Mini Pavlovas with raspberries & strawberries

We made these mini-pavlovas on Valentine's Day, in part because they are gluten-free, so Izzie can be part of the dessert festivities, but also because they are so pretty - and really, not hard to make.  

I did some research about the name, being unsure whether they were officially a small pavlova or a mini-meringue and think these days it doesn't really matter.  There is a large meringue cake, especially popular in New Zealand and Australia that is moister in the middle, but these meringues are small and bake up crispy and crunchy and light as a feather.  

The recipe is from Allrecipes, used primarily for guidance on the amount of sugar, which is critical, in both the amount and remembering to add the sugar teaspoon by teaspoon, waiting each time for the sugar to melt into the egg white batter.  I had forgotten to buy heavy cream, so each pavlova got a tiny squirt of whipped cream from a can, which was leftover from a birthday party:)  



Mini-Pavlovas with fresh berries & cream


4 extra-large egg whites
1 1/4 cups white, granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

The topping:
1 pint heavy cream, gently whipped
fresh raspberries and sliced strawberries or blueberries
confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 250F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In mixer bowl, whip egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, letting the sugar be absorbed into the whites before adding more sugar.  I know it's tedious, but it's a critical step to follow.

Once all the sugar has been added, fold in the vanilla, lemon juice, and cornstarch and whip gently.

You can either use a large spoon to form small rounds of meringue, or a pastry bag, which is what I used.  I could only find my rose tip nozzle, so it came out more fluted than usual.

Bake for one hour, making sure the meringues are firm, then cool on a cooling rack.

To assemble:  smooth a spoonful of whipped cream in the center of the meringue, then add the berries in a pleasing arrangement , then sprinkle with more confectioner's sugar - not too much, just enough to look fancy.

This made 12 small Pavlovas.   

Enjoy!

Dutch Baby pancake with strawberries

I saw a picture on Pinterest a few weeks ago that reminded me of the Dutch baby pancakes I made once in a while for the kids, a long time ago.  At the time, I used a recipe from another first grade Mom, but then it went missing.  The only problem with the Pinterest picture?  The recipe was in another language, possibly Swiss or German or who knows what.

Long story short, I emailed the recipe to an esteemed neighbor who speaks five languages, including Swiss and German.  Last night she emailed the translation back, and sure enough, it was the same recipe I used to use.

So now, dear friends, you can make this Dutch Baby perhaps for a Valentine dessert tonight!

To make these, you will need one or two steel or stainless steel omelet pans (mine is an 8 inch steel one),  without a non-stick finish, as it goes into a hot oven.


This makes 4 pancakes, using an 8" metal omelet pan.

Preheat oven to 400F.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter for each pancake 2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup King Arthur all purpose flour
two pinches of kosher salt
Zest from a large lemon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Sliced strawberries - I used about a half cup of sliced berries for each pancake
Confectioner's sugar or maple syrup for topping



In your steel omelet pan, place a tablespoon of butter and place pan into the hot oven.

While the pan is heating mix together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, lemon zest, and cinnamon.  There is no sugar in the batter recipe - only  the confectioner's sugar on top of the berries.

When the butter has melted, use a pot holder to pull the pan out of the oven, then pour a scant 1/2 cup batter into the pan and place back into the oven quickly.

Bake for 15 or so minutes, or until the pancake puffs up and bubbles and you see a little light browning.

Using a pot holder, hold the handle and slide the pancake from the pan with a fork onto a plate.  Add the butter for the second pancake and place back in oven.  Continue until all the batter is used up and you have 4 pancakes.

Sprinkle the strawberries equally among the pancakes, then use a sieve to shake powdered sugar over the pancake.  Serve with more confectioner's sugar or maple syrup if you wish.  These are usually eaten with a fork and knife.

We got a foot of snow last night - and this was my reward for all that shoveling!

dark chocolate & espresso valentine cakes

Wowser, that was some blizzard we got!  Still digging out from the 3 foot snow that arrived the night of the 7th, but thankful we never lost power.  The last two nights I've fallen asleep still in my snow pants, and I'm thankful to have finally cleared most of the snow that the plows couldn't manage to reach, and the car is finally uncovered.  Bliss.  And now I'm behind on the Valentine express!

What goes together better than chocolate and coffee ?  That's what I thought, and I actually prefer these spongy little cakes to a chocolate bar, at least most of the time.  Intense flavor for a little cake like this, and the thought did cross my mind that whipped cream or buttercream frosting would sandwich nicely between a split cake, especially because they aren't super sweet.  An exalted Devil Dog, if you will, which I have eaten exactly twice in my life, but never forgot.  These could also be made as cupcakes, with a swirl of frosting, wouldn't that be cute?

Adapted from Muffins by Marie Simmons

2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. instant coffee or espresso powder

2 t. baking soda

pinch kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup double strong brewed coffee

1/3 cup melted unsalted butter

2 t. vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease medium heart shaped muffin tins.

In a mixer bowl, mix in the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda,salt,  and espresso or coffee powder.

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, milk, coffee, melted butter and vanilla briefly, then add to the flour mix, mixing well.

Add the chocolate chips and mix briefly.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the center of the muffin is slightly firm to the touch.

Let cool, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

This makes 15 heart shaped muffins.

Below is a picture of the snow from inside the front storm door.  There was so much snow I couldn't get the door open, so I had to raise the storm door panel and climb out to shovel:)

sweet, pink Valentine cookies

Love.  I think of my stepmother and my father who cooed and sent sweet cards and letters to each other, signed ILY.  I Love You. Their late night silly dances to crackly jazz records on the old record player, laughing, my father in a fez he picked up in Turkey, my stepmother wrapped with colorful scarves as they dipped and spun. Nightly talks on the phone with my mother, always a free spirit, but powerfully connecting conversations.

I 'm reminded of the passionate and heart-thumping feeling I had when I saw my son, and my daughter, as they were born, and the everlasting nights when I leaped up and cooled a fever, or just made special pancakes for breakfast.  That is love, too.

At yesterday's birthday celebration for my granddaughter Isadora ( her seventh!), she used her new face pencils to draw two big hearts on her face, one on each cheek , and I thought of the joy our Izzie and her little brother Frankie have brought into our lives.

And then I came home and made these buttery Valentine cookies with a pale pink glaze simply to celebrate Love, recipe from Martha, always special, always delicious.

Martha's Sugar cookies:

Recipe from Martha Stewart's book, Entertaining.

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. baking powder

1 large egg

2 T. brandy ( I used Courvoisier)

1/2 t. vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl, then add the salt, flour, baking powder, egg, brandy, and vanilla and mix until the dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into a rough rectangle, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to roll out, preheat oven to 375F  (updating 2/11/13:  I am now preheating to 350F, because after the first batch of cookies, the rest of the cookie batches baked too quickly). Cut the rectangle in half, and proceed. You can gather the scraps up and use again - the dough is very forgiving.

Place cookies on foil covered cookie sheets fairly close together.

Bake cookies for 9 minutes, though if your cookies are small, keep your eye on them - they may bake faster, and these cookies should not be browned.

Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

The icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg white

2 drops lemon juice

2 drops red food color

Beat the egg white until frothy, then add the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and food coloring. Brush on completely cooled cookies and let dry on racks. When the icing is completely dry, it should be shiny and hard - which makes these much easier to transport or package.

my favorite Valentine cookies

These are my all-purpose sugar cookies, good for every holiday. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart's first book, Entertaining, and it is, like Martha, just perfect. The cookies above were rolled fairly thickly, so they are somewhat chewy, but if you roll them very thinly, they should be crispier - and a little more fragile.

Martha's Sugar cookies:

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. baking powder

1 large egg

2 T. brandy ( I used Courvoisier)

1/2 t. vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl, then add the salt, flour, baking powder, egg, brandy, and vanilla and mix until the dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into a rough rectangle, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to roll out, preheat oven to 375F, then cut the rectangle in half, and proceed. You can gather the scraps up and use again - the dough is very forgiving.

Place cookies on foil covered cookie sheets fairly close together.

Bake cookies for 9 minutes, though if your cookies are small, keep your eye on them - they may bake faster, and these cookies should not be browned.

Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

The icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg white

2 drops lemon juice

2 drops red food color

Beat the egg white until frothy, then add the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and food coloring. Brush on completely cooled cookies and let dry on racks. When the icing is completely dry, it should be shiny and hard - which makes these much easier to transport or package.

Happy baking!

happy valentine cookies!

These are my cookies of choice for Valentine's Day - buttery, crunchy but chewy, and perfect, as Martha says. The recipe is from Martha Stewart's first cookbook, Entertaining, and it gets its unique and very special flavoring from brandy ( I use cognac). I've tried making it with only vanilla, and the taste is not the same, so I've stuck with the cognac. I glaze them twice with a thin confectioner's sugar and lemon juice icing - simple, but perfect. I tuck them into a little mountain of sliced strawberries, or packaged in cello bags with frilly, curly, pink ribbon and hand them out to friends on Valentine's Day. Total delight, both for me, and for the lucky recipients.

Enjoy!

To make:

2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1/4 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. baking powder

1 stick ( 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 extra-large or large egg

2 T. brandy or cognac

1/2 t. vanilla

The icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 large egg white

a few drops of lemon juice

one drop of red food coloring

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. In mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar well, then add the egg, brandy, and vanilla and mix again. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, and mix well. The dough should be soft and come together easily. Press into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Fit two baking sheets with foil.

Cut the ball of dough in half, then roll and cut into cookies.

Placing the baking sheet in the upper part of the oven, bake for 9 minutes, then remove to cool, and bake the second sheet of cookies.

Cool the cookies on a cooling rack, then remove and cool further on another cooling rack.

When cookies are completely cooled, ice with the icing, let cool until dry, and package as wished.

The icing:

Mix the confectioner's sugar, the egg white, the lemon juice, and the drop of food coloring until smooth and well mixed. Using a pastry brush, brush each cookie once, let dry on a rack, then brush another layer on. Let dry completely, then package as you wish.

Happy Valentine's Day to all you sweethearts ♥ !