Nectarine and blackberry crumble

Last time I posted a crumble recipe here I told you about one movie I loved watching as a kid – this past weekend I finally watched, from beginning to end with no interruptions, my husband’s favorite movie as a kid, “Stand by Me”; it amazes me how someone who directed this movie and “Misery” is also responsible for “Rumor Has It…” – that’s life, I guess. :)

To go with the subject above another crumble recipe – this time I’m using nectarines, which are in season here now.

Nectarine and blackberry crumble
adapted from the absolutely beautiful Tender, Volume 2

3 nectarines, pits removed, coarsely chopped
generous ½ cup blackberries – I used frozen, unthawed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon corn starch

Crumble topping:
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped
2-3 tablespoons flaked almonds, lightly toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Have ready two 1-cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof ramekins or cups.
In a small bowl, mix the nectarines, blackberries, sugar and corn starch. Divide equally between the ramekins.
In a medium bowl, place flour, sugar and butter and, using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the flaked almonds and mix. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes or until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling.
Serve with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2

Cherry almond bars

I watched “Ides of March” last week and liked it a lot; it is very difficult to pay attention to anything else when Gosling and Clooney are on the screen – and I am sure the girls will agree with me on that –
but Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood deliver great performances, too. I usually do not like political thrillers that much but “Ides of March” surprised me in a very good way.

Cherries are abundant at this time of the year and I love eating them fresh, without anything else. My husband knows that and brought home buckets of cherry for me – the amount was so huge that I could never eat them all myself, so I baked these delicious bars – just be careful, because they are very addictive.

Cherry almond bars
from the gorgeous Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Filling:
500g (18oz) cherries, pitted and halved if small or quartered if large
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Crust and topping:
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (88g) packed brown sugar
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (114g) almond meal
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (168g/6oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; lightly butter a 23cm (9in) square baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sites then butter the foil as well.
Make the filling: combine the cherries, sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest and juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for 1 minute to thicken. Set aside.
Make the crust/topping: combine the flour, brown sugar, almond meal and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process until crumbly. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse just until the mixture comes together.
Press two-thirds of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan then pour in the cherry filling. Press clumps of the remaining crumb mixture over the cherry filling.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown and bubbling around the edges. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes 16 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square baking pan

Gingerbread chocolate madeleines

My last holiday post almost turned out like a big FAIL: after baking these delicious and oh, so tender madeleines I decided to deep them on a chocolate glaze I’d seen in one of my cookbooks. But the problem was that the glaze never set. Not ever. So I recommend dipping them in tempered chocolate to avoid that problem (just so you know it, the madeleines are great without the chocolate coating, too).
There was one good thing about the whole story, though: I adapted the madeleine recipe from my newest cookbook love. :D

Happy Holidays!

Gingerbread chocolate madeleines
adapted from Short and Sweet - mine was bought here

Madeleines:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (73g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Chocolate coating:
75g dark chocolate, melted and tempered

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter thirty 1-tablespoon capacity madeleine molds.
Place the eggs and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 3-4 minutes or until thick and doubled in volume. Add the vanilla.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves into the bowl and gently fold into the egg mixture. Gently fold in the butter and crystallized ginger. Spoon the batter into the molds until they’re ¾ full. Bake for about 10 minutes or until risen and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and unmold the madeleines onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Deep them in chocolate if desired.
Keep the madeleines in an airtight container to keep them from drying out.

Makes 30

Eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze

I told you I was going to make Flo Braker’s eggnog pound cake, didn’t I? I am so glad I did – this cake is delicious! Very tender, with a crunchy glaze and a boozy touch – perfect.

I finally watched “TRON: Legacy” this weekend – I hate 3D movies, that is why I did not watch it in the theaters; up to this moment I still haven’t decided what I love the most about the movie: the creative plot, the breathtaking images or the amazing, flawless music.

Eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Baking for All Occasions

Cake:
2 ¾ cups (385g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) store-bought refrigerated eggnog – I used homemade, recipe follows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (83g) dried cranberries, tossed with 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

Crystal rum glaze:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-low speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar then continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the side of the bowl.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in four additions alternately with the eggnog in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until the cake is golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes – in the meantime, make the glaze: place the sugar, rum and water in a small bowl and mix to combine.
Carefully unmold the cake onto the rack and, using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of the cake with the glaze. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Serves 20

Blender eggnog
from the great The Essential New York Times Cookbook

1 large egg
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream

Crack the egg into a blender and blitz for 1 minute on medium speed. Add the sugar and blitz for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Makes 1 cup

Holiday biscotti + Nicolas Winding Refn

I cannot wait for “Drive” to arrive here but the first time I ever heard of Nicolas Winding Refn was when he got a prize in Cannes this year; since I am a very curious creature I looked him up at IMDb, which got me to “Bronson”; now I cannot wait to watch two movies from that director. :)

And because I am a very curious creature I do not know why it took me so long to try biscotti for the first time; now that I have, I’m completely hooked – you wouldn’t believe how many biscotti recipes I have bookmarked already.

Holiday biscotti
slightly adapted from the wonderful Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup (73g) dried cranberries
2/3 cup (86g) unsalted pistachios
1 large egg, extra, lightly beaten, for brushing

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Mix in cranberries and pistachios.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a 40x5cm (16x2in) log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about 7cm (3in) apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush beaten egg over surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle generously with sugar.
Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C/300°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Place logs on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1.25cm (½in) thick slices. Place onto prepared sheets, 2.5cm (1in) apart. Bake until firm to touch, about 30minutes. Remove pan from oven; let biscotti cool completely on sheets.
Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 4 dozen – I halved the recipe above and got 18 biscotti

Eggnog truffles

The eggnog flavor, here transformed into truffles (a very easy recipe that does not call for many ingredients) has already been around my kitchen in cookie, crème brûlée and ice cream form; I loved each and every one of the twists on that classic holiday flavor and maybe, if there’s still time, I will also try Flo Braker’s eggnog pound cake.

Another twist on a classic I adore is Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me” (despite the lame video clip) – not to mention it’s great for the treadmill, too. :)

Eggnog truffles
from The Christmas Candy Book

130g white chocolate, finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons rum – or to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg – or to taste
cocoa powder, for rolling the truffles

Place chocolate and cream in a small heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until creamy and smooth. Remove from the heat, add the rum and mix to combine. Set aside to cool, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours or overnight. Using a small cookie-scoop or a small spoon, make truffles with 1 ½ teaspoons of ganache per truffle and roll into the cocoa powder. Place in fluted paper cases. Keep refrigerated. Truffles can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Makes about 15

Chocolate ginger crinkle cookies and movies I cannot wait to watch

In my world, there is no such thing as too many cookies, especially at this time of the year – therefore, my baking spree included these crinkle cookies (along with the almond spice wafers).

On a different note, have you seen this poster? Absolutely amazing – I have the feeling that a masterpiece is coming (as if I did not have enough to long for already). :)

Chocolate ginger crinkle cookies
from the gorgeous and delicious Gingerbread

¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
¼ cup (23g) Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
210g (7 ½ oz) dark chocolate, chopped, use divided
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (35g) finely chopped crystallized ginger
confectioners’ sugar, sifted, for rolling the cookies

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large heatproof bowl, combine the butter and 85g (3oz) of the chocolate. Set over a saucepan filled with barely simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water bath and set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Add the granulated and brown sugars into the chocolate mixture and stir. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing to combine. Stir in the vanilla extract and gradually incorporate the flour mixture. Fold in the remaining chocolate and the crystallized ginger. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Shape 1 leveled tablespoon portions of dough into balls and roll very generously in the confectioners’ sugar. Place onto one of the prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart – you’ll bake one sheet at a time; keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator – if the dough is not firm enough the cookies will spread too much in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies have spread, the tops are cracked and the dough looks matte.
Cool completely on the baking sheets over a wire rack. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Makes about 50 cookies

Almond spice wafers

Last Saturday I set out to bake a batch of cookies for my coworkers – after all, I needed to use one of my birthday gifts for the first time; being in a Christmas mood I chose these almond spice wafers. After making the dough – quite quickly, I might add – I placed the cylinder in the freezer and went to the movies. As usual, a visit to IMDb was made upon returning home and what a surprise it was for me to see that this guy and Roland Emmerich’s William Shakespeare are the same person. Wow. The greatest chameleon
of all would be proud. ;)

"Anonymous" is the first of Emmerich’s movies I have ever felt curious about – I’ll certainly watch it once it premieres here; these wafers, so delicious and crisp, were the first cookies I tried from Martha’s book, but won’t be the last: it’s packed with so many great recipes I cannot wait to bake from it again.

Almond spice wafers
slightly adapted from Martha’s cookie bible

1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (132g) packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
about 3 tablespoons sliced blanched almonds

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes. Add the egg. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions. Mix just until incorporated. Turn dough onto a large piece of baking paper and shape into a long cylinder, about 4cm in diameter – like Martha does here. Twist the ends and freeze until firm, 2-3 hours.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Remove dough from freezer, let soften slightly. Cut into very thin slices –about 3mm (1/8in) thick – with a sharp knife.
Place slices 5cm (2in) apart onto one of the prepared sheets – you’ll bake one sheet at a time; keep the remaining dough in the freezer, wrapped in the sheet of baking paper. Top each with 2 to 3 almond slices, pressing slightly to make the almond slices stick. Bake until dark golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 45 cookies

Marbled gingerbread almond loaf cake

It’s not every day you’ll hear me say (or read me write, for that matter) that I would choose an almond cake over a lemon one: this delicious and very moist cake made me believe that ginger has found a better friend in nuts rather than in citrus.

This loaf cake did not rise and split in the center like I expected it to (and I’ve made it twice already), that is why I drizzled it with the icing – in the end it looked like snow. :)

Marbled gingerbread almond loaf cake
slightly adapted from the oh, so gorgeous Gingerbread

Cake:
1 ¼ cups (150g) cake flour*
¾ cup (75g) almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (60ml) dark molasses
1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves

Icing:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons water

Make the cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 22.5x12.5x7.5cm (9x5x3in) loaf pan**.
Whisk together the cake flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Place butter in a large bowl and beat in medium speed until creamy. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition (scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally). Reduce the speed to low and alternately incorporate the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Remove half of the batter and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir the vanilla extract into one bowl and the molasses and spices into the other. Drop large dollops of both batters into the prepared pan. Using a paring knife or wooden skewer, swirl the batters together to get a marbled effect – do not overmix.tap the pan gently once or twice on the work surface to remove any air bubbles.
Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan over a wire rack for 15-20 minutes then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.
Make the icing: sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, gradually add the lemon juice and water and mix until desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

** I made ¾ of the recipe above using a 20x9cm (8x3½ in)

Serves 6-8

White Christmas

Going through the holiday editions of my old DH magazines I found this recipe for White Christmas – it was easy to make and looked really good; the white chocolate, cranberry and strawberry rocky road I made a while ago had already been a hit and these bars, studded with dried apricots and nuts, were equally loved.

White Christmas
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous DH magazine

350g white chocolate, finely chopped
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup (100g) whole blanched almonds, toasted and cooled
70g dried apricots, chopped
¾ cup (83g) pecans, toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

Very lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan and line it with foil (the butter will keep the foil from sliding around the pan).
Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water – do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water – and cook until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, add the ginger, almonds, apricots and pecans and stir until well combined. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Set aside until firm, 2-3 hours (the recipe calls for placing the pan in the refrigerator but I chose not to).
Cut into pieces, remove the foil and serve.

Makes 64

Lemon laced gingersnaps

Back in the day when I was little the kids at school used to call me all sorts of names: some were because I was too small, others because I had lots of freckles and also because my skin was too white (kids can be quite cruel sometimes). The two “nicknames” I remember the most are Vicki and Casper – yes, the Friendly Ghost. :S
That came to mind when I baked these gingersnaps: they look kind of pale, don’t they? But do not let that fool you: they carry a lot of flavor and quite a punch from the spices.

Lemon laced gingersnaps
adapted from Sweet Miniatures and Baking for All Occasions

Cookies:
1 1/3 cups (186g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
85g (¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (107g) light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 tablespoon cold brewed coffee – I used water

Icing:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (70g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sift flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add molasses and coffee (or water) and beat to incorporate. On low speed, add the sifted ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Turn dough onto a large piece of baking paper and shape into a long cylinder, about 3.5cm (1 ½in) in diameter – like Martha does here. Twist the ends and refrigerate until firm, 3-4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Remove the dough cylinder from the baking paper and slice into 5mm thick slices. Place onto prepared baking sheets 2.5cm (1 in) apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies begin to firm up and look dry on top.
Cool completely on the sheet over a wire rack.
Make the icing: place butter, icing sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and beat until creamy and smooth. Transfer to a small piping bag (made with a piece of baking paper) and pipe onto the cookies. Set aside to dry completely before storing between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container (room temperature) – iced gingersnaps can be kept this way for up to 3 days; without the icing the cookies can be kept for up to 10 days.

Makes about 30 cookies

Spice financiers to kick off the holiday recipes

As said a couple of posts ago, I now start my holiday recipe series 2011 – I had so much fun in the previous years making these recipes I hoped I could do it again. I thought that star-shaped financiers would be a lovely way to begin – with all those delicious spices to boot – but I’ll be honest with you: the stracciatella ice cream in my freezer is the reason why I baked the little cakes. :)

These financiers are melt-in-your-mouth tender and have a wonderful smell – not to mention they look oh, so cute. :D

Spice financiers
adapted from the gorgeous and very girlie Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes

1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar, plus a little extra for serving
6 tablespoons (60g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup (50g) almond meal (finely ground almonds)
4 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, melted

Sift icing sugar, all purpose flour, salt and spices into a medium bowl. Stir in the almond meal. Add the egg whites and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the butter and mix to combine. Refrigerate batter for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Lightly butter fifteen 3-tablespoon capacity silicone pans or butter and flour metal financier molds.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the financiers comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes then carefully unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes 15

Simple orange cake (that got devoured in a couple of hours) + a lovely movie

I thought I was the only one around here who loves simple cakes, but apparently my coworkers share my opinion: this orange cake got devoured in a couple of hours and was elected their favorite baked good – who would imagine that orange could beat chocolate and caramel?

Speaking of favorites, I watched “Restless” last Saturday and absolutely loved it – sensitive, delicate, with nice dialogs, moving without being sappy. Just beautiful. If Gus Van Sant continues to make movies like this I might forget he was responsible for “Finding Forrester” and “Good Will Hunting”. Might. :)

Simple orange cake
adapted from the always wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful

Cake:
3 cups (420g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups (266g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
finely grated zest of 2 oranges – the ones I used were the size of my head, lots of zest
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (390g) plain yogurt
¼ cup (60ml) orange juice

Glaze:
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons orange juice

Start by making the cake: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 32.5x22.5x5cm (13x9x2-in) metal baking pan. Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in large bowl until blended and smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then orange zest and vanilla extract. Mix in flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with yogurt in 3 additions. Mix in orange juice. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake cake 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Make the icing: sift icing sugar into a small bowl, add the juice gradually and mix until desired consistency. Drizzle over the cake*.
Cake can be kept in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan; since the pan has a removable bottom, I unmolded the cake before drizzling it with the icing

Serves 15

Oatmeal sandwich bread

While organizing my books on the new bookshelf I grabbed "Good to the Grain" and stared at its beautiful cover (those delicious rhubarb tarts!) for a few seconds... Then it suddenly hit me: I hadn’t used that book in ages; it’s one of my favorite books and that makes me wonder about the poor books I seldom or never use. Well, that’s just me. So I decided to make something – anything – from the book. Since there was a package of oats listed on my inventory this bread was the recipe of choice. I think you can see on the photo how tender it was and I have got more news for you: this bread makes a killer grilled cheese.

Oatmeal sandwich bread
from the gorgeous Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours

2 ¼ teaspoons (7g/1 package) active dry yeast
3 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
2 ½ cups (350g) whole-wheat flour
2 cups (280g) bread flour – I used all purpose
1 cup (115g) rolled oats
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½ tablespoon table salt*

Lightly butter a large bowl and a 22.5x12.5x7.5cm (9x5x3in) loaf pan. Set aside.
Add 2 cups of warm water, yeast and molasses to the bowl of a standing mixer. Stir, then allow yeast to bloom (about 5 minutes) until it begins to bubble.
Add the flours, oats and butter to the bowl and stir together with a wooden spoon. Cover with a towel and let stand for 30 minutes.
Attach the bowl and the hook to the mixer, add the salt to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 6 minutes. The dough should slap around the sides of the bowl without sticking to them. If dough is too sticky, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour (but only if absolutely necessary – avoid adding extra flour).
Scrape dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Transfer to the buttered bowl, cover with a towel and leave it to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it onto a rough rectangle (with the smaller side facing you). Fold the dough like a letter, then roll it to get a cylinder. Pinch the seams together and transfer to the prepared loaf pan, seam side down. Leave to rise again in a warm place for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Before baking, sprinkle the top of the bread with oats (optional)**. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top crust of the bread is as dark as molasses*** and the bottom crust is dark brown. To check for doneness: give the top of the loaf a thump to see if it sounds hollow – if it doesn’t, bake the bread for another 5 minutes. Check again.
Remove from the oven and carefully remove the loaf from the pan. Cool over a wire rack.

* bread wasn’t salty enough for me; I’d add more salt next time
** I brushed the loaf with melted butter to make the oats stick to it but it did not work – as soon as I unmolded the bread the oats fell off on the sink
*** my bread is a little on the pale side but still delicious – it would have burned it I’d waited for it to brown as much as the recipes calls for

Makes 1 large loaf – I made the exact recipe above and got two loaves, using two 20x9cm (8x3½ in) loaf pans

Really good one-bowl chocolate chip pecan cookies - dead easy to make

I’ve been searching for inspiration for Christmas recipes – my plans are to make a series of recipes like last year’s – and a good place to start is Martha’s website; there are so many wonderful ideas there, everything’s so beautiful that the difficult part of it is choosing what to bake.

Going through some of her cookie recipes for the holidays I remembered that I hadn’t posted these chocolate chip pecan cookies yet – suggested by my friend Ana Elisa I baked them back in July (if I’m not mistaken) and they were fantastic: delicious, easy to make (no special equipment necessary) and you won’t have to remember to take the butter out of the fridge in advance.

Really good one-bowl chocolate chip pecan cookies
from the adorable Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth

2 cups (220g) pecan halves, lightly toasted and cooled
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter
¾ cup (131g) dark brown sugar, packed
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups (360g) semisweet chocolate chips

Place the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Cook it over low heat, stirring, until completely melted. Remove from the heat and add both sugars, stirring to combine. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs. Stir until just smooth. Stir in the flour, baking soda and baking powder just until incorporated and a soft dough forms. Carefully fold in the chocolate chips and the pecans.
Use an ice-cream scoop or a ¼ cup (60ml) measuring cup to measure out the cookie dough. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Place the chilled dough balls onto prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake until the cookies are crisp and golden around the edges but still a little soft in the centers without being gooey, 15-18 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly on the sheets over a wire rack, then carefully transfer the cookies to the rack and cool completely.
Cookies can be kept for up to 2 days in an airtight container, at room temperature.

Makes 18 - I halved the recipe above, used 2 leveled tablespoons of dough per cookie and got 13