Smitten Kitchen’s Bittersweet Chocolate & Pear Cake

Jan 17, 2013

Every so often, a recipe teaches me one of those helpful little kitchen lessons, like “garlic burns in like 5 seconds if you’re not careful” or “chopping veggies with the knife pointing toward you is a good way to lose a finger”.

So what did we learn today? That unsweetened chocolate is NOT the same as bittersweet chocolate. At all.

The recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, and I had to choose from between semisweet and unsweetened. I chose wrong. It definitely made this cake not quite sweet enough. I found a solution (drizzled Irish honey on top), but lesson learned!

And let’s hear it for browned butter—what a revelation! I’d never cooked or baked with it before, and it added a whole other flavor dimension  to the cake. Warm, nutty, rich. Totally great, I will definitely be incorporating it into other recipes.

Healthy Pear-Cranberry Crisp

Jan 6, 2013

I’ve never been a “New Year’s resolution” kind of girl. I figure if I see a change that needs made in my life (eating healthy, weight loss, being nicer), I should do it right away—whether it’s January or August. But I know that lots of people have taken the opportunity of a new calendar year to re-evaluate their lives and make healthier and smarter decisions.

So this one’s especially for you people. Because I’m all about eating healthy and making smart choices, but I’m also all about the fact that sometimes you Just. Need. Dessert. And I’m here to show you that dessert doesn’t need to be a diet-breaker.

I love sweets, but I tend to love things that are lightly sweet, not super rich. My two favorite desserts to make for myself are my healthy peach crisp and a healthy pear-banana pie with streusel topping (with whole wheat crust). These rely on the sweetness of the fruit, whole wheat flour, oats, oil, and the flavor of all the spices.

I used an adjusted version of my peach crisp, and changed up the flavors a little. I had a few pears sitting around and was looking for something to do with them. Pears are my absolute favorite fruit (when they’re actually ripe) and there are so many interesting flavors that partner well with them. This recipe is very forgiving, you can change up amounts and flavors to suit your needs or the size of your pan (it could even make a delicious pie with my aunt’s whole wheat and oil pie crust).

Super healthy summer sweet (Peach Crisp with Bonus Blueberries)

Jul 13, 2012

It’s no secret I love desserts, always have. But most of the desserts I love aren’t all that rich or overly sweet. I’m weird that way—I’ll pass over fudge, red velvet cake, and store-bought brownies to get to lime cookies, peach ice cream, and dark chocolate cake. People think I’m weird, but that may be a function of how I grew up.

Due to a preponderance of diabetes and such in my extended family, my mom and aunts have tweaked a lot of our family recipes over the years, making them healthier. This includes things like using whole wheat flour (which—let’s face it—we were on a wheat farm, so that just made sense) and substituting honey for sugar and oil for butter or shortening. I have no idea exactly when this recipe evolved to this point, but it’s been one of my summer go-to desserts for years. My mom tends to make it with apples, sometimes cherries, but I’m partial to peaches. Ripe, juicy, Southern peaches.

Isn’t this picture the perfect encapsulation of summer?!

Mom’s favorite brunch staple (No-Fuss Belgian Buttermilk Waffles)

May 29, 2012

Waffles are my mom’s favorite thing for brunch, no contest. While I like to mix it up with pancakes, biscuits, scones, and french toast, she will ALWAYS want waffles. Problem was, when I was a kid our waffle recipe was kind of a pain in the rear to make because it required you to beat egg whites into a stiff meringue of sorts before gently folding them into the waffle batter. And seriously, who wants to sit there for several minutes trying to get your egg whites to stiffen when you aren’t even properly caffeinated?!

Golden, fluffy, crispy, delicious breakfast!

Enter this recipe—the easiest, awesomest waffles I’ve ever made! I think we found it in a Joy of Cooking cookbook or something (updated: my mom informs me that my grandma’s been making this for eons, she has no idea where it came from, & my grandma was the first to stop using beaten egg whites), and have adapted it over the years to make it even better and healthier. It’s practically dummy-proof, and yields golden, crispy, fast waffles every time.