peach-blueberry cobbler

I've learned something very valuable while up here at the cottage - Bulk Barn is your best friend. I had planned on baking the Peach Buckle, so I brought all the necessary ingredients with me. Yesterday I decided to make a Peach-Blueberry Cobbler with the leftover fruit. With less than half the ingredients in the cottage, I was able to pick up the rest at Bulk Barn for less than $2. Super economical for such a dreamy dessert.

Sigh, it is so delicious! Buckles, slumps, grunts, clafoutis, cobblers - all the like are perfect no-fuss cottage desserts. Better than pie, in my humble opinion.

I halved the recipe because it would fit best in the cottage's Pyrex dish. I also made a cardinal baking sin, I used heart healthy margarine in place of butter! Never thought I'd see the day, but I love my grandma too much to be baking with food deemed off limits to her. She loved it! She's telling people about my cooking up here and said she's never eaten better and she's getting 'gourmet' meals! A bit exaggerated, but I'll take a compliment where I can get it.

magnolia bakery banana pudding

If you've been keeping up with this blog you may have picked up on my obsession with banana in baked goods. In the past year it's become my flavour of choice in banana chiffon cake, banana pancakes, banana walnut cookies, banana bread and banana cake. Well, I stumbled across another banana dessert I couldn't resist trying, Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding. I had a baking disappointment years ago trying Magnolia Bakery's Cupcake recipe I found online but I just couldn't resist trying another one and giving it a go.

I know the title of this recipe indicates it's a pudding, but it's so much more than that. I see it as an icebox cake and when assembling it reminds me of making a tirimisu. The flavour - well it rivals tirimisu (which is one of my favourite desserts!). No kidding, this is a piece of heaven brought down to earth in the form of a sweet, creamy, rich delight! All the accolades I read about this recipe online weren't in any exaggeration, it's truly to die for!

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 (3.4 oz) package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups whipping cream
1 (12-oz) box Nilla Wafers
4 cups sliced ripe bananas

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight before continuing. It is very important for the pudding mixture to set.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly first with parchment paper and then with plastic wrap. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 - 8 hours or even overnight.

I really enjoyed making this and even more eating it. I'll have to remember this one in a few years for Owen.

food is my religion

I found a copy of The Cake Bible discounted at the Book Depot a couple weeks ago. I've been wanting a copy of this book for years now and the timing was perfect because I had already decided I was going to bake the only recipe I had from the book, the Cordon Rose Banana Cake. I became aware of this book through my brother-in-law who was really into baking wedding cakes several years ago. I happened to be visiting the weekend he baked his tester of the Cordon Rose Banana Cake and all I can remember is that it was the most delicious cake I'd ever eaten!

This weekend was my first attempt baking a cake from the book. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing this cake come together. The author of The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum, seems like a baking chemist and gives explicit detail to the importance of things like temperature, sifting and timing to make the cakes turn out bakery quality. I love how detail oriented she is and it's because of all the explanation that this cake came out with the most wonderful texture imaginable! I wish this cake was more of a looker, but to taste, this cake is out of this world!!!

It is so moist, rich and velvety in texture. Now that I know I'm capable of baking something this fantastic, I'm looking forward to finding an occasion where I can bake several layers, fill them with a pastry cream and frost with chocolate icing.

lemon-ricotta tart and carrot cake

Don't you just love Easter baking? Hot cross buns, European Easter breads with eggs baked in the middle, Easter Pie, Carrot Cake... I know I couldn't hold back from baking two different desserts for the holiday.

I first started with a classic Carrot Cake. This is Anna Olson's recipe printed in a bulk barn flyer this year. I'll post the recipe because if it was published in a flyer it should be OK for me to share on my blog of all 5 readers.

Anna Olson's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake:
3/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 c pure maple syrup
1 2/3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 c grated carrot
1 c golden raisins

Frosting:
1/2 c cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease an 8 inch square pan. Whisk together oil, brown sugar, eggs and maple syrup. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger and stir into wet mixture to blend. Stir in carrot and raisins and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 to 30 minutes, until tester inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing.
To prepare frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together. Beat in icing sugar until smooth and stir in vanilla. Spread over cooled cake and store chilled until ready to serve.
Makes one 8-inch square cake. Serves 12 to 16

I had my reservations about baking this recipe only because I always stay true to form in baking with unsalted butter as the main fat and this calls for vegetable oil. I realized that pretty much all carrot cake recipes call for oil and the reason is because it works! Cream cheese icing completes it, but I always keep it optional because... well you know, I don't like icing. You know what's extra great about carrot cake? You can pretend it's the same as a carrot muffin so you have an excuse to eat a slice for breakfast!

I couldn't let the holiday go by without bringing the Everyday Food book into play. My mom said that she needed a dessert contribution to Easter dinner so I made the Lemon-Ricotta Tart.

Criminally easy. I don't feel like there is any challenge in baking in this book. Which in a way is nice - minimal effort, maximum flavour and little room for any errors.

So rich and creamy (even using light ricotta and light cream cheese) and not overly sweet! I'll make both of these recipes again and again.

not from Everyday Food

I have a new food interest - edamame! Ever since I made the chicken & edamame noodle stirfry I've been wanting to find ways of including more edamame in my diet. I came across this recipe from Alton Brown and made some minor adjustments to it based on what I always have around the house. This is very easy to make given that most of the ingredients are pantry or freezer items. Right now I can't not have this in the fridge. I love this salad so much that I just have to share the recipe.

Roasted Edamame Salad
adapted from Alton Brown

2 cups frozen edamame (President's Choice sells great bags in the frozen produce)
1 cup frozen corn
1 finely diced shallot
1 clove of finely minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 pint quartered cherry/grape tomatoes, seeds & pulp removed
1/4 cup fresh herb such as basil or chives
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the edamame, corn, shallot, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper onto a 13 by 9 sheet pan and stir to combine. Place on the middle rack of the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, just until the edamame begins to brown. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature and place in the refrigerator until completely cool, approximately 30 minutes.
Add the tomato, basil and vinegar to the edamame mixture and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature.