Fruit Galette

Janet here: 'Tis the season of fresh fabulous fruit here in the Northeast, unlike Rachel's world where fresh fruit is available all year long and I try not to hate her for it but it's really difficult believe me just around January when the only fruit in my world is an orange and a dubious apple.

But I digress. We had friends for dinner this past weekend, and I wanted to use up some peaches that were a little too ripe. And then I bought some fabulous raspberries and tossed in a nectarine just because I could. Result? Wonderfulness. If you want a fruit dessert and are tired of crumbles or crisps, try this. You won't be sorry.

Fruit Galette

ingredients
for the filling
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds fruit of your choice. If peaches or something like that cut into wedges.

for crust
1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
ice water as needed

method
To make the crust, combine the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse a few times. Then add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is cut into the flour pieces and looks like peas. Sprinkle the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over the butter-flour mixture and pulse after each addition. Do this until the dough forms small lumps.

Put the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and form into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled. (I have also frozen it at this point because I usually make two at once because basically I hate making pie-ish dough, and that works fine too. If you double the recipe and do that, thaw it in the fridge the night before and then take out to thaw further...although don't let it become too soft because of course then rolling is a problem. But you probably knew that.)

To make filling, stir together 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the cornstarch and the nutmeg with the fruit.

Put the rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 400 degrees.

Unwrap the dough disk and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into as close to a round disk about 12-14 inches in diameter as you can. Do not freak out if it's not round...mine looked more like one of those cancer moles the doctor's office warns you to do something about, but I was able to make the edges just fine with a little creative pasting of dough where needed.

Put the dough on the baking sheet that is covered with parchment paper (seriously one of the great inventions, don't you think?). Make a mound of the fruit in the middle and then start turning up the edges, pinching as you go to try to make sure none of the fruit juices will seep out. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on the crust.

Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling, about 12 minutes longer. Let cool on the pan. Then transfer to a wire rack after 5 minutes. Let cool completely and serve. Ice cream or whipped cream optional.

Food and Friends

Janet here: My friend, Susan, and I have had many adventures, including a memorable book club meeting in a snow storm involving a tree limb and a car caught in a snow drift, a story that I and the others involved have promised to bring up at Susan's funeral, assuming one of us is left to tell the tale. Trust me; it's a good one.

But one of the ways we have shared life together is through food: wonderful meals in each other's homes, a fateful night involving a microwave and a can of beefaroni, and the unexpected meal dropped off in various times of duress. When Susan's mother was in the hospital, I dropped off a dinner; when I was larger than any pregnant woman should ever be with our last child who was also two weeks overdue, ie I was insane (he came out 11 pounds, 3 ounces and 23.5 inches long, completely vindicating my bitchiness the entire last trimester), she stopped by with a wonderful crabmeat casserole; and most recently this past week, when she and her family were in the throes of the kind of stuff that happens to every family from time to time.

Providing an instant dinner for someone who is struggling is one of life's great gifts. There is something so wonderful about coming home from wherever — hospital, funeral, fill-in-the-blank — and realizing all you have to do to put a meal on the table is heat up whatever wonderful thing arrived in your absence. Life may suck, but someone cared enough to make it suck just a teeny bit less.

I dropped off a casserole and cookies — who doesn't feel better after a homemade cookie? — and this wonderful summer fruit bread pudding inspired by the Barefoot Contessa. Fresh fruit, sugar and bread — what could be easier?

Summer Fruit Bread Pudding
serves 8

ingredients
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 loaf brioche or egg bread or challah bread

method
Combine the strawberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a pot. Cook uncovered over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of the raspberries and all the blueberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until simmering. Simmer for about one minute. Remove from heat and add the remaining raspberries.

Slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices. Remove the crust. In the bottom of a circular dish that is about 7 inches in diameter and about 3 inches high (or you could probably improvise in a square dish that's about 8 inches square), ladle about 1/3 third of the berry mixture. Then arrange the slices of bread to fill out the square. Pour more berry mixture over this row. Add another row of bread. (You can cut the bread into whatever size to better have it fit the pan you're using.) Add more berry mixture, the last row of bread and the rest of the berry mixture.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top. Find a plate about the size of the dish. Place on top. Place a can on top to weight it down and refrigerate. Remove the weight after 6 to 8 hours. Keep covered in the fridge overnight.

Just before serving, run a knife around the edge of the pudding. Put a plate on top and turn the whole thing upside down so the pudding lands on the plate. Serve with homemade whipped cream.

Shortbread: The Final Post

While I rarely utter these words — and those who know me well, know just how rarely — I give up. Shortbread is beyond me and I refuse to embarrass/frustrate myself any longer. Despite the annoyingly simple recipe — I mean it's FOUR ingredients for God's sake!!!!! — my shortbread just doesn't cut it.

After Rachel's and my attempt to make a double batch and the resulting completely edible but ridiculously silly looking shortsand (see post here), I decided one day last week to just make a single batch while Rachel was at the movies with her brothers. I figured I'd bring out the final product and just say, "Hah! I can make shortbread too."

Obviously the karmic gods were on to this hubristic disingenuous strategy because while this shortbread held together, it did not have the right texture, that crumbly buttery goodness that makes shortbread a baking wonder. Again, it was edible but it wasn't right and so I give up. All my shortbread from now on will be Walker's or, if Rachel is feeling generous and perhaps just a tad smug, gifts from her.
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Oh, Ma. You really can't bake shortbread, can you? While I assure you that this is definitely as pathetic as you feel like it is (*wink, wink*), worry not. On my to-do list before school starts back up next week is to make you some shortbread and send it your way. Yes, I will be placing your initials on each piece, too, just so you remember with each bite that not only was it made with love specifically for you but it was made by hand with time for embellishments because it's that freaking easy.

My real gift to you is this, though: You make better granola than I do. I've been disappointed each morning since I came back to California not to be eating your seriously, seriously good granola for breakfast. Mine's fine, but yours is awesome. AWESOME.

Wanna do a swap? I'll send you shortbread and you can mail me granola.

XXOO.

Did Someone Say Brownies?

As soon as Sandi sent this recipe and I saw the pictures, I wanted to make them immediately. The only reason I haven't made them yet is because of the holidays. I can guarantee, however, that they will be on the baking radar this coming weekend.

I've eaten Sandi's food and a few of her baked goods, and I can attest that this is a woman who knows her way around the kitchen. So, folks, trust this recipe and get baking! But you don't have to take my word for it: Here's what Sandi has to say about these scrumptious delights...

I’m not sure how long I have been baking these brownies, but I know that they are the consensus favorite among our sons, their families and friends. Then there’s my brother, who started the tradition of eating them frozen — and who still checks the freezer immediately on his arrival. Don’t block his path to the kitchen!

It’s an easy recipe, especially if you have a kitchen scale and use the weight measure for the peanut butter instead of trying to pile it into a measuring cup. Don’t use the “all natural” kind of peanut butter or the brownies will be unattractively oily. It’s worth the effort to have mini chips on hand, since they do distribute more evenly, but you can use any size chip you like.

The only trick is to watch the baking time, since they overbake quite easily. I also try to remember to rotate the pan halfway through so that they brown evenly.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter—9.25 oz. by weight.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces chocolate mini-chips

method
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together with the sugar until it lightens. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add vanilla. Gradually add flour, then the chips.

Spread in a greased 12x17 inch (half-sheet, jellyroll) pan and bake on the center rack for 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pan and then cut.

And one more photo to get you salivating.....

Pear and Blueberry Crisp = Yummmm

Janet here: The air is getting cooler here in the Northeast, which has me thinking about fruit crisps/cobblers/crunches/slumps, etc. As a warm dessert, it really is at the top of my list. So in my quest to make just about every crisp option available, all as an excuse to eat fruit crisp which I just love, I tried this combination from Anna Getty's Easy Green Organic and really recommend it.

The combination of pear and blueberry is outstanding, the sliced almonds on top add some additional texture and the brown sugar sour cream is a wonderful change from vanilla ice cream. Really quite perfect. I would also like to add that another benefit of making crisp is that it is wonderful for breakfast, and with fruit as the main ingredient, I maintain it's actually healthy. Who else eats this for breakfast? C'mon. Fess up. You know you do.

Pear and Blueberry Crisp
serves 6-8

ingredients
about 6 pears, thinly sliced (I always keep the peels on my fruit for added fiber but if that bugs you, peel them by all means)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla

for the crisp topping
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes

for the sour cream part
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

method

Heat over to 375 degrees
Combine the pears and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the blueberries, mix well and set aside. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan and add the blueberry and pear mixture, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes until the pears just start to soften. Transfer to an 8-by-11-inch baking dish.

For the topping, mix all the topping ingredients together. Using your fingers begin to add the butter pieces, mixing it into the flour mixture until it starts to resemble coarse meal.

Spread the topping over the pear/blueberry mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is brown and the juices are bubbling.

To make the sour cream mixture, mix it together until the sugar dissolves. Then when ready to serve the warm crisp — always warm! — add a dollop of brown sugar sour cream to each portion.

Whoopee for Whoopie Pies

Janet here: I'm not sure why I never made whoopie pies when our kids were little. I mean it seems like a no-brainer for someone who likes to bake, has a bit of a cupcake fetish, and who was a major Ring Ding, Yodels kind of gal as a child. But I didn't. In fact I'm not sure I even knew they existed until fairly recently.

At any rate, I've had kind of a fixation about them ever since learning about them. I even went out and bought a whoopie pie baking tin, whose holes are decidedly thinner than traditional cupcake baking tins — this from the woman who doesn't own a food processor. Maybe it's a mid-life thing.

Anyway, I'm happy to report this version is very tasty, according to the dessert eaters in our house. I did not make the more common fluff filling because it just seemed weird and I've never been that big a marshmallow fluff fan (I do, however, love s'mores). So I made a cream cheese icing instead. Anyway, hope you enjoy them. I plan to be experimenting with a whole lot of different types — carrot cake with cream cheese filling seems particularly interesting at the moment. After all, I bought the tin; now I have to justify it.

Whoopie Pies
makes 12 pies

ingredients
for the pies
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg

for the filling
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla

method

For the pies: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, egg, vanilla and brown sugar in a mixing bowl with a beater (or whatever electric device you like to use). Add in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk and beat until creamy. Don't overmix.

Fill each whoopie pie spot in the whoopie pan 2/3 full. These tins are thinner than cupcake cooking tins and help you automatically create the right size pie. I imagine you could use a cupcake tin too, but it would probably be harder to get the pies to be a uniform size and thickness. Bake for 11 minutes. Place on a tray to cool.

For the filling: Beat together all the ingredients and then spread between the cooled pies. Try to just eat one.

Rachel here: Ok, so we're still working our way through the dozens of mookies my mom made us when she came to visit after M was born. While I appreciate the bounty of sugary and chocolaty goodness that she left us with, I find myself looking at the mookies in my fridge and wondering why they're not whoopie pies. That tin will fit in your carry-on bag, right Ma? Because I'm feeling like it needs to accompany you out here on your next visit.

It is Easy Being (Key Lime) Green

Janet here: I had never made a key lime pie before but have always loved them in restaurants. They're a great cheesecake substitute when you want something creamy but a little less dense. (Those moments are rare I admit, but when the craving is there you have to go with it — at least that's my philosophy.) Anyway, key lime pie is also a little bit of a rebel I think, the way it mixes its sweetness with a kick of tart. I love that about it.

This key lime pie is from one of my fav cooks, the Barefoot Contessa, and was ridiculously easy to make. I made it one day when my father-in-law was coming for dinner. It's a favorite of his and I thought it might cheer him up a bit after the death of his wife. Not sure the effects were long lasting but for just one little moment, he was one happy man.

Key Lime Pie
ingredients

for the crust
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the filling
6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 14-ounce sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4-5 limes)

for the decoration
1 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
thin lime wedges

method
heat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the sides and bottom are an een thickness. Back for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in a bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration: beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Rachel here: Because of the egg yolks this was a food I couldn't eat when I was pregnant. I am officially adding it to my list of foods to eat now that M is out and about. I'd always assumed it would be really difficult to make, but after reading this recipe it's seeming pretty doable. Such a summery food, too!

Blueberry Bread Pudding

Janet here: I fell in love with this delicious blueberry dessert the first time my mother-in-law served it. But when I heard it had bread in it — white bread no less — I was amazed. It just seemed so wrong to make a dessert with white bread as a main ingredient, sort of like cheating.

Anyway I quickly got over it and as you can tell from Rachel's comment, this has been a family favorite. It's like a little visit from Jan every time we serve it.

Rachel here: I love this dessert. I had no idea that my mom had the recipe (and now, of course, I do, too!) and was ecstatic when she mentioned that she did. This is seriously, seriously delicious AND it seems easy. Perhaps I'll bake this once I get back into the kitchen...someday.


Blueberry Bread Pudding
serves 4-6

ingredients
6-8 slices of bread, crusts cut off
1 pint blueberries
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
cinnamon to taste

method
Simmer the blueberries, sugar and water for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Line a shallow bowl (try to do clear if you can because the pudding is so pretty so look at) with one layer of bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon

Pour half the blueberry mix over the bread. Line the bowl with the rest of the bread and pour the rest of the blueberry mixture over that layer. Chill for several hours.

Caramel + Brownies = Delicious!

Janet here: When Rachel was in labor last week and I was 3,000 miles away and hadn't been able to get anyone to answer their damn phone to tell me what was going on, I did what I often do to relax or try to make life seem normal: I baked. Specifically I baked these unbelievably tasty caramel brownies. If you like chocolate turtles — you know, those gooey, chocolate-covered nuts and caramel concoctions — you're going to love these.

brownie ingredients
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

caramel ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon whipping cream

method
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8X8-inch baking pan.

Melt the chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan, stirring regularly. Remove from heat but keep warm.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar and beat. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the chocolate-butter mixture and stir. Add the flour and blend but don't overmix.

Pour half the brownie mix into the pan. Bake 15-20 minutes until the top is firm.

While that's cooking, make the caramel by heating the 1/4 cup butter, dark sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar is melted. Then increase heat until the mixture boils. Let it boil for 2 minutes. REmove from heat and add the whipping cream. Stir.

Once the bottom half is baked, spread the caramel over the baked part. Then pour remaining batter over the caramel. Smooth the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (although it may have some caramel on it).

Cool, cut into squares and try to eat just one.

Bar None

Rachel here: This week we're offering up some ideas for barbecues, picnics and the like since Memorial Day is next Monday. While the meat on the grill and the salads are certainly key components to any good outdoor celebration, I think you have all figured out by now how my mother and I feel about dessert. Fond would be an understatement. Anyway, for these types of gatherings, dessert is preferably portable and something that can sit out of the fridge for hours. Because of this, today we are making bars.

Growing up, more lunches than not at my grandma's house ended with her date-nut bars. You could usually find them tucked away in a tupperware in her breadbox if you found yourself with a hankering and it wasn't the lunch hour. Anyway, I'd never made them before this post. As has consistently happened for me when I've made recipes of those I love, making these treats transported me back to when I was younger. The sunlight streamed across my grandma's dining room table and, though full from lunch, I discovered I still had a little bit of room in my belly for dessert. A glass of milk in hand and the memory was complete. This recipe is incredibly simple, so so satisfying, and guaranteed to please those looking for something a little sweet after an afternoon in the sun.

Grandma Reynolds' Date-Nut Bars
makes 10, depending on size

Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tspn. baking powder
1/8 tspn. salt
1/4 lb. butter (one stick), melted
1 c. granulated sugar
2 c. dates, coarsely cut
2 c. walnut pieces
2 eggs

Method
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center position. Line a shallow pan with foil (she recommends a 9x13, but I think mine was a little smaller and it worked fine) and brush with butter. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat butter and sugar in your electric mixer (if you have one...if not, the butter's melted, so the mixing shouldn't be too hard). Add the eggs and beat until combined. Stir in sifted ingredients until just combined. Fold in dates and nuts. Distribute batter evenly in your pan, giving it a few taps down on the counter at the end to get air out and make sure everything's divvied up nicely. Place in oven, rotating halfway through, for roughly 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack before inverting onto a cookie sheet and then inverting again to finish cooling. Cut into squares and enjoy!



Janet here: My friend, Anne, often makes lemon bars when we visit her for dinner and I always leave her house thinking, I should make these sometime. And then I don't. But when Rachel and I decided we were going to make some kind of bar cookie this week, I realized now was my chance. So without further ado, the lemon bars.

Lemon Bars
12 servings

Ingredients
crust
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour

cream cheese filling
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract

lemon curd
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
2 medium lemons grated for 2 teaspoons lemon peel and squeezed for 1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons softened salted butter

topping
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Method
To make the shortbread crust cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at high speed. Add vanilla and combine. Add flour and mix at low speed until fully mixed. Then press the dough into an 8X8-inch pan evenly. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Prick with fork and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minute or until golden brown. Take out and cool completely.

While the crust is baking, prepare the cream cheese filling. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and lemon extrax and beat on medium speed until light and smooth. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.

To prepare the lemon curd, blend egg yolks with the cornstarch and sugar in a medium non-aluminum pot. Place over lowe heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter and cool 10 minutes.

To assemble the bars: Spread the chilled cream cheese filling evenly over the cooled shortbread crust with a spatula. Spread the lemon curd evenly over the cream cheese filling. Place pan in center of the oven. BAke 30-40 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden bwon. Cool to room temperature. Then chill in the fridge 1 hour before cutting. Dust top with confectioners' sugar.

Yogurt in Cake? You Bet!

Janet here: I have been a pound cake fan since I was a child. While I can pass by another cake for a week without being tempted, pound cake and all its buttery goodness is something else entirely. So I was intrigued to check out the pound cakes made by the Barefoot Contessa. She offers at least two versions, and I've made them both so I can say with authority that if you are looking for a pound cake with a difference, you need look no further than this lemon yogurt cake from the Barefoot Contessa's At Home. It is unbelievably moist and just the right bit of tangy with the addition of lots of fresh lemon. I have served this a number of times and gotten oohs and aahs every single time, which is pretty satisfying as you can imagine. Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

for the glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 X 4 1/4 X 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. (For the record, I have never sifted a thing in my life and all my food turns out just fine.) In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place it on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Rachel here: I, like my mother, love pound cake, particularly when lemon is involved (John will tell you that I always love food when lemon is involved). This is definitely a recipe I'm going to have to whip up sometime soon. I just wanted to chime in here to bid adieu to Cake Week. What a delicious fixation we've gotten to entertain! We hope you've enjoyed the sugary indulgence as much as we have.

Food for Thought Thursdays: Fake Cake

Janet here: As soon as my very good friend Susan Diters whirled in the door to our house and announced she had made "fake cake" for our communal dessert, I knew we had to get her on the blog. I mean, who offers to make dessert for a group dinner and then proudly announces it's fake? Susan is the only person I know who can do that and pull it off (this despite the fact that I once served strawberry shortcake and made the mistake of using Cool Whip instead of real whipped cream, which she then loudly proclaimed to the rest of the dinner party "Is this fake whipped cream?" I have never lived it down since.)

Anyway Susan can pull this kind of thing off and it's one of the many traits I love about her. An accomplished ob/gyn nurse and mother of three, Susan would absolutely be one of the people I would choose if I had to go into battle or was going to be abandoned on a deserted island like the one in Lost. She is gutsy and true blue.

"You have to embrace the fakeness," she says of this recipe which she got from Grandma Moreland. "I remember my sister making it in the '60s and early '70s and it was this novel idea to boost a box mix and make it better. You take a bit of this thing and it's like ambrosia. It's sweet and a really nice texture and reminds you of Mom and home and doing nothing good but nothing bad. It was like a grilled cheese sandwich but for dessert."

That taking something pre-made and making it better is something we can all probably identify with. After all, who has the time to always cook from scratch? But that ability to pull it off? That's totally Susan.

Here is the magic recipe

Fake Cake
Cake Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 box pistachio instant pudding
3/4 vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup chopped walnuts

Icing Ingredients
1 cup medium cream
1 cup instant pistachio pudding
1 cup milk

Method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix them all together basically following the cake mix instructions. Bake in a greased 10-inch tube pan for 45 minutes. Let cool and then add the icing.

To make the frosting beat together all the icing ingredients until stiff.

Will Bake Vegan Chocolate Cake for Furniture

Rachel here: John and I have needed a bureau for umm...way too long. When we moved (back in the early days of this blog), we were quick to unpack our kitchen and other essentials (like the Xbox and books). Everything else has been unpacked as we've encountered a need for various items.

Way at the bottom of the endless to-do list has been "find a bureau." This is because we initially put our bedroom in a room filled with built-ins and figured that would work for a while. It did, until our bed frame broke last week. We were both interested in moving our bedroom to a sunnier room of the house (waking up to the sunshine just can't be beat) and so we figured this was as good a time as any to make the switch. We left our clothes in the old room (now the dining room) and figured we'd probably get on that whole bureau project sooner rather than later, but certainly not until I was done with school (I'm in the thick of finals right now, so if I stop making sense and start quoting Melville, forgive me). In one of those beautifully serendipitous moments in life, the morning after we moved our bedroom I was contacted by my friend H (that's what I'll call her here, anyway) who said that she had a fabulous bureau she needed to get rid of that day because she was moving. We offered money, she refused. Instead, H and I decided that I would bake her whatever her little heart desired.

Oh, H. You are really awesome.

So, H is one of those rare sorts who is both lactose intolerant and a vegetarian. For all intents and purposes (absent, of course, certain ideological convictions), this renders her a vegan. In some bizarre twist, I have two friends who suffer the same dietary plight (I guess vegetarianism isn't really a plight, but rather a choice...just, you know, not a choice I'm making). Anyway, what H requested was a vegan chocolate cake. My stomach knotted a bit because I had never undertaken vegan baking successfully before. My only prior experience was with cupcakes several years ago that were, umm....gross. Anyway, I got on the internet and started reading recipes, looking for one that sounded the most like cake as I know and love it. What I found was a phenomenally simple recipe on allrecipes.com. I baked a practice cake to make sure everything came together well (I didn't want to give H a tasteless brick in exchange for her sleek mid-century modern bureau...*swoon*) and, after John and I devoured it, I made another one for H, confident that it would be yummy.

So, here's the deal. This recipe should be added to your arsenal. You should bake it when you forget to bake a cake or some other dessert, be it for a dinner party or somebody's birthday. It takes mere minutes to throw together and you can have the entire thing ready to go in an hour (tops). Also, because it's vegan, you can bake it as thoroughly as you'd like. If you like a little bit of gooey chocolate in the top center of your cake, go for it. It is sort of like having a little frosting tucked in there. Vegans always tell you that vegan desserts are the best. I am here today to say that, while I can't speak for all of them, this one is seriously, seriously good.


Janet here: There's seems a certain irony to have the carnivore part of this blogging duo be the one to make the first official vegan entry. Sort of like the world order is little off kilter, in a Lost kind of way. (And there will be LOT more coming here on Lost because we are both officially addicts and already beginning to mourn the end of the series, which is in a mere couple of weeks and for which we are going to, in the geekiest of fashions, create a menu for the Lost finale evening ala what other, much cooler people do for, say, a home Oscar party or something.)

Anyway, I have never made a vegan cake and until Rachel began raving about this one, really never intended to. Now, this one is on my radar. I'll let you know how I do. On to the recipe, which looks mighty yummy.


Vegan Chocolate Cake (with Almonds)
serves 1 to 8, depending on portion size and your interest in sharing

Ingredients
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. white sugar (Not all brands are vegan, so if this matters, just google your brand and its sifting process. Non-vegan sugars are sifted through bone meal. Yuck.)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 tspn. baking soda
1/2 tspn. salt
1 c. almonds, sliced or chopped (totally optional)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 tspn. vanilla extract
1 tspn. distilled white vinegar
1 c. water


Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, sift and whisk together all of your dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into loaf pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Seriously, seriously enjoy.
*To serve, I cut the cake into slices, topped with slivers of strawberries and sprinkled powdered sugar over the whole thing. The cake doesn't need this extra love, though, to be scrumptious.

You Say Shortcake; I Say Cheesecake

Rachel here: Before I go any further, I just have to say that while I'm quite pleased with my shortcake, when my mom said she was going to make my Grandy's cheesecake, I instantly shifted cravings towards her recipe. When I want cheesecake, THIS is what I want (as opposed to what I usually end up trying to satisfy the craving with...not to knock everybody else in the entire world's cheesecake...but seriously, this stuff is to die for) and, though I obviously could've gotten the recipe at any point during the last several years, I got really excited to finally lay my hands on it. I feel like I'm going to have to make it myself asap to deal with the nagging hankering I've developed.

But anyway, back to my recipe. John and I can do some serious damage to shortcake. One of the perks of living in California--and the Bay Area in particular--is that there are berries here virtually year round. When you combine this with a local grocery store (I know I've told you all about the Berkeley Bowl before...) that stocks locally-made baked goods, we could probably eat shortcake until we burst. It's almost cruel that Berkeley Bowl stocks freshly made shortcakes next to the berries. But I digress...

From time to time (when I'm trying to stave off a dessert deluge), I make the shortcakes myself. Per usual, I use a recipe from The Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated (I adapted it ever so slightly) and, per usual, it doesn't disappoint. You could use any type of fruit you wanted following the recipe for the fruit topping and, of course, a dollop of whipped cream never hurt anybody either.

Shortcakes
serves 6

Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for work space
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tspn. salt
5 T. sugar
8 T. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. plus 1 T. half-and-half or milk
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Method
With rack on lower-middle position, preheat oven to 425 degrees. In your food processor (or not...I made this recipe pre-owning a food processor without any issue), mix flour, baking powder, salt and 3 T. of sugar. Scatter butter pieces over the mixture, tossing to coat. Cut butter into dry ingredients (if making by hand use a pastry cutter or two knives) and continue cutting until the butter bits are no longer than small peas. In a medium bowl, combine your beaten egg and milk. Add the flour mixture and combine with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn onto floured work surface and knead just until it all comes together. Pat the dough with your fingertips into a 9" by 16" rectangle (about 3/4-inch thick). Be sure not to overwork the dough. Using a cutter about 2 3/4 ", cut into 6 biscuits (I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter instead of the traditional biscuit cutter). Place on cookie tray 1 inch apart and brush tops with egg white. Sprinkle with sugar (I used demarara). Bake until golden brown, roughly 13 minutes.

Fruit Mash

Ingredients
3 c. raspberries
5 c. strawberries, sliced
3-6 T. demarara sugar

Method
In a medium bowl, mash the raspberries. Add the strawberries and mix. Add sugar to taste. Let macerate for at least 30 minutes, although the longer the better.



Janet here: I have been jonesing for cheesecake. I had dinner with a friend last week and all I was hoping/thinking was that the restaurant had cheesecake for dessert. They didn't. I had to settle for key lime pie — which was tasty but not the same thing.

Not surprisingly, then, when Rachel said she was making strawberry shortcake for this week's blog dessert, I ignored the whole concept and said I was going to make this cream cheese pie that my mom used to make. Who cares if they're not tied together by a fruit theme or whatever? I had a food itch and I had to satisfy it. Trust me: If you want/need a cheesecake fix, this recipe, which is way faster, will satisfy you in spades. Enjoy.

Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients
Main Pie
1 1/4 cup graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cups melted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla, used 1/2 teaspoon at a time
2 eggs

Topping
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Method
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix the graham cracker bits and butter together until blended. Pat into an 8-9 inch pie crust.

Mix the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and eggs together with an electric beater. Pour into the crust.

Bake for 30 minutes. While baking mix together the sour cream, 4 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread over the top of the pie and cook an additional 10 minutes. Let cool.