Rhubarb Platz

Don't freak out. It's just a Mennonite term for a kind of Coffee Cake thing. And you must know that Mennonite + Coffee + Cake = The best things you've ever tasted.

I'm going to share with you my favorite recipe for Platz. You can use any kind of fruit you want, and I strongly encourage combining and experimenting. But my favorite is Rhubarb with a smattering of Raspberries. Peach is a very close second. Really, platz is the perfect canvas for whatever fruit is currently in season! That's why it's so great!

This recipe is super easy, and pretty quick if you know your way around the kitchen even just a little bit. This cake is the perfect addition to breakfast, brunch, snack time, coffee time, dessert time... I think you see where I'm going with this. There's really nothing more to say, so here you go. Happy baking!

Platz
Oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 (or 8x8) pan.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk (almond or soy milk works fine, too)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1) Whisk dry ingredients together, and cut in butter with a pastry blender, or process in a food processor.
2) Add in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan
3) Top with 1-2 cups of chopped fruit. It's up to you how full you want it to be.
4) Make topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 melted butter
Sprinkle evenly over the top.
5) Bake in oven approximately 30 minutes, until bottom layer is baked and topping is just starting to get golden.

Dutch Babies... whaaaat???

Yeah - not really sure who came up with that name... and I'm not sure I want to know! But for those who are still in the dark (heehee... funny if you read my previous post!) a Dutch Baby is essentially a delicious, fluffy, eggy, baked pancake, I assume invented by the Dutch!

I came across a recipe for this pancake in the memoir book of one Molly Wizenberg, author of Orangette (the Martha Stewart of food blogging, I'm told).

Anyway, I'm a sucker for pancakes, especially the soft kind that feel like a really thick crepe so I had to try it out. Following the mouth-watering pictures is the recipe, with a few minor adjustments. The recipe has you douse the thing in lemon juice and then dust with icing sugar. The only problem I found was that, because the side puffed up so much it was almost impossible to get THEM with the lemon juice (which, lets face it, was the best part) so I thought it would be nice to add a touch of sugar to the batter itself so the edges had a bit of sweetness to them. I would also recommend adding lemon zest to the batter if you're a huge lemon freak (I say it with love!).

Dutch Babies - serves 2 (seriously, don't feel guilty. actually, eat it with a fruit salad and some bacon, too)

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (unbleached)
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Topping: juice of 1-2 lemons, and sifted powdered sugar

As I learned the hard way, these puff up BEAUTIFULLY in the oven and fall completely flat by the time you take  them out. If you want a picture, you have to brave the oven-shot.