Tag Archives: dessert

  • Brown Sugar Poundcake (And A Bunny In The Kitchen)

    July 25, 2013

    18 Comments

    pound8

    Brown Sugar Poundcake.

    pound9This is some very tasty poundcake. It uses brown sugar and we serve it with fresh strawberries and sour cream (similar to how we serve strawberries with sour cream and raw/brown sugar). It tastes like a good poundcake with a deeper sugar flavor, as you would expect. The recipe comes from “Sweet Auburn Desserts” an excellent southern dessert cookbook, but it is just poundcake, no special steps, limited hassles, happy faces. We suggest you make it for a summer party. It is also very good toasted for breakfast (not that we would ever do anything like that).

    poundSo, since that doesn’t fill many paragraphs, let us tell you about the wild bunny running around in the kitchen. Since we have a large garden “farm”, we get plenty of critters. Some welcome, some not. The veggie beds are caged above and below, but there are still plenty of goodies (mostly in the orchard) to entertain the gophers, wood rats, moles, lizards and squirrels. We have a large deer fence around the “perimeter” to keep most of the deer, coyotes and perhaps larger animals at bay. These are our “passive” defenses, and they work pretty well.

    pound1pound2As for the “active” defenses we have some traps for gophers (the enemy) and we happily dispatch wood rats (the ones that steal fruit) whenever we find their nests. But on a day-to-day basis, Oreo the cat is our primary “enforcer”. Oreo is a rescued barn cat that lost her tail to a coyote. She lost her gig at the barn. This ended up being a good deal for the cat, as she gets to practice her “craft” with minimal interference here at the farm. And, until recently, everything was good. But then things started to change…

    pound4First, the cat started to catch songbirds. She didn’t usually kill them, but would bring us a “gift”. The sight of Carolyn shaking the cat to release a bird (they usually get away in a puff of feathers) is…..”amusing”, to say the least. Then a few weeks ago some rabbits moved inside the deer fence and, suddenly, here is the cat bringing us bunnies as gifts. Not good. Bunnies are cute, the kids like bunnies. (And are we so “shallow” that we value cute songbirds and bunnies more than ugly gophers and rats? Yes, absolutely.)

    pound5So the other evening the cat brings us a still kicking live bunny as a gift. We come out to “free” the bunny and, once free, the bunny runs inside the house and into the kitchen (right past our puzzled dog, I might add). Now we are chasing a very scared bunny in laps around the kitchen island until it tries to hide and we finally catch it (gently) with a towel to move it outside. Great. Then we let it go and it runs right into the open garage! Ugh. Dumb. Bunny. (Dumb farmers? Maybe.) The bunny later escaped from the open garage during the night. We just hope the cat wasn’t waiting….Never a dull moment here at the farm.

    pound6pound7Brown Sugar Poundcake:

    (Adapted from “Sweet Auburn Desserts”)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • No notes. It’s poundcake with a little something extra- go make it.

    What You Get: Poundcake with deeper sugar flavor and some extra color. Good cake for a crowd.

    What You Need: No special equipment required. A stand mixer will really help, though.

    How Long? A couple of hours, but maybe 15 minutes of active time. You start poundcake in a cold oven, so it takes 90+ minutes to bake. Plan accordingly.

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  • Summer Fruit Lazy Daisy

    July 15, 2013

    25 Comments

    Summer Fruit Lazy Daisy.

    Summer Fruit Lazy Daisy.

    There are some dishes we make here at the farm that are a bit of a mystery before we try them. We ask ourselves if we chose the right recipe, bought the right ingredients, cooked them properly with optimal equipment, plated them well, etc. The only way to really know how we did is to make the dish, take a look at it and taste it. But this is NOT one of those dishes. From the moment you start making a Lazy Daisy cake with summer fruit you know its gonna be good, real good….like staring at the oven while bakes good. From batter to oven to plate this cake just screams “I taste good, serve me with some ice cream!” (It does, we heard it from the oven….we swear).

    lazy3lazy4If looking and tasting great wasn’t enough, the Summer Fruit Lazy Daisy has a few other charms, it is as easy as cake making gets and it will work with almost any summer fruit. If you are like us, between growing fruit and buying it at the farmers market we tend to be up to our armpits have a “surplus” at times. And while we enjoy fruit out of hand and making jam, there is something about a big pancake mixed with peaches and berries and baked in the oven that sounds pretty good (and that’s basically what a Lazy Daisy is). Top it with ice cream and you are ready for a big smile and a nap.

    lazy5lazy6As we noted, and the name suggests, making a Lazy Daisy isn’t hard and is similar to making pancake batter. Heat your oven, grease a pan, melt some butter, mix the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and melted butter, pour into a pan, add in some fruit and bake. Cool, sprinkle on some powdered sugar (fend off your eager family and friends) and then serve. It really is that easy.

    lazy7lazy8lazy10The only hard decision is your choice of fruit and presentation. We used our peaches, strawberries and blueberries and then added some blackberries from the farmers market (our blackberries got fried in the heat wave, sigh). A good balance of tart and sweet. You can use any combination of berries and stone fruits, but we suggest you taste them and adjust the sugar to match the sweetness of the fruit. As for presentation, you can choose a pretty design, or just mix everything together. We chose the latter…it is a “Lazy” Daisy, after all.

    lazySummer Fruit Lazy Daisy:

    (Adapted, somewhat, from King Arthur Flour)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • Nada. Big oven pancake with summer fruit. ‘Nuff said.

    What You Get: A delicious and very easy summer cake. A perfect dessert for a summer get together.

    What You Need: No special equipment required.

    How Long? About and hour and 20 minutes, with about 15 minutes of active time. Anytime dish.

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  • Mai Tai Sorbet

    June 11, 2013

    22 Comments

    Mai Tai Sorbet, with a little extra rum...

    Mai Tai Sorbet, with a little extra rum…

    This is one of the best dishes we’ve made so far at the farm. What do we mean by “best”? Well, it certainly tastes great (like a Mai Tai) and was fun to make, but it is also “ours”. This one was our inspiration and our recipe. We searched the web for Mai Tai sorbet recipes and other than a passion fruit and pineapple thing that may taste good, but has nothing to do with a real Mai Tai, there are no other recipes. We will “claim” this one so please excuse us if we crow a little. But if anyone has examples otherwise, that is fine. We are just happy to keep making this.

    mts6mts5The inspiration came from a somewhat odd source. A few weeks ago Carolyn made Elegant White Cake with Chocolate Ganache, and it was very, very tasty. One of the key flavors of the cake was a little almond extract that gave the cake a marzipan-ish flavor. We wondered what other dishes might benefit from a touch of almond and we immediately though of the almond and orange flower water flavor of orgeat syrup. If you are unfamiliar with orgeat, it is the key flavoring that makes a Mai Tai a Mai Tai. We also had some Cara Cara oranges we need to use, and suddenly the idea of “Mai Tai Sorbet” came up. Carolyn thought it sounded like a decent idea, so we gave it a try.

    mts7mts8The recipe came together quickly. A Mai Tai cocktail combines two aged rums, lime juice, Cointreau (or orange Curaçao), orgeat, simple syrup and is garnished by a lime shell and some mint. Our Mai Tai Sorbet combines lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup, a few drops of almond extract, dashes of aged rum and Cointreau (you could also use rum and/or orange extracts) and some Bittermen’s Tiki Bitters (optional, but very good). We garnish with a sprig of mint and some grated lime zest to mimic the lime shell in the cocktail.

    mts10mts9The only trick to this recipe is to taste your sorbet base as you make it. Oranges vary in sweetness and extracts vary in strength. We make a little extra simple syrup to tune our base, and remember that the base will taste sweeter than the final sorbet- frozen foods taste less sweet. So if the base tastes a bit sweeter than you like, it is probably right. We also add the almond extract a few drops at a time and taste. Almond extract is strong stuff, so we used about 8 drops, tasting as we went. Same for the Tiki bitters, we ended up at about 6 drops, but tune to your taste. Continue reading →

  • Meyer Lemon Sorbet

    April 29, 2013

    37 Comments

    Meyer Lemon Sorbet.

    Meyer Lemon Sorbet.

    Life was “in the way” last week, so it has been a long gap between posts. We get a little twitchy if we don’t get to cook, so it is nice to be back. Happily, we still have Meyer lemons on the tree. But time is running short on our favorite citrus, so we made lemon sorbet to get ourselves back on the “blogging track”. After all, if life gives you lemons, make lemon sorbet (umm….or something like that….maybe Lemondrops….whatever).

    lsorbet4lsorbet6And there are few desserts that give you this much flavor for so little effort. Lemons, water, sugar (maybe a touch of booze- we will explain). Heat, then cold. That is really it. You do need an ice cream maker (although granita is another option), but ice cream makers are cheap, most work well, and you get a good return on your investment. We think smiles make for good ROI. And with summer coming, sorbet will please just about anyone.

    lsorbet5lsorbet7But, like all good things, there are a few tips and techniques that will make your sorbet kick serious a$$ the best it can be. Sorbet is basically frozen fruit juice and extra sugar. Pretty simple stuff. But you can control the flavor and texture. For flavor, first pick good fruit. Second, if using citrus add some zest into the mixture. There is a lot of flavor in the zest, so it you want more depth, this is the way to get it. You can put the zest into the final sorbet mixture, and that is OK, but it is best to incorporate the zest into the sugar syrup to extract the most flavor. (If you are hardcore you can make an oleo- saccharum syrup– see here.) Once you get the flavor of the zest you can keep it or strain it, your call. We strain. And we add a touch of Limoncello to the sorbet, this does add flavor, but it is really about texture.

    lsorbet8lsorbet9And texture is where the action is. Good fruit gives your sorbet good flavor. But technique gives your sorbet that magically soft, yet still “icy”, texture. Happily, the techniques are easy. To start, just be sure that your mixture is well-chilled when you put it into the ice cream maker / churn. The colder the mixture, the smaller the ice crystals. The smaller the ice crystals, the smoother the sorbet. You can chill the mixture in the fridge or, if you are in a hurry, use an ice bath. But you need the mixture to be under 45 degrees. The other tip is to add a touch of booze. Alcohol inhibits freezing and ice crystal formation- so a few tablespoons of spirits (maybe of Limoncello, vodka or Sauternes if you have it), will smooth out your sorbet. You can omit this step, but it is a negligible amount of alcohol, and the results will be worth it.

    lsorbet11lsorbet13lsorbet12If you follow these steps, you will have some very tasty sorbet. It doesn’t need anything extra. But in case you want to take things to the next level, you may want to drizzle on some sour cherry syrup. Sour cherry lemonade sorbet? Oh yes. And if you really want to impress, put a scoop of the sorbet in a cocktail class and then fill the glass halfway with champagne. Oh my….

    Add some sour cherry syrup...you won't be sorry...

    Add some sour cherry syrup…you won’t be sorry…

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