TWD Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake

Apologies for the lack of activity these last few weeks.  Work has been crazy busy and it doesn't look like it will ease up any time soon.  However, I am committed to trying to stay current with Tuesdays With Dorie baking assignments.

This week's recipe, Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, appeared promising on paper, but in reality turned out slightly disappointing.  Don't get me wrong, the chiffon cake and streusel filling were delicious; my issue was with the fruit topping.  When baked, the nectarine slices leaked too much juice and didn't meld with the butter and brown sugar in to a nice and thick caramel topping.  Instead I ended up with a pool of brown sugar sauce that made the cake soggy in the center.   Maybe next time I should precook it to ensure I get the consistency I want.  

To try the recipe out yourself please go this week's hosts: The Little French Bakery or The Double Trouble Kitchen.

TWD Popovers with Gruyere and Cayenne

Want to easily impress family and friends at your next gathering?  Serve popovers!  You wouldn't believe how easy they are to make and how delicious they taste served with butter and jam for breakfast/brunch or for dinner with a roast.   

I was definitely looking forward to making the Baking With Julia version for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe.   All it takes are ingredients you have in your kitchen: eggs, milk, flour, salt and butter.  I added gruyere and cayenne pepper to give it a more savory vibe.  

Now you don't really need to fork over money for a popover pan, but I think it's worth the investment if you plan on making these often; after one taste, trust me, you will! You can find the recipe here Vintage Kitchen Notes and here Bake With Amy.   

TWD Berry Galette

I was actually "this close" to skipping this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Berry Galette, which would have been a first for me.   Considering that we tackled Blueberry Nectarine Pie just last week it felt a bit redundant.  Luckily the galette was super easy to put together so I had to put my laziness aside.  

If you attempt this recipe a word of caution that I'm sure you probably already noticed - the berries tend to leak quite a bit during baking.   I used a triple berry combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.  In hindsight I probably should have omitted the strawberries, per the recipes notes, but I had some in my fridge and threw them in.  

Luckily the pastry didn't get soggy from all the juice and actually browned quite nicely.  Next time I'll add a little more sugar to the dough and also the fruit.  Other than that I thought it was a very tasty tart which would undoubtedly be even better with some ice cream!

Lisa of Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness have posted the recipe on their blog.

TWD Blueberry Nectarine Pie

I would have never thought to combine blueberries and nectarines but for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe they worked so well together.  It's not often I'm pleasantly surprised.

Good thing this pie was a snap to make because I've been engrossed in the Summer Olympics on tv as I'm sure the rest of you are.  I used blueberries I froze a few months ago and also white nectarines.  To ensure that the filling thickened and set properly I added a tablespoon of finely ground minute tapioca.  It did the trick beautifully and my pie sliced like a dream.    

Everyone knows the best part of a pie is going to be the crust and this version was flaky and buttery.  My only issue was that it was almost too tender to roll out, but I could think of worse things to happen.

Head on over to Manchego’s Kitchen or That Skinny Chick Can Bake for this delicious recipe.  It's definitely Olympic medal worthy!

TWD Semolina Bread

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Semolina Bread, was unsuccessful and quite disappointing for me.   I should have predicted failure when the dough was still really wet even after I used the entire amount of flour the recipe called for.  On top of that, during it's final proof before going in the oven the dough flattened out like a pancake.

The baked loaf looked more like a squat ciabatta and was a bit too salty.  Unfortunately Baking With Julia didn't include a picture of what the finished bread was supposed to look like.  At least then I could tell if my version was way off base.   Oh well, they all can't be winners I guess.  On to the next challenge!

Renee of The Way to my Family’s Heart and Anna of Keep it Luce are this week's recipe hosts.

TWD Hazelnut Biscotti

I discovered Nutella when I was living in France as an exchange student and subsequently proceeded to overdose on the chocolate-hazelnut spread.  Until recently my aversion of the hazelnut had reached a point where I couldn't even stand their smell anymore.   So you can understand my misgivings when this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was Hazelnut Biscotti.   

Admittedly I was predisposed to dislike the recipe from the outset, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I was premature in my assessment.  The biscotti were crispy and crunchy with a hazelnut aroma that wasn't too overpowering.   They're perfect plain with a cup of coffee but if you really want to gild the lily try dipping them in melted chocolate. 

Head on over to Baking and Boys or Homemade and Wholesome for the recipe.   One thing I found helpful - skip the part in the recipe where it says to remove the hazelnut skins by boiling the nuts in baking soda water.  This caused a huge mess for me.  Instead, toast the nuts in a 350F oven for about 15-20 minutes.   Let them cool and then rub the hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel; the skins should come off pretty easily after that.

TWD French Strawberry Cake

Here's a fabulous dessert that showcases summer's quintessential fruit.  While this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, French Strawberry Cake, may look and feel decidedly American, the French factor comes from the vanilla genoise cake. 

Unlike most of the genoise I've made or encountered this sponge cake was quite delicious and not dry in the slightest.  The whipped cream is out of this world.  I strayed slightly from the cookbook recipe by adding softened cream cheese.  It's a trick I learned from Cook's Illustrated and provides a slight tang and additional stability to the heavy cream that is truly scrumptious. 

For the cake recipe please make your way over to Sophia's Sweets or Think, Love, Sleep, Dine who are this week's hosts.  I've included the whipped cream recipe below if you'd like to try it for yourself...you won't regret it!

TWD Oasis Naan

Oasis Naan, this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, was the perfect vehicle for my favorite Sabra hummus, roasted red pepper.   I'm the first to admit that Indian food and I don't really get along so I was very hesitant about this recipe.  But my love of carbs, especially breads, trumped any  uncertainty I was feeling.

The Baking With Julia recipe calls for sprinkling the dough with scallions prior to baking.  I don't know about you, but I find the smell and taste of fresh scallions a bit too pungent.  To tone it down I fried them quickly in vegetable oil and then brushed both on top of the naan.  A sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and black sesame seeds and they were good to go. 

The recipe can be found at Always Add More Butter and Of Cabbages and Kings Cake. 

White Loaves and TWD

I recently joined the online baking group Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) and I'm so excited to be a part of this community!  They became famous for taking on the very Herculean task of making every single recipe in Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From My Home to Yours."   It took them four years, but they did it!  When I found out they were accepting bloggers for their next Dorie book, "Baking with Julia," I immediately signed up.    

The first recipe selected was White Loaves, an all-purpose sandwich bread.  As I mentioned in previous posts I've only just scratched the surface when it comes to making yeast breads.  This recipe has given me the confidence to continue.  It's super easy to make and the smells coming from your oven while the loaves are baking are completely hypnotic.

I took a few slices and made grilled cheese, one of my favorite sandwiches.  The bread is nice and sturdy and can hold up to the grilling.  My only caveat is that it may not keep well for too long, two days max.  You're best bet is to freeze any leftovers.  Mine are already earmarked for future croutons or bread crumbs.    

You can find the recipe on Jules' blog Someone's in the Kitchen.   {Sorry for the inconvenience but they ask that only the weekly hosts post the actual recipe.}