Apple Crumb Bars

This summer, I stumbled upon a recipe for blueberry crumb bars. Little did I know, they would become a problem. A problem as in, I felt the need to make a double batch the second time I made them, because I knew that I was probably going to eat all of one batch by myself.

The blueberry bars were so good that they became known by the code name 'crack.' As in, "Hey, I'm making some crack. I'll bring some over." And then blueberry season was a thing of the past, and I had frozen no berries; blueberry bars would have to wait until next June.

However, inspiration struck during a standard 5 a.m. bout of insomnia--how about some apple crumb bars?

The resulting bars are delicious and seasonally satisfying, but as a friend said, they're 'crack-like,' as in not-quite-crack. I think they're worth making, though, and it may even be a good thing that they're just super-delicious, as opposed to insanely delicious.

Apple Crumb Bars

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup sliced or chopped almonds
• 3 Granny Smith apples
• 1 Fuji apple
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• Pinch ground ginger
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons apple butter (made with no added sugar)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Add flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon to the bowl of a food processor and process until combined, about 3 seconds. Add the butter and pulse (about 5 times) until pea-size lumps are all that remain of the butter. Transfer to a large bowl and add the oats, stir to combine.

Transfer 2 cups of this mixture to another bowl, and stir in the almonds. Set aside.

Press the almond-less crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden and just firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

While the crust cooks and cools, peel and core the apples. Cut them into thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Place the slices in a large bowl and toss them with the lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger.

When the crust has cooled a bit, spread the apple butter over the top; it will be a rather thin coating. Fan the apple slices out in an overlapping pattern along one long side of the pan. Lay out another line of slices next to the first one, and continue to do this until the pan is full. You're basically laying out the slices the way you would lay out potato slices for a potato gratin, but working in the other direction. It may seem a bit fussy to do it this way, but if the apples are just dumped into the pan, they will not cook properly.

Spread the almond crumb topping over the apples. Cover with foil and cook 55 minutes in the center of the oven. Remove the foil and cook 10 more minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are very tender and just starting to bubble.

Allow to cool, and cut into bar shapes to serve. This dessert is generally better the day after it's made, and keeps well for about 3 days.

Broccoli Almondine

I usually like to go to the store, see what kind of produce looks good, and go from there. Some days, though, everything looks wilty, or there's really just nothing to choose from. But usually, there's broccoli. It's like that old dress that's kind of boring, but it's comfortable, and sometimes you just can't come up with anything else to wear.

This old stand-by veggie can be simply steamed and tossed with some salt and pepper, which is what I do when I'm feeling like a fatty, but that sometimes feels like vegetables as punishment. But add some shallots, a little bit of butter, and some sliced almonds, and you have broccoli magic.

Broccoli Almondine

(Serves 2 if you like a lot of veggies)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup sliced shallots
• 2 crowns of broccoli, about 5 inches each in diameter
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• Optional: about a teaspoon lemon juice

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the shallots. Cook the shallots until they are very tender, but not quite caramelized (about 20 minutes).

In the meantime, cut the broccoli into little florets and wash well. If your broccoli crowns came with the stems attached, peel them, then chop them up into similar-sized pieces--they're delicious. Steam the broccoli until it is tender, but still green (not brownish), about 7 minutes.

When the shallots are ready, add the almonds to the skillet and cook until they get just a little bit of color, about 2 minutes. If everything is looking really dry at this point, add more butter. Add the broccoli to the pan, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss to combine. Add the lemon juice if you like.

Note: The broccoli can be steamed a few hours ahead of time, and the shallots can be softened a few hours ahead of time. When you're ready to serve the dish, rewarm the shallots on medium-low heat, increase the heat to medium-high and add the almonds, then add the broccoli and warm through.

Cherry Almond Coffee Cake

I've previously mentioned that other people's blogs can be quite inspiring. I actually have a whole email folder chock-full of blogger's recipes that I've mailed to myself as a reminder to eventually cook them. This recipe, from Hungry Cravings, was emailed and made almost right away, partially because it sounded delicious, and partially because I had some cherries that needed to be used up.

I have a sentimental fondness for coffee cake, as my grandmother used to make it on a regular basis. Hers was quite different from this recipe--it had a swirl of cinnamon inside (I could never get enough of that part), and a crumbly top. Come to think of it, maybe I should try to track down that recipe.

This cherry coffee cake is similar to my grandmother's coffee cake in that it has a dense, crumbly crumb, and it's sweet without being too sweet. It's nice to eat for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. It's not exactly the kind of cake that you just whip up in a jiffy, but it probably freezes well, and it probably gets easier to make each time it's attempted. This makes a pretty big cake, so be sure to have some willing sharers.


If I make this again, I'll make just a couple little changes. Namely, I'll macerate the cherries in some Bourbon or brandy, and I'll swirl some cherry preserves through the batter. These changes are reflected in the recipe written below, but feel free to omit them if you prefer a  more purist approach.

Cherry-Almond Coffee Cake
(Slightly Adapted from Hungry Cravings)

• 7 ounces (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
• 11 ¼ ounces cake flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 7 ½ ounces light brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 ounces sliced almonds
• ¾ pound cherries, pitted
• 1/4 cup Bourbon Or Brandy
• 6 ounces sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• The zest of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature
• A jar (about 11 ounces) of cherry preserves

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Thoroughly butter a 9×3-inch round springform pan. In a medium bowl, sift together 9 ounces of the flour and the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

In another medium bowl, whisk together 3 ½ ounces of the brown sugar, the remaining 2 ¼ ounces flour, and the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Melt 2 ounces of the butter and add to the bowl. Toss in the almonds.

 In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the remaining 5 ounces butter, sugar, and remaining 4 ounces brown sugar on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined and then beat in the lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then ½ of the sour cream, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the remaining ½ of the sour cream, and then the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing on low for only a few seconds after each addition until just combined, and stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do not overmix.

Transfer to the cake pan and spread evenly. In dollops, place the preserves on the top of the batter. Using a butter knife, mix the preserves into the batter so that the preserves form a swirly sort of pattern.

Arrange the cherries over the batter and then spread the almond mixture evenly over the batter and cherries in the cake pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cake start to shrink away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove the sides and bottom of the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. (Don't forget this part--I cooked my cake properly, but because I forgot to take it out of the pan, it ended up being overcooked.) Cut into portions and serve.

July's Daring Cooks: Nut Butters

On the 18th, I opened the eagerly-anticipated challenge for July, and my first thought was "Ummmm...Nut butters? Huh?" 


Upon further exploration, however, I thought, "Genius!" I've been reading a lot about cold soba salads, and I had been wanting to try one. I had spent the afternoon craving sushi yet guilt tripping myself about the expense of my bi-weekly sushi habit; but it seemed that with the posting of the Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing, my Asian craving would be satisfied in a cheaper manner. Instead I'd just guilt trip myself about how much fat might be in a Cashew Sauce. It's good fat, though, right?

Dishes like this one are frequently made with a peanut sauce, but I was intrigued by the cashew idea. That way I could also guilt trip myself about the fact that cashews are more expensive than peanuts. But they're cheaper than sushi, right?

The initial recipe suggested using linguine or thin rice noodles, but like I said, I've been reading a lot about soba noodles. It sounded like a yummy, more authentic alternative, and because they're made with whole wheat, they're relatively healthy. And it's another thing to guilt trip myself about--'Soba noodles are more expensive than pasta. Should you maybe just use some whole wheat pasta?'

Ultimately, though, this recipe made enough for at least 3 days of meals for me, so I'd say it's cost-effective, as well as delicious. If you make this, though, just be careful with the ginger and garlic--they can be quite potent.

I contemplated making the other nut butter recipes, but they seemed rather wintery. I have, however, posted the recipes below, because they sound delicious, and it might be a reminder to me to make them when the air gets a bit crisper.

Blog-checking lines: The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew (or Peanut) Dressing

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe notes: Customize the salad by adding or substituting your favorite vegetables. Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and julienned red peppers would make nice additions. Obviously, you can omit the shrimp, or substitute chicken or tofu or the protein of your choice. The dressing is equally as good with peanut butter rather than cashew butter.

Cashew Butter

• 1 cup (240 ml) cashews (they can be roasted or unroasted)*

Cashew Dressing

• 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
• ¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
• Hot sauce to taste (optional), Sriracha is a perfect choice if you have it

Noodle Salad:

• 1/2 pound (225 g) soba, linguine, or thin rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 pound (225 g) small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 large carrots, peeled and julienned
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) thinly sliced (julienned) fresh basil
• 1/8 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped cashews (optional garnish)
• Lime wedges (optional)
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

Make cashew butter: Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. A cup of cashews will make about the 1/2 cup of butter needed for this recipe. (*Or start with ½ cup (120 ml) prepared cashew butter.)

Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. When the noodles are about 3 minutes from being done, add the shrimp to the boiling water. Drain noodles and shrimp into a colander, rinse, and set aside.Meanwhile, prepare cashew dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. You might want to add half of the garlic and ginger, perform a taste test, and add the rest to taste.

The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups (360 ml) dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.

Combine the shrimp and noodles, carrots, cucumber, onions, cilantro (if using) and basil in a large bowl. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) cashew dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more cashew dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you’d like. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped cashews if desired. Also sprinkle with red pepper flakes if you like spicy food.

Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe notes: Substitute the protein of your choice for the chicken. This is a smooth sauce, so the onion is removed before serving. If you prefer, dice the onion and leave it in the sauce or substitute a bit of onion powder.

• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• 4 (6 oz / 170 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Salt to taste

Spice Blend:

• 1.5 tablespoons (20 ml) garam masala seasoning
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper

Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter
• 1 large onion, cut in half pole to pole
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce/425 g) can tomato sauce
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) almond butter
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) milk
• ½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 ml) chicken broth or water, more as needed
• 1 cup (240 ml) frozen peas (optional)
• Hot basmati rice for serving
• Chopped parsley (optional garnish)
• Sliced almonds (optional garnish)

Cook the chicken. If desired, pound chicken to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the chicken in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside on clean plate and keep warm.

Prepare spice blend. Stir garam masala, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for several minutes to infuse the butter with onion flavor. Keep the heat low to avoid burning the butter; a little color is fine. Add the spice blend and garlic and cook for 1 minute or till fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce, stir well, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Whisk in almond butter and milk until thoroughly combined with tomato sauce. The almond butter is thick so it takes a while to make a smooth sauce. Return to simmer. Add broth (or water) to sauce to reach desired consistency; return to simmer. Add more broth (or water) as needed to thin sauce as desired.

Remove onion from sauce and discard. Stir frozen peas (if using) into sauce. Transfer sliced chicken to sauce. Simmer gently for a few minutes until peas and chicken are heated through.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or sliced almonds if desired.

Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe notes: Substitute your favorite pasta or rice in place of the egg noodles. Use fresh rosemary or parsley in place of thyme if you prefer.

Pecan Cream

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) coarsely chopped pecans*, toasted
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• ¾ teaspoon (3 ml) salt, more as needed
• ½ pound (225 g) egg noodles or pasta
• 4 (6-ounce / 170 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil, more as needed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) deglazing liquid (water, broth, wine; optional)
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil, more as needed
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) finely chopped shallots
• ½ pound (225 g) mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) fresh thyme leaves
• Chopped pecans, (optional garnish)

Prepare pecan cream. Grind pecans in a food processor for about a minute or so until smooth, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Add water and 3/4 teaspoon (3 ml) salt; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Set aside pecan cream. (*If starting with prepared pecan butter, blend ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons (90 ml) pecan butter with the water and salt until smooth.)

Cook noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Drain, rinse, and keep warm.

If desired, pound chicken to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the chicken in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Set aside cooked chicken on a clean plate, cover to keep warm.

Add deglazing liquid to pan if using and stir up any browned bits. If needed, add another teaspoon (5 ml) of oil (or more) to pan for sautéing the shallots and mushrooms. Sauté the shallots and mushrooms over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and starting to brown. Add fresh thyme to the pan. Stir in pecan cream; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 minutes till reduced slightly.

Slice chicken into thin strips. Divide the noodles among serving plates. Add a scoop of the mushroom pecan sauce to the top of noodles. Lay sliced chicken on top. Garnish with fresh thyme and/or a pinch of chopped pecans if desired.  

Gateau A L'Orange Et Aux Amandes, or Orange and Almond Spongecake with an Apricot Glaze

When I woke up today, it was snowing. Again.



Despite the fact that I had made a tart the day before, I decided to make a cake because it's a nice snow day activity. Break out the fat pants.

I realized that I hadn't yet made anything from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and I had liked the look of some of the cakes in that book. I sure am making a lot of baked goods considering how much I whined about how many the random number generator picked for me, aren't I?

I wanted something relatively simple, for which I didn't have to buy many ingredients. Flipping through, I noticed the orange almond sponge cake and remembered that I have clementines in the fridge, and I had ground up some almonds for yesterday's tart.

Casting an apprehensive glance at the snow, I preheated the oven. I like what Heather said one day about the snow: "When you can stay home, it's all Winter Wonderland-y, but when you have to go out in it, it's like The Shining." Exactly.

I was thinking along the lines of The Shining, because I had to go to work in a few hours. The fact that I was going to work, though, was one of the reasons I was inclined to make this cake--because I had a way to get rid of it. Did you see how much of that lemon tart I ate? Yeah, this cake was so not staying in the house.


Speaking of snow, when it's snowing and you're a nurse, it's a lot like what Garrett and I said in the previous post about being on call. Before I was a nurse, I used to think that it was kind of cool and exciting that you have to get to work no matter what's happening outside. People will even pick you up! Who cares if they're some potential psycho who randomly volunteers for the job and drops you off with no means of getting home? Cool!

Actually, it's not cool, so while I watched the forecasted 1-2 inches of snow become 4, then 6 inches, I just told myself that if I got stranded in a ditch somewhere on the way to work, at least I wouldn't starve.

I mentioned that I had some ground almonds left over. Of course, it wasn't enough, so I had to make more.



Then it was time to zest some oranges.




Okay, I used clementines, but that's close enough, right? I'm crazy for clementines, but I was worried that these little guys would go to waste.



Next it was time to separate some eggs.
I was supposed to combine the egg yolks and the sugar and beat them until they reached the ribbon stage. I did this yesterday, so when Julia included a reference to instructions for this technique in the recipe, I thought that I was too cool to read that part.



Or even if you do hold on to the little bowl, you'll end up with splatters in your hair, on the fridge, and plastered to the dishwasher?

So the egg yolks and sugar went back into the big bowl. Finally, I gave up. Something was not right here. Maybe I should read Julia's instructions. Ooohhh...You add the sugar gradually, and then mix it only to a certain point, or the yolks will get grainy. Ooohh.

Obviously, I did that part over.

To the properly beaten egg yolks, I added the lemon zest, lemon juice, and some almond extract.

Then the ground almonds, followed by the flour.
So far, no more mishaps. I mixed in some melted butter with no catastrophic results, so it was time to whip some egg whites to stiff peaks.

Again, I did this yesterday, so no problem, right? Well, I do sometimes learn from my mistakes, so I read Julia's directions this time, and I think I got it right.

The egg whites were then folded into the batter, and poured into the prepped cake pan.

The cake cooked in far less time than Julia said it would, but luckily I noticed and took it out in time. You're probably thinking that my oven was the wrong temperature, right? Well, it might have been, because I do have an oven thermometer just like I'm supposed to, but I think it's wrong. It's all good, though, because I didn't overcook the cake.

The cake cooled for 10 minutes, and just like Julia told me to, I took a sharp knife, ran it around the edge, and turned the cake out. Or part of the cake.
I pried the rest out and kind of smooshed the pieces together, but I was so distracted by this that I forgot to flip the cake over. That means that the finished cake has some really appealing cooling rack lines running across the top.

I liked the idea of an apricot glaze, and I just happened to have exactly the needed amount of apricot jam in the fridge. This was combined with sugar and cooked in a sauce pan until it reached 225 degrees. I think. I was too lazy to take pictures at this point, so I was definitely too lazy to get out the thermometer. I'm pretty sure it was right, though.

The finished cake was flipped over ("crap!"), smooshed together again, and glazed. It actually doesn't look that bad.

Or didn't. I was so worried that I'd be late to work because of the snow that I managed to put my lunch box and

my bag on top of the cake and the tart. The cake should still taste pretty good, though. Before I smashed it, it was light and moist, and both the citrus and the almond flavors are noticeable without being cloying or overwhelming.

I had been worried that the glaze wouldn't work, but it's actually perfect. It isn't too sweet, and it is quite nice with the other flavors. You can get bites with the glaze, and bites without the glaze, so the variety keeps the relatively simple cake interesting. Overall it is subtly, Frenchily delicious. And I won't be eating any more of it. I swear.

Gateau A L'Orange Et Aux Amandes

(Orange and Almond Spongecake,

from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

• 1/4 pound butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• the grated rind of 1 orange
• 1/3 cup strained orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) pulverized almonds (you can use a food processor to do this, just be sure not to process the almonds too long and make almond butter)
• 1/2 cup cake flour, turned into a sifter
• 3 egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Optional: Apricot Glaze (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour the cake pan, and measure out all of the ingredients.


Melt the butter and set aside.
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture is a thick, pale yellow, and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted out of the mix. Add the grated orange rind, orange juice, and almond extract. Beat for a moment or two until the mixture is light and foamy. Then beat in the almonds, and finally the flour.


Using a rubber spatula, fold the cool, melted butter into the cake batter, omitting milky residue at the bottom of the butter pan. Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the batter, delicately fold in the rest.


Immediately turn into prepared cake pan and run the batter up to the rim all around. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Note: I find that the cakes in this book tend to be done way before the indicated time, so keep a close eye on things. The cake is done when it has puffed, browned lightly, top is springy when pressed, and a needle plunged into the center of the cake comes out clean.


Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes, until cake begins to shrink from the edges of the pan. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and reverse the cake on the rack, giving it a small, sharp, downward jerk to dislodge it from the pan. If it is not to be iced, reverse the cake immediately so it will cool puffed-side up. Allow to cool for an hour or two.


Can be served with powdered sugar, or with apricot glaze (below). You can also use a buttercream frosting.

Apricot Glaze

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves, forced through a sieve if lumpy
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Stir the strained apricot preserves with the sugar over moderately high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon with a light film, and the last drops are sticky as they fall from the spoon (225 to 228 degrees on a candy thermometer). Do not boil beyond this point or the glaze will become brittle when it cools.


Apply the glaze while it is still warm. Brush any crumbs off the top of the cake, and using a pastry brush, the back of a spoon, or a wide, flat knife, spread the glaze around the top of the cake. Unused glaze will keep indefinitely in a screw-topped jar. Reheat again before using.





So I broke out the mixer and mixed. And mixed. And mixed. This wasn't working. Okay, I'll put it in a smaller bowl, and maybe it will mix up more effectively.

Did you know that if you put something in a little bowl and try to use the hand-held mixer without holding on to the bowl, the bowl spins around right along with its contents and sprays stuff everywhere?