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rainbow cookie cake

For as long as I can remember, I have been really into rainbow cookies. As a child, I was notorious for raiding cookie platters at parties to have all the rainbows for myself, and for going straight-up Cookie Monster if lucky enough to find myself unattended with a plateful or bakery box. Some things never change- I’m still obsessed and David is now, too. The kosher bakery in my mom’s neighborhood makes my absolute favorite ones, (White Plains Bake Shoppe if you happen to be in NYC suburbs), and I always scarf them when I’m visiting… And fly back to LA with a box too. But I can’t exactly fly cross country for cookies, and I have never, not once, found these on the west coast, which is a travesty.

So when faced with a craving one day, I went on a recipe hunt. I came across one for a rainbow cookie cake from Adam Roberts, and the game was on, y’all.

I’ve bumped up the almondy goodness a bit, and frankly, it’s freaking delicious. It’s dense (in the best possible way), but super tender. It’s certainly rich, but semisweet chocolate and quality preserves keep it from being overly sweet. It’s a regular on the celebration rotation, for birthdays and holidays, and the leftovers, if any survive, keep beautifully in the fridge- the ganache gets even more decadent.

I always need to level my cakes to stack them evenly. Here, I layered the cake tops with homemade preserves, just as I did the proper cakes, then used a biscuit cutter for some darling little mini cakes. We had some happy neighbors this night.

Rainbow Cookie Cake

(adapted from the Amateur Gourmet)

Ingredients

3 sticks butter, softened, plus more for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups sugar
14 ounces almond paste (two packages)
6 large eggs
1 1/4 tablespoons real almond extract
2 generous tablespoons Amaretto
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
gel food coloring- red, yellow, green
1/4 cup red fruit jam (I used cherry, raspberry works too.)
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
chocolate sprinkles, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350′. Butter and flour three 9-inch cake pans, lining the bottoms with circles of parchment.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Begin adding almond paste slowly into the running mixer- it’s easiest just to pinch off little bits by hand. Once you’ve added both tubes, mix for at least five minutes, until the mixture is smooth and appears lump free.
Add eggs one at a time, then extract and amaretto, then milk, continuing to mix through and fully incorporating each addition. Don’t fret if the consistency goes a little haywire- it’ll smooth out.
Add dry ingredients- flour, salt, baking powder- and mix just until incorporated. Divide batter evenly into three bowls, adding gel food coloring for bright pink, green and yellow batters. Pour each into a prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool completely, then level if necessary.
Peel parchment off pink cake first, and place it on cake stand or platter. If appearances matter, go ahead and line the platter by slipping pieces of parchment under the edge of the cake- it will make the ganache frosting process much neater.
Spread red fruit preserves to edges of pink cake layer, top with yellow layer. Repeat with apricot preserves and green layer.
In a saucepan, warm cream on medium heat just till bubbles form. Add chocolate chips, then turn off heat. Whisk until the chocolate is all melted and the ganache is smooth.
Pour and spread an even layer of ganache all over the stacked cake- an offset spatula is the best tool for the job. If desired, press chocolate sprinkles into ganache. Pull away the parchment around the bottom and take drips and excess along with it. Let set for an hour or two before serving.

August 19, 2015

0 In recipes

toasted fruit and nut muesli

This toasted cereal is a favorite around here. Chock full of nuts, seeds, and fruit, it’s gently spiced, not-too-sweet, and totally crave worthy. I love including jars in care packages and gift baskets, and I generally double, if not triple, the recipe when I’m making a batch.

I have a tendency to snack on this muesli by the handful- I can’t help myself! I also keep it simple- bowl, milk, spoon. It makes a scrumptious topping for hot cereal, the perfect textural contrast. And most mornings, a bowl of greek yogurt, homemade preserves, and this muesli is David’s first breakfast.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it’s infinitely adaptable to mood, taste and pantry contents. Use whichever nuts and fruits you’d like. I’m sharing my current favorite mix, but every blend I’ve tried has quickly vanished from the pantry. Let me know your favorite variations!

Toasted Fruit and Nut Muesli

adapted from The Garden of Eden (via Whole Living October 2012)

Ingredients

1/3 cup boiling water
1/4 cup whole millet
2 1/2 cups oats (not instant)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or chips
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
Scant 1 cup raw mixed nuts (I use slivered almonds and whole pepitas)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ground ginger
A few dashes of each allspice and cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
1 heaping cup dried fruit (always golden raisins and tart cherries, blueberries also this batch)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325ºf. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, pour boiling water over millet, cover, and let sit for 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the drained millet, oats, coconut, seeds and nuts with the maple syrup, agave nectar, olive oil, salt, and spices. Stir to coat.
Spread the muesli mixture out onto the baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the mixture is golden, about 30 minutes.
Let the muesli cool and then add dried fruit. Stir to mix. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

August 4, 2015

0 In recipes

our daily bread

Number four on my #15in15 list was to conquer homemade bread- mischief managed! After trying and tweaking a handful of recipes, I’ve landed on a no-knead bread that is easy enough to make consistently, tasty enough to enjoy, and healthy enough to justify. It’s not fancy in the least- it bakes in Pyrex bowls for crying out loud- but I’ve been making a batch every couple of days for the last few months, and it’s a slam dunk for our family.

We eat an unreasonable amount hot from the oven, use it for toasts and tartines (salted butter-homemade preserves, avocado-lemon-Aleppo, Elvis toast, and goat cheese-honey-fleur de sel are our favorites). It makes delish grilled cheeses and other sandwiches, and leftover bits and ends become croutons, bread salad, or and bread puddings.

Some recipe notes:

I bake this bread in the second-largest size of this Pyrex set, a 4 cup volume. Any oven-safe bowl of similar size will work.
Seriously, butter your bowls generously. It’s crucial for getting the loaves to release easily- we’ve eaten more than one loaf squashed from being pryed loose. If using a glass bowl, you want the butter to be thick enough to be opaque.
I buy my yeast in bulk on Amazon, and keep it in the freezer- way thriftier and lasts forever.
Speaking of yeast, I’m including directions for proofing the yeast, which isn’t necessary if you’re certain your yeast is fresh or you are using instant yeast- I skip that step for speed and ease most days.

Everyday Bread (adapted from Alexandra Cooks)

Ingredients

365 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour (do not use bleached)
120 grams (1 cup) whole wheat flour
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups warm water
2 to 3 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
room temperature butter, about 3 tablespoons

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours and salt. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over top, and let stand 10 minutes or so, till it’s a bit foamy. Stir yeast-water-sugar, then add to the flour bowl, and mix until all flour is absorbed.
Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour, until doubled. In our house, the sweet spot of timing is about 80 minutes, and since our kitchen is drafty, I use the microwave as a rising cupboard.
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Grease two oven-safe bowls (such as the pyrex bowls I mentioned above) with at least a tablespoon of butter each. Use two forks to punch down your dough, turning it over and into itself, and scraping it from the sides of the bowl.
Then, use your forks to divide the dough into halves, and place a portion in each greased bowl. This can get a little messy, since the dough is slippery. It works well to imagine a divider line and use the forks there to pull apart the dough, and then quickly scoop one half out. I sometimes weigh and even out the bowls if they look unbalanced.
Set the dough in a warm spot to rise for 20 to 30 minutes, until it has risen to just above the top of the bowls.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve properly prepped the bowls, they should slip right out. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.