Goats cheese and peaches? Who knew?

Constant travel makes it difficult to find time both to bake and to keep a blog updated. It makes it doubly difficult to keep a blog about baking updated!

This past weekend my husband and I took a trip to Healdsburg, California, in the Russian River Valley for the wedding of close friends. If you have not been to the Russian River Valley before, I highly recommend planning a trip. We have travelled to a number of wine regions across the globe, from Napa to Franschoek, and felt that our experience in the Russian River Valley surpassed all. In addition to the delicious food and outstanding wine you expect from such a place, this region also boasts close proximity to the beach, as well as a number of outdoor activities from hiking in the Redwoods to bicycling around the country-side. We also found the wineries and eateries much more laid back than Napa and thought that the wine was better (as evidenced by the fact that we left with a case and a half!) Though hotter than the Bay Area, the fresh air and bright sunlight combined with ample shade from both trees and cafe umbrellas produce a relaxing atmosphere - the perfect antidote to city fatigue.

I think the highlight of the weekend (aside from watching close friends say their vows) was picnicking in the town square. On our way back from the beach, we kept stopping at farm stands on the side of the road, lured in by promises of fresh stone fruit and heirloom tomatoes. Tamara the Tomato Lady sold us 2lbs of tomatoes at 99cents a pound! What a bargain! We also purchased beautiful, ripe peaches and cherries from a man who swore that Raymond Burr's vineyard was the place to go in the area.

Once back in Healdsburg, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up fresh cheese, a baguette, some olive oil, hummus and dry sausage, and then took our goodies over to the fountain in the main square for a veritable feast. Sweaty from hiking with tomato juice dripping down our chins, it was one of the best meals I have had in a long time.

Though no baking was done, I did stumble across one of the most amazing flavor combinations I have ever tasted. Perhaps this has been out there for awhile, but have you ever tasted farm fresh peaches smothered in soft goats cheese? I feel like it should be incorporated into a tart in the near future!

Carrot cupcakes!

This past weekend I enjoyed a few beautiful days in Massachusetts with the inlaws. After several sticky and humid days in New York, it was a pleasure to escape to the city for a few days of cool coastal weather. As usual, a trip to see the inlaws means a batch of carrot cake must be made. I originally baked the famous triple layer carrot cake recipe for my mother inlaw several years ago, and she has since declared it one of her favorite cakes. As such, I make an effort to prepare some for her each time I see her.

I have made this recipe many times before with varying levels of success. Though the recipe is quite simple, there are a few things that can lead to falling cakes if you are not careful. First off, I recommend buying whole carrots, peeling them, and then running them through a food processor instead of buying pre-grated carrots. In my experience, the pre-grated carrots are too large for the cake and emit too much moisture during baking. I also recommend processing the nuts (I have made this with both walnuts and pecans. Both work well). This way you get the flavor of the nuts in the cake, but those who dislike the texture of nut pieces in their cake won't be bothered.

So, a little over a week into this whole blogging thing and I am already discovering that committing to regular updates can be a challenge. For the past few weeks, my husband was traveling constantly for work leaving me with tons of free time in the evenings after work. For the past two weeks he has been home and it has thrown me off schedule! I am not complaining - I am very happy to have him home... but having him home means less baking and less posting. Over the next few weeks I expect to be baking and posting with less frequency (yes, this is pathetic considering the brief amount time I have been doing this), as I will be out of town for several weekends in a row.

Macaron Fail!

My husband returned from Mexico last night, walked into the kitchen and asked, "why did you all of a sudden decide to make macarons tonight?". I looked at him indignantly and said, "you don't just decide to make macarons all of a sudden. This is something I decided to do last Monday night when I took the eggs out of the refrigerator."

The advanced planning necessary for making macarons makes it all the more devastating when they don't turn out. Last Monday, after spending quite some time perusing the macaron tips on Kitchen Musings and Tartlette, I decided to give it another go. Nothing motivates me to action like discovering something I can't do well... so expect to see more failed macarons on this blog until I manage to get it right.

I followed the instructions for a basic macaron shell that Tartlette provides, added some vanilla bean, and incorporated some of the tips from Kitchen Musings. My eggs "aged" on the counter for 48 hours... my whites were whipped to a glossy meringue... the almonds and confectioners sugar were folded in until the batter had the consistency of "magma". The macaron shells piped out beautifully onto my silpat (I used parchment in the last macaron fail, so thought I would try something new this time) . I let them rest on the counter for about half an hour before popping them in the oven.

Just as last time, when pulled from the oven, my macaron shells were a picture of perfection - glossy shells with fluffy looking little feet.

However, within moments, they began to sink, resulting in cracked shells.

After giving them a few moments to cool, I tried to remove a few from the silpat for closer inspection. Instead of peeling off, the top skin of the macaron came off, leaving a gooey, messy filling stuck to the silpat. What a disaster... and I haven't a clue how to fix it. HELP!

Into the garbage they went.

I have decided to close this post with a successful batch of cupcakes that I made last Saturday just to make myself feel better, and to prevent this blog from being about my baking failures. Every once in a while I do have a baking success!

Cupcakes and Cheesecakes

It was an exhausting weekend, and while I usually try to savor every second of every weekend, I must say that I am happy this one has drawn to a close. Social commitments, a death in the family, and my husband's immediate re-departure for Mexico made everything feel a little frantic. When the last morsel of flour was scrubbed off the kitchen counter on Sunday night, I was ready to bid good riddance to August 2nd, with the hope that August 3rd would deliver an opportunity to slow down.

For those that know me, I consider a social engagement or a family gathering as more than just an opportunity to see friends and loved ones. For me, this is a chance to try new recipes and unload trays of sweets on unsuspecting victims. This weekend was no different. 48 cupcakes and a tray of cheesecakes later, here are the results.

I know I said earlier that I would give credit where credit is due for recipes, but in the case of the cheesecakes, I think the recipe writer should remain anonymous. While our friends seemed to enjoy them (as determined by how quickly they were inhaled), I was not pleased with the quality of the product that the recipe produced. The crust was way too buttery and the filling did not hold together as well as the fillings from other recipes I have used. Overall, it tasted pretty good, but I don't think I will make it again.

This was also the first time I used the Chicago Metallic mini-cheesecake pan that my husband got me for Christmas. I found the pan more challenging than the standard springforms used for larger cheesecakes. I had trouble determining how much crust and filling to put in each cup, leading to too much crust and too little filling. I will know better next time. Also important to consider, my husband claims that washing the mini-cheesecake pan is equal to washing 37 dishes. He was very precise.

To cover up blemishes resulting from clumsy removal from the pan, I garnished each cheesecake with fresh strawberry "sticks", which would also complement the strawberry filling inside of the cakes.

For the cupcakes, I decided to try inventing a recipe. I wanted to do something with cardamom. I love preparing dessert with cardamom because I feel like it is a spice that is always delicious, but difficult to identify and somewhat surprising for those who do not often eat it. The cake turned out moist and pleasantly spicy... but spicy enough that the strawberry buttercream frosting actually detracted from the overall flavor. With hindsight, such a light, delicate frosting probably was not the best pairing for such a strong cake. If I make this cake again, I think I would choose citrus (orange or lemon) over strawberry, with a more densely flavored toping - either creamcheese or a glaze.

In order to compensate for the over-powered buttercream, I garnished the cupcakes with diced strawberries. Though it didn't completely solve the problem, it did help strengthen the strawberry flavor in the cupcakes.


Vanilla Cardamom Cupcakes
yield - about 14 cupcakes

9 oz flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1 & 1/8 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cardamom
5 oz butter
10 oz sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
vanilla bean seeds from one vanilla bean


Mix together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a medium bowl; set aside.
In another bowl, mix the milk, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in a large bowl. Mix in egg and egg white, one at a time.
Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. Stir in completely, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add half of the milk mixture, incorporating completely. Add the rest of the flour and milk mixtures in 3 additions, alternating between wet and dry ingredients. Take care not to over-mix.
Divide batter into cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes.