Mocha-Walnut Torte

This kind of cake is served in Italy, France, Austria, the Mediterranean, and for Passover all over the world. It is a slim, infused cake with no leavening or wheat…just three ingredients: eggs, sugar, and nuts. Typically the cake is made with almonds, but this one changes it up and uses walnuts…and adds coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla. We have the “option” to dress up the cake and add a layer of ganache on top…I always say yes to that suggestion hahaha.

The cake is made in three steps. The first being to grind up the walnuts, sugar, chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon in a food processor…pulsing until the consistency of bread crumbs.

Next we separate the eggs…the yolks being beat with sugar and then some vanilla, and the whites being whisked with sugar until they hold their peaks. The egg yolks are combined with the nut mixture and lightened with a scoop of the meringue. After that is loosened up, the rest of the whites are very carefully folded into the mixture. You want to preserve the air in the meringue which give the lift to the cake.

The cake is baked for about 45 min until firm and the center comes out clean. After cooking, I added the ganache topping which was so shiny and reflective, I had a hard time not getting a shine, reflection of me, or the sky when I tried outside haha. I should have waited until it chilled in the fridge but then it would be nighttime, and that brings on its own challenges when trying to capture a picture haha. The troubles we go through to get a good shot 😂🤦‍♀️

I knew my group would love this after seeing the reviews from those who baked it earlier this month…and they did! They said it was the perfect balance of being decadent without being too sweet….and also all agreed, the ganache was not an option haha. I guess we all enjoy a little extra chocolate.

This one is a keeper!

Rolled, Studded and Herbed Boneless Leg of Lamb

I have a confession to make…I have never made, nor eaten lamb before 😳…this was a first on both accounts. I don’t even know how this has happened other than I wasn’t raised eating lamb, never been invited to someone’s house who has made lamb, or eaten out at a restaurant when someone has ordered lamb. It just has not come up in my life…until now. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure where to buy leg of lamb…I googled it. Who knew…good old Trader Joe’s sells it hahaha!

The first thing I was concerned about was, it sounds like lamb is eaten more on the rare side…reminded me of prime rib…which I also don’t eat. I noticed in the notes that suggestions were given for eating the lamb more “well done”. Friends I told about this adventure encouraged me not to over cook this, so I tried to walk the line between both.

The lamb is studded with slivers of garlic, rubbed in oil and herbs, and then oven braised. It gets a quick run in the hot oven and then covered and left to slow cook. After reaching an internal temperature, in my case, on the higher side of medium rare, the roast is left to rest while the pan sauce is combined with some chicken broth, boiled and strained. The whole thing takes about an hour. We are told this is a feast worthy of a special occasion, yet doable on a weeknight.

The expectation was high and the excitement…what this baking/cooking group is all about. It is safe to say, I would not be making this recipe otherwise hahaha.

I thought I did a pretty good job of walking the middle road between rare and overdone, but I think most would say this is too done for lamb. 🤷‍♀️ My husband and I enjoyed it and felt the herbs and garlic really gave the flavor. We ate the leftovers the next night and I think both of us would say we would be more inclined now to try it again after this experience…especially from someone who knows what they are doing. 😂

This one is a keeper!

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

WOWZA…did I get a rise out of this loaf or what?! It actually started browning too much on top because it rose so high it was getting close to the heating element 😳😂.

So this bread was pretty incredible and leaves me wondering, why don’t I bake bread more often?!! I think I forget that not all bread takes an overnight rest and multiple rises. This one was doable, and with ingredients on hand.

Mix it together, first rise 60-90 min and then second one in the pan for 45. I opted to top my loaf with melted butter and cinnamon sugar, because, why not, right?! The bread is baked for about 45 min, but more importantly until the internal temperature is around 200. I found this a much more reliable measure for when to take mine out of the oven..mine needing to stay a bit longer to get that number up.

I feel like baking bread just makes you feel good…it is an accomplishment, it smells good, and tastes GREAT. This one toasted particularly well and was amazing with some butter. We shared this with my tasters and everyone LOVED it. Total winner!

This one is a keeper!

Hot Or Cold Beet-Fennel Soup

I still regularly make quite a few of the soups we have tried from this cookbook…one of our favorites being “Green-as-Spring” so we had high hopes for this newest one.

Dorie tells us that this is a recipe that “gets a mountain of flavor from a molehill of ingredients…those ingredients being: beets, fennel, onion, and garlic”.

The recipe is easy enough…basically cook down the veggies, add in some chicken broth along with some thyme and pepper, simmer and then purée it down when the beets are softened. The soup can be eaten hot or cold and topped with a variety of choices: Greek yogurt, sour cream, strawberries, cucumber, herbs or even cracked ice cubes…take your pick.

We love roasted beets so we were excited to try this one…opting for the hot version topped with pepper, sour cream, and strawberries.

😳

Strangely enough we thought this was very bland. Didn’t get the whole “mountain out of a molehill of flavor” which was disappointing but happens sometimes. Just not a favorite with us.

I think we will just stick to roasted beets haha.