Fun with Frosting!

My blog has been woefully neglected this week... I've been battling a pretty nasty cold/sore throat and just haven't had the energy to cook/bake much. That's a sure sign I'm really sick! But I've finally started feeling better and hopefully posting will resume as usual!

About 2 months ago, I bought this really neat mechanical pastry bag at Williams-Sonoma. I hadn't had an occasion to use it but had really been wanting to. So, the other night I was looking through our cupboard and came across a box of cake mix. Perfect! I haven't made a cake out of a box in forever, but I definitely wasn't feeling up to making both the cake and frosting from scratch. This would allow me to make the frosting and play with my mechanical pastry bag without having to also make the cupcakes!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved using the pastry bag! It was so easy to use and there are so many interchangeable tips to try! I only tried 3 of them but I know I'll try the others soon now that I know how much fun it is! The only problem I ran into was that it was a warm night when I made these and the kitchen was so hot it was making the frosting too warm. Next time I'll have to be sure to keep the frosting cool enough so it's not melting.

Oh, and the taste of this frosting was great! I generally find buttercream to taste a bit too much like butter, but this one was tasty and definitely not as rich as some others I've tried!



Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
from Annie's Eats

20 tbsp. (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

TWD: Sticky Buns!

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen and what a pick it was! Kudos to her for this fantastic selection. I've never made sticky buns but I made cinnamon rolls a few months ago so I was fairly confident I could pull this off. Having made the brioche loaf with the other half of the brioche dough, I knew these would probably be amazing. The brioche alone was phenomenal...never mind the addition of yet more butter plus cinnamon, sugar and honey!

I really enjoyed working with the brioche dough to make these sticky buns. The dough was far easier to work with than other yeast recipes I've made in the past. Generally, I run into problems rolling out the dough as it sticks to my countertop even when I am careful to flour the workspace generously. I completely avoided that problem with this dough. I did, however, fail to measure the rolls as I cut them and ended up with about 13 instead of the 15 Dorie suggested. I doubt anyone will complain about bigger rolls though.... Unlike my brioche loaf, these rolls rose fairly quickly once I cut them and placed them on top of the glaze. I baked them for about 30 minutes (all the while drooling over the most amazing smell ever coming from the oven) and they emerged from the oven gorgeous and golden!





I was nervous about unmolding them as Dorie really didn't seem to provide specific instructions on how to approach it. I wound up lining a baking sheet with my silpat and just flipped the pyrex pan over on top of it. I think I held the pan sideways too long before making the final flip as some of my glaze wound up on the silpat instead of the buns.

When these finally cooled enough, I immediately tried one and was very impressed! I'm not even a huge fan of pecans but in this recipe they worked. The sticky buns were sugary and sweet and oh so sinful! These are unbelievably rich but so worth it! I will definitely make these again at some point - they'd be a wonderful treat for any company we might have over the house.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan



For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces) (I cut this down and used about 3/4 - 1 cup instead)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:

1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see recipe here), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)

Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To Make the Glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissovle the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.

To Make the Filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To Shape the Buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months. Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.

Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.

Getting Ready to Bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.

The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

Golden Brioche Loaves

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was Pecan Honey Sticky Buns and the buns are made from brioche dough. Dorie's recipe for brioche makes 2 loaves and since I only needed half of the dough for the stick buns, I decided to use the other half to make a loaf of brioche. I must confess that I've never had brioche but I was pretty sure that with one and a half sticks of butter it wasn't going to be bad! :-)

I didn't have any problems making the dough yesterday though it did take quite a while. The butter has to be incorporated 2 tablespoons at a time and each addition took a few minutes in my mixer. Per Dorie's instructions I stuck the dough in the fridge last night and went back to it this morning. I was a little bit worried because the dough seemed pretty hard - I wasn't sure it would ever rise after I rolled out the logs and stuck them in the loaf pan. Fortunately, they did eventually rise though it took a little longer than Dorie indicated (closer to 2.5 hours) - surprising given that it was very warm here today. Finally it was time to bake the bread, let it cool and try a slice!



I cut an end piece for myself after the loaf had cooled for about an hour. Wow, was it good!! It tasted just like a croissant! The bread is flaky and buttery and so delicious. I quickly wrapped it as soon as I ate that first slice to restrain myself from having any more today. I suspect it is going to be very difficult to pass by tomorrow morning and not have a slice for breakfast!

Golden Brioche Loaves
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For The Glaze
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you’re doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you’ll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You’ll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Memorial Day Weekend Potato Salad!

We had some of our friends over for a BBQ this Memorial Day weekend and I wanted to make potato salad to serve. Having never made it, I turned to Ina for what I was sure would be a fool proof recipe. I made some minor modifications to the recipe (mostly based on what we had on hand) but it still turned out amazing! This was really tasty and well received by everyone who tried it! The only problem is that I made WAY too much and don't know what I'm going to do with all the leftovers...



Potato Salad
from Ina Garten, FoodNetwork.com

3 pounds small white potatoes
Kosher salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard (I omitted this and used extra Dijon)
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill (I omitted this)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red onion (I used yellow onion instead as that's what I had in the kitchen)

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

While flipping through my Cupcakes book tonight I came upon this recipe and decided to make it. I was intrigued by the mixing method mostly. I don't think I've ever seen a recipe where the ingredients are combined in this manner. The cupcakes came together quickly and were soon in the oven.

We tried these after they cooled a bit and liked them. They reminded me a lot of chocolate chip muffins. In fact, that's basically what they taste like. I'm not sure why they're called cupcakes and how they differ from muffins. Maybe it's because the ingredients aren't combined the way a traditional muffin recipe would call for. In any event, I would definitely make these again. Shane thought they'd be better with frosting but I was too lazy to do that tonight. The book mentioned dusting the cupcakes with powdered sugar as an alternative to frosting and that sounded like a much better plan to me :-) (Note, the pictures here do not show powdered sugar on the cupcakes...I'm waiting to do that until tomorrow morning.)



Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 18 muffin tin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, mix the flour, brown sugar and baking soda to blend them. Add the butter and mix until the butter pieces are the size of peas, about 2 minutes. You will still see some loose flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg and vanilla. The batter will still look dry. Mix in the sour cream and milk until the batter looks evenly moistened. You may still see some lumps of butter. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Fill each paper liner with about a generous 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch from the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks before removing the cupcakes from the pans to cool completely on the racks.

Frost the cupcakes or dust them with powdered sugar prior to serving.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Orange-Crumbed Baked Chicken

I threw this meal together for dinner tonight and have to say that I was quite pleased with how it turned out! I was worried the dijon mustard might overpower the orange flavor but it really didn't. I think orange was actually the most dominant flavor in the meal though I could certainly taste the mustard in there too. We'll certainly be adding this chicken recipe to our rotation!

The recipe below is the original but I made a few minor changes. We used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and also left the shallot out as Shane's not a fan. It took about 30 minutes total for the chicken breasts to cook through.

Orange-Crumbed Baked Chicken
from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook by Weight Watchers

2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole-wheat cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper
4 (3-ounce) skinless boneless chicken thighs



Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, mustard and salt. On a sheet of wax paper, combine the cracker crumbs, orange zest, shallot and pepper. Brush the chicken on both sides with the mustard mixture, then dredge in the crumbs, firmly pressing the crumbs to coat both sides.

Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes; turn over and bake until cooked through, 15-20 minutes longer.

TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes!

This week's TWD was actually traditional madeleines chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home. It was a great choice and I would have really liked to make them. Unfortunately, madeleines require a special pan and I do not yet own a madeleine pan. Sure, I could have gone out and purchased one, but storage in our kitchen is already an issue and it just didn't make sense to add to the clutter with a pan I wouldn't use all that often.

Fortunately, for those of us without the madeleine pan, we were given the option to bake another recipe from Dorie's book that had already been completed prior to our joining the group. Luckily, there were 17 recipes completed before I joined TWD so I had a lot to choose from! The decision to go with the gooey chocolate cakes was based on a few factors: 1) Shane and I love chocolate lava cakes, 2) I could easily cut the recipe back to make just enough for the two of us and 3) it was a simple recipe that wouldn't require too much time.

As it turned out, I was extremely pleased to have selected these cakes because they were fantastic!! I cut the recipe in half so we'd only have 3 cakes and also used semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet but otherwise I followed Dorie's instructions to a T. Actually, that's a lie....I only cooked the cakes for 11 minutes (versus 13) as I really wanted to make sure we'd have gooey centers.....and we did!!! I've tried at least 2 other lava cake recipes but this one was by far the best. I know we'll be coming back to this recipe many times in the future!



As always, be sure to check out the other blogs over at TWD! There should be a nice assortment of recipes this week as some people make the madeleines and others choose from previous recipes.

Next week's recipe is Pecan Honey Sticky Buns and I'm very excited to give it a shot! I'm also feeling very thankful that it's a 3-day weekend as I think this one is going to take some time...

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
4 ounces coarsely chopped,
1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar



Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F. Butter (or spray - it's easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water until they are melted - you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don't beat) them into th eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Makes 6 cakes.

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

Last night came around and I still hadn't made Shane any treats to bring to work with lunch (I blame the Celtics and Red Sox for distracting me all weekend...) In any event, the last thing I wanted to do was spend the entire night in the kitchen so when I came upon this recipe I knew it was perfect. As much as I love my stand mixer, I didn't want to break it out last night and this recipe didn't require one! These came together quickly as I'd hoped and Shane gave them a thumbs-up after a taste test. I didn't try one because they looked so good I knew I wouldn't be able to stop at one!

The only slight problem I ran into with these was that the centers of the brownies didn't fall enough as they cooled. I used the spoon to make the holes bigger (or dig a hole for the few whose centers didn't fall at all) so it wasn't a big deal. I don't think these will win any points for appearance, but Shane didn't complain :-)



Brownie Peanut Butter Cups
from Bake or Break



3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter chips plus about 1/3 cup more for garnishing
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus about 1/3 cup more for garnishing
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or grease 12 muffin cups. (I used my mini muffin pan and got 24 mini muffins.)

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, butter, and water. Microwave on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir in 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted. Stir in egg and vanilla extract. Add flour and baking soda, stirring until blended. Allow to cool to room temperature. Then, stir in 1/2 cup each peanut butter chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spoon batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into muffin cups.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet. Place pan on wire rack. Centers of brownies will fall upon cooling. If not, tap centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole.

Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, then stir. While brownies are still hot, spoon about a tablespoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.

Oven Fries

I've been meaning to make these for a while but just never got around to it since we so rarely buy potatoes. Last night we grilled up some bison burgers for dinner and what goes better with burgers than fries?! These are a little time consuming as you have to peel and cut the potatoes, then soak them and finally bake them for 45 minutes. The effort is worth it though! These were really tasty! They got surprisingly crisp for fries that weren't actually fried. According to the book, the soaking in the salt-sugar solution is key to draw some of the water out of the potatoes so they brown and not steam in the oven.



Oven Fries
from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook by Weight Watchers

1 1/4 pounds baking potatoes (like idaho or russet), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch strips
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika



Preheat oven to 450 F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray (or use parchment paper or foil).

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar with cold water to cover. Soak 15 minutes; drain and blot dry.

In another large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil and the paprika. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet.



Bake, turning the potatoes over as they brown, until cooked through and crisp, about 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are sooo good! I love peanut butter and these do not disappoint. Even better, I was able to pull the ingredients together and get them in the oven in less than 20 minutes! The only problem I had was that there were so many peanut butter chips in the dough that I couldn't make the pretty checkerboard pattern on the cookies. The chips just kept interfering. Not really a big concern for me as those peanut butter chips are phenomenal and well worth the sacrifice in look for taste. This recipe only makes 12 cookies but they're fairly big cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies
from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, by Weight Watchers

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips



Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter and peanut butter. Gradually beat in the brown sugar; add the egg and vanilla, beating until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until blended. Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto the baking sheets, forming 12 cookies on each sheet. With the back of a fork, lightly press each cookie to flatten in a checkerboard pattern. Bake until lightly browned on the bottom, 12-15 minutes. Cool completely on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 12 cookies.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

One of the women I work with loves when I bring in treats for the office. She always gobbles them up quickly and is very appreciative. So when I wanted to bring something in this week I let her pick. She told me she would love a coffee cake. Sure thing, I said, as I'd recently seen a great recipe I wanted to try and the only ingredient I didn't have was sour cream. So I ran to the store during lunch and grabbed the sour cream. Of course, I subsequently forgot said sour cream at work in the fridge when I left that day. So began my search for another recipe that didn't require sour cream. Dorie never disappoints so when I found this blueberry crumb cake recipe in my cookbook, I went with it.

Let me start by saying that this cake tasted amazing. It was moist and had just enough sweetness to make me happy. Everyone at work loved it too and it was gone in no time. That said, I had some problems with the recipe. The baking time is supposed to be 55 to 65 minutes but even after 75-80 minutes, the middle of my cake was still a bit gooey. Very weird given that almost all of Dorie's recipes finish more quickly in my oven then they are supposed to. I was worried about drying out the rest of the cake if I continued to bake it beyond 75-80 minutes so I took it out and just threw away the part in the center that was too gooey. I guess I should have expected problems as I seem to have them with every blueberry recipe I try :-)



Blueberry Crumb Cake
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

For the Crumbs:
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

For the Cake:
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries (preferably fresh, or frozen, not thawed)
2 cups plus 2 tsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/4 orange
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To make the crumbs: Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed. Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. Refrigerate until needed. (Covered well the crumb mix can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

To make the cake: Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 tsp of the flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled — it will soon smooth out. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients.) You will have a thick, creamy batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.

Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the fridge and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There’s no need to try to get even pieces — these are crumbs, they’re supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so slightly.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing

I made these cinnamon buns as part of our Mother's Day brunch this past weekend. A few months ago I'd made cinnamon rolls with a recipe calling for yeast and while they were amazing, I probably spent 3 hours pulling them together. I just didn't have that kind of time this weekend so when I found this recipe I definitely wanted to give it a try.

As promised, these were quick to pull together and relatively simple as well. I think I overcooked mine a tad but everyone still really seemed to like them. I thought they were really good too and found the small amount of the ground cloves in the recipe really added a lot to the finished product. I will absolutely make these again sometime, especially since Shane really loved them and will no doubt be requesting them!

Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing
from Baking Illustrated, by Editors of Cooks Illustrated Magazine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, for greasing the pan

Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Biscuit Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for work surface
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Icing
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar



Preheat oven to 425 F. Pour 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a 9-inch nonstick cake pan; brush to coat the pan. Spray a wire cooling rack with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Filling:
Combine the sugars, spices and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles wet sand; set the filling mixture aside.

For the Biscuit Dough:
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of melted butter in a measuring cup or small bowl. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed (the dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy.

Pat the dough into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with the filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border of plain dough around the edges. Press the filling firmly into the dough. Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen the dough from the work surface. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and cut it evenly into 8 pieces. With your hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place. Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared nonstick pan, then place the remaining 7 rolls around the perimeter of the pan. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Bake until the edges of the buns are golden brown, about 23 to 25 minutes. Use an offset metal spatula to loosen the buns from the pan. Wearing oven mitts, place a large plate over the pan and invert the buns onto the plate. Place a greased cooling rack over the plate and invert the buns onto the rack. Cool about 5 minutes before icing.

For the Icing:
While the buns are cooling, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set the rack with the buns over the baking sheet. Whisk the cream cheese and buttermilk in a large nonreactive bowl until thick and smooth (the mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Sift the confectioners' sugar over the mixture; whisk until a smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoon the glaze evenly over the buns; serve immediately.

Make 8 rolls.

TWD: Florida Pie!

Update: I can safely say that I've tried the Florida Pie and I'm not a huge fan. Don't get me wrong, I loved the coconut cream, but the lime filling didn't thrill me and seeing as that's a major part of the pie, I probably wouldn't make it my dessert of choice. I loved making this pie though, and will definitely make it for others at their request :-)





Finally!! My TWD post is incredibly late this week. I was sick all weekend and when I finally felt better I was cooking and baking for our Mother's Day brunch and just didn't get around to making my pie until tonight. So, let's get to it!
This week's TWD recipe comes courtesy of Dianne at Dianne's Dishes and is Florida Pie. I must confess that despite numerous trips to Florida and other tropical destinations, I've never tried Key Lime Pie. It's never really interested me for some reason (maybe because I always notice chocolate desserts first...) but I was still excited to try this recipe as it's definitely something I wouldn't have otherwise made.

I felt like I was nervous the entire time I was making the pie. First, I wondered whether my coconut cream had really reduced by half and had it thickened enough? Then I couldn't decide if my egg yolks were pale and thick enough after I had mixed them up. Finally, the meringue definitely caused me some concern as I didn't want to overdo the egg whites or burn them too much under the broiler. In the end, everything came together perfectly (I think) and I really like the way the pie turned out! Very rarely does my dessert look anything like Dorie's but this week I do see the resemblance!

I did use regular limes in my pie as I didn't have time to shop around for key limes this weekend. Also, after reading some of the other posts this morning, I added some lime zest to the filling. I haven't had a piece yet but tomorrow I'm going to try it and will report back!



Florida Pie
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan



1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust (I did make my own crust - see recipe below)
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.



Graham Cracker Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I crushed the crackers and performed the rest of the steps in the food processor to make my life a little easier.) Turn the ingredients into the pie plate and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs over the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on a rack.

Snickerdoodles

Updated: Kieran was nice enough to share some snickerdoodle photos with me for this post since I didn't have any. You will note that his pictures rock!! Someday I'll have to ask him to share his secrets with me :-)





I love snickerdoodles. There's something about their cinnamon-sugar goodness that I find irresistible. So, I knew that if I made these and left them sitting on our counter there was a good chance I'd eat way more of them than I needed to. Instead, I brought them into work today and let my co-workers enjoy them :-) Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures before they were devoured. I still wanted to share the recipe, though, because these are fantastic! A number of my co-workers asked me to bring them the recipe, which I consider the ultimate compliment when it comes to baking. I definitely recommend giving these a shot!! They're quick and easy and well worth the minimal effort required.

Snickerdoodles
from Baking Illustrated, by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 3 tablespoons for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for rolling dough

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening and the 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until combined, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs. Beat until well combined, about 30 seconds.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar for rolling and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the centers are soft and puffy, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack.