Halloween Marble Cake! …and a “Best Baking Blog” nomination

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | October 11, 2009
Filed Under cake, equipment, kids, recipe | 52 Comments

I will talk about the joys and pains (luckily there is a happy ending) of this cake, but first I want to Thank You, for it had to be you, who nominated me for the “Best Baking Blog” award from Foodbuzz. Imagine my surprise and delight to see my name on this list of wildly talented bakers:

7. Best Baking Blog:
1. Bakerella
2. Brown Eyed Baker
3. CakeSpy
4. Joy the Baker
5. ZoeBakes

If you have not yet voted for your favorite blogs I encourage you to cast your vote here. Thanks!

Before I had two boys it would never have occurred to me to put spiders on a cake. Thank god for little boys! Of course, there are deeper things that I have learned since parenting, but seeing the world through their eyes has made me happier, younger and sillier, which is such a gift. There is always their homework, cleaning rooms, taking baths, going to bed and eating spinach to keep us aware of our duties as parents, but sometimes it is about having fun. Spiders on a cake is just plain fun.

Although this cake is very simple to make, it took me two tries to get it right. That sounds more intimidating than it really is. The reason was not my fault, really. I read the recipe and thought to myself that it was WAY too much baking powder, but went ahead anyway. I figured the additional baking powder was because of the weight of the chocolate that is folded in. I mixed it up as written and when I looked in the oven as it baked it was bubbling, not something you really want to see as a cake rises. This is a classic sign of too much baking powder. If the ratio of flour and baking powder is off the leavening agent will create bubbles that are too big and the cake will end up falling due to the lack of structure. You want nice tight small bubbles to allow the cake to rise, but not too rapidly or it will collapse. Within 10 minutes I knew I should have trusted my instincts. I remade the cake with less baking powder and it turned out perfectly, the happy ending! I’ll talk more about how to use baking powder properly as I mix up the batter below. Read more

Charlie’s Chocolate Charlotte for his 8th Birthday! (how to make your own ladyfingers!)

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | March 11, 2009
Filed Under cake, kids, recipe | 39 Comments

Happy Birthday Charlie! You are the best sous chef a mom could ever ask for!

Not to be outdone by his brother’s Valentine’s dessert, Charlie designed these little cakes for his 8th birthday. Complete with layers of different chocolate mousse, a drizzle of caramel and topped with cream and berries. He instructed me to put strips of cake around the outside to hold it all in. Voila, he had built a Charlotte in his mind! The kid is a genius! (in my humble, unbiased opinion )

Charlie has helped me in the kitchen ever since he could drag a stool over to the counter. He cracks eggs like pro, knows how to use a kitchen scale and is going to have better knife skills than I do someday soon. He already makes his own crepes, aebleskivers and bread, of course! He has passion in the kitchen and that special touch it takes to be a great chef! And a proud mom! Read more

My Son Henri’s Valentine Vision!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | February 11, 2009
Filed Under cake, kids, recipe | 53 Comments

This cake was designed by my 9 year old son. He even instructed me on how I should put it together. His plan was to bake a sheet of cake and cut the layers with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Then stack them together with raspberry cream and pour a glossy chocolate ganache over the top. I know I’m biased, but I think he is brilliant!

Happy Valentines to my two sons, Henri and Charlie, and my husband Graham! My 3 muses!

Here is Henri’s vision, I must say it is as delicious as it is pretty! Read more

Aunt Else’s Aebleskiver Giveaway! (My Baker’s Christmas Wish List continues!)

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | December 12, 2008
Filed Under equipment, giveaway!, kids | 261 Comments

This fall I met Chad and his partners at the Mill City Farmer’s Market in Minneapolis. My co-author and I did a bread presentation from our book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. When I came off the stage, there was Chad and these funny round pans which were filled with little cakey spheres. I’m not sure what pastry rock I have been living under, but this site was completely foreign to me. I had to run off to do a wedding cake that day so I couldn’t stay to see Chad’s explanation or try one of these donut/dumpling/cake/crepe like creations. The following week I went back to find him and his spheres and this is what I learned:

Plus, enter to win… Read more

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sugared Cranberries! (The Apron Winner is…)

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | November 10, 2008
Filed Under basic, cake, giveaway!, kids, recipe | 45 Comments

This past week I taught several classes on bread baking. We made breads from my book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day that fit the cooling weather, like oatmeal pumpkin bread. The recipe calls for a roasted “pie” pumpkin, but only uses 1 cup of it. I promised all the wonderful people in my class that I would come up with a way to use the rest of that pumpkin puree and share it here. Every year at this time I make a Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake, in fact I make a few of them, by demand. It tastes like the richest, creamiest pumpkin pie you will ever eat. Even people who swear they don’t like pumpkin love this cheesecake.

I topped it with some beautiful red fruits, including sugared cranberries. The tartness combined with the crisp sugar coating is a perfect compliment to the smoothness of the cake. Keep reading and I’ll show you how.

Before I make the cheesecake I want to THANK YOU all for the fantastic well wishes during this eventful month! The winner of the Zoë bakes apron by Crooked Brook is… Read more

Apple Pumpkin Cake and a Fantastic Book Giveaway

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | September 30, 2008
Filed Under Book Giveaway, cake, kids, recipe | 196 Comments

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend BARB!!!!

Every year at this time I make apple cakes, many of them. It is our traditional dessert during Rosh Hashanah** and just simply delicious for any occasion. This year I tried a new recipe from Robin Asbell’s latest book on Whole Grains. It gets its richness from pumpkin puree, a layer of sauteed apples and then the whole thing is topped with spiced struesel. This cake is so amazing, I had to bake two. The first one my family ate before I could photograph it for this post, so I made another, it’s gone too. Because the cake is made with whole wheat flour, apples and pumpkin I feel great about satisfying my boys’ requests to eat it for breakfast, a snack and dessert.

To win the book Read more

Sweet Peach Lassi

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 31, 2008
Filed Under breakfast, frozen dessert, kids | 16 Comments

lassi

How can something so tasty be SO easy. Just throw it all in the blender, let it whirl and you have a a gorgeous lassi! This is what I made my boys for breakfast this morning. Peaches and a bit of honey sweeten the tangy yogurt. Pour it in beautiful little glasses you can serve it as dessert after an Indian feast or a light picnic on the patio.

The recipe comes from my friend Suvir’s book, Indian Home Cooking. I switched to peaches from his traditional mango and replaced the sugar with honey, otherwise it is all his! He and I will be teaching a class at Cooks of Crocus Hill on August 30th for any of you in the area who would like to join us. It will be a wonderful evening of his incredible food and I will be creating breads and sweets to match. Read more

Crazy About Fresh Warm Doughnuts!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | March 14, 2008
Filed Under Artisan Bread book, breakfast, dessert, kids, recipe | 12 Comments

doughnuts

I made a batch of chocolate filled beignets for a dinner party. The next morning the oil was still on the stove, albeit cold and I had brioche dough left in the bucket. My boys were waiting for something to eat and the coffee machine was doing its magic. In as much time as it would have taken me to make oatmeal I whipped together a batch of warm fresh doughnuts. The boys were thrilled and my coffee had the perfect companion! Read more

“Gourmand Kids!” the Star Tribune asked what my boys eat…

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | January 23, 2008
Filed Under breakfast, dessert, kids, recipe | 9 Comments

crepes

May Chen asked me what I fed my boys when they were little, as part of an article she wrote for Cribsheet, a blog about kids at startribune.com. My guys are very adventurous eaters, borderline extreme. Yeah, they will try anything, once. The raw oysters were not a huge hit but sushi is a favorite. I suppose they have to draw the line somewhere, for now! Read about some of their favorites and our family philosophy on food!

As part of the article I gave her a recipe for crepes, because my boys LOVE them, depending what you fill them with they can be a meal or a sweet treat!!!

For the recipe and a demo on making crepes read on:

Back to Basics: the original chocolate chip cookie

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | January 1, 2008
Filed Under basic, dessert, kids, reader question, recipe | 7 Comments

toll house cookies They are the cookies we all ate as kids and probably still make on occasion. Toll House, of course. The recipe right off the bag. It is the cookie by which all others are measured. The perfect balance of sweet and salty, gooey, chewy and crisp. Most of us, as we got more confident in the kitchen, ventured from the bag and experimented with other recipes. We dared to add oats, nuts, dried fruit, black pepper, and even pumpkin puree to our chocolate chip cookies but there is still a place for the original. Read more