Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category
Strawberry Coffeecake with Cinnamon Crunch Topping
I had myself a bit of a baking bonanza this afternoon, making not one, but two goodies in the kitchen. I didn’t plan to do so much baking, but I was whipping up a batch of to-die-for blueberry muffins (photo/recipe coming soon) and had a bunch of leftover topping. What to do? Well I could have tossed the topping, that’s true. But it seemed like such a shame to waste that brown sugar, cinnamon and butter… So I did the most logical thing and made a coffeecake. Strawberry coffeecake. Which not only used up all that extra topping (there was a lot!) but also gave me the opportunity to put some very ripe strawberries in my fridge to use while finishing off my ricotta and sour cream to boot.
You see, I was going to make a yogurt coffeecake. Then I realized I didn’t have any yogurt or enough sour cream to substitute. Doh! My plans were almost foiled, until I saw a carton of ricotta cheese and remembered @Stacerella telling me she liked to bake with it. I thought, why not? And when there wasn’t enough ricotta to round off the dairy, I added some whole milk in there too. Come to think of it, maybe I should have called this “kitchen sink coffeecake”… or “use whatever dairy you got coffeecake.”
Whatever it’s called, the end result was pretty darn good. I’ll definitely be enjoying a slice tomorrow morning with my wake-the-heck-up cup of coffee. The cake has a fluffy crumb that’s nicely contrasted by the crunchy cinnamon topping. If you don’t want to use my eclectic mix of dairy products you can use all ricotta or all yogurt or all sour cream. I imagine blueberries would also be nice in this batter.
Well, I would write more but fussy wussy (a.k.a. my son) just woke up and is calling for me demanding my attention. Stat! He is almost 2 months old now and this is what he looks like when he’s not being a fussapotamus. But hey look, I got a blog post up! With a recipe and two half-decent photos too! Go me.
Please say hello in the comments so I can engage in some adult conversation and avoid writing my next post in baby talk. Unless you want that to happen… but it won’t be pretty.
Plain Jane Sweet Chocolate Rolls with Diced Apricots and Raisins
Although I haven’t posted in about a month, believe it or not my days have been filled with foodie thoughts. I’ve been leafing through old issues of Saveur, bookmarking recipes in Everyday Food, and spending far more time than is healthy ogling things in my newest cookbooks: Savory Baking and Rustic Fruit Desserts. But when it came time to take these inspirations and make them manifest in my kitchen? That’s when I ended up in the nursery sorting baby clothes, or searching the internet for the perfect nightlight, or freaking myself out by reading books about caring for a newborn – all of which include a chapter on the dreaded colic. I pray our son does not visit this scourge upon us. Please. God.
Yesterday I decided to remedy my infrequent-baking situation by spending time in my toasty kitchen with a rich dough destined to become the sweet chocolate rolls you see here. Just look at them, all speckled with diced apricots, chocolate chips and raisins – don’t they look yummy? Looks do not deceive in this case. Next to eating these gems, the best part about making them is shaping the dough while it was rainy and cold outside. Rain is my favorite soundtrack to bake to.
The recipe comes from Max Brenner’s new book Chocolate: A Love Story, which is a delightful collection of chocolate-y goodness. The dough is very rich and sticky, partially because you use an entire stick of butter when making it. (Decadent!) Be sure to use plenty of flour when kneading – Max isn’t kidding when he says you’ll need an additional one to two cups of flour while doing this. Also, because the dough is weighed down by chocolate, apricots and raisins, don’t expect it to rise as much as a dough without all these goodies. Keep these tips in mind and in the end you shall be rewarded with a fluffy, sugar-crusted bun that has just the right amount of sweetness and the power to delight you with each bite – who knows whether you’ll get a taste of chocolate, or apricot or raisins, or all three put together in the next mouthful? I used vanilla turbinado sugar on the top, just because.
(Btw, I know this is late – sorry!! – but Caitlin, Laura and MC, you each won the November giveaway. I’ve emailed you so please send me your addys! I shall blame my tardiness on pregnancy brain because I have to use that excuse while I still can.)
I hope you all had a delightful Chanukkah or Christmas. 
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