Thursday, December 24, 2009

Daring Bakers: Gingerbread Houses!

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

So, this was quite a challenge, or so I thought. It ended up being much easier than I thought it would be. I used Y´s recipe, and the dough was simple to put together, although it took more water than the recipe called for to get it to stick together. When I tried to roll it out the next day, it simply would not budge. I had to let it sit for about thirty minutes before I could get it to roll, and even then it kept cracking. I finally got it to work, and I used a template I found here.

It baked up fine, although you could see the little white spots of butter. I don´t know if this is how it´s supposed to be or not. The gingerbread was very sturdy and didn´t threaten to break during construction. I used the royal icing recipe given both for decoration and to glue the house together, even though we were supposed to use a simple syrup to do it. It was easy to work with and dried quickly. The only problem we had when constructing the house was getting the roof to stay put, which we quickly discovered could be remedied by using a lot of icing and holding the gingerbread in place until it dried.

I had lots of dough left over, so I made this little tree using different-sized star cookie cutters. And you know what? The gingerbread didn´t taste bad at all.
All in all, this was a really fun Daring Bakers challenge, and I may even be making a gingerbread house every winter from now one. Although my decorating definitely could have been better, I liked how my house came out. If you want to make a gingerbread house for yourself, the recipe I used is below. Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!

Y's Recipe:
Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Simple Syrup:
2 cups (400g) sugar

Place in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling and the sugar dissolves. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sour Cream Cookies

Right now, I am sitting in the overwhelming heat of Panama. But besides the heat, it is really fun to be here. We are spending Christmas with family, and we have been baking. A lot. I'll get pictures and recipes up as soon as I figure out how to on this computer...
I wanted to bring some cookies with me for when we got here, and I wanted something really Christmas-y. I decided on these sour cream cut-outs from a little cookie book I have, because they looked easy. That they were, and they were better than I thought they would be. I used Christmas cookie cutters, and sprinkled red and green decorating sugar on them BEFORE baking. Also, they keep very well, because we are still eating them three days after they were made. They are supposed to yield four and a half dozen, but they really make way more, although I rolled the dough pretty thin. So if you want an easy cut-out cookie recipe, make this one. And tell me how it goes! Enjoy!

Sour Cream Cookies (from Cookies! crunchy, chewy, nutty, crumbly, chocolaty)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream
sugar, to sprinkle on top of cookies (I used red and green)

Preheat oven to 425F.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, shortening, butter, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well.
Divide dough into 3 parts. Roll out each part 1/4-inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut with 2-inch cookie cutter and sprinkle with sugar.
Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 6-8 minutes (some of mine took a bit less than 6), or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center.
Remove to wire racks to cool.
Yield: 4 1/2 dozen


Monday, December 21, 2009

TWD: My Favorite Pecan Pie

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Beth of Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina. She chose the only pecan pie recipe in the book. This week and next week, due to the holidays, we are allowed to post any time in the week we want. I had been wanting to make this one for a long time, so when it was announced for this week, I decided to make it for Thanksgiving. It was easy to make, and I liked it. My mom, who loves pecan pie, said that it was a bit too rich for her, with all the chocolate. It also stuck to the pie plate (as you can see below), even though I had buttered it. All in all, probably not one I'll make again, but it was fun to try. If you want to try it for yourself, you can buy the book or find it on Beth's blog later this week. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

TWD Rewind: Black and White Banana Loaf

This weekend, we made four boxes of baked goods to send out for Christmas. They included last week's Sables, a really yummy toffee (recipe to come soon), and these. We tripled the recipe and it made four 8x3 1/2" loaf pans. We didn't taste it, so I don't know if this recipe is any good or not. But they looked really good. I do have one complaint, though. They took a really long time to make, and used up most of our mixing bowls. Oh well... the things you do for family ;)
If you want this recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Macduff of The Lonely Sidecar. He chose the Cafe Volcano Cookies. These were SO easy to make. First you toast some nuts. Then you cook those for about 5 minutes with egg whites, sugar and instant espresso powder. Having read complaints of the cookies not having much coffee flavor, I added three teaspoons of the espresso instead of two. Anyways, after everything was warmed, it looked like a syrup full of nuts. I had serious doubts that it would ever turn into cookies. But after twenty minutes in the oven, voila! Really yummy cookies. Many people have described these as having the texture of poprocks, but mine were very chewy inside. However, this may be because the one I tasted was still warm ;) I'll have to wait to see how they taste when they are cooled until dinner. Yum! If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

A very late TWD: Sables

Finally! So sorry about the delay in this post. This week's recipe was chosen by Bungalow Barbara. We have been busy with lots of baking for christmas gift boxes to be sent out tomorrow. We have made toffee, loaf cakes (both recipes to come soon), and these. Although this may sound strange, I don't think I have ever made slice and bake cookies. Except from the pre-made cookie dough, before I knew how to bake. But lets just forget about those years, okay?
Anyways, about the cookies. You first make a basic dough (making sure not to overwork it!) and then roll it into logs. After Dorie's signature three-hour refrigeration period :D , you brush the logs with egg yolk and sprinkle on coarse sugar. We did one log red and the other green. Then you cut thin slices and bake them. All done! Some of ours were thinner than others, so they got... uh... "crispy". Let's leave it at that.
They are buttery and sweet and delicious. Yum! So if you want an easy recipe for very pretty cookies (perfect for Christmas if you use the sugars we used), make this one. You can find the recipe in the book or here. Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

Oh my god... yum. :D
Once again, I'll start by saying that this week's (very late!) TWD post will be up later today. But for now, I'm posting this one. Yesterday we had friends over for dinner, and I decided to make this torte. Boy am I glad I did! It starts off with a buttery shortbread crust, which was wonderful on its own. However, I think it was too thick at some places. Then comes a layer of jam. I used mixed berry. Finally, a layer of cheesecake made with cream cheese and cottage cheese. I accidentally put in too much cinnamon, so it wasn't as light in color as the picture in the book is, but it tasted wonderful. All in all, definitely something I'll make again and recommend to everyone. If you want the wonderful recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!
(so sorry about the blurry picture - i just wanted to show how thin the jam layer is)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

TWD Rewind: Brownie Buttons

Let me start off by saying that Tuesday's TWD recipe is coming. Tomorrow. Sorry! I have been so busy, I haven't baked anything since the cherry pie. I know, unbelievable. But last night I had a rehearsal for christmas caroling, and I only had a couple of hours, so I made these. I have been wanting to make them for a long time. I didn't have any oranges, so I didn't put in the optional orange zest. I also didn't have any white chocolate, so I melted some candy melts. However, I overheated them a bit, so I couldn't dip the brownies in them. I spread them on like icing and put on some sprinkles, and it worked great. However, when we tried to unwrap them, the paper stuck and was really hard to get off. BUT, they tasted wonderful. They were chewy but not fudgey, and the white chocolate topped it off. I recommend making these, but don't use paper cups. If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Taste of Home Cherry Pie

Do you ever make a recipe while trying to impress people, and then you discover that it was amazing? I know I did, last Saturday when I made this pie. My dad requested cherry pie, so that's what I made. The recipe included directions for a crust, but I stuck with my new favorite, Dorie's. I had made six (6!) of them before thanksgiving, and I had two left. The filling uses tart cherries, but all we could find was sour cherries (are those the same...?). I was told to use a recipe with almond extract. Anyways, we made it, and it looked delicious. Honestly, the photo above doesn't do it justice. The next day when my dad took it to the office, it got great reviews. He even said it was the best cherry pie he's ever had! So basically what I'm saying is to go make it! Now! Enjoy :D

Cherry Pie (submitted by Taste of Home on Allrecipes)
  • 2 9-inch pie crusts, chilled
  • 2 (16 ounce) cans tart cherries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • red food coloring
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 375 F. 
Roll out one pie crust to fit a 9-in. pie plate for bottom crust. 
Drain cherries, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Mix cherries, juice, sugar, tapioca, extract, salt and food coloring if desired; pour into the crust. Dot with butter . Top with a lattice crust using the second pie crust. 
Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Lauren of I'll Eat You. She chose the Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart. This tart takes a while to put together, but isn't too complicated. It starts off with a fully baked tart crust. Then comes a pistachio pastry cream, which has small pieces of the nuts in it. After that comes pears poached in red wine. This gives them the red color on the outside that almost makes them look as if they haven't been peeled. Last comes the pistachios covered in a simple caramel made of sugar and water. We couldn't stop eating the candied nuts on their own. They would actually be good in little bags if you're making christmas baskets.
We couldn't stop talking about this tart. We made the sauce that's recommended, and it was well worth it. I would really recommend this recipe for a not-too-hard dessert that really impresses people. Yum! If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins. Sort of.

I decided to make cornbread for Thanksgiving, but I had never made it before. I went straight to Dorie, of course. The only recipe she has is for savory corn bread muffins with jalapenos. Spicy! Since nobody at the Thanksgiving table liked savory (or spicy) cornbread, I went with what Dorie suggested in the "Playing Around" section. You leave out the cilantro, jalapenos, black pepper, and red peppers, and you (of course!) increase the sugar to 1/4 cup. They were sweet enough for our tastes, but not overly so. I wasn't a huge fan, because I thought they were very dry. Everybody else seemed to like them, though, so I guess they weren't too bad. All in all, not a recipe I'll make again, but I can cross it off my "Still have to make as TWD rewinds" list. :D However, if you do like spicy cornbread, this might be a good one for you.
If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Daring Bakers: Holy Cannoli!


The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.



Yeah, so... cannoli. These were quite the challenge. The dough was quick and easy to put together. But the next part, frying - not so much. I have never fried anything in my life, so I got my mom to help. We tried to roll the dough out really thin, but it didn't work so well. So we had slightly thick shells. And, to make matters worse, I grabbed tongs that had just been in really hot oil. Ouch.
Many of the daring bakers were concerned about what to use as molds. We couldn't find cannoli molds or thick pasta to wrap the dough around, so we rolled up strips of disposable foil pans, wrapped those in parchment paper, and used them as molds. They worked really well. However, as we were frying the dough, some of the cannoli opened up, resulting in big dough puffs. But the ones that stayed closed were really yummy.
The filling - well, I don't even know what to say about the filling. I cut the recipe in half because of us not having so many cannoli to fill, but I forgot to cut the pistachios, chocolate, and orange zest in half. So it has quite a strong flavor. Also, as usual, I waited until the last minute to make these. So I just filled them, but the cream hasn't been in the fridge for very long, and it's still quite thin. That's why in the picture below, it's dripping out. Oh well, maybe next month I'll make the challenge earlier :D
I'm not really sure what my opinion is on these - I've never been a huge fan of cannoli. My dad, who loves cannoli, said that the filling was a bit too sweet for his taste. However, this is coming from the man who thinks that icing is too sweet. So really, I don't know. This recipe isn't one that I will make again, although I might try a different cannoli recipe in the future. But try the recipe for yourself. They are fun to make. Just be sure to grab the tong HANDLES, which haven't been in hot oil. Also be sure to check out the Daring Bakers blogroll! Enjoy!


Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note - If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 - 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

TWD Rewind: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

My dad is a die-hard pumpkin pie fan, and my mom goes crazy over pecan. So I knew that making a combination of the two for Thanksgiving was not an option. However, my dad had asked me to make a pumpkin pie for his office, so I suggested this. We made it together, but he almost got sick when he saw that corn syrup goes into pecan pie. Needless to say, he now refuses to eat or even participate in the making of pecan pie. Oh well, more for my mom and I! This pie was quick to put together. I used Dorie's pie crust recipe, which is my new go-to recipe. There is supposed to be a layer of pumpkin and a layer of pecan pie, but they sort of mix in the oven. However, the pecans do stay on top, which makes the pie very pretty. It tasted great - really like a mix of pumpkin and pecan pies, although it had the texture of a pumpkin pie. This would be great for Thanksgiving if you don't have people at your table who love plain pumpkin or plain pecan pie. If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

Maple Pumpkin Pie

My dad recently found this recipe while looking through a Real Simple magazine. He begged me to make it. I hadn't found a pumpkin pie recipe yet for Thanksgiving, so of course I said yes. We made it last night (pies keep for a few days). It was SO easy to make (I made crust in advance). You just whisk everything, put it in the raw pie shell, and bake it. Since the pie is for tomorrow, we haven't tasted it yet, but it looks delicious and we can't stop walking over to smell it :D
I recommend this recipe for someone who wants a last-minute, quick, yummy pumpkin pie. Enjoy!

Maple Pumpkin Pie (Real Simple Magazine)

1 piecrust, store-bought or homemade, fitted into a 9-inch pie plate (I used Dorie's recipe)
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Set an oven rack in the lowest position and heat oven to 350F. Place the pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves.
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the crust and bake until the center is set, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

The pie can be prepared and refrigerated, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

TWD: All in one Holiday Bundt Cake

As you may know, for the month of November, us TWD members are allowed to post in any order we like. This week I made the All in one Holiday Bundt Cake, chosen by Britin of the Nitty Britty. It was quick to make the batter, but it did take a long time to bake. And cool. Plus, it smelled REALLY good while it baked. So it was hard to wait to eat it. Actually, we really couldn't wait, so we put on the glaze and sliced the cake while it was still warm. That made the glaze start to melt. But, that's okay, because it tasted awesome. It kept really well, like Dorie said it would. That would make it great for shipping (hint for anybody who's making Christmas gift baaskets: make a cake like this, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put it in a box cushioned by popcorn. it keeps it from breaking and gives the recipient of your gift a snack!). This would be a great cake for a holiday dinner table, or even for breakfast in the winter. Yum! If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or go to Britin's website (link above), although she won't have the recipe up until next week. Enjoy!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

TWD Rewind: Cinnamon Squares

Fellow bloggers out there, do you ever make something, and then you tell yourself that you're going to post it later? But then when you remember that you should post them, you realize that you just put up a new post, so you should wait a day or two? Okay, so I confess that I made these quite a while ago. In October, actually :D I was just too tired (aka lazy) to post them. Oh well, better late than never. Right?
These were DELICIOUS. They start off with a cake batter that is full of cinnamon. That batter is layered with chocolate chips and espresso powder. Yum. We were going to leave it that way. We were in the car, and somebody (he-hem, Dad) accidentally leaned on it. With their elbow. So we were left with a cake that had a huge dent in it. Obviously, we then decided to make the icing (butter and chocolate). However, we didn't know where anything was in the guest house that we were staying at, so we had to use the microwave. Therefore, it didn't come out as a shiny, smooth frosting. It came out more like a barely spreadable paste. BUT, it was still delicious :)
The cinnamon cake had a very strong taste (and I mean that in the best way possible). The chocolate icing really took it to the next level. It kept very well, although it started to get dry by about the third day. But, that's expected. I highly recommend this recipe to anybody who wants a quick and easy recipe. As always, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

TWD: Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

As you all know, this month we are allowed to post the recipes in any order we like. For this week, I chose the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake, chosen by Katya of Second Dinner (love the name of the blog, by the way :D ). I have two words to describe this cake: messy, and delicious.
This cake is interesting, because it uses two quite unusual ingredients. First up is sweetened chestnut spread. I was imagining a light-colored, sweet spread. Yeah, not so much. It is very dark and I personally didn't like it very much plain. Second is jarred chestnuts. We decided to go for the bags, but the nuts ended up being darker than what I've seen on other blogs and in the book. Oh well!
Let me just say one thing: this cake takes the day to make. Well, that is, if you're like me, where you make everything in one day. First I made the glaze, which had to sit for four hours! That was quick and easy. Then I made the caramel chocolate ganache. It wasn't too hard to make, although it took a while for my caramel to brown. It was supposed to refrigerate overnight, but I hadn't thought about that, so mine only refrigerated for a few hours. Therefore, it was hard to spread because it was quickly melting. The cake was pretty simple to make. My only complaint was that it was very crumbly (although that could be due to the fact that it was still a bit warm when I stacked the layers). I was only able to cut it into two layers, and they broke apart when I picked them up. However, I was able to piece them together, and the finished product was delicious and went fast.
I highly recommend this recipe for anybody who has some free time and wants a great cake. Even my mom, who doesn't like chestnuts, liked this. If you want this recipe, you can find it on Katya's blog, or you can buy the book. Enjoy!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Blackout Cake

Today is my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!). It also happened to be her best friend's birthday on Thursday. Her friend's daughter and I are friends as well, and both families were having a birthday dinner together on Friday, so her friend's daughter and I decided  to make a cake for them together. We planned out a three-tiered chocolate blackout cake. We doubled a recipe for two 9" round cakes so that it made 4 cakes. We baked the batter in two 9x13 pans instead of the round pans. We kept the first layer full. We then cut the top layer so that most of it was the second tier, but there was enough for a small top tier. We simply iced and stacked them - no toothpicks or anything. It worked out great! We decorated the cake using a combination of green icing gel, sugar hearts, slivered almonds, and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Yum! Everybody loved it. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to put cake boards under each of the layers, because it was difficult to slice. I really recommend making this recipe. Enjoy!

Blackout Cake (original recipe here)
  • Ingredients

    GANACHE

    Directions

    1. 1
      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
    2. 2
      Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
    3. 3
      Tap out excess flour.
    4. 4
      In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
    5. 5
      Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat till well blended.
    6. 6
      Add melted chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
    7. 7
      Mix together flour and baking soda and salt.
    8. 8
      Add to chocolate mixture in 2 additions alternately with the buttermilk.
    9. 9
      Beat till well blended.
    10. 10
      On low speed, add boiling water and beat till smooth.
    11. 11
      (Batter will be thin.) Pour into prepared pans.
    12. 12
      Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.
    13. 13
      Let cool in pans for 10 to 15 minutes.
    14. 14
      Turn out onto wire racks and cool completely.
    15. 15
      For Ganache:Melt chocolate chips and cream together and stir until smooth.
    16. 16
      Stir in butter and vanilla.
    17. 17
      Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until ganache holds its shape and is thick enough to spread on cake layers.
    18. 18
      Cover one layer with a little more than 1/3 of the ganache.
    19. 19
      Top with second layer; frost top and sides with remaining ganache.
    20. 20
      Press almond slivers into sides of cake.
    21. 21
      Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours for ganache to firm back up for easier slicing.