Perfect Peach Cake
July 17, 2011
It is hard to beat a fresh summer peach. At their peak, taking a bite of a perfectly ripe juicy peach is a transcendent experience. I find that farmers’ markets are the best place to buy peaches. The smaller farmers are much more likely to have a sense of the true maturity of the fruit they grow and allow it to fully develop. They also often give samples so you can judge for yourself the quality of the fruit. It was with these magical fruits in mind that I set out to make Perfect Peach Cake.
This recipe is slightly adapted from one in the last issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Once I saw it, I could not get it out of my mind. I began searching for a reason to make it, which luckily was not too difficult. The recipe involves some unusual steps such as roasting half of the peaches before adding them to the batter and sprinkling them with panko to absorb the excess juices that threaten to make a soggy cake.
Raspberry Lime Popsicles
July 11, 2011
Nothing beats a great popsicle on a steaming hot summer day. Unfortunately, most of the popsicles sold in stores may be cold, but they are full of chemistry kit ingredients. It is hard to find a popsicle made of the real fruit whose taste they claim to bear. Luckily it is very easy to make your own. Popsicles molds make this easier, but they are not essential. You can make popsicles in small yogurt cups, ice-cube trays, or even small mason jars as Local Kitchen did recently.
Raspberry Lime Popsicles are loaded with raspberries and just enough sugar to bring out their flavor, without being overly sweet. The lime zest and juice adds a bright tang. Mmmm. Oh, and the color. The color is so vibrant and real. Simply whirl up the ingredients, strain out the seeds, and you are ready pour this raspberry goodness into a mold.
When the popsicles are solid, slip them from the mold for a truly refreshing treat. If you are serving them to kids, you may want to make this an outdoor dessert or at least have a wet rag on hand. We had some very red faces at our house after the kiddos eagerly chomped these down. This is a dessert that grownups and kids alike will love. They are very, very good.
Update: Here is another popsicle recipe that has won over our hearts and appetites! Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
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Vanilla Ice Cream with Cherry Rhubarb Sauce
June 22, 2011
Our ice cream maker does not get much attention in the winter. It sits lonely in the pantry, waiting to be remembered. It is not that ice cream is not just as good in the wintertime, but I seem to be busy making other desserts and rarely break it out. So the other day when our first hot days coincided with my son’s case of strep throat, I knew it was time to make some ice cream.
The process of making homemade ice cream is simple. Cream, milk, sugar and eggs cook into a custard. The custard cools and then is poured into the ice cream maker to freeze. The difficult part is making an ice cream that does not have an icy taste. For a long time my go-to recipe was from Christopher Kimball’s The Dessert Bible. It is a great recipe and as usual his descriptions of the process and what can go wrong are extremely helpful. After reading a glowing review on food52 though, I decided to try a new recipe this time. I was not disappointed.
This Vanilla Ice Cream is rich and smooth with beautiful bits of vanilla seeds flecked throughout. It did not have the iciness that plagues so many homemade ice creams. Do not be tempted to reduce the fat here. Yes, this is a rich treat, but really you only need a small scoop. Enjoy yourself in moderation. If you really can not find a vanilla bean, you can use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, but it will not be as good. If you are new to vanilla beans and have questions about how to scrape the seeds, check out Marissa’s great video on Food in Jars.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
June 16, 2011
Two weeks into my summer vacation, I had a serious itch to make some strawberry jam. The problem was everywhere I looked the strawberries were either over-sized and under-flavored or ridiculously expensive. On a tip from a friend, I headed out Highway 12 just outside Sebastopol to Lao’s Strawberry Stand. It took three tries: first time he sold out, second time simply closed, but the third time is a charm. It was well worth the trouble. These strawberries bear very little resemblance to the strawberries sold year-round at the supermarket. They are super small, bright red all the way through, and absolutely bursting with flavor. They literally made me swoon. It is such a pleasure to take the time to put up food when it is the best quality. I was giddy with the thought that we would be able to enjoy these beautiful strawberries all winter.
The last few years, I have made strawberry rhubarb jam using low-sugar pectin and a standard process of heating the fruit and sugar to a boil, adding the pectin, and canning in sterile jars. It has always turned out good, but not great. Two problems I had were the strawberry and rhubarb both cooking down to a mushy pulp and the rhubarb turning a slightly greyish color. After reading Eugenia Bone’s method of slow roasting the fruit in a low oven, I had to try it.
Sea-Salted Chocolate Walnut Brownies
June 8, 2011
There is a rule in our house: if I am going to make something decadent, there has to been people to share it with (preferably out of the house.) Sounds sensible, doesn’t it? The problem is that from an early age I have learned to find the loophole in almost every rule. And here is the loophole: my brain is always inventing excuses to make decadent things and then share them. My ear is cocked for someone celebrating a birthday, a friend with a new child, a neighbor in the middle of a remodel, an unexpected house guest, you get the picture. So when a friend mentioned they needed a dessert for a moving party, I immediately jumped on the idea of making these brownies!
I adapted a recipe from Martha Stewart Living Desserts. Her original recipe is excellent. In fact it is so good that I have not been able to bring myself to try a different recipe since I discovered hers years ago. Martha’s recipe calls for baker’s chocolate but, I swapped that out for unsweetened ground cocoa because that is what I prefer to have on hand. She also calls for a half cup of chocolate chips, which are a nice addition, but I feel they detract a bit from the phenomenal texture and taste of the brownie itself. I left them out. Taking a tip from Cook’s Illustrated, the walnuts are sprinkled on top of the brownie instead of mixed in the batter. This prevents the top from cracking when you slice the brownies. It also makes it clear that to anyone with allergies that the brownies contain nuts. As a finishing touch, I sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top of the warm brownies. This adds a nice salty contrasting crunch as well as gives a little sparkle to the brownies.
My Pantry Shelf 