Rhubarb Upside-Down Brown Sugar Cake

I wouldn't normally harvest my rhubarb for another 3-4 weeks, but the Tuesdays With Dorie online baking group was making a rhubarb upside-down cake, so out I went with my knife.  The rhubarb grows under a lilac hedge which smells heavenly right now.  The rhubarb stalks were not very long yet, and I cut off half the plant to get the 1 1/4 pounds of rhubarb for the recipe.  I hope the plant will keep growing larger so that I can use more rhubarb later in June.

The recipe was fairly straightforward, except for caramelizing the rhubarb.  I melted the butter and stirred in the sugar as directed.  As the mixture was heating the sugar started to make clumps.  I was concerned about this and also not sure what exactly "just starting to color" should look like, so I dumped in the rhubarb and carried on.  The rhubarb never browned but did reach a nice soft but not mushy consistency.

The cake batter came together quickly and I slowly and gently spread the batter over the rhubarb.  I added three minutes to the 25 minute baking time listed in the recipe.  The cake came out of the pan easily and cleanly.

It is kind of a homely looking cake.  If I make it again I will do the apple jelly glaze and perhaps add the optional grated orange peel to enhance the flavour.   Instead of whipped cream I will serve with vanilla Greek yogurt.

Nutella Buttons

Nutella Buttons, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi, are mini vanilla cupcakes with Nutella in the centre.

When I first looked at the recipe last week I wondered about making home made Nutella, which doesn't look very hard.  With no hazlenuts at hand and little time I proceeded with a jar of Nutella from the supermarket.

I ran into some trouble with the batter towards the end of the recipe when it seemed lumpy  You've got sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla and almond extracts mixed together, supposedly looking like a paste.  My mixture seemed thicker than that.  Next you add melted butter.  Perhaps at that point I didn't beat it enough?  I wasn't sure how the batter should appear.  I mixed in the beaten egg whites trying to be gentle, but perhaps I overmixed?

The next problem came after baking, when only six of the cupcakes came out cleanly.  I got the other eighteen out, leaving little bits in the pan.  If there ever is a next time with this recipe I will be more generous with buttering the pans.

I didn't ice them because I was transporting some to a function (only six, the nice ones), some to a friend, and stashing some in the freezer.

One taster said they were delicious.  I wished they were more tender, probably my fault, not the recipe.

Coconut Tapioca

I don't recall ever having eaten tapioca pudding before, so I was curious about this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Coconut Tapioca from Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi.

The recipe calls for large-pearl tapioca, which I was unable to find in the supermarket.  The pearls I bought were pea sized.  Based on other cook's comments about the gelatinous nature of their finished puddings I increased the milk by one half cup.  I substituted almond milk for whole milk for the comfort of the other eaters in the household.  I didn't notice until later that the almond milk had added sugar.  One taster thought the pudding was too sweet.

To me the finished product was much like rice pudding, and I wished later that I had sprinkled the top with cinnamon.

Now I will have to investigate other recipes to use up the rest of the tapioca pearls.

Limoncello Cupcakes

This week the Tuesdays with Dorie online baking group made Limoncello Cupcakes from Dorie Greenspan's latest cookbook Baking Chez Moi.

I made an alcohol free version, substituting lemon juice for the limoncello.  The cupcake batter can include cardamom or cracked black pepper.  I used cardamom, but cannot taste it in the finished cupcake.  There is an option to put marmalade in the centre of the cupcakes.  I used an orange, grapefruit, lemon marmalade.

My cupcakes were done in 22 minutes.  I spooned a sugar/water/lemon juice syrup over the warm cupcakes and frosted then as soon as they were cool.

The recipe worked out very well, but didn't top the wonderful taste experience of the lemon madeleines we made last month.

Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars

A brown sugar/butter/flour base topped with melted bittersweet chocolate and walnuts.  Dorie's recipe suggests topping with caramelized rice krispies, but I wanted to freeze most of these and chose walnuts instead.  Based on other baker's comments I lowered the oven temperature to 350 and baked for only 15 minutes, leaving me with a crust that was very easy to cut, and so sweet.  These bars are more like candy.  So easy to make.  I hope to try them again with the caramelized rice krispies soon.

Lemon Madeleines

Never having eaten a madeleine before I ventured out to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a madeleine pan.  The Tuesdays with Dorie online baking group was making lemon madeleines from the cookbook Baking Chez Moi.

The batter was easy to put together.  There are two chilling times - one for the batter and then one for the batter in the madeleine pan.  This meant that the little cakes weren`t finished baking until late in the evening.  I ate one right out of the oven - oh so delicious.  I look forward to more experimenting with madeleines.

Pink Grapefruit Tart

Pink grapefruit tart from Dorie Greenspan's Baking Chez Moi is the chosen recipe for the online baking group Tuesdays With Dorie this week.

This recipe has four components.  I used a couple of shortcuts because I was pressed for time.  First you need a tart crust.  I substituted a store bought pie crust.  Next there is the lemon - almond cream.  This is a simple mixture of butter, brown sugar, almond flour, lemon zest, and egg.  Then there is the grapefruit cremeux, a wonderful cooked custard.  I left out the Campari and wasn't able to think of a good non alcoholic substitute in the short time I devoted to this project.  Finally you top the tart with grapefruit segments.  I used jarred fruit brought to me by the family's shopper.

The lemon - almond cream and the grapefruit cremeux both require chilling, as does the completely assembled tart.  If I make this again I will map out the time needed for all the parts before I start, working backwards from the time I want to serve the tart.

It tastes pretty good, and would be even better with a home made crust and an additional flavoring in the cremeux.