I love Cath of A Blithe Palate for many, many reasons, not the least of which being that every now and then, unto my life, she will bring joy in the form of a cookbook.

That’s what I call a fabulous virtual friend. Were I ever to meet her in person, I just might smother her with hugs. (Be forewarned, Cath. Be forewarned.)

Late in July, she contacted me to let me know that she, Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness (I’ll say!) and the fabulous folks at Cook the Books would be hosting another edition of The Edible Word, an event that celebrates delicious cookbooks.

The selection for this edition is a book called Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Bakerby Gesine Bullock-Prado.

Now if there something about that name that seems slightly familiar, it should. The Bullock part is Bullock as in Sandra Bullock. As it turns out, her younger sister Gesine, a lawyer and Hollywood executive, nursed a secret passion for baking until one day, tired of her L.A. life, she decides it’s time to downsize in the truest sense of the word. She downsizes all the way to Vermont where she opens her own bakery.

I know. You think you’ve heard it all before. Sounds like the script for a Hollywood movie starring some starlet who hasn’t eaten in 11 years much less baked.

People, trust the Cream Puff.

This is a good book. It’s a good book because Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, often brutally so. She doesn’t sugarcoat (pardon the pun) her old life, or her new one for that matter. She offers full disclosure when it comes to the rigours of operating your own bakery, and believe me there are rigours.

Yes, there is the pleasure of being your own boss. Yes, there is the pleasure of spending ridiculous hours doing something you love.

But it’s still damn hard.

Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, funny and real, as in sometimes, her cakes come out lopsided too.

And the recipes, tucked in between each chapter like chocolate tucked into a croissant, are delicous to read so imagine how they taste.

I don’t have to imagine because I made two of them: Espresso Cheesecake and Apple Pie (made with a puff pastry crust).

Verdict: Even more delicious than Alexander Skarsgard.

When Cath explained the goal of this event, she indicated that we should talk about how the book inspired us.

I will be very blunt: this book just makes you wonder. Can I do it, too? Can I give up the fear and the worry and “buts” and “what ifs” and just go out there and do what I really really want to do?

Yes, I can. Yes, we all can!

Ciao!

I’m a bit late posting my piece for this event. You can read the round-ups on Cath’s blog here, here and here.

You can also read a review of the book at The Daring Kitchen.

For this Monday’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I bring you not one but two desserts with strawberries!

Is there anything better than a locally grown, perfectly ripe strawberry? I would argue that among all the gifts that the garden gives us, the strawberry ranks as one of the very best.

We’ve been indulging in fresh strawberries for a few weeks now and I finally got to try two recipes that were begging for fresh strawberries.

The first is from the May 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s a Strawberry Galette served with Basil Cream and Fried Basil (that’s also sugared). While I skipped the fried and sugared basil leaves, I did make the galette and basil cream (twice) and both times it was a huge hit.

The pastry is a very standard butter dough made in the food processor so it comes together in a snap. The hardest part of this recipe is trying not to eat all the strawberries as you slice them. I must say, though, that I think the basil cream was even more popular than the galette. A mixture of heavy cream and mascarpone with a hint of basil to it is really captivating. Overall, a very successful dessert that’s worth the effort of trying to create perfect strawberry slices!

The second recipe is one that I’ve wanted to try for a very long time: Lattice-Topped Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie from the 1997 issue of Bon Appétit magazine!

Again, this is another winner. The pastry is a combination of vegetable shortening and butter so it’s both tasty and tender. The filling is pure strawberry and rhubarb heaven. The only caution for this recipe is that you definitely want to let the pie cool completely before serving as you may get a lot of juice running out otherwise.

All in all, I’ve had two lovely experiences with magazine recipes featuring strawberries.

Here’s hoping everyone out there has a lovely week!

Ciao!

Click here for the recipe for the Strawberry Galette.

Click here for the recipe for the Lattice-Topped Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie.

Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies sent me her own contribution. She made a gorgeous Zucchini Tart with Feta and Mint. Thanks so much, Natasha! Remember, send me your posts about recipes from magazines and I’ll link to them in my posts!

I just can’t help myself!

The weather has been so gorgeous lately as spring finally begins to show itself, little by little.

Perhaps it’s the long winter that we had or the fact that for a good two months I had almost no time to think about anything outside of work, but I’m just so happy that it’s spring.

Or perhaps it’s the fact that the Daring Bakers were mentioned by Nick Malgieri in an article in the Washington Post … let’s hear it for the Daring Bakers and all the other incredible bloggers mentioned in that article!

So to celebrate sunny days and good news, I thought I’d share the lovely lemon tarts that I made for Easter dessert (can you believe Easter happened already?!).

For the Daring Bakers out there who had some difficulties with the Perfect Party Cake and for those of you that read about those difficulties, here’s one to restore your faith in the great Dorie! Not that our faith was ever weak, mind you.

This tart recipe comes from Dorie’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. It’s a lemon cream tart that is made in a very unique way. Usually when making lemon curd, you cook it until it thickens and then add butter off the heat. Once cooled, the curd is ready to use.

This particular filling is made by putting the lemon base in a blender or food processor and adding the butter with the motor running. What you end up with is almost like a lemon butter rather than a lemon curd.

However you want to describe it, it’s beyond delicious. To read about the tart straight from Dorie, you can check out her post (and recipe) on Serious Eats.

So open those windows, let some sunshine in and enjoy the rest of the week!

Ciao!

Welcome to the first Daring Baker challenge for 2008! Wow! It seems like yesterday that we were just getting ready for the holidays and it’s hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already almost over.

This month’s host is one of our longest standing members, the lovely Jen of The Canadian Baker. As those of you who follow the Daring Bakers’ exploits know, we’ve had some significant challenges in the past including croissants and bagels. I was understandably quite pleased when I saw that Jen had chosen the lemon meringue pie as the challenge for January 2008.

I’ve made lemon meringue pies many times before but I’m always happy to try a new version. Jen’s version was quite straightforward as it featured an all-butter crust, a creamy lemon curd and a very light meringue topping.

Jen gave us the option of making a large pie or smaller tartlets. I, of course, chose the tartlets because I’m always happy to try something mini.

All the separate elements of the tartlets came together very well for me. So I instead set my mind to the challenge of assembling the tartlets and decorating them.

Once I’d baked my pastry rounds for the base, I decided to create a shell border on each one with the meringue. Not only would this be decorative, but it would help keep my lemon curd in place.

I carefully spooned as much lemon curd as I could into the confines of each meringue border and then, using a pastry bag, I decorated the tops of the tartlets with various designs in meringue.

Once the tartlets came out of the oven after browning the meringue, I thought they looked cute but that they needed an extra touch. During the week, I’d visited one of my favourite Toronto stores, Harvest Wagon, which just happens to sell edible flowers. I splurged and decided that the flowers would look lovely with the tartlets.

But I wanted to give them some sort of extra touch so I sugared them. If you’ve never sugared fruit or flowers, it’s very easy. All you need is a clean paint brush, an egg white and some sugar. I beat the egg white until frothy and then used the paint brush to dab egg white on the petals of the flowers. I then very gently sprinkled them with sugar and let them air dry for a couple of hours.

Not only were the flowers a tasty and unusual treat, I thought they looked very pretty with the tartlets.

So how did the tartlets taste? They were pretty good. While I don’t think this version of lemon meringue pie is as good as the one I like to make, it was still tasty. And best of all, working with the bright taste and scent of lemon just reminded me that spring isn’t all that far away.

Was it the most daring of challenges for me? Not really. Was it fun? You bet. And that’s what baking is supposed to be about.

Thank you to Jen for a wonderful challenge. Please take a moment to visit the other Daring Bakers to see how they did. Have a wonderful week!

Ciao!

For the lemon meringue pie recipe, please visit Jen’s site.

To be sure, one of the highlights of the fall are apples. I could go on and on about the beauty of this fruit (and yes … of course … the temptation of it all), but I’m sure you all know that there’s not much better than a juicy, crisp apple.

While we enjoyed our mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving dessert, we also enjoyed one of the best and easiest apple pies that I’ve ever made. It’s a favourite of mine and what would dessert be if you didn’t make your own personal favourites … especially when you’re the baker!

This is a pie that can showcase the beauty of any apple you choose, although my personal favourite is the Royal Gala. The crust is a cinch to make. While I prefer all butter crusts this one is a bit sturdier thanks to a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening. There’s a hint of orange, a sweet crumb topping and a surprise.

What’s a bite of apple without a surprise?!

Ciao!

Cream Puff’s Apple Pie

Note: This is a very forgiving pie so feel free to use any crust you like, including a favourite one if you have it. I usually make this with Royal Gala apples but you can use whatever apples you wish.

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into very small pieces
1 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup to 1 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.

Add the butter and shortening and with your fingers, gently begin working the fat into the flour mixture. Rub the butter and shortening into the flour until you have a mixture that is very coarse and looks like large flakes of oatmeal.

Begin adding the ice water by adding 1/2 a cup. Start gathering the dough into a ball. If it comes together, you can turn it out onto a well-floured surface. If not, add a bit more water (a tablespoon at a time) until it comes together.

Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead lightly 2 or 3 times, until it comes together into a ball. (Do not knead the dough for too long or it will be tough!). Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but you can refrigerate it for up to 2 or 3 days.

This one recipe will yield two single 9-inch pies or one double 9-inch pie.

For the filling:

6 or 7 apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. finely grated orange zest
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Combine all the filling ingredients (except the butter) in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. Put half in the refrigerator for another pie.

Flour a work surface and gently roll the dough into an 11-inch round (it should be about 1/8th to a 1/4-inch thick). Use a light touch with the dough as you don’t want to overwork it.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate or pie tin. Trim the excess dough and crimp the edges decoratively or simply roll them under so that you have an even edge.

Take the prepared filling and pack it into crust. Dot the filling with the butter and then put the pie in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For the crumb topping:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

While the pie is in the refrigerator, mix all of the topping ingredients together, rubbing the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until you have a very crumbly topping.

Once the pie has chilled, sprinkle the topping evenly over the pie.

Bake the pie in the centre of the oven on a baking sheet to avoid any spills. The pie usually takes about an hour and ten minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. It’s done when the crust and topping are golden and the apple filling begins to bubble through the topping.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes for slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Ciao!

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