Archive for the ‘Dessert’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Rhubarb ice cream

28 June 2011

In the midst of baking my third or fourth batch of busy-day cupcakes I became fixated with the idea of rhubarb ice cream. It must have been triggered by a surfeit of sugar and vanilla – I craved something cool and tart.

I made this ice cream in the easiest possible way. It is simply rhubarb compote mixed with heavy cream, churned into ice cream.

It is (was) incredibly good.

***

This recipe requires an ice cream maker of some kind. It makes a little over a pint of ice cream.

3 1/2 cups (400 g) rhubarb measured once cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces

1/2 cup (100 g sugar) for the compote plus 1 or 2 Tbsps

1/2 cup (150 ml) heavy cream

1 Tbsp rosé wine

***

Make a rhubarb compote with the rhubarb and sugar.

Let the compote cool down then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight.

Mix the compote with the heavy cream, rosé, and add one or two tablespoons of sugar to taste.

Churn in an ice cream maker and keep in the freezer until ready to eat.

*

Related posts

At the market | Rhubarb [Rhubarb compote]

*

Follow @nettleandquince on twitter

Tags:,
Posted in Dessert, Homemade and preserves, Spring, Summer | 7 Comments »

At the market | Rhubarb (Rhubarb compote recipe)

27 June 2011

I could have spoken about rhubarb two months ago, when it first appeared at the market as the very welcome distraction from the last winter apples and pears; rhubarb makes those last few weeks before the first berries of summer bearable.

But it’s already the first week of summer, berries abound everywhere, and while I’ve eaten pounds of strawberries — plain, in tartes, or churned into ice cream — as well as raspberries and blueberries even, I am still craving — and eating — rhubarb.

Rhubarb is one of those vegetable that I cannot resist buying so it often ends up as compote (recipe below) because I’ve usually purchased it without a plan and compote only takes a few minutes to prepare. However the other day I felt an irresistible urge to make rhubarb ice cream. It was good beyond all expectations, and barely more work than a simple compote.

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, though in our part of the world it is often used as a fruit, in crumbles and tarts. Wild rhubarb originated in Asia and its root has been used medicinally in China, Asia, and eventually Europe for thousands of years. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the stalks of rheum rhabarbarum were cultivated and used as a food, particularly in England and the United States, where rhubarb became known as “pie-plant.”

Rhubarb can be any shade of red or green, and while the red variety looks pretty, apparently there is no significant difference in taste. The stalks should be neither too big nor too small, always firm and crisp, not soft and flabby. Rhubarb is available from mid-spring through the summer. It thrives in cooler climates where the soil freezes in winter, which is another reason to love it — a delicious vegetable/fruit that grows best in my part of the world!

Rhubarb compote recipe

The quantities are an indication. The weight ratio of 1 part sugar for 4 parts rhubarb makes a compote that is not too sweet with a clear tart rhubarb taste. It can be adapted as desired. Serve with yogurt or crème fraîche, or with busy-day cupcakes.

3 1/2 cups (400 g) rhubarb cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces

1/2 cup (100 g) sugar

*

Cut off the ends of the rhubarb stalks as well as any parts that are bruised or blemished. Wash the stalks before cutting them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. (Now is a good time to measure the amount of rhubarb to calculate the amount of sugar needed.)

Place the cut rhubarb into a medium saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons of water, then the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until all the pieces of rhubarb have become soft, about 12 to 15 minutes.

That’s it.

*

Related posts

Rhubarb ice cream

At the market | Quinces

At the market | Celeriac aka celery root [Remoulade salad]

Tags:, , ,
Posted in At the market, Dessert, Easy, Spring, Summer | Leave a Comment »

Busy-day cupcakes

22 June 2011

I’ve made this recipe so often in the past month it’s not even funny.

I was looking for a simple vanilla cake for a friend’s sixth birthday and remembered reading about this cake when I first came across a mean-sounding poppy seed cake on Lottie + Doof. The busy-day cake caught my eye because of the name, and because it came from Edna Lewis, a Southern cook whom I know through the lovely cookbooks she has written. I own one, The Taste of Country Cooking, which I read as I would a collection of short stories. Each recipe recalls a memory, a way of life, a moment in time.

The book is organized by seasons and menus. There were many lovely excerpts to choose from, but I liked this one because of a personal memory – the first time I had shad roe in Portland, Maine. The menu is called A Spring Breakfast When the Shad Were Running. The introduction begins: “Because shad was practically the only fish we ever ate and spring was the only time it was ever seen, we were always much too excited to wait for dinner, so we’d cook it for breakfast whenever it was caught…”

A “busy-day cake” sounded just like Edna Lewis. It is very easy to make and delicious – light and moist, simply scented with vanilla and nutmeg. And it lends itself very well to cupcakes.

Both Leo and Balthasar were born in June, so I made these cupcakes twice, for each of their birthdays. And one more time because a fierce summer storm hit New York and postponed the party. I’ve lost count – it was a lot of baking and (cup)cakes in one month. I have promised to bake a marble cake for a picnic on Saturday but at this point all I really want to do is roast chicken and make rhubarb ice cream.

***

Barely adapted from the Busy-Day Cake on Lottie + Doof. The recipe is doubled and makes about twenty-eight 2 1/2 inch (6.35 cm) cupcakes.

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups (400 g) sugar

6 eggs

4 cups (400 g) flour

1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk*

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

3 tsps pure vanilla extract

4 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

*

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

With a wooden spoon beat the butter and sugar thoroughly, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate each one before adding the next. Then add, alternately, about a third of the flour, half of the buttermilk, another third of flour, the second half of the buttermilk, and the last part flour, stirring to combine the ingredient every time. Finally add the salt, vanilla extract, baking powder, and nutmeg.

Scoop a large spoonful of batter into each cupcake cup (the batter should barely reach the top of the cup – it will rise.).

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the batter is just set and as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.

* An easy substitute for buttermilk is to stir 1 Tbsp lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes

I made mascarpone lemon icing for the cupcakes:

2 cups (500 g) mascarpone

1/2 cup (40 g) icing (confectioner’s) sugar

1 or 2 untreated lemons, depending on the yield of your grater

Mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar, grate one lemon and blend the zest into the mascarpone. Taste, add some zest if you want a stronger lemon flavor. Ice the cupcakes just before serving and add a thin strip of lemon rind or a raspberry for decoration.

*

Related posts

Poppy seed and almond cake

Oatmeal raisin walnut cookies

Banana cake

Orange almond cake

 

 

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Children, Dessert, Easy, Year-round | Leave a Comment »

Oatmeal raisin walnut cookies

25 May 2011

I’m in a baking state of mind, and a bit perplexed by it.

As much as I love to cook, I don’t bake very often. Except when I want to make dessert for dinner with friends, and even then I usually manage to devise a non-baked sweet. But these days I’ve been baking walnut tarts and banana cakes, and, most surprisingly, the other day at 10 pm I felt compelled to try to recreate my childhood memory of a seriously addictive chewy almond macaroon. (It was an improvisation and not an entirely terrible first attempt. To be continued.)

This weekend I baked oatmeal raisin walnut cookies, for no particular reason.

The recipe is very slightly adapted from the Once Upon a Tart… cookbook. It has less sugar, fewer raisins, and leaves out the cinnamon. I wanted something subtle and understated.

When I first tasted one, straight out of the oven, I was worried it lacked something: some spice perhaps, or some sugar — why am I always compelled to tinker with recipes? But the next day I felt vindicated. They were exactly as I wanted. These cookies don’t wow into submission at first bite; they seduce stealthily, enticing, unwittingly, to reach for another, and another, and another…

Resist the temptation to eat the cookies straight off the rack. Wait a few hours and they will be exactly what you were hoping for.

***

Slightly adapted from the Once Upon a Tart… cookbook

1 cup (225 g) butter
1 1/4 cup (250 g) sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup (100 ml) liquid honey
1 1/2 cups (175 g) flour
4 cups (400 g) rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (175 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup (125 g) raisins

***

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. **It’s important here to beat the ingredients thoroughly, for 5 to 10 minutes.** Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with a whisk to combine well. Add the honey and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, the oats, and the salt.

Combine  the butter/sugar/egg/honey mixture with the flour/oats/salt. Mix until the flour has disappeared.

Stir in the walnuts and raisins.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Butter the paper. With a large spoon or ice cream scoop, transfer small balls of dough to the baking sheet, flatten and shape them with your fingers, making sure to leave about 1 in (2.5 cm) between each cookie.

In the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies start turning brown at the edge. The cookies will still feel soft to the touch but will harden as they cool.  [12-13 minutes works for 2 in (5 cm) cookies. Adjust time according to the size of the cookies.]

Wait until tomorrow. Store in a cookie jar or other airtight container.

*

Related posts

Banana cake

Busy-day cupcakes

Tags:, ,
Posted in Children, Dessert, Homemade and preserves, Year-round | 4 Comments »

Poppy seed and almond cake

4 April 2011

I wanted to write about this cake, which I made, in close succession, once for Louise’s first birthday, again to take these pictures, and another time in between.

It is fiendishly good. It also seems to be the object of a small controversy.

I found this cake on Lottie + Doof and it looked perfectly irresistible. But one small thing irked me about the recipe; the fact that it contains almond extract but no almonds, which feels like cheating, just a little bit. So I thought about adding almonds. I was slightly worried about the fluffiness factor so alluringly portrayed, so, standing there, in front of my ingredients, I pondered – a good five minutes – whether I should substitute some of the flour with ground almonds, or not. I decided yes. And barely half a minute later, I read the blog author’s response to a comment on his poppy seed cake post: “My recommendation would be to try the original before adding almond meal. The texture is what makes this so special, and the meal will change that.” I very nearly threw away my mix of almonds and flour. But I didn’t.

My cake, though undoubtedly much denser than the original, was also completely delicious.

The second time I made the cake I used no flour at all. Thomas insists it is the better version. I (respectfully) disagree. Without flour it is too grainy and buttery. This observation should of course be a hint that the initial version is in fact truly the best. Possibly. But I like dense cakes. Plus, the recipe without almonds can already be found in at least two places. I stand by this one.

***

Slightly adapted from Food and Wine via Lottie and Doof

3/4 cup (200 g) poppy seeds

2/3 cup (100 g) blanched almonds

14 Tbsps (200 g) unsalted butter

1 cup (200 g) sugar

4 eggs

3/4 cup (100 g) flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Zest from 1/3 lemon*

Powdered (confectioners) sugar for dusting

***

Bring 1/2 cup (filtered) water to boil in a small saucepan, remove from heat, stir in the poppy seeds, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

In a food processor, pulse grind the poppy seeds until lightly crushed. Remove poppy seeds and set aside. Pulse chop the almonds until finely ground.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 10 x 5″ (25 x 13 cm) baking pan with parchment paper and butter the paper generously.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, almonds, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the (softened) butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the poppy seeds until well combined. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate each time. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest. Then gently stir in the almond/flour mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve before serving.

*The lemon zest should be just enough to make the flavors pop without giving a lemony taste.

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Dessert, Year-round | 11 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »