Nectarine Lattice Pie

This was, hands down, the BEST crust I've ever made on a pie. I have had bad experiences in the past with not being able to roll dough out, sticky dough, etc, but this dough was so perfect and easy to use. It is now my go-to recipe for pie crusts! You can fill this pie with any sort of fruit; you just will want to keep an eye on it to make sure the filling gets done, and maybe turn the temperature down to 375 the entire time. I chose nectarines because they were in season (and are throughout the beginning of fall). Oh, and don't be intimidated by the lattice work; this was my first time doing it, and I did it in under five minutes.

It probably would've been easier to use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter, but I couldn't find mine, so if you don't own one, fingers or a fork work just fine.

The recipe called for 5 tablespoons of water, but I had to add 6 1/2 before the dough would stick together. Just start with 5, and increase by teaspoons until the dough is right.

I used my rolling pin to transfer the dough from my mat to the dish. I'd seen it on some cooking show forever ago, and it worked amazing! Tons better than the times I tried to use my hands for sure.

Simply Recipes has a wonderful tutorial for doing the lattice top pie. If you want to do a regular pie crust, just roll the other half of the dough out to 12 inches, place on top of filling, seal, and cut slits in top.

Nectarine Pie

• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 7 c. sliced fresh nectarines (about 9 fruits)

Double Crust Pie Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• Milk for crust
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Directions

• For the crust: whisk sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips (or a pastry blender) until small pea-sized lumps form. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water. Mix lightly with a fork until the dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips. Add ice water by the teaspoon if too dry. Gather dough into a ball, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. This can be made two days ahead, just make sure to let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
• In a large bowl combine the 1/3 cup of sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour, and lemon juice. Mix well then toss with the sliced and peeled nectarines.
•  Mound fruit into pastry lined 9 inch pie plate. Do lattice crust using these instructions. Brush edge of pie with milk; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Bake at 375 20-25 minutes more or until the crust is golden.

Kahlua Chocolate Truffles

I was amazed after preparing this recipe (which took ten minutes tops) at just how easy it was! I used to shell out two or three dollars per chocolate truffle at Dean and Deluca but no more! This recipe made about 30 truffles. If you want to change the flavor of the truffles, just change the type of alcohol (Grand Marnier and orange zest for orange chocolate, etc) or replace the alcohol with some other flavoring. Oh, and fun fact: chocolate truffles were made to look like real truffles by chocolatiers!

I would've rather used a higher quality chocolate, (Lindt or Green and Black) but I had several bars of Ghiradelli already in the cabinet.

 

The easiest way to break the chocolate into small pieces without buying something expensive is just to pound it repeatedly with a mallet, hammer, or anything heavy you have lying around. It worked perfectly!

I waited about two minutes and then stirred it all up!

I rolled my truffles in cocoa powder, but other toppings could be hundreds and thousands, powdered sugar, coconut, shaved chocolate, or dip them in melted chocolate to have a hard chocolate shell. Send in pictures of your variations!

Kahlua Chocolate Truffles

adapted from Joy of Baking

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons alcohol (Cognac, brandy, Grand Marnier, kirsch, rum, bourbon, or Kahlua to name a few) (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. 
• Add the Kahlua, (if desired) and cover and place in the refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm (this will take several hours or overnight). 
• Place your coatings for the truffles on a plate (powdered sugar, cocoa powder, hundreds and thousands, sprinkles, coconut, chocolate shavings, etc). Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, a small ice cream scoop, a melon baller, or a small spoon form the chocolate into bite-sized balls. Roll the truffle in the coating and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or tray. Cover and place in the refrigerator until firm. Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen for a couple of months. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Sparky’s Low Fat Dog Biscuits

Making this recipe was really fun! Normally the dogs know they can't taste anything I bake, so it was nice to make something to give to them instead of tormenting them with delicious smells! It was really easy too, and I HATE hate HATE rolling out dough and usually refuse to do it, but I had no problem whatsoever with this recipe. The yield for me was 42 small treats.

My oldest dog, Sparky, can't process fat well anymore and is almost ten years old, so she's the main reason I made the treats low-fat. She was super excited and loved them!

My puppy, Sophia, is such a chub! The treats must've been good because this picture caught her in the process of growling at Sparky when she came up close.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal, stone ground
• ¼ cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, rolled oats, and garlic powder.
• In a small bowl, whisk egg whites, oil, milk, molasses, and water together.
• Make a well in the flour mixture and gradually stir in the oil mixture until well blended. Shape the dough into a ball (or two if you wish) and knead them on a well floured surface for about two minutes.
• Roll the dough to ½ inch thickness and cut out with dog themed cookie cutters, (I used a small bone cutter) then place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
• Bake 30 minutes at 350 F, then turn oven off and leave biscuits to harden for 1 hour.
• Cool and store, at room temperature, in a container with a loose fitting lid.

Three Layer Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this cake this past Monday for a party at my grandparent's house! I was supposed to go by a grocery store and get a chocolate cake with white icing, but I decided to make one myself instead! I had a hard time deciding between cream cream frosting and buttercream icing, but I had several packs of cream cheese that I needed to use up, so I went with the cream cheese frosting. Icing recipes are extremely versatile: you can change the amount of powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want it) and vary the types of flavorings you put in it (vanilla extract, orange extract, etc).  

As I was tapping out the excess flour in my pans, I noticed a perfectly shaped heart!

Don't worry, the batter is supposed to be runny. I actually forgot the hot coffee until the last minute, but luckily there was some leftover coffee in the coffee pot that I heated up and mixed in.

I had the most nerve-wracking time trying to figure out the placement of the cakes in the oven. I have a gas range and an electric oven that will switch to convection, but I had no idea which to use. I know convection is better, but I couldn't figure out whether to turn the temperature down or change the time or the recipe or anything. I finally got so confused that I just put them in the oven (2 on top, 1 on bottom) and left it. About halfway through the cooking time, I put it on convection and reversed the position of the cakes. They turned out all right even though I was constantly messing with them, thank goodness!

I miscalculated just how much frosting I needed to ice this cake at first, and I ended up doubling the recipe. But doubling icing isn't a big deal, you just mix it all back in together to get the color uniform when you're done.

I cut the dome off of the top of the cakes to make them look more professional, and I put a crumb coat on all three of my layers to avoid getting unsightly crumbs in my frosting. Just put a very, very thin coat of frosting on the cakes, and chill for about 30 minutes. Then take them out and frost as usual!

When I begin to put the cake together, I noticed that the cake was leaning slightly, and I put 3 bamboo skewers in it to keep the layers from slipping off. I cut the skewers slightly below frosting level so they wouldn't be seen in the finished product. Be careful when cutting the skewers; I pinched my finger all three times with the scissors! It was totally worth it though. I'm not sure exactly how much icing I used in between the layers, but there is plenty of icing to go around, so don't worry about running out. If you were feeling particularly fancy, you could put chocolate mousse, jam, curd, ganache, or stiffly whipped cream between the layers. I would have, but sadly I was short on time. Get creative!

Oh, and this cardboard cake circle was a life saver in moving the cake from refrigerator to table to cake plate and back again. I got mine at Wal-Mart and they are Wilton brand. I used the 10 inch one. I found a piping bag and several tips and dyed the icing a slightly deeper shade of blue for the decorations. I used a star tip and a basketweave tip. Next time, I'll go slower and let the icing chill for a longer period of time.

The cake turned out wonderful and was absolutely delicious! I can't wait to make another cake recipe and test out my re-found icing skills. But I have been re-reading Chez Panisse, a book about Alice Waters, the slow food movement, and her Berkeley restaurant, so I am probably going to do a French inspired dessert next week. Perhaps a tart? I guess we'll see!

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups hot coffee

Frosting:

• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans (I use shortening). Cut 3 circles of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the bottoms of the pans, then press them in.
• In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin. 
• For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add your food coloring or gel if you choose to do so. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use to make sure that it doesn't get runny, which cream cheese frosting is prone to do if it gets warm.

Assembly:

• Line up the three cakes and carefully and evenly slice off the domes to ensure a more professional, bakery look. Then ice the cakes with a crumb coat, and chill for 30 minutes. Take out and fill between the layers with frosting, then insert cut bamboo skewers into the cake for support. Finish icing the cake, and decorate further if desired. Put cake in fridge until time to serve.