Caramellow Chiffon Pie (Or New Moon Pie)

Y’all, I know it’s tardy to just now be slip-sliding into the New Year, but last year was a rocky one. I ended 2013 in the red: down two friendships, one relationship, and one job for which I had blindly relocated from a beloved city to a new (though admittedly excellent) one. While the start of the year covered me in citrus and the warmth of home, then hopscotched me back to Maine for a little bit of baby goat midwifery, the latter half of 2013 cascaded into an extremely challenging and dispiriting plane.

After an egregious though arguably appropriate amount of drinking my feelings and binge-watching The Good Wife—Alicia Florrick’s wintry color palette is just so good—I think I’m starting to emerge. Or, at least, Hulu is out of episodes and it’s time to get going on this new year. And while I’ve no idea as to the sorts of challenges or excellence that 2014 will pose, I can say that I’m planning to 1.) Stop lying, and 2.) Start following through—with a PMA and a fresh-ass smile on my face. So in the name of resoluteness and the beginnings brought about—blessedly—by every new year and every day spent free of television, allow me a word about this pie.

It had the potential to fail—caramel! soft ball stage! scalded milk!—but turned out totally excellent. I mean really. I’m calling it a caramellow chiffon, though you could also call it butterscotch chiffon, or caramel cloud, or frankly a new moon pie since it looks like a full-on lunar situation. It’s a technique that I learned at Woodberry Kitchen: a thin layer of graham cracker crust, filled with a caramel pudding that has been fluffed with fresh whipped marshmallow, then topped with whipped cream and crushed candy. I mean, it tastes like milky-sweet caramel clouds, and you should trust me on this considering the aforementioned decision to baseline at Honesty. In any case, the recipe requires several pots and steps, in addition to a few hours chillage in the fridge, but it’s a breeze to make—particularly if you take a moment to read through the directions twice and get all set up before you ignite your burner. But have at it! You deserve a new moon pie to go along with your new year, even if you started it on time two weeks ago. And of course, I’m wishing all my buds and readers and nonreaders a spiritually healthful and prosperous new year!

Caramellow Chiffon Pie
I used a ten-inch cake pan, which made a pie that was two inches tall. I recommend a smaller pan for a taller slice—get some height to 'er! And don't feel limited by the crust or topping options: chocolate or gingersnap crust could be excellent, as would topping the whipped cream with caramel. It will also work to fold the marshmallow into cooled pudding: the structure would allow you to fold in some ribbons of caramel of toffee sauce for a marbled effect. Go nuts!

For Crust

9 whole graham crackers, broken up

¼ cup light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1.  Make the crust: preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grind crackers, sugar, and salt in a food processor until fine. With motor running, pour in melted butter, and run until all crumbs are evenly moistened. Press onto bottom of 8-, 9-, or 10-inch springform cake pan with removable bottom. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until crust is fragrant and golden brown. Set aside.

For Caramel Pudding
Pudding portion adapted from Melissa Clark

3 cups heavy cream

1 ½ cups whole milk

150 g. dark brown sugar

5 grams fine-grain sea salt

1/3 cup water

4 large egg yolks

1 large whole egg

12 grams cornstarch

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1.  Make the pudding:  In a small pot, bring cream and milk to a simmer. Cover to keep warm. In a smallish-medium pot, bring brown sugar, water, and salt to a boil. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally to keep mixture from scorching, until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer, about eight minutes. The mixture should be a deep brown color and smell nutty and caramelized.

2.  Immediately whisk cream mixture into brown sugar to stop the cooking. The mixture will seize. Bring to a boil over low, whisking constantly, and cook until smooth.

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks, egg and cornstarch. Slowly pour a ladleful of hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t curdle. Slowly pour egg mixture into the pot with the cream, whisking all the while. Cook over low for another two to four minutes, until thickened. It’s fine if the mixture comes to a simmer.

4. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large, wide bowl and whisk in butter until smooth. Set aside.

For Marshmallow

13 grams gelatin

113 grams very cold water

200 grams granulated sugar

113 grams Lyle’s golden or light corn syrup

6 grams fine-grain salt

Softly whipped cream, for topping

Crushed graham crackers, crushed Health bar, or some other tasty goodness, for topping

1.  Make marshmallow:  Add water and gelatin to the bowl of a mixer, and let bloom for at least ten minutes. Then, in a medium pot, add sugar, corn syrup, and enough water to moisten the sugar—a third of a cup will probably do.

2.  Over medium heat, stir sugar mixture with a fork until the sugar is dissolved, then cease stirring and allow mixture to come to the softball stage, 236 to 240 degrees. Pour hot syrup over gelatin, then use the whisk attachment on low for a few minutes until mixture is foamy. Ratchet up the speed and whisk on high until the marshmallow has formed medium-soft peaks, about six to eight more minutes—be careful not to overwhip, lest the mixture get too stiff.

3.  Assemble:  Working quickly, fold marshmallow and six grams of salt into the warm pudding, making sure that the filling is evenly mixed and uniform in color. Pour filling into cake round, and allow to set for at least four hours. When ready to serve, run a small knife around edge of pan to loosen springform ring. Then run your serving knife under hot, hot water, dry, make one cut, then wet, dry, and cut again. Top with whipped cream and smooshed graham crackers or candy as desired.

Hoosier Mama's Caramel–Apple Cider Pie

“I suggest that pie is too elemental to be trendy. Trends fade, but simple, seasonal food made from good ingredients should not.” Thus prefaces pastry chef and author Paula Haney in The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie—one of the most thoughtful and well put together baking books I’ve beheld in a long time. To call it a baking book seems insufficient though. It’s more like a guide that nudges readers to reconsider their tempo in the kitchen and their relationship to ingredients, and it’s obviously first and foremost a damn fine collection of pie recipes. Haney leads you through dough, rolling (pound it out first!), and crimping to sourcing and filling, explaining the reasons behind her shop’s techniques and tweaks with a seriously trustworthy tone and obvious expertise: she speaks, and we want to listen.

Chefs have written many a fantastic books for the home cook, but they sometimes have trouble translating scale and method appropriately, or they dumb down necessary information to make it “easier” on us dudes at home. The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie—judging from the four recipes I’ve made—doesn’t make these kinds of concessions, and there’s no reason to expect that your pies at home won’t turn out every ounce as awesome as her pies in Chicago. In any case, in observance of fall and my recent stumble upon a Maryland apple farm that offers unpasteurized cider, this caramel apple cider pie seems like the most fitting offering. And if it doesn’t ring your bell, there’s plenty in the book that will: Fat Elvis Pie, Jeffersonville Maple-Pecan Pie, French Onion Soup Pie—so much fall and wintry goodness abounds.

I didn’t change much with the apple cider pie: used a rye pie dough for the crust since it was handy and exchanged a quarter of the sugar for light brown since sour cream with brown sugar is an age-old Nye family comfort dessert. I doubt I improved it at all with the tweaks, but that’s the fun of baking on your time. In the end, it’s a tangy, salty-sweet paean to fall, with the added bonus of being based on a Lottie + Doof recipe. Get to it!

Caramel–Apple Cider Pie

Adapted from The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie, by Paula Haney

Yields one nine-inch pie!

This recipe makes more caramel than you’ll need, but it is fall after all—drizzle that stuff all over them apples.

1 single-crust, blind-baked all-butter pie dough (see here or here for my favorites)

2 cups (493 grams) fresh apple cider

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

½ cup (121 grams) full-fat sour cream

½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt

4 large eggs (200 grams)

1 Tablespoon (18 grams) Calvados or other apple brandy

1 Tablespoon (11 grams) apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla paste

¼ cup (50 grams) caramel (recipe follows; I used about twice this amount to get the coverage I wanted)

1.  Pour the apple cider into a one-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer until the cider is reduced to one-quarter cup, ten to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place your baked pie shell on a baking sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, and salt to combine. Crack the eggs in a small bowl and fork to combine. Whisk the eggs into the sugar mixture in three additions, mixing well after each round. Stir the Calvados, cider vinegar, and vanilla into the reduced apple cider. Pour this into the egg mixture and whisk well to combine.

3.  Pour the filling into your pie shell and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the edges of the filling are slightly puffed. Haney says here to gently shake the pie: it should move as one piece. If the center jiggles on its own, return the pie to the oven for five to ten minutes. The top of the pie will be very shiny when set.

4.  Cool to room temperature, and prepare the caramel while you wait. Once both the pie and caramel are cool, pour one-quarter cup (or more) of caramel over the top of the pie. Spread it to the edges with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Chill pie in the fridge for at least two hours before serving; use a clean, dry knife to make smooth, even cuts. The finished pie can be stored in the fridge for two to three days.

Caramel

Adapted from TheHoosier Mama Book of Pie, by Paula Haney

The set-up for this caramel is somewhat involved, but it makes a correct and excellent sauce, so don’t be dissuaded!

½ cup plus two Tablespoons (126 grams) granulated sugar

½ cup (116 grams) heavy cream, at room temperature

pinch of kosher salt

1.  Fill a medium, heat-proof bowl a quarter of the way with ice. Add cold water just until the ice floats, and set aside. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a second medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside.

2.  Place the sugar in a one-quart, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until the sugar melts around the edges of the saucepan, about two minutes. Gently stir with a rubber spatula, then turn down the heat to medium and continue to cook until the sugar melts in the middle. Stir until all of the sugar is melted and has turned medium amber.

3. Turn the heat down to low, and immediately pour in a small addition of cream, whisking all the while. Add the rest of the cream in four additions, whisking constantly. The caramel should appear ropy at first, then form a thick sauce.

4.  Remove pan from heat and dip the bottom into the bowl of ice water to cease the cooking, being sure not to splash any water into the sauce. Remove from ice bath, and whisk in the salt. Then pour through the strainer into your heatproof bowl, and dip once more into the ice bath. Whisk occasionally until cool, assemble your pie, and use the leftovers on your apples!

Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Tartlets

Guns! Brandy! Pie! Thanksgiving this year totally exceeded my expectations and got progressively more delicious and fun with each hour of the day. No one got punched, I didn’t kill any birds, the food was some of the best Thanksgiving fare I’ve ever had, and the desserts were off the wall. Sandwiched between it all was some chill time in front of the boob-tube and a bewitching soundtrack of lady crooners, amplified by mine and Emily’s homebrew, spiked cider, and endless mugs of coffee brandy. 

After a morning marathon of besotted cooking and an utterly indulgent brunch, we soldiered on to prepare the main Thanksgiving feast. Or rather, Jen and Dave soldiered on, while I diddled away with the desserts and cajoled Jen’s sous chefs into shooting cat-food targets with me out back. Then, with twenty entrees and two football games under our belts, we finally collapsed around the dinner table to gobble up twelve hours of work and toast to our hard-won, most excellent farming season.
  
I always worry that my desserts will be a letdown, and sometimes they are (last year’s cranberry frangipane tart, for instance). But this year, mercifully, all three desserts totally ruled. Not everyone had the stomach for pie at the end of the night, but Dave, Daniel, and I somehow managed to slowly shovel down sampler plates of the sweet potato buttermilk pie, apple cranberry pie, and these chocolate caramel sea salt tartlets. With whipped cream, no less! It was a heroic end to a delirious day from which I am still recovering. It hasn't stopped me from scarfing down the leftovers though, and it shouldn’t stop you from planning some holiday baking. Start with these! They were delicious insanity, especially with a bit of ground coffee sprinkled on top, and they would definitely be a welcome addition to any upcoming holiday tables you might be setting.
Hope you enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving!

Chocolate Caramel Tartlets
Recipe adapted from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course
 
Fleming uses a chocolate tart dough in her recipe. I substituted my favorite sweet tart dough because chocolate tart doughs (that aren't made with crushed cookies, that is) always seem a bit "blah" to me. Her original also calls for mini muffin tins or two-inch tart pans to make 24 mini tarts, but alas we don't have any. Were I to make this again--and I will!--I'd do it with a full-size ten-inch pan anyway.

For Tart Dough
9 tablespoons very cold butter (I prefer salted)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg

Caramel Filling
1/2 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup (you can use Lyle’s Golden Syrup if you’d rather!)
1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons creme fraiche

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Large-grain sea salt, for garnish
Coarsely crushed coffee beans, for garnish (optional)

1.  Make tart dough: Cube butter into one-inch pieces and chill in freezer while you ready everything else. In the bowl of a food processor, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Sprinkle butter over top, and pulse about 10 to 15 times until butter is between the size of peas and oatmeal. Use a fork to break up egg in a small bowl, and pour a bit at a time through the feed tube, pulsing once after each addition. When the egg is all in, pulse the dough for ten seconds at a time until it comes together. Right before you get to this point, the mixer will change sounds and essentially start grumbling at you. Dump dough onto sheet of plastic wrap, lightly push together, and chill for at least one hour, preferably longer.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For four-inch tartlets, divide dough into six equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough hunks one by one to six-inch circles and fit them into tart pans, pressing along the bottom and up to sides to ensure an even fit. Roll your rolling pin across the top to cut the dough and make smooth edges. Prick the bottoms all over with the tines of a fork and firm up in freezer for 30 minutes. Butter the shiny side of six pieces of aluminum foil, press into bottom and up sides of tart dough, then bake tartlets for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden, about ten minutes more. Tart can also be made in a ten-inch tart pan.

3.  Prepare filling: Place water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until you have a dark amber caramel, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately and carefully (!!!) whisk in the butter, cream, and creme fraiche. Continue whisking until mixture is smooth. Divide the caramel among tart pans while still warm, filling them almost to the top. Let cool until caramel is set, about 45 minutes. You can also make the caramel up to five days ahead of time and refrigerate it; just reheat it until pourable.

4.  Make ganache: In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, place your chopped chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for two minutes, then whisk vigorously until smooth. Immediately pour chocolate over the tarts. Allow to set for about two hours, then top with big grains of salt and coarsely ground coffee when ready to serve. Our tarts kept covered at room temperature for four days.

Pumpkin Roll with Brandy Whipped Cream and Salted Caramel

As of a week ago, my parents have been married for four decades. They went to the same Ventura high school, but weren’t attached in those days; they got together for the first time ten years later, after their high school reunion when my mom called up my dad about getting a cup of coffee on her layover in San Francisco. In my sweet momma’s yearbook though, my student body president, jock of a pops wrote something to the tune of, “Dear Gail, your senior portrait turned out great. I’ve always thought you had a beautiful smile.” Cuuuuttttteeeee. Wham, bam, forty years later, and my nice-as-pie folks found themselves on our farm Maine celebrating their anniversary with me, one-half the consequence of their union. Joked my dad about the milestone, “Well, it’s just that divorce is too much trouble,” upon which he leaned in and allowed me take the cutest photo in the history of photos.

After their day on the farm, which included brunch and observing “bucks licking their carrots” (direct mom-quote), my folks traveled back south to their cabin where I joined them the next day. Pops took out an ad in the local paper commemorating their anniversary, and after that, the occasion went largely unobserved. We all cuddled up to the fire to read and watch movies, but considered disowning one another upon a particularly irksome game of Chinese checkers; “This is what forty years of marriage gets you,” was shot back and forth both lovingly and sarcastically throughout the days.

This pumpkin cake wasn’t for their anniversary per se, but because they hardly ever bake and my mom is equal parts into whipped cream and liquor while my dad loves pumpkin, the weekend was a good opportunity to capitalize on having more than one dessert-hungry mouth. My mom “assisted” by surreptitiously “taste-testing” whipped cream while my dad critiqued my photo lighting, but the trouble paid off once we sat down to scarf half the cake with coffee and Baileys on the side (so much liquor, this family!). This is a super dessert. The pumpkin comes through just enough--I’m not all that into extremely pumpkin-tasting things--while the brandy and caramel hold it all down. The cake is very delicate and airy so it’s best eaten on day one or two, but I brought the leftovers back to the farm where they lasted just fine until day three.

Pumpkin Roll Cake

Adapted significantly from Epicurious

Pumpkin Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
6 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup pumpkin puree, canned or roasted is fine
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Salted Caramel
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons salted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream

Brandy Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons brandy (or Cointreau or bourbon, etc.)

1.  Make pumpkin cake:  preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 15x10x1-inch jellyroll sheet. Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger and allspice into small bowl. Using handheld mixer, beat egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar in large bowl until very thick, about three minutes. On low speed, beat in pumpkin, then dry ingredients. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter in three additions. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake cake until tester is inserted comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

2.  Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Place damp paper towels or kitchen towel (not terry cloth) over top of cake and let stand for ten minutes; gently remove, and don’t worry when bits of cake stick to the towel. Dust top of cake with powdered sugar, and cover with a dry kitchen towel that’s longer and wider than the cake. Flip out onto counter on top the towel, and dust again with powdered sugar. Using towel to help you lift and roll, gently roll the cake from short end to short end with the towel inside. Allow cake to cool completely, encased in towel with the seam side down.

3.  Make caramel:  Add sugar to a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar begins to dissolve, swirling occasionally to evenly distribute heat. Allow to cook until caramel turns a reddish amber color. Add butter and stir to melt. Remove pan from heat and carefully add cream; mixture will bubble up. Return to heat if you need to dissolve any hardened pieces, otherwise, pour caramel into a jar or bowl and allow it to cool.

4.  Make filling and assemble cake:  In a large bowl, beat heavy cream, sugar, and liquor until stiff peaks form. Gently unroll cake and remove tea towel. Spread whipped cream evenly over cake, and reroll, short side to short side. Place cake seam side down on serving plate. Cut into one-inch slices or larger, and drizzle with a spoonful or two of the caramel. You may need to pop to caramel into the microwave for ten seconds to make it pourable. Cake will keep covered in the fridge for several days; leftover caramel will keep for a few days.

Salted Ginger Caramel Goat Cheese Tart

Just a few short months ago, I was flipping goat cheese wrappers inside out and scraping out the corners with a tiny spoon to release all the smears for this cheese-heavy tart. Not wanting to spend one cent more to ensure enough usable quarter-ounces of cheese, I worked those wrappers for all that they were worth. Now I find myself in the complete opposite set of circumstances, those being that fresh, neverending goat cheese is the most readily available ingredient around; I still scrape out the bowls with a tiny spoon, but now with much less desperation and a lot more pride.

The inspiration for this tart came just in time too. My stint at the goat cheese farm is just two weeks old, but my role  is feeling more settled, routines are natural, and free time more predictable. Based on how the farm sells at market and how much milk we're getting from the girls, certain afternoons and evenings are now far less burdensome than they were just ten days previous, which means I have time to bake! A few days ago, on one of the most sweltering afternoons thus far, Arlene, Dave, and I riproared early through our chores and cheeses. The dough for this tart was already assembled and the chevre already made (by me!) and set aside, so I threw together and baked the filling before we high-tailed it for nearby Schoodic Lake, with beers, sandwiches, and pooch in tow. For a few blissful hours, we dove off tall rocks, exhausted ourselves swimming out as far as we could and back, and swapped stories about weird dates and weird parents. Only one slimy lake creature was spotted, and no one came home with a brain amoeba: success!

And when we got home sun-soaked and somewhat buzzed to finish evening chores, I managed to sneak away to finish the salted ginger caramel and top this tart before dinner. Supper perpetuated our lovely, easy day, as farm-fresh organic everything--all-beef hotdogs, burgers, cherry tomato cobbler baked with cheese that we made, kale chips, and potato salad--was amassed upon the table and gobbled up without hesitation. There might not be too many opportunities for me to make the cheese that makes a tart and then eat it surrounded by new friends and folks with hilarious stories, so I plan to take advantage of it as many times as I can over the next five months. On that note, do you have any must-make goat cheese baked goods recipes, sweet or savory? I'd love to know and make them!

Ginger Caramel Goat Cheese Tart

Inspired by Nothing in the House's Blackberry Lemon Goat Cheese Tart

Makes enough for one nine-inch tart

Crust and Filling

One-half recipe all-butter flaky pie crust or other pie or tart dough of your choosing

16 ounces soft chevre

4 extra-large eggs

2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Zest from one small lemon, about two teaspoons worth

Salted Ginger Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons salted butter (or unsalted + 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt), cut into one-inch pieces

1/4 cup heavy cream

2-inch peeled knob of ginger, grated and pressed to yield one tablespoon juice

1.  Parbake pie crust:  preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out pie crust to an 11- or 12-inch circle and fit it into nine-inch tart pan. Fold under edges, pleat, and prick all over with a fork. Fit a sheet of foil against the dough and fill with pie weights or dried beans then bake for ten minutes. Carefully remove the foil, press down any crust bubbles, and bake for five to eight minutes more, until crust is lightly golden. Reduce temperature to 350 once crust is parbaked.

2.  Make the filling:  meanwhile, add chevre, eggs, and sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low until filling is uniformly blended, about three minutes. Add the extract, juice, and zest, scrape down the sides, and mix until filling is smooth. 

3.  Bake:  set parbaked tart shell on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Pour filling into hot tart shell and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes, until filling is set on the edges and slightly soft in the middle; be sure to rotate pan halfway through. Allow to cool on wire rack completely, about two hours. Can store undressed tart in fridge at this point, if not finishing tart the same day.

4.  Make caramel* and assemble:  add sugar for caramel to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Melt sugar over medium-high heat, whisking gently as needed to ensure even melting. Once sugar is melted, swirl pan every 30 seconds or so until sugar turns a deep copper color. With heat still on, add butter and whisk like mad to melt; mixture will sputter, so be careful. Then, add cream and ginger juice, stirring until caramel is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool in fridge for about one hour. When cool, pour caramel over goat cheese tart, spreading to edges of crust. Cool in fridge to set caramel, one to two hours, or cut it into it straight away like we did and end up with a really delicious mess. If you want, sprinkle a few flecks of flaky sea salt over the top too.

*Do ahead: Caramel can be made days or even a week ahead and stored in the fridge. Just rewarm ever so slightly in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds before spreading over the tart.

Pecan Birthday Cake with Caramel Filling and Vanilla Buttercream + Panda Head

May and September are birthday months ‘round these parts. I’ve got a few late April and early June babies and a handful of Scorpios in my life too, but many folks I know—including me and my sister—celebrate in May. I’ve always felt like a bit of a spring cheat since I was supposed to be born on the Fourth of July, but it was with great and telling baby aplomb that I ruined my sister’s eighth birthday party with my newborn homecoming; none of her guests, she cites as evidence, remember watching Splash. Morgan Hungerford West of Panda Head Blog is also awash in May birthdays, and she contacted Tarts by Tarts last month about putting together a birthday cake for the May edition of her monthly newsletter. Emily and I agree on a lot of baking things, but one point of particular sameness is in the utter glory of the birthday cake—towering and covered in frosting, filled but not with fruit, white on white is tops, nuts are always awesome, one can get away with pink.

Photo by Michelle Rigg. Thanks Michelle! This shows step four of assembly.

After being totally inspired by the baking prowess of Yossy from Apt. 2B Baking Co., we came up with a pecan cake filled with caramel and covered in a yellow ombre design to ring in the spring and season of birthdays. Tarts by Tarts is also handy with a cocktail shaker, and for the birthday shoot Em and I devised the Mayday (visible below), made with blackberries, lavender simple syrup, lime juice, and two shots of an awesome gin out of West Virginia called Smooth Ambler—this drink will float your keister to the floor. Morgan and her pal, photographer Michelle Rigg, swung by our house on Easter Sunday, where they proceeded to bowl us over with their casually rad styling abilities and quips about ’90s tattoos and our jungle lawn. It was a joyful afternoon, and we’re so glad to finally share the cake with you! Morgan released the May newsletter yesterday, and you can get the cocktail recipe over there and more photos from the shoot, plus Morgan’s breezy take on summer tees, brewing beer, and Arnold impressions; seriously, check it out. Below, I’ve got a couple more cake close-ups and the handwritten recipe. If I were to blow out my candles today, my only wish would be that you could read it. Enjoy!

A rare shot of us in the kitchen. Also by Michelle Rigg!

Pecan Cake!
Just wanted to offer a few notes on the baking, which my hand was too cramped to include. We used the recipe below, but baked the photographed cake in six-inch pans with the leftover batter yielding six cupcakes. The baking time for six-inch layers was actually the same as the time for eight-inch layers, but start checking the cake around 30 minutes if you choose to go the route of smaller rounds. There will be a bit of leftover frosting and filling if you make smaller cake layers, but um, the frosting is good on anything and the filling is awesome on ice cream. Also, click the images to embiggen to a readable size.

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Glaze

My life has been unexpectedly hectic and fast-moving lately. From percocet pie and the events that led to it, to a series of difficult, all-consuming decisions, to this wild and wonderful thing that my tarty partner in crime and I are doing, I had to call in the reserves, aka Mom, for a jaunty weekend visit that sped by in a 40-hour instant. I carried around scrap paper and pens like a security blanket while she was here so we could write down every idea about said decisions without missing a thing. In classic family fashion though, we spent most of her visit scarfing noodles, treating ourselves to excess, and falling asleep to SVU; I didn't record a single, frantic idea.

   

And as soon as she left, BAM! Life gave me a kick in the tights again, this time with joy for some great friends who are moving down to Texas, the anticipation of a new, very exciting collaborative art project, lots of lovely friends in town, and the galloping taste of this excellent cake, served up for a potluck and industrial music show* held at our house on Sunday night. The decisions still loom weightily and I miss my momma mightily, but all of these occasions and opportunities have led to some pretty cool stuff (including this feature on Refinery29, omg!), not to mention an exciting announcement or two to soon be revealed -- as soon as those damn decisions get made, anyway. In the meantime, I'm so glad I slowed down to make this cake, a cinnamon-apple dreamboat swathed in caramel glaze that comes together in no time; it's basically the rustic cake of my dreams in my all-time favorite cake shape. You'll love it!

*You guys, if you ever see that a DC band called Bereft is going to play, you have to see them. It's so loud, so head-shaky, and so the best.

Applesauce Cake

Adapted from Food52

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt 

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2/3 cup safflower or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Caramel Glaze

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, or to taste

1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, and spices and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with both sugars on medium until smooth and light, about a minute. On low, mix in the applesauce, oil, and vanilla until smooth.

2.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, rap sharply on the counter to eliminate air bubbles, and bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  [Original calls for 45, but mine was totally finished at 40; check yours earlier.] Cool the cake for ten minutes in the pan before turning it out and cooling completely on a cooling rack -- make sure the cake is not at all warm before you make the glaze.

3.  Put the butter in a medium saucepan with the brown sugar, cream, and salt, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. The recipe calls for boiling for one minute exactly and then removing from heat, but I went to two minutes plus a few seconds because I thought the glaze could use more caramel flavor. It ended up being totally fine and lovely this way.

4.  Leave the pan to cool for a couple of minutes, and  gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until you have a thick, but pourable consistency (you will not likely need all of the sugar, but it's also okay to use more if need be). If the mixture seems too thick, add a splash of cream (or bourbon!) to thin it out a little. Immediately pour the glaze over the cake, moving slowly and evenly to cover as much surface area as possible. The glaze basically sets on contact, so any overlapping glaze or second layering will be visible; try to stick to one even layer. Serve it up! Covered, cake will keep for several days, with the flavor deepening the longer it's around.

Blood Orange Tart with Salted Caramel

I remember thinking about marriage a lot before I turned 20. I suppose that it could have either been a Herculean feat or a total delusion since I was living in a half-naked co-op in Berkeley and I had a long-distance boyfriend at the time, but my obsessive plotting dissipated once I left for France and got knocked down a couple of life ladder rungs. I never regained the ideas that I had about marriage—though the handful of heteronormative design blogs that I read aren't doing much to help me form a realistic conception of healthy relationships—and until recently it didn't have a real place in my life. Now a few of my most favorite friends are married or planning weddings, and I find myself learning something about relationships each time I hear a new story or listen to a stranger give a toast to my friends.

And so this weekend found me celebrating the upcoming wedding of my dear friends Ruben and Joaquin, who are getting married in November as all of their adoring friends (what seems like thousands!) root them on in Dia de los Muertos style. I made three desserts for the evening, including this blood orange tart with salted caramel, and even though everyone seemed to love the food, it was totally forgettable compared to the toasts that had people blubbering and the dancing that ensued. I shouldn't sell this dessert short though: The tart is a great reprieve from and celebration of winter, and the bitter orange goes perfectly with the salted caramel. Please don't stick around long enough to see me turn that into a metaphor, just go make this and congratulate yourself for having so many friends with real and inspiring relationships. 

Blood Orange Tart with Salted Caramel Sauce

Adapted from Zoe Nathan via Lottie + Doof

Per L + D's suggestion, I used a different caramel than the one Nathan suggested, and I ultimately decided on a different crust recipe as well. I tried Nathan's crust when I made the tart early in the week, and my method may be at fault here, but I found it to be too dry and difficult to work with. When I made this again for the party, I swapped in my favorite all-butter crust recipe and upped the sugar to match the level that Nathan used. It was much more to my liking!

Blood Orange Tart

One-half recipe all-butter crust (recipe and directions over here!) with 2 TBSP total sugar

8 to 10 medium blood oranges, about 7 ounces each (I used 8)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, thinly sliced

1 large egg yolk mixed with two tablespoons of water

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon raw sugar for dusting the crust

1.  Once you've made your pastry and it has chilled in the fridge for 30 minutes, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the pastry to a sheet of parchment paper on the back of a cookie sheet and let chill while you prepare the oranges, or at least 15 minutes. The oranges actually took me exactly 45 minutes to prep, so you could put your crust in the fridge, start prepping the oranges, take a break to roll out the crust, then carry on with the recipe.

2.  Peel your oranges and keep them intact as much as possible. Using a very sharp knife, gently slice the pith off of the outsides of all. Pick your two most intact and beautifully colored oranges and slice them crosswise into thin rounds.  Set aside. Set up a sieve over a bowl and carefully segment your remaining oranges, slicing between the pith to extract just the pieces of fruit. You'll need a generous cup of slices. Gently shake the slices to remove excess juice; save the juice for a different use.

3.  Leaving a two-inch border of crust all around, arrange the orange segments on the pastry. Sprinkle two tablespoons of granulated sugar and sliced tablespoon of butter over the top. Fold edges of pastry over the fruit, pleating as you go and leaving most of the fruit uncovered. Use a pastry brush to spread egg wash on the crust, and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Finally, arrange the orange circles over the top and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of granulated sugar. Freeze tart for at least four hours, preferably overnight.

4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake tart on the back of the cookie sheet directly from the freezer for one hour and 15 minutes, until the crust is deep brown and the fruit is bubbling. You may want to put some foil on the rack below the tart to catch any drips. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a half-hour, then remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the caramel!

Deep Dark Salted Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons salted butter (or unsalted + 1/4 teaspoon sea salt), cut into one-inch pieces

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1.  Pour the sugar into a three-quart pot set over medium-high heat and allow the sugar to melt, whisking occasionally to ensure even cooking. Once sugar is melted, continue to cook until it turns a deep copper color (I like to push caramel to the edge of burnt; go lighter if you don't). With the heat still on, add the butter and whisk like crazy, then whisk in the cream until you have a smooth sauce. Turn the heat off and enjoy! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for awhile!