Category Archives: Dessert

Ways to Use Up Buttermilk

panna cotta final

This week is, by necessity, leftovers week.  RJ and I are moving (!) and are packing up house, home, and pantry.  Even if you aren’t moving, it isn’t a bad idea to do a similar fridge-clearing exercise every once and a while.  The first step in the process is to take stock (as in inventory, not soup base) of what you need to use up.  Our list contained a random assortment of freezer-bound meats (2 sausages, 5 skinless chicken breast halves, a balsamic-marinated flank steak, 1 duck breast, etc. etc.), the standard hodgepodge of hopeful fruits and vegetables (some fennel, a bunch of rhubarb, a pint of strawberries, half a red onion, a cut-into lime, 1 head of romaine, a bag of green beans), various condiments, and buttermilk.  I groaned at that one.

Leftover from my Tiramisu Cake, the buttermilk sat untouched with the little toddler mascot staring at me everytime I opened the refrigerator door.  I never know what to do with buttermilk, and every recipe I’ve made thus far that has required me to purchase it uses a 1/2 cup or so, leaving the better part of a quart behind to waste away (and rancid buttermilk is not a pleasant smell, trust me).

That leads me to my second step in the cleaning-out process — evaluate the inventory’s perishability and strategize approach accordingly.  Obviously the two frozen sausages and the variable shapes of dried pasta you have on hand can wait a bit, whereas the strawberries, romaine, and buttermilk will need to be used immediately.  If you can think of recipes that use more than one of your on-hand ingredients at the same time, all the better!  I grabbed the rhubarb, the strawberries, and the buttermilk and set to work.

To really make a dent in the buttermilk container, I had to truly feature it in whatever I made.  So I chose Buttermilk Panna Cotta.  A quintessential summer dessert, panna cotta is cool and creamy with a consistency that falls somewhere between custard and jello.  You can top it with fresh berries, mango puree, wine syrup, chocolate, or even bacon!  Though out of season, pomegranate seeds might be nice too… kind of like my cheesecake topping from this past winter.  Endlessly modifiable, panna cotta is a delicious and versatile way of using up buttermilk!

buttermilkButtermilk Panna Cotta, adapted slightly from MarthaStewart.com
(Serves 6)
2 cups nonfat buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar

3 stalks rhubarb
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 Tbs. lemon juice

In the top of a double boiler (not over heat), sprinkle gelatin over 1 cup buttermilk; let stand to soften, about 5 minutes.

panna cotta in ramekinMeanwhile, bring cream and scant 1/2 cup sugar to a boil. Add to gelatin mixture. Place over simmering water; whisk until gelatin dissolves, 5 minutes. Stir in remaining cup buttermilk. Pass mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Divide among 6 four-ounce ramekins or small bowls on a baking sheet. Cover; refrigerate until set, 4 hours.

Meanwhile, place rhubarb in a small to medium sized saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and 1/4 cup of sugar.  Stir to combine and place over medium heat.  When the mixture begins to boil, cover the pot and cook over low heat until the rhubarb is soft and begins to dissolve slightly, approximately 15 minutes.  Stir in strawberries and lemon juice, then taste to see if you need more sugar.

panna-cottaUnmold by dipping ramekins briefly into hot water and running tip of a knife around edges; invert onto plates, and serve with strawberries and their juice.

That definitely used up a bunch, but I still had over a cup of buttermilk sitting in the fridge.  I decided, then, on Sunday morning to finish up the strawberry-rhubarb topping and the buttermilk in one fell swoop.  I made waffles!  Good belgian waffles are such a treat on a lazy morning – especially with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Buttermilk Waffles, from Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe

(Makes 3-4 waffles, depending on size of waffle maker)

1 cup (5 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. cornmeal (optional – lends a nice crunch to the waffles)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg, separated
7/8 c. buttermilk
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Heat a waffle iron. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg yolk with the buttermilk and melted butter.

Beat the egg white until it just holds a 2-inch peak.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients in a thin, steady stream while mixing gently with a rubber spatula. (Do not add liquid faster than you can incorporate it into the batter). Toward the end of mixing, use a folding motion to incorporate the ingredients. Gently fold the egg white into the batter.

Spread an appropriate amount of batter onto the waffle iron. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, cook the waffle until golden brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately. (In a pinch, you can keep waffles warm on a wire rack in a 200-degree oven for up to 5 minutes).

Make toaster waffles out of leftover batter – undercook the waffles a bit, cool them on a wire rack, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze.

Buttermilk Waffle
Here are some other recipes using buttermilk – I wish you the best of luck getting rid of it in the most delicious of ways!

Tiramisu Cake

Tiramisu Cake

Since I started food blogging, I have participated in a group called “The Barefoot Bloggers.”  The idea was a good one — every other week a different participant chose a recipe from one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks and the group would all post on the same recipe.  I loved being able to read how all of the creative home cooks out there altered the recipes to suit their tastes, their available ingredients, or their equipment limitations.  It’s amazing to see how many variations on spaghetti and meatballs are possible!

cake-in-pans

Yet, a week before my honeymoon, I pointed out to the group organizer that of the 200 or so participants, only about 3/4 of them were actually posting to their blogs on a regular basis, let alone posting on the group recipe as was “required”.  I thought it really took away from the experience if you tried to click each link on the blogroll and only slightly more than half had actually participated in the bi-weekly recipe challenge.  Not too long after that email, I was unceremoniously cut from the group, along with a fair amount of others.  Having only missed one or two weeks over the 6 months I’d been a member, I found the decision to cut me spiteful… but I digress.

cake-filling-2

A far more exclusive “cooking the book” group is the Tuesdays with Dorie contingent.  Now these ladies are diligent.  Well-organized, fun, and committed, this group is one to emulate.  Since they are not taking any new members, I am forced to do just that.  I love reading their weekly adventures in shortbread, pies, and cakes (oh, the cakes!) as they cook their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.  This week, I was unavoidably compelled to tag along.  The recipe, chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures, is Tiramisu Cake.  I LOVE Tiramisu.  Tiramisu cake was my wedding cake (there’s a 6 inch cake top in my parents’ fridge right now, in fact) since it was a perfect compromise between chocolate (RJ’s favorite but somehow kinda morbid for a wedding — am I crazy?) and the traditional but boring and tasteless white cake.

Cake liqueur soaked

So, this week, I played along.  Though I’m not on the official blogroll, making this cake and eating it was rewarding enough!  RJ called it “decadent and scrumptious” (with only a modicum of sarcasm over the literary language of food writing).  I thought it was very good, though the multiple steps and extended effort made me ask more than once “why aren’t I making real tiramisu?”   The cake was certainly delicious, with a tight crumb and a perfect balance of the ascerbic coffee, the slight booziness of the alcohol, and the sweetness of the creamy filling.  I doubted the balance at first and did not use all of the “espresso syrup” suggested in the recipe, and I regret that — going forward I will trust in Dorie!

Check out the recipe by visiting Megan, at My Baking Adventures.

Tiramisu Cake Slice

Blood Orange Tart

Blood Orange TartGenerally I consider glazed fruit tarts to be a summer treat – something ideal for the back porch on a muggy evening after a meal of grilled meats and cold beer.  Nothing beats the supple flavor of a juicy strawberry on a light lemon custard and buttery sablé crust after a hot day.  Only in-season and perfectly ripe berries are worthy of such a spotlight: thus summer and fruit tarts are inextricably linked in my mind – so much so that the tart concept doesn’t even occur to me when I think about making a dessert in the months from October to May.

I think you can probably guess from the above picture that my formula has been reconfigured.  This was a great recipe found in my favorite magazine, and it features one of the best winter fruits out there — the blood orange — so I made an exception to the rule.  This tart, on the whole, is an exception to the rule — the crust has a fabulous sweet and citrusy tang, contrasted with a unique, almost savory, brown-butter custard filling.  Topping it all off is a two-toned layer of jewel-like orange slices, glistening with a translucent currant glaze.  I can see this tart being served at an elegant brunch or at a New Year’s Eve party – it looks just so festive and is a perfect ‘special treat’ in the cold and drab winter months.

Just in case you  were wondering, I can tell you that my absolute favorite part of this dessert is the crust.  I had a couple of snafus in the baking process (the dough stuck to the foil lining) but once repaired and filled, the crust really stood out as exceptional.  I would use this orange-scented dough for my next (summer) strawberry tart with pleasure.

Orange and Brown Butter Tart, from Fine Cooking issue #97 (January/February)

For the tart shell:
5 oz. (1-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
Pinch of table salt
5 oz. (10 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest

For the filling:tart dough
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 cups whole milk
3 Tbs. cornstarch
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher or table salt
1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the topping:
3 large navel or blood oranges, or a combination
1/2 cup orange marmalade or red currant jelly, as I used
1 Tbs. orange liqueur, such as Cointreau

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt a few times to combine. Add the butter and orange zest and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal, six to eight 1-second pulses. A teaspoon at a time, pulse in up to 1 Tbs. water until the dough just holds together in clumps. Press the dough together, shape into a 6-inch disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Dough pressPress the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of a 9-1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom—the dough sides should be 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. To smooth the bottom, cover with plastic wrap and press with a flat-bottom measuring cup or glass. Freeze the covered shell for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the plastic, line the dough with parchment and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake the tart shell until the top edges are light golden, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and beans, reduce the heat to 375°F, and continue to bake until the shell is golden all over, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.

brown butter tart fillingIn a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it melts and the milk solids turn brown, swirling the pan occasionally for even browning, about 3 minutes. Immediately pour into a small heatproof bowl to stop the cooking.

In a medium bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch. Whisk in the eggs.

In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 1-3/4 cups milk, the sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Take the pan off the heat, whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, and then whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk. Return to medium heat and continue whisking until the filling boils and becomes very thick, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Off the heat, whisk in the brown butter and vanilla.

Tart FillingSpread the filling evenly in the tart shell and set aside at room temperature while you prepare the topping.

Make the topping:

Using a sharp knife, trim off the peel and pith from the oranges. Halve the oranges lengthwise and then slice them thinly crosswise and remove any seeds. Arrange the orange slices on the top of the tart in concentric, slightly overlapping circles.

Stir the marmalade in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted, 30 to 60 seconds. Strain and then stir in the Cointreau. Brush enough of the mixture on the oranges to give them a shine (you may not need it all). Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving so the filling can set up.

tart-glaze

Cooking with Beer – Guinness Cake

Looks like a pint of Guinness!

I have come to learn this past week that Guinness stout is a pantry staple.  Of course, it is no coincidence that this tidbit of information comes to me in mid-March in Boston, when St. Patrick’s Day parties are springing up everywhere and while pilsners are dyed green, the Guinness still runs black.  A good many courses (even a whole meal) may be improved with a bit of this rich brew – from appetizers to breads to dinners to desserts – not to mention a swig of the stuff pairs wonderfully with all of the above.

Irish CoffeeOn our recent trip to San Francisco, RJ and I learned first hand how much more friendly the people of California are as opposed to the crowds in Boston.  Everywhere we went, people tried to convince us to move out West – whereas in New England you can hardly get a stranger to talk to you even if you’ve already moved there and just want to make a new friend!  So many recent imports to Boston have told me that it is rather impossible to meet people here, since everyone who grew up around town or went to school in the city already knows each other, and no one is particularly welcoming or friendly.  Cliquey, I think they called it.  In San Francisco, Tahoe, and Napa RJ and I found ourselves chatting with people of all ages and originating from around the world, all settled in California and not planning to ever leave.  One such man was sitting next to us as we sipped Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista on Hyde Street.  His name was John Spilane and he was a tipsy Irish guy.  He bought us drinks and chatted with us about all those things you aren’t supposed to speak about in bars – the economy, politics, religion…  One thing he did say was that Guinness was only his third favorite beer.  Beamish and Murphy’s Stout both surpassed Guinness in his authentic Irish estimation.

What I am getting at is March 17th.  On this day, RJ and I had been home for 24 hours, and had our first days of work after a blissful vacation.  Preparing an authentic Irish dinner, even driving the two minutes to the new Irish bar in town, was far from our minds.  Yet at 5 pm, who should call RJ’s cell phone but a now very drunk John Spilane!  In his light, slurring Irish brogue, he wished us both a Happy St. Patty’s day.  I got quite a kick out of that, and instantly felt bad that I hadn’t prepared anything for my half-Irish husband’s native holiday.  RJ was then compelled to drive to the liquor store and at least buy a 4 pack of Guinness (no Beamish to be found!).  He drank one, and the others lay waiting in the fridge, presumably for next year!

As the beer was left untouched for several days, I reclaimed it for the pantry.  I have two great Guinness recipes that I made and will share the dessert first.  This cake is quite delicious and I would recommend it to anyone, Irish or not!  It is a tight crumb, slightly elastic on the inside, but with a moist and tender mouthfeel.  Around the edges and top, probably due to the carbonation in the beer, we had a bit of thin crunchiness – like a light and sweet brulee topping – which I really enjoyed.  RJ and I both felt it actually tasted better on the second day (and third, and fourth), after the cake had cooled a bit more and the flavors of the Guinness and cocoa were able to really come into their own.  Enjoy the cake, then come back for dinner!!

Chocolate Guinness Cake, by Nigella Lawson, found here in the New York Times, December 8, 2004

guinness-cupFor the cake:
Butter for pan
1 cup Guinness stout
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar
3/8 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For [Nigella’s] topping:
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugarButter Beer!
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream.

For Katharine’s alternative topping:

1 1/4 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. light cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean’s seeds

For the cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

Guinness cake batterIn a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

For the topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners’ sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

Yield: One 9-inch cake (12 servings).

guinness cake