Breads & Cakes

Crackly Rye Banana Bread

May 1, 2014 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

Weekend baking project! And GO.

Ben can’t tell how he feels about the crackle in this bread. I, on the other hand, love the crackle. (Just so we’re clear, by crackle I mean raw millet, aka birdseed, aka don’t look at me in that tone of voice because it tastes good, okay?)

So, yeah. Birdseed banana bread. Have I lost you yet?

Though it’s used in birdseed, yes, millet is actually a human food. It’s a kind of ancient seed, healthy and full of nutrients, which happens to be having a renaissance in the bulk food aisle, somewhere between the multicolored quinoa and the chia seeds (and the general pretension, yes). And whatever, it’s great in banana bread! With a bit of rye flour and coconut oil and not very much in the way of sugar, the loaf sings and crackles and makes you feel better when you pull a back muscle and have to hobble around like someone three times your age. It’s great in thick slices for breakfast or thin, half slices when you’re not supposed to be snacking but just can’t help yourself (I’m told).

Banana bread is a staple, for me. One that gets tweaked and twisted and changed according to how I feel, or what’s in my pantry, or which books or blogs I’m reading this week. I mean, how many recipes for banana bread have I tried, at this point in my almost-30-year-old life? A bunch. But this one, with its depth and crackle, is my favorite version yet.

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Banana Bread Hearts

February 11, 2014 by mollygilbert520 13 Comments

Been staring at that poppyseed salad for awhile, eh? My bad. Let’s change the scenery, shall we?

Banana bread!

It’s never not a good time for banana bread. Plus it happens to be a personal favorite of my Valentine, and I’m a sucker for that guy.

There are a million different ways to banana your bread, and I have yet to settle on “my” way. I think my way involves browned butter, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. It’s certainly a good start, anyway. This time around, I turned to the lovely Zoe Francois of Zoe Bakes, whose blog I’ve been following for ages and whose recipes are always second to none. Her original recipe is for Nutella Swirled Banana Bread (um, HELLO), but since I can’t keep Nutella in my pantry without terrible things happening (read: flabby jowls) I left it out.

What’s left is a banana bread for purists – strongly banana, faintly sweet and lightly spiced. The recipe makes two loaves — one for now and one for… slightly after now. If you’re feeling cutesy, it’s pretty fun to cut out banana bread hearts, dip them in chocolate, and trade them for smooches.

SMOOCH.

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Peggy’s Apple Cake

October 17, 2013 by mollygilbert520 9 Comments

In most parts of the country, the air’s getting crispier. People are reaching for heavier knits, tucking their feet into adorable suede booties, and taking long, leaf-crunching walks in the chill. In San Francisco, we did that in July (minus the leaf crunching). Our October days are pretty hot (and fog-less!), so I’ve been busy sunning myself (carefully, with sunscreen!) on the roof. The warmth is nice, but it feels pretty weird.

I mean, we all try to pretend it’s autumn out here, making soup and reading Martha Stewart Living and thinking about Halloween treats and costumes but, between you and me, apple picking in eighty degree heat just isn’t the same.

I mean, maybe you drive up to Sonoma county and find an apple orchard, and maybe it’s entirely gorgeous. You’ll probably get a basket and start picking, tasting as you go “just to make sure.” And it will be fun, for about ten minutes. Then you’ll start to really feel the sun beating down on you, because it’s hot, and you’ll wonder why you ate so many damn apples and also when might be an appropriate time to go home and take a nap? You’re sweating up a storm in your trusty “apple picking sweater” and there’s no cute stand selling apple cider doughnuts and decorative pumpkins and warm cider, anyway (not that you could drink anything warm in this heat), so it kind of feels like naptime might be a good idea. So you’ll leave — with eight pounds of apples, minor sweat stains and a deep-seated longing for the autumn of your youth.

Oh well. That’s “autumn” in the Bay Area. We can’t be ungrateful. We’ve got sunshine, after all. And apple cake! And lucky for us, apple cake tastes the same, whether or not we’re wearing cable knits. Happy autumn, all!

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Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts

September 19, 2013 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

Just give me a dang doughnut.

I’ve been sick for nine days. My body thinks it’s funny to not let me hear things with my ears. My throat feels like medium grade sandpaper and my voice sounds like that of a dying cow. Sinusitis, I’m done with you. GIVE ME A DANG DOUGHNUT.

Do we spell doughnut like dough + nut? Or is it just donut? I think we as a society should come to some agreement here. I feel like “doughnut” is the proper literary spelling and “donut” is the proper lazy person spelling. I’m the kind of person who can’t be bothered to sift flour for a recipe, pretty much ever, but I also think I’m fancy, so I’m going with doughnut.

In any case, why don’t you just give me a dang double chocolate doughnut already?!? A baked one! With sprinkles!!

I want the rainbow ones, please.

Thank you. I’m sorry I yelled at you. With my sad, raspy, bovine voice. That was the sinusitis talking, and sinusitis is dumb. You are my friend. I will share my doughnut.

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Dorie’s Swedish Visiting Cake With Apricots & Cherries

June 7, 2013 by mollygilbert520 7 Comments

I inherited a cast iron skillet.

Except when I say that I inherited it, I really mean that the previous tenants of my apartment left it here and I found it and now it’s mine. Because finder’s keepers.

…Is that wrong?

I would feel more guilty about having technically stolen this skillet if it weren’t so dang heavy, you know? I mean, the move-outers clearly left it here. No room/strength to lug it out of the place, I guess. Plus it was all cobwebbed and rusty, which is no way to treat a skillet. I had to rescue it. At any rate, I use it now and imagine that it was once my great great grandmother’s who used it to make blintzes and apple cake and dutch babies, and that’s that.

Thievery and nostalgia aside, let’s talk about skillet cake. “Visiting cake,” as the wonderful Dorie Greenspan calls this one. Isn’t the name kind of perfect? Cake and visits should go hand in hand, I think. Anyway, I’m not entirely sure what makes this cake Swedish, but we are all children of the world and this cake is good so let’s just eat it.

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Buckwheat Berry Buckle

May 20, 2013 by mollygilbert520 4 Comments

Confession: I made this snacky, breakfasty buckle cake a year ago, but kept it entirely to myself — that is, I forgot to share it with you. …Also I had four spoonfuls of ice cream for breakfast this morning (Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup). Except maybe it was six spoonfuls. Oops.

At any rate, now that berry season is upon us (here in California, anyway), it’s time for the jewel-toned crisps and crumbles, cobblers and betties and buckles to come out of the wood work. And I think by “the wood work” I mean “your oven.” (Side note: if I end up having three children and those children end up being two boys and a girl, I will be hard pressed not to name them Crisp, Buckle and Betty. My kids are going to be so popular.)

I’ve been experimenting a bit with buckwheat as of late; I made buttermilk buckwheat pancakes just last week with my tiny-faced students, and then there’s this buckle. A buckwheat berry buckle. (Alliteration is fun.) Turns out I really like the rich, delicate, nutty flavor that buckwheat flour contributes to baked goods – it seems to elevate things, somehow.

I was intrigued to learn that using buckwheat flour, even just the scant quarter cup called for here, darkens the batter (whether pancake or cookie or buckle) pretty significantly. So it doesn’t make for the prettiest crumb topping at this berry buckle ball — but I happen to know that you’re not into artificial, skin-deep beauty. You wait to make judgements until you’ve gotten to know what’s inside. And in this case? What’s inside is cake. Deeply-purplish and royally ruby-splotched, berry-laden cake.

Grab a fork and a cup of creamy coffee! It’s berry baking time.

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Baked Coconut Caramel Doughnuts

February 23, 2013 by mollygilbert520 14 Comments

Sometimes a girl just needs a doughnut.

Now is one of those times.

It’s not fair, really. Because, in life, if I see a doughnut, I need to have one. It doesn’t matter what time it is or exactly how much caramel is involved or how hard my thighs try to tell me to resist – the craving has set.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go into any sort of face-shoving-doughnut frenzy — I’m a lady, you guys. Most of the time. But once my brain has doughnuts inside it, you’d better believe there will be a doughnut in the near future of my face. And if glaze or sprinkles are involved? Well then I’m pretty much done for.

There are a number of sources which have fueled my doughnut-brain of late: the newest issue of Saveur (which I haven’t even read yet but HOLY DOUGHNUTS), the bomboloni lady at the Ferry Building (why are you and your pastries so cute and covered with sugar?), and Shutterbean Tracy (girl, what are you doing to me??).

So you see, it can’t be helped. Doughnuts must be had. Baked, dipped, had.

Done. Thank goodness.

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Devil’s Food Raspberry Drip Cakes

February 1, 2013 by mollygilbert520 11 Comments

I mean. Can I get a yeah girl?

YEAH GIRL.

The day I made these drippy little drip cakes was a day full of lessons.

Lesson 1: Don’t get greedy with the batter. Stop just over halfway. Don’t you creep to three-fourths! Overfilled cupcake tins make everybody sad.

Lesson 2: If your fresh raspberry frosting wants to be thin and loose instead of thick and fluffy, don’t yell at it, alone in your kitchen. It won’t help and it’s embarrassing. New strategy: dub the cupcakes “drip cakes” and the runny frosting will look clever and purposeful!

Oh, that? That’s just my genius at work. On purpose.

Lesson 3: Nothing tastes better than warm, homemade chocolate ganache. This lesson takes many, many licks to learn proper. I love learning.

Lesson 4: Finding streaks of dried cupcake batter on your arm 3 hours later is okay I guess. Baker’s tattoo.

Lesson 5: Find someone to take these away from your kitchen and home and general mouth area soon otherwise you are in trouble.

Just a few lessons in life, love and cupcakes (redundant), from my little kitchen to yours. Happy weekend!

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Almond Milk Pancakes

January 21, 2013 by mollygilbert520 48 Comments

Today is a holiday! A Monday to sleep late, for some, and maybe read the paper by the window. A day to dream. Perfect for pancakes.

I wish I could invite you over to eat pancakes! I’d make a pot of tea, and probably some bacon, and I’d slice up some sweet oranges. We’d sit on the floor at the coffee table, in the bright patch of sun, with our pancakes and too much maple syrup, and I’d make you tell me everything.

Because I’ve been thinking about us. About you, really. Firstly, I’d like to say thanks for stopping by. Really, thank you. And secondly, I’d like to know, who are you? I mean, you know a few things about me — too many things, probably — because I sit here every week and I talk about what I’m doing in the kitchen, what I’m doing out of the kitchen, how I’m feeling (about cookies), , how much pie I’ve eaten (too much, obviously), how many miles I got tricked into running. I type and I type and I talk at you, word after word and story after story, all the while oblivious to who actually constitutes the you in this relationship.

So, if you don’t mind, who are you, lovely reader? Would you tell me a little bit about yourself? I’d love to know. How do you take your pancakes? Do you like Beyonce? What’s your favorite Meg Ryan movie? (Correct answer: When Harry Met Sally, closely followed by You’ve Got Mail). If you left a comment and told me something about you, anything really, like maybe what you must have atop your favorite ice cream sundae or what the view from your kitchen window looks like, I’d feel a lot better about our relationship.

In the meantime, have some pancakes. Heavy on the maple syrup, for me. And for you? You. I can’t wait to meet you!

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

January 14, 2013 by mollygilbert520 11 Comments

I kept trying to brush it off, to try and let it right itself, but no matter: I had a day yesterday.

I woke up with two pimples (note: don’t trust unmarked beauty store lotion samples, even if they’re free. …Especially if they’re free). I walked into the coffee table and smashed my knee. I cursed, loudly. It was not yet 9am.

I took a cleansing walk down to the farmer’s market, which was nice and cleansing until I ended up just eating a bunch of cheese by the apple stall. Like, a lot of cheese. Fine. Back at home, I attempted a few hours of work — I could at least be a little bit productive.

Apparently not. Work? How about some mindless staring at a computer screen? Good enough?

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