Coconut Lime Torte, Three Ways

The five-pound bags of almond and coconut flour that I purchased recently have been taunting me mercilessly since their arrival. The giant blue and white striped bags have spent the past two weeks sitting in the middle of the coffee table waiting for me to turn them into something lovely. It's been a tough several days, though, and I admit that I've spent most of my evenings battling a case of Holly Golightly's "Mean Reds" that left me kind of teary-eyed and unmotivated to do little else but read recipes and watch movies. And so the bag has sat; frangipane tarts and financier officially on hold.

Until Wednesday. A evening dash to the grocery store to pick up a few staples proved to be just the thing to push me out of the slump. I arrived home, arms loaded down with the weight of my reusable grocery bags when I heard the phone ring. I dove into my purse to find my phone, knocking over a bag of produce in the process. Out rolled a calvacade of artichokes and asparagus followed by a few frisky limes. The limes rolled out across the table in the direction of the flour, where they stopped right at the bag; kelly green rind kissing the bulging bag of almonds. I looked it while I talked, my brain already racing ahead. Within minutes I was in the kitchen grating and mixing and humming the lime in da coconut song that my friend Lindsay used to drive me crazy with in college.

The end result was lovely: a moist, green-flecked cake with subtle hints of lime and coconut. Putting the lime and the coconut together did, in fact, make me feel better! The first night I ate the cake straight, a warm slice right out of the oven. The next day I had a slice for breakfast that tasted even better as the flavors had been given a chance to meld together.

That evening, I stopped by the bodega to pick up some some paper towels when I saw a whole bag of star anise on sale for a dollar. I snatched this up and decided to get creative. In a small saucepot, I mixed half a cup each of coconut milk and cream, and simmered with a few anise stars. I sweetened the cream and poured it over a generous slice of cake. Incredible! The anise brought out the warm, tropical flavors of the cake making for a delicious dessert.

This morning I decided to try the now slightly-stale cake (stale because I was lazy and didn't wrap it properly last night) as French toast! I beat one whole egg with a bit of cream and some cold star anise tea, and soaked the slices before frying in butter. I topped with a drizzle of anise-simmered syrup. Wow! It smelled so good that I didn't have the patience to photograph it properly, so I just dug in.

Coconut Lime Torte

Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flour
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about two limes)
Rind of 1 whole (unwaxed) lime
1 cup sugar or equivalent substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1/2 cup olive oil

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons water



1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" round or springform pan.

2. Combine the nuts, rind, sugar (or substitute), salt, and baking powder in an electric mixer or food processor and pulse a few times until any lumps are broken up.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the oil and lime juice. Continue to mix at high speed for a couple minutes to work some air into the batter--it should grow in size a bit.

4. Pour into a greased springform pan and place in the oven. The baking time will vary depending on your oven and the humidity in the environment. Start checking it about 30 minutes into baking. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. When ready to glaze, mix the powdered sugar, water, and lime juice together until smooth. Drizzle all over the cake and allow to set. Serve immediately after glazing.

Additional Serving Suggestions:

**Serve day-old cake in "cream" puddle of 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream simmered for a couple minutes with 4 star anise and 2 teaspoons of sugar.

**Serve slightly stale cake as French toast using a batter of 1 whole egg, 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, and 3 tablespoons of cold-brewed tea (I used leftover black leaf & star anise tea, but feel free to get creative!). Soak a slice in the batter on each side and fry in 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve with warm syrup (simmer with star anise, if desired).

My Cake in a Box

I'm delivering my first custom cake order tomorrow afternoon and am beyond excited. I just finished packaging it all up and it looked so pretty that i had to share. The request was a bit different--the customer wanted a naked Italian rainbow cake. Yes, I said naked. Meaning three layers of cake plus filling, but sans ganache. I tried talking her into the chocolate as it really does make the cake, but she refused. I can only hope that she's planning to frost it herself.

It came out beautifully, though (for a naked cake). Round and with three beautiful layers in pastel pink, yellow, and green. Green on top for St. Paddy's of course. She said she didn't care about the colors or the shape so I took that as license to play around a bit. It smells incredible with a rich almond scent, and just looks moist and wonderful. I had to bat my parents away from the cakes when they came by for dinner tonight. I think my dad just wanted to curl up and take a nap in the almond goodness that is now my apartment.

I tucked it into a box wrapped with wax paper and nestled in a bed made out of my new gorgeous tissue paper. I am also including personal thank you or gift notes with my cake on this fantastic cream and chocolate brown Crane stationary I bought ages ago, but never quite got around to using.

Interested in getting your own cake in a box? Well, you know what to do!

(And yes, I apologize for using that tired old joke, but really. How could I possibly resist?!)

P.S. Why haven't you entered my contest to win your own box of little cakes yet? Get on it; only a few days left to get your entries in! And as a reminder, there are TWO ways to win. Either send in an entry or just post about the the contest on your blog and send me the link. It's easy and the prize is oh-so-worth it!

Rainbow Italiano

The sight of this cake rips my heart with joy. It's something I've been meaning to make for a while now. I based it on the Italian Rainbow cookie (sometimes also called the Venetian or the Tri-Color), which to me has always been the queen of the bakery store cookie assortment. Perched among the crumbly butter cookies like regal peacocks, these cookies put those pastel petit fours to shame with their bright colors and intense flavor.

It's an Italian American thing--a moist little cookie made from tiny dense layers of almond sponge sandwiched together with raspberry and apricot jams before being coated with a final layer of bittersweet chocolate. Growing up in North Jersey, these cookies were present at every single family or community function, from PTA meetings to birthday parties. I used to load up on them, grabbing them three and four at a time and tucking them into an open napkin when nobody was looking. Later, I'd find a quiet corner where I could devour them slowly and methodically, one sweet almond layer at a time.

There is something about the combination of bitter almonds and raspberry that has always delighted me. It's the taste of decadence: rich with intensity, and yet just a hint of something illicit. Bitter almonds are poisonous, after all... The flavor in this cake comes from a combination of almond extract (which in actuality is extracted not from almonds, but from that flavorful little nut hidden inside peach pits) and almond paste. Note that almond paste should not be confused with marzipan, which is different, but still makes an appearance in this cake (read on...).

This cake is a gigantic version of that childhood favorite. I was never satisfied with those tiny little cakes, and was always left wanting more. This cake is basically my way of saying, "you can have as much as you want!"

It was a fairly simple conversion to make. I only had to slightly modify the origianl recipe (which I've been making for a year now), by lightening and leavening the cake. I alternated these moist, fluffy layers, with jam and--for an extra bit of almond flavor--a thinned out layer of marzipan (I told you it would make an appearance). I knew the hard, bittersweet chocolate coating would be too harsh on a cake of this size, so I made a silky semi-sweet chocolate ganache using thick farmer's market cream and just a hint of almond extract. The colors come from food coloring, and are the traditional red and green layers of the original cookie (just one of the hundreds of edible Italian flag homages--Italians, it seems, like to eat their flag), with the marzipan serving as the "white."

I baked it in 9 inch rectangular pans and then cut and stacked to form an almost terrine-like brick. Over this carefully constructed structure, I poured the silky ganache (and how I wish I could have poured and photographed at the same time as there few things more beautiful than watching chocolate ooze over the sides of a pile of almond cakes). I left to cool on the countertop overnight, and then cut in half in the morning. I brought one half into work, where my coworkers devoured it with their morning coffee. I saved the second half for my dad, who stopped by after work tonight to pick it up. The station he work at is just over the bridge, about 10 minutes from my apartment, so when he finishes the evening newscast he regularly pops over to partake of that day's baking. (You didn't really think that I ate all of this stuff by myself, did you?)

I'll be posting the recipe for this shortly and would love to know what you think.

Oh! And if the pictures and description aren't enough to entice you to bake this, perhaps the knowledge that your apartment will smell like sweet almonds for the next several days will do the trick! I promise you...it's incredible!

UPDATE: This Italian Rainbow cake is now available for sale and delivery throughout the US at my Etsy shop!! I'm also selling (and shipping) traditional and seasonally colored Italian Rainbow Cookies. Click the icon for purchase details:

Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
8 oz almond paste. (1 can, please note that this is different than marzipan)
1 tube marzipan (Which is different than almond paste...)
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups of sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
red and green food coloring
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (or you can use chips in a pinch)

2 13×9x2 inch pans, buttered and floured

1. In electric mixer, blend almond paste, butter, sugar, yolks and extract until fluffy.

2. Sift together flour and baking powder, then slowly add to almond paste mix.

3. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold meringue into paste mixture until fully combined (the mix will be a bit sticky).

4. Separate the mixture evenly into two bowls and dye each batch a different color.

5. Spread mixture evenly into the pans and bake each separately at 350 degrees for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll know they are ready once the edges start to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

6. While cooling, divide the marzipan in half and roll out two rectangle-shaped sheets on parchment or wax paper, approximately 8x6 inches each.

Assembling the cake:
1. Cut each sheet in half, so you have four evenly-sized cakes. (You can trim at the end so don’t worry if it’s not absolutely perfect.)

2. Start with a green cake and spread completely with raspberry jam. Feel free to spread as thinly or thickly as you like (I'm all in favor of thick!). Spread raspberry on green cake. Top with a layer of marzipan followed by a red cake. Top red cake with a layer of apricot followed by the second green cake. Top the green with another layer of raspberry and the second sheet of marzipan. Top with the final red cake.

3. Use a serrated knife to trim the edges of the entire cake and even out into a perfect rectangle. Brush off crumbs. (These extra bits are fantastic toasted with a bit of butter on a skillet or tossed into a bread pudding recipe. Or you can just eat them while watching television, like I did...)

4. Prepare the ganache by heating 1 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan. Take care to not let it boil. Add the chocolate and stir continuously until melted completely. Remove from flame and mix in a dab of butter for a bit of extra shine. Continue stirring in concentric movements to cool. It will be ready when the chocolate is just slightly warmer than your lip. (Dab a bit on the inside of your lip—if it’s just slightly warmer then you’re good to go. If it burns, then I’m sorry... ;)

5.Pour this over the entire cake and let cool.

Making Mochi

I first tasted mochi about a year ago when a friend who has been living in Tokyo brought me a box filled with different flavors. At the time, he didn't specify that it was mochi, referring to it only as a "box of weird Japanese candy for your family." When we opened the box the next day, we were all a bit puzzled by the dusty pastel lumps found inside. We took turns tasting the various types, alternately chewing and grimacing and spitting it out after a few seconds.

"This is gross," said my brother, never one to mince words. "Why would he bring us such weird candy?"

My parents were equally puzzled (albeit less rude) and turned away after a couple minutes, preferring the familiar sweetness of the Godiva this friend had also brought.

While I admit that I didn't love the way the candy tasted either, I was fascinated with the texture. I love chewy, squooshy things. My brother is regularly grossed out by the way that I tend to play with my food when I think that nobody is watching--hollowing out a loaf of bread and squishing the doughy mass into a tight little ball or emptying out the filling of a truffle and licking it off my finger before eating the shell. I love getting my hands dirty with food; I have no qualms about plunging my hands into raw turkeys or kneading sticky piles of flour and eggs into pasta dough. It's probably also why I love Silly Putty and Play-Doh, and why I was always getting in trouble for stealing that gummy blue putty tape that my elementary school teachers used to stick posters to the wall.

Given these proclivities, it's no wonderf I've spent the past few weeks intrigued with the idea of making my own mochi. My friend Matt is obsessed with mochi ice cream and regularly sends me e-mails and IMs that say little more than "Mochi is just so wonderful." I'd been plotting to teach myself to make it so that I can surprise him with a little tray of homemade mochi ice cream balls when he comes to visit me next month. My impromptu expedition to the Japanese grocery store last weekend proved to be the perfect way to get started on Project Homemade Mochi.

I decided to start by teaching myself to make daifuku--a round ball of mochi stuffed with Anko, a sweet red bean paste made from azuki beans. I'd never tasted it before, but had seen various pictures on the web (particularly this lovely shot from Kyoto Foodie). I love the lumpy squooshy look of it and was excited to get started. Of course, Alejandra being Alejandra, I didn't really bother to find a recipe before hitting the store. One would think that no recipe + everything in a foreign language would make for an unsuccessful trip, but not for me! Using what bits I'd read about what mochi is and my memory of the taste, I haphazardly selected ingredients that seemed like they might be right: rice flour, a package of sweetened red bean paste, confectioner's sugar, and some tapioca starch. I lucked out as this plus water and food coloring was really all I needed.

When I got home I searched online for mochi recipes. They all seemed to follow a similar pattern, but varied in amounts and ratios. Most advised using the microwave as a quick way to cook the dough, but few other instructions were clear. Bored and eager to get in the kitchen, I decided to just wing it.

In a large bowl I mixed equal parts rice flour (I used dango-ko, which is a mix of glutinous and non-glutinous rice flour and--rather fortuitously--seems to be the kind best suited for microwave preparation) and tepid water. To this I added powdered sugar, a few drops of red food coloring, and some almond extract (just because I'm obsessed). I processed with a hand blender until smooth and then poured into a Pyrex pie dish that I covered and placed in the microwave.

While the dough cooked, I rolled little balls out of chilled sweetened red bean paste and dusted everything with starch in anticipation of the sticky dough. After letting it cool a bit I dusted my hands with starch and scooped some out. Molding it was easy: I simply rolled a ball out of the mochi dough then flattened it out a bit on the floured mat. I plopped a ball of red bean paste in the center and then pulled up the sides of the mochi dough like a little bag (it reminded me of making Beggar's Purses back at school). I pinched the top and then rolled around in my hands until smooth on all sides. I repeated this about a dozen times. It was easy, but sticky and messy (my favorite!).

After shooting them, I covered them with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. I had one for breakfast this morning and it was delicious. The gooey mochi dough had a subtle sweetness and a faint hint of almond, and the red bean paste was oozed out in a creamy contrast to the stickiness of the mochi. If you've never tried red bean paste before, it literally tastes like sweet refried beans--but it's good!

I'm not sure if it's just because I made them to my tastes or if my palate has just changed over the past year, but I can honestly say that I loved these treats. I'll be tackling the ice cream version next--possibly with my own homemade green tea ice cream!

A Few Helpful Tips:

1. Dust EVERYTHING with tapioca (or potato or corn) starch: the surface, your hands, spoons, plates. This dough is incredibly sticky and it's the only way to handle it.

2. I tend to have naturally cold hands--a huge benefit when working with chocolate and confections, but if you are naturally warm-handed, I would suggest washing with very cold water before you get started. It will keep the dough from sticking as much.

3. Play around with extracts or food colors--I don't think that it's exactly traditional, but it gives the final treats a great look and taste. I started out with just a few drops of red, but then decided I wanted them to be hot pink so I threw in a bit more and loved the final look. I'm excited to try out other color combinations.

4. Blow off the extra starch before eating--you'll want to keep it nice and dusty for storing, but as it's tasteless, it takes away from the experience.

Daifuku--Anko-stuffed Mochi

Daifuku literally means "great luck" in Japanese. Apparently, the word fuku means both "belly" and "luck." It seems that the original meaning of big belly, which referred to the filling nature of the confection, evolved over the years to mean a bringer of good fortune. When I first read this, I instantly thought that the belly part referred to the fact that the daifuku actually look like little bellies. I've taken to calling them "chubby belly cakes" in my head--but that's just me... ;)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Dango-ko rice flour

1 1/2 cup tepid water
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (feel free to adjust according to personal preference)

1 package or can of sweetened Anko (red bean paste), refrigerated to keep firm.

food coloring (optional)

almond extract (optional)

tapioca, potato, or corn starch for dusting and controlling the sticky dough

You will also need a microwave and a flat microwavable dish such as a deep-dish pie plate.

1. In a large bowl, mix the rice flour, sugar, and water until smooth. You may need to use a hand blender or mixer to make sure there aren't any lumps.

2. If desired, add drops of food coloring and/or extract and mix in thoroughly. Note that the batter will be quite thin--very similar to pancake batter in consistency.

3. Pour batter into a shallow microwavable dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 4 minutes. Remove dish and pull off plastic to release steam. Stir the mix until smooth again (it will be cooked in some parts and not in others so don't worry if it looks uneven). Microwave again for another 3 to 5 minutes until the top is dry.

4. While mix cooks, take out the refrigerated bean paste and roll into small balls about the size of a chocolate truffle. Dust your hands with starch or confectioner's sugar to keep from sticking.

5. Remove mochi dough from microwave and let cool for several minutes. You can speed this up by pounding it with a flour-covered pestle until shiny and smooth.

6. To Mold: taking one heaping tablespoon of dough out of the dish and place in your starch-covered hands. Work into a circle and then flatten on the floured board. Drop a ball of red bean paste inside and the pull mochi around the edges like a little purse. Pinch the top shut and then use your hand to smooth into a soft round shape. Dust with additional starch and set aside. Repeat this process until you use up all the mochi.

Cover finished Daifuku tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate to store (or freeze). Serve and enjoy much the way you would any other cookie or small cake.

Coconut Financier-Madeleines: A Tale of Two Teacakes

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that the first madeleine I ever tasted was purchased from a display next to the register at Starbucks. It was an impulse buy; an afterthought selected only because I didn't have cash and felt bad charging just two dollars for a cup of tea.

"And these too," I said, grabbing a package and waving them at the barrista.

I was with my best friends Matt and Vanessa that night. We had been walking home from a movie and stopped in to escape the bitter winter cold. Crowded around one of those little round tables decorated with pseudo-poetry and pictures of mermaids, we talked about the film while I nonchalantly ripped into the package and took a bite.

My reaction was immediate. No sooner had the cake touched my tongue, than (like Proust before me) "a shudder ran through my whole body."

"These are amazing!" I exclaimed. "Oh my God. This is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! They must be new!" I held the little cakes up to my face, examining the buttery nooks and gently squeezing the perfect little mound on top.

Matt, no stranger to a pastry himself, gave me a bit of a bored look.

"They're Starbucks madeleines, Alejandra. They sell them in every single Starbucks across the country, quite possibly the world."

"Well, I've never seen them before," I replied, and promptly went to purchase a second package to take home with me for further evaluation.

That night, I Googled madeleines and discovered things that as an English major I should have probably already known. The next day I went to the bookstore and bought a book on French baking and the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. The subsequent weeks were spent reading Proust, skipping class, and baking dozens of batches of madeleines. I've since worked out my own recipes for both traditional and flavored madeleines, but I admit that I still can't pass up those tasty prepackaged Starbucks ones. I can't pinpoint why, but they make me feel good; perhaps a case of involuntary memory?

The second teacake entered my world by way of an entirely different sense: sight. For weeks, I lusted after the petite little golden cakes in the display window of the patisserie near my old office. They were tiny, oval-shaped treats with just a dot of chocolate in the center and a funny little name (the financier). A devoted fan of the pistachio macarons at this same cafe, I had to make a choice and the macarons always won. It was a couple months before I decided to finally indulge my curiosity. I bought two, and could barely wait to get back to the office before tasting it.

I should have waited.

I'd never been so disappointed in something that looked so good. I'd expected almonds, a nutty butter flavor, and a light spongy texture. What I got was bland, oily, and oddly crumbly. This financier could not have been further from my fantasies. I could not shake the idea, however, that something was wrong and made note to look into it further.

Fast-forward one year. My recent culinary acquisition, my Cuisinart ice cream maker, has made for some fantastic experimentation, but has left me with one problem: extra egg whites. Searching online for answers besides the obvious (egg white omelets, angel food, meringue), I discovered a recipe for financier. The ingredients were fairly straightforward; in addition to the whites, the recipe called for ground almonds, beurre noisette (melted and slightly browned butter), confectioner's sugar, and just a hint of flour. It was the perfect solution to my delicious problem.

Not one to stick to the rules, I decided to swap the almonds (which I don't have) for dessicated coconut flour (which I do). Financier are traditionally baked in special molds, which are rectangular in shape (thus explaining the name: the traditional financier looks like a bar of gold, hence "banker's cake"). I don't own these (yet), so I decided to use my madeleine pan. I'm sure they would work perfectly in muffin tins, as well.

A few helpful tips:

• Make sure to use the melted butter/freezer method of buttering the pan, as opposed to simply spraying or spraying and flouring the pan. The solidified butter helps the cakes pop out easily and imparts a lovely golden crust.


• Immediately after taking the tray out of the oven, use a butter knife to push any little crust that has risen over the edge away from the pan and towards the cake. As they will still be a little soft, the crust will become part of the cake and not harden onto the tray. You should notice the madeleines loosening in the shell when you do this.
  
• Resist the temptation to remove from the pan right away, but if you do, place on a tray shell-side down. The top part is still very sticky at this point and will stick to whatever plate/tray (even each other) it touches. Once cool, you can arrange them with the pretty shells above for presentation purposes.


• Dip them! These little teacakes were made for dipping. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate--it soaks them up and they seem to melt in your mouth.

Coconut Financier-Madeleines
These are best eaten freshly baked, but can be brought back to life with a quick zap in the microwave. Please note that the baking time will have to be adjusted depending on the size and depth of the mold that you use. In patisseries, financier are traditionally sold with a dot of fruit,chocolate, or an almond tucked in the center. Mine are plain so as to not compete with the fluted pan, but feel free to decorate as you'd like!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for buttering
2 madeleine or financier trays
1 cup unsweetened coconut flour
1 2/3 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon almond extract
6 large egg whites
3/4 cup beurre noisette or regular unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

1. With a pastry brush, use the 2 tablespoons of melted butter to thoroughly butter the madeleine pan then place in the freezer to solidify the butter.

2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, sugar, flour, and salt. Mix a few times to combine thoroughtly. Add the egg whites and mix until completely blended--this part will take a bit of elbow grease as the egg whites have a tendency to slip around all over the place.

3. Add the extract and the 3/4 cup butter, and mix until completely blended. No butter should be visible on the sides. (Note that the batter will be pretty thin.)

4. Spoon the batter into the madeleine shells about 3/4 of the way up, leaving just a tiny bit to rise. Place the filled pan in the center of the oven. Bake until the financier just being to rise, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F. Bake until the financier are a light, golden brown and begin to firm up, about another 5 minutes.

5. Turn off the oven heat and let the financier rest in the oven until firm, about another 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the financier cool in the molds for 10 minutes. Unmold.

The financier may be stored in an airtight container for several days, but really do taste much better right away (even if they're still a little bit warm!)

Glazed Meyer Lemon Nut Cake (The Results & The Recipe)

I was a little bit worried about this caked. It looked beautiful, but I wasn't convinced that the flavor combination of hazelnuts, coconut, and Meyer lemon was exactly right. Well, I was proven wrong! I brought both cakes into work with me last week (the flourless chocolate hazelnut torte and the Meyer lemon cake), and both were big hits.

My coworkers were divided on which they preferred. The lemon cake disappeared first, but I got more requests for the chocolate torte recipe. I'm convinced that the lemon cake works best a day or even two after it's been baked. The flavors blend in with each other and seem to mellow out in a way that is really quite perfect. I was surprised by how prominent the coconut flavor was--everyone noticed it right away. And like me on the first night, nobody could believe that neither one of the recipes contained any flour!

I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but I'm willing to bet that the lemon cake will go from "great" to "WOW!" if the hazelnuts are switched out for almonds. I encourage you guys to try it out and let me know what you think... (And feel free to send me your mediocre pics!)

Now for the recipe:

Glazed Meyer Lemon Nut Cake (100% flourless)
This cake tastes better the second or third day, after the flavors have had a chance to meld. If you can, try and make it at least the day before then store in an air-tight container at room temp. Glaze just before serving (otherwise the glaze will melt).

Ingredients:
2 cups almond or hazelnut meal
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flour
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice (approximately 2 Meyer lemons)
Rind of 1 Meyer lemon
1 cup sugar or equivalent substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1/2 cup olive oil

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed Meyer lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" round or springform pan.

2. Combine the nuts, lemon rind, sugar (or substitute), salt, and baking powder in an electric mixer or food processor and pulse a few times until any lumps are broken up.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the oil and lemon juice. Continue to mix at high speed for a couple minutes to work some air into the batter--it should grow in size a bit.

4. Pour into your greased pan and place in the oven. The baking time will vary depending on your oven and the humidity in the environment. Start checking it about 30 minutes into baking. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. When ready to glaze, mix the powdered sugar, water, and Meyer lemon juice together until smooth. Drizzle all over the cake and allow to set. Serve immediately after glazing or cover with a loose cake cover (plastic wrap will only make the glaze melt or flake away--think Krispy Kremes at the bottom of the box. Yummy, just not as pretty.)

Glazed Meyer Lemon Nut Cake

It's citrus season! At the grocery store tonight, I went a little crazy throwing blood oranges and Meyer Lemons into my basket, giddy with the possibilities. The scent of the fruit tickled my nose the entire subway ride home.

If you're not familiar with the Meyer Lemon, you need to stop reading and head to your nearest grocery store right now. Larger, rounder, and with a slightly more orange hue than the conventional lemon, the Meyer Lemon originated in China, where it's believed to have derived from the Mandarin orange. The skin of the Meyer is thinner, making for a softer and juicier fruit, but what stands out above all is its enticing fragrance. It's a sweet, citrus smell with earthy undertones; I've always thought it resembled a blend of oranges and Christmas trees.

Much sweeter than the regular lemon, Meyers are ideal for use in desserts. I'm planning to whip up a Meyer Lemon ice cream at some point in the next couple days, but I couldn't resist playing around with it tonight. While at the store I also picked up a bag of ground almond meal and happened to come across some organic coconut flour. While I've read quite a bit about coconut flour, I'd never actually seen it at the store before. In fact, the only reason I found it today is because I dropped something and so happened to look into that last shelf. There were piles of coconut flour bags and only two dollars each (much more economical than the 14 dollar almond meal). I grabbed a couple, with the intent to experiment with it this weekend.

On the train home I started thinking about the torte I made last night. I decided to use the same basic recipe, replacing the cocoa powder with coconut flour and exchanging a half cup of Meyer lemon juice for the water. A little lemon rind for color and additional flavor, and presto! Torta di Limone!

The cake that came out of the oven was lovely and moist, but not quite as fluffy as the chocolate torte. I was pleased with the golden color of the crust, but still felt it needed a little extra something. I decided on a glaze, borrowing Peabody's recipe from her gorgeous post about Meyer Lemon Madeleines.

I made a tiny version for tasting purposes and am still on the fence about it. I think the problem is with the hazelnuts. While fantastic with cocoa, they feel a bit too overpowering in this recipe. I want the lemons to be the main event here, but right now they're getting lost beneath the strong hazelnut flavor. I was tempted to try again using almond meal, but it was already so late that I resisted. (I don't sleep much as is, and baking three cakes in one night is definitely pushing it.)

Take two will have to wait for tomorrow. I'm not going to post the recipe yet as I still need to tweak it. I think I'll bring the cake into work tomorrow to see what people think and then go from there...

UPDATE: From the LA Times, 100 Things to do with Meyer Lemons

Also coming up in the next couple days:

• Blood Oranges in Italy!
• My answer to a reader question about buying and preparing fish...
• And a special recipe from a secret Guest blogger!

Stay tuned!

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Join the Always Order Dessert Facebook group! (Note that you must be logged into your account to see the page)

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

After writing yesterday's post about the difference between tarts and tortes, I had a hard time getting both out of my head. When I got home from dinner tonight, I could resist no more and decided to poke around in my kitchen to see what I could throw together. I've been promising the girls at work that I would bring in a treat for them soon so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try something new (as if I need more excuses for random late-night baking).

A bag of hazelnut meal that I had been keeping in my freezer since Thanksgiving was the inspiration for this light, flourless torte with just a hint of nutty crunch. The ingredients are few and simple (ground hazelnuts, good cocoa powder, olive oil, sugar, vanilla, and eggs), and the process is very quick. And I mean really quick... I was enjoying my slice about an hour after I decided I wanted to bake something.

The decadent secret behind this deceptive little torte? Olive Oil. (Shhh...)

I started using olive oil in my baking out of laziness, really. I was baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies one day when I realized that I'd run out of butter. Not wanting to run out to the store to buy some, I decided to experiment with a bottle of olive oil I had sitting on the counter. The end result was incredible--moister, and with an additional layer of flavor that I was definitely not expecting, but am now completely unwilling to give up.

If this is your first time baking with olive oil, you might be wondering what kind. It's really up to you. A light olive oil with a mild flavor could be a good start if you're concerned about the flavor notes being too distinct. Personally, I go straight for the strong stuff. For this recipe, I used very fruity Tuscan extra virgin called Laudemio. It's made by the Frescobaldi family, one of the big, old families in Florence (along with the Puccis and the Ferragamos) known mainly for their award-winning "Super Tuscan" wines. It is a bit pricier than the average bottle of olive oil ($35 to $40 a bottle), but the flavor is so incredible that you won't regret it. In Italy they say the test of a good oil is one that can be drizzled over fresh cooked gnocchi and enjoyed as is with no additional flavors. This is definitely one of those oils.

The fruitiness of the oil contrasts well with the hazelnuts and silky cocoa powder. If you don't have hazelnut meal (also a Whole Foods buy), you can replace it with ground almonds or pecans--just be sure to toast them before grinding to remove the excess moisture, which is key to keeping your torte light. A teaspoon of baking powder gives the cake a little lift, but feel free to skip if you don't have any on hand or want to avoid for dietary reasons (without the baking powder, this makes a great Seder cake for Passover).

I think you'll be surprised with the texture of this cake. Most flourless tortes tend to be very dense and almost pudding-like, but this one is very light and nutty. You'll swear there is flour in it when it comes out of the oven. It almost made me wonder if some kind of kitchen poltergeist tossed some into the Kitchen Aid while I had my back turned

(I have kind of an overactive imagination sometimes.) (Or most of the time...).

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte
I was originally going to top this with a bittersweet chocolate ganache,
but it came out so perfect that I decided to skip that and just rely on the
great flavors of the cake. I suggest serving with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and a little dollop of homemade whipped cream on the side.

Ingredients
2 cups hazelnut meal
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons good cocoa powder
1 cup sugar or equivalent substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" round or springform pan.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in an electric mixer or food processor and pulse a few times.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the oil, water, and extract. Continue to mix at high speed for a couple minutes to work some air into the batter.

4. Pour into your greased pan and place in the oven. The baking time will vary depending on your oven and the humidity in the environment. Start checking it about 25 minutes into baking. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Once it's ready, remove from the oven and let cool. You can store in the fridge, but be sure to serve at room temperature for the best flavor. Enjoy!

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