For the BBA group, we are supposed to bake and post all the recipes in  The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread in order.  Well, I baked the English Muffins and this delicious bread on the same day, and accidentally posted them out of order.  My bad.  I think I’ll have a slice of this fragrant, citrusy loaf to make myself feel better.  Toasted.  With butter.

A double decker enriched bread, filled with nuts and dried fruit, this reminds me of the Eastern European breads that the Polish side of my family introduced me to when I was a child.  I used half atta flour, buttermilk, as well as dried tart cherries because – you guessed it – I couldn’t find my cranberries.  I also substituted 3 teaspoons of lemon oil for the lemon extract.  If you didn’t know, lemon oil is a lot stronger than the extract, but I like it better because, to me, it doesn’t have an aftertaste that I often pick up in baked goods that use extract.

My only mishap occurred during the final rise:  the top braid fell off the bottom braid, lending a squat, toad-like appearance to what I had hoped would be a pretty bread.  You should go to Natashya’s blog to see what a really pretty braided loaf should look like!  And see those lighter colored areas in the cross section?  That’s the atta flour that I apparently failed to mix in properly.

Bottom line:  Pure deliciousness.  I really liked this bread, but would save it for the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays.  You can see what everyone is making this week at our Flickr group, on Twitter (#BBA), or check out the challenge page. This recipe also appears on Google Books.  To see what others have been baking this week in the way of breads, be sure to check out YeastSpotting!

Ever since I was a wee sprout and read Louisa May Alcott’s classic, Little Women, I have wondered what “blancmange” was.  In fact, I remember being riveted by everything the March sisters consumed in that book.  See, I was already prepping for Tuesdays with Dorie!

Well, today, the mystery of blancmange, or blanc-manger, has been solved.  And I am in LOVE.  Basically, it is the French version of panna cotta, a cream and gelatin dessert that I adore.  I mean, it has cream, right?  And cream is the precursor to butter?  What’s not to like?

I followed the recipe pretty much, using blueberries, low fat milk (ridiculous, I know, in light of the cream), halving the vanilla extract, and substituting a teaspoon of almond extract for it.  I also used blueberries, and was able to fill two medium sized copper molds that belonged to my mother.  This is not a “light” dessert it terms of calories, but it tastes like one.  I really liked the addition of the almond extract, and the contrast of the blueberries with the cream.  I thought the dessert was refreshing, sophisticated and – thank goodness – not too sweet!

Thanks to Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy for choosing the recipe, and answering the question of “what I blancmange?”  You can find the recipe on her blog, or in Dorie’s book.

I am back in town after a trip, so I’ll have a lot of posts going up this week, as I play catch-up with all my cooking groups!  First up:  Tuesdays with Dorie.

This week, Tommi of Brown Interior selected Honey-Peach Ice Cream on page 437 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  Except I used mangos (peaches are not yet in season) and passion fruit curd, vanilla bean, and forgot to add the honey.  Master Chow had his with one of his beloved Chipster-Topped Brownies, and declared the entire dessert a success.  Thank you, Tommi, for a great pick.  To see what other group members made, check out the TWD blogroll.

I feel like such a groupie!  In honor of TWD’s one year anniversary,  Dorie Greenspan picked this week’s recipe – her French Pear Tart, which you can find on Dorie’s website, or on pages 368-69 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I think this has now moved to the top of the list of my favorite Dorie recipes.  I used canned pears (according to Dorie, a very French thing to do, and I’m not going to argue), and regular old almonds (unblanched).  I used an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s Good for Anything Pie Crust, and substituted cream cheese for the shortening.

What can I say?  The dessert is absolutely fantastic.  Master Chow, my honorable husband, announced that this ranks with one of the best desserts he’s ever had – in a restaurant!  He could have eaten the whole thing, and thought that the canned pears (canned without sugar and in their own juice) worked out really well.  The filling combined with the crust to form almost a chewy cookie-like texture at the bottom of the tart.  The frangipane filling was light and flavorful.  I should point out here that I chose to use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, along with 2 teaspoons of golden rum for the filling, and I’m going to use that again.  I also added a pinch of kosher salt to the almond cream.  And after making the Daring Bakers Buche de Noel (another fabulous dessert, but considerably more work), putting this together was a piece of cake.  Or tart, I should say.

Thank you, Dorie, for a great pick and a great book.  Please check out the blogroll to see how others have fared with the tart, and for an interview with Dorie.

This month’s theme for “You Want Pies with That?” is pies as a fashion statement.  And my statement is “Purple Passion.”  Pardon the really bad photos, but the good news is that we ate this so quickly that I had no pie to go back and re-shoot.  It was gone!  Eaten! Vanished!

One of my favorite colors is purple, and according to the fashionistas, that color is “in” again this season.  So, when I saw concord grapes at the store, and realized that I’d been wanting to make a concord grape pie for several years, I carted home a few pounds of these lovelies and got to work.

Now, a few words of warning.  First, do not make this pie for guests.  Why?  Each grape has to be seeded, and you are bound to miss a few, which will not be a pleasant experience for diners.  Second, YOU WILL HAVE TO SEED EACH SLIMY LITTLE BUGGER.  It took me about 2.5 hours to seed four pounds of concord grapes, and the texture of the grape makes this hard to do.  Third, the juice stains.  Given the amount of work involved, despite the pie being absolutely delicious, I do not anticipate making it again, unless bribed.

Once again, I used an adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s Good for Anything Pie Crust, and substituted cream cheese for the shortening.  I tweaked a Concord Grape Pie recipe in David Lebovitz’s fantastic book, Room For Dessert : 110 Recipes for Cakes, Custards, Souffles, Tarts, Pies, Cobblers, Sorbets, Sherbets, Ice Creams, Cookies, Candies, and Cordials. If you’ve ever had Welch’s grape juice or jam, that’s what the pie tasted like but not as sugary sweet and with considerably more depth of flavor.  I was surprised by that, because I thought it might have needed some lemon zest, but the pie was perfect just as it was.

To see who else baked a pie fashion statement, be sure to stop by the YWPWT blog and click on the blogroll.  Recipe after the jump . . . .
continue reading "Concord Grape Pie – You Want Pies With That?"

For the inaugural launch of “You Want Pies With That?,” the first thing that popped into my head with the pie fight near the end of that great American comedy classic, The Great Race.  You see, the theme this month is “I LOVE That Movie!”  And I DO love that movie – when my brother and I were little, it was one of the few shows we could agree to watch (without fighting).  Directed by Blake Edwards, it starred Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk.  What a cast.

I had to take this over to someone’s house for dinner, so I baked it in a pie dish for easy transport and it worked out wonderfully.  And it was the only time I’ve ever had the hosts keep ALL the leftovers (what little remained) – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I used Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful pie crust recipe, substituting low fat cream cheese for the shortening.  I spread a thin layer of this amazing mariposa plum jam on the bottom of the dough, sprinkled that with crushed amaretti cookies, and piled it high with plums, nectarines, and even an apricot or two that I had laying about.  Finally, I painted an egg wash on the crust, sprinkled it with sugar, and popped it in a 425 F oven until golden brown and bubbly.

Needless to say, the dessert was fantastic.  Unlike the characters in The Great Race, we did not throw it at each other.  I suspect that the four of us would have polished off the pie, but we didn’t want to look like total pigs.  Be sure to head over to You Want Pies With That? to see what other pies everyone decided to bake!

This week, Michelle of Bake-en selected, Dimply Plum Cake on page 41 of Dorie’s book.  Although Dorie offers several fruit/spice combinations, I went with the main one because (1) I had plums, and (2) I love cardamom, and welcome any opportunity to use it.

I ended up using only one plum, and slicing it thinly to layer on top of the cake.  To finish, I sprinkled Penzey’s marvelous Cake Spice on top, and baked the whole thing for about 50 minutes.

The cake was delicious, though a bit dry, but I kind of like that.  It’s something that goes really well with a cup of tea or coffee, the kind of cake you’d like to dunk.  Master Chow loved the flavor, too:  the cardamom and orange really came through, but did not overwhelm the cake.

Next week:  Creme Brulee!  To see how others did with this week’s pick, check out the blogroll.

I have an announcement to make: This is our favorite item to date out of Dorie’s book,Baking: From My Home to Yours. Thanks to Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs for this week’s fabulous selection. It’s on the repeat list, and we thought it was so wonderful, I will be serving it to dinner guests in the future. Everything about the galette was absolutely delicious: the tender and buttery crust, the sweet white peach filling . . . .

What I changed: I cut the dough in half and made a smaller galette. I skipped the custard completely, because we didn’t need more calories, and because I didn’t want to detract from the flavor of the incredible white peaches that I had found. The skin on the fruit was so tender, I didn’t even have to peel it – just sliced it thinly and fanned it out over the pastry dough (yes, folks, I used one ONE peach!). I also used plum jam, and amaretti cookies, an idea that came courtesy of Ulrike over in the comments section of the TWD blog (be sure to check it out for links to the other participants). I froze the whole thing for 15 minutes before baking, per Dorie’s recommendation – it’s over 90 F over here, and the pastry really needed it.  Then I brushed the pastry with cream, sprinkled it with sugar, and baked it.  We devoured the galette in record time.

One more thing: as with the blueberry pie, I substituted low fat cream cheese for the shortening. This may well be my new favorite pie dough, too!

This month, Meeta of What’s for Lunch Honey? chose “Mango Mania” as the theme for the Monthly Mingle.  The thought of something fruity, light, and refreshing immediately came to mind.  Believe it or not, I get tired of baking fattening desserts (although I don’t get tired of baking bread), and the 92 degree heat outside makes me crave healthier foods.

This lassi is so easy to whip up, and you can use fresh or frozen mango.  If you use fresh, be sure to throw some ice cubes in the blender.

Mango Passionfruit Lassi

Servings:  1 large or 2 medium

1 mango, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 Tbsp. frozen passionfruit puree
1 cup plain yogurt (I used unsweetened.  If you use a sweetened or vanilla flavored yogurt, adjust the amount of sweetener you put in the lassi)
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy milk or regular milk)
2 tsp. honey or agave nectar (how much you use will depend on the sweetness of the fruit and the tartness of the yogurt, so taste as you go along and adjust the amount accordingly)
pinch of mace
ice cubes (optional, but about 5 if you choose to use them)

Throw everything in a blender and give it a whir!  Enjoy in a tall frosty glass.

Come on in and set a spell. I have some stories to share. Have a bit of tea and a “really exceptional” scone, to quote my husband. I’ll get to these luscious, cheesy scones in just a bit. Continue reading after the jump . . . .
continue reading "TWD – “Really Exceptional” Apple-Cheddar Scones."