Chocolate Oatmeal Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream and a Book Review

Recently I was invited to join a small book club with a few other food bloggers (being called The Edible Word - and how perfect is that?!) by the lovely Cath of A Blithe Palate and wonderful Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness. The idea was to get together with a few others who like to cook or bake and who also love to read. You already know how I feel about food, but you may not have known that I come from a long line of avid readers. I pretty much go crazy if I don't have something to read.

For our first book we read the new book by Kate Jacobs called Comfort Food. Kate has a lovely website and you can even get a chance to win a tote bag, sign up for her newsletter and even see if she is going to be in a city near you.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Comfort Food. It naturally combined two of my favorite things and pulled it all into an engaging read. It is the story of a woman who is approaching her 50th birthday - and she isn't too thrilled about it. On top of that she is a food television star and life is getting a bit shaky there as well. It is a story about family, love, humor and grief - all mixed in with a great helping of lots of good talk about food and the passion for cooking.

The book follows Gus, our heroine, but it also follows the stories of the characters swirling around her as well so the pace never really feels like it bogs down at all. I'm not going to tell you much more because I don't want to ruin it, but I will say that it didn't take me long to read this book at all, just a couple of days, because I really didn't want to leave the story. I was enjoying being a part of their world too much!

You should definitely read this book if you are looking for an entertaining story with lots of emotion and passion, as well as interesting characters. If that doesn't sound like your kind of story, well, then, I don't know what is wrong with you! ; )

Now, the second half of the fun of being a part of The Edible Word is that, since the book we reviewed has so much great food in it, there is plenty of good culinary scope for the imagination too - so, we all had the challenge to make something from the book or inspired from the book.

I actually didn't have a hard time deciding what I wanted to make because I knew what it would be from the first line in the book (which you can read the first chapter on Kate's website). I just didn't know what kind it would until almost the end of the book. A birthday cake! A Chocolate Oatmeal Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream to be exact.

Now, the surprise here is that I'm not going to tell you who the birthday cake actually ends up being made for. It isn't who you think from anything I've written so far though. As I mentioned, I knew it was going to be a birthday cake, just not what kind. Since it is supposed to be a dressed up celebration cake it is a decorated with cute little chocolate curls and white beaded frosting).

How did I decide on a Chocolate Oatmeal Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream? In the book, there is an important scene which includes this cake. So, in Kate's own words straight from the book - here is the basis for the cake recipe I decided to create:

"What do you think?" Gus said, looking expectantly into their faces.

"Of what?"

"This," she said. "It's Sunday dinner like we used to have it." She led Aimee and Sabrina over to the counter, which was covered with mixing bowls holding oats, cocoa, chocolate chips, flour, and eggs at room temperature.

"We're going to make a birthday cake," said Gus... "

Now, I didn't have a recipe for any kind of cake even remotely like this to go off of since I've never had a cake with oats in it before, but I put my trust in Kate here, and she didn't lead me wrong with the cake idea (or her book)! I decided to try to come up with a recipe that included all the ingredients she named (and of course a few more) to make the cake.

The icing recipe comes from Gale Gand, but the idea also comes from Comfort Food and Kate.

" Together, as a family, they mixed the ingredients and greased the pans, put the batter in the oven, and then made a simple icing out of butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla beans. "

So, how was it? This cake was actually pretty perfect! Nothing about this was remotely fussy to make and the results were wonderful. The cake itself was dense and not too rich (but just rich enough) and had a great texture, not crumbly really at all. It doesn't rise much because it is a heavy batter, but it isn't dry at all. The icing was heavenly and could very well be my new easy go to recipe for a simple vanilla buttercream. When I started out to try to create this cake, I really had no idea what it would be like, but I am very happy with it. You could easily make this into a snacking cake for an afternoon treat or cupcakes too (oh, and I stole a little nibble still warm from the oven while the chocolate bits were still melty and let me just tell you, it was ridiculously good)!

It is definitely a new comfort food! Thanks to Kate Jacobs - for a great book, and a great new recipe idea! Thanks to Cath and Stephanie for inviting me in on the fun! Can't wait to get together again!

Now, you (yes, you) - go get Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, then come home, make this cake and enjoy a nice big slice with a tall glass of cold milk and spend your afternoon sitting in a nice cozy chair reading and eating cake. Seriously, can life get much better?

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder (preferably, Dutch processed)
1 cup buttermilk, well shaken
2 cups quick/instant oats (1-minute NOT old-fashioned)
3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (1 bar of 70% Lindt Bittersweet is perfect), chopped into "chip" sized chunks - or the equivalent of your favorite chocolate chips)

Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans (or one 9x13-inch pan) well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or with a hand-mixer fitted with beaters in a large mixing bowl) cream together the sugar and butter until well combined and the sugar is mostly absorbed into the butter - will still be crumbly and somewhat dry looking. Add the eggs one at a time and mix in well, beating on medium-high speed for 1 minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and continue beating for 1 minute, or until mixture is well combined, light and fluffy.

In another bowl, sift and whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture in alternating additions: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour. Mix until just combined after each addition, finishing the last addition of flour by hand with a rubber spatula while you fold in the oats and chocolate chunks.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and spread with the spatula to even out the batter. This batter will be very thick, more like brownie batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for the two round pans, or 35 minutes for the 9x13 pan, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The batter will have risen only slightly and will be very dense and heavy.

Remove the pans from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely. Remove the cakes and frost as follows: cake, approximately 1 cup of buttercream spread on top, layer with the other cake, frost with enough of the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides. Decorate as desired. I used some grated bittersweet chocolate (from another Lindt bar).

Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream
(Adapted from this recipe, by Gale Gand)

Makes just enough for a not too thick layer (as shown) on this cake - if you like more frosting, you could make an additional half recipe of the frosting quite easily by using the alternate measurements in italics. There wasn't that much frosting to decorate with, so if you like decorating with frosting instead of chocolate shavings, use the alternate).

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 cup)
3 cups confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract (1 1/2 teaspoon)
1 to 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (1 1/2 to 3 Tablespoons)

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla bean paste or extract and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

TWD Rewind for Bread Baking Day #10: Orange Berry Muffins

These muffins have already certainly been reviewed, but I guess one more time couldn't hurt. I've even posted these muffins in another incarnation on this blog before. We have been making this recipe fairly consistently since I got my copy of Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. All I can tell you about this recipe is that these muffins are absolutely delicious, whatever fruit or citrus zest you use.

I'm sending this recipe over to Baking A Sweet Life for Bread Baking Day #10 - Breakfast Breads. I hope that you'll give this recipe a chance and have some fun with it.

Orange Berry Muffins
(From Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p. 3)

Ingredients:
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional) (I like using raw / turbinado sugar)

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Daring Bakers and the Opera Cake

It's time again for another Daring Baker's post and this time the Daring Bakers have gone to the Opera to boot - Opera Cake that is. This month the theme came to us from none other than the Daring Baker's fearless creators, Lisa and Ivonne, with co-hosts Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful . It was also our lovely hostesses idea to give us all the opportunity to dedicate our post to Barbara of Winos and Foodies. As they pointed out, though Barbara she is no longer an active member of the Daring Bakers, as Lisa "so eloquently put it," Barbara will "always be an honourary Daring Baker for her bravery and character in the face of a challenge." So, as a tribute to the incredible, "un-sinkable" Barbara, who as you may know is the mastermind behind the Taste of Yellow food blogging worldwide cancer awareness event for Lance Armstrong's LiveSTRONG Foundation.

Barbara is incredible for so many reasons and has been one of my favorite bloggers to read and be inspired by, and not just because of the wonderful food she makes, but because of what a beautiful and incredible person she is. She is a wonderful inspiration and support to so many - myself included.

So, for this May Daring Bakers Challenge we were also given the task to choose our flavor combinations from an array of choices as long as they were "light" to call this "A Taste of Light" in honor of Barbara. I chose to repeat the flavors of the Lemon and Raspberry Whoopie Pies I made last month for Barbara's event.

Thanks to the Daring Bakers for another great challenge - make sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see everyone's creations!

A few notes about what you see in the pictures and what you see in the recipe. I cut the original recipe - which is shown below - in half and baked one half-sheet baking pan and cut it into three equal rectangles for a long rectangular cake that made about 10 servings. Also, in the layers in the picture you can see that I tried to do a layer of preserves and then the buttercream on top - this really didn't work very well - so I have left the directions for that out since I don't recommend doing it. I think that the top layer, when I just mixed the preserves into the buttercream was my favorite. This cake seems to be too absorbant to have the jam layer without turning your cake layers into mush.

Also, it should be noted that I chose to use the buttercream recipe from a previous DB Challenge - Dorie's Perfect Party Cake. There was some confusion with the two versions of the buttercream recipe given for this challenge, and since I knew I wanted to make the lemon version anyway, I decided to make Dorie's version again.

Either way, this cake was fun to make and was very, very yummy. Though there are four different steps (or five) in the recipes to make, none of the recipes is especially difficult to make. My real mistake in the assembly, as mentioned above, was not taking into account how absorbant the cake was going to be with the jam layer I attemped.

I will be excited to try this again with some other, more traditional Opera Cake flavors. Thanks again to our four lovely hostesses for a great recipe and super fun challenge!

Raspberry Lemon Opera Cake

For the joconde:
(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

• 2 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
• a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
• parchment paper
• a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
• two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (grind blanched almonds in the food processor with a tablespoon or two of the flour that you would use in the cake - you will need about 2 cups of blanched almonds to create enough almond meal for this cake.)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

2. Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

3. Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5. If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8. Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

9. Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

10. Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the syrup
(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you’ll need:
•a small saucepan

Ingredients:
½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1. Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream:
(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency).

What you’ll need:
• a small saucepan
• a candy or instant-read thermometer
• a stand mixer or handheld mixer
• a bowl and a whisk attachment
• rubber spatula

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable (puree in food processor to make it smooth if necessary)

To Make the Buttercream:
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.

Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.

On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly. When you are ready to assemble the cake, stir in the raspberry preserves for in between the layers.

Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

For the Glaze:
(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:
• a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1. Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

2. Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

3. Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake:
(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

Step A (if using buttercream only and not making the ganache/mousse):

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup. Spread about one-third of the buttercream over this layer. Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup. Spread another third of the buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde. Spread the remaining buttercream on top of the final layer of joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze. Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

TWD: Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Oh, how I love sticky buns and cinnamon buns and pretty much all the breakfast treats - this is well known and well loved territory for me. So, I have been eyeing this recipe ever since my copy of Baking From My Home to Yours got here. I have tried many recipes, but have never been completely satisfied with them. So, after trying so many recipes, how did Dorie's recipe for Pecan Honey Sticky Buns, chosen by Madam Chow for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe?

This recipe absolutely holds its own and then some. I have a very specific criteria for what I am looking for in the "perfect" sticky bun and this recipe met them all.

First, I look for a soft, rich - but not over the top - dough - shouldn't be too "bready" but shouldn't disintigrate either. Second, in my opinion the caramel/glaze should be sufficient to have a nice amount for each bun and plenty of nuts, plus it has to be fairly simple to put together and hold up well (not turn to inedible hard brittle after 30 minutes out of the oven).

I went ahead and made a loaf of brioche with the second half of the dough (and sorry, didn't get pictures - bad Holly!). It was delicious as bread as well, but a bit richer than I am used to eating for my bread. As a sticky bun or cinnamon roll recipe though this was awesome. The brioche was really quite easy to put together (and yes, I have a stand mixer to help me - but I will do this by hand next time just to compare).

So, this was absolutely another winner as far as I'm concerned. Make sure to check out all the other TWD gals (and guy(s) - woo hoo!) to see more sticky madness!

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Makes 15 buns

For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)

Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To shape the buns:
On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16 - I cut mine a bit too thick and ended up with 12 buns, which worked just fine as well.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.

Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche:
Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)

The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans. Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Other Tuesdays with Dorie:
Madeleines
Florida Pie
Peanut Butter Torte (& Bars) (Winner - Our Secret Ingredient)
Fluted Polenta & Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Marshmallows - Dark & White Chocolate (Winner - Our Secret Ingredient)
Chocolate Gooey Cakes

Lime White Chocolate Almond Cakes with Sunken Raspberries

Although I have been following the Royal Foodie Joust for the past few months, I keep missing the boat to participate. This challenging event is the creation of Jenn the Leftover Queen and is celebrating it's 12th edition this month. Each month the previous month's winner chooses three ingredients and those that want to brave participation can create and post a recipe to be voted on by other food bloggers.

If you still haven't checked out Jenn's Forum, you really should - she is also the creator of the Foodie Blogroll. To be included on the Foodie Blogroll or participate in the Royal Foodie Joust yourself - or to be able to vote for your favorite creation - you'll need to be a member of the Forum - so check it out. It is a seriously fun place and I'm sure you'll see some familiar faces there!

When this month's ingredients came around, I knew that this time I was going to have to participate. You see, I've been obsessing over a certain flavor combination for the past three months for a project I am still trying to perfect. The project itself keeps on flopping in function, but tastes insanely good - I haven't given up on it yet, but in the meantime...

So, here I am faced with the ingredients for this month - raspberry, lime and almond. Raspberry-Lime is the combination I've been crazy about, so I decided to try to make something that added in the almond as well. This flavor combination was chosen by last month's winner, Elle of Elle's New England Kitchen.

These cakes are made in the same style as a molten cake, but the almond meal and flour bakes into more of a custard / souffle type of texture instead of staying molten in the center. The result, with the raspberries "sunken" into the batter is a warm, lime white chocolate cake with a hint of almond flavor and a raspberry surprise. The flavors blend and work together beautifully.

Lime White Chocolate Almond Cakes with Sunken Raspberries
MAKES FOUR 6-OUNCE CAKES
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
6 ounces white chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 2 limes
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons almond meal
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons of Raspberry Lime Sauce (recipe below), plus more for garnish
lime zest to garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.

In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a small bowl rub together the sugar and the lime zest until moist and fragrant.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and zest, and salt at high speed until thickened and pale. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour and almond meal.

Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and place one teaspoon of the raspberry sauce into the center of the batter - do not stir. Bake for 13 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are still slightly soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. The cakes will sink. Garnish with Raspberry Lime Sauce and lime zest. Serve immediately.

Raspberry Lime Sauce
1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoon sugar
juice of 1 lime, or to taste
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir gently over medium heat to bring just to a gentle simmer.

TWD Rewind: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

So, when this Tuesdays with Dorie first came around I was still impatiently awaiting the arrival of my copy of Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. When I finally got this I made this for my birthday dessert - since we all know it is pretty obvious I am a total chocoholic this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

These were extremely easy to make, quick and incredibly delicious. I have made other "molten" chocolate cakes before, but always from a recipe where you had to make truffles and sink that in the middle. This was much simpler for me and everytime I still see this picture or read the recipe I want to run right into the kitchen and make them again.

This is the perfect "instant" gratification chocolate dessert in my opinion - easy, quick, and completely satisfying. If you still haven't tried making these, then I strongly encourage you to do it soon - you are seriously missing out until you do!

Make sure that you use high quality chocolate and cocoa that you really like the taste of, because that is what will truly come through here, the taste of the chocolate.

Gooey Chocolate Cakes
(From Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan)

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 homogeneous. 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.

I served mine with fresh strawberries and a little bit of lightly sweetened, lightly whipped cream - it was perfect!!

SHF #43: Citrus! Orange Mousse Creme Brulee

Let's just get this out of the way - this is not your traditional creme brulee or mousse. However, since the components lend themselves to those names that's what I'm calling it - until and unless someone else comes up with a better name anyway. I'm also calling it delicious.

The orange creme is light, silky and super yummy plus - I love a sugary crust on just about anything - hmmm, let me think about that...... yeah, pretty much anything.


So, I give you my version of an Orange Mousse Creme Brulee for this month's Sugar High Friday, the super fabulous event created by Jennifer, the Domestic Goddess, and hosted this month by Helen of Tartlette. Helen chose the theme Citrus! and really got me thinking about all the different citrusy things I love. I've really been putting more citrus into just about everything lately, so this one was only difficult for me in trying to decide what to make. I had a lot of big plans, one of which included making a meringue, but the time has come to make my dessert and we have three days of rain, rain, and more rain. So, I am not going to attempt the meringue and have the meringue elves turn it into a fiasco - that idea will just have to wait.

Anyway, the flavor for this is light pure orange and creamy and the texture? It is a bit harder to describe - not quite a custard, not a mousse - more like a silky smooth cross between the two - thus the name.

For the recipe below I borrowed some of the ingredients and method from the Lemon Creme Tart in BFMHTY with a few additions and the obvious change from lemon to orange. I realize that there is an Orange version in the book, but it has a mixture of citrus in it and for this I chose to just go all orange. I added some cream and some vanilla to get the texture and flavor I was looking for and, as shown, I served this in either a hollowed out orange or a ramekin - whichever you prefer.

Orange Mousse Creme Brulee
(Adapted from Pierre Herme's Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
- makes 4 servings -Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange (2 if they are smaller)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 large orange)
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

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 orange 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 or more!

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 3 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 orange-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. Add the cream and powdered sugar and continue to beat for 1 to 2 minutes more until well incorporated.

5. Pour the cream into your individual serving dishes and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 3 hours or until ready to serve.

6. Just before you are ready to serve cover the surface of the creme with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and brulee/melt the sugar with a kitchen torch or under a broiler.

Storing:
The orange creme can be kept in the frige for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Dark Chocolate Mousse

I have a very special place in my heart for Chocolate Mousse. I remember many years ago it was my parents anniversary and we decided to make a special dinner for them. The dessert of choice was chocolate mousse. I think I was probably only seven at the time but I remember helping to make this dessert. I remember shaving the chocolate from a bar and I remember how the chocolate mousse was light and wonderful. It could be that this is when my real love affair with chocolate, good chocolate, really began.

The only other thing I remember making that early on was french toast - but that is a story for another day.

I have seen alot of chocolate mousse recipes out there, but so many of them have egg yolks in them. Then, a couple of years ago I found this recipe in one of Wolfgang Puck's cookbooks (Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy) and I haven't looked back since.

Now, it's true you can't serve this one to the kiddos or the pregos (hehe), but this is a fun, easy recipe to make. No gelatin, no yolks, very few ingredients - yea, it pretty much makes me think it is fairly close to healthy and I could just eat it all myself. If you were here though I would totally share - see?

Admittedly, this mousse is a bit thicker and richer because I altered the recipe slightly as shown below and left out the second installment of whipped cream. I've made it both ways and it is awesome either way - it just depends on how chocolately you really want it to be. Also, it will be a little lighter and airyer (is that even a word?) if you add the whipped cream. No matter what though, this is just a dreamy, easy dessert. I served mine in these cute little espresso cups I found at a local kitchen store, but Wolfgang serves his piped into pretty clear glasses - which is much prettier, but frankly, I didn't have the patience and ate this pretty much as soon as it was mixed up.

Speaking of my favorite chocolately desserts, don't forget to get on over to Blake Makes to see what some of the Blake Bakers (yours truly included) have been up to. You may remember from Tuesday that I gave you a sneak peak at a chocolate dessert I made for my very first Blake Bakes post - you can now find out what that was and get the recipe for yourself.

Chocolate Mousse
(Adapted from Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy)
Makes six servings.

Tips from the book:
Use the best chocolate and don't overbeat the egg whites or the cream.

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup (+ 3/4 cup heavy cream)
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Place your finely chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Bring 3/4 cup of the cream just to a boil in the microwave or in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over the chopped chocolate and tap the bowl once on the counter to settle the chocolate into the cream. Allow to rest for 1 minute, then using a heatproof rubber spatula, slowly stir the mixture to melt and combine, starting in the center and work your way out - keep stirring until smooth and all the chocolate has melted. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer) beat the egg whites until they begin to foam. Add the salt and cream of tartar and continue beating at medium speed until they form soft, slighty drooping peaks when the beaters are lifted. Still beating, add the sugar and continue beating until the egg whites form stiff but not dry peaks.

Fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture gently with a rubber spatula until fully blended.

You can either spoon into your serving dishes at this point like I did and chill the dessert until you are ready to eat or continue on with the remaining instructions for a bit lighter texture and flavor.

In the same bowl in which you beat the egg whites, beat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream on medium speed until it forms soft peaks 1 to 2 minutes - do not overbeat. Gently fold this into the egg white and chocolate mixture.

Spoon the mixture into individual glasses or dishes and refrigerate until well chilled - about two hours. Serve with a bit of lightly sweetened whipped cream and decorate with chocolate shavings if you want.

TWD: Madeleines

Madeleineshave been an enigma to me. I have still have only ever had the ones that I have made for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie as chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home. I did cave and go buy a pan though, and I'm glad I did. Even though these were kind of floppity-flops in the "bump" department and they overflowed and spread too much, they still tasted awesome and they were fun to make. So, I'm glad I bit the bullet and invested in a pan. I will now commence the trial and error of finding the "best" madeleine recipe for me that will combine what I like to think of as the madeleine trifecta - taste (which seems to be the easiest of the three), shell/scallop definition and the ever elusive bump.

Don't forget to see what all the other TWDer's have been up to this week!

On another note, I wanted to say thank you again to everyone who voted for me for the Tuesdays with Dorie "Our Secret Ingredient" for the Peanut Butter Torte - or really in my case, the candy bars. You all rock! I'm thrilled that you liked what I made and I really, really appreciate the extra bit of "love." Did I mention that you all rock?! Congratulations to Peabody and Donna for being Secret Ingredients too! You are all so amazing!

Also, I wanted to announce that I am very excited that I will now be publishing baking articles over at Blake Makes with the talented group of "Blake Bakers." Tomorrow will by my first post as a Blake Baker and I can't wait to hear what you all think! Make sure to check out Blake Makes every Wednesdays to see what the other Blake Bakers are up to! Also, I wanted to say thank you again to Blake for this opportunity. Now, for my post tomorrow here is a sneak preview - for all the details, you'll need to make sure to check out Blake's blog tomorrow and every Wednesday to find out the Blake Bakers are up to!

In the meantime, here is Dorie's recipe for the Traditional Madeleines (she has several other versions in Baking: From My Home to Yours). The link above though has a picture of Dorie's Madeleines as well.

Traditional Madeleines
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners' sugar.

makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies

serving: Serve the cookies when they are only slightly warm or when they reach room temperature, with tea or espresso.

storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they'll keep for up to 2 months.

Other Tuesdays with Dorie:
Florida Pie
Peanut Butter Torte (& Bars)
Fluted Polenta & Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Marshmallows - Dark & White Chocolate

Black and White Cookies

So, I realized a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't sure if I've ever had a Black and White Cookie before. I'm pretty sure now that I've had one, that I absolutely would have remembered if I had. These cookies are just flat-out awesome. No wonder New Yorker's far and wide swear by these bad boys. Seriously, what's not to love about a cakey, tangy cookie with the perfect balance of two flavors of frosting - this is indeed a cookie for the indecisive. Want chocolate? Go for it. Want lemon? Gotcha' covered. Want some of both - yeah, we've got that too.

I read a slew of other recipes, but frankly, I'm so happy with the flavors and balance of this one, I just haven't even wanted to try a different one. Not all the recipes I've seen out there have lemon in the frosting, but I can't see going without it now. These cookies are large - the recipe really does only make 8 cookies, but we are talking a good 4 to 5 inch across cookie. I'm sure it would be simple enough to make smaller cookies and adjust the baking time, but I like the idea of only having to frost 8 cookies. These are also easy and quick to make, so pretty much, this is an instant gratification kind of deal.

A couple of quick housekeeping items. Congrats to Brilynn over at Jumbo Empanadas! She was the winner of the gift card give-away. Thanks again to everyone who commented and told me what you love about reading blogs. It was a lot of fun to see how everyone feels and it really just reaffirmed the sense of community I've had since starting this blog about why we're here nad doing this. You all seriously rock!

Now, without any further gilding the lily, 'cause these cookies really just don't need it, here is my adjusted version of the recipe I found on Epicurious. I added a slight amount of flour to prevent the cookies from spreading at the edges as much as they did the first time I made these, and I also increased the frosting recipe a bit because I liked it just a slight bit thicker than the original version left room for.

Black and White Cookies
(Adapted from this recipe)

For cookies:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

For icings:
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Make cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet (or lined with parchment).

Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and allow to cool completely.

Make icings while cookies cool:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies & Raspberry Spiked Orange Soda

I have a confession to make. Remember the TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Well, I came into it late in the game (pretty much the last three seasons) and was completely and totally hooked on this show. Loved it, had to watch it, got very involved with the plotline - and therefore, severely upset when the end of the show came around.

Imagine my joy when Stephanie over at Dispensing Happiness (who certainly was dispensing some my way) announced that this month's Blog Party was going to be all about creations inspired by none other than the Buffster herself. Not the movie for heavens sake, but the fabulous TV show.

I knew that I couldn't pass this one up. So, for my contribution to this Buffy and Scooby Gang party are these little Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. Obviously, my choice is because what vamp lovin' girl wouldn't like a soft red, can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it-is-it-chocolate-or-vanilla kind of treat?

My very favorite episode of Buffy actually ended up being an episode of its spin-off show, Angel. It's the one where Angel becomes human, "for like 5 minutes." Anyway, it was just long enough for Buffy and Angel (who was, in case you didn't know, a vamp with a soul and the epic love of the Slayer's life) to finally be together - and then they took it away because he had to save the world and help fight the fight to keep her safe. It was completely epic- as in Romeo and Juliet have nothing on Buffy and Angel.

Anyway (you were warned I obsessed over the show, right). I wanted to make a very simple, but pretty red drink to go with this but that also had some fizz to it. I decided to spike (haha, get it all you Buffy fans) an orange soda drink with some raspberry syrup and fresh raspberries. The orange soda since it seemed appropriate somehow to Buffy's home in California.

Oh, and as an added bonus, this recipe (as noted below) translates easily into Red Velvet Cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting on top and some pecans - it's a two-fer.

Thanks to Stephanie for coming up with such a fun Blog Party idea!

Now, don't forget that today is your last chance to enter to win the Sur la Table gift card I'm giving away. Just check out my Mother's Day post to comment on why you read blogs and enter yourself in the giveaway.

Raspberry Spiked Orange Soda
(4 servings, depending on size of glass)
2 cans of your favorite orange soda
1/4 cup of fresh raspberries
1 orange, sliced for garnish
Crushed ice
3 Tablespoons seedless red raspberry preserves
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until simmering. Simmer until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has a syrupy consistency. Add in the raspberry preserves and stir well to combine. Allow to simmer together barely for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to small cup or pitcher to cool and be able to pour into glasses.

Once the syrup is cooled, fill glasses with crushed ice and pour about 1 Tablespoon of raspberry syrup into each glass. Fill the rest of the glass carefully with soda and top with raspberries and orange slice.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk (+ 2 Tablespoons for cupcakes)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of batter about 1 1/2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and cookies spring back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make filling/frosting while cookies chill. Once they are completely cool, frost the flat side of a cookie with a generous amount of frosting and sandwich with another cookie.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting recipe from Joy the Baker
(1/2 recipe below)

3/4 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk
2-4 cups powdered sugar
depending on desired consistency

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer. (Be sure that the two are at room temperature, but not melted. Cold cream cheese or butter can make your frosting lumpy.) Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract, and beat for about 2 minutes. Turn off mixer and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on a low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Slowly add more sugar alternately with the milk until you reach your desired consistency.

TWD: Florida Pie - Lime and Coconut

It's Tuesday again and you know what that means! More baking from Dorie's home to my home to your home, or Baking: From My Home to Yours via Dorie and her fabulous book of the same name - whichever way you want to look at it! All this comes courtesy of the Tuesdays with Dorie group, created by the fabulous Laurie of Quirky Cupcake. Joining this group has been such a blast the past few weeks. You can see a list of all the Tuesdays with Dorie posts I've put up so far at the bottom of this post.

This week's recipe choice for the Florida Pie comes to us from Dianne of Dianne's Dishes. I love lime and the pie sounded great. I wasn't sure that the coconut was going to be too much for my taste, but I wanted to try it out anyway. Bake on, right!? Right.

I went for it and just cut the recipe proportions basically in half (crust in half, filling down to a third - as a lesson learned from the last time) to make a smaller version in a 4.5" Springform pan. It turned out great and was absolutely delicious. The coconut probably was a little too much for my taste. I would probably go ahead and leave the coconut out of the meringue next time I make it. The coconut "creme" at the bottom just on the crust was perfect for me. Either way, the flavors were wonderful. D will probably like this one more than usual, probably in large part due to the fact that for once around here there was no chocolate in sight.

Make sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blog for all the other TWD creations from the group.

Florida Pie
(From Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan)
1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235 - added at the bottom of this recipe), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:
Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Crust:
Butter your 9-inch pan (springform or pie plate). Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. Turn the ingredients into the pan and press into the bottom and up the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.) Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the pan on a baking sheet (as in directions above). Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the fillings above.

Other Tuesdays with Dorie:
Peanut Butter Torte (& Bars)
Fluted Polenta & Ricotta Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Marshmallows - Dark & White Chocolate

Don't forget to check out the giveaway I'm doing!

Raspberry Lime Muffins for Mom, Awards and a Giveaway!

Happy Mother's Day! I bring you today muffins for mom - the mom in this case being me, but I would serve them to the mother's I love without any hesitation. As my DH said this morning "these are a keeper." High praise from him indeed. You see, years ago, he would just say, "yeah, it's good" and leave it at that. Since he was basically my only usual audience for trying new things out on, I pretty much harassed him until he would give me more "constructive" criticism. So, now if I make something and he doesn't like it, I know he will tell me. About the only thing he doesn't like lately though is chocolate. Too bad for him, but more for me!

CELEBRATE! Rather than share any long, involved stories about the mothers that I love on this day though I just want to keep it simple and short and sweet so that you can just think about your own mom and the women in your life that are important to you, whether they are mothers or not. Why? Because, though I think it is great that there is a day to celebrate mom (hey, I'm no fool, I like any holiday that gives me the chance for gifts) I happen to know many nurturing, loving, incredible "phemomenal" women who are, just by sheer technicality, not mother's in the conventional sense of the word. I like to think of mothers as all women - young, old and inbetween. Afterall, I think that the nurturing instinct that is in all women is to be celebrated.

AWARDS: I've been saving up this day to make a special post with some awards to some very special bloggers who have touched my life and inspired me this winter. Today, I celebrate these amazing women and equally amazing and funny guys, and invite you all to celebrate them with me. There are so many others that are not on this list, simply because they have already received these awards or because I could only choose a few or because, bottom-line I haven't found them yet.

You see, a while back, Chriesi from Almond Corner and Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe were both kind enough to award this little blog I started with awards. Chriesi gave PheMom an 'E' award for being an Excellent blog and Melanie gave it a Blogging with Purpose Award. Very cool. Very, very cool. Why? Because, when I started this, I remember thinking that I was going to do it, even if no one wanted to read it, but oh, I really hoped that it would be entertaining for more than just me. Afterall, I started this New Year's Eve because I was lonely and bored and 2 1/2 months into what has become our 7 months of seclusion. As I write this, I am still waiting for the go ahead from the NICU where Cole was born last October (7 weeks early). All they keep saying is "after Mother's Day." Ironic much? Yeah, I thought so too.

So, I now have the privelege and pleasure of introducing my choices. As I mentioned, there were so many that I wanted to give this award to (as evidenced by the really long list of my favorite blogs I've found or had time to add to the list on the sidebar of this blog)!

HOW IT WORKS: Now, I know there are rules for the 'E' Award somewhere, but I am now typing one handed with the baby sleeping on my other arm, so this is whatcha' get. I will let these lovely folks know that I've awarded them with much love in my heart and that they can do the same to 10 others - here, my rules forward digress. I know for a fact that some of the "loved ones" below don't particularly care for meme's and that is totally fine with me. I know their hearts are in the right place and that is more than enough. (You, yes, you, you know who you are - you don't have to worry about passing this on - just know you are loved and that I just wanted to letcha know). Should you want to pass it on, then by all means, nab the badge from here and spread the love by commenting to your choices that you are awarding them an 'E.'

Without further ado, I am passing the 'E' Award for Excellent Blogs on to:
Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness
Kate at The Clean Plate Club
Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe
Tempered Woman
Gabi at The Feast Within
Blake of Blake Makes
Aran at Cannelle et Vanille
Manggy at No Special Effects
Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen
Stephanie of A Whisk and Spoon

Now, for the Blogging with Purpose here are my "nominations."

Blogging with a Purpose:
Barbara at Winos and Foodies
Joy the Baker
Bron Marshall
Helen at Tartlette
Libby at The Allergic Kid

Award-winners, here's what you can do if you would like to nominate any other blogs:
1. nominate 5 blogs which haven't had this award before
2. each of the blogs must have a purpose
3.the nominated blogs should link back to this page
4. the logo from the award can be put on their blog and to link back to this blog!

Easy enough, huh?

THE GIVEAWAY: Now, if you've made it this far, to show my gratitude and appreciation for being here, all you have to do to have a chance at winning a $25 gift card to Sur la Table is to leave a comment here telling me why you love reading blogs. I know why I do, but I think it is fun to find out what appeals to others! I also want to thank you all for coming here and commenting - you will never know how much it means to me that you are here! So, comment away through May 15th and then I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner.

So, now, I'll give you the recipe (finally, I know). I simply adapted the recipe for Orange Berry Muffins in BFMHTY by Dorie Greenspan. In case you still don't have this book (and seriously, if you don't, what are you waiting for?!) I've noted the changes for the original below as well (see how nice I can be).

Raspberry Lime Muffins
(Adapted from Orange Berry Muffins - Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours”)
Ingredients:
Grated zest and juice of 3 limes (1 orange)
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries (blueberries) - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)
Decorating sugar, for topping (optional) (I used "raw" turbinado sugar)
Additional - 1/3 cup sliced almonds, for topping (optional)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Pour the lime (orange) juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lime (orange) zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the raspberries (blueberries). Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar and almonds, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes (I actually just sprinkled both of them on before going into the oven). When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.