0 Too Much Baking, Not Enough Blogging

I've been baking up a storm over the past few days (as I'm sure many of you are as well). But sadly I've been too preoccupied to take any photographs. I've been rushing from party to party, squeezing in some last minute gift shopping after work, and getting the house ready for guests. I guess the holidays are like that for a lot of people. We still have a few more get-togethers between now and the first, so I'll be back to blogging regularly in January.

Here's a list of sweets I've baked in the last few days:

• Espresso chocolate swirl cheesecake
• Bostini cream pie (individual mini custards topped with a mini orange chiffon cake and drizzled with a warm bittersweet chocolate sauce)
• Raspberry chocolate cake (layers of chocolate genoise filled with whipped chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries and covered in a chocolate glaze)
• Crystallized ginger cookies
• Chocolate hazelnut cookies (aka Nutella cookies)
• Cinnamon sugar cookies
• Amaretti
• Almond cookies
• Butter cookies with jam

And here's a photo of my most recent creation Raspberry Champagne Trifle. I'll post the recipe soon. Until then, have a wonderful New Year!

0 Lazy Rugelach

Is it still considered rugelach if it's not rolled into the traditional horn or crescent shape? I was feeling lazy so I just rolled my cookies like a jelly roll and then sliced them. Maybe I should call them pinwheel cookies instead?

Sorry for the short post today. I blame it on laziness too.

Walnut and Chocolate Rugelach
(makes 48 cookies)

Pastry:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1/2 lb cream cheese, softened at room temp.
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup semi or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Topping:
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tbsp milk or water

To make your pastry dough, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and salt. Add the flour, and mix just until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form the dough into 4 even pieces. Flatten each piece into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or as long as 2 days.

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Take the dough out of refrigerator and leave it on your counter for about 10 minutes to soften slightly.

To make your filling, mix granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside sugar mixture. In another bowl, mix together walnuts and chocolate. Set aside.

To make your topping, mix granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside topping.

Lightly flour 1 dough disk and place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (or parchment paper). Roll out into a 12x8-inch rectangle and 1/8 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of plastic.

With the long side in facing you, brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and then sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the sugar mixture. Then top with about 1/3 cup of the walnut-chocolate mixture. Using a rolling pin, gently roll over the filling to help it adhere to the dough. Tightly roll into a log, seam side down.

Brush the top of the log with the egg wash and sprinkle with the topping. Cut the log into 12 pieces. Transfer to your prepared baking sheet, cut side down and 1 inch apart.

Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Allow cookies to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, and then transfer to cooling racks.

0 Back from Seattle and an Apple Custard Tart

Here's another great recipe from Emily Luchetti (from her 1991 Stars Desserts cookbook). The custard filling keeps the apples nice and moist. I used Washington State granny smith apples.

Apple Custard Tart
(from "Stars Desserts" by Emily Luchetti)

1 egg white
1 pre-baked 9-inch tart shell (I used this sweet tart dough)

1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 or 4 apples, juicy & not too firm variety, peeled & sliced 1/16 inch thick



Preheat oven to 325F.

Lightly beat egg white and brush a thin coat on the bottom of your pre-baked tart shell. Bake for 5 minutes. This helps to "seal" your tart crust which will keep it from getting overly soggy from the filling.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg, egg yolks, and sugar. Stir in cream, cinnamon and salt. Set aside custard filling.

Arrange apple slices in the tart shell in a circular pattern. Carefully pour custard over the apples until tart is full. (You may have extra custard depending on the depth of your shell.)

Bake at 325F for 15 minutes. Using a large spoon or spatula, very gently press down the apples so they remain covered in custard. Take care not to disturb the pattern of your apples. Bake the tart for an additional 15-20 minutes until the custard is set but still a bit wiggly in the center.

Let tart cool to room temperature before serving.


~.~ Seattle ~.~



Our trip to Seattle was wonderful. Luckily the aberrant snowstorm was long gone and we could see the city on foot. I’m a wimpy California girl so I found the Seattle weather a bit cold, but it’s nothing I couldn’t get used to (or that a steaming latte couldn’t cure!). I don’t do restaurant reviews so I’ll just say that we had some great meals and some not so great. But I want to mention a few places.

My favorite treat was Top Pot doughnuts. Most people will judge a doughnut shop by their raised doughnuts but I prefer glazed old fashioned. I really liked it but my husband thought the glaze was a bit too sweet. I will definitely try other flavors the next time I visit Seattle.

Our favorite dinner was at Lark, a small plates restaurant in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I wish we could’ve tried everything on the menu, but two people can only eat so much in one sitting. Our favorite dish was the vanilla salted Georgia prawns with citrus endive salad. For dessert we ordered the quince tarte tatin and the chocolate madeleines with chocolate sauce. I was expecting 3 or 4 regular sized madeleines, but instead we were presented with 24 freshly baked, still hot from the oven, miniature madeleines! What a delicious ending to a delicious meal!


And finally, we walked the 2 miles from our downtown hotel up to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. The view was truly amazing.

0 Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake w/ Cranberry Topping

I try my hardest not to waste food. Whenever I have stale bread, I pulverize it in my food processor, store the crumbs in the freezer, and voila, fresh bread crumbs when I need them. I save the rinds from hard cheeses and add them to the pot of soup or polenta that I’m stirring up. When I accumulate enough chicken wing tips, necks and backbones, I make chicken stock. When we lived in our previous house, we used to "compost" all our fruit and vegetable scraps by burying them in various unused spots in our backyard. Unfortunately, the yard in our current house is too small and we can’t afford to leave parts unplanted like we did in our previous place. Luckily, San Francisco has a great compost program and will pick up all food waste (as well as used dinner napkins, waxed coated paper containers like milk cartons, pizza boxes) from the residents.

Every baker has a "kitchen sink" cookie where they add all the half used bags of chocolate, fruit and nuts accumulated over time. And who hasn’t turned overripe bananas into banana bread or muffins? So when I had some cranberries, pumpkin puree, and sugared almonds left over from Thanksgiving, I had the perfect recipe to use them up – a pumpkin upside-down cake with a cranberry topping from Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef at Farallon restaurant in downtown San Francisco and James Beard nominated cookbook author.

I love all things pumpkin but the cranberry and nut topping really transforms this simple cake into a superstar. I love the tartness of the cranberries with the sweet brown sugar topping and the fragrant cinnamon spiced pumpkin cake. The recipe calls for pecans but I used both pecans and some sugared almond slices I had leftover from another dessert. I don’t think the sliced almonds worked in this case. Coarsely chopped or slivered almonds would have been much better. In any case, it felt good to use up what I had in the refrigerator and the results were quite good.

Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake with Cranberry Pecan Topping
(from "A Passion for Dessert" by Emily Luchetti)

Topping:
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups cranberries
4 ounces (1 cups) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Cake batter:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and sides of the pan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth. Pour into the bottom of your prepared pan.

In a bowl, combine cranberries and pecans. Sprinkle the cranberries and pecans evenly over the brown sugar mixture in your pan. Set aside while you make the batter.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin, and oil. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Carefully pour batter over the cranberry pecan topping and gently spread the batter evenly.

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then invert cake onto a serving platter and carefully remove the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before serving.

~.~
Husband and I are off to Seattle for a little vacation. No work, no internet, just some R&R. I'll be back soon!

0 Almond Madeleines

My apologies for such a short post today, but I'm dashing off to another Thanksgiving dinner tonight. As I've mentioned before, I like simple base recipes where I can easily change the flavorings. I used my meyer lemon madeleine recipe as a starting point and turned it into an almond madeleine. I replaced some of the flour with almond meal, omitted the lemon zest and added a bit of almond extract. I promise I'll have a proper post next time!

Almond Madeleines
(makes 12)

2 large eggs
1⁄3 cup superfine or baker's sugar
1⁄4 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted twice after measuring
3 tbsp almond meal (or finely ground almonds)
4 tbsp (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour 12 molds in a madeleine pan.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs, sugar and salt. Beat on medium speed until pale, thick and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts.

On low speed, mix in the sifted flour and almond meal until just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the melted butter until blended.

Fill each mold almost completely full. Bake the madeleines until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 10 to 12 minutes.

Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove madeleines from pan and allow them cool completely on cooling rack.

0 Chocolate Hazelnut Tartlets

I first heard of the legendary Pierre Hermé when he made an appearance on Martha Stewart's television show back in the late 90s. At the time, I had no idea that he was the "Picasso of Pastry". I can't remember what dessert he made with Martha, but I do remember downloading the recipe and trying to make it myself. (After some internet searching today, I'm pretty sure the dessert was a carioca.)

So with youthful enthusiasm, I was determined to make the carioca for a party. Of course I was a spectacular failure. I tried to make hot sugar syrup (caramel) in a cheap Revere pan for the chocolate mousse portion of the dessert. Needless to say, the sugar burned very quickly in the thin-bottomed pan and just seized up. Boy, was it a big pain to clean the pot after that!

I salvaged what I could so it wasn't a complete loss. I still used the genoise I made earlier and then whipped up a simpler chocolate mousse (sans caramel) with my chocolate and heavy cream. I layered coffee soaked genoise rounds with my simplified mousse and topped it all off with chocolate shavings. My friends were very impressed with the dessert and had no idea about my failed attempt.

I've come a long way since then. My pastry and baking skills have improved over time and I have a gorgeous and very functional set of All Clad pots and pans. Heavy-bottomed pans are pretty important when making caramel.

For a long time I assumed that all of PH's recipes were too complicated and difficult to recreate at home. But I now realize that the carioca I decided to make was fairly advanced. Definitely not something for a novice baker (which I was at the time and probably still am). So when I finally purchased Dorie Greenspan's English translation of Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé last month, I thought I would start with something simple like the chocolate hazelnut tart.

The recipe for the sweet tart dough makes enough for four 9-inch tarts. According to PH, making a smaller quantity would increase the chance of overworking the dough. The dough came together quickly and easily in my stand mixer. It takes almost the same amount of time to make enough dough for four tarts versus just one tart, so why not make more? It's always nice to have extra tart dough ready and waiting in the freezer.

I did make some minor changes. For the tart dough, I used ground unblanched almonds instead of the blanched ones called for in the recipe. I think the crust would've been a bit more refined with the blanched almonds, but I was too lazy to blanch my almonds. Instead of making one 9-inch tart in a straight sided tart ring, I made four 3-inch fluted tartlets. For the filling, I used half a cup instead of one cup of hazelnuts. One cup seemed like too much for four tartlets. However, the recipes I posted below are per PH's book.

Although my tartlets didn't really turn out like the photograph in the book, it was still quite delicious. My husband thought it tasted like an elegant, grown up version of Ferro Rocher candy. I'm looking forward to trying other PH recipes now. Maybe I'll even try making that carioca again.



Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

1 fully baked 9-inch tart crust (see recipe below)

2/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
4 3/4 ounces (140 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (PH uses Valrhona 56%)
3 1/2 ounces (200g) unsalted butter
1 large egg, stirred with a fork
3 large egg yolks, stirred with a fork
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and cut into large pieces

Preheat oven to 375F.

Spread chocolate hazelnut spread over the bottom of the cooled crust.

Melt chocolate and butter in separate bowls either using a double boiler or the microwave oven. Allow both to cool until just warm to the touch.

Gently stir the egg into chocolate. Try not to beat air into the mixture. Then, a little at a time, gently stir in the egg yolks and then the sugar. Stir in the melted butter.

Pour chocolate-butter mixture over the chocolate hazelnut spread in the tart crust. Scatter the hazelnuts over the top.

Bake until the filling loses its shine and the center is still a bit jiggly, about 11 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Sweet Tart Dough
(makes enough dough for four 9-inch tarts)

10 ounces (285 g) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1 1/2 cups (150g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (100 g) finely ground blanched almonds
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temp.
3 1/2 cups (490g) all purpose flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on low speed until creamy. Mix in sugar, ground almonds, salt, vanilla and eggs. On low speed, add flour in 3 or 4 additions and mix only until the dough comes together (a few seconds).

Gather dough into a ball and divide dough into 4 pieces. Flatten each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic. Each piece is enough for a 9-inch tart. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days before rolling. You can freeze the dough for up to 1 month. Thaw the frozen dough for about 1 hour at room temperature before rolling.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to your pan, gently easing it into the bottom and sides and pressing it into place. If the dough tears, patch it with extra scraps of dough.

Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line the chilled crust with a piece of parchment or buttered foil and fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice.

Bake crust until lightly colored, about 18 to 20 minutes. To fully bake the crust, remove the parchment and pie weights, and continue to bake until golden, another 3 to 5 minutes.

Allow crust to cool completely before filling.

0 Vanilla Cupcakes

A little announcement...

We're doing some home improvement so I won't be baking (or posting) for the next week. In the meantime, I'll leave you with my miniature vanilla cupcakes with Nutella frosting.

~.~

Every baker needs versatile recipes that can be adapted and used in a pinch. When it comes to cupcakes, I like using the same base cupcake recipe from the triple ginger cupcakes I posted last month. I simply omitted the ginger, spices and lemon and increased my vanilla extract. I frosted these with an American style vanilla buttercream with a tiny bit of Nutella mixed in. (I apologize for not posting a recipe for the frosting, but I don't have the exact amounts I used. I sort of threw it together until I liked the flavor and consistency.)

Vanilla Cupcakes

4 ounces (1 cup + 3 tbsp) sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 30 wells of a miniature cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners.

Sift together cake flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in one-third of the flour mixture. Fold in half of the sour cream. Repeat ending with the last third of the flour mixture.

Fill the prepared wells of the mini muffin pan approximately three-quarters full. Bake until light golden brown and cupcake springs back when lightly pressed, about 16-20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before topping with your favorite frosting.

0 Espresso Cookies

I love coffee and I love espresso. I guess you can say I am an addict. Although on most days, I’ll only drink about 8 ounces of coffee. But on those especially trying mornings, I will forgo the coffee and have a latte with 2 shots of espresso (flat with soy milk, please). And I’ve been having a lot of those mornings lately. But it’s nothing that a little-bit-o-latte-love can’t cure! (And, yes, I know this is some form of self-medication.) Needless to say, putting espresso into a cookie is a very exciting proposition. (And no, I’m not excited because of all the caffeine. Well, maybe just a little.)

This espresso cookie is my idea of cookie perfection. I love the sandy texture and the pure flavor of the espresso. It might be somewhat strong for the coffee shy and not sweet enough for those with a super sweet tooth, but those are major pluses in my opinion.

There’s nothing flashy about this espresso cookie. There are no bells and whistles. But that’s the point. It’s straightforward and sophisticated, like that perfect little black dress in your closet. Black can be a bit harsh sometimes, but there’s no denying that the dress is elegant and classic. Just like this cookie.



Espresso Cookies
(adapted from Fine Cooking)
makes 28 cookies

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp water
1 tsp finely ground espresso beans
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Mix in the dissolved espresso powder. Add the ground espresso beans, flour and salt and mix until dough comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use the plastic to help form the dough into a log about 7-inches long. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut the chilled dough into 1/4-inch slices and arrange on parchment lined sheet pans. Bake until the tops look dry and edges just start to brown, about 12 minutes.

~*~
PS: This would be a nice addition to a holiday cookie swap.
~*~

0 Cherry Walnut Streusel Coffee Cake

Despite the name, a coffee cake typically contains no coffee. They are sweet cakes often served with coffee or tea and eaten for breakfast or brunch. Some are yeasted and some are not. Since I am still a yeast virgin, this is of the latter persuasion.

This coffee cake is perfect any time of year since it’s made with dried fruit and nuts. I used dried cherries and walnuts but feel free to experiment. Dried cranberries with pecans or maybe dried pineapple with macadamia nuts would be nice combinations too.

My favorite part of this coffee cake is the streusel topping. From the German for "something strewn together", this streusel is most definitely thrown together and very easily too I might add. Brown sugar and nuts bound by flour and butter form a cookie like topping for the coffee cake. And since I used a muffin pan to make miniature coffee cakes, each one has it's very own cookie top with lots of crispy edges.



Miniature Cherry Walnut Streusel Coffee Cakes

Streusel topping
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 1/2 ounces (5 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

Batter
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup yogurt*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Line with paper liners or butter and flour 24 (4-ounce capacity) wells of a muffin pan.

To make streusel topping

Mix flour, sugar, and walnuts in a bowl. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Place streusel in freezer while making the batter.

To make batter

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Gently fold in cherries and walnuts.

Divide batter evenly among the 24 wells. Sprinkle each generously with the streusel topping.

Bake until tops are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

*I used Greek style honey yogurt but plain yogurt is fine too. Also, you can use sour cream instead of yogurt.

0 Luscious Lemon Bars

I'm ashamed to admit it but I am a lemon bar snob. I'm not proud of it. Well, maybe the word snob is a bit harsh. Let's just say that I have very strong preferences when it comes to lemon bars.

I prefer a delicate, buttery crust with a slight "snap" to it. And the crust should never be more than half the overall height of the lemon bar. I don't want to chew endlessly on an overly thick and, inevitably, tough crust. Or even worse, mash my way through the gummy mess of an underdone crust.

I prefer a dominant lemon flavor untainted by the milkiness of cream, evaporated or condensed milk. It should be just tart enough to make my mouth pucker a teeny bit. Don't get me wrong. A creamy lemon confection has its place in my dessert kingdom, but not in the form of lemon bars. Sorry, milk, but tart is king.

I prefer my lemon filling to be smooth and soft, but not runny. When the filling hits my tongue it should be luscious. Overcooking the filling will turn the lemon bar into a sponge. No one wants to eat a lemon flavored sponge, least of all me.

I prefer my lemon bars dusted with confectioners' sugar. But not so heavily dusted that exhaling will shower the table (or your neighbor) with sugar.

And finally, I prefer to eat my lemon bars with a fork. That's not snobbish, is it?



Lemon Bars
(makes one 8-inch square pan)

Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Filling:
2 large eggs
1 cup superfine or bakers' sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest*
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice*

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

To make crust:
Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.

To make filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it's okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

* Note: I use meyer lemons (because we have a tree in our garden). Meyer lemons are less tart than the Eureka lemons found in the supermarket.

0 Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Halloween is almost here and the bags of candy are aplenty. I'm taunted by well stocked shelves and overflowing bins whenever I walk into the market. And not to mention the bags, bowls and jars at the office. But I'm not complaining. I love a box of tombstone and scary cat shaped SweetTarts as much as the next gal. I do have some preferences when it comes to big-brand Halloween candy however. I will always choose sour candy over chocolate candy. I prefer the miniature sized candy bar over the fun size. I only eat the Special Dark from the Hershey's miniatures variety pack. I never eat candy corn and it takes me more than three licks to get to the center of my Tootsie Roll Pop.

Aside from the sour candies, Reese's peanut butter cups are my favorites. I never, ever eat the regular sized ones but I love the teeny-tiny-mini ones sold in bags. I think there's something about the ratio of chocolate coating to peanut butter filling that I find more appealing in the mini than in the regular ones. Oh, how I wish they would make it with dark instead of milk chocolate!

So when I saw this chocolate glazed peanut butter tart in an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine, I knew I had to make it. I mean, the tart looks like a Reese's peanut butter cup! All I have to say is omigoodess! The filling is an amazingly decadent peanut butter pastry cream. Peanut butter pastry cream – a phrase that I have never uttered before tasting this luscious creation but will forever speak with the utmost reverence. Can you tell how much I loved this tart? The peanut butter pastry cream filling was topped off with a rich chocolate glaze. You could gild the lily and add a dollop of lightly whipped cream too. Heaven on a plate!




Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Cookie Crust
1 cup finely ground chocolate wafers
(I used Trader Joe's brand "oreos" – just the wafers not the cream filling. Feel free to use chocolate graham crackers or Nabisco chocolate wafers. I used a food processor to grind my wafers, but crushing them in a zip top bag with a rolling pin works well too.)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 ounces (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, mix cookie crumbs and sugar with a fork until well mixed. Drizzle butter and mix until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly into a 9 1/2 - inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake crust for about 10 minutes until fragrant. Let crust cool completely before filling.



Peanut Butter Filling
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 tsp salt
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cookie crust, baked & cooled (see recipe above)

Glaze
3 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 ounces (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp light corn syrup

To make the filling

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and salt to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar and flour. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle in half of the hot milk over the egg mixture. Pour mixture back into the remaining milk in the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 4 minutes. Continue to cook, still whisking constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour hot filling into cooled crust and spread evenly. Carefully press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before glazing.

To make the glaze and finish the tart

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir corn syrup into the melted mixture until smooth. Remove plastic from chilled tart. Carefully pour the hot glaze over the filling and spread evenly to cover the filling. Refrigerate the tart for 30 minutes before serving.

0 Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Ginger-Pecan Crust

I like making cheesecakes and I use cream cheese in other baking too, but generally speaking, I don’t like to eat cream cheese. I don’t schmear it on my bagels and I don’t usually eat cheesecake since I find some to be too "cream cheesy". About 10 years ago, after a fabulous meal at Postrio, we ordered the dessert sampler. If memory serves me, there was ice cream, chocolate cake, huckleberry tart and pumpkin cheesecake in the sampler that evening. My husband tasted the pumpkin cheesecake and told me that I might like it since it wasn’t too "cream cheesy". So I hesitantly took a tiny taste and another and another. It was the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten! I could hardly taste any of that "cream cheesiness" that I don't like. Maybe it was masked by the pumpkin and the spices? Well, anyway, I’ve never forgotten that wonderful pumpkin cheesecake.

When cream puff Ivonne suggested that a few of us food bloggers do a cross-post featuring a recipe from Tish Boyle’s "The Cake Book", I was pretty excited that we decided on the creamy pumpkin cheesecake with a ginger-pecan crust. I mean, there are a lot of great recipes in this cookbook, but this particular recipe brought back memories of that Postrio cheesecake.

Despite popular belief, cheesecakes are actually pretty simple to make. All you really need is cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Even crust is optional if your custard (yes, cheesecake is technically a custard) is firm enough. But why wouldn’t you want to have a crust? This cheesecake’s crust is made from pastry dough as opposed to the more typical cookie crumb crust. The crust, with its combination of pecans and crystallized ginger, pairs exceptionally well with the slightly spicy pumpkin custard filling. I always bake my cheesecake in a water bath (or bain marie). The water protects the custard from cooking too quickly and ensures even, gentle baking throughout. The resulting filling is creamy and smooth. And, as an added benefit, cracking is never an issue.

The author says that this cheesecake is a "wonderful alternative to the pumpkin pie" served at Thanksgiving. Personally, I see nothing wrong with serving both pie and cheesecake for dessert! Thanks to Tish Boyle for a great recipe and make sure to visit Peabody, Kate and Ivonne to see their yummy cheesecakes.



Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger-Pecan Crust
(makes one 9-inch cheesecake)

Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup (40g) chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup (54g) pecans
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, cold & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp cold water

Filling

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 lbs (567g) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 large eggs, at room temp.

To make the crust

Position oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x3 inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil.

Place the flour, sugar, salt, ginger, and pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the pecans are finely ground. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the cold water slowly until the dough just comes together. Press the dough into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the crust just starts to brown. Cool crust completely on a wire rack.

To make the filling

Reduce oven temperature to 325F. In a bowl, whisk together pumpkin, heavy cream, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat on low speed until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin mixture, then add the cornstarch and mix until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and do a final mix by hand to make sure all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour the filling in the cooled crust. Set the still wrapped springform pan in a large roasting pan. Carefully pour enough hot water into the large pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes until the center is set but still a bit wobbly.

Remove cheesecake from water bath to a cooling rack. Carefully remove the foil and run a thin knife tip around the edge of the cake. This will loosen the cake and help prevent the top from cracking. Cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate the cooled cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.

0 Chocolate Glazed Yellow Cake

A few weeks back I was testing out some basic yellow cake recipes for my Boston cream pie cupcakes. I found this cake recipe in my recipe folder. It was written on a sheet of binder paper and the origin of the recipe is now long forgotten. But it was for the cake part of Boston cream pie so I thought it would be a nice cupcake base for my BCP cupcakes. Boy was I wrong!

I made one 9-inch round cake and 12 standard (4-ounce capacity well) cupcakes from the batter (instead of two 9-inch rounds). Even though I know I followed the recipe exactly and I filled my muffin wells no more than two-thirds full, the batter swelled to monstrous proportions in the oven and formed one large "uni-muffin" top. I thought the 9-inch cake would fare better, but as the baked cake cooled, the center sank (along with my hopes for a successful baking session).

Well, my husband and I each tried one-twelfth of the "uni-muffin" monster. It smelled and tasted pretty good, but it was such a shame that they were so ugly. I hate to see perfectly good food go to waste, so I gave the remainder of the cupcake creature to my parents (who can totally look past the ugliness of food) and they, in turn, fed them to my niece and nephews (who just like to eat cake). I then sliced the sunken 9-inch cake into wedges and topped it with a quick chocolate glaze. Imagine my surprise when it was a big hit at the office! I guess the moral of the story is there’s nothing a little chocolate can’t fix.

Yellow Cake

3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temp.

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and then eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

On low speed, beat in the flour alternatively with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape batter into prepared pans.

Bake until cakes are light golden brown and tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes in the pan on cooling racks.



Quick Chocolate Glaze

6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet or bitterweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 ounces (3 tbsp) butter
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture comes together, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Use immediately.

0 Yogurt Cake

There’s nothing quite like a simple slice of butter cake. Be it pound or otherwise, sometimes I don’t need any glaze or frosting to adorn my cake. The yogurt in this light pound cake provides a slight tang that is enhanced by the addition of lemon. I originally thought this cake would be more lemony but it was a very mild, delicious cake.

By the way, I baked my cake in a nonstick tube pan. Since my pan has a dark finish, I should have decreased my oven temperature by 25 degrees (from 375F to 350F), but I forgot. The edges of my cake came out very dark but didn’t taste burnt.



Yogurt Cake

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temp.
1 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and flour a tube or bundt pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed.

Add lemon zest and beat for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed, mix in one-third of the flour mixture until flour is just incorporated. Mix in half of the yogurt. Repeat, ending with last third of the flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top is light golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes in pan then turn out onto a cooling rack.

0 Diane

Our sweet cat Diane is no longer with us. After months of coping with chronic renal failure and lymphoma, Diane was no longer eating and was not responding to her treatment. At the pet hospital this morning, she drifted off peacefully while we huddled close and stroked her gently.

Before Diane, I wasn’t much of a pet person. But this beautiful white cat with the blue-green eyes won me over. Ever since we adopted her when she was 2 years old, I always wished that I had known her as a kitten (as I’m sure she must have been the cutest little ball of white fuzz). But over the last 12 years, and most especially today, I realized that I was blessed to have known her at all. She was a sweet, loving and affectionate companion. We will always miss her dearly.

0 Triple Ginger Cupcakes

Ginger is a great flavoring to use in baking anytime of the year, but fall and winter seem to be the best time. The spiciness of the ginger provides a little bit of heat that is welcomed during the colder months. This cupcake contains three forms of ginger: ground ginger, fresh ginger and Australian crystallized ginger. I considered adding ginger a fourth way by soaking the baked cupcake with a ginger infused simple syrup, but the cupcakes were moist enough without it.

I love the base recipe for this cupcake. The cake flour and sour cream keep the cake tender. And although butter based cakes don’t take to refrigeration as well as an oil based cake, this cupcake was still moist the next day.



Triple Ginger Cupcakes
(from Fine Cooking issue #64)

4 ounces (1 cup + 3 tbsp) sifted cake flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1-inch cube fresh ginger, finely grated (plus any juice)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 30 wells of a miniature cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners.

Sift together cake flour, ground ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest, grated fresh ginger, and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in one-third of the flour mixture. Fold in half of the sour cream. Repeat ending with the last third of the flour mixture. Fold in the chopped crystallized ginger.

Fill the prepared wells of the mini muffin pan approximately three-quarters full. Bake until light golden brown and cupcake springs back when lightly pressed, about 16-20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces Philly cream cheese, softened at room temp.
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

With a mixer or by hand, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar. Continue to beat until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

0 Baked Vanilla Custard

The first "big" rain of the season fell in the Bay Area today. Of course, my evening commute home was terrible (as it always is during the first rain). But it was made less terrible by the song stylings of Ella and Sarah. That’s Fitzgerald and Vaughan, respectively (and respectfully). Classic jazz standards sung by these legends soothe me and make my commute almost bearable.

This first autumn rain was the perfect occasion for a soothing dessert like baked custard. Smooth and creamy with a hint of sweetness and the amazing fragrance of vanilla. Custard is a truly wonderful comfort food that can only be improved when accompanied by a steaming cup of coffee and great jazz music.

Baked Vanilla Custard

2 cups half-and-half
(or 1 cup whole milk + 1 cup heavy cream)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300F.

Pour the half-and-half in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until well mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half to the egg mixture, making sure to whisk well. Strain custard through a sieve to remove any large bits of egg.

Pour the mixture into four 6-ounce ramekins. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to come up halfway the sides of the ramekins. (I line the bottom of my roasting pan with a kitchen towel to keep the ramekins from sliding around. I make sure my towel is completely submerged in water otherwise it can burn.)

Bake custard at 300F for 40 minutes or until the custard is just set.

0 Cupcakes and Muffins

I was looking through my Flickr photo album and realized that I have a few cupcakes and muffins that I made in the past few months but never posted the pictures. So here’s a quick compilation.

Black bottom cupcakes


My first taste of a black bottom cupcake was over 20 years ago from the Just Desserts bakery in the Marina district. It’s a cocoa based chocolate cupcake with a chocolate chip cheesecake like center. You can’t tell from the photograph, but I baked these in miniature muffin tins so they’re only about 1-inch in diameter. They were a huge hit at my 2-year-old niece’s birthday party. (I didn't include the recipe for black bottom cupcakes here. The recipes on the internet are all pretty similar to mine.)

"Boston cream pie" cupcake*


This is my most recent cupcake experiment, the "Boston cream pie" cupcake. Boston cream pie is not really a pie but a cake - 2 layers of cake filled with a vanilla custard or pudding and then topped with a chocolate glaze. I took the idea of those components and turned them into a cupcake. I used a traditional all-American yellow butter layer cake recipe and made cupcakes instead of layer cakes. I filled the cupcakes with a vanilla bean pastry cream and then topped them with a chocolate frosting. My last experimental cupcake was my mojito cupcake back in May.

Trio of muffins


From left to right, cherry almond oatmeal muffin (I used the batter from my cherry almond oatmeal cake), chocolate chip muffin, and blueberry muffin.


More blueberry muffins. I accidentally over mixed the batter slightly, which explains the peaked muffin tops. Despite my over mixing, the muffin was still moist and tender.

~.~

* Recipe for "Boston Cream Pie" cupcakes...

Vanilla Cupcakes
(makes 18 cupcakes)

6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Butter and flour 18 (4-oz capacity) wells of your muffin pans. Or you can use paper cupcake liners.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside dry ingredient.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy about 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

On low speed, mix in one-third flour mixture then one-half milk. Repeat, ending with final one-third flour mixture.

Divide batter among the 18 wells. They should be no more than 3/4 full.

Bake at 350F until light golden brown and cake tester is clean, about 20-23 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before filling or frosting.

Pastry Cream
(there will be cream leftover after filling 18 cupcakes)

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Bring the milk and1/4 cup sugar to a simmer in a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat.

Sift together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch and salt. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk until fluffy.

Remove the simmering milk from the heat and ladle out about half a cup of the hot milk. Whisk it slowly into the egg/flour mixture. Once the milk is incorporated, pour the mixture back into the hot milk in the saucepan, whisking constantly.

Place saucepan over low heat and begin to whisk the pastry cream. In about 1 minute, it should boil and thicken. Continue whisking for about 3 minutes or until it has the consistency of pudding. To test cream for doneness, coat the back of a spoon. The cream will stay in place when you draw a line with your finger down the middle of the cream.

Strain the pastry cream through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl. Add the butter and vanilla and stir until it is butter melted and incorporated. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

How to assemble the "Boston Cream Pie" cupcakes:
Using a pastry bag, insert tip into the top of your vanilla cupcake and pipe about 1 teaspoon of cooled pastry cream into the center. Alternatively, you can cut out a hole from the top of the cupcake and spoon in the pastry cream. Make sure to replace the top. Frost your filled cupcakes with your favorite chocolate frosting, ganache, or glaze. Store cupcakes in refrigerator.

~.~

Diane


And here’s a picture of my sweet little muffin of a cat, Diane. This photo was taken last Thanksgiving when she was still a "fat cat". She’s been quite ill lately and, subsequently, she's lost a lot of weight. We’re hoping she’ll get better soon.

EDITED on 9/29 to add recipe for "Boston Cream Pie" Cupcake.

0 Curried Chocolate Brownies (SHF23)

It’s Sugar High Friday, the monthly blogging sweet tooth event. When the lovely hostess and veggie evangelist Alanna revealed the theme "Surprise Inside" I knew I wanted to participate by using an ingredient in a surprising way. I began with an idea for adding ground ancho chili and cayenne pepper to a classic chocolate brownie recipe. The addition of cocoa and cinnamon along with the ground peppers would give it that Mexican twist. But I wanted to take my idea a bit further. So I went eastward and my curried chocolate brownie was born!

Combining curry powder with chocolate is an exotic idea, at least to me. Among some boutique chocolatiers, the trend is to use chocolate with ingredients like kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, or wasabi. I haven’t tried any of these chocolates yet, but it would be fun to taste them at least once.

So how did my curried chocolate brownie turn out? Surprisingly good (no pun intended, well, maybe a little). Overall, the brownie was well received. Most tasters didn’t realize it was curry powder until I told them. They just assumed the spiciness came from pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. They were partially correct. I used Penzeys Spices’ sweet curry powder which, according to label, contains turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, black & white pepper, cardamom, cloves, cayenne. Some people with more "seasoned" palates could detect the coriander and cumin.

I can’t say this brownie is for everyone. Some people didn’t even want to taste it because the idea was just too strange for them. And as adventurous as I am when it comes to food, I hate to admit that I didn’t really like it. It just wasn’t something I’d eat again. I mean, I thought the curry spices complemented the semisweet chocolate very well and the brownie had a nice texture and flavor. The curry powder was definitely unmistakable, but it wasn’t so dominant that it overwhelmed the chocolate. The extra cinnamon and ginger rounded out the heat of the curry powder and the orange zest provided a fruitiness that added some depth. Even though I didn’t like my own brownie creation, many people really enjoyed it. So I guess this recipe is a keeper.



Curried Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp sweet curry powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp orange zest
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8 inch square baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment and butter parchment; set pan aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa, curry powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate together stirring until smooth. Remove from bowl from heat, and mix in sugar and orange zest. Then mix in eggs and vanilla.Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the batter. Bake until tester comes out with moist crumbs, approximately 30 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.



SHF23

0 Palmiers

Palmiers, named after the palm leaf they resemble, are cookies made with puff pastry layered with sugar. But I had some pastry dough left over from when I made my goat cheese tart last week. And since the dough was nice and flaky, I thought I would attempt to make palmiers with it.

So I rolled out the dough into a 10x10 inch square on a sugared work surface. I sprinkled about 1/4 cup of sugar all over the top and lightly pressed the sugar into the dough with my rolling pin. I flipped the dough over and pressed in another 1/4 cup of sugar. From one edge, I rolled up the dough tightly (jelly roll style) to the center and then rolled up the dough from the other edge to meet in the center. I wrapped the roll in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

I cut the chilled roll of dough into 1/3 inch thick slices, placed them on a lined cookie sheet and sprinkled them with more sugar. I baked them for 12 minutes at 375F, turned the palmiers over with a small spatula and baked for another 8 minutes.



My palmiers were sweet, buttery and crunchy. They weren’t as delicate as palmiers made with puff pastry, but these were pretty close to the real thing.

~.~

Bonus cookie recipe



I baked a batch of these orange polenta cookies for my friend, OT, a devoted stay at home mother of 3. The polenta adds a nice rustic quality and crunch to the cookies.



Orange Polenta Cookies
(makes 18 cookies)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup polenta or cornmeal
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
additional sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, polenta and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

Cream butter, sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.

Form 1-inch balls of dough and place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. Slightly flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Sprinkle with more sugar if desired.

Bake at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes until the edges are light golden brown. Cool cookies on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

0 Goat Cheese, Roasted Beet and Walnut Tart (HHDD #5)

I’ve never been good at making pie dough. Well, actually, let me clarify. I can make the dough without any problems. It’s the rolling out the dough where I have trouble. I might start with a nice disk of chilled pie dough, but after some rolling, I end up with a jagged-edged, no-longer-circular piece of uneven pie dough. I have a tendency to work the dough a little too much when rolling. So I try my hardest to compensate for my weakness in the rolling arena by doing all the little "tricks" people do when trying to achieve a flaky crust.

After cutting my butter into cubes, I put the butter cubes in the freezer for about 15 minutes. I also place the mixer bowl containing my already measured flour, sugar and salt in the freezer too. The cold ingredients keep the butter from melting and absorbing into the flour while mixing. I wanted the butter to stay intact in large, flat pieces because it’s these flat pieces of butter that help create the flaky layers in the crust. If the butter melts and absorbs into the flour, the solid mass results in a less flaky crust. I also add some vinegar and sugar to the dough. The acidity of the vinegar inhibits some of the gluten formation and makes the dough less elastic. Less elasticity means easier rolling and less shrinkage. Sugar tenderizes the dough and helps the crust brown.


"shaggy" dough is okay as long as it holds together when squeezed

In addition to letting the dough rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator after making the dough, I allow the dough to rest again (for 15 to 30 minutes) after rolling and fitting it into my pan. This second resting period is optional but I like giving the dough a chance to recover from the rolling. The resting period allows the strands of gluten to relax before baking. Too much gluten makes the finished crust tough. Doing all these little things may have taken a bit more time, but I was hoping that it would combat my heavy handed rolling. And I have to say that it was totally worth the effort. The crust was super flaky.



I usually blog about sweet things and sometimes about my cat (who is definitely a sweet thing), but I’m taking a little detour down savory lane for "Hay Hay it’s Donna Day #5 - Savory Tarts" hosted by Tami, winner of HHDD #4. One of the best things I’ve learned from reading food blogs is the existence of Donna Hay, an Australian food stylist, magazine publisher and cookbook author. So in honor of Ms. Hay and her day, I’m making a savory tart with my flaky pie dough.

The recipe for the savory filling is adapted from Ina Garten’s goat cheese tart. I’ve always loved the combination of goat cheese with beets and walnuts in a salad, so I wanted to do the same flavors in the form of a tart. I added some chopped toasted walnuts and sliced roasted beets to the goat cheese custard. Ina’s recipe calls for basil, but the basil in my garden had already flowered and so it had turned quite bitter. I have lots of lemon thyme so I used that instead.



Goat Cheese, Roasted Beet and Walnut Tart

2 small beets
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp fresh thyme
8 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1/2 recipe Flaky Pie Dough, in a 9-inch tart pan and blind baked (see recipe below)

To roast beets:
Preheat oven to 375F. Wash the beets and place on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Wrap beets in foil and place in baking dish. Bake until beets are tender, about 1 hour. Let beets cool then peel and slice. Set beets aside. (Beets can stain so be careful!)

To make tart:
Preheat oven to 375F. Melt butter in a fry pan and sauté shallots over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

Set prebaked tart shell (still in tart pan) on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the sliced beets and shallots in the tart shell. Pour custard carefully over the beets and shallots. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and walnuts. Bake for 35-45 minutes until set. Let tart rest for 5 minutes before serving.


super flaky crust

Flaky Pie Dough
(makes enough dough for 2 9-inch tarts/pies)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar (use 2 Tbsp for sweet pies/tarts)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water (or as needed)
1/2 tsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

Cut the butter into tiny cubes and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Sift flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove butter and mixer bowl with flour from freezer. Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix on low for 2-3 minutes until the butter is the size of peas. Combine ice water and vinegar and add to dough. Mix until dough just comes together, about 20 seconds.

Gather dough and divide into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour (and up to 3 days).

Roll out the chilled dough to 1/8 inch thick and 2-3 inches larger than the tart pan. Transfer dough carefully to pan. Let rest in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before baking.

Blind bake the tart shell by lining with parchment or buttered foil. Fill the parchment/foil lined shell with pie weights.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375F. Remove parchment and pie weights. Continue baking for 10 minutes more until light golden.

~.~

And I guess this wouldn’t be a proper post without something sweet. So I’ll leave you with friands (topped with Black Mission figs) from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2. Enjoy!