Apple Cherry Crumble

There are two things that make this apple crumble different than any other apple crisp/crumble that I've made before and posted here. (It's important for me to state this clearly so no one will accuse me of making and posting the same thing twice....) The first is that underneath all that delicious crumble, rests not just a mix of Granny Smith and Pink Lady, aka my new favorite, apples but cherries as well. The recipe I adapted called for raspberries, but since those cost an arm and a leg in this beautiful country, I decided to add the last remaining jar of sour cherries in my pantry. The second thing is that this crumble is completely whole grain. There is not a single grain of white flour to be found. The crumble is made with oat flour and whole oats and the filling has oat flour in it as well. Cool, huh? There are a few things to be cautious about. First, the people eating this just might not like cherries. In that case, use the raspberries, all apples, or find someone else who appreciates them more. Secondly, maybe it was because of all the water in the canned cherries and apples, or maybe it was because of the lack of thickening agent, but this crumble was mighty liquidy. So liquidy that I drained most of it off. You can handle this issue any way you please, I'm going to post the recipe as I made it. Not surprisingly, there were some cherries left in the pan at the end of the day, but on the other hand, my lover-of-all-things-fruit roommate called this her favorite thing that I made all year. So there you have it. At least at the end of the day, you'll feel virtuous eating a spoonful of this delicious crumble.

Herbed Fougasse

S told me the friends we were eating by for lunch were having a wine and cheese sort of meal and so she asked me if I would bake a bread for it. Of course I agreed and was so excited because it's not often that I get to bake bread these days if it's not challah. I wanted a bread that would go well with wine and cheese and would be just as elegant. My first thought was flatbread and my second thought was like turning on a light switch-- fougasse! French, fancy, and with a shape that looks like a ladder, appears to demand a lot of effort. Perfect! A scan through all of my cookbooks came up with many fougasses but none that appealed to me. Walnut fougasse? Olive fougasse? Not this time. I settled on a simple herbed fougasse from Sur La Table's too heavy to lift, The Art and Soul Baking. I was pleasantly surprised how not difficult this bread is to make. It begins with a biga that is left to ferment overnight and then all the remaining ingredients are added, including olive oil and dried herbs (my preference, no fresh rosemary and thyme in the shuk), and the rest is standard bread making. Shaping the bread was so much fun and I was so surprised that the shape held! S was so proud and impressed when she saw it, as were her friends. To quote her, the bread was crisp and wonderfully spiced and went great with the sharp cheeses and wine. A home run, I'd say. One note on storing this bread- do not cover in plastic wrap to store it unless the bread is cut. In that case cover only the cut parts. When covered with plastic wrap, some moisture deposits on the surface leaving some funky white spots. Otherwise, you should be good to go! I'm sending this over to Yeastspotting!

Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars

I spent this past Shabbat with one of my favorite people, S, in Tel Aviv. It had been way too long since I'd seen her, and I hadn't yet seen her new apartment, so I was really glad to see her. I asked her what I could bring her for Shabbat and one of the things she asked for was dessert. Knowing how difficult the decision would be for me, I asked her to be very specific and she obliged by telling me that she would like something with jam. Immediately, I knew the perfect recipe. I opened Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey to page 90 and there it was- the recipe for Blackberry Jamble Shortbread Bars. Except I made them Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars. And in half the quantity. But were they delicious and buttery and mm-mm good? You bet they were! The recipe feature ground almonds in the crust, to punch up the flavor. (I walked around the shuk and walked into some stores to ask if they had ground almonds. They said no but that they could grind some on the spot. Freshly ground almonds? Can't beat that!) I also had some leftover slivered almonds from the Golden Lemon Almond Cake, so those made an appearance here, too. As for apricot? It's just good. I thought it would be a nice, light accompaniment to the almonds. And I was right. S really enjoyed them and when she brought over the rest for lunch (I bailed because I was feeling waaay under the weather), she came home with an empty pan. Home run! Feel free to substitute any flavor jam and any kind of nut. This a terrific base shortbread bar recipe that just welcomes your imagination. If you're going to halve the recipe like I did, use a 9x9 inch pan and not an 8x8 pan. There will be a lot less wasted dough. 

Mocha White Chocolate Brownies

One of my faaavorite girls from last year, N, called me up and told me that she would only come visit me if I agreed to bake. She thought she was bribing me... I planned to agree to get her to visit and not bake. Well, I agreed, she came and I thought I was going to get out of baking..... and then I ended up baking. Something about girls serving their country..... Anyway, I whipped up these brownies quite fast actually so it was really no big deal in the end, end they made a lot of people happy. The recipe comes once again from the Israeli More Chocolate book and they while they are called Mocha Brownies they also feature some nougat- ground  hazelnut yumminess. The girls told me they couldnt really taste the hazelnut element but they could taste the mocha. Who knew a teaspoon of espresso powder would go such a long way? Not me. The white chocolate was a nice contrasting addition. Some of them commented that when the brownies were in their gooey fudgey state, the white chocolate was a nice crunchy contrast. Personally? I dont like serving goop, even chocolate goop, so I stashed them in the fridge to firm up. Best trick in the book- fudgy brownies with out the nauseatingly goopy texture. I mean, if I wanted raw batter, I could just lick the spoon. Next time, I'd add the hazelnuts to make them more unique and to make the nougat flavor pop. Was anyone disappointed that they were missing? Pretty sure not!

Baked Cake Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

Shortly after my last effort with the yeasted baked donuts, I got my donut pans, all the way from America. Perfectly round cavities, large and small, to make the perfect baked donut. To put them to use, this past Tuesday, my in day and usual baking day, I whipped up a batch of these cake donuts from the Doughnut book, my new authority on donuts. (I reallllly wish I had a means to fry donuts, because the variations are all so tempting but most dont use the baked donut base recipes. You're bound to fail if you bake something meant to be fried... Trust me, I know.) I can't tell you how easily this recipe came together. The batter whipped up in just a few minutes and baked in about the same time. While the donuts were baking, I threw together the chocolate glaze, which was deeply chocolately and satiny. The dipping was quite fun- I felt so professional!! I double glazed just because I had a lot extra and didnt want too much waste. The lucky eaters of the six donuts really liked them and even went back to double dip in the yummy glaze. I sort of felt like I was pulling the wool over their eyes by giving them donut shaped cake, but no one really complained. Points for being healthful, anyone? I considered throwing on some sprinkles as a real throwback to my childhood, but I decided against it. Maybe next time. Just look at those donuts, though. Arent they picture perfect?!