Maple Sugar

Florida pie!

Sooooo sorry I am a day late in posting this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. You'll have to excuse me...I was on vacation...in Florida! I was so excited to see Diane's pick for this week, because I knew I would be at the beach with Manley's family and was planning to make whatever it was for them. Needless to say, it was perfect.

I didn't do anything special, I went straight by the book, and we all loved it. In fact, I really loved it. My mother-in-law and I stood in the kitchen and ate coconut cream for a while, my new favorite thing. I love key lime pie anyway, and this will have to replace the old standard as my go-to recipe. I can't wait to go look at yours now!

1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

Magic City

Last weekend we went to Birmingham for this sweet girl's baby shower and to spend some time with my parents, who live there. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love Birmingham. Especially sun-drenched, after-the-storm, raindrops-still-glittering on the azaleas Birmingham. It's just so pretty.

And my mother's yard is like a tropical vacation, so we dined alfresco on the simplest of suppers.

And Manley, the mixology master, made major mojitos with mom's mint. Hahaha!

And I tried out the vanilla rum cake in Dorie's book, and it was scrumptious, although if somebody picks it for Tuesdays with Dorie I will probably quadruple the amount of rum syrup and really drench the thing.

I'll be in Destin, Florida until next week so I'll be taking a blog break for a few days. Have a happy weekend!

Peanut Butter Torte

I know, I know...I blatantly and shamelessly copied the clever and creative bloggers that photoshop the title of the dessert on their photos but it looked like so much fun! I'm sorry...I promise it was just this one time!

(embarrassing.)

But, the Peanut Butter Torte. It was chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food for this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie. It was really fun to make and it is a STUNNER! This baby would be gorgeous in a display case...it looks so tempting and sinful, really. I could see it being a huge crowd pleaser, too. But if I'm being honest... I have to say it wasn't my personal favorite. I really value the highest quality ingredients in the foods I cook and bake, and unnatural peanut butter and Oreos don't really make my heart flutter.

HOWEVER... I just got off the phone with the family I babysit for, who are all chowing down on it as I type and they LOVE it! So, it's definitely a hit :)

Peanut Butter Torte

1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)

24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender

½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Small pinch of salt

2 ½ c. heavy cream

1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)

2 tablespoons whole milk

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish the Torte:

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.

When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

No-knead magic

No doubt all of you, by now, have been clued in to Jim Lahey's famous, miraculous no-knead bread. Since the article was published I have seen maybe a hundred blog posts and spin-off articles about it (most recently it was featured in the Spring '08 Williams-Sonoma catalouge. What!?) But just in case you haven't, this is my contribution to the phenomenon.

The thing is, this bread is delicious. Incredibly so...delicious slathered in butter and jam for breakfast, delicious sopping up fruity olive oil at dinner, just delicious. And it always turns out perfect. And the variations are endless. You just add whatever in in the first step, when you mix it all together. My current favorite right now is orange zest, chopped walnuts, and a big spoonful of wildflower honey. Some others I like are:

Black pepper and grated parmesan
Dried cherries and pecans
Lemon zest and Rosemary
Chopped dried figs and shaved parmesan

If you have never made bread, in fact...especially if you have never made bread, why don't you give this a try? One thing I should mention: you do have to have a cast-iron or enamel cast-iron dutch oven with a lid. And it can't be too huge or the bread will spread out too flat. Mine is 2 3/4 qt. But it always works, and it couldn't be easier or more impressive. Bring it to your next dinner party. Let me know how it goes!

No-Knead Bread

3 cups flour (I always use two cups of all-purpose, one cup of whole wheat. And really, I know it's better for you...but mostly I just do it for the depth of flavor it adds)
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 tsp. salt
cornmeal as needed

In large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and whatever add-ins you like. Add 1 5/8 cups warm water (like a baby's bathwater!) stir until blended (dough will be shaggy and sticky). Cover with plastic wrap, and let dough rest at warm room temperature until surface is dotted with bubbles, 12-18 hours.

(I make mine in the evening and bake it first thing in the morning. Soooooo cinchy.)

Place dough on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with flour, fold over onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely, let rest 15 minutes.

Using very little flour, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat smooth cotton towel (I use flour sack towles) with cornmeal. Put dough, seam side down, on towel, dust with more cornmeal. Cover with other end of towel, let rise for about 2 hours.

At least 30 minutes before dough is ready, put a cast-iron dutch oven in oven, preheat to 450 degrees. When dough is ready, turn it out, seam side up, into pot. It will totally look like a mess but that's okay! Cover with lid, bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 15-30 minutes more, until loaf is browned. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Wedding season

If you know me, or if you followed me over from my old blog, you know that the last few years of my life have been spent making wedding cakes. It feels really weird for it to be Spring and to not be making wedding cakes. And then the new Martha Stewart Weddings comes out, and I want to cry! So I thought I would take a few nostalgic moments to reminisce about my favorite MSW cakes throughout the years.

The one up top? My all-time favorite. Cake. Ever. I am so partial to pastel cakes, especially pink and yellow pastel cakes, and the squiggle piping makes my heart flutter.

This one. If I remember correctly from that issue, the blue meringue buttercream was flecked with
vanilla bean seeds, creating a perfectly speckled robin's egg effect. Adorable!

I've always thought this would be so sweet as a groom's cake, especially in the winter. I believe the cake is devil's food, and the different buttercreams are vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. Served with coffee, scrumptious.

These are new this year, but I love them. All of them. Together, at one wedding. Don't you agree?

And finally, this cherry-almond marzipan one. Classic flavor combination, filled with jam and buttercream. Delicious!

All images from Martha Stewart Weddings

Carrot cake!

Today I made the Carrot cake that Amanda from Slow Like Honey (love her blog!) chose for this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie, and today is my mother's birthday! So I am considering this her birthday cake. The best part is...she will be here in two days to visit. Sorry I had to cut a slice of it for pictures, mom...but the rest is yours. Happy Birthday, I love you so much and can't wait to see you!

So...the cake! Nice recipe, I liked it a lot. I loved the lemon juice in the cream cheese frosting. I have never done that before, but I really liked the way it tempered the richness of the cream cheese and butter. The only issue I had with the recipe was one I encounter all too often: the frosting recipe doesn't make enough to properly frost a layer cake, with ample filling and a crumb coat. I often end up making two or three times the recipe...this time was no exception. I am curious...did any of you have the same problem?

I followed directions almost exactly. The only substitution I made was currants instead of raisins or cranberries. I did sprinkle dessicated coconut in between the layers. I can't wait to see all of your cakes...Tuesdays with Dorie is so much fun!

Edit: When I go back and look at the recipe, I realize the sides weren't even intended to be frosted, so the amount of frosting in the recipe is probably just perfect. Sorry Dorie!
Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

sweet

This weekend...cofee in bed, with books. This morning...found out one of my best friends is moving back to Nashville. Thank goodness. This afternoon...working on the carrot cake for tomorrow.

Life is pretty sweet right now.

Prize-winning tart!

There is something kind of irresistable and just so sweet about a prize-winning dessert at a county fair! So when deciding what to make for tonight's dinner party, I couldn't pass up this sweetie. It is the first place winner from the Valley Home Strawberry Recipe Contest, by Virginia Barrett (recipe from Local Table). And it is fabulous!

Crust:
28 chocolate cream-filled cookies (I used Newman-O's)
1 small package chopped pecans, crushed
4 T. melted butter
Finely crush together cookies and pecan until crumbs begin to hold together. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate.

Filling:
1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
2/3 c. heavy cream
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
a nice handful of fresh strawberries

Sprinkle gelatin over cream in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add gelatin mixture; beat until smooth. Transfer to saucepan. Add white baking chocolate and cook, stirring over medium heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes. Pour into tart crust and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Garnish with strawberries, chocolate curls and fresh mint sprigs.

Enjoy!

Mint chocolate dipped Marshmallows!

My first Tuesdays with Dorie challenge...and I had no idea it would be this much fun! Thank you, Judy for picking marshmallows, something I never would have made on my own. I hate marshmallows! (Okay, truth be told...I hate store bought marshmallows. I pretty much hate store-bought anything, I'm a snob.) It turns out homemade ones aren't so bad...dipped in dark scharffen berger chocolate melted with a drop of peppermint oil to temper the sugary sweetness of the fluff, they were actually kind of delicious!

I can't wait to see everyone else's. Go check them out too! Supposedly Mary made seven different flavors...told you she was creative!

(Oh, and as far as the technicalities of the recipe...everything worked really well. I couldn't quite bring myself to use corn syrup, so I substituted honey. It didn't seem to make much of a difference...and no real honey flavor in the end. Very fun to make!)

Puff pastry 101

Fanny at Foodbeam has really done it this time! This is one of my favorite blogs (and she absolutely tops the list of "blog friends I want to meet in real life!"). Please, everyone...rush to see her fabulous puff pastry tutorial. The photos, with overlaid doodle-y drawings are beyond adorable and the detailed step-by-step information is priceless. (Warning for American home bakers...it is all in proper weight measurements, so you will need a scale...which I would definitely recommend for baking anyway if you don't already use one.)

Enjoy!