peach cupcakes.

Last month we celebrated M. Next month we'll celebrate B. This month we celebrated C. I may not care for summer temperatures, but I'm so grateful for summer birthdays that have given me these dear friends.

For C.'s birthday last year, we had a lovely birthday brunch. This year's celebration did not, thankfully, involve me juggling a still-warm quiche and large braided bread on the bus; instead, we had dinner and drinks at Village Whiskey, followed by drinks at the Franklin. Sense a theme? Indeed. We like our quality cocktails.

In between two of our favorite Philly institutions, we stopped off for surprise cupcakes in the park. (I'd stashed them with the hostess on the way into the restaurant. Sneaky! I love surprising people with baked goods.) We lit candles, sang "Happy Birthday," embarrassed C. in the process, and had a wonderful, slightly messy time. (I'm not including photos of me licking up my arm to remove/savor the frosting that transferred from the cupcakes to the box to me. That doesn't mean they don't exist.)

Most photos by MT, who is therefore not in them. Boo.

Peach cupcakes. Brown sugar cream cheese frosting. How could these not be delicious? The recipe, from the ever-reliable smittenkitchen, makes 24-28 cupcakes. I didn't need that many cupcakes, but I also generally avoid halving baking recipes because you never know when the chemistry will be thrown off. So I made a dozen cupcakes and a 9" cake. Then I halved the frosting recipe and used it for the cupcakes; I sprinkled some sugar across the top of the cake before baking and ate it plain for breakfast. And mid-afternoon snack. And dessert. I also adjusted the sugar so that most of the sweetness in the cake comes from the peaches. So excited to buy peaches for the first time this summer!

The recipe below will make 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 dozen cupcakes + 1 9" (or 8") cake. The frosting is enough (barely) for 1 dozen cupcakes. The green letters are tinted white chocolate: I melted a handful of white chocolate chips in the microwave with about 1 tsp. milk, stirred in two drops of green food coloring, let it cool for about 5 mins., then piped letters onto waxed paper with a small icing tip. After about 30 mins. in the fridge, they'll firm up and peel right off the paper, as long as you're somewhat gentle. I didn't want to pipe directly onto the spiky frosting, so this worked nicely.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from smittenkitchen


Cupcakes
3 c. cake flour*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter, room temp.
scant 3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. buttermilk OR sour cream OR yogurt (*I used about 1 1/4 c. buttermilk and 1/4 c. Greek yogurt - the combination worked very well)
6 small or 3 large peaches, peeled and cut into small cubes

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter/line 24 muffin cups (or 12 muffin cups + 1 9" cake pan).

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

3. Cream together butter and two sugars, beating until fluffy; scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs half at a time, beating until combined and scraping down sides each time. Add vanilla, then gently mix in buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt. (The batter will look curdled. That's ok.) Stir in dry ingredients, then (gently!) chopped peaches.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (and cake pan, if using). Bake 18-22 mins., until spring to the touch or toothpick in center comes out clean. (If you're baking a dozen cupcakes and a cake, the cake will take about 26-28 mins.) Cool in pan for 5 mins., then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting
[makes enough for 12 cupcakes; double for 24]
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, room temp.
4 tbsp. butter, room temp.
1/4 tsp. vanilla

5. In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cornstarch, and powdered sugar. Make sure you get any lumps out. Set aside.

6. Beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Scrape down sides, then add brown sugar mixture and vanilla and beat until light and smooth. Chill in refrigerator for about 30 mins.

7. Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

♥

ginger pear upside-down cake.

I bookmarked this recipe so long ago that I can't remember how I got to it; originally from the Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook, this cake is delicious.

Darkly sweet from the molasses and brown sugar, it's rich without being cloying - the perfect complement to the cinnamon and pears on top. I had just one problem with this recipe: overflow. The instructions said that the pan would be full, which it definitely was. About 15 minutes into baking, I started to smell burnt molasses and raced into the kitchen to find cake batter spilling over into my oven. Oops. I slid a baking sheet onto the lower rack, opened my windows, and followed my practiced routine of standing on the arm of my chair and fanning vigorously with the Illustrated Blake in front of my smoke detector. Next time, I'll just leave out some of the batter to save my oven and to avoid chipping away at this to get it out of the pan:


I also managed, while I was peeling the ginger, to flip it out of my hands - it ricocheted off the wall and shot under the oven. (Not to worry, I didn't try to retrieve and reuse it.) This was a very eventful baking experience, but I'm already looking forward to having this cake again!

Ginger Pear Upside-Down Cake
originally from Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook, via Seattlest, via who-knows-where, adapted slightly

Topping:
2 tbsp. butter, room temp.
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 med. ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into sixths

Batter:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. peeled, grated ginger
3 large eggs
2/3 c. molasses
3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk


1. Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9" springform pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

2. Make topping: combine 2 tbsp. butter, 1/3 c. brown sugar, and cinnamon in small saucepan. Cook over med. heat for about a minute, then pour into springform pan and spread evenly over parchment. Arrange pears in circles as tightly as possible. (I cut a few extras in half and used them to fill in the center.)

3. Make batter: cut butter into pieces and cream with brown sugar on med. speed for 3-5 mins. Add grated ginger and beat 1 min. more, then scrape down sides. Add eggs one at a time, beating on low speed until combined. Slowly pour in molasses and beat until fully incorporated.

4. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to batter in increments, beginning and ending with flour. Do not overmix. Scrape down bowl and stir gently with rubber spatula, then pour carefully into prepared pan.

5. Bake for 1 h 45 mins., until knife comes out clean. Let cool for 10 mins. on wire rack, then cover top with upside-down plate, release sides, and flip cake onto plate. Lift away base, peel off parchment, and let cool for 30 mins. Serve warm or at room temp.

halloween treats.

I tend to get a lot more excited about holidays like Christmas than I do for Halloween. I didn't dress up this year; after last year's Joan Holloway, nothing seemed quite as fun. However, a handful of us did band together to brave a 70s-scary-movies night, featuring Carrie and The Omen. Good friends, good beer, good snarky commentary on the movies. Plus, a good excuse to try a few new recipes: applesauce cupcakes and molasses cookies with lemon glaze. And though these treats weren't spooky, they were autumnally yummy.

Applesauce Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
from SmittenKitchen, adapted slightly


This recipe is actually for a 9" square cake; because I a) don't own a square cake pan and b) thought cupcakes would be fun, that's what I did. The recipe makes about 14 cupcakes, and there's plenty of frosting for all of them.

I'm a little bit addicted to making applesauce at the moment, so this was the perfect use for a jar. Plus, this cake is quite delicious.

For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar (*the original calls for 1 c.; I found 3/4 sufficient)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
zest of 1/2 lemon

For the frosting:
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F; line cupcake pan with paper liners. (*This cake is quite moist, so I used paper inside foil liners to avoid sogginess.)

Make cake:
2. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla at high speed until fluffy, about 2-3 mins. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add applesauce and zest and beat until combined.

4. At low speed, add flour mixture until just combined. The batter will look curdled, but that's ok.

5. Distribute batter into cupcake tins, filling about 3/4 full. (You'll have some left over; bake the rest after the first batch is done.) Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 mins. Cool on wire rack.

Make frosting:
6. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla mixture at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners' sugar and cinnamon on top, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.



Chewy Molasses Cookies with Lemon Glaze
from TheKitchn


Yum. I really liked the combination of the dark molasses cookies with the tart lemon glaze. The recipe makes about 3-4 dozen (sometimes I get overly enthusiastic and end up with larger cookies) and they last fairly well for a handful of days, which is nice.

For the cookies:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dark molasses
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed (*the original calls for 1 c.)
1 egg
2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
granulated sugar, for rolling

For the glaze:
2 lemons, juiced (about 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice)
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. confectioners' sugar

Make the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. With a stand mixer, beat butter, oil, molasses, and brown sugar until lightened and fluffy. Then beat in egg until smooth, then add the grated ginger.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices; add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined. The dough will be quite soft; turn it out onto plastic wrap and wrap it tightly, then refrigerate for at least an hour. (*The original recipe says to refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. I had the dough in the freezer for 45 mins. and it was still quite soft in the middle, almost unmanageable.)

4. Pour about 1/2 c. granulated sugar into a shallow bowl. When the dough is firm enough to handle, divide it into four parts. Divide the first part into 12 walnut-sized chunks and roll each into a ball, rolling the balls in sugar before placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the second quarter of dough.

5. Bake for 12 mins., rotating the sheets halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool 5 mins., then transfer cookies to wire rack and repeat rolling and baking process for the rest of the dough.

Make the glaze:
6. When the cookies are cool, whisk together the lemon juice and sugars. Dribble over the cookies with a fork or a pastry brush; let glaze cool and dry until hard.

chocolate pistachio torte.

Along with the not-pretty-but-still-yummy apple cake, I wanted something a little bit special for C.'s party. So I hunted around on various websites and through my cookbooks and eventually settled on this: chocolate pistachio torte. It's from Martha Stewart but doesn't fall prey to the fussiness that her recipes sometimes do. I did halve the sugar, which turned out to be a good decision. For the most part, though, this is fairly straightforward and quite delicious. It's one of those desserts whose presentation is more impressive than the prep work that went into it; it also got a good reception from a choosy crowd, so I'd make it again.

Dessert paparazzi.

I made the cake in the morning before we went apple-picking and then made the ganache and assembled the whole thing at M.'s. (I didn't want to get foil imprints in the pretty shiny ganache surface! I've become adept at dessert transportation on the SEPTA bus, but still.) You could probably make the cake the day before, too, and wrap it tightly.


Chocolate Pistachio Torte
adapted slightly from Everyday Food (December 2008)

Cake:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk (*skim milk + a glug of vinegar, as usual, worked fine)
3/4 c. shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Ganache + Decoration:
1/2 c. heavy cream
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped


Make cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour an 8" cake pan; line bottom with parchment.

2. Combine flour, salt, and b.p. in small bowl; set aside.

3. In a double boiler (*or, carefully, in the microwave), melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth, stirring frequently. Pour into bowl of electric mixer (if you're using one) and let cool slightly.

4. Whisk sugar and vanilla into chocolate mixture, then eggs and buttermilk. Stir in pistachios, then fold in flour mixture until just combined.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 mins., until tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool in pan 5 mins., then run knife around edges and invert onto wire rack. Remove parchment and let cake cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap tightly in plastic after cool.)

Make ganache:
6. In small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer, then remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Let stand 5 mins., then whisk until smooth and shiny. Let mixture cool until it thickens slightly. (*Martha suggests this will take 2-6 mins., but I found it closer to 20.)

Assemble torte:
7. Set cake on flat plate or platter and slip strips of parchment under the edges to prevent ganache from pooling on the plate. Pour ganache onto center of cake, then use a table knife to smooth it so that it droops over the sides. (*This part is so fun! And so pretty!) Let sit about 30 mins. (*I only left it for about 10), then sprinkle pistachios on top and serve.

So shiny! Reflecting the fruits (pun entirely intended) of that morning's labor.

apples and apple cake.

One recent Saturday, a small group of us escaped schoolwork and the city for a carefree, sunny morning. We drove to Linvilla Orchards, where we picked apples and peaches, took a hayride (minus the hay), and picnicked on apple cider and cider doughnuts.

See also C.'s account over here of our sunny day and the subsequent festivities.

Because festivities did indeed follow. Once we had returned to the city - dusty, sunburned, sleepy, and satisfied - we prepared to celebrate our dear C. with a good-bye party before she leaves for a year in London. [Sniffle.] Because we tend towards themed parties, this one was BYO: bring a few bottles of your favorite American beer for the whole group to taste. We ended up sampling about a dozen different beers, accompanied by various snacks and desserts. Yum. Although no party can convey how much we'll miss you, C.

my loves. (photo lifted from c.)

The evening's menu, along with evidence of former M.-hosted parties.

M.'s renowned hummus and bummus (black bean hummus).
Fresh figs from the orchard farmstand.

B.'s impressive cheese sampler.
C.'s amazing peach-apple pie - recipe here.

I made the two desserts on the right: chocolate pistachio torte (back; recipe to follow) and apple cake (the monstrosity in front). This is - normally - one of my go-to, fail-safe recipes. And it's not usually covered in powdered sugar; this was a cosmetic choice to cover what happened when I tried to coax the cake out of its bundt pan:


[Sigh.] The apples were just so juicy that they destabilized the layers, leaving one in the pan when I flipped it over. Despite this mishap, though, I'm sharing the recipe anyway because this has never happened before and this is a delicious cake. I got it from my friend S., who got it from her mom, and I make it whenever I'm in the mood for something autumn-y. Perfect for showcasing the Macoun, Jonamac, and Cortland apples I'd picked just that morning.

Apple Cake
adapted from Mrs. S.'s recipe

4-5 med. apples, peeled, quartered, and sliced thinly (I like a mix of tart and sweet; slicing them in the food processor speeds things up a bit)
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. sugar
3 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. oil
1/4 c. orange juice
zest of 1 orange
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla


1. Grease and flour tube or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix apples, cinnamon, and sugar; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine flour, b.p., and salt; set aside.

4. Mix sugar, eggs, and oil until thoroughly combined. Add o.j., zest, and vanilla and mix some more.

5. Gradually add dry ingredients, stirring until combined.

6. Pour half of batter into prepared pan, distribute apples evenly on top (try to keep the slices all relatively flat so you don't create air pockets), then pour in the rest of the batter. Bake at 350F for 60-75 mins. (top will be browned and firm to the touch).

peach cake.

The majority of my friends, both near and far, need little excuse to cook, bake, and/or eat. So when a handful of us gather to watch Mad Men or Project Runway, the evening often involves food. Last week, C. hosted a lovely ladies' night: we shopped for, cooked, and ate dinner together. From the spoils of the farmers' market, there was zucchini soup (M.); eggplant parmesan featuring three colors of eggplant, homemade tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella (C.); peach cake and peach crumble (me). There was also watermelon and feta salad (M.) and plentiful beer (B. and T.). It was, in short, a feast. It was also one of those evenings that makes me pause and think, I am so very fortunate.

*Thanks to M. for the majority of these pictures. Giving her free rein with my camera has great results.

The peach crumble (basic) and peach cake (simple) were to throw together on the road, so to speak. The cake would probably be good with a variety of other fruits; it's really just a simple cake that features the tasty peaches. Indeed, the original recipe calls for nectarines, one of my favorite fruits, but the first time I made this cake, the peaches looked too good to resist, and they kind of stuck. C.'s suggestion of lemon zest really brightened it up nicely. And it's very tasty with ice cream.


Peach Cake
adapted from Gourmet (September 2009)

1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick (8 tbsp.) butter, softened
1/3 c. white sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. almond
zest of 1 lemon
2 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch wedges


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a springform pan or a 9" round cake pan. (Either works.)

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl.

3. Beat butter and sugar in electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one, then beat in extracts and zest.

4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.

5. Spread batter evenly in pan, then arrange peach slices on top in concentric circles.

6. Bake 45-50 mins., until cake is golden brown on top. Cool on wire rack; remove from pan after 10 mins. if using springform.