Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

RED VELVET CAKE for Valentine's Day

                               

Red Velvet Cupcakes ---Sweet!
A baker knows how to measure ingredients; flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Sometimes the cup is short, other times it's filled to over flowing. But, True love can't be measured with a measuring cup. That's where some awesome Red Velvet Cupcakes come in handy! Feeling blue? Have a cupcake! Got great news? Have a cupcake. Found out you're pregnant? Have a dozen cupcakes! They really do make life worth living, especially the Red Velvet Cupcakes!

Heart Shaped Red Velvet Cake
As Valentine's Dat got closer this year, I missed making the heart shaped Red Velvet Cakes we were so well know for in Vermont. Thing is, we always got orders for hundreds, which to many of you would say, "That's a good thing, right?" YES, and NO! You see, we decorated them ALL by hand. Everyone of them were personalized with a loving, or not so loving, sentiment.

Wilton Heart Shaped Non-Stick Pans
I loved these pans! They were clean and shiny, and for the most part, the cakes slid right out of the pans. There were 6 hearts to a pan, and we had 4 pans, so we were in business. John made the batter and baked them, and baked some more, and baked again, and again, until we had enough for our orders, and then some. 

                                       

The Cake Assembly Line
The cakes were popped out of the pans and placed upside down on sugar-dusted parchment lined baking sheets. Then they wre frozen over night. That made it easier to ice and decorate. In the morning, John would trim the bottoms so they layed flat. He than iced them tops and sides, and placed them back on the sheet for me. He'd lick his fingers, I would get after him, it was the things memories were made out of!

                                                                        

Can I Take Your Order, Please?
I had my pastry bags, each one with a small star tip, and the other had a round writing tip. I piped a border all around the top of the cakes. Very simple but it gave it a finished look. Next was time for the messages. We would take specific orders with names of loved ones, something funny or something off-the-wall. I did put my foot down though, when I was asked to do some REAL naughty things.  Nope, not going there! If I felt wide awake (which was questionable), I would make red rosebuds with green leaves. They were so sweet and cute!

                                                                     

The Cakes With No Names
After all the ordered cakes were done, I had my fun! I had a whole slew of slogans and sayings I thought up. Some were the standard messages like "I LOVE YOU" or "Be MINE". But then I got my mo-jo on, and started writing, "TONIGHT?", and "HOT STUFF", or "YES, YES, YES!". That lead to "BITE ME", and "RED HOT", or "ON FIRE", and "OH, BABY!" You get the picture? Every Valentine's Day, we'd go into all our regular stops with blank cakes, and the customers would tell us what they wanted. I did this ON THE SPOT, in the ice cold van with numb hands (remember, it was February in Vermont). John and Brad would bring the list out to me, and after blowing on my hands for 5 minutes, I could get them to work my magic with the pastry bag. And, when I say we did hundreds, I mean hundreds!

                                              

Do I Miss Playing Bakery?
Yes, I do. I asked John that question the other day. He didn't even hesitate. It was a very firm, NO! He loved making the customers happy, but hated the LONG hours, like 40-48 hours without sleep. We were like the walking, talking, decorating dead! But everybody was happy. And, I'll bet if we walked back into those businesses tomorrow, it'd be like old times again. We'd be sold out in a matter of hours! To the good times! If anyone from Burlington, Shelburne, Charlotte, Ferrisburg, Vergennes, Panton or Middlebury are reading this, "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY - WE MISS YOU!"

                         

                                                 

Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Oh, you were wondering where the Red Velvet Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting was? As usual, run on over to Suite101, and it's right there, ready for you to crank up the oven and get baking. Print it off for yourself, email it to a friend and tell them you love them! All the buttons are at the bottom of the recipe. Click away happy bakers! Click away!

LOVE, DONNA - XOXO

                                                                       

BERRY SURPRISE CAKE - Tuesdays With Dorie

                                          

Strawberry Cream Cake
Dorie calls this a Berry Surprise Cake. I call it a Strawberry Cream Cake with Raspberry Coulis. The cake is a semi-fragile sponge cake with sweetened cream cheese filling, fresh strawberries, decorated with real whipped cream and served in a puddle of raspberry coulis. It was as beautiful as it was delicious!

                                                          

Tuesdays With Dorie's - BIG NEWS!
I am now an official Tuesdays With Dorie Volunteer! Yeah, it's not a paid gig, but I'm enjoying writing up and posting the OSI (Our Secret Ingredients) meme for the week. Another gal, Tanya from Chocolatechic is gonna help. I'll take one month, she'll take the next and so on and so forth. This is what the job entails: We send out the OSI meme questions about a month ahead of time. The host/hostess for that week's recipe fills out his/her meme answers and sends them back to us. We take all that info, put it together in a real perty way, add photos that go along with their favorites, and post it to the Tuesdays With Dorie's site.

Check out the TWD site here to see what I've been doing with it! Then, it goes live so everyone can get an up-close-and-personal peek into the lives of all the bloggers. Everyone will eventually be in the spotlight for their 15 minutes of fame. However, if you're lucky number 386, you may have to wait around, oh,  7 (seven) years to choose your recipe and get your meme answers to me!

                                                                    

Berry Surprise Cake
Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen chose Berry Surprise Cake for her recipe of the week. You can find the recipe on pages 273-275 of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home To Yours. If you're one of the only people on the planet that doesn't yet have Dorie's book, you can skip on over to Mary Ann's blog for the recipe.

I really enjoyed this recipe, everyone else did too! The recipe calls for fresh raspberries. I didn't use fresh raspberries. There wasn't there any at the supermarket, and even if there were, the price would have been ridiculous since this is NOT raspberry season here in Rhode Island! Strawberries on the other hand, were reasonably priced, so I bought a box of them instead. I was able to buy frozen raspberries and pureed them with sugar for a raspberry coulis.

                                                             

Sponge Cake
The cake itself is like a sponge cake. Very delicate with whipped egg whites and cream. Everything has to be folded in just so without deflating the egg whites. My cake didn't come out as high as I would have liked. Not sure what happened there. So, I had to improvise a bit and layer the fresh strawberries inside the cake rather than hollowing out a pocket for the hidden berries. It worked just fine.I made the cream cheese filling and used brandy in the recipe, and that was ultra-yummy too! Then, I layered it all together, and decorated the whole thing with fresh whipped cream. I had some perfect strawberries left over, so I cut them in half and decoated the cake with them.

                                                                     

Raspberry Coulis
I made the raspberry coulis by thawing out the frozen berries, adding some sugar to the berries and letting them sit fr a while. Then, I whipped it up with the immersion blender until the sugar dissolved and the puree was silky smooth. I refrigerated the cake for a about 4 hours before slicing just to make sure it held together without sliding. It cut real nice, looked very pretty inside and out, especially with the raspberry sauce!

Be sure to check out all the other Berry Surprise Cakes on the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll!

                                                               

FRENCH PEAR TART RECIPE - TWD

                                          

Tuesdays With Dorie
Guess who picked the Tuesdays With Dorie recipe last week? OK, you're never going to guess, so I may as well spill the beans! The French Pear Tart was chosen by none other than Dorie Greenspan herself! Thank you Dorie for letting us use your name and your book, Baking: From My Home To Yours for the last year! 52 recipes in 52 weeks! I missed a few here and there, but for the most part, I made my share. My book is splattered and stained with a bunch of dog-eared corners. There were plenty of successes and a few flops. Some I would make again and again, and some I would never make again.

Dorie Greenspan
I missed last weeks recipe because I thought I had to have fresh Bartlett pears for the tart. I brought them home rock hard. 5 days later, they were still hard. Then, I read the recipe! It calls for either canned or fresh pears! That's what I get for not reading the recipe first. Once I got to making the tart, it was a no-brainer. Very easy. You can find the recipe on pages 368 and 369 of Dorie's book, OR you can go directly to Dorie's blog for the recipe! YES, Dorie has her own blog! Go take a look and see how nice it is. Lot's of info and photos.

                                                                    

French Pear Tart
Anyway...to get back to the recipe. Easy-Peasy! Make a sweet tart dough and press it in the pan. I don't have a fluted tart pan, so I used my 9"  springform cheesecake pan. Bake the crust a bit. Make a delicious almond cream (which is more like a paste than cream) and spread it on the bottom of the cooled crust. Slice the canned pear halves almost all the way through and poke them into the almond cream and bake. When it cooled, I sprinkled some confectioners' sugar on top to make it look like it snowed (which it did!) and then we ate it!  The only change I made in the tart was to use brandy because Brad drank all the rum! I like brandy better than rum anyway. It's more mellow.

So, there you have it. An easy and delicious French Pear Tart. It would probably taste real good with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream on top, don't you agree?
 

Check out all the other French Pear Tarts on the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll and see how pretty they are! And, while you're there, you can read the exclusive interview with Dorie.

CHEESECAKE RECIPE - TALL & CREAMY - Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                           

TUESDAYS WITH DORIE
This is the last Tuesdays With Dorie recipe this year. 52 weeks and 52 recipes later, and next Tuesday TWD will be one year old! Hang on to your aprons, because that's the week, Dorie herself will be making an appearance! That's right! Dorie will be choosing the recipe next week. Then, you'll all be able to click on Dorie's link to her own blog!

                                      

TALL & CREAMY CHEESECAKE
Anne Strawberry picked the Tall & Creamy Cheesecake for her recipe this week. You can find it on pages 235-237 of Baking: From My Home To Your by Dorie Greenspan, or, you can click on Anne Strawberry's blog to find the recipe there. This is a typical cheesecake, the way I usually make all my cheesecakes. It's ultra-creamy, very rich and not for the calorie conscious!

                                      

I love Dorie, but a lot of her recipes are long and drawn out and confusing to the new baker. I make my cheesecakes as easy as possible, using the least amount of pans and bowls and multi-tasking if I can. Dorie suggests a water bath, and while this practice is typical, it isn't necessary in most cases. I used to do this myself when I first started making cheesecakes, but the mess it made when a springform pan accidentally popped open, or when water seeped into the pan, was enough to make me build a better mousetrap so to speak. Not to mention the total waste of time and money spent on ingredients!

                                        

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CHEESECAKE
Now, I just wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil, clamp the pan shut, and pull the excess foil up and around the outside of the pan to avoid leaks and drips. Then I put a pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven, place the cheesecake on the top rack and close the door.

                            

I wrote a whole article on this subject; How To Make The Perfect Cheesecake. You can find it by clicking here and reading it at Suite101. I wrote the article to help bakers make a great cheesecake without all the mess and fuss.

The sections include:

• How to Use Springform Pans
• Ingredients
• How to Mix Cheesecake Batter
• How to Melt White & Dark Gourmet Chocolate
• How to Tell When a Cheesecake is Done
• How to Cool Cheesecakes
• How to Slice a Cheesecake
• How to Fix a Cracked Cheesecake
• How to Freeze Cheesecakes

                                                           

If You Liked Dorie's Cheesecake, Try These Cheesecakes Too!

• NY Style Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe with Gingersnap Crust
• Cherry Cheesecake Recipe with a Graham Cracker Crust
• Chocolate Zebra Cheesecake Recipe with an Oreo Cookie Crust
• Junior's Brownie Swirl Cheesecake Recipe
• White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
• Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with an Oreo Cookie Crust

Anyway...Dorie's Tall & Creamy Cheesecake is delicious and tall and creamy just like the recipe says. You won't be disappointed. For Dorie's recipe, I made a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with an Oreo Cookie Crust, and then decorated it with chocolate ganache. Make it her way, and then try the same recipe using my tips & tricks and tell me what you think!

                                                                          

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake & Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cheesecake - Try Them All!

REAL BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING CREAM PIE - TUESDAYS WITH DORIE

                                                        

Tuesdays With Dorie
It's my turn! I can hardly believe it! When I joined Tuesdays With Dorie back in March, I was #76. Over the past nine months, I've moved up the list to #44! Bakers come and bakers go. Some made it, others had to let it go. It's been quite a commitment - baking every week - and since I started, I've finished almost 40 of Dorie Greenspan's recipes from her book, Baking:From My Home To Yours. I've missed a few, like ice cream recipes and a few recipes I didn't have the right pans for. All-in-all, it's been quite a ride!

My Turn! My Turn!
So, now it's my turn! I asked John what I should pick. After 50 recipes, we've made quite a dent in Dorie's recipes. It took some doing, and I was so torn over 3 different desserts. I picked out Bourbon Bread Pudding, and I told Laurie to put me down for that. But after some serious soul searching, I kept coming back to Real Butterscotch Pudding. (This recipe can be found on page 386 in Baking: From My Home To Yours.) The real reason I wanted to make Butterscotch Pudding was to make a Butterscotch Cream Pie! I loved Dorie's Chocolate Cream Pie, so I was determined to do a pie with Butterscotch this time!

                                                                      

 
Real Butterscotch Pudding with Real Scotch Whiskey
There was some concern over using real Scotch whisky in this recipe, but there's no reason you need to add it if you don't want to. I used Crown Royal whiskey for the Scotch and an extra Tablespoon of Buttershots liqueur. I gotta tell you, this was one of the tastiest puddings I ever made from scratch! 

Butterscotch Cream Pie
I might have made this Butterscotch Cream Pie with my own Flaky Pie Crust, but I really thought a Graham Cracker Crust (see below) would make this pie special. I don't have a big food processor and after all the horror stories people had with the Chocolate Pudding, I knew I was gonna make this pudding the traditional way - with a whisk and a hand-held mixer. Because I have a really large Pampered Chef pie dish, I had to double the pudding recipe. It worked fine and made plenty, enough to even have a few little dishes for a tasty sample!

So, I made the graham cracker crust, baked it for 20 minutes, let it cool and then filled it with warm butterscotch pudding. When the pie was totally chilled, I whipped up some fresh whipped cream and piped it onto the pie. That's it! That's all I did to make it a fancier dessert than plain old pudding, not that there's anything wrong with a dish of scrumptious pudding!

                                                         

Real Butterscotch Pudding Recipe 
Taken from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home To Yours (page 386)
Dorie says, "Here's the real deal--butterscotch pudding made with real butter and real Scotch whisky. It is, as all good puddings must be, smooth, creamy and comforting, but it's also got a little kick, making it anything but a nursery sweet."

• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons Scotch whiskey (preferably a strong single malt)

Graham Cracker Crust, Whipped Cream and Buttered Pecans (see below, or on page 470), for topping (optional)

                                                                      

Getting Ready:

1. Have six ramekins or pudding cups, each holding 4 to 6 ounces 1/2 to 3/4 cup), at hand.
2. Put the brown sugar and water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, put the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stirring and lowering the heat if necessary, boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 and a 1/2 cups of the milk and the cream and bring to a boil--don't worry if, as it's heating, the mixture curdles.
3. While the milk is heating, put the cornstarch and the salt in a food processor and whir to blend. Turn them out onto a piece of wax paper, put the sugar and egg yolks in the processor and blend for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and pulse just to mix, then add the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to blend.
4. With the machine running, very slowly pour in the hot liquid, process for a few seconds, then pour everything back into the saucepan. Whisk without stopping over medium heat--making sure to get into the edges of the pan--until the pudding thickens and a couple of bubbles burble up to the surface and pop (about 2 minutes). You don't want the pudding to boil, but you do want it to thicken, so lower the heat, if necessary.
5. Scrape the pudding back into the processor (if there's a scorched spot, avoid it as you scrape) and pulse a couple of times. Add the butter, vanilla and scotch and pulse until everything is evenly blended.
6. Pour the pudding into the ramekins. If you don't want a skin to form, place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of each pudding to create an airtight seal. Refrigerate the pudding for at least 4 hours.
7. Makes 6 servings.

Dorie says, "Serving one good buttery thing deserves another so I like topping the puddings with the buttered pecans. Even better is topping the puddings with whipped cream and topping the cream with the pecans."
Storing: Covered, and kept away from foods with strong odors, the puddings can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

                                                               

 


Butter Pecans Recipe:
Great over puddings, or ice cream or even buttered biscuits, these pecans are quick to make and so good to have on hand. You can multiply the recipe to meet your needs.

• 1/2 cup pecan halves, whole or chopped
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Line a plate with a double thickness of paper towels and keep it near the stove.
2. Put a small skillet over medium heat and toss in the pecans. Cook the pecans, stirring, for 1 minute, or until they are ever so slightly toasted. Add the butter and continue to cook, turning, until the pecans have absorbed almost all the butter, another 2 minutes or so.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the salt, if you're using it, and turn the pecans out onto the paper towels. Cover with another double layer of paper towels and pat the pecans gently to remove some of the excess butter. Cool to room temperature between the paper towels.
4. Makes 1/2 cup (enough to top 6 servings)
5. Storing: In a bowl at cool room temperature, the nuts will keep for about 3 days.

                                                              


My Graham Cracker Crust Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Line pie pan, pressing evenly up against the sides.
   
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before filling with Butterscotch Pudding.

My Fresh Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 cup Whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, beat cream until it sets up. There is no way to explain how long this will take. Every mixer is different. It should be light and fluffy and look like soft whipped cream. Do NOT let it get to the butter stage which can happen very quickly. If in doubt, under mix. You can always whip it a little more after the sugar is added.
2. Add powdered sugar and and vanilla and beat until fluffy and stiff. Do not over beat.
3. Put whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate the pie. Or pile the cream on high with a spatula.

Take a look at the TWD blogroll to see how all the other Butterscotch Puddings turned out!

                                                                        

FRENCH LEMON CREAM TART RECIPE ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                                     
TUESDAYS WITH DORIE
Here's another awesome recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking: From My Home To Yours". Thanks to Mary of Starting From Scratch for choosing Pierre Herme's Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, pages 331-333.

Another week has flown by and it's time for Tuesdays With Dorie all over again! I honestly didn't think I was going to get this dessert done in time. It looked delicious, but at the same time, very consuming. I asked myself, "Do I really want to get into this when I had so many other things going on in the kitchen?"  Being a sucker for all things lemon, I decided to go for it anyway!

Sweet Tart Dough
I used the Sweet Tart Dough from Dorie's book on page 444. It was very easy to make if you had access to a food processor. Everything went in, got pulsed a bit and Ta-Da! Out came perfect tart dough! I didn't have a fluted tart pan, but I had an idea to use a springform pan with a removable bottom. It worked perfectly and I saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico!
                                                                              
French Lemon Cream Tart
I was amazed at how easy this French Lemon Cream Tart went together! At first I thought it was going to be like the filling used in Lemon Meringue Pies. But it was nothing like pie filling. This was light and creamy and it melted in my mouth like a Lemon Cloud...if you can imagine what that must be like? 

Saving time is almost as rewarding as saving money, and I love to take short-cuts if I can! Instead of whisking the sugar, zest, eggs and juice by hand, I did it in the Kitchen Aid. I left it in the mixing bowl, then moved the bowl and set it over the pan of simmering water. Dorie's book doesn't say it, but the bowl HAS to be metal (stainless) in order to reach the desired temperature. If you use glass, you'll be whisking it for up to 45 minutes!
                                                                        
Seeing Stars!
My finished French Lemon Cream Tart looked sooooo plain and lonely.  I made some whipped cream for the top. It was still looking a little sad and unfinished so I melted a bit of white chocolate. Then I piped out some stars on parchment paper and chilled them. When it was time to serve the tart, I just peeled them off the paper and decorated. I think it made all the difference ~ in the baking world anyway!

So, without further ado, here's Pierre Herme's Most Extraordinary Lemon Cream Tart, adapted from "Baking: From My Home to Yours", by Dorie Greenspan.

                                                                         

FRENCH LEMON CREAM TART RECIPE

• 1 cup sugar
• Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
• 2 sticks plus 5 Tablespoons (21 Tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
• 1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell

Getting ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
                                                                           
To Make The Lemon Cream:
Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over a pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice. (My Notes: I used a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, added the sugar, zest and then whisked in the eggs and lemon juice just until foamy. Then I set the mixing bowl over the pan of hot water. Others were having trouble reaching a temperature of 180 degrees, but I think that's because they used glass and not stainless steel.)

Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heat—and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.
                                                                              
Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
                                                                                  
SWEET TART DOUGH RECIPE

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (9 Tablespoons) very cold and cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk

To Make The Dough:
Put the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in--you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses--about 10 seconds each--until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. (My Notes: I had to add another Tablespoon of water to the dough to get it to work.) Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change--heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To Press The Dough Into The Pan:
(My Notes: I didn't have a fluted tart pan, so I used a 9 inch springform pan with a removable bottom. It worked just fine.)
Butter a 9 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be too heavy-handed--press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces clinging to one another, but not so hard that the crust looses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
                                                                                  
To Bake The Crust:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.
Serves 8-10.

Last week's dessert was Gooey Chocolate Cakes on pages 261-262, and chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet.
Next week's recipe is, Marshmallows on pages 404-405, and chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats.
Previous recipes are: Caramel-Topped Flan, pages 395-397 and Brioche Raisin Snails, pages 56-57.

                                                                                 

MERINGUE COOKIES ~ MERINGUE KISSES RECIPE

                                                                  
Meringues So Light, They Melt in Your Mouth!
Also known as Meringue Kisses, these delightful little puffs of air are so light, they literally melt in your mouth! Made with just 3 ingredients, it's hard to believe something so simple could be so pleasurable. If you've been keeping up with my baking escapades this week, you'll know why I had so many freakin' egg whites left over! I needed eight egg yolks for the Chocolate Bread Pudding I was making last Saturday. That left me with eight egg whites that I put in a container and hid in the fridge. When I say I hid them, the truth is I forgot about them. When I got around to organizing the fridge a few days later, I found the egg whites. And you know what they say? "When life throws you egg whites, make meringues!"
                                                                                 
Meringues, Meringues and More Meringues!
I love making meringues! They're just so....cute! And, one recipe makes so many featherweight puffs with such little effort! I whipped up a batch in no time and by the end of the night, half of them were gone. It's so easy to pop them in your mouth, one right after the other without thinking. Add different extracts and colors to make a rainbow of meringues. Sprinkle them with coarse colored sugar before baking. Add ground almonds and sprinkle some slivers on top. They're so much fun to eat and play with! Pretty soon, you'll be making meringue mushrooms!
                                                                      
Cookie, Candy or Confection?
Meringues aren't really cookies and not quite candy, but I do know they're very sweet! They would probably be classified as a confection of some sort. I have no idea what the nutritional value is, although they are cholesterol free! So, make a batch for Easter and enjoy!

Meringue Cookies ~ Meringue Candies~ Meringue Kisses, Whatever!

• 6 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 cup superfine sugar
• 2-3 drops of extract ~ almond, vanilla, orange, peppermint, etc. (optional)
• 2-3 drops food coloring (optional)

Meringues are best when made with superfine sugar. Regular sugar is OK, but it might give the meringues a gritty feel. You can make superfine sugar yourself by pulsing regular white sugar in a food processor until extra fine.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Fit a pastry bag with a large star or round tip and set aside.
• Using a clean, dry mixing bowl, whip egg whites on medium speed until foamy in a Kitchen Aid mixer or a similar high-speed mixer.
• Add cream of tartar and whip until meringue starts to form soft peaks.
• Add sugar a little at a time. Continue to whip until meringue forms very stiff peaks that hold their shape.
• Add extract and coloring if desired and whip just until mixed.
• Transfer to the pastry bag.
• Get creative and pipe swirls and swans and mushrooms!
• Bake at 225 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until meringues are light in color, crisp and dry.
• Turn oven off and let the meringues sit in the oven for another hour or more.
• Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
• Yields A LOT!

HOT CROSS BUNS FOR GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday ~ Another March Holiday
OK, here I go again ~ talking about food on another religious holiday. I have a good reason though. According to Wikipedia, Hot Cross Buns do have Christian roots. "In many historically Christian countries, the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term "hot cross bun" is not until 1733." You can read more about Hot Cross Buns on Wikipedia.
                                                                           
Hot Cross Buns
As kids, we always had fresh-from-the-bakery Hot Cross Buns from Good Friday until Easter. Yup, we ate them all three days because that's the only time Mom brought them home. Today, I see them in the stores weeks before Good Friday. A marketing ploy to be sure!

At the bakery, we only made them the week before Easter and they had to be pre-ordered. The holidays came so close together and we were already baking wholesale pies and cheesecakes like crazy. We were burned out and Hot Cross Buns were just an add-on for our customers. How could we say NO during Easter?
                                                                              
Our rich buns were buttery soft and melted in your mouth. They were filled with black and golden raisins, with just a touch of nutmeg and cardamom to make you wonder what the spices were.
So, get down to your favorite bakery (not the grocery store, yuck!) and pick up a six-pack of fresh, hand rolled Hot Cross Buns. When you get home, make a pot of tea and dream of bunnies and ham!

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD WITH EASTER EGGS

                                                                        
Living in Rhode Island can be very tempting to someone who is totally addicted to chocolate and pastries. Rhode Island is the land of yummy bakeries ~ all sorts of mouthwatering ethnic bakeries. Italian, Jewish, Portuguese, Irish, Greek and all American bakeries. There are so many tantalizing bakeries in my area alone, that it is almost impossible to drive by one without my car turning into the parking lot by itself. Because they all have their own religious traditions, their specialties depends on the season or a particular holiday. For example, March is a huge pastry month. Why? Because there are so many religious holidays in March this year!

Easter (March 23rd) has so many traditions that's it hard to know what the original religious foods were.
There are Easter Eggs and Bunny Cakes, Roasted Lamb and Baked Ham (where did the pig come from?) and the all-time beloved symbol of the Easter holiday ~ PEEPS! Did you know there's a whole book dedicated to Peeps? I kid you not!

Because I'm a hopeless bakery addict, I wait all year long for Portuguese Sweet Bread with Easter eggs. This heavenly specialty is made by Portuguese bakeries all over Rhode Island and around the Fall River area of Massachusetts.
I remember waiting for my mother to come home from work during the Easter season with a huge Portuguese Sweet Bread. Nestled into the shiny round bread was at least 4 colored hard boiled eggs. I was always amazed at how these eggs made it into the bread. It wasn't until I was much older that I learned they are hard boiled first, then colored ~ or not ~ and baked into the sweet dough. It was a real treat to find the eggs and a wise mother made sure she ordered one with just the right ratio of eggs to children in the family!

When we opened our bakery in New Hampshire just before Easter 19 years ago, I decided that I would carry on the tradition of baking colored Easter eggs into my authentic hand-crafted Portuguese Sweet Bread. I was shocked when my customers had no idea what this delicacy was, but after one loaf they were hooked! We had so many orders I wasn't sure we could fill them all. We eventually got every one of them baked and delivered, but not without doing a 24 hour baking marathon! I still have the original recipe that came to me by way of an elderly Portuguese woman 30 years ago. To this day, it brings back fond memories.                                                   
                                                                         
 

Raspberry & Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins

In keeping with the spirit of Valentine's Day, I've decided that you really need to try these amazing Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins! If you love raspberry or strawberry cheesecake, then you're going to love these muffins. They are so decadent and delicious, they will make your mouth sing! Make a batch and surprise your loved ones on Valentine's Day. Take a basket full of muffins to work and you might even get a raise! Send some to school with the kids ~ they're so good they'll think they're eating cupcakes! Make them for a special occasion or just because. Either way, they'll become one of your favorites too!
If by some weird chance you don't like raspberry, you can substitute strawberry, blueberry, cherry, peach or any other seedless jam that suits your fancy.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is another recipe you might want to try for a Valentine's Brunch.

Raspberry Cheesecake Muffin Recipe

• 5 1/2 cups unbleached white flour, sifted
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cups melted butter
• 1 tsp lemon peel, grated
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease 24 regular size muffin pans with vegetable spray or use paper muffin cups.
3. In a large mixing bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
4. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, melted butter, lemon peel and almond extract until mixed well and set aside.
5. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a small bowl.
6. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix only until blended. Do not over mix, it makes tough muffins.
7. Spoon about 1/3 muffin batter in pans, plop about a tablespoon of cream cheese batter on top and then a teaspoon of jam on top of that. Add enough muffin batter to fill cups 3/4 full.
8. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of muffins before baking.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350° depending on your oven. The muffins should be light golden brown and spring back when you touch them.
10. Remove from pans and cool completely before storing them in a tight fitting container.
11. Makes 20 - 28 muffins depending on how big your pans are.

Make a pot of tea, invite a friend over and enjoy!

(photos by ladyheart,morguefile and fishmonk,sxc)