bounty chocolate: May 2011

Apple and pecan sheet cake with lime icing

My name is Patricia but you can call me The Apple (Crazy?) Lady. ;)

After last fall’s endless list of apple recipes, I’ve started again – and my plan is to enjoy the pears as much as the apples this year.

This cake is moist, delicious, with a nice molasses hint from the demerara sugar. The original recipe called for caramel sauce as a topping for the cake, but I thought that something less

Banana crumble

I was watching “Law & Order” the other day and felt like eating something sweet (like that’s something unusual). :) But the episode was really interesting – no Linus, which is bad, but Benjamin, which is good – and I wanted something fast to get back to the couch as soon as possible. The result was this crumble, ridiculously simple and oh, so delicious – and that smells and tastes like banana

Back to school raspberry granola bars and my (many) obsessions

I’m someone who obsesses with certain things from time to time – directors, actors, music, you name it. And food, of course. I obsessed with Ralph Fiennes so badly after “Schindler’s List” that I had to watch each and every film with him – and that led me to Kathryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days” (which is far better than “The Hurt Locker”, imho). Did I mention I was about 17 back then? Well. ;)

It

Swedish visiting cake + music lyrics

One of my favorite things about learning English was being able to understand music lyrics – I think some of you agree with me on that. :)

That said, there are times I want to listen to complex lyrics and there are others when almost no lyrics is the way to go. I feel the same about the cakes I bake: there are times for complex, layered beauties, and times when only simple will do. ;)

Swedish

Lemon cranberry madeleines and being repetitive

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I have to bring this subject up again: not only is “Love Lost” an amazing song but its video is equally wonderful – click here and then tell me if you agree with me. Or not (just so you know it, I’m a complete sucker for music videos). ;)

And speaking of being repetitive, I’m bringing lemon madeleines back – with dried cranberries, this time.

Saffron scented chicken pilaf

Like a good Brazilian, I love rice – not only the good old plain rice that is usually paired with beans here, but all sorts of dishes with this ingredient. And, of course, rice pudding. ;)
That is why I could not take my mind off this recipe after watching Nigella make it: my beloved rice combined with chicken and nuts in a one-pot-wonder. Delicious, easy to make and economical as far as dish

Coconut orange tea cake and things that make me wanna scream

I’m going to share something with you, even though you might think I’m crazy: there are times when certain things are so, so good I feel like screaming (for the record, I don’t actually scream). ;)

Off the top of my head I remember feeling like that after watching “Stay” and "Inception", listening to The Temper Trap’s “Love Lost” (especially from 1min50seg on), and more recently, this cake. An

Chocolate orange ganache tart and all's well that ends well

I started writing this post with EBTG’s “When all’s well” playing in my mind; I explain: this tart is a result of some stressful moments, but it all worked out fine in the end.

The initial idea was baking this tart to finish up the marmalade jar I’d bought for Nigel Slater’s cake. I’d already thawed some really good pastry I had in the freezer and lined the tart pan with it; after that, I made

Lemon Meringue Pie

After a long month's baking, we're tackling one of my favorite pies today: Lemon Meringue.

I learned how to bake this pie from my mother, who baked it frequently for my father--an ardent fan of lemon meringue. So much so in fact, that he jokes about ranking prospective brides based on their ability to execute the pie well.

Unfortunately, my mother made something we Humbles call "Lemon Meringue Pool". Tasty but structurally… well, a disaster (sorry mom). When served, the filling would be slack and form a puddle on the plate. Hence the name. I'd post photos of lemon meringue pool, but to save mom face I'll post a quick doodle of a sad pie that appears to have wet himself.

You get the idea.

White chocolate lime crème caramel + perfect combinations

One of the flavor combos I love the most is white chocolate paired with sour flavors like lemon, lime, orange, passion fruit – it's almost like the sweetness of the white chocolate backs up to let those flavors shine, adding a new dimension to the chocolate. Yum. :)

That reminds me of Christian Bale’s speech at the Golden Globes this year (by the way, if you haven’t seen “The Fighter” I highly

Nibby nut and raisin cookies

I’ll be really honest with you and tell you right up front that I only made these cookies because I needed to finish up a bag of cocoa nibs (there are still some nibs left; I guess they’re kind of Gremlins, too). But the comments about these at the office were so amazing I beg you to make them, too, even if you have go out and buy a bag of nibs; I know I might sound like a shopping maniac – my

Banana sheet cake with fudgy chocolate frosting and a forgotten book

When I was a kid all my friends were tall and strong, unlike me – I had a sort of development delay, so to speak (due to my mom’s death) and I was very tiny. Can you imagine how much I loved P.E. classes? #not
I was always picked last for everything and I don’t blame my colleagues: I could barely hold a basketball, let alone play with it.
I’ve had this book for years and had only baked from it

Apple cranberry muffins and good/bad decisions

There are moments in life when we make certain decisions because they seem so right, but in the end they are incredibly wrong – I’ve watched “Water for Elephants” and I’m sure Christoph Waltz is feeling oh, so miserable right now. I don’t mean to be rude, but he should have known better: one does not choose Francis Lawrence over David Cronenberg – the horror, the horror – especially if they’re

The Art of Patience

I know what everyone is thinking: Ms. Humble, due to being in her final month of pregnancy, is taking it easy with the baking and blogging. Actually, this isn't quite the case.

I've been engaged in some serious marathon baking and research trying to perfect a single dessert that has thwarted multiple generations of Humbles. This dessert is my ultimate baking nemesis (cue dramatic music here).

I've put weeks of work into this post. Including O-Chem level break downs and silly illustrations (like the confusing little doodle above) and of course, lots and lots of taste tests.

Note to Ms. Humble's OB: If my gestational blood sugar is shot, well this is why.

The end is in sight though, so bear with me. I have two weeks (from Monday, woohoo!) before this baby is here and I'm going to finish my last few rounds of baking and photographing.

Patience, I will update the blog soon! Who knows, it could be my magnum opus....

Spinach and three-cheese pie and conquering fears

I once watched an interview with Carrie Ann Moss, back when she was promoting "Red Planet", in which she said that wearing a space helmet for the film had been a very difficult thing since she was claustrophobic. She joked and said something like “one fear down, many more to go”.

Carrie Ann, my friend, I know the feeling: now that I’ve made a filo pie without tearing the bejeesus out of the

Orange lime jelly

We all have our favorites: the little black dress for special occasions, the CD that is always on the glove compartment, or the movie we watch over and over again and never tire of. Lately I’ve been feeling the same way about jellies – they’re the first thing that pops in my mind when I want to make (and eat) spoon desserts. I guess that once the days get colder here I might change my mind, but

Gooey chocolate cake with raspberries and something positive about getting old

Getting older is not a walk in the park – gray hair, anyone? – but there is definitely a positive side to it. I’ve become a more patient person, and let me tell you, patience was never one of my virtues.

After baking and unmolding this delicious cake – oh, it was really delicious and I’m no chocoholic – the result almost made me cry: the poor thing looked ugly as hell on the plate. A glance

Beetroot, chickpea and arugula salad and memories of mom

I’m not someone who repeats recipes, but this salad has been made and served at Maison Scarpin three times already: it goes well with both fish and chicken, and I’ve eaten it without anything else, too – a big bowl of it was the perfect light lunch.

I remember eating tons of beetroot as a kid – mom was very concerned about healthy meals, years before it became a trend – and looking at the