Beth Cato's Blog, page 38

Bready or Not: Irish Lemon Pudding Tart

St. Patrick’s Day nears. Let’s celebrate with a scrumptious Irish Lemon Pudding Tart!

Mind you, this is “pudding” in more of a British/Irish sense, meaning a dessert. Don’t expect this to have the texture of American Jell-O pudding.

No, this is delightfully fluffy because egg whites are beaten stiff and folded in right at the end, adding loft light texture.

Make no mistake: this tart takes work. It dirties a lot of bowls.

But wow, does it taste like something special. I certainly can’t find anything like this in stores around the southwest US.

Even better, this tart keeps very well in the fridge for at least a week. Just keep it covered by foil.

This isn’t a super-sweet dessert. The fresh lemon flavor is at the forefront. Really, this is a perfect spring or summer dessert. Or breakfast. Or snack.

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Bready or Not: Irish Lemon Pudding Tart


This delicious tart is a little work, but it's fluffy, lemony goodness will be well worth the effort! Serve this for a special brunch or dessert.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, SnackCuisine irishKeyword lemon, pie, tart





Author Beth Cato

Equipment9-inch springform panparchment paper
IngredientsCrust:1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour3 Tablespoons white sugar1/4 teaspoon saltPudding:2 eggs whites and yolks, divided2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened1/4 cup white sugar2 large lemons zested and juiced1/2 cup all-purpose flour1 1/4 cups milk or substitute 1 cup half & half plus 1/4 cup water1 teaspoon lemon extract
InstructionsMake the crust:Cut parchment paper to fit inside springform pan. Apply nonstick spray; place parchment circle inside, then spray again to coat the entire inside of pan. Melt butter in microwave or on stovetop. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Pour in the butter. Use hands to knead ingredients together until they can form a ball. Flatten out handfuls and place in prepared pan, forming an even layer across the bottom and up about 2/3 of the height of the pan walls. Cover with plastic wrap and chill about 30 minutes. Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Take pan out of fridge. Use a fork to prick bottom and sides of crust all over. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to prepare filling. Make the pudding:Place the egg whites in a bowl that can accommodate a hand mixer. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and beat until fluffy. Add lemon zest, juice, and lemon extract. Beat until smooth; add flour, and mix until just blended. Pour in milk and incorporate. Batter will look thin with bubbles at the edges of the bowl. Return to the egg white bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold whites until batter without losing too much volume. It's okay if there are still some lumps. Pour batter into crust. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until middle is set and passes toothpick test. Let cool completely. Unlock sides of springform pan. Store on base disc of pan, or move to another dish, if desired. Keep draped by foil in fridge for up to a week. Serve cold or slightly warmed. OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Cat Tongue Cookies (Langues de Chat)

Cat Tongue Cookies! NO CATS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THESE COOKIES.

I first heard about these cookies on the Great British Bake Off, where they were used as part of another recipe. My curiosity was piqued.

I am trying out a lot more French recipes. This seemed like a good, basic one to try… even though I HATE piping things. Did I say hate? I meant LOATHE.

That said, this recipe wasn’t too awful in that regard. The dough wasn’t a big sticky mess. I used a gallon Ziploc bag and cut the corner off, the old basic method, and that worked just fine.

The end result reminded me a lot of the old American stand-by, Nilla Wafers. Nothing fancy by themselves, but crisp and refreshing. They would be easy to dress up by dipping them in chocolate, Nutella, jam, whatever–if you want.

I thought they were just fine by themselves, with my cats lurking close by–tongues intact.

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Bready or Not: Cat Tongue Cookies (Langues de Chat)


Consisting of just 5 ingredients, these are very straightforward and deliciously crisp vanilla cookies. Make the piping process easier by penciling guidelines onto parchment paper.

Course Dessert, SnackCuisine FrenchKeyword cookies, french



Servings 32 cookies

Author Beth Cato

Equipmentparchment paperpiping bag or gallon Ziploc
Ingredients9 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened1/2 cup white sugar plus 2 Tablespoons3 egg whites1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
InstructionsPreheat oven at 400 degrees. Line a large baking pan with parchment. Use pencil to draw 3-inch lines spaced several inches apart in rows upon the paper, then flip over so the pencil lines still show through as guides. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar (1/2 cup and 2 Tablespoons) until smooth. Beat in egg whites one at a time until batter is light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla followed by flour. Dough might be stiff. Put about half of dough into a Ziploc bag (then cut off corner) or a piping bag with a medium star tip. Squeeze out dough onto the lines on parchment. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until edges are starting to brown. Move to cooling rack. Pipe and bake remaining dough, reusing parchment. Store in a sealed container. Good dipped into chocolate or spread with Nutella--or all by itself. OM NOM NOM!

New story at Daily Science Fiction: “The Best Horses Are Found in the Sea…”

“The Best Horses Are Found in the Sea, and Other Horse Tales to Emerge Since the Rise” might be my longest story title ever, and it’s the title of my latest story at Daily Science Fiction. It’s a thousand-word look at a far-future California where horses are the stuff of mythology.

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread

Basic Scottish shortbread is one of the awesomest things in the world. It’s also a blank canvas for variations beyond count. Chocolate chips and a jolt of espresso add extra oomph to this new spin!

Pride O’ Scotland Shortbread was one of the first recipes I considered ‘mine’ as a teenager. It became the one thing I made each year for our family’s Thanksgiving potluck.

Appropriately, it’s also something I made for my husband the very first day I met him when I was 18. (Yes, he was an almost total stranger. Yes, I welcomed him with shortbread. Because that’s what I do.)

I considered the recipe sacrosanct the past two decades… and then I got an idea. Chocolate. Espresso powder. It had to be good, right? Or would it be a crumbly mess?

Yes indeed, it turned out to be delicious. No, it remained as cohesive as ever. Yay!

Espresso powder is fantastic along with chocolate; I include it in most every brownie recipe. The coffee flavor doesn’t come in strong (I actually hate coffee), but it make the chocolate taste bolder and more nuanced.

Print


Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread


My original Pride O' Scotland Shortbread, now with additional caffeine! Espresso powder and mini chocolate chips add extra oomph to buttery, tender triangles of shortbread.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, SnackCuisine ScottishKeyword chocolate, coffee, cookies, shortbread



Servings 16 pieces

Author Beth Cato

Equipmenttwo basic 9-inch pie plates
Ingredients2 cups all-purpose flour3/4 cups white sugar1 teaspoon espresso powder1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup unsalted butter softened, 2 sticks1 egg yolk1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
InstructionsPlace flour, sugar, espresso powder, and salt in mixing bowl; add butter, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix with fingers until dough holds together, then fold in the mini chocolate chips. Once chips are distributed, divide dough into two balls and press each ball into a pan. Flatten evenly with palms and prick surface all over with floured fork. Slash into wedges. Bake for 17 to 22 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven. Immediately cut again following slash marks and carefully run the blade around the edge of the crust to loosen the shortbread. Let shortbread cool. Cut again along slash marks and the crust, then remove wedges to eat. Shortbread keeps in sealed container for several days. OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

I received a gratis copy of the ebook for award consideration.

The Dark Lord Clementine is an incredibly witty, fun middle grade frolic in a fresh new fantasy world. I would have adored this book as a kid and enjoyed it as an adult too–and had to fight the urge to giggle aloud more than once as I read in a waiting room.

Clementine is the only child of the Dark Lord Elithor. She’s been raised in isolation, instructed in the importance of villainy as she helps to manage their silent farm with nightmares and flaming chickens. When her father comes down with a dreadful curse, Clementine does her best to manage the estate, but as loneliness and desperation sets in, she is determined to take on the witch who cursed her father… and instead falls in with some people who might, possibly be her first friends.

What I loved about this book was that it’s delightfully amusing and that the moral lesson of the book is always kept fun, never preachy. Clementine–and her dad–can’t be TOO evil, after all. The end of the book is packed with surprises, too. Really, it’s a fantastic read start to finish. How can I not love a book that has a spell-book-turned-into-a-chicken?

Bready or Not Original: Hazelnut Praline Bars

These delicious Hazelnut Praline Bars are a lot like praline candy, but it fantastic bar form.

The top of these bars caramelizes. These things are very sweet, with the nuts rendered softly crunchy. The combination of textures is just divine.

The slight drizzle of chocolate on top is the perfect accent, too. Funny how the tiniest bit of chocolate adds so much in terms of flavor.

A 6 ounce bag of hazelnuts will be the perfect amount for both the crust and nut layer, too.

Can you use other nuts? I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but why not? Praline candy traditionally uses pecans, after all. I bet using other nuts–or a combo–would be fine.

Hazelnuts are sure delicious and fun, though!

 

Bready or Not Original: Hazelnut Praline Bars

These very sweet, softly crunchy bars combine hazelnuts with just a touch of chocolate for a delectable treat. A 6-ounce bag of hazelnuts will give you the perfect amount.

Crust

1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened, 1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Nut Layer

1 cup hazelnuts
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

Topping

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips



Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9-inch pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
Place the 1/2 cup hazelnuts in a food processor. Process until finely ground.
In a medium bowl, beat together the next two crust ingredients, the brown sugar and butter. Add the flour and ground hazelnuts. Press crust into pan; a piece of wax paper and a heavy glass makes it easy to form an evenly compressed layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, put the remaining hazelnuts in the food processor and give them a quick pulse, just to coarsely chop them.
As soon as the crust comes out, sprinkle the hazelnuts over the top. In a small saucepan, warm the butter and brown sugar to boiling at medium heat. Boil for a minute. Pour over hazelnuts.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until edges are bubbling and center is set. Cool completely.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, zap the chocolate in 25 second bursts, stirring well between each pass, until it can be stirred smooth. Use a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the bars.
Chill in fridge for 30 minutes, or until chocolate is set. Use the foil to lift contents onto a cutting board and slice into bars.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in the fridge with waxed paper or parchment between the layers.

OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not: Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

Chocolate and cherries team up to delicious results in this delicious Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake!

I first encountered this lovely combo in the Queen Anne Cordial Cherries my parents would buy around Christmas. The combo is pretty amazing in cake form, too.

You use both cherries and cherry juice in this recipe. That infuses the crumb with cherry flavor, even if your bite lacks cherry chunks.

Chocolate is swirled throughout. Make sure you don’t swirl it too much–you want distinct layers of chocolate, not only for the flavor, but the lovely appearance.

This is a special kind of bundt cake, perfect for a birthday, brunch, special dessert, breakfast, and–of course–Valentine’s Day.

Bake up this beautiful thing and indulge. Plus, it can always be sliced up and frozen for later!

Bready or Not: Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

Chocolate and cherries team up to delicious results in this delicious Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake! This is a special sort of bundt cake, but a very straightforward one to make.

13 1/2 ounces maraschino cherries (with juice)
3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
2 cups white sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream (or plain or vanilla Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips



Drain juice from cherries into another bowl; reserve 1/2 cup of juice. Remove stems from cherries and roughly chop up the fruit. Set aside.
Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Grease and flour a large bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time. Pour in the cherry juice, water, and almond extract. Start adding the flour mix and the sour cream in small amounts, going back and forth until everything is just incorporated. Fold the cherries into the batter.

In a microwave safe dish, heat the chocolate chips in short bursts until they can be stirred smooth.

Spoon some cherry batter into the base of the bundt pan. Add dollops of chocolate, then more batter. Keep going back and forth until all of the batter and chocolate is in the pan. Drag a butter knife through–without touching the metal–to swirl everything together a bit more, then smooth the top.
Bake for about 1 hour, until an inserted knife comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then invert the cake and remove the pan so it can completely cool.
Store covered at room temperature. Slices can also be frozen for later enjoyment.
OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: The Body Under the Piano (Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen #1) by Marthe Jocelyn

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

The Body Under the Piano (Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen #1) by Marthe Jocelyn

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I need a time machine so I can go back to 1990 to hand my 10-year-old self this book. Almost-40-year-old me ADORED this novel, and I know my 10-year-old self would love it even more. Why? Because the book is smart, savvy historical fiction with an honest depiction of the era, and a heroine with a morbid bent that reminds me lot of myself–though Aggie is actually inspired by the childhood of the Queen of Mystery Writers herself, Agatha Christie.

Aggie is a young girl in 1902, growing up in a small British coastal town. She has a wild imagination and a taste for the macabre, and she can’t help but get involved when her music teacher’s cruel mother is found dead–dead of poison! Aggie and her friend Hector set out to investigate. Their methods are smart, but they also cause a lot of problems along the way, especially when a meddlesome local reporter gets tangled up in everything.

The characters are fantastic and fun, just as you expect in a cozy British mystery village; plus, they have fun portraits at the front of the book. One of the things I loved most was the honest depiction of the past. It was not sugar-coated. The book deftly addresses bigotry (Hector is a “foreigner,” a Belgian refugee inspired by Hercule Poirot), sexism (girls can’t/shouldn’t do many things), and the complications that arise in this period from a child born out of wedlock. The book feels quite cozy with its fun mystery and whimsical characters, but also grounded in realism because of how these other issues are handled. The balance is so well done.

I highly recommend this book for kids and their parents. If the child isn’t already into classic whodunits, this novel could very well be what kicks off a life-long love of the genre.

Bready or Not: Sable Breton (French Shortbread)

Last month I shared my recipe for Almond Sable. This time I present another French (from Brittany, to be specific) take on shortbread: Sable Breton!

These cookies are much more straightforward than the previous recipe. The ingredients are shortbread basics: butter, sugar, flour.

What sets this apart is, foremost, that it is not as sweet as its counterparts across the channel.

I also recommend that you use a kitchen scale to get that European-style precision–along with actual French butter. President-brand is expensive but widely available, even where I am in Arizona.

These cookies are downright pretty, too, with a crosshatched pattern and an egg yolk wash. They are perfect alongside a cup of coffee or tea!

Modified from the original at Mon Petit Four.

Bready or Not: Sable Breton (French Shortbread)

This French version of shortbread cookies is gorgeous to behold, and delicious to eat. Measurements are provided in grams as well as standard American measurements; a food scale is helpful here for precise measurements. Use salted French-import President butter, if possible; one stick is 198 grams, meaning a smidgen more of another butter will provide the perfect amount–plus, the end taste will be more like the French original! If making with unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to compensate. Recipe makes about 22 cookies.

200 grams salted butter (1/2 cup plus 5 Tablespoons, President butter recommended)
120 grams white sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon)
3 egg yolks (divided)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
280 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons, plus more if needed to dust work surface)



Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add two egg yolks and vanilla extract. Add flour until just incorporated.
Lightly flour work surface and hands. Using rolling pin or hands, press dough to about 1/4-inch thickness.
Use a small round cookie cutter on dough. Transfer rounds to cookie sheet, spaced out a bit. Use a fork to scratch a crosshatch pattern in the top, like a hashtag with more lines.
Beat remaining egg yolk in a small bowl. Brush tops of cookies with yolk.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies are a consistent golden color. Transfer to a rack to completely cool.
Store in a sealed container.
OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Don’t Read the Comments is a YA book that is incredibly timely, realistic, and well done…. but wow is it a hard read at times. Frankly, this book is a horror novel about what the internet and social media are like for women in this era of Gamergate and trolls. Don’t get me wrong–I loved the book and I am absolutely adding it to my shortlist for the Norton Award for next year–but I also pushed through reading it as fast as I could because there’s no denying it was triggery.

Divya is a passionate teenage gamer with a streaming channel and social media presence. Her increasing clout have started to garner her much-needed promotional items and sponsorships, but also, trolls who don’t want a girl–especially one of color–taking up space in ‘their’ world. When a troll mob ambushes Divya and her devoted Angst Army, that’s horrible enough, but when the threats become physical in reality, that’s something else.

Meanwhile, gaming is Aaron’s whole life–or would be, if he didn’t have to put in hours in his mom’s medical practice. His real passion is writing the plot for a new game publisher-start-up (though it’d be nice if he could get paid) and playing loads of other games, too. When he and Divya meet in-game, they strikes up a friendship that feels absolutely genuine–even as troll attacks against Divya escalate and her life begins to unravel.

Smith really nailed every element in this book. Every character and relationship resounds with truth, from Divya and Aaron’s adorably geeky connection to their love and exasperation for their parents. The gaming world comes across with 100% realism. As an old school gamer myself, I ADORED the shout-outs to old and dear favorites of mine like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III (with a necessary note that this is the original American Super Nintendo release), plus casual mention of things like roms to play old games. Some revelations about Aaron’s dad were especially delightful.

Of course, part of the realism is the horror aspect: trolls, doxing, and the persistent harassment that women endure online. This is all sadly accurate, too, but I love how Smith brings everything together in the end with thoughtfulness and care. Nothing about this book is sugar-coated and easy, but there’s still a spirit of hopefulness that is necessary in their world and in ours.