CAKE!

I made this cake for a Christmas party the other night and it was a big hit. This is the kind of thing I love to make for Christmas parties. Decadent and rich- the perfect kind of thing to serve to a lot of people, so everyone gets a little slice of paradise. (Confidence.) Actually, I was pretty relieved when people liked it. It was a new recipe and the frosting was a ganache and really hard to work with. Next time I will definitely use this recipe instead. I wasn't sure how good it would taste or if the cake was going to be moist enough so I didn't bother taking a picture of it before it was cut into pieces. But then I looked and there was only a couple pieces left so I hurried and took this super crappy picture. I was glad for the almonds on the side and it was my friend Marie who suggested piping whipped cream on top to cover some of the unsightly blemishes on the top of the cake. (And the whipped cream was a nice addition to the cake anyway.) It actually looked really pretty covered with all those almonds and whipped cream. So if you want to impress your friends, bring this to your next holiday party! Oh, and as for the fleur de sel- I had some sea salt in my cupboard, but I completely forgot to add that to the caramel layers. I did add a large pinch of it to the caramel, though.

Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling

Ingredients

CARAMEL FILLING

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Large pinch of fine fleur de sel* plus additional for assembly

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

• 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream

CAKE

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee
• 1 1/4 cups almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped

Preparation

CARAMEL FILLING

• Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in deep medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to high. Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Whisk in butter, then crème fraîche, lemon juice, and pinch of fleur de sel. Cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

• Place chocolate in large bowl. Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let soften 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is smooth. Cool, then cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD Ganache can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.

CAKE

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each with parchment paper; butter paper and dust pan with flour.
• Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Add milk, eggs, and melted butter. Using electric mixer, beat at low speed until blended. Increase speed and beat 2 minutes. Stir 1 cup hot water and espresso powder in small bowl to dissolve. Add to batter; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans (about 3 cups each).
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Cut around cakes; turn out onto racks. Peel off parchment and cool completely.
• Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 layer on platter; spread with 1/2 cup room-temperature ganache. Spoon 3/4 cup ganache into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain round tip. Pipe ring of ganache around edge of layer. Spread 1/4 cup room-temperature caramel filling evenly inside ring. Sprinkle caramel with large pinch of fleur de sel, then 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with second cake layer, ganache, ganache ring, caramel filling, fleur de sel, and almonds. Repeat with third cake layer. Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Press remaining almonds onto sides. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• *A type of sea salt; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

Kid Food

I've noticed a bit of a direction change in my cooking. I mean, my absolute favorite recipe I've found this year has been for spaghetti and meatballs! I'm definitely not taking a lot of chances. I'm sure that's because I'm cooking for a four-year-old and a six-year-old everyday and I expect them to eat what I make. It's fine with me, though- I really do love that spaghetti and meatballs. I'll have plenty of time to try that recipe for Penang Curried Pumpkin and Prawn Soup that I've been holding onto. And until now, I've never really been into preparing food that is all about "kid-appeal" and less about taste, but my kids are old enough to enjoy it and I think it's pretty fun. I mean look at these fun cheesy witch fingers I made for Franny's Halloween party at school:

The girls and I made these on Saturday afternoon between Halloween activities. I think they are so cute!! I found the chocolate dough a little hard to work with, so I ended up just pinching off two small pieces for each cookie and smashing them under a drinking glass.

Owl Cookies from Tangled and True

Ingredients:

This dough is enough to make a large batch of cookies for Halloween school parties or Halloween home parties.

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Ground sea salt

1 1/2 sticks organic butter

1 1/3 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the dry ingredients well in bowl. Cream the butter and add sugar to dry ingredients. Beat eggs and vanilla separately then add slowly to mixture. Blend well.

Separate the dough. Take approximately 1/3 of the dough and mix in half a package of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. The dough will become chocolate dough and form a log. Roll the dough very quickly before the chocolate solidifies. Make sure it is a solid roll. Cover with wax paper and put in the refrigerator.

With the remaining vanilla dough (white) roll it out in a long rectangular shape, this dough will be the outer later that will encase the chocolate log. It should resemble a bulls-eye, an outer vanilla layer, with the inner chocolate roll. Wrap the log in wax paper and refrigerate until firm. Wait at least 2 hours or you can freeze the dough a head of time for up to one month.

When ready to assemble the owls place the semi-sweet chocolate chip in a small bowl for easy access. Place the cashews in another small bowl.

(If there are nut allergies you can substitute with candy corn for the nose)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the cookie sheets with butter. Cut the logs into 1/8-slices. On the cookie sheet join the two slices together, by pinching them. Slightly pinch the two opposite sides of the rounds into pointy ear shapes. Place a chocolate chip upside down in the center of each chocolate eye. Then place the cashew embedded into the center of the two joined circles. It is now complete.

Continue the same process. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Watch closely until lightly browned. Remove and cool on a cookie rack.

Thanksgiving Dinner cupcakes. I found these on familyfun.go. I cannot believe how cute these are!!!! The mashed potatoes- cream cheese frosting with a little cinnamon (pepper). The peas- non-pareils for cake decorating. Cranberry sauce- red crystal sugar. Turkey- pie crust baked and broken into small bits to look like turkey slices with a little hershey's syrup over top as gravy.

I think the cupcakes were a big hit with the girls. :)

Cranberry Lime Tart

This tart and I go way back. Way back to before Franny was even born- December 2003. The company I worked for held a Christmas boutique and employees, their spouses, or associates came and sold their crafts, food items, etc. One employee's wife was selling homemade tarts and cinnamon rolls and she was handing out samples of what I believe was this tart. We loved this tart! We all stood together trying to guess what the flavors were. I remember my friend Missy's mom was there and she was able to identify almonds in the shortbread crust. We could all taste lime. A few months or years later (I'm really not sure), I took these clues and headed for the computer to search high and low for the recipe.

It led me here. Cranberry Lime Tart, Bon Appetit, 2003. So I held on to the recipe, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reunite with such delicious memories. I chose a cooking club about 3 years ago. The recipe calls for Chinese Five Spice Powder. Leave this out! It will ruin your dish. Though the tart was a hit at cooking club, I was terribly disappointed, knowing it was not what it ought to have been. Not the tart I had tasted so many years before at the Christmas boutique at MyFamily.com. I decided to go for it one more time and make it for a Christmas party that my friend Krista was throwing for the ladies at our church. I left the Chinese spices out and was much happier with the result. Definitely the same recipe and I was so happy to try it again after such a long separation!

Cranberry Lime Tart
The white chocolate cream recipe is not very impressive to me. I followed this recipe as written, however, for two reasons. #1) I was too tired to care about a preferable alternative. #2) There are so many flavors in this dessert, that I didn't think the extra effort for a better quality white chocolate cream sauce would be noticed. I think I made the right choice. I also didn't bother with the garnish. I am so lazy about garnishes and picture-taking these days. But I'm sure the white chocolate curls and lime zests would have been lovely.

Lime curd
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel

Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup whole almonds, toasted, cooled
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cranberry Topping
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder* (optional)- Consider yourself warned. This is a bad idea.
1 12-ounce bag (3 cups) fresh cranberries or frozen, partially thawed

White Chocolate Cream
5 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

White chocolate curls
8 thin lime twists

For lime curd:

Whisk lime juice and cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in sugar and yolks, then add butter. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture simmers and thickens, about 8 minutes. Strain into small bowl. Mix in lime peel. Cover; chill overnight.

For crust:

Finely grind flour, sugar, almonds, and salt in processor. Add butter and vanilla; cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture just forms soft moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using thumb, press dough up sides to extend 1/8 inch above rim of pan. Freeze crust 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until golden brown, pressing with back of spoon if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

For cranberry topping:

Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Add sugar, honey, and five-spice powder, if desired. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Add cranberries; cook until mixture boils and berries just begin to pop but still maintain shape, occasionally stirring gently, about 5 minutes. Cool completely (mixture will thicken).

For white chocolate cream:

Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water; whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Cool completely.

Spread white chocolate cream into crust; freeze 15 minutes. Spoon curd over; spread evenly. Spoon cranberry topping by tablespoonfuls over, then spread carefully to cover completely. Cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Remove pan sides; transfer tart to platter. Sprinkle chocolate curls around edge of tart. Garnish with lime twists.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Look, I know everybody is trying to eat healthier now that the holidays are over, myself included, but if I don't get these recipes up now then I never will. I know I'm tempting you now but you'll thank me next year when I have an organized section on my blog where you can find all my holiday recipes!

During the holidays I never like to stray too far from the traditional family favorites. I decided on my Dad's green beans with bacon, my Mom's Christmas orange rolls, and raspberry pretzel jello. I used to feel a little embarrassed about serving raspberry pretzel jello. I think because it's a casserole dish and the name of it makes it sound like a relative of "funeral potatoes." I don't care anymore. I'll say it loud and proud. I LOVE RASPBERRY PRETZEL JELLO! That felt good.

Wes and Jen (Bobby's brother and his wife) shared one of their traditions with us on Christmas day- a delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu with a rich and creamy sauce. When we were planning the menu on the phone, I suggested we serve a ham on Christmas Eve, so we could use the ham in the Chicken Cordon Bleu the next day. Anyway, It was perfect not only for Christmas Dinner, but also the day after Christmas when Wes made omelettes for us. I probably don't even need to say this but I did not take this pictures. My talented sis-in-law Jen took them. I look at these pictures and I feel a little sad because my own attempts at food photography are pathetic in comparison. Jen, thanks so much for sending these pictures!


Mmmm... I sure am missing all the delicious leftovers.

Dad's Green Beans with Bacon

6 or 7 slices of bacon
1 large bag of frozen green beans (I like to use the steamer bags)
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp garlic, minced

Prepare green beans according to directions on bag. Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces. Fry in a large skillet until crisp. Add green beans and garlic and cook in bacon grease. (If there is an excess of bacon grease, drain some of it off. Just don't send it down the drain!) At this point Dad likes to sprinkle lemon juice over the top. Maggie likes to add a little bit of minced garlic, maybe 1 teaspoon.



Orange Rolls

Your favorite roll recipe. Make the dough at let it rise until doubled:

1 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
rind of 2 oranges, grated
juice of one orange
enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze (3 cups?)

To make orange rolls, take dough out of refrigerator three hours before baking. Roll out into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough. Mix sugar and orange rind together and sprinkle over butter. Starting with the end of the rectangle, roll up, jelly-roll style. Cut into 1-inch slices using a long piece of floss. Feed it under the roll and take each end of floss and tie a knot right through the roll for a clean slice. Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees in a greased muffin tin and drizzle with orange glaze.

St. Patrick's Day

Surprise your family this year on St. Patrick's Day with a traditional corned beef brisket! Serve it with a horseradish cream. (Whip some heavy whipping cream and fold in a tablespoon or two of horseradish.) I love this dish. My Mom made it for us almost every year on St. Patrick's Day. She would serve it with cabbage, boiled potatoes, and sometimes even Irish soda bread. (Incidentally I never really cared for Irish soda bread. I always serve rolls.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (5 1/2 pound) corned beef brisket
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 1 large orange, sliced in rounds
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 6 tablespoons margarine, divided (except I used butter. I hate margarine. YUCK!)
  
• 1 large head cabbage, cored and sliced
• 1 cup Golden Delicious apples, cored and quartered with peel
• 1/4 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch roasting pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough extra extending over the sides to cover and seal in the roast.
2. Rinse the brisket, and pat dry. Rub with pickling spice, and place in the prepared roasting pan. Arrange celery, orange and onion slices on and around the roast. Pour in 1/2 cup of water, and wrap aluminum foil up over the roast tightly, making sure the ends are sealed.
3. Bake for about 4 hours in the preheated oven, or until meat is tender.
4. About 45 minutes before the roasts time is up, heat 3 tablespoons of margarine and 1/4 cup of water in a large pot. Add cabbage and apples, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Occasionally shake the pot so that nothing sticks to the bottom. Serve with remaining margarine and sliced corned beef.

I was in the mood for something way more naughty that boiled potatoes, so we had Ina's parmesan smashed potatoes instead:

3 pounds red new potatoes, unpeeled
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 2 teaspoons
1 cup half and half
1/4 pound unsalted unsalted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepperPlace the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of salt in a 4-quart saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 to 45 minutes, until completely tender. Drain.

In an electric mixer with paddle attachment, mix the potatoes for a few seconds to break them up. In a small saucepan, heat the half-and-half and butter. Add them slowly to the potatoes, mixing on the lowest speed. The last quarter of the cream should be folded in by hand. Fold in the sour cream, Parmesan, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

I always love to serve a dessert that to me is the epitome of comfort food. Desserts that fall into this category for me are as follows: rice pudding (Lion House recipe), bread pudding with vanilla sauce, and Magleby's buttermilk pie. I am such a dessert tease. You suckers are going to have to be satisfied just looking at this pie because I can't give out the recipe! I got it from a member of the Magleby family and I don't feel like it's mine to give out. It's delicious. A homemade pie crust filled with a cake-like buttermilk filling, topped with a lot of raspberries and whipped cream.