Bagel Bread

No one loves a bagel more than I do so how excited was I when I saw this recipe for Bagel Bread in the Oct/Nov 2018 issue of Cook's Country magazine?  Pure genius!  This was one of those things where you ask yourself, "how come I never thought of it before?"  Even better, I had a small bottle of Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel seasoning blend lying around and thought it would be perfect to use for this recipe.

I ended up making a double batch of this recipe twice, four loaves in total!, over the span of one weekend.  Trust me, I didn't intend on doing this but I found that the first batch of loaves I made were way too salty for my taste.  Back to the drawing board it was!  So for the second batch I cut the amount of kosher salt from the recipe by half the resulting bread came out perfect!

Sliced and toasted and the bagel bread was absolutely delicious.  I think I might be a total convert to the loaf shape!

Foolproof New York Cheesecake with Raspberries

A few of my co-workers ran the San Francisco marathon last month and to celebrate that tremendous accomplishment I offered to bring in a treat for the office.  One of the runners requested New York Cheesecake and I was more than happy to oblige, especially when I had a few blocks of cream cheese already in my fridge.   

I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated for their foolproof recipe and, as usual, it worked like a dream.  Unlike most cheesecake recipes, this one guarantees that you won't have any unsightly cracks on the surface of the baked cake.  I decided to top my cheesecake with fresh fruit, but trust me when I say that underneath those spirals of juicy raspberries there is not a fissure to be found.    

British-Style Scones

Since returning from London a week ago I've made this scone recipe no less than four times.  Yes, it's that good.   But who am I kidding?  While I do love how they taste they're really more of a vehicle for clotted cream and jam.  Yes, I am one of those crazy people who brings back 8 tubs of Rodda's in my checked luggage.   Thank goodness I wasn't stopped by customs!

Unlike the American version, British-style scones are less sweet and more fluffy and biscuit-like.  My favorite dessert after dinner when I was in the UK was having a scone smothered with a heap of clotted cream and jam.  Absolute heaven I tell you. 

This recipe from Cook's Illustrated is as authentic as any scone you'd find in an English tea salon.  They're quite simple to make and the taste will transport you to ol' Blighty, I promise.  Fresh clotted cream may be challenging to find in the States, which is why I bring a supply back with me, but these scones are just as delicious with butter and jam.  Give them a try, you won't regret it!

Raspberry Charlotte

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, hesitate to make this Raspberry Charlotte for your loved ones this Valentine's Day.  I cannot begin to tell you how absolutely amazing it tastes and how straight forward the recipe is.  Can you tell how I'm excited I am about it???  It literally took me less than three hours to make, yet the finished cake looks like it came from a posh European tea salon.  Everyone will be impressed! 

Whenever the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine is published online I immediately look to see if there's a dessert or baked good.   Ecstatic doesn't even begin to describe my reaction when I saw the recipe for this raspberry charlotte.  I've made charlottes before, but the kind using store bought lady fingers and some type of mousse.  This recipe blows all of those out of the water!  

Even for a novice the instructions are very easy to follow.  My advice for the best success is to read the recipe several times beforehand and have your equipment and mise en place ready to go.   After that it's smooth sailing.

The only diversion I made from the original recipe was in decorating the finished cake.  Instead of swirling the raspberry jam in a marble pattern on top, in honor of Valentine's Day I made little hearts.  Give this recipe a try...you won't regret it one bit.

Fresh Fruit Jam

On a recent visit with my family to Ad Hoc we were served, as the third course, a platter with nut-studded crisp crackers, various semi-firm cheeses and fresh fig jam.  The jam was simple and delicious and paired so beautifully with the cheeses that I was inspired to try fruit preserving when I got home. 

I was looking for an easy recipe because, let's face it, I have by bouts of laziness like anyone else.  It had to be a recipe that didn't call for huge quantities of fruit, sugar and a complicated canning and sealing process.  Who has time for that anyway?  

Naturally I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated who had a recipe for Easy Fresh Fruit Jam.  Three ingredients was all that was required: fruit, sugar and lemon juice.   Fifteen minutes later and I had an amazing preserve that could possibly even rival Ad Hoc's.

P.S. You can find the recipe for Cat Head Biscuits (in the picture above) from Cook's Country.  They taste amazing and are excellent with the fruit jam!

P.S.S. I love how the jam looks in these Weck mini mold canning jars.  I bought mine at Williams-Sonoma. 

Coffee Chiffon Cake

A very Happy Happy Birthday to one of my best friends, Gracie, who is celebrating her birthday today! 

As is my tradition I made her a birthday cake to celebrate the special day, normally red velvet or chocolate.  Imagine my surprise this year when she requested something new - a coffee cake - and not the breakfast variety I initially thought, but a cake that was coffee flavored.  Hmmmm...now there's one I haven't really made before.

I knew I wanted to make something that wasn't too heavy or sweet.  Maybe this was the perfect occasion to attempt a chiffon cake.  I don't have much experience making them and have been hankering to try Cook's Illustrated's version for a while now.  

Those unfamiliar with this type of foam cake will find that it's very much like a combination of angel food cake and butter cake.  The secret to the light and airy texture is the use of vegetable oil and lots of eggs (yolks and whipped whites.)  To finish off the cake I frosted it with coffee swiss meringue buttercream.

Based on the yummy crumbs I sampled I predict Gracie will be very happy with this year's cake.

Deep Dish Apple Pie

No, no, I didn't drop off the face of the earth!  My three month absence from the blogosphere can be easily explained.  Basically, I was without a kitchen - no kitchen, therefore no baking.  See?  But now I'm back and making up for lost time.  Thanks to all of you who haven't given up on me.  

This Thanksgiving I hosted fourteen of my family.  If ever there was a reason to freak out that may have been it.  Luckily, with some pre-planning, preparation and lots of help from my mom and sisters things went as smooth as could be.  The 19-lb turkey was brined and roasted in three hours using a fantastic Cook's Illustrated recipe.  I've made it for the last few years and it always comes out absolutely delicious - so plump and juicy with super crispy skin every single time.  

As for Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin pie is my all-time favorite but apple is definitely the runner-up.  I had been waiting to make CI's Deep Dish Apple Pie specifically for this occasion.  The recipe can be found at their online cooking school.  [You may recall that I was lucky enough to win a 1-year scholarship to the school many months ago.  I highly recommend checking it out if you're really interested in learning to cook or becoming a better cook].    

The crust uses vodka along with water to make it super flaky and pre-cooking the apples on the stove avoids the common issue of a soggy filling.  Accompanied with vanilla ice cream it was absolute bliss.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

In honor of my Dad's birthday I made his favorite cake - pineapple upside-down - an oldie but definitely a goodie.  Personally I love anything pineapple; it's my all-time favorite fruit.  Fresh, frozen, canned, in rings, crushed or sliced, I'll eat it in any and all forms. 

The cake recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated and was super easy to pull together.  I liked the fact that the fresh pineapple is cooked with the brown sugar so that the caramel topping is infused with more fruit flavor.   

The cake part was a little dense for my taste so next time I might use cake flour instead of all-purpose and whip the egg white to lighten the batter.   I think Dad will give his approval for the cake regardless of the technique used.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

In the office I had a reputation for harboring contraband.  Yep, it's true and I'd gladly be a repeat offender.  Why?  Because my so-called illegal good was nothing more than a toaster.   A toaster for goodness sake! 

Nine times out of ten I was using the toaster for cinnamon raisin bread.  The glorious smell of yeast and spices would permeate the hallways of our floor and most people knew they emanated from my office.  Luckily corporate security never found out!    

The Mar/Apr 2012 issue of Cook's Illustrated has a recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Bread that I knew I wanted to make right away.  My experience with bread making is pretty limited but I'm getting more and more practice with recipes like these.  I don't think there's anything better than the smell of freshly baked bread...absolute bliss!   The recipe is really straightforward and the results are just like in the magazine.  Looks like my toaster will be on overdrive for the next few days. 

Croissants

I don't think there's anything better than a flaky and buttery croissant, especially when it's fresh from your own oven.   Sound too good to be true?   It's not as unattainable as you may think and you don't even need to buy a plane ticket to France.

All it takes are three P's:  planning,  preparation and perseverance.    

You know I love me some Cook's Illustrated and the most recent issue (Jan/Feb 2012) was chock full of fantastic recipes like the chocolate truffles I made earlier this month.   Another recipe that captured my attention, and that I knew I had to try, was croissants.

I've made CI's version of pain au chocolat before but they've since updated the laminated dough recipe to make it even more foolproof.  One of the best things about this recipe is that you can freeze the shaped croissants and bake them at a later time.  Fresh croissants any time you want?  Definitely not a bad thing!

Be forewarned though, making croissants from scratch is a very time consuming process.  However, your efforts really do pay off in the final product.   I swear when I took my first bite I was transported back to my student days in Dijon. 

Tips for success:  Follow CI's advice and use King Arthur all-purpose unbleached flour and Plugra unsalted butter!

Carrot Layer Cake

I preface this post by saying it's basically a teaser.  Why?  Because I can't share the recipe for this delicious carrot layer cake with you....just yet!  It's one I'm testing for Cook's Illustrated and they're still tweaking it a bit.  

But I can share with you the technique used to make the cake.  Instead of baking the cake in two round pans it's baked in a half-sheet pan.  Once cooled completely the cake is sliced in to four equal rectangles then layered and frosted.  Pretty cool, huh?  It really does cut your prep time in half.  Now why didn't I think of that?

UPDATE: The recipe for this cake can now be found in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2012 issue.

Paris-Brest

I'm lucky enough to be a recipe tester for Cook's Illustrated, the ne plus ultra cooking authorities, so when a Paris-Brest recipe landed in my Inbox many, many, many months ago I was super excited.  I had every intention of making it straight away until procrastination and summer vacation distracted me.  When I saw that the recipe was published in the current issue of the magazine (November/December 2011) I figured it was about time to make it.

If you're not familiar with this classic French dessert it's a large ring of pâte à choux filled with a praline-infused pastry cream.  They say the Paris-Brest was the brainchild of a very ingenious baker to commemorate the famous bicycle race between the two cities.  Leave it to a Frenchie to think of something like that...love it!

I'm sending this cake across cyberspace to my dear friend Mimi who is celebrating her birthday today.  Joyeux anniversaire mon amie!  

Boston Cream Pie

Why is Boston Cream Pie called a pie when it's obviously a cake?  I did a little research online and apparently the "pie" part came from the tins that the cake layers were baked in.  See, you learn something new every day.

The Mar/Apr 2011 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine featured this cake and it immediately jumped to the top of my "must-bake" list.   I can't remember if I've ever had Boston Cream Pie before, even in the town itself when I've visited before.   How sad is that?

My only disappointment with the recipe was that the pastry cream wasn't as firm and thick as it was supposed to be.  In fact, it was super runny.   I think it's because I was too impatient and didn't cook the custard long enough.    Lesson learned for next time - follow the recipe! 

I'm dedicating this cake to my dear friend Jill who's getting married in her hometown of Boston this summer.   Besides wedding cake can you guess what other treat I'll be partaking in while I'm there?

Chocolate-Raspberry Torte and a Giveaway

The November/December 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated is on newsstands now  and I highly recommend you pick it up.  As soon as I saw the Chocolate-Raspberry Torte I knew I had to make it right away. 

You wouldn't think that something that looks this good would be so easy to make, right?  Wrong!  It's so simple to make and it will easily impress your family and friends.

Chocolate and raspberries go perfectly together here.  For folks who don't like their desserts too sweet this is right up your alley.  The chocolate flavor is rich but the tart raspberries complements it beautifully.  I'm definitely adding this cake to my repertoire and you should too!

Now for the giveaway....

Once again I have a $40 gift certificate for CSN Stores that you can win.  If you haven't heard of CSN Stores you should check out their website.  They have anything and everything you could think of: bakeware,  dining sets, furniture, etc.  The world is your oyster!

To enter, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post by 12pm PST Thursday October 7th.    The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on October 8th.   

What's your favorite Halloween candy?

RULES: Only one comment per person allowed and you MUST include your email address  in the comment to be eligible.  Sorry, but that's the only way the winner can be notified to claim the gift certificate.  CSN only ships to addresses in the US and Canada.   There may be international shipping charges for Canadian addresses.

Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cake

When I saw the picture for this cake in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated I knew I had to make it. Visually, it just looked so stunning. And I know several choco-holics whom I'm sure will have no trouble being my taste testers. The base layer is flourless chocolate cake, the middle layer is a dark chocolate mousse and the top layer is white chocolate mousse.

I used a 72% dark chocolate for the base and middle layers. Next time I think I'll use a more sweet chocolate, maybe 60% cocoa. I haven't really tasted the cake but I'm afraid it might be too bitter for some since there's not a lot of sugar in the cake itself. Hopefully the sweetness of the top white chocolate layer will compensate. The preparation itself was really straightforward. Just required a bit of time since you have to wait for each layer to cool and chill completely before adding the next layer.

Another great thing about this cake is that it's naturally gluten-free . One of my friends is gluten intolerant and it can be difficult to find desserts that don't have flour, but still taste good. Luckily, with this cake you don't even have to worry since there's not a speck of flour to speak of!