muffins

Raspberry Rhubarb Tapioca Puddings & Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

20.04.2011 56 Comments

I got to say, social media and the way we interact is pretty phenomenal. And I mean that in all possible ways. I do love it. Being able to connect fast and furiously with people. Meeting new and interesting folks all the time. Being able to exchange links to pictures, recipes, news almost instantly. I like hearing my phone send me a little ring-a-ding "you got mail". Really I do!

Last week, I posted on Flickr a photo of tapioca puddings and lemon poppy seed muffins I was taking to our neighbors for dinner. I linked that to Twitter and then closed the computer and went next door. My phone in my pocket. Then my phone had a party. All by itself. It started ring-a-dinging with intensity. Tweets back and emails started coming in asking me to please share the recipes for the puddings and the muffins.

To tell you the truth I had not really planned on it but I had made more than enough to share with more friends. Here. One spoonful deep in that dessert, one whiff of lemon and poppy seed later and I was secretly giddy to have an opportunity to sample them again.

The Raspberry Rhubarb Tapioca Puddings are so good. Soothing. Little beads of tapioca rolling off your tongue. Smooth. Rhubarb and raspberries gently cooked until just barely soft. The distant scent of cherry blossom extract. The perfect crunch of lightly roasted pistachios.

And the muffins. Ah…gobbled up in a flash. Good thing I tend to cook and bake like my grandmother. Doubling a recipe, or more, is just a normal thing happening here. What can I say? I love to give and see the smile on someone’s face when they receive. The lovely part with these muffins is you can built upon the base any way your heart desires. Oranges, instead of lemons, nuts instead of poppy seeds, vanilla, rose, caramel…anything.

Quite a few many events are shaping up for this Spring and Summer (actually up ’til January…ugh!) that have me jumping up and down with excitement! I will make sure to keep everyone updated on workshops or conferences.

Right now I must get the house and studio tidied up a bit since Taylor is coming tomorrow and staying a few days to shoot the promo video of my book "Plate To Pixel". I heard the book was officially shipping out next week! I am extremely nervous but glad we practiced a little a few months ago. Remember this? I can’t believe this is all happenings. Months of hard work just about to see the light!

Another fun little tidbit that I forgot to post here: last month the printed issue of Elle Magazine published a feature "Cooking In Code" for which I was interviewed along with Heidi of 101 Cookbooks and Molly of Orangette as well as Eddie Gehman Kohan, Krista Garcia, Amanda Kludt. Extremely honored. Well, now the online version is live on the Elle magazine website. Click on any of our pretty mugs and you’ll be able to catch up on our interviews.

Ok…now I must really go clean the house for Taylor. I’ll try to post sneak peeks of the shoot with Taylor throughout the weekend. Should be fun!

Raspberry Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding With Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:

Serves 6

For the pudding:
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup small pearl tapioca (not instant)
2 cups milk
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cherry blossom extract (or rose, or vanilla)
Toasted pistachios for garnish

In a large saucepan, combine the rhubarb, raspberries and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, to a simmer, add the honey and stir briefly. Cover the saucepan and let cook for about 10 minutes. Uncover and check the fruit. If there is a lot of liquid, cook a bit longer over low heat, uncovered until very little liquid remains at the bottom of the pan. Let cool to room temperature and then divide evenly among 6 ramekins or glasses.
In a separate and large saucepan, combine the tapioca, milk and honey over medium high heat. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and let the mixture cook until the tapioca looks translucent (about 20-30 minutes). Let cool to room temperature and divide in between the ramekins or glasses with the raspberry/rhubarb mixture. Top with chopped pistachios.

For the lemon poppy seed muffins: (makes 12)
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 cup yogurt
zest and juice of one large lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon coconut oil (or melted butter)
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the inside of 12 muffin cups with muffin liners and grease slightly with melted butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and honey until smooth. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, coconut oil and whisk until combined. Add the millet, brown rice, and potato flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Whisk until fully incorporated. Divide evenly between the muffin liners and bake 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry & White Chocolate Passion Fruit Soups With Mixed Berries Muffins

01.04.2011 49 Comments

I’m usually all about the crunch. The giving crunch of toasted almonds on top of a bowl of vanilla ice cream. The flaky crunch of a pie crust as it gives under your teeth only to reveal a soft and creamy interior. The soft crunch of a handful of walnut inside a piece of brownie. Give me crunch.

I’m the one you’ll find grabbing a couple of carrots in the fridge as a mid-morning or afternoon snack. Best crunch ever. I hear people do that when stressed: crunch the stress away. It’s indeed a physical translation of working through things. As long as I stick to carrots and not piles of cookies… But I need soft, creamy and smooth just as much as anyone else.

When it seems like the tempest is over and things have actually been dealt with, I am, on the other hand, the first one to reach for something soothing, soft and creamy. A sudden sigh of comfort and peace of mind. Some thick yogurt topped with a spoonful of honey. And more recently a mix of tart strawberry and white chocolate passion fruit soups drizzled on perfectly ripe and soft local strawberries.

I am not expecting much of my strawberry plant beside pretty flowers. It’s not me but the crazy hungry rabbit hanging out by the house. He’d better not go for my radishes…I just planted those! However strawberry season is in full swing here at the farms! After picking a few baskets the other day I know I’ll be returning to grab an insane amount for strawberry jam making.

This dessert is directly inspired from one found months ago in Elle A Table researching recipes including white chocolate. I like it because it is a bit of an odd ball in the dessert category. Is it to slurp on, drizzle with, mix together, eat separately? Do you pour it on ice cream, tarts? Do you dunk a cookie in it? Or two?

I loved the flavor combination of both. The lemony strawberry soup was the perfect counterpart to the sweet white chocolate soup using coconut milk and passion fruit. I ate the strawberry soup mixing little spoonfuls of the white chocolate one in it. Perfect like this. I also drizzled the white chocolate soup over some freshly cut and super ripe strawberries. Simple and comforting.

To round things up though, I made a batch of gluten free coconut and strawberry muffins and another one with blueberries only. Saucing the bottom of the soup glasses with a half muffin? Just about toe curling worthy. The combination of the three worked wonders for my peace of mind, ahaha!

It reminded me of a couple of fruit soup recipes I had made in the past and enjoyed very much then. A strawberry soup with apricot tea cakes and a watermelon soup with thin slices of toasted blueberry pound cake.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Strawberry and White Chocolate Passion Fruit Soups with Mixed Berry Muffins:

Serves 8-10

For the white chocolate soup:
12 oz white chocolate
1 cup passion fruit juice
one 14-oz can coconut milk (full fat)

Place the white chocolate in a non reactive bowl and set aside. In a large saucepan set over medium high heat, bring the passion fruit juice and coconut milk to a strong simmer. Pour on top of the white chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture together until smooth and creamy. Divide among ramekins, glasses, jars, etc…Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

For the strawberry soup:
1 pound of strawberries (if you are in France use mara des bois)
zest and juice of one lemon
dash of vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Divide among ramekins, glasses, etc… Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the mixed berries muffins:
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup olive oil
zest and juice of a lemon
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup berries of your choice (whole raspberries or blueberries, cut strawberries, blackberries, etc…)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the inside of muffin tins with paper muffin cups and grease those with melted butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and the eggs until pale. Add the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice and whisk until blended. Add the flours, baking powder and salt and mix until the batter is smooth. Don’t worry too much about some lumps. Fold in the berries with a spatula carefully. Divide among the muffin tins and bake about 25-30 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve both soups together with more berries and a few muffins.

Sweet Melissa’s Blueberry Muffins and Carrot Cake & Books Giveaway

15.03.2008 272 Comments

I have really felt like I have been on a mini vacation this past week, baking my way through The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, written by Melissa Murphy, owner and pastry chef of Sweet Melissa Bakery in New York city. When I received the book for preview I was really excited to finally make some of her creations in my own kitchen. I have been a fan of her work for a long time and promised myself I would straight to her bakery if I ever made it to New York one day. Well, it was even better this past week because I took a trip there four times in four days! I have tried to do a thorough review of the book for you guys but the best part is at the end of this post where I have the chance to give away 5 copies of this new book!

The book is a right along the line as a classic baking book filled with hundreds of recipes of every body’s favorites. This is the kind of book that references all the basic and classic American standards but often with a little spin to it (like an orange flavored cream cheese frosted carrot cake). Fans of the bakery are able to make some of their bestsellers right in their house at the spur of the moment and others like me can rely on a thoroughly written book for all the things that make a bakery a success. Out of the four recipes I have tried so far, (Blueberry Muffins, Lemon bars, Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie, Carrot Cake) all turned out perfect and delicious and there are plenty more I am dying to try like the cashew bar that Jennifer recently posted about.

For the sake of doing a true to the author’s work review, I baked the recipes as written and everything not only turned out delicious but I never once had to scratch my head saying "not sure I would have given the instructions like that, but eh…" I liked the book on so many different levels. If you are a novice baker, this is definitely the book to get to get you started in the kitchen, if you are a seasoned baker you will certainly enjoy revisiting the classics as well as childhood favorites. Each chapter is chock full of life and love for sugar, butter and flour!

How does Sweet Potato Bread With Cinnamon Rum Glaze sound from the chapter "Dessert for breakfast"? It also has some terrific recipes for muffins, quick breads, waffles and more. "After School Snacks" has been thoroughly studied by me husband bookmarking Snickerdoodles and Chestnut Honey Madeleines among the dozens of brownies, cookies and bars. I have been studying the chapter "It’s Somebody’s Birthday" closely lately as we have a few family members coming up with serious celebrating time and the Fluffy Coconut Cake With Passion Fruit Filling is high on my priority list! I can’t wait for B 's birthday to make the Chocolate Malted Layer Cake!
If you have read this blog for a while now, you know of my produce guy Sunny who seems to download all his surplus fruits into my cart!

I found my happiness in "What Will We Do With All This Fruit" making the Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie (recipe next week) and I can’t wait to try her Sour Cherry Pie With Pistachio Crumble. Now the recipe that really made it for us was the Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting in the chapter entitled "Sunday Supper Grand Finale". I love carrot cakes that are simple in ingredients and yet very moist. We are not big fan of pineapples in ours, and B. has an aversion for raisins so it was quite a delight to make Melissa’s version that excludes both but remains delicately moist and the frosting really gave the cake another dimension. What about a Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake or a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie? I know! I can’t stop!! To end things on a strong sugar high, the final chapter is devoted to "Favorite Gifts" like Butter Toffee Crunch, Earl Grey Truffles, Peanut Praline, just to name a few!

Blueberry Muffins (Makes 12)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tb plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, melted
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tb granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with muffin liners, coat with cooking spray.
In a large blow, whisk together the flour, baking powder granulated sugar and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the heavy cream and milk until combined.
Add the zest to the flour mixture and with your hands, gently rub the mixture together, releasing the oils and breaking up the bits. Add the fresh fruit and gently toss with your fingers to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and using a spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into the center of the well until just combined.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each until 3/4s of the way up. Bake 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sugar and let cool on a wire rack.

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Carrot Cake With Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ Tb ground cinnamon
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 pound carrots, grated medium fine
¾ cup chopped walnuts

For the frosting:
12 oz cream cheese softened
2 1/ 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Zest of 1 orange
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 8×2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with an 8-inch round piece of parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs at high speed until light and frothy, about one minute. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, sugar and salt and mix just until combines. Decrease the speed to low and add the flour mixture until jut combined. Using a spatula, fold in the carrots and walnuts.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Tap the pans one against the other to level the top and eliminate air bubbles. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before frosting.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar and zest. Start on low speed and then increase to medium high speed and beat until smooth. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until just fluffy and smotth, about 45 seconds. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat.

To assemble:
Use the frosting as both the filling and the frosting so divide some evenly between both layer and use the remaining to cover the sides and top.
I made 4 small ones (4-inch round) and use the frosting just in between the layer and also to cover them all. I split each layer in half so I had a total of four which is to me a little nicer on the eye.

Book Giveaway: I am really excited to be able to give away 5 copies of the book to you guys…Yes! Thanks to the great folks at the Penguin Group/Viking Studio, one book can be yours! All you have to do is leave a comment to this post between now and monday 3pm and I’ll let the Random Number Generator pick 5 lucky recipients. I will announce the winners on Tuesday 3/18 as well as tell you about another fantastic recipe from the book.