Ginger Apricot Mini Cakes

One of my conundrums is that I often want to bake but I don't always know what to make. These refreshing little cakes were inspired by the need to bake using only the available ingredients in the house and were a rewarding experiment. 

Preheat oven to 400 F, line or butter a 12 cup pan.

1 stick butter, soft
1 c chopped dried apricots, soaked & drained
1/4 chopped fresh ginger + 2 tbsp chopped candied ginger
3/4 c vanilla sugar
3/4 c milk (I like coconut for it's thickness)
2 eggs
2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder

Sift flour and baking powder, coat ginger and apricots, then set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, eggs and milk.

Now, when you combine the wet and dry mixes, you want to make sure not to over mix. It should be a bit lumpy. Pour into lined, prepared cupcake tins. Sprinkle the tops with sugar so they will be crunchy! Bake for about 20 minutes.

Potato Scones ala Dot Williams

If there are two words I love, they would be potato and scone. So of course I firmly believe that they belong together. My first experience of having dough and potato together that didn't involve stew or the like, was on a trip to the Haight with family friend Steve. We had slices and he ordered potato pesto. This was so out there in my mind I simply didn't get it. One bite convinced me that he hadn't gone completely mad and lead to some new views on food.

Since that day I prefer to have pesto on my pizza and I love to make potato focaccia. The layers of pillowy goodness topped with potato and pesto is like a gift from heaven. But I digress....

While reading Dead Man's Chest (A Phryne Fisher Mystery) by one of my favorite authors, one who has inspired me to bake before (Cardamom Rosewater Cupcakes and Impossible Pie) also rarely shares recipes in the series I was reading and what is shared is usually of the cocktail variety.

Lo and behold not one, not two, but three recipes! I made the Impossible Pie and if you don't, you will be terribly sad about it. The second recipe, which I felt was an absolute must is Potato Scones. Bread and potatoes belong together, like champagne and foie gras, chocolate and strawberries or really good jam and fresh mascarpone.

Gather your ingredients and get busy!

1 cup self raising flour (1 cup flour + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt)

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/2 cup milk

Rub flour and butter together. Add potato and mix with milk to soft dough. Cut in rounds and bake 7-10 minutes in a hot oven.

Yes, you read that right, there is no temperature given in the recipe and I have shared it exactly as it was in the book. Also, my dough was so soft I was not able to cut the scones, so I used a cookie scoop. I baked mine for 13 minutes at 325 degrees, when the bottom of the scones were golden brown.

Though the consistency is more biscuit like rather than sconey these are so easy fast and easy to make! They are soft and moist, perfect for a nice bowl of stew, a lovely roast or as my friend Laurie suggested some good freezer jam & a cuppa! Off now to have a few more with some crispy bacon......

Impossible Pie

As a voracious reader, I gravitate towards writers who make me think, yet also feed my innate curiosity about things. My love for Kerry Greenwood is an example of this. The Phryne Fisher series stars a lovely rich, self sustaining woman in the 1920's who does what she likes, convention be damned. She also dines well, dresses beautifully and drinks fabulous cocktails created by her butler, Mr. Butler.

Generally most of the recipes are found in her other series, about baker Corrina Chapman, whose right hand man, Jason inspired me to make Cardamom Rosewater cupcakes that are to die for. In the last book, Dead Man's Chest, Phryne's companion and maid, Dot, teaches Phryne's adopted daughter Ruth to make Impossible Pie. Ruth and her adopted sister Jane try to puzzle out how it works. Jane deducts that the weight of the ingredients cause it to separate naturally. Ruth isn't so sure.

All I know that upon trying it, it all seems pretty magical. This pie is indeed alchemy at its best and brightest. 

grease a deep pie dish and preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, combine 

1/2 c flour

1 c sugar

3/4 c coconut

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c melted butter

mix well.

Now add 1/2 c almonds (I used hazelnuts and they  were so good!)

and slowly add 1 cup of milk.

Combine until just mixed.

Pour your mix into your prepped pan and bake 30-35 minutes.

 Let cool and then you get to eat this. It is pretty amazing that you from the picture above to the picture below, with the coconut on top and everything else neatly at the bottom. It's a pretty cool trick and one that will amaze your friends!

Raspberry Cupcakes

Baking is one of those things I feel I need to do when I feel really mislaigned. The process of creating something from scratch always feels so magical and important to me that I love the whole process. Before you think of how scary it is to bake with the weights and measures, it's really a thing you should relax about. The oven can always tell when you panic! We can still get raspberries here in California but I did originally make these June as I do try to utilize what is fresh and in season. But with Fall not yet raising her pretty head it is really hard to know what season it is right now!

Raspberry Cupcakes

1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour + 1/2 cup oat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 c half and half
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh raspberries
12 dark chocolate discs

 preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin.


 Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat the butter, sugar, milk and eggs on low until pale and fluffy. Add your dry ingrediants and combine until just mixed. Divide evenly among the muffin cups, place a chocolate disk in sideways and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

I like to do a basic vanilla frosting with this, butter, powdered sugar plus a splash of milk and vanilla. Enjoy!

Bacon, Leek and Potato Tart

I don't know about your house, but I live with a meat and potatoes kind of man, so sometimes I have to get inventive if I want him to eat outside of the proverbial box. This idea came when I realized that putting something tasty with bacon in pastry was a sure fire way to get him to enjoy something I really wanted. He still has no idea what all the ingredients are. It's best if we just don't tell him.

For the Tart you will need:

1 uncooked pie crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 stick cold butter, cubed

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp cold water

Combine salt and flour. You can use a food processor or mixer for this. Add butter and mix until it looks like a mealy dough. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until it makes a cohesive dough. Have extra cold water ready just in case your dough is a bit dry.

Pat into a round, wrap and chill for at least one hour.

preheat your oven to 350 F. and prep the rest of your ingredients.

For the filling you will need:

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp

4 potatoes, sliced thin and par cooked

1 large leek, cleaned sliced thin and lightly sauteed

The easiest thing to do is utilize your bacon fat here and cook the potatoes and leeks in it as well!

Use paper towels or tempura paper to drain the fat and set aside.

Once you have everything together, roll out your dough and place it in a tart tin. You don't want it too thick, or it won't be very crispy. Prick the bottom of the dough, pop into the oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until turning a light golden brown. Add your potatoes, leeks and bacon to the tart crust and then pour over 3 tsp cream + 1 egg (2 if you really like eggs), lightly beaten with a fork.

Bake about 20, then turn off your oven and allow to cool.

This is perfect for a light supper with some arugula and mushrooms, or even with a lovely little french onion soup!

Molasses Cookies

Imagine a day where you need something warm and delicious to go with brown sugar ice cream. So you whip up a simple, delicious batch of cookies, the kind that once rolled in a little brown sugar have a marvelous crispy texture and are perfect for a sandwich cookie.Yeah, I thought that might get your attention.

Molasses Cookies

1/2 c shortening
1 c brown sugar + 1/2 c set aside
1/2 c molasses
1 egg
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp cloves (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat sugar, egg, molasses and shortening until light and fluffy.

Beat in dry ingredients until well combined.

Use a tea spoon or a small cookie scoop and drop into the brown sugar that was set aside. Roll, press down and bake for about 10 min.

These are also easy to freeze! Don't roll in sugar until you are ready to bake. Freeze on a piece of parchment in a flat area of your freezer, then wrap in plastic wrap or freezer safe bags.

Apricot Lavender Shortbread

I know that there are a great many people who don't care for lavender in their food and insist that it takes like soap. I have two things to say to that: 'Okay, then you don't have to eat it' and 'If it tastes like soap, you've done something terribly wrong.'

When I worked at the winery years ago I got used to wandering out in the garden and taking roses, borage, lavender, lemon verbena and rosemary back into my kitchen. The amount of dreamy things you can create from fresh herbs is beyond measure and I for one am looking forward to the day when we are back in a spot where Sascha can have a garden.

This recipe is from my pastry chef days, and I promise you, it is really good. The trick is, as always, to use high quality ingredients and have patience. Baked goods cannot be rushed and they will know if you get desperate.  For me, the golden rule is to relax into what you are doing, whether that be baking or cooking. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world.

Apricot Lavender Shortbread

1 c walnut oil

2 c pastry flour

½ c lavender sugar (use 1 tsp of lavender for your 1/2 c of sugar)

½ tsp salt

1½ c dried apricots, chopped and re-hydrated

preheat oven to 325 F.

Combine all ingredients until well mixed, pat into in lightly oiled pan and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, cut and enjoy!

A Curious Girl Tastes Honey

 "The color and flavor of honey differ depending on the bees’ nectar source (the blossoms)." From Honey.com

Honey Tasting, lightest to darkest

As life long education junkie I love information, especially when it comes with stories and is packaged with good food and fun people.

This week I had the chance to join the National Honey Board's tasting and what fun! Chef David Guas of Bayou Bakery came to San Francisco on a Honey tour to walk us through the tasting, talk about his honey collection and share some very tasty recipes with us. 

almond butter with crunchies

Honey Almond Crunch

 I like honey a lot but I had forgotten that it has such magical properties like being antimicrobial, antioxidant, and hygroscopic. Honey helps keep your baked goods fresh longer, can give you a great energy boost and comes in various forms including honeycomb, liquid and whipped. Chef David shared stories of his love of honey, how he creates recipes that please various palates, including his discerning kids, and all the things you can with the many varietals.

I got my first taste of Tupelo honey, which was sweeter and not as exciting as imagined. Blueberry, less sweet and creamy. Eucalyptus was woodsy. Sourwood was, for me, syrupy in texture and a bit floral. Buckwheat is dark with a chocolaty texture. The Avocado honey was nutty and complex.

We were lucky enough to also get to taste Honey-candied bacon, crunchy slightly sweet goodness....

Honey and Whole Grain Mustard Glazed Pork Chop, so moist and tender it  makes me realize I need to brine something, stat.

Saving the best for last we were also treated to Honey-Lemon Cheesecake pops.These babies are creamy, rich and best of all for those of you with egg allergies, egg free!

I look forward to diving in and get more acquainted with the many different honeys that exist and seeing what wonderful combinations I can come up with, both sweet and savory. I think we might to experiment with some cocktails....

Special thanks to the National Honey Board for having us and Ketchum for hosting!

Coffee Shortbread

Coffee Shortbread

8 oz butter, cold & cut in pieces

4 oz brown sugar

½ tsp sea salt

8 oz Whole Wheat pastry flour

2 tsp coffee (I used a dark roast from Peets, finely ground)

1 tsp vanilla

4 oz potato starch

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place all your ingredients in a bowl, then rub the butter in, as for pie crust. Once it starts to make a dough, shape into a large round for triangles or a rectangle if you want to cut squares. My oven tends to run hot, so I bake them for 20-30 minutes, so just know how your oven is.

Cut into wedges or squares while warm. Enjoy!

Breakfast Cuppies

 I've been re-reading the Corrina Chapman mysteries and she always makes me want to bake. I can feel myself drawn into the kitchen ready to experiment and play with all the ingredients that make baking so magical. Flour, butter, sugar and eggs are the base for so many amazing treats that it boggles the mind.

Today I woke up with the urge to make something, anything, that would warm up my kitchen and let me just be in the space of quiet joy that I find when I am really present in the kitchen, in the moment. Here is the recipe for Dried Cranberry Breakfast cupcakes or if you prefer, cupfins. Don't be afraid, be patient. Baking requires you to be calm and not rushed!

1/2 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup dried cranberries

First, put the cranberries into the milk to allow them to plump a little. Sift the flour and baking powder together, set aside. Preheat the over to 350 F and line muffin tins.

This recipe makes 18 cuppies. Beat the butter and sugar until light in color. Add eggs one at a time and allow to incorporate fully. Add half the flour and then half the milk, mix well and repeat. Scrape the bowl, add the cranberries and fold in with the spatula.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the center, remove from oven and let sit a few minutes before eating. I know that's hard!