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. 

Plum Rhubarb Custard Pie

You know once I saw this I couldn't pass it up, right? That's how I feel about rhubarb these days. The store here in California has SO MUCH relatively cheap big red rhubarb I feel like I HAVE TO buy it, because sometimes you can go a whole summer and never get good rhubarb. So we have been a-feasting on rhubarb (I made a straight rhubarb pie last week) and I am loving it. The plums are a plenty too, so why not put the two together? I have this in the oven baking and my husband in the bed sleeping all in the same Cubby room together and life is good.

From Confessions of a Cardamom Addict: http://cardamomaddict.blogspot.com/2011/06/plum-rhubarb-custard-pie.html

Ingredients:

For the crust

2.5 C. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

2/3 C. very cold (frozen, preferably) butter

1/3 C. very cold (frozen, preferably) lard

4-6 T. ice water

For the fruit

2 C. rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces

3-4 firm purple/black plums, chopped into 1cm pieces

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

For the custard

1 1/4 C. table cream (18% cream) or milk (I used half-and-half)

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1/2 C. sugar

1 T. cornmeal

Directions:

For the crust

1. Mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Grate in the butter and lard and then rub into the flour mixture.

2. Sprinkle in enough water so the dough comes together. Form a ball and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the fruit mixture

1. Mix all the fruit ingredients together into a saucepan. Over a medium flame, bring to a bubble, stirring occasionally, and let cook for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb softens and the juices are thick. Take off the heat and let cool.

For the custard:

1. Add the cardamom to the cream or milk. Scald the cream, take it off the heat and let cool.

2. Beat the eggs into the sugar. Keep on beating as you dribble in the slightly cooled cream.

3. Remove about a quarter cup of the mixture and mix in the cornflour to make a slurry.

4. Rinse out and dry the saucepan in which you scalded the cream. Return the cream mixture (the one without the cornmeal) to the pan. Over a low flame, stir the custard for a few minutes. Add the slurry and keep on stirring until thick and the custard coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool.

To assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out the pastry to fit a 10" x 2" tin. Blind bake for 20 minutes.

2. Spoon in the fruit mixture and then pour the custard over top. Level as best as you can and bake for 30 minutes. The pie is done when the custard is just set.

3. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if you wish.

Notes: You can use pluots or apriums instead of plums, and omit the cardamom or substitute vanilla powder instead if you like.

Post-Edit: This was good, but you definitely have to let it set up overnight before it will be anything but runny! I think next time I make it I will omit the cardamom (it's good but the Robber didn't favor it), spice it more traditionally, and 1.5 or double the custard while appropriately reducing the fruit while cutting the custard into the fruit slightly. Sadly the rhubarb is already gone so the re-make will have to wait until next year.

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.

Banana Cream Pie ala La La Liz

This recipe, from everythingpies.com claims to be Elizabeth Taylor's favorite pie! As R. said, "This tastes like a pie Elizabeth Taylor would like-- something you eat after you break up a marriage, or to celebrate a marriage... a bit boozy, a bit extravagant, and over all over-the-top."

That about sums up this pie. Contrary to what the website says, the Robber thought the pie got better with age. We all wanted it to have a larger cream-to-custard ratio. I used my standard pie crust recipe, and substituted 1 tsp. each of artificial rum and almond flavorings for the liquors in the recipe-- and yet it still tasted boozy. I don't know that I will make this exact pie again. I liked the white chocolate-banana combination, but to be honest right now I am a little disillusioned with banana cream pies in general. I think I would be just as happy mixing up a bunch of bananas in plain whipped cream and putting it in a pie tin as I am with any custardy recipe. The Robber said I could stick with coconut cream pies, which may just be what I end up doing. But for anyone wanting to try something for the times and a little off the beaten path, I give you Elizabeth Taylor's favorite pie recipe:

http://www.everythingpies.com/elizabeth-taylor-banana-cream-pie-recipe.html

Ingredients:

Pastry dough - double crust

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 ice cold water

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 1/4 cup (2 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1 teaspoon cold corn oil

Filling Layer One - White Chocolate Pastry Cream

1 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise

1 cup whole milk or half-and-half

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped in small pieces

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

pinch of salt

Filling Layer Two - White Chocolate Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

4 medium ripe bananas

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons banana liqueur or rum

1 1/2 tablespoons white creme de cacao or Amaretto

Garnish for top

5 ounces white chocolate curls for top

Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting top

Directions:

1. Prepare the pastry: Roll the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Chill the pastry for about one hour.

2. Pre-baked the pie crust shell in a 450° F preheated oven and set aside to cool.

3. Prepare Filling one: Warm the milk and the vanilla bean in a heavy non-aluminum pot over low heat. Mix in the white chocolate chunks. Stir with a whisk until the chocolate is melting. The mixture will speckle with white chocolate. Remove from heat.

4. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a non-aluminum bowl. Mix until mixture is a pale yellow.

5. Add the cornstarch and salt to the egg mixture. Whisk it well.

6. Slowly pour the warm chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture while you are mixing.

7. Return the mixture to the pot and heat until it thickens. Continue to stir mixture while it is cooking. In about 10 minutes or more the mixture will start to bubble.

8. Remove it from the heat and stir until smooth, about 1 minute.

9. Pour the white chocolate filling into a glass bowl and smooth the top with a spatula.

10. Cover the pie filling with plastic wrap. Press the plastic directly onto the surface of the filling, to prevent a skin from forming. Let the pie filling cool in the refrigerator until cold and firm, 2-4 hours or overnight.

11. Whipped Cream: Chill a glass bowl. Beat the cream until it is stiff but not to grainy and refrigerate.

12. Thinly slice the bananas and toss with the lemon juice to prevent darkening.

13. Fold the bananas and the liqueurs into the chilled pastry cream. Be sure to remove the plastic. Carefully this mixture pour into your prebaked pie crust and level it with a spatula.

14. Gently cover the pie with the whipped cream. Fully spread it right to the edge of the crust.

15. Gently scatter some white chocolate curls over the whipped cream.

16. Very lightly dust the white chocolate curls with unsweetened cocoa powder.

17. Serve at once or chill up to 2 hours before serving.

Fettucine Alfredo

I asked Robber to make me some fettucine alfredo with chicken for Valentine's Day because it is one of my favorite foods. I must admit that I was looking for something with a little more sauce to noodle ratio and perhaps a little thicker or whatnot, but I will tell you that this fettucine was really, really good and I gobbled down the leftovers like crazy. So even though it wasn't quite the noodles swimming in thick white sauce I had imagined, I think I am ready to give up that vision in favor of this more classic, restrained but definitely delicious sauce.

Multiple reviewers on Epicurious note that you can substitute half and half for the cream to cut calories, recommend adding garlic (or other flavorings), suggest using whole wheat pasta, and add a variety of other vegetables or meats in with the sauce to make a meal.

Ingredients:

8 to 9 ounce egg fettuccine in nests

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

2. Meanwhile, bring cream and butter to a simmer in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, adding 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Add fettuccine, 1/4 cup reserved water, and cheese to sauce and toss. Add more cooking water if necessary.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fettucine-Alfredo-350227#ixzz1EYReAlE8

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Bread-Pudding-with-Caramel-Sauce-104182#ixzz19q6PWaRp

From Epicurious. Bob loves this, the reviewers love this, why not?

Ingredients:

Bread pudding

2 cups half and half
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp each allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 cups 1/2-inch cubes egg bread (about 10-ounces)
1/2 cup golden raisins

Caramel sauce

1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Directions:

For bread pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Stir in golden raisins. Transfer mixture to 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare caramel sauce:
Whisk brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in cream and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding. Serve warm with caramel sauce.

Notes:

I cooked the sauce for longer-- boiled it for about 30 seconds or so and this made a thicker sauce for the pudding. I used half a loaf of Texas toast (about 11 oz.) which was a good ratio of bread and pudding. I also omitted the raisins and used a 9 x 9 pan.