Orange "Butter" Cake

I had such high hopes for this cake. Not just because it was a lot of work ( and I have the photos to prove it!),but also it sounded so darn good.
Imagine a cake with 2 entire oranges in the batter! Whole oranges, skin and all. Wow, I thought, this has to be great. And despite the name, there's not a drop of butter in it.
The recipe is another from Sherry Yard's book, "Desserts by the Yard". As I've mentioned before, one of my pet peeves with recipes is when there's no photo to accompany the recipe and you just don't know what the heck it will look like..or what it's supposed to look like!

There are many steps to making this cake.
First you boil, on low, 2 oranges for one and a half hours.
You also have to toast the almond flour. Now I didn't have almond flour so I pulsed almonds in the food processor and then toasted them.
You also have to peel and chop fresh ginger...and beat 6 eggs for 10 minutes..and...whew! I'm exhausted just typing it!

I think I did make one mistake that was totally my fault. Because the batter went right to the top of the cake, I thought it might overflow so I put the cake to bake on a sheet pan. Because of this, the very bottom of the cake didn't cook and came out almost like a layer of custard.

Bottom line, the cake did taste very good. The consistency reminded me of a friand, however, but with 2 whole oranges, it did have a great orange flavor. In the book, she says that the cake gets better overnight and it's great sliced and toasted. Hmm... will have to wait til tomorrow!



So you boil on low, 2 whole oranges for one and a half hours.

I made almond flour by pulsing almonds in the food processor til very fine.

After the oranges have cooked, drain them and cut into quarters.

Place them into the food processor which already has the pulsed ginger and some sugar in the work bowl.

In a mixer bowl, add the 6 room temp. eggs and sugar and beat for 10 minutes...

Til tripled in volume and lemon colored.

Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture alternately with the orange mixture.

Then pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.

And bake for 50 to 60 minutes or til the cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Orange "Butter" Cake ( from Desserts by the Yard" Cookbook by Sherry Yard)

2 medium navel oranges, about 1 pound

2 tbsp. peeled and chopped fresh ginger

1 cup sugar

2 cups almond flour, lightly toasted and cooled.*(See notes below)

2 tbsp. cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

6 large eggs, room temp.

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

1. Place the whole oranges in a medium saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, place the ginger and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse til you have a paste.

3. Drain and cut the oranges into quarters. Remove and discard any seeds and allow the oranges to cool.

4. Place the oranges, skin and all, into the food processor with the ginger paste and process til smooth.

5. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375. Spray a 9" springform pan with pan spray and line with parchment. Spray the parchment.

6. Sift together ( I whisked) the almond flour, cake flour and baking powder. Set aside.

7. Combine the eggs and the remaining 3/4 cup of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed til the eggs have tripled in volume, are thick and lemon colored and form a ribbon when lifted with a spatula, about 10 to 12 minutes.

8. Stir in one third of the pureed oranges.

9. Fold the flour mixture into the eggs in 3 additions, alternating with the remaining orange mixture.

10. Scrape the batter into the cake pan. Tap the pan on your work surface. Swing the pan around on the counter, using the same jerking wrist action you would use to throw a frisbee. This forces the batter up the sides of the pan and prevents a dome from forming in the middle.( I couldn't do this because my batter filled the pan right to the top but I did tap the pan on the work surface).

11. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. ( Mine took 50 minutes) or til the cake springs back when gently pressed with a finger.

12. Allow to cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the springform and allow to cool completely. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar.

*Note: To toast almond flour:

Place in a baking pan and toast in the middle of a 350 oven for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. The flour should be golden brown and smell toasty and fragrant.

Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies

I picked up Sherry Yard's book, "Desserts by the Yard" today and, of course, the first recipe I had to try was her chocolate chip cookie. The book is actually filled with beautiful photos of the most spectacular looking desserts, some I'll never try. But they look so darn good!

This cookie recipe has equal amount of white sugar and brown sugar yet the caramel flavor really comes through. She uses all bittersweet chocolate but I used half bittersweet and half semisweet. They came out kind of medium fat in thickness, which I personally love. And although I'm not one to love roll and slice cookies, as I've stated before, I did make some this way and I have to say they were also amazing, although the slicing part was a bit tricky. The big chunks of chocolate kept me from making a clean slice. And these were much smaller than the ones I dropped from tablespoonfuls.

The directions are pretty straightforward.
Whisk (or sift) the flour and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
Then cream the butter about 2 minutes, then add both sugars and salt and cream for about a minute.
Next add the egg and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture.
Then the chocolate chunks or chips.


I scooped them onto the parchment lined baking sheet by rounded tablespoonfuls.

And they came out a nice large size, about 3" to 3 1/2" across.

The cookies I rolled and sliced came out much smaller, about 2 1/2" across.

I could see where these would be great to freeze and slice whenever you feel like having a few cookies!

Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies ( from "Desserts by the Yard" cookbook by Sherry Yard)

Makes 48 cookies (rolled and sliced), less from the drop method depending on size

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 oz. ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1" pieces ( I used semisweet chips and bittersweet chips)

Preheat oven to 350. Place racks in middle and lower third of the oven. Line sheets with parchment paper.

1. Whisk ( or sift) together flour and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In mixer bowl with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed til lemony yellow, about 2 minutes.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add both sugars and salt. Continue beating the mixture on medium speed til smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, til the egg is fully incorporated. Don't overbeat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Add the chocolate chunks or chips and mix in.

6. For the slice and bake:

Remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of one half of the dough and center along the bottom of a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, creating a log about 1 1/2" wide by 12" long. Fold parchment over, creating a sausage. Twist the ends over and wrap in plastic. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill for at least one hour, preferably overnight. ( Can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.)

When the dough has chilled, remove it from the paper, and using a serrated knife, slice 1/3 inch thick rounds off the log. Place cookies 2" apart on the prepared sheets.

7. Bake, rotating pans, front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Bake about 12 to 15 minutes.

The cookies will keep up to 3 days at room temp.

For drop cookies, scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls and drop onto sheets, placing 2" apart. Bake as above.

Coconut Lime Sandwich Cookies

I think all this hot weather has inticed me to look for more refreshing cooling recipes and the combo of coconut and lime just sounded so good.
The recipe for the coconut part of this sandwich cookie comes from an older issue of Martha Stewart's "Living" magazine. She actually pairs the cookie with passion fruit curd but, being fresh out of passion fruit ( ha! ), I made instead a lime filling and it worked out great!

I made two changes to Martha's recipe which was to add a little coconut extract to up the coconut flavor and the other was to use sweetened coconut because this was what I had. And I made my cookies bigger than the original recipe ( 2" in size) and I only got 2 dozen total cookies. Martha's says it will make 3 dozen sandwiches! I take that to mean 6 dozen cookies made into 3 dozen sandwich cookies. I really don't know if you can actually get that many..but maybe. Her cutters were 1 1/4" in size.


Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Put the butter and granulated sugar into a mixer bowl and beat til pale and fluffy.
Mix in the egg and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.


Stir in the coconut.
Then shape the dough into 2 discs and wrap each in plastic.
Place into the fridge til cold, about 30 minutes.
Note: I actually took the discs out of the fridge after 30 minutes and rolled out to 1/4" thickness between 2 sheets of plastic, then I popped them into the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden, then I cut out the shapes. Then I popped them back into the freezer for another few minutes to firm up, then baked them.


Once they baked, they lost their pretty flower shape so I would suggest just using a round cookie cutter.

Make the filling by beating all the ingredients together in a small bowl, then place about a tablespoonful onto one cookie and top with another to make the sandwich.

Store the cookies in the fridge since the filling will soften in the warm room temperatures.

Coconut Lime Sandwich Cookies ( adapted from Martha Stewart)

Makes 12 or more sandwich cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. I used 2" cutters and the original recipe calls for using 1 1/4" cutters.

Cookies:

1/2 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. coconut extraxt ( optional but I think it's needed)

3 1/2 ozs. unsweetened flake coconut ( about 1 1/2 cups) ( I used sweetened)

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Filling:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp. butter, softened

2 tsp. lime zest

1 tbsp. lime juice

Cookies:

1. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Put butter and granulated sugar into a mixer bowl and beat in medium high speed til pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

4. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture.

5. Stir in the coconut.

6. Shape dough into 2 discs and wrap each in plastic. Refridgerate til cold, about 30 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 375 and get a parchment lined baking sheet ready.

8. Take the discs out of the fridge and roll each out to 1/4" thickness, then pop them into the freezer for about 20 minutes. Then take them out of the freezer and cut out your shapes and pop them back into the freezer for another few minutes to firm up.

9. Place them onto your parchment lined baking sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes, or til the edges are golden. ( Mine took the full 10 minutes.).

10. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

11. Fill cookies when cooled. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Filling:

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and place about one tablespoonful onto one cookie and top with another.

Store cookies in the fridge in an airtight container.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

Yes I know, it's not a post about a cookie or brownie or cake or pie but I have to do something with all the wonderful abundant peaches this summer and we can only eat so many pies and cakes, upside down or right side up!
So when I came across this barbeque, (or barbecue) sauce recipe in a local food editors post I thought it sounded like a good way to use up some peaches.
The recipe involves a lot of ingredients but if you get them assembled, it goes together very quickly.
The flavor of the sauce is wonderful. It's a kind of sweet and spicy sauce with the slightly sweet from the peaches, brown sugar, honey and maple syrup. Then the spicy from the mustard, vinegar, worchestershire sauce and garlic.
We don't yet have a outside grill so I baked chicken and pork ribs with the sauce and it was great!
I put some into the freezer because even with halving the recipe it still made more than we can use right away and I don't want it to spoil, (and no, I'm not into canning!). So I think it will freeze well but only time will tell.

Get all your ingredients together and just go down the list, adding each one into your saucepan.
First, peel and slice the peaches, then place them into a blender or food processor and puree.
Then add all other ingredients into the saucepan...

And place the saucepan on the heat and bring to a low boil.

Boil the sauce on this low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take off the heat and cool down, transferring to a bowl if you want it to cool faster.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

Makes approx. 6 cups

6 large peaches, pitted and peeled

1 1/2 cups vinegar ( the recipe didn't specify which kind of vinegar so I used red wine vinegar)

1 cup oil ( the recipe didn't specify which type of oil so I used canola)

1 small clove of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. worchestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 cup maple syrup *( I used half maple syrup and half honey)*

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with a tiny amount of water to make liquid

1. Puree the peaches.

2. Mix a tiny amount of water with the cornstarch to make it liquid.

3. Add the peaches and all the other ingredients into a medium saucepan and stir.

4. Put pan on heat and allow the mixture to come to a boil over medium heat, lowering the heat to low boil, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

5. If the mixture looks too thin, add in some more cornstarch ( mixed with water) to thicken to the consistency of barbeque sauce.

6. Cool the mixture to room temperature ( transferring into bowl to speed up the cooling).

* Note: I think using Agave or Brown Rice Syrup might work in place of the maple syrup or honey, but I'm not totally sure. Just a thought!*

Peach Shortcakes

This has been a week of baking mistakes! My week began on Monday when I drove out to one of the local flea markets that also sells produce..cheap but great produce! When I say cheap, or rather inexpensive, I mean about ten pounds of the most delicious peaches for two dollars! That's a great deal. But that was the week before.
But last Monday, knowing how great these peaches were, I bought twenty pounds this time. Double the amount. But it wasn't til I got home that I realized I had bought twenty pounds of white peaches! Now, I have nothing against white peaches. These were as delicious as all the others, mind you, but they were white! And white peaches just don't have the flavor of yellow peaches for baking. We've been eating alot of peaches this week around here!

But I digress..back to the mistakes. So as I was saying, maybe it was a sign of things to come!( Or maybe it was a sign I should have spent this week at the beach!).
I made a lemon sponge cake that you're never going to see, and some lime cookies that you roll up and freeze, then slice and bake, also trashed. (And can I just say I have a strong dislike for slice and bake cookies! But more on that at a later time.) And there were several others but eventually I baked my way out of this mess and found a shortcake recipe in an older issue of Martha Stewart's "Living" Magazine and changed it around a bit. Quite a bit! Actually it's nothing like the original! But it was the cake part I liked and used so..thanks Martha!
I cut shapes out of the cake and layered fresh peach slices with whipped cream for a quick and delicious dessert. You can use any fresh fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries or raspberries.

Begin by whisking the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl til pale and fluffy.

Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.

Add the eggs and beat well after each addition.
Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the milk.

Spread into your prepared pan and bake 15 to 17 minutes.

Cool in baking sheet on wire rack. ( I halved the recipe and used an 8" pan).

Sheet Pound Cake for Fruit shortcakes, ( adapted from Martha Stewart recipe)


Makes one 9" x 13" cake

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 cup AP flour, plus more for sheet pan

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 ozs. ( 5 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest, optional, ( but I think needed)

1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs

1/3 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9" x 13" rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, then line with parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess.

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer bowl til pale and fluffy.

3. Beat in zest, if using and vanilla.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Reduce speed to medium and beat in flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with milk.

6. Spread batter into prepared sheet pan and bake til tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool in sheet pan on wire rack.

Once cooled, cut round shapes out of the cake using a cookie cutter or just cut into squares with a knife, (but shapes are more fun!). I even used a tiny heart shape for the top.

Then place the cake onto a pretty plate, then just make layers of fresh whipped cream and sliced fruit. It looks pretty and it's quick and easy. I do love the whipped cream but ice cream would also be great!

Strawberry Cupcakes

The first time I made these cupcakes I took them to the farmer's market, back when strawberries were in season. But it was about 90 degrees and the frosting turned to liquid! It just ran off the top and down the sides into a puddle. So I really thought I would either wait til cooler temps to make them again or find a new frosting. One that didn't become liquid.
But last week I was talking to Casey, one of the vendors at the market and she asked me about the cupcakes. She had really liked them and wanted to make them for her birthday. Yes, her own birthday!

So I decided to make a batch today, using large muffin cups rather than the regular size. Kind of like a small birthday cake size. Now she can see the recipe here and make them for herself...or do you think she was hinting she wanted me to make them for her?!..Kidding!

The cupcakes are light, using one egg and 2 egg whites and the strawberry puree adds the wonderful strawberry flavor in the cakes and again in the frosting.

Begin by whisking the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Then set aside.
Place strawberries into a food processor or blender and pulse (or blend) into a puree. You should have 1/3 cup.
Set the puree aside for a minute.

In mixer bowl, cream the butter til light and fluffy.
Gradually add the sugar and beat til combined and fluffy.
Reduce the speed to medium and slowly add the egg and egg whites til just incorporated.


Stir the strawberry puree, milk and vanilla into a small bowl.
Add half the flour mixture, then the strawberry puree mixture, then the remaining half of the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the mixer bowl occasionally.

Scoop batter into your paper lined muffin pans.

Bake 22 to 25 minutes.

You can see I filled the cups about two thirds full and they came out the perfect size.

Strawberry Cupcakes ( from Martha Stewart)

Makes 12 regular size cupcakes or 6 jumbo cupcakes

Cupcakes:

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, ( thawed)

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 cup whole milk, room temp.

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temp.

2 large egg whites, room temp.

Frosting:

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed ( I used fresh)

1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold

Pinch of coarse salt

1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp. vanilla

To make cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350. Line cups with paper liners.

1. Place berries in a food processor or blender and pulse (or blend) to a puree. You should have 1/3 cup of puree. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a small bowl, mix the strawberry puree, milk and vanilla.

4. In mixer bowl, cream the butter til light and fluffy, gradually adding the sugar. Comtinue to beat til well combined and fluffy.

5. Reduce speed to medium and slowly add the egg and egg whites til just incorporated.

6. With mixer on low speed, slowly add half the flour mixture, Mix til just incorporated.

7. Add the milk mixture, scraping down the sides.

8. Slowly add the remaining flour mixture.

9. Scoop batter evenly among the pans, filling about 2/3 full.

10. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. ( Mine took a little longer because they were bigger).

Frosting:

1. Place berries in a food processor and puree. ( Or you can use a blender)

2. In mixer bowl, beat butter and salt til light and fluffy.

3. Reduce mixer to low speed and add confectioners sugar. Beat just til combined.

4. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of puree. Mix to blend. Don't overmix. The frosting should be dense and creamy. ( I made this recipe twice and both times it was never dense, but it was creamy!)

5. Frost cupcakes. Keep in fridge..you'll want to keep the frosting as cold as possible!

Oh yes..I almost forgot..Happy Birthday, Casey!

Individual Peach Upside Down Cake

Peaches are my all time favorite fruit and I've been making a lot of peach pies lately. But I wanted to try something a little different so when I found this recipe from, another one of my favorites, Alton Brown, I thought it sounded really good. Then, when I read all the positive reviews on it, well, it sounded even better!

It goes together really quickly and it's easy, too. But, of course, the best part is that it's so darn good! And just out of the oven..well, you can see I couldn't stop at one bite! It was still so warm that the whipped cream just melted and dripped down the sides. Thank goodness they're small individual cakes! I think my son, Kris, summed it best when he took his first bite and said, "WOW!"

To begin, get out four 6 oz. ramekins. I used my old fire king glass custard cups that worked great.
I put the 3 tablespoons of butter into one of the cups and melted it in the microwave.

Reserve one tablespoon of melted butter for the batter and divide the remaining 2 tablespoons between the 4 cups.

Then sprinkle the 1/4 cup of brown sugar among the cups.

Take your peeled peaches, or blanched and peeled peaches which I highly recommend, (much easier, but slippery), and cut them into 12 to 14 slices.
Place the slices over the butter and sugar in the cups.

The next step in his original recipe calls for adding chopped crystallized ginger on top of the peaches but I didn't use it. If you want to include it, now's the time)

Place the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Then take the wet ingredients you've mixed together in another bowl and add to the dry.

Mix only 10 times! Really..that's what he says! No more than 10 times. The batter will be lumpy but that's okay. The lumps bake out.

Sorry, my peach pix are in the wrong spot. Just thought they looked pretty so I left the photo in!

Spoon the batter over the peaches. As you can see, I did have a few extra slices of peaches I didn't use. I did manage to find something to do with them, however!

Place the ramekins or cups onto a baking sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center to test for doneness.

Then wait 5 minutes, which is the most difficult part of this recipe! Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake. Then place a plate on top and turn upside down onto plate.

Individual Peach Upside Down Cake, ( adapted from Alton Brown's recipe)


3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and divided

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 medium peaches, peeled (Blanching notes below)

1 oz. finely chopped crystallized ginger ( I left this out)

2.5 ozs. AP flour ( approx. 1/2 cup)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temp.

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Place rack in center position in oven.

1. Place 3 tbsp. butter in one of the ramekins and melt in the microwave.

2. Take out 1 tbsp. of the butter and set aside to add to the batter.

3. Evenly divide the remaining butter between the 4 ramekins.

4. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar into each ramekin.

5. Place the peach slices on top of the sugar of each ramekin.

6. Add the crystallized ginger on top of this, if using.

Make the batter:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, sugar, 1 tablespoon of melted butter and vanilla.

3. Pour the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring only 10 times! Use a rubber spatula for this. The mixture will still appear lumpy, but that's okay as the lumps will bake out.

4.Scoop the batter into the ramekins, over the peaches, dividing evenly.

5. Place them onto a baking sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Allow them to cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and turn upside down onto a serving plate.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

To Blanch peaches:

Place the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove them and place them immediately in ice water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking process. The skins come off easily but, be careful, they're very slippery!