Palmiers

A year ago I made a batch off puff pastry, and as of 8 p.m. Sunday 11 May 2014, I still had a full sheet left in my freezer. (From one batch I get four sheets.) My freezer is a kind of extension of my long-term memory. Things go in, they disappear from view, cease practically to exist, until they resurface unexpectedly. A jolt of recognition follows, then a foggy sensation as recognition and disbelief tangle. Probably most food writers say to use frozen puff pastry within a few months, but probably also they have much better-functioning long-term memory than I do. I used half the remaining sheet to make these palmiers -- treats to bring to a meeting today -- so still have enough puff pastry left to make a dozen cheese straws or a fruit tart....if I can just remember to do so...

The Last Piece of a Toffee Caramel Crunch Cheesecake

This recipe for Toffee Crunch Caramel Cheesecake at Epicurious has so many rave reviews, I decided to bake it as dessert for the first night of Passover. To keep it properly Kosher I used the crust from this other cheesecake recipe. The dessert was a huge hit, and I regret that I didn't take a picture of the finished cheesecake in all its glory. It shined, literally...Fortunately a small piece remained. It is hobbled together a bit, since the cake gets very messy to slice. Turns out the cake tastes even better the second day...

Cake and the Single Life

For this picture I used an off camera flash with an umbrella, visible in the upper right corner. It really improves the white balance dramatically.

There are a lot of things I enjoy about living alone. No debate about who does the dishes, walks the dog -- entirely hypothetical, since I don't have a dog -- or what movie to watch. Plus I get the whole sofa to myself, every time. But making a cake is not among them. It just doesn't fit the single life. Cake for one? I don't think so!

This picture I just used a long exposure and tweaked the color balance a bit in Photoshop. Not as crisp and pleasing I think as the flash.

Hence I jumped at the chance to make a birthday cake for a friend. To get the three layers and the crumb coating, I baked the cake (link to recipe) in two eight inch layers and cut each in half. One of the layers I toasted in a warm oven until dry and then pulsed it in the food processor to make crumbs. As I assembled the cake I sopped the layers with a simple rum syrup (1/4 cup of sugar dissolved in three tablespoons of boiling water, plus a 1/4 cup of rum.) Then I let it sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Very tasty and pretty quick to put together!

Three Giraffes Enjoying the Afternoon Sun

Recently I received a visit from one of my favorite models. I caught these giraffes (John Montroll's African Animals in Origami) enjoying the afternoon sun atop my improvised sewing table.

Chocolate Apricot Babka

A couple of years ago I bought a used copy of The Art of the Dessert by Ann Amernick. The one recipe I bookmarked right away was for a chocolate apricot babka. Not out of any nostalgia. Quite the contrary. The cakes and cookies and breads I recall from the Jewish bakeries when I was growing up were always unpleasantly dry. As if they were baked a bit stale on purpose. But because I happened about the same time to read Rose Levy Beranbaums's rave review of this particular version. And since she is an old and trusted friend in my kitchen -- we have been baking together now for twenty-two years -- into my baking queue went the recipe.

This babka is moist and tender and the apricot and chocolate duo is subtle and addictive. I had two slices for dinner, and it will probably make an even better mid-morning snack. Three kitchen notes: (1) I used 1 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast, and it was more than enough, and (2) I used chocolate cake crumbs, and (3) I used two whole eggs and two egg yolks. The dough was a silky dream to handle. Click here for the recipe.