TWD: Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick is courtesy of Caitlin of Engineer Baker. I must have missed this recipe when I first got Baking from My Home to Yours and I can't believe I did. I love cornbread and that is cake like right? Of course, its not exactly the same as a polenta dessert cake. This seemed like something that Giada De Laurentiis would make and as she is one of my favorite Food Network chefs so that made me even more eager to try it.

To get myself started out right this time and not be scrambling around trying to get everything ready a different times, I decided to have all of my dry ingredients set out and ready to go before I did anything else. You know...I really liked having everything set out. For some reason it made me feel all chef like. I may not be a real chef but it was fun to feel like it for awhile.

The cake itself came together very quickly (thanks to my readiness). The recipe called for dried figs but I unfortunately couldn't find any and I decided to go with dried cranberries. I seem to be using them an awful lot lately but I like them so it isn't a big hardship. I was quite happy with the cake at this point. Since I halved the recipe, it filled a 8 in fluted tart pan with no batter left over and it didn't overflow when baking. See? Nice and pretty!

My first mistake was to not follow the directions and put the empty tart pan on a baking sheet before I filled it. Big Mistake! Big...huge mistake! When I was putting it on the sheet pan, I accidently pushed the bottom up slightly. I checked to make sure it was okay and I didn't see any leaks so I put it in the oven. I check on it after it had been there for about 4 minutes and saw that it had in fact started leaking in the bottom of the sheet pan. Groan. I took it out and dumped it into a bowl so I could fix the pan. Once it was ready, I put it back in and thankfully no more leaks. It wasn't as nicely layered and pretty as before but that was ok. I was sure it would take the same...derrr.

When it was done baking (40 minutes or so later), I took it out to cool and after the required waiting time I took the rim off so it could finish cooling. The rim slid up my arm...and the cake slid onto the cabinet and crumbled. I won't repeat the words that came out of my mouth but needless to say...they weren't very lady like. After the first disaster, I was okay with it. This time, not so happy. I dumped the cake on a plate to cool and walked away from it for awhile. When I finally dragged myself back to it I used one of my new pretty new plates I bought at Target to taste out the crumbled cake. I topped it with a dollop of yogurt. I guess it prettied it up some what, eh? lol

 

Even though I had lots of troubles getting made and plated, I enjoyed the cake. It was a little too sweet but I think that could be fixed easily next time by reducing either the sugar a bit or the honey. This is a very Italian/Mediterranean tasting cake. I'm sure that would have been played up really good with the figs. I'll have to track some down next time. Great choice Caitlin! I'm looking forward to having it again...disaster free!

Next week's recipe is courtesy of Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food. Check out the other bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie to see how everyone else did!

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed (I used dried cranberries)
1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. ricotta
1/3 c. tepid water
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.
Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter. (I forgot this step.)

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

Daring Bakers Challenge

Cheesecake Pops - Daring Bakers April 08 Challenge

This was my first challenge for the super baking group, the Daring Bakers. I was quite nervous to discover the challenge for April after seeing the delicious but very frightening French Bread of February. But I started back baking to learn and grow in my abilities as a baker so I was ready to tackle whatever they happened to throw my way for April.

As soon as I got my email welcoming me to the group and made my first visit to the Daring Bakers site, I found the recipe for April was Cheesecake Pops. I was kind of relieved I had to admit. I had made cheesecake many times in the past (though not recently) so I was familiar with the recipe for the most part. I have never made cheesecake pops however. Of course, I had eaten them before but those were store bought. As we all know, store bought really can't compare to home made.

I was tempted to make the pops right away after all I love cheesecake and I was looking forward to eating the 'reject' rolls by themselves. I decided to wait and see how some of the other Daring Bakers faired with their cheesecake pops and take some of their issues and success into account. I think that wait really paid off. I noticed many had issues with the cheesecake setting up in the middle.



Keeping that in mind, I made sure to bake my cheesecake a little longer than suggested (I halved the recipe and ended up cooking it for about 40 minutes). The cheesecake came out of the oven firm and lightly browned on top. Because I didn't have a proper round cake pan, I used a rectangular pan that was the perfect size for my toaster oven. It was about 8 x 1.5 inches. It gave me enough depth to cut the cheesecake (I decided to go with the cut option rather than rolls).

Apparently I have a size judgement impairment. I tried to made the cheesecake pops to be 2 ounces in size but they looked bigger than that to me. Since I halved the recipe I should have ended up with about 15 to 20 pops. I had 13 when I was done. Not too many less but it bothered me a bit. Perhaps I should have rolled them anyways. I may have ended up with less than what I actually did but they may have looked closer to the right size. Size aside, the cheesecake itself was very tasty. It was quick to whip up so it may be my go to cheesecake when I want one fairly fast.

After I cut and stuck the pops with the sticks then froze them, it was time to dip and decorate. I went with the basic chocolate dipping for the outer coating and then I played around with the decorations. Most of the pops ended up with a crumbled graham cracker coating. I also rolled a few in coconut and the remainder in peppermint candy coating.

They were all very tasty but in the end, I think I prefer cheesecake to be off the stick and not frozen. I like my cheesecake plain with just strawberries to go along. These were very good but just too much for me. I would definitely make them if I was going to a party. They seem like perfect party desserts. All in all it was a great challenge. Not to hard but it was a new experience that was fun and tasty.

Don't forget to check out the other Daring Bakers to see what yummy pops they came up with as well!

Cheesecake Pops
Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer set at low speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at lwo speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Lightly grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan). Pour the cheesecake batter into the cake pan and place in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly goldenon top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchemtn paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.
Introduction from Deborah & Elle

These cute little bites of cheesecake, held on a stick and dipped in chocolate and, if you like, decorations, are sure to make you smile. The cheesecake is New York style, the pops can be jazzed up with different toppings, and they are FUN…just right for a party. They are from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. Isn’t that an alluring title for a cookbook?

We wanted to pick something that had potential for putting your personal stamp on. We like them for a challenge because the recipe for the cheesecake part makes use of the concept of a water bath, an essential tool for bakers, plus there are many ways to personalize them. And they are cheesecake!! The photo in the book showed the lollipop sticks twined with pretty ribbons and bows, too.

It is unclear if this recipe can be halved. A key thing is that the cheesecake be in a pan where it bakes deep enough to scoop out the balls.

Allowed Variations. Yes you can make some changes to this cheesecake as long as you promise to use the basic cheesecake recipe (although you can add a flavor to it if you like) and do keep it white (sorry, no chocolate or coffee or mocha), and keep the pops to the 2 ounce size.

The dipping flavors and colors are completely up to you.

If you want to use decorations, go for it. Same with drizzles and ribbons on the sticks. Or leave them plain after dipping them.
You can cut the cheesecake into geometric shapes instead of making balls…triangles or squares or diamonds…just keep them about 2 ounces each. We can't wait to see what combinations our Daring Baker come up with…just make sure to use the basic cheesecake recipe, to make the pops 2 ounces or close to that in size, and to dip each pop in chocolate or confectionary coating and have it on a lollipop stick.

Here are some exceptions to the "you must follow the same recipe rule".

-- Allergies.
-- Particular ingredient is hard to find in your area.
-- Particular ingredient is cost-prohibitive. We don't want anyone stressing over having to pay for something that's too expensive, especially if you have to buy a large quantity for just a smidge in the recipe. So if the ingredient is way too expensive you can leave it out or sub something else that will work.
-- The host allows a specific ingredient change, but that must be specified in the host's challenge recipe announcement post. For example, the hosts says it's okay to substitute the rum in the cream with a flavoring of your choice as long as the cream is still "white". But making chocolate or coffee pastry cream is not okay.

TWD: Bill's Big Carrot Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick comes from Amanda of Slow Like Honey. She choose one of my favorite cakes to eat...Carrot Cake! Yum! While I am normally not a big carrot eater, I love carrot cake. I really don't know why. Could it be the sweetness of the carrot in the cake? Perhaps. All I know is I have never met a carrot cake that I didn't like and this one was no exception. It may even be my new favorite.

The recipe called for three cups of grated carrot or about nine whole carrots. I used 9 but I'm pretty sure I had more than slightly more than three cups. I ended up just using all that I had, I don't think it made big difference. I was going to use pecans but when it came time to making the cake, I realized I didn't have any! Well, I did but they weren't shelled and that takes forever! So no nuts in it this time. I doubled the amount of dried cranberries to make up for the lack of nuts and also added a bit more coconut. Coconut and dried cranberries was a new one for me. I can't remember ever having a carrot cake with dried cranberries before this one. It was definitely very tasty! I will have to try it again, maybe next time I will have pecans to put in it!

Instead of making one large cake (after all its just little ol' me) I made half the batch in regular size cupcakes and froze them for breakfast at work later. With the rest of the batch, I used my recently acquired mega muffin pan (I permanently borrowed it from my mom...what? She wasn't using it!) It made 6 big cupcakes. When they first came out of the oven, the first thing that popped into my mind was the spotted dick (hey! get your mind out of the gutter!) that I had during my semester in London. While the carrot cake made it different, the texture and the cranberries just screamed spotted dick to me. So I whipped up a batch of pastry cream with a bit of cinnamon thrown in to go with the carrot cake and voila! Heather's Make Shift Spotted Dick! Now all I need is a real recipe for it and I'll be set!

Besides looking pretty, this cake was very moist. It also tasted like it had honey in it. It doesn't but for some reason, my taster and I both agreed that it was very honey like in taste. The cranberries also added something very tasty to the cake. They didn't overwhelm the carrotness but added a fruity sweetness that was so good.

I was content to just stay with the pastry cream and not make the icing but my taster (who tried it with just the cake only) said he thought it would be good with just cream cheese spread on top. So I came home and whipped up a modified frosting from this recipe. Using less sugar let the cream cheese more dominant and the frosting didn't over power the cake with sweetness (I love frosting but sometimes its just too sweet.) I wanted more of a lemon taste to come through so I used about tablespoon of lemon juice. It ended up being more of a glaze than a frosting which I liked better with the carrot cake.

This was a great pick this week. I'll definitely be making this one again! Thanks for choosing such a tasty recipe Amanda! Come back next week for Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake as selected by Caitlin of Engineer Baker. Please check out the other bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie to see their Carrot Cake takes!

Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Six Word Memoir

I have been tagged by Tiffany from Life After Gluten to post a six word memoir about myself. Tiffany found me on the Foodie Blogroll which is really exciting! I always have a hard time on meme's like this one. I never know how to describe myself! But it looked like fun so I thought I would give it a shot!

Rules:
1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five or six (choice is yours) more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Here it goes!

Quiet
Homebody
Bookworm
London
Texan
Cuddly

I know it says to tag others to do the meme but most of the ones I would pick have already done this so I'll leave it open to anyone who wants to do it! If you do, let me know. I'd love to see what others write!

TWD: Marshmallows

Marshmallows are one of those treats that I have always enjoyed fresh from the bag. Well...maybe not so fresh. You never know how long those little puffs have been sitting on the shelf. After making this week's challenge chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats, I don't think I'll buy pre-made marshmallow cream again if I can help it. Not only were these fairly easy to make, they are so good! As soon as I had the marshmallow cream in the pans, you better believe I was getting all that yumminess off the spatula and the bowl. mmmm...makes me want to whip up another batch so I can eat some more! I'm definitely making fresh marshmallow cream the next time I make rice krispie treats!

As for the finished marshmallows themselves, I wasn't as happy with them. After sitting overnight, the cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture seemed to either absorb into the cream or even gelled in some spots.

I cut them up (after trying to get some of the goop off) and tossed them in more of the cornstarch/sugar mix hoping to coat the sides and make them look pretty. hmmm....yeah that didn't really work. The mix seemed to clump in some places and barely coat the others. The taste was fine as long as you didn't get a clumpy spot. I was on the verge of tossing them out and starting over when I saw a box of cocoa on my counter. I tossed in about a 1/4 cup (ish) of the cocoa and voila! Pretty marshmallows! Pretty, chocolatey coated marshmallows!

These were seriously good. Messy but good! I had chocolate coated fingers when I ate them! The cocoa gave them just enough chocolate flavor and they were still white and creamy on the inside. My cousin came by after I made them (Actually, I made her help me move in some new furniture...good reward eh?) and she thought they were brownies at first. She was very pleasantly surprised to find that they were marshmallows.

I think these would be very good in smores. If you use the cocoa coated, you won't even need a chocolate bar. Well, I guess you could for twice the chocolate! Since I was fresh out of graham crackers, I chopped up a few of the marshmallows and topped them on a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream with fresh strawberries and bananas. OMG...so good. I've never been much of a marshmallow and ice cream girl but I may be a convert now. Especially if they are homemade marshmallows.

I will definitely be making these again. I want to figure out what I did wrong on this batch and maybe play with flavorings. Dorie gave some great starters on flavors (chocolate, pumpkin spice, raspberry, etc.) but I bet there are so many more that you could do. Strawberry or banana comes to mind! yum!

This was a great choice from Judy! I probably would have been too scared to make them on my own and now I have a great, easy marshmallow recipe to try from now on!

Check out the other TWD bakers to see their marshmallowy goodness! Next weeks recipe is Bill's Big Carrot Cake as picked by Amanda of Slow Like Honey. I am excited for that one! I LOVE carrot cake!

Adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 1 pound marshmallows

SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table -- it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.

STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don't cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week -- they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they'll still be very good.

Ingredients:
About 1 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar

GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet -- choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high -- with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup -- without stirring -- until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites.

In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)

Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy -- don't overbeat them and have them go dull.

As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.

Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won't fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).

Dust the top of the marshmallows with cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They'll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more. (I covered them lightly with plastic wrap and left overnight.)

Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.

Playing Around:

RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS: Fruit purees are excellent for flavoring these candies.
For raspberry marshmallows, you'll need a generous 1/3 cup of puree; reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon. After the batter is mixed, gently fold in the puree with a rubber spatula. You can use the same measurements and technique for other purees, such as strawberry, mango and passion fruit.

CAPPUCCINO MARSHMALLOWS: Sift 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together into a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and add it to the espresso mix. After you add the sugar syrup and gelatin to the meringue, beat in the espresso mixture and continue.

LIGHT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS: Melt 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon, and after the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula.

PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice. After the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the spiced pumpkin with a large rubber spatula.

Banana Cupcakes

Bananas have to be one of my favorite fruits. I love to get them at the grocery store when they are mostly green and then put them in the fridge for a day or two. Many think I'm crazy because I love to eat them still slightly green. Oh they'll give you a stomach ache they tell me. Well, this is the way I've been eating them my whole life and they haven't hurt me yet! lol

Besides eating them fresh from the peel, I also love to make banana bread with them when they start to brown. There is just something special about that moist cakey bread. mmmm...so good. So when I was looking at a bag with 4 bananas just perfect for baking, I turned to Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan and found her Banana Cake Lots of Ways. So its not banana bread but it sounded really good! Instead of making a regular cake, I decided to make cupcakes. This recipe makes a lot...2 dozen in fact. Dorie lists many variations in the book so it is very flexible. I stuck with the basic recipe and it was so delicious. They are very moist. And the toasted coconut adds a really nice flavor to the cake. This recipe is definitely a keeper!



Banana Cake Lots of Ways

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 2 2/3 cups
Baking Soda – 1 1/4 tsp
Fresh Nutmeg – ½ tsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Light Brown sugar – 1 cup (or substitute with white sugar)
Sugar – ¾ cup
Banana – 4 very ripe, mashed (1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups)
Eggs – 2 (at room temperature)
Butter – 12 tbsp (1½ sticks, at room temperature)
Vanilla extract – 1 1/2 tsp
Milk – 1/2 cup (substitute with sour cream, coconut milk or plain yogurt)
Grated coconut - 1 cup (substitute with dried cherries, raisins or half coconut, half cherries/raisins)

Method:

Center the rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter 2 9”x2” round cake pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pans on a baking sheet. (I used muffin pans since I wanted cupcakes).

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together.

Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla and rum. The batter will have a beautiful satiny consistency.
Now lower the speed and add the bananas-the batter will curdle at this stage-but will come together as the dry ingredients are added.

Still on lower speed, add the dry and liquid ingredients alternately, adding the flour mixture in 3 portions and the coconut milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).

Mix just until everything is incorporated. Switching to a rubber spatula, gently stir in the coconut. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cakes are a deep golden brown. They should pull away from the sides of the pans and a thin knife inserted into their centers will come out clean. (Bake for 20-25 minutes if making cupcakes).

Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes, then unmold and invert onto another rack to cool to room temperature right side up.

TWD: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

I have to start out by saying this is my favorite TWD so far. I've enjoyed the other goodies that we've baked but this is by far my favorite. The lemon cream is without a doubt... extraordinary, delicious, mouth watering, and dare I say it...yes...it is even a bit sexy. This stuff was so good that I was literally using my fingers to get every last bit of the cream out of my blender after I mixed it. Charlie even loved it. And when the supreme taste tester likes it... you know its good.



Like many other TWD bakers, I had trouble getting my cream to 180. I used a stainless steel bowl on an electric stove. I tried to think of anything that would have cause it not get to the target temp but nothing comes to mind. However, it did get to at least 165 and it still thickened up very nicely in about 15 minutes. So even though it fell short of 180, I don't think it hurt the cream at all.



For my crust, I went with the Spiced Tart dough. I thought it would be interesting to try the flavor of the tart lemon cream with the nuttier taste and texture of the spiced dough. I definitely enjoyed the combination of the two together though I would prefer the cream to be matched with a dough lighter in flavor (my co-worker taste tester enjoyed both the crust and cream together). The spiced dough seemed to cut the tartness of the lemon a little too much for me. I am such a fan of this cream now that I could eat bowls of it by itself!



To give the tart even more flavor, I added fresh blueberries to the tart before adding the lemon cream. This really took it to another level of yumminess for me. The tartness of the lemon cream is so smooth and then you get a burst of blueberries tartness that is just absolutely delicious! My co-worker said that the blueberries were his favorite part of the tart. Like me, he felt that it took it beyond just a lemon tart and made it truly mouth watering good.

Thanks to Mary of Starting from Scratch for the wonderful pick! This is definitely going to be on my make again list! Check out how the other bakers fared at Tuesdays with Dorie. Come back next week for Marshmallows as picked by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats.



The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

- makes 8 servings -

Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell (I used Dorie's Spiced Tart Dough but there are many other options in Baking such as Sweet Tart Dough)

Procedure

Getting ready: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

1. Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

2. Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heat—and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

3. As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

5. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.

Serving: The tart should be served cold, because it is a particular pleasure to have the cold cream melt in your mouth. (oh and it so is!!!)

Storing: While you can make the lemon cream ahead (it will keep in the frige for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months), once the tart is constructed, it’s best to eat it the day it is made.

Spiced Tart Dough
1 cup ground nuts (almonds, toasted and skinned hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans) (I used pecans)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of ground cloves
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar

Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Whisk together the ground nuts, flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and cloves. With a fork, stir the egg yolk and water together in a cup.

Working with a stand mixer, or hand mixer, in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed, until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the egg and water and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don't work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. If the dough comes together but some dry crumbs remain at the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer and finish blending the ingredients with a rubber spatula or your hands.

Put the dough between two sheets of wax paper and with your hands, flatten the dough into a disk, then grab a rolling pin and roll the dough, turning it over frequently, until you have a round that is about 11 inches in diameter.

To fit the dough into the pan: Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and carefully turn the dough into the buttered tart pan. Very gently fit the dough into the pan, lightly pressing it over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be concerned if the dough breaks, as it may- just gently press the tears together with your fingers. Chill the dough, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 2 hours.

To bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the plastic wrap and, using a small sharp knife, trim the excess dough flush with edges of the pan. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil, fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly across the crust and fill it with dried beans or rice or pie weights.

Place the tart on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake the crust for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is browned, dry and firm. Transfer to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

Chicken Salad Contessa

I've been craving a good chicken salad for a while now. But all of the recipes I found seemed to have too much stuff in them. I like my chicken salad to be fairly simple but with big flavor. Something that I can put together exactly the same way every time or if I'm feeling like something different, easy to adapt and still be delicious.

When I woke up this morning, I turned on the Food Network (really, I need to find another network to watch every once in awhile!) and it was the beginning of Barefoot Contessa marathon. Ina is one of my favorite Food Network chefs. When I first watched her, I was a bit afraid of her. It seemed that her recipes were very complicated and way to sophisticated for me. However, I watched her Behind the Chef special and discovered that she was a self taught chef. For some reason, that made her more approchable to me. I took another look at her recipes and discovered that they really weren't as complicated as I once thought. Since then I have tried to test more of her recipes and for the most part have been pleasantly rewarded.

One of the first recipes she made this morning was Chicken Salad Veronique. I was almost set on making it until I checked the Food Network site for the recipe and discovered her Chicken Salad Contessa. Oh my. Yum! This recipe had pecans (which I love) and sour cream in the dressing. I've never had sour cream in my chicken salad but it sounded delicious. Her recipe called for green grapes but I don't have any at the moment so I used dried cranberries. I also used some dill and a pinch of parsley since I am also out of tarragon. This was one of the best, if not the best, chicken salad I have ever had. Normally, chicken salad has a very overwhelming mayonnaise flavor but the combination of mayo and sour cream tones it down so the flavor of the cranberries, chicken, and pecan really come through. If you are a chicken salad fan, I recommend this version. It is very customizable because it is very simple. mmm...but it is oh so delicious!

Chicken Salad Contessa...Heather Style

2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (1 1/2 pounds) (I used a fresh rotisserie chicken from the store)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup walnuts halves
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided (I used
1 cup green grapes, cut in 1/2 (I used Dried Cranberries)
Lettuce leaves, for serving ( I served mine on toasted whole grain bread)


If using the chicken breasts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (Skip this step if using a store bought rotisserie chicken.)

Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice.

Meanwhile, place the pecans and walnuts on a separate sheet pan and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.

For the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in half the chopped tarragon leaves.

Place the diced chicken in a bowl, add the pecans, walnuts and grapes. Pour the dressing over the chicken and toss well. Sprinkle the remaining chopped tarragon leaves on top, and serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Adapted from Ina Garten's Chicken Salad Contessa

For the original Chicken Salad Contessa, click here. The site says its available for a limited time only, so check it out now if you are interested.

Gnocchi with Spinach and Gruyere

Rachel Ray is one of the Food Network chefs that I can only take in small doses. Its not her recipes that I have a problem with, quite the opposite, I've always had good luck with her recipes ... rather its her overly bubbly, chipper, excitable... whatever you want to call it, personality. That aside, I find her recipes for the most part to be easy and quick. I wouldn't necessarily say that I finish her dishes in 30 minutes but I definitely finish them a lot faster than some of the more "frightening" chefs on TV. The fact that they are quick dishes is a definite plus for me since as a single gal in the city, I am cooking for just one and a complicated meal is the last thing I even want to think about after work.

For Christmas this past year, my mom gave me Rachel's Just in Time cookbook. Not only is filled with interesting and hopefully tasty dishes that are 30 minutes, she also includes several even faster 15 minutes meals (like this one). For days when quickness isn't as important, she even adds a few 60 minute meals. Since I received this book, I've made numerous meals from it. Because I am new to food blogging this is the first that I've featured from it. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back and fix some of the ones I've enjoyed the most of the others (Tuna and Tomato Stoup for one.)

What attracted me to this dish was the gnocchi. Ever since I read a story where it was the favored dish of one of the characters and then enjoyed the dish myself, I have been a fan of the tiny, potato dumpling. While Rachel uses walnuts and Gorgonzola in her original recipe, I went with pecans (that's puh-cahns, puh puh puh...Only truckers use pee-cans) and delicious Gruyere cheese. So yummy! I'm sure the possibilities are endless with this dish and cheese. Below is my adapted version, if you prefer to use Rachel's original, just substitute the same amounts of walnuts and Gorgonzola for the pecans and Gruyere.

• 2 (10 ounce) boxes of frozen chopped spinach (I used frozen leaf), defrosted
• Salt
• 2 (14 to 16 ounce) packages of fresh gnocchi
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the gnocchi and season it liberally with salt. Cut open the gnocchi packages and set aside.

Place the nuts in a small skillet and toss over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until toasted and fragrant.

In a deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic to the warm oil, then add the spinach, separating the clumps as you add it to the garlic oil. Season the spinach with salt and pepper, add the stock, and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Add the Gruyere to the spinach and stir until it melts.

While the spinach heats, cook the gnocchi in the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the float to the surface. Drain, then add to the spinach and toss for 1 minute to coat, then adjust the seasonings. Serve the gnocchi topped with the toasted nuts.

Adapted from Rachel Ray's Just in Time Cookbook

TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

It seems that after my post about not being a chocolate fanatic, I keep posting recipes with chocolate in them. lol...it must be starting to grow on me! I didn't pick this recipe on my own (though I would have made it eventually no doubt!), it was chosen as the Tuesdays with Dorie by Leigh of Lemon Tartlett for today's weekly bake.

I actually made these not long after the pick was posted last week. It being the start of the week (lovely day at work...grrr) something sweet and chocolately seemed like a good choice. I can't remember the last time I had a chocolate lava type cake at a restaurant and I have never attempted something even remotely similar at home. Because Dorie has been so good to me in the past, I was once again excited to try this and immediately got to work on the chocolate concoctions.



First up was chopping the chocolate. Sure I could have used my handy (though tiny) food processor. But not me! No...I like a challenge and decided to chop by hand. Okay, not really. The tiny wonder was in the dishwasher that I forgot to run earlier after I made carrot muffins. I used Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet chocolate instead of the bittersweet listed in the recipe because I am not a big fan of bittersweet and it was also the only type of chocolate I had in my freezer. I had to let the chocolate thaw a bit because I was throwing bits like crazy when I first started chopping and Charlie was trying to eat what he could get fast enough. Here's the little bugger after I picked up the flyaway pieces. I don't think he understood (or cared) when I told him chocolate was bad for puppy tummies.



Oh dear. I almost forgot. I needed to butter and dust the muffin pans with flour since I had run out of spray earlier in the week.



As you can see, I got a little too much floor in the pan and my little cakes had a light dusting of floor on the outsides (which didn't take away from the taste thank goodness).

After everything was chopped, buttered, or floured, I started melting the chocolate. I was tempted to follow package directions on melting because I've always been a bit wary of the double boiler method. I'm not really sure why. Maybe its the time aspect, naturally the quick melting of the microwave is a draw. But I wanted to stay true to the recipe and went ahead with Dorie's instructions. While it took a little longer, I think it made a difference in the quality of the chocolate.

This was a pretty easy dessert to put together. After melting the chocolate, it is slowly added to an egg/dry mixture then put in the prepared muffin cups and topped with finely chopped chocolate. It doesn't make a large amount of cakes, six small cupcake sized cakes in fact. The was definitely a plus for me since I hate making large batches of something just for me.

My baby cakes baked up nice and fluffy (I was afraid they would be too flat).



They looked very tasty and tempting right in the pan. Normally I would expect to let these cool a little longer in the pan but Dorie says to leave them only 3 minutes before turning out and serving. Of course these is in expectation of the liquidy chocolate center to come oozing out of the cakes. However, mine didn't ooze or goo. They were warm and slightly less solid at the top but I didn't get the warm, chocolate running out of the cake like I expected. I'm not sure if I didn't chop the chocolate you put on top finely enough or if I should have pressed the chocolate further into the cake.



Despite the non gooey center, these were very, very good. They were definitely very tasty the next day when I took the rest to work. While they weren't warm, the inside that had previously been softer, became more solid and bonbonish (I say ish b/c of the lack of liquidness before). I received lots of praise from the few remaining (I had to test two for gooeyness naturally ;) ). Ultimate temptress was my favorite I think, lol.

Next time I make these, I'm going to have some vanilla ice cream or creme anglaise to serve alongside the cakes. Dorie suggests it in the book but because I made these early, I didn't have either to serve.

Don't forget to check out the other fabulous bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie for more chocolately goodness!



Gooey Chocolate Cake

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
4 ounces coarsely chopped,
1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Source:Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan