The tangy balsamic-soaked cherries are just an option -- the "cake" is amazing all by itself!

This is one of those rare “cakes” that swings easily from sweet to savory — comfortable before, during, or after the meal. Our family friend, Sarah (close pal of daughter #1), first brought this torte to a dinner party to accompany Winter Vegetable Stew. It was a cold, wintery evening, and the torte was the perfect compliment to the rustic soup. When Sarah and I set out to make it again for Kitchenelly, we decided to spin it to the sweet side, and top it with cherries (fresh from Oregon, jammed into my suitcase). It complied convincingly. And last night I made it as an appetizer. I sprinkled the batter with thinly sliced shallots before baking. Once again, a stand-out with the prosecco. You want this in your repertoire, just like that little dress in your wardrobe that works for a barbecue and a fancy cocktail party (speaking from a woman’s point of view, of course).

Sarah Green, who will be writing for Kitchenelly when I can get her

This post introduces Sarah, who will be writing for Kitchenelly when she isn’t crushing grapes or cooking from the wonderful bounty up in Napa Valley where she’ll be working through the Fall. She is a recent college graduate and fantastic baker — Sarah has been baking since she could reach the counter. She’ll bring a lot to Kitchenelly and I’m looking forward to her posts.

Goat Cheese Torte | 8 to 12 servings, depending

This goes together so quickly and is so easy, yet it has an elegant and sophisticated flavor. Feel free to cut back on the sugar if you want it a little less sweet. Sarah’s recipe is inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s from her beautiful book, Around My French Table.

8 ounce “log” of soft goat cheese
1/2 pound fresh cherries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
The leaves of a 6-inch spring fresh thyme
Butter for the pan
Flour for the pan
5 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Remove the goat cheese from the refrigerator to soften at room temperature.

Pit and halve the cherries and place in a bowl.

I love my cherry pitter but watch out for stains -- that's why we're not doing it on the wooden board!

Toss with the balsamic vinegar and thyme leaves and set aside until needed.

The cherries with macerate slightly with the balsamic, releasing some of their juices

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Very generously butter an 8-inch round cake pan, and then coat lightly with flour.

Separate the eggs.

Sarah and I both use the eggshell method for separating eggs -- carefully crack the egg, and gently pour the yolk back and forth in the shell halves until the white is released

Getting any yolk in the white will prevent the white from beating properly -- also, any shell bit that gets in the white can be removed easily by using the shell half as a scooper

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the goat cheese, egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and beat until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Smooth and creamy with all the goat cheese blended in

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating a minute or so more, until stiff peaks form and the whites are shiny. With a spatula, stir 1/3 of the whites into the cheese and egg batter. Scrape the remaining 2/3 of the whites onto the batter and fold in gently.

Try not to stir at this point, which will deflate the whites

Pour the batter into the pan and bake on the middle rack at 400°F, without opening the oven, for 15 minutes.

Pour gently to keep the whites as puffy as possible, and don't shake the pan

Reduce the heat to 350°F and cook another 25 to 30 minutes, or until well-browned on top and cracking. The cake will puff up while baking, but settle as it cools. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out onto a plate, turning top side up.

Make sure to put this little torte in your wardrobe repertoire to pull out for any event — it’s a keeper.

Kelly McCune © 2011

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Creamy & dreamy

Okay, I’m calling this mysterious because I’d never tackled rice pudding before. And I had no idea how cooking rice with milk would result in something you could call pudding. But let me start from the beginning.

The husband frequently brings home a Trader Joe’s rice pudding, thus marking his attraction to this substance. The Trader’s version is g o o d — sort of — maybe a little sweet, and obviously an echo of something real, more grandma. Rice pudding is one of those homebody desserts, goes with cats and tea and a cozy fire, so I thought, how hard can it be? Turns out it is very simple, once you have a good recipe.

My trusty Fanny Farmer Cookbook has it slow-cooking in the oven for 3 hours, which seems impractical. Mrs. Simon Kander’s 1945 Settlement Cook Book (it belonged to my actual grandma) and the New York Times Cookbook are similar but clock in at 2 hours. Numerous other recipes in which I have varying degrees of trust claim it can be done stove top in under an hour. I wanted a stove top variety, so I started by pre-cooking the rice to speed things along. I think that cooked off too much of the starch, a contributing thickening agent. Next I tried whisking in a egg yolk, resulting in a mixture too dense and thick. I decided not to pre-cook or even rinse the rice, or add any egg. The result is the right creamy texture plus the right lightness.

I wanted to go further, though, and thought of the Chai tea masala my niece brought me from India last spring. I learned how to make some very authentic-tasting tea with it, and decided to use it for flavor along with basmati rice, a personal favorite of mine. Chai masala is a combination of spices with an emphasis on cardamom, the characteristic flavor. Here’s the label for my Chai masala:

I transferred mine from the bag into a container to store it, but I saved the *tasteful* label

And the ingredient list:

These masalas can be highly personal -- my niece's hostess wouldn't divulge her personal mix!

I haven’t worked up my own Chai masala, but when I run out of this one I’ll give it a try. The surprise here is black pepper, which I think really makes the flavor, and when I make my own I won’t leave it out.

Chai Rice Pudding | 4 to 6 servings

3 cups lowfat (2%) milk
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
1/3 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup, for a sweeter pudding)
3/4 teaspoon chai masala (or 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, scant 1/8 teaspoon fine-ground black pepper)
Small pinch of sea salt (about 1/8 teaspoon)
1 cup heavy cream (divided: 1/2 cup for the pudding, the remainder whipped for the top)
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

In a large saucepan, combine the milk, coconut milk, rice, sugar, chai masala, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring from time to time. When the mixture boils, reduce the heat immediately to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Delicious basmati rice has a distinctive flavor and fragrance

Mix everything together except the cream to start

Skin will form as the rice simmers -- just stir it thoroughly back into the mix

Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and cook another 10 minutes, or until thickened. Let the mixture cool slightly in the pan. Spoon it into individual serving dishes or a serving bowl. Lay plastic wrap right down on the surface of the pudding to keep a skin from forming as it cools.

Whip the remaining cream with a teaspoon of sugar. Chop the pistachios and toast the coconut in a 400°F oven for about 1 1/2 minutes (take care, it burns very easily). Serve the pudding at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold, topped with lightly sweetened whip cream, chopped pistachios, and toasted coconut on top.

I don’t have a cat, but the dog and I are off to sit in front of the fire football game (it’s 80° here today) with some pudding and a cup of tea.

Kelly McCune © 2011

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

The salty roasted pumpkin seeds are a nice contrast to the pumpkin and chocolate

Mistakes were made. Yes, it’s true, I thought this would turn out one way, and (ahem) it turned out another. Better.

I made an Almondy Pumpkin Pie last year — marzipan on the bottom, almonds all over the top. Apparently I can’t take my pumpkin pie without something above and below. Pumpkin pie seems to need something extra, and this one has dark chocolate and a graham cracker crust and salty pumpkin seeds strewn about on top. This is the pumpkin (let’s call it a) tart for the non-traditionalist on Thanksgiving, but others will stream in for the chocolate.

I’m not cooking this year, since we’ll be traveling to family who like to celebrate Thanksgiving will full white-coated service. I’d like to jump up and run into the kitchen, but the kind folks at the R**z will not appreciate my sampling the gravy or jiggling the turkey leg. I guess I’ll have to lean back and finish that Sidecar.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Tart

This is quite rich, and doesn’t really need whipped cream. A small dab of vanilla ice cream might be nice, but not necessary. I got the fantastic cinnamon graham crackers from Trader Joe’s, so I didn’t need the extra cinnamon or sugar for the crust. And if you want to make your own crackers, Deb at Smitten Kitchen has a recipe that she’s adapted and perfected from Nancy Silverton’s La Brea Bakery Pastries cookbook.

For the crust:
1 3/4 cups finely ground graham crackers
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar (if using plain graham crackers)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (if using plain graham crackers)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3.5 ounce bar of dark chocolate
For the filling:
3/4 cup puréed pumpkin
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
Olive oil
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grind the graham crackers until fine — a food processor works best for this. Gently melt the butter. Combine the graham crackers meal, butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl mix well with a fork. Press the graham cracker mixture into a 9 1/2-inch pie plate or quiche dish.

Mistake #1: I looked at my pans and went with the tart pan with the removeable bottom -- wrong! Might have been better off using the white quiche pan with straight sides

The sugary graham crackers from Trader Joe's -- if you use them don't add any extra sugar or cinnamon to the crust ingredients, just salt and butter

Keep pressing and molding the crust to the pan and up the sides, trying to make a substantial edge for the tart

Bake the crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and immediately arrange the chocolate pieces in the bottom.

The chocolate will begin to melt on the hot crust

When the chocolate is mostly melted, spread it out gently with a small spatula.

Use a gentle touch to keep from breaking the uncooked crust

Let the crust and chocolate cool. Reduce the oven to 325°F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the pumpkin, cream, egg, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and salt.

Mistake #2: I started out with way too much of this, thinking I'd have enough room in the pie pan for more pumpkin custard -- wrong again! The amounts called out above are more accurate

Pour the pumpkin mixture over the chocolate, taking care not to go up over the edge of the graham cracker crust. Bake in the 325°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center is set.

While the tart is cooking, toast the pumpkin seeds. Toss the raw pumpkin seeds with a drop or two of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toast in a 400°F oven or a toaster oven until popping and browning, about 3 minutes (watch them carefully!). Scatter the toasted seeds over the pie and serve.

No more mistakes here...

Now how did that joke go?

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

The crostata I made back at home -- this one with apricot jam and fresh cherries

While we were in Italy just last month we took a cooking class from a lovely Italian woman named Sonia. If your imagination is running to a graying mamma wielding a pasta roller and a checkered apron, think again. Sonia teaches French at the Lucca high school and graduated from Amherst College. Just wanted to set the scene…correctly! I was so excited to tackle crostata, the classic Italian dolce that is part pie, part cake. Sonia called it cake, but you’ll soon see why is shares more with our American pies than any cake we’ve come to know.

The husband and I lived in Italy an unmentionable number of years ago, and this was our long-overdue return. I had also taken cooking classes back then, and had thought I’d returned home with a fool-proof recipe for Torta della Nonna, a crostata-like cake/pie made with ricotta. It never, ever worked here, either because of my poor note-taking, even poorer conversions, or most likely, because the flour here just isn’t the same as it is in Italy. I think this time I’ve managed to get a little closer to the crostata we made in Italy, but the flour still affects the final outcome. I think our flour makes a softer crust, so I’m going to keep on the lookout for imported Italian flour to see if I can really achieve the intended flavor and texture.

Italian desserts are not terribly sweet. I think that’s why I like them (I’m a savory craver, not a sweet eater). And this dessert will take away all pie fears, if you have them!

Crostata | 6 to 8 servings

Made with jam it is a jam crostata (example: crostata dei fichi, or fig jam crostata) and made with fresh fruit it’s called a torta di frutta. This one is a jam crostata, but the pastry can be pre-cooked and filled with pastry cream and fresh fruit.

The pastry for crostata, called pasta frolla, is a pie dough almost like shortbread. To keep it tender and not too “bready,” have all the ingredients refrigerator cold. I’ve even mixed the dry ingredients and stuck them in the fridge for a few minutes.

Italian baking sugar is finer than ours, so if possible, use superfine sugar, available at many grocery stores.

Scant 1/4 cup ice-cold water
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 egg
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, or 1 stick, refrigerator cold
1 1/2 cups good-quality, naturally sweetened jam, such as apricot, raspberry, cherry, fig

Measure the water and put it in the freezer until needed. Prepare the lemon zest and set aside. Break the egg into a small bowl, beat until combined, and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Mix in the lemon zest.

Sonia is mixing the flour, sugar and lemon zest together but she's working quickly -- the kitchen was warm

Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Using fingertips and working quickly, pinch the butter into the flour mixture until it is crumbly and about the texture of steel-cut oats. A pastry blender works well, also.

The butter just came out of the fridge

Pinching and tossing very quickly

Mix in the egg, tossing quickly. Add the ice-cold water, tossing the dough as you go. Use just enough so that the dough will gather up but not be soggy. Punch the dough together until it forms a ball.

Divide the dough into a 1/3-sized ball and a 2/3-sized ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

This was a double recipe, so we divided the dough for two "cakes"

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter a 10-inch round pan or line with waxed paper. Place the larger dough ball in the center and work the dough out to the edges of the pan using your fingertips, pressing from the center out.  Work the dough up the side of pan about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Trim the top edge of the dough if necessary.

Try to make the thickness of the dough even all over

Sonia -- using her thumbs to push the dough up the side of the pan -- and Loren, watching!

It's optional to trim the top, but it makes a more even edge

With a fork, poke holes all over the bottom of the crust.

This keeps the dough from bowing up or bubbling and distorting

Spread the dough with the jam, evenly and to the edges.

This was a fig crostata, using Sonia's homemade fig jam made from her fig tree

Flour a work surface. With the other 1/3 of the dough, shape and flatten strips to lay across the top of the crostata.

Shape "logs" and flatten them

Here I am working on the second crostata while Sonia finishes the top strips for the fig one

Fold the crust down over the top edge of the crostata. Press with the tines of a fork. Brush the dough lightly with a little milk.

This makes the nice edge -- you can also make an edge with another strip of dough

Ready for the oven!

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until lightly golden.

This is the one I made, but the crust was a little too thick

Here's the one I made at home, with a much better result! It has apricot jam and a handful of fresh pitted and halved cherries

Buon appetito, amici!

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Straight out of the oven at full "puff"

There are certain recipes that catch your eye when have you have children in the house. That is how a certain “Huffy Puffy” entered our kitchen lexicon, with its ability to conjure little pigs and a wolf who might want a…bite. But it has remained a favorite, especially for breakfast, long since anyone around here was little enough to care about the name.

The Huffy Puffy is exactly like a Dutch Baby — a pancake that bears more resemblance to a popover or Yorkshire pudding than a griddlecake. It is thought that the Dutch baby is derived from the German pancake called an apfelpfannkuchen, and that a Seattle restaurant coined the name Dutch baby in the 1920s. It is a simple mixture of eggs, milk, flour and a dash of salt, cooked in a very hot oven. A heavy, ovenproof skillet is useful, especially a cast-iron one. It puffs up into a beautiful, golden cloud that stays puffed for a few minutes but begins to sink as it cools. Serve it immediately for the most crowd-pleasing effect.

Simple ingredients, likely to be on hand

I’ve added cooked bacon to the batter of this huffy puffy (don’t tell the little pigs), which makes it savory and something that can be served in wedges with dinner, even. There are all kinds of ways to vary it. Traditionally, the Dutch baby is served sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice just as it comes out of the oven. We’ve eaten it with syrup, jam, and honey. I’ve also sautéed apples first, and then poured in the batter. The center can be filled with a concoction of vegetables with or without meat, and served as a one-dish meal.

Huffy Puffy with Bacon | makes one

If your eggs are on the small side, cut back slightly on the amount of flour.

5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 slices bacon
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 475°F.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the salt. Whisk in the milk and then beat in the flour until the lumps are gone.

Whisk in the milk...

...and then whisk in the flour until smooth

Cook the bacon slices in heavy, ovenproof skillet. Remove, drain and chop.

Make the pieces any size -- I like them somewhat large

Add the bacon to the batter.

I considered adding a little chopped fresh rosemary here, too, right into the batter

Reheat the skillet over medium heat and add the butter to whatever bacon fat is in the pan. When the butter foams up, pour in the batter.

The butter should foam up but not burn

The butter and bacon fat help create a delicious crust on the outside of the huffy puffy

Place immediately into the hot oven and cook, without opening the oven door, for 18 to 20 minutes. The huffy puffy will be deep golden brown and puffy. Serve immediately.

Oh, and please don’t tell the wolf.

Hot from the oven is when it's best

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Put this classic, moist cake in your arsenal

I have one dessert that I turn to when I need something that isn’t cookies. By that I mean something that demonstrates a little more effort put forth. Or is a little showier, perhaps, or that I can take to someone’s house and not seem like I stopped at Albertson’s. Hello, gingerbread. Humble, classic, dresses up beautifully. I’ve made this gingerbread for just eatin’, and I’ve frosted it for a birthday cake. My favorite version, my company version, is sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar using a stencil I got years ago in a Martha Stewart Living Magazine ad mailer. That was one great free-gift-inside.

Glad I didn't throw away the subscription solicitation

This gingerbread and I have been through all kinds of war stories. Like the time the oven was accidentally shut off for a full half hour in the middle of baking, turned back on, with a result that was as moist and delicious as ever. The birthday party after an emergency hand injury. This cake is the friend you call in a crisis, the back-up squad car, the smart bomb. Add it to your arsenal and I promise you’ll be ready for any battle.

Gingerbread

My recipe comes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 13th edition, edited by Marion Cunningham. I’ve really not changed it much at all, except that I cook mine in a round pan rather than a square one. No need to mess with a good thing. If your ginger has been hanging around in the cupboard for more than a year, indulge in a new jar. The fresher the ground ginger, the more intense the ginger flavor will be.

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
Powdered sugar
Whipping cream
Dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch round (or 8-inch square) cake pan.

Do this carefully and the cake will come out perfectly every time

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat together until light.

I don't even get out my big Kitchenaid for this quick cake

Add the eggs and beat well. Add the molasses, then the boiling water and blend.

Molasses, the syrupy byproduct of refining sugar and once the primary sweetener in America, adds the earthy, deep notes to gingerbread

Use the molasses measuring cup for the hot water to capture any molasses that clings to the cup

Add the flour, soda, salt, and ginger to the batter and blend until combined.

I don't even bother to combine them first in a separate bowl

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

The dark color comes from the molasses

Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

The skewer will come out moist but not batter-coated

Invert onto a cake rack.

You may want to run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the gingerbread before inverting it onto the rack

Cool another few minutes before sprinkling with sugar. Begin with a light coating of powdered sugar, sprinkled through a fine-mesh sieve.

Just a very light first coating

Place a stencil over the cake and sprinkle heavily through the cuts.

Cut a stencil out of parchment paper or thin cardboard, or simply sprinkle the cake with sugar

Add a little more sugar if you want

Serve warm with lightly sweetened and softly whipped heavy cream, and grate a little dark chocolate on top.

I’d go up against almost any dessert with this baby in my holster.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Simple, homey and such a good way to fend off the cold

A line from an e.e. cummings poem pops into my head from time to time: with up so floating many bells down. The line rings like the bell to me, back and forth, with the peal on one side different from the other. The name ‘upside-down cake’ made me think of cummings’ poem, so I’ve paid him a small tribute here.

I was craving a warm-from-the-oven cake the other day after returning from snow-bound Oklahoma, only to find days of straight down rain in my own town. I had some indifferent apples that I knew would cook up just fine, so I’ve modified a recipe from my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I was hoping for an American tarte tatin, and I think I got it. Enjoy this easy cake with a blob of slightly sweetened, not overly whipped cream.

Upside-Down Apple Cake

Pears will work beautifully here as well.

3 large apples
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pare, core and slice 3 apples.

I've used 2 Granny Smiths and 1 pink lady

Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch heat-proof skillet over medium heat. I like a cast iron skillet for this cake. When it foams up, stir in the dark brown sugar.

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved

Mix for a minute or two, until the sugar is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat. Pile the apple slices on top of the sugar, pressing down to flatten.

You can make a nice arrangement of the apples, but I think of this as a very informal cake

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Beat the egg into the melted butter and then add the milk, mixing well.

The butter binds with the egg protein, making it much easier to make a smooth mixture once you add the cold milk

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until smooth.

The batter should be smooth but not overly mixed

Spread the batter over the top of the apples.

It's a stiff batter -- don't worry about getting it all the way to the edge of the pan

Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake top comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Don't skip the step of letting the cake cool -- the apples will release from the pan as it cools, making it possible to invert

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.

This is mostly to detach any of the cooked cake that is sticking to the pan

Turn a plate over on top of the pan. Hold the plate firmly against the pan, and turn it and the pan over quickly.

Hold the pan over the plate for a moment or so to allow the apples to release

Warm and welcoming, very unpretentious

Serve warm, with gently whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy, and stay warm.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

These are cigar boxes -- great for the gift of toffee but wrap it in plastic so the tobacco smell won't "perfume" the candy

My friend Myron first introduced me to this recipe — well, really his high school daughter. Her senior year she went into a frenzy of baking, churning out toffees, a sinful little cookie called baci di dama, chocolate chippers, you name it. She was a flurry in the kitchen, all the while thinking this might be her destiny. She’s now in an advanced science graduate program, but I hope she shows up at seminars with some of her kitchen science experiments…like this toffee.

I am challenged in the baking department. I have only a few mad skills and one mean gingerbread. I am most certainly allergic to the candy thermometer. This toffee requires no thermometer — hallelujah! It is a little tricky, and in particular the stirring should be very gentle, almost like pushing, rather than vigorous. And don’t scrape the sides of the pan, since pulling undissolved sugar into the mix can “granulate” the candy. Yes, that’s bad, since it goes back to a sugar blob with butter on the side.

Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee

2 bars of good-quality dark chocolate, approximately 3.5 ounces each
3/4 cup walnuts
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus some for the pan
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unblanched whole raw almonds

Lightly butter a large pan (10 x 15 glass or a rimmed baking sheet). Line it with parchment.

The butter is to help the parchment stick and mold to the pan

Break the chocolate bars into large chunks and finely chop the walnuts. Set aside until needed.

Dark chocolate goes so well with the toasty flavor of the almonds -- I used 50% cacao here since some family members like their dark chocolate a little less bitter, but you can opt for higher

You will end up with about 1/2 cup chopped nuts

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugars and salt and stir until they are dissolved.

While this toffee is easy, it does require constant attention -- it doesn't take a long time to prepare, though

Raise the heat to high and cook the mixture over high heat, with an occasional gentle stir, until it gets a very sticky, foamy top, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

These are not regular bubbles -- it's quite thick and molten-looking

On low, cook for another 5 minutes. Gently mix in the almonds raise the heat back up to high.

The mixture is quite hot, so be careful not to splash it

Over high heat cook and gently stir the almonds another 7 minutes. They may begin to pop or make a rumbling sound, and if that happens reduce the heat then.

Now the nuts are beginning to cook over high heat, the mixture gets foamy

Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir the mixture for a full 7 minutes. If the mixture becomes darker than the nuts, remove it from the heat but continue stirring for the entire 7 minutes.

The mixture begins to get very dark during this 7 final minutes, but you don't want to let it get too dark -- it's fine to stir it off the heat

Pour the toffee onto the parchment paper, working quickly with a spatula to spread it out evenly.

The toffee is so hot, it will spread out mostly on its own, but you can give it a little help

Immediately place the broken chocolate pieces on the hot toffee.

The hot toffee will soften the chocolate

Wait a couple of minutes and when the chocolate is soft, spread it evenly over the top of the toffee.

The bars make it so easy to create the chocolate layer

Sprinkle the top with the chopped nuts and press lightly to embed them in the chocolate.

You could use hazelnuts or peanuts on the top

Just a light touch to adhere the nuts to the soft chocolate

Let the toffee cool completely. The chocolate will be completely hardened. Remove the toffee on the parchment to a firm surface and gently break into pieces.

It's easier to break on a hard surface than in the pan

It breaks your heart, it looks so good

Now if you can give this away, you’re a better (wo)man than I.

Kelly McCune © 2009

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

My love of almonds is showing

It would seem that Pumpkin Pie season is over, and we’re moving on to…what, Christmas Pudding? Ahem. Some of us didn’t get pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving — in fact, not even a hint of pumpkin was present in my Thanksgiving dinner (out, at a restaurant). Quince was the fall flavor that made its appearance more than once in our meal, most notably on the dessert plate along with a white chocolate mousse. I might consider a white chocolate thing as a Christmas dessert since it sort of looks like snow on the plate, but I wouldn’t really consider it because I don’t know what white chocolate is. It co-opted the word “chocolate” in order to up its profile, that’s what.

Back to pumpkin pie. It can be awkward to make (fresh pumpkin? crust?). It can be too sweet. It can be store-bought (like a job, sometimes, it’s such hard work to eat). But in a Pavlovian way we need our pumpkin flavor around this time, and since I missed mine I came home and made this one. I dug deep into the emotional well of pumpkin pie for this recipe — probably because I had been denied. Almond paste sprang to mind as a good underlying flavor for the pumpkin — I like almond paste since it contains more almonds and less sugar than marzipan. Finally, I thought a nice toasted almond topping would add a savory crunch. And click through for the crust recipe, because once you absorb the technique you’ll be able to breeze past the pre-made aisle every time.

Pumpkin Pie with Almonds | 1 pie

Make the lightly sweetened pie crust first — in fact you can make it a day ahead and keep it refrigerated until needed.

3 eggs
1 cup half & half
2 cups canned organic pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Lightly sweetened pie crust, uncooked
3 1/2 ounces prepared almond paste
1 cup raw sliced almonds
4 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
Small pinch of salt
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 teaspoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs.

A whisk works well for blending the ingredients

Whisk in the half & half.

I prefer half & half to sweetened condensed milk in pumpkin pie

Add the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well and set aside until needed.

I've used unsweetened organic canned pumpkin

Such good flavors go into pumpkin pie

Line the uncooked pie crust with parchment or foil and partially fill with pie weights or dried beans.

I wish I had those little pie weights, but instead I have to sacrifice some dried pintos

In the preheated oven, bake the pie crust for 8 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights and prick the bottom in several places with a fork.

Parbaking the crust will keep it from getting soggy and add a base for the almond paste

Bake the crust another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Place 12 to 15 thin slices of prepared almond paste on the bottom of the crust.

I used a store-bought brand of almond paste and froze what I didn't need

Pour in the filling.

Leave a little exposed crust -- you may have extra filling to discard as a result

Bake the pie in the preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 325°F and continue cooking for another 35 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is set.

The filling will be puffed and cracked like this and not jiggly

Preheat the broiler. Combine the almonds, syrup, melted butter and salt in a small bowl. Distribute evenly over the top of the pie.

Maple and almond together make a nice wintery crust on top

I'm not skimping on the almonds here

Place the pie under the broiler to toast the almonds but watch it very carefully. The almonds will be brown within just a couple of minutes. Remove and cool the pie completely.

For the top of the pie, whip the cream with the sugar until very soft peaks form.

I prefer a very soft and very lightly sweetened whipped cream and it takes only a minute or two to make -- almost the same time it would take to shake the can

Serve the pie at room temperature with a dollop of soft whipped cream on top.

'Tis the season...all winter long

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Really different and really tasty corncakes -- pink does taste good

Every once in a while you eat something you can’t forget. It might be associated with a memory — like Proust’s tea-soaked madeleine, it might be the amazing ginger cookie almost like the one you had on the way home from camp. It might be exotic, like roasted rabbit on a rainy Christmas Day in Italy. The category of food I’m talking about is the thing you can’t forget and mostly can’t find again. A standout in this group is the guava tamale I had seven years ago made by one Eva, who is as elusive as that tamale. I’ve talked about her before, and if I didn’t have a beautiful picture of her I would think I’d made her up.

Most tamales have a savory filling, and that holiday we ordered a number of those from Eva. But she included a dozen sweet tamales, most of the guava variety. Her tamales were perfect — light, almost soufflé-like masa, and just the right proportion of filling. What was striking was how good guava tasted with corn. It was a perfect match, it seemed to me. But then Eva was no longer selling her tamales in my neighborhood, and I couldn’t find her anywhere.

A year or two later, on a trip to Mexico, I asked everywhere we went for a guava tamale. Mostly I got perplexed looks, with maybe a response like, “I think they make those up North (or down South or in Guadalajara).” I have continued to look for that flavor combination, never thinking I could do it myself.

Then, the other day, I picked up some produce from a local homestead farm owned by the Dervais family called Path to Freedom Modern Urban Homestead. Cool, huh? I’ll talk more about the Dervais homestead later, because I plan to buy much, much more produce from them. But in my box were a couple of pounds of guavas, along with some other interesting vegetables not normally offered at the supermarket.

The items in my Path to Freedom homestead farm box

I immediately created a reality TV challenge for myself: I will make something out of every fruit and vegetable in my box, including that weird squash. But I started with the guavas. I thought of those tamales, and since I’m not a tamale maker (it’s really a big job, best when there’s a group of folks in mass-production mode) I thought of pancakes made with cornmeal. I was quite prepared to go through with cooking them knowing that they might be awful. Well, I’m writing more than a couple of paragraphs about it, right? It must have been a truly Proustian experience, yes?

A Little Guava Info: Guavas are so aromatic when ripe, it’s like having flowers in your kitchen. I don’t think there is anything quite like them. The variety I used here has green skin and pink flesh. I don’t know the variety (perhaps it was a ‘Ruby’ but there are dozens of cultivars), but the flesh of a guava can be pink like these or white, cream, yellow or deep red. The skin can be somewhat bitter and tough if underripe, but guavas are certainly eaten raw. Some people like to peel them first, to avoid the skin. Other folks dislike the tiny but edible seeds (up to 500! in some varieties) in the center of the flesh. The seeds can be scooped out — they are tiny but hard. Guava makes a great jelly because of its high sugar content, and guava paste, an intense and sweetened essence of guava, can be purchased in specialty stores and is primarily used in desserts.

Guava Corncakes | 12 to 14 corncakes

4 ripe guavas
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup medium grind cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for the pan
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Trim the stem and flower end off the guavas, halve, and scoop out the pulp containing the seeds.

Peel away the green skin. If the skin on your guavas is flavorful and tender, leave it on. You’ll just be adding a little more color to the corncakes.

The seeds are edible, but a little too hard -- you keep finding them in your teeth

Don't worry if you don't get every last spot of green -- the skin is usually flavorful

Slice the guava into chunks, add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and mash it to a pulp.

Do your smashing on a plate

A fork is fine for mashing the tender guava flesh

Agreed -- it's not beautiful at the moment

Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl.

I have a specific wooden spoon that I use for all sweet mixures -- nothing savory or oily touches this spoon

Melt the butter in a measuring cup (I do this in the microwave) and beat in the egg.

The protein (egg) binds with the fat (butter) to make a smooth mixture before mixing in anything else

Add the milk and mashed guava and blend together. Pour this into the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are combined. Don’t overmix.

Little flecks of pink and green are the guava in the batter

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and melt a small pinch of butter. Spoon the batter onto the hot griddle and cook corncakes until bubbly on top and drying on the edges.

Don't crowd the pan -- it's easier to flip them if they're not touching

Corncakes should be nice and brown on both sides and slightly puffy

The Husband liked his guava corncakes with cinnamon sugar but for me, a little syrup was just the thing. Honestly, they’re good plain, and if you close your eyes you could be eating a tamale.

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.