Apple Blossom Blackberry Tart with Homemade Puff Pastry (two Le Creuset winners!)

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | April 13, 2009
Filed Under Tart, basic, recipe | 34 Comments

I admit I enjoy the detailed work of an elaborate dessert or cake on occasion. I was a fine arts major who couldn’t paint or draw particularly well, but loved being in the midst of all that creativity in the art department. It wasn’t until I found myself in a pastry kitchen that I realized food was the medium that allowed me to express myself. So fussing over gum paste and fondant is relaxing to me. But, there are times I want to create something that is just pure and simple. When flavors are the end all and their natural beauty unadorned.

I’ve been reading A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis. The executive chef from Chez Panisse who has the most enviable career I’ve ever heard of. He spends 6 months of the year cooking at Alice Water’s acclaimed restaurant and the remainder of his time he is in France. Just one chapter in and you can’t help but hate him for having figured out the perfect life. He eloquently describes shopping in the morning at the outdoor produce market and then cooking with his friends while drinking local wines and nibbling on aged cheeses. His entire philosophy is simplicity. In fact, the book’s one downfall for me is that there is no challenge in any of his desserts, they are all simple to a fault. Gorgeous and as delicious as a fresh fig, but where is all of the fussy detail that I often crave.

I want to be David Tanis when I grow up! 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

Basics: Génoise and Homemade Rolled Fondant! part one.

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | October 14, 2008
Filed Under basic, cake, cookbooks I love, recipe | 32 Comments

I’m gearing up for my one year blog-iversary next week and I’m making myself a cake. On the way to that celebratory occasion I’ve made a few of the basic elements in the pastry kitchen; génoise and homemade rolled fondant. As Sherry Yard says in the opening of her génoise recipe from The Secrets of Baking, this simple cake is a test of pastry chefs technical prowess. It is used in competitions and in restaurant job interviews to see if you were paying attention in culinary school. Génoise is a basic cake used for weddings, birthdays, jellyrolls, petits fours and many more classic desserts. I love this delicious, light and versatile cake when it is baked well. You can add flavored syrup to it without it disintegrating into mush, it holds up to buttercream, ganache, fondant and anything else you can think of. It may seem old school, but I think génoise really is essential and can be easy if you have the right recipe and the proper technique. Read more

An Ode to Illy, Mocha Chip Cookies!

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | October 10, 2008
Filed Under basic, cookies, recipe | 30 Comments

For those of you who have been visiting with me on Twitter, you already know that my day doesn’t begin until my first, or sometimes second, cup of coffee. It was a happy day for me when my local costco started carrying Illy coffee. I first had this smooth, rich, deep cup of “liquid life” when I attended a pastry conference at the CIA in Napa Valley a few year ago. I was hooked, but it is awfully expensive and I rarely splurged. Now I can have it and not feel as though I’m exploiting my bank account. My Twitter friends are very vocal about their coffee preferences and say they like illy but prefer Caffe Kimbo and LavAzz. What is your favorite bean?

My 1st Anniversary of Zoe Bakes is coming up and I’ve ordered a special apron in honor of the event. I’ll be giving it away as soon as it arrives. One Year, how time flies!

Tuile Garnish

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | October 5, 2008
Filed Under basic, recipe | 9 Comments

This is a very versatile garnish to use on cakes or plated desserts. The only enemy to tuile is humidity, keep them in an airtight container and don’t even try these in the sultry days of late August in MN. Read more

Orange Scented Sponge Cake

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 27, 2008
Filed Under basic, cake, dessert, recipe | 7 Comments

orange sponge

I made this Fresh Orange Sponge Cake from my The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. It is a classic and really nothing about it needs changing. It is light and the orange gives the cake a fresh flavor that isn’t overly sweet. I combined it with a dacquoise, strawberry whipped cream and home made jam to make a birthday torte for my stepmother. Even though there is no butter or oil in the cake I find it moist enough that I didn’t use a simple syrup soak. But you certainly could add it for flavor. Read more

Strawberry Whipped Cream, almost a Fool

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 23, 2008
Filed Under basic, dessert, recipe | 16 Comments

strawberry coulis

These strawberries were so gorgeous that I just had to have them. They were the inspiration for a Summer Torte I made for my stepmother’s birthday, that recipe to come soon. First I made a Strawberry Fool of sorts, but unlike a traditional fool I used pectin to stabilize it. I needed the whipped cream to hold up when used as the layers of the cake, but I didn’t want to use gelatin. I’ve been playing with pectin ever since my brother and his girlfriend became vegans. Plus, it is just fun to play with new ingredients in ways I hadn’t before. Read more

Toasted Almond Dacquoise

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 22, 2008
Filed Under basic, cake, recipe | 12 Comments

dacquoise

The dacquoise is a dainty little cake layer that is sadly under used by home bakers. It is a light meringue that has nuts folded into it and baked in a thin layer. The dacquoise is crisp and used to add a sweet, nuttiness to your cakes. I love the contrast of a dacquoise with a soft sponge cake and a fruit mousse in the summer or with layers of rich chocolate in cooler weather.

This recipe comes from my 1992 edition of The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. The pages are falling out and covered in butter and chocolate stains. It is a must have for anyone who loves baking. Flo Braker writes as though she is teaching a class, everything is well thought out and explained so that the recipes are nearly fool proof. Read more

Lime-Lavender Granita with Fresh Figs

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 11, 2008
Filed Under basic, dessert, frozen dessert, recipe | 12 Comments

lime lavender granita

I’m finally home from all of my traveling. I’ve never been so happy to be in my kitchen, despite the 94° forecast and no air conditioner. Something frozen, tart and a little floral is exactly what I need to get through this day. I just went to the market and bought a flat of fresh, dripping-with-juices-ripe figs. The sweetness of their nectar will balance perfectly with the lime and lavender. Read more

Lavender Simple Syrup

Print Print | Print Email this to a friend | July 11, 2008
Filed Under basic, dessert, recipe | 10 Comments

lavender

This gorgeous ~~lavender~~* (salvia) plant is from Stephen Durfee’s garden in Napa, CA. It inspired my to make a granita on a hot day and drizzle it on a honey cake with blueberries.

The following recipe can be made with rosemary, lemon thyme, star anise, cinnamon sticks, organic edible rose petals or any other aromatic that you want to flavor your syrup with. I love to have these flavored syrups around to sweeten tea, use as a drizzle over sponge cake, flavor cocktails, granitas, sorbets and lemonade. Read more

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