| Like a muffin, they're made by mixing dry with wet ingredients, are lower in fat than cupcakes and not overly sweet. Also like a muffin, they dry out easily.
They're neither my idea of a breakfast food nor something I would make if I were looking for a chocolate treat. |
| Delicious cinnamon-scented muffins with a flavour reminiscent of cappuccino and a soft, cake-like texture.
The batter is put together in typical fashion with wet ingredients mixed gently into dry. A cup of coffee and a tbsp of instant espresso give the muffins their flavour; melted butter keeps them moist. I used half whole wheat flour and added some mini chocolate chips.
These baked in 17min in my oven.
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| A crisp, chewy topping, and tender, juicy baked Fall fruits combine to make a delicious, comforting dessert.
The topping starts with the usual pantry ingredients of rolled oats, flour, sugar and spices combined with butter. Though uncommon, coconut is also included, adding a subtle flavour and great, chewy texture. I don't usually pull out the food processor to make the topping but just combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and rub the butter in with my fingers.
The filling is simply diced apples (I used apples and pears for this batch), fresh and dried cranberries, sugar and a little flour to thicken the juices. Simple, but a very good balance of sweet and tart.
The topping is perfect with the fruits, the spices complement without overwhelming them. It tastes fabulous with Fall fruits but also works well with Summer berries and peaches. The crisp can be served with ice cream etc, but it's so good as is, it needs no further embellishment. |
| This cake has great flavour and is not overly sweet but it's surprisingly dry and crumbly considering the amount of butter and cream cheese in it. |
| This is one of my favourite cake recipes for a fruit-topped coffee cake for a number of reasons: it’s made with brown sugar so has a lovely caramel flavour that complements all fruits; the batter is thick enough to support the fruit on the top; it’s made with oil and butter so the cake is soft and moist even straight from the fridge.
I did make it with the recommended plums this time, but I’ve also made it with nectarines, pears and apples, usually without peeling them. You just need to keep in mind that the fruit should be tender after 35-40minutes of baking and cut the piece sizes accordingly.
Easy and versatile cake.
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| This delicious dessert is Dorie Greenspan’s take on key lime pie with a traditional condensed milk-lime juice filling, topped with fluffy meringue. What sets it apart is a hidden layer of chewy coconut goodness beneath the filling. Coconut is also supposed to be added to the meringue but I forgot when it came time.
The components are easy to make - and Dorie says you can use a store-bought crust so it must be okay - and there is a little waiting time while things bake or chill, but the most taxing part of the entire recipe is squeezing the juice from those wee limes!
You're instructed to freeze the finished pie a maximum of 3 hrs before serving but I’ve made a similar dessert that can be kept frozen for weeks (well wrapped of course) so I made the pie the day before and kept it in the freezer until 1 hour before serving without having any quality issues. It sliced easily with a warmed knife while still partially frozen.
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| A taste of the tropics in the middle of Winter! This oil-based quick bread is chock full of juicy mango and flavoured with ginger and lime.
The loaf comes together quickly using the standard muffin/quick bread mixing method of combining wet with dry ingredients. Chopped mango is then folded in. This is an exceptionally thick batter but it loosens up considerably when you add in the juicy bits of fruit. I omit the raisins as family is not fond of them. Also, I do find that the batter quantity is too much for a 9" x 5" loaf pan, so I make 1 1/2 batches and make 2 - 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaves.
Delicious freshly baked but equally good the next day as the loaf stays moist and the flavours mellow over time. |
| Sweet, tender, buttery cookie filled with tart ruby fruit, this is a visual as well as a taste sensation.
The vanilla cookie dough contains the basic ingredients of flour, butter, sugar and egg, with an additional egg yolk for tenderness. After mixing the dough, it's divided in half, shaped into discs and chilled briefly. Each piece is then rolled to fit a 9" springform pan. The bottom crust is layered with the filling (cranberries simmered with sugar, orange juice and rind) followed by the top crust. After a sprinkling of sugar, it's ready to be baked.
I've made this a few times as written but did take a shortcut with this latest version. I skipped the chilling step and merely pressed slightly over half the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan and crumbled the remaining dough on the top of the fruit filling.
The cake is a little more rustic looking as a result but still tasted as delicious as it usually does. |
| This recipe lends itself well to changes: reducing the sugar by 1/3, using oil instead of butter (and reducing that quantity as well) and replacing ½ the flour with whole wheat flour still results in a deliciously spicy, moist muffin. |
| Best tasting chocolate cookie ever!
Many wonderful things have already been said about these cookies, all of them well deserved. I’ll just add that they are very easy to make….. just roll the dough into logs, (refrigerate), slice and bake.
I’ve always had success with the recipe using the volume measurements in the book but noticed recently that Dorie has provided ingredient weights on her website so I’ve included the link.
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