French Strawberry Cake

T U E S D A Y S   W I T H   D O R I E

Special thanks to this week's hostesses:  

Sophia of Sophia's Sweets & 

Allison of Think Love Sleep Dine

Génoise. Genoese. Genovese.  Funny how our French cake is actually an Italian sponge cake, named after the city of Genoa. Feeling somewhat confused and desiring the need for more more clarification (along with a baker's quick how-to), I consulted my Julia DVD for some génoise cake-education. 

This Baking with Julia recipe is courtesy of Flo Braker, contributing baker. What Flo refers to as a "French Strawberry Cake" reminds me of an American "strawberry shortcake" recipe, minus the shortcake. In true French fashion, this génoise cake is the star. Less rich than a butter cake, this version uses whole eggs and a smidgen of melted butter for its flavor and leavening. In between the génoise layers are sliced, macerated strawberries and fresh whipped cream -  flavored with a touch of sour cream and vanilla. I brushed each layer with a simple syrup made with kirsch and some of the strawberry juice (a trick I picked up during my Julia consult). Light, summery and deliciously Italian (er . . . French).

Special thanks to Sophia and Allison for hosting this week's recipe - visit their blogs to get the recipe.

– mike

Aunt Sabra King's Pudding Cups

Aunt Sabra King

More Jell-O. Two Jell-O recipes in a row? Thankfully not - thankfully not Instant Pudding . . thanks to Aunt Sabra. 

Today's BAKED creation is Aunt Sabra's recipe, a gin-drinking, card-playing, silver Cadillac-driving southern inspiration herself.

The base crust is made up of crushed graham crackers with butter and a touch of brown sugar. The pudding, though not instant, was quite a breeze to prepare - and hands down, better than any boxed pudding mix out there. Made from melted chocolate, egg yolks, cream, milk, sugar and cornstarch, it sets up nicely into a rich, thick pudding. The final touch is a couple tablespoons of whiskey (don't leave it out) - it deepens the chocolate flavor. Poured over the graham base, it is supposedly cut into bars - I put them into individual pudding cups.

Not sure if Aunt Sabra would approve, but they were a hit at the office at Friday's Social. A "new" busy-day dessert indeed.

To get the recipe for this retro dessert, venture over to BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS.

 – mike

Strawberry Jell-O Salad

Hell-O Jell-O. Say it ain't so. How could those super cool BAKED boys feature something so nightmarish as a Jell-O salad? If it were any other cookbook I would have gladly passed this one by.

Today's BAKED creation sits upon a base of crushed pretzels (pretzels?), which are mixed into a brown sugar and butter syrup and then baked. Atop this sits a creamy confection of whipping cream folded into a cream cheese and sugar mixture. If this isn't enough kitschy, prepared Jell-O with sliced strawberries is poured on top and then chilled.

Contrary to popular belief, not all "Jell-o salads" should be sneered at. This was remarkably refreshing - slightly strange, but refreshing none the less. Of all the celery-laced and grated carrot-filled salads I've had over the years, this one rises to the top of the list. But pimento-stuffed olives swimming in lime gelatin comes in a close second.

To get the recipe for this retro salad, venture over to BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS.

 – mike

Lemon Loaf Bundt Cake

T U E S D A Y S   W I T H   D O R I E

Special thanks to this week's hostesses:  

Truc of Treats & Michelle of The Beauty of Life

This is LOVE week. I LOVE lemons. This man named Norman LOVE was the contributing baker for this week's Baking with Julia recipe. I LOVE bundt pans. This week was the inaugural baking in the vintage copper bundt pan - a Christmas gift from my friend Elaine. She LOVES lemons too.

Sadly, Norman's "lemon" recipe included just lemon zest. All good, all fine, but being the lemon-LOVER, I upped the ante. In went the juice of one lemon, along with a few drops of lemon oil. On went a brushing of more juice, fresh out of the oven. Zing . . . I can already taste the tartness. Mr. LOVE's loaf garnered rather tart reviews at the office - "the lemony-est cake I've ever tasted".  And to top it off - this cake was a breeze to prepare - melted in place of creamed butter. No mixer required. A rich, dense, lemony pound cake with no mixer?

Gotta LOVE that.

– mike

Easter Chocolate Marshmallow Eggs

EASTER GREETINGS.  It was rather fitting this week's recipe from BAKED features chocolate. And even more fitting that it also includes light, fluffy marshmallow. Both an Easter tradition and quite a winning combination. Peter seems to think so too.

This BAKED recipe is actually a Chocolate Egg Cup - the cup being mini-muffin liners. When Elaine told me she was trying her Martha Stewart egg molds, I thought "ingenious". Little did I know there was a box of these molds on my basement shelf (go figure). Melted chocolate lines the molds (or cups) and a marshmallow  filling of sugar syrup whipped with gelatin sits inside. To top it off, more melted chocolate covers the filling and after a quick chill, these confections are ready to pop out and line your Easter basket - or dessert table.

I was rather impressed at how delicious homemade marshmallow is - even better sandwiched in-between bittersweet chocolate - ala Trader Joe's. Leftover melted chocolate lined some spring flower candy molds.

To try these eggs-cellent confections, hop on over to BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS for the recipe.

 – mike

Irish Soda Bread

T U E S D A Y S   W I T H   D O R I E

Special thanks to this week's hostesses:  

Cathy of My Culinary Mission & 

Carla of Chocolate Moosey

Irish soda bread without butter? Without caraway seeds? Without currants? Say it isn't so. I'm rather partial to a beloved recipe that incorporates all of the above. A soda bread as basic as this just can't be as good. Of course, Mr. Leprechaun seems to think differently. 

This Baking with Julia recipe is courtesy of Marion Cunningham, contributing baker. A traditional Irish bread - made from the simplest of ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk - is quite wonderful on its own. Marion suggests adding chopped dried fruit - I threw in some currants (also traditional) as well as some apricots, both soaked in dark rum. I also added some orange zest - just for kicks. Being that there is no fat (butter) in this recipe, it turned out surprisingly delicious - and not dry in the least. It has a simple, not-too-sweet flavor that is perfect on its own or as an accompaniment to another traditional Irish dish, Corned Beef & Cabbage.

Special thanks to Cathy and Carla for hosting this week's recipe - visit their blogs to get the recipe.

– mike

Sitrus Sunday Sorbet : Meyer Lemon

MY MY Mr. MEYER.

 Meyer has always been an unattainable fruit for me. It wasn't until our brand-spanking-new flagship Trader Joe's (heck, it's our one and only) rose from a vacant parking lot last October, that I was able to find Mr. Meyer. I was overjoyed. And to celebrate, he is  reincarnated as a zesty sorbet - to ring in Citrus Sunday from Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook.

Bunky of BunkyCooks.com was the inspiration for this citrus sunday. (Don't you just love the name Bunky)? I chose Bunky's recipe over powerhouse ice cream aficionados, David Lebovitz and Jeni, because of two reasons:  a beaten egg white and a tablespoon (or two) of vodka. Both additions help emulsify and prevent that dreaded "icy" texture to ice creams and sorbets. And who am I to question adding a little liquor in anything? 

The resulting sorbet was more than just quite tasty - I wasn't expecting much tartness, knowing Meyer is rather a sweet lemon. It is a marriage of both tart & sweet that shines. Smooth, almost creamy and deliciously refreshing! If Mr. Meyer hangs around for the summer, more of this sorbet will be made. Maybe even on a Monday.

A special thanks to Di for heading up this Citrus Round-Up. Be sure to stop by her blog to view all the fruit-filled entries!

– mike

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*  M E Y E R  L E M O N  S O R B E T  * 

Adapted from BunkyCooks

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 large egg white, at room temperature
3/4 cup Meyer Lemon juice (about 4 Meyer Lemons)
2 tsp. grated Meyer Lemon zest
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vodka

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and place over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and boil 1 minute.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg white until foamy. Slowly beat in the hot syrup mixture. Continue to beat until the mixture cools down slightly. Add the Meyer Lemon juice. Cover and chill until cold or overnight. The mixture will have the egg white foam on top, but it will mix in when placed in the ice cream freezer.

Place the mixture in a well chilled ice cream freezer. Mix in the zest and the vodka and freeze until it is the consistency of a soft serve custard. Remove from ice cream freezer and place in another container. Freeze overnight.

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