Meyer Lemon Mania!

I wasn't even supposed to be buying anything. I was just there for moral support. But then there they were. A bag of perfect little meyer lemons. How could I say no?

In case you didn't know (and I didn't): Meyer lemon = regular lemon + mandarin orange

You can see why they would be so popular; recipes with meyer lemons are all over the place. They're lemon-y, but sweet and less harsh than a regular lemon. And they're so cute and little! See Rule #7

Meyer Lemon Souffles

(adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

5 T flour

¼ c sugar

Pinch salt

½ c milk

2 T butter

5 eggs, separated

2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

Pinch cream of tartar

Another ¼ c sugar

Combine flour, sugar, salt and milk in medium sauce pan, off heat.

Cook until it starts to come together, constantly stirring, until the mixture pulls away from pot.

Transfer to bowl. Add 2 T butter and egg yolks. Add lemon juice and zest. Whip egg whites with cream of tartar, until foamy, add ¼ c sugar, beat until shiny. Whisk whites into milk mixture.

Pour into small ramekins (makes ~10). Break surface tension by running finger in circle through top in dish. Bake at 400 F for 12 minutes.

Meyer Lemon Blondie Bars

Mousse

3 egg yolks

3 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

¾ c sugar

¼ c butter, cold and cut into pieces

½ c whipping cream, cold

Combine egg yolks, ½ lemon juice, zest, and sugar in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously. Cook for about 7 min, or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and strain. Add the butter and stir until combined. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold.

Whip the cream. Fold into the lemon curd. Refrigerate until brownie base is ready.

Brownie Base

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, sifted
1/3 cup butter (melted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix brown sugar and melted butter. Add egg and mix well. Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, until mixed well.

Line a 9-inch pan with parchment and spray with cooking spray. Spread out dough in pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Use a toothpick or fork to test if it is cooked in the center. Let cool. Remove from pan and spread mousse on top. Freeze and then cut.

Meyer Lemon Baked Alaska

Ice Cream

(Adapted from Half Baked)

1 T Meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 pinch salt

One (or two if they're short) round layer white cake with lavender in it.

Meringue

3 egg whites

1/2 c sugar

Zest lemons directly into food processor. Pour in sugar and process until the sugar is faintly lemon-colored and the zest is finely ground. Pour the measured juice into the sugar/zest mixture. Blend until the sugar dissolves. Add milk and cream and blend. Chill for about an hour; the product may break up, but just stir it back together. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.

Line a bowl with plastic wrap; press the ice cream into the bowl, and freeze.

Preheat the oven to 500 F. Beat the egg whites until foamy; add the sugar and continue beating until shiny and stiff. Cut the cake layer to the same diameter as the bowl; place the cake on top of the ice cream and invert onto a cardboard cake round. Spread the meringue on top. Bake for about 90 seconds, until just browned. (The meringue and short baking time will allow the ice cream to remain frozen.)

Random Fruit Gallette

Yes, blueberry, blackberry, pear, and pomelo. That's what was available at the market in the middle of winter. Fortunately, they make a pretty good combo!

Daring Bakers: Nanaimo Bars

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

These ought to have been easy, right? Believe it or not, I messed up every layer! First, I didn't make my own graham crackers. We were supposed to make them gluten free, and I really wanted to do it, but as I don't bake gluten free at all, I couldn't justify buy expensive flours I would never use again. And I'm lazy, it was easier to just use graham crackers from the cupboard.

Second, I followed the recipe exactly for the second layer, but the texture was like sand. I had to add more cream, but when the mixture was finally soft, it was also starting to separate.

Third, I ruined two batches of chocolate (death by seizing) before giving in and making a cream ganache topping (instead of mixing the chocolate with butter.)

See, all these things should not have been so difficult. This is why I make souffle, not chocolate chip cookies.

They are pretty sweet, lots of sugar, but I took them to work the next day and all my students and professors loved them! Great challenge!

Cherry Chocolate Cake

When you're a kid you don't get tragedy. Personal pain, yes, but the stuff on the news, the stuff that makes your mom cry, it doesn't really inspire emotion. Or maybe that was just me. But I think I'm only just starting to feel other tragedies, instead of just see them.
And then I was thinking,what are the statistical probabilities that I would be born in poverty, live through a natural disaster/war, or both? I imagine the're pretty high. I remember hearing once that if you make more than $25,000/year, you're richer than 95% of the world. It blows my mind, I'm so used to seeing just one way of living. All this around me seems normal. But in reality, only 5% of the world's population understands "living" the same way I do. It's a little overwhelming. Just do the best we can, I guess, and send what I can to Haiti.

Winter Tea Party

Well, now I know. Apparently by January it's no longer apple cider season. I was pretty disappointed in the only cider I could find, but better than nothing. And hopefully the cider was overshadowed by the meringue mushrooms, my favorite part ;) Buon anno! (Two month count down!)



Mulled Cider
1 gallon cider (not apple juice)
3 T orange juice concentrate
1/4 c brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 T cloves

Steep the cider with the other ingredients for an hour, or to taste.


Caramel Panna Cotta
Panna Cotta (from David Lebovitz)
4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

2.Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

4. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours.

Caramel
180 grams heavy cream
1/2 t vanilla
45 grams sugar
60 grams egg yolks

Bring the cream and the vanilla to a boil. Reserve.

In the meantime, make a dry caramel with the sugar. Deglaze the cooked sugar with the heated cream. Be careful because it will bubble over if all the cream is added at once. Whisk so all crystalized sugar has dissolved. Pour this caramel over the egg yolks and whisk. Return this to the pan and cook for 1 minute.

Meringue Mushrooms from Martha Stewart

Daring Bakers: Gingerbread House

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

So maybe I went a little overboard making a gingerbread farm (upwards of 15 hours over the last four days :p ), but I couldn't help it. I'm not really a decorator, I'm a baker. Flavors, ingredients, recipes, that's what I can do. Artistry? Not really. But I thought if there was anything I could pull off, it would be a project that's more architecture and engineering that happens to look like art.

And everyone around my house appreciated that I spent four days baking something that wouldn't expand their waistlines in the end (cause ain't nobody eatin' this baby).

I used Anna's recipe, but was cautious about adding all the flour since so many people noted the dough gets very dry. I ended up about one cup of flour short of what the recipe called for. I used a box inside the farm house to hold it up (I know, I know, but the green house is holding itself up!), and I use a lollipop recipe for the glue. I used cake crumbs for the dirt, and the "glass" (more lollipop syrup) is lightly colored greed, but it's hard to tell against the board. The herbs are actually herbs: lavender, mint, sage, rosemary, chamomile. And if you look closely on the porch, there's a tea pot on the table, made by my sister!

Great challenge! Watch for it, this'll be my farm for real in a couple years!

Gingerbread Cakebites

For the neighborhood Christmas party everyone is supposed to bring candy for the dessert. That means no cake, no cookies, no brownies! I love candy, granted. But not just candy. So I used Bakerella for inspiration, and will bring candy looking gingerbread cakebites, and shortbread.

Gingerbread

1/4 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c molasses
1 1/2 c flour
1 t powdered ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1 t baking powder
1/2 c milk

Cream butter with the brown sugar. Add the molasses and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients. Alternate adding in the dry ingredients and milk in thirds until all combined. Bake at 350 F for 30 min.

To make cake balls, see Bakerella.

Shortbread
1 c butter
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c corn starch

Cream the butter until very light, about 2 min. Add the sugar, cream for another 2 min. Stir in the flours and salt until combined. Roll the dough into balls, and bake at 300 F for 20 min.

Look what finally bloomed! And it's only been two years...