 The majority of my visits to Paris have been in early June. I have found that time of year to be perfect - not too hot; not too crowded. But I have, on occasion, traveled to Paris in the fall and winter. For someone who prefers walking to taking the metro, it becomes more challenging at those times of the year. Fall and winter are, as expected, cooler and rainier, with fewer daylight hours to navigate the streets of Paris. Another noticeable change is the restaurant menu. On one October visit, I remember every café and bistro I entered had a chocolate cake with vanilla sauce on the dessert menu. It was common to see chocolate cakes and large pitchers of crème anglaise atop small tables placed in the dining rooms amongst the clientale. It is hard to pass up dessert when you have been staring at it the entire meal, imagining the entire time what it might taste like. And, in my case, I also order it so I can compare it to my creations at home.  It was my husband's birthday this past weekend and I made Fran Bigelow's Deep Chocolate Torte along with a Crème Anglaise Sauce - a reminder of fall in Paris. This cake will go far. It is dense and rich. I suggest doubling the recipe for Crème Anglaise. I like placing the slice of cake in a deep pool of the sauce. Fran Bigelow's Deep Chocolate Torte recipe printed in Saveur | November 2001 • 1 pound dark chocolate, preferably Cacao Barry Equateur (60 percent cacao) or Callebaut (56 percent cacao), finely chopped • 6 eggs • 1/4 cup sugar • 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier • 1 cup heavy cream • Cocoa for dusting 1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water and allow to melt completely. 2. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Generously butter a 9-inch cake pan. Cut a 9-inch round of waxed paper and press it over the bottom of the pan. 3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and liqueur in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring with a wooden spoon, until warm but not hot. Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Slowly stir in the melted chocolate. (Be patient with this step. Slowly stir until fully incorporated). 4. Whip the cream to soft peaks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Carefully transfer the batter to the pan. 5. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the torte at least 2 to 4 inches from the side comes out clean. The center should be just set; do not overbake. 6. Let cool to room temperature, remove from the pan, and peel off the liner. Dust with cocoa. Crème Anglaise from French Tarts by Linda Dannenberg • 5 large egg yolks • 1/2 cup sugar • 2 cups whole milk • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1. In a large saucepan, whisk together the yolks and the sugar. In another saucepan, heat the milk and the vanilla extract over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring constantly with a spoon. Set over medium heat and stir constantly until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let the sauce come to a boil or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool, then refrigerate if not serving immediately. Fresh Apple Coffee Cake 11/01/2009
 I haven't been home much recently to bake, but I did make this Fresh Apple Coffee Cake before I left for my father's last week. I drizzled it with melted semi-sweet chocolate before eating. Somehow the thought of pairing apples with chocolate seemed a little strange to me, but I actually liked it a lot - at least on this cake. It's a dense, substantial cake, and great with a cup of hot coffee. Fresh Apple Coffee Cake • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened • 1 cup sugar • 2 large eggs • 2 teaspoons vanilla • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 cup buttermilk • 2 cups peeled, finely chopped apples • 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar • 1/2 cup chopped pecans • 1/3 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon • 1/3 cup melted, unsalted butter • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces • additional unsalted butter for melting with chocolate 1. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan; set aside 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer until well-combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. 3. Combine 2 2/3 cups flour, baking powder, soda and salt; add alternately to the beaten egg mixture with the buttermilk, beating until combined. Fold in the chopped apples. 4. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, 1/3 cup flour and cinnamon. Mix in the 1/3 cup of melted butter. 5. Place about 2 cups cake batter in the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the crumb mixture; repeat layers. Bake in a 350˚F oven for about 70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing the cake from pan; cool on a wire rack. 6. Melt the 1/2 cup chocolate pieces with enough butter to give it a drizzling consistancy. Drizzle over top of cake. Still Life with Pears 10/14/2009
 In my mind, nothing comes close to the beauty of a pear. A plate of pears rivals any floral bouquet, as far as I'm concerned. And this time of year, there are always pears in my house. I chose to go sweet in the kitchen with this pear tart. Pears and almonds are a match made in heaven. The chocolate is an added bonus. And, when I'm not baking with pears, they go into salads for our evening meals.  PEAR TART with CHOCOLATE and ALMONDS • 1 partially baked 9-inch almond tart shell, cooled (recipe follows) • 2 large eggs • 6 tablespoons sugar, divided • 1 cup half & half • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 tablespoons blanched almonds • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated • 3 organic Bartlet pears, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cored with a melon-baller or small spoon • Toasted, sliced almonds for sprinkling, if desired Preheat oven to 325˚F. 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, the half & half and the vanilla. Set aside. 2. In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Spoon the ground almond mixture evenly over the top of the partially baked tart shell; sprinkle the grated bittersweet chocolate over the almonds. 3. Take a pear half and using a sharp knife, make thin slices across the width of the pear, keeping the shape of the pear intact. (See photo above). Once the pear is entirely sliced, gently press on the pear to slightly spread the slices apart. Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the pear half to the tart shell and lay atop the almond and chocolate mixture with the stem end of the pear pointing to the center of the tart. Repeat with the other pear halves, placing the sliced pears to create a spoke pattern. 4. Place the tart pan onto a baking sheet and then, very slowly, begin pouring the reserved egg mixture onto the pears. Pour in just enough so it is easily transported to the middle rack of the oven. Once inside the oven you can add a little more of the egg custard. After about 5 minutes of baking, I will very carefully add as much of the remaining custard as I can to the tart shell. 5. Bake the tart for approximately 45-50 minutes. If, within the last 5 minutes of baking, the custard still has no color to it, increase the oven temperature to 350˚ and watch closely at this point. Remove to a cooling rack when custard just begins to turn golden. 6. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds if desired. ALMOND TART PASTRY • 2 tablespoons blanched or sliced almonds • 1 cup unbleached flour • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt • 5 1/3 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, cubed • 3 tablespoons ice water 1. Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse to combine. 2. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and pulse briefly, just until small pieces of the butter remain. 3. Slowly add the ice water while pulsing, until the dough just begins to come together. Do not over process. 4. Empty the tart dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten and wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. 5. Remove from refrigerator and roll dough to fit a 9-inch tart pan; trim edge. Place lined tart pan in freezer while preheating oven. 6. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line the tart shell with foil and beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and continue to bake until pastry just begins to turn golden. Remove and let cool. A Classic -- the chocolate chip cookie + 06/17/2009
 I'm sure we all have out favorite. This one is mine. Fudgey, Chewy, Chocolate Brownies 04/28/2009
 What could be better than a chocolate brownie and a glass of ice cold milk? That was all I could think about when I finally caved and made these. This has been my go to recipe for the last 10 years. I'm sure there are other great chocolate brownie recipes out there, but I've never felt the need to search for them. This one does just fine!  When I traveled to Paris for the first time in 1997, I was introduced to macarons. They are amazing little almond meringue confections with endless varieties of fillings. If you've never had one of these you are truly missing out. The December 1996 issue of House & Garden magazine published a beautiful article, "Cookie Fortune" which included the history of the French macaron, photographs that I have been tempted to frame, and a recipe from patisserie Ladurée. I found that recipe and the procedure totally intimidatiing. I filed it away, only taking it out occasionally to admire again the photographs of the beautiful, pastel-colored marcarons. As I've become more involved in visiting pastry-themed blogs, I've realized that the French macaron does not have to be intimidating and is something that can easily be made at home, and has been on my growing list of "things I need to bake". In fact, it has been on my list for quite a long time, but a photograph that was posted by Corey of Tongue and Cheek was what finally inspired me to set aside a morning for my first attempt at making macarons. I am now hooked and on the way to further experimentation. LITTLE CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKES 04/01/2009
 What could be better than the combination of orange and chocolate?  Little Chocolate Orange Cakes with Crystallized Orange Zest   I am still playing around with the orange sorbet I made the other day. And I am still using it to top off a drink. This time, instead of the classic cocktail of Campari and orange juice, I poured Campari into a glass along with ice cold club soda and finished it off with scoops of homemade orange sorbet. That was served with Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti... and that was our dessert. DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ALMOND BISCOTTI |  Passions
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