Meyer Lemon Crêpe Cake

This recipe is from Martha Stewart magazine. I have yet to make it but they say it is easier than you might think. Looking at the steps, I might have to carve out a free weekend just to try it out and I'll let you know how it goes. I'm no Martha!

3/4 C. All Purpose Flour
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/4 Whole Milk at room temperature
3 Lg. eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
6 Tb. Butter, cold & unsalted, melted
Meyer Lemon Curd, recipe below
Whipped Cream, as desired
Candied Meyer Lemons, recipe below

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Gradually pour milk mixture into flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container, discarding any lumps. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Lightly coat a 6" crêpe pan or non-stick skillet with butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour 2 Tb. of batter into center of pan. Swirl to cover bottom of pan. Reduce heat to med-low and return pan to heat. Cook until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.

Slide crêpe onto and overturned plate. Repeat with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed. Stack crêpes and let cool.

To make the cake, place 1 crêpe on a flat serving dish and spread about 1/4 cup of lemon curd mousse onto crêpe. Top with another crêpe and continue layering. Use 15 crêpes total ending with a crêpe on top. Refrigerate for one hour.

Top crêpe cake with whipped cream and candied lemons.

Take pictures and let me know how it went!

Meyer Lemon Curd Mousse

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1 Tb. cold water
4 Large Eggs
6 Large Egg Yolks
1 C. Sugar
1 Tb. plus 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (preferably from Meyer lemons)
3/4 C. Meyer lemon juice
6 Tb. Butter, cold & unsalted, cut into small pieces, room temperature
1 C. Heavy Whipped Cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over water and let stand for 5 minutes until softened. Whisk together eggs and yolks in a heavy small saucepan. Whisk in sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cook, whisking constantly, over med-low heat for 8-10 minutes. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture until combined. Add butter in small amounts until smooth.

Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl pressing with a rubber spatula to remove any large curds. Discard any bits of gelatin or egg. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the mousse and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator and fold in the whipped cream. Refrigerate for 1 hour and stir before using. Mouse can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Candied Meyer Lemons

1 C. Sugar
1 C. Water, filtered
2 Meyer Lemons, unpeeled & sliced 1/4" thick

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemons and cover surface with parchment. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer gently until rinds are translucent, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let lemons cool in syrup.

Use a slotted spoon and remove lemons to a wire rack with a rimmed cookie sheet placed underneath. Let stand to remove excess syrup.

Use for lemon crépe cake or over ice cream or yogurt.

Wheat Berry Salad with Black Beans & Edamame

4 C. Water, filtered
1/2 C. Dry Wheat Berries
1/2 Can Black Beans (about 7-8 oz.)
1 C. Edamame, shelled and thawed
1 C. Tomato, chopped
1/2 C. Red Onion, diced (you can slightly blanche or sauté to soften)
3 Tb. EVOO
2 Tb. Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine water and wheat berries in a saute pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 55 min. or until berries are tender. Remove from heat and drain through a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water and place in a large mixing bowl. Toss the remaining ingredients with the berries and drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar.

Serve chilled as a side or a light entrée.

Recipe and photo from http://www.pompeian.com/recipeDetails.asp?id=198

Spinach Fennel Orange Salad

1 Bunch Spinach, washed and dried
4 Seedless Small Oranges (such as Clementines), peeled and segmented
1 Fennel Bulb, halved and sliced thinly
2 Tb. Apple Cider Vinegar (or Walla Walla Onion vinegar)
1/8 tsp. Cayenne
1/4 C. EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste

Place oil, vinegar, cayenne, salt and pepper in a salad bowl and whisk together. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss.

Serve with grilled salmon and a nice Pinot Gris.

Wild Rice Nori Salad

This recipe is delicious by itself or served as a side along with some salmon or crab cakes.

1 cup mixed wild rice, cooked and allowed to cool
1 cup Nori flakes, toasted
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tb. onion, minced and sauteed
1 Tb. honey
2 Tb. soy sauce or Tamari
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 Tb. chopped almonds
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Mix cooked rice with onion, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and almonds.
Stir in toasted Nori and chopped cilantro. Add lemon juice. Chill for 2 hours or can be served at room temperature.

*To toast Nori, use a 300 degree oven for a few minutes. When ready, it will crumble.
*Another option is to cut with herb scissors and mix with rice while still hot off the heat.

Jan’s Artichoke Cheesecake Spread

4 Tb Butter, melted & unsalted

8 Sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

3 oz. Marinated artichoke hearts, drained

3-8oz. Packages Cream Cheese, softened

5 oz. Feta Cheese, crumbled

1.5 tsp Oregano, freshly chopped

0.25 tsp Garlic Powder

3 Eggs, large

0.25 c. Green Onions, chopped

Topping:

Roma tomatoes, sliced

Greek olives, pitted

Fresh Basil Leaves

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush bottom and sides of a 9” spring form pan with the melted butter.

2) Place 1 sheet of phyllo in pan so that phyllo extends up and over sides of pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and butter. Make two slits in the center of the phyllo for steam to escape.

3) Bake 9-10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Decrease temp to 325 degrees F.

4) Drain and chop artichokes, reserving 2 Tb of marinade.

5) Beat cream cheese, feta, oregano and garlic powder in large bowl. Add eggs, beating just until blended. Be careful not to overbeat.

6) Add artichoke hearts, reserved marinade and green onions. Combine well.

7) Pour mixture into crust and cover loosely with foil. Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is soft and sides stay firm when gently shaken.

8) Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Cover and chill 2 hours or up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, remove from pan and garnish with sliced tomatoes, basil and olives. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature with baguette slices.

Chocolate Stout Cake

A friend gave me this recipe from a Portland article explaining how this cake recipe has been all over town. There are a few variations you can make to it so it is never the same cake twice. This is the ideal chocolate cake for a birthday or special occasion. It stays moist for days and it is rich enough without overdoing it. My chocoholic husband said that it was the best chocolate cake he has EVER had! (and wants to sell it for $5 a slice to the cyclists on our bike path) And without further ado:

3 c. Unbleached All-purpose Flour
2.5 c. Sugar
1.5 Tb. Baking Soda
0.5 Tsp. Salt
1 c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, sifted
1.3 c. Canola Oil
1.5 c. Buttermilk
3 Large Eggs
1.5 c. Stout Beer (I used Guinness and Obsidian Stout)
1 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Icing:

24 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Nestle works fine)
1.5 c. Heavy Whipping Cream


Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with a non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Place flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and sifted cocoa powder in a bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low to combine. Keeping the mixer on low, add oil, buttermilk, then eggs one at a time. Add the stout slowly down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and mix until batter is smooth. Batter will be very thin, that is expected.

Divide evenly into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pans on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.

While cakes are cooling, prepare the icing by creating a double boiler. Put 2 inches of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Put a stainless steel mixing bowl on top of the pot without touching the water. Add chocolate chips and heavy cream. Let partially melt before mixing with a whisk. Stir until just melted and then remove from heat and let cool at room temperature. You can refrigerate it to make it easier to work with.

Remove the cakes from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. When they are completely cooled, place one cake on a serving platter or cake stand with wax paper lined along the edges (this will keep the plate clean while you ice the cake). With a serrated bread knife, cut the top of both cakes off to create a flat top. Add a dollop of icing to the plated cake to keep the crumb layer in. You may choose to refrigerate the cake before finishing the rest of the icing or you can slather on more icing before placing the second layer upside down onto the first. Finish the icing from the top down and then remove the wax paper. Refrigerate to set for 15 minutes if another coat of icing is needed.

Variations:

1.5 c. Freshly brewed, extra strong black coffee (in place of the stout)
Vegan: use egg replacement and vanilla soy milk
Less Chocolate (gasp!): top cakes with whipped cream and fresh berries

Cake will stay good for up to a week--if it lasts that long.

Aebleskivers

Puff Pancakes

4 Eggs, separated
1 3/4c Buttermilk
1/4 c Sugar
2 c All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/4 c Butter, melted
Oil or cooking spray for the pan
Filling of choice such as fruit preserves, fresh fruit or baked apples
Powdered Sugar for garnish
Freshly Whipped Cream (optional)

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks with buttermilk and sugar. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Stir in melted butter.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until very stiff but not dry and fold into batter. You can use a whisk to do the folding without over mixing.

Heat aebleskiver pan over medium-low heat (the same heat level you would make regular pancakes). Spoon a dab of butter into each pancake well if you have not used cooking spray. Experiment with this as some aebelskiver pans are non-stick and you will not need to use any oil. Fill cups 3/4 full with batter and allow to cook undisturbed for about 30 seconds.

Take two wooden skewers and peek at the underside of one pancake to see the level of brownness. When each is a golden brown, turn a quarter turn by using both skewers with both hands (do not us like chopsticks). Continue turning until you have a complete ball, usually 2-3 turns. Check for doneness by poking with skewer until it comes out dry. When done, remove from heat and place in a warmed oven until the batch is cooked and ready to serve.

For each subsequent batch, start with the middle well and work clockwise around the pan. That way, you can flip in the same order that you filled the pan and not have any one aebelskiver overcook.

To serve, place on plate and drizzle with jam and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can also crack them open and fill with jam and sugar.

You can have a variety of jams set out on the table to experiment and see which you like best. We tried some Lingonberry Jam from Ikea with our last batch and it was a match made in Sweden!