Tag Archives: food styling

Grandma’s Secret Is Out or Cabbage Roll Soup Meets the Alaska Bush

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The tang of tomatoes, the zip of lemon, and the hint of sweetness from a bit brown sugar all mixed in with cabbage and some of Alaska’s best game meat – moose. Grandma’s secret is out!

My strongest memories of my grandmother are connected with food. She lived in Queens. Meanwhile my family was bouncing around from Brooklyn out to New Mexico and back to Albany before finally ending up in California, and so we only got to see her once in a while. When we did, I remember heartily enjoying all of her culinary creations – Jewish staples like kugel, brisket, blintzes, and of course, stuffed cabbages. I don’t know if she intended to keep her recipes secret. Maybe she thought I was too young to understand them. Maybe she thought – well, I don’t know. I could only guess. Unfortunately she passed away when I was still only in my 20s. Over the years, I have tried to make a few of her standards, producing what I think have been successes. I was particularly pleased with a crock pot recipe for cabbage rolls that I came across many years ago which I thought tasted just like hers. The problem with that recipe was that it took For Ever.

Fast forward to now. Jack and I have entered a favorite time of year. It’s the time when we look in our freezers and pantry and try to use up whatever we have on hand a la the show Chopped. With bunches of carrots, heads of cabbage, a few pounds of ground moose, and way too many onions, I thought of stuffed cabbage. It’s really a perfect recipe for the bush. We lucked into a healthy amount of moose this year. (Half a moose was flown into our village from a hunting camp earlier this year…another story.) Cabbages, carrots, and onions ship reliably through the postal service from Anchorage. Even if they get stalled at our mail hub in King Salmon for days in a row, which happens regularly, these items arrive relatively unmarred. The best stuffed cabbage is made with big, beautiful leaves. That wasn’t what I had. And time. I didn’t have that, either.

I started to think about what made my grandmother’s stuffed cabbages so good. I liked the rolls. But what I especially liked the flavor, and I liked what was left on the bottom on the pot when the cabbages fell apart. Why not make just that? Turns out, this recipe has the exact flavor of my grandma’s “secret recipe” but the time and effort is cut down – way down. With a few minutes of prep, and 45 minutes of “simmer time,” this recipe is a keeper!

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. moose meat (substitute lean ground beef)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium sweet onion, like Walla Walla, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 cups beef bouillon (we like Penzeys beef soup base)
  • 12 ounces tomato paste reconstituted with 2 cups hot water
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
  • 5 cups green cabbage, chopped large
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

  1. Use a large soup pot. Place olive oil and meat in the pot.
  2. Add onions.
  3. Sauté until meat is browned.
  4. Add garlic and stir.
  5. Add broth, reconstituted tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, oregano, pepper and rice. Mix well.
  6. Add cabbage and carrots. Stir to mix.
  7. Place bay leaves in pot.
  8. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover the pot. Cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.
  9. Remove pot from heat and stir in lemon juice.
  10. Let soup rest for a few minutes before serving.

Powering Up With Freezer Fudge: Rocky Road and Monster Cookie Recipes

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I suppose you should wait a few minutes for these bites to thaw a bit before diving in…but who are we kidding? They are satisfying straight out of the freezer!

I was late to the banana ice cream party. It was only a few summers ago that I discovered that blending frozen bananas has the taste and texture of delicious creamy banana ice cream. I added all sorts of flavors to this fantastic base to help us keep cool during warm air conditioner-less summers in Mongolia. As a newcomer to this confection, and back on a serious workout regimen, it only just occurred to me to take this dessert and transform it to a pre or post workout snack. The new base has a combination of frozen bananas, peanut butter and maple syrup. After that, add what you like. The idea is to keep it simple, flavorful, and leaning toward healthy choices. Ahem, a few itty-bitty mini marshmallows or M&Ms won’t kill you!

I used my silicone mini muffin pan to initially freeze the treats. The cookies pop out easily and you’re ready for another batch. Simply store your freezer fudge in a freezer-safe container lined with parchment paper, and your workout snacks will be ready when you are.

Rocky Road Freezer Fudge

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 overripe banana
  • 2 tbsp real maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup Dutch Processed cocoa powder
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Use a stick blender or a food processor to combine and smooth all ingredients.
  2. Scoop out tablespoon-sized portions and place in a silicone ice tray or mini muffin pan.
  3. Place tray or pan in freezer until confections are solid.
  4. Pop out the confections and place them in a freezer-safe container lined with parchment paper.
  5. Power up with a couple of these before a workout, or reward yourself after for a job well-done!

We are huge fans of monster cookies, especially monster-sized monster cookies. This freezer fudge flavor is a nod to those not-so-healthy-but-oh-so-good treats. The peanut butter base is perfect with a stir-in of the same candies that give monster cookies their famous flavor and look.

Freezer Fudge a la Monster Cookie

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 overripe banana
  • 2 tbsp real maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp M&Ms candies
  • 2 tbsp white chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Use a stick blender or a food processor the combine and smooth peanut butter, banana and maple syrup.
  2. Fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips.
  3. Scoop out tablespoon-sized portions and place in a silicone ice tray or mini muffin pan.
  4. Place tray or pan in freezer until confections are solid.
  5. Pop out confections and place them in a freezer-safe container lined with parchment paper.
  6. Power up with a couple of these before a workout, or reward yourself after for a job well-done!

Pretzel Dogs – or Finally, a Food Post!

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Chewy, soft pretzels with a not-so subtle just-right hit of salt, stuffed with your favorite hot dog – a recipe for a delicious lunch easy to take with or one to stay in with on a snowy spring day.

Many years ago, actually just approaching ten, we decided to move to Alaska. There are many different Alaskas within this beautiful state. The one we chose to move to was the Alaska Bush, a place we knew would be challenging, fascinating and exciting and a place where we knew we would need indoors hobbies to entertain us during cold and dark winters. One of my first goals was to become a baker. To set myself up for success, I sent out hundreds of pounds of different flours, sugars, flavorings, pans, cutters, and a beautiful tapered rolling pin with inlaid bamboo for inspiration (a lovely gift from Jack).

As my baking skills improved, I graduated from bread-in-a-rice-cooker to a a bonafide bread machine. As I continued to improve my baking, I ditched the machines and really dug into the whole process of baking. During my initial education, I enlisted the help of The Great Courses and chef Stephen Durfee from the Culinary Institute of America (via the online class). For six Sundays in a row, the three of us dutifully watched these classes and then baked – with feedback from countless taste-testers. We learned how to create lattice-crusted pies, ganache-topped éclairs, and mousse-filled many layered chocolate cakes. That was just the start. By the way, if you’ve ever wanted to really learn how to bake, I highly recommend the Baking Pastries & Desserts class from the Great Courses. I also highly recommend sharing the experience with friends. It was a lovely introduction into serious baking.

Of course, spending this much quality time with friends can only make friendships grow. After completing our class, my friend Reba and I continued to bake together, share recipes and swap tastes of new creations. Pretzel dogs always remind me of Reba and those baking days in Point Hope. This recipe produces an agreeably light, airy roll and is part of my permanent rotation. Thanks to Reba for the spiral wrapping style!

Pretzel Dogs

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups milk
  • 2 tsp instant yeast
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 10 good quality hot dogs
  • coarse sea salt
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 16 cups water

Directions

  1. Whisk milk and yeast together in a large bowl. Let stand for a few minutes until yeast starts to foam.
  2. Stir in oil.
  3. Stir in 1 cup flour and mix until well combined.
  4. Stir in salt.
  5. Mix in remaining 3 cups of flour.
  6. Turn dough out onto floured surface.
  7. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
  8. Place dough in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  10. Cut dough into 10 equal pieces.
  11. Roll dough pieces into long snakes. Coil dough around each hot dog, pinching the end pieces of the dough to secure it.
  12. Let pretzel dogs rest while you prepare pretzel bath.
  13. Preheat oven to 400° F.
  14. In a large pot, boil 16 cups water and salt.
  15. When water is boiling, stir in baking soda.
  16. Place 2 pretzel dogs in boiling water for 30 seconds. Flip and continue to boil for 30 more seconds. Remove from water with slotted spoon and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
  17. Repeat with remaining pretzel dogs.
  18. Sprinkle each pretzel dog with coarse salt.
  19. Bake for 20 minutes. Pretzel dogs are finished when they are a rich dark brown.
  20. Let cool for a couple of minutes on baking sheet. 
  21. Serve warm with Dijon or another good quality deli mustard and a delicious red ale.

The Real Breakfast of Champions

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Creamy roasted butternut squash filling on a flakey, buttery crust – top it off with a lightly salted & peppered sunny-side up egg and serve a cup of French Roast on the side. Good morning, Chignik Lake.

Pumpkin pie for breakfast – it’s either just after Thanksgiving or Christmas, or we’re nearing the end of another year in the bush. In fact, we’re almost having to pinch ourselves to get our heads around the fact that there are just four days till the end of Barbra’s school year. With a very early summer vacation in sight, we’ve been in the process of clearing out our freezer. Several months ago we roasted and freezer-packed  a couple of butternut squashes. When we rediscovered them last weekend, they were still in excellent condition thanks to our manual defrost freezer.

Having never perfected crusts, I got out of the pie baking business when I married Barbra, but she still uses my pumpkin pie filling recipe – an adaptation from Craig Claiborne’s The New York Times Cookbook. She put a bush twist on the recipe this time, substituting Hoosier Hill Farm Premium Heavy Cream Powder for real heavy cream, which can be notoriously difficult to get out to the bush. The pie came out just fine.

And so this past week we’ve been starting our mornings right with one of our favorite breakfasts: Pumpkin Pie with a Fried Egg and a cup of joe. Our sparrows have begun returning, Cranes are starting to nest up on Black Lake, the bears are up and about and this morning I think I saw a salmon jump down at the bend. C’mon summer!

For our favorite pumpkin pie/squash pie recipe, see: A Cookbook for the Ages: Pumpkin and Pecan Pies from Craig Claiborne

Fancy Prices & Fancy Ingredients? Don’t Bother. Try this Easy, Zesty Raspberry Chipotle Sauce Recipe

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A little sweet and a little heat, this couldn’t-be-easier raspberry chipotle sauce brings another dimension to Thai-spiced scallops (above), broiled fish fillets, chicken, pork, wild game and grilled vegetables.

The past two years, we’ve been able to pick a surfeit of big, beautiful raspberries from a patch gone ferrel a half-mile from our home here on Chignik Lake. Barbra takes this fruit and turns out tangy freezer jam as well as traditional jam. The jams in turn go into airy raspberry mousse, raspberry almond tarts, mixed with our steel cut oats for breakfast, stirred into our homemade yogurt, drizzled onto lemon bars and cheesecakes, and spread on our peanut butter sandwiches. We even add a touch of raspberry to one of our favorite cocktails, Raspberry Bourbon Berets.

One of my favorite ways to use our jam is in raspberry chipotle sauce. It’s quick, it’s easy, it keeps well in the fridge, and it’s absolutely terrific on fish, pork and poultry. The directions couldn’t be easier, and your favorite store-bought raspberry jam will probably work fine. Try this on salmon fillets.

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients & Directions

Mix together 1/2 cup raspberry jam, 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon powdered chipotle pepper. Alternatively, you can substitute a favorite powdered chile blend, but choose one with a good amount of chipotle as the smokey flavor really compliments fish, meat and poultry.

Hope you’re sitting down for this one! Chocolate Tahini Overnight French Toast

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Overnight chocolate tahini french toast – Sunday brunch is served.

If you have been following along, you’ll know that we get most of our groceries delivered via the United State Postal Service. The majority of our food mail comes from either Amazon or our “local” Fred Meyer grocery store 466 roadless miles away in Anchorage. The same goes for our co-workers here at the Lake. Once in a while, one of my colleagues receives a wrong order or too much of something and I become the recipient of some kind of random ingredient. When that happens, I like to imagine that I’m a contestant on one of those cooking shows that presents the competitors with a basket of ingredients – usually showcasing something foreign or little-known to the chef. Of course, I have the luxury of time and the Internet to compliment my culinary imagination.

My last “gift,” a jar of tahini, has been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks. Tahini is best described as a peanut-butter style condiment made from sesame seeds. It has a nutty flavor. But is has a sharpness to it, in my opinion, that can overtake the flavor. My first experience with tahini was as an ingredient in hummus. I actually prefer making hummus without tahini (see my recipe here).

So, the jar had been sitting, waiting for inspiration, until last Sunday. While perusing the culinary blogs I follow, I came across an article for chocolate tahini challah buns from Smitten Kitchen. The buns were beautiful. The idea of chocolate and tahini together evoked memories of a delicious treat I used to regularly enjoy – chocolate halvah – a rich Middle Eastern confection made of sesame flour and honey. Eggy challah bread is something I enjoy making and we both enjoy eating. This seemed like the perfect recipe to try on a baking Sunday.

We opted to drizzle a lemony glaze atop our buns and absolutely loved them. Yum! They were were loaded with complimentary flavors and weren’t overly sweet, making them worth the investment of time they required. (Be ready for hours to let the dough rise.) An abject lack of willpower had us eating half the buns on the day they were baked. But that meant more than half the buns were left over the next day. They were already partially dried out and had lost their appeal. How to resurrect them? A stroke of brilliance followed. A great way to revitalize day old bread is to turn it into overnight French toast.

Our review? Holy smokes! Forget eating the buns on the first day and go straight to the overnight French toast! The challah soaked up the creamy, eggy mixture and puffed up to a golden brown when baked. The swirled flavors of the chocolate and tahini couldn’t be beat. The presentation of lovely chocolate stripes sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with a lemony glaze is a guaranteed home run for your next Sunday brunch, or Monday breakfast, or Tuesday dinner. 😉

Chocolate Tahini Overnight French Toast

Ingredients

  • 4 or 5 chocolate tahini challah buns, enough to fill the baking dish (see recipe below)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

  1. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch glass baking dish.
  2. Cut buns into 9 pieces, 3 slices in one direction and then 3 slices in the other (think tic-tac-toe.
  3. Spread the bun cubes evenly in baking dish.
  4. Mix together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and sugar.
  5. Pour egg mixture over cubes. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  6. Remove the baking dish from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
  7. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C).
  8. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  9. Uncover and continue baking for 25 – 30 minutes. Surface should be lightly browned and the center will be firm.

Chocolate tahini bun

Chocolate Tahini Challah Buns

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the counter
  • 1 packet instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • Butter for baking pan

Filling

  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup tahini, well-stirred
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • Sesame seeds

Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons juice

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, yolk, sugar, oil and milk.
  2. Add flour, yeast and salt.
  3. Mix until it comes together. Continue to knead dough for 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Oil a large bowl and let dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until slightly shy of doubled.
  5. Butter a 9×13-inch or equivalent size baking dish, or coat it with nonstick spray.
  6. Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth.
  7. Stir in powdered sugar, cocoa and tahini. Mixture should be a spreadable consistency.
  8. Assemble buns. On a very well-floured counter, roll out dough into a rectangle about 18 inches wide (side facing you) and as far away from you (i.e. length) as it comfortably goes, usually 12 to 15 inches.
  9. Dollop chocolate mixture over and spread it over dough evenly.
  10. Roll dough in a tight spiral.
  11. Cut log very gently — it’s going to be a soft mess, use a sharp serrated knife, sewing thread works well here too — into 1 1/2-inch to 2-inch segments.
  12. Arrange cut side up in prepared pan.
  13. Beat egg in small bowl. Brush tops of buns and tops of sides with egg and cover with plastic wrap.
  14. Leave it at room temperature to proof for another 60 to 90 minutes, until puffed a bit.
  15. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  16. Gently brush tops and sides with egg wash again and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden-bronzed.
  17. Let cool slightly.
  18. Whisk glaze ingredients until smooth.
  19. Drizzle this over the buns right before serving.

Sunshine on a Snowy Day – Raspberry Lemon Curd Bars

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Sunshine on a winter’s day… Lemon bars drenched in tangy-sweet raspberry jam

I love chocolate – in every form, flavor, and dish. I love dark, white, and milk chocolate. Except for a weird, avant-garde chocolate bar infused with pepper (??), I can’t think of a chocolate creation I haven’t enjoyed. Almost neck-in-neck with chocolate are desserts made with lemon. The difference with lemon is that it not only has a wonderfully tart flavor, but it also has a strong seasonal connection to summer. One bite or sip of lemon brings me back to sunshine splashed afternoons and evenings cooled by gentle breezes sitting in our little piece of paradise behind our home in California among Meyer lemon trees. When we moved to Alaska, I even made up a gallon’s worth of Meyer lemon simple syrup in order to ease the separation from those prolific trees.

As we hit the middle of March, our minds drift toward Spring! In our former life, I would be itching to get the planting pots and garden beds ready. In Chignik Lake, I’m ready to pull the Pack Rafts out and head down nearby rivers. Mother Nature has had three little words in response to these inclinations…”Not. So. Fast.” All the snow we didn’t see this past winter has been just now swirling around our windows and creating lovely white drifts. Our lake iced over, started to thaw, and is now covered in ice again.

As Jack tends to his culinary diversion, a slow-cooked moose roast, I decide on my own diversion…one that will bring a little sunshine into our home. I took a tried and true lemon curd bar recipe from my Williams and Sonoma Baking Book and adapted it with items from my bush pantry. All I can say is Wowee! After the initial mix of sweet and tart lemon, you are rewarded with a blanket of pure raspberry bliss. A definite blast of summer, in the best way possible.

Raspberry Lemon Curd Bars

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch salt
  • pinch cinnamon
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • pinch salt
  • 3 large eggs (I used powdered eggs)
  • ½ cup lemon juice (I used good quality bottled lemon juice)
  • 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Topping

  • Raspberry jam (I used freezer jam which has a much brighter color and flavor)
  • Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

  1. Make crust.
  2. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
  3. Grease an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
  4. Mix crust ingredients together.
  5. Press dough into bottom of baking dish.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes. Crust should be a pale golden color.
  7. Let the crust cool in the baking dish on a wire rack while you prepare filling.
  8. Reduce oven temperature to 325° F (165° C).
  9. Whisk together filling ingredients.
  10. Pour the mixture over the baked crust.
  11. Bake until filling is set, about 20 minutes. It may slightly jiggle when dish is shaken.
  12. Let lemon bars cool in the dish on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
  13. When ready to serve, run a knife around the edge of the pan. Cut into 12 or 16 rectangles.
  14. Remove from dish with a spatula and place pieces to be served on a serving dish.
  15. Spoon desired amount of jam on each piece.
  16. Dust each piece with confectioners’ sugar right before serving.

Where did it go? Bourbon Pecan Mini Skillet Brownie

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This delicious little dessert was supposed to be for two. Fudgy, chocolatey, with a nutty crunch and a hint of caramely bourbon. Maybe it wasn’t enough!

We had just finished dinner – bowls brimming with homemade clam chowder served with a hunk of toasted garlic sourdough on the side. The forecast was for snow, but instead Chignik’s famously howling winds were slamming our house with torrents of icy rain blown sideways. Soup alone was not enough in the face of such weather.

We had a stash of chocolate squares to nibble for dessert, but even those didn’t sound satisfying. Something quick and freshly baked might do the trick, I thought. Armed with a six-inch cast iron skillet, a few tablespoons of this and a dollop that, 25 minutes later all that was left was the two bites you see above. Well, that’s not true. We paused for a photographic intermission and then devoured the last two bites. Now that was satisfying!

Bourbon Pecan Mini Skillet Brownie for Two

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 6 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 ½ tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil, we use canola
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp bourbon
  • 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup pecans, chopped coarse

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease 6” cast iron skillet.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
  3. Add in oil, egg, and bourbon.
  4. Stir until well mixed.
  5. Fold in chocolate chips.
  6. Fold in pecans.
  7. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes. Center should look done. Cook a little longer for a more well-done brownie. We like ours nice and fudgy, so 20 minutes was perfect.
  9. Let cool for 10 minutes and then dig in!

 

Frosted Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

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Moist chocolate cake infused with orange topped with super creamy rich chocolate buttercream frosting…. happy birthday to me!

Another stellar recipe from my Williams-Sonoma Baking book. I can’t say enough good things about this cookbook. Every recipe is great. In addition to being great recipes, they are also great bases to build from or tinker with. For my birthday, I had narrowed down my celebratory dessert to three chocolate wonders from this cookbook. The combination of chocolate and orange is my all-time favorite, so the chocolate orange cupcakes won. The picture says it all – these delicious little cakes will start a party just by showing up.

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup hot water
  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ unsalted butter, melted, at room temperature

Frosting

  • 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
  3. In a small bowl, stir cocoa with hot water until it is dissolved. Set aside.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl.
  5. Mix orange zest into flour mixture. Set aside.
  6. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and granulated sugar together.
  7. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla.
  8. Whisk in cocoa.
  9. Whisk in melted butter.
  10. Stir in flour mixture.
  11. Spoon batter into each muffin cup. Fill each cup about ½ full.
  12. Bake cupcakes until puffed and a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 15 – 20 minutes.
  13. Let cool completely on wire rack. Remove cupcakes when pan is cool.
  14. Make frosting. Put chocolate chips in top of double boiler. Melt chocolate over simmering water. Let cool to room temperature.
  15. Beat butter and confectioner’s sugar until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
  16. Beat in melted chocolate until well-mixed.
  17. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 12mm star tip (1/2 inch) with frosting.
  18. Pipe a spiral on top of each cupcake.
  19. Refrigerate the cupcakes until 30 minutes before serving to set the frosting.

Definitely Thankful for This – Almond Raspberry Tart

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Tis the season for decadent desserts! Imagine a bite of smooth, sweet almond swathed in fresh raspberry jam atop flaky layers of buttery piecrust. Oh yeah!

Sure, our Thanksgiving always ends with Jack’s pumpkin pie. It’s a delicious tradition we don’t skip. When we plan the big feast, one dessert never seems to be enough. Some years, the second dessert has been a caramel apple pie, a lemon meringue pie or even a chocolate layer cake. This year, I really wanted to use almond paste that I sent out in our annual shopping. It’s an ingredient I rarely use, but love so much. Many years ago, when I first discovered bakeries and baked goods, I would always go for almond croissants. The combination of the sweet, smooth almond paste and the buttery, flakey croissant were irresistible. This tart has the same elements along with an added bonus – homemade raspberry jam. Some of the jam I made this year was a freezer jam. In other words, it wasn’t cooked. The fresh berries are stirred with some sugar and pectin and put straight into the freezer. This method of making jam preserves the fresh bright flavor of the raspberries straight from the vine.

The tart starts with a buttery, flaky piecrust that is partially blind baked to keep it light and airy. The crust is brushed with jam and then covered with an almond paste mixture, which is the main event. The whole tart is sprinkled with almond slices which provide the finishing touch. What a delicious combination! We all enjoyed the beautiful and delicious addition to this year’s table. Sadly, it is now just a fond memory.

Raspberry Almond Tart

Ingredients

  • pie dough for one crust
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 oz. almond paste, cut into small cubes
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup good quality raspberry jam
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions

  1. Roll out dough to a 12-inch disk. Cover a 9 ½ inch tart pan or a 9 inch springform pan.
  2. Trim off excess if using a tart pan. If using a springform pan, trim off dough 1 ½ inches up the side of the pan. The dough will shrink when baked, so make sure to extend the dough higher than you want your end product.
  3. Freeze the shell for 30 minutes or until firm.
  4. Place oven rack in lower third of oven. Preheat to 375° F.
  5. Partially blind bake shell for 20 minutes. Shell will be done when it is pale gold and dry looking.
  6. Remove pan from oven and cool on a wire rack.
  7. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.
  8. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.
  9. Add almond paste, a couple pieces at a time. Continue beating until smooth. Add more pieces and repeat beating. Continue with remaining almond paste pieces.
  10. Add sugar to almond paste mixture and beat until smooth.
  11. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
  12. Stir in flour.
  13. Spread jam evenly on base of tart shell.
  14. Spoon almond mixture atop jam. Smooth the top.
  15. Sprinkle almond slices evenly over tart.
  16. Bake until filling is golden and the middle is firm, 35-45 minutes.
  17. Cool on wire rack.

Serve at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book