Chicken with Mushroom and Tomato Recipe

Chicken with Mushroom and Tomato Recipe

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Birthday and Cake

One always hopes for nice weather on one's birthday - that's natural, don't you think? I imagine for those born in the months of winter, perhaps a picturesque fall of snow might be more appropriate, but since my birthday is in May, I always thought that sunny skies on my birthday wasn't too unreasonable a wish.

However, I'm not sure since my birthday falls right at the beginning of May, that sunshine always seem to be a 50/50 proposition. Perhaps it's all those April showers still carrying over - I recall a equal number of beautifully blue-skied birthdays as well as overcast, drizzly ones.

Mother Nature has decided to make it suspenseful for me this year by sending a spate of rainy, windy weather through the weekend. By the time most of you read this, I'm sure it will be Monday morning and I'll be peeking outside the window to see whether I'll be wearing birthday galoshes or not.

Regardless of weather, I've already been treated to a very nice pre-birthday dinner - I might review this place in a later post because I enjoyed it so much, and I got to enjoy the company of dear friends, which is always the most precious of birthday presents to me.

And, I have to admit that gloomy weather has made it easier to stay indoors and work on kitchen projects - my own little birthday cake to myself has been an experiment I've been working on since my last trip to Hong Kong. It's not quite perfect but it's in a pretty tasty stage right now - a little more tweaking and hopefully I'll reach what I'm envisioning in my dreams.


This cake is inspired by one of my favorite teas, jasmine, infusing a base of milk and whipped cream. It's meant to be airy, delicate, floral, and sweet - just like spring. For taste and texture contrast I made a layer of chocolate cake - almost genoise like in texture, and spread with a layer of melted chocolate and feuilletine.


For those of you who haven't used feuilletine, it's made of thin cookie-like sheets of butter, sugar, and flour, crushed into tiny flakes that resemble corn flakes. Feuilletine adds an intriguing, delightful crunchiness to desserts - it's usually mixed with ganache or sprinkled as a layer in cakes, to provide a surprising contrast. It's especially effective in mousse cakes like this jasmine cake, because the cream is so smooth and creamy, that the crunch of the feuilletine provides a fabulous extra dimension to an otherwise homegenously-textured dessert.

You can find feuilletine online, or you can also substitute Rice Krispies - that was what Pierre Herme used in his home recipe for his famous Plaisir Sucre in his Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme book, and it works beautifully.

The chocolate cake is rich, earthy, and grounds the ethereally-light jasmine cream without overpowering it. The feuilletine adds a nice crisp touch. The first few times I made the jasmine cream, the flavor came out too light, so be sure to taste the infused milk before you use it - if it seems too subtle, let it steep a little longer. When I can taste the jasmine against the chocolate, it's tastebud-tingling happiness.

Well, whether it's sunny, rainy, or cloudy, I'm looking forward to another sweet year. Thanks to all of you for keeping me company on this journey - you're the best!

Jasmine Chocolate Cake

makes (6) 2 1/2 cakes

Chocolate Cake

1/4 cup cocoa powder

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.

Sift cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing to combine thoroughly.

Add in vanilla and mix to combine.

Combine buttermilk and vanilla together in a small cup.

Add in flour mixture and buttermilk to batter in 5 alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix after each addition just to combine. The batter should be very liquidy.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly.

Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on wire rack.

Feuilletine Layer

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup feuilletine or Rice Krispies

Combine chocolate and butter in a metal bowl and place over a pot of simmering water to melt. Let chocolate butter and melt together, stirring to combine.

Remove bowl from heat and stir in feuilletine until combined.

Spread the mixture in a thin layer over the top of the cooled chocolate cake layer. Let set for about 30 minutes.

Place six 2 1/2 diameter cake rings on a baking sheet. Line the rings with acetate strips on the inside for easier removal of the cakes.

Cut out circles from the chocolate cake layer and place into the cake rings, fitting them snugly into the bottom. (Prepare the rings with the cake layers before you make the jasmine cream).

Jasmine Cream

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup jasmine tea

1 tablespoon powdered gelatin

1 1/2 cup whipping cream

Combine milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat and add in vanilla and jasmine tea. Cover saucepan and let steep for 15 to 20 minutes.

Combine gelatin with 2 1/2 tablespoons of water in another small bowl.

Strain out jasmine tea from milk. Bring milk back to a boil.

Add in gelatin and stir until it is fully melted and combined.

Remove from stove and let mixture cool to room temperature (do not let it completely cool and start setting up).

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip cream until it holds soft peaks.

Add in jasmine milk mixture a little at a time, folding it into the whipped cream carefully until it becomes a liquidy mixture.

Divide the jasmine cream among the prepared cake rings, filling them to the top. Smooth out the tops and chill cakes in refrigerator overnight to let the cream set. Remove cakes from rings before serving.

Apricot, Orange, and Almond Mini Cakes

Remember the chocolate salon I mentioned attending a couple of months ago? Not only was it a great place to meet chocolatiers both celebrated and up-and-coming, but also of course to meet fellow chocoholics. One person I was extremely excited to meet was esteemed pastry chef and cookbook author Carole Bloom. The "Carole Bloom section" on my bookshelf has grown steadily over the years: The International Dictionary of Desserts, Pastries, and Confections is indispensable for deciphering the complexities of pastry terminology, while The Essential Baker is a fantastic resource for ingredient-specific baking inspirations. Carole was a speaker at the salon; when she learned I was also speaking, she very sweetly contacted me and suggested we meet up beforehand. How exciting to get the opportunity to meet someone whose work I'd admired! In person, Carole is warm and personable, generous with sharing stories and tips. It's easy to tell that she's experienced in baking and in explaining it to the curious beginner. I'd love to take a class from her sometime, or just watch her in action! Carole mentioned her new book which was about to come out, Bite-Size Desserts: Creating Mini Sweet Treats, from Cupcakes and Cobblers to Custards and Cookies , and very kindly offered to send me a review copy. A few weeks after the salon, I found a shiny new copy of her book in my mailbox - thanks so much, Carole! Bite-Size Desserts is an adorably named, very attractively produced book with some seriously scrumptious recipes. Any reader who goes through my site will quickly realize I have a predilection of miniature desserts; individual portions can be fun to put together, easier to photograph, and of course people love them! In her cookbook Carole has created mini versions of all the classics, from cakes to cobblers to custards, and shows how to plate and present them beautifully. From tiny cupcakes with rose-like swirls of chocolate frosting to espresso cups of mousse, it's a spread of dollhouse-sized delights. As a side note, all the measurements are in both volume and weight - LOVE!

I finally got the chance to try out one of the recipes in the book last week: Apricot-Orange Loaf Cakes. Made with brown sugar and vanilla, studded with Grand Marnier-soaked apricots, these little lovelies fall somewhere between pound cake and coffee cake - moist, fluffy, and rich. The recipe also calls for adding in chopped walnuts, but I decided for a lighter touch and sprinkled the top of the cakes with sliced almonds and some sugar. The gave the baked cakes a crackly, crunchy top that went very well with the velvety texture of the cake beneath. The combination of flavors is subtly sophisticated - while apricots make it summery, I could see substituting different ingredients for the changing seasons and the cake would retain its satisfying appeal.

The recipe calls for baking them in mini 4" x 2 1/4 " loaf pans. However, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to use some paper bakers I picked up in Japan last winter. Talk about tiny, Japan has been associating small with "kawaii" (cute) for ages and somehow, everything there does seem twice as adorable with their petite proportions.

These wax-lined bakers seem to be a common item in Japanese houseware stores - I wish them sold more of these items here, as they are perfect for gift-giving - you simply give your cake to the lucky recipient in the same pan it was baked in. They also come in a multitide of designs and colors, making a pretty presentation a snap. I really liked the scalloped edges on these papers. I found similar bake-and-serve papers on king arthur flour ,for those not making a trip to Asia in the near future.

Back to the topic of tiny, these bakers were a scant - did my little loaf cakes ever look precious when they came out of the oven, but practically speaking, they really are single-serving size. No sharing here -and you probably won't want to, given how delicious the cake is! I baked some of the batter in the recommended pan size and it does a produce a more slice-friendly loaf - see last photo. It keeps very well and the flavors seem to deepen over time.

I'm now eager to try out some of the other recipes in Carole's book - it's fanned the flames of my miniature mania for sure! Thanks for writing such a lovely book, Carole!

Apricot, Orange, and Almond Loaf Cakes

adapted from Carole Bloom's Bite-Size Desserts

makes 12 4"x 2 1/4" loaves

2/3 cup (4 ounces) dried apricots, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

2 cups (9 ounces) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (5 ounces) sugar plus extra for sprinkling

3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar

2 extra-large eggs, room temperature (I used large and it turned out fine)

1 extra-large egg yolk, room temperature (same as above)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray twelve mini loaf pans with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet.

Combine apricots and Grand Marnier in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until well combined.

Combine eggs, egg yolk, extracts, and orange peel in a small bowl. Add to mixture and beat until well combined.

Add the flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

Add in the apricots and mix until combined.

Divide mixture among prepared pans, filling about 3/4 full. Sprinkle almonds and sugar over the tops.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on wire racks before serving.

Chai Cupcakes, Two Ways

When I worked at this chocolate cafe, we in the pastry kitchen were responsible for baking up all sorts of chocolate-intensive treats, as well as making the chocolate drinks that were the specialty of the house.

From classic hot chocolate to mochas to bicerins, we made the mixes for the drinks in the kitchen, and they never seemed to last long enough before we'd have to make a new batch. I have to say that the smell of melting chocolate is one of my favorite memories from working there, along with the stream of regulars who would always gush happily about the spicy hot chocolate, or the chocolate thai ice tea, without which their day wouldn't be complete.

Sadly, I don't have the metabolism anymore to consume a bowl of hot chocolate every day, or I'd be bigger than Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But every once in a while I'll get a nostalgic craving for one of Bittersweet's drinks. One of my favorite things to do in the early morning when I arrived for my shift, was to heat up one some of the chai-infused milk we used in the chocolate chai drink, as my sort-of morning tea. It was just spicy enough, and warm, which was nice in a kitchen not yet heated up from just-turned-on ovens. Even though I've used all the spices that make up chai before, a whiff of it never fails to make me think of the exotic.

Memories of that chai is what inspired these chai cupcakes. Well, that and my attempts to pack up the kitchen for the impending move unearthed a mini cupcake tin I hadn't even used yet, and a host of half-used spice jars. Yes, I know that spices lose their potency the longer you keep them around, and had I not been sternly warned by the boyfriend to stop buying more stuff when we're trying to move, I might have gone out to get the fresh cloves and cardamom to grind myself. However, I'm still pleased with the flavor I achieved in these cupcakes: just lightly spicy, with a whiff of the exotic. While I combined ground spices to my liking, you can also get chai flavors in your cupcakes by infusing the milk with chai tea bags. I like being able to control the amounts of the various spices, and the intensity of the flavor.

So in trying to decide what kind of chai cupcake to make, I went a little overboard. I couldn't decide if I wanted a plain chai cupcake or a chocolate chai cupcake; in the end; indecision won out and I decided to make both - simply as a taste-testing experiment, of course. I used my basic vanilla and chocolate cupcake recipes, which baked up beautifully in miniature form. The vanilla chai cupcake is beguilingly freckled with the spices, and is pleasantly spicy, sort of like vanilla with a new dress on, while the chocolate version is richer, with a more smoldering flavor; I used more spices in the batter to boost the flavor. The question of what frosting to use arose as well: what started as a simple desire for cupcakes turned into a full-blown project as I settled on a cinnamon chocolate whipped ganache for the vanilla cupcakes, and a honey swiss meringue buttercream for the chocolate ones. These cupcakes have sugar and spice and everything nice packed into them! Maybe I went a little carried away with the cupcake experimentation, but the results were worth it - they make such nice visual contrasts to each other, don't you think?

A couple baking notes about the frostings: I'm becoming very fond of whipped ganache; it's ridiculously simple to make and so addictive, especially if you use your favorite chocolate. Be sure to let it chill completely before whipping it, otherwise it might curdle (some recipes say you only need to let it cool to room temperature, however I had better results when I chilled mine). Also, don't overwhip it; you'll get the same unpleasant mess you do when you overwhip cream. However, what you can do with overwhipped ganache is to simply melt it over a bain-marie, let it set up again in the refrigerator, and rewhip - carefully. For the swiss meringue buttercream, I love it because it's quicker to make than italian meringue, but it is less stable, so I've learned a few tips to making it: be sure to cook the egg white mixture to 160 degrees F, to make sure all the salmonella bacteria are killed; whip the meringue in the mixer until it's fully cooled and thick, or else hot meringue will melt the added butter; your butter should be room temperature and softened to incorporate easier into the buttercream; and finally, many times the buttercream appears to curdle or break, which always sends people into a panic, but you simply have to keep beating the buttercream for several minutes and it will come back together into a nice velvety buttercream.

So I guess baking a batch of cupcakes isn't exactly packing up the kitchen, but at least we have something to snack on while we continue our moving-out endeavors!

Chai Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamon

Combine the spices together in a small bowl.

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

Makes about 12 regular cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chai spice mixture

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 egg whites

½ cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Stir in the chai spice mixture.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until soft and creamy.

Add in egg and egg whites, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition to combine before adding the next.

Add in the flour mixture and milk mixture in three alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just to combine each addition before adding the next.

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, fill each cupcake liner about ¾ full with batter. Bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the cupcakes comes out clean. Mini cupcakes will take about 15 minutes, so check sooner.

Let cupcakes cool in tin on a wire rack until cool before decorating.

Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

Makes about 12 regular cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chai spice mixture


½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs

½ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Place chocolate in a metal bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water. Set aside.

Sift the flours, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl. Stir in the chai spice mixture.

Cream the butter and both sugars together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until soft and creamy.

Add in the chocolate and mix to combine.

Add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition to combine before adding the next.

Add in the flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just to combine each addition before adding the next.

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, fill each cupcake liner about ¾ full with batter. Bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the cupcakes comes out clean. Mini cupcakes will take about 15 minutes, so check sooner.

Let cupcakes cool in tin on a wire rack until cool before decorating.

Swiss Meringue Honey Buttercream

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons honey
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-in pieces
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Combine the sugar, honey, and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.

Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.

Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.

When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.

Add in the vanilla extract and beat to combine.

The buttercream is ready to be used. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out.

Whipped Chocolate Cinnamon Ganache

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Place chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl.

Combine cream and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat just until it comes to a simmer.

Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for a minute before stirring to combine. Stir until chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour into a container and chill in refrigerator for an hour until it is firm.

Place ganache in a stand mixer and whip with whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy. Do not overwhip or it will become dry and crumbly, just like overwhipped cream.

Gingerbread Cupcakes for a Special Birthday

Does anyone else have a noticeable uptick in friends' birthdays around this time of the year? November to me is not just the month that marks the beginning of the holidays, but also the beginning of the birthday onslaught. I have my theories as to why (consider that Valentine's Day occurs 9 months earlier...hmm...) but come November I always prepare myself for a blizzard of parties, presents, and birthday cakes.

Of course, one very special November birthday for me is that of the boyfriend (Fun fact: I have two sisters and both of their significant others have their birthdays this month as well. It's a birthday barrage, I tell you!) I asked the guy what kind of cake he would like for his birthday and he replied, "Gingerbread!"

Naturally my guy is so awesome that he will actually pick a cake that's seasonal:) Something dark, lush, spicy, and note-perfect for the holidays. Gingerbread has such a fabulously complex history as well - it was one of favorite cookies to research for my cookie book. The word gingerbread is a corruption of the ancient French word gingebras, and originally referred to preserved ginger, a costly and coveted spice during medieval times.

It wasn't until the 15th century that gingerbread was used to describe cakelike concoctions made with treacle and flavored with ginger. This spicy treat evolved differently around Europe: in some countries gingerbread remained soft and cakelike, while in other places it morphed into a dough that was pressed into wooden molds and baked into crisp, intricately imprinted plaques. In England treacle was still used to flavor gingerbread, while in other places molasses and honey were substituted. The German city of Nuremberg became famous for its honey-flavored version of gingerbread, known as lebkuchen. Formed in elaborately carved molds, lebkuchen were true edible art. Over in colonial America, the use of carved molds slowly gave way to simpler tin cutters, leading to the gingerbread cookies best known in the US today. Gingerbread in cake form isn't quite as well known here, but if you like a little spice with your sweet, this may just be your thing.

I was really itching to use my mini cupcake pan again, so the recipe turned into gingerbread cupcakes topped with a swirl of lemon creme chantilly and a bit of candied lemon peel. I love the contrast between the rich, spicy cake and the clean tang of the whipped cream - like fresh snow on Christmas firs. No two gingerbread recipes are the same - like the bakers of old, you can use your favorite combination of spices. I like a mix of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. A generous measure of brown sugar swirled with dark molasses gives the gingerbread its robust, heady sweetness and enticing brown hue.

Be sure not overbake these cupcakes, especially if you're making mini ones. I also poured the leftover batter (once I'd filled up the muffin tin) into a loaf pan, which baked up into a really lovely, very moist little cake. Also, wait to frost the cupcakes until you're ready to serve them, since the whipped cream can't keep for very long outside the fridge and refrigerating the cupcakes will make them hard.

The making of these cupcakes also coincided with a package I received from Challenge Butter. Along with some cooking tools from OXO I got a selection of Spice Islands Spices that I was "challenged" to use to create a holiday dessert recipe. The spices turned out to be perfect for this gingerbread cupcake recipe! One can never have enough spices in the house, especially during the holidays - or a busy birthday season!

I hope you enjoy these little lovelies as much as the birthday boy did!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Creme Chantilly

makes about 30 mini cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark molasses

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup whipping cream

4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini muffin tin with cupcake papers.

Sift flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Combine molasses and eggs together in a small bowl. Add to mixer and beat until combined.

Add flour mixture and milk in 5 alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until well combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack. (Note: if you make a loaf, the baking time will be longer).

When ready to decorate, put whipping cream in a clean mixer bowl and whisk on medium until it begins to thicken. Add in the confectioners' sugar and whisk until soft peaks begin to form. Add lemon extract and whisk just to combine.

Scrape whipped cream into piping bag fitted with a small star tip and pipe swirls onto cupcakes.

Shades of Pale: Brown Butter Vanilla Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Here's a little irony for you: when I went to the midwest for Thanksgiving a couple weeks back, I was told there might be a chance of snow, that I might get to experience the joy of the first snowfall. So I packed my suitcase full of woolly scarves and cable-knit sweaters, only to encounter crisp, clear skies and sunshine glazing the snow-free roofs of decoration-bedecked homes. FYI, I have seen snow before, but when you've got to travel miles from home to see it, "White Christmas" unfortunately becomes more of a pleasant, Norman Rockwell-ish fantasy rather than actual nostalgia.

So imagine my surprise when I was driving up northeast of San Francisco this week, on my way to Sacramento, and I discover the hills dusted with white! We received the briefest of visits from Jack Frost, his passage leaving powdered-sugar mantles draped across rolling hills, still green with grass underneath. Even though I'd driven up this way before, I slowed down, just like everyone else around me, marveling at this strange and wondrous fairy country we'd all wandered into. Only the cows remained unchanged, standing placidly in a world gone monochrome. Suddenly I realized why the boyfriend would wax wistful about the white Christmases of his midwest memories. I'm sure the rare snow I saw has already melted, but I'll remember it in my mind's eye as we move into the more familiar steel-grey skies and chilly rains of San Francisco winter.

All those wintry shades of pale inspired me when I came up with this cake. I wanted to take a basic vanilla cake and play around with the flavors. I decided to use one of my favorite techniques, browning butter, to oomph up the flavor. If you haven't browned butter, I actually did a how-to video on Chow.com. Browning turn the simple taste of butter into a fabulous melange of caramel, nutty, and butterscotch, adding a lovely complexity to whatever you add it to. Depending on how dark you take your browning butter, you can get some really rich, caramelly notes - but be careful not to burn it! I always take my butter off right before it gets to the color I want, since it will keep cooking for a little bit afterwards. I was curious as to whether it would affect the color of the cake, but if you look at the final picture, you can see it's a beautiful creamy yellow - probably because of all the eggs in the cake recipe! Making the cake was also a great chance to use some of my precious vanilla beans. The texture is nicely firm and tight-crumbed, perfect for making a layer cake. Don't overbake this cake so it dries out - I think I would have pulled my cakes out a little sooner, maybe around the 35 minutes.

Since the boyfriend is a big fan of yellow cake with chocolate frosting, I filled the cake with my whipped chocolate ganache, using a nice Guittard 72% that would stand up to the richness of the browned butter cake. Don't be shy about spreading the ganache on - your guests will thank you!

Finally, to frost the cake I wanted to add a third flavor so I took Dorie Greenspan's reliable Swiss meringue buttercream and added in a generous measure of caramel. The result is a innocuously pale buttercream, its hue somewhere between antique lace and eggshell, with a sweet golden taste of caramel.

To give a hint to this I tried my hand at a few caramel spirals to decorate the top of the cake. I recently had someone ask me how to keep their kitchen clean when working with sugar, and my response was that I was still trying to figure it out myself! Caramel threads have a way of floating everywhere, like fairy floss. I just try to stay in one area as much as possible to avoid trailing caramel all over the place. Silicone mats are also your friend - easy to rinse off and clean up. You can also spray any metal tools you're using lightly with cooking spray, so the caramel won't stick to it.

The soft, snowy appearance of this cake reminds me of those hills so briefly shrouded in white. I like this cake so much, though, I don't think I'll wait until the next snow in the Bay Area to make it!

Browned Butter Cake

adapted from Kate Zuckerman's The Sweet Life

makes (2) 9-inch round layers

1 vanilla bean

12 ounces unsalted butter

1 2/3 cups sugar

2 eggs plus 4 egg yolks, room temperature

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature

To make the cake: Split over the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds.

Place bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and add in the butter. Cook on medium-high heat until the butter begins to turn brown and smell nutty. Swirl the pan so the butter cooks evenly.

When butter is rich brown (you can leave it lighter for a more subtle flavor, but don't let it get too dark and burn). remove from heat. Take out vanilla bean and place melted butter in a container. Refrigerate for an hour until butter has resolidified.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round pans.

Place solid browned butter in a stand mixer. Beat on medium until it softens and becomes creamy,

Add sugar and beat until it goes from dry and clumpy to fluffy and smooth. It may take a few minutes.

Add in eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating between each addition until fully incorporated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

With mixer set on slow, add in flour mixture and milk in 5 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Beat just until incorporated.

Divide batter among the two pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove and place on wire racks. Run a knife around the edges for easier removal. Let cool for about 20 minutes and then invert pans to remove cakes. Let them finish cooling before decorating.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

Place chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl.

Place cream in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat just until it comes to a simmer.

Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for a minute before stirring to combine. Stir until chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour into a container and chill in refrigerator for an hour until it is firm.

Place ganache in a stand mixer and whip with whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy. Do not overwhip or it will become dry and crumbly, just like overwhipped cream.

Caramel Buttercream

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

To make the caramel: Place sugar to a small saucepan and add enough water to give it the texture of wet sand.

Cook sugar on low heat until it has dissolved.

Raise heat to high and let cook until it turns golden. Do not leave it unattended - it can burn very quickly.

Meanwhile, place cream in glass measuring cup and microwave for about 30 seconds just until the cream is warm. Or, you can heat it on another saucepan on the stove.

Once the sugar has turned golden brown, remove from heat. Pour in cream in a slow stream and whisk to incorporate. If any hard chunks of caramel form you can place over medium heat to melt.

Let caramel cool and thicken while you make the buttercream.

3/4 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-in pieces

Combine the sugar and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.

Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.

Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.
When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.

Be sure the caramel is still liquid and flows thickly. If it has cooled too much and solidified, warm it up slightly on the stove. Add the caramel to the buttercream and beat to combine.

The buttercream is ready to be used. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out.

To assemble the cake: Level off cake layers if necessary. Place one cake layer on a cake board or cake decorating stand.

Spread the whipped chocolate ganache over the layer evenly. You can reserve about half a cup for decorating the top of the cake if you want.

Place the second cake on top.

Spread a crumb coat of caramel buttercream over the top and sides of cake (see here for tips on doing a crumb coat). Refrigerate for about an hour to let the frosting set.

Spread the rest of the caramel buttercream over the top and sides of cake with an offset spatula.

Fresh Cherry Cobbler

By: Miranda W.

"This is a delicious cherry cobbler made with fresh cherries instead of canned. It may take a little longer to make because you need to pit the cherries, but it is well worth it when you taste the finished product."

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups pitted sour cherries
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Remove as soon as butter has melted, about 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and baking powder. Mix in the milk until well blended, then pour the batter into the pan over the butter. Do not stir.
3. Rinse out the bowl from the batter, and dry. Place cherries into the bowl, and toss with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour. Distribute the cherry mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.
4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cobber should come out clean.

Dark Chocolate Cake I

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Creamy White Layers

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups super fine sugar
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 1/2 teaspoons brandy
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 pint fresh strawberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
2. Stir together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and super fine sugar.
3. Separate the eggs save the egg yolks for another use. In a glass or copper bowl beat the egg whites until foamy.
4. Mix 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream with the vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture then fold in the egg whites. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ) for 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans for ten minutes then invert onto a wire rack to continue cooling. Once cakes are completely cool frost with fresh whipped cream and serve with fresh strawberries.
6. To Make Frosting: Beat on low speed until stiff 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (make sure it's very cold). Beat in the confectioners' sugar and 2 1/2 teaspoons brandy. Use immediately to frost cake.