Coaching Cooking

I had blueberries, raspberries, and red currants that needed to be used, so I got online to find a recipe for a tart, thinking to make use of the quiche pan I got when returning one of two salad spinners I received for Christmas. However, the rustic berry tart I found on Eating Well sounded tasty, in addition to being healthier than many other versions. The crust was made partially from whole wheat flour, and there wasn’t too much butter or sugar called for.

I followed the recipe rather closely, except for a few things. I didn’t have the pastry flour called for and used brown sugar instead of white. And I found there was no need for the warmed jam because the tart was pretty bubbly, with the juices nearly running over. But my use of the somewhat sour red currants made for an even tart-er tart and not the best thing ever. When I served a slice a couple nights later with some light Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean, it was much yummier indeed. The sweet ice cream made for a nice contrast as it melted over the warm tart.

rustic berry tart, Eating Well

There’s nothing quite like the journey of the last child to college. In my case, my little sister (a good 10 years younger than me) is off to Southern California. We both can’t imagine what kind of wacky adventures she’ll have down there. I hope to hear at least a few times from her this coming semester (but I’m not going to hold my breath!). My sister has been, in many gleeful ways, my partner in crime. In her honor, I’m making cupcakes. Ever since my wedding last summer, cupcakes have become the best way to celebrate special events. In my mind, there’s nothing better than getting your very own, mini cake. Sometimes you just don’t want to share!.

This time I decided to road-test the Barefoot Contessa recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. A lot of time was spent shooing hands away from the dessert platter. That alone told me that this recipe is worth making again and again. The peanut butter frosting was easy to make and it tasted exactly the way you want peanut butter frosting to taste–creamy and chock full of peanut butter goodness. Tip: let the peanut butter frosting sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you decorate the cupcakes so it reaches a more solid consistency. For frosting decoration, I use a large plastic bag (gallon size) and cut the corner off. This makes it so easy to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes plus you can throw the bag away afterwards.

The cupcakes were pretty simple too. There are two separate bowls of ingredients to mix into the butter-sugar combination. It really helps to have a sturdy, standing mixer like a KitchenAid. The butter-sugar mixture is mixed first then you add in a buttermilk-sour cream-coffee mixture and alternate with the flour-salt-cocoa powder mix. The resulting batter is very smooth and airy. The cupcakes themselves taste very rich (use the best cocoa powder that you can get….I love the Scharffen-Berger cocoa powder).

So we ate the cupcakes and they were enjoyed by all….as you can see!

As the weather in California remains ever changeable, I find myself thinking about tropical weather and tropical fruit. Recently, my mom had a banana tree in her yard that bore fruit (but, sadly, this fruit was inedible…).

This got me thinking about bananas and how they remind me of summer and of a great children’s book character named Emily Bartlett (one of Beverly Cleary’s…check her out). Anyway, I decided to find some great banana recipes both sweet and savory. Enjoy them and dream of summer…

For those of you who can still deal with Emeril (okay, yes, clearly I don’t respect him as much as I used to), here’s an Emeril banana recipe catalogue.

I have an endless curiousity about all things French and this blog, Chocolate and Zucchini, has been a favorite of mine for a few years now. Here’s a link to a banana cake, and banana pecan muffins.

I haven’t made this recipe before, but I’ve always adored everything about Bananas Foster. Here’s a link to the famous New Orleans’ restaurant, Brennan’s and their Bananas Foster.

For the obvious, go to bananas.com and check out a few recipes from around the world.

It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH! Daylight come and me wanna go home…

Now that I have cupcakes in my baking arsenal, I make them all the time for birthdays and celebrations. They are easy to make if you use a cake mix (and I usually have one or two boxes on hand). Or they can be just as easy with a simple cake recipe. I usually make a buttercream frosting with my standing mixer because the frosting is very stiff and looks great when it is swirled on top of the cupcakes using a cake decorating tip.

Here’s a white buttercream frosting recipe that can be easily transformed into chocolate buttercream. It is very sweet and you can temper that by adding a little milk.

White Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup of confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 teaspoons of hot water

Directions:
Take the butter out of the fridge about 2 hours before you start this recipe so the butter is softened. Place the butter (cut into 1-inch pieces) and the sugar in the standing mixer. Mix on low until the mixture is creamy and well-combined. Then add the hot water and the vanilla and mix on a slightly higher speed until the frosting looks smooth.

To frost:
This frosting is easy to work with and it can be piped onto cupcakes or spread using a flat knife. Add sprinkles or sugared flowers or silver sugar balls (see my rant on this one here).

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Use the White Buttercream Frosting recipe above, but add 1 cup of melted semisweet chocolate with the hot water and vanilla and combine until the frosting is a solid, chocolate color.