Tag Archive for 'cake'

Panna Cotta with Flourless Chocolate Cake

Published on February 25, 2010 in sweet. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

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Let me start by trying to describe my unholy, unhealthy obsession with custards. I love custards. I love them with a passion equal only to pork, and we have already discussed my love of the pig. Whenever I pick up a dessert menu, the first thing I look for is a custard. I have no idea what it is about them – there are certainly desserts that taste as good and in some ways better – but the combination of the taste and the texture just really work for me. Zabaglione, crème brulee, flan, you just can’t go wrong.

I could get into the history of it – custard has been around since the Middle Ages (which, by the way, happens to be the coolest period of time in history) and possibly longer – but the truth of it is, panna cotta isn’t really a custard. At least, not technically. It has more in common with Jell-O in terms of chemical structure, and there’s not a drop of egg involved. But, when made right, it has a texture and flavor to rival any crème anglaise.

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Lemon Cream Cake

Published on August 24, 2009 in sweet. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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The thing with copycat recipes is you are never sure how close they’re going to get to the real thing. For instance, Food Network magazine had a copycat recipe for the OG’s salad dressing, which we all know is basically the best part of going there. I was all set to enjoy a delicious salad, my tastebuds were dancing with anticipation, then I took a bite and drowned in a deluge of disappointment. (raise your hand if you were embarrassed for me upon reading that!) It was good, don’t get me wrong, but when you are expecting a particular flavor and embark upon finding that flavor, when it doesn’t arrive it just feels a little cruel, that’s all.

I think with some tweaking this could be very close, but as it is, it’s delicious. I don’t think anyone would be too disappointed with the results and it’s moderately low-effort to achieve.

 

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Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese frosting

Published on May 12, 2009 in sweet. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , .

recipe snagged from the amazing smitten kitchen

Carrot cake is one of those great mysteries, like zucchini bread or pumpkin rolls, that does not taste like the ingredient for which it is named, and it’s probably because of this that it’s so tasty. After all, no matter how good some maple-glazed roasted carrots can be, they are not something I want for dessert.

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Carrot cake is also one of those fine desserts that not only allow but encourage you to be delusional about what you’re shoving in your mouth in totally unacceptable portions because, hello! there are vegetables in it! Everyone knows that a vegetable-based dessert automatically negates any unhealthy qualities that, say, 2 cups of sugar or a cup of oil may contain, let alone a frosting based on entirely too many fats and sugar.

So, join me in my delusions (that giant slice you see? that was for me) and make a moist, delicious, totally 100% healthy (in my head) carrot cake that does not taste like carrots.

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Bakerella’s Cupcake Bites

Published on March 10, 2009 in sweet. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Adapted from Bakerella

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(slightly unrelated note: the next batch of posts are not being posted in the order in which they were created; I have a bunch of backlogged photos and mini-posts from Facebook of all places that I’m transporting here. )

Just look at those things. When I ran across Bakerella’s blog for the first time I sat and stared in awe at the completely adorable treats she manages to produce time and time again. In fact, you should go there right now and look at these Snow Globe Coca-Cola Cupcakes. As someone who consistently fails at cupcakes (I don’t know why, I really don’t) I just love looking at the edible art other people seem to be capable of creating.

Anyway, I believe it’s reasonable to say that her Cake Pops and subsequent Cake Bites have earned her a special place in the dessert world and the recipe is so easy it’s almost ridiculous, so I tried them out to give to friends who were gathering shortly before Valentine’s Day. What I greatly underestimated was the volume and the time involved in their creation.

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