Lemon Cream Scones and a Jam Fetish

Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for jam. If I were to ever be known for having a fetish of any kind, it would be a jam one. No matter where I travel--Rome, Madrid, San Francisco, New York, I always have jam on my mind--always on the lookout for a different or exotic flavor I haven't tasted before.  My luggage is always packed with jam finds (this is where extra underwear comes in handy). The picture depicts my latest batch of jams that I must try.  Among the flavors include champagne, green tea, red bean, strawberry with violet, mango lime (my open jar right now which is DA-licious), apricot lavendar (my other open jar right now--also DA-licious), pluot, and passion fruit.  I get giddy thinking of different ways to incorporate some of these flavors into my desserts.  But at the end of the day, the way I enjoy them most is with a scone and a cup of tea.  I am constantly on the lookout for great scones and great scone recipes.  Most of the time, the scone is too sweet for me and doesn't require jam.  That's why I'm so excited to share this scone recipe. They are so light, not overly sweet, and a great vehicle to carry any jam. They're also good on their own too.  The other thing that is so great about this recipe is that there's no butter!  Well, almost none. Only a little butter brushed on the top before baking (yes there is some whipping cream in the recipe but somehow, that doesn't feel as bad). The lemon zest is the key to happiness in this recipe--do NOT omit it!! I also substituted in dried cherries and they were fantastic. Lastly, be sure to serve this with your favorite jam. Sitting down to some afternoon tea as I write....

Lemon Cream Scones
Bon Appetit, 1996

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups whipping cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Stir in apricots and 1 tablespoon lemon peel. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until dough holds together. Form dough into 10-inch-diameter, 1/2-inch-thick round. Cut into 12 wedges.
Transfer wedges to large baking sheet, spacing evenly. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel in small bowl. Brush scones with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake scones until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil; store at room temperature.) Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

A longing for spring and Meyer Lemon petit fours

Apologies for my lack of posting recently. This dreary winter weather saps a lot of motivation out of one's mind and soul. Everything can become quite gray if you let it.  Well, I'm fighting back this gloom by filling myself up with thoughts of spring, thoughts of the colors and fruits I'll soon be seeing at the farmers markets, thoughts of life.

Another rainy day called for A and I to spend a Saturday in the museum.  A loved the miniature collection that featured miniature furniture, miniature wall furnishings, even miniature table settings. He kept saying "it's so cute, it's so cute!" So I decided to surprise him by making miniature desserts tonight--desserts that I wanted to fill with spring flavors and spring thoughts. Tart shells that I filled with lemon cream and fruit. He loved the way they looked and couldn't wait to pop one in his little mouth. (The big tart was for me). With a dessert like this on the table, spring is already here.

Julia Child Dinner #2

Another wonderful dinner tonite with my JC conspirators. S made a kick-ass chicken foie with homemade aspic (yes, I said homemade). She also whipped up a delightful garlic butter and served both with a rosemary bread. Heavenly to say the least. I made beef short ribs braised in red wine, served with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. R made the kid friendly dish of chicken meatballs with pasta that the kids went crazy for. N completed the nite with a beautiful dessert composed of layered meringue with layers of almond and kirsch buttercream and topped with chocolate buttercream. To top it all off, there was an amazing show hosted by all the children that involved singing, music, camping/fishing scenes, a limbo line, and a tent.

               S's Foie de Volaille en Aspic (Chicken Livers in Aspic) and garlic butter

                                                      N's dessert!

Going to bed happy and full!

Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

We are still snowed in and spending lots of time in front of the fireplace.  After looking through my pantry, I decided to bake up some brownies to satisfy my sweet tooth--my need to have a little something something after meals. I took out my go-to brownie recipe and decided to try something new on second thought. I had been doing some research on Maida Heatter and apparently she became famous on brownies; specifically, her Palm Beach Brownies. So I decided to give her recipe a try. The result: sinfully fudgy, almondy brownies that don't disappoint. I had to give most of them away so I wouldn't eat them all because with a glass of milk, one can do a lot of damage. I'm not a brownie connoiseur but these particular brownies taste the best the next day or after having several hours of rest after they come out of the oven. The almond extract comes through in every bite. The walnuts are of course optional but highly recommended.

Recipe adapted from Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

Preheat oven to 425F.

13 x 9 inch pan

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 generous cups of walnuts

5 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBSP + 1 tsp instant espresso powder

3 3/4 Cup sugar

1 2/3 cup flour

Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat or in a small, heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring occasionally. When combined, remove from heat and set aside.

Break the walnuts into pieces if necessary, trying to keep them fairly large. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla and almond extract, salt, espresso and sugar at high speed for 10 minutes. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture and beat only until mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, reversing the pan from front to back once to ensure even baking. At the end of 35 minutes, the cake will have a firm crust and the edges may be very dark.  MUST cool or refrigerated for several hours before serving.

Pistachio Cherry Tart

I love reminiscing about friends--especially lifelong ones. So when I was recently going through my photo stack, I couldn't help but think about my friend B who I went to pastry school with in Paris. We loved this tea house I lived close to called Mamie Gateaux that had the most amazing desserts and ambiance. Among my favorites was a Pistachio Cherry Tart that was out of this world. I couldn't resist trying to replicate it today. For the crust, I used a sweet pastry dough. For the filling, I made an almond cream with pistachio paste and dried cherries. Such a great flavor combination. Such good memories!

Puffy Popovers

We are snowed in. Utterly and completely. Being stuck in the house is a great excuse to clean the house, organize, and of course, daydream. As I was staring at the tree tops filled with puffy snow, I couldn't help but think of popovers and a recipe I had been wanting to try. So this morning, at 7 a.m. sharp, I sat up and declared to myself that I was making popovers for breakfast. This recipe is so easy it's almost criminal. Not only that but it will fulfill any donut fantasies that you may have with probably 1/100th of the fat of a regular donut. This was also the perfect excuse for me to try out a package of coconut sugar that my sister, J, had just sent me last week from California. I am a coconut sugar convert now! It's made from the flower nectar of the blossoming coconut palm and the minimal process it takes to make has a minimal impact on the environment. The taste of it is amazing also -- a little caramelization and nuttiness. I preferred rolling the popovers in just plain coconut sugar. If you can't get your hands on coconut sugar, the sugar/cinnamon concoction is very delicious as well.

Puffy Popovers
recipe adapted from David Lebovitz' recipe from NY Times and Maida Heatter's Great Book of Desserts

2 TBSP melted butter
3 large eggs
1 Cup 2% milk, or whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup flour

topping:
softened or melted butter
coconut sugar

1. Brush melted butter in popover mold or I used a regular sized muffin tin mold.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.
3. In a mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the butter, eggs, milk, salt, sugar and mix.
4. Add the flour and mix well.
5. Using a ladle, fill each mold 1/2 or 2/3 the way high.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until your popovers are puffed and nicely browned.

Once out of the oven, the popovers should come out of the molds quite easily. Cool on a wire rack. After a couple of minutes, brush a popover with some softened or melted butter and roll it around in the coconut sugar. Eat immediately.

If you do not have coconut sugar, then combine:

2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

and roll in this sugar instead.
Makes 10 popovers.

who wouldn't think of a popover while staring at this tree??!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Well, it's that time of the year again. The time where A's class celebrates his 1/2 birthday (sob). As per custom, I am responsible to provide 24 treats providing that it is NOT cake, pizza, or cupcakes. Not wanting to feed 24 children ice cream or give them a sugar shock at 8:45 in the morning, I opted to make Madeleines, small shell-shaped tea cakes with a cute bump on top that you will see in absolutely every single french bakery in Paris. I struggled with whether I should make the regular sized Madeleines or the tiny pop- in- your- mouth- in- one- bite ones. In the end, I opted for the traditional sized ones, thinking that the kids would probably eat half of one at best. So it was a shock to me that after they did their little birthday ritual this morning (which consisted of going through how many times the earth has revolved around the sun since he's been born; having him lay out all the months of the year leading up to his birthday; and singing a little song to him) that every single one of those children in his class finished all of them. Not one crumb left. I was pleased as punch. It's a good thing I have some extra at home for an after school snack--for A that is.

getting help from a little aid......