October: Find-your-uncle-in-the-middle-of-the-night-eating-chocolate-cake-it-is-so-good Chocolate Cake

The first thing I did when I got to my beach house this summer, was to sit down with my new favorite cook book. The cookbook, which my aunt gave me for my birthday, is called "The Baker's Dozen Cookbook". It's an amazing cookbook with tried and true techniques as well as 135 delicious looking recipes.  Well, anyway in this book there are a couple of pages of pictures. I was looking at these pages of pictures and came across a picture of chocolate raspberry cake. This cake looked amazingly delicious and was screaming my name.  So, I decided to make it. 

Once I started looking at the recipe, I realized that it was going to be a big cake, and a lot more work than I expected. There were 4 different parts to the cake, so it was going to take a long time! 

All of my cousins (16...all younger than me!) have been wanting to help me make something this summer. (They all claim that they are chefs, but really they just want to get on the blog.)  Since this was such a big cake, I thought that this was a perfect time to ask my cousin, who had asked me first, to help me and together, we attacked this cake. 

Anyway, making the cake lasted over a span of a couple of days and no I do not mean I stayed awake over a couple of days to make this (I don't think I could have made it because these days I am so tired at the end of the day!).

I used fresh picked raspberries (you know my mom and blueberries!) and I seriously encourage you to do the same. The raspberries tasted fresh and they were ripe and juicy and not about to grow mold on them like some of the ones from supermarkets! The spongy chocolate cake! OMG!!!! It was so good. It was not too dense which was something I was worried about, but at the same time, it was not too light. On a scale of 1-10 of the sponginess I would rate it an 8. Chocolate cream filling...rich, creamy, all the good things about filling. Finally, seriously decadent chocolate ganache which is French for frosting...so not Betty Crocker. These main components made the cake so deliciously TDF (to die for)!! 

Once we started looking at the recipe, we found out that we did not have a spring form cake pan. We tried a bundt pan, but the cake didn't rise as high as it should, so we ended up cutting the cake in half to make a half of a cake. Even though the cake was small, it was delicious, I mean truly TDF! The raspberries really were a great mix with the chocolate. I loved this cake and hope you do too! 

Just 1 thing, make sure you have an abundance of time! 

BTW: I know who it was who ate my cake in the middle of the night! Father of C and godfather of N... or was it you father of hummer-loving son!!!

My finished cake! (before my uncle got to it!)

For this cake, you will need the cake recipe, a genoise recipe, a ganache recipe, and a glaze recipe. All of these recipes are included!

May: The Month Of Cooking

Hello everybody! Have you heard of the blog Orangette? Well, the creator of Orangette (also named Molly) has published a book (she is working on her second). For my birthday, my parents got me the book. While I was reading the book, I came across  a recipe called Tarte Tatin.

Tarte Tatin is another French recipe (I know!) . I think I am becoming obsessed with French food. I mean it makes perfect sense. I have gone to France, I speak French, and I go to school where some of my day is spent speaking in French. I think I am just destined to love French food.

Do you know the history of Tarte Tatin? While according to Wikipedia, it was first made by the sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin at a hotel in France called Hotel Tatin. There are conflicting stories about how this recipe originated but either way... it did. Both stories say that the recipe was created by accident. The stories also say that it was not originally called Tarte Tintin. Only after the sisters death was it named that. Wikipedia also states that you can make this with other fruits, such as pears, or peaches. Tarte Tintin can be also made with vegetables such as onions. 

I really had wanted to make this recipe since I got the book. It was the first recipe on my list to make.  It sounded really good. I was a little bit nervous at first as I had never worked with puff pastry before.  I decided that April vacation would be the perfect time to attempt this as I have more time to cook. This year we spent the week at my cousins' house.  I decided I would make it there. But, as the week went on, more and more apples were eaten.  Friday, I realized I would have to wait, not an apple was left!  I decided to make this the day I got back home, with freshly purchased apples!

Here's something to know... puff pastry, you can buy it or make your own.  I didn't go through the hassle of making my own. I just bought store-bought. My brand was Pepperedige Farm. This brand was very good and it comes with two sheets. So, the next time I make this I have some puff pastry waiting in my freezer for me, so I just need to thaw it. Yippe! If you do buy your puff pastry, you should make sure to thaw according to package directions. 

This post is called the month of cooking because I have less homework, therefore more time to cook and blog. I have this because I have two weeks of state standerized testing. Teachers are supposed to not pass out homework for the week. So, I can cook instead of having to do homework!!!!!!!  It will truly be a month of "after the bell cooking"!

I made this over vacation, for a dinner over at my grandmother's house. Everybody loved it. Here is the recipe.

April Showers Bring...

Have you ever read Robert McCloskey's One Morning in Maine? My favorite line of the book is the last line of the book when the two girls, Sal and Jane scream "CLAM CHOWDER FOR LUNCH!" 

Well, instead of Clam Chowder, for me in my best Sal and Jane voice I am screaming FRENCH TOAST FOR DESSERT! 

Who wouldn't love French Toast for dessert? This recipe is easy to make but best for a small crowd as you have to get up in between dinner and dessert to make it. I know right, it is hard to believe that I am giving you a recipe for French Toast. Or even better yet, a recipe for French Toast for dessert. This is a special one though. Read on to find out more about it.  

This is called Pain Perdu and it is a traditional french nursery dessert. Just like the Creme Brulee, this is a french dish. I mean hey, look at the name. The exact translation is lost toast. But I don't think this french toast recipe will ever be lost in my house.  

Have you ever had french toast with almonds? While, this is what this is. With a topping of strawberries, and confectioners sugar. Although the original recipe calls for you to make the "pain perdu" in a skillet pan, I cooked some of mine in a skillet and then switched to a griddle and it worked so much better than a skillet. So, I am telling you definitely use the griddle. It is so much better. 

One reason the griddle is much better is you have to clean out the skillet each time and the skillet gets very hot. You also have to wait like 30 minutes for it to become cool enough, so you can carry it over to the sink . But with the griddle you don't have to wipe down the surface, so you can just keep making them. 


While making this, I noticed a couple of things.

1.) When you soak larger pieces for 4 minutes, they can get very soft. I suggest cutting them in half. It is easier to lift up with a spatula, and is also easier with transporting it to the skillet/griddle. 

2.) Bigger pieces get burnt more easily, again cut them in half. 

3.) 4 minutes can be a lot for pieces to soak, you can soak them for less if need be. 

March: A Month Of Holidays

So... I don't know about you but, March is a long month of birthdays, holidays, and "Spring" (even though the temperatures don't feel like it). You know the old saying  "March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb"? I don't think that is true now a days in New England. The temperatures don't really get going until middle of May. But anyways there are lots of holidays so it is a good trade off. 

One holiday that my whole family celebrates is St. Patrick's Day. We all get together at my Nana and Papa's house. It has sort of become a family tradition. One food that we enjoy every year is the Irish Bread that my Nana makes. In fact, my great-grandmother also made this very same Irish Bread. She came over from Ireland on a boat so this was a traditional recipe for us. She also used a great sifter with a nice, fine, sift. She used this sifter for about 80 years. My Nana has used it for about 40 years. The brand of the sifter is Bromwell. These sifters are still avalible today and you can find them at this website. 

Depending upon who we make this recipe for we use currents and caraway seeds although they are optional. These are traditional Irish ingredients and they taste delicious. 

This is a picture of the sifter that my Nana has from my great-grandmother 

This is the recipe in my Nana's recipe book. 

In case you can not see the writing in the  picture, here is the recipe: