Flag-Raising Apple Pie

I'm practicing for the upcoming Slow Food Pittsburgh apple pie contest. It's difficult; apple pie has so many variables and i've never actually had one I really, truly liked. For me, key factors are:

1. crispy crust that has flavor (ie- plain shortening won't cut it.)
2. properly cooked apples
3. doesn't turn into a mess when you cut into it
4. doesn't have an inch of liquid in the bottom.

I've always loved my mother's apple pie. She uses gala apples and butter flavored shortening. The problem is a lot of people hate butter flavored shortening.

I don't think a fancy tart crust ala Maury Rubin or Pierre Herme suits apple pie. I like a rustic quality- something closer to a crostata.

I've had crusts made with oil or melted butter that tasted pretty good. Some suggest pre-cooking the crust and the filling. I'm starting to think this might be a good technique. There's also some interesting recipes for dutch apple pie that involve making a caramel/cooked apple mix that gets tossed with the sliced apples.

This first attempt is Flo Braker's "Flag Raising Apple Pie" from The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. The streusel recipe was so simple: butter, sugar, and flour. I thought it'd be boring, but it's fantastic.

The crust recipe was crunchy, but relatively flavorless. It contrasted well with the streusel though. Unforunately, the bottom crust was a disaster. I put too many apples in the pie and they released too much liquid. The bottom crust was beyond soggy, and the apples were undercooked.

I think cornstarch would be a better thickener this time. Flour just doesn't work as well.

Hopefully i'll find a good recipe in time. I'm going to experiment with some other crusts and apples and i'll keep you posted.

Recipe for Failure.

Failure (serves one.)
1 cake recipe
2 garbage bags
1 sponge
1 glass of water
15 spatulas

1. Decide that, despite being really sick, you'd like to bake a cake.

2. Select a cake recipe and corresponding frosting. In this instance we've used Tish Boyle's Banana Cake with Espresso-Caramel Frosting.

3. Prepare the cake according to the directions. You should end up with the most perfect nine inch cakes you've ever produced.

4. Begin the frosting and decide halfway through that you're going to try a new technique for incorporating the sugar.

5. Undercook your sugar syrup, curdle your eggs, then increase the mixer speed to high whilst thinking this will rectify all problems.

6. Attempt to spread the curdled frosting on the cake. Attempt to pipe a lovely border.

7. Refrigerate the cake for ten minutes.

8. Remove cake from fridge and watch the top layer slide off the bottom.

9. Use the sponge to clean large gobs of weeping buttercream from your drawers, countertops, and mixer. Drop the cake into one garbage bag, and once you see the corners of the cake board poking through place it in a second bag. Throw cake into the garbage chute. Pray the bag doesn't burst within the chute.

10. Get a glass of water and go back to bed. Do more grad school homework like you should have done in the first place.

Date Cake with Toffee Sauce

Yesterday I tried to make the Date Cake from Desserts from Chanterelle. I bought a bag of california dates, figuring they'd be fine; however, the recipe calls for 9oz of unpitted medjool dates and I wasn't comfortable estimating a substitution. I made the toffee sauce and decided to buy medjool dates the next day.



The medjool dates are on the right. They're moist and meaty while the california dates are slightly dry and much less flavorful. Sometimes it's worth it to spend slightly more for good ingredients.

I didn't have a 9in square pan, so I set aside one cup of the batter and baked the rest in an 8in square. I used the extra to make some mini cakes for sampling and photos, as the whole cake is going to Bloomfield for a dinner.

This Date Cake is Kate Zuckerman's version of a sticky toffee pudding. It's a great cake for fall; it's spiced with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, espresso powder and rum. The warm toffee sauce is a rich, boozy concoction of butter, cream, rum, and brown sugar.

I highly recommend this. Please don't ask me to post the recipe; I have mentioned several from this book already and I do not think it's fair to put them all online.

Nibby Nut and Raisin Cookies

These are the Nibby Nut and Raisin Cookies from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet.

I used a little too much flour. The cookies didn't spread well, so I flattened the tablespoons of dough with a glass. I felt pretty shocked and dissapointed when the first batch didn't look anything like the picture in the book.

This recipe is nice because it's loaded with currants (in place of raisins,) cocoa nibs, and chopped walnuts. It also omits the creaming step and uses melted butter.

I'd be interested to talk to anyone who's had great success with this recipe. Given my results I think dark brown sugar would work much better than light brown, and I would have liked to throw in a few pinches of cinnamon. Baking the dough without parchment or silicone made the cookies much crispier on the bottom too.

Chocolate-nut Wedges

I met a fellow Pittsburgh blogger for coffee at Enrico's Tazza D'oro yesterday. Antonio, a very friendly barista, made me the best double macchiato i've ever had in Pittsburgh (possibly ever.) His foam technique is really solid.

I really appreciate a good cup of coffee. I never know what to say when a barista asks me how much milk I want on my macchiato. I especially hate it when the beverage i'm handed is just a shot of espresso with some milk dumped in.

Anyway, one topic of conversation was boxed cake mix. I don't think box mix is -that- convenient, especially considering that many people doctor their box mix with other ingredients. I'm not saying you're not allowed to enjoy box cake; If you are simply intimidated by baking, there are many simple, delicious, and forgiving recipes you can try.

These chocolate-nut wedges from The Weekend Baker can be made in half an hour, possibly less. The prep time is especially fast if you use a food scale. All the dry ingredients get thrown together. The wet ingredients are piled on top and mixed in. The resulting treat is something in between cake and a brownie.

Because this recipe is so simple, your finished product will only be as your ingredients. I used some leftover valrhona cocoa powder and chinese cassia cinnamon from Penzey's Spices. I used mini chocolate chips so they'd be better distributed and I chose pecans because I love them combined with cinnamon.

The cake may seem underbaked when you pull it out of the oven, but it will harden up as it cools. Believe me- if you wait until the whole cake is solid and tests completely done, it will be way overcooked. These wedges taste much better when they've fully cooled. Right out of the oven the texture is a little off, and the flavor of cinnamon isn't as pronounced.

This might not be the best treat you ever eat, but for something that takes a half hour it's delicious. Some days I need a recipe that doesn't take three hours and make a mess of the kitchen.


Chocolate-nut Wedges
adapted from The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge
3/4 cup (99g) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (170g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (57g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (43g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1/3 cup (73ml) canola or corn oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (57g) chopped nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, or pecans) no need to toast

1. Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350/180C degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9in(22.75cm) pie plate.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until well blended. Mix together the oil and eggs with a fork until just blended. Pour the liquid over the flour mix and mix with a rubber spatula until well blended. Scrape into the prepared pie plate and spread evenly (the batter will be quite thick.) Scatter the chopped nuts over the top.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few gooey pieces clinging to it, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking dish to a rack and let cool. Cut the pie into 8 wedges.

Chewy Almond and Cherry Bars.

Some days, I feel like lazy baking: baking that requires no butter creaming, egg white whipping, gelatin blooming, double boiling or dough proofing.

I've also been a little uninspired lately when it comes to cooking, writing, and music making. I thought it might help to go back to basics. I've been working on etudes and keeping my blog entries rather short. Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies is an old classic and I decided to try a simple recipe i'd normally be tempted to skip over.

These Almond and Cherry Bars taste like something someone's mother would give you. They're very plain but satisfying with a chewy texture similar to blondies or peanut butter bars. The almond extract lends a delicate, aromatic touch.

I'm not sure how my writing is going to progress. My sixteen year old brother wrote a short autobiography that was incredibly fresh and hillarious. It made me wonder if my literary voice has been killed by years of trying to do well in english class.

Anyway, i'm going to keep trying simplicity for a while and see where things go.

Chewy Almond and Cherry Bars
3/4 cup whole almonds, with or without skins
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, or dried cranberries, or apricots
8 inch square pan lined with parchment or foil

Preheat the oven to 350. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Process the almonds with the flour in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until the almonds are finely ground. Add the salt and baking powder and pulse to mix. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the egg and almond extract. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the dried fruit. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and have pulled away from the sides of the pan and the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan on a rack. Run a knife along the unlined sides of the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 16 squares. May be stored airtight for at least 1 week.

Peanut Butter Brownies

These pictures are rather similar, but I couldn't choose between them.

This is a decadent recipe from Dorie Greenspan. The key is to let the brownies reach room temperature before you eat them- otherwise the ganache will be hard to bite through and the peanut butter frosting will pull away from the brownie.

They are ridiculously decadent.

Peanut Butter Brownies
reposted from epicurious.com

Brownies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Frosting and ganache
1 cup chunky peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For brownies:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving long overhang; butter foil.

Place 3/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt, then eggs, 1 at a time. Fold in flour, then nuts. Spread in prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

For frosting and ganache:
Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter in medium bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar, salt, and nutmeg, then milk and vanilla. Spread frosting over brownies.

Stir chocolate and 1/4 cup butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Drop ganache all over frosting; spread to cover. Chill until set, about 1 1/2 hours. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, transfer brownie cake to work surface; cut into squares. Bring to room temperature; serve.

Banana Bread/Cake ala David Lebovitz.

I made this recipe from David Lebovitz's blog. It's a little different than other banana bread recipes i've made: less butter, and some fromage blanc. It's a good snack cake.

I'm a little amused by the photo; it wasn't staged. I bought roses earlier in the day (only 5 bucks from the lady outside PNC) and the music was from cello practice. I don't have a music stand at the moment, so I invariably prop the music on tables, chairs, desks, random piles of junk.

I'm making almond/cherry bars and peanut butter brownies tonight so stay tuned. It's going to be a crazy week and I think i've been baking overtime to avoid thinking about it.

Gingersnaps.

I finally ordered a copy of The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle. These gingersnaps won me over; I could eat the whole pile in one go.

These aren't snappy, toothbreaking gingersnaps: They're crisp right around the edges, but soft in the middle. I baked one batch for 10 minutes and the other for 15. The second batch had much crispier edges, but still stayed chewy.

The flavors are really well balanced. I like my gingersnaps with more cloves than usual, so the 1.5 tsps in this recipe was perfect.

Gingersnaps
adapted from The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

18 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp powdered ginger
1.5 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup raw sugar, or granulated sugar.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the light brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and lighter in color, 6 to 8 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until they are fully incorporated and the batter looks smooth and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes.

In a dry bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture, all at once, to the butter mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold together for a few turns. With the mixter on slow speed, mix the dough until thoroughly combined, 1 minute.

Add the molasses and mix until incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone. Place the raw sugar in a small bowl. Pinch off 1.5 inch pieces of batter and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet 2 inches apart and press your thumb in the center of each cookie to flatten it a bit. Bake until the cookies spread, crack a bit, and take on a dark golden brown color, 10-15 minutes.

Buckwheat Blueberry Cake.

I tried this recipe from Orangette today; I felt like I needed a hearty, comforting breakfast cake.

I think it's delicious, and you'll like it if you enjoy the strong taste of buckwheat. I think the walnuts added in the original recipe would have been a nice touch too.