This next class is all about sautéing and deep frying, and first up is good 'ol English-style fish 'n' chips (without the chips). Some call this England's national dish. In my experience, the best fish 'n' chips place is in the small, lakeside resort town of Regina Beach in Southern Saskatchewan at Butler's Fish & Chips. (Even though it's now called Bluebird Café, everyone still calls it Butler's.) You order at the take-out window and wait on the steps out front, watching the world go by (or someone hit a parked motorcycle), until they call your name. Then, you take your cardboard box of fried food across the street to the beach and gorge on "the best fish 'n' chips in the world". Normally, a beach, bathing suits and fried food shouldn't go together, but it's a decadent summertime tradition I've enjoyed many times growing up and try to make time for when I visit.

This recipe for deep-fried fish calls for Merlans, which is whiting, but my fishmonger didn't have that so I bought trout instead since that was listed as a substitution but is not white at all! Colbert turns out to be an influential finance minister under the rule of King Louis XIV but naming this dish after him is a mystery.

Turning Mayonnaise into Tartar Sauce

The first step for this recipe is to make tartar sauce, which is mayonnaise with the addition of finely chopped gherkins, capers, onions, and fresh chives. In this case, hard-boiled egg yolks are also mashed and added.

Here's the method I use to hard boil an egg: Place the egg in a pot and cover with one inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. After it starts to boil, remove the pot from the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice water. Transfer the egg to the ice water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Peel and use as desired.

Anglaise Breading
Next up was breading "à l'anglaise" (English style). First, you dip the fish in flour (which dries the fish), then in a beaten egg mixture (that also contains a touch of water and oil) until coated and finally in fresh bread crumbs. (If you skip the breadcrumb step and stop at the egg wash, the breading is called "à la Parisienne".) I always add salt and pepper to each stage of breading to add flavor. You can let the coated fish sit for about 20 minutes to make sure it's dry before deep frying.

As I learned at a cooking class one year, use one hand for the dry breading and one hand for the wet. The dry hand dips the fish into the flour and lifts it into the egg, and the wet hand lifts it from the egg into the breadcrumbs, and then the dry hand lifts it from the breadcrumbs into the hot oil (or use a pair of tongs at this point!).

Oil and water don't mix. Since there is moisture in food, the purpose of the breading is to act as a barrier between the food that's about to be deep-fried and the oil. The heat from the oil cooks the food by steaming the food inside and browns the outside. As well, the breading provides texture and flavor for a mild, lean type of meat such as fish. Deep Frying
Since no water is used, deep frying is considered a dry heat method of cooking. This is hard to grasp since the food is submerged in a liquid, but the liquid is not water so it's considered dry.

The oil should be deep enough to cover the fish (about 2-3 inches), but the pot should never be more than half full. You don't want it to boil over. It's important that you cook the fish when the oil is hot, between 350˚F and 375˚F.

Add fish to the oil one or two pieces at a time to keep the temperature of the oil constant and so that the oil can surround the food completely and cook it evenly. Keep watching the temperature and make sure it doesn't get below 325˚F or the oil will seep into the food because it takes too long to cook at this temperature. Also, check out this article about the best oils for frying. If the oil is too hot, all the moisture in the food will be lost and the oil will move in. Also, the food may burn as the water is forced out of the food, making it dry and oily, according to this link. Fish cooks quickly when deep-fried and is cooked when the coating is brown. Once browned, keep the food warm in a 200˚F while cooking the remaining fish.

The moisture in the food repels the oil so the food should not be greasy. If food has been deep-fried properly, it should not have much oil on it. You can test this by measuring the oil before deep-frying and after the oil has cooled. You should have almost the same amount of oil after deep-frying.

Recipe: Merlans Colbert (Deep-fried Whiting with Tartar Sauce)

You can find the recipe for Merlans Colbert (Deep-fried Whiting with Tartar Sauce) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home (affiliate link). To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with this week's recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
These were the best fish sticks I've had. They were crunchy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. And the homemade tartar sauce was delicious too, although altogether it was very rich. Two fish sticks were all I could handle. Even though these were delicious, nothing compares to the fish 'n' chips at Butler's. Next Week (October 22)
• Sole Belle Meunière (Pan-fried Sole with Nut-brown butter and Mushrooms) pages 65-66

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $784.68 + $3.06 (tartar sauce) + $12.17 (fish) + $2.39 (breading) = $802.30

Butter used so far: 7 pounds, 27 tablespoons

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I didn't know biscotti were baked twice even though I've purchased my fair share of biscotti to go along with a cappuccino or latte over the years. Now, I can stroke biscotti off my list of things to try making at home, and I may never buy one again. Traditionally, biscotti are almond flavored, and this version has both almond extract and sliced almonds in it.

Tony Fortuna of the Lenox Restaurant gave this authentic recipe for biscotti to Dorie, and I'm thankful for that! Dorie also named it one of her top ten favorite recipes from this cookbook we're baking through.

Because they have a hard texture, they are best dipped in coffee or tea (or better yet a latte), then they absorb the flavor of your preferred morning pick-me-up and melt in your mouth, and before you know it you're digging into your Tupperware container for another hit of biscotti, repeating this motion until you run out of one or both.

Playing Around
I wanted to play around with the shape of biscotti. I pulled out my trusty coin wrappers again as I did for the Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters. This time, with the urging of a friend living in the United States who can't get twoonie or loonie coin wrappers like we have in Canada, I wanted to try making them in the smaller penny, dime, and nickel versions to show that it's possible.

Of course, stuffing biscotti batter into the coin wrappers is time consuming, but it's worth it because they make the best dunkers! As well, after the first baking, some of the batter spilled out. But it's easy to trim these parts off. Then, I carefully unpeeled the coin wrapper and baked them for the second time until they were golden.

Here's a great step-by-step article showing how to form traditional biscotti.

Recipe: Lenox Almond Biscotti

You can find the recipe for Lenox Almond Biscotti in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours (affiliate link) by Dorie Greenspan or here or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Gretchen from Canela & Comino who chose the recipe for this week.

Tasting Notes
I'm almost out of biscotti and will have to make this batch again soon. Mornings just won't be the same without a little biscotti dunked into my latte. I'm looking forward to playing around with the flavorings next time too.

Recipe for Next Week (October 21)
Pumpkin Muffins on page 13 chosen by Kelly from Sounding My Barbaric Gulp.

Chocolate Cake + Caramel + Peanuts = Yum
Last week, I spent some time poking around in an antique shop. I found several things, and I was able to use two of my favorite purchases this week —the fluted tin and the antique whisk. Both are beautiful and still work well. For the tin, I sprayed it, sprinkled it with flour, and lined it with parchment paper. The cake slid out easily.

Caramel
This week, we got another chance to practice making caramel. Joe from Joe Pastry recently did a whole article on making your own caramel with pictures. Just remember to let the caramel cool a bit before pouring it onto this cake. Mine sunk shortly after since I was too impatient.

Peanuts & Caramel
Here's a video showing how to make caramel. David Lebovitz also has a great post with tips for making caramel.

My tips: Use a heavy, stainless steel pot. I never stir the pot or use a pastry brush to brush down the sides. I just let the sugar do its magic. Test it using a white plate or ramekin to see the color. Watch it carefully at the end.

Recipe: Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

You can find the recipe for Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours (affiliate link) by Dorie Greenspan. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Tammy from Wee Treats by Tammy who chose the recipe for this week.

Tasting Notes
Everyone liked this dessert at our house (although some removed the peanuts to enjoy it even more). One of my daughter's asked to have this as her birthday cake in April before she'd even tasted it! The cake was tender and chocolaty and the glaze of caramel and crunch of peanuts took a simple brownie-like cake over the top. This is another winning recipe from Dorie!

Recipe for Next Week (October 14)
Lenox Almond Biscotti on pages 141-143 chosen by Gretchen of Canela & Comino.

71 entries in 13 days! That's pretty good!

I'd like to thank Andrew from Spittoon and Spittoon Extra for letting me host this month. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In April when I won one of the DMBLGIT awards for the first time, I never would have thought I'd be judging a few months later alongside such amazing food bloggers as Béa (La Tartine Gourmande), Sabra (Cookbook Catchall), Matt (wrightfood), Kate (Aapplemint), and Hannah (BitterSweet)! Thank you all for helping me this month put on a great event. Thanks too for participating this month and congratulations to the winners!

Part 1 - Overall Winners: The overall winners have the highest scores in all three categories combined.

Overall First Place: Feuille d' automne by Thip from Bonbini! with a Nikon D70We loved the unusual camera angle that shows off what must be a very complex but delicious dessert. Both the green mint leaves and the hazelnuts give a nice contrast and texture to the shot. Very well composed.

Overall Second Place: Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting by Eliza from notes from my food diary with a Nikon D300, 60mm lens

A delicious looking cake that makes you wish you had that missing piece on a plate in front of you. Cutting the perfect piece and being able to photograph it afterwards is near impossible, but not for Eliza. The blue and green in the background adds that hit of color the photograph needs.

Overall Third Place: Chocolate and Caramel Mousse Cake by Helen from Tartelette with a Canon Rebel XTI

A fundamental accessory, the fork, is there, but in outline making this photo eye-catching. A variety of shapes makes it interesting, and the hint of red from the currants adds appeal.

Part 2 - Edibility, Originality, and Aesthetics Category: Each photo was scored in three categories: edibility, originality, and aesthetics. The photo receiving the highest total score in each of those categories, excluding the three overall winners, is the specific category winner.

Winner Edibility Category: Cedar plank salmon with an Asian twist by Karine from Le Carrefour with a Canon 5D with 50mm f1/4 + extension tube

This salmon glistens in the soft light reflecting the pretty color of the flesh and the crunchiness of the outside. The subtle use of the Asian plate is a nice touch too.

Winner Originality Category: Chinese Tea Eggs - 茶叶蛋 cháyèdàn by Gisella from fiordisale with a Canon 400D

A lovely shot. The broken shells add texture sitting in that ceramic egg carton. Very original.

Winner Aesthetics Category: Banana Chocolate Flake Muffins by Sefa from Food is Love with a Canon EOS 400D ; Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

Having the foreground muffin sitting in a little cup is really cute. The cup and half muffin on the left adds a lot to the composition and is in focus enough to be interesting, but out of focus enough so as not to distract from the foreground. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Host's Award: Lemon & Saffron Cheesecake by Marija from Palachinka with a Canon EOS 350D, Zoom Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Great lighting, sharp photo and great composition. Elevating the piece out of the tart gives the photo some interest. This tart looks luscious.

Congratulations to all and thanks for participating! 

October DMBLGIT will be hosted by Cenk from Café Fernando. Also, please check out Andrew's new post that will be updated on an ongoing basis about DMBLGIT.

This is a stew to celebrate Spring, but we're deep into Fall now in Eastern Canada. So I've mixed the celebrations and used a maple syrup sap bucket to show off the stew and placed autumn leaves around its base.

We're still focusing on braising and stewing this week, and true to French cooking form, everything is cooked and seasoned separately and then assembled together at the end. Doing this adds a depth of flavor and ensures every element tastes its best at the end, although it requires more dishes than just one crockpot!

Lamb
The recipe calls for lamb. Lamb meat is the meat from a young sheep (less than 12 months of age). A mutton is a sheep older than 1 year old and has a more gamey, strong flavor. Instead of mutton, get a lamb shoulder and cut it into cubes. Preferably, get a Spring lamb: "a milk-fed lamb, usually three to five months old, born in late winter or early spring and sold usually before July 1st". (Wikipedia) I cheated and found lamb shoulder already cut into cubes and trimmed.

Sear, Roux, and Stew
Last week we made a stew too, but it was a white stew (which meant it was blanched first). This week, it's a brown stew so the meat is seared first. When searing, you should see the bottom of the pan so that the meat browns and doesn't poach.

After searing, I let the lamb have a bit of a rest on a plate. Then, to the hot pan I added the butter, onions, and garlic and then sprinkled it with flour, and cooked this mixture for a couple of minutes, scraping up the lamb fond left from searing. (Like a roux, the flour helps to thicken the juices.) Then I added the seared lamb back in with water to cover, plus some tomato paste and aromatics like thyme, bay, salt, and pepper. Like a stock, you're adding flavor to the base. After I brought this to a boil, I reduced the heat and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Now, the "stew" work was done.

Vegetables
Next were the vegetables. This dish has a ton of veggies. Each needs their own pot! Get the dishwasher empty and ready for dirty pots!

First, the carrots, turnips, and potatoes had to be turned. Of course, if you're doing this just for fun, you don't have to turn them, but if you want to pretend you're at culinary school, you must turn them. So turn them, I tried. Then, I popped them each into their very own pot, covered with cold water, a dab of butter, and a sprinkle of salt pepper and they were ready to glaze: boil, reduce heat, and simmer until water has evaporated.

The green beans and peas are blanched, separately, each in their very own pot, of course.

The potatoes got to share the pot with the stew for 30 minutes at the end of the cooking time.

Finally, all the vegetables are allowed to swim together in the stew for 5-10 minutes. Season and this stew was ready to serve.

Recipe: Navarin d'Agneau Printanier (Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables)

You can find the recipe for Navarin d'Agneau Printanier (Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home (affiliate link) or here. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with this week's recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
I love how the vegetables are prepared separately from the stew (notwithstanding all the dishes!). In most stews, the vegetables are a limp, inedible mass at the end of stewing, so this was a treat (especially for someone like me who doesn't like lamb!). At least there was something for me to enjoy about this stew. The lamb was nicely tender and flavored, but lamb is just a tad too gamey for me. I still remember all the hamburgers and meat pies I ate in Australia that had a slight taste of lamb. They put lamb meat in everything {well, almost}. But the techniques of searing, stewing and preparing the vegetables separately are my takeaways from this recipe.

[Skipping a week] Next Posting Week (October 15)
Some things have come up at home, so I'm taking a week off. I will be moving the schedule out a week. If you're following along, feel free to do a rewind for next week or take a vacation too!
• Merlans Colbert (Deep-fried Whiting with Tartar Sauce) pages 290-291

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Running total: $817.60 + $34.96 = $852.56

Butter used so far: 8 pounds, 4 tablespoons

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More to Explore:

• Index of Recipes
• Visual Recipe Index

Crème Brûlée, which means "burnt cream", used to be the dessert I'd look for on menus when eating out. A favorite restaurant of ours in Ottawa is West End Station Bistro. We used to go there so often, they knew us. Once, when the babysitter called to say we had to get home right away [baby was hungry and bottle wasn't working], the restaurant let us take home two crème brûlées to broil in our oven. The next day, we brought back the empty ramekins. Now that's customer service!

Since then, I've learned how to make this dessert and own a crème brûlée torch. It's been a fun dessert to bring to dinner parties along with the torch and let everyone caramelize their own sugar top.

It's such a versatile dessert that can be flavored any number of ways. I used Chai tea bags steeped in the milk and cream mixture for one batch. I also added a tablespoon of dulce de leche to the milk/cream mixture in another batch. But my favorite version is the original vanilla one.

Playing Around

The recipe I usually use for crème brûlée bakes in a water bath, the oven is set to 300˚F, and the custard bakes for 25-30 minutes. This version has no water bath, the oven is set at a lower temperature (200˚F), and the custard bakes for 1 hour (or more!). So, since it was so jiggly even after extra time in the oven, I popped it into the freezer after it cooled to room temperature. It tasted refreshing this way. In fact, the ingredients for crème brûlée are the same as crème anglaise which is the base for ice cream.

Recipe: Crème Brûlée

You can find the recipe for Crème Brûlée in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours (affiliate link) by Dorie Greenspan. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! 

Tasting Notes
This version of crème brûlée was lighter and less dense than the recipes I've used before. It didn't set during baking as much as I expected. However, the taste was amazing. The best part of this dessert is cracking into it with a spoon and getting a mouthful of crunchy sugar with some creamy custard with it. And freezing this version worked well. For the frozen version, a piece of crackly sugar gave it the crunch it needed. Recipe for Next Week (October 7)
Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake on pages 264 and 265 chosen by Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy.

Another Award
Nikki from Nik Snacks gave me the "You make my day award". Well, she made my day with this one. Nikki actually went to Le Cordon Bleu school, has her own blog, teaches cooking classes, is an Editorial Assistant at a local newspaper, and runs her own catering business! Now that's busy.

I now get to pass on the blog love to some of my favorite blogs:

• Kim from Scrumptious Photography has amazing photos. It's always a treat to see what she's been up to.

• Mari from Mevrouw Cupcake has inspiring takes on everything she makes and her posts are fun to read.

• Tommi from Brown Interior always makes me smile when I read her posts and her recipes are very creative and inspiring.

• Steph from Obsessed with Baking has beautiful photos of all the treats she makes in the kitchen.

• Lynne from Café Lynnylu shows off her talent with a camera with every post!

Thanks so much, Nikki. It means a lot to get an award from you!

More to Explore:

• Index of Recipes
• Visual Recipe Index

I am so excited to present the judges for the Does My Blog Look Good in This? September 2008 Edition. We have an international panel of judges, with representation from Africa, Canada and the United States including expatriates from France and Britain. Together they bring 11 years of food blogging experience to the panel of judges. Thanks to each one of these superb food artists for being willing to give of their time and expertise.

Canon 30D

Nikon D80

Canon 10D

Canon Digital Rebel XTi

Canon 400D

I will be providing some input on the judging front as well. Keep those submissions coming! Entries must be received by September 30, 2008 [tomorrow] at midnight EST (U.S.)

~Shari

This month, the Daring Bakers were asked to make Lavash Crackers with a vegan and gluten-free dip. Lavash is a soft, thin flatbread of Armenian origin. (This is going to be an "almost wordless" post since it's been a busy month! For my Lavash crackers, I sprinkled toasted sesame seeds and black pepper on them. I used half the dough to make cracker bowls by cutting the dough into squares and carefully laying the square inside a sprayed ramekin.

To see the different versions of Lavash crackers and dips cropping up all over the foodblogosphere, check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll. Thanks to Natalie from Gluten-A-Go-Go and Shel of Musings From the Fishbowl who hosted this month’s Daring Bakers event.

Recipe: Lavash Crackers

from The The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread (affiliate link)by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6)

Note: The following recipe includes directions for both gluten-free crackers (care of Natalie from Gluten-A-Go-Go) and traditional all-purpose flour crackers.

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
1 tbsp (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
1 tbsp (.5 oz) vegetable oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

or

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

or

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350˚F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Recipe: Honeydew-Peach Salsa

from The Splended Table

Try the salsa with grilled seafood and poultry, or over rice noodles. Chile could be added to taste. It is best eaten within several hours of preparation. Use organic ingredients if at all possible.

juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 Red Fresno and 1 Hot Yellow minced chile (seeds removed)
1 to 2 tsp sugar,
1/2 ripe sweet honeydew melon, cubed into bite-sized pieces
4 small, ripe peaches, peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup minced fresh coriander, or coriander and mint combined

In a medium bowl blend the lime juice, garlic, onion and chilies. Let stand 20 minutes, then blend in sugar and fruits with salt (a generous pinch) and pepper (to make piquant) to taste. Refrigerate up to 3 hours. Fold in fresh herbs just before serving.

Copyright 1997 Lynne Rossetto Kasper, all rights reserved.

Tasting Notes
The crackers were easy to put together and tasted wonderful, even after storing for a day or two. The salsa was a big hit and definitely a recipe worth keeping.

Dimply Plum Cake has been around the food blogosphere for awhile. Here's a round-up of some of the other ones out there before the food blog world gets hit by 250+ TWD members today (let me know if I missed you):

• The Wednesday Chef
• Kitchen Parade
• My Feasts
• No Special Effects
• Smitten Kitchen
• Rosa's Yummy Yums
• Tartelette
• Vegan Diva’s Blog

I now know why it's been blogged about so much. It's a delicious breakfast, afternoon, evening, anytime treat.

Playing Around

Passion fruit has been stealing my heart and taste buds lately. It's a taste memory that goes way back for me and is my favorite fruit out there. I thought the shell of the passion fruit would be tough enough to withstand baking a mini dimply plum cake in it. It worked great.

I also tried baking the cakes in half a mango and half a yellow dragon fruit. The batter in the mango trickled out while baking on one side, but the other side looked fine. The dragon fruit stood up well, and I'll definitely use that again.

For all the shells, next time I would dry the shell out in the oven for an hour on a low heat to reduce the moisture that the cake absorbs.

Recipe: Dimply Plum Cake

You can find the recipe for Dimply Plum Cake in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours (affiliate link) by Dorie Greenspan or here. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Michelle of Bake-en who chose the recipe for this week.

Tasting Notes
I loved the crunch of passion fruit seeds in the cake (but you could strain the seeds out if you don't like them). The hint of cardamom was delicious too. This cake was gobbled up quicker (mostly by me!) than a lot of other desserts that come into our hosue. Usually, when reading other TWD posts, I have the urge to nibble on whatever it is we made that week. I won't be able to do that this week, unless I make it again…soon. And I will.
Recipe for Next Week (September 30)
Creme Brulée on page 393.

Awards
In the past month, I've been lucky enough to get two awards from three different bloggers.

Karen from Something Sweet by Karen and Laura from She's Cookin' Now both gave me the "E for Excellent" award. Karen has beautiful photos of her kitchen creations, and I'm so glad she kept on blogging instead of deleting her gorgeous blog! Laura's turkey chili looks amazing as do her blueberry muffins. Check them out!

Esther & Hannah from Del Sisters Kitchen gave me the "I Love You This Much" award. Esther & Hanna are two sisters baking up a storm together.

Thanks so much, you guys. It means a lot to get these blog awards and feel supported and loved in the food blogging world. It's a treat to be part of this community!

More to Explore:

• Index of Recipes
• Visual Recipe Index

Passion Fruit and Orange
in Love with a
Fluffy Sponge Cupcake
Kissed with Marshmallow Vanilla Frosting
How's that for a recipe title? I was inspired once again by the menu at Plus Minus Café in Mont Tremblant. I know most people's favorite cake flavor is chocolate, but I love vanilla. And this one contains passion fruit (my all-time favorite fruit), orange and vanilla.

I've been playing around with baking cakes in different fruits lately. This time, I thought it would be fun to bake the vanilla white cake inside an orange shell so that the shell would infuse the cake.

The frosting I used is a favorite of mine that is light, and airy and can take on any flavors you throw into it, including cinnamon and nutmeg or passion fruit and orange.




This is my submission to Sugar High Fridays, a dessert-focused food-blogging event created by fellow Canadian and food blogger extraordinaire Jennifer from The Domestic Goddess. This month's event is hosted by the amazing and inspiring Fanny from Foodbeam.

Recipe: Passion Fruit and Orange in Love with a Fluffy Sponge Cupcake Kissed with Marshmallow Vanilla Frosting

This half recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients: