Well, you know I missed the Brrr-brownies.  I was fluffing off (code for shopping) with my daughter.  That folks, is why there were no brownies.  I’m really sorry Karen.    Even though the York Peppermint Patties have been starring at me from the kitchen counter for over a week.  Ugh.  Anyway, Libby and I went to STL to get a few things for her trip.   She looked at clothes, shoes, purses and makeup .  We bought the necessary items for her trip.  Did I shop for shoes, purses, makeup, perfume, clothes?  Uh No….I shopped for kitchen toys.  What is wrong with me?  Anybody?  Ferris?

I do have a question.  How do you tame those wild animals in your cabinets masquerading as cakes pans, tart pans,  bundt pans?  Oh yea, the springform collection too.   You know every species in the baking kingdom.  They come in all sizes and various shapes.    ”Noah, what were you thinking?”

Well, I do the best I can and then sometimes I just give up and let them be.  I think they get in there together and conspire against me anyway.    Back to this new pan.  I don’t know what came over me while in WS (kitchen toys r us store) but I typically talk myself out of impulse buys and tell myself  ” Oh Amy, you can certainly live without that.”  You know you have told yourself a variation of this statement before.  Anyway, it came home in my shopping  bag.  Can you believe that?  So, this is my first excuse to use it.  I hope it releases well.  We will see.   I just thought I would share this first experience with you.  Be it success or failure.  There is a chance for both.  You see it makes 6 little cakes.  Okay, now I gotta get busy.  See ya in a while.

The cakes are baking in the oven.  I had more batter than pan so I pulled out another little pan, a molten cake pan, with push out bottoms.  I thought it would be my fail safe pan.  Again, waiting.

Dorie’s recipe for the Lots of Ways Banana Cake  allows for  wet and dry variations.  I used brown and granulated sugars, spice rum and sour cream ( just because I had some I needed to use) and toasted coconut.  I didn’t want to use too much texture because of the pan.  I would love to make this next time with some dried fruits and coconut milk suggested in the recipe.

An observation:  I’ve never used a mini-bundt  before.  Must learn to use proper amount of batter in order to avoid cakes rising over the top.  :”)  Hmmm

Well, you be the judge….  Perhaps I need a little practice with these “cute” little cake pans.

This is a really moist delicious recipe, that would be code for yep, I ate one of the cakes from the molten cake pan and it was warm.  Really so good!  Better than a muffin, not sure why.

Here is my attempt (remember its the first time I’ve used the pan)  at using a mini bundt.   I have a lot to look forward to in the future.  I chose the pan and Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities chose this recipe for our baking group this week.  I always have bananas.  They are just something I always keep and so its wonderful that Dorie gave us such a “this way” or “that way” kind of recipe for those occasional unattractive bananas.  Thanks to Kimberly for her wise choice.  You should really go to her blog and get the recipe for your files.  After you get the recipe you really should see what all the other fabulous  baker people have done with their bananas.  Not kidding!  Its the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group.   Speaking of files if you use google you can copy and paste all your net recipes to the documents and put them in files of your making.  Make your very own cookbook, folks.  Thanks for your visit.  I love making friends.

Pie crust, shortcakes, biscuits, well I think they deserve to be among the morsels falling into the “tender” category.  I like them that way.

So Cathy, of The Tortefeasor,  thank you for choosing the best simple dessert of the season. Basic ingredients standing in as the canvas for beautiful summer berries.  Its perfect for summer.  (smiling)  I love that you got lucky that way, a recipe still lurking around in Baking From My Home to Yours. You constantly amaze me with the level of activity you have in your life with little people, a career and yet you have time to squeeze in wonderful food for your family and blog about it.  Go Cathy!!!  YAY for all the Tuesdays With Dorie bakers!

Today, I mixed up these tender little cakes.  I baked off a couple for photographs just for you.  Maybe a bite or two for me.  After all I do need to report to you that yes, they are worth the calories. Okay, more than a bite or two.  These were perfect for sumptuous strawberries and blueberries.    You should master this practical little shortcake because you can also make up the dough, plop them onto a pan, put them in the freezer for a medium sized snooze ( up to a couple of months) and pull them  for a delightful dessert later.  How perfectly simple.

My apologies for the lack of photos.  So excited was I when, ahead of time folks, ( me, the procrastinator) I wrote my post along with mixing up the summer simple recipe, ( I knew it would be a good recipe) even photographed my half recipe. I froze  the remaining litle gems.  Then as I attempted to download my photos, the hitch of the day.   Ah shucks!   I have a camera who is not getting along with my “old girl” MacBook.  Hmm, maybe if Corbin waves his magic wand he can get the photos downloaded.  Perhaps a new computer?  hehe

Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoy your shortcakes too.

Once again, Corbin is my hero.    He bailed me out.  My tech guru… Now, a photo is posted.

If you are curious about those cute little cookies around the sides of the Soft Chocolate Raspberry Tart? They are Thumbprints For Us Big Guys, rounded up by Mike of Ugly Food Dude, and both recipes came from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The next time you are thinking holiday baking, these little cookies are  great on cookies trays.  Plan on keeping that recipe close to your heart.  They are tasty little bites.

Most assuredly there will be some interesting chatter about these desserts on the Tuesdays With Dorie blog roll so travel around and make some new friends.  Thank you very much for stopping by for a visit.

The Perfect Party Cake comes from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.   She writes that she adapted this recipe from her very favorite Nick Malgieri.   Who has authored  numerous notable and award winning cookbooks.  As part of a group of bakers called Tuesdays with Dorie, just under 400 bakers fire up their Kitchen Aid mixers, splatter flour on their cheeks and noses and proceed to bake  a weekly recipe selection. Each member takes his or her turn with the honor of selecting a recipe from Dorie’s book.  This week’s Perfect Party Cake was chosen by Carol of Mix, Mix, Stir, Stir and I think its a perfect cake for this time of year.  Snowy white, lemony cake with a splash of fruitiness on the inside between the layers and or outside if you wish, with an optional coconut finish.   White again.   I think if you ventured along amongst the blog world you would find much associated with Fourth of July celebrations and this cake would certainly be pronounced among the top choices.  Just in case this sounds and looks good to you, the recipe is posted on Carol’s Mix Mix Stir Stir website  or you can find it in Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.  

I hope you’ll go a step further and go get the book for the bounty of fabulous recipes or visit Carol for this cake.  Start your  oven ~ and bake like a mad person.  Its great fun, plus you can share with friends and make new ones all at the same time.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.  

I

Dorie, most of the TWD bakers  all know you love to be in your apartment in Paris as often as possible. So what would a “Dorie Book” be without the near and dear to the heart, apple tartlet? Dorie introduces her Parisian Apple Tartlet as a version of a widely enjoyed little treat that can be eaten out of hand or elegantly plated. So make it your choice.  

On one end of the tray is an apple tartlet, the opposite is an apricot & blueberry.  The beauty of this delicious treat (I ate them both after Corbin photographed them…..shhhh)  is the “bang for the buck!”  These can be produced in a very short amount of time.  Start to finish, a little more than 1/2 hour.  Depending on the size of the fruit the recommended baking time may be a bit shorter.  Now, if you keep your secrets to yourself you can present a very tasty and impressive sweet treat to an unsuspecting loved one.  :-)  

Thanks goes to  Jessica of My Baking Heart  for  the palmsized sweet treat that I enjoyed eating tonight.  She had the fun choice this week.  You can get the recipe on her site as well.    Get into that Baking From My Home to Yours cookbook by Dorie Greenspan if you have it on your shelf.  If not ?  Seriously, why don’t you?  Thanks again Dorie for such a nice, homey little treat.  It is way better than a donut!!!

Tuesdays With Dorie.

I made this tart a while back upon discovering its reputation on SmittenKitchen.  I have to say as I read the varying comments I wasn’t sure how things would go.  I used Meyer lemons before and also this time.  This was my first experience with them.  A much softer, less intense  and not so tart lemon.   Pretty little things, they are.  I have to say it was really a nice and similar to an old southern lemon chess pie recipe I make all the time for my Mom.  I love the translation of desserts from Dorie’s home to ours and the connections they often times have to our families.  

My crisper drawer had  Meyer lemons and regular lemons.  They definitely called out so I made two tart shells and set about making Tartest Lemon Tarts.  I love lemons.  I know everyone asks “Did I say I love lemons?”  But really…. I do!  So, don’t worry even though I love them, well, Corbin had an Orthodontist appointment on Monday morning.  I’m not the patient so its easy for me to say, “It’s fun” however Corbin might not agree.  He’s always grumpy for a few days after.  They don’t mind if I bring my baking to them and they actually seem to enjoy ????  They’re nice.  The Meyer lemons are very small with thin skin.  I used two, skin and all, minus the seeds.  There is very very little pith in Meyer lemons.    Aside from that everything else was according to the written recipe in Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.  

There were good suggestions about handling the pith from the regular lemons in the P & Q section of the TWD site.  I considered my options,and decided I didn’t want to risk all my ingredients and time to a possible bitter aftertaste.  I used my micro plane to zest my lemons, peeled away the pith, removed the seeds and cut up the 1 1/2 lemons.  The unbaked tart filling tasted quite nice so I can’t wait to taste the cooled version.  Mmmmm.

Thank you so much for your patience today because my post was an evening edition not an early morning one  and for stopping by for a visit.   I can’t wait to see all the beautiful Tartest Lemon Tarts out there in the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group.  Take a look for yourself.  You’ll definitely want to snag a copy of Baking From My Home to Yours for yourself.  In the mean time take yourself back to Babette Feasts where you can get the recipe.

Baking From My Home toYours, by Dorie Greenspan

 Just as the French Yogurt Cake  is a beloved little cake that is often lovingly made in the homes of french families, over and over again with an array of variations as limitless as your palate will allow.  This recipe collection is from various families and friends both on the American side of “the Pond” as well as Dorie’s beloved Parisian side of “the Pond.”    I love the opportunity to expand my horizons and experience something different.  

My Mom always had little  loaf  style pound cakes around as I was growing up.  I couldn’t resist baking this recipe in a loaf pan.  I made Dorie’s lemon curd to go with it.  See!  I also used the ground almonds in mind for added texture and richness.  We enjoyed this homey little cake.  It was super simple to put together and took no time.  So dressed up or simply sliced with fruit or a sauce.  Its a winner in my home!

Thank you Lilana of My Cookbook Addiction  for choosing such a lovingly shared French cake for us on this side of the pond.  Stop by her site for the recipe and take a trip to the other side of the pond here.

Oops, so sorry I’m late.  I’ve missed the comment rush, but that’s okay.  I’m a dork and couldn’t locate my photos to go along with my post.  :-0.  Anyway, I loved that Dorie chose this tart for us this week, loved making it, loved eating,  loved sharing and loved being a part of this group.   It was just such a Parisian kind of feeling (not that I’ve ever been there) and kind of had that “special”  and fruffy feeling.  Share the Love and Enjoy!  I did.[SinglePic not found]

This is the first baking selection for the New Year 2009.  It also happens to be the First Anniversary of Tuesdays With Dorie baking group.    I bake along with one of the best baking groups in the blog world.  It’s called Tuesdays with Dorie.  Dorie Greenspan authored the book (among many others) Baking From My Home to Yours.  Each week,  a selection is made from this book by one of the members of the nearly 400 bakers.  Baking is done  during the week and posted on Tuesdays.  So that is the story.  Chances are, if you are among the handful of people who are reading this you are aware.  Just in case you have happened onto this site somehow in the spider web of the internet, you might want to understand the purpose of this post and blog.  I just call it sharing the love.  I love to bake pretty food.  Especially sweet food.  Although I love to eat savory food as well.  Don’t worry!  I love food, think about food, . . .  all the time.

Last night I quickly put together the Sweet Tart Dough in my food processor.  I pressed it into my rectangular tart pan and took it to my freezer for the night.   Dorie’s recipe suggests you can vary the dough slightly and so I exchanged some of the flour for almond flour.   I’ve  made Sweet Tart dough before in my Food Processer and its so easy and tastes so good!  Seriously!   My mental picture is that of a giant shortbread cookie with the tart filling on top.  Its just that good.   I have not used this particular pan frequently so I was pumped about creating this beautiful French Pear Tart in this particular pan.  Its kind of fun to change it up a bit, don’t you think?[SinglePic not found]

This morning I went to the gym for a rigorous hour of training.  I had a little extra incentive, with that old after the holiday “fright!”  Well, also so that I could have some of this sweet stuff tonight.   A trip to the store for the pears for the French Pear Tart was really all I needed to produce this dessert.  Just for fun, I choose to poach my fresh pears.   Dorie suggests that even some of the highly acclaimed pastry chefs use canned pears.  Can you believe that?  The almond cream was lovely, made again with Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour.   I had it on hand and had used it before for almond cream when making a previous tart.   I did add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to this mixture to enhance the almond flavoring a little more.

I conferred with my designer friend about the placement of the sliced, poached pears.  Wasn’t it just so kismet that she and her husband dropped by just as I was slicing my little fruits?   Perfect timing!  So, we placed the pears on a cutting board in front of the pan just to make sure everything fit and looked , well, the way we wanted them to look.  That was fun!  So in a bit….I’m off to her house for a special delivery, with some of Dorie’s French Pear Tart.

This really was a fun project.  I don’t mind multiple steps to a project because you can do them along with all your regular life stuff.  I learned how to core those little fruits with my older brothers baby spoon (my Mom gave me), which worked like a charm.  Also, in my case with this particular pan I baked for approximately 40 minutes.   The recipe calls for a 9″ round tart pan and suggests an approximate baking time of 50 minutes.   The unbaked components are just as tastey as the baked.  he he .  That is a secret you will have to discover for yourself.  Do you want to see the recipe?  I’ll tell you how.  Just click  here.  If you make this lovely tart,  you can taste the goodness for yourself.

You know, Dorie chose this weeks recipe.  She Did TOO!!!   Uh huh!!!   Just take a look at her website if you don’t believe me.  www.DorieGreenspan.com.   She has the lovely recipe there as well.  There are many many many beautiful French Pear Tarts out there so please enjoy the photography (of which there are many print worthy photos) and  visit all your favorite TWD bakers on the  Blogroll.  It is so fun to see all the energy and success of these baker women and even a few men.  Yep, that’s right we do not discriminate.     Not to mention, many of them are quite entertaining and funny. 

As a special treat to our Tuesday’s with Dorie bakers,  Laurie of Quirky Cupcake,  who is our fearless leader organized with Dorie an Anniversary  Q & A interview on the Tuesday’s with Dorie site.  What a fun and wonderfully inspiring woman she is to many.  Click here and get to know Dorie.  Get you own Baking From My Home to Yours and bake along with all these baking friends.  

 I was totally buffaloed!.  I am a huge cardamon fan, especially with fruit.   The recipe was super simple, no time consuming steps, “simply” ingredients.  Low and behold, baked for the stated amount of time, even watched it grow more and more golden brown, especially on the corners.   I decided before it was petrified I would remove it from its tortuous place, but it was simply wet and not baked in the middle.   Guess those darn plums are like apples in a pie, you never know how juicy they are and that is the only thing I can attribute to the squishy middle.  Either way, the cake is delicious and I will not be hesitant to try again.  Hope those of you with similar experiences recovered from your shock of failure in the afore mentioned TWD baking selection.

Thanks so much Michelle at Bake-En,  for choosing this delicious and tricky cake.  Feel free to check out her site for the recipe (for free)  he he.  You can also visit with all the other baker peeps on the blog roll by visiting Tuesdays with Dorie.  You know just when you get a little confident and think you can bake most anything, you meet the plum.  he he  Bake On!!