chocolate guinness cake.

I’ve written about this cake before mainly because I’m, well, kind of obsessed with it. It’s the perfect chocolate cake; it manages to taste rich without being overly sweet, chocolatey with just a hint of my favorite stout.

If there were a cake that’s perfect for a midwest guy, this is it. Generalizations aside, Christian loves beer and knows a whole lot about it. Why not bake a stout cake for Valentine’s Day? Who’s a genius? (I’d declare “I am!” but when I inquired about dessert requests, Christian suggested it. I chose the entree: veggie lasagna and a simple green salad.)

How was your V.D.? (Ha…hahaha.)

Did you manage to avoid the stereotypical pitfalls, like eating heart-shaped chocolate, watching a Julia Roberts movie, or crying alone? Most years I’ve watched a cheesy movie while eating copious amounts of popcorn. One particularly sad year I found myself watching a documentary about WWI while eating Kraft mac and cheese.

This year’s was a lovely, lovely day; I had my cake and ate it too. And I’m totally cool with cliches because, hey, it’s Valentine’s Day, the biggest cliche of all.

lv, molly

Chocolate Stout Cake

1 C stout (such as Guinness)
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 C all purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; don’t miss any spots! Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool a little.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture, and beat just to combine; don’t overwork it. Add flour mixture, and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Serve with unsweetened freshly whipped cream.

art of the pie.

This crust is delicious too! Wow!

One reader, Andy, suggested that I try a recipe from “Art of the Pie.” Kate McDermott runs a class here in Seattle, offering her expert pie-baking tips. I’ve read about her in magazines, both national and local, and her charming and loving approach to pie makes me feel more like an artist or creator than a baker tied to measurements. Her instructions are conversational and very warm, and she enlists you to trust your instincts as you create your pie.

I’ve distilled them here for the purposes of simplicity (and to avoid the English teacher’s nightmare: plagiarism), but I highly recommend you have a look at her mantra “flour, salt, fat, and water,” as I think you’ll walk away feeling confident and prepared to bake a wonderful pie. (And maybe even a little charmed by her prose.)

This dough is undoubtedly simpler than the last recipe I chose– fewer ingredients and a little less active time. I also found it more pliable than the last dough (but that doesn’t necessarily mean better tasting; let’s wait and see!). Because I have so much pie lying around the kitchen, I chose to halve the following recipe and make a mini-pie in a cast iron skillet. Adorable and better for my waistline. (I may or may not have had a sliver of pie for breakfast.)

Here we go!

First, Kate offers tips about how to create the perfect lattice top, which I found helpful. This is so much simpler than how I was doing it!

And now for the crust!

Kate McDermott’s Pie Crust

2 1/2 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
16 Tbl high-fat European butter, such as Kerrygold
3-6 tbl ice-cold water

egg white
sugar

for the filling [for a whole pie]:
2 C raspberries
3 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped
1/2 C sugar
2 Tbl tapioca flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbl lemon juice

Using cold hands, rub butter into flour. She recommends cutting the butter up into small chunks, but I loved Gavin’s suggestion of freezing the butter, grating it, and mixing it in with a spatula, so I chose to do that. Slowly add water. Swish around and don’t touch too much; warm hands warm up cold butter. Try to get it so it forms a nice all of dough; add more water until you get that.
Divide into two discs, and let chill in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll out using a little extra flour, until it’s about an inch bigger around than the pan you’re using.
Once it’s assembled, brush the top with an egg white wash and sprinkle with a little sugar.

After adding grated butter to flour, slowly mix in a few tablespoons of ice cold water until the dough combines more or less. Air on the side of using less water.

Mini-pie! I lined the cast iron with parchment paper.

Kate's lattice video helped me create a far neater lattice top than I'm used to...

Want a slice? (And that's parchment paper peeking out from the pie; it prevents any black from the cast iron getting on the crust.)

This is what I listened to. It sounds like Americana, just like a slice of apple and berry pie.

And the verdict…? Later this week after I try Christian’s mom’s recipe.

happy weekend!

Pretty rings + a cobbler recipe!

I think this collection of rings by Sticks & Stones, a Portland-based company, is absolutely gorgeous in its simplicity. And so versatile too.

And now… BERRY CRUMBLE.

Who doesn’t like fruit crumbles? Wet blankets. They’re the only ones. I’m totally going to make this this weekend. The recipe calls for coconut and walnuts in the topping, which probably add a great crunch. Yum.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY, VERY LOVELY WEEKEND!

lv, molly

apple tarts for nice people.

I just made the tarts I told you about and am going to give them to some particularly thoughtful people + coworkers.

Here’s how simple these little desserts are.

(Also, see the song below. I can’t stop singing it, and– on repeat– it constituted my baking soundtrack this eve.)

lv, molly

{Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Slice 1-2 apples thinly; toss with lemon juice

Cut 6-9 2″ circles of puff pastry using cookie cutter or mason jar

Place apples on circles

Drizzle with honey

Bake for 15-20 minutes}

{a cute dessert in fewer than 15 minutes}

sunday = pie day.

Baking time to avoid lesson planning! It’s an excellent way to feel productive and make your friends happy, while actually being very unproductive. lv, molly

BLACKBERRY PIE

1 pie dough recipe for top and bottom crust
5-6 C blackberries, rinsed, picked clean, patted dry (if you use frozen berries, defrost and drain them)
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like your pie, darling)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 Tbl instant tapioca (in the baking aisle)

Place blackberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, almond extract, and quick cooking instant tapioca in a large bowl. Gently fold the berries until they are all well coated with sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F. You should have two balls of pie dough, one for the bottom crust, one for the top crust. Roll out one of the balls of pie dough on a lightly floured surface to an approximately 12-inch diameter. Line the bottom of your pie pan with the dough. Chill in refrigerator while you roll out the bottom crust.
Roll out the second ball of pie dough for the top crust. If you would like to do a lattice top, weave the dough strips.
Spoon the berry mixture into the dish. Create a lattice top or solid. If solid, score the top with a sharp knife to create events for steam to escape. Otherwise it will explode! (Actually, I don’t know if that’s true.)
Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven. Put a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any juices that might bubble out of the pie while it’s cooking. Bake the pie in two stages. First bake it at 400°F for 30 minutes. Then place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pie to protect the edges and tops from getting too burnt.
Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until crust has browned and filling is bubbly.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Image

british biscuits.

The perfect accompaniment to a cuppa [tea].

Check out the recipes for jam thumbprint cookies, peanut butter chocolate sandwich biscuits, lemony biscuits, “Cornish fairings,” and some clever commentary on American coffee chains to boot over at The Guardian. lv, molly

chocolate stout cake.

This cake is ridiculous.

I often try to think of a reason I need to bake it… an occasion that warrants baking a cake that has beer in it. I can’t think of a reason aside from it’s the middle of the week, and I’m totally baking this tomorrow to celebrate… Wednesday?

This recipe was originally from Bon Appetit, and it called for frosting. I don’t like this cake with frosting, and believe you me, it takes a lot for me to write that. But it’s so much more interesting, delicious, and subtle without frosting. Plus, this cake is incredibly moist, and frosting seems to overpower it. Serve with unsweetened freshly whipped cream if you must.

So, readers, I implore you. Go to the store to buy what you need; go home; bake this. It’ll make any day seem more special. lv, molly

Chocolate Stout Cake

1 C stout (such as Guinness)
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 C all purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well; don’t miss any spots! Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool a little.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture, and beat just to combine; don’t overwork it. Add flour mixture, and beat briefly on slow speed. Using a spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Eat plain or serve with unsweetened freshly whipped cream.

Image

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apple cake.

I’m so excited to share this cake recipe with you that I can hardly type quickly enough.

Apple cake made my apartment smell like a bakery in fall, and I instantly felt comforted and happy. (Isn’t it amazing when baking does that?) Since this weekend comprises the last days of summer, it’s time that a cake like this make its way into your repertoire and your kitchen.

I used freshly picked apples from my mom’s apple tree surplus. Admittedly, throwing fruit that’s straight from the vine into a baked good seems like sacrilege, but I can assure you that it was well worth it; the cake and the spices didn’t overwhelm the tartness of the apples. Go apple picking, and use any extra apples for this cake. No weekend plans? That’s what you should do. It’s settled. lv, molly

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Foodtography Fail

6 apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
____________________________
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs, room temperature
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a tube or bundt pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones. Then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Don’t reserve the juice at the bottom of the bowl; pour it on top of the apples for an even moister cake. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top.

Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar.

I gave this to my mom, and she claims my dad ate it all

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tomorrow’s dessert.

My friend Annika is having some lady friends over for dinner. We’re having wine, lasagna, salad, wine, dessert, wine. I am in charge of the dessert. Here’s what I’m making… Since Annika is a lactard, I may substitute trans-fat-free margarine and hope for the best. (Scratch that; I’m using real butter. Annika can handle it apparently!) xo, m

It's cool. Mine will probably look more perfect than this.

Whole Lemon Tart
Adapted from Rollet-Pradier via Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets via Smitten Kitchen

num nums

1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) Great Unshrinkable Tart Shell, or your favorite sweet tart shell
1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried (a regular lemon will make a sharper, more bitter tart; a Meyer lemon, however, will really make this tart sing)
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1 stick (4 ounces; 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven 325°F (165°C). Line a trimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.

Slice the lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter. [I actually just use the food processor for this whole mixing part, beating the other ingredients in until smooth.] Pour the filling into the crust but be sure to leave 1/4 inch between the top of your filling and the top edge of your crust.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, lightly browned and set. Don’t take the tart out until it is clearly set, however — you’re looking for a slight jiggliness with no suggestion of liquid underneath. Transfer the tart, still on the baking sheet, to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. The tart is ready to be served when it reaches room temperature.

After baking this I have a few recommendations: Bake it for longer than it says at 325 degrees. Mine took 10 minutes more to “set,” and I kept it at the lower temperature so it didn’t brown too much on top. Also, I recommend using a full lemon minus 1/2 of the rind. My tart was delicious but a little too bitter.