If life were really a bowl of cherries . . .

. . . I'd make these brown butter cherry bars every day. Seriously. They are that good. I love me some cake, as you know, but this takes the cake so to speak and puts it on a whole other level.

On the note of cakes, I baked the third plum torte today and I declare it is the best one yet! I lured my co-workers into the kitchen by wafting a cinnamon/plummy breeze in their direction. It worked.



Now back to the topic at hand, brown butter cherry bars. There is quite possibly nothing simpler to make, yet people will think you toiled day and night over the stove once they taste these morsels of goodness.

The genius of this recipe is that it combines a tart and a cake, two of my (now) favorite things. The tart part comes in the form of a crunchy sweet crust that lines the bottom of the pan. Once that is par-baked you pile in the fruit and pour over it a speckled brown butter batter. Throw it back in the oven, wait what seems like a tremendously long time as you are tortured by the delicious scent cast off, and finally after much pacing and willing them to cool, chopping off the corner (the best part; guard them with your life) and devouring it.

As with the plum torte, I can't seem to get enough of these bars. I first baked them a couple months ago after spying the recipe on SmittenKitchen.com. I used a sweet cherry from the greenmarket, though it was a type other than Bing and I'm not sure what it was. This was the best batch of bars made with cherry (one batch made with blackberry, I'll get to that in a minute). The cherries were sweet but very firm and somewhat acidic which held up nicely against the sweet batter.

The second batch I made for my family while in Colorado. I used western slope Bing cherries for this batch and though it didn't keep me from eating just as many of them, they were not quite as good as the ones made with mystery east coast cherries. The Bings were a little unremarkable after being baked, lacking the tartness or acidity of their predecessors.

The third batch I baked last night, thus recieving the stink-eye from my roommate for turning on the oven when it was already 90 degrees outside, and possibly hotter inside. This time I used about a pint of blackberries that had been hanging out in the fridge, just a little too tart for eating on cereal or in yogurt. The stink-eye was worth it. Though quite different from their cherry counterparts they are quite delicious and taste like a summer day cloaked in a bit of cake.

The key to these bars it to par-bake your crust until it is nice and golden so it provides the desired contrast between crust and cake. Don't worry about it becoming too dark while baking the rest of the ingredients, it will be just fine.

Brown Butter Cherry Bars

Crust:
7 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 c plus 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Filling:
1/2 c sugar
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/4 all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter
8-10 ounces of pitted cherries or other fruit

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch pan with two strips of parchment running opposite directions so that you have lined the bottom as well as the sides of the pan. Leave an inch or so poking up above the pan on all sides so you have "ears" to pull the bars out of the pan when cool.

Melt the 7 Tbsp butter in a small pan and pour into a medium bowl. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and smash it around with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Crumble into your prepared pan and press the crumbs to form a solid crust. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden all over.

In the same pot place 1 stick of butter. Cook over medium low heat. You will hear the butter begin to crackle and make hissing noises, this is normal. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, scraping the bottom of the pan, until it foams and you see dark brown specks floating around. This is brown butter. Turn the heat off and let the butter cool as you mix the rest of your ingredients.

In the same bowl you made your crust in, whisk the sugar, eggs, and salt. Add the flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the brown butter, scraping all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan and into the bowl.

Arrange pitted cherries, or other fruit of choice evenly on top of the crust. Pour batter over the fruit and place back in the oven for 40 minutes or so. When it is done a tester may not come out clean because of the juice in the fruit, so the best way to check is look for an even golden color across the surface of the cake; you can also press on a patch of cake with your finger to see if it springs back. If it does, chances are it's done.

Cool the bars completely in the pan. Gently lift out by the parchment "ears". I find they are easier to cut neatly after they have chilled in the fridge, though they taste best at room temperature. If you are not going to consume them all within a day I recommend refrigerating them so you don't have to sacrifice them to the trash can as I sadly did with the meager remnants of my first batch.

Let them eat cake

I feel a bit foolish as I sit here preparing to write this post. As you may recall a while back I spouted off about not being a cake person, prefering other vehicles for my consumption of calories. However, it seems since I said that all I can think about (and make) is cake!




I have been going crazy as ever at the greenmarket, hauling home loads of stone fruits and berries like they are going out of style; which they kind of are, considering that though it's hotter than blazes, summer is on it's way out the back door. As I've previously mentioned I tend to get drawn in by their vibrant colors and come hither shapeliness.




And so I found myself a couple weeks ago with a large basket of plums in my bag when I arrived home. I don't even like plums. I take that back. I like the sweet, fleshy inside but the tart skin makes my mouth pucker and ruins the whole experience. I've always marveled at this because the skin's deep ruby color is what draws me in but it is also the very thing that deters me from eating them by the handful. What to do with this basket of plums?




Where better to find a recipe for plums than my hefty New York Times Dessert Cookbook? Filled with recipes from famous chefs and infamous food critics, I knew I was on to something. I happened upon a recipe for Marion Burros' Original Plum Torte, which has been published in the NY Times food section every year since the 80's due to it's immense popularity (and as I later learned, it's deliciousness). A simple cake studded with fruit sounded like the perfect foil for my basket o' plums.



I've made this cake twice in the last month and have another basket of plums sitting on my counter waiting to make cake #3. I can't get enough. I ate it for breakfast, as an appetizer before dinner, and also as dessert (sometimes all in the same day). The sweetness of the cake is the perfect balance for the tart pockets of jammy fruit.

The first cake I made was a (delicious) disaster; I mistakenly read 1/2 c. as 1/2 # of butter, thus doubling it! But rather than turn sodden and inedible like my blueberry slump, somehow this cake managed to pull through and remain light and fluffy. I also made the addition of toasted hazelnut flour in place of some of the all purpose flour for a little twist. The crumb was too light and airy so it was hard to tell how the hazelnut flour would affect the cake with the appropriate amount of butter, but I find it hard to imagine it would be anything but divine.

The second cake I made was a smashing sucess. I used small, brilliant red sugar plums; in the first I used plain purple skinned/red fleshed plums, and in the third one I will be using italian prune plums. Such prune plums are what the original recipe intends, but I find each different plum equally delicious.

Along with my plum cakes I have also managed to make a summer fruit bavarian cake for my friend and boss Naomi's birthday as well as a lemon chiffon cake layered with lemon curd and caramel and draped in whipped cream for my former co-worker Lora's going away day. All I want to do is make (and eat!) cakes. I bake all day at work and what do I want to do when I get home? Bake some more!! Someone call the pastry police . . .

Marion Burros' Plum Torte

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened (not 1/2 # like I mistakenly used)

3/4 c sugar, plus more for topping

1 c all purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

12 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Add eggs and beat well.

Spoon the batter into an 8, 9, or 10 inch springform pan (I used a 9" regular cake pan, buttered the bottom only and lined it with a round of parchment paper and it came right out). Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon to taste (I mixed about 1/2 tsp cinnamon with about 1 Tbsp of sugar and sprinkled that on).

Bake for 40-50 minutes. Remove and cool to lukewarm, remove the sides of pan, and serve. Or refrigerate or freeze if desired - first double-wrap in foil, then place in a plastic bag and seal. To serve a torte that has been frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.

Because I used a regular cake pan I let mine cool to room temp then ran a knife around the edge to loosen the cake. Then I placed a flat plate on top of the cake and flipped it over, pan and all to release it. To right the cake again, place a cooling rack on the bottom of the cake (which is facing upward at this point), flip the whole thing over again and remove the plate from the top of the cake. I ate my cake at room temp and also straight out of the fridge, which is where you will want to keep it if you plan on keeping it for several days so mold doesn't start to grow on the fruit. Also if you would like to add a nut flour such as almond or hazelnut, simply toast it in your oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until you start to smell it, then set aside to cool as you prepare the rest of the recipe. I substituted 1/3 c nut flour for 1/3 c all purpose flour.

I'm sure this could be made with other fruits such as peaches, apricots, nectarines, or even berries and it would be delicious!

If I were a food . . .

If I were a food . . . I think I might be a noodle. I love noodles. When given the choice of rice or noodles I always choose noodles. Maybe it's their shape, or flexibility, or because they are so fun to twirl around a fork. Mostly I think it's because they are so versatile.




They can be served hot or cold. Long or short. Sauced or nearly naked. They can be baked, boiled, and even fried. They hail from many countries, from Asia to Italy. They are a universal food. They can warm you up on a chilly night or cool you down in the heat of summer.

I just came off a 7 day work week and had not gone grocery shopping for even longer, leaving me with 1 slice of deli turkey, left over rice and beans takeout, two fried eggs, and toasted ciabatta with grape jelly to eat for dinner last night. It is not surprising that I didn't sleep well.

Finally with a day off I headed to the store for nourishment. As I wandered the aisles I felt completely uninspired. I go through periods of total uninterest in eating; I know, this must seem shocking. It is shocking to me. But when I don't have alot of time or energy I find myself living on protein shakes and take out, not the makings for a happy body.

Fortunately this summer has been quite cool by NYC standards, and though today was cool enough to wear some sleeves, the last few hot and muggy days have left me craving cool, smooth, refreshing foods. Insert the idea of cold noodles with peanut sauce here. Partly inspired by the macrobiotic (?) box of cold noodles I bought for 6 plus dollars at the store a couple weeks ago and by a previous post on Orangette of noodles with peanut citrus sauce I set out to create my own version of the cool meal I was craving.

I started with some unsalted peanut butter, a little lime juice, a splash of sesame oil, and some fiery sambal oelek as the base for my sauce. A little tweak here and a splash there and I had a creamy, nutty, tangy and spicy sauce to dress my salad. To pack in some much needed freshness and fiber I added lots of veggies, including some broccoli, red bell pepper, and carrot.For a little protein I sliced up a few chunks of seitan and tossed that in. I stirred and tasted and stirred some more, sprinkled on a chiffonade of fresh basil and was good to go. I now have enough cold noodles to last perhaps the entire coming week!

Cold Soba with Veggies and Peanut Sauce

1 pkg buckwheat soba noodles
1 small head baby bok choy, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, halved and sliced thin
4 scallions, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
2 small carrots, sliced in thin coins
1-1 1/2 c broccoli florets
3-4 pieces of seitan or other protein, sliced thin
6 basil leaves, sliced very thin

Peanut Sauce:

1/4 c. creamy natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp water
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2-3 tsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp sambal oelek
juice of 1 lime

Bring one small pot and one medium pot of water to a boil. Salt both pots generously. In the small pot blanche the broccoli until bright green and slightly tender. Immediately place in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain. In the medium pot cook the soba (be sure to remove the paper band around the noodles before dumping them into the water, unlike someone that rhymes with gamy) and boil until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside. Prepare the remaining vegetables and place in a large bowl with the drained noodles.

In a smaller bowl mix all sauce ingredients and taste for seasoning, add more water if it is too stiff. Pour sauce over salad and toss. Lastly add the chiffonade of basil. These noodles are delicious right away, but even better after the sauce has time to permeate the vegetables and the flavors meld.

Serves about 4, or 1 hungry girl for a week