watermelon rind pickles for today

Posted on September 1, 2011 by hilary924

do you ever feel like you live two lives? i feel constantly caught between the realities of today and the someday i want to have. i'm not wishing it closer or trying to speed up time. i like today. i just like someday too.

so, where does your someday live?

mine lives in a little house in california.

with his and hers freezers. one full of cookie dough and corn kernels and pesto and celery tops waiting to become stock. the other full of ben & jerrys and lean pockets and ice packs.

it has a garden that will grow more than 10 cherry tomatoes in one season.

there are going to be lots of lazy sunday afternoons in that garden with mimosas and the new york times.

it has a live-in husband, and hopefully is full of lots of friends and family who live at least in the same dang time zone.

and, it has proper pantry i can fill with mason jars. mason jars filled with jam, and salsa, and pickles, and love. and hopefully no botulism.

because, someday, i'm going to make fig jam with my mom and her neighbor evangeline, who is pretty much anyone's hero for how to grow old. feisty! independent!

and, someday, i'm going to make the somm's best woman susan teach me how to make salsa. her dad is a legit tomato farmer and every year at harvest her whole family gets together to put up tomatoes.

i'm going to need some shelf space.

but today, i'm all about quick pickles. emphasis on the quick.

especially since they usually need to be quickly gone to make room in the poor overcrowded fridge for my next adventure!

spicy pickled onions are usually my quick pickle of choice. they are a surefire way to tell your taco night diners that you're serious about your tacos. but they're good on pretty much anything. except maybe cheesecake. maybe.

but this time, i branched out. watermelon rind pickles are trending hard in the foodie world right now, as are all kinds of preserves.

i bought the darlingist yellow watermelon at the farmers market. the somm had concerns about the yellowness. it was good, though. juicy.

aren't watermelon rinds pretty?

you lose all that lovely stripyness for the pickle though. sadly.

looks like cucumber. appropriate.

now it gets juicy again. and spicy, sweet, sour and all that good stuff.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

These last about a week, so I didn't make a lot. I also used less sugar because I don't really like sweet pikcles. It's an easy recipe to scale, and super easy to change up the flavorings. A quick Google will give you lots of other ideas like cardamon, star anise, allspice. I basically just used what I had.

1/2 small watermelon
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 strips lemon peel
1 tablespoon ground ginger (that's what I had – fresh ginger would be better)
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
1 small red chile, roughly chopped

Separate the watermelon flesh from the rind, then peel the rind. This leaves you with the unpretty, cucumber-looking pale flesh. Slice this up or chop it up in chunks, whatever floats your boat. Remember that if it looks the same, it cooks the same, so try to keep your pieces similar. I am not sure what I was thinking when I took the rind off my watermelon the day before I made these and hacked it up into crazy pieces, so I ended up with same sized slices of rind for about a third of the small-mediumish sized watermelon, which was about all the rind I wanted.

Put all the other ingredients in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar disolves. Add the rinds – the liquid should slightly more than cover the rinds. Simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes or until the rind chunks are tender.

Store in liquid in tupperware in the fridge for up to a week. Longer than that and the pickles start to get a bit soft.

hurricane food

Posted on August 29, 2011 by hilary924

did you hear? the storm of the century hit the east coast this weekend.

well, sort of. it wasn’t that bad where we live. just rainy. windy. i still managed to go on an 8-mile run saturday, and sun-bathe at the pool on sunday, so i’m feeling unimpressed.

but some of us got a little spooked.

i tried telling rio that you hide in the bathroom for tornadoes not hurricanes, but she’s crazy stubborn. and a scaredy cat.

good thing we didn’t lose power. i had cooking to do.

pizza with candied cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, capers and pesto.

pairs well with an entire bottle of prosecco as you’re listening to the hurricane-force wind and rain and praying that your husband, on an airplane in the middle of said wind and rain, makes it to california safely.

the candied cherry tomatoes, courtesy of the splendid table, have been a real champ. i made a bunch and have been throwing them on salads, sandwiches, crostini with goat cheese.

but i also made this:

that’s smitten kitchen’s southwestern pulled brisket. it was good on jim lahey’s no knead bread with cheddar.

it was also good in a tortilla, with pepper jack and watermelon rind pickles (recipe coming soon!).

spicy. manchego approved. take that “hurricane” irene.

double batch of coworker charm cookies

Posted on August 25, 2011 by hilary924

so, i started a new job last week. same building, same agency, new boss, new office (windows! a door!). definitely a step in the right direction.

one challenge? their IT seems to be stuck in 1995. no youtube. no flickr. facebook? you be dreaming. taxpayers, your bureaucrats are resigned to focusing on their actual work.

sort of.

anyway. it might make things a little slower in my blogland, since i usually get home with just about enough energy to cook, but always enough to cook + blog. me = lazy. moving on.

anyone who bakes should be smart enough to bake for coworkers. the old cookie charm offensive, that's what i like to call it. make friends. lull people into a false sense of security with chocolate chips. be that girl, the one who's office is great for gossip because you never know when there'll be a banana bread.

or, these:

i decided, pick a tried-and-true recipe, and went with a double batch! ha ha! cleaned me out of: butter, eggs, vanilla, flour and nearly sugar. whew. it takes a lot of butter for these bad boys.

four sticks. turning brown. it takes a while to brown a pound of butter, let me tell you.

i also needed some coconut. toasty.

my kitchenaid was up to the task. although it got a little dicey there.

thank goodness mom, er, i mean "santa" put that cute cookie scoop in my stocking last year!

don't they kind of look like cookie pac-men? is that just me? or are they pac-man ghosts?

in any event, they turned out perfect. thanks joy the baker! and hey, new coworkers: i'm gonna be emailing you needing stuff. like, needing stuff yesterday. please remember the deliciousness of my baked goods and help me help you.

Browned Butter, Toasted Coconut, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Visit Joy the Baker for her recipe and just double it. Or not. Double makes a lot of cookies! Hope you have hungry coworkers!

spicy corn saute

Posted on August 21, 2011 by hilary924

there’s a lot of corn in the world right now. it keeps following me home. there are going to be a LOT of corn recipes coming up, folks. bear with me.

today’s corn recipe comes courtesy of the spilled milk podcast. do you know spilled milk? you should. and if you don’t you’re in for a treat. i just discovered it about a month ago which means i have several years of past episodes to catch up on.

this is one of my favorite things – playing catch-up on books or tv shows. i’m impatient, so it works out not having to wait for new content, but also means i’m usually about two years behind the world, culture wise. highlights of the year: working my way through five seasons of friday night lights and discovering the bazillion pages of the first four game of thrones books. the two weeks i had to wait until the next book was released this summer? let’s just say, good thing i was mostly in spain. lots of lovely temperanillo and worrying about the somm avoiding the bulls in pamplona to distract me.

anyway, this is a food blog, and spilled milk is a food podcast. a hilarious food podcast. and about a year ago, they did a great episode on cord off the cob . . . or corn on the spoon as we prefer to call it around here.

you should always start with super fresh corn. this kind of fresh:

tell you what: they weren’t lying. farmer’s market produce, not for the faint of heart.

this corn is spicy. no kidding spicy. it calls for a whole jalepeno to four ears of corn, but man. i used about two thirds of a pepper (and no seeds) and it still killed me.

saute it up. this recipe is based around not just the jalepeno, but the yummy layer of brown gunky stuff that gums up the bottom of the pan when you saute corn. all the sugar and flavor of the corn. gunk. molly & matthew on spilled milk have assured me, it’s a technical term!

admission: i have been known to scrape that gunk up and eat it off the spatula. salty, sweet, like corn msg. this recipe is better, and less likely to disgust your friends and loved ones. deglaze the pan with a little water (or maybe even wine? live large!) and the corn kernals soak all that flavor back up.

i couldn’t tell if manchego approved or not.

he doesn’t particularly enjoy corn and can’t quite understand why if i’m going to cook rather than play laser tag with him i don’t cook something with protein. now, roasted chicken. there’s something he can get behind.

sorry dude. this corn was good. better in a quesadilla, where the cheese helped cut the burning fire in my mouth. hello jalepeno!

For this recipe: Corn off the Cob by Spilled Milk

My changes: less jalepeno, a mix of scallions and red onion cause that was what i had, and sprinkle of pepitas on top.

italian prune plum cake

Posted on August 16, 2011 by hilary924

we are back to the farmer's market this week. i was seduced by a plum. it's hardly my fault.

there are lots of pretty plums in the world. the typical red Satsuma plums. the little yellow and green plums.

but the plums that got me were these. italian prune plums. so dark purple they are almost blue with a lovely ashy skin. according to the internets, they aren't so good for eating out of hand, but better for baking. especially on a stormy summer afternoon. sold!

manchego liked them too. or maybe it was the squirrel stealing our cherry tomatoes outside the window.

just kidding. the porch plants are so weak this year, the squirrel has given up on us. i've given up on us. on the plus side, since i've stopped watering the squash and tomatoes, i have SO MUCH MORE TIME. war and peace kind of time. plum cake kind of time.

sincere apologies to the dear friend who helped keep them alive during our vacation this year. i started the summer with such hope. there's always next year.

anyway, here are our ingredients. it's a simple cake.

there are a lot of plum recipes out there. tarts. rustic crostatas and galettes. crepes. treats involving almond flour, pastry cream, spring-form pans. sorbets for those uninclined to turn on the oven. if you are feeling ambitious, i encourage you to try any of those yummy looking recipes.

me, i've been on a lazy streak lately.

i googled until i found something super easy. yet, something classic. something blessed by not just the new york times and the spendid table, but also by an anonymous chowhound commenter.

let's get started. halve those plums.

so pretty, the pale green center with the dusty purple skin.

i'll be honest – the pits were a little bit of a b*!@& to pry out of the plums. we had words.

once you've liberated your plum halves, let them hang out with the lemon juice and cinnamon. then nestle them in the batter. the batter is thick and sticky.

the plums cook down and get jammy. they stay a little tart, which is a nice foil against the cake, which is sweet but not too sweet. not as sweet as the amount of sugar would lead you to believe. and the cake has a nice light crumb.

the edges of the cake are a lovely chewy crust – and with a slightly gooey center, it's kind of like a really good brownie. without the chocolate. win some, lose some.

i slightly undercooked the cake. don't be like me. gooey is good – but the middle of my cake was inedible. don't tell the cake police. just bake your cake until it's done!

but the edges.

crusty, chewy, just the right amount of gooey.

see? it's even like the cake is smiling.

Italian Prune Plum Cake

Basically as seen in: The New York Times and the Spendid Table, but also by an Anonymous Chowhound Commenter

1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
1 lemon, zest & juice
7 Italian (prune or purple) plums
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Halve and pit the plums. Toss with 2 tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and juice of one lemon. Let the plums soak up the goodness.

Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Let it get good and fluffy. Add flour and baking power and mix until just combined. Add eggs, salt and lemon zest, and mix again until just combined. Light touch!

Scoop into a greased baking dish. I used a 12x9ish baking pan. Nestle in your plums, skin side down. Don't be shy with that cinnamon.

Bake for about an hour or until the middle isn't gooey. Let it get good and golden brown. Cool, slice and serve with a little powdered sugar!

fudgy salty peanut butter brownies

Posted on August 12, 2011 by hilary924

let's break these down. layer of brownie (with peanuts). layer of thick, chunky peanut butter frosting. layer of chocolate ganache. sprinkle of salted, roasted peanuts.

i mean, things have been too healthy on the blog lately. too much summer produce, not enough butter.

although, is too much summer fruit and veg possible?!?! i'm certainly doing my best to see. for example, my current experiment is determining just how many pounds of cherries can one safely consume without turning into violet beauregarde. i'll keep eating and report back.

in the meantime, these brownies are heaven on a plate any time of year. it's a dorie greenspan recipe by way of epicurious. and i really didn't change much. other than adding more peanuts on TOP of the brownies despite the many layers of peanuts within, but i'm a glutton for a salty crunch.

you're going to have to melt a lot of chocolate for these bad boys.

ok, i lied about not changing anything. dorie says use a mix of unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate. i made these brownies as a part of a peanut butter & chocolate week of celebration (including a butterfinger layer cake. to die for.) and i had two gorgeous blocks of callebaut milk and dark chocolate. i used some of that. and some ghirardelli and other assorted bits of chocolate around the kitchen i wanted to use up. and i cut back on the sugar to compensate. it worked out.

there's also a lot of good peanut butter in this. use jif. always use jif.

choosy bakers who love chunks choose jif. choosy somms also choose jif. but can someone please explain to me why all the dc-area grocery stores stopped selling reduced-fat chunky jif? is it a conspiracy to make me start using full fat? to make me drop peanut butter toast cold turkey? to make me start buying grocieries through amazon?

i probably could have made it through this post without showing you how i cut a corner out of the brownies before ganaching and frosting them.

but, i am doing this as a public service announcement. don't be like me. don't eat these brownies without the toppings. don't get me wrong, they are fine brownies. especially warm. but there is something about the package deal that is so much better. the brownie stops being so cakey and and really does get moist and fudgy. it's almost like candy – super rich.

i thought the peanuts on top were a good add. had these brownies lasted longer than a day, they might have gotten a bit soft, but the day-of they were a nice crunchy, salty contrast to the everything else.

you won't be able to have just one.

Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

Use this recipe, but add more nuts on top. Do it.

corn, tomato & zucchini pie

Posted on August 9, 2011 by hilary924

isn’t corn just wonderful? it really is one of my favorite foods. i love that corn can go either sweet or savory – or both, hitting that salty-sweet combo that just sings to me. like peanut butter or kettle corn or flaky sea salt on brownies.

last year, we went to san francisco for my (and a friends!) birthday and had dinner one night at a swanky restaurant with corn-themed dessert. it was a crazy landscape of a dessert. literally. it had “soil” and little plants and all kinds of amazing corn-based delights and i think i just planted my face into it and hoped the somm and friend were enjoying some other dessert menu item.

i’m not a good sharer.

at least when it comes to dessert. i’m totally happy to share this recipe – which is savory despite that long corn-dessert aside. homemade corn ice cream is sooooo on my summer wish list.

this corn “pie” delivers the essence of corn in all it’s summer glory. it’s rich but light, and the sweet corn is perfectly complemented by the crispy, cheesey topping and herbal notes from the basil and thyme.

plus it couldn’t be easier.

cut the kernels off your corn. i like to do it in a bowl. it keeps the kernels from going everywhere.

use your knife skills to matchstick some zucchini. this is not my best effort. but, to be honest, i put this bad boy together post happy hour on a friday. anything more advanced than take out or a bowl of cereal was winning.

throw it together in a pie dish with herbs, salt & pepper and some melted butter.

pretty.

layer on some tomatoes.

red and yellow. gorgeous.

finish it off with bread crumbs and parmesan.

bake until brown and crispy. nom nom.

Corn, Tomato & Zucchini Pie

Adapted from Epicurious

3 ears of corn worth of corn kernels
1-2 medium zucchini, cut into matchstick pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh basil and/or thyme
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs, Panko-type are best
2 tablespoons olive oil – I used basil-flavored, yum

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a 9-inch pie dish, combine the corn, zucchini, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, the herbs, and the melted butter, tossing to coat the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the cheese and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the tomatoes and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake the pie for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. Remove it from the oven, and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

roasted tomatillo & corn salsa

Posted on August 4, 2011 by hilary924

this salsa is a major victory. i mean, it tastes great – smoky and tangy and sweet and spicy – but the victory comes from the fact that it was produced and consumed without harm to myself or the kitchen.

the last time i made this salsa, i felt like i was starring in my very own adam sandler movie. jalepeno in my eye, me futily splashing it with water while the sommelier frantically googles for antedotes, then milk everywhere – especially crusted around my red, swollen face. add in a huge, bleeding cut in my fingertip to distract me, and to top it off, we inaugurated the kitchen fire extinguisher when the broiler got the best of the homemade tortilla chips.

not my finest hour.

at multiple points during this experience, the sommelier suggested perhaps some takeout from the lovely chicken place down the street might be a good idea. this is why he was better in economics . . . he knows a sunk cost when he sees one and is ready to move on.

but i'm a crazy cook, so i persisted. and was rewarded with yummy tomatillo salsa!

this time, having only slightly learned from past mishaps, i decided to step it up and char both the corn and the tomatillos. which i mananged without burning ANYTHING. so, let's get started.

have you met the tomatillo?

when you pull off the papery skins, they kind of look like little, unripe tomatoes. they're a little sticky, so you have to give them a good rinse.

to make salsa, you can blend them up raw, or roast them under the broiler.

kind of looks like a marimekko print, don't you think?

i went for roasted, because i also wanted to add some charred corn. i'd never done this before. now i've done it twice without burning anything that wasn't meant to be burned! progress!

the corn does pop a little, and the inevitable corn silk stuck between the kernels does flare up and burn off a bit. it kind of freaked the sommelier out, cause he knew i was up to no good. but i stood back at a safe distance. had the fire extinguisher out and ready (this particular kitchen safety measure, like the knife skills lesson, was totally the somm's idea). we worked through it, and it was worth it.

fact: add this stuff to roasted cherry tomatoes with some lime, cilantro, salt & pepper and the barest splash of balsamic and you'll have yourself a lovely summer salad. or, enjoy while standing at your cutting board and trying not to drop any on the floor. mmm.

but we're focusing on the tomatillo today.

blend up your roasted tomatillo with some onion, jalepeno, and lime juice. stir in the corn, chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

total victory. and yes, this time we skipped the homemade tortilla chips.

Roasted Tomatillo & Corn Salsa

adapted from Simply Recipes, via Kuhn Orchards at my local farmers market

1 1/2 lb tomatillos
2 ears corn
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 to 1 lime, jucied, to taste
2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Salt to taste

Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Slice in half and roast, cut side down, under the broiler until almost black.

Husk corn and char – carefully – over a gas burner. Slice kernals from cob.

In food processor, blend tomatillos with onion, lime and jalepeno. Place in bowl, and stir in cilantro and corn. Season and enjoy!

easy summer pork tenderloin with peaches

Posted on August 1, 2011 by hilary924

reader, brace yourself. this recipe is super easy, but it is going to require you to get up close and personal with a big hunk of raw meat.

if you are like most of my friends, you look at raw meat and start slowly backing away. do not be afraid. it will be worth it.

the challenge is the rub. here it is, in my adorable morter & pestle (one of the lovely wedding gifts i kept – thank you cousins!):

this is about 4 cloves of garlic, and powdered curry, cinnamon, & ginger. and maybe some salt and pepper. all mashed up. with a little olive oil, but i had a super hard time getting the oil to come together with the spices in the mortar. try a bowl and a fork.

now, apply to your pork! you have to work it in there. use some elbow grease. get to know your tenderloin. think about how tasty it's going to be.

you're going to want to sear this bad boy in a pan that you can then just pop into your oven to finish it off until the center of the thickest part of the meat is 145 degrees.

do you have a meat thermometer? you should get one. mine is digital and fancy-pants and ridiculously expenseive (and purple!) but super worth it. you don't have to spend that much. but a thermometer is really the only way to know your meat is cooked properly. don't blame me, blame harold mcgee.

see how nice and browned it got from the searing? yum.

you want to let your pork rest while you make the peach compote. if you slice into the meat too soon, it'll look raw in the middle, cooked on the outside, and dry, dry, dry because all the juices'll just be a puddle on your plate. not yummy. resting lets all the juices redistribute throughout the meat. evens out the cookedness (yes i know that's not a word) of the meat.

and you have other things to deal with: tomatoes, corn and peaches!

well, first you want to soften some onions in your pan – leave all the good porky bits in the bottom to help flavor them up. but careful not to grab the handle while you're sauteing. it's hot, people – it was in the oven. and if you grab it, it'll leave you trying to finish dinner while holding an ice pack and that's just no fun. not that i would know from experience or anything.

next, add the good stuff shown above and a healthy amount of fresh herbs – i went with thyme. i heart thyme.

this isn't a 30 minute meal. but it's pretty close. and it's pretty good.

Easy Summer Pork Tenderloin with Peach, Corn & Tomato Compote

Adapted from Epicurious

4 garlic cloves
2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 (3/4-pound) pork tenderloin
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 pound tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 peach, chopped
1 ear corn kernels
2 teaspoons chopped thyme

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Mash garlic, spices, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to a paste using mortar and pestle. Rub all over pork.

Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown pork on one side, about 5 minutes, then turn over and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 145 to 150°F for juicy meat, 10 to 12 minutes. Let pork rest, uncovered, on a cutting board while making compote.

Add onion to skillet (handle will be very hot) and sautéover medium-high heat until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, peach and corn and sauté until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in thyme.

Slice pork and serve with compote.

peach brown sugar cake

Posted on July 27, 2011 by hilary924

the theme of this post is: don't be like me. don't forget to bring your butter and cream cheese to room temperature. don't forget to add the peaches. and, for all that is holy, don't forget to add the flour. we are not inventing flourless peach cake around here. grody.

that said, all of those things happened to me when i made this cake. an audience of distracting girlfriends discussing vampire novels and work drama and some cocktails featuring passion fruit juice, limoncello and blackberries may have been to blame.

or i'm just a ditz.

in any event. the cake turned out just fine. there are few problems you can't solve. let's start with ice cold butter that miraculously needs to become room temp butter so you can cream it properly!

yep, that's what you do. chop it up. let it hang out in your kitchen while you have a cocktail and make dinner. know what goes great with zucchini soup? grilled cheese. nom nom.

now you're ready to cream. here's the thing about creaming butter and sugar. you aren't just combining ingredients, or it would be called mixing. what you're really trying to do is to aerate your batter – fill it up with little air bubbles that your leavener (baking soda and/or baking powder) will make bigger. That is what will create a light fluffy yummy cake.

letting your butter come to room temp is like a pre-dinner cocktail. it just makes dinner better. it creates better air bubbles. and room temp butter just gives a little when you press it. it isn't half melted cause you nuked it for a few seconds too long. not that i would judge, cause i almost forgot the flour. and the peaches. good lord.

ok, now our room temperature butter is getting to know the white and brown sugar. i used dark brown sugar, which gave the cake (and later the frosting) a lovely flavor but a relatively unappetizing uniformly brown color. don't be like me – use dark for your cake and light for your frosting.

again, i ask for your patience. cream at low speed – not above medium on your electric mixer. and you need to give the butter and sugar about 3-5 minutes. if you've never creamed before, it's going to feel like forever. pour yourself another cocktail.

eventually, the color will change. check that out! it got all light and creamy and fluffy!

these are really atrocious photos. light! i need light!

moving on. at this point, you add, in stages, all the other ingredients. seriously. ALL the other ingredients. don't be like me. i put some adorable orange polka dotted cupcake wrappers into my cupcake tin and filled them with batter. then i turned and saw the pile of chopped peaches on my cutting board. ever resourceful, i just stirred a spoonful of peaches into each cupcake. victory! into the oven!

then i noticed the bowl of sifted flour on the counter. it wasn't pretty, but we eventually ended up here:

not too shabby.

while the cake is baking, make your frosting. this is really magical frosting. a little bit of tang from the cream cheese, and true, caramely, brown sugar goodness. but it needs some time to set up in the fridge – which can happen while your cake is cooling!

check out those chunks of peach. this is a really lovely moist cake due in part to the fruit and the sour cream. the bits of peaches are small enough to infuse the cake with subtle peachiness and still give you bright pops of flavor.

there are a couple of keys to a smooth layer cake. smitten kitchen – also the authoress of this divine recipe – has a great post on it here. today, i will demonstrate how to frost a crumb-free cake!

start with a base layer. not super pretty.

but stick the ake in the fridge to firm up the base frosting layer – i gave it about 20 minutes – and then your second layer will go on smoothly and without any crumbs.

kids, this cake is BROWN. but the raspberries sort of saved the day. next time, i'd also add some raspberries as a filling. they kick up the sweet-tart of the frosting and break up the sweet-sweet of the cake.

Peach Brown Sugar Cake

From Smitten Kitchen. See this recipe baked as intended here.

Makes 24 to 28 cupcakes – or one 9 inch layer cake

3 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose, worked fine)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt
3 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped smallish

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 28 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cake layers were done in about 25 to 27 minutes.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

Manchego's Kitchen

it's his kitchen. i just cook here.

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