Tag: baking

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Oregon’s on fire … Lets have Tea

The perfect storm hit the west side of our state early this week and started what is likely to become a record breaking wildfire season.

Towards the end of the week, smoke from the thirty plus fires had put Portland and many parts of Oregon at the top of the list of the world’s most hazardous air quality.

We were just thinking about the Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing when proposing to host our annual Pumpkin Tea … Virtually.

It seems to have been a good choice, given the current state of the state.

Making use of Zoom (an online streaming site which has gained users with the pandemic), we got together with family members on Saturday morning.

The menu was simpler this year. In a package we mailed earlier in the week, we shared orange zest sugar cookies and a lemon pound cake, as well as TyPhoo tea.

We also included flashcards for a little bit of virtual fun. Everyone whipped up a batch of scones and gathered in front of their computers to share a cuppa.

Saturday morning came and it wasn’t as chaotic as feared … the one slight hiccup came in the actual invitation to the meeting that needed to be sent from the same computer hosting.

We chatted for about an hour, got caught up on the family news, and set up a repeat meeting for next month. So I guess in the overall craziness that is 2020, this year’s tea offered a moment of calm and normalcy, despite the smoke and chaos outside.

Print Recipe

Chewy Sugar Cookies

A quick and easy sugar cookie recipe with an orange / citrus flavor

Ingredients

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 16 Tbsp unsalted butter soften but still cool
  • 1 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup for rolling dough
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp Fiori di Sicilia optional: Vanilla Extract for vanilla flavor.

Instructions

  • Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 375º. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
  • Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter, the 1 cup sugar and the brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, as needed. Add the egg and Fiori di Sicilia; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  • Place the ½ cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough).
    Roll a spoon full of dough into a ball in the sugar and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart.
    Using the butter wrappers, butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in the sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¼  inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.
  • Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and their centers are just set and lightly colored, 12 - 13 minutes, rotating the sheets from the front to back, halfway through the baking time.
    Cool the cookies on the baking sheets, about 3 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
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Ultimate Lemon Cake

The best lemon cake ... ever.

Ingredients

Citric Sugar topping

  • 3 Tbsp bakers sugar (fine sugar)
  • 1/4 tsp citric acid powder

Cake

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter
  • 8 oz cream cheese room temp
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 pkg lemon instant pudding 3.4 oz
  • 6 Lrg eggs room temp
  • 3 cups cake flour sifted
  • 3 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325, grease a 12 inch tube pan or bundt and sprinkle with about 2/3 of the sugar glaze on bottom and sides of pan.
  • Add room temp cream cheese, butter and salt to large mixing bowl, cream until smooth.
  • Slowly add sugar and instant pudding to bowl and cream until light and fluffy about 5 min.
  • Lower speed of mixer to medium and add flour one cup at a time until just incorporated. Do not overbeat. Add lemon zest and incorporate.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • While still warm out of the oven, sprinkle top of cake with remaining citric sugar topping (you may have to make more) and allow to cool completely.
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Orange Poundcake

While scoping out the newest issue of King Arthur Flour catalogue, we read a description for a poundcake recipe we couldn’t resist. The words, “tastes like a Creamsicle” pretty much guaranteed we would be trying this recipe.

The topping is extraordinary. Its a combination of citric acid (found in the bulk foods aisle) and superfine sugar and it tastes both sweet and tart.

The result … a dense, moist cake full of orangey goodness. You can find the recipe here.

Also check out their Tea Loaf Pan. It bakes a longer, slimmer loaf and is one of our favorites.

 

 

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A Fall Tea Party

Today we flavored, colored and whipped half a dozen different types of heavy cream, dumped a dozen macarons that were an odd blue color and made buttercream that was way too sweet.

For the past few weeks our kitchen has remained in a constant state of disarray. We are in the process of settling a menu for our Pumpkin Tea. Every fall we host an english tea party, a tradition that goes back to when our dining room couldn’t really seat all the people waiting to sip tea and butter scones.

I’m really not sure who christened it Pumpkin Tea, but this party recently started back up again. Usually mid to late September our house hosts a party generating a few dozen different baked goods and tables of goodies.

The crux of the event from our prospective is being able to try a lot of different baking techniques and recipes without eating too many calories. Of course too many calories is a relative term, but with Pumpkin Tea we get to play with a wide range of methods and flavors.

This year we are doing more traditional english tea party fare.

Think … finger sandwiches, tea cakes and tarts. There is also an almond cake with a variety of flavored creams and fresh berries as toppings. 

One year we made four different cakes to find the right flavor and texture.

This year we went through several batches of macarons, realizing how hard it is to get those cookies consistently right.

Over the course of a month the menu expands, contracts and shifts as the testing points out items that may be tasty but require too much work. It also presents bakes that never seem to work out.

However, in the end we have a party spread and lots of good tastes … and we hope a good time is had by all. 

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Just a couple of cookies, please

You know, there are times what’s needed is …

a cookie hot from the oven!

Rarely does this occur when you actually have time to make a batch.

The other issue? Once made, cookies, in our house at least, rarely last more than a day.

We’ve discovered a system that allows small amounts of cookies, oven fresh, anytime and eliminates a cookie jar full of temptation.

For fifteen bucks or less you can get two Casabella freezer cookie trays, enough for a batch. Order online at either Amazon or King Arthur Flour. Each tray holds 15 tablespoon sized scoops of your favorite dough (chocolate chip, right). Easy seal lids protect cookie nuggets from the taste of last month’s frozen burrito’s. The scoops pop out easily. We found that cooking time is maybe a minute or two longer than the original recipe. It may be a bit too easy, but very convenient.

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Lemon Blueberry Scones

In our search for lower carbohydrate food we discovered almond flour. These won’t beat your scone recipe but are a really tasty alternative and with a third of the sugar.  They have become a regular breakfast treat at our house.

Print Recipe

Lemon Blueberry Scones

Servings: 9
Calories: 233kcal

Ingredients

  • 315 grams almond flour about 3 cups
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • zest of 1 lemon or 1 tbsp dried lemon zest
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Add the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest to a large bowl and combine.
  • Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients. Startiing in the center, stir the dough until well combined. Fold in blueberries.
  • Using a large cookie or ice cream scoop, drop the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly wet hands and gently flatten the tops of the scones. They should be 1 inch thick.
  • Bake 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Cool on wire rack.