Triple Berry Lemon Cake

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted on this blog. Literally, years. And I’ve missed having a little corner in which to share the foods I’ve made. So, I guess I’m back. At least kind of. We’ll see how it goes this time around

And now onto the cake!

It’s been a long winter here in Colorado. And the past few months have been brutal. Not just because of freezing temps and snowstorms. It’s been those little glimpses of spring that lull you into flip flops and open windows, only to be slammed by ice and gray skies. So a few weeks ago, when I was asked to bring a dessert to a get-together, I decided even if it didn’t look like spring, it could certainly taste like it!

I love lemon and berries together. The tart bright touch of lemon in this cake is so lovely with the sweet berries. I use frozen berries for this cake, a triple berry blend with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. You can use whatever you like–but one note. If you use fresh berries, you have to be much more careful when mixing them in. So far me and my slap-dash style, frozen berries were easier. And trust me, not one person complained!

Triple Berry Lemon Cake (adapted, only slightly, from Smitten Kitchen)

Cake
2 1/2 cupsplus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups mixed berries of your choosing, frozen or fresh

Glaze
2 cups powdered or confections’ sugar
Juice of 1 lemon (or whatever you need for your desired consistency…I added a bit more until it was pourable, but thick)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very, very soft

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan, either with butter or a nonstick spray. (I use that Baker’s Joy stuff that has flour in it…and my cakes never stick!) Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk or sift 2 1/2 cups flour (leaving 2 tablespoons back), baking powder and salt together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and VERY fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then, with the mixer on a low speed, add your eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Beat in vanilla, briefly.

Add 1/3 flour mixture to batter, beating until just combined, followed by half the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and remaining flour mixture. Scrape down from time to time, but be careful not to over mix.

In the bowl where you’d mixed your dry ingredients, toss the berries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. With a spatula, gently fold the berries into the cake batter. The batter will be very thick and this will seem impossible without squishing the berries a little, but just do your best and remember that squished berries do indeed make for a pretty batter.

Spread cake batter — you might find it easier to spoon it in the pan in large scoops, because it’s so thick — in the prepared baking pan and spread the top smooth. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, rotating the cake 180 degrees after 30 (to make sure it browns evenly). The cake is done as soon as a tester comes out clean of batter.

Set cake pan on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, before inverting the cake onto a serving platter to cool the rest of the way. Cool completely. Once cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth and thick. (Just keep adding the lemon juice until it reaches the desired consistency–but don’t make it too thin. I like just barely pourable.) Spread carefully over top of cake, letting it trickle down the sides when and where it wishes. Serve at once or keep it covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Thanksgiving Recipes–Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie is my favorite pie ever. In the world. IN THE UNIVERSE.

But I only make it once a year. At Thanksgiving. Because I believe that if you eat this pie every week, the universe will implode. And you will probably go up a few pants sizes. And maybe have a heart attack.

But once a year, and you’re good.

Chess pies seem to be a southern thing. When I lived in Missouri, and now, in Colorado, most people haven’t heard of chess pie. Which makes me sad for them. Because chess pies are a think of beauty. Chocolate chess is my favorite, but I am also a fan of lemon.

This particular recipe comes from The Nancy Farmer Cookbook. I grew up with tons of recipes from this cookbook. Nancy Farmer was a home ec teacher in Virginia. She had a sister, Beverly, who always told Nancy she should make a cookbook. And when Beverly passed away, at the age of 22, Nancy made her cookbook.

So thank you Nancy, and Beverly, for my chocolate chess pie.

Chocolate Chess Pie
from The Nancy Farmer Cookbook

1 3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 10-inch pie crust, unbaked (or two, 9-inch, store bought crusts, filled a little less full)
Fresh whipped cream (optional)

Combine sugar, cocoa and butter; mix well. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour into pie shell(s). Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the pie is set and doesn’t “jiggle” (like your thighs will after you eat it!) I like to top it with a dollop of freshly whipped, lightly sweetened whipped cream. Heavenly!

Apple Orchard Punch

I don’t usually have strong feelings about punch. But this is by far my favorite punch ever.

It’s perfect for fall, but I honestly think it would be good any time. Heck, I just might go home and make some tonight, just to have around the house. It’s that good!

To be honest, there’s really not a lot to say about the process of making punch. Dump and stir, people. Dump and stire. But I do like floating apple slices in this. You cut them horizontally (so you’re cutting through the core, not down the core, if that makes sense). I love it because when you cut apples that way, where the seeds are makes a star shape.

I am explaining this really poorly. Just try it. It’s pretty

Apple Orchard Punch

Ingredients

• 1 (32 fluid ounce) bottle apple juice, chilled
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 liters ginger ale
• 1 apple
• 1 orange

Directions

1. In a large punch bowl, combine apple juice, cranberry juice concentrate and orange juice. Stir until dissolved, then slowly pour in the ginger ale.
2. Thinly slice the apple horizontally, forming whole apple slices. Slice the orange, just any old way. Float apple and orange slices on top of punch.

Candied Cranberries

Sugared cranberries were always one of those things that I admired from afar. I don’t know why, but I assumed they would be hard to make. But when I made a yummy cranberry orange cake recently, I knew that candied cranberries would be the PERFECT compliment.

And y’all, they are super easy! It’s as simple as dissolving some sugar into water, heating it to almost boiling, and then just letting the cranberries sit in  the sugar/water overnight.

I guess the most “complicated” part is just the fact that these take time. You need to give yourself at least 8 hours to let the cranberries get nice and coated in the sugar water, so they are sticky on the outside. And then another hour to let the sugar dry on the cranberries.

One other thing. The recipe calls for “super fine sugar.” I couldn’t find that in my grocery store (it’s NOT powdered sugar!) But I did find a trick online where you just take the sugar, and process it in your food processor, so it’s just a little more fine than granulated sugar. That consistency sticks better to the cranberries.

Ingredients

• 2  cups  granulated sugar
• 2  cups  water
• 2  cups  fresh cranberries
• 3/4  cup  superfine sugar

Preparation

Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Stir in cranberries; pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl. Place superfine sugar in a shallow dish. Add the cranberries, rolling to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Can you tell I’m posting things that I made MONTHS ago? This was actually a treat from the 12 Days of Christmas Goodies. But they were so yummy, that you should make them year-round!

These are somewhat a copy-cat recipe of Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars, which are a seasonal treat there. I think I like these better though! I actually increased the cream cheese from the recipe I had (I thought the original was a tad too sweet), and I didn’t do the powdered sugar and milk drizzle. I just didn’t think it needed it.

These are a really yummy treat! I highly recommend them

Cranberry Bliss Bars
adapted sligthly from recipezaar and Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
for cookie
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 tsp ground ginger (I would say this is optional. I like the ginger flavor, but I know not everybody does)
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. diced dried cranberries
3/4 c. white chocolate chunks

for frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. diced dried cranberries

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (well grease) 9×13 baking pan.
-In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy and light in color, about 2 minutes.
-Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt; beat well.
-Gradually mix in flour just until combined.
-Remove bowl from mixer and fold in cranberries and white chocolate.
-Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
-Place in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is barely light brown on the edges.
-Remove from oven and let cool.
-Meanwhile make the frosting.
-In stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat on low until smooth.
-When the cake has cooled invert onto cutting board and spread frosting over top, evenly.
-Sprinkle top with diced cranberries.
-Place cake on cutting board into the fridge to set, at least 1 hour.-Remove cake from fridge and, using a long knife, carefully slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle.
-Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices.
-Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.
-Or, really, just slice ‘em in squares. The triangle will make it look like Starbucks. But I didn’t care when I sliced mine
-Serve immediately or place into the fridge to keep for later.

Rich, Fudgy Chocolate Cookies (you won’t believe they’re gluten free!)

Gluten free foods confound me. I’m a baker. I love flour. Love, love, love it. I am comfortable with it. Flour and I, we’ve bonded.

So when I can’t use flour, or when I need to use non-wheat flour, I’m at a loss. I don’t know what works. I don’t know what doesn’t work. I have no clue if rice flour or soy flour or whatever kind of flour acts anything at all like wheat flour.

I would have just stayed in my flour-dusted little world, had it not been for some close friends who can’t have wheat or gluten. So, I set out on a quest to find the perfect baked good when entertaining those wheat/gluten-intolerant friends. My goal was to find a baked good that was naturally gluten-free–a recipe that didn’t have to be modified. One where taste wouldn’t suffer because of my wheat-free ignorance.

And y’all. I found it. I found a rich, delicious, absolutely wonderful cookie that EVERYBODY has liked (well, unless you don’t like chocolate. But if you can’t have wheat AND you don’t like chocolate, I’m not sure if we can be friends ) Nobody has even guessed that these cookies were gluten-free. It’s like, a miracle cookie. And my friends who can’t have wheat have approved the recipe, so no sneaky gluten has snuck into any of the ingredients.

It’s an easy recipe. Basically, the cookies use cocoa instead of flour. I highly recommend using bittersweet chocolate (Ghirardelli makes a yummy bittersweet chocolate chip). You can use semi-sweet if you’re in a pinch, but I would even substitute a little unsweetened for a small portion of the semi-sweet. They’re super sweet, and I wouldn’t  want them to become cloyingly sweet, especially since you roll the dough in powdered sugar before baking.

One thing I will warn you about. These are kind of a “molten” cookie. I had one friend describe them as a cookie on the outside and pudding on the inside. With the first batch, it’s always a little hard for me to figure out when they’re done. When they become firm on the outside, go ahead and pull them out–but handle them carefully, as they will be gooey on the inside. Usually, I pull one cookie off of the cookie sheet, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes, and then taste it. It’s a fine line between underdone and just-right-gooey, so just go with your gut

You really should try these, whether you can have wheat or not. They’re simple, and really delicious.

Dark Chocolate Cookies – from Epicurious

• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided (next time I might use 1/4 or 1/2 cup less)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets or line with parchment.

Gently melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.

Boozy Baked French Toast and Fruit Salad

Weird, I wrote this post FOREVER ago (seriously, more than a year) but never posted it! Which is a shame, because this baked french toast is seriously yummy! I love any recipe that you can assemble the night before, and just pop in the oven that morning.

(Plus, shhhhhh, this has booze in it! Although, how much of a secret is that, really, since I put it in the title of the post.)

It’s really a simple recipe. Slice up some challah bread (you should be able to find it in your grocery store bakery, but if not, you could also use a loaf of french bread). Do one layer of bread, and then add any “filling” (nuts, dried fruit, etc. work well–however, if you do nuts, I would recommend maybe toasting them with some cinnamon and sugar. Or, honestly, I liked it just as well without any filling at all). Put your second layer of bread on (I wouldn’t recommend more than two layers, it won’t really bake up well). Then just pour your egg mixture on top, wrap it up, and let it sit overnight.

I like that this is a great basic recipe that you can make your own. You could add orange zest and maybe orange liqueur as your flavoring. Or just plain vanilla. I used a mixture of vanilla and caramel Bailey’s. It baked up really nice, and the middle almost a custard.

And it was just perfect with a heavy-handed drizzle of warmed maple syrup and some fruit salad on the side. Speaking of the fruit salad, I just kind of made it up. But I highly recommend the use of citrus zest in fruit salad. It is oh so good!

Enjoy!

Boozy Baked French Toast

1 loaf supermarket Challah bread in 1-inch slices

3 cups whole milk

3 eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Your choice of flavorings: I used 3 tablespoons Caramel Bailey’s and a teaspoon or so of vanilla. I also added a sprinkling of pecans between layers…next time though, I think I will toast them with some brown sugar and cinnamon.

1. Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with salted or unsalted butter.

2. Arrange bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. I always cut one slice into smaller pieces to fill in gaps, especially when using braided Challah. If using a thinner-sliced bread, you might wish for more layers, but baking tends to get difficult here. If you are using any fillings of fruit or nuts, this is the time to get them between the layers or sprinkled atop.

3. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt and booze or flavorings of your choice and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

4. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard while you sleep.

5. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. This will take longer if you have additional layers.

6. Cut into generous squares and serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or all of the above.

Serves 6 as main course.

Fruit Salad

Not really a recipe, as I just kind of made it up. I took two mango, one papaya, and two granny smith apples. Tossed them all together with the juice and zest of one lime, and honey to taste.

$50 Smores Cupcakes

Y’all. These are SO YUMMY! And yes, there are a few steps. But I promise, nothing too complicated. You should make them tonight. And then send me a few.

(Just a little bragging…I made these for a dessert auction, and they sold for $50! So, henceforth, I shall call them the $50 Smores Cupcakes. Because I can )

Basically, you first just make a graham cracker crust, with some graham cracker crumbs, and a bit of butter. Smoosh that into the bottom of your cupcake liner, and bake for a few minutes.

Then, use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe (I’ve included mine below). Spoon that in over the graham cracker crust, and bake it up.

Then, you whip up a marshmallow frosting. I found a really simple recipe that required no measuring of temperature. Somehow, whenever I have to use a candy thermometer, everything falls apart. Pipe on the frosting…

And then, you torch it! Sorry, I have no pictures of the actual torching process. Believe me, I would have likely burned down my house had I tried to juggle a cupcake, butane torch and a camera. But just use a creme brulee torch, and you’re good. If you don’t have one…well…I hesitate to even suggest it, but you could just broil them in the oven. But…ACK, broiling scares me! But if you’re okay with it, that’s another option…just keep a close eye on it. And do like I do, and have a chair at the ready under the closest smoke detector so you can rip out the battery when it goes off

And there you have it. Buttery, chocolatey, toasty goodness. You can also do these in miniature form…they’re adorable! I like to finish mine off with a square of Hershey chocolate stuck on the top. So fun!

S’mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the marshmallow frosting:
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.  Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.) Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

To make the cake batter Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

To make the frosting,place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.  Brown with a kitchen torch and garnish with chocolate segments (optional).

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Bars

I know what you’re thinking.

Rice Krispie Bars?

Nothing for weeks, and now she gives us Rice Krispie Bars?

But y’all. These are SOOOO good! Like, Rice Krispie Bars for grown-ups!

Because you brown the butter. So it’s all yummy and complex and nutty. And yummy. Oh. So. Yummy.

And there’s a little bit of kosher salt. Which balances the sweet.

Trust me, you’ll love them. And people will love you when you serve them!

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Bars
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars (I tried doubling the recipe, and it was just really hard to stir in all of the rice krispies. if you do want a larger batch, I recommend doing the batches separately, and then putting them in a 9×13 pan)

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Watch the pot carefully, as the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. You can use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that you’ve sprayed with oil to press the mixture firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works pretty well too.

Let cool, cut into squares.

So much food, so little time…

Okay, I’m really going to crank them out now. I have tons of recipes I want to post. So, no more waxing poetic about butter and sugar. Picture. Recipe. Picture.

And who am I kidding. A little snark. But I need to share this food with you! So you can cook it too!