Carrot Macaroons

We always have carrots in the fridge. Most evenings there is a carrot in our dinner salad and Robbie slices carrots and puts them in our sandwiches for color and crunch. They flavor our soups along with onion and garlic and at times we enjoy carrots roasted or steamed. I love it when we find fresh garden carrots in our CSA box—I take advantage and think outside the eating “box.”

This cookie is Alice Medrich’s recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth cookies. I added cayenne pepper and subbed orange for the lemon zest. The cookies are delicious and different but not that easy to make. I mixed them together last night; right after I pulled them from the oven, I went to bed. This morning Robbie came from the kitchen and said, “Good news and bad news. Those cookies are really good but they stick to the parchment paper—I can’t get them off.” I thought not-to-worry because I’d read a note in the recipe telling how to remove the cookies from the parchment:  hold one cookie at a time while gently peeling the parchment away from it. But when we pulled a cookie off the paper, some of it still stuck to the bottom of the cookie. Robbie had figured out a solution by the time I got to the kitchen—he had turned the cookies over—the sheet of parchment with cookies stuck on it–and rubbed the paper with a wet kitchen sponge. Voila! The cookies released from the paper. I think if I ever make them again I will put them on a silicone baking mat—most everything releases easily from a “Silpat.”

Be sure to use unsweetened coconut—available in specialty markets that sell nuts and dried fruits, and in natural food stores. The highly sweetened coconut we use in German Chocolate frosting is not a good substitute.

Carrot Macaroons

¾ cup whole almonds

2 large egg whites

1 cup organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon Real Salt

1 1/3 cup finely shredded carrot

¾ cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut

Heaping ¼ teaspoon grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor, pulse the almonds until you get chopped almonds ranging from finely chopped to mostly finely chopped.

In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites with a fork until frothy. Stir in the sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt and cayenne. Add the carrot, coconut, almonds and orange zest and stir until everything is moistened. Set aside for 10 minutes to dissolve the sugar and hydrate the coconut. (This is when I took a shower and brushed my teeth.)

Set the bowl directly in a wide skillet of barely simmering water and stir the mixture with a silicone spatula, scraping the bottom to prevent burning, until the mixture is very hot to the touch and any liquid at the bottom of the bowl has thickened and turned from translucent to opaque.

Drop by heaping teaspoons 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets or on silicone baking mats on the baking sheets. Bake about 25 minutes, until the tips of the carrot shreds begin to color. Allow to cool completely. (This is when I went to bed.)

Remove the cookies from the pan as best you can—use Robbie’s trick if you line your pans with parchment.

Keep in a box loosely covered—they will loose their crunch if kept airtight. Alice says do not freeze and I have not tested her caution.

Makes 48 small cookies.

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Rosemary Oatmeal Scones

This week’s CSA box

This recipe comes from my cookbook, Chocolate Snowball: and Other Fabulous Pastries from Deer Valley Bakery. Fresh rosemary is a must here; make these only when you have fresh rosemary on hand—like we Ranui Gardens CSA members this week. If you are questioning pastry with rosemary, you will find its strong, pungent, lemony, slightly piney and distinct flavor a delightful surprise. After all, rosemary is a member of the mint family, and we incorporate mint in desserts all the time.

Trivia: ancient Greeks and Romans used the dark grey-green needles as a culinary and medicinal herb and considered rosemary a symbol of fidelity, friendship and remembrance; brides wore garlands of it in their hair, as did Greek students during their examinations.

To impart the rosemary’s fragrance, strip the needles from the stem, chop them very finely, and steep in hot cream. When the rosemary infusion is cold, mix it into the dry ingredients. At Deer Valley we form the dough in rounds and freeze until needed.

Rosemary Oatmeal Scones

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup half-and-half cream

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

3/4 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream, optional

1 tablespoon crystal or granulated sugar

Heat the rosemary and the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until very hot but not boiling. Refrigerate until the cream is cold, about 30 minutes.

Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl, and stir in the rolled oats. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingers or a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With a fork, stir in the cold rosemary cream and the raisins, and mix until the dough comes together. It will be quite sticky. To form this soft dough into a round, line a 9-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap. Put the dough into the pan and fold the plastic wrap over to completely cover the dough. Form the dough into an even round disk, about 1/2 inch thick, by pushing the dough around under the plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze about 1 hour, or until cold enough to cut.

Preheat oven to 375˚. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, or coat lightly with butter or cooking spray. Cut the scone dough round into 10 pie-shaped wedges. Arrange on the prepared pan at least 1 inch apart. Brush with milk or cream, if using, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms are light golden brown and your finger doesn’t leave an indentation when you touch the tops.

Makes 10 scones.

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Tarte aux Blettes–Sweet Swiss Chard Tart with a Cookie Crust

Tarte Aux Blettes, with roasted pear and ruby chard Moscato sauce and creme fraiche sherbet

Tarte aux Blettes, that’s the menu title, since I think most people would see Swiss chard tart on a dessert menu and pass it over for the Chocolate Snowball. I remember ordering this tart in Nice, France way back in 1986, for professional curiosity of course. After that, also a long time ago, I tried making it, likely from a recipe in the old Time-Life Food of the World series; it must have been the Cooking of Provincial France book. I didn’t like how that recipe came out—tough crust and odd mix of flavors, and the chard was probably old and bitter. Nevertheless, anytime I see another version of this Swiss chard tart, I am tempted to try again. A quick Google search shows that there are plenty of recipes out there, including translations from Boulud and Payard.

David Lebovitz, my favorite blogger, posted his rendition last year, writing about his almost fruitless search for more chard in Paris, after he’d decided he needed more to complete the recipe. Two pounds of chard for each tart is a lot, much more than one bunch, making this tart most appropriate when gardens are overflowing with chard. So, when I was asked to prepare dessert for Utah’s Slow Food gala dinner, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to perfect my own interpretation; my audience would be captive, meaning they wouldn’t choose that rich warm chocolate cake from the menu instead, because there would be no choice. And the date was mid-September, when gardens in our high altitudes are peaking; I was able to beg 22 pounds of sweet fresh-picked chard,  young and tender Blonde de Lyon chard from John at Ranui Gardens and rainbow chard with colorful stems from Daisy at Copper Moose Farm—two of our Wasatch back CSA farmers. I took David’s recipe and made it mine, with a sweet sugar cookie crust, no Parmesan cheese and fresh pears instead of apples. I served it with candied red chard stems and Moscato-poached Utah pears, both roasted to intensify their flavors, and crème fraîche sherbet.

Tarte aux Blettes

For the sugar cookie crust:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

For the filling:

¼ cup poire william sweet pear liqueur

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 pounds Swiss chard well washed, stems and veins removed, red and yellow stems reserved (you will end up with about 1 ½ pounds of leaves after stripping away the veins and stems)

Pinch salt

¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup organic cane sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon tapioca flour or starch

Confectioners’ sugar

Make the crust:

Stir the flour and the sugar together in a medium bowl. Dice the butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk and the cream. Sprinkle over the dough, stirring with a fork. Mix with your hands until the dough comes together, and divide in two portions, one a tiny bit larger than the other. Gently form each portion into a flattened 4-inch ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Make the filling:

Put the raisins and pear liqueur in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside until the raisins are plump with the liqueur.

chard leaves, cooked, with all the water squeezed out, enough for 9 tarts

Put the chard leaves in a saucepan or skillet with about ¼ cup of water and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook the leaves until they are completely wilted and have shrunk incredibly. Drain the leaves and immediately run them under cold water to help keep the bright green color. When they are cool, squeeze as much water as you are able from the leaves.

Chop the cooked chard and put into a bowl. Drain any liqueur from the raisins and add them to the chard. Sip the pear brandy while you continue making the tart.

Chop the pine nuts coarsely and add them to the chard, along with the cinnamon, sugar and eggs. Mix well; set aside while you roll the crust.

Roll the crust and assemble and bake the tart:

The dough it must be worked by hand first or it will be too crumbly: Cut each portion of the cold dough into 1/2 cup portions and smear the pieces quickly with the palm of your hand–the motion is similar to kneading but more gentle.

Brush melted butter on the sides and bottom of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, or spray with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger portion of dough into a 12-inch circle, 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Use short coaxing strokes of the rolling pin and lift and turn the circle frequently, as often as every other roll of the pin. Use as little flour as possible, but dust the work surface and the rolling pin as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer to the prepared pan by rolling the dough up onto the rolling pin and laying it over the pan. Ease the dough into the corners of the pan. Patch any tears by pressing the dough together with your fingers. Trim the edges, leaving one inch of the dough standing up above the sides of the pan.

Roll the remaining dough for the top crust. Make it a circle, 1/8-inch thick, a little wider than the pan. Set aside.

Spread the chard filling into the tart shell. Toss the pear slices with the tapioca flour. Arrange them evenly over the filling.

Fold the extended inch of pastry over the filling and pears. Brush this edge with water so the top crust will seal to it. Lay the top crust on top of the filling. Use your fingers to pinch off the excess dough and seal it the top to the bottom.

Cut 6 slits in the crust to allow steam to escape. Place on a large baking sheet and bake 40 to 60 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown. Some of the filling may leak; this is typical. Cool at least one hour.

Remove the fluted pan rim and bottom; you may need to slip a flat knife between the pastry and the pan bottom to release it. Center a 7-inch plate or a cardboard circle on top of the tart as a stencil and sift confectioners’ sugar over the exposed border. Serve at room temperature.

 

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Thyme and Lemon Zest Cookies

I longed for the variety and the weekly surprise of super fresh Ranui CSA produce all winter–how great it was to get John’s call yesterday morning to tell me that Ranui’s CSA is starting up for the season this week—yippee!

This blog, Muffintalk, is 3 years old this summer season. It began as a way to compile the recipes I write for Ranui, to help us all enjoy our produce more. I’d like to say that I add recipes in the winter, chronicling what we are having for dinner, but work and skiing seem to get in the way. As long as we receive our weekly boxes, each Tuesday I will post a couple of recipes featuring the ‘pick’, and I encourage you to Search the archives to find more recipe ideas.

Since lacto-ovo vegetarian is my diet, the recipes include butter and eggs. This is the food Robbie and I cook at home. I work as a pastry chef, though, so enjoy the occasional sweet recipe—like today’s cookies.

Thyme and Lemon Zest Cookies

These cookies are from Peggy Knickerbocker’s Simple Soirees: Seasonal Recipes for Sensational Dinner Parties. They were a perfect light and flaky treat to finish the decadent, five-course brunch we served at Deer Valley last weekend.

The lemon oil bumps up the flavor but you certainly don’t need it to make a tasty cookie. LorAnn lemon oil can be found in Park City at No Place Like Home. Freeze one of the logs for a quick dessert later, tomorrow, this weekend or next month.

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

½ cup sugar (take away 1 tablespoon at higher altitudes)

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon of lemon oil, optional

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon oil, if using, and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Mix into the creamed butter, scraping the bowl again.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. On a piece of parchment or waxed paper, pat each portion into a 12-inch log. Use the parchment to roll smooth, even logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate 2 hours or freeze 45 minutes, until firm.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper or oil them lightly with canola oil. Slice each log into 1/8-inch rounds and arrange on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are slightly golden brown.

Makes about 100 small cookies.

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Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Chocolate Snowball, my cookbook of pastries from Deer Valley is now out in paperback and promoting and signings filled my December days off. Here is a link to my Seattle appearance in December. My two younger sisters, a niece and a nephew, a cousin and an aunt  all make their homes in Seattle and came as my fan club in the audience. The Lemon Thumbprint cookies were a hit. And as you see in the video–you can cleverly fill the “thumbprint” depressions with jelly or jam as well.

Deer Valley Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted Darigold butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely ground

Lemon Curd (use the recipe in Chocolate Snowball, or your own.)

Beat butter and sugar in mixer until light and creamy; add vanilla and beat to blend. Sift flour, cornstarch and salt into separate mixing bowl; add walnuts.

Add flour/nut mixture to butter mixture and mix just until blended.  Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325°F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls (or scoop with a #100 ice cream scoop) and place on lightly greased (or spray with non-stick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper) cookie sheets one inch apart. Press down center of each ball with thumb. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven; place on wire rack to cool.  Fill hole with Lemon Curd once cookies are cool.

Makes about 66 Thumbprint cookies.

A full time job living in the land of excellent skiing doesn’t leave much time for blogging. Wouldn’t you rather go skiing than sit at the computer? It’s not that I haven’t been cooking–there is plenty yummy in our house. Just tonight I made “creamless” cauliflower soup, gingery spiced rice and mung bean stuffed acorn squash and for dessert–a feathery olive oil cake withe sliced vanilla pears. It seems I’d rather cook it that take photo and tell you all about it. A fellow CSA member and neighbor remembers my Minestrone soup and wants the recipe–but have not prioritized to post it.  I do think of you, my readers, and my brain dreams of ideas to post. Currently in my car, as I travel from work to home and back, I am listening to The Omnivore’s Dilemma–yes I am finally reading this important book thanks to recorded books on CD. Did you know that xanthan gum, used in many of our favorite store-bought salad dressings, is likely made from corn? So much to blog–and so little time.

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Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is really the Pumpkin Pecan Bread from my Chocolate Snowball cookbook, varied and baked in a different shape. Did you know that most sweet bread recipes can be made into muffins?

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups (15-ounce can) pumpkin puree

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (optional)

3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup chopped pecans (the second amount is for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners, or coat the muffin tins with melted butter and dust with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. To make sure muffins release with ease, coat the top of the pan as well as the inside of the cups when you grease the tins.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a large bowl. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, vinegar, vanilla and pumpkin puree.

Using a wire whisk, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the rolled oats and 3/4 cup of the pecans. Divide into the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched with a finger. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the pan.

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Family Memories, See’s Candies and Chocolate Penuche Cake

My mother in Orange County, California used to send her sister Aunt Jan in Seattle, Washington a See’s Candies chocolate Easter egg every year. The eggs were solid chocolate and huge. Aunt Jan recalls that she cut off a piece at a time but that the candy didn’t last very long. When I was a girl, I don’t think I ever tasted one of those eggs, because Mom didn’t buy them for us–just for her chocoholic sister. I remember savoring chocolate assortments from See’s during the holidays, but I don’t remember going to the shop and buying them–I think they were gifts to our family.

If you know See’s Candies, it’s likely that you’ve lived in the western United States, or as they say these days, the left coast. You’ll find a See’s Candies shop with its familiar black and white storefront in malls and thriving city centers. There are even See’s kiosks in many western airports–for those last minute impulse gifts, I suppose. When I pass one of those kiosks I have a Pavlovian reaction–my mouth waters in memory. It’s a good thing they only sell packaged chocolate in the airport, because if there was an old-fashioned service counter, I’d have to stop to sample just the one.

Mom died at 90 years of age in the fall of 2003. Her memorial was a celebration of a loving and full life, a celebration of family. The evening before the church service, one of my brothers and his wife hosted a family party–with pizza from down the street, a huge tossed salad, and for dessert–four pounds of See’s Candies. I know I ate more than my share of chocolate (and so did my Aunt); maybe subconsciously it was to assuage the sadness of Mom’s passing, but consciously I enjoyed every bite. Two days later in another brother’s garage, we were sorting through family photos and mementos, and I spied a box of See’s in my older sister’s suitcase, which she was using as a depository for things she would take back to Minnesota. I easily cajoled her into opening the box and sharing her candy. We all sampled our way through that assortment, enjoying the time together as well as every sweet nibble.

My favorite See’s chocolate is a Dark Bordeaux, with chocolate sprinkles on the outside and a creamy brown sugar center. When the pastry chef in me decided to create a cake that tastes like a Bordeaux—I knew it would be a chocolate cake with a center like the candy. First step, I thought, buy some Bordeaux to decipher the filling and replicate it. So I ordered a pound–online. On See’s website Bordeaux sports a little ‘tm’–it’s a trademark name. I learned that I couldn’t call my new cake Bordeaux.

When the package from California arrived, I closed my eyes, bit into a chocolate and tasted another memory–penuche. I remember eating Mom’s homemade penuche from a spoon as a sugary after-school snack. I once deluded my sister away from my spoon, saying it was peanut butter. She licked peanut butter and I kept the penuche to myself. Penuche (puh-NOO-chee) is a creamy, fudge-like brown sugar candy, with a texture and taste very similar to my favorite candy’s center. I hid my box of See’s Bordeaux in the office closet and savored them quietly and privately, over the span of a month, one at a time. And when the sugar buzz of the candy wore off, I made Chocolate Penuche Cake.

Wedding cake, circa 2003

Chocolate Penuche Cake

Cake:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup less 2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cold water

Penuche:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter

Pinch salt

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Honey Glaze:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon honey

Chocolate “jimmies” (Guittard decoratifs are very good)

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a 9-inch round pan with oil and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment or waxed paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, vanilla, and water; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes–with a hand whisk or with an electric mixer on low speed. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the center of the cake springs back when touched with a finger. Cool completely.

To make the penuche:

Mix together the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in a saucepan. Place over low heat and stir a few times until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture reaches a boil. When the mixture reaches a boil, let it cook but do not stir, for about 4 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and beat until the frosting cools and reaches spreading consistency, which can take 10 to 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

To make the glaze:

Place the chocolate, butter, and honey in the top of a double boiler, over gently boiling water; upper pan should not touch water. When the chocolate and butter are almost melted, remove from the heat. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until smooth. Allow to cool until just spreadable.

To assemble the cake:

With a serrated knife, split the cake in two layers, keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake.

Put the bottom cake layer on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Use a frosting spatula to spread the penuche on the cake. Place the second cake layer on top, pressing gently to flatten.

Frost the sides and top of the cake with the cooled glaze. Sprinkle the cake all over with chocolate decoratifs.

Makes 1 (9-inch) cake.

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Vegetarian for the Holidays Cooking Class

On  November 18, 2009, I will be teaching a cooking class. At a cute, well-stocked kitchen store cum cooking school in Logan–Love to Cook at Kitchen Kneads. It would be fun to see some Park City/Summit County friends in the group. Sign up and carpool? In the morning that day, I”ll be making cheese at Rockhill Creamery just north of Logan, after a bread and Caffe Ibis coffee stop at Crumb Brothers Bakery….    Here’s the class menu to tempt you all.

Red Lentil and Pecan Pâté

Potato and Onion Gratin

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed with Brown Rice and Hazelnut Pilaf

Vegan Maple Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

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A Wedding Cake Made with Love

It was a first-class wedding all the way around. The owners of the wedding location in the Malibu hills are the couple’s personal friends. There were food stations by Grace, an acclaimed LA restaurant, featuring thoughtful, delicious fare. The groom had been a mixologist at Grace, and he is passionate about wine and spirits; they served fine, smooth sparkling wine and 100% agave tequila. We danced to personally choreographed music playlists by the couple’s industry cohorts. The bride’s bouquet was stunning and simple, just like everything else. And I was honored to contribute.

Last January, when my niece Tricia and her fiancé JP came to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival we got a glimpse: of the magical party location, how many invitees and so forth. The guest count would be close to 200, but as Tricia pointed out, about 15% of them were Hallorans–my parent’s progeny. Right then I volunteered to make their cake, to share in their celebration using my pastry chef skills.

Hallorans

Tricia and JP's art project

Over the next six months, until the August 22 day, we exchanged cake detail emails. Tricia sent a scanned photo of a magazine wedding cake she liked, and in the countdown weeks, I received their “art project”, a paper mockup showing their newly purchased cake pedestals with just the perfect tiering. Wedding guests would have two choices, chocolate truffle cake or lemon raspberry cake.

It was at the grocery store, when I was buying more raspberries than the norm, that another shopper asked why so many. When I told her they were for the filling of my niece’s wedding cake, she said, “That’s a nice gift.” Yes it was—a gift of love, a wish for many years of wedded bliss.

To allow plenty of time, I divided the work into stages, over three days. And because I was transporting the cake, from Utah to the wedding in California, the first baking day was much earlier than my recommended three days before the wedding day–I baked the lemon cakes three weeks ahead and froze them in Deer Valley’s walk-in freezer.

The chocolate cakes I baked a week out. While they were in the oven, I made coffee syrup, truffle filling and a batch of vanilla-flavored meringue buttercream. The next day I filled and assembled and crumb-coated the chocolate cakes, triple-wrapped them in plastic wrap, and hauled them to Deer Valley’s freezer.

From there, the frozen lemon cakes came home with me–to thaw overnight, and I prepared the lemon cream and lemon simple syrup so they’d be ready. The next day, I filled and assembled and crumb-coated the lemon cakes, and wrapped them really well for freezer storage.

It was time for a breather–the cake was 85% complete until wedding day decorating.

On Thursday of wedding week, 10 pounds of dry ice and our biggest picnic cooler became the new freezer, and for travel, Robbie stuffed Styrofoam “popcorn” into the spaces that weren’t taken up with cakes or dry ice. Along with our suitcases and bikes in the back of Robbie’s pickup truck, we packed another large container—for my stand mixer, cake turntable, a pastry bag with assorted tips, frosting spatulas, apron, rolling pin and fondant rolling mat. We became a bakery on wheels, and headed south into a heat wave.

It was 103 degrees Farenheight at 9pm in Mesquite Nevada, our sleeping stopover for Thursday night. No problem for these cakes though. On Friday morning we opened the cooler for a look. Since the dry ice was underneath the cakes I decided to switch them around, moving the ones that had been on top to give them some time next to the ice. It proved a good ploy–when we unpacked the cooler at about 11am at the wedding house on Saturday, all of the cakes were still cold. The largest lemon one was even a bit frozen in the middle. But since Tricia and JP weren’t cutting the cake for 8 more hours, the cakes could continue to thaw.

At Rebecca and Yosef’s hilltop house, we commandeered the huge kitchen island, a 6 by 6 foot square butcher-block table. Robbie was an able assistant, ready at every step, and cleaning up in between. Both of us pretty much kept our noses to the grindstone for 4 hours, stopping here and there for a sip of beer or to hug early arriving relatives we hadn’t seen in years. For anyone and everyone that walked through the kitchen, we were entertainment.

Sometimes I decorate wedding cakes with a crisp-smooth finish coat of buttercream, and sometimes I use the popular rolled fondant. For Tricia and JP, I tinted rolled fondant, a soft, light celery green. Roll, wrap and smooth, roll wrap and smooth. Seven tiers of cake, fondant-wrapped and stacked.

Finally I whipped up royal icing in my trusty Kitchenaid mixer, filled my pastry bag and piped a bottom border that resembled just a little the tucks in Tricia’s Vera Wang dress. For a bit of filigree, I piped a continuous “ccccc” around the side of the chocolate cakes and a continuous “lllll” around the side of the lemon cakes; the bride and groom’s 6-inch cake got “JPJPJP”, like on their invitation, for Patricia and JP. Aura and Lila, adorable young daughters who live at the wedding house, spent several hours at cake central, asking lots of questions and sneaking tastes of the fondant. They added their bit of love with the final gilding and arranging, of voluptuous yellow-green and white orchid blossoms.

Here are recipes for a sampling of the cakes—a 9-inch lemon raspberry cake and a 9-inch chocolate truffle cake. The meringue butterceam is enough for a crumb-coat and buttercream finish on both cakes.

Lemon cakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (70 degrees F.)

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

8 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon oil, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush two 9-inch round pans with melted butter and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment or waxed paper.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very pale and little tails form as the beater goes around.

Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat well, until mixture is fluffy.

Scrape bowl well. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend before adding the next one.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients, lemon juice and lemon oil, if using. Mix just until incorporated, being careful not to over mix.

Divide into prepared pans. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until light golden in color and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out with just a few crumbs on it.

Lemon syrup:

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

3 to 4 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, gently swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Cook just until the syrup is clear, do not boil. Cool. Flavor with lemon juice.

Lemon Curd

6 egg yolks

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Put the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and butter in the top of a double boiler. Place over gently boiling water; upper pan should not touch water. Cook, whisking often, until the curd thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean container. Cover the surface with plastic wrap, so it touches the hot curd, to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate. You can keep lemon curd, refrigerated, up to a week. It also freezes very well.

Lemon cream:

1 1/2 cups lemon curd, room temperature

3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur

2 1/2 teaspoons (about 1 envelope) powdered gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

Put the lemon curd in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. If the lemon curd is very cold, let it sit at room temperature for about a 1/2 hour, so the warmed gelatin will incorporate easily into the curd, without seizing.

Pour the liqueur into a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it, and allow to soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it comes to soft peaks that hold their shape. Set aside.

Place the bowl of softened gelatin over barely simmering water and stir until the gelatin melts, about a minute.

Whisk the liquid gelatin into the lemon curd. Immediately whisk in 1/3 of the whipped cream; then fold in the rest.

Lemon Cake Assembly:

You will need about 2 1/3 cups meringue buttercream flavored with 1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur and 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Have the cakes, lemon syrup, lemon cream and one pint of fresh raspberries at the ready.

With a serrated knife, trim any dome from both cakes so they are flat, not rounded. Trim the sides of the cake if they seem dry. Keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake, split each cake in 2 equal and even layers.

Put one of the cake layers on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Moisten it with a quarter of the syrup. Spread on roughly 1/6 of the lemon cream. Press 1/3 of the raspberries into the cream, and then top with more cream—just so it covers the raspberries, using no more than 1/3 of the lemon cream in this layer. Gently flatten a second cake layer on top and brush it with another 1/4 of the syrup.

Repeat the layering, ending with the last cake and syrup. Wrap the assembled cake and refrigerate for about 1 hour, to let the gelatin filling set.

To crumb-coat frost the cake:

Beat room temperature buttercream until it is very smooth. Add more liqueur and/or lemon juice, to your taste. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it on a cake turntable. With a sharp serrated knife, trim the sides of the cake, just enough to even any sharp angles, brushing off any loose crumbs.

With an icing spatula, frost the sides and the top of the cake with the buttercream (less than 1/4-inch thick) to seal in the crumbs and lemon filling. Refrigerate (ideally) overnight to let the buttercream get hard.

Finish the cold cake with another thin coat of buttercream, or rolled fondant. Decorate with a buttercream or royal icing border and optional design.

Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups organic cane sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush two 9-inch round pans with butter and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or waxed paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, vanilla, and water; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes–with a hand whisk or with an electric mixer on low speed. Divide into the prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the centers of the cakes spring back when touched with a finger. Cool completely

Chocolate Truffle Filling:

1/2 cup plus 1 cup heavy cream

4 ounces good-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces, and set aside in a medium bowl.

Heat the cream on medium-low until it is very hot (do not boil). Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes. With a spatula, stir gently until all of the chocolate has melted and the “ganache” is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.

When the ganache is cool to touch but not cold, add one quarter of the cream, gently whisking until smooth. Add the remaining cream and whisk by hand until the chocolate cream holds a soft shape. (Be careful; if the ganache is too warm or if you over-whip the ganache and cream, the chocolate cream will curdle.) Refrigerate the chocolate cream until it is very cold and you are ready to assemble the cake.

Coffee Simple Syrup

1/2 cup hot strong coffee

1/2 cup sugar

Mix the sugar into the hot coffee, stirring until the heat of the coffee melts the sugar. Cool.

Chocolate cake assembly:

You will need about 2 1/3 cups meringue buttercream flavored with 1 to 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. Have the cakes, coffee syrup, and the chocolate truffle filling at the ready.

With a serrated knife, trim any dome from both cakes so they are flat, not rounded. Trim the sides of the cakes if they seem dry. Keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake, split each cake in 2 equal and even layers.

Put one of the cake layers on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Moisten it with a quarter of the syrup. Carefully whisk the cold truffle filling, a few strokes at a time, until you can pull your finger through the filling and it holds good shape. Spread a third of filling on the moistened cake. Gently flatten another cake layer on top and brush it with another quarter of the syrup. Repeat the layering, ending with the last cake and syrup. Wrap the assembled cake and refrigerate for about 1 hour, to let the filling set.

To crumb-coat frost the cake:

Beat room temperature buttercream until it is very smooth. Add more vanilla extract if you wish, to your taste.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Place it on a cake turntable. With a sharp serrated knife, trim the sides of the cake, just enough to even any sharp angles, brushing off any loose crumbs.

With an icing spatula, frost the sides and the top of the cake with the buttercream (less than 1/4-inch thick) to seal in the crumbs and truffle filling. Refrigerate (ideally) overnight to let the buttercream get hard.

Finish the cake with another thin coat of buttercream, or rolled fondant. Decorate with a buttercream or royal icing border and optional design.

Meringue Buttercream:

1 1/3 cups plus 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

6 egg whites (2/3 cup)

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 to 4 tablespoons liqueur or 1 teaspoon extract flavoring, optional

In a saucepan, mix the 1 1/3 cups of sugar with the water and corn syrup. Place over low heat and gently swirl the pan until the sugar dissolves into a clear syrup. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage (240°F on a candy thermometer.) Do not stir after the syrup begins boiling.

As the syrup boils, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are foamy. Gradually add the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar and whip until they form soft peaks. You want the syrup to reach soft-ball at the same time the egg whites form soft peaks, so begin whipping the whites when the surface of the boiling syrup is thick with bubbles.

When the syrup reaches soft-ball stage, with the mixer running, pour the syrup in a thin stream over the whites. Aim the syrup between the bowl and the whisk, taking care not to let it run onto the whisk, which spatters the syrup onto the sides of the bowl. Continue beating about 10 minutes, until the egg white and syrup mixture–the Italian meringue–is cool.

With the mixer running, beat the softened butter into the meringue, a little at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue beating until the mixture becomes a very smooth, spreadable buttercream. Beat in desired flavorings.

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Pretend Apple Pie

I received this recipe in an email from a baker who once worked at Deer Valley. The note says that this is a really great pie that tastes just like apple pie but you use zucchini instead and no one can tell it’s not apple!! I couldn’t resist posting it. Though there was no zucchini in our box this week I am sure it won’t be hard to find.

5-6 cups zucchini, peeled, seeded, and sliced

2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix  zucchini and remaining ingredients together and put into an unbaked pie shell.

Top with a second crust or a streusel crumb topping.

Bake 45 to 60 minutes or just like you would an apple pie.

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