Tag Archives: dessert

Rhubarb Cake with Crystallized Ginger Crumb

Remember when my backyard rhubarb was barely poking its head up through the ground? I was happy to see the first signs of spring, sure, and new life unfurling is always inspiring, yada yada, but really? I was excited because I was already thinking about this cake.

It’s sweet and light, with barely-tart shards of rhubarb nestled in every bite. It’s topped with a crystallized ginger crumb that gives it a bit of a coffee cake appearance, which lets you get away with serving it for breakfast. (I’ve never understood why topping a sugary cake with MORE sugar makes it into breakfast fare, but I’m not complaining.) It’s a family favorite.

This recipe comes from Rustic Fruit Desserts, a book by Portland baker Julie Richardson and chef Cory Schreiber. If you don’t have it already, you might want to run out and get it right now. I know I’ll be using my copy all summer. Continue reading Rhubarb Cake with Crystallized Ginger Crumb (click for recipe)

A One Year Old’s First Birthday Cake, or, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Our baby is one!

We’ve had her in our lives for a whole year. And what a year the first year of life is! A baby grows from a shapeless, snuggly bundle of tiny fingers, big eyes, and warmth into a little person who can play peekaboo and demand bananas. It’s been a good year.

A birthday, at our house, calls for a cake. I know there are birthday-pie people and people who think one-year-olds shouldn’t eat sugar (they probably shouldn’t), and we aren’t even really cake people so much but…. Birthday. So cake. I have made this same cake for all three of my little ones’ first birthdays. Here it is.

You can think of this particular cake in two ways. If you want to feel virtuous, you can describe it as a tender, butter-free whole wheat cake, glazed with a maple-sweetened cream cheese frosting, chock full of carrots and tinted pink with beet. If you want to feel honest, you can describe it as a total sugarbomb of a cake, well-suited to any celebratory occasion.

In the past, I’ve grated a beet and squeezed it in cheesecloth to use as pink food coloring. This time, I came across powdered dried beet at my spice shop and gratefully took that less-messy route. I bought about a quarter cup of the stuff. Achieving the magnificently pink hue below required half a teaspoon. Oops. Does anyone need some powdered beet? What should I do with the rest? Continue reading A First Birthday Cake, or, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (click for recipe)

Bittersweet Chocolate and Dried Apricot Cookies

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There has long been a sweet little cafe in Seattle called Macrina Bakery. It has a few outposts now, and any of them are fortunate places to find yourself at lunchtime or when you need an afternoon pick-me-up. Or for breakfast, of course. Or whenever. Freshly baked breads, good coffee, great pastries, a handful of equally decadent savory options to round out the offerings. And lucky for us, they published a cookbook.

I was in search of a unique chocolate chip cookie. Do yourself a favor and don’t waste time idly Google-ing “unique chocolate chip cookie.” Sometimes the internet is useful, and sometimes it’s not. I needed a cookbook.

My cookbook collection is largely geared toward the savory side of life, it turns out. What are your favorite baking books? I picked up one of the few I own, Leslie Mackie’s Macrina cookbook, and luckily it came through for me.

Chopped bittersweet chocolate and dried apricots certainly contribute generously to this cookie’s appeal. But there’s another deeper, darker secret: the mere half teaspoon of finely ground espresso. It lends a rich, difficult-to-place depth to the cookie’s flavor, firmly cementing its status as THE unique chocolate chip cookie I was looking for.

One friendly tip. The recipe instructs you to chill the dough before baking it. That is not the kind of thing I like to do. If you know me, you know that I do everything at the last minute, which means that when I make cookies they are going straight into the oven because I need them to be ready ten minutes from now. But in the spirit of experimentation, I also set aside a bit of dough and baked it the next day. The cookies were even better. The flavor was a bit more caramelized, deeper. The original cookies were good. The chilled batch was amazing.

So hey, what’s your favorite baking book? I like easy, unfussy, not insanely decadent. I can certainly recommend the Macrina cookbook (and not just on the strength of this recipe; I’ve made some others, and had still others made for me, all great). I also love Rustic Fruit Desserts, by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, and I am looking forward to pulling that one out more come summertime.

Bittersweet Chocolate and Dried Apricot Cookies: In a large bowl, combine 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. finely ground espresso beans, 10 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate, and 3/4 c. finely diced unsulfured dried apricots. Cream 8 oz. (2 sticks) butter with 3/4 c. granulated sugar and 3/4 c. light brown sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla, scraping down the bowl as you go. Add half of dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, then add other half and repeat. Refrigerate the dough for one hour (or up to 4 days) if you can possibly wait. Roll into 1″ balls, flatten slightly, and bake 8-10 minutes on parchment-lined sheets at 350, until the edges are golden brown.

Hazelnut Tea Cookies

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Sometimes you just need a little something sweet. Friends or neighbors stopping by? Late night and no dessert in the house? Feels like a milk-and-cookies afternoon? These cookies have you covered. They’re quick to make, but try to let them cool for a few minutes after they come out of the oven. You’ll be rewarded with a crispy edge to contrast with the rich, chewy, nut-studded center.

You can choose to add a bit of chopped bittersweet chocolate to this dough, of course. And chocolate is always good in chocolate’s own way, but omitting the chocolate really lets the hazelnut flavor shine. Or–go crazy–make them with another nut, your favorite. (What IS your favorite? I have a hard time deciding.) Whatever you choose, you’ll want to use good nuts here, so taste them before you buy them if possible. Here in Seattle, I buy Holmquist Orchards Dry Roasted Hazelnuts at my farmers’ market. They’re also available at the Pike Place Market (every day except Tuesdays) and by mail.

Continue reading Hazelnut Tea Cookies (click for recipe)

Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins

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The other day I came across this list of common cooking mistakes, several of which apply specifically to healthy cooking techniques. Guess which ones I make? I’ll give you a clue: most of them have to do with trying to speed through the cooking process when a bit of patience is warranted. Like here. See tip No. 7: overheating milk can cause it to curdle. So take it slow when you make this rice pudding. Or use cream.

And in another classic do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do move, I’m going to advise you to reheat any leftovers of this dish gently for breakfast, thinning with a little milk if necessary. But then I will admit to you that I couldn’t wait and just scooped a bowl cold from the fridge, and that wasn’t half bad either. Continue reading Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins (click for recipe)

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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First off, before we go any further, I want you to know that I do not delude myself into thinking that a sugar-filled, buttery, chocolate-laden cookie becomes health food when I make it with whole wheat flour. And I will also tell you something else: these cookies are good. The whole wheat flour gives them a nutty flavor and deep color. The butter gives them a crispy edge. And the chocolate chips anchor them firmly in the realm of kid-friendly cookies.

I had never made a bar cookie before tonight but I think they have won my heart. No rolling, no cutting, no shaping, no scooping, no baking of multiple batches because I had to spread the cookies out on multiple cookie sheets. This is pure, streamlined cookie production. The only downside is that the bars in the middle of the pan don’t have a crisp edge, so if you are an edge person you may want to take that into consideration and shape cookies instead.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: In a medium bowl, combine 3 c. whole wheat flour (I used Nash’s soft white whole wheat flour, but I have also used regular whole wheat flour, which comes out tasting a little whole-wheat-ier; I like both), 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt. In a mixer, combine 2 sticks cold butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces with 1 c. dark brown sugar and 3/4 c. granulated sugar* and mix on low speed for a minute or two to integrate the butter and sugar. Mix in two eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in a cup and a half of semisweet chocolate chips (or 8 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate, see below). Butter a large rimmed baking sheet (mine is 12×17) and spread the dough evenly across it. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until the center is just set. Remove from oven and allow the tray to cool completely, then cut the cookies into bars.

*The original recipe, from Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain cookbook, calls for 1 c. granulated sugar and bittersweet instead of semisweet chocolate. I used what I had, but if you have bittersweet chocolate I think it would be great, and you might choose to use the larger measure of sugar with it.

If you prefer to have a few freshly-baked cookies at a time, I’ve had good luck rolling the dough into balls and freezing them on a tray, then moving them to a freezer bag once they are frozen solid. Bake them without defrosting; it will take a minute or two longer than usual.

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

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Shutterbean recently posted this Real Simple recipe for an Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. And I was torn. Chocolate and Earl Grey? Yes. Dreamy combination. But Real Simple? Not for me. I sometimes want to buy it off a magazine rack, sure, because who wouldn’t want to “Organize Your Whole Life in 15 Minutes” or learn “25 Fast Healthy Breakfast Ideas You’ve Never Thought Of Before”? But those are false promises, or at most two-page spreads, and when I have actually purchased the magazine I have come away with the feeling that it was really just trying to sell me cleaning products all along. And I don’t really like to clean.

Luckily, I didn’t let my issues outweigh my love of cake. Because this is a good one. I love a chocolatey chocolate cake, which this is not. (For a moist, delicious, super chocolatey cake, bake these Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes as a cake instead.) This Earl Grey Chocolate Cake has a lighter chocolate flavor, which is a good thing (weird! I know!), because it allows the tea to come through. The Earl Grey flavor is subtle, but definitely noticeable. Intriguing.

The bundt pan that I dug out of the back of my cupboard gave the cake an irresistable chewy-crisp edge. If you’re a middle-of-the-brownie-pan kind of person instead, don’t worry, all but a few millimeters of the cake is fine-crumbed and moist. (But oh! Those few millimeters! If you are an edge-of-the-brownie-pan kind of person, you will love that edge.) The bundt pan also made J refer to me (fondly, I think) as a Midwestern housewife. If you live in the Midwest, do you make a lot of bundt cakes? I think that is a lifestyle I could definitely embrace.

I enjoyed making Earl Grey Chocolate Cake in part because you mix everything in one bowl, so it required relatively little cleanup (see above re whether I like to clean). Boil a cup of water and infuse it for 3-5 minutes with 6 Earl Grey tea bags or 2 Tbsp. loose Earl Grey tea, then set the tea aside. Spray a bundt or tube pan and set it aside. Melt and cool 4 oz. semisweet chocolate.* In your mixing bowl, cream 1/2 c. softened butter with 1 3/4 c. sugar, then mix in 3 eggs. Mix in the melted chocolate. Continue to mix while adding 2 c. all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 c. plain yogurt and that strong cup of Earl Grey tea. Scoop the cake batter into your pan. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 or until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs (rather than raw cake batter) attached. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pan. Cool, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

*The original recipe called for 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate and 2 c. sugar, but I didn’t have unsweetened chocolate. Make it easy, use what you have on hand.

A Child’s Sugar Cookie

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Valentines Day didn’t go exactly as planned this year. So we put off making our usual heart-shaped cookies until everyone was well enough to be allowed back into the kitchen. It’s never the wrong day to celebrate with pink heart cookies, I say.

I love this recipe for two reasons. First, the dough is extremely easy to work with. Kids can roll it, cut it, move the cookies, re-roll the scraps, and start again. It isn’t fussy at all. Second, the recipe came to me from my mom’s good friend, who got it from her “Mumsy” decades ago, and you know those recipes are always the best. The recipe came labeled: “A Child’s Cookie: stands up to rough handling by kids.” And indeed it does.

Sugar Cookies: Cream 1/2 c. butter with 1 c. sugar. Stir in 2 beaten eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add 2 1/2 c. flour mixed with 2 tsp. baking powder and mix well. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to several days. Roll out to 1/8-1/4″ thick, using a little more flour if the dough is sticky (thicker cookies will be softer, thinner will be crisper). Cut out shapes and bake at 350 on an ungreased cookie sheet. Baking time will vary according to thickness, but start checking them after 6 minutes and remove from oven before they start to brown. Cool on a wire rack. We decorated ours with colored sugar and sprinkles before baking, but of course you can frost these and decorate them once they’re baked. Or leave them plain–you can never go wrong turning plain thin cookies into Nutella Sandwich Cookies.

Say What You Mean With Homemade Conversation Hearts

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I have to start with a few confessions here. One: This may be the farthest thing from “real food” that will ever grace these pages. Two: Making homemade conversation hearts is about ten times more cutesy than I am in real life. Three: Even though I’m trying to play it cool, I secretly had so much fun making these with my three year old.

There are, I suppose, a few good reasons to make your own Valentines Day conversation hearts, especially if you happen to have time to kill and an enormous quantity of powdered sugar on your hands. The boxed kind have no fewer than five unrecognizable ingredients. They taste awful. And they say things like “text me” these days. Wouldn’t you rather personalize yours with a message like “Marry Me” or “I think we should just be friends”?Easy peasy. Enter homemade conversation hearts. I have quite a fondness for the CakeSpy cookbook Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life, which inspired this wacky project. And it was easier than I thought it would be.

Please note that if you are going to get crazy and make these, you should start ASAP. The hearts need to dry for 24 hours before you can write on them.

DIY Conversation Hearts start with a small bowl, in which you combine 1/2 c. water, 2 tsp. light corn syrup, and 1/4 oz. powdered gelatin. Whisk well, microwave for 30 seconds, then whisk well again. Dump mixture into the bowl of your mixer with 1 c. powdered sugar (in case you’re shopping, I used almost 2 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar in all). Turn mixer on low and slowly incorporate 2 lbs. powdered sugar, scraping the bowl down occasionally. Turn your sticky dough out onto a surface heavily dusted with MORE powdered sugar and knead like bread dough, adding more powdered sugar as you go, until the dough is satiny rather than sticky.

Divide the dough into as many colors as you want, and knead a few drops each of food coloring and flavoring (I used almond extract) into each ball. This step is messy; I lined my counter with parchment paper to avoid staining. I also added more powdered sugar as I worked in the liquid color and flavor.

Roll the dough out 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Use heart -shaped cutters (I used a set of fondant cutters) to make tiny or almost-tiny hearts. (Smaller = more realistic. Bigger = easier to write on.) Pinch the scraps back together and re-roll. The original recipe said it would make 100 hearts, but it actually made a gazillion. Really. More than 500.

Let the hearts dry on parchment paper for 24 hours, then use food coloring markers (like Gourmet Writer Food Pens) to ink the hearts with Valentines messages that express your own true self. If that means writing “text me,” so be it–at least the recipient will know that you really mean it.

My Favorite Recipes: January 2012

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Don’t worry if you’ve missed a post or two this month, or been torn by so many options–in no particular order, these recipes have been my January favorites.

Zippy Noodle Curry with Tofu, Sweet Potatoes, and Chard