Maple Cake with Maple Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting

Let me begin by admitting that I have no skills whatsoever for decorating cakes. I need practice and patience. When it comes to baking cakes for occasions, I seem to run out of time for filling a pastry bag. But, I know I would enjoy it if I learned. Mostly, I want to bake cakes that taste delicious. Gesine Bullock-Prado is on the same page in that regard. In her latest book of which I received a review copy, Fantastical Cakes: Incredible Creations for the Baker in Anyone, she presents beautifully decorated cakes that are all about the flavor. She begins the introduction with a story about a cake decorating book she was fascinated with as a child. Looking back at the book later in life, she realized all those cakes were made with cake mixes and artificial dyes. So, she set out to create an ultimate book about decorating cakes made from scratch that would teach readers how to achieve great-looking and great-tasting results. And, as always, her humor shines through on every page. Knowing that depending on the convenience of a cake mix is handy, she even includes recipes for making your own dry mixes that can be stored and used as needed. There are explanations for different types of mixing methods that result in different textures. The paste method involves mixing the dry ingredients with fats to form a paste before adding the wet ingredients, and the result is a tender, tightly-crumbed cake. The creaming method is more common in which fats and sugar are creamed before dry ingredients are added. This results in a more stable cake for layering. Last, the foam method is for cakes leavened by whipped eggs to make very airy cakes. The recipes include options for all these methods. There are then fillings, frostings, examples of combinations for incredible cakes, and tips and notes all along the way. Reading about the Salted Caramel Pastry Cream made me want to make it just to eat it from the bowl. Then, learning about Puppet Dust opened a door to decorating without piping frosting into swirls. It’s made from cake trimmings or crumbs or stuck bits from the pan, and it’s baked at a low temperature to dry the pieces before pureeing them into sand. The sand can be colored whatever shade is needed. In the book, cakes are simply frosted and chilled, strips of parchment are applied to the surface, and colored Puppet Dust is pressed into exposed areas of frosting to create a pattern. The Zebra Cake was made this way with pink stripes. There are so many show-stopping cakes and brilliant ideas. There’s a Swiss Roll Sponge with a pretty baked-in pattern of cherries on the stem that cover the outside, and that’s a technique I have to try too. And, the Apple Cider Cake has filled cream puffs layered inside the cake and adorning the top as well. There’s a lot to experiment with here. 

As I read the book, Kurt’s birthday was fast approaching. I suspected he would like the idea of a maple cake, and I liked the idea of trying the paste method of mixing. I think I had made a cake this way once before, but it had been ages. The recipe calls for maple sugar or maple syrup. Sadly, maple sugar is exorbitantly expensive here. I went with maple syrup. To start, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt were added to the mixing bowl. Room temperature butter was added and mixed until sandy. Eggs were added followed by the maple syrup, maple extract, and vanilla. Last, milk was added and incorporated. I baked the layers in eight-inch pans, and there are specific instructions in the book for prepping pans before baking. There’s also a tip about wrapping and freezing cake layers and filling and frosting directly from the freezer. Firm, frozen cake layers are easy to work with, and the cold temperature helps to set the filling and frosting as you work. I baked my cake layers a couple of days in advance and froze them before filling and frosting. What really drew me to the maple cake was the idea of topping it with Maple Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting. In the book, it’s suggested that Instant ClearJel be added to cream cheese frosting to make it set better. Since I wasn’t transporting this cake, I skipped it. Also, since the layers were frozen, the frosting set while being applied. It was a mix of confectioners’ sugar, butter, cream cheese, vanilla, maple extract, maple syrup, and espresso powder. I loved that the recipe made an ample amount to generously fill between layers and cover the outside well. I separated the frosting into two bowls and used one for the crumb coat and the other for the final coat. 

I always fall for cream cheese frosting, but this was hands-down my favorite frosting ever. Espresso and maple make perfect partners. With all the options in this book for filling, topping, adorning, and sprinkling cakes, I’m very inspired to take my cake decorating to the next level. I might still shy away from the piping bag, but puppet dust is definitely in my future.

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Pecan, Oat, and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

A few weeks ago, Kurt and I had a conversation about sports drinks. We’d both been out in the hot weather and were feeling dehydrated, and Kurt asked if a good, all-natural sports-drink type of product exists. My short answer was no. But, the more I thought about it, I decided the best option might be coconut water. I personally have not conducted any scientific tests, but I do find coconut water to be very refreshing and hydrating after working out outside in the heat of summer. And, incidentally, when I choose a brand of coconut water, Harmless Harvest is my favorite. I want to point out that this conversation and the beginning of my preference for Harmless Harvest all happened prior to that company contacting me about their Harmless Movement campaign. I was delighted to receive gifts of a branded mason jar and espresso cup and coupons for samples of coconut water. My reasons for choosing Harmless Harvest are: they use organically-grown, special green coconuts and never use ultra-processed mixes or blends; their farmers use traditional cultivation methods ensuring unique coconut flavor goes directly into the bottle; rather than pasteurizing the product, they use a special multi-step micro-filtration process to protect flavor; their product contains no GMOs, no additives, and no preservatives; and theirs is the first-ever Fair for Life-certified organic coconut water. It’s very rare that I’m approached by a brand that I am so happily willing to promote. I was able to sample a flavor option I hadn’t tried before as well. Harmless Harvest makes a coconut water with Fair Trade coffee and a little caffeine boost. I thought a snack with some dark chocolate in it would be a good match for coffee-flavored coconut water. I pulled a recipe from my files from the May 2015 issue of Living magazine, and this not-too-bad-for-you cookie with no butter, no flour, and no sugar quickly became my new favorite treat. 

Not often do I shout from the rooftops about a vegan cookie with no flour in it, but this really is a delicious cookie. First, pecans are finely ground, and that’s what gives the cookies body and great flavor. To the ground pecans, oats, baking powder, salt, cornstarch, olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract were added. The mixture was stirred to combine, and the dough was ready to portion and bake. Keep in mind that this dough doesn’t spread or settle as it bakes, so after placing mounds on a cookie sheet, press each to the thickness you prefer before baking. The cookies baked at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes. 

Kurt’s favorite cookie is oatmeal-chocolate chip, so he was excited to find these cookies in the kitchen. He took a bite and declared them fantastic before I let him know they contained no butter, no sugar, and no flour. None of that mattered. They’re rich from the pecans and olive oil, nicely sweetened with maple syrup, and the big chunks of dark chocolate don’t disappoint. And, they go perfectly with Harmless Harvest coconut water with Fair Trade coffee. 

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Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

We’re all moved into our temporary home, and I’m slowly but surely getting acquainted with the kitchen. I’m not at all happy about the small, shallow sink that makes it difficult to wash large pots and pans. And, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to use the limited amount of countertop space. Despite these little inconveniences and my ongoing complaints, I have managed to do some cooking since we’ve been here. I’ve just been tentative about taking on baking projects that require space for working with dough. But, now I realize I was being ridiculous. I just read a review copy that I received of The Bread Exchange by Malin Elmlid who has baked all sorts of sourdough breads in different situations all over the world. She travels with her sourdough starter or creates a new one when she arrives at her destination. She asks to borrow ovens and seeks out the best flour she can find wherever she happens to be and makes it all work. And, beyond making bread in all the places she’s traveled, she’s also brought about a fascinating project involving trades of bread for gifts from other people. The trades aren’t about any kind of monetary exchange. Rather, her handmade bread that she’s watched over for hours and baked to perfection is traded for new experiences to learn from or things handmade by other people. The book is about bread and how she makes her sourdough loaves, but it’s also about her travels and experiences all over the world. Beyond the initial instructions for creating a sourdough starter and a handful of bread recipes, you’ll find stories and recipes from different occasions and locations. I do want to try the Rosemary Bread with Goji Berries. Elmlid received a goji berry tree as a trade in Germany. I didn’t know goji berries grow well in Germany, and now I wonder if I could grow a tree here. The stories meander from Egypt to Sweden to Bavaria, Poland, the US, and Afghanistan among other locales. The recipes include things like Fig Confit from an event in Berlin, Blood Orange Curd with Rosemary from a stay at a farmhouse in Bavaria, a Midsommar Cake with a Rhubarb Compote inspired by the Midsummer celebration in Sweden, Afghan Leek Dumplings, and Belgian Waffles. Since I still wasn’t ready to bake while I was reading this, I opted to start by trying the recipe for Maple-Roasted Squash Salad which was part of a menu from a roof-top party in Brooklyn. 

In the book, the recipe is made with pumpkin. I knew I’d never be able to peel a pumpkin easily, so I opted to use a butternut squash instead. The squash was peeled and diced, tossed with maple syrup and sprinkled with ground coriander, and then baked until tender. The next element of the salad was the yogurt sauce. Plain yogurt was mixed with minced garlic, and some red wine vinegar was to be added. I had just received some beautiful bottles of oils and vinegars from O Olive Oil and couldn’t wait to try the fig balsamic. I used that in the yogurt sauce instead of red wine vinegar. The salad was built by layering the roasted squash pieces with some yogurt sauce and topping it with sprouts. I garnished with chopped walnuts for some crunch. 

This salad was a light and lovely intro to fall. The roasted squash was completely of the season, but the yogurt and sprouts brightened and freshened it up a bit. The fig balsamic could quickly become my new best friend in the kitchen. It would be a perfect condiment drizzled over any roasted squash all by itself. And, now I think I’m ready to put my sourdough starter back to work. I know I can find the space to knead and shape some loaves no matter how cramped this temporary kitchen seems. 

Maple-Roasted Pumpkin Salad 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from The Bread Exchange. 
Contributed by Renee Baumann, SERVES 6 

I traded a loaf of sourdough bread, baked in the NoMad kitchen, for this recipe. I asked Renee to help me create a vegetable dish to pair with a burger but that would steer clear of the more typical burger accompaniments. I wanted a veggie dish that would stand on its own, complement the flavor of the burger, and showcase the agricultural bounty of New York. Browsing through the seasonal produce at the Union Square Market, the idea came to her: kadu bouranee, an Afghan dish that she had recently fallen in love with. Traditionally, the sweet roasted pumpkin is served with hot lamb or beef and a cold garlicky yogurt sauce. She borrowed the flavor combination and then took some liberties, choosing simple culinary treatments, with just enough seasoning to highlight the ingredients. 

MAPLE-ROASTED PUMPKIN 
1 1/4 lb/570 g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes 
1/4 cup/60 ml maple syrup 
1/4 tsp ground coriander 
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

GARLIC-YOGURT SAUCE 
2 medium garlic cloves 
2 cups/480 ml tangy plain sheep- or goat-milk yogurt 
Sea salt 
1 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus more as needed (optional) 
Sunflower shoots for garnishing 
Toasted hazelnut or walnut oil for tossing 
Purple carrots, thinly sliced, for garnishing 

To make the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Place the pumpkin cubes in a baking pan, drizzle with the maple syrup, and sprinkle with the coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 12 to 17 minutes, or until al dente. 

To make the sauce: Cut the garlic cloves in half lengthwise. Remove any green shoots in the center. Finely mince the garlic. Stir the garlic into the yogurt in a medium bowl and let the flavors meld for 10 minutes. Season with salt and the vinegar, taste, and add more as desired. If you are using a tangy yogurt, you may not need any vinegar. 

Toss the sunflower shoots with a little nut oil just before serving. Arrange a pile of shoots on top of the pumpkin and top with the yogurt sauce. Garnish with carrot slices. Serve as a warm or cold salad, depending on your mood, season, or schedule.

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Grilled Peaches with Pecans and Maple Meringue

I have to admit, I’d never thought about how versatile meringues are. When I received a review copy of the book Meringue Girls, I wondered: how many different recipes could there really be? It turns out, there are several. And, all of them are irresistibly pretty. The Meringue Girls, Alex Hoffler and Stacey O’Gorman, created a London-based shop that supplies these lovely treats for special events. Their meringues come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. It’s such a fun book with bright, cheery, pillowy meringues shown on page after page. The photos make you want to jump in and try several options. There’s a base recipe for meringue followed by suggestions for flavors and instructions for adding color and piping shapes. That recipe, in any flavor, can be used for all the various desserts shown in the book. There are filling and flavor options that can be mixed and matched for sandwiched, little meringue kisses like Lemon Curd mixed with poppy seeds and cream cheese placed between kisses that might be tinted yellow or Nutella Buttercream could sandwich chocolate kisses or maybe Green Tea kisses could be filled with chocolate ganache. Among the desserts and puddings, there’s Raspberry Ripple and Meringue Gelato made with broken kisses; a Pistachio and Rose Water Pavlova with Greek Yogurt, Honey, and Figs; and a Pretzel and Chocolate Marshmallow Meringue Tart to name a few. Since our Texas peaches are at the peak of their season, I had to try the Grilled Peaches with Maple Meringues. In the book, the halved, grilled peaches are sprinkled with crushed amaretti cookies before being topped with swirls of maple meringue that are browned. I opted for chopped toasted pecans instead of the cookies. For garnish, the peaches are drizzled with maple syrup. 

The maple meringue is made like an Italian meringue but heated maple syrup is used instead of sugar syrup. Maple syrup was heated to 235 degrees F before it was slowly poured into egg whites that had already been whisked to stiff peaks in a mixer bowl. The mixer was turned up to high, and the eggs and syrup whisked until the mixture was thick and shiny. Next, halved peaches were grilled, and I used a grill pan on the stovetop for these. I scooped the meringue into a piping bag to squeeze dollops onto each peach. I used a kitchen torch to brown the meringue, and I’ve realized the torch is the funnest tool there is in the kitchen. The peaches were transferred to a serving platter, I scattered chopped pecans all around and on top of them, and a little maple syrup was added to finish. 

The browned maple meringue dressed up the peach halves, and the maple flavor was a great match for the sweet fruit and crunchy pecans. This meringue doesn’t have to be baked, or torched, and another use for it is to fill doughnuts which I’d love to try. With all of these delicious ideas I’d never thought of before, I think I’ll be making meringues more often. 

Grilled Peaches With Crushed Amaretti Cookies and Maple Meringue 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Meringue Girls. 

Our maple meringue has a lovely golden color and is absolutely delicious. Here, we use it dolloped on top of grilled peaches filled with crunchy amaretti cookies. For a super-summery dessert, try cooking the peaches on an outdoor grill. 

Serves 4 

4 peaches, halved and pitted 
8 to 12 amaretti cookies, crushed 
Maple Meringue (see separate recipe) 
Maple syrup for drizzling 

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Heat a large ovenproof grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Place the peach halves cut-side down in the pan and cook without moving them until dark grill lines have formed, about 4 minutes. Turn the peach halves over, slide the pan into the oven, and cook until the peaches are just softened (but not falling apart), about 10 minutes. If you’ll be browning the meringue under the broiler, preheat the broiler. 

Fill the center of each peach half with crushed amaretti cookies and dollop maple meringue on top. Brown the meringue under the broiler or with a kitchen torch until golden. 

Carefully transfer the peaches to a serving platter or individual plates. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve right away. 

Maple Meringue 
This maple meringue uses natural maple syrup instead of refined sugar. It's made like an Italian meringue—you heat the syrup to a high temperature and add it to the stiff egg whites. The earthy and rich maple flavor really comes through. The meringue doesn’t need to be baked, so it's perfect for our Maple Meringue Doughnuts. It also works really well in recipes for baked meringues (you can make kisses with it) or as a topping for waffles. You will need a candy thermometer for cooking the syrup. 

Makes 3 cups 

1⁄2 cup maple syrup 
60 g egg whites (from about 2 eggs) 

Put the maple syrup in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Place over medium heat. 

When the syrup approaches 220°F, begin whisking the egg whites on low speed in a stand mixer. When they’re frothy, increase the speed to high and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks. 

When the syrup has come up to 235°F, turn the mixer speed to medium and slowly stream in the hot maple syrup. Once you’ve added all the syrup, whisk on high speed until the meringue is thick and a little shiny; this will take 5 to 7 minutes. The meringue is now ready to use. 

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Animal Cookies

Yes, I do a lot of baking. I go through quite a lot of all-purpose flour and granulated sugar, but I also love getting to experiment with various whole grains and less refined, natural sweeteners. Now, there’s a book devoted entirely to that latter category of baking. It’s Honey and Oats by Jennifer Katzinger, and I received a review copy. Every recipe in the book, which covers Scones and Muffins, Cookies and Bars, Quick Breads, Yeasted Breads and Crackers, Pies and Tarts, and Cakes and Frostings, is made with whole grain flours and sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, and sucanat. I learned that minimally processed honey contains antioxidants and beneficial microbial properties; maple syrup contains manganese and zinc along with other trace minerals and vitamins; coconut palm sugar contains B vitamins and amino acids with minerals and enzymes that slow its absorption into the bloodstream making it lower on the glycemic index than other sweeteners; and sucanat, the least refined sweetener made from cane sugar, has iron, calcium, potassium, and vitamin B6 that remain after its minimal processing. I want to start using more of these in place of refined, granulated sugar, and this book makes it easy. As soon as our local, fresh figs appear this year, I’ll be turning back to the Fresh Fig Almond Scones made with buckwheat and spelt flours and honey. I also have the page marked for the Date Bars made with spelt and einkorn flours, oats, and coconut palm sugar. The Chocolate Pistachio Bars are also calling out to me, and there are instructions in the book for making Maple-Sweetened Chocolate to use on them. The Triple-Layer Chocolate Sour Cream Cake is made with barley flour and is sweetened with maple syrup, and the Honey Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Honey Frosting is a beauty as it’s shown with five layers but can also be baked in a Bundt pan. 

I have a collection of little, animal shaped cutters that had been waiting patiently for far too long to be used, so I jumped at the chance to make the Animal Cookies. The dough is surprisingly easy to work with, and it doesn’t spread much while baking. It’s made with canola oil, maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract. After mixing those ingredients, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking soda were added. The dough was easily rolled on a floured surface and cut into shapes. I tested baking some of the cut cookies immediately and chilling some before baking. It was barely noticeable that the cookies that were baked immediately had spread just slightly more than those that were chilled first. They bake into crunchy, delightful, little cookies that keep well for several days. They’re sweet and nutty from the maple syrup and almond butter, and right away, they became an addictive snack. 

There’s an art to eating animal cookies. You can start by biting off the head and work your way around the cookie to the legs. With these, we had a little fun trying guess what each animal was supposed to be. The cutters I have are cute, but a few of the shapes are a little difficult to identify. There are fish and ducks and what I think are bunnies. One shape I interpreted as a pony and another as a puppy. The kitty cat shape didn’t work so well as it baked into a blob, but the fox shape was fun since you can bite off the tail. Mostly, these cookies were a delight because of the flavors of maple, cinnamon, and almond butter. And, now I can’t wait to try more recipes with whole grains and natural sweeteners. 

Animal Cookies 
Recipe reprinted from Honey and Oats with permission from Sasquatch Books. 

These cookies are rich sans the butter. The dough is soft, pliable, and easy for kids to roll out. Be sure to have enough flour on your work surface so you can lift the cut-out cookies.

1/2 cup canola oil
1⁄2 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1⁄4 cup nut butter (choose your favorite) 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, or 1 cup einkorn flour and 1 cup whole- wheat pastry 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, maple syrup, nut butter, and vanilla until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. In a separate medium bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until a soft dough is formed. 

Roll the dough out on a well-floured work surface to a1⁄4-inch thickness. Using animal-shaped cutters, cut cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are golden and firm to touch, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool the cookies on the sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks or flattened paper bags to cool completely. 

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Oatmeal-Maple Scones

Do you have a favorite breakfast treat? I think I have a pretty equal appreciation for baked goods in the breakfast category. I might be a little more interested in popovers and croissants than muffins, but I certainly don’t shun them. Cinnamon rolls and Danish never disappoint me either. For that matter, I can be made very happy with some toasted, good bread and a fresh nut butter. Then, there are scones. They’re rich but not gooey, just sweet enough but not too much, and they accompany a hot cup of tea or a frothy cappuccino perfectly. And, Kurt is admittedly partial to scones above all other breakfast breads. He notices when it’s been a while since I’ve baked scones and starts dropping hints. Thankfully, though, neither of us is picky about shape, size, or flavor when it comes to scones. That means I can experiment with any scone recipe that sounds interesting, and I found another one from the book Flour that looked like it was well worth a try. After sorting through bags of leftover nuts, dried fruit, and grains, I found everything I needed to make them. I did substitute walnuts for the suggested pecans, but that was the only change I made.

The dough for these scones comes together in the usual way, but here, it’s made in a mixer. Flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, golden raisins, and toasted and chopped nuts, walnuts in my case, were mixed in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined. Cold butter, cut into small pieces, was scattered on top and mixed for half a minute to break it into even smaller pieces and begin to incorporate it. In a separate bowl, cream, maple syrup, and an egg were whisked, and then that was mixed into the flour and butter until the dough just formed. Interestingly, the scone dough itself is only sweetened with the maple syrup and no additional sugar was added. Off the mixer, you should use a rubber spatula to move the dough around and make sure all the dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl are worked into the dough. Rather than cutting the dough into shapes, here, it was scooped from the bowl into mounds on a baking sheet. The portioned scones on the baking sheet could have been frozen at this point and then baked directly from the freezer, but I put them straight into the oven. As the scones cooled, they were topped with a glaze made from confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and water.

They had great texture from the oats and nuts and the chewy raisins, and they were filled with maple flavor. I liked the crispy edges on these scones that resulted from the dough being dropped on the baking sheet rather than the scones being cut. And, I liked how easy that made them to make. This was a winner of a scone variation, and now I have one more for the rotation when I hear those hints.

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Maple Brulee Tart

Breakfast has a good hold on maple syrup, and that’s ok because it’s expected there. It’s nice to wake up to the flavor of maple, but I think dessert deserves more maple time than it gets. I occasionally see mentions of cakes or frostings made with maple, but it seems to me there could more occurrences of it in sweet treats at times other than in the morning. I do have a thing for maple, and it’s possible this all stems from there only ever being one lone, maple-glazed doughnut in the assorted dozens we used to get. When I reached into the box and the maple-glazed was already gone, my morning was ruined. So, when I saw an article about maple syrup in Donna Hay magazine a few months ago, I cut out all the recipes to keep. There’s a cake and a cookie that I’ll try soon enough, but this bruleed tart was the first I had to make. The maple syrup is in the custard, and after baking in the vanilla pastry shell, sugar was caramelized on top to give it bits of sweet crunch on the surface. The recipe isn’t available online, so I’ll include it below.

The vanilla pastry was made first with flour, sugar, and baking powder being blended in a food processor. Chopped cold butter was added, it was processed until crumbly, and then cold water and vanilla were added and mixed until the dough formed. After chilling a bit, the dough was rolled out, fitted into a tart pan, and blind baked. To make the custard, milk and half and half were heated until just boiling before being poured over a mixture of eggs, egg yolks, maple syrup, and sugar while whisking. The custard was cooled a bit before being poured into the tart shell. The filled tart then baked for about 25 minutes or until just set. Last, the baked tart was sprinkled with superfine sugar, and I placed it under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize. This would have been a good time to use a kitchen blow torch for caramelizing the sugar because the edges of the tart shell stood taller than the filling causing the edges to brown at the same time as the sugar. With a torch, you could more easily direct the heat. Hence, I need a blow torch.

At the size suggested in the recipe, this makes a thin tart, but it’s rich enough that you won’t feel the pieces are lacking in depth. This is best served just after being bruleed. The maple will be fragrant in the still warm, smooth custard, and the flavor of the vanilla pastry blends well with it. The crunch of the sugar on top contrasts nicely too. Now, what other ways are there for maple to find its way into dessert?

Maple Brulee Tart
(from Donna Hay magazine)
2 eggs, plus 2 extra yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
superfine sugar for sprinkling (*Note: I’ve found that organic sugar doesn’t caramelize as well for a brulee, so I use conventional superfine sugar.)

vanilla pastry:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
13 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup iced water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-Start with the vanilla pastry. Place flour, sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. With the motor running, slowly pour in the ice water and vanilla and process until the mixture forms a dough. Transfer to plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

-Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and then place in an eleven inch, round tart pan. Place tart pan on a large baking sheet to make it easier to move tart pan in and out of oven, cover the surface of the pastry with parchment paper, and fill the tart with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake for 15-20 minutes, remove from oven, remove parchment and pie weights, and then set aside.

- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and maple syrup. Combine milk and half and half in a small saucepan over low heat. Heat milk mixture until just boiling, and then slowly pour it into bowl with egg mixture while whisking constantly. Allow to cool just a bit before pouring the custard into the blind baked crust, and place the tart back in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until just set in the center. Remove from oven and let cool.

-Sprinkled cooled tart with superfine sugar while pre-heating the broiler. Place tart under the broiler, and leave oven door ajar so you can watch as the sugar browns. Turn the tart to brown as evenly as possible. Or, use a kitchen blow torch to brown the sugar. Serve while still warm and enjoy the wonderfulness of maple syrup for dessert.
 

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Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies and Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

You know I love it when I get to bake some cookies and then promptly get them out of my house. I don’t need those little, tempting treats sitting on my kitchen counter taunting me every time I walk through the room. And, putting them in the freezer is no better. In this weather, frozen cookies are just as irresistible as the ones on the counter. So, when my brother sent me his cookie wish list, I was game. It was an opportunity to whip out the Martha Stewart's Cookies book again, try a couple more recipes, and then box up the results and ship them away. The book has 175 cookie recipes, and I’ve joked that I’ll eventually try all of them. I just counted, and I’ve made sixteen so far. Although not all of them are mentioned on my site, I haven’t encountered a disappointment yet. My brother’s list went something like this: oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies, brownies, chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies. I took some liberties with flavors, naturally, and decided to make the iced oatmeal applesauce cookies and peanut butter swirl brownies.

The iced oatmeal and applesauce cookies are a rather healthy option with only half a stick of butter, one egg, and a half cup of applesauce. Those ingredients were mixed with brown sugar and granulated sugar before the dry ingredients including oats, of course, were added. Last, golden raisins were folded into the dough, and the cookies were baked and cooled. If they weren’t delicious enough on their own, the drizzled maple glaze on top made them stellar. These could easily be one of my favorite cookies from this book.

Up next were the peanut butter swirl brownies. Making a simple batter in a bowl with no need for a mixer is always fun. Unsweetened and semisweet chocolates were melted with butter and then combined with the dry ingredients. Sugar, eggs, and vanilla were added, and that was set aside. Peanut butter was mixed with melted butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, and vanilla for the filling. Part of the chocolate batter was poured into the prepared, square baking pan. The peanut butter filling was globbed here and there on top of it, and then the remaining batter was poured over the filling. The filling was swirled into the batter with a knife, and the brownies baked for 45 minutes. They came out looking decorative all on their own with no need for added embellishment, and with swooping peanut butter throughout the chocolate brownies, the flavor was perfect. Getting to bake some cookies, have a little taste of them, and then, poof, have all traces gone from the house is my ideal arrangement.

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Roasted Vegetables with a Maple Balsamic Glaze

I’m not planning a Thanksgiving menu this year, and coming to think of it, it’s been a few years since I did. We hosted friends and family for the big meal for several years in row, but then got into the habit of traveling for the last few Thanksgivings. I actually really like putting together a menu for such a feast, so I may have to plan on being at home next year. When I do plan the menu, I like to include at least one dish that is completely simple and that highlights the quality of some fresh vegetables. This roasted vegetable dish fits that description. I used perfectly fresh carrots, turnips, and beets from my CSA, and roasting them alone gives them incredible flavor. I upped that flavor just a bit with a quick, tangy, sweet glaze.

The carrots were cleaned and peeled, the turnips were chopped into large chunks, and the beets were left whole with skin intact for roasting. I kept each vegetable in its own area of a baking sheet so the color of the beets wouldn’t find its way onto the other items. The vegetables were drizzled with olive and seasoned with salt and pepper, and into a hot oven they went. The roasting time, of course, depends on the size of each vegetable, so start testing for tenderness after 20 minutes or so. The carrots were done first, so I removed them to a platter while the turnips and beets continued roasting. When the turnips were golden and a knife poked into them easily, I added those chunks to the platter with the carrots. I allowed the beets to cool enough to handle and then rubbed off the skins before slicing them. The glaze, for two to four servings, was made with two tablespoons of butter, two tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Those three items were placed in a saucepan and stirred until the butter melted. I let it continue to cook for five minutes or so to slightly thicken. Then, it was spooned over the vegetables on the platter.

I like the look of separate piles of each vegetable, so the colors were grouped on the platter. Some butternut squash chunks would have been good here too, and the mix could be as diverse or as simple as you choose. You could even roast the vegetables in advance and then just warm them in the oven before serving. The glaze goes so well with the caramelized roasted vegetables, and it’s so easy to make and worry-free, it’s one of my favorites.

Happy Thanksgiving!




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Oatmeal Maple Bars

I just recently got a copy of the Greyston Bakery Cookbook, and as I read through the cakes chapter, I started mentally assigning each cake to a future occasion. The Mexican hot chocolate cake might be good for New Year’s, the steamed lemon cakelets would be lovely in the spring, maybe we should have the mocha kahlua cake on Christmas Eve, I want the fresh coconut mousse cake for my birthday, and the Bermudian rum cake would be great for next Monday because no other occasion was soon enough. After the cakes come the tarts which are followed by the cookies and bars. Since I wasn’t willing to wait for a special occasion to get baking, I decided to start with the oatmeal maple bars. All of these recipes come from the Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York which employs people from the community who may have previously had a hard time finding a stable job. Their made from scratch sweets are sold at the bakery, on the bakery’s web site and at shops and restaurants in New York City. There is much more information about the social mission of the bakery and the Greyston Foundation on their web site. I’ve never visited the bakery, but I had heard a lot about it, and the book came highly recommended.

As I wrote down a shopping list of ingredients for these bars, I kept flipping back to the page with the lime bars with white chocolate. In the end though, I chose to welcome the fall season with the flavors of oatmeal and maple. The bars are a mixture of oats, butter, sugar, pure maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, grated orange zest, raisins, and walnuts. The raisins were supposed to be currants, but for whatever reason, Whole Foods had no currants and I was too lazy to make another stop. The raisins were fine here, and the important thing was actually the orange zest. It definitely should not be skipped. The bars were baked in a nine-inch by thirteen-inch pan and then were left to cool. Once cool, a glaze made from butter, maple syrup, cream, and confectioner’s sugar was to have been drizzled on top. The photo in the book shows a nice, thick glaze that was drawn across the bars in lines. My glaze, however, was not of such a consistency. I tried letting it cool for extra time in hopes it would thicken. I tried whisking in a little more confectioner’s sugar. And, then, I gave up and just poured the thin glaze all over the top of the uncut bars and placed walnut halves in what would be the centers of each of 24 pieces.

My glaze may not have looked liked that in the photo, but it was delicious. The chewy, bars are an addictive flavor combination of orange, walnut, oats, and a hint of maple while the glaze adds more maple flavor on top. Cut into cute, little squares, these are hard to resist. Now, I’m starting to think those cakes don’t really need to be reserved for special occasions, and even if they do, I should probably test them first anyway, right?

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