TWD: Caramel-Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

In the book, this cake looks absolutely mouth-watering. I was expecting it to taste a lot like a peanut butter parfait from DQ (especially because I planned on serving it with ice cream) which is my very favorite treat from that place. It didn't, but was still very good. I don't mean to sound like this wasn't delicious, because it was, but I guess Creme Brulee is an extremely tough act to follow.

Overall, the consensus at my house was that the brownie cake was great but the caramel was too chewy.

I think if it had been more saucy rather than chewy, it would have been really outstanding. I recommend adding more cream and butter - maybe 1/2 of cream and another tablespoon or two of butter to the caramel. Also, my cake really sank in the middle and created quite the crater.

Dorie warns against this in her book and says that it's okay, but I still think mine sank more than was supposed to and I'm not sure why. Maybe the dark pan caused the outside edges to cook faster? Anyway, all my caramel and peanuts sat well inside the crater and just didn't look quite as nice.

Speaking of caramel, it's not that difficult to make, especially Dorie's recipe which calls for corn syrup (for some technical chemistry-type reason, the corn syrup helps to prevent the sugar from re-crystallizing after you start to heat it up - I think this is true for almost any time you're cooking sugar to make candy). I would add a couple of notes to this recipe:

• Make sure to wash down the sides of your pan with water (using a pastry brush) before you start cooking the sugar - this also helps to prevent re-crystallization)



• Really keep a close eye on your caramel as soon as it turns amber in color - it'll get dark on you fast and scorch easily (this means do not leave the stove for any reason other than danger to life and limb of one your children - trust me, I've burned a lot of sugar).

So, when I make this again, I'll be making a saucier caramel and I'll probably try roasting some pecans in place of the peanuts. Thanks to Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy for choosing this week's recipe (which should be posted on her site) and of course, you can check out all the other fabulous Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

On deck for next week: Lenox Almond Biscotti!

TWD: Dimply Plum Cake

I'm not real happy with this photo - I had lost all the natural light by the time the cake was ready to be cut (and I haven't learned enough about my new camera to figure out how to compensate). It looks wonderful in the book, however, and I knew the flavors of plums, cardamom and orange would come together beautifully. The recipe calls for ground cardamom and I was pretty sure I had bought some cardamom seeds for some recipe I made ages ago (and I'm thinking at least 5 years or so). As I'm sure most of you foodies out there are aware, there is some sort of statute of limitations on how long spices hold their flavor. I don't have any idea as to how long that may be because I keep them around despite this "rule" and they always seem just fine to me. Case in point, my cardamom seeds - after I unearthed the jar from the deepest darkest reaches of my spice cabinet - were still incredibly fragrant. The only challenge was to grind them up to put in the cake. I'm sure you all have received gifts from people and wondered "when the heck am I ever going to use this" and consider pulling a classic Seinfeld "re-gift"? Well, might I suggest you rethink that strategy in the future - you never know when that gift might come in handy. From another deep, dark corner of the same cabinet, I pulled out a gift I've had for years and never used: a mortar and pestle set and it worked like a charm for the task at hand:

All I ended up having to buy for the recipe was one orange and the plums (which were on sale this week - Prudy would be so proud!).

This made for a pleasant change over the cost of the last TWD which was filled with lots of delicious, but expensive chocolates (white, semi-sweet, bittersweet you name it!). As a side note, you really, really must make those cookies, they were divine - just make sure to have a glass of milk on hand to accompany them, they're pretty rich.

This cake came together very easily as Dorie follows a pretty straightforward cake baking protocol. I have to tell you that before I even I got this cake in the oven, the house smelled amazing - cardamom has an exotic, but somehow at the same time homey, fragrance that's hard to describe (as if that weren't obvious from the oxymoron I just wrote, sheesh...).

The cake looks lovely with all the plums on top doesn't it? The recipe calls for 8 plums, but I could only smoosh 7 into my 8x8 pan, and that's only after I quartered the seventh one.

Dorie says to bake this for 40 minutes, but at 40, the knife I used to check it with came out fully coated in batter. I left it in for 5 more minutes, but it probably could have used more. Unfortunately, the tops were getting quite brown and I didn't want to risk drying out the edges. As a result, the middle pieces were a little underdone. I wonder if this was because my plums may still have been cold from the fridge when I placed them on top of the batter? My advice would be to let your fruit come to room temp before making this.

My girls really liked this cake the night I made it and ate it while it was still warm. I think I actually liked it better the following morning after the flavors of the orange and cardamom really came together.

A question for my fellow TWDers out there - can anyone tell me why Dorie calls this cake "Dimply"? I've just been wondering since I read the recipe. Is it the plums - do they have a dimple? Sorry, maybe I'm just clueless on this one.

Thanks to Michelle of Bake-en for selecting this week's recipe. My take on this is that it's a great breakfasty-type cake which is quite nice with a cup of coffee and a friend :-)

Berry good!

One of the reasons I absolutely LOVE summertime (besides the warm weather and sunny days - I am a southern girl at heart, afterall) is being able to get fresh, deliciously sweet berries at the store.

Check out these beauties


Meijer had quite the sale on blueberries last week (2 pounds for $4.99 - yes pounds!), so I stocked up. Actually, I wish I had bought some more to freeze - but instead we all ate a lot of blueberries!

A friend of mine from church recently had a baby and I was to bring her dinner last night and I always include dessert with it. So, I decided to make this:

Blueberry Crumb Bars - YUM!

This is a slightly modified recipe from Everyday Food (a magazine which I have really come to love, BTW - lots of great recipes that are pretty easy too - my only beef is that they only rarely include nutritional info). Theirs called for fresh blackberries, but since Meijer blueberries were such a deal, well I just had to use those. Here's the recipe:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup packed lt brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 containers (5 ounces each) blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries (I just thought of something - you could mix them all up for a mixed berry crumb bars - yum, I'll have to try that one!)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with Pam. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Spray paper with Pam.

2. Make topping: In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp salt; add 1 cup flour and mix until large moist crumbs form. Set aside (the original recipe says to put this in the fridge so the crumb topping comes out looking "nubbly", but I didn't and it came out fine, but you can if you'd like).

I dare you to not try sampling some of that buttery sweet goodness! No dare, not even the triple-dog dare, could keep me from trying it - the topping, IMHO, is the best part!

3. In bowl of electric mixer, beat softened butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Reduce speed to low and add remaining 1/4 tsp salt and baking powder. Mix in remaining 3/4 cup flour.

Spread batter evenly in pan.

Sprinkle with berries,

then topping.

4. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Using paper overhang, lift cake out onto work surface and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. (Keeps in airtight container for 3 days)

I sure hope my friend and her family enjoyed these last night. Thankfully for my family, I made extra (they hate it when I make something and don't have any left for them - and I can't blame them).

Bon Appetit!