Dessert By Candy

It’s A Good Day For Cake

I have a two-piece aluminum tube pan for over ten years yet I only used it twice before yesterday. It sits quietly in my cabinet holding all sorts of baking accessories like stacks of silicone muffin liners and small tart pans. In fact, I fear using that pan so much that any recipe calling for tube pan gets the automatic “oh that’s nice but I’ll pass” treatment. Needless to say, angel food cake is not a dessert I crave.

Yesterday I was stuck at home waiting for a parcel delivery. The house was cold and I had the brilliant idea of firing up the oven for something that needs a long time to bake. With six gala apples staring at me from the kitchen counter, the answer was clear. Smitten Kitchen’s new cookbook has an updated recipe for Mom’s Apple Cake. The recipe uses exactly six apples and it is an oil-based cake easily thrown together with just a whisk and a mixing bowl. Best of all, it spends a lengthy 90 minutes in the oven!

Picnic At Home

Just because the weather is decidedly nippy doesn’t mean I should shelf my picnic basket until next year. Enjoying an indoor picnic can be just as much fun with a light hearted attitude! Last weekend, I prepared a picnic feast for a low-key celebration completed with picnic blanket, wicker basket, portable edibles, and even floating candles in mason jars. It was a fun and relaxing alternative to a night out on the town.

My menu consisted of simple dishes with vibrant Middle Eastern flavours. Although I generally prefer to serve everything homemade, prepared food can be a great source of convenience especially since I was short on time. As soon as the blanket was unfurled and the candles were lit, I emptied the spread from my basket. We sipped on chilled hard ciders and nibbled on granola-crusted nuts (recipe from smitten kitchen). Dollops of spicy sweet mouhamara halabiya were smeared over torn pieces of pliable lavash, both of which I bought at Arz Find Foods. Although I made mouhamara before, I was happy to let someone else do the work for me this time. Arz’s version of this roasted red pepper walnut dip is as addictive as it comes. I can never get enough of it.

Made Me Smile

I cannot believe it took me over six weeks before caving in to my cravings for pumpkin pie. I danced around the temptation by baking all manners of pumpkin baked goods imaginable. On this day of American Thanksgiving, I surrendered. Although what you see in the photo above was my breakfast, it was not a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. No pumpkin was harmed in the making of this dessert nor did I whip up a bowl of billowy cream.

My breakfast pie was a luscious custard of roasted red kuri squash lightened with mostly whole milk and a bit of cream. The bite of fresh gingerroot gave this pie more character than your typical Thanksgiving dessert but what I love the most is forgoing flakey pie crust for graham cracker crumb crust. Not only was it a better match with the earthy custard, it also took no time at all to make. I assembled my pie in less than 30 minutes and then it was off to an hour long baking in the oven. That’s one speedy pie!

When Baking Becomes Too Easy

There comes a point when baking becomes too easy. The right tools are available at my fingertips.The pantry is well stocked with quality ingredients. My hands are skilful enough to tackle most recipes with ease. I have a wealth of reliably delicious recipes to turn to. When baking feels so easy, I volunteer to bring treats to get-togethers at every chance I get. All I want is to cover my world, floor to ceiling, with cookies and cakes.

This may sound like great news at first but really it is not. Even though I have more than enough self control to resist stuffing my face with sweets 24/7, I am not sure my friends and family need the parade of sugar and fat. Saying “thanks but no thanks” is not a snub! We can still be good friends! I know exactly what makes dessert taste so good and moderation is absolutely essential.

Rocky Road All Grown Up

Being the dedicated marshmallow fan that I am, I cannot believe I never made rocky road treats before today. Only good thing can come out of combining marshmallows, chocolate, and nuts, don’t you think? Rocky road is the embodiment of excess and over-the-top sugary giddiness. They make me smile like a kid.

Of course, my palate is no longer that of a 6 years old. Mixing sweet and savoury and a little more complexity are more welcomed than one dimensional sweetness. I wanted a more grown up version of classic rocky road. I began with Alice Medrich’s Rocky Road Square as my starting point from her cookbook Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies. Her recipe is a base of vegan chocolate cake mixed in with walnuts, dark chocolate, caramel, and marshmallows. I like the idea of a not-too-rich cake base to complement decadent ingredients.

Excitement Of New Cookbooks

It feels like Christmas morning when I received a shipment of newly published cookbooks which were pre-ordered months ago. It was so long ago that I didn’t even remember placing those orders. Among the big box of surprise included gems such as Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem, Lara Ferroni’s Real Snacks, Liz Gutman and Jen King’s The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito’s Baked Elements, and Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I cannot begin to describe the excitement of flipping through the pages and making mental notes of all the enticing recipes calling my name. I predict with certainty that my winter will be filled with tasty home cooked meals and sweets when I am surrounded by such great company.

Last night I was glued to the television, unable to tear myself away from the changing numbers of electoral votes. Shortly after 11pm, when all the major networks announced the winner of the US Presidential Election, I finally left my couch and stepped into the kitchen. I wanted an easy recipe to keep my hands occupied while waiting for the concession and victory speeches. The answer was Smitten Kitchen’s Cranberry Crumb Bar with Mulling Spices.

What’s In The Fridge Salad

It happens to all of us. Dinner is almost ready but something seems amiss. Yes, a salad would be just the right thing but a box of salad greens is simply not an option. You scour the fridge for fresh vegetables and come up with a hodge podge of things that do not seem to belong in the same bowl. You bravely go ahead anyway and a new favourite is born. Say hello to Sweet Pepper Kale Salad!

I made a big pot of Ragù alla Bolognese yesterday along with a chocolate caramel tart. It was comfort food to the max especially after a gruelling day of exercising. As much as I love a carb fest, my menu begged for a light refreshing salad both as a palate cleanser and a virtuous addition. I rummaged in my fridge and found some red shepherd peppers, a bunch of lucinato (dinosaur) kale, a lone Gala apple, and a red onion. It took a bit of marinating, a bit of chopping, and a bit of tossing but an unusual crunchy sweet salad quickly joined my menu.

Please, No More Quiche

I love quiche but not enough to jeopardize my diet. Cooking the third quiche recipe (after Spinach & Pancetta and Apple Leek Goat Cheese) from Around My French Table got me thinking. What makes a quiche fattening? The flakey pastry shell and the cream of course. Eggs, cheese, and savoury fillings are heartily endorsed by my health-conscious mind. I was inspired to create an egg dish based on Dorie Greenspan’s Mushroom Shallot Quiche.

The pastry shell provides structure and the cream thickens with rich velvety texture. Making a crustless quiche using milk would only result in all the filling sinking to the bottom. However, a custard made with milk and eggs immediately calls to mind bread pudding. Stale cubes of bread add bulk to the custard and prop up the sautéed mushrooms. That was how my version of Savoury Mushroom Shallot Bread Pudding came about.

Banana Bread, Dressed Up

Some people scoff at artful plating especially if it involves humble comfort food. Why bring out the sauces and garnishes to complicate matter? If it is good enough to eat out of hand standing in grandma’s kitchen, fussy presentation is just pretentious…right? I know many people who subscribe to this school of thought. I cannot wholeheartedly agree.

I went to The Stop’s Food For Change dinner and came home with inspirations. The dessert of the night was a platter of crispy banana bread with peanut butter ice cream and coconut crème Anglaise. I’ve been baking banana bread for years but it never occurred to me to elevate this humble quick bread into anything elegant. I only saw it as a convenient way to use overripe bananas. That evening, tasting the composition of the dessert flicked on a light switch in my head. Like any plated dessert, it used multiple components that complemented each other by taste and texture. I wanted to try my hand at dressing up banana bread too.