Pumpkin cupcakes from smitten kitchen

https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pumpkin-cupcakes/

 My notes:

1. Made with APP because that’s all I had 

2. Also used homemade 2% yogurt instead of buttermilk 

3. Followed the spice measurements for the most part but did more heaping teaspoons than level. I did a little white pepper instead of the fresh ground black pepper so it would appeal to the little ones. 

4. Baked up in 12 muffins and a little leftover in my mini cake pans. Took about 24 minutes. 

5. Halved the cream cheese frosting recipe because I don’t really love frosting and am definitely not going to make roses.

6. Made it the night before and frosted day of. 

crumble (basic)

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lb. any variety ripe plums, sliced ⅓" thick (about 8 cups)
• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup plus ⅓ cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
• ¾ tsp. ground cardamom or ground cinnamon, divided
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped raw pistachios

RECIPE PREPARATION

• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°. Toss plums, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. cardamom in a large bowl; let sit until some juices accumulate, 5–10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, pulse flour and remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. cardamom in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is very sandy and starts to form larger clumps.

• Transfer plums and their juices to a 9"-diameter deep pie dish (all of those fruit juices will overflow a standard one) or an 8x8x2" baking dish. Scatter topping over fruit, squeezing small fistfuls in your hand to bring it together, then breaking into smaller pieces of varying sizes. Sprinkle pistachios evenly over topping.

• Bake crumble until juices are thickened and bubbling and top is golden brown, 40–45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

My Notes:

I followed the crumble topping exactly and it’s great. Would totally use for other crumbles. I did more like 2 lbs of fruit in an 8x8 and it nearly bubbled over. I did sliced almonds instead of pistachios, which was fine, though next time I’d do pecans 

Miso Tahini (dairy free) spread

 Dressing: 

2 small jalapeños, seeds removed chopped

1 (3/4 piece ginger) peeled, finely grated

2 small garlic cloves, finely grated 

1 cup packed cilantro leaves with tender stems

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup tahini

1 TBSP plus 1.5 tsp miso 

Kosher salt 

Purée everything in blender with 3 TBSP water until smooth and season with salt. 

My notes:

It’s an okay spread, couldn’t use as a dip. It’s sour and complex for sure. I used Serrano peppers instead of jalapeños, and I didn’t have nearly enough cilantro. I used less water to blend. Came out to about 3/4 cup of dressing. Would consider making again, but unnecessary, in my opinion, if you had hummus on hand. 

Fig and Plum (or any stone fruit) cake

This recipe came from Martha Stewart Living, Oct 209. I saved the recipe, because it seemed versatile, and I'd never come across the double-layer, semi-frangipane filling.

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
• 4 ripe but firm plums (1 1/4 pounds total), each pitted and cut into 4 wedges
• 6 small fresh figs (about 4 ounces total), halved
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pressing dough into pan
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup finely ground almond flour
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan; line with 2 wide pieces of parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Butter parchment. Toss fruit with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
• Step 2
  In a food processor, pulse 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to combine. Add half of butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to prepared cake pan and use floured fingers to press dough evenly into bottom of pan. (If too soft to easily press in, refrigerate 10 minutes.)
• Step 3
  Bake until crust is light golden in color, about 20 minutes; transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes.
• Step 4
  In food processor, pulse remaining half of butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt with baking powder until combined. Add almond flour, remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, eggs, and almond extract; process until smooth.
• Step 5
  Spread batter evenly over crust. Gently stir fruit to reincorporate sugar mixture and arrange on top of batter (cut-side up). Bake until fruit is bubbling and filling is firm, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then use parchment overhang to lift cake out of pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool 1 hour and serve. Cake can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.

My thoughts and notes:
1. I used apricots, peaches, and one plum, just making sure the total weight of the fruit was 1.5 lbs. I'm glad a chose a variety of fruits and colors-- the orange of the apricots, the yellow flesh and red skin of the peaches, and the dark purple of the plums looked pretty cool all mixed together. I also cut things into medium chunks, and didn't mix in the sugar and salt until maybe ten minutes before topping the cake, so that the fruit wouldn't get super runny. I also added some ground cardamom and ginger, which didn't particularly shine through the almond extract, but I liked it and would do some spices again.
2. I didn't clean out the food processor between layers, and it did not matter
3. I used measuring cups, not a scale. I used TJ's almond flour.
4. First bake took a little longer to get golden brown... and even then only the edges really browned. Second bake took 1 hour and 5 minutes, as the recipe said.
5. I served it an hour after it came out of the even with whipped cream and it was FAB. Would totally make again.

Spaghetti al Limone with asparagus

Saved this recipe from Bon apetit because Evan Funke. Don't know if I'll ever be able to eat at Felix, but at least I have this recipe. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spaghetti-al-limone-with-asparagus

RECIPE PREPARATION

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Add asparagus, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until just beginning to take on color, about 1 minute. Add garlic, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let sit until pasta is done.
• Add pasta and basil to pot with asparagus mixture and return to medium-high heat. Squeeze juice from both lemons into pot and add 2 oz. Parmesan and 1 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until sauce is creamy and emulsified and pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Remove and discard garlic.
• Divide pasta among bowls, placing a lemon strip in each, and top with more Parmesan.

My notes:
1. I had really thin asparagus (the TJs bag), which made it a pain to thinly slice, but I did the best I could and I'm glad I didn't half ass it. The thinner the slices, the more "noodle-like" it becomes when cooking.
2. I used pecorino intead of parm because that's what I had, seemed fine
3. I measured and used the full amount of oil. Very necessary. Could up the amount of red pepper flakes.
4. I had large lemons, so I used 1.75 lemons for the lemon juice. I also forgot to remove the garlic before serving, but found that it didn't matter because it cooked and was delicious.
5. I used a mix of whole wheat and regular spaghetti, again, because that's what I had.
6. Delicious. I really liked it. It could used more veggies-- maybe cooked on the side, or chopped small and cooked with the asparagus. I envision mushrooms, broccoli, etc.
7. I would make again because it's not like really another pasta I make, and as far as al limone goes, I'm glad it's not a super creamy version.

Tartine Brownies

My notes:

1. Followed the recipe exactly, used weights, used nearly a pound of 72% chocolate, with maybe 2-3 ounces of 60% chocolate. Used table salt. 

2. Baked for exactly 25 minutes. Would 100% add parchment paper next time because these really stuck to the pan and were extremely hard to cut. 

3. I would cool, then fridge, then take out of pan and then cut to get the cleanest possible lines. 

4. Crazy crazy fudgy. Would consider nuts, and would also consider adding instant espresso powder. 

5. Possibly fudgier than the Baked brownie and I didn't consider than even possible. 

6. Mine sunk in the middle. It's possible that I wasn't gentle enough when mixing in the flour, but I really tried. 

Tartine Marbled Pound Cake

My notes:
1. Made the chocolate swirl. I did pretty much all the ingredients by weight, except for the cocoa powder, which I used a TPSP to measure.
2. I used table salt, which was fine
3. I used my hand mixer to mix, until it was time to add the flour, at which point I switched to a rubber spatula.
4. I would do a better job of strategically placing chocolate dollops next time to make the marbelizing process easier. This time I just dumped a layer on top and it was tricky to get the "swirl" look that I wanted.
5. I let it bake for an hour, but I think it could have come out at the 50-55 minute mark. I just kept sticking the knife in the center and getting wet batter so I didn't take it out. But the overall loaf was slightly overdone at the end.
6. Would definitely parchment the bottom of the loaf pan again.
7. The layers are quite distinct and lovely.
8. I would make again, trying to optimize doneness.