Category: Desserts

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Rhubarb custard crumb cake

This recipe is based on Nicola Lamb, #17 on her Kitchen Projects substack. I’ve put the ingredients into American measurements for those without  the handy kitchen scale so common in British kitchens!

There are 4 components to this cake: roasted rhubarb, pastry cream, crumbs, and cake. Nicola recommends making the rhubarb & pastry cream the day before making the cake.

Roasted rhubarb:
300g – about 10-12 oz. rhubarb, rinsed, trimmed and cut into 3-4 inch lengths
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water or orange juice
grated zest of half an orange (which can provide the juice)

Pastry cream:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
scant 1/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste

Crumbs:
7 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake:
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons butter, room temperature
scant 1/4 cup sugar
scant 1/4 brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature (you can sub 1 egg + the 3 whites separated from the yolks for the custard)
1 cup flour, very lightly scooped into the cup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sour cream

Rhubarb: Heat the oven to 350° Toss together the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and zest, and transfer to a shallow baking dish (like a pie plate) where it will fit in one layer. Roast for about 15 minutes until the rhubarb is tender but not mushy. Cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk until just steaming. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together in heat proof bowl. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture in a steady stream while whisking. Scrape back into the saucepan and heat, stirring, until thickened. Try not to let it boil, but if it starts, stir vigorously. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Rinse the bowl, and transfer the cream into it. Gently press a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper onto the surface of the cream, and refrigerate overnight with the rhubarb.

Crumbs: Melt the butter. Mix the sugar, flour, salt, and spices in a bowl,  pour in the butter, and stir with a fork until it forms crumbs. Refrigerate while you make the cake.

Cake & assembly: Heat the oven to 350° Line a 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  Cream the butter and sugars together either by hand or in a mixer. Add the eggs – it will look curdled but don’t worry about it at this point. Combine the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a small bowl, and mix into the butter-sugar-egg mixture. Remove form the mixer and fold in the sour cream with a spatula.

Spread the batter into the baking pan and smooth it. Dollop the pastry cream on top, and arrange the rhubarb on top of that. Crumble the crumbs over the top, trying to leave some of the cream and rhubarb showing (mine didn’t, much).

Bake for 40-50 minutes – Nicola says until there’s “only the slightest hint of wobble in the center”. Cool for 1-2 hours if you want it to cut neatly, and not squish.

Rhubarb-orange soda made from the rhubarb roasting syrup
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Sprinkle cake

Adapted from Molly Yeh  – this recipe appears in her cookbook, Molly on the Range. Even when I was young I was never as cute as Molly, but I have overcome my initial envy, and come to love her!

For the cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour (I used unbleached, but I bet cake flour would produce a softer cake)
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder (upped a bit from Molly’s)
  • 1 cup – 2 sticks – unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 egg whites, also room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon clear vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles, and as Molly says, artificially colored cylinders that you’ll find in the baking aisle at any grocery store; don’t use nonpareils, colored sugar, or anything naturally colored!

For the frosting:

I did not use Molly’s recipe here – it seemed to have way too much butter in proportion to powered sugar

  • 12 tablespoons, 1 1/2 sticks salted or unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups of confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt (omit if you use salted butter)
  • 1/4 cup milk, half & half, or cream

Makes a 3-layer 8-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Heat the oven to 350° Grease three 8-in. cake pans, and line the bottoms with wax paper or parchment rounds, OR line two 12-cup muffins tins with paper liners. If you only have one muffin tin, you can store the extra half of the batter in the fridge while the first half bakes.

Make the cake: Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl –  a whisk works well for this. Cut the butter into chunks and drop it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, and beat for a few minutes. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. (you can do this with a handheld mixer or by hand, but you’ll need a good mixer and strong arms!) Add the egg whites one at a time (or as close to one at a time as possible – I was pouring the whites in from a plastic container where they’d been saved, and had to guess, but it worked OK!) and beat well after each addition. Measure the milk in a spouted measuring cup, and add the extracts, then, with the mixer running, add the flour and milk to the egg mixture in 2-3 alternating  addition. Finally fold in the sprinkles, and divide the batter into your cake pans or muffin tins.

Bake for 25-30 mins, until a toothpick stabbed into the center comes out clean – start checking at 20 minutes.

Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Cut the butter into chunks and drop it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, and beat for a few minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt (if using) and the milk. Cover the mixer with a dish towel, hold on, and beat until the sugar is moistened – you’ll know because the sound will change. Remove the towel, scrape the sides of the bowl, and add more milk or water carefully – by teaspoons – until you have a good spreadable consistency. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes to get it really nice and fluffy. Frost the cake or cupcakes and decorate the tops with more sprinkles. Set in the fridge to set the icing, but tastes best if you let it come back to room temperature before eating.

Made for a part zoom, part in the flesh, baby shower for a mom-to-be of twins, Spring 2021

zoom portion of the shower
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Late summer fruit crumble

Based on a Smitten Kitchen recipe, (https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/crumbling-crisp-convictions/) but that one is a strawberry-rhubarb crumble, for spring, and I’m recommending summer fruit – blueberries, peaches, plums, cherries. I did a few things differently in the method, too.

The original says 6 to 8 servings; you might get more than that, with ice cream.

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
A few grates of nutmeg
About 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt – or use salted butter

For the filling:
4 to 4 ½ cups pitted and sliced fruit – peeled if you use peaches* (cherry-peach or peach and plum are especially nice)
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice from the lemon you zested for the topping

8-10 TBLS sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375°F. Make topping: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter with a fork until you have formed small and large clumps. Refrigerate or set in the freezer while you make the filling.

Make the filling: Toss the fruit, lemon juice juice, sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt together in a bowl. Scrape the filling into a shallow baking dish that holds about at least a quart. Bake the filling until it is bubbling around the edges – about 20 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and get the topping from fridge or freezer, and crumble it over the fruit with your hands, so get all sizes of crumbs. Put the dish back in the oven and bake until crumble topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling underneath, about 20 – 25 minutes.

Eat with ice cream.

*To peel peaches, place them in a medium pot that will hold all of them comfortably. Cover them with cold water, then remove the peaches from the water, place the pot on the stove, and bring to a full boil. Drop the peaches in and count to 30 slowly. Pour the hot water out in the sink, and flood the pot with cold water. As soon as you can handle them, pull the skins off the peaches (they should come off easily). As you skin the peaches, slice them into the bowl you’ll use to mix up the filling.

For Orange Tree Imports, Farmers’ Market to Table class, August 2019

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Roman-style cheese tart

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 8 tablespoons, 1 stick, 4 oz., softened unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten

Filling:

  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum or 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

Make the crust:

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Blend in the butter until it looks like crumbs. Mix the beaten egg in with a fork until you have a soft dough. Pat the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart tin with removeable bottom. Chill for 30 minutes.

Make the filling:

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and rum or vanilla. Add the egg yolk and ricotta and mix well.

Bake the pie: 

Heat the oven to 350°. Pour the cheese filling into the crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until puffed and brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, and then remove the outer rim of the tart tin. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Refrigerate any leftovers.

For Orange Tree Imports cooking class

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Crostata di Ricotta

Filling:

  • 1/3 cup dark raisons
  • 2 tablespoons brandy (Grappa is more Italian; brandy is more Sconnie)
  • one 15-ounce container whole milk ricotta
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 2 ounces, about 1/3 cup, semi-sweet chocolate chopped into bits (or use mini-chips)

Crostata assembly & serving:

  • One batch of double crust pasta frolla. Your choice, but I prefer scented with orange zest for this tart.
  • One large egg yolk beaten with a little water for egg wash
  • Confectioners sugar, if desired

Roll out the bottom crust:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough into a 10-inch circle, that’s about 1/8 inch thick. Fit the dough into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removeable bottom. Trim the overhang to about 1/2 an inch, and fold and press that into the sides of the pan, to make the sides thicker than the bottom. Chill the shell for abut 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling:

Soak the raisons in the brandy for 30 minutes.

Mix the ricotta, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest in a large bowl until no streaks of egg remain. Stir in the raisons with all their liquid, and the chocolate.

Assemble the crostata:

Heat the oven to 350°, with a rack in the bottom third.

Spread the filling into the chilled bottom crust.

Roll out the second disk of dough into a 10-inch circle, and cut as many 1-inch wide strips as you can. Use a fluted pastry cutter if you have one, or a knife.

Brush the edges of the tart with the egg wash. Lay about half the strips across the tart going one direction. Brush them with the egg wash. Lay the remaining strips cross-wise over the other strips, forming a lattice –  no need to weave. Brush with egg wash.

Put the tart in the oven (if you’re worried the pan may leak, place a cookie sheet or round pizza pan under the tart pan) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, and then remove the outer rim of the tart tin.

For Orange Tree Imports cooking class

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Crostata de Marmellata

Filling:

  • 2 cups fresh or un-thawed frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup sugar

Crostata assembly & serving:

  • One batch of double crust pasta frolla. Your choice, but I prefer scented with lemon zest for this tart.
  • One large egg yolk beaten with a little water for egg wash
  • Confectioners sugar, if desired

Roll out the bottom crust:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough into a 10-inch circle, that’s about 1/8 inch thick. Fit the dough into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removeable bottom. Trim the overhang to about 1/2 an inch, and fold and press that into the sides of the pan, to make the sides thicker than the bottom. Chill the shell for abut 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling:

Combine the berries and the sugar in a sauce pan that’s at least 2 quarts, cover, and cook over medium-high heat until the berries start give off juice. Uncover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until berries are very soft. Mash the berries with a spoon, and continue cooking up to 10 minutes longer until very thick. Cool the filling.

Assemble the crostata:

Heat the oven to 350°, with a rack in the bottom third.

Spread the cooled filling into the crust.

Roll out the second disk of dough into a 10-inch circle, and cut as many 1-inch wide strips as you can. Use a fluted pastry cutter if you have one, or a knife.

Brush the edges of the tart with the egg wash. Lay about half the strips across the tart going one direction. Brush them with the egg wash. Lay the remaining strips cross-wise over the other strips, forming a lattice –  no need to weave. Brush with egg wash.

Put the tart in the oven (if you’re worried the pan may leak, place a cookie sheet or round pizza pan under the tart pan) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, and then remove the outer rim of the tart tin. Cool completely, and dust with confectioners sugar if desired, just before serving.

For Orange Tree Imports cooking class

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Pasta Frolla

Pasta Frolla is an all-purpose sweet dough that can be used for tarts and cookies. It’s easy to handle and can be rolled or patted into baking tins. This recipe is based on Michele Scicolone’s La Dolce Vita, and was also published in the Sept. 1992 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Double Crust pasta frolla (two 9-inch crusts)

  • 2 1/2 2  1/3 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • grated zest of one lemon, or a small orange
  • 12 tablespoons – 1 1/2 sticks – cold unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor – or the bowl of a stand mixer, or, if you do not have either appliance, a large mixing bowl. Slice the butter in on top of the dry ingredients, and either pulse in the food processor, or cut the butter in with the paddle blade of the mixer, or a pastry blender or your fingers in the large bowl, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, and there are no large pieces of butter left.

Beat the egg and egg yolk together with a fork, add the vanilla, and drizzle the liquid into the food processor or mixing bowl. Pulse or mix until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide it in half and shape it into two disks. Wrap on wax paper and chill for an hour or overnight. You can also freeze the dough at this point, for later use.

Pasta Frolla Almond Cookies:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pasta frolla out about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and arrange on parchment lined cookie sheets. Brush with an egg wash, and sprinkle with sliced almonds and coarse sugar. Dab a little extra egg wash on top to really adhere the nuts and sugar. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

For Orange Tree Imports cooking class

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Victoria Sponge, or Dad’s Day Cake

This recipe is from Michael Smith’s The Afternoon Tea Book, that I first encountered in our library when I worked at Pleasant Company. The book was already on the old side, originally published in the late ’80s,  even then, in the mid-90s, but looks like you can still get a used copy on Amazon, which is what I did. It’s a terribly reliable source for all things British. The secret trick to the cake is using whipped butter.

I made a Victoria sponge to eat with custard and raspberry sauce, while watching the royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, on May 19, 2018. I thought I’d write it up, only to find not only have I been making this cake for various occasions dating back at least 6 years, I already wrote up the recipe, as a father’s day cake I made for Mark in 2012, and there’s a blog post about it, too.

Not only that, I made a half batch of pastry cream to go with the 2018 cake, and that’s just what I did in 2012, as well.

Cake:

  • 2 cups cake flour (I like King Arthur Guinevere – unbleached)
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup whipped butter, softened (I like Land O’Lakes)
  • pinch of salt – or use salted butter

Heat the oven to 325°. Grease, line the bottoms with a round of wax or parchment paper, grease the paper, and lightly flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cakes pans (if you use 8s, make sure they are at least 2 inches deep). Or grease and lightly flour a cake pan with a depression for filling, like a Maryann pan (you’ll have extra batter to bake in a plain pan). I got mine from King Arthur, but looks like they only carry mini Maryanns now.

Sift the flour and baking powder together. In an electric mixer with the whisk beater, beat the butter and sugar till well creamed. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and water, and the salt, if using, and continue to beat until the mixture is lighter in color and glossy (about 3 minutes). Turn into the prepared pans, and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until just lightly browned, puffed, and firm. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges and un-mold onto a cooling rack or serving plate.

Pastry cream:

  • 1 cup of half & half
  • 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar, or, if you are out, use light brown sugar for a lightly caramel cream
  • pinch of salt (or again use salted butter)
  • 3 egg yolks, as much chalazae removed as possible – you can kind of squeeze them off with your fingers when you separate the whites and yolks.
  • 1 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted (or salted, but leave out the pinch of salt)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla been paste

Combine the half & half and and 3 tablespoons sugar in a saucepan, add the salt if using, and heat until steaming, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and cornstarch together in a 2 cup spouted glass measuring cup. Pour the hot half & half into the yolk-sugar mixture, whisking, and transfer the mixture back to the saucepan over the heat. Cook, stirring with a metal spoon, until thickened. Don’t boil, but a few large bubbles should form on the surface. Whisk if necessary to prevent lumps. Remove from the heat, and add the butter and and vanilla. Mix in the pot until the butter is melted, then scrape into a bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper directly on to the top of the cream. Refrigerate until cold before using – at least 3 hours and up to 48 hours.

Assembly – about 3 cups of mixed fruit – I used raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. Cut the fruit into bite-size pieces, remove hulls and pits. Add 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup sugar, mix, and let macerate at room temperature until the cake is cooled. Spread the pastry cream in the depression in the Maryann cake (Freeze the extra layer for later). Top with the fruit. Eat as is, or with ice cream or whipped cream.

For a more traditional approach, sandwich the two layers with jam, raspberry or strawberry preferred.

Originally posted in 2012, somewhat updated in 2018

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My version of Farm Cakes

The Ovens of Brittany bakery used to sell a chocolate muffin/cupcake with a cream cheese and chocolate chips stuffing, and they were called Farm Cakes. For a while in the 1980s, one of the Ovens bakers managed the bakery at one of the Steep & Brew Coffee cafes, and they sold them, too.

Here’s my version of Farm Cakes, using a hand mixed, mayo-for-shortening, chocolate cake. The best thing to use to mix up the batter is the type of flat whisk shown below – it’s for angel cake, to fold the egg whites in, but it’s also a good all-purpose mixer.

Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup cold coffee (can use decaf)
2 eggs, 1 separated
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 cup mayo (can use reduced fat)

Combine the sugar and cocoa in a large bowl. Stir the extracts into the coffee, then add about half the coffee mixture to the sugar and cocoa, and mix until smooth. Add the rest of the coffee. Beat in one whole egg and the white of the separated egg, add the mayo, beat till smooth, and then measure the baking soda and salt onto the top of the mixture in your bowl. Pour the flour on top, and mix well.

Filling:
2/3 of an 8-oz. bar of cream cheese (about 6 oz.), softened
2/3 cup of mini chocolate chips
1 egg yolk
A few drops of almond extract (optional)

Place the cream cheese in a bowl, add the chocolate chips, egg yolk, and extract if you’re using it. Mash together.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line about 18 wells in two muffin pans with paper liners. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Drop about 2 tsp of filling into each muffin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm.

Note: It might be wise to grease the tops of your muffin tins, or be sure to loosen the cakes when they are still warm, because in testing these in 2018, using these amounts of batter and filling, I got 20 cakes with significant muffin tops! That is batter that spread over the tops and could stick to the tin.

Originally posted around 2010; based on a recipe from the 1980s

Farm Cake with muffin top
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Pear Cake

Pears on the counter for pear cake

This was one of my three go-to desserts when my kids were little – that I could make when I got home from work, and we almost always had what we needed in the house, and they could be devoured as soon as they were ready. The others were camel cussert (caramel pudding) and ginger bread.

2-3 pears depending on size
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil – or another 6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 – 1/2 white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger (or 2-3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, and add the brown sugar. Stir until the nicely blended and smooth, and pour the mixture into a buttered or greased 9 x 9 square baking dish. Peel the pears, core, and slice them, and arrange the slices over the brown sugar. Place the oil or melted butter in a mixing bowl, and add the white sugar – use the half cup if you are using plain yogurt, and less if using vanilla. Mix well, and add the egg, then add the, leavening, salt and ginger. Mix in the yogurt, and the flour, and spread over the pears. Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes in a 350° oven. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then turn out onto a serving platter large enough to catch any drips.

Can also be made with apples.

Pear cake for work breakfast

Originally published October 2011

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