1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, diced into tablespoon-sized pieces
4 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
3/4 cup (90g) all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar, for dusting, optional
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the pan with a layer of parchment paper covering the bottom and up 2 sides with a slight overhang. Lightly grease the parchment paper.
Heat the milk and butter: In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter on low heat just until the butter melts. Don’t let the milk come to a boil or simmer. It should be warm but not scalding hot, 105 to 115°F. Set aside.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they form stiff peaks, about 4 minutes. When you lift the beaters out of the bowl, the whipped egg whites should stand up at a point and hold that point
Start the batter: In another large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and nutmeg (if using) on high speed until the mixture is pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture and beat on low speed until combined. It may seem like there is too much flour, but the batter will soon be thinned out.
Add the warm milk and egg whites: Continue mixing on low speed, or switch to a whisk, and pour in the warm milk and butter a splash at a time. Once you’ve incorporated about half of the milk mixture, you can pour in the rest, and whisk to combine. The batter will be thin and smooth, like crepe batter.Add the beaten egg whites and use the whisk to gently mix until there are no large lumps of egg whites. Don’t overmix—there should still be a layer of foam on top of the batter.
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is golden brown, the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan, and the center has a slight jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 50 minutes.
Cool and serve: Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack until it’s cool enough to go in the fridge, about 30 minutes. Let the cake chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. You can skip chilling and serve the cake at room temperature, though it won’t slice as neatly.Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar, then slice it into squares. If desired, serve with fresh fruit and, for extra indulgence, a dollop of whipped cream.Store leftover magic cake, well-covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Magic cake does not freeze well. The freezing and thawing process will affect the texture of the custard layer.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
Preheat your oven to 375° and set a rack to the middle position. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan and set aside.
Put the apple cider in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Set aside to cool.
Using a standing or handheld mixer, cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl at medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each. Add the vanilla extract and blend.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add a third of this mixture to the butter mixture and beat just to combine. Add half the reduced cider and beat to combine. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the rest of the cider, then the remaining flour mixture. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups and transfer to the oven. Bake until tops are firm and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
For the topping:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Now, prepare the topping: In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, brush their tops and sides with butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 ½ cups granulated sugar (divided)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 (29 ounce) can sliced peaches in juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13 baking dish (or 2-8×8 baking dishes). Set aside.
Place butter in a medium size microwave safe mixing bowl. Heat butter in microwave until melted. Add 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and whisk to combine. Add milk and vanilla, whisk until combined. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
Spoon peaches over top of batter, placing them evening around the pan. Reserve the juice from the can.
Add 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the juice. Whisk to combine. Pour juice over peaches.
Bake 55-60 minutes until golden brown. Serve with a scoop of ice cream on top if desired. Enjoy! serves 12
Preheat oven to 350º F and place pie dough in a standard pie dish.
Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
Pour in heavy cream and mix together until fully blended and incorporated.
In a separate bowl, whisk together half-and-half, egg yolks and vanilla extract, then gently stir egg yolk mixture into heavy cream mixture.
Pour pie filling into pie crust, then crimp the edges of the pie dough and brush with melted butter.
Sprinkle cinnamon across the top of pie, then place in oven.
Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until center is just set, but still jiggles slightly when shaken. (After about 1 hour, pie filling will boil. Allow to bubble for 10 minutes then remove from oven.)
Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
8 fresh peaches (peeled, pitted, and sliced into chunks)
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel the peaches with a knife or peeler, or drop the peaches one-by-one in boiling water for about a minute. Then, take each one out and put it into a bowl of ice water for about a minute. The skins should slide off pretty easily if the peaches are ripe.
In a large bowl, combine the first list of ingredients (peaches, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, cornstarch). Toss everything together so the peaches are coated evenly, then put the mixture into a greased two-quart (8×8) baking dish and bake in the oven for ten minutes.
In another large bowl, combine some of the ingredients from the second list– flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use your fingertips to blend the butter into the mixture, or use a pastry blender ñ until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Then, stir in the water until just combined.
Take the peaches out of the oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over them. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon.
Bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden. Enjoy!
14 ounces sourdough bread (crusts trimmed, if desired), cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 cups whole or low-fat milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 medium eggs (may substitute 3 large eggs)
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/3 cup for sprinkling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking oil spray.
Toss together the bread cubes, blueberries, rosemary and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Spread in the baking dish.
Whisk together the milk, heavy cream, eggs, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla extract and salt in the same bowl you just used, until well blended. Pour over the mixture in the baking dish and stir gently to moisten all the bread cubes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and the nutmeg in a bowl, then sprinkle that mixture over the bread pudding. Bake for 1 hour or until nicely browned.
Peel the apples and slice them thinly. Put them in a rather shallow 1-quart casserole and sprinkle them with the water. Put them aside while you prepare the crust.
Sift together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until all is well combined. Sprinkle this mixture thickly and evenly over the apples. Don’t mix the two together.
Cover the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour, then uncover and bake another 1/2 hour. The crust will be crisp on top, and will have partly seeped down through the apples,
flavoring them and binding them slightly together.
1/2 pound carrots (peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces on a bias)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups water or stock
1 cup farro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
SHERRY VINAIGRETTE:
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
TO ASSEMBLE:
1/2 cup pistachios (toasted, roughly chopped)
1/2 cup parsley (roughly chopped)
2/3 cup feta (crumbled)
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
In a large bowl, add the carrots and drizzle with the olive oil. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, chipotle powder, and ginger, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet and place in the oven until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the water and farro and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook until tender but chewy, about 10 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and set aside to cool.
For the Sherry Vinaigrette: In a mason jar, add the sherry vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and olive oil and shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
To Assemble: To a large bowl, add the farro, carrots, pistachios, parsley and feta. Drizzle with sherry vinaigrette and toss to combine.
Tip: To toast the nuts, place them in a dry saute pan over low heat and toast until golden and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
24 jumbo pasta shells or lumaconi
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta
4 cups fresh spinach
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400º F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to packaging directions, or until just al dente. Reserve pasta water, drain and set aside.
Return pasta water to heat and blanch spinach until just wilted. 30-60 seconds, or until bright green.
Remove spinach from boiling water and immediately place in an ice bath to prevent further cooking.
Drain spinach, then place in a large bowl and mix together with ricotta.
Season generously with salt and pepper, then transfer mixture to food processor or blender and pulse until spinach is chopped into small pieces.
Fold 1 cup mozzarella cheese into ricotta mixture, then use a spoon to stuff your shells with cheesy spinach filling. Place stuffed shells in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk in flour to create a roux.
Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, or until mixture is smooth and paste-like.
While continuing to whisk, slowly mix in heavy cream. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
Add remaining mozzarella and cook until completely incorporated. Season with lemon juice, nutmeg and salt.
Pour sauce over stuffed shells, then sprinkle parmesan over the top.
Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 15.
Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, then serve hot.
1 cup half-and-half
