The Black Forest cake is one that rarely comes up when we’re thinking about cakes, but it seemed like a perfect choice for our 14 year old’s birthday a few weeks ago. It has some of her favorite things—chocolate, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries—all in one dessert. I’ve always liked Black Forest Cake, but it reminds me of my teen years for some reason. Maybe because I remember seeing it on menus more often in cafes, back when all you’d see on a dessert menu was cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and some sort of chocolate cake—either German chocolate or Black Forest. It does seem vaguely like a bit of a throwback dessert, doesn’t it? But I was reminded again of how much…
July already? It's been awhile since I've posted here, but we baked a tart yesterday with some rhubarb found at the farmer's market over the weekend and wanted to share. Normally we'd use rhubarb to bake a pie, but as is often the case, Mark threw this together somewhat last minute – it came out well, though! It would make a great 4th of July dessert if you're looking for alternatives to pie, and it would pair well with ice cream too. Happy 4th of July, friends. Looking forward to posting a bit more regularly over the summer (June was a beast of a month). Rhubarb Tart Tart Dough 6 ounces cold butter 2 cups flour 5 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 egg yolk Cut…
We made this fig and blueberry tart right before we left for our annual Northwest trip and never got around to posting the recipe. Better late than never! The beauty of fruit tarts is that with a basic recipe, you can top it with whatever fruits are in season. Blueberries, figs and these beautiful edible flowers were the inspiration over the summer. Admittedly, there isn’t as big a selection of in-season fruits during the winter, but we plan on making these tarts again and experimenting with persimmons, pears, dried fruits, almonds and maybe even some citrus. Fresh Fig & Blueberry Tart (Makes one 9-inch Tart) Cornmeal Tart Dough: 1-1/4 cups flour 3 Tablespoons cornmeal 1 egg yolk 1-1/2 Tablespoons Heavy…
Mark recently remarked to me that I was lucky because sometimes I can wish for cake and it will magically appear the next day. If I’m really lucky, he’ll whip one up in a few hours. I know not everyone is a cake person, but if you are, there’s something about a cake craving that can be so intense that nothing else – not ice cream, or a pastry, or even a cupcake – can satiate it. It’s true that these cravings often come when I’m super stressed (and can I tell you right now that my stress level is through the roof this month?), but that fragrant smell of cake baking in the oven is so comforting. While it…
cherry season, and a recipe for Cherries galette
August 15, 2016 | Category: baked goods + desserts recipesI recently read an article behind the reason why produce in Chinatown is so much cheaper than other supermarkets and grocery stores in the city. It's something that always made me curious, but never thought too deeply about, perhaps so I could continue to blindly enjoy bargain priced mangoes, lychees and cherries. Oh, the cherries! I especially get excited when cherries first appear on the streets of Chinatown because they can be bought for as much as half of what the supermarkets charge. How is this possible? Turns out these vendors have a different supplier than mainstream supermarkets – they deal directly with farmers and wholesalers. Eating cherries on their own is probably my favorite way to eat them,…
We posted this key lime pie a few weeks ago on Instagram and got requests for the recipe, so we decided to post it. It’s such a simple pie to make, especially if you get a pre-baked graham cracker crust. Mark usually makes his own, but honestly, the pre-baked ones you get at the store can be just fine. We’ve tried a few key lime pie recipes before, but this one came out particularly well, with just the right balance of tart and sweet (sometimes key lime pies can come out a little too tart). Not sure what it is, but I haven’t been craving chocolate desserts for a good long while. Things that I’ve loved in the past like…
We’ve been getting more creative with our homemade pizzas and experimenting with all kinds of toppings lately. It’s one of those casual dishes that’s good for grazing all day on New Year’s Day or a Superbowl Sunday, and one where the kids can help and build whichever kind of pizza they want. It’s easy once you have a solid crust to build on and lately, Mark’s been using the recipe from Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick. The key here is to use flour ideal for pizza dough. Caputo or Tipo 00 flour is generally known to be the best kind of flour for pizza because it’s finely ground, and we’ve noticed a difference in the taste and texture of the pizza…
fresh fruit tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
April 12, 2014 | Category: baked goods + desserts recipesI made a recipe story for our fresh fruit tart on Stellar, but wanted to document it on the blog too because, well, when was the last time we posted a recipe? If you recognized the photo of the tarts as one that we had on our calendar, then you are correct. This was for a project that never came to be. Oh, the graveyard of abandoned or unrealized projects…how many times have we dumped our failures into your yard? But I digress. Fresh Fruit Tarts Makes four individual servings Tart Dough 6 ounces cold butter 2 cups flour 5 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 egg yolk Cut the butter into small pieces.…
Hard to believe given that it’s the height of summer, but there have been a few days recently where the weather was downright cool and even a bit chilly on the days when it’s been wet and stormy. This inspired Mark to want to make a chowder after picking up some tomatoes and corn at the farmer’s market. He had made focaccia with some thyme picked from our balcony garden the day before and was in the mood for soup to dip the bread in. The chowder is loaded with chunky fresh ingredients, but the roasting of the corn and tomatoes give it a rich, caramelized flavor that hints of the Fall season to come. Roasted Corn and Yellow…
Thank you all for the recipe suggestions, especially to those readers who took the time to type out whole recipes in comments. We actually do rotate quite a number of dishes that were mentioned. Once a week we have a taco night, a pasta night, a burger night (Claudine and I eat vegetarian Chicken burgers from Morningstar most of the time). These often end up happening on evenings when time is tight. When Mark does have more time to prepare dinner, he often will make other dishes like a steamed fish, a roast chicken, Cuban sandwiches, an Asian noodle dish, a curry, Thai or Indian food. I’m trying to find my own go-to dishes that will add variety to…
Does anyone really get excited about lentil soup? It’s a good old standby, hearty and filling, but I can’t really say I ever crave a bowl of lentil soup. But Mark made a huge pot the other day and it was SO good and flavorful, I was already looking forward to having another bowl the next day. Because we all know, soup is one of those foods that taste better the next day. Lentil Soup (serves eight) 1/4 cup olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium onion, diced 1 pound button mushrooms, roughly chopped 3 carrots, peeled and diced 3 celery stalks, diced 2 Tablespoons finely chopped rosemary 1/3 cup tomato paste 8 cups vegetable broth 1…
Here’s how our batch of eggs turned out after leaving them in their natural dye baths overnight (see post and general recipes from part 1 here). I do think that’s key to getting some of the rich jewel tones, to leave them in overnight. Even though the eggs didn’t stay as saturated once dried as it did right after taking them out of their baths (particularly the red beet dye), I love the more subdued, mottled effect that it left. After placing each egg back in the carton to dry off, I did buff them a bit to gently wipe off any excess coloring and powdered residue that was left on the egg, particularly the tumeric. The colors are…