Pecan Sticky Buns

I DID IT!  I was pretty sure I was not going to do this recipe.  I had slotted some time this past weekend to make these buns but after a long week of working, putting kiddos to bed, waking up with a teething baby, fighting a cold... it was looking doubtful.  There were signs upon signs telling me not to put one more thing on my plate (even if it was a giant plate of gooey, yummy sticky pecan buns).  Despite this, I picked up my friend's stand mixer on Friday night, still playing along with the calendar on my iPhone that stated "Pecan rolls" on Saturday.  And then I woke up Saturday, and said to myself, "Wait... I don't need to do this.  This baking group is just for fun and if I made these rolls right now it would not be fun, at all.  And if I really want a pecan bun I can go buy one down the street."   I even entertained the thought of dropping out of the baking group altogether.  I have enough things to do that aren't by choice right now, so the few things I do chose to do need to be fulfilling and rewarding and relaxing and not stressful.  That's a tall order.

So Saturday came and went and I didn't even think about the recipe.  Not even once.

The proofed sponge.

Sunday was a different story.  It must have been the 4-5 hour stretch of sleep I got the night before.  I had more energy.  And somewhere in the midst of naps and diapers and gardening I made the brioche sponge and then the brioche dough.  And it was fun.  It was like no other dough I have made and using the stand mixer was revolutionary for me.

The dough chilled overnight and Monday is a day off of work for me, so I was around the house enough to piece together the rest of the recipe throughout the day.  I wound up eating my Pecan Sticky Bun at 9pm on Monday night with a glass of milk (I debated whether or not to pair it with a glass of wine).  Not quite like I had envisioned in the morning with a cup of coffee but it was glorious.  And it was fun.  And it was way better than anything I could have bought.

Ready to bake.

My baking notes:
- I pretty much followed the recipe without variation.
- I used all the butter.  And I laminated the dough.   I would do the same next time.
- I upped the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and I am glad I did.
- The mixer I borrowed was a Kitchen Aid Professional Series mixer and it didn't even break a sweat.
- I have 1/2 the recipe in my freezer- maybe this one will be made for breakfast!
- On one roll, I didn't trim the end and the bun came out all whompus so I would definitely trim all ends.

Look at all that butter!

For the complete recipe see our hosts:
Nicole of Cookies on Friday
Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat

Hungarian Shortbread

I'm about to eat another one of these buggers.  I am a sucker for shortbread.  Any version really.  I think it's all the butter.   My husband tells me they are even better today (day #3).  So, I won't regret eating another one.   After all I need to see if that is really the case, scientifically speaking.

I followed this recipe without variation.  I even made the vanilla- rhubarb jam as it was described.  The jam turned out quite runny, so I turned it back on the heat for a bit longer to reduce it a bit, but then I think I had too little jam.  As a result the sweet shortbread far outweighs the tart rhubarb jam, but when I do get a bite that balances the two, the desert is quite perfect.  It's just that, this doesn't happen enough in this go-around.  Next time, more rhubarb jam.

And I think there will be another time for this recipe.  It was simple but the result was decadent enough to bely it's simplicity.  I envision this one around the holidays with cranberry preserves...

For the full recipe see our hosts for this week:


Lynette of 1smallkitchen
Cher of The not so exciting adventures of a dabbler…

of the Tuesdays with Dorie/ Baking with Julia baking community

Lemon Loaf Cake

Such an easy recipe.  Such a light, "springtime" cake.  

Easy was good as I squeezed this in while my son and husband were off at the hardware store, and Rhiannon was taking a nap.  That's how easy it was.  

Light was good as I was expecting more traditional pound cake heaviness to the loaf, and it was surprisingly light and fluffy more like a layer cake.  (I don't think it was light in any other sense of the word, due to the decent amount of butter and cream in it.)

And maybe it was that Portland was having a remarkably dry and sunny spring weekend that this cake just felt like springtime.  Maybe it was the fact that the color of the cake matched the daffodils in my yard.  

I followed the recipe without any deviations or experimentation.   I am finding this cookbook, 

Baking with Julia, to be so detail oriented (which is helping a novice like me to master these baking skills); this recipe told me when to switch from a whisk to a spatula in the mixing process!  Never have I read a recipe so specific with mixing utensils.    

Next time, I will deviate a bit.  Maybe some glaze, some more lemon juice, and I would love to serve it with lemon curd as that sounds just heavenly.   I will, however, maintain the timing of switching from whisk to spatula.

For the recipe and more on Tuesdays with Dorie see our hosts:

Treats
The Beauty of Life

Pizza Rustica

All ready to bake.

Yum. Yum. Yum.  For some reason I just loved this one (my fourth recipe with the baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie).  Maybe it was the sweet/ savory combination, maybe it was the fact that it doubled as a dinner (and not an extra recipe for the week), maybe it was how simple it was to make yet how elegant it looked.  I don't think I have eaten anything exactly like this, so it was also novel.  Whatever it was, it was great.  

The crust.

The dough is a sweet dough, ideally made in a food processor, but seeing as I don't have a big enough food processor, I resorted to using my grandma's good old pastry blender and some elbow grease.  The dough was easy and workable, but did require a decent amount of flour when rolling to keep it from sticking (all that sugar).  

The filling.

It was simple enough my three year old helped make it, but he soon lost interest when he realized it wasn't sweet.  Since I am a vegetarian and this recipe traditionally calls for prosciutto, I did improvise a bit and substituted kalamata olives, thinking the salt levels would be about right.  My husband, who would have loved the prosciutto, thought the kalamatas were a fair replacement and easily ate an extra slice.  For the filling, I also used part skim ricotta instead of whole milk ricotta, not by choice, but because the store didn't have whole.  Lucky for me, I think the part skim turned out better: less rich and less sweet to balance out the crust.  

Putting it all together.

I have had a little pastry wheel for years, given to me by my in-laws.  But to this day, I have never used it and on occasion I have thought to throw it out, thinking, " When the hell am I ever going to use this thing?"  Today was the day.   What a handy little tool.  That and the bench scraper I bought for the chocolate tartlets.  It's so nice to have the right tools.   Maybe I should get a food processor...?

The pastry wheel put to use!

To see the full recipe and learn more about Tuesdays with Dorie; Baking with Julia, see the links below.

Emily of Capital Region Dining 

The Place They Call Home

Irish Soda Bread

I am now back on track with the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group after taking a brief hiatus during the Rugelach recipe.  I never quite got to that one, I think because I was not that excited about the final result. But I did buy the cream cheese for it and it's still sitting in my fridge... and after reading other's blogs on it, I may indeed bake it in the coming weeks.

But now for Irish soda bread.   I have loved Irish soda bread for years.   I even weaseled a recipe from my very Irish sister-in-law that she had from her grandma and have made it several times.  But what I learned through doing this recipe, is that I was in love with the American bastard child of the Irish soda bread made with eggs and butter and caraway seeds and other good stuff.  The traditional Irish soda bread is nothing more than flour, soda, salt and buttermilk.  Historically, maybe a handful of raisins or an egg was added if it was a special occasion.  And I did add raisins as I couldn't resist making it "special".  But this simple recipe was surprisingly satisfying and delicious.    It may replace my love of the scone-like American versions.

It kept for 2 -3 days wrapped at room temperature but needed some toasting and a generous slathering of butter by that third day.

I also tried the recipe a second time with half whole wheat flour and I was not as excited by this version.   But that may be me and my unhealthy love of white flour.

For the full recipe, please follow one of the following links as they are the hosts for this week's recipe.

My Culinary Mission    by Cathy

Chocolate Moosey by Carla

Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

The second recipe in the Tuesdays with Dorie baking series brought us these decadent, restaurant quality desserts.

I finished these chocolate bombs over the past weekend.  The recipe was altogether very forgiving and easy to follow, but there were a few more steps (like 5) than I am accustomed to doing prior to eating my efforts.  But I could taste the difference those extra steps provided in the velvety smooth filling and balanced, not too sweet tart crust.

The crust was fun to make by hand as instructed and it felt very old school.  The crust dough turned out a bit dry as many fellow bakers have noted but not unreasonably so.  I just kept patching away as needed.

The cantucci used in the filling.

As for the filling, the recipe calls for biscotti to be added to it.  Our local store did not have any, so I was left with either going to another store (ugh) or just making my own.  So I decided to make my own. (Possibly adding to the sense that this recipe had too many steps!)  I used the cantucci recipe in Baking with Julia and they turned out just as biscotti should.  But for use in this chocolate tart recipe, they had big almost whole almonds, leaving too many chunks in the filling.


I borrowed my friend's 6,  4 inch tart pans leaving me with extra chocolate dough and filling, and since I only had those 6 pans,  I froze the leftover dough.  I baked the leftover filling in two ramekins using a hot water bath.  Those turned out just as delicious and coveted as the whole tart (note to self when needing a quicker, equally rich dessert).

Will I make it again?  Maybe... just not anytime soon.

Will I eat it again?  Definitely.  I would right now if I could.

All 6 tarts cooling.

For more reading on this recipe and to read our hosts' blogs check out:
A Whisk and a Spoon
Spike Bakes
Cookbookhabit
Good Eats and Sweet Treats

White Loaves

White Loaves: The one on the right was baked in a 9 x 5 pan and thus came out shorter but tasted the same.

The first recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group was scheduled for today.  I made it a few days ago when I had a bit of time.  Rhiannon (4 months) was asleep in her bassinet for the initial dough forming stage and her older brother Quinn (3 years) was out for a haircut.  It was one of those rare moments I could be alone in a quiet kitchen.  I will have to find more of those "moments" if I am to keep up with this baking crew.

I bought the recipe book, Baking with Julia, a week ago and I must say, at first glance I was thoroughly intimidated.  I consider myself a decent baker but not near the level of this book.  Croissants!  I have to make croissants.  Living in Portland, Oregon, where food snobbery is prevalent, there are heavenly croissants to be bought at my neighborhood coffee shop.  Why would I even attempt it at home?  But I will.  And it will undoubtedly be hilarious I do.

So, White Loaves, today's recipe, looked like something I could handle.  I have made plenty of bread loaves in the past and this did not vary too greatly from what I have done with one great exception: the instructions were written for a mixer.  I do not have a mixer (yet).  I have almost bought one multiple times but alas, I am mixer-less.  So, I did my best to adapt it to hand mixing the dough and it worked out great.  I added the butter and salt mid-way through the flour additions instead of at the end to get a better blend.  I kneaded for about 12 minutes.  And the dough felt good when I was done; it felt ready.

I made one plain loaf and one with a small cinnamon swirl like I had read about people doing on the main blog.  And they both tasted wonderfully homey.  But maybe I baked my a bit too long or added a hair too much flour because the shelf life was incredibly short (and not due to my 3 year old son).  The open sliced end seemed to dry out so fast.  And by the next day we had to toast it to make it more palatable.  Sandwich bread for one day only.  I will try this recipe again sometime to see if it happens again.   Maybe I will use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour.  Or if anyone has any insight on how to avoid this? 

To find the recipe used above or to join in on the fun, follow the link below.  Or buy the book Baking with Julia  by Dorie Greenspan.

someonekitchen.blogspot.com