Squash Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Thanksgiving may be over here in Canada, but we still have American Thanksgiving AND Christmas ahead of us. If you're on dessert-duty for one of these occasions this year and you're thinking "Everyone loves pumpkin pie, but sometimes after a big meal even that feels too heavy" then here's the cake for you!

It's a French cake, in that there's no leavening agent (read: baking powder/soda etc.) - the rise of the cake comes entirely from beaten egg whites. Another reason this cake is unique is the Corn Flour. That's right, this baby is gluten free (hip-hip hooray!). A unique mix of corn starch and corn flour are the 'dry' ingredients in this cake, and it gives it a more smooth, pumpkin-pie filling type texture. Not so much with the fluffy and the crumbs, which in my opinion is a grand change!

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, French Taste by Laura Calder - you can find it here. Making it is a breeze and hardly takes any time at all. Orange zest and rum (I use dark spiced) perk up this cake and make it a real treat for dessert or breakfast ;) I've made this cake twice, once with pumpkin and once with butternut squash and I have to say: the squash is my favorite. It's a milder squash-y flavor and come on, look at that gorgeous yellow batter! Top it off with some cinnamon whipped cream and you've got yourself a new holiday favorite! Virtually guilt-free.

Lavender + Honey Cupcakes

Lavender is one of those really trendy things in the world of baking right now. Usually I stay away from trends, but when flowers and baking meet I can't stay away. I'm a floral girl - I love having flowers in the kitchen, in my bedroom, outside my window, given to me for no reason, and printed on my dresses. Naturally, when people started baking and cooking gorgeous things with flowers I was drawn in. I'm hoping this will be the first in many floral recipes I post, but my to-do list is long and summer is short. 

I made these cupcakes for a bridal shower and not only are they gorgeous, sloppy roses aside*, but they are delicious. Truthfully, they do taste mostly like butter since lavender is quite a subtle flavor - but butter has always been the perfect vehicle for subtle flavors, right? Here they are, Lavender + Honey Cupcakes.

*if you ever find your baking turns out a little bit messy and not quite "perfect" just call it RUSTIC! Works every time*

Lavender + Honey Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 12

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon dried lavender (make sure it  was meant for culinary use, or grown by you!)

185g unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons honey (floral is great)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1) Preheat the oven to 350. Put the lavender and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined and the lavender has been chopped up a bit.

2) Put the butter, lavender sugar, and honey in the bowl of a mixer and beat until creamy and light. (If at this point you're saying "AGH I forgot to put the butter out to soften! Don't worry, I forget all the time - just cut it into big cubes and zap it in the microwave for 5 seconds at a time. Really, only 5 at a time - and please make sure you stop before it's actually melting)

3) Slow the mixer and add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder and gently fold/mix until well combined, but don't overmix. It should be a fairly stiff batter.

4) Scoop into muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 18 - 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

For the frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons honey

1) In a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and honey.

2) Slow the mixer and add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. You may have to add more sugar than the recipe calls for, but keep in mind that if you put the frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes it will firm up a bit.

3) Fill a piping bag, or simply spread the frosting on the cupcakes. To make roses better than the ones shown below, try this: http://www.createdby-diane.com/2010/08/video-how-to-frost-a-rose-on-a-cupcake-in-20-seconds.html

4) Sprinkle with a few buds of lavender, or drizzle with more honey, and enjoy!

The rose needs some work, but it's not bad!

*sigh* they're so pretty

I love it when a recipe turns out pretty AND tasty!

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.

Cherry Creme-Fraiche Tart

It looked so delicious. And so easy. Hardly any ingredients in the custard filling, and the promise of that cookie-crust was very alluring. My track record when it comes to pie crusts and tarts had been pretty good until now. So I didn't hesitate at all when I decided to make this tart. With it's high sides and the ruby red cherries playing peek-a-boo, it was a no-brainer.

I was not prepared for the drama that would follow. I know, you're probably starting to get a little tense right now right now, "Oh no! Did it turn out? Is everything OK??". *deep breath* Everything turned out fine, but... *heavy sigh* ... I almost didn't make it. There were two very distinct moments where I almost threw in the tea-towel and threw out that tart. I'm sure, had someone else been there with me, the epic battle of wills would have shown clearly on my face. It's not worth it! Get it out of here and move on! Try something new - it's for your own good! No, I can't... "no man gets left behind", remember? I will not give up! COME ON soldier, fight!

 You may think I've gone on a tangent and maybe I'm talking about a movie now, but no. Those were the real thoughts rolling around in my mind.

Anyway, to dial down the crazy a little, the tart came out beautifully in the end, though not until I took that first bite was I convinced it would be any good. Follow the captions below to read the story, and despite my errors you really should try to make it. It's very much worth it. It's from Laura Calder's French Taste book. It can be found here. (Looks pretty different, hey?)

The crust was really tricky. It was basically a shortbread, and for some reason it just refused to roll out into one circle. I had to push it into the pan in pieces, fearing that when it came time to cut the dang thing it would crack and crumble like the walls of Jericho.

I had wanted to make a high sided tart for so long. I then realized I was going to need a BUTT LOAD of beans if I was going to keep this thing from collapsing while the crust baked.

The tart took twice as long in the oven as it was supposed to, hence the burnt crust. The first time I checked it and realized it wasn't even close to setting, I almost quit again.

BUT I didn't give up and when it had finally set and cooled I broke off the burnt bits and it actually gave the tart a very rustic feel!

Look at those gorgeous cherries peeking out!

I couldn't find regular creme fraiche, just a lemon one, but that turned out to be much better in the end! I would do it that way again next time.

Introducing, Madeleine

I have been wanting a Madeleine pan forEVER. I'll admit - ever since watching that Friends episode where Ross and Rachel hire a male nanny and he makes Madeleines. Ross makes fun of him for this but when Monica asks him how they were, he says "Lighter than air," and closes his eyes in that funny Ross-like way before declaring "That's not the point!" I finally decided there was no reason I needed to end yet another year without having made these beautiful little tea cakes, so I marched out and bought me a good-for-only-one-thing pan!
Yay Madeleines!

Aren't they cute? They're so buttery and spongey - it's a good thing they're small!
I used this Martha Stewart recipe and added lemon zest to the batter. They can be very easily adapted so don't be afraid to add other flavours to them! Just make sure you're patient and use decent technique when you're folding the batter - this is important!

Because you have to do a Valentine's post

I was feeling a little bit left out this morning as I was catching up on my favorite blogs - almost everyone had some kind of Valentine's post. I've never been a big Valentine's celebrator (something about all the pink, and the fact that there's no real occasion... you should love people everyday), so I hadn't exactly planned ahead on this one. Luckily, my Facebook page is filled with photos of food, so its always easy to pull something together!

I made these cupcakes last year, for a my Grandpa's birthday, which happens to fall close to Valentine's Day. I'm also not big on cupcakes either, so this is a pretty rare post!

Nevertheless, they looked gorgeous, and they were rather delicious. The batter was just a regular white cupcake recipe with smashed up frozen raspberries added. The icing was also simple, a standard icing sugar frosting - but for the liquid I used the juice of the raspberries! That added color and flavor. The chocolate hearts on top are the real reason for this post, though. They look so amazing, and they really are easy! Observe:

Melt Chocolate (use your discretion as to how much you need.... no one ever complained about leftover chocolate!) in the microwave, going about 15 seconds at a time and stirring. Stop when there are just a few chunks of chocolate left, and stir until it's all melted. You CAN actually burn chocolate in the microwave.
Fill a piping bag or a plastic bag with the chocolate. (Snip off a very small tip if using a plastic bag)
On a baking sheet lined with wax paper pipe a heart shape (the chocolate may come out very fast) and fill in the center with random swirls and lines. Make sure most of them connect to the outline of the heart.
Repeat.
Pop the tray in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The hearts will come off very easily, and you can stand them up or lay them on your cupcakes!

Appetizer Party

I have mentioned before a few recipes from the book A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of the blog Orangette. Well, here comes another one! For a Christmas appetizer party this year, I couldn't resist making the miniature "BLT"s shown on the bottom tier above. The description and ingredients list sounded so amazing, and while there was some fiddly assembling required, there was nothing difficult about these. I strongly encourage you to give them a shot the next time you feel like you need an impressive appetizer!

Little Corn Cakes with Bacon, Tomato, and Avocado
For the Roasted Tomatoes:
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes (about 30), halved
2 tsp. olive oil
Preheat oven to 325'F. Put the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Gently toss using your hands, and arrange them cut side up. Bake for 30-35 min, until they shrink slightly and edges are shriveled. Set aside to cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead)
For the Bacon:
10 slices thin-cut bacon
Turn oven temperature to 400'F. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake until the fat begins to render, about 5 min. Rotate the pan, and continue to bake until crisp, 5-6 min. more. Transfer with tongs to a paper-towel lined plate, and cool briefly. Using your fingers, snap each strip of bacon into 5 or 6 small "chips", about 1-11/2 inches long.
For the Corn Cakes:
1 medium ear of corn
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1/2 cup cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup whole milk (not low fat or nonfat)
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. canola oil, plus more for pan
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Put a small, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. While it warms, use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the ear of corn. When the pan is hot, add the kernels and cook, shaking the pan occasionally until the corn is browned and fragrant - about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, and scrape the kernels into the bowl of a food processor. Allow to cool.
While the corn cools, prepare the batter. In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to mix well.
In a measuring pitcher, combine the milk, water, oil, and maple syrup - whisking with a fork to blend.
When the corn is cool, process briefly in the food processor until finely chopped. You want some texture. Add the corn to the dry ingredients along with the wet ingredients and the vinegar, and whisk just to combine. The batter will foam a bit and thicken. Rest it for 5 minutes.
Warm a non-stick pan over medium heat. Brush it lightly with oil. Scoop the batter by the teaspoonful into the pan, forming round cakes about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Do not crowd the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, then gently flip when golden and continue cooking until the second side is cooked.
Transfer the finished cakes to a platter, brushing the pan lightly with oil between each batch.
To Finish the Cakes:
Top each cake with a smear of mayonnaise. Place a small slice of Avocado on top of the mayo, followed by a 'chip' of bacon, then a roasted tomato half, and finally a thin ribbon of Basil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and serve immediately. 


On the middle tier of the tray I adapted this Martha Stewart recipe for a Pastry Wreath into individual Cream Puffs. Orange Rum Pastry Cream is the filling, and I topped them with whipped cream and a homemade Orangette (candied orange peel).

 

Almond + Cherry Petits Fours

Petits Fours are one of those elegant French desserts that look too beautiful to be easy. Fortunately, as I've recently been learning, French food (especially the baking!) is not always complicated. Sometimes there is assembly required, but I enjoy focussing on something detailed that I'm doing with my hands for a change.

At it's basic form, this is a sponge cake layered with jam and topped with icing. Traditionally each square is iced all the way around so it really is an individual cake, but I was in a hurry (and afraid I didn't have enough icing!) so I just drizzled them individually, so some ran rustically down the sides. :)

This recipe is an almond batter (don't freak out, its not hard!) with cherry jam in the middle. For almond paste, you can use marzipan. For the flowers, I went to Michaels - they're not as dainty as the original picture, but to my family they were quite impressive!

Lemon Crepe Cake

It's almost Christmas.
If your life is even a bit similar to mine, you have probably already say 'yes' to as many holiday-functions as your calendar can comfortably fit, which probably means that you've said 'yes' to bringing as many meals/desserts/appetizers/drinks/etc as your budget can comfortably (uncomfortably?) manage.

As much as I love the class Christmas dishes (mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, loads of cookies, spinach dip), sometimes it gets a little boring and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. SO. If you're on dessert-duty for a function and have a wee bit o' time, I present to you the crepe cake! I've made this one a couple times, and it's been a big hit (not to mention delicious!). It is not hard in the least, but it does take time, so read the recipe fully. You can prepare almost everything ahead of time, so plan for that if you can.

This recipe is actually a spin-off from the legendary Mille-Crepe Cake (Thousand Crepes... don't worry, you only need 15), which I have also been longing to try. It's simply crepes with beautiful pastry cream in between the layers. But this lemon one is so fantastically decadent, and somehow light and rich at the same time.

Go ahead, try it! Bring it to one of your Christmas parties and you will be famous forever. I promise.
Click here to link to the recipe, from Martha Stewart.