This is the last granola recipe from the Breakfast Bible that I hadn't made yet. I made it this one according to the recipe. And it's good. But I found the proportion of walnuts way too low. I think I'd double them next time. I'd also like to try it with maple syrup instead of honey as the sweetener. I think that would go really well with the walnuts. And I'd try reducing the sugar next time. Because I found this version very sweet.

Dark Chocolate-Cherry Granola

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. dried cherries
• 60g dark chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Combine oates, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a small pot, combine the sugar, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla and heat until oil is melted and mixture is smooth and homogenous.
4. Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Spread the oat mixture out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
7. Allow to cool, then break into small chunks.
8. Add the cherries and chocolate and toss to combine.
9. Stire in an airtight container.

This is another one of those waffle recipes that I decided to sneak onto the breakfast table even though it's really meant to be more of a dessert. (That said, there are a lot of things that get billed as breakfast foods that really should be considered more of a treat/dessert, so I feel that this is fair.)

As with some of my other recent recipes, I substituted sweetened red wine for the port and slivered almonds for sliced. I also used a mix of white and whole wheat flour for the waffles. I pretty much stuck to the script otherwise though.

Waffles with Cherries in Port Syrup and Whipped Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 1 c. port (or 1 c. red wine + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar)
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 strip orange zest
• 1/4 vanilla bean
• 250g fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and halved
• 140g fresh goat cheese (chère)
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 plain, malted, or Belgian waffles
• 1/4 c. sliced almonds¹, toasted

Directions

1. Combine the port, sugar, peppercorns, orange zest, and vanilla bean section and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until reduced by ~1/2.
3. Strain the syrup and pour it over the cherries. Let stand for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, beat the goat cheese with the cream and sugar until smooth and somewhat fluffy.
5. Make your waffles (or recrisp them in the oven if they were made ahead).
6. Spoon some cherries and syrup over each waffle and top with a dollop of goat cheese.
7. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

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¹ Slivered will do in a pinch here if you don't have sliced, but I do think that sliced would have been nicer texturally. ^Back

Kugelhopf is a yeasted cake full of dried fruit. It's traditionally baked in a special toroidal pan, similar to a Bundt pan, but narrower and deeper. I don't have a kugelhopf pan, so I just used a Bundt pan instead.

Sourdough Kugelhopf

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. dried cherries
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1 c. rum¹
• 1 Tbsp. orange blossom water
• 500g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 200g ripe (fed) sourdough starter
• 130g milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 13 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1-2 dozen whole almonds
• icing sugar, to garnish

Directions

1. Combine cherries, raisins, and rum and let stand overnight.
2. Drain fruit and mix in orange blossom water. (Discard rum or set aside for another use.)
3. Combine flour and salt and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine starter, milk, eggs, and sugar and mix well.
5. Gradually mix wet ingredients into dry and knead with dough hook for a minute or two.
6. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
7. Knead with dough hook for another 3-5 minutes.
8. Work in butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, over the course of another 5 minutes or so.
9. Work in fruit and knead until evenly mixed and elastic.
10. Round dough and place in a covered bowl to rise for 2-4 hours, stretching and folding every 30-60 minutes.
11. Knock back the dough, round, cover, and rest for 20-30 minutes.
12. Grease a 10-12 cup kugelhopf or Bundt pan.
13. Place an almond in each "peak" in the bottom of the pan.
14. Round the dough again and make a hole through the centre.
15. Place the dough in the prepared pan, cover, and set aside to rise for another 3-6 hours (or overnight in the fridge).
16. Once ready to bake, preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
17. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 25 minutes.
18. Reduce heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake for another 15 minutes.
19. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.
20. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

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¹ The original recipe calls for kirsch, but I didn't have any (and TF and I don't like it anyway), so I used some spiced rum instead. ^Back

I don't tend to eat pork very often, but they had packs of boneless pork chops on sale the other day, so I grabbed one on spec. I knew I still had lots of pork recipes waiting to be tried, so it would definitely get used eventually. Then I forgot to cancel or tweak last week's produce basket and we ended up with a surprise leek. And that fit into this braised pork chop recipe very nicely!

The recipe as written calls for port, but I didn't want to go out and get a whole bottle just for the 1/4 c. that I needed for the sauce. So I just added a bit of brown sugar to some red wine and called it a day. (I probably should have gotten the port, since I have other recipes that call for it and I'm sure it would've gotten used up eventually, but I was running short on time and just went with the substitute this time around.)

Braised Pork Chops with Cherries and Leeks

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1kg pork chops (pref. bone-in)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp. dried rosemary, ground)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 leeks, white parts only, halved and sliced
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. port
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 c. fresh pitted cherries, halved (or 1/2 c. dried cherries)
• 1-2 tsp. cornstarch (optional)

Directions

1. Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
3. Add the pork chops and sear on both sides.
4. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
6. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
7. Add the chicken stock and deglaze the pan.
8. Add the port, vinegar, and cherries.
9. Return the pork to the pan. Nestle it into the sauce and spoon the leeks and cherries over.
10. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Simmer until pork is cooked through (15-20 minutes).
12. If you would like a thicker sauce: remove the pork from the pan and sift some cornstarch into the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.
13. Serve the pork chops topped with the sauce. Goes well with mashed root vegetables.

I was looking for an easy, relatively healthy dessert the other day and this fit the bill. And, as an added bonus, it even used up the last of the mascarpone that was left over after making the last batch of tiramisu!

The original recipe called for macerating the cherries with a bit of sugar. But it also called for Ranier cherries. For the sake of convenience, I just ended up using some frozen dark, sweet cherries. I didn't feel that these needed any extra sweetening, so I just used them as-is, with the cascarpone on top.

Cherries with Vanilla Mascarpone

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. mascarpone
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 340g pitted sweet cherries

Directions

1. Mix the sugar and vanilla into the mascarpone and set aside.
2. Get out two bowls and put half the cherries into each.
3. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture onto each portion of cherries and serve.

Pavlova has become my go-to for using up excess egg whites. So when I ran across this recipe in the Dessert of the Day cookbook, it was an easy choice.

I opted to make one large pavolva rather than several smaller ones and I added a little plain Greek yogurt to balance out the sweetness of the meringue and cherries. But other than that, I followed the recipe as written.

It was nice as is, but I think I would have actually preferred it with the cardamom and lime mixed into the meringue rather than combined with the cherries. I honestly might leave the syrup out altogether next time and just top the pav with some thawed frozen cherries and maybe a little icing sugar. Honestly, thinking about it more, I think it would be interesting to try topping it with different fruit as well. Don't get me wrong, I love cherries, but I'm not sure they're the best complement to the cardamom. I'd be tempted to try it with some canned mandarins instead. So, uh... here's the recipe for the cardamom-cherry pavlova and then I guess I'll write up my ideas for a cardamom-mandarin pavlova below that.

Cardamom-Cherry Pavlova

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Toppings

• 20 green cardamom pods, lightly smashed
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• 450g cherries, pitted and halved
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. icing sugar
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.
3. Beat in the sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time.
4. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Sift the cornstarch over the meringue and mix it in.
6. Scoop the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and form into a wide disc with a depression in the middle.
7. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 5 minutes.
8. Reduce temperature to 120°C (250°F) and bake for another hour.
9. Turn off oven and allow meringue to stand in oven overnight.
10. Meanwhile, combine the cardamom pods, sugar, and water and bring to a boil.
11. Reduce heat and simmer for ~5 minutes.
12. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
13. Combine syrup, cherries, lime juice, and lime zest. Set aside.
14. Beat whipping cream with vanilla extract and icing sugar until stiffened.
15. Top meringue with yogurt followed by whipped cream and cherries.
16. Serve immediately!

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Variations

Spiced Orange Pavlova

Ingredients

Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. lime zest
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods), ground
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Toppings

• 1 (540mL) can mandarin oranges
• 1 whole clove
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. icing sugar
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat egg whites with lime juice until foamy.
3. Mix in lime zest, cardamom, and vanilla.
4. Beat in sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time.
5. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
6. Sift cornstarch over the meringue and mix in.
7. Scoop onto prepared baking sheet and form into a disc with a depression in the middle.
8. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 5 minutes.
9. Reduce heat to 120°C (250°F) and bake for another hour.
10. Turn off oven and allow to cool in the oven overnight.
11. Meanwhile, simmer the oranges with the clove for a few minutes. Add a little extra sugar if you feel they need it.
12. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
13. Beat the cream with the vanilla and icing sugar until stiff.
14. Top the meringue with the yogurt, followed by the whipped cream and oranges.
15. Serve immediately.

I picked up some raspberries on sale during my last grocery shop and decided to try making these little buckles with them. They were pretty nice! Although I had to play around with the baking times a bit since I was using six 250mL baking dishes rather than eight 180mL ones. That wasn't a huge issue though. They just needed a few extra minutes to finish cooking through.

Photo goes here.

Raspberry-Pistachio Buckles

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. pistachios, divided
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 c. fresh raspberries¹

Directions

1. Toast 1/4 c. of the pistachios over medium heat until fragrant (~4 minutes). Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease your ramekins. (I used six 250mL ramekins for mine.)
3. Add the pistachios to a blender or food processor and grind.
4. Add the butter, sugar, and salt and pulse to mix.
5. With blender/processor running, add the eggs, one at a time.
6. Pour in the cream and vanilla with blender still running and process until smooth.
7. Pour mixture into a bowl.
8. Add the flour and baking powder and stir to mix.
9. Add the raspberries and stir to combine.
10. Spoon mixture into ramekins and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. of pistachios.
11. Place ramekins on baking sheet and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35-45 minutes.
12. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
13. Serve plain or with whipped cream.

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Variations

Blackberry-Walnut Buckles

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. walnuts, divided
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 c. fresh blackberries

Cherry-Almond Buckles

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds, divided
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 c. frozen sweet cherries, thawed (or fresh pitted sweet cherries)

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¹ ATK notes that frozen raspberries don't work well for this recipe as they're too wet and mushy. ^Back

This was meant to be yet another cottage cheese breakfast bowl from Budget Bytes, but I decided that I'd rather do it with yogurt again. If doing it with cottage cheese, I think I'd be tempted to add a little lemon zest and/or juice. I think the lemon and bluberry would be a great combo! Or, if you wanted to go another way with it, you could try replacing the bluberries with cherries and maybe adding a little almond extract to the yogurt. Maybe even try replacing the slivered almonds with a little almond butter. I think that would be an excellent mix of flavours.

Blueberry-Almond Breakfast Bowl

Slightly adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (fat-free if you're counting calories)
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional
• 1 Tbsp. no sugar added syrup or 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 c. blueberries (or cherries)
• 2 Tbsp. slivered almonds (or 1 Tbsp. almond butter)
• 1/4 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, vanilla, almond extract (if using), and syrup and mix well.
2. Top with berries, almonds, and lemon zest (if using) and serve.

Between making pasta and making tiramisu, I had seven excessed egg whites that needed to be used up. I figured that some sort of pavlova or angel food cake would be the best choice. (I debated doing a dacquoise, but I opted for the simplicity of the pavlova in the end.) I've done pavlovas before, but I wanted to try a different flavour combo. So I hit up the Internet to look for ideas.

There were a few interesting contenders, but I liked the look of this cherry one. It seemed relatively light and very easy to put together. I liked the idea of topping the meringue with yogurt rather than pastry cream or custard. And I was intrigued by the passionfruit-cherry combination.

The original recipe called for "good quality passionfruit yogurt". I couldn't get any that I felt would be "good quality", so I opted for a very nice plain yogurt instead and then just added some fresh passionfruit on top. I only got one passionfruit this time as I wasn't sure what to expect from it. TM didn't feel that the passionfruit really brought much to the table and thought that it would've been just as good without it. I do think that it was pretty subtle, but I enjoyed its presence. I think if I were to do this one again I'd just double down on it: get two or three passionfruit next time!

Spiced Cherry Pavlova

Slightly adapted from Taste

Ingredients

Meringue

• 6 large egg whites
• 330g sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar¹ (optional)

Cherries

• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. cointreau
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 (8cm) cinnamon stick
• 400g pitted cherries
• 1/4 c. lemon juice

Assembly

• 2 c. very good plain Greek yogurt
• 2-3 passionfruit

Directions

Meringue

1. Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
2. Add egg whites to a scrupulously clean bowl and begin beating with clean beaters.
3. After 30-60 seconds of beating on high, add ~1 Tbsp. of the sugar.
4. Continue beating on high and adding sugar ~1 Tbsp. at a time until all of the sugar has been incorporated.
5. Beat in the cornflour.
6. Beat in the vanilla.
7. Beat in the cream of tartar (if using).
8. Beat for another minute or so. The meringue is done when it forms stiff peaks and stays in place when the bowl is inverted. If it holds its shape but slides along the bowl, it's not quite done yet. Be careful not to overbeat as it will break and go watery.
9. Spoon the meringue onto the prepared baking sheet and shape it into a circle with a deep depression in the middle. Aim for around 20-23cm in diameter. Make the depression a bit deeper than you think it needs to be.
10. Bake on the bottom rack at 120°C (250°F) for 90 minutes.
11. Turn off oven, but keep the door closed and leave the meringue in the oven overnight.

Cherries

1. Heat sugar, cointreau, lemon zest, and cinnamon over medium heat and cook for ~5 minutes.
2. Add the cherries and lemon juice and bring back up to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute more.
3. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to eat.

Assembly

1. Spoon the yogurt into the centre of the meringue.
2. Cut open the passionfruit and scoop the seeds out onto the yogurt.
3. Pour the cherry compote over this.
4. Serve immediately.

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¹ I usually add a bit of cream of tartar to my meringues, but this time I decided to use a bit of vinegar to wipe down the beaters and the bowl. This helps cut any grease residue that might be on them. Afterward, I dumped out the excess vinegar, but did not dry the beaters or the bowl. I figured the bit of acid this added would be similar to the acidifying effect of cream of tartar. ^Back

This Hello Fresh recipe box was a Christmas special, and well worth it, I think. Every part of it was delicious; even the broccolini, which I don't normally go for (too bitter), had a nice sweetness to it. (Based on the packaging, it's a different cultivar.)

It has a lot of moving parts, but no one part is particularly difficult, it's just tricky to get them to all finish at the same time (I didn't manage it).

Crispy Cherry Duck with Broccolini & Chive Potatoes

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on duck breasts
• 1 kg russet potatoes, cubed
  
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  
• 120mL cherry jam
• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
  
• 700g sweet broccolini, trimmed and halved
  
• 60mL milk
• 60mL (4 tbsp) butter
  

Directions

1. Score the skin side of the duck in a grid pattern. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place duck, skin side down, in a large, cold, non-stick pan. Heat over medium heat and and sear until crispy, 10-12 minutes.
3. Flip duck and sear other side for 2-3 minutes.
4. When duck is finished searing, transfer to baking sheet, reserving pan and fat. Roast at 425°F, skin side up, until cooked through, 10-15 minutes.
   
5. While duck is searing, add potatoes, 10mL salt, and enough water to cover to a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until fork-tender, 10-12 minutes
6. Drain potatoes and mash in butter, milk, chives, and salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
   
7. Return 15mL reserved duck fat to pan. Add 2 tbsp water and half the broccolini, cover, and steam over medium heat until fork-tender, 6-8 minutes.
8. Repeat step 6 with the rest of the broccolini. (If you have a very large pan you may be able to do the whole thing at once, but ours is quite large and it's still not large enough for that.)
9. Add 30mL of duck fat (supplementing with butter if your duck was not fatty enough) to the pan.
10. Once melted, add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened, 1-2 minutes.
11. Whisk in the jam and 160mL (⅔C) water. Cook, stirring often, until thickened, 3-5 minutes.
12. Once duck is cooked, slice thinly, drizzle with cherry sauce, and serve with potatoes and broccolini.
    

Now that I've discovered trifle, I've been having fun dreaming up all sorts of different flavour combinations. I haven't had a chance to try most of them yet, but I did make some gingerbread on the weekend, so I figured I'd give my gingerbread trifle idea a whirl. So, instead of sponge filled with raspberry jam, I had gingerbread filled with chopped stem ginger and ginger syrup. The raspberries got swapped out for sweet cherries. The plain vanilla custard became eggnog custard. I stuck to the standard whipped cream on top. Although I did add vanilla and icing sugar, so I guess it was technically "cream chantilly". And, to top it all off, a few glacé cherries and some chopped crystallized ginger. All-in-all, I'd say it was a pretty pleasing effect!

Gingerbread Trifle

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe sticky gingerbread
• 3-4 knobs stem ginger, chopped + 1-2 Tbsp. ginger syrup
• 3 c. fresh or frozen sweet cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 c. custard powder
• 6 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. rum
• 500mL heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. icing sugar
• Glacé cherries, to garnish
• Crystallized ginger, chopped, to garnish

Directions

1. Split the gingerbread and fill it with stem ginger and ginger syrup.
2. Cut into cubes.
3. Cover the bottom of the serving dish with cake cubes.
4. Top the cake with half the cherries.
5. Combine the custard powder, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a pot.
6. Add a small amount of milk and whisk until smooth.
7. Whisk in rum and remaining milk.
8. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring, until thickened.
9. Pour half of custard over cake and cherries.
10. Layer remaining cake into bowl on top of custard and top with remaining cherries.
11. Pour remaining custard over, cover, and place in fridge until chilled.
12. Combine cream, vanilla, and icing sugar in a blender.
13. Blend on high setting until cream is stiff and spreadable.
14. Spread cream over top of trifle.
15. Garnish with glacé cherries and crystallized ginger as desired.

The Mother of All Fruitcakes!

I've never been terribly partial to fruitcakes. That said, I haven't even tried a fruitcake in something like fifteen years, so I have no idea whether my fruitcake tastes and opinions have changed since then. And catalyst is a huge fan of fruitcake. On top of that I have a fondness for old traditional recipes and a fascination with baked good that need to age before eating.

Edmonds has an entire section dedicated solely to fruitcakes. Admittedly, it's a small section, but still! It has a fruitcake chapter! This includes a whole range of cakes. Everything from a light, blonde lemony cake with sultanas and candied lemon peel as the only fruit... all the way up to the "rich Christmas cake" which includes seven kinds of fruit + almonds, orange juice, rum (or brandy or sherry), and two types of citrus zest. This cake takes two days to make, four hours in the oven, and is meant to sit for a full two months before serving. It also weighs just shy of five kilos! This cake does NOT mess around.

Rich Christmas Cake

Very slightly adapted from Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. orange juice
• 3/4 c. dark rum¹ or brandy + an extra 2 Tbsp. for soaking
• 2 Tbsp. grated orange zest
• 500g dried currants
• 500g raisins
• 2 c. sultanas
• 2 c. chopped dates
• 150g crystallized ginger, chopped
• 150g mixed peel
• 150g glacé cherries, halved
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 c. slivered almonds²
• 2 1/2 c. strong flour ("high grade", bread, or all-purpose)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 250g (salted) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. treacle³
• 5 large eggs (or 6 medium eggs)

Directions

1. Combine orange juice, 3/4 c. rum, and orange zest in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Combine dried fruit in a large bowl and pour juice mixture over it. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
3. The next day, add the vanilla, almond extract, lemon zest, and almonds to the fruit mix.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and spices.
5. Prepare your baking tin and tie a double layer of brown paper around the outside. Edmonds suggests lining a deep 23cm (9") square pan with baking paper. I greased and lined the bottom of a 10" springform pan.
6. In a third (very large) bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and treacle/molasses.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
8. Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the fruit mixture.
9. Scoop the batter (which should be more like a bowl of dried fruit with a thin coat of cake batter on it) into the prepared tin.
10. Smooth the top with wet hands and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 4 hours.
11. Remove from oven and let cake cool overnight.
12. Poke a few holes in the top of the cake with a skewer or toothpick.
13. Pour 2 Tbsp. of rum (or brandy or sherry) over the top of the cake and let it soak in.
14. At this point, Edmonds says to wrap the cake in tinfoil and a cloth and store in a cool place. I didn't like the idea of the tinfoil being right up against the cake, so I wrapped it in baking paper first (I just reused the paper from the outside of the tin) and then wrapped it in tinfoil followed by a tea towel.
15. Cake should be baked by late October in order for flavours to have fully developed by Christmas.

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¹ I used spiced rum because that's what I had on hand. ^Back
2 Edmonds calls for blanched (presumably whole) almonds. I used slivered both because I felt like that might allow for a more even distribution and because, as with the rum, I already had some on hand. ^Back
3 Treacle isn't really a Thing in Canada, so I tend to just substitute molasses whenever I come across a recipe that calls for treacle. They're pretty close. And I've had good results doing this so far. ^Back

The instruction booklet that came with my ice cream maker contains a recipe for chocolate cherry frozen yogurt. It calls for semi-sweet chocolate and maraschino cherries. I thought that sounded pretty good, but... I feel like if you're gonna put chocolate and cherries together, it really wants to be dark chocolate. And, as much as I love maraschino cherries — and I really love maraschino cherries — I also felt like regular dark, sweet cherries would bring more of that cherry-y goodness to the table. The nice thing that maraschino cherries add to the mix (aside from a lot of sugar and red food colouring) is almond. Cherry + almond is a great combo. So is almond + chocolate. And, as noted, chocolate + cherry. You see where this is going...

So, after a bit of tweaking, I ended up with a pretty excellent batch of rich, luscious dark chocolate-cherry-almond yogurt all ready to go into the ice cream maker for churning. It came out wonderfully! But, I have to admit, it was really hard not to just sit down and eat the unfrozen chocolate yogurt with a spoon! It was divine!

Dark Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Frozen Yogurt

Adapted from Cuisinart Instruction and Recipe Booklet

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream¹
• 1/4 c. 1% milk
• 130g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 c. fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. pitted sweet cherries
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds

Directions

1. Combine cream and milk and gently heat to a simmer. Remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate pieces and stir until melted.
3. Add yogurt and stir until well-combined and homogeneous.
4. Mix in cherry juice, almond extract, and sugar.
5. Chill in fridge for at least two hours.
6. Pour into ice cream maker and churn for 20 minutes.
7. Add cherries and almonds and churn for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Transfer to an appropriate container and store in the freezer.

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¹ The original recipe called for 3/4 c. whole milk, but I had some heavy cream that was going begging in the fridge so I used what I had left and just added enough 1% milk to make the 3/4 c. called for. Use whatever milk or cream you have on hand for this with the caveat that low-fat milk will result in a firmer freezing, slightly more icy and less creamy end product. ^Back

Cherry Brownies

I've had my eye on this recipe for TF for over a month now but only just got around to making it. He loves brownies and this recipe in particular looked like it would make the type of rich, dense brownies he especially likes. Plus, extra bonus cherries and almond extract! What's not to love?

Cherry Brownies
Cook's Country October/November 2015
1 1/2 c. dried cherries
1/4 c. + 1/3 c. water
1 tsp. almond extract
60g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut in 4
6 Tbsp. oil
1/3 c. cocoa powder¹
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c.sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour²

1. Grease and flour 13x9" baking pan.
2. Combine cherries, 1/4 c. water, and almond extract in a small bowl.
3. Cover and microwave for 1 minute.
4. Set aside and let stand for at least 5 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, microwave chocolate and butter until melted. (Should take 45 seconds or so.)
6. Whisk oil, cocoa, and 1/3 c. water into chocolate mixture. It may look a bit curdled once the water goes in. This is expected.
7. Whisk in eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.
8. Whisk in sugar and salt.
9. Stir in flour until just combined.
10. Stir in cherries + any residual soaking liquid.
11. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula.
12. Bake at 350F (~180C) for 25-30 minutes. (Skewer inserted in middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, but should not be overly wet or dry.) For best results, rotate pan halfway through baking.
13. Let cool for at least 1 hour (and preferably 2) before cutting.

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¹ The recipe specifically calls for Dutched, but I just used regular cocoa. I'm sure it would be even better with the proper cocoa, but I was quite happy with the results regardless!
² All-purpose flour is made with fairly hard (high-gluten) wheat. It is much harder the "plain", "standard", or "soft" flours of places like the UK and NZ, but probably slightly softer than "bread", "high grade", or "hard" flours in those regions. That said, I think using hard/high grade/bread flour in lieu of all-purpose would be fine for the vast majority of recipes.

Overnight Oatmeal

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about chia "pudding", but I know it's definitely not a new thing. Honestly, it never really appealed to me. Sure, it's easy and maybe I should've given it a chance, but it just didn't sound that good to me. I just felt like the texture would be off-putting. So I never tried it. And it never really occurred to me to use chia for anything else.

Then I came across a few "overnight oatmeal" recipes. I assumed it was some sort of slow cooked crockpot concoction like I'd seen once or twice before. But no! Uncooked oatmeal thickened with chia. Interesting... That I might actually be able to get behind.

I've tried a few similar versions so far. I'm still tweaking it, but I like the results so far!

Mixed Berry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. mixed berries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. vanilla almond milk

Brownie Batter Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
1 Tbsp. Nutella
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
2 cherries, chopped (next time I'd use 4)
1 Tbsp. chopped hazelnuts
1/2 Tbsp. chocolate chips
2/3 c. vanilla almond milk

Apple Blueberry Oatmeal
1/2 c. quick oats
~3/8 c. apple pie filling (preferably homemade)
~3/8 c. blueberries
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. wheat bran
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. vanilla almond milk

These all follow pretty much the same procedure. Just mix everything together in a mason jar or somesuch, stir it up, and pop it in the fridge overnight. The brownie batter one called for using the nuts, berries, and chocolate chips as a topping, but I think I'd just mix everything together next time.

The mixed berry one called for a whole cup of milk and was quite tasty, but a bit watery. The brownie batter one called for quite a bit less milk, but came out just a bit too thick. The latest attempt is just chilling in the fridge now, but I'm thinking that 3/4 c. is going to be just about right.

Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles

I got to randomly clicking around the Smitten Kitchen blog the other day and stumbled across her post about hazelnut truffles. I decided that maybe it was finally time I tried making truffles myself. I'd always found the idea a little intimidating. I'm not sure why. I've made ganache before and, as she said, truffles are just firm ganache, so I figured maybe it wouldn't be so bad afterall and gave it a whirl.

She got her recipe from Ina Garten, but I just used her instructions so, I'll just link back there for now.

Orange Truffles
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
130g extra dark chocolate (70-75% cocoa), chopped
130g milk chocolate, chopped
1 c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. orange blossom water
3 Tbsp. Cointreau
1 tsp. vanilla extract
cocoa, sifted (for dusting)

1. Heat cream just to boiling and pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate has all melted and you have a smooth ganache. (If chocolate needs a little help melting, place the bowl over a pot of hot/boiling water and continue whisking.)
2. Stir in orange blossom water, Cointreau, and vanilla.
3. Once everything is well-mixed, chill for an hour. (My ganache was still a bit too soft after an hour in the fridge so I actually ended up bunging it in the freezer for 15 mintues or so and that was perfect!)
4. Form into small balls and roll in sifted cocoa powder.
5. Place back in fridge to chill and firm up for another 15 minutes or so.

These are quite tasty. I'd be curious to see how they'd come out with 1-2 Tbsp. of orange juice in place of the floral water. I think they'd also be better rolled in something other than cocoa: I think toasted coconut would be really nice with the orange actually. Finely chopped glace orange might also work well.

There are also, of course, tonnes and tonnes of different flavour possibilities. I might just take a minute to jot some ideas down for next time to get them fixed in my mind.
Cherry Truffles - 3 Tbsp. pureed cherries, 2 Tbsp. kirsch, 1 tsp. almond extract; roll in chopped toasted almonds
Hazelnut Truffles - 3 Tbsp. Frangelico, 2 Tbsp. fresh-brewed coffee, 1 tsp. vanilla extract; roll in chopped toasted hazelnuts
Gingerbread Truffles - 1 Tbsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp. molasses; roll in cinnamon sugar?
Grasshopper Truffles - 3 Tbsp. creme de menthe, 2 Tbsp. creme de cacao, 1 tsp. peppermint extract; roll in hot chocolate powder
Mocha Truffles - 3 Tbsp. fresh-brewed coffee/espresso, 2 Tbsp. creme de cacao, 1 tsp. vanilla extract; roll in hot cocolate powder or finely chopped chocolate-coated coffee beans
Peanut Butter Truffles - 1/4 c. peanut butter, 1 tsp. vanilla; roll in chopped toasted peanuts
Honey-Ginger Truffles - 3 Tbsp. honey-ginger tea syrup, 1 tsp. ground ginger; roll in finely chopped candied ginger

Cherry-Almond Smoothie

I usually just bung a bunch of complimentary fruit in a blender with a bit of yogurt and/or juice and/or coconut water when I make smoothies. It works reasonably well. Pineapple and coconut water on its own actually makes a really nice smoothie. However, Cook's Country published some actual smoothie recipes in their latest issue and I have to say, I'm really impressed with the results. Their version uses a banana-honey base and quite a bit more yogurt than I'd normally put, but it makes for an extremely creamy, mellow smoothie. It doesn't taste as fruity or acidic as what I normally make. It's a bit more subdued and more filling as well which is great for breakfast smoothies.

Cherry-Almond Smoothie
From Cook's Country April/May 2016
1/2 banana
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. almond butter
tiny sprinkle of salt (~1/16 tsp.)
1 c. frozen cherries
1/2 c. plain yogurt (original recipe recommends whole milk yogurt; I used 2% because that was the only variety available in lactose-free)
2 Tbsp. milk (again recipe recommends whole milk; I used LF 2%)

1. Puree banana, honey, almond butter, and salt together until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Enjoy!

Sweet Coconut-Cherry Couscous

I tried a different variant of sweet couscous last week and was reasonably pleased with the results. As I mentioned in that post though, I did find the orange zest a little too assertive. I kind of drowned out everything else plus left a bit of a bitter taste which required quite a lot of honey to balance out. It might be interesting to try with marmalade sometime to see if that gives a nice orange-y-ness without being quite so bitter. This time though, I decided to go a different route entirely and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the outcome!

Coconut-Cherry Couscous
~225g couscous
125g dried cranberries and raisins
1/4 c. dried coconut (I'd probably do 6 Tbsp. next time)
15-20 pitted sweet cherries, halved
750mL milk
cherry yogurt
honey

1. Combine couscous, cranberries, raisins, coconut, and cherries in a large bowl.
2. Bring milk just to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and pour over couscous.
3. Give couscous a stir, then let stand for 10 minutes.
4. Serve topped with yogurt and honey.

Summer Fruit Smoothie (for Wintertime)

I was on an oatmeal kick for a while, and that was great. Now I'm giving smoothies a go. I did a few piña colada smoothies initially since they'd worked out well in the past. Still delicious, but I'm all out of pineapple and wanted to try something new this morning anyway. After rummaging around in the freezer, I came up with a selection of frozen fruits that I figured would make for a good smoothie. I think I still need to make some tweaks to the recipe, but I'm happy enough with it for now.

Summer Fruit Smoothie
Slightly adapted from The 5-a-day Menu Planner
~1/3 c. frozen mixed berries
~1/3 c. frozen pitted cherries
~1/4 c. frozen blueberries
~1/4 c. vanilla yogurt
~1/2 c. skim milk

1. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

While the flavour on this particular smoothie wasn't bad, I found it a little flat. I think I'd mix it up a bit next time to try to make it a bit more lively. I'm wondering if adding a few frozen cranberries might be the way to go. They're quite tart, but that might actually be what this blend needs to kick it up a notch. If the tartness needs to be offset a bit, I might try adding either a little bit of honey or maybe even some strawberry jam!

Hopefully I can try this one out again tomorrow (with a few modifications) and report back. I think there's definitely potential here, it just needs a little adjustment to get the balance of flavours just right.

Kashmiri Batak (Duck Stew)

I've been curious about this curry ever since I saw the recipe. It's been in the back of my mind ever since as something to try... sometime. I finally got around to it tonight and I'm so glad I did! It is delicious! The duck was (apparently) a pain to skin and cut up. TF said that no matter how good this curry was, he wasn't willing to do that again. It's hard to argue with the results though!

Kashmiri Batak
From 660 Curries
1 duck, skin removed, cut into 8 pieces
2 Tbsp. ginger paste
2 Tbsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 onion, sliced thin
4-6 black cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (3" each)
2 tsp. fennel seeds, ground
1 1/2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chiles (or 1 tsp. sweet paprika + 1/2 tsp. cayenne)
1 tsp. ground ginger
12 oz. (~340g) halved pitted cherries (frozen are fine)
1/2 c. chopped black walnuts
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

1. Combine ginger paste, garlic paste, 3/4 tsp. salt, and turmeric.
2. Slather duck pieces with marinade and chill for at least an hour.
3. Heat oil over medium heat. Add duck and marinade. Brown on both sides (5-10 minutes per side). Remove duck from pot.
4. Add onion, cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon, and 1/2 c. water. Deglaze pan. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook 5 minutes.
5. Add ground fennel, chiles, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook for 30-60 seconds.
6. Add 1 1/2 c. water, cherries, and walnuts. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Return duck to pot. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
7. Remove duck from pot. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook until sauce thickened (~10 minutes).
8. Stir in cilantro. Serve duck over rice ("Mitty" Chawal goes nicely), with a generous portion of sauce.