Grandma's Kitchen Table

Modern Baker: Real Strawberry Shortcake

      The 89th recipe I made from The Modern BakerThe Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Real Strawberry Shortcake, on page 238.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  It's a great book, full of recipes you will want to use over and over again.)

      The ingredient list:  flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, egg, buttermilk, whipped cream, vanilla, and strawberries. 

      The dough for the recipe goes together quickly in the food processor, gets patted into little 4" cake pans, and bakes for about 15 minutes in the oven for my little 4" pans. 

      Although he indicates that this is best made in strawberry season, I have to say that there was absolutely nothing stopping from me from trying it with some nice berries that I found at the market last week.  Usually we have strawberry shortcake with a sponge-like cake or angel food cake, so this was a bit of a departure using a dough that was more of a sweet biscuit dough.  It worked nicely, I think that there are purists that only eat strawberry shortcake with this sort of cake-biscuit-like base and I would hate to limit myself to just this type, but it is delicious and nice for a change of pace. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here. 

Modern Baker: Blackberry Jam Cake

      The 88th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Blackberry Jam Cake, on page 233.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  It's a great book, full of recipes you will want to use over and over again.)

      The ingredient list:  flour, allspice, cinnamon, baking soda, cocoa powder (I left this out), butter, sugar, egg, raisins, walnuts, buttermilk, and blackberry jam.  

      I made a half recipe in a 6" bundt pan and it fit perfectly.  The recipe goes together quickly and bakes for about 50 minutes for this size pan.  Somewhere between "butter the pan" and "dust with dried bread crumbs, spraying with oil" I lost focus, as in I forgot to do the parts after the "butter the pan," so my bundt cake stuck a bit and when I unmolded it, it completely fell apart...i.e. the top stuck to the pan and what you are seeing is the cake bottom side up, even that was a bit of crumbling mess.  Not the fault of the recipe...the fault of me not following greasing-the-pan directions. 

      Nevertheless, this cake was delicious.  The spices and the blackberry flavor really go well together, I wasn't sure when I set out to make this, but they do.  

      A few years ago my baking buddy Nancy made this recipe and sent me one of the little cakes featured in her post here.  I remembered how lovely that cake tasted, so I was happy to see it in this book and have a chance to make it myself.  Obviously Nancy greased her pans correctly. 

      One does not throw out cake just because it crumbles, so I made a sort of revised trifle with it:  cake + whipped cream + layers = trifle, right?  And that was delicious as well. 

      Here's Phyl's post, here's Margaret's post, here's Renee's post.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

      The 87th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Sour Cream Coffee Cake, on page 232.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  It's a great book, full of recipes you will want to use over and over again.)

      The ingredient list:  brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, butter, eggs, and sour cream.

      Okay, I made a drizzle with a vanilla glaze because it looked lonely without something on the top to be friends with those nuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar, even though NM said it was fine the way it was and didn't need a single other thing.
      I made a half recipe in a 6" bundt pan and it fit perfectly.  The recipe goes together quickly and bakes for less than an hour (mine was done at 45 minutes and even then I wish I had checked on it 5-10 minutes sooner...that might be because of the half recipe rather than the full, note to self in book on that for when I make it again), and the best part is that the entire house smelled like a bakery while it was baking...lovely fragrance. 

      The flavors are warm and nice, cinnamon, sugar, butter, pecans, what's not to love about all of that? Definitely a something I will make again, it works for snacking, dessert, or breakfast. Here's a photo of it without it's dress-up icing, and it does look fine just as it is, doesn't it?

      Here's Phyl's post.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Raspberry Cream Cake

      First of all, I wish to apologize for this photo...I had photos of the outside and the inside and when my computer crashed a few weeks ago, it took the photos with it.  Sigh.  So all I could rescue was one photo from a birthday photo of it on my blog and cropping out the extra stuff didn't really help it all that much.  That said, at least you can sorta kinda maybe see what it looked like...the part to remember is that it tasted so wonderfully delicious...I wish I had a piece right now.

      The 86th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Raspberry Cream Cake, on page 244.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  It's a great book, full of recipes you will want to use over and over again.)

      The ingredient list for the Classic Genoise Cake (on pages 240-241):  eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar, flour, and cornstarch.  The ingredients for the icing: raspberries, egg whites, sugar, butter, and raspberry liqueur. The ingredients for the moistening syrup:  water, sugar, and raspberry liqueur. The ingredients for filling and finishing:  raspberry preserves, almonds, and fresh raspberries. 

      As you can see from the ingredient list, this cake takes a bit of work in assembling it all but each step is very easy and not as time consuming as you would think.  I needed a special cake for my birthday this year, so this is the one I chose as I love raspberries. 

      I made half a recipe (just one 9" layer) as I figured it was all rich and decadent enough with just one layer, not the whole recipe with two layers.  I sliced the cake in half so that it had two layers in the end and I could fill it with the preserves. 

      The recipe is just wonderful, the raspberry combination sweet and perfumed with those fresh raspberries, and it is so pretty...it was delicious and the perfect birthday cake (might need to make this again next year).  

      Renee has this one posted already with wonderful process photos, check here.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies

      The 85th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies, on page 285.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.)

      The ingredient list for the cookies:  flour, baking soda, salt, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and eggs. 

      These cookies were a big hit with the guys...actually, chocolate chip cookies are their all-time favorites and these were apparently a nice variation on that theme.  Yep, you guessed it, these are a definite repeat. 

      Check out what the others thought:  Phyl here, Margaret here, Abby here, and Renee here.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Honey Peanut Wafers

      The 84th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Honey Peanut Wafers, on page 280.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.)

      The ingredient list for the cookies:  flour, baking soda, butter, sugar, honey, egg, and honey-roasted peanuts. 

      These cookies went together quickly and baked quickly, so in very little time you have freshly baked cookies.  They have a nice flavor from the honey-roasted peanuts and the caramel-like taste to the cookie.  That said, they were not favorites...the texture was a little strange, sort of soft and chewy but not necessarily in a good way.  It could be my error somewhere along the line (although they looked exactly like the ones in the book) or it could just be that these are a sort of an acquired taste.  Probably not a repeat.  Okay, I'll be honest, not a repeat...but that doesn't mean you won't love them! 

      Check out what the others thought:  Phyl here, Margaret here, Abby here, and Renee here.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Viennese Raisin Coffee Cake

      The 83rd recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Viennese Raisin Coffee Cake, on page 231.  It looked like the perfect opportunity to use my fancy Gugelhupf pan as I always love a chance to use that. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.)

      The ingredient list for the cake:  flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, eggs, and golden raisins (I used dried cranberries just because). 

      The mixing takes only a few minutes, the batter goes into the pan, bakes for 45 minutes, and after cooling in the pan 10 minutes, turning it out and cooling on the rack, you have one very wonderful cake.  I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on the top just to pretty it up, but it didn't need a single thing to taste wonderfully delicious.
       We really liked the dried cranberries in it, they gave a nice little tartness to the sweet cake and went wonderfully well with the lemon flavor.  Definitely a repeat, one of our favorites. 

      Phyl has some excellent process photos and observations on his post here and Sara made the official MB blog post here.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Blueberry Crumb Cake

      The 82nd recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Blueberry Crumb Cake, on page 237.  It looked like the perfect treat to make with some wonderful blueberries I had on hand, and it was.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  That said, you can also find the recipe at Nick Malgieri's blog here, thank you, Nick.)

      The ingredient list for the cake:  flour, sugar, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, and blueberries.
      The mixing takes only a few minutes and it all comes together nicely. The only technique new to me was that the recipe had us mix the topping and the blueberries together before spreading it on the top of the cake, always before I put on fruit and then the crumb topping on top of that.  It worked fine this way and I actually rather liked it as sometimes a bite would have no blueberries and just topping and sometimes no topping and just blueberries and sometimes a combination of the two...so it was very interesting to eat it this way, a little like eating three separate cakes.  I would do it that way again actually. After I made the cake, I looked at the recipe on Nick's blog and he has the crumb topping going on after the blueberries, so either way works apparently, you get to choose for yourself.

      This is a great cake for breakfast or snacks. I made a half version in my 6" square pan and it was a perfect fit. Definitely a repeat. 

      Phyl has some excellent process photos and observations on his post here and Abby made the official MB blog post here,   If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Rum-Scented Marble Cake

      The 81st recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Rum-Scented Marble Cake, on page 228. 

      Yesterday some of the members from the Modern Baker group were tweeting and making a plan for baking something, this was my choice, Margaret agreed, and it turned out that Phyl was already in the process of gathering ingredients to make this recipe as well, so we had a spontaneous Twitterbake, always fun to bake the same thing together comparing notes along the way. This cake is definitely worth making...delicious and pretty.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us.  That said, you can also find Nick's recipe at Epicurious online here.)

      The ingredient list for the cake:  flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, eggs, rum, milk, baking soda, bittersweet chocolate. and some fine dry breadcrumbs. 

      All the ingredients are ones you probably have on hand, so there isn't anything really new there. The mixing takes a few bowls by the time you make the batter, divide it, mix in the chocolate which you melted in another bowl, and then pour it all into the baking pan, but it's all a simple step-by-step procedure outlined nicely in the book.  The only technique new to me was coating the bundt pan with butter, fine dry bread crumbs, and then cooking spray...I had never done that before and it was interesting, could not detect the breadcrumbs in the final outcome and it did slide right out of the pan easily with no fuss.
      I made a half-size version in my 6 cup bundt pan, using half the ingredients.  One of my favorite things about making marbled anything is that you never know what it is going to look like on the inside until you slice into it and get a view.  Always seems like a bit of artwork going on in there to me, always fun to see.  We all made the same recipe, yet each of us has a totally different look to the inside...rather exciting to see what everyone gets for results that way.  (It doesn't take much to entertain me, obviously.)

      The cake is wonderful alone, you really don't need to frost or glaze it, as it is moist and flavorful as is, the rum gives just a little depth of flavor that makes it shine...definitely a repeat. This would be a great cake to take as a hostess gift or to a pitch-in. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Raspberry Linzer Disks

      The 80th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Raspberry Linzer Disks, on page 309.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the cookies and filling:  butter, sugar, almonds, flour, cinnamon, cloves, raspberry preserves, and confectioner's sugar.

      The recipe goes together easily but needs to rest in the refrigerator for a bit before rolling and cutting out the shapes, so plan time for that part.  Once the dough has chilled, it is wonderful to work with as it rolls out nicely without tearing or breaking. 

      I have a Linzer cookie cutter set so I used that for these cookies, mine is 2" in size, which I think is perfect, the one the recipe calls for is a 3" cutter, so I got quite a few more cookies. 

      The cookies bake quickly, and it is very easy to spread on the raspberry preserves once they have cooled. The cutout tops are sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and placed on the top of the bottom cookie.  A little more raspberry preserve is dropped into the center to make it seem fuller...I have made Linzer cookies before but never thought to add a little dollop more of the preserves to fill up the center, so love that little tip. 

      The flavor of these cookies is by far the best of any other Linzer cookie recipe that I have tried.  Although these types of cookies are a little fussy in the process, since you have to make a top and a bottom and one part is cut out and then fill it and sprinkle on the powdered sugar, etc., they are so pretty when finished.  I thought the tulip cutout would be nice for spring. 

      Enjoyed by all.  Definitely a repeat. (Oh, and pardon the photo...these are harder to photograph than I thought...I used up all my "fuss about things" patience making the cookies so the photo just is what it is.)  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Blackberry Jam Sandwiches with Lemon Icing (Cookies)

      The 79th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Blackberry Jam Sandwiches, on page 306.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).     

      The ingredient list for the cookies and icing:  butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon extract, egg yolks, flour, blackberry preserves, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice. 

      The recipe goes together easily but needs to rest in the refrigerator for a bit before rolling and cutting out the shapes, so plan time for that part.  Once the dough has chilled, it is wonderful to work with as it rolls out nicely without tearing or breaking.  The cookies bake quickly, and it is very easy to fill them with the blackberry preserves once they have cooled.
      I'm not the best drizzler of icing (okay...okay...I am the worst drizzler ever with icing), so you will do much better with this, but I did try and make it look like the photo in the book...with only a moderate amount of success so you can at least get the general idea. 

      They turned out pretty and delicious...the combination of lemon and blackberry is delightful.  I would make these again...it's not really an "everyday" cookie around here, but would be something special and lovely for a cookie tray.  The only thing I would change is that these were made with a 3" cookie cutter as suggested in the book and they are a larger type cookie...I would use a 2" cookie cutter (oh, and wouldn't little 1" cookies be so cute!) the next time as they are very sweet and one small one would satisfy one's sweet tooth just as nicely.  Enjoyed by all.  Definitely a repeat. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars

      The 78th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars, on page 277.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the bars:  butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, coconut, pecans, and chocolate.
      These bars remind me of the Seven Layer Bars that I have been making forever and a day...you know, the ones that we make all in one pan by layering in the ingredients and baking.  That said, these are much better than those (according to my sources) and not that much more effort.  Might have to change it up and make some of each as you can't beat the others for convenience and if these taste better to the guys, that's a good sell as well.  Chocolate, Pecans, Coconut...butter, sugar, vanilla...it's so easy to get their attention.  Definitely a repeat. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Caramel Crumb Bars

      The 77th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Caramel Crumb Bars, on page 276.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the bars:  butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, all-purpose flour, corn syrup, dark brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. 

      The others were raving about this recipe so I moved it up on my list of ones to get to sooner rather than later.  Good decision.  The crust and topping are extremely easy to make, and the caramel center goes together easily following the recipe instructions. 

      These are wonderful, nice and crunchy on the outsides with that creamy gooey caramel center.   Definitely a repeat.   

      Here are posts from others who made them:  Phyl, Margaret, Renee, and Abby.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Parisian Fruit Tarts

      The 76th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Parisian Fruit Tarts, on page 166.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the little tart crusts:  butter, sugar, vanilla, egg yolk, and all-purpose flour.  The ingredient list for the pastry cream filling:  milk, cream, sugar, flour, egg yolk, and vanilla.  The ingredient list for the fruit topping:  various fruits, apricot preserves, and water. 

      Say what you want about chocolate desserts, and believe me, they are very popular with the guys here, but when I make something like these fruit tarts, interest runs high and anticipation for the time to eat them always makes me smile because everyone here agrees that fruit desserts are loved best of all.  These little tarts were especially welcome on a cold snowy day when thoughts of summer were far away...and I was able to find at the market fruit that actually tasted like the fruits they are, not quite like summer's bounty, but definitely welcoming and delicious. 

      The tart crust is easy to make, form into the little tart pans, bake, and cool.  The pastry cream is made all in one pan, transferred to a glass bowl to cool in the frig, and the fruit is  a one-bowl deal as well.  All in all, very easy and fun to put together.  Definitely a repeat.   

      Here are posts from others who made them:  Phyl, Margaret, Renee, and Andrea.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Three-Way Gingersnaps

      The 75th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Three-Way Gingersnaps, on page 279.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list:  all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, unsalted butter, sugar, egg, fresh ginger, crystallized ginger, and honey. 

      Oh my goodness these are addicting.  They have the nicest spice kick to them, better than any other gingersnap cookie I have ever had...it must be all that ginger in the three forms.  From now on all other gingersnaps will pale in comparison.  They are that good. 

      I baked mine for the 20 minutes rather than the 15-20 as stated in the recipe because we like a nice crunchy cookie.  They were perfect for us.  I also made two batches, one with my Modern Baker Twitter pals online, and one again after that because one batch was not enough, they disappeared quickly over the holidays.  Definitely a repeat, easy and excellent in taste.   

      Here are posts from others who made them:  Phyl, Margaret, Abby.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Raisin Pecan Spice Bars

      The 74th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Raisin Pecan Spice Bars, on page 275.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list:  all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, butter, dark brown sugar, sugar, eggs, molasses, sour cream, raisins, and pecans. 

      These are really wonderful, moist, spicy, sweet, delicious, a little one goes a long way as they are filling, so a big pan makes a huge amount.
      I wanted these for the Christmas cookie tray so I fancied them up a bit with a little icing on the top just to make them seem party-festive.  There weren't any left at the end of the evening.  Definitely a repeat, this is a really nice recipe for a spice bar. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Sour Cream Brownies

      The 73rd recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Sour Cream Brownies, on page 274.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list:  butter, chocolate, dark brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, salt, vanilla, all-purpose flour, and walnuts.

      I maybe should have baked these a little less to get a less firm center as these were cake-like, but then others said that cake-like brownies are great, so I'm not really sure as it's not like I eat brownies to know the difference, being full of chocolate and all as they are, of course. 

      Mark liked them very much, the combination of a nice moist brownie with the sour cream addition and the nuts appealed to him enough to request a repeat soon.  He was happy that I made them when Matt was at school so that he actually could get more than one or two.  I froze some of them for Matt when he would be home over Christmas break, and those appeared to be just as well received as the fresh ones. 

      Here are posts from others who made them:   Abby, Marie, and Renee.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Lemon Lime Tartlets

      The fourteenth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 72nd recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Lemon Lime Tartlets, on page 189.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).  Citrus in desserts...my favorite! 

      The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, and eggs.  I used a half of the dough recipe for 12 little tarts about 2-1/4" size. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  lemons, limes, sugar, butter, and egg yolks.  I made half of the filling recipe and had some left over as I didn't want to skimp on the filling.

      The tart shells are baked for 10 minutes, cooled, and filled with the citrus curd when ready to serve.  It was suggested topping the little tartlets with almonds or coconut so coconut was it.

      These are so delicious, they just melt in your mouth.  Definitely a repeat. 

      Here are posts from others who made them:  Phyl, and Abby, and Andrea, and Renee.  If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Raspberry Almond Tartlets

      The thirteenth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 71st recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Raspberry Almond Tartlets, on page 188.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      Raspberries in desserts...another favorite, that said, I used blackberries instead as Mark is not fond of raspberries. 

      The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, and eggs.  I used a half of the dough recipe for 12 little tarts about 2-1/4" size. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  almond paste, sugar, egg, vanilla, butter, flour, raspberry preserves, raspberries (I used blackberries), almonds, and confectioner's sugar. 

      The little tarts are filled and baked for 20 minutes, cooled, and then dusted with powdered sugar before serving (okay, I didn't see the need for the extra sugar so I didn't do that part but you can look at Phyl and Renee's posts linked below as they both used it).
      These are so delicious, they just melt in your mouth.  Definitely a repeat. 

      Here are posts from others who made them:  Phyl and Renee. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Breton Apple Pie

      The twelfth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 70th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Breton Apple Pie, on page 180.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      This was touted more as a cake-like dessert than a pie, so I made a third-size version, because that's just how fond of cake-like things Mark is and I didn't want to eat more than a thin slice of this myself.  Big mistake, this is more pie-like made in a cake pan, so Mark just loved it and would have gladly eaten more of it.  Next time. 

      The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.  I used a third of the dough for a 6" round pan (original recipe called for a 10" round pan) and it worked perfectly. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  butter, apples, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  I made a third of the filling and that also worked perfectly in the 6" pan.
      The little pie/cake was done baking in 45 minutes.    The taste is excellent, the nice flaky crust with the cinnamon apples just melts in your mouth.  Definitely a repeat. 

      Here are posts from others who made it:  Phyl, Andrea, and Margaret.        

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting this section, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Maida's Big Apple Pie

 

      The eleventh recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 69th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Maida's Big Apple Pie, on page 182.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      This was a really big pie, so I made a half-size version, not that we would not love that much apple pie, but we really didn't need to be eating that big of a pie with just two people here, even over the course of several days, half-size was plenty big. 

     The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  (I used one-half of the filling recipe and it fit perfectly.)  The ingredient list for the filling:  butter, apples, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  There was also sugar needed for sprinkling on the top of it all. 

       The tart was done baking in 40 minutes.  When I cooked the apples I had a lot of liquid so I chose not to add all of that as it would make the dough soggy and run out of the free-form crust...all apples have differing water content when you cook them down, so I just went with my instincts about the amount of moisture I thought it needed and that worked well.
      The taste is excellent, the nice crunchy flaky crust with the cinnamon-sugar apples is one of our favorite combinations.  It was easy to make the free-form crust and fill it with the apples.  Definitely a repeat, the question is:  How soon should I wait until I make another? 

      Here are posts from others who made it:  Phyl and Abby and Renee and Mia.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

 

Modern Baker: Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart

      The tenth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 68th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart, on pages 178-179.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Nut Tart Dough for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, hazelnuts, and eggs.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart and it fit perfectly.  The ingredient list for the filling:  cream, sugar, butter, chocolate, eggs, orange zest, and dark rum, with chopped hazelnuts on the top.  The ingredient list for the chocolate drizzle:  chocolate and butter. 

      The tart was done baking in 25 minutes.  This little tart comes together quickly and packs a "wow" factor when it is all finished.  "Wow" in looks and "Wow" in taste, according to the guys who just loved the chocolatey goodness.  Definitely a hit, definitely a repeat.
      I am on a tart-making tear, let me tell you.  This 6" tart pan is just a perfect size, the slices small and nice, all of it easily eaten in a day or two so that I can move on to making something else that's new and fun.  The tarts go together particularly quickly if you have the tart dough made and stashed in the refrigerator (for up to 2 days) or in the freezer, ready to go.  Each of the dough recipes in this section makes enough dough for three of the little 6" tarts, so if you make a couple of batches of the dough, divide it up, you have six tart crust ready to roll, fill, and bake.  Piece of cake...no wait...easy as pie, that's the correct adage.  I will miss this section when we move onto the next one as I think tarts are my favorite things to bake. 

      Andrea's post here; Sara's post here.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Pumpkin-Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

      The ninth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 67th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pumpkin-Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream, on page 174.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart and it fit perfectly.  The ingredient list for the filling:  pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, buttermilk, and pecans.  The ingredient list for the whipped cream:  heavy cream, sugar, and cinnamon.  The tart was done baking in 35 minutes.
      You might have noticed that the whipped cream is missing from the tart in the photo, but that doesn't mean that it was missing at serving time.  I wanted to take the photos in daylight and the tart was actually for serving to guests in the evening, so I didn't have the cream made at the time of the photo...I am certain you can use your imagination. 

      Mark is the big lover of pumpkin pie around here and he loves it with whipped cream or just plain.  He would have preferred not to have nuts in this, so next time I make it I will leave those off the top, easy enough to do.  For the life of me around here, I cannot figure out when the guys like nuts in things and when they don't, it's a crap shoot every single recipe. 

      The pie was delicious, reported by guests and husband alike.  I made two tarts yesterday so there was enough for Mark to have this for breakfast and some to take for lunch as well...obviously the tart was a big hit and will definitely be repeated (without the nuts).

      Phyl's post here; Abby's post here. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Bourbon-Scented Pecan Tart

        The eighth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 66th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Bourbon-Scented Pecan Tart, on page 175.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart and it fit perfectly.  The ingredient list for the filling:  pecans, dark corn syrup, sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, salt, and bourbon.  The tart was done baking in 28 minutes. 

      Originally I wasn't going to use the bourbon in this recipe as it isn't something that I have on hand in my pantry, and when I bake for the younger guys I generally leave out the alcohol, but Phyl raved about it and said that we should all definitely not leave it out, so Mark scored one of those little airline-type bottles of MM and  drizzled it in and you would not believe just how good this little tart tasted.  Absolutely delicious and delightful!
      Definitely a repeat, might even need to stock a smallish bottle of that bourbon, maybe get a really good one to up the ante a bit, for when the desire strikes to make this again.

      Phyl's post here; Abby's post here. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Banana Walnut (Pecan) Tart

      The seventh recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 65th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Banana Walnut (Pecan) Tart, on page 171.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart and it fit perfectly.  The ingredient list for the filling:  pecans (I used pecans rather than walnuts as we like pecans better), brown sugar, butter, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, flour, baking powder, rum, bananas, and pecan pieces.
      Originally I wasn't all that excited about this recipe as we aren't all that fond of bananas IN things, but Phyl raved about it and he's usually right about this sort of thing, i.e. baking recipes, so I gave it a go and we were all pleasantly surprised at just how good this little tart tasted.  We didn't even put whipped cream on it...a sure sign that something can stand all on its own.  Definitely a repeat.

      Phyl's post here; Abby's post here. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

      The sixth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 64th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Bittersweet Chocolate Tart, on pages 168-169.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Press-In Cookie Dough Crust for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, vanilla, unsalted butter, and egg.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart and I had a little left over.  The ingredient list for the filling:  cream, corn syrup, bittersweet chocolate, butter. 

      This was the first time I had made the press-in cookie dough crust and it went well enough, tasted nicely.  I prefer the Sweet Tart Dough as I like to just roll out the crust, which takes only a minute and then place it in the pan which takes maybe another minute.  With the press in dough there is more fiddling about with it and I never think it looks as nice when I finish.  It is just a matter of personal preference, you can try it and decide for yourself.  In the photo below you can see another reason I am not fond of this dough, it is sort of crumbly, so crumbies end up on the filling, in the filling, etc. and I didn't get that nice clean cut that I usually get with the Sweet Tart Dough.  Of course, this has nothing to do with taste, so these are just minor little things.
      The filling was easy to make and pour into the crust, then into the refrigerator for an hour to set, and then back to room temperature for serving.  The book suggested serving it with chocolate shavings or powdered sugar, maybe some raspberries, or nothing at all.  We went the nothing at all route and then the guys decided they wanted whipped cream.  They loved this tart and would be happy to have it again soon.  Definitely a repeat.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Blueberry Crumble Pie

      The fifth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 63rd recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Blueberry Crumble Pie, on pages 184-185.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).  

      Oh, if you love blueberries, you really need to make this one!

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a 7" pie pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-half of the filling recipe for this 7" pie.  The ingredient list for the filling:  blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, water, nutmeg, butter.  I used one-half of the topping recipe for this 7" pie.  The ingredient list for the topping:  flour, baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter.   The filling was easy and one-half of the recipe fit exactly into the pan perfectly, the half-recipe topping was also a perfect fit, and it baked for 40 minutes.
      After it cooled on the rack, I sliced it, added a little scoop of ice cream, and was delighted with every bite.  And, from Mark, who loves pie maybe as much as he loves cookies:  "This is excellent.  This is the best blueberry pie I have ever had in my life."  Enough said, this is going to be my new Blueberry Pie recipe from now on.  Definitely a repeat.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Roman Almond & Pine Nut Tart

      The fourth recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 62nd recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Roman Almond & Pine Nut Tart, on pages 176-177.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      This is a really great tart...I was attracted to it because it had lemon in it, but I wasn't really sure what to expect with almond paste and pine nuts.  Turns out this is one very nice dessert. 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a 6" tart pan.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-third of the filling recipe for this 6" tart.  The ingredient list for the filling:  almond paste, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, lemon zest, and flour.  I used one-third of the topping recipe for this 6" tart.  The ingredient list for the topping:  pignoli (pine nuts) and confectioner's sugar.  Tart crusts are so easy to roll out with this dough, it fits together in just moments.  The filling was easy and 1/3 of the recipe fit exactly into the pan perfectly.  The little pine nuts go on the top, it baked for 22 minutes and after it cooled on the rack, I unmolded it and sprinkled on the powdered sugar.
      Okay, you are waiting to hear how it tasted, right?  This is my new favorite from this book.  It is sweet but not overly so, it has a lovely taste with the almonds, lemon, pine nuts, and little sprinkling of powdered sugar.  It's hard to describe other than to say it is absolutely delicious.  In the side bar Malgieri says that tarts like these are found in many pastry shops in southern Italy...lucky patrons indeed.  Definitely a repeat.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Sour Cream Apple Pie

      The third recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 61st recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Sour Cream Apple Pie, on page 183.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for a half size 7" pie plate.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-half of the filling recipe for this 7" pie.  The ingredient list for the filling:  apples, butter, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, sour cream.  I used one-half of the topping recipe for this 7" pie.  The ingredient list for the topping:  flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and butter. 

      The recipe calls for cooking the apples before assembling the filling, so that was a first for me to do it that way and when I finished, I just wanted to eat the apples and skip the pie part because they were so delicious (I had to sample one, right?)  I proceeded to add the apples to the custard filling, however, and bake it all in the pie shell.
      The guys really liked it a lot.  I liked the cooked apples a lot.  I wasn't as wild about the custard/apple filling as I am not all that fond of fruit in custard...too much going on at once.  Which doesn't mean you aren't going to love this, because you will...you are nowhere near as finicky about food touching other food as I am.  Nowhere near.  I would make this again for the guys as it was easy, called for simple procedures and ingredients, was not at all time-consuming, and I can always make a few addtional apples for me to snitch in the process.  Definitely worth it.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Lemony Cheese Tart with Sour Cream Glaze

      The second recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 60th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Lemony Cheese Tart with Sour Cream Glaze, on pages 172-173.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      I used one-third recipe of the Sweet Tart Dough for the 6" crust.  The ingredient list for the crust:  all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter, and eggs.  I used one-fourth of the filling recipe for this 6" tart.  The ingredient list for the filling:  cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, eggs, and sour cream.  Again, one-fourth of the topping recipe for this tart.  The ingredient list for the topping:  sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.
      It all went together quickly and easily with readily available inexpensive ingredients.  The end result was delicious, sort of like a lemon cheesecake.  The recommendation was to serve it at room temperature, and that was good, but I loved it best chilled from the refrigerator.  Definitely a repeat...we all loved it.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Sweet Tart Dough

      The first recipe I made from the Sweet Tarts & Pies section (the 59th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Sweet Tart Dough, on page 160.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).  We will be in this section of the book from now until the end of July as there are 20 recipes in this section, roughly one per week for these next four months.

      The ingredient list for the Sweet Tart Dough:  all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs.
      The process for this was the same as for the Rich Pie Dough from the previous section...you toss all the ingredients in the food processor, whirl it around until it just begins to act like it will clump together, stop pulsing, turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap (if you are going to refrigerate it) or roll it right away.
      I always put the dough in plastic wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for an hour before rolling it to firm it up a bit as it makes rolling a bit easier.  This dough handles and rolls just beautifully, no trouble with it at all. 

      From here I will depart on what to do with the full recipe if you want to use a 6" tart pan as this pan is a new acquisition of mine and I am loving the size, shape, and ease of using it for making the tarts.  Why?  For starters it takes only 1/3 of the dough recipe and 1/4 of the filling recipe.  If you wish to have a reasonable amount of tart and not a lot left over and hanging around, this is a good size.  Since I am making quite a few tarts, both savory and sweet, for these sections of the book, I figured we could use less in volume since we were making so many of them, both in expense, and in calories.
      For the full dough recipe, there is about 15 ounces of dough, which I split into thirds, 5 ounces each.  I wrap them separately and put into the refrigerator if I'm going to use them within two days or into the freezer if it will be longer than two days.  I store them in the freezer in a container/baggie labeled with what the dough is and the size so that I don't forget what is in there as I have several types of dough that I make and have on hand.
      The three dough packages were fitted into one six inch tart pan and two seven inch pie plates (these are half the size/volume of a regular 8-9 inch pie).
      At this point, I put two into the refrigerator to firm up and use right away and one into the freezer which I will take out when I start making the pie filling for it later in the week so that it will ready to go into the oven when I finish. 

      The dough is very nice to work with and the taste is also delicious.  It is a bit sweeter than my normal  MS "It's a Good Thing" pie dough, but nicely so.  I will probably go between this recipe and the MS one as we like them both.  (Maybe if I have a really sweet filling I would use the less sweet dough for instance, and vice versa.)  This Sweet Tart Dough recipe is definitely going into the regular line up here, it's a great dough.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Chicken Pie with Biscuit Topping

      The fourteenth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 58th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Chicken Pie with Biscuit Topping, on pages 152-153. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). This was the last recipe I made from this section, opting to skip the Shrimp & Toasted Pumpkinseed Tart as the photo in the book showed a green filling with shrimp and the guys were having none of it...actually I wasn't all that shot up about it either and after the fish pie fiasco, I decided to call it a day after I completed the chicken pie recipe so that I can move onto the sweet tarts and pie section coming up next.

      The ingredient list for the filling: chicken, onion, carrots, peas, cream, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, and bay leaf.

      The biscuit topping ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and buttermilk.

      The photo of this in the book looks so good that I knew we were going to enjoy it, all the ingredients being popular ones at our house. The biscuit topping was absolutely delicious, Mark commented on it several times.

      The filling is made and put into the proper size pan, I used and 8x8 baking dish as that was half of the recipe, Matt being on spring break, I figured half would be more than plenty and Mark could take the leftovers in his lunch tomorrow.

      The biscuit dough comes together quickly in the food processor, patted into a square and cut into 9 equal pieces, patted into circles and put on top of the filling ingredients.

      I followed everything in the recipe with three exceptions: I used half a recipe in and 8x8 baking dish, my biscuits were not done in the time allowed so I had to bake it about 10 extra minutes (ovens are all different on timing), and since the others in the group who made this found the sauce too watery, I reduced the liquid by a third again as much before adding in the cream. That seemed to work as the result was a little sauce in the bottom, but not too much.

      Oh, this was great, and we will definitely be making this again. If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Curried Fish Pie

      The thirteenth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 57th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Curried Fish Pie, on pages 146-147.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  fish, breadcrumbs, onion, milk, curry, turmeric, cloves, golden raisins, mango chutney, almonds, sugar, vegetable oil, salt and pepper, and eggs.  I used my little 6" tart pan again, which takes 1/3 of the full Rich Pie Dough recipe and I used 1/4 of the filling ingredients. 

      Let me just say straight out that I didn't like this at all.  That's not to say the recipe is bad, just that I figured going into it I wasn't going to like it just from the sound of the ingredients, and things did not improve.  At the beginning of the year I promised myself that I was not going to make anything for any of my groups that I didn't think we would really like.  Who knows what I was thinking on this one...probably that I should expand my tastes or something.  I'm thinking this was not the place to go with that idea. 

      I looked at Phyl's post and his looks so different (click here).  You can see the fish in his and in mine it just all dissolved in the filling and I couldn't really see it.  It baked for 30 minutes and it didn't seem done, so I let it go another 10 and still it did not seem done (too wet) and finally after another 10 minutes, it still looked too wet and I figured maybe it was just supposed to be that way and would firm up.  It didn't.

      I am pretty sure that I did something wrong, there was no photo of it in the book for me to compare.  I took one bite, knew that I was not going to eat another, gave the rest of my little slice to the dogs, who seemed to really like it, and packed it in the frig for Mark to try.  He refused without even looking at it.  I'm thinking that this was my error, not the recipe's as Phyl's looked much different.  I don't think anyone else in the group made it.  A repeat?  Hardly, we are not a fish pie family apparently. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Ligurian Savoy Cabbage Pie

      The twelfth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 56th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Ligurian Savoy Cabbage Pie, on pages 148-149.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  cabbage, onions, garlic, ricotta cheese, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt and pepper, and eggs. 

      I used my little 6" tart pan again, which takes 1/3 of the full Rich Pie Dough recipe and I used 1/4 of the filling ingredients which left me with just a little more than the pan could hold.

      The filling is easy to pull together, you need to steam the cabbage and then saute it with some onion and garic to reduce the water content and shrink it in size, so that takes about a half hour total. 

      It baked for 30 minutes and I let it cool for about five minutes before unmolding and slicing.  I have to say, I went into this recipe kicking and screaming and not really wanting to do it, but Mark likes cabbage and tart pastry and he thought it might be good, so in the end, I decided to make a small tart of it.  It's actually quite good.  The cheeses and cabbage and onions all work well together.  I wouldn't make it once a month or anything, but I think it would be a fine use of cabbage for St. Patrick's day like Phyl did with his, so I'm happy I took a chance and made it today.
      

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart

      The eleventh recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 55th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart, on pages 138-139.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  roasted red peppers, garlic, olive oil, goat cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, and eggs. 

      I used my little 6" tart pan again, which takes 1/3 of the full Rich Pie Dough recipe and I used 1/4 of the filling ingredients which fit absolutely perfectly.  The filling is easy to pull together, Mark had roasted a red pepper for me on the grill last night as he was grilling dinner, so I had that part all done before I started on the tart today. 

      It baked for 30 minutes and I let it cool for about five minutes before unmolding and slicing.  This is so good!  Light, flaky, full of flavor from the roasted peppers, garlic, and goat cheese.  Good thing I made a small version or I would have eaten way too much of this.  Definitely a repeat.
   

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Corn Pudding Tart

      The tenth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 54th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Corn Pudding Tart, on pages 134-135.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  fresh sweet corn, butter, scallions, chives, hot chile pepper, cream, salt and pepper, and eggs. 

      Oh, I am just loving my little 6" tart pan, things go together so quickly and then I have this cute little tart in no time at all.  (Obviously it does not take much to thrill me these days.) 

      Grating the corn off the cob didn't take long, the rest is just cutting up things and mixing things and throwing them all in a bowl to mix up and pour into the tart shell.  It bakes for 30 minutes, cools a few to unmold the tart and slice it.
      It tasted wonderful, very light and creamy and the crust was flaky...melt in your mouth goodness.  If you would like additional heat you could add more hot chile pepper or red pepper flakes (suggested in the book) as it has a little kick, but not much.  I made it for dinner to serve with a grilled steak and a salad.  We had leftovers as Matt is on spring break in Boston so we are gathering bits of tarts left for lunches next week.  Not a bad deal at all.  Definitely a repeat.    

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Zuccchini & Ricotta Pie

      The ninth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 53rd recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Zucchini & Ricotta Pie, on page 150.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  zucchini, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh marjoram (or oregano or parsley), eggs, ricotta cheese, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

      The only real time consuming thing about this recipe is that you need to grate the zucchini, salt it, and let it drain for a couple of hours before you start making the rest of the filling.  The zucchini and onion also need to cook a bit on the stovetop, so that's another 20-30 minutes.  After those two steps are done, it is just a matter of combining ingredients and filling the tart shell, rolling a top crust, and baking for 30 minutes. 

      I used the 6" tart pan for this and for that you need about 1/4 of the whole recipe for the filling as that is what I made and it seemed to work well.  The result is absolutely delicious!
      I made it for lunch with a salad and Mark was happy with it.  I really liked it and was surprised at how light the filling is as for some reason, I thought it would be heavy, it's not.  The crust is nice and flaky, melts in your mouth.  Definitely a repeat.    

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Gruyere, Scallion, & Walnut Tart

     The eighth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 52nd recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Gruyere, Scallion, & Walnut Tart, on page 141.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  Gruyere cheese, scallions, walnuts, unsalted butter, milk, cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. 

      The dough rolls nicely and quickly, the filling ingredients are assembled into the tart crust, and it bakes in only 30 minutes, so it is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner as it all comes together quickly, especially if you have your tart pan and crust ready and waiting in the refrigerator.
      I was a little skeptical about the nuts in this, but they work wonderfully well and do not loose their crunchy texture, even after a couple of days in the frig and being warmed up in the microwave at school for lunch.  I made a full-size (11") tart and we had leftovers which Mark and I both took to work for lunches.  He said it warmed up very nicely in the microwave and was not soggy, etc. and I found that as well.  Definitely a repeat, the combination of flavors is wonderful.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here. 

Modern Baker: Tomato & Cantal Tart

      The seventh recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 51st recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Tomato & Cantal Tart, on pages 142-143.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      I used the Rich Pie Dough recipe for the tart crust.  The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs. 

      The ingredient list for the filling:  tomatoes, Cantal cheese (sort of like a Gruyere cheese in taste), Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, olive oil, and fresh basil leaves. 

      The dough rolls nicely and quickly, the filling ingredients are just layered into the tart crust, and it bakes in only 25 minutes, so it is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.  It tastes a lot like a tomato cheese pizza.  Definitely a hit around here, definitely making this again.
      I made a full-size (11") tart and we had leftovers which Mark took to work in his lunches.  He said it warmed up very nicely in the microwave and was not soggy, etc.  He also said he would be happy to have that for lunches again sometime...this from a guy who does not normally like leftovers all that much.  High praise indeed.  

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: For Savory Pies & Tarts: Rich Pie Dough, Olive-Oil Dough, and No-Roll Flaky Dough

      The fourth recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section (the 48th recipe overall in this book) of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Rich Pie Dough, on page 128.  The fifth recipe I made from the book (the 49th recipe overall) was for the Olive-Oil Dough on page 132, and the sixth recipe I made from the book (the 50th recipe overall) was No-Roll Flaky Dough on page 133. 

      These are the three dough recipes that NM includes in the book for savory pies and tarts.  I tried all three of them, but my official assignment was to post about the Rich Pie Dough, so I photographed that one. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).

      The ingredient list for the Olive-Oil Dough crust dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, olive oil, and water.  This was my first experience with an olive oil dough for the crust and while it was easy to make, easy to work with, and easy to roll out, I did not care for the taste of it at all.  It seemed heavy and oily and not at all tasty.  That said, Mark liked it just fine.  I'm probably not going to make this one again as I liked the other two doughs better and it wasn't something that Mark really cared one way or the other about. 

      The ingredient list for the No-Roll Flaky Dough:   all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, unsalted butter, and cold water.  This dough tasted nicely and the main difference (besides the eggs in the Rich Pie Dough) is that the dough is just dumped into the tart pan and form-fitted to the pan without rolling it like a regular pie crust.  While the taste is fine and it was fairly easy (and great if you don't have eggs the day you need a crust), I still prefer to roll my pie/tart crusts and fit them into the pan that way.  The Rich Pie Dough crust performs so beautifully under the rolling pin that I'm not all that keen about dealing with trying to smush the dough into the pan in an even and attractive manner for the no-roll method, which takes me much longer than just rolling out the dough, so probably not making this one again either, but it did come out nicely in performance and tasted very good as well. 

      The ingredient list for the Rich Pie Dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs.  All the crusts are made in the food processor, which I find quick and easy and who doesn't love to push that button and see it all come together in the space of a less than a minute?
      After it begins to come together in an almost-ball shape, the work is done, the dough is turned out onto a piece of plastic wrap.
       The wrap is pulled over it, shaped into a disk gently, and popped into the refrigerator for an hour.
       When the dough has chilled a bit, making it a little easier to handle and roll, it comes out of the refrigerator and is rolled to fit the size of the tart pan.
      After fitting it into the pan and trimming off the top to make it even and pretty, I filled the tart and baked it as directed for the recipes.
      The tart pan shown here is my new 6" size that I just got this week.  I have 11", 9", and 4.5" pans but I wanted this 6" size because that is the size that the guys will eat in one sitting as a side dish (they aren't too fond of just having a tart for dinner and nothing else so I use it as an addition to dinner rather than the main meal...they are also not fond of eating the leftovers in savory tarts that my larger pans make) and the littler pans have too much of a crust-filling ratio.  Anyway, the little 6" tart pan is lovely to work with. 

      One recipe of the Rich Pie Dough makes three of the 6" tart size doughs.  The total dough weight is just short of 15 ounces, so dividing that into thirds leaves you with just short of 5 ounces of dough for each crust.  I measured it on my scale, then wrapped each ball separately so I could just pull out the proper amount of dough for that pan.  I used one of the doughs and froze the others, marking the plastic for ease of reference as I have various doughs sitting and waiting for various things for various pan sizes.  It actually looks like I know what I am doing if you see them all sitting in the freezer ready to go. 

      All three of these doughs are extremely easy to work with and user-friendly even to the novice.  Our favorite for the tarts is the Rich Pie Dough.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Pizza Chiena: Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie

      The third recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pizza Chiena:  Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie, on page 151.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).    

      The ingredient list for the crust dough:  all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, olive oil, and water.   The filling ingredients:  ricotta, eggs, pepper, Pecorino Romano, parsley, prosciutto, Italian basket cheese, soppressata, fresh mozzarella, and capicola. 

      I made a half recipe as this thing is huge and weighs a lot.  I figured a little would go a long way when serving and I was right.  This was my first experience with an olive oil dough for the crust and while it was easy to make, easy to work with, and easy to roll out, I did not care for it at all.  It seemed heavy and oily and not at all tasty.  That said, Mark liked it just fine. 

      The filling was fun to make, layers of meat and cheese topped off with the top crust of dough.  It got a nice egg wash and went into the oven for an hour.  After an hour it was nicely browned.  We let it cool for a bit as the cheese was hot and loose, after about ten minutes it was cooled sufficiently to cut into slices/pieces without everything oozing out too much.
      Mark loved it.  He loves Italian cured sausages and things of that nature and also loves cheese, so the combination for him was a winner.  I am not fan of sausages so I only had a 50/50 shot at best at really enjoying this.  The cheese parts were good, the sausage and crust parts were not to my liking...not because of the recipe, but because of personal food preferences.  Would I make this again?  I would make it if Mark requested me to do so, otherwise, I think not, again, personal preference so don't let that deter you at all as it was fun to make.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Ham & Egg Tart

      The second recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Ham & Egg Tart, on page 136, using the Rich Pie Dough recipe on page 128 for the tart crust.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).    

      The ingredient list for the crust dough:  all-purpose flour, butter, baking powder, and eggs.  

      The filling ingredients:  milk, cream, ham, eggs, cheddar cheese, nutmeg, salt & pepper. 
      Again, this crust is just excellent for these tarts, very flaky and tasty.  The ham and cheese are spread across the bottom of the unbaked tart crust shell and the rest of the filling ingredients are mixed, poured into the tart shell, baked, and cooled for five minutes before removing from the tart pan.
      We ate it hot from the oven and loved it.  Mark said it was his "new favorite quiche-type thing," declaring it "excellent."  Will it be a repeat? Yes, it was great, another winner from this wonderful book. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Swiss Onion & Cheese Tart

      The first recipe I made from the Savory Tarts & Pies section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Swiss Onion & Cheese Tart, on page 140, using the Rich Pie Dough recipe on page 128 for the tart crust.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      After finishing up the last section, we are now moving into this next section of the book, Savory Tarts & Pies for the next three months.  There are 15 recipes in this section, so that averages about 5 a month if you want to make them all (except if you are me, tend to put things off, and have to do 5 in the last week as has been the case so far, I think).  

      The ingredient list for the crust dough:  all-purpose flour, butter, baking powder, and eggs.   The filling ingredients:  milk, cream, flour, eggs, butter, onions, cheese (I used smoked Swiss cheese as I had that on hand), bacon (I used a smoked one to go with the smoked cheese), nutmeg, salt & pepper. 

      I like to make pie dough crust in the food processor, and this recipe calls for that. It was fast, makes a lovely dough that is easy to roll, and the end product is very tasty. 

      The filling ingredients are mixed, poured into the tart shell, baked, and cooled for five minutes before removing from the tart pan.  I baked it for the time specified and that ended up being exactly how we like quiche-type things, when the eggs are cooked, but still soft and not set so hard that they are rubbery.
      We ate it nice and warm and I loved it...anything with onions is always appreciated.  The guys?  Well, they ate it, said it was good, and then promptly said afterward, "This isn't a repeat for us as we don't really like that many onions all that much."  Noted.  Will it be a repeat?  Oh, yeah, in mini form, for me as I thought it was great! 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Pecan Stickiest Buns

      The fourteenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Pecan Stickiest Buns, on page 108.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and eggs.   The filling ingredients:  butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans.  The sticky bun mixture:  butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and pecans. 

      The dough comes together easily in the stand mixer, gets a short rise, mixed again, another 1-2 hour rise and then rolled into a rectangle.   The filling is spread all over the top of the rectangle and then the chopped pecans are spread over the top. 

      The dough is rolled and cut into, in my case with a half recipe for an 8x8 pan, eight pieces.  The sticky bun mixture is put into the pan, the rolls placed in the pan cut side up, and the whole thing rises for another hour or so. 

      After baking in the oven for a half hour, cooling in the pan for five minutes, the whole thing is inverted onto a plate (I really need to get an appropriately sized plate to turn it all out properly) to finish cooling.
      Or, in our case, get a bun right away while it is still hot and start pulling it apart and eating it warm and toasty, melty and delicious.  Oh yes, these are a repeat...so very tasty. 

      This concludes this section of the book.  I made 14 of the 15 recipes (the 15th would have been Panettone but I decided not to make that at this time as we already had a Panettone for Christmas, so if I remember to put it in at Easter time, I will make it then).  I have enjoyed this section very much and learned quite a few new techniques while making some things I have never had the chance to make before...all in all, a very satisfactory experience.  We ate a lot of great breads from this section's recipes. 

      After the first of the year, we move to the next section of the book for the next three months: 15 recipes for Savory Tarts & Pies.  You are always welcome to join in the fun and learn new things with us, we'd love to bake with you.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf

      The thirteenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf, on pages 97-98.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, rum, and eggs.  The chocolate portion of the dough (1/3 of total) also gets all of this added to it:  water, baking soda, cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate, and flour. 

      The recipe calls for this dough to be made in the food processor.  I know it sounds easier that way, but I am here to tell you, I do not like making bread dough in the food processor, it's a real mess to clean up because the dough gums up the center post, both inside and outside of the blade post hole, etc.  I also really like having my hands on the dough...it's fun to feel the dough come together and very relaxing to knead the dough with hands on.  From now on, I'm ignoring the food processor instruction and making it by hand. 

      The dough comes together easily with a couple of short rises.  It is divided into thirds, the chocolate part being sandwiched between the non-chocolate parts and then cut into small chunks which are put into a bowl and turned about a bit before making a rectangle to fit into the bread pan for a 1-2 hour rise.  It rises beautifully, but mine stayed rather flat on the top.  After about a half hour in the oven, you have one very pretty loaf of bread.
      When the bread is sliced, the gorgeous swirl of contrasting colors make a wonderful work of art...yes, a work of art!  My taster loved the flavors in the bread, thought it was just great alone or with a bit of raspberry jam. 

      Would I make this one again?  Maybe...it's sort of a specialty bread with the chocolate and rum and all, so I can see where there would be such an occasion to serve a special treat like this.  It was, despite the frustration with the food processor, fun to make, and come on, who doesn't love a swirl inside the bread making all sorts of creative designs?  It's always exciting to start slicing a bread like this and see what you get on the inside!

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: One-Step Croissants

      The twelfth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for One-Step Croissants, on pages 109-111.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs.  Most of the croissant recipes that I have seen are long, complicated, multi-day, multi-stepped ones that leave me thinking, "Maybe someday when I have more time and patience."  This was not the case with this recipe. 

      It went together easily, the dough felt great, it stayed in the frig (1-8 hours) only, and it rolled and handled like a dream.  The taste was good, not fantastically unbelievably crazy wonderful, but nice and tasty.  I made half a recipe so that I could see if this actually works (it does).
       I wanted to make minis so that I could fill them with chicken salad for lunches, so for all that it was great. 

      They did not rise as much as I had hoped, but that could have been my yeast as I was at the bottom of the jar, so maybe I needed to open a new jar for this. I want to try the recipe again for this reason as I feel that I might do better, although these were pretty nice as they were.  The inside was flaky, and for some reason, I did not get a photo of that, sorry.  Definitely a repeat, for chicken salad sandwiches and for just eating with butter and jam for breakfast, etc.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring

      The eleventh recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring, on page 99.  I didn't have any raisins, it was a snowy day, so I opted to stay in and just skip the raisins in the recipe this time.   (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs.  The ingredient list for the filling:  butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins (which I left out this time), and pecans. 

      Basically you make a brioche dough with this, then roll it out like you would for cinnamon rolls, spread on the filling, raisins (if using), and nuts.  After you spread all that around, you roll it up and once it is in a coil, you circle it around and join the ends.  At this point you scissor snip 11 cuts and fan them out a bit, let rise, and then bake.  Wow does this smell wonderful when it is baking!
      The book recommends dusting with powdered sugar, which sounded nice, but I knew the guys would be wanting frosting on it, like a cinnamon roll, so I did that instead.  I was right, they did, and it was delicious.  Definitely a repeat. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Bakery Crumb Buns

      The tenth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Bakery Crumb Buns, on page 105. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and eggs.  The ingredient list for the topping:  almond paste, egg white, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and flour (optional confectioners sugar for dusting on the top if you like, but I didn't as there was already enough stuff all over the top with the crumb topping). 

      I made half of a recipe, which gave me 6 crumb buns.  We are sort of sweeted-out around here right now with all the holiday baking, food, etc., so six was plenty.
      I had never heard of crumb buns, but they are like a sweet roll with a crumb topping.  Apparently they are big on the east coast. 

      I can say that I probably won't make these again, not because they didn't taste good, because they did, but because they are really messy.  Crumbs everywhere.  The guys have a habit of grabbing anything in snack size and eating it on the run...even getting out the door with these things left a trail of crumbs.  Good, but messy. 

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Quick Brioche Braid

      The ninth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Quick Brioche Braid, on page 95. I know what you are all thinking...and the answer is "No, I haven't learned how to braid properly," so the photo is the best it gets right now...sort of looks like a dead body all trussed up for burial at sea, doesn't it?  Oh, never you mind, because looks aren't everything, it was absolutely delicious!  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs, all stuff you have hanging around the house on a daily basis, so no special trips anywhere to get anything fancy. 

      Margaret and I were twittering this morning figuring out what to make for the Modern Baker group as we both have several (i.e. 6 more for me) yet to make before we exit this section at the end of the month and move on to the next section.  We decided to make this one on a whim and before long we were tossing together flour and yeast and what all into the food processor.  This was quick, just like the title promises. 

      The dough was made in the food processor and had a couple of short sits, was formed into the braid, left to rise between 1-2 hours, and baked for 32 minutes in my oven, and coincidentally in Margaret's as well.  The egg wash on the top gives it a nice deep golden color and shine.
      Taste?  Oh yeah...that's the best part, this is absolutely hands down my favorite brioche recipe of all that I have made (which I think is six different recipes at the moment, this one the seventh).  This is so soft and buttery, it just melts in your mouth.  Yep, easy to make, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and definitely a repeat.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.

Modern Baker: Chocolate Babka Loaf (Bundt)

      The eighth recipe I made from the Yeast-Risen Breads section of The Modern Baker  by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Chocolate Babka Loaf, on pages 100-101.  (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us). 

      The ingredient list for the dough:  all-purpose flour, yeast, milk, salt, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.  The ingredient list for the chocolate filling:  chocolate, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and pecans. 

      The dough comes together very quickly in the mixer.  It is rather a wet, sticky dough, and very soft, so that was fun, not to mention the aroma of all of those ingredients whirling about together. 

      The dough then sits in the refrigerator for 90 minutes, after which time it comes out and is rolled into a rectangle, sprinkled with the chocolate nut filling, rolled like you would roll for making cinnamon rolls, placed into the pan.  You can either put it into loaf pans or a bundt pan.  I figured I would put it in a bundt pan for something different and to encourage eating of such by "on the go" guys who will grab a slice of anything that is made to be eaten on the run to swim practice or work...try as I might, that is just how it goes here in the mornings.  It looks very pretty in a bundt, don't you think?
      I made half a recipe, so this would be a much larger bundt if using the whole recipe amount.  The taste was apparently worthy of praise, you will need to take my taste tester's word for that on all things chocolate, she dropped by to return a book, just in time for a sample.  Fun and easy to make, and definitely a repeat for a special treat.

      If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting the Breads, with the blogroll here.