Tuesday, January 27, 2009

TWD - Fresh Ginger And Chocolate Gingerbread

I almost didn't make the Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread this week. I was really intrigued by the recipe that Heather, of Sherry Trifle, had chosen, but I had so many things to do, I thought I wouldn't have time to make this. Plus, it was Tom's fifth birthday on the 23rd (my little boy is 5 years old!) and we all know that birthdays mean birthday cakes and this gingerbread was not going to cut it with a 5 year old. So, since I really wanted to taste it, I decided to make the gingerbread but halved the recipe.

When I halved the recipe, I thought I would be OK baking the cake in 2 mini springform pans and 1 ramekin. I should have used more ramekins. The cakes did a volcano effect in the oven. Luckily, I had put the pans on a baking sheet and the overflow ended up tasting like gingerbread cookies so, not a big problem. I trimmed the cakes, glazed them and they patiently awaited the time of their photo shoot, in the refrigerator.

I really liked the texture of the gingerbread right out of the refrigerator. It was dense but not too dense. The fresh ginger taste really came out and the chocolate glaze made it extra special. I'm so glad I decided to make this, I would have missed out on a great recipe.

For all you gingerbread fans, I strongly suggest trying out this recipe. It's not complicated and the results are stellar. Please visit Heather's blog for the recipe and the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie members for variations on this week's gingerbread theme.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

TWD - Orange Surprise Cake

The surprise today is that this wasn't supposed to be a roll cake at all, but a round, tall-ish cake, filled with a creamy center. It was actually not supposed to be orange flavored either but I had oranges so, an orange cake it was! When Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen chose the Berry Surprise Cake as this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I have to admit, it wasn't a recipe that had caught my eye before. Upon reading said recipe, I thought it looked a tad bit complicated and I wasn't up for complicated.

What immediately came to mind was to make this a roll cake. Using the recipe I've had for years, I made a thin sponge cake, to which I added orange zest. Then to add more orange flavor, I added Grand Marnier in the syrup used to moisten the cake. Granted the creamy filling was a bit soft and adding orange segments didn't facilitate the rolling job, but, oh, my, the payoff was so worth the trouble. The creamy filling, made of cream cheese and heavy cream, gives this cake a cheesecake kind of taste and the orange paired so well with this, it reminded me of the Fresh Orange Cream Tart. I did have to sweeten the filling a bit more than Dorie suggests but I'm guessing with sweet summer berries, the filling wouldn't need any extra sugar. I also made candied orange slices but those didn't turn out as I would have liked. I made my slices too thick and I didn't have enough syrup for all the oranges I had. But I will try those again, at some point.

I'm not sure I would make this again as a roll cake though. I might take my thin sponge cake and cut it in thirds and then layer the cake and the filling together. It would be a lot easier, and less messy. One thing's for sure, I can't wait to make this cake with fresh berries next summer. If you want to see what this week's recipe is really supposed to look like, check out the rest of the TWD bakers. And don't forget to visit Mary Ann's blog for the recipe!

Roll Cake Recipe
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 10 inch x 15 inch roll cake mold and line with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with flour.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with your mixer of choice, beat the eggs at medium-high speed, until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and keep beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add cold water and vanilla, mixing well.

Slowly fold in the dry ingredients, trying not to deflate the egg mixture. Pour the batter in the prepared mold and bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

While the cake is baking, place a clean kitchen towel on a work surface and place a piece of parchment paper over the towel. As soon as the cake is ready, unmold it onto the parchment lined towel. With a serrated knife, cut the edges of the cake. Place another piece of parchment paper over the cake and, starting with the short end, roll the whole thing, towel and all, into a log, but not too tight. The parchment paper will keep the cake from sticking to the towel. Place the log on a cooling rack and let it come to room temperature.

Once the cake is cool you're ready to unroll, remove the towel and parchment papers, and fill it with either a good jam or a filling of your choice. Dust the finished cake with confectioner's sugar or cover with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

One Year Ago and Another Caramel Post

One year ago today, I was posting about Chocolate Covered Fleur de Sel Caramels, trying to figure out how the heck to work with Blogger, and hoping this little blog would be of interest to one or two people. Little did I know that a year later, I would be posting about caramel again (again!), that I would still be trying to figure blogger out (how the heck do I create a recipe index?) and that I would be part of the fabulous Food Blogging community. Countless times I've turned to food blogs for tips, answers and inspiration and I haven't been disappointed. There is so much talent and creativity out there, in the blogging world, I just hope I've contributed to it a little bit. Of course, this blog would be a lot less fun without all of your comments and I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and comment, it means a lot to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I love you guys!

Caramel popcorn is one of my favorite things in the world and I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing, but I've found a foolproof recipe to make it myself. It is crazy good and easy to make. Really, I could make it every day! Well, OK, maybe every week, because this makes A LOT of caramel popcorn.

The first blog post I saw about caramel popcorn was on Aimée's blog. She had presented it in such a creative way and I've been itching to make some ever since. I used this recipe from The Amateur Gourmet which is very similar to Aimée's only that it doesn't require a candy thermometer and it's called Never Fail Caramel Corn. With a title like that, how could I not try it? For the popcorn itself, I turned to Elise and found the Perfect Popcorn Recipe. My microwave is going to feel very lonely on movie night from now on!

See? I told you I found tips and inspiration from other food blogs! My blogroll is getting longer every day, and that's a good thing! I just wish there were more hours in a day so I could visit more blogs, cook more, bake more, take many, many more photos and oh, yes, maybe bake a little more. :) Here's to another fun year!
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

TWD - Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

Thanks to Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake who chose this week's TWD recipe, I learned a few things. I already knew that I liked cornbread/corn muffins with chili, so I decided to make some chili this past weekend. But, since I was trying the Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins recipe for the first time, I thought why not try a new chili recipe too! Ding, ding, ding! First thing I learned this week: I LOVE chunky chili! I had always made chili with ground beef but this recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes is made with beef chunks and it is delicious!

OK, so this is supposed to be all about the muffins, right? Right. So the recipe calls for "yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground". Since I had never tried stone-ground cornmeal, I decided it was about time. Second thing I learned this week: organic, stone-ground cornmeal actually smells (and tastes) like corn! Imagine that. Seriously, I was totally surprised. I don't think I'll ever buy anything else again. It smells so good!

Third thing I learned this week: Dorie really knows her corn muffins! I made these without the Jalapeno pepper because, well, I wanted the kids to at least taste them! I used green bell pepper instead and it was really good. I'd like to try them a little spicier at some point but for now, I'm happy with the sweet/savory little muffins I ended up with.

Don't forget to visit Rebecca's blog for the muffin recipe, Elise for the chili recipe and the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers for a myriad of corn muffin variations.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Tuesdays With Dorie - French Pear Tart

You guys all know by now that (most) every Tuesday is Tuesdays with Dorie here on my little blog because I, with a zillion other bloggers, am baking my way through Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Though I only joined last April, our little group recently turned one and to celebrate, today truly is Tuesday with Dorie as Dorie herself chose the French Pear Tart as this week's recipe.

I'm still not very good at making pâte sablée/sucrée so that was the part of the recipe that intimitated me the most. To make matters worse, I realized I was out of confectioner's sugar, which the recipe calls for. I decided to throw caution to the wind and use granulated sugar instead and to use one whole egg instead of just an egg yolk to help the dough come together. And you know what? I liked it better that way. I had a lot less problems patting the dough into the pan and in the end, the crust turned out perfectly crumbly and buttery.

The rest of the recipe is a breeze, smells fantastic as it bakes and tastes out of this world good! As the almond cream bakes into the crust, it gives it an almost candy-like texture and taste. And the soft pears contrast really nicely with the cruchy crust. I'm telling you, this is a fabulous tart.

I strongly advise you to try this recipe out for yourselves, I promise, you won't be disappointed! For the recipe, you can buy Baking from my Home to Yours (and if you like to bake, you should!) or you can visit Dorie's blog. How cool is that? Don't forget to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll for more freshly baked goodness!

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Thursday, January 1, 2009

Relaxing on New Year's Day

Sunny crêpes on New Year's Day. What else could I ask for? As a bonus, I can't cook a crêpe to save my life so, that's usually Martin's job. All I have to do is relax, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the first sunny day of 2009. Life is good. Happy New Year!

Crêpes
1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups water
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar

In a large bowl, mix the oil, eggs, milk and water.

In a smaller bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat well with a whisk.

In a slightly oiled, nonstick skillet over medium heat, ladle about 1/2 cup of the batter and swirl it around as to get a nice, round crêpe. Cook for a few minutes then flip and cook the other side a few minutes also. Adjust the heat to make sure the crêpes cook fairly quickly, but don't get scorched. Keep the crêpes warm in the oven, on its lowest heat possible. Serve with maple syrup, Nutella, caramel sauce, whatever suits your mood.
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