Satsuma Vanilla Upside-down Cake
February 18, 2011
This is definitely one of my favorite winter cakes. Every year, I watch our satsumas ripen and dream of this dessert. I invent reasons to gather with friends, just so I can share this cake. I am not to be trusted with this buttery, tangy, orange vanilla cake without many mouths with which to compete. It is that good. Make it quick, while satsuma mandarins are in peak season! This cake would be great with any tangerine or mandarin. We have an overabundance of satsumas so that is what I use.
Upside down cakes are a new thing for me. Nothing against the legendary pineapple upside-down cake, but it has never really captured my attention. To be honest, I have a hard time veering from chocolate when choosing a dessert to make, especially in the winter. This cake is so incredibly flavorful, moist, and buttery that I really don’t miss the cocoa (If someone has an idea of how to make this better by adding chocolate, please let me know. Though as is, I think it may be perfect.) Using real vanilla scraped from the pod infuses the cake with a serious dose of deliciousness.
To make this cake, start by thinly slicing the satsumas. It is easiest to use a mandoline, but if you don’t have one you can use a knife. Be sure to make the slices as even as possible. Blanch the satsuma slices and then dry on a cloth. Melt the butter, vanilla, and part of the sugar in the cake pan, then arrange the satsuma slices.
Gently layer on the cake batter and bake in the oven until the top is browned. This batter is fabulous with other toppings as well. I recently made a cranberry upside cake with this base and it turned out delicious! This cake is best eaten the day it is made. It is delicious the next day as well, but the top gets a bit moist.
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Chocolate Pudding
February 13, 2011
Originally I was planning on making a decadent chocolate mousse for Valentine’s Day. I craved the over-the-top chocolately richness of a mousse, but at the store with cream in hand, I reconsidered. Valentine’s Day or not, I wasn’t feeling like I could justify my family and I consuming a pint of cream. Then I remembered pudding! Chocolate pudding may be the ultimate chocolate comfort food. Each bite sings of childhood, yet by using dark chocolate and the optional addition of liqueur, it can be quite the adult indulgence as well.
This chocolate pudding is very rich. It incorporates both unsweetened cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate. As with all chocolate desserts, it will only be as good as the chocolate you use. I like Ghiradelli, which is widely available in supermarkets. Feel free to cater to your personal craving. If you want something even more rich, use bittersweet chocolate in place of the semi-sweet. If you want a milder chocolate flavor, more akin to the kid-friendly box pudding mixes, cut the semi-sweet chocolate in half. You can experiment with low-fat milk as well. It would probably work fine, but I haven’t tried it myself. You really can not go wrong. Plus, if you have only made pudding from the box, I imagine you will be fully converted to this method. It is super easy and quick and the result is tremendously satisfying, just look at my happy Little Miss!
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Meyer Lemon Curd
February 6, 2011
Oh la la, lovely lemon curd. Lemons have always been a favorite. Growing up on the San Francisco Peninsula, we had a Meyer lemon tree. I would sneak outside to pick the lemons and eat them whole, despite my mother’s warnings that I was ruining my teeth. Now I am a bit (not much, but a bit) more sophisticated and like my lemons seeped in vodka or cooked up with butter and eggs (much healthier, I am sure).
Deep in winter when the trees are dripping with lemons, one fabulous way capture the fresh tang of lemons is lemon curd. This lemon curd is intense, lemony, creamy goodness. Meyer lemons work best here because of their balance of sweet and tart. You can use Eureka lemons (standard supermarket variety) as well, just increase the sugar.
Deep Dark Gingerbread
January 7, 2011
In case you didn’t notice (or you live in some place with obscenely nice weather), it has been raining A LOT this winter. (My apologies to anyone reading this who is currently snowed in or worse, lots of rain is extreme weather for us here in Northern California.) In fact, it rained nearly every day of our Winter Break from school. At first it was nice. We read books, built forts, danced, and suited up in rain gear for wet adventures through the woods. By the end of the second week though, the mere thought of constructing another LEGO plaything made me ill. Luckily my children love to eat even more than I do and given the opportunity they love to cook as well.
Caramel Apple Tarts
December 20, 2010
Oh, it is a good thing to have a refrigerator full of caramel sauce. When I set out last week to make a pot full of caramel sauce, I truly intended to pass it on to well deserving friends and family. As the days wear on however, I can see the supply dwindling. The problem is… it is really good! (If you don’t yet have a fridge full, check out my post on Edible Gifts! Chocolate and Caramel Sauces. ) First was the obvious, caramel over ice cream (which has possibly converted this chocolate faithful to the caramel side of the ice cream shop), then apples dipped in caramel (it’s OK to eat it as a snack then, right?), and then putting it all together for one holiday worthy dessert. Tonight’s dessert was part apple crisp, part caramel apple, entirely decadent and yet homey, the caramel apple tart.
This recipe has been sitting in my “someday I want to make” pile for over a year. It was originally published in Bon Appetit magazine, May 2009 by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito and originates at the restaurant, Baked, in New York. Here is the concept: individual tart crusts, baked off in advance, then layered with caramel sauce, sauteed apples, and crisp topping. These tasty tarts are then baked again until the sugary syrup bubbles up and the topping browns. The original recipe suggests pairing these with Cinnamon-Rum ice cream (and provides a delicious sounding recipe- you should check it out on Epicurious). I couldn’t manage the extra prep, so I topped it with good ol’ vanilla and a drizzle of caramel sauce. No complaints.
My Pantry Shelf 
