Buche de Noel (Holiday Yule Log) and Meringue Mushrooms

These meringue mushrooms might just be the cutest little treat I've ever made!  I'll be making them again and again - they were definitely easier than I'd anticipated.

If you don't have time for the full Buche de Noel, make just the meringue mushrooms (the kids will love them), or just the cake without all the fixin's (you can do just the roulade without shaping it into a yule log and without mushrooms or other decorations; it still looks elegant).

There are some great videos on the Food Network site of Malgieri rolling up the cake and making the marzipan decorations (I ran out of time for the marzipan).  I strongly recommend watching them, at least the one where he rolls up the cake!

And remember, leave a post by tomorrow night on the Chocolate Bombes post for a chance to win Julia Child's book, My Life in France.

Chocolate Meringue Kisses

I love the holidays!  Carols and trees and parties and holiday cartoon specials (does anyone remember The Night Before Christmas, where the smart kid mouse writes Santa an angry letter and Santa decides not to visit their town until the clock maker builds a great big clock to sing a song to Santa on Christmas Eve, except that the smart kid mouse investigates the clock, and breaks something, and the whole things goes kaput.... kapluey!  Love that one, but almost no one knows it.)  Last weekend I got the most beautiful Christmas tree, during the first snow of the season... it was definitely one of those magical holiday moments.

The only thing I don't love about the holidays is the overwhelming amount of rich unhealthy food staring me down and the lack of extra time I have to spend at the gym.  I do have a major sweet tooth, but this time of year when there are truffles and toffee and cakes and cheesecakes around every corner, I start to crave fresh fruit and vegetables - even more than normal.  Now, broccoli doesn't make the best choice for your holiday cookie platter, but these chocolate meringue kisses do provide a lighter option (as long as you don't down 10-20 at a pop).  They're yummy with just a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa powder, but the chocolate sauce definitely dresses them up a little.

And don't forget:  enter the giveaway for a free copy of Julia Child's My Life in France by leaving a comment on the Chocolate Bombes post by Monday night, December 21st.

                                        

My first real tree! (not at my mom's house)

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl and Crust

I know, I know, what's with all the pumpkin recipes?  I don't know, I'm on a pumpkin kick apparently.  I didn't realize I was even that big a fan of pumpkin!  But this dessert will be great for any holiday parties in your future. It's delicious and elegant, and cheesecakes always impress people for some reason.

I always thought cheesecakes were hard to make - before I made one, that is.  Turns out, they're not!  Well, yeah, there's the whole cracking issue, but there are things you can do to avoid cracks, and the cheesecake still tastes great with the crack.  And other than that, a cheesecake is usually a lot quicker to make than, say, a layer cake or a complicated pastry.  The other great thing is that cheesecake is so rich, one cheesecake feeds a crowd.  And you can make them 1-2 days ahead of time.  I almost always include cheesecake at all my dessert parties.  And there are so many options for flavors, crusts, and toppings, it's a great opportunity to be creative!

In January, I'm teaching a baking course for winter study.  They're letting me use the college bakeshop!  I'm totally excited, but I've never baked with commercial equipment before, so I'll be doing a lot of practicing with all the equipment in the next month.  Did you know there was such a thing as a walk in oven??  Scary.  I baked this cheesecake in one of the convection ovens there, which I'd never used before, and I didn't lower the temperature enough to compensate, so there's a crack in this one.  I had planned on piping some chocolate ganache rosettes around the edge to hide it, but I ran out of time.  Hey, the chocolate swirl hides it a little anyway! 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok, this post is short and very sweet:  I know I just did a pumpkin bread post not so long ago, but it was so yummy I had to try it in cupcake form.   Terrific!  Perfect complement to the fluffy cream cheese frosting.  And so quick and easy!

Here's the recipe again.  It makes 2 loaves, or about 36 cupcakes, or about 120 mini-cupcakes  (I made 1 regular loaf, 1 mini-loaf, 24 mini-cupcakes, and 6 regular-size cupcakes; update:  another time I made 72 mini-cupcakes and 12 regular-size cupcakes).

Pumpkin Cupcakes (adapted from here)

1 can (about 2 cups) canned pumpkin (or homemade pumpkin puree)
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup Canola oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray muffin pans with baking spray.

Combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you'll be using a hand mixer).

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins - each one should be about 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (minis should take about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on them). Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then tip each cupcake over, so it's on its side to cool completely.  Frost cupcakes when they are completely cool.
 

This cream cheese frosting is a little thicker and a little sweeter than this.  The more powdered sugar you add, the easier it will be to frost - but too much powdered sugar, and it's too sweet.  It also seems that the environment plays a role too - if your kitchen is warm, you should probably refrigerate the frosting for an hour or two before piping.




Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Martha Stewart)

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 sticks butter, room temperature, in small pieces
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese on medium speed for several minutes, until creamy.  It's hard to get out all the lumps, but keep beating!  

Add vanilla.

Gradually add butter while beating on medium speed.  This will take several minutes.  Turn up to high speed for 30-60 seconds; frosting should be smooth.

On low speed, add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.  If the frosting is stiff enough to pipe, you can use it now, but depending on the temperature in your kitchen, you may want to refrigerate it before using.  

If it's too stiff after refrigeration, just mix again for 30 seconds or so.

Pumpkin Bread and Vanilla Ice Cream: Simply Delicious!

A student of mine last year sent me pumpkin bread all the way from DC as a thank you for writing letters of recommendation for grad school. I'm not sure I had ever had pumpkin bread before, but I loved it! This pumpkin bread is also wonderful - deliciously moist, even days after it's made and even after it's been frozen (although most cakes are great after being frozen). It's also super easy and quick, and it makes 2 loaves. What more could you want?

In keeping with the deliciously easy theme, this vanilla ice cream is the first ice cream I ever made in my ice cream maker. I went with the easiest recipe in David Lebovitz's book since it was our first adventure (the ice cream machine and me, that is). It was, without a doubt, the best vanilla ice cream I've ever had. By far. I immediately began dreaming up all sorts of interesting variations I could make: fudge and peanut butter swirls, chunks of chocolate cake, raspberry ripples, .... but that's for another post.





It's seriously very hard to express just how easy and incredibly delicious both the bread and the ice cream are. Make them immediately!





Pumpkin Bread Recipe (adapted from here)

1 can (about 2 cups) canned pumpkin (or homemade pumpkin puree)
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup Canola oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray two 9" x 5" loaf pans with baking spray.

Combine pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you'll be using a hand mixer).

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then cool on rack.




Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe (from David Lebovitz)

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*

Pour 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan, and add the sugar and salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat, and add the remaining milk, cream, and vanilla bean paste.

Chill thoroughly in the fridge. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. In my Cuisinart, it's ready in about 25 minutes with a perfect soft gelato-like texture. It gets much harder in the freezer.

*You can use a vanilla bean instead of the paste, but I find the paste easier. If you use the vanilla bean, split it lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds into the saucepan; drop the vanilla bean pod in as well. Remove the vanilla bean (before freezing) when you take the mixture out of the fridge; reserve for another use.