TWD: Cardomom Crumb Cake

Jill of Jill’s Blog chose Cardamom Crumb Cake for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

Cardomom is a really interesting spice. It almost reminds me of "fall spices" with pepper mixed in. You'll often find it as an ingredient in Chai tea. The thing about Chai tea... I usually love it when I first start drinking it, but then I can only drink about half of a cup. For some reason, the flavor just "gets me" and I can't take a lot of it.


Such was the case with this cake. I really liked the first slice, but that was enough for me. It's hard to explain... almost like a "too much of a good thing" going on or something.

That first slice was really tasty, though. There was a nice orange flavor as well, and it was moist. (I made 1/4 of the recipe and it fit perfectly in a mini 3x5" loaf pan.)

Thanks to Jill for a cook pick. I've actually been looking forward to trying this one for a while. For the recipe, check out Jill's blog or Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

TWD: Apple-Coconut Family Cake

Amber of Cobbler du Monde chose Apple-Coconut Family Cake for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

I almost didn't make this since I've been busy lately. But, with the snow piling up outside and a chilly kitchen, I thought it would be a nice way to warm up my kitchen. Yep, I baked this because I was cold.


I'm glad I did.

This was a moist, appley cake with a nice touch of coconut. Not overwhelmingly so, but enough to notice. Since some of the TWD folks commented that they didn't like the stringiness of the coconut, I gave my pile of coconut a thorough chopping with a knife before adding it to the cake batter.

I baked half of a recipe in one 7" pan, and finished it up with a light drizzle of powdered sugar icing. Oh, and I skipped the apple jelly glaze on top... too lazy!

OK, just want to say thanks to Amber for a great pick! If you'd like to see the recipe, please stop by Amber's blog, or find a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

FFwD: Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts

I couldn't decide whether to go fancy or rustic with this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts.





These tasty treats were fantastic. What I loved about them was that the flavor came at you in stages. While no one flavor overwhelms, the first sensation is warmth, probably from the cinnamon, then a sweetness, then a hint of savory and finally a tiny little kick from the cayenne.

I'm sorry we're not sharing the recipes for FFwD, because this is a recipe worth sharing. But cookbook authors gotta make a living too, ya' know? Check out Dorie Greenspan's book "Around my French Table" to get your hands on the recipe.

TWD: Maple Tuiles & Devilish Shortcakes

Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker chose Translucent Maple Tuiles for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe.

(I also made the chocolate shortcakes from last week. You can see those a little further down. )

The tuiles bake up super thin and lacy.


It takes a quick hand and just the right amount of cooling to get the tuiles off of the pan in one piece, without scrunching them up.


They're super crunchy, almost on the verge of being candy-like. The taste is mapley and caramelly and reminds me of the candy portion of pralines. My son and I made quick work of getting rid of the one tray I made.

Meanwhile, Tania of Love Big, Bake Often chose the Devilish Shortcakes last week.


These were a light and biscuity, chocolatey, not-too-sweet shortcake that was perfect with fruit and whipped cream, or all by itself.


These were a fun change of pace and fantastic warm out of the oven.

OK, I'm all caught up! Thanks so much to Hindy and Tania for choosing these great picks. If you'd like to see the recipes, please visit either baker's blog or find yourself a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

Gingered Carrot Cookies, Crostata, Semolina Cake!

I am waaaaaay behind schedule this week. Not only did we host Thanksgiving dinner, but my parents came to visit (yeah!) and we also had my son's birthday party (I won't bother showing you a picture of the 12 brownies (from a box) with candles in each one.... boring).

So anyway, I'm going to get caught up on the sweets and treats I made last week.


We did a "rewind" (i.e. previous recipe) for Tuesday's with Dorie this week. I picked the Gingered Carrot Cookies that were chosen by Natalia from gatti fili e farina in August of this year. I didn't make them the first time around and figured I'd serve them on Thanksgiving.

These were a moist, spicy cookie that didn't really scream "carrot cake" but they had a great texture due to the coconut, carrots, raisins and nuts. I decided to pump them up a notch with a little cream cheese frosting on top. It seemed like an obvious choice. These were a big hit with the T-day crowd.

Next up is the Crostata we were challenged to make for the Daring Bakers. I chose to fill my crostata with the most lovely and delicious butterscotch pudding we made a couple of years ago for TWD. It's so good I want to hide it and not share with anyone.


OK, go ahead and say it, I won't get my feelings hurt... this is one of the most boring, drab, dull, tan desserts ever photographed and posted on the web.

This was another Thanksgiving dessert and I was lucky to get a picture.

The crostata crust was cookie like thanks to the inclusion of egg in the recipe and held up very well even after several days. A winner in my book, for sure.

Now a word from our sponsor... The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Last but not least is the Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake for French Fridays with Dorie.


This was a unique dessert. Honestly, I think it would have been perfect for brunch because it almost seemed like sweetened breakfast food. Not surprising since the ingredient list includes farina, which can be substituted with Cream of Wheat hot cereal.


Here's the thing, though. I do NOT like Cream of Wheat. And farina? Searching for that unusual ingredient was not going to happen during Thanksgiving week. Fortunately, I discovered that Malt-O-Meal hot cereal is also made with farina, and I just happen to love the stuff. So that's what I used.

It was quite tasty and had a very moist, dense texture. Almost like Italian polenta, if you've ever had that. But again, I would be more tempted to eat it for a weekend breakfast than serve it as dessert.

OK, that's about it! Now I can try to get caught up on this week's recipes for TWD and FFwD.

You can find the cookie recipe at Natalia's site. The Semolina Cake recipe isn't available, sadly, but you can find it in Dorie Greenspan's book "Around my French Table". As for the crostata, I used the this version of the crust recipe...

Pasta Frolla
Ingredients:

•1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
•1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
•a pinch of salt
•1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
•grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
•1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl
Note 1: Superfine sugar is often also referred to as ultrafine, baker’s sugar or caster sugar. It’s available in most supermarkets. If you cannot find “superfine” sugar, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.

Note 2: There are different ways of making vanilla sugar. I keep vanilla beans in a jar half-filled with sugar until I need to use them, for example, to make vanilla ice cream. After I remove the split bean from the custard that will go into the ice cream maker, I rinse it, dry it and put it back in the jar with sugar.

Making pasta frolla by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Making pasta frolla with a food processor:

1. Put sugar, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
2. Add butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
3. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface
4. See step 3 above and continue as explained in the following steps (minus the lemon zest, which you have already added).

FFwD: Potato Gratin

I have to admit that 99% of the potato gratin I've eaten in my life came from a box. I might as well get this out of the way and admit too, that I really liked those boxed potatoes. A lot.

So I was both excited and curious how these would compare when I approached this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Potato Gratin.

Since it's too early as I type this and I'm half asleep, I'm going to get right to the punchline here... honestly, I didn't love the scratch version of this as much as the boxed. (I know, I know, not too classy.) I would have liked for it to be more, well, "cheesy" throughout. However, it was still quite tasty and I really liked the garlic infused cream. I think the cheese-factor could easily be remedied by sprinkling in cheese as the potatoes were layered in the dish, rather than saving it all for the topping.

So there you go! If you'd like to see the recipe, find yourself a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Around my French Table". It's an absolutely lovely book and perfect for a Christmas wish list.

TWD: Cranberry Lime Galette

Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections chose the Cranberry Lime Galette for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

Perfect for November, wouldn't you say? Heaping full of cranberries, apple, and brown sugar, and accented with ginger and lime...


I don't know why I don't make more galettes. They couldn't be much simpler.

And the smell? If I could bottle that smell and sell it, I'd make millions.


This galette had the makings of the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. I just wish, wish, WISH it hadn't been too tart for my taste buds. I loved the flavors of the ginger and lime. I'm thinking if half of the cranberries were swapped out for apples or pears, this would have been perfect.

I did manage to nibble happily on the crust area, where there was less fruit. It was fantastic.

FYI, I followed the recipe exactly, but cut all of the ingredients down to 1/3 of the recipe.

OK, folks, Laurie has wisely and graciously given us a break from TWD next week, or we have the option of doing a rewind (a previous choice). So I might see you or might not. If not, have a fabulous Thanksgiving! For this week's recipe, please check out Whitney, April, and Elizabeth's blog, or Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours".