Valentine’s Day: hearts and flowers and chocolate covered strawberries! This year I decided to see if I could capture all the goodness of a chocolate covered strawberry in a cake. Layers of strawberry flavored cake, luscious strawberry jam, a dusting of sweet and salty crumb, all surrounded by a rich and luxurious chocolate ganache. I also wanted a cake a homecook could make without special equipment or ingredients. So, this recipe comes complete with shortcuts! You can make the cake from scratch, or you can use a box mix. I made a quick and easy strawberry jam but you ...
Baking
PINEAPPPLE TARTS FOR THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
January is named after Janus, the Roman God of duality: beginnings and endings, comings and goings, transitions, doorways, ins and outs. This duality is true for my month of January. For me, January is two faced. On the one hand it is the month of reset: dry January, diets, return to exercise and a lot less partying. On the other hand, in many of the places I have lived it is a month of celebration: eating, drinking and partying! In my last blog, I brought you a piece of the French celebration of twelfth night with its Galette de Rois In this blog, I am going to take you to Asia ...
JANUARY IN PARIS: GALETTE DES ROIS
It’s January in Paris and on the shelves and in the display cases of every patisserie and bakery you will find a Galette Des Rois (King’s Cake). The simple puff pastry shell encases a filling of delicate almond cream and a thin layer of apricot jam. Hidden inside is a small “feve”, traditionally a bean but more often a tiny figurine of the baby Jesus. The lucky finder of the feve receives a paper crown and the title of King for the day. Although Twelfth Night (January 6) is the traditional day for enjoying a King’s Cake, the French will eat their fill throughout the ...
HOLIDAY PINWHEELS: COOKIES IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS
It’s crunch time. Christmas is 4 days away. Maybe you have a freezer full of Christmas cookies, ready to pull out at moment’s notice. Or maybe you haven’t baked a thing. And that’s okay! This is what bakeries are for. But If you wish you had baked something, and you are a little sad you haven’t but you just don’t have time , this recipe is for you. Puff pastry is wrapped around a filling of sugar, lime zest, and cardamom then finished with some holiday sprinkles. Cookies you will be proud of, from start to finsh in 20 minutes or less! Start with a roll of ready-to-bake crescent ...
HAZELNUT LIME SHORTBREAD COOKIES
I took a break last week as I worked on my Christmas shopping. It felt like I needed to get going on that but then I realized, because of the early Thanksgiving, I had more time than I thought. So here I am on this dreary, chilly Saturday, free to get back to baking cookies and sending the recipes your way. In between making my old favorites I have been trying out some new recipes. I chose this one because there is someone in my life who loves lime desserts. This shortbread cookie is flavored with lime and topped with a lime and cream cheese glaze. I could have stopped ...
CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE GEMS
I made my first Christmas cookie today. It's November 29th. Jumping the season? Maybe a little. But I love an early Thanksgiving and the extra week it gives us before Christmas. So this morning I turned on "A Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" (Don't ask, it's a personal tradition) and started baking. I've been leafing through magazines and cookbooks for weeks looking for inspiration and today I got to start! These Fruitcake Gems will please those who love the candied fruits of a holiday fruitcake as well as those who enjoy the more subtle flavors of dried fruits and nuts.The cookie ...
FAREWELL TO FALL WITH BAKED APPLE FRITTER DONUTS
As I write this, the remains of Hurricane Nicole are sweeping past. Rain and wind have brought down almost all of the remaining leaves. We are moving into the cold, grey days of November. I love Fall. It is my favorite season. The brilliant colors and warm days move swiftly to dark, cozy, winter nights. I light MacIntosh scented candles and breath in the remembered scent of my childhood and a nearby orchard. And I indulge myself with apple fritters, hot from the fryer whenever possible. Unfortunately this year the season slipped by me without a visit to a Pick-Your-Own Apple ...
CARROT CAKE
Those who know me well will certainly have heard this story before. It was my first real life lesson, and it has served me well for many years. I went to boarding school when I was fifteen. We lived in a row of New England clapboard houses on Main Street, 20 girls or so in a house. Each house had a living room and a kitchen which were available to use. Of course, our meals were all served in a Dining Hall, so the kitchens were mostly used for baking gifts and birthday cakes and cookies for bake sales. Somewhere in there I came across a carrot cake recipe. I don’t honestly ...
CARDAMOM SPICED CRANBERRY APPLE BREAD
Did anyone else notice that cranberries were late getting to the market this year? I love cranberries, especially in breakfast quick bread. Usually they appear right about the beginning of October, piled high in the produce aisles. This year…nowhere to be found. Checking Google, sure enough, there is a potential cranberry shortage this year. So when you see them, grab a few extra bags and freeze them for the holidays. Once I had my cranberries I went right to work, marrying the flavors of apple and cranberry with cardamom. Cardamom, like cinnamon and nutmeg, is a warm spice. It ...
EASY CORNBREAD. THE CORNBREAD DILEMMA SOLVED.
Why is it so hard to make good cornbread? This easy cornbread recipe will deliver moist and delicious cornbread every time! I’ve had good cornbread, I’ve had bad cornbread and I’ve had great cornbread. I’ve eaten cornbread in restaurants and at home. I’ve made cornbread from scratch and tried almost every box mix out there. I’ve added ingredients and changed proportions. Almost always the cornbread is great when it comes hot out of the oven. But by the next day, pretty much no one is going back for leftovers. I think it is because the very thing that makes cornbread “bread” is ...
