Savoring the last days of Summer with berry popsicles in the country

We have been enjoying an extended stay in the country.  A special time spent mainly cooking at home, exploring outdoors, and dunking in the pool.  We have been in the rhythm of checking the garden each morning and harvesting what's there, with a promise to use at least one garden item in each meal.  We went through waves of vegetables so fresh we never tired of them: snap peas, green beans, cucumbers, eggplant and tomatoes to name a few.  The perimeter of of the garden has berry bushes planted last year that provide berries all summer long.  First with black raspberries, then blueberries, then red and yellow raspberries - the latter being the sweetest of the lot.

We get a generous handful of new berries each day, and it seems impossible to think of wasting a single one.  My little one who loved blueberries as a baby, has now decided he's no longer interested in berries, with the exception of strawberries, which are a bit on again off again.  I figured a popsicle might change his perspective?  I started with mixed berry popsicles of local strawberries plus our blueberries and raspberries.  They were so fresh and divine, but apparently not acceptable to him.  He requested purple popsicles.  I moved on to blackberry lime popsicles, a deep purple in color, that we made together (he operated the blender proudly), and apparently hit the spot after some coaxing.  Later this week, having discovered a recipe for fudgesicles in this month's edition of Everyday Food, we made the creamy classic together.  There was no encouragement needed to devour those.

Homemade berry popsicles (will yield ~10 popsicles depending on size of moulds)

Mixed berry popsicles

5 cups mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or whatever you prefer)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar (adjust to taste or sweetness of berries)
Juice of one lemon

Blackberry lime popsicles

5 cups blackberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar (adjust to taste or sweetness of berries)
Juice of one lime

Combine ingredients in blender until berries are processed into fine pieces.  Taste and adjust sweetness and acidity to taste (note that mixture will taste less sweet when frozen).  Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove seeds and any remaining pieces of skin.  Pour into moulds and freeze for at least six hours.  To unmould, run moulds briefly under hot water until popsicles release.

Appreciating: summer stone fruit

Snow and gelato

We have been literally burried in snow in New York. Well, truthfully, some snow and then a whole lot of slush. I've been wearing boots every day to wade through the water that collects at the street corners. Nothing like what my mom has been experiencing in Boston, however. They have many feet of snow and have had intermitent power and lots of wet, heavy snow to shovel. I am still inspired by winter whites. Despite the inconvenience, the snow is so pretty when it first hits. Waking up to white and quiet is lovely and it makes me want to be in the woods.

Chilly weather doesn't demand cold foods but I enjoy using my gelato maker and perfecting my mixes. I love how forgiving gelato is: you can play with the milk to cream ratio according to your preferences and seem to end up with something wonderful no matter what happens. Gelato sometimes has egg, but I have found it to be unnecessary.

Stracciatella has always been my favorite flavor. It's so pure and you can really appreciate the quality of the ingredients. As such, I stick to fresh farmer's milk, plump vanilla pods and organic raw cane sugar. My only regret is that the capacity of my gelato maker is not very high - but that keeps me making it fresh and also probably helps control the urge to devour a huge batch in one sitting.

Stracciatella gelato
(adjust quantity according to the capacity of your maker)

2 cups good heavy cream
1.5 cups good whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped
scant 1 1/3 cup organic raw cane sugar
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Combine milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla seeds and pod in a heavy sauce pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves completely.  Allow mixture to cool to room texture.  Remove vanilla pod and refrigerate mixture until well chilled.  Pour into gelato maker and operate according to manufacturer's instructions.  During the last five minutes of the cycle, add chopped chocolate and allow to distribute throughout.  Put in a freezer-safe container and press a layer of freezer or parchment paper on top of mixture before you seal the container lid.  Freeze several hours or overnight.

p.s. what does the chili have to do with all of this?  nothing!

Pears, Peter, White

Peter (AKA Mr. Souvlaki for the Soul) is my flickr/blogging/photographer friend. We met in a flickr photography group years ago and have been chatting over email ever since. He's in Australia, I'm in NY, and neither of us ever had occasion to be in the same part of the world until recently. Despite this, we've had a regular, lovely dialogue over email for years, chatting about blogging, photography, seeking advice on client challenges, photography equipment and of course, gossiping and talking about nothing at all. Even though we never met in person, I felt a real friendship with him. When my son was born, he sent a beautiful baby blanket from Donna Hay's store, knowing what a huge fan of her I am. It was very touching to say the least. A few months ago his "day job" took him to New York.  I've never had the experience of having a virtual friend become an in-person one and it could have been incredibly strange to meet face-to-face.  But it wasn't - in fact - it was comforting to see that he's exactly the same person live as on email - and exactly who I expected him to be.

Fortunately he's been in town twice since and we've been able to have short visits each time.  It's been fun getting to know him better.  He does different work than I do, with a different approach and it's been nice learning from each other.  I don't know that many photographers, and it's always wonderful to spend time with someone who shares the same passion.

Just after Christmas, Peter was in town and brought gifts not only for me, but also for my husband and son - so sweet.  Mine was a copy of Donna Hay's latest.  I could not wait to get my hands on it!  There are so many simple, great recipes in there that I didn't know where to start.  The poached pears grabbed me because they are winter-inspired and also because they are not poached in the typical wine, but rather in a vanilla syrup which preserves their color and makes them a beautiful white-on-white which is always such a nice, graphical aesthetic, isn't it.  In fact, maybe it's because the cityscape is a snowy one but I've been loving all things white on white lately.  It's soft and comforting, isn't it?

Thanks, Peter, for the book - I am really going to enjoy it!

Poached Pears ("Vanilla Pears") from Donna Hay's Fast Fresh Simple
(serves 4)

2 cups water
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
4 firm brown pears, peeled, halved and cored
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to serve

Place the water, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat and bring to boil.   Add pears and simmer for 3 minutes each side or until just tender.  Serve with some of the poaching syrup and vanilla ice cream/whipped cream.

Apples, light and sweet

I shot this as part of a puff pastry and phyllo dough story.  This is such a delicious, easy apple dumpling that you can bake while you are having dinner and have it fresh and hot for dessert.  Or, if you are feeling particularly decadent, have it for breakfast with some hot coffee or tea - it would be a wonderful weekend treat.

Apple dumpling

(makes 6-8 pieces)

Packaged phyllo dough, defrosted

1 red delicious apple, cut into small dice (remove skin if desired)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting

½ - 1 teaspoon cinnamon as desired

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Sanding sugar

Butter for brushing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Combine apple, sugar, cinnamon and nuts.  Lay phyllo sheet on counter, short side facing you.  Brush with butter and dust lightly with granulated sugar. Place ½ apple mixture on phyllo about 2 inches from edge closest to you.  Spread evenly across dough leaving 1 inch on both sides.  Fold sides of dough in over mixture and roll dough away from you creating cigar-like roll filled with dough.  Do not roll too tightly or dough will tear. Place seam-side down on a non-stick baking sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Repeat with remaining filling.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until phyllo dough is golden.  Allow to cool slightly and then cut rolls into slices of desired length.

Tips

• Don’t freeze your dough for too long: pay attention to expiration dates
• Plan ahead: phyllo dough needs to defrost in the refrigerator for 8 hours to overnight depending on manufacturer’s instructions
• Work quickly once dough has defrosted:  phyllo dough will begin to dry out instantly: have your ingredients ready to assemble and keep a damp cloth over phyllo dough while working
• Brushing pastry with butter or egg wash before putting it in the oven will help to brown the top and lend a sheen to the pastry.  Sprinkling with a course (sanding) sugar will add some shine and sweetness to a sweet dish

A date with some cows and a romp in the woods (oh - and apple crisp)

A couple of weeks ago after a somewhat difficult week, my husband and I decided to treat ourselves with a mid-week drive up to the Hudson river valley for a long walk with our dog and a visit to a local orchard to pick apples.  Apple picking is one of my favorite Fall treats and we were just in time to catch the very end of the season and the last of the beautiful Fall foliage.  I looked up an orchard I hadn't been to before and we decided to make it the last stop on our drive.

About an hour out of the city the drive becomes beautiful.  Toward the end, we pass scenic horse farms and grazing dairy cows.  The area is woodsy and the trees are old and majestic.  Fall is a wonderful time to visit: the leaves paint the woods a fire-y orange and at high points, the fallen leaves allow for peppered views to the Catskills in the distance.

There's always somewhere fun to stop for lunch.  We usually seek out a wholesome sandwich shop and a local coffee shop that takes its individuality (but not much else) seriously.  This time, we stopped in Rhinebeck and remembered how much we like the town.

We followed directions to the orchard and were surprised when we found an empty parking lot and happy to smell apple pie wafting out of a barn-like structure in the distance.  As we approached we were greeted and told that we had come to the "offices" and that pick your own was several towns away - too far away to enable is to make it back to the city in time for our commitments.

Needless to say I was very disappointed.  It was my first and last chance at apples picked (myself) from a tree for the season.  I sadly vowed to continue on with at least some of the lofty plans I had for my pick-your-own bounty.  Buying apples at the farmer's market is not nearly as personally satisfying - but at least I know that someone else picked them for market from exactly the same area.

This crumble is so delish, it will take the sting out of whatever disappointment you might be facing ...

Apple crumble (serves 4) (adapted from delicious magazine)

5 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
4 Tbs unsalted butter, chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded

Crumble

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sliced almonds
6 Tbs chilled unsalted butter, cubed
pinch salt
confectioner's sugar for dusting, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt butter and brown sugar in a pan over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Stir in apple slices, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean pod and seeds.  Partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally until apples are fork-tender.  Discard vanilla pod and cinnamon stick.  Divide apples among four oven-proof bowls.

With your fingers, combine crumble ingredients, rubbing butter into other ingredients until it is evenly distributed and creates pea-sized crumbs.  Distribute crumble over bowls.  Drizzle with some of the cooking liquid and bake for 8-10 minutes until crumble is golden and apples are bubbling.  Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired.

Berry summery: berry ripple mousse

I’ve been slowly getting back to cooking. The markets are teaming with wonderful, fresh fruits. Berries have been calling my name. I've had my eye on a recipe for a blackberry ripple mousse from Michel Roux’s Eggs. When I saw fresh blackberries, raspberries and black raspberries in the Union Square farmer’s market I decided it was finally time to try the recipe. The recipe takes a bit of time as you first need to make a crème pâtissière (pastry cream) and both the crème pâtissière and the berry coulis need to be cool before the dessert is assembled. The assembled dessert then rests in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before served. None of the components is difficult to make, however, and the result is delightful. The recipe calls for blackberries but you can certainly use any berries you like – just adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of the berries.

Crème pâtissière (adapted from Eggs)

6 egg yolks
½ cup plus 2 tbsp (125 g) superfine sugar
¼ cup all purpose flour
generous 2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Combine egg yolks and one-third of the sugar in a bowl and whisk to a light ribbon consistency. Whisk in the flour.

Heat the milk and remaining sugar along with the vanilla bean in a pan. Once it comes to boil, pour it into the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Mix well and then return the mixture to the pan.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Allow mixture to bubble, still stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean.

Pour onto a half sheet pan and cover with foil (touching the crème pâtissière to prevent a skin from forming). Cool in the refrigerator.

Berry ripple mousse (from Eggs)

¾ lb blackberries or other berry (plus extra to serve if desired)
2/3 cup superfine sugar
juice of 1 lemon
generous 1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 quantity crème pâtissière
2 egg whites

Put the berries in a pan with ½ cup sugar and heat gently, stirring occasionally. When the mixture comes to a simmer, cook gently for another 10 minutes and then puree in a food processor or blender. Strain through a fine-holed sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth. Let coulis cool, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice.

Whip cream to a ribbon consistency, then fold into the cooled crème pâtissière.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl to a thick foam, then add the remaining sugar and whisk to soft peaks. Gently fold in the pastry cream mixture, without overworking.

Very delicately, mix in the cold berry coulis to create a ripple effect (note: you will likely need only a portion of the coulis.). Divide the mouse between 6 glass dishes and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Ideally serve the same day the mousse is made – the mousse does not hold up well.

Double decadent: double chocolate dulce de leche cookies

I’ve been a bit of a delinquent blogger. I’ve been felled by a particularly nasty winter cold that has kept me out of the kitchen and mostly in bed (or moping around at best!). I am finally feeling better and have been dreaming about a host of new recipes to try. These chocolate dulce de leche cookies have been on the forefront of my mind (doesn’t a cold always like something sweet?). I tried them a few different ways and I think I’ve found the way I like them best. They are inspired by alfajores, a traditional Latin American cookie.

Thanks so much for all of your comments on older posts over the past few weeks. I’ve enjoyed reading them and will try my best to respond.

Double chocolate dulce de leche cookies
(makes about 20 sandwich cookies)

Dulce de leche
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Cookies
¼ cup caster sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
4 tbs chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1/8 cup high quality cocoa powder (I love Valhrona)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tbs espresso powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup plus 2 tbs milk
Melted high-quality chocolate such as Valhrona, for coating the outside

To make the dulce de leche, place the unopened can of sweetened condensed milk on a perforated insert inside a large pot (such as a cake cooling rack or a pasta or steamer insert) and cover with water. Bring to a simmer, and simmer over medium high heat, for 2 hours, turning the can twice during cooking. Make sure the can is always covered by water. Remove can from water and let cool before opening. Be careful when opening it, as the contents will squirt out. If contents are not thick enough, continue to boil until desired consistence is reached (making sure water does not get into can).

For the cookies, combine ingredients until a ball forms. Shape into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness and cut circles out of dough using a 2-3 inch cookie cutter. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Set cooling rack over a lined half sheet pan. Spoon melted chocolate over cookies. Spread chocolate out to an even, thin layer over tops and sides using the back of a spoon (can use the spoon to make a design in the chocolate). Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.

Spread about 1 teaspoon of duce de leche onto cookies. Sandwich.

Going, going gone: passion fruit soufflé

I had a sudden urge to try something I’ve never baked before: a soufflé! I don’t know where the urge came from – it might have been Daniel Boulud’s great-sounding passion fruit soufflé recipe – or perhaps it was the fact that the wonderful Italian store in Chelsea market sells fruit purees that I have been looking for an excuse to try. In any event – I undertook what seemed like an ambitious task to bake a soufflé but it turned out to be rather easy. I had a perfectly tall soufflé out of the oven and then the real challenge – getting a photograph I liked before it was completely deflated. I had thought I might have 5 minutes or more to complete the task but I only had a few minutes – and the walk from my oven to the studio consumed at least one of those. Flicking through the images on my computer was almost like watching a flip book movie of soufflé deflation: going, going, going gone! The funny thing is that the very same week I tried this and posted the results to my flickr food photography group, two others also made soufflés and we had fun comparing results and sharing tips for how to get a good photography. Certainly, baking the soufflés in rounds so I had a number of fresh ones to work with was helpful. I am sure that there are many other tricks to employ. The soufflé discussions also lead me to an article that Helen of Tartelette wrote on soufflés for Desserts Magazine (click here and then see the article that begins on p. 104). Look how gorgeous and tantalizing her photos are! Wouldn't you like to know her mom’s recipe for cheese soufflé?
Passion fruit souffle with caramelized pear-passion sauce (by Daniel Boulud of Daniel)
(makes 4 servings)

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup passion fruit purée

For the soufflé:
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup passion fruit purée
3/4 cup egg whites (about 4 large), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

To make the sauce:
1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition, until it melts. Continue to cook until the sugar syrup turns a light golden brown.

2. Add the pear and continue to cook, while stirring, until the pears are tender and nicely caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the passion fruit purée and heat for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and keep warm while preparing the soufflés.

3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Generously butter the inside and rims of four 6-ounce soufflé dishes. Dust the insides and rims with sugar, making certain that they are thoroughly coated. Tap out the excess sugar and put the dishes on a baking sheet.

4. Whisk together the egg yolks and passion fruit purée in a large bowl until well blended; set aside.

5. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-low speed just until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the sugar, beating until the whites form glossy medium-stiff peaks. Using a large rubber spatula and a light touch, fold the meringue into the yolk mixture in three additions until well incorporated but not overmixed.

6. Fit a pastry bag with a large plain round tip and fill with the soufflé mixture. Pipe (or if you prefer spoon) the mixture into the dishes up to their rims. Run your thumb along the outside edge of the dishes to remove any excess butter and sugar. Bake the soufflés for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. If you touch the tops of the soufflés, they should be firm with centers that are still a bit jiggly.

7. Meanwhile, transfer the sauce to a warm sauceboat; keep warm.

8. When the soufflés are done, carefully pull the baking sheet from the oven. Dust the tops of the soufflés with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately with the pear-passion sauce.

Originally appeared in: Daniel's Dish: Entertaining at Home with a Four Star Chef, Daniel Boulud, Filipacchi Publishing, 2003

Absolutely out of season: Vietnamese iced coffee pops

Here’s a break from hearty winter fare, if only for a post. I have an absolutely out-of-season recipe to share (well, that is if you are in the Northern hemisphere): Vietnamese iced coffee popsicles.

Have you had Vietnamese iced coffee? I love the strong but sweet flavor and the thickness of it. It’s dessert in a drink – and even more dessert-like in a pop.

I love the way the different layers of color look as the coffee blends with sweetened condensed milk. I worked to replicate this in the pop and am happy with the way it turned out (it took a bunch of attempts, believe it or not!). The pops pack a refreshing punch after dinner, or would be perfect served as a pick-me-up at the pool. Try them and see!

Vietnamese iced coffee pops
(makes six rocket-pop sized popsicles. Easily adjusts as necessary)

3-4+ tablespoons dark roast coffee, medium ground (see link below for additional information)
2 cups boiling water
Vietnamese coffee filter (can be easily and inexpensively found on-line at stores such as this one)
One can sweetened condensed milk (typically comes in a 14 oz can)
½ cup whole milk

Place ~3 tablespoons coffee in between filter layers. Screw top down until firmly in place. Set over a heat-proof glass. Pour boiling water into filter in batches so that you end up with approximately 2 cups coffee. If coffee weakens significantly as you go along, remove grinds and replace with fresh ones.

Add sweetened condensed milk to coffee by the teaspoonful until coffee lightens a bit and is sweet enough to your taste (take care to add enough condensed milk so that the end result is more creamy than icy). This will be the first layer. You will add more condensed milk to create a sweeter and lighter layer next.

Pour enough coffee into each pop to fill the pop ~1/3 full. Place popsicle sticks in pops and freeze for a couple of hours until firm.

Meanwhile, cover and refrigerated remaining coffee and condensed milk.

Add a few more teaspoonfuls of condensed milk to coffee until coffee reaches a noticeably lighter shade.

Fill pops to ¾ or a little less full, as desired. Freeze again until solid.

Mix several tablespoons condensed milk into whole milk until milk is thick and sweet. Top popsicles off with the mixture, leaving an inch or so of popsicle stick sticking out from the top, and freeze one last time.

Unmold pops by running under warm water for a minute or two. Enjoy before they melt!

Appreciating fellow bloggers: Gourmet Girl's flourless chocolate cake

Bringing you this flourless chocolate cake was a labor of love. I made this as one of two Thanksgiving desserts with the ulterior motive of photographing it and posting the recipe for you, but of course, I ran out of time and never photographed it. Determined to share this wonderful recipe, I made it again a few days later but I thought I’d second-guess the instructions and cook it for five minutes less. When I unmolded the cake from the springform pan, it spread out into a chocolaty puddle of $25 Valrhona – becoming un-photographable and teaching me a lesson: do not second-guess the recipe (note: it still tasted great!).

A little annoyed but nevertheless still determined, I set off to make it again yesterday. This time I took my time and followed the tried and true recipe. It churned out the best version of the cake I have made yet: rich, dense and moist with a light crust on the top. It’s very sinful dessert, and one that looks more impressive than it is hard to make.

Where did I find this gem? On Gourmet Girl’s (Louisiana-based Katia Mangham) great site. It takes a lot for me to get motivated to make something I read about. I read dozens of blogs and many cooking-related magazines and have a treasure trove of recipe books. With that much fodder for culinary creativity I need to really be impressed by a new recipe for it to actually get to the top of my “to try” list. Gourmet Girl’s site always gets me. She has wonderful, unusual original recipes that are sure to be crowd pleasers. I also tried her wonderful Torta di Risso - faboo.

The only things I altered in the recipe were to remove the brandy, increase the quantity of vanilla extract to one tablespoon, and use semi-sweet chocolate for the garnish (I'm a monochromatic girl). See her original post here.

Flourless chocolate cake (from Gourmet Girl)

24 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 lb butter (3 sticks)
1/2 cup sugar
8 eggs
1/4 cup Brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz. white chocolate, melted after cake cools- for garnish

1. butter a 9" springform pan, line bottom with parchment and butter parchment. Wrap pan in aluminum foil and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F. (Cookbook Catchall note: at this point, I fill my roasting pan half full of water and allow it to preheat in the oven so that the bain marie water mentioned in step 4 is hot by the time I put the cake into it).

2. Over a bain marie, melt chocolate and butter. whisk together until smooth, then set aside to cool for a bit.

3. In a mixer bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy- about 10 minutes on high speed. Lower speed to low and gradually add chocolate mixture to eggs. Add brandy and vanilla, and mix until just incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer stand, with a rubber spatula lighlty fold batter just to be sure it's homogenized. (sometimes there is chocolate at the bottom of the bowl which has not mixed in).

4. Pour batter into springform, then place pan in a roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with hot water (I use the water use the already warm bain marie water), fill pan to half way up the saide of the springform pan. Carefully place in the oven and bake 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, unmold, drizzle white chocolate on top and serve with whipped cream and berries.

Putting out pudding (tapioca)

I've had pudding on the brain all week. I think it started with seeing this. And then searching around for puddings, I saw this and then this. I've never made Tapioca before but a simple, basic, creamy, vanilla-flavored thick pudding was just what I wanted. Did you know that tapioca is essentially pearls formed from the starch from the bitter-cassava plant? I stayed true to basics and didn't add any flavorings other than vanilla bean, although the possibilities are certainly endless, and the addition of lemon or cardamom would provide a wonderful twist. There's a lot of stirring and watching involved . . . but you can contemplate the past week, the week ahead, other dishes on the "to do list", the weather. . .

Tea-scented tea cake

I had a lovely invitation to visit a friend for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres yesterday. Rosemary is a longtime friend of my aunt’s and is now a friend of ours. She lives in a wonderful apartment on the Upper East Side and wanted to show us her great kitchen and the specialty cookbook store up the block (very dangerous: I bought two!).

I didn’t want to go empty handed, and brought along some truffle salt, which I am now in love with, and particularly like in the baked risotto dish I shared recently (coincidentally, Rosemary is making it for company this week so the timing was perfect!). I also decided to concoct a matcha tea cake, which was inspired by the different versions I’ve seen around the blogosphere lately, namely on Tartelette and 80 breakfasts. The versions I’ve seen include white chocolate, which I’m not terribly fond of, and it occurred to me that I could easily adapt the moist and marbled coffee cake that I love to create a matcha-marbled version. I love that cake for its moistness and perfect balance of sweetness: it’s a phenomenal base for any flavoring. I last used matcha to make green tea ice cream. Next, I'd like to try cookies.

The little cake, which I made in a loaf pan, was a hit. It’s not only delicious but the green marbling is quite beautiful: how perfect to perfume a tea cake with tea?

Matcha tea marbled tea cake

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons matcha powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Butter a loaf pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper that covers bottom and long sides (leave some poking up from the pan to facilitate lifting the loaf out later). Butter the parchment paper.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.

4. Portion out 1/3 of the batter into a small bowl. Mix in matcha powder, stirring well to combine.

5. Spread one-third of the plain batter into prepared pan. Use a small offset spatchula to ensure an even, flat layer. Dollop with 1/3 of matcha batter and use a spatchula to gently spread the matcha layer on the top of the other. Spread another third of the plain batter on top, followed by another third of the matcha batter. Repeat one more time so that the final layer is the rest of the matcha batter. Run a thin knife through batter to marbleize. Run spatchula over top to ensure the batter is flat in the end.

6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire cooking rack for a few minutes. Lift cake out by the parchment handles and allow to cool completely on rack.

Ah! Almost forgot: I'm submitting this to this month's "click" event, the theme of which is "au naturel." I know this image is a tad random here, but it needs to be posted to my blog!

Go ahead and blush: poached pears

It’s pear season! Passing by myriads of pears in the fruit section of Whole Foods the other day sent a strong message that it’s time for a pear recipe. “Winter pears” are harvested in the Fall before they are ripe and kept cold to stop the ripening process until they are ready to be sold. They can be kept in cold storage for up to six months, which explains why you see beautiful pears in stores for as long as you do. Pears are among my favorite fruits. I love Seckel pears in particular. They are sweet and juicy when ripe and relatively small: the perfect pear for a dessert.

Martha had a gorgeous recipe for cranberry-poached pears in the magazine a few months ago. I made a note of it and finally got around to trying it out this week, even though we’re not exactly at the height the cranberry harvest. The best thing about poaching with cranberries is that they produce beautiful, delicately rosy pears – like a child’s cheeks after a romp in the snow. The poached pear color is deeper on the outside, fading to a faint blush on the inside. The dish has just the right sweetness to make it a refreshing end to a meal without cloying in any way. If you take offence to cranberries, as I know some people do, my guess is that poaching with pomegranate seeds would yield a similar result (both in color and level of tartness). Due to the popularity of pomegranates, it’s relatively easy to find frozen seeds, which would make much quicker work of producing the poaching liquid.

I served my little pears with fromage blanc which provided a nice tart complement to the pears’ sweetness. This is a lovely little guilt-free dessert.

Cranberry-poached pears (from Martha Stewart Living)
(serves 8)

8 small pears, such as Seckel or Forelle, peeled, stems intact
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 large strip (4 to 5 inches) orange peel
1 large strip (4 to 5 inches) lemon peel
5 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 3/4 cups (10 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 tea bag, such as green tea or fruit tea
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Greek yogurt, crème fraîche, or soft goat cheese, for serving

Place pears in a saucepan large enough to hold them snugly. Add enough water to barely cover them (about 4 cups). Add sugar, cinnamon, citrus peels, honey, and lemon juice. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds into pan, and toss in pod. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat, and simmer gently until pears are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add fresh cranberries, and simmer until cranberries are soft but not mushy, about 3 minutes more.

Use a spoon to transfer pears to a dish. Spoon cranberries and syrup around pears. Add tea bag and dried cranberries if using. Let cool for 15 minutes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, remove vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, citrus peels, and tea bag. Transfer pears to plates with some of the cranberries, syrup, and a dollop of yogurt, crème fraîche, or cheese.

Sweetie sweets: chocolate truffles

I had intended to post this prior to Valentine’s day, but one thing led to another and I didn’t end up having time. Let this therefore be an idea for next year, or even better, a gift idea for a random expression of love!

I love Valentine’s day. I know some people think it’s a commercial, Hallmark holiday. Not me. I love having a day assigned to expressing and celebrating love. I don’t need flowers or presents, just an excuse to have a nice dinner date, and perhaps to bake something sweet.

Coincident with the holiday, R decided he’d like a cooking project and offered to help with whatever I had planned for the week. Perfect time to try the truffle recipe that I’ve been eyeing in the Tartine cookbook I blogged about here. The recipe looked simple enough, and contains very few ingredients, all of which I had on hand (except of course the pretty little boxes and wrappers that truffles demand). One of the nicest things about the recipe is that it’s basic. No exotic flavors. No lavender. No cardamom. Just chocolate. That’s just the way I like my chocolate: pure and unadulterated.

The truffles were divine. Smooth, silky and creamy. As I am writing this I had to jump up and pop one in my mouth as just thinking about it made me want one immediately!

The recipe suggests that you allow the chocolate mixture to cool and firm up, and then pipe it into inch thick logs on a baking sheet, allow it to firm more in the refrigerator, and then cut the logs into inch pieces that you roll in your palms to get an uneven ball. All of that is well and good, except if your baking partner falls asleep after they’ve been put into the refrigerator, and you lose track of time. If left to cool too long, you risk ending up with logs that are too firm to be coaxed into balls. I was on the verge of the point of no return when I rescued them. I used a couple of paper towels and my fingertips (vs. my palms) to roll them since the heat of my hands started to make them melt on the outside. The paper towel looked like evidence that a chocolate murder had occurred, but it worked. You can skip the piping method altogether and just scoop balls out of the firm truffle mixture. This would probably result in more even, less traditionally shaped truffles, but I might try that method the next time out of convenience.

Save this for next year or use this as an excuse to spread the love any time!

P.s. I am helping a friend with a photo collaboration project (Sea and Sky Journal) this week (My involvement started yesterday). It's a daily diptych using one of her photos, and one of someone else's (unplanned). It's pretty neat. To check it out, click here.

Chocolate Truffles (from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson)
(yield: about 60 1-inch truffles)

1 lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup cocoa powder

Place chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the cream and corn syrup and heat to just under a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula in a circular motion until the chocolate has melted. Add the butter and stir until it is incorporated. Let the mixture firm up in a cool place until it can be piped from a pastry bag. The amount of time for the mixture to become firm depends on how cool the room is. Or, place in the refrigerator to speed the process.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Transfer the contents of the bowl to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (no 6 or 7) plain tip. Pipe out long logs abut 1 inch wide. Place in the refrigerator and chill well, about 1 hour. If you don't have a pastry bag and tip, you can leave the mixture in the bowl in the refrigerator until well chilled.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and cut logs crosswise into pieces about 1 inch long. Roll each piece between your palms into an irregularly shaped truffle. If you have left the mixture in the bowl, use a small scoop or spoon to scoop out each truffle and then roll between your palms. Once the truffles are shaped, place the cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and roll each truffle in the cocoa, coating evenly.

The truffles will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Time to make the donuts: Italian Zeppole

I was so excited when I saw that Tartelette and Culinary Concoctions by Peabody were hosting "Time to Make the Donuts," a donut blogging event. After all, what a great excuse to make the universally crowd pleasing fried goodie! What's more, it gave me a great opportunity to go back and revisit a very old post and update it with new photos and thoughts. Thanks, guys, for justifying frying up a batch of these sweet treats!

Every culture has it's own take on fried dough. In Italy, it's Zeppole, which is traditionally served for St. Joseph's day in March. For more about the history and tradition read here. Zeppole can be filled with custard, or a honey mixture or can be unfilled. There's a version that is made with ricotta cheese that is next on my list. There is also a savory variety that incorporates anchovy. Zeppole are typically rolled in powdered sugar and / or cinnamon once cooked. They are light and airy, and about two inches in diameter.

The recipe that I've used many times is from Giada De Laurentiis. The batter is simple and fool-proof and can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes. There's no waiting, refrigerating, rising, or pastry bags involved. The tricks are to use a tablespoon-sized ice cream scoop to measure out equal portions of dough, and to fry the zeppole in small batches of 4-6 (depending on your pot size) so as not to overcrowd your pan and lower the temperature of the oil. The only adjustment I make (noted below) is to add vanilla extract to the batter and, if you like, some grated lemon zest. These must be eaten right away. The batter can be prepared ahead and you can fry them right before serving.


Zeppole (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)
(yield: 4-6 servings)

1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 stick butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Optional: 3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2+ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Olive oil, for frying

Cut open the vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the back of a knife, scrape along the inside of the vanilla bean to collect the seeds. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a small bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return pan to the heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Add vanilla extract and / or lemon zest if using. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of two inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F (watch the temperature as you fry and adjust heat accordingly to maintain 375 F).

Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil, frying in batches. The zeppole will immediately float to the top and puff up. Turn the zeppole once or twice with the size of a slotted spoon, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes (watch constantly as cooking time might also be quite a bit shorter). Drain on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon-sugar. Arrange on a platter (or in a cone) and serve immediately.

"No ice cream maker" green tea ice cream

I think I broke some kind of cooking record this week. I made the same recipe four times. Green tea ice cream. The first time I made it, it was so good I wished I had made more. I also couldn't believe how easy it was, and that it did not require an ice cream maker. I found the recipe in one of my new Harumi cookbooks, and I had all the ingredients on hand (eggs, sugar, milk, cream) except for the matcha powder, which was easy enough to find. I've never cooked with matcha powder before. It's a very fine powder similar in consistency to talc and is made from dried, de-stemmed, de-veined, stone-ground green tea leaves. It's so delicate that you worry that one wrong breath will send it flying across the room in a green cloud.

I just had to see if I could improve upon the recipe by using high-quality, high fat, heavy cream and milk, and whether it would make a difference if I processed the ice cream in an ice cream maker. When I switched from conventional store-bought milk and cream to Ronnybrook heavy cream and creamline milk (not ultra-pasteurized and not homogenized, high in fat). I got a very creamy ice cream, but it was very soft even after freezing for a day. I did some research and found this article on David Lebovitz' blog that explains the higher the fat content, the softer the ice cream. Surprisingly, I would rather have harder ice cream at the expense of less creaminess (and it was wonderfully creamy the first time around anyway) and would stick to the conventional milk and cream.

Processing it in an ice cream maker, which is supposed to make lighter and creamer ice cream, did not seem to change the texture, but it did make things marginally easier. When making ice cream in the freezer, you have to vigorously stir the ice cream every couple of hours to break up any ice particles that form to ensure maximum creaminess. This is simple, but requires some monitoring. Apparently, custard-based ice creams can easily be made without an ice cream maker. I might not do it this way every time, but it was kinda fun and low tech in a refreshing sort of way.

I loved the recipe and might only make a couple of modifications: 1) heat the milk/cream/sugar/egg mixture over low heat (being careful to not let it come to a boil) until it coats the back of a spoon - most of the other recipes I looked at incorporate this step which gives a little peace of mind about ensuring the eggs are cooked (if, like me, you are concerned about this sort of thing), and thickens it, and 2) strain that mixture through a fine sieve before adding in the lightly whipped cream to make sure it's perfectly smooth.

Another tip I learned is to chill the final mixture in the refrigerator for an hour or two before freezing it. A cooler mixture will freeze much more quickly.


Green tea ice cream (adapted from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking)
(recipe says it serves four but I would double the quantity for four)

2 tablespoons green tea powder (matcha)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream

1. In a small bow, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks and remaining sugar.

3. Pour the milk into a small pan and gently heat taking care not to let it boil (ideally the temperature of the milk should be 176 degrees F). Remove the from the heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder and sugar in a small bowl. When you have a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolk mixture.

4. Return mixture to the stove and heat slowly over low heat (taking care to not let the mixture boil), until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine sieve, and allow to cool completely.

5. Lightly whip the cream and then add it to the cold green tea-milk mixture.

6. Transfer the mixture to a large container and [chill for an hour or two in the refrigerator] and then put it in the freezer. As ice crystals start to form, remove, and mix well with a spoon (use a wooden spoon and stir very vigorously) to break them up and return the mixture to the freezer. Repeat this a few times as it freezes to ensure that the ice cream is smooth.

Daring Bakers Challenge: lemon meringue pie

Last time, I swore I would not leave this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge to the last minute. But, here I am on posting day finishing up my lemon meringue pie! Argh! There’s always next month!

This month’s challenge is hosted by Jen at The Canadian Baker. It’s a classic lemon meringue pie from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver, 2002. In the interest of full disclosure, I am neither a fan of lemon curd nor a fan of meringue so this was not a challenge of the heart but rather a challenge of the head. For me, the interesting part of this recipe was the meringue. The dough was classic and straightforward to make, the curd was a cinch and cooled to a wonderful, firm consistency. But the meringue! I’ve made meringue before so it was not the meringue itself that was a challenge but rather preventing it from shrinking after baking or sweating/weeping and becoming a messy puddle on top of the lemon curd. I didn’t realize this would be so tricky until I read about the experiences other Daring Bakers were having with the recipe on the group’s private blog.

I did a little research on this issue and it appears to be a common lemon meringue pie challenge. There are several ways to address it. Read here for a comprehensive explanation.

1. Make sure sugar is fully dissolved in the meringue (sugar attracts moisture): use superfine sugar which is more easily dissolved and test to make sure its dissolved by feeling meringue between your fingers before you stop whipping
2. Add a cornstarch and water mixture to the meringue after the sugar is incorporated to help stabilize the meringues (see link for specifics)
3. Always pile meringue onto piping hot, not cooled, curd/cream so that bottom layer of the meringue is sufficiently cooked by the residual heat from the filling
4. Be careful not to over bake or under bake the meringue (when egg whites are baked too long they begin to tighten and squeeze out moisture)
5. Make sure the meringue is layered all the way over the edge of the pie so that it forms a tight seal: putting the meringue on the pie from the outside in helps in this regard
6. Allow the pie to cool gradually after baking: leave pie to cool in the oven, door open

We are not permitted to deviate from the host’s recipe so I only went as far as to make sure my curd was hot before I put the meringue on it and it seemed to help. I will definitely experiment with the other tricks above next time as I saw consistent advice throughout the web. Note: I made one large lemon meringue pie and then couldn't resist making a small one with the remaining dough (using a mini tart pan). The mini version was adorable and makes a wonderful individual-sized dessert.

Thanks, Jen, for the challenge. I learned a lot and it was fun!
Lemon Meringue Pie (from Wanda's Pie in the Sky)
(Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie)

For the Crust:

¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:

2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar
(note: see link above for optional corn starch addition to help stabilize the meringue)

For the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature (note: advise not cooling the filling based on what I've read about meringue. Make the meringue before the filling cools or keep the filling in a small pan and re-heat once the meringue is ready).

For the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Grown up graham crackers

I find homemade, wholesome versions of classic packaged foods to be quite charming. For example, a homemade Hostess cupcake or homemade macaroni and cheese always delights. Along these lines, I was struck by a random craving for graham crackers last week and set off to see if there was a recipe out there. It was with complete delight that I found a version on 101coobooks from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery (Hardcover) and a take on the same recipe from JenJen of Milk and Cookies. As Heidi so aptly describes, these homemade graham crackers taste just like the real thing – only better: they are buttery and full of honey and vanilla and have just the right texture and crisp.

I was surprised that the recipe did not contain any graham flour that I figured was the reason for its name. Apparently that was originally the case, but the modern day recipe has departed from the original version developed in 1822 in Bound Brook, New Jersey, by Presbyterian minister Reverend Sylvester Graham. The original cracker was conceived as a health food and contained graham flour and considerably less sweeteners than the cookie we know of. In fact, Reverend Graham was the founder of an entire diet known as the Graham Diet that was meant to suppress “unhealthy carnal urges”, of which “Graham Bread” (as it was then known) played a part. For more information, read here.

Back to the sinful variety. The recipe is very straightforward and is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone with whom you share the end result. Be warned, however, it requires a bit of patience. While there’s very little active time, the dough must be chilled twice and the hand-scoring of a line down the middle and pricking of the decorative dots that are so clearly associated with a graham cracker take time. It’s definitely worth the effort, however.

I tried the recipe twice. The first time I followed the baking instructions precisely (and dipped the finished cookie in tempered semi-sweet chocolate to coat half). I rolled the dough a little too thick considering the surprising amount it rose in the oven and also found the 4 x 4.5 inch size to be a little too big. The second time, I used a 3x3 square cookie cutter and took care to roll the dough as thinly as possible. The result was a crisper, more manageable cookie. Watch the baking time – the thin ones cook slightly faster than the 25 minutes called for in the recipe.

I of course had to make a few s’mores – who can eat a graham cracker without the fixins’? (although I promise, plain is just as good!)

Graham Crackers (from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery (Villard, 2000) reprinted from 101cookbooks.
Yield: 10 large crackers (or 24 smaller crackers if you follow my method for cutting the crackers described above)

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover (CC note: this is an important element: use high-quality honey)
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and re-roll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

A bit of sunshine in the winter: lemon cake

I’ve been looking back through the archives at posts from the very beginning of the blog. They are somewhat dreadful. Some don’t have photographs and others have photographs that are sorely lacking. I didn’t really write much about the dish or the context, mostly just posted the recipe.

When I first started blogging, I did it more to record and organize my recipes and learn about blogging than to really explore and share my culinary experiences. As time went on, I started to really enjoy writing about food and exchanging thoughts and reactions with other bloggers and blog readers. I then really stepped back to think about what it is that I love about food and cooking and realized it’s both the chemistry and art of combining ingredients and creating a dish, and the aesthetics of food that I love: the colors, textures and scale of the dish and the way it is presented at the table. I enjoy art and design as much as I enjoy food, and for me, both are critical to creating something that’s appetizing and memorable. This naturally gave rise to an intense interest in photography, and capturing the beauty in a dish, a table setting, and a scene.

Now that I am approaching blogging with a different angle, I’m going to periodically revisit some of my earlier posts and fill in some of the gaps. The first is one of my favorite go-to cakes, The Barfoot Contessa’s lemon cake. It seems appropriate to revisit this sunny little cake in the midst of winter! This cake is characteristically over-the-top: it’s soaked in a lemon syrup and has a sweet lemon icing on the top. What’s great about it is that given all of the moisture in the cake, it keeps very nicely and is also works pre-sliced and wrapped if you need something that fits that bill. I saw this prepared on one of The Barefoot Contessa’s shows about picnic food, and she prepared and served individually-sized portions of all of her picnic dishes (including the cake) in Chinese takeout cartons – it was a very cute and practical idea.

Lemon cake (From Barefoot Contessa Parties, courtesy of the Food Network)
Yield: 2 (8-inch) loaves

For the cake and lemon syrup
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.
Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.