My favorite place

Don't you hate it when you finally find time to sit down and write a post only to find that everything you type is complete and utter drivel? Things come out as half thoughts and in short, halting sentences? Bleh. yeah, that's me today.

Rather than give up and wait for a seemingly better time that I know will not arise, I will continue on. I didn't really want to do much blabbering anyway; what I really wanted was to show some photos from my recent trip to New York.



I love NYC. Well, that's an understatement. I lurrrrve it. Not just the city itself, but also Brooklyn, which happens to be where my oldest and dearest friend has lived for the past decade. We've known each other since we were both eight years old, which, we realized, means we've known each other for 20 years! Yeah, twenty years. Wow.



I don't have a recipe today, but a review of sorts. It's food related.

If you ever find yourself in Brooklyn (Clinton Hill, to be exact), needing a little coffee, or something to eat, I know of a place you should go.

It's this place, right here. Outpost.



Okay, I might be just a tiny bit biased (aforementioned long time dearest friend is co-owner) BUT - I would still love this place even if that weren't a factor.

How could you not? Just look around...

I love the decor, but I'm not quite sure how to describe it. No need though, as I think it really speaks for itself.

The coffee here is amazing (better than anything I've had here in Seattle and that is absolute truth) and the food is great too. They have sandwiches, chili (both vegetarian and turkey), soup, mac and cheese, freshly made juices, pastries and even beer and wine if you're so inclined.

They throw events and parties every once in a while. Sometimes there's a DJ.

The garden out back is wonderful in the warm weather. (it's a lot bigger than this)

Next to it is the most beautiful wall I've ever seen. They didn't even make it this way, this is just how it was when they moved in. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood, you should really stop in.

1014 Fulton Street, between Grand and Classon.

Here are some other random photos from my trip. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would - I've already done all the touristy things, so I felt a bit of 'been there, done that' as far as those types of pics go. I did however, discover this super awesome iphone app called ShakeItPhoto that I couldn't stop using. I never would've thought some of my favorite pictures would come from using my craptastic iphone camera! But this app is gold and totally worth $0.99 (and is the only app I've ever paid for).

can you tell I love front stoops?



because I'm a bit nutty for Anthony Bourdain




I could squeeze myself into this tiny soho apartment....I'd just have to get rid of 90% of my personal possessions


soho is one of my favorite neighborhoods




west village


maggie brown- awesome brunch and the wallpaper is like velvet


until next time...

Spontaneous Nectarine Tart

I love when simple things turn out spectacular. What's even better is when you use things you have on hand and put together something really great; something you wouldn't have found in a cook book or in a recipe online. I did pull ideas from both a cook book and a couple of recipes online to make this nectarine tart, but the idea really came from things I already had made that needed to be used.


I recently bought the book Tartine and am absolutely in love with it. Each and every recipe sounds divine and I can honestly say I want to make every single one of them! It's not often I feel that way while flipping through the pages of a new cook book. At first I was a little disappointed because the book features a relatively small number of recipes, but came to realize that they are all so appealing to me that I'm happy to have fewer, more appetizing recipes than a massive book that only contains a handful.


you can see the butter chunks that make this dough so flaky...if you squint a little!

One thing I love about the Tartine cook book is the basic recipes that are located in the back of the book for things like chiffon cake, pastry cream, sweet tart dough and flaky tart dough to name a few.


The first thing I made out of the bookwas the flaky tart dough. It was simple to make and resulted in the flakiest pie crust I have ever made, and it was absolutely delicious! It's so flaky, it's borderline puff pastry-esque. The recipe makes enough for two 9-inch pie crusts, so I had an extra pie crust just aching to be used for something.


pre and post bake
I'd recently seen a nectarine galette featured on Smitten Kitchen, which, along with
a family get together, a box of perfectly ripe nectarines, and left over cheese danish filling gave way to inspiration.


This nectarine tart was an absolute hit at the party and was even proclaimed to be, "the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!" by my future brother-in-law. Wow! That is the greatest compliment I have ever received and absolutely made my day :)

I hope you make this tart and enjoy it as much as we did.

Flaky Tart Dough
adapted from Tartine

1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup very cold water
3 cups + 2 tablespoons flour (or 1 pound/455g by weight, which is the method I prefer)
1 cup + 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (mine was frozen)

1. In a small bowl, add the salt to the water and keep in fridge until ready to use.

2. Using a food processor, add the flour to the work bowl. Cut butter into 1" chunks and scatter across the top of the flour. Pulse briefly until you have large crumbs. Add the cold water/salt mixture and pulse until the dough begins to come together in a ball but is not completely smooth. You should still see chunks of butter (about pea size).

3. On a floured surface, divide the dough into two balls, shape into disks 1" thick (work the dough as little as possible). Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Makes 2 9-10" pie crusts.

Cream Cheese Filling
adapted from David Lebovitz's Black Bottom Cupcake recipe found in The Great Book of Chocolate

(If you're using a standard tart pan, you can probably get away with halving this recipe.)

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature

1. Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the eggs and sugar, beating well until creamy. Store in the refrigerator until ready for use.

You will also need:

Approximately 1 1/2 pounds of nectarines (4-6)
1/4 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 egg, beaten (to use as an egg wash)

*OPTIONAL:
4 tablespoons ground almonds (or almond meal/flour)
1 tablespoon flour
4 teaspoons sugar (I used vanilla sugar)

Assembling the tart:

1. Slice about 5-6 nectarines as thick or thin as you'd like (I cut each half into 4 slices).

2. Roll out your tart dough and fit into your tart pan.

3. If using the *optional method, mix the ground almonds, flour and 4 teaspoons sugar. Spread this mixture over the bottom of the tart dough.

*I say this step is optional because I don't think you will miss it if you don't use it. Deb's recipe used this but she didn't use a cream cheese filling, so I assume you'd taste this a lot more if you only had nectarines and no other filling.

4. Pour your cream cheese mixture into your tart crust. I used a very deep dish tart pan that took almost all my cream cheese mixture. If you're using a standard tart pan, you will have a lot of the cream cheese mixture left over.

5. Arrange your nectarine slices however you wish and brush the edges of your tart dough with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top of your tart and crust edge with 1/4 cup of sugar.

6. Bake at 375 F for approximately 45 minutes, or until the center is no longer jiggly. During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle the top with the 1/4 cup of sliced almonds. You may have to cover the outer edge of crust with foil to prevent over browning.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

August Daring Bakers Challenge - Dobos Torte

Time again for another Daring Bakers challenge!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.



Okay so I'm quite late in posting, however, I did manage to complete the challenge ahead of time. I've just been so busy lately that the little free time I have had has been spent very much away from a computer. The weather around here has been absolutely gorgeous and I have spent every moment possible enjoying it!

This torte was a very straight forward challenge and fairly easy in it's entirety. I chose to halve the recipe and make a small cake (4" round) which I mistakenly thought would mean a bit less work overall. Wrong! I probably got away with less time as far as baking the cake layers go, since I was able to bake 3 at a time, but other than that I'm pretty sure it took almost the same amount of time as it would have if I'd gone with the full size cake. Oh well! It was still fun and the end result was just as pretty as a full sized cake.

Whipping the egg yolks and sugar

Whipped egg whites for the sponge cake

Folding the whites into the yolks

Cake layers ready to bake

Chopped chocolate for the buttercream frosting

Candied hazelnuts drying

When I saw this recipe called for working with caramel, I remembered a decorating technique I had seen in my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. These lovely candied hazelnuts excited me when I saw them in her book and I knew I wanted to try making them someday. This challenge seemed like the perfect fit since it called for hazelnuts and already had some fancy presentation going on with the caramelized cake layers as the decorative top.

Instead of using the caramel recipe from Martha's book, I chose to just go with the caramel from the challenge which was a little softer than what I needed. Of course I didn't know that at the time, but I still ended up with some decorative hazelnuts to use on my finished cake.

Assembling the layers

Caramelized layer of cake

Unfortunately, the caramel cake layer didn't end up tasting very good. In fact, it was met with a grimace of displeasure! It might've looked nice, but the taste was...less than desirable. I'm not sure if I overcooked the caramel or if that's just the way it is.

I love how nuts look pressed into the sides of a cake.

Dobos Torte

Sponge cake layers

• 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
• pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
• 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping

• 1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
• 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
• 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches

• a 7” cardboard round
• 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
• ½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1. Position the racks in the top and center thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2. Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3. Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5. Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the center and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the center rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1. Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3. Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

4. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5. When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Lorraine's note: If you're in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you'll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Directions for the caramel topping:

1. Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2. Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-colored caramel.

3. The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos

1. Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2. Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3. Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4. Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavor.