The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (30 page)

SERVES 6 TO 8

CRUST

1½
cups all-purpose flour

8
tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and diced

¼
teaspoon salt

3
tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

1
large egg yolk, lightly beaten

FILLING

1
cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1
cup sugar

⅓
cup fresh lemon juice

1
tablespoon grated lemon zest

3
large eggs

3
large egg yolks

1½
teaspoons vanilla extract

TOPPINGS (OPTIONAL)

½
cup toasted sliced almonds or toasted coarsely chopped walnuts
(see page 15)

½
pint fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries tossed with 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (if berries need sweetening)

TO MAKE THE CRUST:
Combine flour, butter, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and egg yolk. Process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls, if dough is dry. Gather into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes. (Dough can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled.)

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim overhanging dough to 1 inch. Fold overhanging dough in and press to form double-thick sides. Prick bottom of crust all over with the tines of a fork. Cover and freeze 30 minutes. Arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake crust until golden brown, piercing the bottom with a fork if crust bubbles, about 40

minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, lemon juice and zest, eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Return to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. (Do not let mixture boil or eggs will curdle.) Reduce heat to low and whisk 2 minutes more. Pour hot filling into prepared shell. Chill, uncovered, until filling is set, 2 hours or longer.

Serve the tart plain or garnish the top with a border of toasted nuts or berries, if desired.

PLUM TART

The rich, flaky crust of this tart is filled with a single layer of sliced plums that are sprinkled with
cinnamon sugar and dotted with butter. A delectable topping of sliced almonds is added at the end
of the baking time. The tart, which can be prepared several hours in advance, is good served at
room temperature, but even better when quickly reheated and offered warm.

SERVES 6 TO 8

Butter-Rich Sweet Pie Dough
(page 19)

FILLING

1
tablespoon red currant jelly or jam

1½
pounds (4 to 5 large) plums such as Santa Rosa

3½
tablespoons sugar

Scant ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2½
tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

½
cup sliced almonds

1
pint Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
(page 292)
or best-quality vanilla ice cream (optional) Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim overhanging dough to 1 inch. Fold overhanging dough in and press to form double-thick sides. Prick bottom of crust all over with the tines of a fork. Cover and freeze 30 minutes. Arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake crust until golden brown, piercing the bottom with a fork if crust bubbles, about 20

minutes. Transfer crust to a cooling rack and reduce temperature to 375 degrees F.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Spread red currant jelly over bottom of warm tart. Halve plums lengthwise, then cut into ¾-inch-thick slices. Spread plums in prepared shell. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle over plums. Cut 1½ tablespoons of the butter into small pieces and dot plums with butter. Bake until plums are juicy and tender and crust is golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven but retain oven temperature.

Heat remaining butter and almonds in a small saucepan until butter melts. Then with a spoon, spread the almond mixture in a border on top of tart. Return to oven and bake until nuts are golden, 10

to 15 minutes. Remove and cool slightly before slicing.

Serve warm or at room temperature with scoops of ice cream, if desired.

CARAMEL GLAZED BANANA NUT LOAF

One of my earliest childhood memories is of my grandmother’s delicious banana nut bread. I
loved the dark golden loaves moistened with puréed fruit and studded with pecans. Like many of
her generation, she never wrote down recipes. “A pinch of this” and “a handful of that” were
typical directions she offered. After a week of baking, I finally reproduced a similar loaf and as an
extra flourish, spread the top with a creamy caramel glaze. This dessert, which holds up well
under refrigeration for several days, would make a fine ending to a backyard picnic, or you could
offer slices as an afternoon treat along with iced coffee or tea.

SERVES 6 TO 8

6
tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan
1⅓
cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring pan

¾
teaspoon baking powder

¾
teaspoon baking soda

½
teaspoon salt

¾
cup sugar

1¼
cups (3 medium) mashed very ripe bananas

2
large eggs, lightly beaten

¾
cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Best Ever Caramel Sauce
(page 332)
room temperature Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth, about 1 minute.

Gradually add sugar and beat until dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower speed and add dry ingredients.

When blended, add bananas and eggs, and beat just until incorporated. Remove from mixer, and fold in nuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack.

Using an icing spatula or table knife, spread enough of the caramel sauce over the top of the banana loaf to coat evenly. Heat any extra sauce and serve drizzled over slices of banana loaf. (The banana loaf can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

KENTUCKY BOURBON CAKE WITH FRESH

BERRIES

This pound cake, made with the traditional ingredients of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs, calls for
two extra additions. A sprinkling of chopped pecans is spread on the bottom of the pan before
baking, and as the cake’s name implies there is bourbon in the batter, which imparts a mellow
flavor. This tall cake, which easily serves twenty, is even more glorious when garnished with fresh
berries. A native Kentuckian, who always serves this large cake at her Derby Day parties, shared
the recipe with me.

SERVES 20

1
pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, divided

3
cups all-purpose flour, divided

½
cup chopped pecans

3
cups granulated sugar, divided

8
large eggs, separated

2/3
cup bourbon

2
teaspoons vanilla extract

2
teaspoons almond extract

Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

1
quart fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise for garnish

1
quart fresh blueberries for garnish

Mint sprigs for garnish

Arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Use 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the flour to grease and flour a 10-inch tube or angel-food cake pan. (A nonstick pan would work particularly well in this recipe, but would still need to be buttered and floured.) Tap out excess flour. Sprinkle chopped pecans in bottom of pan.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream remaining butter until smooth. Gradually beat in 2 cups of granulated sugar. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine bourbon, vanilla, and almond extract in a small bowl. Alternately beat ⅓ of the remaining flour and ⅓ of the bourbon mixture into butter mixture. Continue until flour and liquids are all added.

With clean beaters, beat egg whites in a separate bowl on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed and gradually add remaining cup of granulated sugar. Fold whites into cake batter in 3 additions. Spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top.

Bake cake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Remove pan from oven and set on rack to cool completely. Run knife around inside edges of pan to loosen cake. Invert pan and remove cake to a platter. (Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.)

To serve, arrange cake, bottom-side up, on a serving platter and dust lightly with confectioners’

sugar. Garnish the center and the sides of cake with berries and with several sprigs of mint.

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE WITH COFFEE

ICE CREAM AND WARM CHOCOLATE SAUCE

This is a dessert for those who love chocolate. The easy, make-ahead loaf gets a double dose of
chocolate flavoring from cocoa powder and chocolate chips. The cake is delicious plain, but if you
want to gild the lily, serve each slice with a scoop of coffee ice cream and a drizzle of Chocolate
Coffee Sauce.

SERVES 6 TO 8

14
tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan
1½
cups sifted cake flour, plus extra for flouring pan

½
cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾
teaspoon baking powder

¼
teaspoon salt

1
cup sugar

3
large eggs

⅓
cup whole milk

1
teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3
cup (about 4 ounces) chocolate chips

1
quart best-quality coffee ice cream

Chocolate Coffee Sauce
(page 334)

Arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and shake out any excess flour.

Combine 1½ cups flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth, 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula if necessary.

Reduce speed to low. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stop and scrape down sides of bowl if necessary. Beat in vanilla. Remove from mixer and fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula.

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cover top of cake with a sheet of buttered aluminum foil after 35 minutes to prevent top of cake from browning too much. When done, remove and cool 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan. (Cake can be prepared 2 days ahead; cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature.)

To serve, cut cake into ¾-inch-thick slices and arrange on dessert plates. Garnish each portion with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with Chocolate Coffee Sauce.

Pound cake is so called because the original recipe called for 1 pound each of butter,
sugar, flour, and eggs.

LEMON PECAN CAKE WITH LEMON SAUCE

This delectable, single-layer cake, baked with a small amount of flour and a generous addition of
ground nuts, is extra moist. Glazed with a tart, translucent lemon sauce and decorated with pecan
halves, the cake can be served plain or garnished with fresh strawberries, blueberries, or
raspberries.

SERVES 6 TO 8

8
tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan
½
cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring pan

1
cup sugar

3
large eggs

1
cup (4 ounces) pecans, finely ground, plus 6 pecan halves for garnish
¼
cup unflavored dried bread crumbs

2
tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1
teaspoon grated lemon zest

Warm Lemon Sauce
(page 336)

Arrange an oven rack at center position and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the pan with a circle of waxed paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan; butter and flour the paper. Tap out excess flour.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth, 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula, if necessary. Lower speed and add ground pecans, flour, and bread crumbs, mixing until well blended. Add lemon juice and zest, and mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake until the cake is golden on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Run a knife around edges and invert onto a cake rack. Remove waxed paper.

To serve, heat Warm Lemon Sauce until just warm. Pour ¼ to ⅓ cup over the top of the cake and swirl lightly so sauce just covers top of cake. Arrange pecan halves evenly around the edge as a border. Serve each slice with some of the remaining Warm Lemon Sauce. (The cake can be baked, glazed, and decorated 1 day in advance. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature an hour before serving.)