BROWN BUTTER MAPLE CAKE WITH BALSAMIC BLUEBERRY COMPOTE Sunday means breakfast: a stack of pancakes brimming with blueberries and swimming in syrup. Sunday means brunch: elegant mimosas in long stemmed flute. Sunday means BBQ, or a barbeque: the one a Southern treat, and the other a hot dog and hamburger staple of American life. Whatever your Sunday looks like, this cake brings it all together. Brown butter and maple syrup make a batter that tastes a lot like pancakes. And the sweet blueberry compote has a hint of mimosa elegance from a dash of balsamic vinegar. The single ...
Baking
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
Strawberry and Rhubarb come together in a delicious pie. Each bite is different. In one you taste the tang of rhubarb. In the next, the sweetness of strawberry. And in another the two unite in a sweet-tart blend of fruit. I was in college when I tasted rhubarb for the first time. It was a revelation. What is Rhubarb? Rhubarb is a vegetable. And it is very tart. I have heard the flavor compared to that of a sour green apple, unripe grapes, or a not-yet-ready-to-eat kiwi. Sugar will tame the tang, but it will keep its acidic flavor. Which makes it perfect to pair with ...
THE BEST HOT CROSS BUNS
You know how I feel about Hot Cross Buns! But instead of just being disappointed by them, this time I decided to identify where I felt they were lacking and see if I could fix the problems. And I did it! My Hot Cross Buns are smaller in size than the traditional bun, giving each bite a good ratio of honey glazed crust to soft interior. They are filled with bits of diced apricot, an ingredient with more pop than the humble raisin. And the dough, made with coconut milk and sweetened coconut flakes, is liberally flavored with vanilla and almond. Every bite has a hint of flavor ...
Almost a Lemon Meringue Pie: Lime Tart with Swiss Meringue
This started with a lemon meringue pie and eventually segued into something altogether different: a zesty lime tart with a sugar cookie crust, topped with a shiny, marshmallowy Swiss meringue. The back story: my mother made a lemon meringue pie that everyone loved. Her lemon filling was topped with just the right amount of meringue. The balance of flavors was perfect! Every forkful yielded up soft marshmallowlike meringue, tart lemon and a crunch of pie crust. I never learned how to make my mother’s meringue pie and I never found a lemon meringue pie that I liked after that. The “Mile ...
LEMON DROP COOKIES
Isn’t the weather so odd? The two halves of our country are experiencing diametrically opposite winters. In the North, it’s brutal, cold and icy and snowy. In the South it is weirdly hot, and Spring is making an early entrance. It’s emblematic of where we stand on so many things. But here’s one thing we can agree on: cookies. Specifically, soft cake-like cookies, topped with a zingy lemon frosting. They sing of spring and daffodils. Which, for those of us in the South, is perfectly suited to the warm sun and early spring we are enjoying. And for my friends in colder places, I hope it ...
APRICOT JAM BREAD
Sometimes something that seems so easy, just isn’t. Take this Jam Quick Bread for example. The first time I made it I used some leftover homemade pineapple jam that I had from making pineapple tarts And it was a killer quick bread: moist and light with delicious pockets of sweet pineapple. The only issue was a slight tendency for the edges to overcook before the center was done. Seems a no brainer to make it with a different jam? Oh, if only that were true! Five loaves, three different jams, two different oven temperatures and two loaf pan sizes later I have found my ...
HEARTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY: OATMEAL LINZER COOKIES
Not a cake baker? Let’s make cookies for Valentine’s Day. A little oatmeal brings a nutty crunch to this raspberry jam-filled sandwich cookie. Cut a little heart in the top cookie so the jam peeks through. Every child and adult in your life will love you for it! When I was a little girl, Valentine’s Day brought color and fun to the otherwise dreary, cold month of February in Connecticut. My mother was too busy with our family of six children to do much more than give us each a hug and kiss but school stepped in. We bought boxes of simple valentines and laboriously labelled them for ...
CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY CAKE: A VALENTINE’S GIFT!
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 ...
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 ...
