This is King Arthur’s Flour Recipe of the Year.

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. Lightly grease two 8” x 2” or 9” x 2” round cake pans; for extra protection against sticking, line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds (you can cut these yourself or use precut 8” or 9” rounds), and grease the parchment. If your 8” pans aren’t at least 2” deep, use 9” pans.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, either using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, if using, until thickened and light gold in color, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. If your stand mixer doesn’t have a whisk attachment, beat for 5 minutes using the paddle attachment. The batter should fall in thick ribbons from the beaters, whisk, or paddle.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the bowl and mix — by hand or on low speed of a mixer — just enough to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix again briefly, to fully incorporate any residual flour or sticky bits.

In a saucepan set over medium heat or in the microwave, bring the milk just to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and oil, stirring by hand until the butter has melted.

Slowly mix the hot milk-butter-oil mixture into the batter, stirring on low speed of a mixer until everything is well combined. Scrape the bowl and mix briefly, just until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. You’ll use about 2 3/4 cups (about 580g) in each.

Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top feels set, 26 to 30 minutes for two 9” pans, or 38 to 42 minutes for two 8” pans; a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the cakes should read 205°F. Remove the cakes from the oven, carefully loosen the edges, and allow them to cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Then turn them out of the pans and transfer them to a rack, right-side up, to cool to room temperature.

To make the frosting: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together – by hand or mixer – the cocoa powder, 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar, and the salt. Stir in the water and vanilla, scraping the bowl if necessary.

Add the butter and remaining confectioners’ sugar, stirring to combine. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the frosting at medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightened in color and fluffy, stopping halfway through to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

To finish the cake: For the best-looking cake, do the frosting in two steps. First, spread a very thin layer of frosting around the sides and across the top; this is called a crumb coat. You should be able to see the cake through the frosting in spots, it’s that thin. Refrigerate the cake for 20 minutes to let this layer set. Again, skip this step if time is a factor.

Once the cake is chilled, use the remaining frosting to coat it thoroughly and evenly. If you have any leftover frosting, you can use it to pipe decorations on the top and/or around the base.

Store the cake, covered, at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your kitchen is hot. Let it come to room temperature before serving.

 

When just saying “thank you” isn’t enough.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt + a bit for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

Beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the peanut-butter mixture, beating gently until everything is well combined. It may take awhile for this rather dry dough to come together; and when it does, it’ll be quite stiff. Only if necessary, drizzle in enough water to make the dough cohesive.

Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here), leaving 2″ between them.

Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/2″ thick, making a cross-hatch design. Sprinkle a little bit of kosher salt if you like. 

Bake the cookies for 12 to 16 minutes, until they’re barely beginning to brown around the edges; the tops won’t have browned. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
2/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup melted, browned butter
1/2 cup coconut

DIRECTIONS

Melt and brown butter and put aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in coconut.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg, milk, vanilla, and cooled melted butter until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will be lumpy. Do not over-mix or the muffins will become tough. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with nonstick spray.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups using small ice cream scoop.

Bake at 425 F for about 10 minutes, lower oven to 350 and bake for additional 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

Another great recipe from King Arthur Flour.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with non-stick vegetable oil spray.

Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the butter mixture in the bowl. Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2″ to 2″ between cookies.

Bake the cookies for 12-18 minutes, (depending on the size) until they’re a light golden brown, with slightly darker edges. 

Remove the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they’re set enough to handle, transfer them to racks to cool.

 

When your child loves Australia as much as mine does, you celebrate Australia Day by making a Pavlova.

INGREDIENTS

Palova Base
6 large egg whites
350g caster sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
600ml of heavy cream
Fresh Berries
Lemon Curd
Raspberry Jam

DIRECTIONS

Make the raspberry jam and lemon curd ahead of time so it call cool.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Add the egg whites to the clean bowl and using an electric mixer whisk on medium speed. When the bubbles have increased in amount but become smaller in size, slowly start adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Continue whisking at medium speed until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Rub the meringue between your fingers to make sure there are no grains of sugar.  This will make your meringue weep.

Add the corn starch, lemon juice and vanilla and whisk for a couple minutes to combine evenly. Scrape the meringue onto the parchment paper, pilling high and make any shape you want.

Bake at 300 for 10 minutes before reducing the temperature to 225 degrees F. Bake for a total of 90 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool fully in the oven. Remove from oven and when you are ready, whip cream and top with lemon curd and berries. Serve immediately.

 

 

 

One of the most decadent desserts I’ve had in a long time. I worked with this recipe from Baker By Nature.

INGREDIENTS

Crust
2 packages of chocolate graham crackers, crushed
16 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
24 ounces full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs plus 2 yolks, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Cookie Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, allowing two of the sides to overlap (you want an overhang of at least 2-inches on two sides) and spray lightly with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the crushed cookie crumbs and melted butter, mix well to combine.

Press the mixture into the bottom – and slightly up the sides – of the prepared pan.

Bake the crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack until needed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees (F).

For the Chocolate Cheesecake Filling:
Fill a medium pot one-third full with water and bring it to a low simmer over medium heat. Place a heatproof bowl that will fit on top of the pan snugly, but will not touch the simmering water, on top of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped chocolate into the bowl over the pot. Heat until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring occasionally with a silicon spatula. Remove the pot from the heat, leaving the bowl of chocolate over the hot water. Set aside until needed.

In the bowl of a food processor (or high-powered blender), pulse the cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. Add in both sugars and cocoa powder and beat smooth. Add in the eggs, egg yolks, and heavy cream and mix until just combined, about 20 seconds. Fold in the chocolate. Finally add in the vanilla and pulse for another 20 seconds.

Remove the bowl from the food processor and, using a rubber spatula, stir the filling several times to ensure it’s evenly blended.

Scrape the filling over the partially baked crust in the prepared pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 30 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set but still slightly jiggly. The cake will set completely as it cools.

Remove the cake from the oven and  place the pan on a wire rack. Carefully loosen the foil, then immediately run the tip of a knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking. Cool completely (in the pan), then transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

For the Chocolate Ganache:
Add chopped chocolate to a medium bowl; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-heat, bring the cream to a rolling simmer. Pour the cream on top of the chocolate pieces and set aside for 1 minute. With a whisk, begin to incorporate the melted chocolate into the cream, whisking until smooth and glossy.

Set aside, at room temperature, until needed.

Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake. Set aside until ganache is set, about 1 hour.

To serve, slice the cheesecake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.

Store, loosely covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.

 

Traditional Mexican bread for 6th of January, King’s Day.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups flour
3 eggs, seperated
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 ounce of dry yeast
1 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon butter, softened

Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
20 candied citrus peels

DIRECTIONS

Mix 4 cups flour, eggs, egg yolks, 2/3 cup white sugar, water, dry yeast, orange zest, lime zest, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter; mix until dough is elastic and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Form dough into a ball. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Punch down dough gently; roll into a long cylinder. Join the ends of the cylinder together in the shape of an oval ring. Place ring on a greased baking sheet; cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Whisk eggs whites in a small bowl. Brush egg whites evenly over dough.

Mix 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl with your fingers to form a paste. Add enough flour to give paste the consistency of Play-Doh(R); divide into 5 or 6 balls. Place each ball between two 3-inch squares of parchment paper. Press with the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup to make a circle about 1/8 inch thick.

Space circles evenly around the dough ring. Arrange candied citrus peels on top of the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

I worked with this recipe.

 

I took Amy Sedaris’ recipe for cupcakes and buttercream frosting, added some lemon curd and coconut and this was the result.

INGREDIENTS

I had to do something fun to return to work.

INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons butter, softened
6 tablespoons sugar
2 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°. Write fortunes on small strips of paper (3-1/2×1/4-in.); set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw two 3-1/2-in. circles on a sheet of parchment paper. Place paper, pencil mark down, on a baking sheet; set aside.

In a small bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg white and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Spread 1 tablespoon batter over each circle. Bake 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Slide parchment paper onto a work surface. Cover one cookie with a kitchen towel. Place a fortune in the center of the other cookie; loosen cookie from parchment paper with a thin spatula. Fold cookie in half over fortune strip so the edges meet; hold edges together for 3 seconds.

Place center of cookie over the rim of a glass; gently press ends down to bend cookie in middle. Cool 1 minute before removing to a wire rack. Repeat with second cookie. If cookies become too cool to fold, return to oven to soften for 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter and fortunes.

I worked with this recipe.