Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble

This is the taste of late spring. My parents had a rhubarb plant at my childhood home, and each year there was a bountiful harvest. Other family members sometimes complained about having rhubarb-everything, but I loved it (even the orange-rhubarb jam that never quite jammed). Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (From Bon Appetit.)

3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
large pinch of salt
6 Tbs. (3/4 of a stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (can be made with quick oats)
1/2 cup husked hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (can sub walnuts)
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and halved (4 cups)
12 oz. rhubarb (bright red), ends trimmed, stalks cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces

Combine flour, 2/3 cup sugar, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Add butter. Rub in with fingertips until mixture sticks together in clumps. Mix in oats and nuts. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish.

Place 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; whisk to blend well. Add strawberries and rhubarb to sugar in bowl; toss to coat well. Scrape fruit filling into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle oat topping evenly over filling.

Bake crumble until filling bubbles thickly and topping is crisp, about 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Spoon warm crumble into bowls. Serve with ice cream.

Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting

A time-consuming, but amazingly tasty dessert. Be sure to line the pans with parchment paper, cool very thoroughly, and invert carefully.

Cake
2 cups cake flour (1 3/4 cup AP flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch)
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature< 2 cups (packed) brown sugar 3 large eggs 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk 4 tsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 3/4 cup hot water (strong instant coffee will do) Frosting
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbs instant espresso powder (instant coffee will do, but grind it more finely)
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1 1/3 cups sugar
16 oz chilled mascarpone cheese

For the Cake:

• Position rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees. Generously butter two 9-inch cake pans; dust with flour; line bottom with parchment paper.
• Sift cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla. Add flour in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk, beating until just blended after each. Gradually add hot espresso, beating just until smooth.
• Divide batter into pans and smooth tops. Bake until tester comes out clean, 40 minutes. Cool cakes for 15, then invert onto racks and remove parchment. Invert again so top side is up. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:

• Sift cocoa into large bowl with espresso powder. Bring 1 cup cream to a boil, and then slowly pour over cocoa mixture, whisking until dissolved. Add sugar and 1/2 cup cream; stir until sugar dissolves. Chill 2 hours.
• Add mascarpone to chilled cocoa mixture. Beat on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to high, beat until thickened and medium-firm peaks form. Do not over beat.
• Brush crumbs off of cakes. Place one cake layer on platter, spread 1 3/4 cup frosting to edges. Top with second layer, press to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides. Chill 10 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Chill.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

I like to think I'm a pretty good cook. I've made all sorts of things, from your standard grilled chicken to a variety of ethnic foods including falafel, chicken tikka masala, Moroccan braised beef, coconut curry, enchiladas and so forth. My cooking career really began with baking, when my mom taught me how to make bread (Sally Lunn bread. I won a contest.) I've made the typical chocolate chip cookies, brownies, raspberry white chocolate layer cakes, biscotti, and the ubiquitous rice krispie treats. I've made mousse, custard and real pastry dough. Last year, for Jon's birthday, I tackled my first real cheesecake (the type that takes days to make, not the kind where you pour some flavored cream cheese in a pre-made crust). I felt confident. On top of my game. Nothing could stop me.

Until I tried to make a Mexican chocolate cheesecake for Jon for Valentine's Day.

First of all, we do not go in for big, fancy Valentine's Days. Neither of us particularly like the holiday and my birthday is a mere 10 days before it. We tend to keep it simple and just celebrate by cooking something fancy. In past years we've done Chateaubriand. This year we were trying beef tenderloin in an orange and poblano pepper sauce. We were having margaritas and spanish rice with it. I thought, what a perfect sort of treat! A Mexican cheesecake! And promptly found a recipe for it online.

Saturday rolled around and I began working on the cake. I was a bit confused when the recipe didn't require you to bake the graham cracker crust at all, as my limited experience with cheesecakes has required that in the past. "No biggie," I thought. "I'll just bake it anyways." And so I did. No problems so far.

The recipe then requires you to mix the cream cheese (24 oz) with 6 eggs, sugar and vanilla. So, in the process of doing this I realize that the cream cheese isn't really incorporating with the eggs and sugar. I have this sort of eggy soup with blobs of cream cheese floating in it. I try a different attachment on the mixer. No luck. Finally, I strain out the cream cheese and put it in the food processor where it finally gets to be the right creamy consistency. Now I slowly add the eggy soup back into it. Except, we have a problem Houston. There is far too much liquid than the processor can hold and it begins to seep out the bottom of the bowl. I quickly add in the melted chocolate before too much more leaks out.

Having very little hope at this point, I pour it into the springform pan and there is WAY too much batter. I set the timer for an hour like the recipe says. After an hour the thing is STILL soup. I leave it in for another hour and then it seems to be done, though looks pretty bad.

After it cools, it looks like this. The ugliest cake in the world.



I took it to Jon's feeling quite depressed that I'd spent so much time (and used up perfectly good ingredients) on something that looks like that. Somewhat surprisingly, it didn't taste terrible. Not quite like cheesecake, but not nearly as bad as it looked. However, I will NOT use that recipe again. Lesson learned.










Because I'm a glutton for punishment, today I decided to try to make homemade baklava. Luckily, this process went very smoothly from start to finish and I am proud to present these goodies:



Haven't tasted them yet, but they hold much more promise than the ugly cake. I feel a bit redeemed :)

Laura Bush's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Those of you that know me know I am not soon-to-be-former President Bush's biggest fan. However, I have to give his wife, the First Lady, some credit. Not only has she stayed married to W for as long as she has despite his bumbling nature, her oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are fabulous. I've made them for the holidays the last few years and they are quite the hit. A nice combo of the sweetness of the chocolate combines with oatmeal, cinnamon and dried cherries. Just a note, the recipe makes LOTS of cookies, so I recommend a few things:
-either cut back on the recipe to make a smaller batch
-make them all and freeze some (they freeze quite well, I've done this before)
-bring them to holiday gatherings and watch them disappear.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 cups light-brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cook oats (not old-fashioned)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1-1/2 packages (8 ounces each) chocolate chunks (3 cups)(I think semi-sweet or bittersweet chips are the best in this recipe, the darker chocolate is delicious with the cherries)
  
• 2 cups coarsely chopped dried sour cherries (you can also use dried cranberries if cherries aren't available or are too expensive)
  

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Line 2 large baking pans with parchment paper.(yes, you do want to use the parchment paper)

2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and oats; slowly beat until blended.
3. Stir in walnuts, chocolate and cherries. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 350 degree F for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on pan on wire rack for 1 minute. Transfer cookies directly to racks to cool completely.

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 tablespoons white sugar 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup white sugar 3 eggs

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream 1/4 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pressurized whipped cream caramel ice cream topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2.	Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons of sugar until well combined. Press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan, and 1 inch up the sides. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.
3.	Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
4.	Beat the softened cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream, espresso and vanilla. Pour batter into the baked and cooled crust.
5.	Bake cheesecake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 5 minutes; then turn the oven off, partially open the door and allow the cheesecake to rest for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and run a knife around the edges. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack to room temperature, then cover the springform pan with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
6.	To serve, cut the cheesecake into wedges and garnish each slice with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

Schadenfruede Pie

I've not posted a new recipe or cooking experiment in a little while. To tide anyone over who has been disappointed, I direct you to science-fiction author John Scalzi who has come up with a tastefully tangible example of what the titular confection would taste like.

Enjoy!