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where design + flavor intersect

Blood Orange Cranberry Cake

1/27/2022

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This cake is so tender and luscious (and secretly healthier!) thanks to olive oil and nonfat yogurt. My taste-testers went wild over it: “Incredible!” “Phenomenal!”
​The gorgeous pink icing is achieved naturally from blood orange juice! 
​
​Things to Note:
  • If you can’t find blood oranges where you are, feel free to sub navel oranges, or your fave citrus fruit.
  • I realize not many people are wacky enough to freeze cranberries in November for future use, so i've given an option in the recipe for dried cranberries, but be aware that they won't have the burst of juiciness you get from fresh cranberries.
  • I haven't tried it in this recipe, but fresh raspberries would probably be a great idea to achieve that extra juicy factor. and you could use them to color the icing!
  • ​Note that yogurt should be regular, not greek. I use nonfat, but low-fat would work fine, too. ​


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Custom Granola Clusters

12/23/2020

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I perfected this recipe so it'd have all my fave granola characteristics: the granola clusters we all crave, equal parts sweet and savory, crunchy but not tooth-cracking hard...and customizable! I've found that making this granola base, and then customizing with mix-ins later (when you serve) is the perfect solution because:
  • You can tailor it to each person’s individual taste
  • It retains its crunchy texture longer—the moisture in dried fruits can make jarred granola soggy over time, so the solution is to add when serving.
Things To Note:
  • You can make this vegan by omitting the egg whites, but be aware that the egg whites are the main secret to cluster formation, so you'll have smaller pieces.
  • The custom mix-ins are up to you. feel free to adjust quantities to taste, adding potent things like spices a little at a time so you don’t overdo.
  • to add spices later, use a strainer or sifter to get a fine, evenly distributed dusting. add little by little to taste.
  • You can certainly add the dry mix-ins to the entire batch (everything but the fruit) if the people in your crowd all have the same taste.
  • I prefer to roast the nuts separately (or even better, buy roasted nuts!) and mix in post-bake, instead of adding to the mixture before baking. that way, there's no danger of burning them.
  • Baking at a low temp (low and slow!) helps to ensure the granola will be crunchy in the middle, without burning the edges
  • The middle of the 'pancake' may take longer to bake. edges and thinner/smaller pieces will brown more quickly, so check oven often towards the end of baking and remove pieces as they brown to avoid burning.​
  • this granola makes a great gift! you can package it in a small jar or gift bag, with mix-ins tailored to each individual, and tie with ribbon and gift tag!
  • this’d be a delicious addition to your Christmas Day breakfast. Incredible with Greek yogurt, and of course, jarfaits!


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Baked French Toast

9/16/2020

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There are a ton of variations on baked french toast out there, but I was inspired by Sam's version because of its decorative design, and the addition of fruit. I love fruit with my french toast, and normally just throw some on the plate before serving. So, I was excited to see how the fruit and french toast would bake up together. 

I love how this dish can be made the night before. I felt so accomplished when I woke up the next morning. It was like I checked something off my to-do list before i even got out of bed. 

I made some adjustments...my challah was BIG, so I doubled the eggs to six, and used heavy cream. whenever I make panfried french toast, I normally use half & half or heavy cream, so I figured it should be ok. decadent, but ok. :-)

I used a 10" round baking dish with 1.5" sides. You can use whatever shape dish or pan you have on hand, but the key is that the sides are at least 1.5" high to contain the liquid. 2" would be even better. But to be safe, you could place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. i didn't have any overflow, but it's better to be safe than sorry... no fun cleaning the oven... so use the pan. :-) 

​If you use another shape dish/pan, simply adjust the arrangement accordingly. Any extra slices can be baked in a separate dish, or panfried. Maybe you'll come up with an even cooler design! I had so much fun creating and constructing this. I felt like a sculptor, because the challah is very malleable once it’s coated in the egg mixture. 

People, I couldn't wait to snap the final pic so I could dig in. The fresh-baked aroma was driving me absolutely wild.
a drizzle of maple syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar and wowwww. This is like a pillowy heaven of lusciousness. 


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Linzer Cookies

1/1/2019

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Yield: about 3 dozen 2” sandwich cookies 

​Ingredients:
​

8 oz. unsalted butter
, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, room temperature
​1 cup almond meal (I use Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find this in your store, grind roasted almonds in a food processor until finely ground.)

3 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup jam, or filling of choice





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lemon poppy seed sugar cookies

11/24/2018

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Yield: About 3 dozen 2.5" cookies

Dough Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp lemon extract
zest of one lemon
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2.75-3 cups all-purpose flour

Icing Ingredients:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
6-7 tbsp 
lemon juice (about two lemons)
4 tsp meringue powder (optional—use if you want icing to firm up completely, which is a good idea for presentation purposes if you plan to gift them. i like Wilton)
 
Toppings:

​2 tbsp poppy seeds
zest of one lemon, air-dried completely

 



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