dressy chocolate cake

06/22/2010 By

Most of us probably had the same first experience with plain yogurt. You think it’s going to be yogurt, but not quite so vanilla-ey! And then, ew, wtf, this tastes like sour cream. Force down a few bites; toss in trash. That was the end of my plain yogurt experience for several years.

And then I made an important connection – it tastes like sour cream, but it’s good for you! And now I use it everywhere – in sauce for fish tacos, on baked potatoes, on pancakes with jam, and now, in chocolate frosting. I held my breath waiting to see if it would curdle or if it would mix with melted chocolate to form a smooth icing, and I am pleased that it worked wonderfully. What a simple but luscious frosting recipe.

Low-fat Greek yogurt (my grocery store just started carrying Fage!) might not have been quite as good a replacement for sour cream in the cake itself. Fat in cake leads to moistness, and my cake seemed just a tad dry. A little cherry jam and chocolate yogurt frosting fixed that right up, and I’ve hardly been able to step away from this cake since, shaving dainty slivers off here and there throughout the day, hoping Dave doesn’t notice that half of the cake has disappeared.  But it’s okay, because I used yogurt, and not sour cream.

Amy chose this cake for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. Besides the yogurt substitutions discussed above, I doubled the salt in the cake.

One year ago: Mixed Berry Cobbler
Two years ago: Coconut Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise

Filed Under: cake, chocolate, dessert, fruit, tuesdays with dorie

tender shortcakes

06/07/2010 By

Dave and I ate dessert first this weekend, but not in the fun-loving, live life to its fullest, carefree kind of way. More in the ‘it’s too hot outside to grill dinner until the sun goes down’ kind of way. 110 degrees, people. I told you I live in the desert.

But whatever, I got to eat strawberry shortcake for dinner, so I’m not complaining. With a tender biscuit, sweet berries, and silky whipped cream, what is there to complain about? Especially since we have air conditioning. Otherwise I have a feeling I’d be doing a lot of complaining, shortcakes for dinner or not.

Cathy chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has it posted. I used cake flour for half of the flour and doubled the salt.

One year ago: Parisian Strawberry Tartlets
Two years ago: Strawberry Tart

I see a pattern here…

Filed Under: dessert, fruit, quick bread, spring, tuesdays with dorie

white chocolate brownies

05/31/2010 By

With the pace of life picking up as it has been lately, I haven’t had many opportunities to bake desserts. Nearly all of my baking lately has been associated with Tuesdays with Dorie. Making a dessert that someone else chooses for you is fine when it’s one recipe in many, but when it’s all that you ever get to bake…well, it’s tempting to tweak the recipe to something that’s more fun for you, whether the fun is in the eating or the making.

For these white chocolate brownies, it meant skipping the meringue, raspberries, orange zest, and ground almonds for various reasons, most having to do with laziness. It certainly sounds like I was trying to make these as bland as possible, doesn’t it? To play up the mild sweet flavor of white chocolate, I used vanilla sugar instead of regular sugar. I also used cake flour instead of regular, thinking that the lower gluten content of cake flour would mimic the combination of higher gluten all-purpose flour and no-gluten ground almonds.

After baking, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to present this as a cake or as brownies. The white chocolate flavor is subtle, although you can find it if you’re looking. The texture is light and fluffy and moist, just like a perfect vanilla cake. In the end, I defaulted to laziness again. Brownies don’t require any additional topping like a cake would, so these are brownies. Good brownies, in a light fluffy cakey kind of way. Plus, if I ever need a white chocolate cake recipe, I’m good to go!

Marthe chose this recipe, and she has it posted. Other than the changes listed above, I doubled the salt. A lot of TWD members had problems with their brownies coming out of the oven undercooked after the recommended baking time, but since I skipped the meringue and made a quarter of the recipe, the baking time in the book wasn’t relevant to me anyway.

One year ago: Cappuccino Muffins
Two years ago: French Chocolate Brownies

Filed Under: chocolate, cookies, dessert, tuesdays with dorie

strawberry chocolate ice cream pie

05/25/2010 By

The rest of the country (hemisphere, I suppose) is gearing up for summer. Here in the desert though, we’ve been there for a while. This weekend Dave and I hiked over seven miles in 90 degree weather. It’s a dry heat though! (Actually, the hike wasn’t bad at all – it was either shady or windy the whole time, so although we were hot, we weren’t dying. And the dry heat does make a difference.)


the beginning of homemade chocolate ice cream

Ice cream pie is perfect for the weather we’ve been having. The specific ingredients called for here aren’t perfect for me though. I eat so many bananas as snacks that the idea of adding them to chocolate ice cream for dessert didn’t sound appealing. Strawberries, however, can be added to most any dessert.

Oh, except maybe not one that’s going to be stored in the freezer like this. Sliced strawberries between the crust and the ice cream turned into ice cubes in the freezer; I should have given them a dip in vodka before freezing them to keep them from freezing so solidly. Other than that, what’s not to love about this dessert? I don’t need to tell you that chocolate ice cream and strawberries are a tempting combination – especially when it’s a hundred degrees out.

Spike chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted.

One year ago: Chipster-Topped Brownies
Two years ago: Pecan-Honey Sticky Buns

Filed Under: chocolate, custard, dessert, freezer friendly, fruit, pie, summer

cherry-cherry bread pudding

05/18/2010 By

Seasonal fruit – I like it. I eat the strawberries in the spring and the blueberries in the summer and the apples in the fall and the apples, still, in the winter. I do not eat the apples in the spring. And apparently I shouldn’t eat the cherries in the spring either, because these were the most terrible, tasteless, watery cherries I’ve ever had.

I was vaguely hoping that baking them would concentrate their flavor enough so that they, you know, had some, but no, that just gave me cooked terrible cherries. Poor bread pudding, ruined by bad cherries. I guess I should have gone for the apples after all.

Now the bread pudding part, that I certainly enjoyed. It’s bread, it’s custard – it’s French toast! I’ll make it with the apples in the fall to enjoy this recipe in all its glory.

Elizabeth chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has it posted. I used 1 cup (terrible!) cherries, pitted and halved, in place of the caramelized apples, cherry jam instead of apple butter, and all whole milk rather than a mixture of milk and heavy cream. And I forgot to add a dash of salt to the custard, which I regretted.

One year ago: Mango Bread
Two years ago: Traditional Madeleines

Filed Under: custard, dessert, fruit, summer, tuesdays with dorie

cream cheese spritz

05/16/2010 By

I was so disappointed a few years ago, when I was sure I had a great family recipe to share, something everyone I knew who’d tried it had loved, something I hadn’t seen before on other cookie plates, something that had been a classic in my family for as long as I could remember.

But, a quick internet search indicated that everyone knew about cream cheese spritz cookies already! It’s on every well-established recipe website, in every magazine at some point in its history, in so many blogs, and hey! It’s in this blog now too. And not even at Christmastime! Yes, I make cream cheese spritz year round, because they are so darn good.

That being said…there are other spritz cookie recipes out there that are worth making, right? Please let me know if you have any! It would be nice to get some more use out of my cookie press. Although, even if I only use it for this one recipe, it’s worth having just for that.


Poor deformed cookies. Clearly I need more spritz practice.

One year ago: Basic Lentil Soup
Two years ago: Snickery Squares

Printer Friendly Recipe
Cream Cheese Spritz

I’ve tweaked the amount of butter and cream cheese from the standard recipe, just so that it uses a more convenient amount of cream cheese. Also so that it’s even cream cheesier, which is never a bad thing.

14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups flour (12 ounces) all-purpose flour

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

2. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and add the butter and cream cheese to the mixer bowl (or a large mixing bowl with a hand-held mixer). Beat on medium-low speed until the butter and cream cheese are soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the salt, then, with the mixer running, slowly pour in the sugar. Continue mixing on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute, stopping the scrape the mixer bowl as necessary. Reduce to mixer speed to its lowest setting and gradually add the flour, mixing just until incorporated.

3. Fill the cookie press with the dough. Spritz the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until they no longer look wet on top and the edges are slightly browned. Let the cookies cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cook completely. Sealed in an airtight bag, the cookies will keep for several days.

Filed Under: cheese, cookies, dessert, favorites, winter/holidays

quick classic berry tart

05/10/2010 By

I can’t be the only one who prefers recipes that use whole eggs instead of egg parts. It isn’t just a mild packrat tendency, although I’m sure that’s part of it. I buy the expensive eggs – the ones that are hopefully (but questionably, I know) from slightly less mistreated animals. Throwing away egg whites is throwing away money. And sure, you can freeze egg whites (because it’s always egg whites I have leftover; delicious rich emulsifying egg yolks I can almost always find a use for), but what’s the point of gathering a collection of frozen egg whites that I’ll never use?

All this to say that I didn’t really make Dorie’s classic berry tart. I made Tartine’s. Their pastry cream is the only I’ve seen that uses whole eggs instead of egg yolks. I like the silky light texture that results from the addition of egg whites. Likewise, their tart dough uses whole eggs, so I went ahead and made that too, instead of Dorie’s.

Of course the result was fantastic – every baking book has some variation of tart dough + pastry cream + berries, and for good reason – it’s an unbeatable combination. I’m confident this tart would be just as good with Dorie’s recipes; I’ve made both her pastry cream and her tart dough, and they’re wonderful. They’re especially great if you enjoy egg white omelets so you don’t end up with a freezer full of egg whites.

Christine chose this, and she has Dorie’s recipes posted.

One year ago: Tartest Lemon Tart
Two years ago: Florida Pie

Filed Under: custard, dessert, fruit, pie, summer, tuesdays with dorie

burnt sugar ice cream

05/03/2010 By

I used to be so good with caramel. For years, I made caramel with no problems, and then when I made this hazelnut cake, everything changed. I can’t remember how many batches of caramel I made for that cake, each one forming crystals instead of turning amber; I do remember that even the final batch crystallized, but I had given up. Since then, it’s been hit or miss – probably half of my caramel attempts crystallize. I’ve lost my caramel mojo.

I know a lot of my problem is that I’m working with smaller batches than the recipe recommends. Working with caramel is notoriously difficult in small batches, but my freezer is already stocked with vanilla cake, three types of cookies, and cheesecake. A half batch of burnt sugar ice cream would be plenty for us.

Fortunately, there’s an ace in the hole when it comes to caramel – corn syrup. A seemingly insignificant squirt of the sticky stuff can make all the difference in whether you get to move on to the next step in the recipe or you dump out yet another batch of sugar and start over.

So with that taken care of, I was finally able to make some ice cream. And lo! it was good. Smooth and chunk-free, which is my preference, plus that deep caramelly hint of bitterness makes for a really fun ice cream flavor.

Becky chose this for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t add any salt to Dorie’s recipe!  But I did add a squeeze of corn syrup to the sugar/water mixture.

One year ago: Tiramisu Cake
Two years ago: Peanut Butter Torte

Filed Under: custard, dessert, gluten free, tuesdays with dorie

chockablock cookies

04/26/2010 By

Hey, didn’t Tuesdays with Dorie already make these, a chocolate version, a long time ago? And didn’t I already lodge a complaint against cookies that are more add-in than dough? Seriously, sometimes the chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies get in my way.

And wait, didn’t I already decide that, hey, add-ins maybe aren’t such a bad thing because these are some darn good cookies.

And you know what else about these cookies? There’s only eight tablespoons of butter/shortening in the whole batch! That’s about half as much as most cookies. Which makes it all the harder not to justify having just one more.

Mary chose these and she has the recipe posted. I quadrupled, yes, that’s right, quadrupled the salt. Seemed perfect to me.

One year ago: Chocolate Cream Tart
Two years ago: Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

Filed Under: chocolate, cookies, dessert, fruit, nuts, tuesdays with dorie

brown sugar cookies

04/15/2010 By

Do you know where the name for my blog came from? I mean, besides Dave kind of just blurting it out and me realizing it was perfect. I was looking for something that at least somewhat related to my science background – I kind of wanted to be discussing not just the outcome of recipes, but also the way (get it?! huh huh huh do you?) things worked.

Plus, I had a professor in graduate school who used to bring us cookies, and in fact, he spent a portion of his first lecture talking about crumbly cookies. It all related to gravity and physics and stuff, but mostly I remember the cream cheese chocolate chip cookies he brought that day.

So now I’m the professor, and I bring my students cookies. Is that weird? Probably, but I need someone to offload treats to, and who better than college students? I kept to safe, familiar recipes in the beginning, chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, brownies, but now I’ve started to get a little experimental.

It’s also nice to get feedback from a larger audience besides, you know, myself and sometimes Dave. Not that you want to be telling the person who grades your exams that their cookies totally suck or anything, but I can generally get a vibe.

I actually wasn’t completely sold on these cookies. Oh, they were good, of course – what’s not to like about brown sugar and butter? And they were pretty difficult to resist, but still, I think I was expecting something transcendent. I actually think the one seemingly insignificant place I went wrong was rolling the doughballs too thickly in the sugar coating. Too much raw sugar!

My students though, gave rave reviews – more so than normal, so I’m guessing they’re not just trying to get on my good side. So what do I know. Other than a whole lot of sciencey stuff, that is.

One year ago: Pan-Roasted Asparagus
Two years ago: Almond Biscotti (and Hazelnut Dried Cherry variation) – Dave’s favorite biscotti recipe

Printer Friendly Recipe
Brown Sugar Cookies (from Cooks Illustrated)

Makes 2 dozen cookies

CI note: The most efficient way to bake these cookies is to portion and bake half of the dough. While the first batch is in the oven, the remaining dough can be prepared for baking. Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter. The dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is sufficiently browned. Use fresh brown sugar, as older (read: harder and drier) brown sugar will make the cookies too dry.

My note: I made the cookies smaller, about 1-inch round balls. I baked them for 7-9 minutes. Even with the smaller cookies (and therefore more surface area), I still had far more of the sugar coating mixture than I needed.

14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter
¼ cup (about 1¾ ounces) granulated sugar
2 cups (14 ounces) packed brown sugar
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10.625 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Heat 10 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until its melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook the butter, swirling pan constantly until it is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the browned butter to a large heatproof bowl. Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons of the butter into the hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix the granulated sugar and ¼ cup (1.75 ounces) packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined; set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Add the remaining 1¾ cups (12.25 ounces) brown sugar and the salt to the bowl with the cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula; add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and the ingredients are evenly distributed.

4. Divide the dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between your hands into balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss the balls in the reserved sugar mixture to coat and set them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but it will take 3 batches).

5. Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are browned and still puffy and their edges have begun to set but the centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

6. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Filed Under: cookies, dessert
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