  It really will make a huge difference.

Vanilla Pound Cake

From Baking with Julia

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
  • 1 cup milk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan or other 12-cup decorative pan with a center tube.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper; reserve.

Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand-held mixer) and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Stop the machine and scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small additions, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture becomes watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy and increased in volume.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milk alternating-4 additions of flour, 3 of milk-scrapping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend

Baking the cake. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature. The cake is best served in very thin slices.

Storing. The cake can be covered at room temperature for about 3 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Keep in mind that stale pound cake is excellent lightly toasted and used as the based for ice cream sundaes.

I don't think this cake will be around long enough to have to think of freezing any of it.

 

 


Perfect Genoise

A couple of days ago I talked about ordering Daisy Flour.

It arrived!  And the timing could not have been more perfect; I was charged with bringing a dessert to The In-Law's for the Labor Day Dinner.

I immediately pulled out Baking with Julia.  It's definitely one of my more-favorite cook books and has lots and lots of really excellent recipes - some complex and others not-so.  I vacillated  between several, but finally decided on a variation of the French Strawberry Cake.  I had raspberries.  I decided to use the "Perfect Genoise" and make a raspberry cream.  And maybe a little chocolate.

A genoise can be intimidating, at first, but this particular recipe really takes a lot of the angst out of it.  A true genoise is an Italian sponge cake named after Genoa.  It is also the foundation of many French cakes and desserts.  It uses whole eggs - perfectly whipped - as leavening.  No baking powder, baking, soda, or other leavening agents.

I thought it perfect for using the Daisy Pastry Flour.  And, of course, it was!

The basic for a genoise is whipping whole eggs until they're tripled in volume, gently folding in flour, and then gently adding melted butter.  It's not difficult - if you pay attention.

Perfect Genoise

Baking With Julia

makes enough batter for one 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup sifted cake flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Pour the melted butter into a 1-quart bowl; reserve. Return the sifted flour to the sifter or sieve and add 1 tbsp of the sugar and the salt; sift onto a piece of waxed paper and set aside.

Put the eggs and the remaining sugar into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer (or work with a hand-held mixer). Holding the whisk attachment from the mixer in your hand, beat the mixture to blend the ingredients. With the bowl and whisk attachment in place, whip the mixture on medium speed until it is airy, pale, and tripled in volume, like softly whipped cream, 4 to 5 minutes. You'll know that the eggs are properly whipped when you lift the whisk and the mixture falls back into the bowl in a ribbon that rests on the surface for about 10 seconds. If the ribbon immediately sinks into the mixture, continue whipping for a few more minutes. Pour in the vanilla extract during the last moments of whipping.

Detach the bowl from the mixer. Sprinkle about one third of the sifted flour mixture over the batter. Fold in the flour with a rubber spatula, stopping as soon as the flour is incorporated. Fold in the rest of the flour in 2 more additions.

Gently spoon about 1 cup of the batter into the bowl with the melted butter and fold the butter in with the rubber spatula. Fold this mixture into the batter in the mixer bowl. (This is the point at which the batter is at its most fragile, so fold gingerly.) The batter should be poured into a prepared pan and baked immediately.

Bake at 350° about 25-27 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched and just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool in pan about 10 minutes then remove, cooling right-side up on cooling rack.

May be prepared 24 hours in advance.  leave on rack, uncovered, at room temperature.

Whip eggs until they're triple in volume and 'ribbon' back into the bowl when the beaters are lifted

Mix a cup of batter into the melted butter to lighten it - and then fold it into the main bowl.

Baked for 27 minutes and cooled overnight.  The cake came out perfect.  It sliced perfectly.  It just could not have been better.

I made a whipped raspberry cream by adding thawed, frozen raspberries to 2 cups of heavy cream along with a teaspoon of vanilla.  I did not add any sugar.

I split the cake into three layers and dusted the bottom layer with unsweetened cocoa.

I could have used more, but I wasn't sure how it would come out.  I actually thought of making a cocoa simple syrup but decided this would work.

I spread the layer with the raspberry cream and then added more thawed raspberries.

I then repeated wuith the next layer.

I topped the third layer with more raspberry cream and then piped rosettes along the outside edge.  I added chocolate curls by using a potato peeler on a chocolate bar and added fresh raspberries for the final garnish.

Neither Daisy nor Julia disappointed!  This cake came out great!  It was light and airy without having an 'eggy' flavor that some sponge cakes can have.  A genoise is a slightly dry cake by nature and the cream offset that dryness perfectly.

So...  my first dessert with the Daisy Flour was a resounding success.  There's a recipe in the book for a white bread that I haven't made in a few years.  I think that may be my next project!

This is going to be a fun Fall and Winter!


Sunday Muffins

Sunday morning.  It wasn't even 90° outside, yet.  Time to tiurn on the oven.

I picked up some blueberries yesterday to make blueberry muffins today.  I'm going to blame the heat for addling my brain.  This is not, exactly, baking weather.

But...

I wanted muffins.

So on went the oven this morning.  I worked fast, but it was still warmer in the kitchen than I would have preferred.  Oh well... I figured if the oven was going on, I was making two kinds of muffins!  I was definitely going to get my money's worth.

The end result was worth it!

I made the aforementioned Blueberry and I made a Banana Walnut.  Bananas go quickly in this weather, too.

I make a really basic muffin and then add to it as I see fit.  I made these with plain all-purpose white flour, but you can add different blends as you see fit.  These come out really light and cake-like.

Blueberry Muffins

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • Melted butter and demerera sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix melted butter and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients with milk, egg, and vanilla.  Fold in blueberries.

Scoop into 12 standard-sized muffin cups or 6 over-sized muffins.  Bake 12 muffins for 20 minutes or large muffins about 27 minutes.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with demerara sugar while warm.

The banana muffins are pretty much the same - the milk is a little less.

Banana Walnut Muffins

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 cup banana, mashed
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • Melted butter and demerera sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix melted butter and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients with milk, egg, and vanilla.  Fold in bananas and walnuts.

Scoop into 12 standard-sized muffin cups or 6 over-sized muffins.  Bake 12 muffins for 20 minutes or large muffins about 27 minutes.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with demerara sugar while warm.

Demerara sugar is a larger-grained unrefined sugar.  It adds a nice crunchiness to baked goods because it doesn't dissolve like basic white sugar.  It's not a mandatory ingredient, but it's a nice touch.

And I really am glad I made these - even if I did heat up the kitchen.  We'll have fresh-baked goodies for the next few days as our heat wave continues...

 


Peach Blondies

Just about the only good thing that came out of yesterday was the Peach Blondies!

I really like blondies, but - as with so many things - I forget about them or seldom make them.

I was determined that at least one thing would go right - and I succeeded!  they really did come out good!

The recipe is straight from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book, circa 1981.  It's my quick go-to  book for easy baked things. The recipe calls for 1 cup chopped walnuts.  I used 2 chopped peaches, instead.

Peach Blondies

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 chopped peaches

Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.  Melt butter; remove from heat.  Stir in sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla; stir until combined.  Stir dry ingredients into sugar mixture.  Add peaches and stir to combine.  Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes.

Another great way to use up some peaches.

These are great.  They're rich and butterscotchy with yummy peaches throughout.

I'm off to get more right now...

 

 


Peach Pie

Sometimes I can drive myself crazy.

If I could just relent and buy a pie crust, I could have a pie in the oven in minutes.

But no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o...... I have to make them from scratch because what would the neighbors think?!?

Or something.

Okay, that's not the real reason.  Reality is, making a pie crust from scratch takes less time than thawing one.  Messier, but quicker.

And infinitely better.

I have friends - even very accomplished cooks - who are intimidated by pie crusts.  There's no reason to be.  Even a tough homemade crust is better than a store-bought. And the food processor has made crust-making fool-proof.

I think part of the reason is advertisers really harp upon the perfection of their products versus a homemade product.  They set up the intimidation by telling you right off the bat you can't make something as good as what they are selling you and then proceed to mock your efforts and telling you your family/friends/loved ones/whomever deserve the best and you can't deliver it on your own.

Balderdash, says I!

I caught a few minutes of Ina Garten on TV today.  She was making a tiered chocolate cake with a butter cream icing.    She was decorating it with pastry tubes and said "You don't want it to look like it just came from a  bakery.  What fun would that be?"

I thought those were some of the best words a person could ever say.  Really.  A little less emphasis on perfection and a little bit more on having fun can bring the confidence level way up!

I think one of the reasons I make a good pie crust is that I'm not afraid to make a bad one.  That's not to say that I can't get neurotic at times and do things like forget to put the potatoes in the clam chowder that I'm serving to dear friends who have never stayed with us before...  But they are few and far between.

My motto really is "The worst thing that can happen is we throw it out and call for pizza."

And in all these years I haven't called for pizza - yet.  (That's not to say there haven't been a few meals that won't be repeated any time soon.)

The pie crust recipe I use started off as Julia Child's Food Processor Pie Dough and then just kept getting changed and tweaked over the years.  This really is fool-proof.  It makes enough for a generous 10" deep double crust.

Try it with 2/3 butter and 1/3 lard (not shortening) if you have it available.

Perfect Pie Crust

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup pastry/cake flour
  • 2 sticks butter, frozen
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup ice water

Using a food processor, add flours, salt, and sugar. Pulse to mix.

Chop up frozen butter and add. Pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture looks grainy.

Slowly add ice water and pulse until mixed.

Turn out onto counter. Press and form mixture into two disks . Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about an hour to allow the flour to properly absorb the water and to relax the gluten.

Roll out crust and place in pie plate. Crimp edges and fill.

I have never been a good "edge-crimper."  It's amazing for the amount of pies I've made in my life that it's a skill-set I've never really mastered.  I've watched in awe as others have whipped around a pie in seconds flat.  I'm just not one of them.

I still sleep well at night.

The peach filling for tonight's pie comes via Bon Appetit magazine.  I've made this one before.  It's really good.

Here's the recipe from Bon Appetit.  I don't do the vanilla bean with the sugar and all that.  I add a teaspoon of vanilla to the peaches.  I also brush the crust with an egg wash.

Peach Pie with Cardamom

  • 2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom
  • 3 3/4 pounds firm but ripe unpeeled peaches, halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 slices (about 10 cups)
  • 2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • Whipping cream (for glaze)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean in processor; blend until vanilla bean is very finely minced. Sift vanilla sugar through strainer into large bowl; discard any large bits in strainer. Mix flour and cardamom into vanilla sugar. Add peaches to flour-sugar mixture and toss gently to coat.

Roll out 1 pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Spoon peach mixture into crust; dot with butter. Roll out second pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Drape dough over peach filling; trim overhang to 1 1/2 inches. Fold top and bottom edges under, pressing together to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Using small sharp knife, cut 2-inch-long X in center of top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust lightly with whipping cream; sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, peaches are tender, and juices bubble thickly through cut in top crust, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool until lukewarm, about 2 hours.

I let it rest about an hour.  I was in a hurry.

It was really good.

Really good.

It's prime peach season.  Get yourself 4 pounds and get to work.

You won't be sorry!

 

 

 


Nutella Pear Tart

Extra pastry dough is a great thing to have around the house.  Especially when Victor is in the kitchen!

We had a mere two pears in the house but he made do with a filling that really worked well!  We had chocolate bars and a jar of the chocolate hazelnut spread I made a while back.  Perfect filling for a pear topping!

Nutella Pear Tart

  • 1 pastry crust
  • 2 pears, sliced wafer-thin
  • 8 oz dark chocolate, melted
  • 1/2 cup nutella
  • 1/4 cup coffee

Roll out dough and place in tart pan.  Bake at 350° about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate.  Stir in nutella and then add about 1/4 cup coffee.  Mix well.  Chocolate may appear to seize.

Spread evenly in warm tart shell.  Cover with thin-sliced pears.  Brush with fruit jam glaze.

Heavenly.