Almond & Orange Tea Cake

Recipes run through my head a lot. I'll get an idea about something and then my imagination just takes over. I start thinking about all the different approaches I could take, flavors that go together and then I start looking up recipes. It's both a blessing and a curse.

This obsession, however, led me to make several different versions of an almond and orange tea cake, with the following being my favorite. This recipe also happens to be gluten-free with the use of almond meal, which is a lovely flour replacement, and it doesn't have any of those chalky flavors I find with many of the gluten-free flour replacements. A cup of almonds meal is a cup of almonds, simple as that!

Perfect for tea time!

Almond & Orange Tea Cake

Equipment needed:
Food processor or blender
Large mixing bowl
9" Cake pan

Ingredients:
2 large seedless honeybell oranges*
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup ground almonds*
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
whipped cream (optional)

1. Wash the oranges and cover them with water in a medium sized pot. Boil until soft, about 30 minutes. 

2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. In a food processor puree the oranges until smooth, removing any seeds you may find.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until thick and add the orange puree, ground almonds, salt, sugar and baking power. Mix well.

5. Grease a 9 inch cake pan and pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour or until the center is firm to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Serve with whipped cream and enjoy!
*Navel Oranges or Clementines work well too! If grinding your own almonds, simply do so in your blender or food processor before you add the boiled oranges. 

Quiche Revisted

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Roasted Jim Nardello Peppers, Caramelized Onions with Bacon and Fresh Chèvre + Spring Baby Green Quiche with Fresh Feta and Caramelized Mushrooms

Quiche has been a favorite recipe within the last few months. The beauty of quiche is always in its simplicity and can be put together with nothing but eggs and whatever else you have on hand. Quiche became a go to recipe for me when dealing with all the fresh produce in our farm share. What do you do with a pound of springs greens, zucchini and green beans? You make a fabulous quiche ya fancy pants!

Now there has been much confusion amongst my inner circle as to the difference between a quiche and a frittata, and the short answer is simply that quiche has a crust. Now of course there is cultural backgrounds at stake, as 'frittata' is an Italian word meaning 'egg cake', and quiche a german word, derived from the word Kuchen meaning cake, and then made famous by the french (seriously) as an egg cake with the addition of a pastry crust. So gluten intolerant friends, if you can't do the crust, simply make a frittata and you won't be missing a thing! 

The basic building of a quiche should always be simple and dependent on your personal preferences. I generally go with some sort of cheese, veggies, herbs & spices, and of course eggs! Using healthy farm fresh eggs is a real game changer in this recipe so be sure to use the good stuff. 

BASIC QUICHE CRUST-

1 cup flour

pinch salt

1/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable, olive oil)

1/4 cup water 

Combine dry ingredients, whisk together oil & water and combine. In between to sheets of wax paper, roll out to fit a 9 inch pan or a cast iron skillet.

CARAMELIZED ONION, CHEDDAR, PURPLE POTATO AND CHIVE QUICHE

1 onion, caramelized

1 bunch chives, minced

1 purple potato, diced

salt & ground pepper, to taste

4 large eggs

1/2 cup cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs cream, herbs and salt & pepper together until the egg yolk and white are totally incorporated. Lay curst in greased pie pan and shape. Add cheese layering veggies and pour egg mixture on top. Bake covered with tinfoil for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook until golden. Enjoy!!!

This recipe is very basic, all veggies can be modified. Keep your basic crust and egg mixture and explore some creative combinations with your leftovers! I have also found that if you do not have cream available that 2 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup milk work as a good substitute as well as creme fraiche, yogurt or sour cream. For more quiche inspirations, visit my previous recipe .

Strawberry Cream 1234 Cake

Fresh Strawberry Birthday Cake with Whipped Cream

Few things bring out such sentimental feelings as childhood birthdays. I so vividly remember my mom making me this cake from my favorite childhood cookbook Fanny at Chez Panisse and am happy to report that after making it myself, its as good as I remember. I was asked to make a birthday cake for a friend and immediately was set on this recipe. We had a beautiful flat of strawberries from Watsonville, CA (the strawberry capitol of the world!) and a lovely amount of heavy cream, perfect for whipped cream. This cake is normally a breeze with an electric mixture but our kitchen recently lost theirs, so I made it the old fashion way with nothing but elbow grease, and I've got to say, it was quite the workout, though if you're making the decadent cake, its probably not the worst thing to get a work out in. The cake is not limited to just strawberries and cream, all summer fruits work well, whole or preserved. This cake is a classic french 'quatre-quarts' and can be made chocolate very easily with the substitution of cocoa powder. 

Assembling the cake with layers of whipped cream 

Strawberry Cream 1234 Cake

Cake-

4 eggs

3 cups cake flour*

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Whipped Cream-

5 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup maple syrup 

Combine all ingredients, beat cream until whipped. 

3 pints strawberries, sliced into discs

Make sure your eggs, flour and butter are at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 8 inch cake pans with butter and tap in a bit of flour, no more than a tablespoon for both pans. Measure out all ingredients. Separate eggs. In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar. Fold in egg yolks and in thirds add flour mixture while slowly adding milk. Add vanilla. Beat egg whites until they form glossy peaks and fold in. In prepared pans, pour in batter. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating racks in oven around the 10 minute mark. Remove from oven and let cool. Run knife around sides of pan and gently flip onto a plate. When completely cool, gently cut each cake in half with a serrated knife and transfer to cake plate lined with wax paper. Set 1st layer on pan and smooth out a dollop of whipped cream. Lay out a ring of strawberry discs and repeat 3 times. Ice cake with whipped cream and enjoy! 

*Lets be real, who has cake flour lying around? I sure didn't. To substitute simply take all purpose flour and for every cup replace 2 tbsp with corn starch. Be sure to sift the mixture thoroughly  (1 cup all purpose flour - 2 tbsp replaced + 2 tbsp corn starch, sifted 3 times over)

Mexican Chocolate Christmas Trees

My favorite Chef and dear friend Karen and I recently made over eight dozen cookies to send to the troops in Afghanistan. One of my favorites we made was these Mexican Chocolate Christmas Trees. They are essentially a shortbread cookie but with all the decadence of chocolate. Adding cinnamon, chili powder and pepper make these cookies spicy, giving them a rich and deep flavor.

I have to admit I have been baking more cookies than even the cookie monster can eat and there are a few tricks I have picked up along the way. One, always use room temperature ingredients unless otherwise specified! When you use room temperature butter and eggs you can really see the difference in your batter. It is also generally good to chill your dough before baking as it will hold better shape when baking. I also like to use good quality butter & eggs as they can really add a lot of flavor!

Mexican Chocolate Christmas Trees

1 1/2 cups room temperature butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 room temperature eggs, beaten

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs one by one and beat until fluffy. Mix dry ingredients together and add creamed mixture. Beat until combine. Divide dough into three balls, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough and cut into desired shape. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until firm. Cool & enjoy!!!

Gingersnap Whoopie Pies with Cranberry Orange Ganache

I recently moved out of Philadelphia and back to my family's bed & breakfast the Bridgeton House on the Delaware in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. Our 1836 Inn overlooks the Delaware River and is riddled with my childhood memories. I remember all the incarnations of the Inn's kitchen and I always loved sitting at the counter, watching the chef prepare breakfast, but mostly I was in it for the cakes & cookies. 

Today was the first day I had free reign of the kitchen and prepared breakfast for the guests. While mastering my omelet game & making pumpkin cornbread waffles, I made a simple cranberry orange compote. After breakfast was all said and done it was time to make cookies for tea time (my dream). I decided to make a simple ginger snap but also wanted to get rid of my excess cranberry sauce. After baking off the snaps, I decided to take the compote add a little sugar and cream cheese and make a filling for whoopie pies! The color alone is super fun and they taste even better.  

Gingersnap Whoopie Pies with Cranberry Orange Ganache 

Gingersnaps

makes about 4 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Method

Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Slowly add the egg and molasses and beat until combined, scraping the edges of the bowl often. Slowly add dry ingredients and scrape sides of bowl until mixed. Transfer dough into plastic wrap and refrigerate for and hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350. With a small ice cream scoop or spoon, roll into 1 inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until deep brown. Sprinkle with Turbinado suagr for a festive pop.

Cranberry Orange Ganache

3 cups Fresh Cranberries

1 or 1/2 cup Maple Syrup

Zest of 1 Orange

1/2 cup Cream Cheese

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add cranberries and simmer until berries burst and release juices(5-10 minutes). Add zest and syrup to taste and let cool. In a mixing bowl, add the cranberry mixture and cream cheese and combine. 

 

Assembly 

Take two like sized ginger snaps and place about a tablespoon of the ganache in the center. Press together and practice serious self control in trying not to eat them all!