Martha's Madelines ....

I've wanted to try these delicate little beauties for a long time, and now that I've accomplished the feat, I will be making them many more times in all differemt flavors!

After researching literally dozens of recipes and reading all the reviews I decided on using Martha's! Get the recipe for Martha's Madelines HERE!






In reading comments from various bakers I was surprised that quite a few said the madelines have a tendency to be a dry cookie perfect for "dunking". This recipe turned out very moist and not dry in any sense of the word. (Which I was extrememly grateful)

The madelines were the "mini" variety. That way I didn't feel so guilty when I popped four of them right in a row!!! I picked up this cute little madeline pan at a restaurant supply store...



As anyone who has made these cookies before know one of the "musts" is to keep your pan buttered and floured in between each batch. I was amazed how easily they popped out of the pan. I used a 3/8 oz scoop or size 100 disher depending on what you call the untensil! It was the perfect amount for the mini pan... you do not want to overfill the well of the pan. Showing my lack of experience in making these I first thought I needed to spread the dough to fit the shape. Thankfully I only did that to the first three scoops I put in the pan. All you need to do is place the scoop of batter in the middle of the well and gravity takes over while it bakes.



The recipe calls for lemon zest which I used, however the next time I am going to use some citrus oils I purchased about a month ago to bring different flavors to the cookie...




All in all I was very pleased with the outcome and to quote Marsha from Marsha's Kitchen it was a "THUMBS UP"



Other flavors that I want to try are a cinnamon, chocolate and even a pina colada that I found on the Food Network site!! This little pan has unleased a monster....

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - Lemon Berry Cake

I'm way overdue in participating in Flashback Friday with Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet, my apologies dear friend! Make sure you check out Suzy's blog and link to other "Flashbacks"!




My flashback was a creation by Debbie at Mountain Breaths, Lemon Berry Cake with Mascarpone Filling. Debbie recreated this cake after she enjoyed it at a restaurant,it does taste delicious and is a nice change from the old stand-by cakes we make in a pinch. I used raspberries and blueberries in my version. Thanks Debbie for sharing this wonderful recipe!!

Lemon Berry Cake with Mascarpone Filling
by Debbie

Two Layer Cake:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 pound (1 stick) salted butter
1/4 cup finely minced lemon zest
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8" round baking pans and set aside. Prepare crumb topping and set aside.

Cake instructions:
Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda, and set aside.

With a mixer, cream butter and lemon zest until the butter is soft. Add the sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as needed. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in three batches alternately with the sour cream in two batches, beating only until incorporated after each addition. Scrape batter into buttered pans and smooth the top. Sprinkle each cake batter with crumb topping and mixed berries (I used a mixture of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries). Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and dry. Baking time may vary with different ovens and types of pans.

Once cake has cooled, remove from pans. (Once cool, I wrapped each layer individually in foil and kept refrigerated until I was ready to use)

Prepare the mascarpone cream filling:
12-ounces mascarpone cheese, cold
1/4 cup light cream (half & half)
4 tbsp powdered sugar, or to taste

Beat all ingredients together with a whisk until soft peaks form. If you want to make the filling sweeter, then add a bit more sugar. You might have to add a little more cream to keep the filling from getting too stiff.
.
For the crumb topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
8 Tbs. (1 stick) of butter, melted

Mix together until it looks like little peas.

Debbie's notes:

I used a bag of frozen mixed berries. It gives it a great flavor to
include all four berries.

This dessert is served cold, and keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Optional: You can drizzle some raspberry sauce on the plate, or sprinkle with confectioners sugar

Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie

My sons' GF, Audrey, made this a few weeks ago and it was just delicious. I have to admit, hers did taste better than mine. I may have overcooked the filling by a few minutes and I defintely overfilled the pie plate! But...it still tasted great! I made the Bourbon Whipped Cream (all I had in the house was Crown Royal, so I used that)..it makes a delicious contrast to the sweet and decadent pecan pie!





Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie
Recipe from Cooks Country
(Serves 8-10)

1 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Cup packed light brown sugar
½ Cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Molasses
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
(cut into ½ in. pieces)
½ teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 ½ Cups pecans, toasted and chopped
1 – 9-inch unbaked pie shell,
chilled in pie plate for 30 minutes

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat syrup, sugar, cream and molasses in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about three minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Whisk butter and salt into syrup mixture until combined. Whisk in egg yolks until incorporated.

Scatter pecans in pie shell. Carefully pour filling over. Place pie in hot oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until filling is set and centr jiggles slightly when pie is gently shaken, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool pie on rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate until set, about three hours and up to one day. Bring to room temperature before serving.


Bourbon Whipped Cream
(Makes about 2 Cups)

Note: Although any style of whiskey will work, bourbon is more “Southern”!

1 Cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons bourbon
1 ½ Tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream, bourbon, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. (Whipped cream can be refrigerated for four hours)

MAID-RITE UPDATE: I tried the other recipe for Maid-rites with the cider vinegar, I didn't like it at all..but my oldest son did like it, go figure! I will make the original one again since I loved the texture and flavor.