Everything tagged desserts
Siena is a charming medieval city just south of Florence that is best known for its famous horse race, called the Palio, in which riders wearing the bright, traditional colors and insignia of each of the city's time-honored neighborhoods vie for first place in a thunderous free-for-all around the beautiful piazza. It is a place that takes tradition seriously, in food as well as horse races, which is evident in its dedication to panforte. Every store in the city seems to have its own "best" version of this honey-based cross between a fruitcake and a candy, with a chewy, dense, caramel-like texture packed with almonds and hazelnuts, spices, and candied citrus peels. While in Siena, I tasted many versions-all for research purposes, you understand-and my favorites were those that contained the cocoa, which tempers the sweetness and adds complexity to the flavor. I couldn't help thinking that panforte would be even better packed with those addictive dried sour cherries from Michigan that I adore. This tart is very reminiscent in flavor to a scuro panforte, although it is not the classic cake-like confection. Instead, a crisp tart shell is filled with almonds (both sliced and whole for a contrast of textures) and dried sour cherries coated with just enough honey, spices, and citrus zest to sweeten them. The tart is a gorgeous, rustic sight, the sensuous curves of the nuts and cherries a glistening medley of browns. I serve it during the winter months, when its spicy flavors and chewy crunchiness are most appreciated.
This dough has a higher butter and sugar content than a classic flaky dough, resulting in a sweet, crisp, yet crumbly tart shell reminiscent of a butter cookie (known as pâte sablée in France or pasta frolla in Italy).
Whenever Grandma Everett came to visit on my mom's birthday, this would be the only cake my mom would want for her birthday. The topping was originally put on a sponge cake, but we've since changed the recipe to go on an angel food cake. The results are indeed, heavenly. Definitely have enough ingredients to be able to make the crunch a couple of times. It doesn't always come out on the first try. The leftover crunch makes an excellent topping for vanilla ice cream. This cake does not keep well because the crunch seeps into the whip cream. Be sure to serve within a few hours of putting the crunch on the cream.
I've tried several recipes and this is the one to follow. You can't go wrong. And yes, it's worth the effort to make it from scratch and not use a cake mix.
I often accuse David of saying "this is the best fill-in-the-blank you've ever made". In the case of this recipe, it was the best batch of cupcakes. I might agree with him this time. They're incredibly moist and delicious. I made them for 4th of July and put 3 blueberries on top for the red, white, and blue theme. However, you can't go wrong using these for any occasion.
Here it is! The truly great chocolate chip cookie recipe. Rumored to me to originally have been the template for the cookies sold by one of those fancy New York Department stores. I can't divulge my source (mainly because I don't remember it), but here it is, pared down to workable size for you to enjoy!
This versatile French sponge cake may be used in any number of ways - usually it is filled and frosted or rolled.
We made this for Sis' birthday. Overall, it was delicious, but if I made it again I would use raw coconuts to get a smoother coconut flavor.