Ginger Shortbread v2 I used to make shortbread years ago when I lived with a Highlander. I lost the recipe, then found this almost identical recipe by Abigail Johnson Dodge online at www.finecooking.com. Ginger adds a wonderful spark of flavor to what is otherwise a somewhat bland treat. I have now made it four times,…
a/k/a Black Forest Birthday Cake I searched out a new chocolate cake recipe to make a heart-shaped lockdown birthday cake for a (German-speaking) friend. This is a revised version of several similar recipes I found online, combined with Trader Joe’s bottled sour Morello Cherries and topped with a ganache made with TJ’s 72% Belgian chocolate. …
Aromatic Black Rye Bread This is my second time with this recipe; this time I added 100g of levain (starter) and doubled the amounts of anise, caraway, fennel, and cardamom (to stand up to the cocoa). Even though it does have black cocoa and molasses in the dough, this is not a sweet rye. It…
No-Time Spiced Rye Bread I’ve now made about seven batches of No-Time Bread – so quick and easy – so I’m now experimenting with more variations. Today’s loaf uses the spices from the Swedish Limpa Bread, with a touch of molasses and a quarter cup of organic black cocoa powder. My beta testers agree: this…
Spiced Pecans This recipe was passed on by our lovely neighbors in Santa Barbara. They have moved on, and we have moved on, but spiced pecans remain… well, until your friends all find out how delicious they are. After that, storage is not a problem! This recipe takes ten minutes to prepare, followed by two…
Peach+Plum Tart The locally-grown peaches have been exceptionally good these year, and the plums have just come in, so I felt inspired to make a pretty and delicious combination tart with decorative raspberries round the edge. This tart takes about 2 hours altogether, including blind-baking the pastry shell; it serves 8-10, depending how polite everyone…
No-Time Rustic Bread This is the fifth time I’ve used this recipe in various configurations, and this one turned out well! I added a different mix of flours, and of course yeast, yet more water, and salt in proportion to the flour(s). I find that this recipe requires more hot water than you would expect…
No-Time Rosemary Bread This is the fourth time I’ve used this recipe in various configurations, and this one turned out even better than previous versions! I added different flours, fresh rosemary, and of course yeast, water, and salt in proportion to the flour. The original No-Time Bread recipe is at: https://www.thekitchn.com/easier-no-knead-bread-in-a-hurry-40653 Key Steps for No-Time…
Rosemary Olive Oil Boule After two whole days of NOT making bread, last night I enjoyed kneading this olive-oil bread with fresh rosemary. With an overnight fermentation in the fridge, it came out of the oven at 10.25am, just in time for a warm, fragrant slice slathered with ripe brie. And because I made a…
No-Time RYE Bread After making two successful batches of the white No-Time Bread (using the recipe from https://www.thekitchn.com/easier-no-knead-bread-in-a-hurry-40653), I decided to try the same method using half rye flour and half bread flour. The results were predictably chewier and with less rise, but acceptable with some ripe Camembert; the crumb was even, and the crust…