Cat Food

Can't Help Myself

Banana Chocolate Chip cake. Yep. Can't stop baking.

Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cakes ... Cooling

Snow Day

Inside on a snowy day. Baking.

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

... Or. Driving through Times Square.

Biscotti Finished!

There's A New Bakery In Town!

After spending the past 9 months searching for local space (and not being successful I'm sorry to say), former pastry chef and current local cooking instructor Cat Morris (yep - it's me!) is on the verge of opening her first "virtually" local bakery - Basic Kneads.

The bakery will focus on local ingredients baked up like gran'ma used to do it. Everything from low fat muffins like apricot ginger and cranberry orange to all sorts of cookies, double fudge chunk brownies, cakes, pies, tarts and much more. All using wholesome and locally available ingredients. There'll also be freshly baked crackers, breads and even granola packaged to go! And let's not forget about those birthday - wedding and any ole' custom cakes you can think of!

Check Basic Kneads over the next couple of weeks as we roll out our new menu and local delivery schedule.

Ahh the first warm Spring afternoon ...

Had a nice afternoon of baking for a change and finally perfected my basic biscotti recipe. I've used fresh lemon zest and rosemary here but feel free to experiment with any flavors you like. If you try the recipe shoot me a note and let me know what you came up with!
Here's the recipe as a PDF - Lemon Rosemary Biscotti

Lemon Rosemary Biscotti
Ingredients:

sugar 2/3 cup
eggs 2 large
vanilla 1 tsp.
baking powder ¾ tsp.
salt 1/8 tsp.
flour 2 cups
lemon zest 1 tsp.
rosemary (finely minced) 2 tsp.
almonds (whole, toasted) 1 cup

1 egg plus a little water mixed together for egg wash

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. mix eggs & sugar together till thick and pale yellow
2. add vanilla, lemon zest & rosemary to eggs and sugar
3. sift dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture
4. add the almonds & mix till just well combined
5. because dough will be sticky, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about a half hour
6. roll dough into a 12 inch by 2 ½ inch log, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until firm to the touch
7. remove from oven, cool slightly and then slice into ½ thick slices
8. return slices to the oven for 10 -15 minutes until light golden brown and dry

Chocolate Truffles 101

Thanks to all the great folks who came down to the Montclair Adult School the last two weeks for my Chocolate Truffle classes! I had a fantastic time teaching them and hope you all had fun getting messy!

I'll be posting all the info. from the classes over the next couple of days, including some additional recipes for the candied orange peel garnish and the candied ginger filling.

An Apple a Day ... at Least!

Apple season is upon us and there is every imaginable variety available at the farmer's market. I find that whenever I bake with apples its best to use a couple varieties mixed together. This gives you a depth of flavor and texture that you can't get by just using a single variety. I thought I'd share my most basic recipe to start - Apple Crisp.

Just about everyone has an apple crisp recipe that's been passed down in their family. It's the simplest and yet one of the most satisfying deserts to make. Keeping it simple really allows you to savor the intense apple flavor with just a hint of spice and crunch in the crust. It's a great desert to make with kids and boy does the house smell fantastic! Check out this great site for all your apple info- Apple Country

Be sure to check back over the next few weeks for more apple recipes!

Apple Crisp
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients
8 apples - mixed varieties, cored and peeled
2 cups flour or 1 cup flour & 1 cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup butter
Pinch of salt

Method
1) Core, peel and dice apples. Place in a buttered 9 x13 inch baking dish
2) Toss flour, oats, sugars, salt & spices together in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3) Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the apples and pop into a preheated oven.
4) Bake until topping is golden and apples are bubbling - approximately 45 minutes.
Garnish with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of cold heavy cream
Serves 6 - 8

Hint: Using a glass baking dish allows you to see when the apples are bubbly without having to poke around in the crisp to test for doneness.

Printer-friendly apple crisp recipe

The seckel pears are here! The seckel pears are here!

I picked up some seckel pears at the farmer's makret last Saturday and have made them two ways so far; roasted and poached. They're a nice alternative side dish to have with roast chicken or fish or as a dessert, warmed over vanilla ice cream with a little caramel sauce. Both recipes are incredibly easy to make and you can use any type of pear. I just think the little seckel pears are too darn cute.

Honey Roasted Pears
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients
Enough pears to fill a medium sized baking pan
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. water
Pinch of powdered ginger
Pinch of cinnamon

Method
1) Rinse pears and slice a little bit off the bottom so they will stand up straight in the baking pan.
2) Put them into a baking pan or casserole dish so that they're packed tightly together.
3) Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over pears.
4) Pop into the oven and roast, uncovered till they're tender when pierced with a fork, approximately an hour and change. It all depends on how ripe the pears are. Baste them about every 20 minutes while they're roasting to give them a nice golden hue.

Spiced Poached Pears

Ingredients
2 doz. Seckel pears
3 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole star anise
4 cloves
6 cups of water or to cover & half that amount of sugar

Method
1) Peel the pears leaving the stems intact
2) Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Make sure you measure the water so you know how much sugar to put in.
3) Add the spices, cover and bring to a boil.
4) Reduce the heat and simmer till they're tender when pierced with a fork.
5) Allow them to cool in the syrup and then place the pears and their syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate.

You could also place the pears and they're syrup in sterilized canning jars and process in boiling water so you'll have them later in the season.