boozy desserts? the best of both worlds.

Earlier this week, my roommate and I made the arduous, block-long journey to join our friend at her apartment for an evening of food, wine, and some much-needed catching up.  Seeing as our friend was cooking us dinner, I thought the least I could do was provide something sweet. And, since we’d be eating Italian, I thought I’d try my hand at tiramisu (and, perhaps, give a nod to my east coast roots?).

I’ve never made tiramisu, and when I tried to find a recipe online, I was overwhelmed with options. In the end, I went with David Lebovitz‘s recipe — I loved the idea of making individual servings. Plus, everything he makes (and photographs) looks just so damn good! I made a few substitutions, chief of which was the omission of eggs. I was a bit nervous about using raw eggs (especially since the eggs I had on hand were just your average grocery store carton). I’d feel pretty bad about getting my friends sick, plus, I probably wouldn’t get an invitation back, which would be unfortunate. So, in order to lighten up the mascarpone, I beat in a healthy dollop of whipped cream (a suggestion Lebovitz makes in the comments section below his recipe). Next time around, I’d like to try my hand at making it with the eggs — I imagine the flavor might be much richer? At any rate, the whipped cream worked (and tasted) just fine. Lebovitz also uses both rum (dark) and cognac; I only had spiced rum at my disposal. So again, next time, more booze.

I served my tiramisu in 6oz ramekins — this recipe made about 3 generous servings, which could’ve easily been stretched into 4 servings.

girls night tiramisu
(adapted from David Lebovitz. also, pairs well with two bottles of red wine)

ingredients:

1 cup of strong black coffee or espresso, cooled
3 or 4 tablespoons of rum (less/more to taste)
8 oz mascarpone cheese
about 6ish oz whipped cream
about 6ish ladyfingers
1 bar of dark chocolate

In a bowl large enough for dipping, combine rum and coffee. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add 8 oz of mascarpone. Gently fold in enough whipped cream to lighten the mascarpone (I used a bit less than half of a 15 oz tub).

Break a ladyfinger in half and dip into the boozy coffee long enough that the coffee soaks through (but the biscuit does not smoosh apart).

[Now, about those ladyfingers. When I looked online for a recipe, this step seemed to be the trickiest--not to mention that everybody seems to have a different opinion about the best way to soak the ladyfingers. The basic idea is that you want your biscuit wet enough that the rum/coffee flavor is well introduced into the dessert, but not too wet that you have mushy clumps. Most recipes said to dip the ladyfingers for about 5-10 seconds. The ladyfingers I purchased were dried, and seemed to need a bit longer. Breaking them in half really helped getting them soaked through.]

Put a dollop of the mascarpone mixture into the ramekin. Next, layer with the coffee-soaked ladyfinger halves. Top with a generous amount of shaved chocolate. Repeat layers as space allows, then cover and refrigerate. The longer the dessert has to chill, the better the flavors come together. I made my dessert in the morning, so by 8ish that evening, it was good to go.

Since I had half a tub of whipped cream and a bunch of ladyfingers leftover (and since somebody special had just finished his Sanskrit midterm), I thought I’d make another dish of tiramisu the next day. Although this one was even less authentic–no mascarpone at all–it still tasted pretty good and was super quick and easy to pull together. I added a little splash of vanilla extract to the whipped cream just to make it a bit more nuanced. Otherwise, the recipe and method was exactly the same (except I made just one large serving, putting it in a 1 cup pyrex bowl).

Moral of the story? This dessert is pretty damn versatile and can be easily adapted. Also, I think it’s time we planned another dinner, ladies.

 

 

busy busy busy!

Hard to believe that it’s been over a month since my last post, but, in my defense, the past few weeks have been busy with exciting milestones and delightful visits from friends and family. October brought with it my fifth marathon, a weekend with my parents, another weekend with one of my oldest and dearest friends, and a boatload of quality time spent in the company of my main squeeze. And, since my folks were so generous as to drive out my last remaining essential possessions (my beautiful bookshelf and a ton of kitchen stuff–pots and pans and my 24 PIECE PYREX SET!), I’ve been happily putting my newly re-acquired baking tools to use.

Although there are, I’m sure, a few odds and ends still left at my parents’ house, this last carload marks something pretty exciting–I’m good and settled. And entertaining out of town visitors is a pretty sweet way to reinforce this realization. I’m so glad to be able to share a small part of my life out here (and the important places and people in it) with my loved ones from back home.

I was chatting with a friend the other day, and, after catching up on the aforementioned recent events, he asked me what else I’ve been doing that has nourished me lately. His choice of words really stuck with me–as did the reflection that even small and simple actions carry weight. Pretty timely conversation because, guess what? This little project of mine is now a year old! While this blog is certainly nothing fancy (and at times quiet), it has been something meaningful for me. I’m in a bit of a challenging stretch these days, and having an outlet has really meant the world to me. I created apron-clad because one day last fall, after a summer abroad, I baked a loaf of bread for the first time in MONTHS. And holy hell did it feel good–the warm dough in my hands, the comforting smell sneaking out of our oven, the satisfaction of creating something. This blog has always been a reminder of that moment, and I’m grateful to those of you who have read my entries, posted comments, or even shared a link to my blog with others (thanks, Mom!).

The following recipe comes courtesy of the boyfriend (or, more accurately I suppose, his mom)–I’ve had it for some time now, and was really stoked to be able to try it out (and break in one of my pyrex pans). I had to make a few changes, mostly due to what I had (or didn’t have) handy in my kitchen. Chief of these substitutions was the flour; the recipe calls for spelt, but all I had was good old all-purpose. Pecans were also used in lieu of walnuts.

This is a great recipe because (1) you only need to use one bowl and (2a) it is basically thin bars of banana bread covered with chocolate chips, which means that (2b) I feel somewhat less guilty eating it for/with breakfast. Hell yeah. Also, like the recipe says, it’s totally better the longer it sits after baking–days two and three were awesome.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Squares
From: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains, Countryman Press, Woodstock, Vermont, 2006

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups packed light or dark brown sugar
3 very ripe medium bananas (about 8 ounces, peeled; about 1 cup, mashed)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1 ¾ cup whole spelt flour
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9 X 13 inch pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl till smooth.  Beat in the bananas, lemon juice, vanilla, baking powder, salt and spices, scraping the bowl.  Add the egg, beating until smooth and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl again.  Sir in the flour, mixing thoroughly.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes; it’ll thicken a bit as it stands.  Sprinkle the chips and nuts on top.

Bake the squares until the center is moist but not liquid, 35-40 minutes.  Remove them from the oven and let cool on a rack.  For best texture, allow them to rest overnight, covered, before cutting and serving.

 

Normally, I’d post a picture of the baked good in question, but the only photo I managed to take before gobbling up the last square is kinda sub-par. Instead, I leave you with this:

 

They look goofy, but we had fun. Happy (almost) Halloween!

 

baking as consolation: peach crisp

When I realized my sourdough starter was a flop I decided to console myself by baking something sweet. I had a few peaches left from last weekend’s trip to Green City Market and thought I’d throw together a crisp. Nothing says summer quite like baking with fresh fruit, and this dessert did not disappoint. It’s a super easy and versatile recipe too, making it a perfect choice for a quick treat at the end of the day. It is also a flavor combination I find really comforting.

Okay, so maybe this doesn’t really photograph that well. But trust me, it was tasty!

summer on my plate fruit crisp

Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash/core/pit/peel/wedge whatever fruit you’ll be using. I used 2 medium-sized peaches. Put fruit in a baking tin (I used a loaf pan because that’s all I had) and sprinkle with white sugar. I wanted my crisp to be a bit tart so I only used a little bit of sugar — also, my peaches were pretty ripe and sweet enough already.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and a healthy dash or two of cinnamon. Nutmeg and/or allspice would also be nice additions, if you have them on hand (I did not). I also added a handful of chopped pecans. After blending the dry ingredients, stir in 1/2 stick of melted butter — the mix with come together slightly and get a little crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over your fruit and bake uncovered for 35ish minutes (or until the top is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbly).

I had a ton of extra topping left, which I stored in the fridge. It made a delicious crumb crust for the banana bread I made a few days later.

such a cheat

I have a confession.

It was not too long after dinner the other night, and the craving for sweets hit. This is nothing new. In fact, now that I’m back in training again for another marathon, my sweet tooth seems to be even stronger.

I wanted something warm, freshly baked, and full of chocolate. And so, with these important requirements in mind, I walked down to my local Walgreens and bought…cookie mix in a bag. That, and an egg and a stick of butter later, and Allison was happily snacking on just out the oven chocolate chip cookies.

Yes, this is shameful. But I have a good excuse. Really!

It wasn’t that I was too lazy to whip up cookies from scratch. I’m a big fan of late night, spur of the moment baking projects. I would’ve gladly busted out the mixing bowls and measuring cups.

The truth is that I am regretfully low on baking ingredients…because I just moved! And in addition to still working on making our new apartment a home, I am in dire need of a solid grocery run. But I am super eager to get baking–my new kitchen is big and beautiful, and has lots of work space! So pumped.

Now, as for the amount of cookies I ate that night…yeah, no excuses there.

no-bake kind of mood

I’ve been in such a rut lately.

And the worst part is I don’t even feel like baking.

But the season is about to soon change, people I love are coming into town to visit, and new opportunities are just ahead. So long, crummy rut.

These cookies are perfect for when you’re craving something sweet but just don’t have it in you to labor over an involved recipe. My mom used to make these all the time when my brother and I were little, and making them right now made me feel like I was back at home. There’s nothing fancy about these cookies, but they are a comfort.

And, like my roommate pointed out, you can eat them for breakfast (and claim that you had “oatmeal”).

No-bake chocolate oat cookies A.K.A. “Crumby Ruts” (thanks, cp!)

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or regular, it’s up to you)
3-3 1/2 cups dry quick oats
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa in a good-sized pot. Bring to a boil and keep it there for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and quick oats. Spoon out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate until set and ENJOY!

PS:

I was chatting with my dad just now and came to find out that my mom happened to make these same cookies just this weekend! I AM MY MOTHER! HA!

Also, I found this video, which is fantastic: