Peach Crisp

After our recent move I now feel more comfortable in the new kitchen. It is right in the middle of summer here and given our love for peaches we had overabundance in the fridge. It didn't take long to find a great recipe for peach breakfast. Here is a link to the one I followed. I really loved it and even without vanilla ice cream it tasted great (we had drinkable plain goat yogurt instead). I forgot to take a picture of the plate, but as you can see there is not much left in the baking dish, so it must have been good. ;)

Note: I used 3 medium peached and baked in a good old glass 8x8 inch Pyrex dish uncovered for about 25 minutes, and another 5-10 minutes covered with foil.

Yeasted Buckwheat Waffles

I knew it was a while since the last time I've posted on the blog... There have been a lot of life changing events in my life. Some of you already know all about it. :)

Let me share with you another of my recent culinary discoveries - buckwheat waffles! I had purchased buckwheat flour on a whim so I can try it sometime. It is unusual since it is not really related to wheat. Given that I love the basic recipe for yeasted whole wheat waffles that came with my waffle maker booklet, I looked into having similar waffles with buckwheat. I can tell you the result is even lighter and crispier! Here is a link to the recipe I followed from Epicurious: Yeasted Buckwheat Waffles. The only change I made was to use homemade yogurt instead of the milk. Enjoy with maple syrup or honey! And don't be afraid to try something new. :)

Oatmeal Cranberry Bars

The long story short - I had some thick cranberry syrup/relish I wanted to use in a dessert. Then I remembered I have seen chefs do oatmeal bars with jam, so I looked this one up and found the following recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-oat-bars/. I followed the recipe using the same dry ingredients and butter but I baked it in 13x8 inch pan. I also raised the oven temperature halfway through cooking. I took it out probably in about 30 minutes when it was turning golden around the edges.

Walnut Meringue Cookies

I made these for a dinner party themed "Nuts about Nuts". I loved eating walnut cookies as a kid so this is the first thing that came to my mind. I like my cookies a touch less sweet and not as dry. These are somewhat fragile and sticky. The cookies on the picture are the last two left. They will probably not survive another day! Next time I can try making sandwich cookies with these, probably with light chocolate whipped cream...

Walnut Meringue Cookies
makes over a dozen cookies
about 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 egg whites
4 or 5 T granulated sugar
1 1/2 T honey (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Beat the egg whites until they start to foam, doubling their volume.
2. Continue beating the egg whites by gradually adding the sugar - tablespoon at a time. You can taste to make sure the meringue is sweet enough. You are shooting for stiff peaks. 
3. Carefully stir in the honey, then the nuts. 
4. Place about a tablespoon at a time on a silicon mat, or aluminium foil (no grease) 
5. Bake at low oven (170 F or below) for about an hour or two, checking on them every 15 minutes. I even turned the oven a couple of times during the cooking. When done the centre of the cookie won't be feel soft to the touch. If you prefer your cookies drier, just bake them longer. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Layer Cake

I haven't really baked much this summer. This one was worth the effort, and the extra heat. It is like chocolate heaven. Be warned however the cake is a bit dense (and moist). All you would need is a small slice to satisfy your chocolate cravings. :)
I pretty much followed the recipe from Food & Wine: Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake. I scaled the recipe to make 2/3. Baked in a 13x9 pyrex glass pan. After it cooled down I cut it in equal pieces and made the ganache frosting. I accidentally put too much cream in the frosting and I was able to fix it by adding some cornstarch - and it worked! It took us a couple of days to devour this little cake.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

I really like these lemon cookies. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light May 2008 recipe I found online. It is easy to make as long as you are careful not to use too much baking soda. It is better to put less than more. There are still somewhat soft after 12 minutes of baking, but if you prefer them crisper just add a couple of minutes to the baking time. I will definitely make these again and again.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies
makes about 20 small cookies
7 T all-purpose flour
4 T cornmeal
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
5 T sugar
3 T butter, softened
1 egg white, room temperature
1 T grated lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Mix the flour with the cornmeal, baking soda, salt and ginger.
3. Beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy.
4. Add the egg white and the zest. Mix well.
5. Add the flour in two additions being careful to not overmix.
6. Spoon over silicone mat and bake for 12 minutes.
7. Let cool on the mat for another 5 minutes, then transfer in an airtight container.  

Ginger Molasses Cupcakes

I was in the mood for something with molasses. These mini cupcakes really hit the spot. I haven't baked much with molasses but I do like its rich flavor. I adapted a recipe I found on Epicurious. I will certainly keep this one handy because it was really easy, quick and the result is delicious! Next time I think I will double the amount and use one whole egg. A small amount of chopped walnuts or other nuts would be a nice addition giving a bit of a crunch.

Ginger Molasses Cupcakes
makes 15 mini cupcakes

3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 T butter, softened
3 T sugar
4 T robust molasses
4 T boiling water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg yolk, with a small amount of the egg white

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a small bowl mix the flour with the spices (ginger and cinnamon).
3. Beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy, set aside.
4. Pour the hot water over the molasses and stir. Quickly add the baking powder and stir. It should bubble.
5. Mix in the molasses mixture and flour to the butter in small additions, mixing well after each one.
6. Finally mix in the egg yolk.
7. Pour equally in 15 mini cupcake cups. It should be close to the brim.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Pineapple-Coconut-Banana Upside-Down Cake

I was looking forward to try my hands on an upside-down cake. Mine didn't caramelize much since I quickly removed it from the stovetop. Nevertheless, the cake along with the topping is really tasty - great flavor profile. This is a winner for using canned pineapples. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light Dessert cookbook.

Pineapple-Coconut-Banana UpsideDown Case

2 T butter

1/2 cup brown sugar ( 7 T sugar + 1 tsp molasses)

1 (15 1/2 oz) can pineapple slices in juice

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed

2 T oil (vegetable)

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet (preferably 9 inch), sprinkle brown sugar evenly and arrange drained pineapple slices on top. Cook for a minute or two on the stove top to get some caramelization going.
3. Mix all dry ingredients (flour through salt) in one bowl.
4. In a separate bowl stir reserved 1/2 cup pineapple juice, banana, oil, and egg.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the flour and mix until just combined. Pour over the pineapple slices in the skillet, even it out if needed and bake for about 30 minutes.

Roasted Pineapple Tartlets

I reallized I have never really cooked with fresh pineapple before. While I enjoy a good juicy one fresh as is I wanted to try something different. I found the recipe from the Epicurious web site which is a great source of recipes. It sounded exciting to combine the tropical flavors with a spicy caramel sauce and the result was well worth the effort. I used only 1 1/2 chillis without any seeds, and substituted vanilla extract for the bean. I think the best servng accompaniment for these tarts would be just plain whipped cream instead of the ice cream as these are pretty sweet already. I think next time I would make these even smaller so I get more nice crispy crust. Great flavor!