My neighbour gave me some of her rhubarb and I was immediately excited to make these little rhubarb tea cakes. I feel very lucky to have a teeny, tiny little garden but it’s a bit too small for growing rhubarb, unless I only want to grow rhubarb and nothing else. So I am a little jealous of other people’s rhubarb plants.
Read morealmond boterkoek (Dutch butter cake)
Boterkoek is a traditional Dutch buttercake, typically either made plain or filled with a layer of almond paste. In this version, I mixed the almond paste into the dough rather than spread in a layer, which just felt a bit fiddly.
This is a dense cake; it has no leavener in it at all. The only lift comes from air whipped in when you cream the butter and sugar. It has a buttery, dense, plush, chewy interior and a crispy, almond-flecked top. This makes it closer to a cookie, even though it’s large and called cake. The almond topping is optional, but it adds a lovely crunch to the cake.
I made this using homemade almond paste, really only because I couldn’t find any at a few different stores. If you have it available near you, go ahead and use store bought. It’s very easy to make though, takes about 5 minutes and keeps well in the freezer. It’s worth doing to get this rich, almond scented snack cake.
dutch butter cake
Adapted from e2 bakes brooklyn
1 large, room temperature egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon water
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 ounces almond paste - homemade or store bought, sliced in rounds
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature (I used salted - unsalted will work too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional - leave out or halve if desired)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8” pie dish or cake pan with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom.
Make egg wash - combine 1 teaspoon of the beaten egg with a teaspoon of water. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine sugar and almond paste. Beat on medium speed into a smooth paste. Add butter and increase speed to high; beat until very light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Beat on medium speed until evenly combined. On low, beat in the flour and salt until just evenly incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Scoop the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Brush egg wash over the cake.
almond topping
½ cup flaked almonds
2 tsp sugar
In a fine mesh sieve, rinse almonds in water. Shake to remove excess water. Toss damp almonds with sugar in a small bowl. Press onto the top of the cake. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes (check early to ensure you don’t over bake this cake. You want it to be very slightly golden, but still pretty light in the middle. Since it’s quite dense, an over baked cake will be leaden rather than chewy and lush).
almond paste
I used to think I didn’t like lots of almondy things because I thought they had marzipan in them, and I never really liked marzipan. It’s eerily smooth, and cloyingly sweet (sorry marzipan fans - all the more marzipan for you). Those little marzipan fruits are incredibly charming and tempting, but I learned my lesson after sampling one or two and avoided them. But I also avoided things like almond croissants and danishes, thinking they would contain the same smooth and overly sweet paste. I was delighted to later learn that almond paste is not the same as marzipan - mostly it has less sugar in it. Also, almond paste isn’t quite as smooth and moldable as marzipan, which is a little clay-like. Almond paste is slightly coarser, the almonds remain finely ground, rather than fully smooth, so they have a slightly nubbly texture. Take care when processing to not go too far and grind the almonds into nut butter. This will release too much oil and produce a runny texture that will not hold it’s shape, not the semi-firm paste you are aiming for.
Read moregooey, herby baked fontina
This is a super easy recipe, barely a recipe at all - essentially just melt some cheese with a few tasty bits and dunk bread into it. I found that it called out to me, ever since I first came across the recipe. But I had a terrible time finding Fontina, and I hunted around a few different grocery stores over a couple months. If you struggle to find it, I think you could substitute another semi-firm, melty cheese (let me know if you try it!). But it was worth seeking out the fontina - it’s a lovely, nutty, slightly sharp cheese. When tossed with some herbs and olive oil and broiled until melty and golden brown, it’s totally transformed. It’s gooey, melty oozy with a crusty top.
Read morecarrot cake cookies with cream cheese drizzle
I recently found these new cream cheese flavoured chips at the supermarket. I’m always drawn to new or unusual ingredients, so I felt like I needed to try them. I wasn’t totally sure what I would do with them, but some sort of carrot-cake inspired recipe seemed appropriate, and spring time feels like peak carrot cake season. I thought they would be perfect for drizzling over a carrot cake cookie. When I got home and tried them, I was quite pleased. They definitely smell like cream cheese when you open the bag, and the flavour is unsurprisingly similar to a white chocolate chip, with a hint of tangy cream cheese flavour. They are pretty good!
Read morefluffy garlic rosemary dinner rolls
These rolls are almost impossibly fluffy and light, but simultaneously rich. Like garlicy, buttery, rosemary-y clouds. They also look beautiful; everytime I make them they come out uniform and pleasingly golden brown. I have been kind of intimidated by baking bread, and rolls and buns in particular. But these aren’t difficult to make, and the dough is very soft and pleasant to work with. They do take a bit of time, with a couple of rises to get their perfect texture. But if you want a lazy weekend afternoon baking project with really satisfying results, this is one I would highly recommend. They also reward a bit of precision. Use weights instead of volume measures and weigh out the individual buns to get them just right.
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