Amongst my family members there are those who clearly favorite one or the other, and there are those that don’t care, as long as it’s pie. And then there are those who don’t even like pie.

My brother-in-law loves pumpkin pie, my husband’s whole family really. Growing up they used to buy a stack of pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. I, on the other hand, love pecan pie. Specifically homemade. And guess what? November is Georgia Pecan Month, which I think speaks very highly of which is the better pie for Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, pumpkin is great. But pumpkin is better put to use in a cheesecake than a pie, in my humble opinion.

Which is your favorite pie, pumpkin or pecan? Maybe strike a compromise with Pumpkin Pecan Pie? Are you one of those no-pie people? Or do you serve an entirely different dessert at your Thanksgiving feast?

Photo by Cameron Nordhom

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Holiday • desserts	4 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • Dessert

Today is the fourth day in our Week of Julia Child, and boy are we having fun! So many recipes, so little time! Inspired by all the beautiful berries in our farmers market I thought a recipe showcasing their deliciousness would be fitting.

One of my favorite things to serve with fresh seasonal fruit is Sabayon, a wine custard, and found the perfect, easy recipe in Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom. Just whisk some fresh eggs with sugar and Marsala and spoon this creamy goodness over those gorgeous berries. That’s it, no fuss. Sabayon can be served hot or cold, but in the summer I prefer it well chilled for a refreshing reprieve from the heat.

Click below for the recipe:

Above photo: danielP2008

Other great vehicles for berries, or simply yummy recipes:

FXCuisine.com shows you via video how to make a Proper French Crepe
A beautiful Summer Berry Tart from Cookies on Friday
And this lovely Berry Soup With Cake Croutons (yum!) from Chow Vegan

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Categories:	Cookbooks • French • desserts • eggs	1 Comment
Tags:	berries • custard • Dessert • julia child • marsala • recipe • sabayon • Sweets • wine custard • zabaione

I love meringue. I love the way it floats, then melts in your mouth like a cloud. I’m embarrassed to admit how much of it I can eat in one sitting. Years ago, while vacationing in Paris, I surprised even myself. Poor Barnaby got a stomach bug and was hotel-bound, so I went out in search of something to soothe the belly: yogurt and medicine for him; wine, cheese, and meringue for me. I took the loot back to our shoebox-sized room and hoped that, by some miracle, he would be cured and ready to enjoy the feast. Not a chance. Along with my stinky cheese, I was banned to the tiny fire escape to snack. While Barnaby hugged the toilet, I noshed shamelessly on my cheese and wine.

Then came the meringue.

I pulled out the near-dinner-plate-sized beauty and even Barnaby in his deathly state exclaimed, “Holy crap, that thing is huge!”

Indeed. I took two hands to hold the fluffy white mound of glorious almond-studded meringue – the largest I’d ever seen. I had seen piles of them in the bakery window and am sure the baker didn’t appreciate my drooling all over the outside of his window. I refrained myself and bought only one.

Then ate the entire thing.

Last week my friend, without knowing about my meringue madness, made a stunning pavlova for dessert (she went to culinary school in Paris back in the day). I squealed when I saw it. It was a masterpiece. She formed the meringue into a bowl, into which she spread a lemon curd, anchored it with dark chocolate, then topped it with fresh blue- and blackberries.

Mon dieu!!

“Oh no, I couldn’t eat a piece that size!” I exclaimed as she placed an enormous slice on my plate.

“Oh yes she can!” Barnaby countered.

And I did.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • desserts	3 Comments
Tags:	Dessert • France • lemon curd • meringue • Paris • pavlova

Photo: Barisione

What is sexier than yummy gooey chocolate? (Okay, maybe a silk negligee but we’re not that kind of website). I’ve always loved molten chocolate cake – partly because of the oh-my-God-this-is-so-flippin’-good factor, as well as its neat little individual size.  I got this Molten Chocolate Cake recipe from Marco Barisione’s Weblog and decided to jazz it up a bit with a lil sumpin’-sumpin’ special. I want Grand Marnier added to mine and Barnaby wants Scotch. Since they’re made in little ramekins it’s easy to customize, thus making your honey happy on Valentine’s Day!

All you do is pour the batter into the ramekins, add 1-2 tablespoons of the liquor of your choice (depending on the size of the ramekin and according to your personal taste), give it a little stir and bake as instructed.

If this dessert doesn’t make you feel sassy, I don’t know what will! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Click here for the  recipe.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • Cooking tips • Holiday • desserts	4 Comments
Tags:	Cake • chocolate cake • chocolate lava cake • Dessert • easy dessert • grand marnier • grand marnier molten cake • molten chocolate cake • molten lava cake • scotch • Sweets • Valentine's Day

My grandma’s name is Betty, so this lip-smacking apple treat holds a special place in my heart. And belly. But, as much as I’d like to give my dear sweet granny credit for this traditional dessert, it came about long before her.

No one really knows who the real “Brown Betty” was, as there are a number of stories out there. I like to think of her as a tough and mighty pioneer woman who could wield both knife and saucepan like no other. All while breastfeeding one child, consoling another, cooking supper, laying a table for eight, and building a fire in the corner.

Ah, there’s just something us modern women lack that those tough old gals of yesteryear possessed.

But, thankfully, we have iPhones.

Apple Brown Betty

2 cups coarse day-old bread
6 cups baking apples (e.g. Granny Smith)
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup water
2 Tablespoons butter
½ cup raisins, optional

Grease an 11 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle approximately 1/3 of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the baking dish. Place ½ of the apples over the bread crumbs.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle half of this sugar mixture over the apples. Add 1/3 of the breadcrumbs, another layer of apples, then sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Top with the final 1/3 of the breadcrumbs (we also sprinkled a it of oatmeal on top. Not traditional, but good texture).

Splash the lemon juice and water over the top of the Apple Brown Betty. Cut the butter up in small chunks and place around on top of the apple casserole.

Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, cover, and bake an additional 15 minutes.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • desserts	3 Comments
Tags:	apple brown betty • apple crisp • apples • Dessert • Food • foodista • Fruit

Imagine…it’s the holidays and you and your guest have all stuffed your bellies to bursting point on delicious fare. But wait…there’s always that one little spot in the corner of everyone’s tummies that miraculously have room for one more course.

Dessert.

If the only sound you want to hear after your boisterous holiday dinner are sublime moans, then here is the pie to do just the trick.

Triple Coconut Cream Pie
Adapted from Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen

For the coconut pastry cream:
2 cups milk
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

For the pie:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the coconut pie shell: see recipe and instructions below.

Combine the milk and coconut in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both seeds and pod to the milk mixture. Heat over medium-high heat until it almost comes to a boil.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until well combined. Temper the eggs (keep them from scrambling) by pouring a small amount of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking. Then add the warmed egg mixture to the saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat until the cream thickens and begins to bubble. Continue to whisk until very thick, about 5 more minutes.

Remove from heat and add the butter, whisking until it melts. Remove the vanilla pod (I like to gently rinse it off and put it in sugar for later use!).

Transfer the cream to a bowl and place over a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until chilled. Once cooled, place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the cream to prevent a crust from forming. Refrigerate until completely cooled (it will thicken as it cools).

Once chilled, fill your pre-baked pie shell with it, smoothing the surface. Using an electric mixer whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla on medium speed. Gradually increase speed to high until stiff peaks form. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream over the entire surface of the pie.

For the garnish, sprinkled toasted coconut chips and shaved white chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler to create the curls).

Coconut Pie Shell

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup ice water, or more as needed

In a food processor, combine the flour, coconut, diced butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse to form course crumbs. Gradually add the water while pulsing. Use only as much water as needed for the dough to hold together when gently pressed between your fingers. You don’t want to work the dough with your hands; you just want to make sure the dough is holding. The dough will be quite loose.

Place a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the coconut dough on top. Pull the edges of the wrap around the dough, forming a rough flat round. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling.

Once chilled, unwrap the dough and place onto a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle. Add more flour if the round sticks to the surface. Trim to a 12- to 13-inch circle.

Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Ease the dough into the plate. Take care to not stretch the dough as it will shrink during baking. Trim any excess dough to a 1- to 1 1/2-inch overhang. Turn the dough under the edge of the pie plate and flute the edge with your finger. Chill at least one hour before baking. This will help prevent shrinkage during baking.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a sheet of foil or parchment paper in the pie shell and fill with pie weights (or dried beans) to prevent bubbling. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake another 10-12 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust has golden brown patches. Allow to cool before filling.

Note: The dough can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or in the freezer for a few weeks.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cookbooks • Cooking tips • Entertaining • Holiday • desserts	10 Comments
Tags:	baking • coconut • coconut cream • Dessert • Food • foodista • holidays • pie • seattle • Sweets • tom douglas • triple coconut cream pie

I love when my friend’s mom, Val, comes to town. Her English accent soothes me and, being a fabulous cook, her desserts never fail to make me swoon with delight. Remember her Apple Tart? Yup, perfection. Much to my belly’s chagrin, she was at it again last night with this divine fruit trifle.

First, I have this strange fondness for trifle bowls (and, for trifle for that matter). Perhaps it’s because they are deep, clear and seem to seduce us with, “I’m going to be filled up with creamy sweetness, the likes of which you will be unable to refuse.” I mean, really, what’s better than a big goblet full of liqueur soaked cake, custard and fruit?

Val’s glorious trifle was made with peaches, strawberries and raspberries; cake liberally soaked with Grand Marnier and homemade raspberry syrup (kudos to Tracy!); and custard throughout.

<Sigh> Excuse me, I need a moment to reflect…

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Categories:	Uncategorized • desserts	7 Comments
Tags:	Dessert • English trifle • Food • foodista • Fruit • fruit trifle • Sweets • trifle

If I were to live my life as a confection I’d definitely choose to be a cupcake. They’re cute, everybody loves them, and because they’re the perfect size you never hear, “Ugh, I really shouldn’t have eaten that. It was just tooooo much!” Unless you’re me, who gluttonously ate three of them the other day. But that’s what happens when:

1) you love cupcakes,
2) you stumble upon a bakery in your new neighborhood that just happens to specialize in cupcakes,
3) you decide your readers need to hear -more than anything else- about said bakery’s fabulous cupcakes.

So I blame my dessert debauchery on Cupcake Royale. It’s simply their fault that they had so many delicious cupcakes from which to choose and make myself happily sick.

The flavors we chose for our dutiful experiment were:

• Lavender: Real lavender buds in vanilla buttercream on vanilla cake,
• Coconut Bunny: Vanilla buttercream topped with coconut on chocolate cake,
• Peppermint Party: Minty green peppermint buttercream on chocolate cake,
• Triple Threat: Chocolate buttercream with dark chocolate bits on chocolate cake,
• A seasonal strawberry buttercream on chocolate cake,
• A specialty Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cupcake Royale was voted Seattle’s Best Cupcake 2008 and I gleefully concur. Their three Seattle-area bakeries whip up their diminutive sweeties bright and early each day. As they say, “Shelf life = Today!” Their “Rules of Cupcake Goodness” simply state: no preservatives, no box mixes, use only top-quality ingredients from local or sustainable sources, no shortening, hand frosted, and make them with lots of love.

Just like mom used to make!

I’ll be back soon for another round of “testing.”

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Sweets	6 Comments
Tags:	Cupcake Royale • cupcakes • Dessert • Food • foodista • review • seattle • Sweets

Peaches, peaches, peaches! They’re everywhere right now, and that makes me feel downright peachy (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

We recently purchased a flat of beautiful yellow peaches, and every day we’ve had them on cereal, with ice cream, in salads, sliced, grilled… The other night Barnaby poached them in red wine and they were so fabulous I swooned in delight.

Red Wine Poached Peaches

2 peaches
1 cup of sugar
2 cups red wine

Combine the wine and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the alcohol has burned off (3-5 minutes). Slightly score the skin of the peaches and place them in the wine. Depending on the shape of your pan the peaches may not be completely covered by the liquid. This is okay, simply cook on one side then turn over.

Cook peaches for approximately 7 minutes or until the skin peels away easily without a knife. Remove peaches from poaching liquid. Peel, cut in half, and remove the stone. Slice and serve in a bowl with the wine sauce poured over the top. For a thicker syrup continue to reduce the wine. It’s delicious both ways, and wonderful with vanilla ice cream.

May be served hot or cold.

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Categories:	Cooking tips • Fruit • desserts	4 Comments
Tags:	cooking techniques • Dessert • Food • foodista • Fruit • peaches • poached peaches • poaching • red wine • reduced wine

You all have been enjoying the limoncello recipe so much I thought I’d stay on the Italian train and give you another tasty treat. Bomboloni are the Italian version of doughnuts – without the holes – and are usually filled with cream, raspberry jam (or some other yumminess), and dusted with sugar.

My girlfriends and I used to sit in the Piazza della Republica in Siena, sip caffè lattes, and nosh on bomboloni until we were nearly sick.

Those were the good old days.

Bomboloni

Scant 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh compressed yeast
Scant 1/4 cup cold water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
4 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for coating
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Vegetable or canola oil
Raspberry jam (or pastry cream)

Dissolve the yeast in a small bowl with the cold water. Place the flour, eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the ingredients are dispersed, about 5 seconds. Add the dissolved yeast and beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed, until the dough is well combined and holds together. Add the cubed butter and mix for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the mixing bowl. If the dough is overly sticky, you may need to add about 1 tablespoon of flour. It is usually necessary to scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula to encourage the dough to form a ball and come away from the side. Remove the paddle and pat the dough into a ball at the bottom of the bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes. The dough will rise slightly.Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and punch it down to remove the air. Spread it onto a lightly floured baking sheet with your fingers and flatten the dough until it is about 3/4-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. It will slightly proof.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten it slightly with your hands. Cut the dough into circles with a 1 1/2-inch diameter cutter, keeping the cuts as close together as possible. Pat any leftover dough into a rectangle and cut more circles out of it. (At this stage, the Bombolini can be frozen for up to 1 week if well wrapped in plastic wrap. Allow the Bombolini to defrost in the refrigerator before proofing.)

Place the Bomboloni on a parchment covered baking sheet lightly sprayed with vegetable cooking spray. Space them 2 inches apart. Loosely cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. Allow the Bomboloni to proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, until they have doubled in size and appear light and full of air.

Heat the oil about 15 minutes in an electric fryer or in a 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat to 320 degrees F. If using a saucepan, check the temperature with a candy thermometer. Fry 5 to 7 Bomboloni at one time, any more than that and the oil temperature will dip down too much and they will not fry evenly. Fry for a total of 3 to 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Turn to evenly fry each side. As they fry, they will increase in size. Remove the Bomboloni with a large slotted spoon and set on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

While the Bomboloni are still warm, roll them in a bowl filled with granulated sugar until evenly coated. If desired, fill the Bomboloni with a jam-filled pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip. Use a sharp paring knife to make a small hole on the bottom of each Bomboloni. Place the tip of the pastry bag in the hole and squeeze until the Bomboloni feels heavy. It is best to fill the Bomboloni while they are still warm and the dough soft and pliable. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy Jacques Torres, Dessert Circus At Home, 1999

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Italian • desserts	13 Comments
Tags:	bomboloni • Dessert • doughnuts • Food • foodista • Italian • Italy • siena • Sweets