If I haven’t been clear thus far, I will try to be clearer–I am a lady who loves an everyday cake (or cookie/scone/pastry of any sort for that matter). I love the notion that one does not need to search for some reason to bake; in my opinion, the sun rising and setting is reason enough for breaking out the beaters.

In my dreams, I bake each and every day and friends and friends of friends stop by and I offer them slices of sugar with their cocktail (I also see little reason to refrain from midday drinking).

I think it is safe to say that this cake lives in that dream.

It is also safe to say that I will be purchasing Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights within the week (it’s currently on loan). This book is a treat in and of itself. Sophie Dahl has penned a whimsy bit of greatness. She says things like: “serve with some good toast and a saucy smile” and effortlessly pairs wholesome cooking with the occasional indulgence.

Similar to a cornmeal confection, this cake is moist but crumbly and citrus-er-iffic.

Orange Yogurt Polenta Cake by Sophie Dahl

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter, plus extra for greasing
• 1 cup of superfine sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of spelt flour
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup of polenta
• 1/2 cup of ground almonds
• 1/3 cup of full-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• Finely grated zest of 2 oranges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and grease and line a 9-inch cake pan
2. Cream the butter and the sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flours and add to the egg mixture.
4. Whisk in the polenta, almonds, Greek yogurt, honey, orange juice, and zest.
5. Pour into pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. Check after 45 minutes

If you’d like you can add a lemon drizzle (I did and it was worth it). Mix 1/2 cup of superfine sugar with 3 tablespoons on lemon juice. Pour over the cake just when it comes out of the oven.

This was my first time cooking with booze and I can certainly say, after this experience, it will not be the last. You might think you know goodness, but if you do not know a thing called tequilla lime buttercream, then you, my friend, don’t really know sh*t.

Margarita Cupcakes via Annie Eats

Yield: about 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 limes, zested and juiced
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 2 cups sugar
• 8 large egg whites
• Pinch fleur de sel (coarse salt
• 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2½ tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2-4 tbsp. tequila

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir with a fork to blend.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the lime zest, lime juice and vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full.  Bake 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  If desired, brush the cooled cakes with tequila to emphasize the true margarita flavor.

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together, though it may take a long time!)  Stir in the lime juice and tequila and mix until fully incorporated and smooth.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Frost the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream.  Garnish with lime zest and lime slices as desired.

I’ve been trying to put my finger on the elusive reason for the awesomeness of this cookie and I think I’ve found three parts:
1.)The cayenne and cinnamon combo. A kick in the pants. (In the best way, of course.)
2.)The chewy. God bless you, canola oil/maple syrup.
3.) The cinnamon sugar coating….oh the cinnamon sugar coating.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles by Post Punk Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

This is what I’d call a staple weeknight dinner–it’s filling, scrumptious, and ready in under 30 minutes.

I’m sure you could add in veggies or substitute a protein/grain if you’d like, but I was just fine with this combination.

Additionally, I’d like to take a second to mention how wonderful fresh365 is. All the recipes are so adaptable. A few weeks ago, I made the black bean sweet potato quesadillas and was thisclose to licking the plate by the last bite.

Sesame Broccoli (or broccolini) by fresh365

Ingredients:

• 12-14 oz tofu, drained
• 2 T olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 t cumin seeds
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• 2 t sesame oil
• 2 t red wine vinegar
• 1 bunch broccolini, broken into bite-size pieces, tough stems discarded

Instructions:

Cut tofu lengthwise into thirds. Place on an absorbent kitchen towel and cover with an additional towel. Place a heavy pan on top, and allow to sit thirty minutes to remove moisture. Transfer tofu to a cutting board and cut into 3/4″ cubes.

In a large container combine olive oil, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and red wine vinegar. Add tofu cubes, and carefully toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to marinate.

In a large wok or sauté pan, heat oil over high heat. Add tofu (and any remaining marinade) and cook 8-10 minutes, shaking pan every minute so tofu doesn’t stick, until golden brown on all side. Add broccolini, and cook 2-4 minutes, occasionally stirring, under tender crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice, with a drizzle of sesame oil.

salt and pepper, to taste

Gracias, fresh365. Keep up the great work.

L.L Bean Boat n’ Totes, yellow labs, Ford, summertime, Betty White, and the chocolate chip cookie.

What’s that spell?

America!!

Fairly ironic, then, that the chocolate chip recipe I’ve come to know and crave, was actually developed in Paris. Obviously I’m referencing David Lebovitz, the King of all things sugar.

This is a classic standby. With this particular batch I mixed things up a bit with almond pieces and chopped dark chocolate.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe by David Lebovitz (The Great Book of Chocolate)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup  firmly packed light brown sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
• 1 cup  walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (I used toasted almonds here)

Instructions:

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Make about 20 cookies.

A lemon cake, at its root, is a sweet cake to serve as 3 o’clock in the afternoon approaches. Many turn their noses up at lemon cake, instead opting for some molten-choco-peanut butter-fudgey-ooze thing*. Well, in my opinion, this cake could kick a little molten-fudgey ass.

First and foremost this bad boy has yogurt and lemon zest folded into its plush insides; and anyone who’s worth his weight in frosting knows that yogurt (and sometimes ricotta) puts the grr in great. Then, when the baking time is over, this cake calls for a bath of lemony syrup before it even thinks about glazing. (Although glazing does happen…eventually.)

Yup, once, twice, three times the lemon. Zest in the cake, sugar-y lemon goodness on top, and a lemon glaze to finish thing off with.

I believe the word you’re looking for is hardcore. Incredibly hardcore.

*Sometimes I’m one of those people. No worries.

Lemon Yogurt Cake by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa at Home)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs (I used large)
• The zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

• 1 cup conf. sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Thankfully, I remedied that situation yesterday afternoon. (Phew, right?) I turned to the simplest and best of sources for help with this pantry staple–Alice Waters. Well, color me reassured, the lady pulled through again. In a few easy steps I made myself two jars of creamy heaven.

the players...

Toast toppings, consider the gauntlet thrown. Jams, honeys, butters…you’ve been warned.

A note: If you aren’t a fan of pulp or zest, I would recommend straining the final curd through a cheese cloth or straining the mixture before you move it to the stove.

*To be fair, technically I’ve had lemon curd-filled pies and tarts, but yesterday was the first time I realized I could have the inside of a pie on a slice of toast.

Lemon Curd by Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food
(makes 2 cups)

Ingredients:
-4 lemons
-2 eggs
-3 egg yolks
-2 tablespoons of milk
-1/3 cup of sugar
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-6 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:
1.) Zest one of the lemons and combine with the juice of all four lemons (should be about 1/2 a cup of juice).
2.) Beat eggs, egg yolks, milk, sugar, and salt. Combine with the lemon mixture and add the butter.
3.) Cook the mixture in a small nonreactive heavy pan, stirring constantly over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. DO NOT boil or the eggs will curdle. When thick, pour into a bowl or glass jar, cover and refrigerate.

Faster than a strata or a bread pudding and less labor-intensive than pancakes, the dutch baby is simple food in a fancy schmancy package.

All the usual suspects are there: flour, eggs, sugar, butter… but the variations are endless. For this baby I added a little lemon juice and made lemon sugar for sprinkling, but the sky is the limit.

For instance:
-Top with any sort of citrus zest (orange, lemon, grapefruit, blood orange…) mixed with a 1/3 a cup of sugar
-Add in an 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon and an 1/8 a teaspoon of ground cloves…dust with cinnamon sugar. Sha-bam! Christmas dutch baby.
-Top with fresh fruit and whipped cream for breakfast OR dessert

Citrus Sugared Dutch Baby (adapted from Joy the Baker, who adapted it from Gourmet)

Ingredients:
-1/3 cup sugar
-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
-3 eggs (at room temp)
-2/3 cup warm whole milk (I used skim)
-the juice of 1 lemon
-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1/2 stick unsalted butter

Instructions:
-Place skillet on middle rack of an oven and preheat to 450
-Stir together sugar and zest and set aside
-Whisk the eggs until pale and frothy (alternatively you may use an electric mixer on high speed…I was too lazy to schlep mine out)
-The beat in milk, juice, flour, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt–whisk/beat until smooth
-Add butter to the hot skillet and swirl to coat. Add the batter and return to the oven
-Bake until puffed and brown on top (about 18-25 minutes)
-Top with sugar and love

This is the best bread I’ve ever baked.

F’real.

[Focach, during his/its last rise.]

When I first stumbled upon the recipe on VeganYumYum, I couldn’t believe the length of time required to produce just one loaf. What I eventually realized, however, is that the majority of time is actually inactive–deepening the flavor, allowing the dough to soak in extra oil and rise a bit…that sort of thing. I suppose you might compare it to a fab-o bottle of wine. If you give the grapes their due time, the flavor is just worth it. That entire day I sacrificed to the bread gods? Totally worth it.

I encourage you all to muster up a little patience because not only is the end product beyond your wildest dreams, the final step (which involves pressing your fingertips into the dough creating tiny air pockets) is quite possibly the coolest final step ever.

This is bread baking like bread baking should be. When you’re through you’ll have traded a day’s work for an earthy loaf of love and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Poolish Focaccia by The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Ingredients:

Poolish
2 1/2 Cups (11.25 oz) Unbleached Bread Flour
1 1/2 Cup (12 oz) Water, room temperature
1/4 tsp Instant Yeast (Like RapidRise)

Poolish Focaccia
3 Cups (20 oz) Poolish
2 2/3 Cups (12 oz) Unbleached Bread Flour
2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast (RapidRise, for example)
6 Tbs (3 0z) Olive Oil
3/4 Cup (6 oz) Water, 90-100º F (lukewarm)
1/2 Cup Herb Oil

Herb Oil
1 Cup Olive Oil, warmed to 100º F
Any herbs, 1/2 Cup fresh chopped or 2-3 Tbs dried, or a combination

Instructions:

The Night Before:

Make the poolish. With a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients together until all the flour is hydrated, and you’ve got a smooth, sticky mass. It’ll look like very thick pancake batter. Cover with plastic wrap. You can leave it out on the counter for four hours and then refrigerate, or leave it out all night. I left mine outside overnight where it was warmer than the fridge, but cooler than the house, so the poolish would have a nice, steady but slow ferment. Either way, it should be nice and bubbly after fermenting, like the photo on the left. It will have a super cool springy/stringy/stickty consistency, too.

(You can also make the herb oil this same night: Mix the herbs with the warmed oil. Turn off the heat and let the herbs infuse the oil at room temperature. The oil can also be made the next day, and this is noted later on in the directions.)

Make the Dough

If you refrigerated your poolish, take it out and let it sit for an hour to warm up. Once warm, it’s time to make the dough. Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl (or in the work bowl of a stand mixer). Add the poolish, water, and oil.

If mixing by hand, mix to combine all the ingredients and then get in there and beat the hell out of it for 10 minutes. The book suggests 3-5 minutes, but it took me longer. It’s done when the dough is smooth, crazy sticky, willing to pull off the sides of the bowl but not the bottom, and your arm aches.

If mixing by machine, start with the paddle attachment to combine at low speed for 2-3 minutes, then switch to the dough hook. Beat at medium speed for 5-7 minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom. Add more flour or water if needed to achieve this.

Stretch and Fold
Prepare a bed a flour on your work surface. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto your flour bed. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour.

Pat the dough into a roughly rectangular shape. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Now you’ll be folding the dough like a letter. Pick up one side of the dough. As you do this (it’ll be hard to hold on to, do the best you can), stretch the dough out and fold it over towards the middle.

Brush or spray the dough with oil, cover in plastic wrap, and let sit for 30 minutes. You’ll the fold it again, oil, cover, let sit for 30 minutes, then fold it a third time. Each time you fold, the dough will be easier to work with, a little firmer, a little neater. Fold in the opposite direction then the last. For example, if you folded left to right, the next fold will be top to bottom.

Rising and Shaping
After the third fold, let the dough sit covered on the counter for 1 hour. The dough will rise, but not necessarily double in size. If you didn’t make it the night before, you can prepare the herb oil during this rise. Mix the herbs with the warmed oil. Turn off the heat and let the herbs infuse the oil.

Prepare a 17 x 12″ baking sheet by placing a layer of parchment paper down across the bottom. Oil the parchment.

As best you can, move the dough from the counter to the baking sheet, trying to maintain the rectangle shape. Don’t worry if you can’t get a clean move, the dough is soft and unwieldy, so just move it the best you can.

Pour about 1/4 Cup of Herb Oil over the top.

Using only your fingertips, begin to press into the dough to distribute the oil and flatten the dough out. The dough will gradually spread out in the pan, but don’t worry if it doesn’t fill the pan, it’ll get there after rising again. Just remember that you’re only allowed to use your fingertips, pressing down. You want to keep the majority of the air bubbles that have been forming in the dough all this time, so kneading or pressing the dough flat with your hands would destroy all your hard work.

Make sure the dough is completely covered in oil, then cover and let it rise for two hours. It will be very puffy, and if it hasn’t completely filled the pan, it’ll be close to doing so. Nearing the end of this rise, preheat the oven to 500º F, making sure the rack is in the middle.

Add another 1/4 cup, or more, of the herb oil.

Spread the dough out to its final size using the same fingertip technique as above. You’ll see all sorts of fun bubbles! You want an even distribution of bubbles and fingertip dimples. You might want to break any huge bubbles since they’ll just explode in the oven anyway. Sprinkle the top with salt as desired.

Baking
Let the dough rest for another 10-15 minutes. Place the dough in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 450º F. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the sheet for even baking, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown. If you have an instant read thermometer, the dough should be 200º F in the center of the pan.

PS: check out the glam shots of a few of my favorites from previous adventures in baking with yeast…

Christmas morning cinnamon buns, Orange bread, Challah

• If you’re pressed for time and need to bring eggs and/or butter up to room temperature, you have a few options. For the eggs, run them under hot water. For the butter, either zap it in the microwave (obvvvvviously) or hold it for a minute or two. Or try vegan baking. : )
• Make cake flour out of all purpose flour and cornstarch. For every cup of AP flour, remove two tablespoons of flour and replace it with two tablespoons of cornstarch–sift a few times.
• Herbs freeze really well! The freezer is an early 20-somethings dream, BTW. Either freeze in bundles or freeze in ice cube trays.