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Summer is here in its fruitful abundance and I am thouroughly taking advantage of stone fruit season right now. Plums have been my drug of choice lately, but when I got a King Arthur Flour email with a new recipe for cherry clafouti...well, let's just say there was no arm twisting involved. I first learned of clafoutis from Tartelette, but my favorite recipe comes from the Joy of Baking. Part of the allure of this dish is how delightfully simple it is, just ripe cherries baked in an a firm, eggy custard. Of course, leave it to me to make it complicated.

I wanted to make three slight variations, so I doubled the amount of cherries and made 1.5 of the recipe. It came out like this:

Ingredients

6 small-medium eggs (farm fresh, and thus smaller than grocery store eggs)

1.5 cups lukewarm milk

3 T unsalted melted butter

1.5 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 1/4 t salt

1 cup sugar (oops, this should have been 3/4 cup)

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup KAF all-purpose flour

For chocolate variation:

1 T dutch process cocoa 

1/4 c milk chocolate chips

Variation One

Follow KAF instructions, except as noted above (cherry pits, almond flour mixed in)

Variation Two

Same as above, but I carmelized the cherries ahead of time. To do this, melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet or large saucepan and toss cherries in over low-medium heat. Stir frequently as the juices come out of the cherries. When carmelized, pour into bottom of baking pan.

Variation Three

What goes really, really well with cherries? Chocolate! It seems like kind of a bastardization, but I decided to venture out. I added 1 T cocoa powder to the last 1/3 of batter, and then poured it over the cherries. I also sprinkled a handful of milk chocolate chips over the whole thing so there would be little globs of chocolate in the mix.

The batter looks like something unfit for polite society, so instead I'll show you the clip I attached to the bag of chocolate chips. This little guy and a set of his friends came in a recent care package from my sister.

The Verdict? TBC....after breakfast!

PUBLISH OR PERISH: I have to applaud Sarah at Chef In The Sticks who has held down PoP summer while Cathy and I flagged a little. She's got a write-up on Asheville this week that I am looking forwards to reading (I wonder if she visited the cheesecake place that uses real cheeses like cheddar in their pies...eating there was a disturbing moment in my life). Cathy told me she was working on something this afternoon, but so far nothing new at CiaoCatherine. I'm already 30 minutes into Tuesday, so we'll see if she has a rabbit in her hat at some point. EDIT: Cathy pointed me to her review of Jimmy Gnecco's The Heart published on VenusZine. Pssh, like being published on a real media outlet is any excuse for missing PoP!

Perhaps I should back-track a little bit and explain my history with red velvet. The first time I can remember trying it wasn't that long ago. I spent much of my early college years baking treats as a form of social currency, a way of ingratiating myself with the older boys I tended to have class with, and thus half-formed crushes on. My first three newspaper editors were all of the older and male variety, though the first was a schizophrenic and the second a compulsive liar. So when the third one was just mildly depressed and had good taste in music, he got a birthday cake. In what was possibly the only instance of reciprocal baking I've ever experienced, the week of my birthday he presented me with a 9x9 casserole pan, inside of which appeared to be some sort of cake-like food. A thick schmear of canned frosting topped the creation, obscuring any hint as to the innards. When I cut into the concoction little bubbles of a viscous red fluid oozed out onto the frosting, creating pink arterial trees. This was, of course, a red velvet cake. I worked my way through a piece, as did some of my more adventurous friends. Then it got put into the dorm fridge. And was never pulled out, because no one was ever that hungry. A week later and it migrated to the bathroom sink to receive last rights. Except the priest never showed up. There wasn't much about it that seemed likely to degrade, but still when time rolled around to go home for Thanksgiving I deemed it should go back into the fridge during my absence. I didn't want it attacking a hand towel.

Read the rest of this post »

Over Easter weekend I co-hosted my sister's baby shower. The first lesson I learned from this is not to host 60 person parties from across the country. The second lesson was to ALWAYS get the pre-cut fruit platter, even if it's cheaper to cut your own fruit.

I spent a lot of time running around finalizing things so I had to delegate food shots to someone with a disposable, but here's what I have plus a recipe roundup.

I made 60 plain vanilla cupcakes. I've tried Magnolia and I've tried Martha and neither really wow me, so I tried out Billy's. I still don't have a favorite. The only flavor request I could squeeze out of the Mom-to-be was something with mint, so I visited my (re-opened!!!) favorite for interesting flavors, Cupcake Bakeshop, and followed Chockylit's recipe for Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting. Once I reassured everyone that it was really ok to dig in, these were definitately the crowd favorite.

Also from Cupcake Bakeshop I made Lavendar Cream Filled Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting. Someone posited that people were intimidated by the purple frosting, but whatever the reason these came in second best. This often happens when I make two flavors. A cupcake that would have been enjoyed on a different day gets outshone by a really awesome flavor combo.

A little bit of backstory -- on my way out to California, knowing I would bite off more than I could chew (see: 2 recipes worth of homemade brioche, a Tomato & Onion Tart and a giant Jicama-Citrus Salad...also a huge crowd pleaser, plus shopping, decorations, setup etc. all in 36 hours) I baked the cupcakes ahead of time. I showed up in California with a single carry-on roller and a netbook case. The carry-on had all 60 cupcakes, frozen before leaving and wrapped thouroughly in plastic and foil and packed in some giant tupperware I own. I also got insulated grocery bags and wrapped those around the cases. Since it was snowing in Salt Lake as I connected through there, I felt pretty good about the cupcakes staying fresh.

So on the way back, I froze and packed up frosting! I had a huge amount of the raspberry mousse left over (4-5 cups?) and since it's one of the best frostings I'd ever had, I certainly didn't want to toss it. So I put it in a ziploc, froze it, wrapped it in foil, tossed it in the insulated bag and flew it back home. I had to check it because I'm pretty sure frosting counts as a gel, and I really didn't want to fight with TSA over the whole issue.

I attended a Preakness Party this evening. Usually I love events like this with a theme, and of course I volunteered to bring dessert. Smith Island Cake seemed obvious, but it doesn't really seem all the appealing to me and as tired as I am of cupcakes, it's hard to get people to dig into cake during a party setting. Lady Baltimore seemed too fussy for this party, and peaches haven't really come into season yet for a Baltimore Peach Cake. So I decided to go with something classic and easy, using stuff I had on hand...including the fabulous raspberry mousse!

I used Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling (sorry you'll need a membership to see the recipe, but it is SO worth the money -- I reference them for everything). I love "stuffed" cupcakes and usually follow the "cone" method but giving them ganache centers saves so much time because you just plop in a teaspoon of ganache before baking and it all works itself out in the oven. My only addition to their recipe was that I doubled it to make 24 (no problems) and I simmered some chopped mint in my cream before making the ganache, so that it would be mint chocolate. Oh, and because I'm old-fashioned I made my ganache on the oven instead of the microwave. I know it works (most of the time) but I really don't trust microwaves + chocolate. Then I topped the cupcakes with my raspberry mousse which was slightly less firm after being frozen (or maybe it's just being in 80 degree humid Florida instead of 60 degree dry California) but otherwise none the worse for the wear. These also dissapeared quickly, and I would make all parts of the recipe again - together and seperate.

I also re-used the cupcake stands you can see from the baby shower -- I broke them apart and packed them for the flight home, and then re-assembled them here. You can see a great tutorial on how to make you own here, and I highly recommend it. So much cheaper than traditional cake stands and you can personalize them for your occassion, style and needs.

Sourdough english muffins, from KAF. Made with white whole wheat flour. I loosened up a little bit and had Ben help me roll and cut them out. I do not think they have enough holes, but they were A+ as eggs benedict. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

My sourdough starter had been looking a little sad, so I fed him a hearty serving of junk food (white flour). He's looking much more robust now. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Summer is here in its fruitful abundance and I am thouroughly taking advantage of stone fruit season right now. Plums have been my drug of choice lately, but when I got a King Arthur Flour email with a new recipe for cherry clafouti...well, let's just say there was no arm twisting involved. I first learned of clafoutis from Tartelette, but my favorite recipe comes from the Joy of Baking. Part of the allure of this dish is how delightfully simple it is, just ripe cherries baked in an a firm, eggy custard. Of course, leave it to me to make it complicated.

I wanted to make three slight variations, so I doubled the amount of cherries and made 1.5 of the recipe. It came out like this:

Ingredients

6 small-medium eggs (farm fresh, and thus smaller than grocery store eggs)

1.5 cups lukewarm milk

3 T unsalted melted butter

1.5 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 1/4 t salt

1 cup sugar (oops, this should have been 3/4 cup)

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup KAF all-purpose flour

For chocolate variation:

1 T dutch process cocoa 

1/4 c milk chocolate chips

Variation One

Follow KAF instructions, except as noted above (cherry pits, almond flour mixed in)

Variation Two

Same as above, but I carmelized the cherries ahead of time. To do this, melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet or large saucepan and toss cherries in over low-medium heat. Stir frequently as the juices come out of the cherries. When carmelized, pour into bottom of baking pan.

Variation Three

What goes really, really well with cherries? Chocolate! It seems like kind of a bastardization, but I decided to venture out. I added 1 T cocoa powder to the last 1/3 of batter, and then poured it over the cherries. I also sprinkled a handful of milk chocolate chips over the whole thing so there would be little globs of chocolate in the mix.

The batter looks like something unfit for polite society, so instead I'll show you the clip I attached to the bag of chocolate chips. This little guy and a set of his friends came in a recent care package from my sister.

The Verdict? TBC....after breakfast!

PUBLISH OR PERISH: I have to applaud Sarah at Chef In The Sticks who has held down PoP summer while Cathy and I flagged a little. She's got a write-up on Asheville this week that I am looking forwards to reading (I wonder if she visited the cheesecake place that uses real cheeses like cheddar in their pies...eating there was a disturbing moment in my life). Cathy told me she was working on something this afternoon, but so far nothing new at CiaoCatherine. I'm already 30 minutes into Tuesday, so we'll see if she has a rabbit in her hat at some point. EDIT: Cathy pointed me to her review of Jimmy Gnecco's The Heart published on VenusZine. Pssh, like being published on a real media outlet is any excuse for missing PoP!

Perhaps I should back-track a little bit and explain my history with red velvet. The first time I can remember trying it wasn't that long ago. I spent much of my early college years baking treats as a form of social currency, a way of ingratiating myself with the older boys I tended to have class with, and thus half-formed crushes on. My first three newspaper editors were all of the older and male variety, though the first was a schizophrenic and the second a compulsive liar. So when the third one was just mildly depressed and had good taste in music, he got a birthday cake. In what was possibly the only instance of reciprocal baking I've ever experienced, the week of my birthday he presented me with a 9x9 casserole pan, inside of which appeared to be some sort of cake-like food. A thick schmear of canned frosting topped the creation, obscuring any hint as to the innards. When I cut into the concoction little bubbles of a viscous red fluid oozed out onto the frosting, creating pink arterial trees. This was, of course, a red velvet cake. I worked my way through a piece, as did some of my more adventurous friends. Then it got put into the dorm fridge. And was never pulled out, because no one was ever that hungry. A week later and it migrated to the bathroom sink to receive last rights. Except the priest never showed up. There wasn't much about it that seemed likely to degrade, but still when time rolled around to go home for Thanksgiving I deemed it should go back into the fridge during my absence. I didn't want it attacking a hand towel.

Read the rest of this post »

Over Easter weekend I co-hosted my sister's baby shower. The first lesson I learned from this is not to host 60 person parties from across the country. The second lesson was to ALWAYS get the pre-cut fruit platter, even if it's cheaper to cut your own fruit.

I spent a lot of time running around finalizing things so I had to delegate food shots to someone with a disposable, but here's what I have plus a recipe roundup.

I made 60 plain vanilla cupcakes. I've tried Magnolia and I've tried Martha and neither really wow me, so I tried out Billy's. I still don't have a favorite. The only flavor request I could squeeze out of the Mom-to-be was something with mint, so I visited my (re-opened!!!) favorite for interesting flavors, Cupcake Bakeshop, and followed Chockylit's recipe for Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting. Once I reassured everyone that it was really ok to dig in, these were definitately the crowd favorite.

Also from Cupcake Bakeshop I made Lavendar Cream Filled Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting. Someone posited that people were intimidated by the purple frosting, but whatever the reason these came in second best. This often happens when I make two flavors. A cupcake that would have been enjoyed on a different day gets outshone by a really awesome flavor combo.

A little bit of backstory -- on my way out to California, knowing I would bite off more than I could chew (see: 2 recipes worth of homemade brioche, a Tomato & Onion Tart and a giant Jicama-Citrus Salad...also a huge crowd pleaser, plus shopping, decorations, setup etc. all in 36 hours) I baked the cupcakes ahead of time. I showed up in California with a single carry-on roller and a netbook case. The carry-on had all 60 cupcakes, frozen before leaving and wrapped thouroughly in plastic and foil and packed in some giant tupperware I own. I also got insulated grocery bags and wrapped those around the cases. Since it was snowing in Salt Lake as I connected through there, I felt pretty good about the cupcakes staying fresh.

So on the way back, I froze and packed up frosting! I had a huge amount of the raspberry mousse left over (4-5 cups?) and since it's one of the best frostings I'd ever had, I certainly didn't want to toss it. So I put it in a ziploc, froze it, wrapped it in foil, tossed it in the insulated bag and flew it back home. I had to check it because I'm pretty sure frosting counts as a gel, and I really didn't want to fight with TSA over the whole issue.

I attended a Preakness Party this evening. Usually I love events like this with a theme, and of course I volunteered to bring dessert. Smith Island Cake seemed obvious, but it doesn't really seem all the appealing to me and as tired as I am of cupcakes, it's hard to get people to dig into cake during a party setting. Lady Baltimore seemed too fussy for this party, and peaches haven't really come into season yet for a Baltimore Peach Cake. So I decided to go with something classic and easy, using stuff I had on hand...including the fabulous raspberry mousse!

I used Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling (sorry you'll need a membership to see the recipe, but it is SO worth the money -- I reference them for everything). I love "stuffed" cupcakes and usually follow the "cone" method but giving them ganache centers saves so much time because you just plop in a teaspoon of ganache before baking and it all works itself out in the oven. My only addition to their recipe was that I doubled it to make 24 (no problems) and I simmered some chopped mint in my cream before making the ganache, so that it would be mint chocolate. Oh, and because I'm old-fashioned I made my ganache on the oven instead of the microwave. I know it works (most of the time) but I really don't trust microwaves + chocolate. Then I topped the cupcakes with my raspberry mousse which was slightly less firm after being frozen (or maybe it's just being in 80 degree humid Florida instead of 60 degree dry California) but otherwise none the worse for the wear. These also dissapeared quickly, and I would make all parts of the recipe again - together and seperate.

I also re-used the cupcake stands you can see from the baby shower -- I broke them apart and packed them for the flight home, and then re-assembled them here. You can see a great tutorial on how to make you own here, and I highly recommend it. So much cheaper than traditional cake stands and you can personalize them for your occassion, style and needs.

Sourdough english muffins, from KAF. Made with white whole wheat flour. I loosened up a little bit and had Ben help me roll and cut them out. I do not think they have enough holes, but they were A+ as eggs benedict. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

My sourdough starter had been looking a little sad, so I fed him a hearty serving of junk food (white flour). He's looking much more robust now. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry