tahini cake with chocolate

 This cake was quite good.  I adjusted it a lot and it still turned out good.  It rose a lot which surprised me.  I went short on oil because it was the end of the bottle, and a bit more tahini to finish that jar.  I used one large duck egg instead of the egg + yolk, and I used whole wheat flour and dark chocolate.  Next time I would skip the topping and just mix everything in.  Most of it got frozen; not sure it will stay good for long because I cut the sugar so much.  

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil 
• ⅔ cup/170 grams tahini, well-stirred
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¾ cup/177 milliliters whole milk
• ¾ cup/150 grams plus 2 tablespoons sugar (I reduced to 1/4 cup + 1 T; no need for sugar on top)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup/115 grams coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate
• ¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted (recipe called for some to be on top but it made it messy) 

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350. Line 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and tahini. Add the egg, egg yolk and milk and whisk until completely smooth. Whisk in sugar and the vanilla. 
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold in chocolate and sesame seeds. 
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is puffed and set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. To serve, cut the cooled cake into 16 pieces. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw uncovered at room temperature before serving. 

 

chocolate cherry cake

 this was tasty, from here.

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) hot water or coffee
• ⅓ cup (30g) cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour, sifted will try with whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar  recipe called for 1 cup but just 1/3 was fine. 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup vegetable/canola oil**
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups (230g/8 oz) fresh cherries, pitted and halved (for other options, see notes)***
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup  chocolate chips or chunks 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and grease an 8×8-inch square pan or 9-inch round.  I used parchment paper. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water (or coffee) and cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly until warm.

3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4. In another medium bowl, mix together eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and liquid-cocoa mixture. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix—the less you mix, the lighter the cake will be. It will be a slightly runny batter.

5. In a small bowl, toss cherries with 2 teaspoons flour in order to prevent cherries from sinking during baking. Add cherries and chocolate chips to cake batter and stir just until combined.

6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (repeat testing if your toothpick runs into a cherry). The internal temperature of the cake should be 205℉ / 96℃ if using an internal thermometer. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Dust the top with powdered sugar or top with chocolate ganache.

8. Serve at room temperature. Cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

*To make a bigger cake, multiply the recipe by 1.5 and use a 13×9-inch pan. You may need to bake the cake a few minutes longer.

**I used oil to keep the cake moist for longer, but you can replace half of it with 50g melted butter for flavor if you prefer. This would no longer make it a dairy-free cake. However, this cake is already so flavorful that I don’t find it necessary.

***Fresh sour cherries are my favorite option, but you can use any type of fresh cherries you like as well as frozen or canned. If using frozen, use them straight from the freezer, without thawing, mixing them with some flour and then immediately folding them into the batter. Canned cherries can also be used as long as you make sure to drain them well and dry them with paper towels, or else the juices will seep into the cake and affect its texture and taste.

 

berry millet cake

 This berry millet cake was really good and freezes well.  The only beef I have is that when I put frozen berries on top, around them didn't really bake right - and also it's too little berries.  I think the workaround is to make a berry sauce to serve with it (just heat up berries).  

Ingredients

Berry Millet Cake

• 250 g (8.8 oz) millet
• 1 litre (4 cups) milk
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 egg whites
• 6 egg yolks
• 60 g (1/4 cup) sugar (I used 2 T)
• 1 tbsp vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) cold milk
• 100 g (1 cup) raspberries
• 100 g (1 cup) blueberries
• 2 tbsp silvered blanched almonds (I just chopped up some raw almonds)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour (I used finely shredded coconut)
• powdered sugar, for dusting
• fresh berries, to serve

 

METHOD

• Cook the millet

  Add the millet to a sieve and rinse under running water. Pout the milk into a pot and add the rinsed millet. Place on the stove; add salt, vanilla sugar, and butter. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 - 25 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature. The fastest way to do that is to arrange it all over a baking sheet in a thin layer.

• Make millet cake

  Add the egg whites to a large bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar into a separate bowl. Beat until the mixture is smooth, for about 5 minutes. Add the millet mixture and stir with a spatula. Gently fold the stiff egg whites to get a smooth, airy mixture.

  Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 180 °C / 350 °F. Grease a 20 cm x 30 cm (8-inch x 12-inch) deep baking dish with butter. Pour the millet cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Arrange the raspberries, blueberries, almonds, and coconut flour on top. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 - 45 minutes at 180 °C / 350 °F. Once the cake cools, cut it into eight slices. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh berries.

whole wheat pie crust

 From here.  It makes two shells, quite nice.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or other whole wheat flour) = 192 grams (@96 g each cup)
• ¾ cup butter, chilled and cubed
• 1 tsp fine sea salt (½ tsp if using salted butter)
• up to ½ cup ice cold water

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour and salt. And cubed butter.
2. Pulse a few times until pea-sized pieces form.
3. Slowly add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, stopping when you fill up your spoon with water.
4. Pulse and continue to add water until a ball has just formed with the dough.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the ball of dough in half.
6. Roll out dough on top of plastic wrap, one ball at a time, to form the crust. Turn out dough into your pie pan and shape the edges by pushing your thumb of one hand into the thumb and pointer finger of your other hand on opposite edges of the dough and work all the way around.
7. Continue with your pie recipe as instructed.
8. You'll get a top and a bottom crust. You can freeze one if your recipe only calls for a bottom crust.

Notes

• The original recipe made with all-purpose flour uses 5 tablespoon of water. If you are using all-purpose flour, reduce the water to 5 tbsp.
• Use cold butter and ice cold water. Keeping everything cold will result in a more flaky crust.
• Similarly, you don't want to butter to be blended into the flour too much. Small pieces melt in between layers of dough when baked, giving you a flaky crust.
• Try not to add too much water, or the crust will be sticky and difficult to roll out. You want it to just start to come together.
• I love using whole wheat pastry flour for the lightest result. If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, look for white whole wheat flour (made with soft white wheat, it's not bleached).
• I use salted butter because I prefer a little more salt in my crust to contrast very sweet fillings. However, if you prefer less salt, use unsalted butter or reduce the salt to ½ tsp.
• For vegan version, use cold coconut oil in place of butter. If you use virgin coconut oil, your pie crust will taste like coconut, though.
• If you have a very deep pie dish or a 10 inch dish, you may need to use 1.5 times or double the recipe to make sure you have enough crust.
• For parbaking and make ahead instructions, see post above.

 

healthy-ish peach cobbler

This tasty peach cobbler is from here, with some modifications.

Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced or chopped peaches (or canned)
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or almond extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or a GF all purpose blend)
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar (or less, or a substitute) 
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg (will try flax eggs in the future)
• 1/4 cup butter 
• 1/4 cup milk (I often sub out at least part of the butter and the milk with yogurt)

 Instructions

•  PUt peaches in 8x8 pan, stir with cornstarch and spice/extract.
• In a bowl, mix:\ the flours, baking powder, sugar, salt.
• Cut in the butter.  Stir in egg and milk just until mixed.
• Form into a few thin "biscuits" and lay on top of the peaches.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.   

canned apple crisp

Apple crisp made with canned apples, recipe from here.  I didn't want to use butter (it's expensive and I don't have a lot) but I wanted to use up some apples I'd canned a summer or two ago.  This hit the spot with some yogurt.

(Here's another one I'll try next time: https://texashomesteader.com/recipe-apple-crumble-dessert-from-home-canned-apples/) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Empty 1 quart jar of apples into pan.  Drain partially.  (The recipe said not to drain, but that was too much liquid)

In a small bowl combine:

• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T sour cream
• 1 T honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt, and then add
• 60 grams oats (2/3 cup-ish) 

 Spread oat mixture over the top of the apples.  Bake for 25 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.

chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin

Sometimes I want a sweet treat but even if I just buy one cookie, it's too much.  And to be honest, this is too much.  It's a lot.  I should plan to freeze or throw away half.  But, I didn't because I haven't been able to get my blood sugar consistently above hypoglycemic warning, so fuck it.  

From here, but halving the sugar (and still too sweet). 

• 1 T butter
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 T white sugar 
• splash vanilla
• (cinnamon)
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 generous T of flour (white) (if using whole wheat, add a teaspoon of milk)
  
• 2 T chocolate chips  

Melt butter in ramekin.  Add sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.  Mix in flour, then chocolate chips.  

Cook in microwave for 1 minute. 

lower sugar berry crisp

 I've been carefully avoiding sugar for a few months now, and I'm trying to strike a balance with a small enough amount each day that still allows tasty treats.  Aiming for less than 10 grams per day, which means A LOT of label reading and avoiding processed foods.  I've found Blue Stripes and some other dark chocolates are a great bang for grams, with like 3-4 grams added sugar for half a chocolate bar.  That's like than a slice of Dave's Killer Bread or less than a tablespoon of ketchup, and it's way more satisfying to my sweet tooth.  I allow a half tablespoon of jam on a muffin made with no added sugars (sweetened with mashed dates) or slice of whole wheat sourdough toast.  Or hot chocolate made with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.  These are satisfying still.

But I've stayed away from making other desserts, as I do not want to use fake sugar.  I'm thinking of making a sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving with whole wheat crust and maybe 1/4 cup maple syrup.  That's a whole lot better for me than what else will be served.  

And I have a heap of berries frozen from picking this summer, including a mix of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  (I keep my strawberries for chia seed pudding with no sweetener.)  

HEre's what's in the oven now and I hope it's great!

• 5 cups (or so) of mixed berries
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon/cardamom/whatever sounds good
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine berries, corn starch, and white sugar in a baking pan.  Then in a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing by hand and sprinkling over the berries.  

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Eat with yogurt! 

quince jam cake

 This is really tasty!  I had made quince jam last fall based on some happy memories in Germany, but it gives me heartburn.  I'd worked hard on it, simmering it for hours, and I was wondering what else I could do with it.  I found this cake and I don't know where it's from but it's fun, and the quince taste really comes through.  (Edit: I did a little googling and it looks like the author is from Bulgaria.  Fun!)

• 3 eggs (at room temperature is best)
  
• 1/2-2/3 c sugar (original recipe calls for 1 cup but I always reduce it)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 tbsp yogurt
• 1 jar quince jam (I think 8 oz is what I used) 
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

 Add baking soda to jam (and watch it foam up!).

Stir baking powder into sifted flour in a different bowl.  

Combine eggs and sugar in a larger bowl.  Add oil and yogurt.  Add flour mixture.  Add jam.

Bake in greased 9x13" pan at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes until done.  Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

cherry cobbler

 Moving into a new refrigerator, I realized I have a bunch of frozen not super great cherries to eat up. they're fine and I ate a lot fresh when I picked them from a new friend's backyard, but they're not the best ever.  They need some doctoring.  this cherry cobbler to the rescue.  As always, cutting the sugar drastically. 

Ingredients

Fruit

• 4-6 cups pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
• 1/3-1/2 cup sugar
• 2-3 T corn starch (use 3 T if frozen cherries)
• 2 T (fresh) lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract 

Cobbler

• 6 T butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3-1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk

Put fruit mixture on stove top and simmer briefly, stirring.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and put butter pats into 9x13 pan.  Put pan in oven as it preheats to melt.

Combine dry cobbler ingredients, then add milk just to mix and spread over butter in pan.  Put fruit mix on top.

Bake about 40 minutes, until browned on top. 
 

apple crisp

 Yesterday I canned apples from my backyard tree and some jars didn't seal so I made this crisp to use them - and uncanned apples - up.  It's ok. The canned apples were mush-with-peels and the topping not crisp and the flour made it kind of pasty.  I cut the sugar by about 2/3 and could cut even more.  I'll give it away and make more to keep refining it.  PLenty of apples still on the tree, if the damn squirrels don't eat them all.  

Ingredients

For the topping:

• ¾ cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (99 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
•  1/4 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup pecans  

For the filling:

• 7 to 8 fresh apples, such as Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp - I filled a 9x13 pan halfway up with a mix of drained canned apples and chopped/sliced fresh 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
• ¼ cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
•  1/4 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• spices which can include cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg
• 1/2 c pecans 

Directions

Make the topping:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch metal or glass pan with cooking spray or butter and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until combined. With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Stir in pecans. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the apple filling.

Make the filling:

1. Core, peel, and slice the apples into ¼ -inch to ½ -inch slices until you reach 6 cups of sliced apples, weighing 650 grams. Place in a medium-sized bowl and immediately drizzle with the lemon juice, tossing until evenly coated.
2. In a separate small bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, salt and spices and nuts (adjust to your preference). Pour dry mixture over the apples and toss to coat, mixing until evenly distributed amongst the apples.
3. Pour the apple mixture directly into the greased pan. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the apples.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the apples feel tender when pierced with a fork, and the topping is golden brown. Let the apple crisp cool for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top.

 

 

 

plum torte

 From NYT.

Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

• ¾ to 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 24 halves pitted purple plums
• Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, for topping

• Preparation

  1. Step 1

     Heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

     Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.

  3. Step 3

     Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.

  4. Step 4

     Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)

  Tip

  • To freeze, double-wrap the torte in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.
   

mulberry brownies

 I ran across this "Turkish" recipe for mulberry brownies.  While I know that mulberries are eaten there, I'm skeptical about the brownies part of that, but oh well.

It's likely quite good as is, but I wanted to use up some mulberry jam that's in my freezer.*

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• sugar (I put in about 1/3 cup of brown sugar because that's what I grabbed I was using jam which has sugar)
• 100 grams butter (about a stick)
• 80 grams chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 T cocoa
• salt
• 1 cup frozen mulberries (or other fruit, or jam)
  

Instructions

I used a food processor so put things in one by one.  It would be fine by hand, too, I'm sure.

• Grease the pan.  A 9x13 pan is probably preferable but I used a 9x9 to fit in toaster oven. 
• Cream together eggs and sugar.
• Heat  together the butter and chocolate just until melted.  Once cool, add to eggs/sugar and mix.
  
• Add yogurt, mix.
• Whisk together in a small bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.  Then add and mix.
• Add the fruit and mix
• Bake at 350 degrees until done (about 35 minutes for me). 
  

 They were ... ok. 

*When I canned it, for some reason it siphoned out of most of the jars.  So I put them in the freezer and need to use them up before hurricane season.  Hence, this recipe. Plus, I can put the small pan in the toaster oven and don't have to heat the regular oven which is a lot of electricity and heat for summer.

loquat cobbler

 So many loquats.  I go to pick a few and the next thing I know, I have heaps.  So I found this recipe for loquat cobbler which I modified.

Ingredients

• heap of loquats (about 2-2.5 pounds unprepped, 3 cups prepped with seed & skin removed)
• cardamom (1/2-1 tsp) 
• sugar (1 Tablespoon or so)

• Prep loquats and put into a baking dish (pie plate, 8x8, etc.), sprinkle sugar and cardamom on top and stir in.

Then mix together:

• 1 c. flour (whole wheat)
• 1 tsp baking power
• 1/4 c. brown sugar (I put in 1/2 cup - which is a third of what the recipe called for - and it was way too much)
  
• salt

Add in:

• 1 egg

combine with hand or fork.  Sprinkle that atop the loquats and then put on top

• 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

 Then melt and drizzle over the top:

• 1/4 c. butter

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Stollen

Solstice is still month away and winter came early and hard.  Chunks of ice is the best way to describe outside (the hovering around the freezing mark is the worst).  I've been missing the Germany where I spent a couple of winters and the amazing holiday markets and foods.  I would stab someone for a hot Currywurst right now, TBH.  

I don't need a lot of sugar in my life, though I may still make cookie plates to share with folks I'm fond of. I stumbled upon this Stollen recipe and it coincided with a planned week off from work so in I go.  Blanching almonds, candying citrus peels - I'm all in.  Next time I'll make the marzipan from scratch also.  I bought the good rum after a chat with the fellow at the liquor store (which I couldn't even find despite standing right next to it and having passed it dozens of times - teetotaler life - I like the taste of alcohol but find no need to inebriate).  So, it's rising now and I plan to make three loaves of it - one to try now and the others to age and gift. If it's as good as I expect, I'll make more and gift them all around. 

Ingredients 

For the Dough:

• 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
• 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) , at room temperature so it's very soft
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 teaspoon ground mace (recommended but can substitute nutmeg)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 ounces marzipan (homemade or storebought)  

For the Fruits & Nuts:

• 9 ounces raisins
• 6 ounces candied citrus peel (preferably homemade), finely diced
• 3 ounces blanched almonds, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup quality dark rum
  

For the Glaze & Dusting:

• 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
• powdered sugar for generous dusting

 

Instructions 

• Place the raisins, candied citrus peel, and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it.  Stir to combine.  Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
• Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
• Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the yeast/milk mixture.  Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together.  Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes.  Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour.  
• Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough).  Knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined.  If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it in two equal halves (or three thirds).  Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness.  Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval.  Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough.  Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen (see pics in original post linked above).  In other words, don't fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen.  Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan.  Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump (see pics).  Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet.  Cover the stollen loosely and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy.  At that point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).  
• Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden.  You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F.  Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm.  Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides.  Let the stollen cool completely.  You may want to give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.
• The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap then foil) and left to "ripen" in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.  **Marzipan recipe (from here)  200 g. almonds (blanched and dried a bit)
  150 g. powdered sugar 1/4 tsp orange blossom water1 tsp almond extractup to 3 tsp water  In food processor, grind up almonds until fine.  Add almond extract and orange blossom water and powdered sugar and mix until combined.   Add water one teaspoon at a time until mixture comes together as a crumbly dough.   
   Put out onto counter and use hands to press into a log (or 3 logs if making Stollen).  Add water scantily as needed.  Store in dark/cool place. 
  
  

oven millet with fruit

 I've been having a craving for thiakry, a Senegalese millet dessert that is ... so very very very good.  I had a weird time in Senegal, but I have very fond memories of food and drink there - from everyone sitting around a large bowl to eat from together to cafe touba to thiéboudienne to thiakry.  Now I need to get some orange blossom water.

So now I have five pounds of millet and while I like to toss it into bread, I don't really know what to do with this much. I cooked some on the stovetop and I was reminded why I don't like it that way - too mushy.  So tonight I used the oven and it was better. 

Mix together and put into a baking dish

• 1:4 ration of millet to milk (I used the cup for cooking rice)
  
• a little salt
• maple syrup
• butter

Bake at about 375 for about 50 minutes (stirring once to be sure the butter and everything was distributed).

Put on top some sliced fruit, such as apples or pears, or berries, and sprinkle some spice like cardamom or cinnamon.  Bake another 10 minutes or so.  Enjoy with yogurt.  

 

baked oatmeal

This was super tasty, though I found it too sweet with 1/3 c. maple syrup and 1 T sugar over the top, and more desserty than breakfasty (I never have sugar for breakfast).  Excellent with yogurt!

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup roughly chopped pecans
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or ½ teaspoon regular table salt)
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 large eggs or flax eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12 ounces or 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries (or 2 ½ cups of your preferred berry/fruit, chopped into ½” pieces if necessary), divided - I used 3small gala apples on bottom and blueberries on top and it was super tasty.  I think it might be good with carrots and apples, too. 
  
• 2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional)
• Optional toppings for serving: plain/vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, and/or additional fresh fruit

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, toasted nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
3. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup or honey, egg, half of the butter or coconut oil, and vanilla. Whisk until blended. (If you used coconut oil and it solidified in contact with the cold ingredients, briefly microwave the bowl in 30 second increments, just until the coconut oil melts again.)
4. Reserve about ½ cup of the berries for topping the baked oatmeal, then arrange the remaining berries evenly over the bottom of the baking dish (no need to defrost frozen fruit first). Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture, then drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Wiggle the baking dish to make sure the milk moves down through the oats, then gently pat down any dry oats resting on top.
5. Scatter the remaining berries across the top. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top if you’d like some extra sweetness and crunch.
6. Bake for 42 to 45 minutes, until the top is nice and golden. Remove your baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top before serving.
7. I prefer this baked oatmeal served warm, but it is also good at room temperature or chilled (I’ll leave that up to you!). This oatmeal keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 5 days. I simply reheat individual portions in the microwave before serving.

yogurt cake

 I made a batch of yogurt with some bad bacteria in it (tastes way off) that I'm using up for baking.  Everything has so much sugar in it, but this does not and it's still moist and tasty.  I don't usually have lemons about (they're expensive here), so I wonder about some other flavor instead of lemon zest.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250gr) plain yogurt
• 2 leveled cups (250gr) all-purpose flour or light spelt flour (I mixed both)
• 1/2 cup (100gr) white or unrefined cane sugar
• 1/2 scant cup (approx 80gr) vegetable oil 
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla essence
• 1 Lemon, zest
• 1 pinch salt

JAM GLAZE

• 3 Tbsp apricot or orange jam

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F°/180C° and place the rack in the middle position.
• Grease a 9x5x2.5 inch loaf pan with butter, cooking spray, or simply line the pan with parchment paper (in this case there's no need to grease the pan).
• Mix eggs and sugar, then add oil, lemon zest, vanilla essence and mix again. Add yogurt (not very cold) and mix it into a smooth consistency. All in one bowl.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt together and add to the wet batter until just combined. 
• Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. 
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
• You can serve it plain or brushed with some quick and easy jam glaze which adds a lovely shine and flavor. Fruit glaze: put 3 tablespoons of apricot or orange jam into a small saucepan. Heat gently over low heat until the jam has melted and If it looks too thick adjust the consistency with a tiny bit of warm water. When the glaze is the consistency of runny honey, brush the yogurt cake straight away.
  

scones

Sour cream to use up, wanting something satisfying dessert but not too much sugar.

These!

Mix together
2 c. flour (I used 1 c. freshly ground whole wheat flour - 130 g.)
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Then grate into it:
8 Tbsp frozen butter
Use fingers to mix butter it in

in another bowl mix together
1/2 c. sour cream (yogurt would also be fine)
1 egg
1/2 c. dehydrated huckleberries or some other fruit or nut or whatever goodness is waiting to be used up.

Add wet to dry and mix up to combine and get into a ball.  Pat ball into a round about 7-8" and cut into 8 slices.  Sprinkle with some sugar. 

Bake 400 degrees 15-17 minutes. 

Now I just wish I had some clotted cream!

rhubarb crisp

Took this to a neighborhood potluck last night and it received very high reviews.  Like: silence as we all consumed it, and then a "wow, this is good."  I got the gist of it from here but then cut sugar and added cardamom.  And no, I do not like strawberries with rhubarb.  LET RHUBARB SHINE.  The real trick is to use freshly cut rhubarb.  What isn't good when fresh?  Why do we insist on eating produce out of season? 

Ingredients & Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.

Mix these up and put in baking container (I used 1.8 L baking dish plus a loaf pan)
6 cups of rhubarb (or so) washed and chopped
1/3-1/2 c. sugar
3 T flour
1 tsp. cardamom

Then mix these together, cutting butter in with a fork and then fingers, and then put over rhubarb
3/4 c. rolled oats (or more if there's more rhubarb)
1/3-1/2 c. brown sugar
6 T flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 T butter
(would also probably good with nuts)

Bake 35 minutes (top golden, rhubarb tender, and a bubbly cauldron of goodness).  Let it sit at least 10 minutes and it will thicken up.

Excellent with vanilla ice cream (which adds more sweetness so sugar can be cut) or yogurt.