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.
               

  

"When it Rains, it Pours"
    That's my life in a nutshell right now.  I've been with my father much of October and November during and after his surgery.  Right before I left last week for my father's home in Iowa, my computer crashed and needed to be replaced.  When I finally returned home, there was a gas leak in my laundry room.  Yes... "When it Rains, it Pours".

"Dull Women Have Immaculate Houses"
    Right now, judging from my surroundings, I am one dynamic, exciting, extraordinary human being.  And, instead of cleaning today, I put all of my energy into making this Pear Cake...

                                 Golden Pear Cake
                         a recipe from Cavallo Point Cooking School
                       published in Traditional Home | October 2009

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (divided)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 medium pears (1 1/2 pounds), cored, peeled, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
  Poire Williams Cream (recipe below)

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Place 1/4 cup butter in 9-inch cast iron or other oven-proof skillet.  Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.  Stir in brown sugar.  Cook and stir until sugar is melted and bubbly; remove from heat.  Set aside; cool.  Arrange pear slices in skillet.
2.  In small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In large bowl beat remaining 1/2 cup butter with mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Beat in granulated sugar until combined.  Beat in vanilla.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.  The batter may appear curdled.  Spread batter evenly over pears. 
3.  Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until pick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack 5 minutes.  Loosen cake by running a sharp knife around the edge of the pan; invert onto a plate.  Serve with Poire Williams Cream or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Poire Williams Cream:  Beat 1 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on medium speed until cream just thickens.  Add 1 tablespoon Poire Williams or other pear brandy and 2 teaspoons sugar.  Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. 

                           

   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.

    I was prepared to make a plum tart I had made many times before.  The recipe calls for almond paste which I had purchased and was ready to chop into small pieces. It would cover the crust and be the base for the plums.  But, at the last minute, I decided to return the almond paste to my pantry and instead grind sliced almonds that I store in my freezer.  Why I did that, I don't know; but I was perfectly happy with the end result. 
    I can't say that this plum tart is the most beautiful fruit tart I have ever made.  It's very basic and rather plain looking.  But the taste was just what I was after; topped with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, you've got one delicious dessert (or, how I finished off the remaining slice -- one delicious breakfast the next morning).

                          
                                        PLUM TART


Preheat Oven to 425˚F

• 1  9-inch round or rectangular tart pan with removable bottom, lined with almond tart pastry and kept chilled until ready to fill
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 to 4 plums, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 cup currant jelly
• splash of brandy, if desired
• vanilla bean ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, finely grind the almonds along with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.  Evenly distribute the almond mixture over the top of the tart pastry.
2.  Place the sliced plums in an overlapping pattern on top of the almond mixture.  Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the plums.
3.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 425˚F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375˚.  Bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden color.
4.  Meanwhile, heat the currant jelly in a small pan over a low flame.  Add a splash of brandy to the jelly if desired.  When melted and smooth brush the jelly mixture over the hot plum tart.  Cool slightly and serve with vanilla bean ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

   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.

   I've been loading up on apples. I spent a very rainy day going through recipes -- recipe books, recipe files, stacks of recipes torn from magazines and newspapers, and recipes on the back of store receipts when that was all I had available and needed paper to jot down a sudden inspiration.  The majority of the recipes I set aside were for apples.  I made one, desperate attempt last week to buy peaches.  They smelled so good and I just wasn't ready to move on to "fall" fruits.  But they were horrible - mealy and tasteless.  It was then I knew I had to look seriously at apples. 

   Right now I've been buying McIntosh apples.  They are what I used to make the Apple Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts -- another recipe that has been languishing in my files for many, many years.

     •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

                   Apple, Dried Cranberry and Walnut Cookies

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup finely chopped apples
• 1 1/2 cup regular oats, uncooked
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1.  Cream butter; gradually add brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and water.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, beating until well-combined.  Gently stir in apples, oats, cranberries and walnuts.
2.  Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 375˚F for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool. 

               This is what I've been enjoying with my morning cappuccino.


            Carrot Tea Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot Tea Cake:
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup grated, raw carrots
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
Orange Cream Cheese Icing:
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated, organic orange peel
• 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice

1.  Preheat oven to 325˚F.
2.  In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Stir in the grated carrots, eggs and pecans until well-combined.  Sift into this mixture the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; stir until blended.
3.  Butter a 1 1/2 quart loaf pan (or 8 small, individual loaf pans as I've done) and fill with carrot cake batter.  Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for one hour.  If using the individual pans, bake for 25-30 minutes.
4.  Remove from oven when cakes test done and turn out onto a cooling rack.  When cool, frost with cream cheese icing, if desired.
5.  Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth; slowly add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well-combined.  Stir in the grated orange peel and orange juice.  Spread on top of the carrot loaf cake.

   I rarely bake cookies during the summer.  If I'm going to crank up the heat in my oven, it will be for a fruit tart.  But once the temperatures cool and  daylight wanes, I'm in my kitchen baking cookies again. 

   I've had this recipe tucked away for years.  After sampling this cookie, I'm glad I finally got around to making it.  As for me, with most of the cookies I bake, I like them a little more brown than golden. 

      • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

                                  Pecan & Butter Log Cookies
                                              adapted from
                   a recipe clipped many years ago in Southern Living

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1.  Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, vanilla, and salt, beating well.  Stir in flour.  Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2.  Shape dough into two 8-inch logs;  roll each log in chopped pecans.  Wrap logs in waxed paper and chill for at least 2 hours.
3.  Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. ( I use a piece of heavy-duty sewing thread to slice my logs.)  Place cookies on  parchment-lined cookie sheets.  Bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until they just begin to brown around the edges.  Cool cookies on wire racks.

   It has been the perfect end-of-summer, holiday weekend.  The weather has been glorious -- warm, dry days and cool, good-for-sleeping nights.  And I've been spending all of my time in the kitchen, which isn't a bad thing.  One day, it was all about pastry.  I made everyone's favorite -- a lemon meringue tart.  And the meringue was so billowy and beautiful, I just had to photograph it.  This is what I consider a basic meringue (or French meringue).  It is made by whipping the egg whites and slowly adding sugar.  Swiss or Italian meringues  involve heating the egg whites or making a cooked sugar syrup that is whipped into the egg whites and are considered a "stable" meringue.  The basic meringue is what I use to  top my lemon or chocolate pudding tarts.
   I start by placing 5 egg whites, at room temperature, in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and start beating with a whisk attachment.  Once frothiness has been achieved, slowly start adding 1/2 cup granulated sugar and a large pinch of cream of tartar.  Continue to beat at high speed until the egg whites just begin to hold stiff peaks.  Do not overbeat or the whites will become dry and start to separate.  Mound the billowy, cloud-like meringue onto the tart and bake in a preheated 375˚F oven.  I will not give you a length of bake time.  Stand guard at the oven door and keep an eye on the browning meringue.  Pull when it looks as it does above. 

   I have to make this Plum Upside-Down Cake at least once during the summer plum season.  It's so good!  Serve it for dessert with sweetened cinnamon whipped cream, or include in a weekend brunch menu.

                              Plum Upside-Down Cake
                                   Bon Appétit Magazine | June 1995

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 6 large plums, halved, pitted, and each half cut into 6 wedges

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup milk

• Lightly sweetened whipped cream (with a touch of cinnamon)

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Stir 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar and honey in heavy medium skillet over low heat until butter melts and sugar and honey blend in, forming thick, smooth sauce.  Transfer to a 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides.  Arrange plums in overlapping concentric circles atop sauce.
2.  Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl.  Using electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large bowl until light.  Add sugar and beat until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla and almond extracts.  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing just until blended.  Spoon batter evenly over plums.  Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; cool in pan 30 minutes.
3.  Using knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake.  Place platter atop cake pan.  Invert cake; place platter on work surface.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Gently lift off pan.  Serve cake warm with whipped cream.