DOTMC August - Lemon Posset

Hiya, I am DOTMC's newest and final member...as this is our last year. Sad to see it go just when I just got on board, but happy for the bit of the club that I've gotten to enjoy. So this is my one big shot to submit a dessert for your eating pleasure!

A chef friend of mine from New Zealand introduced me to the yumminess known as a Posset. Certainly not daring to ask him for his recipe, I searched the interwebs and found several recipes for it which are practically identical.

And what's great about this dessert is it's quick, easy, impressive, and very tasty.



Introducing...The Lemon Posset!


10 oz. (or 300 mls.) cream

2/3 C. sugar

Juice of 1-2 lemons

1. Put cream into a small saucepan and add sugar.

2. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time to dissolve the sugar.

3. Once it comes to the boil, let simmer for 3 minutes, still stirring all the time.

4. Remove pan from heat and pour in the juice of 1 lemon, stirring as you do - it should start to thicken instantly.

5. Give it a taste and add more lemon juice if it is not tart/tangy enough.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then pour into small glasses or ramekins.

7. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. 
Serve with a spot of raspberry puree or a dessert biscuit. Serves 4.

June 2011 D.O.T.M.C.: Gooseberry-Blueberry Pie

For June 2011's D.O.T.M.C. contribution I was excited to use some of the fruits in my new C.S.A. in Crown Heights. I love tarts and galettes and pies and through a recent Gilt Groupe purchase of little Staub bake ware I was able to make a few of these in different shapes. The recipe is for a regular pie though. Enjoy!

Gooseberry-Blueberry Pie

2 pie crusts (I like the Bittman recipe, basically, 1 C flour, 1 stick butter, ice water, salt and sweetener)

Fruit filling:

1 pint gooseberries, stems picked off, washed and dried

2 pints blueberries wash and dried

1 lemon, juiced

½ cup panela sugar (or any sweetner)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1 large egg beaten, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl, combine gooseberries, blueberries, lemon, sugar and flower and let sit to blend together. I like to leave this in a quart container overnight to really get their maceration on. Place crust in pie dish, pour in filling, cover with second crust, crimp, wash with the egg and bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool and dig in. 

June 2010 D.O.T.M.C.: Cardamom Coconut Panna Cotta with Raspberry-Rhubarb Sauce

So I somehow lost June 201 and didn't get my contribution out there. Shame on me! Here it is, a year late but hopefully still worthy of consideration. We made this panna cotta for our final dinner at culinary school and I hadn't had a chance to make it on my own until now. I wanted to do what I could to simplify it but still have it be a proper panna cotta texture, remain vegan and taste yummy. I used some seasonal fruit for the sauce and left it chunky but strain away by all means if that's what you like. I hope you give it a try!

Cardamom Coconut Panna Cotta with Raspberry-Rhubarb Sauce

1 T coconut oil

2 cans coconut milk- full fat

½ heaping teaspoons powdered agar

1/3 cup honey

1 T Toasted and ground cardamom pods

½ T  kuzu

1 T water

Using a paper towel, grease ramekins with coconut oil.

Toast cardamom pods and grind

Powder agar with a spice grinder and add to coconut milk, cream, cardamom in a medium-sized sauce pan. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and simmer until agar has dissolved.  Approximately 15- 20 minutes.

Add honey and taste for sweetness. 

Combine kuzu and water to make a slurry and add to coconut base.

Simmer for another 5 minutes to cook kuzu. 

Transfer to a blender and puree. 

Strain through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

Pour into greased ramekins and let set in refrigerator, at least 4 hours, ideally overnight

Remove by taking a toothpick around ramekin, and inverting over your serving plate

Serve with a few tablespoons Raspberry-Rhubarb sauce

Raspberry-Rhubarb Sauce

3 T Palm Sugar, or more to taste (you can sweeten it anyway you like really)

1 C water

½ C Raspberries

½ C Rhubarb- thinly sliced

In a small sauce pot combine palm sugar and water to create a simple syrup

Add berries and rhubarb, cook for about 10 minutes until they’re well combined and saucy

Blend using an immersion blender (or in a blender)

Strain if you like it smooth, I left it chunky 

March DOTMC: Hazelnut Creme-filled Chocolate Crepe Cakes

Chocolate Crepes:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus melted for pan
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Bring 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until completely melted. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Add chocolate-butter mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Lightly coat an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet with melted butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove pan from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into pan, swirling to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook, flipping once, until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side. NOTE: I don’t have a non-stick skillet or a crepe pan and making crepes that are flippable is really sloppy without these items. Since i was making them for a brunch I made mini ones and used my largest biscuit cutter on an enamelware skillet and stacked them on 7 layers high. This made 7 servings using the portions of this recipe so you could half the recipe if you want to make fewer. They made for a nice presentation & were easy to serve just quartered.

Slide crepes onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed. Crepes can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day.




Chocolate Glaze:
Makes about 2 cups

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Bring cream, corn syrup, and salt to a boil in a medium-heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; swirl pan to cover completely with cream. Let stand about 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely.

Hazelnut Creme Filling:

• 4 egg whites
• ¾ cup sugar
• pinch cream of tartar
• 3 sticks butter
• 1 11 oz can Hazelnut Praline (Love n’ Bake is the brand I use, if you can’t find amazon sells it, one less step OR see following Hazelnut Praline recipe to make your own recipe of it, which is less than the canned but just as hazelnutty since it’s fresh)

Place the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl. Add the sugar and place the bowl over simmering water. Heat the mixture until slightly warmed and the sugar doesn't feel gritty.
Place the bowl on the mixer with the whip attachment. Add cream of tartar and whip on medium high speed until the whites form stiff peaks. Add the softened butter a few tablespoons at a time, scraping the bowl frequently. Whip until the buttercream is smooth and fluffy.

Hazelnut Praline:
Makes about 1 cup

• 1 cup (5 ounces) hazelnuts
• Canola oil, for pan
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast them in the oven until they are fragrant, about 8 minutes. Transfer nuts to a clean kitchen towel, and rub nuts in towel vigorously between your hands to remove the brown skins. Lightly brush an 8-by-12-inch rimmed baking pan with the oil. Spread the peeled nuts in the pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, brushing down sides of pan with a damp pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals that may form, until mixture is amber, about 9 minutes; do not stir. (Pan may be swirled gently about halfway through to incorporate any uncooked sugar.) Pour directly over nuts to create a thin layer. Set aside to cool, at least 30 minutes.

Place half the praline in the bowl of a food processor; process until the praline is very fine with no sharp pieces. Cut the remaining praline into small pieces for decoration. Praline may be made up to 1 week ahead and kept in an airtight container, at room temperature.

Assembly:
Place a crepe on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet or wax/parchment paper. Spread with a thin ⅛ inch layer hazelnut filling. Top with another crepe. Continue layering with hazelnut filling and crepes, using about 32 crepes and ending with a crepe on top. If making smaller stack to 7. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Spoon glaze on top of the cake, spreading to edges. Spread remaining glaze around sides of cake, coating completely. Refrigerate until glaze is firm and set, about 20 minutes. Cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Bomb Brownies

Hello from the new kid on the block!

My month isn't until August, but I've been obsessing over these browned butter brownies since Valentine's Day and just had to share...Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and that browned butter is good stuff...Best brownie recipe I've tried yet!

February DOTM: King of Cookies

The Disappointment Cookies.

I don’t know why, but I don’t have a repertoire of recipes that I trust. Maybe it’s because I would usually rather experiment with something new than actually make something that I know will turn out well? I don’t know. At any rate, I don't have much of a collection. So when it comes to giving recipes to other people, or suggesting things for a dessert, or whatever, I’m never like, “Ooh, my grandmother’s coconut cake, it’s so easy and perfect!” it's always more like, “Hmmm, I bet I could make a filling out of this tart recipe and then wrap it in the leftover puff pastry I have and oh it calls for hazelnut flour but I’ll just grind up some almonds instead...” and then I have to test it and tweak it forty seven times before it really comes out well.

That’s fun and all, but sometimes you get tired of complicated things. I make enough complicated things at work. I just wanted a cookie. But ya’ll. I went through THREE cookie recipes before I found one that came out well. THREE. Wtf? I mean, they were edible. But I can’t share a recipe that only comes out so-so. As I was chewing on a rubbery sablé I could just imagine your collective disappointment when you finally made them and I COULD NOT DO THAT TO YOU GUYS. So I got really pissed off and stomped around for a while. And then I remembered that I DO have a perfect recipe!

I didn’t come up with this, and in fact it might very well be the recipe off the Nestle bag, I don’t know. But I do know that it makes the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.

1/2 pound butter
365g brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
360g AP flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
450g chocolate chips

Cream the butter and the sugar to a paste. Add the vanilla and eggs. Once that's combined, add the sifted dries, then the chocolate chips and mix just til incorporated. Bake em at around 325 or so.

Successsss!

DOTMC January 2011: Orange Ring Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup unsalted butter                              3/4 Cup all-purpose flour

1Tbsp dark corn syrup                               3/4 Cup self-rising flour

2 medium oranges                                       finely grated rind of 1 orange

3/4 Cup superfine sugar                              2 to 3 Tbsp orange juice

3 eggs, beaten


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 1.5 quart ring cake pan and spoon syrup into the bottom.

Grate rind of one orange. Cut all of the white peel and pith from two oranges and slice the oranges into rounds. Arrange the orange slices over the syrup in the pan.

Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Sift both fours into the mixture and fold in, adding orange rind and enough orange juice to make a soft consistency.

Spoon the mixture into the ring pan and smooth the surface. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until risen, golden, and firm. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or cold, with extra syrup drizzled over. Happy New Year!!

I'VE BEEN WORKING ON SOME PIE

A spicy peanut pie (Sorry Jada!) to be exact. This one had it's issues, but makes for a gorgeous little pie shot, huh?

As usual lots of whoopies abound as well. Keep on dessert making people!

Pure Evil (aka Chocolate Pate)

So, I know I am super late. I'm November and it's Christmas. I had a small disaster with my original cake which I made in November. It became known as "the dirt cake" and it took me awhile to shake off that failure. I will attempt "the dirt cake" again next November. It will not beat me!
The success: Chocolate Pate with Espresso Whipped Cream
If you're on a diet don't even make it. Don't even look at it. It's evil.
I used to make this at an old place I worked. The original recipe had old coffee in it and a crushed walnut crust. I didn't want to do that since I'm allergic to nuts. It also came out more fudgy than pate-y. So I combined an internet recipe and the old one to get this.

Ingredients:
24 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 pound unsalted butter
6 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
Well buttered cake pan

for whipped cream:
1 pint heavy cream
powdered sugar
vanilla
instant espresso or instant coffee
water
Pre-heat oven to 325

Melt butter and chocolate in top of double boiler stirring occasionally

Whip whole eggs and yolks until lemon yellow and fluffy.

once chocolate is melted, pour hot water from double boiler into water bath

Whip egg whites into a meringue

Once chocolate is cooled to room temperature, fold egg mixture and meringue into chocolate

Pour into pan and place pan into water bath

Bake for one hour at 325
Thirty minutes in, rotate the cake. Be gentle.

Cool completely in the fridge.

Whipped Cream:

Dissolve 1 tablespoon instant espresso in 1 tablespoon warmish water. Let it cool. I put it in the freezer. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon Nicole's homemade vanilla and one pint heavy whipping cream and whip it!

LEMON MELANG ON TV WITH CAKE

Darling Dessert Makers! I had the pleasure of "preparing" a cake I have been making at work on the local CBS affiliates live daily program Virginia This Morning. It was nerve wracking and also quite fun and they asked me to come back and do another sometime next month- EEK!

CAKES MEN LIKE

It was Marty's birthday and I made him a chocolate banana cake.
I think he liked it.

October DOTMC

Butter Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

For the purée:

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 medium-large Sugar Pie pumpkin, cut in half and seeded

For the cake:

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1.5 tsp. baking soda

1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon

¾ tsp. table salt

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1.5 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup buttermilk

For the topping:

1.5 tbs. unsalted butter

2/3 cup pecans

2 tsp. light brown sugar

¼ tsp table salt

For the frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter

8 oz. cream cheeses, at room temperature

¼ cup light brown sugar

1.5 cups confectioners’ sugar

Pumpkin Purée

1. Preheat over to 350°, brush pan with oil. Place pumpkins halves on the pan cut side down and cook for about 45 minutes or until tender

2. Let cool, peel pumpkins and purée the flesh in a food processor until smooth (set aside 1.5 cups)

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°, butter and flour pan (I used a bunt pan, but you can also used two 9-inch pans)

2. Melt butter until it turns golden-brown (~4 min.), let cool

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves

4. In a large bowl, combine 1.5 cups of the pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter

5. Combine dry and wet ingredients

6. Pour into pan and bake for ~30 min, let cool

Cake topping

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a nonstick skillet

2. Add pecans and cook until slightly brown (~ 2 min)

3. Add brown sugar and salt until pecans are glazed cook for an additional 2 min, let cool

Frosting

1. Melt butter over medium heat, until golden-brown, let cool

2. Using a mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar, until light in color and the brown sugar has dissolved

3. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fluffy

Assemble cake and devour!

SEPTEMBER DOTMC

This is a special DOTM because it's my very own sister's first submission! I am not positive but I am pretty sure that is her and my little nephew diggin' in on Nana Lucy's Holiday Bread!
Thanks Christianna, I love the illustrations you did!!

WHAT'S THE TIME? IT'S PIE TIME!

Pies. They are so beautiful, so practical, so representative of our collective dessert experience as a nation.There is a book, I love called Pie Everyday with tons of all sorts of pie recipes in it and crusts. I wish I had it. Not that I don't own dozens of cookbooks with great pie recipes! I need to have a visit to my kitchen library and get a nice "pie list" going. Here are some that I want to try as I ponder the cooler weather and all the festivities to come:

Apple Cheddar
Spicy Pumpkin in a cornmeal crust with candied pepita garnish
Butterscotch Pie
Bourbon Buttermilk
Cranberry Pecan
Chocolate Tart with Marshmallow topping
Caramel Apple
and of course concord grape if I can find any down here~

In years past me and my wonderful friend Molly threw annual cookie parties. They were a sight to behold
This year as I no longer live in NYC with all of my buddies, I decided to start a new tradition. PIE PARTY.
What do ya think?

Mustard Bread

This is definitely not a desert but I know how much we love mustard and great women around here. It's a savory specialty of someone I love dearly who left this world way too soon last week. I made a batch last night with wet eyes and a heavy heart, but it was a delicious tribute to my dear Kath. I suggest you whip some up for your Labor Day BBQs and picnics (even if they end up being indoors). On that note (Labor Day), here's to the moms, cooks, and caring souls who feed us, care for us, and inspire us with their great work and great food.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler (v)

Treat for the dog-days of summer.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, August 2005 (p146). Tip-o-the-hat to Veganaise for being such a great cream substitute in this recipe.

2½ pounds peaches, halved lengthwise, pitted, and cut into ¾-inch-thick wedges (about 8 cups)

1 cup blueberries (about ½ pint)

²⁄₃ cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted soy butter, cut into small pieces

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

¾ cup Veganaise + ¼ cup water

Sanding sugar for sprinkling

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°, with racks positioned in upper and lower thirds.
2. Stir together peaches, bluebetries, ¹⁄₃ cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Transfer to a 12-by-8½ inch (2-quart) baking dish; set aside.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and remaining ¹⁄₃ cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl or stand mixer. Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives to form clumps that are no larger than small peas.
4. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into the Veganaise; stir with a fork to combine. Discard pod. Add cream mixture to flour mixture; stir until a soft, sticky dough forms. Using a spring-loaded ice-cream scoop, scoop out 10 equal portions of dough onto the filling & sprinkle with sanding sugar.
5. Protect your oven with a parchment-lined cookie sheet on the lower rack. Bake cobbler on the top rack until the topping is golden brown and juices ar bubbling (55-70 minutes). If topping browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
6. Let cool 1 hour before serving.

AUGUST DOTM SPICY PEACH SORBET (V)

August is for peaches! Summer is for being really lazy about posting on DOTMC!
I dedicate this post to my littlest sister who is in need of non dairy desserts.

I had used my Flip to make a companion video to this recipe to put on Food Punk, and it was really cute and then my computer and Flip had a massive falling out and I lost every video I ever saved. However, I still got a crappy pic with my phone that you see here! Huzzah! Look out for your hard copy in the mail it IS coming. Promise. (For lots of rambling on the recipe below,and some ice cream tips you can check out Food Punk).



4-6 good size peaches peeled and chopped
A couple chiles ( I had dried Chiles de Arbol, but  fresh jalapeno or any such nice chile would work well I think)
2 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of Sorghum Syrup (or corn, no judgments here)
a pinch of salt
the juice of one lemon and (optional) a shot of Tequila

Cook the peaches in a saute pan over med heat. As they begin to cook and break down add the honey and syrup. Stab your chiles with a paring knife and throw them in. When the mixture looks like it would make an ok jam, take it off heat, discard the chiles and puree mixture in a blender.
( I kept half of one of my chiles and threw him in the blender)
Strain the mixture into a metal bowl. This is annoying but so necessary, just keep pushing the puree through with a spatula.
Make sure to scrape off all the goo clinging to the bottom of the strainer as that is the good stuff!
Put the bowl in the fridge and be patient while it gets nice and cool. (2-4 hrs or overnight)
Freeze according to the ice cream maker's directions

Granita, granita, granita.

Hi everyone! Hope your summertime has been swell. I'm not much of a "summer person," admittedly. It's just... too hot. I don't like being hot. Or sweating. Or humidity. Yeah, I pretty much hate summer and I'm super stoked it is nearly over.

But I'm not a total hater! There is one thing I like about summer: THE FOOD! I weirdly love foods that are associated with heat and boardwalks and outdoor eating (preferably in the shade with a fan or close proximity to an air conditioner). I love food that is grilled outdoors, the smell of burning charcoal or wood, summer berries and stone fruits, watermelons, chilled drinks, and cool/refreshing desserts.

We have a janky window AC unit, so using the oven has been totally off limits for the last couple of months. I didn't have to look far to figure out what this year's DOTMC recipe would be, thankfully. I had some beautiful, super-ripe nectarines from the farmer's market. They were so sweet- but had that tart edge.. the kind of fruit you bite into and just start telling everyone around you about how you have the perfect piece of fruit.
Our dessert drink of choice lately has been Moscato D'Asti... lightly sparkling, (not too) sweet, crisp, fragrant, almost peachy white wine. I thought it would be nice to mix with the nectarines is a frozen way. Thankfully, the two were a perfect pair, and the granita came out beautifully, totally refreshing, and so very easy too.

Below is my recipe card for July's DOTMC... apologies for the tardiness! They'll be in the mail this week.Take care and happy, happy late summer.

More Strawberries! Strawberry Honey Cornmeal Cake

So last week I got another 2.5 quarts of strawberries at the CSA. I had seen a recipe come through the google reader for a blueberry cornmeal cake and I figured I could adapt it a bit and use up some of these strawberries. Per usual, I decided to try it without the refined sugar it called for and used honey instead. This made the batter a bit more liquidy and I think required a bit of extra cooking time (well I needed to bake it longer and I assume this was part of the reason). The honey also caused it to have a much darker color than its cousin the blueberry cornmeal cake. The results were terrific tasting though. The ricotta and yogurt in the recipe ensures such moistness and the flavor combination with the honey and berries is just wonderful. I think this would be the perfect breakfast cake or wonderful at a luncheon with just a tiny bit of extra cream on top for contrast. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Strawberry Honey Cornmeal Cake
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cuphoney
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, quartered

Special Equipment

• 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with vegetable oil. Whisk flour and next 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and honey in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl until creamy. With mixer running on medium speed, gradually add egg mixture; beat to blend. Beat in flour mixture just to blend. Add ricotta and yogurt; beat on low speed just to blend. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Scatter 1 1/2 cups strawberries over. Spoon remaining batter over in dollops, then spread to cover blueberries. Scatter remaining strawberries over.

Bake cake until top is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Serves 12

Lemon Ricotta Maple Strawberry Biscake

Now that's a dessert name! (uh... maybe not). 

Strawberries are here in full effect. I have had a box in the fridge for a few weeks with no time to make anything. Last week the CSA opened and I got a quart more! Thank goodness those little guys can last a while if you don't wash or mess with them. Tonight I had my first opportunity to make something and decided to take a stab at a variation on a strawberry shortcake. I found the recipe below and made a few twists (replacing the sugar with maple crystals, jettisoning the almond extract and slivered almonds and baking them on a sheet like biscuits instead of in muffin tins). I am pretty sure the maple changed the chemistry a bit as they were smoother and had less rise, but they were really really good. A perfect base for the macerated strawberries (I added a tiny bit of crushed lavender and a little maple syrup) and whipped cream. 

Lemon Ricotta Biscake

Cook Time: 20 min

Yield:12 biscakes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon maple crystals or more as needed for sprinkling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup maple crystals, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg and lemon juice,. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon of maple crystals over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MARCH DOTM POPS BY AMELIA

I told you guys Amelia's DOTM was gonna be worth the wait. You will be getting these in your mail box but if you are already crazy from the heat perhaps you'd like to make some now!!! Just click the images to see the luscious recipes for these weather appropriate treats!

Apple Rhubarb Galette

I can't resist buying the new fruits and veggies that are coming into their season even if I have no baking plans. Last night I remembered the rhubarb I bought on Saturday in my fridge and decided to see how quickly I could put something together with it. I went to my trusty Mark Bittman pie crust recipe (easy for me because it's basically one cup flour, one stick butter + ice water and a little seasoning, in this case some maple crystals and a pinch of salt), sautéed the rhubarb with some apples in a tablespoon of butter, added some more maple crystals and baked at 375 for about 35 minutes. Before I put it in I drizzled some olive oil over the edges because I just couldn't resist. What is wrong with me???  I might sauté the filling a little less or not at all next time and add a bit more sweetener, but I have to say, this was the perfect breakfast treat today. Serves 4 easy. 

St. Lucian Cocoa Tea

Cocoa tea is a rich breakfast drink (like European hot chocolate) from St. Lucia. I confirmed the recipe with a St. Lucian chef I met in my travels who added that small doughnut-like pieces called "hot bakes" are sometimes boiled in the cocoa tea, making the drink more of a porridge-style breakfast meal. This recipe is just for the tea.

Makes 2 servings
2 cups soy or light coconut milk (or your favorite kind of milk)
½ cup grated dark chocolate*
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon grated cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2-4 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1 scraped vanilla pod or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white flour or cornstarch (optional)

Note: Works best with a double boiler.

Directions

1. Bring the milk to a boil and quickly lower heat. If you are using a double boiler, make sure the milk is steamy hot. 
2. Add the grated cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon and bay leaf and let simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in vanilla and if you want a thicker drink, add flour (or cornstarch) stirring continuously.
4. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.

*The Grenada Chocolate Company makes amazing Caribbean dark chocolate. Any 70%+ dark chocolate will work well.

Moroccan Kaab El Ghzal

Almond-Mango Crescent Cookies
A rich, mild almond cookie from Morocco with a zesty tang from baked-in dried mango.
Some varieties have pastry dough wrapped around the almond/fruit filling, but this one combines all ingredients into a biscuit. To see how to make the dough-filled version, watch Moroccan blogger Alia make her version on youtube.

Makes 15 - 20 cookies
1 cup raw almonds, finely ground
½ cup Wholesome Sweeteners powdered sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Ener-G egg replacer (or 1 egg)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup earth balance (or butter), at room temperature
½ cup sesame seed
½ cup of minced dried fruit like mango or pineapple

Directions

1. Take soy butter out of fridge & preheat oven to 350º
2. Knead almonds, sugar, flour, almond extract, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter in mixing bowl and mix well. A sticky dough will form. Add water a tablespoon at a time if a ball of the dough does not form, or add flour if dough is too sticky to pinch.
3. Pour sesame seeds onto a plate or pie pan.
4. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough (keep them small, the cookies are rich).
5. Flatten the dough in your palms and fold in 1 teaspoon of minced dried fruit. Form the dough into a cylinder and roll dough pieces in seeds to coat.
6. Sculpt the cylinder into a crescent, thicker in the middle, tapering at the ends and curved.
7. Place side by side onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.