Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting from Jubilee

 Ingredients for the cake:

3 C all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks butter at room temp

2 C white sugar

4 eggs

Directions for the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 9 inch cake pans or 13 x 9 baking pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients. In small bowl combine buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour alternating w/buttermilk, 3 additions each. 

4. Bake 30-35 min. 

Ingredients for frosting:

12 Tbsp butter at room temperature

1 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C whole milk

3 C sifted powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C half and half

Directions:

1. Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and milk. Boil for two minutes. 

2. Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until cool and thick. Can add half and half only if needed if too thick. 

Sanguinaccio

The Robber and I have been treating ourselves to what I think this is at Cafe Venecia in Palo Alto for the last few years-- I'll admit this recipe is the reason I saved any of the Italian newspapers in the first place. I'm hoping it delivers when I actually make some. From AdriBarrCrocetti.com. Serves 4 or more, depending on serving size.

Ingredients

3 T cornstarch
1 C sugar
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 1/2 C whole milk
1 1/2 C heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1 vanilla bean
4 oz 62% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Whipped cream, to garnish

Directions

1. Pour the milk into a 2 qt saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape the seeds into the saucepan and add the bean. Heat over a medium flame until small bubbles form around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover and set aside to steep for 20 min.

2. Blend the cornstarch, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Add the cream and combine. Add the egg yolks and beat well.

4. Slowly pour all the hot milk over the cocoa mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Stir over a medium low flame until it thickens and comes to a boil, about 7-8 minutes.

5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler.

6. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Remove and discard the vanilla bean. Add the melted chocolate, stirring until smooth. Garnish with whipped cream.

Bob Andy Pie

Like milk in a pie, and nothing else. I made this just because. It went down like nothing and somehow emotionally, if not physically satisfied. I would say the chances of this getting made again are pretty low given the sheer number of fabulous pie choices, but I wouldn't count it out on a cloudy day.

From Recipe Girl:

http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/sweet-treats/bob-andy-pie-2/

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

3 large eggs

2 C. whole milk

1 C. granulated sugar

2 T. flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon (prolly used at least three plus some nutmeg)

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Crack eggs in a medium bowl; brush pie shell with a little of the egg whites. 

3.  Whisk eggs until thoroughly mixed; whisk in milk. 

4. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl, then whisk into milk mixture.

5. Set pie shell on oven rack and pour filling into shell. Bake until custard has set and crust is golden, about 50 minutes.

6. Cool and serve room temperature or chilled.

Blueberry Boy Bait

So once I had made Smitten Kitchen's rhubarb snacking cake, you knew it was only a matter of time before we had to try all of the "summer everyday cakes", right? I had left over blueberries from the lemon yogurt blueberry cake and so it was perfect timing to move on to the blueberry boy bait and I made it for my Robber boy. Predictably, he loved it and was super happy to eat all of it, and weirdly I didn't love it and felt it rather boring and burdensome calorically. This could be because it was a) super hot in the Cubby and I was very very sweaty and b) I had just re-weighed myself and found that I had gained two pounds since the last time I weighed myself perhaps over a month ago and c) I'm just harder to impress these days for whatever reason and d) the blueberries didn't pop out to me so I felt they were wasted. But all the reviewers on Smitten Kitchen loved loved this recipe as do their boys and my boy so maybe there is just something wrong with me? Sadly for the Robber, I may need a little time before I move on to the raspberry buttermilk cake and strawberry summer cakes.

Notes: Due to the few (and very far between) reviewers on Smitten Kitchen who felt the cake itself was bland and too sweet, I reduced the white sugar by 1/4 C. and added 1 tsp. vanilla, about a 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, and a few generous dashes of nutmeg to the batter which probably helped and certainly didn't hurt. I also tripled the cinnamon (it's one of my basic rules of cooking.) One reviewer added cardamom which sounds intriguing as a possibility but I wasn't that bold this time. The recipe below is as it is written on Smitten Kitchen, not as above.

Originally from a 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off, adapted by Cook's Country, and most recently by way of Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/blueberry-boy-bait/

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

2 C. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

16 T. unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

3/4 C. packed light brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 C. whole milk or buttermilk

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

For the topping:

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

2. Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. 

3. With electric mixer in a second large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl. 

4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. (I don't use the mixer for this step, but rather mix it by hand.)

5. Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Spread 1/2 batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Add 1/2 C. blueberries to remaining batter and gently stir in. Add remaining batter to pan and spread evenly. 

6. Scatter additional 1/2 C. blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. 

7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 

8. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)

Coconut Banana Bread

After years of dreaming of this recipe, my mother finally re-found it among her archives and we made it not once, but twice! while I was there for a week last month. The coconut-banana bread of my memories was the only banana bread I really ever wanted (although I did find a thoroughly delicious commercial banana cake at the 7-11s in Thailand) and now that I have this recipe, banana bread may not be baked in my oven any other way. So happy to finally have it.

From Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, as originally written.

Ingredients:

1 C. flaked coconut

1/4 C. butter or margarine, at room temperature

2/3 C. sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

3 T. milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 C. sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)

Directions:

1. Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, greased or Teflon, by lining with greased wax paper cut to size.

2. Toast the coconut on a baking sheet in a moderate over (350F) until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Stir the flakes occasionally and keep a watchful eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

3. In a large mixing or mixer bowl fitted with the flat beater cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the milk, lemon juice, and almond extract. 

4. Sift the flour again into the mixing bowl with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend thoroughly.

5. Work the bananas into the mixture and gently fold in the toasted coconut. (Reserve a large pinch of coconut to sprinkle on the top of the loaf.)

6. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan, pushing the dough into the corners and leveling the top with a rubber scraper.

7. Bake until light brown, 1 hour. A metal skewer or wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf should come out clean. (If using a convection oven, reduce heat 40 degrees.)

8. Remove bread from the oven. Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely before serving.

Baked Pumpkin and Sour Cream Puddings

I made these the last weekend I was in Rochester with pumpkin leftover from my pumpkin butterscotch scones. I didn't have any sour cream, so instead I used my egg whites left over from the chocolate cream pie I made for Valentine's and used the meringue from my lemon meringue pie recipe to top off the ramekins. So delicious! Why do we never have pumpkin meringue pie? Seriously! Maybe next time I make a lemon pie, I will try topping it with the sour cream.

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/11/baked-pumpkin-and-sour-cream-puddings/

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

1 3/4 C. pumpkin puree

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 C. whole milk

1/2 C. heavy cream

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the topping:

1 C. sour cream

1 T. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. The quickest method: In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the pudding ingredients.

2. For creamier, silkier pudding: Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices in a food processor and blend for 30 seconds. Transfer to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. Once glurping and simmering in the pot, cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The mixture will thicken and get a bit darker. Reduce heat slightly and whisk in milk and cream. Off the heat, slowly whisk in eggs. (This is the method that I used)

3. Both methods: Divide between 7 to 8 (I used 7) ovenproof 6-ounce pudding cups or ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until puddings barely jiggle when shimmied and/or a knife tip inserted into the center of puddings comes out clean. Try not to overbake.

4. While they bake, combine topping ingredients in a small bowl. When the puddings are cooked through, transfer to a cooling rack on the counter and leave oven on. Spoon 2 tablespoons of sour cream mixture onto first pudding and use a small offset spatula, butter knife or spoon to quickly (it will get melty fast) spread it over the top of the first pudding. Repeat with remaining puddings.

5. Return puddings to oven for 5 more minutes, then cool completely at room temperature, about 1 to 2 hours. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with gingersnaps.

Yield: 7-8 6 oz. puddings.

Banana Cream Pie With Candied Walnuts

Since marrying the Robber I have been on a quest to find a banana cream pie I could really get behind. You see, the Robber loves loves loves banana cream pie and to the vast vast vast majority of cream pies I say: meh. There is nothing exciting a banana cream pie has to offer. No thrill of taste. No comforting sigh. Mostly just bland custard and too-soft bananas.

But the quest. The sacrifices we make for marriage. And finally, this pie, and this triumph. Yes! This pie is triumph! For the first time in my life, I have met a banana cream pie I could eat over again, get excited about making again, savor in my sleep. I have found you banana cream pie, and now I will never stray again. The search is over. I found this pie on pieloveyou.blogspot.com, but it comes by way of Bubby's Homemade Pies, a cookbook based out of a restaurant in Lower Manhattan. I made my own crust for it, but I'm sure it would be just as delicious with the crust suggested which is below.

Note: I made a full batch of the candied walnuts, which I used for both the pie and a salad. For the pie only I think you could use a half batch and have plenty.

You can find the recipe online here:

http://pieloveyou.blogspot.com/2010/02/banana-cream-pie-with-candied-walnuts-4.html

For the candied nuts:

1/4 C. honey (any type)

1 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. raw, unsalted walnuts or pecans

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together honey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, nuts and mix well.

2) Spread the coated nuts on a large, well-greased, baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. Stir and scrape them up every 5 minutes with a spatula. Return to pan until they smell good and are a deep glossy brown. Be careful not to burn them.

3) Remove the pan from the oven and scrap the nuts up while they are cooling and spread onto a plate so they won't stick together. When the nuts are cool, dry and set, store them in a container in the refrigerator and store up for 3 weeks.

For the sour cream crust:

1 C. all purpose flour

1 pinch salt

8 T. (one stick) cold, unsalted butter

1/2 C. very cold sour cream

1. Combine flour and salt and cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the cold sour cream and mix by hand to combine until it it forms a ball. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2. Roll chilled disk into a 12-inch round on a well-floured surface. Place into a 9 inch pie pan and cut overhang down to a 1/2 on all sides. Fold under to create a thicker lip on pie edge and decoratively pinch sides. Once set, chill in freezer for 15 minutes before cooking.

3. While re-chilling the pie, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line pie with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and decrease temperature to 300 for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

For the vanilla pudding:

2 C. whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

1/2 C. sugar, divided

pinch of salt

1/2 C. egg yolks (about 6 yolks)

1/4 C. cornstarch

4 T. (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1. In a large, heavy, non-reactive saucepan (aluminum reacts and will cause a pudding to turn dingy grey), combine the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the vanilla bean and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth.

2. Have the whisk, a ladle and a large glass or ceramic dish handy. Heat the milk mixture in the saucepan until it just comes to a boil, whisking it a bit as it gets steamy. When you see the first bubbles boiling up, take the pan off the heat and place it on a potholder next to the egg mixture. (To make life a little easier on yourself, put the egg bowl on the right if you're right-handed, or on the left if you're left-handed. Use your stronger arm to whisk; use your weaker arm to ladle the hot milk.

3. During the next steps, stir constantly or the eggs will coagulate and you'll have scrambled eggs. This is quick work. Take a ladle full of hot milk and pour it in a thin stream into the eggs, whisking constantly. Continue stirring, and add a few more ladle fulls of hot milk to the eggs in the same way. The tempered eggs are now ready to add back into the hot milk.

4. To do this, whisk the hot milk constantly and pour the tempered eggs in slowly. When fully combined, put this mixture back on the stove top over medium heat and continue to whisk constantly.The mixture should be ready to come back to a boil very quickly.When the custard nears the consistency of pudding, take very short pauses in stirring to look for signs of a bubble surfacing (it is more like a single volcanic blurp). Don't look too closely, or you'll risk getting spattered with hot pudding. Just stir, pause briefly, stir, and so on.

5. When you see the first blurp, remove the pan from the heat immediately and whisk in the cubes of butter.Whisk until fully combined and immediately pour the pudding into a large glass or ceramic dish to cool it down. While the pudding is still very hot, stretch plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Smooth out any air pockets to make the pudding airtight. This will prevent a skin or condensation from forming on top of the pudding. Refrigerate the pudding until completely cold — at least 4 hours.

6. Stir the cold pudding and retrieve the vanilla bean. Squeeze out the excess seeds (those little black specks) in the interior of the pod with your thumb and forefinger — pinch and slide your fingers down the length of the bean, freeing the black seeds as you go. Do this with each half of the bean, returning as many seeds as possible to the pudding.

Putting it all together:

4-5 medium sized bananas (select ripe bananas without any sign of spots or green near the stem)

1 1/2 T. of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 C. sour cream

Vanilla pudding

Candied nuts

1. Slice the bananas 1/4 inch thick to get 4 cups and immediately toss in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Stir the vanilla extract into the sour cream and gently fold into the bananas. Layer the coated bananas in the pie crust and flatten them. Pour the pudding on top and smooth it with a spatula.

2. Cover the pie in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting. Serve the wedges of pie cold sprinkled with candied walnuts.

3. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Rhubarb Crisp Icecream

This was a lot of prep work, but so good! The Robber loves rhubarb crisp so I thought why not try and take it up a level and make rhubarb crisp icecream? Well, the Robber always would rather have the simpler version of things, but he certainly wasn't complaining! What I like about this recipe is that the brown sugar icecream is a nice base that you could add a lot of different fruit-nut-whatever to and come up with something delicious. It goes along with my new philosophy that cooking is like street style fashion. You don't have to love the whole outfit.... just you know. Something. Right.

Note: The caramel for the nuts takes less than ten minutes to make, so don't try to make it while the oats are in the oven, because then your caramel will get overdone while you wait for the oats. Yes. This is what happened to me.

From Eggs on Sunday:

http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/rhubarb-crisp-ice-cream/

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 C. whole milk

1/2 C. granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

2 C. heavy cream

1/3 C. packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

5 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Warm the milk, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, brown sugar and cinnamon; set a mesh strainer over this bowl and set aside.

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Once the milk mixture has warmed, slowly pour it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the yolks. Transfer the entire custard mixture back into the medium saucepan.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the custard mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard through the mesh strainer into the bowl containing the heavy cream, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to combine, then stir in the vanilla. Set into an ice bath to cool thoroughly.

4. Freeze in your ice cream maker, adding the stewed rhubarb (see below) and oatmeal praline (see below) during the last few minutes of churning. Add the rhubarb first, making sure it’s swirled throughout the frozen ice cream, then add the oatmeal praline.

Makes a generous quart.

Stewed Rhubarb

Note: This recipe makes a little more than you need for the ice cream. Stir in as much as you like while the ice cream is churning, and save any extra to top the ice cream or to stir into yogurt, etc. I also used slightly less sugar than originally called for, as I didn’t want the end product to be too sweet when combined with the sweet ice cream base.

You can make this ahead and refrigerate it.

Ingredients:

12 oz. rhubarb

2/3 C. water

1/2 C. sugar

Directions:

1. Wash and trim the ends of the rhubarb. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a medium saucepan with the water and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and cooked through. Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Oatmeal Praline

Ingredients:

3/4 C. rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

1/2 C. sugar

Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with foil. Spread the oats evenly on the sheet and bake in the oven, about 10 minutes, or until they’re fragrant and toasted. Remove from oven; transfer the oats to a bowl and return the foil to the baking sheet.

2. Spread the sugar evenly in a medium, heavy-bottomed skillet. Cook over medium heat, watching carefully, until the sugar begins to liquefy and darken around the edges. When it begins to do this, you can stir it gently with a heatproof spatula to moisten and melt the remaining sugar crystals.

3. Continue gently stirring and tilting the pan until all of the sugar is melted and the caramel begins to smoke. When it’s turned a deep golden color, turn off the heat and immediately add the oats to the skillet.

4. Stir the oats quickly but gently to coat them all with caramel, then scrape them onto the foil-lined baking sheet. Spread them out as best you can, sprinkle with the salt and let them cool completely. Once they’re cool, you can break them into smaller chunks by either pulsing them in a food processor or placing them in a large ziptop bag and smacking them with a meat mallet or rolling pin (I opted for this latter method.)

Makes about 1 cup.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

I made these for dessert on R-DAY for our guests and even the Robber, not usually a fan of chocolate and berries together, deemed these a hit. Thanks again, Annie! I love that it is a way of fancying up something as easy and simple as shortcake and making it seem decadent.

From Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan by way of Annie: http://annies-eats.net/2011/08/12/chocolate-strawberry-shortcakes/

Ingredients:

For the shortcakes:

1 1/3 C. whole milk (I used 2%)

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 1/3 C. all-purpose flour

2/3 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ C. sugar, plus more for sprinkling

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semisweet)

1½ sticks (12 T.) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small piece

For the strawberries:

1½ lbs. strawberries, hulled and sliced or quartered

3-4 T. sugar

Squeeze of lemon juice

For the whipped cream:

1 C. heavy cream

2-3 T. confectioners’ sugar

Dash vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the milk, vanilla and egg. Whisk to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ½ cup of sugar. Stir to combine. Add in the butter and toss to coat the butter in the dry ingredients. Working quickly with a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are no larger than small peas. Mix in the chopped chocolate and toss to combine.

3. Pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients and stir gently until a sticky dough forms. Very gently knead the dough just until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

4. Scoop the dough in about 1/3 cup mounds onto the baking sheets, leaving a few inches in between. Gently pat the mounds to about 1-inch thickness. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the shortcakes are puff and give just slightly when lightly pressed, about 15-18 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5. To make the strawberries, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Toss well to coat the berries with the sugar and let macerate at least 30-60 minutes. If desired, mash lightly with a fork.

6. Just before serving, make the whipped cream. Place the chilled cream and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on high speed until medium-stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat. Blend in the vanilla.

7. To serve, split each shortcake horizontally. Top the bottom half of each shortcake with a dollop of whipped cream, spoon some of the berry mixture over the top, and replace the top half of the shortcake. Serve immediately.

Snickerdoodle Scones

The last for a while (until I have eaten!!!) from my Annie's Eats scone collection. Originally from Baking Bites. Did I say the chocolate chip scones were the easiest to make? I take it back. These were. Simple ingredients. Easy assembly. Cinch-o. And you don't have to flash freeze them because the dough is already easy to partition out. The only thing I would change (without actually having tasted one) is that I think you only need half the cinnamon-sugar for the top. I had lots leftover and had to use it on a second batch of strawberry scones.

Here's the link:

http://annies-eats.net/2009/11/03/snickerdoodle-scones/

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

¼ tsp. salt

6 T. sugar

6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

½ C. whole milk or heavy cream

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:

¼ C. sugar

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and sugar; stir together with a fork.

3. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives, until the mixture is crumbly and the largest butter pieces are the size of peas.

4. Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir together with a fork just until the mixture forms a cohesive dough. If necessary, knead the mixture just a few times by hand to bring the dough together.

5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and form a large round disc about 8-9 inches in diameter. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle generously over the top of the dough round (you will not need to use all of the topping.)

6. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool on the pan, then slice into 6-8 wedges for serving.

Blueberry Scones

In searching for a recipe for "Citrus Black Beans" for the Robber, I came across this new food blog that I am instantly in love with. First of all, it is written by a young mom who is also a doctor by day and manages to run this food blog and feed her little family by night. Secondly, she is adorable. Thirdly, her blog is adorable. Fourthly, everything she makes looks so good. I want to make it all.

And I had blueberries. So I started with this. The recipe is from Entertaining from Cook's Illustrated Spring 2009, as referenced on Annie's blog. The link to her blog is below:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/03/18/blueberry-scones/

I didn't find these to be the most amazing scone I had eaten in my whole life as Annie did, but they were definitely very good and I would make them again. They were better than the blueberry muffins I made last month, but also a lot more work. So it's a trade-off. I guess it's something I would make-- again-- for a brunch with women. (I find a lot of recipes like that.)

Note: I used half-and-half instead of whole milk. Don't think it made a difference. The scones were very tender, as one would expect from the sour cream, and thus less scone-y and more biscuit-y. I also used turbinado sugar for dusting on the top, which always gives such a pleasing effect. I didn't find that I needed a dough scraper. The dough was easy to manipulate with my hands.

Ingredients:

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
1½ cups (7½ oz.) fresh blueberries
½ cup whole milk (I used half-and-half)
½ cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 T. unsalted butter, melted (1 T. is probably sufficient)

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. Place the blueberries in the freezer until needed.

Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. Lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Rice Pudding

This recipe I copied from Mom's collection before I left for college the first time ten or so years ago. Who knows if it is accurate or not. I have only made it twice in that time. The first time I remember it being satisfactory, but this time something was left wanting. Perhaps because I left out the "optional" sugar...

Still, in theory, in memory, I like this rice pudding better than any other rice pudding I have ever encountered. I love the firm yet creamy texture and the skin that grows on top of the pudding from the spices. It is one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast, ever.

Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 C. raw rice, cooked

1 C. sugar (optional)
4 C. milk
1 T. butter
1-2 tsp. vanilla
2-4 eggs, beaten well
cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

Directions:

1. Mix everything together in a big bowl and transfer to a big lightly buttered casserole dish.

2. Put your casserole dish in a water bath in the oven at 325F and bake it for 1.5-2 hours, stirring every half hour. Cool in the fridge.

Notes: I think next time I will cook it only 1.5 hours and add the 2/3-full sugar and also a little bit of salt.

Teatime Popovers

From Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Teatime-Perfect-Popovers-351609

Ingredients:

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 C. whole milk, at room temperature
1 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Place 1 piece of butter in the bottom of each of cup of a six-cup popover tin (or six 1/2 custard cups). Place the popover pan on a baking sheet.

2) In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until they change color. Whisk in the milk.

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt until well blended. Gently whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until only small lumps are left, and set aside.

4) Place the popover tin and the baking sheet into the oven for 4 minutes. At 3 minutes, give the batter a light whisk. Using an oven mitt, remove the popover tin and baking sheet from the oven and immediately divide the batter into the six cups equally. Bake for 25 minutes without opening the oven door. The popovers will be puffy, with crisp brown crusts and hollow, moist interiors. Serve immediately.


Note: I make these in 9 muffin tin cups using the above recipe. I also think the amount of butter can be reduced, as these popovers come out quite buttery and drippy. I also made them once with heavy whipping cream instead of milk, and they did not pop at all, but were rather dense but entirely delicious and in fact the Robber prefers them that way.