Today's feature recipe from Baking with Dorie, by Dorie Greenspan, is the Parfait-layered Vacherin.  Think of multiple layers of crushed meringue cookies and a frozen filling, topped with a sprinkling of toasted almonds and a drizzle of sauce.   Because of our hot weather, I chose to use mint chocolate chip ice cream for my filling  --  a classic vacherin.  Instead of caramel sauce, I made Dorie's hot fudge sauce to complement the ice cream.  It's a cool, creamy, and crunchy dessert, easy to assemble, and ready in the freezer at a moment's notice.   ..read more

  Blueberry muffins are my favorite, so I'm always on the lookout for a good one.  These muffins more than fit the bill, and they are especially tasty because they contain lemon!  The addition of yogurt makes the muffin moist and tender as well. I chose to sprinkle the top with some coarse sanding sugar, and they ended up being the perfect bite.   Stop by the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see which recipe the other bakers made ..read more

  For the second June recipe from Baking with Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, I made the Berry Squares, also know as Strawberry-Rhubarb Squares.  I've never cared for rhubarb, and our local strawberry season ends during the first week of June, so I decided to make the cake topped with blueberries and blackberries.  It's a nice and simple cake. I decided to freeze individual squares, taking one out and reheating it when I felt like having dessert.  I noticed that the cake's flavor improved quite a bit after being frozen and then reheated in my toaster oven.  I thoroughly e ..read more

  It’s time for another bread challenge from the Bread Baking Babes.  This time, Karen, of Karen’s Kitchen Stories, asked the Babes to make a Detroit-style pizza.  This is a small-batch pizza that serves one very hungry person or two, if you must share. I used the same-day dough approach and topped it with Muenster and Mozzarella cheeses, Cajun-style Andouille sausage, and homemade pizza sauce.  I did not add the jalapenos because the sausage was definitely hot enough!  A search for the traditional brick cheese turned up empty, although one local cheese shop had actual ..read more

    For the first June bake from Baking with Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, I'm posting about the Jelly Roll Cake.   I made just half a recipe, and the cake turned out just fine.  It was easy to handle and roll; no splitting; and I filled it with a mixture of pumpkin butter and mascarpone.  Although that's more a fall filling, I needed to use up some pantry items, and it was delicious even so.   This is a very versatile cake, and would be a favorite all year round using all kinds of fillings.   Stop by the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see what the other bakers ..read more

  For our second post and second cream puff recipe from Baking with Dorie, I made the Cream Puffs with Crackle and Cream. I decided to have a bit of fun with the recipe, so I blitzed some freeze-dried strawberries and added them to both the crackle topping and the whipped cream filling.  The end result was both colorful and delicious!     Head over to the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see if everyone enjoyed the Gouda Gougeres ..read more

  Our second April recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was the Double-Decker Salted Caramel Cake.  Apparently, there are quite a few April birthdays in this baking group!  (Actually, one of my daughters has an April birthday!) This cake tasted to me like an old-fashioned cake doughnut, lightly spicy with a touch of caramel.  However, it took nearly twice as long to bake as the recipe suggested.  At 45 minutes, I could tell immediately that the center wasn't close to being baked. so it stayed in the oven for a good 20 extra minutes. The other pet peeve I have about any cak ..read more

    Time for the first April bake for Tuesdays with Dorie.  I chose to make the Goat Cheese-Black Pepper Quick Bread. Because I'm not a fan of goat cheese, I substituted feta cheese instead.  This is a savory quick bread with hints of lemon and a subtle heat from the black pepper.  It makes excellent toast, especially when slathered in butter!   Head over to the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see which delicious recipe the other bakers made ..read more

    I've been waiting a long time to make this Breakfast-in-Rome Lemon Cake.  It's one of the first recipes I tagged after I got the cookbook, Baking with Dorie, by Dorie Greenspan.  I decided to experiment by making half a recipe, and making individual bundtlettes.  Unintentionally, I also conducted a second experiment with this recipe. All the hardware/software prep was done in advance.  As was merrily zesting a freshly picked lemon, when I suddenly realized I was zesting it over the flour mixture rather than the sugar.  Whoops!  There were several o ..read more

    I love any kind of custard, so this Parisian Custard Tart from Baking by Dorie caught my eye when I first got the cookbook.  It's also known as Flan Patissier, and it reminds me of the pasteis de nata that I ate in Portugal.   I used puff pastry to line the pan; then I filled it with the delicious vanilla custard.  After baking it until the top is brown, I chilled it overnight before serving.   This is a great make-ahead dessert for all those custard-lovers out there!   Stop by the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see which dessert the bakers made for t ..read more