Pineapple Buckle

This Pineapple Buckle is a yellow cake with chunks of pineapple mixed in and hints of lime zest and juice, and after some time in the oven slices of pineapple are arranged on top.  Because the batter has been partially cooked, the slices won't sink in and will sit on top, pretty as a picture. That's what the recipe said, anyway.  What happened is another matter.

Update: This post made the Foodbuzz Top 9!

Key Lime Cupcakes

I don't think there are enough key lime cupcake recipes out there.  When I got the idea to make some, I didn't find many recipes on the Web and I ended up adapting a lemon cake recipe.  The result was a moist cupcake lightly fragrant with key lime, which was echoed in the frosting.  To boost the key lime factor, you can add more zest.  Lime oil is another possibility, but adding more juice could dilute the batter.  But considering the praise these got, I think their lime factor was just fine.

I brought them in to work on the night of the Florida presidential primary, to keep up the sugar and carb high in the newsroom while we were working.  Aside from oranges, what else says Florida like key lime?  I don't think I'll be continuing the cupcake-for-a-primary theme, since my mind wandered to lobster cupcakes for Maine and Rocky Mountain cupcakes for Colorado.  Let's just not go there.  I often find key lime pie cloyingly sweet, but this cupcake dialed that back.  The frosting especially got rave reviews.

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Tea Party Tuesday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
Themed Bakers Sunday

Raspberry Crumb Bars & Citrus Bars

These raspberry crumb bars got inhaled here at home and will be making a repeat appearance, but those citrus bars?  Never again!  It's not that they weren't good, because what lemon bar isn't good?  Especially one with the addition of lime?  But where the raspberry crumb bars were relatively simple and fun, the citrus bars demanded more elbow grease and then ran into technical issues.

The raspberry crumb bars involved making an almond-y dough that would serve as both the base and topping.  The base gets baked briefly in a cookie sheet lined with parchment, then cooled and spread with jam.  Then the remaining dough is scattered on as a topping and baked.  When cool, a bench scraper works well as a cutter.  They were bagged with the citrus bars as thank-you gifts to volunteers at an event I organized and excitedly received.

The citrus bars?  This one photo speaks to my stress with this recipe.  There were lots of lemons and limes to juice, and the limes took more work.  And then I used a rimmed cookie sheet as directed for the base, but the dough came up to the rim, leaving no room for the pourable fillling!  So I moved and pressed the partially baked dough into this 9x13 pan and the rest into an 8x8 square pan, and poured the filling on top.  It worked, but some dough pieces floated to the top and it wasn't attractive.  But confectioners sugar covers up all sorts of ugly, so I was still able to gift them.

Now I did make this once before, halving the recipe and baking it in this 9x13 pan and it worked out just fine, if you want to try it.  But I'd had enough with this try, plus it's a heart attack special with the 8 eggs, pound of butter, and 4 cups of sugar (which I cut down to 3 cups without a problem).  But I really recommend those raspberry crumb bars!

Tastes Like Summer: Mango Sorbet

I make this every summer.  I know summer's not quite here yet, but it sure feels like it.  Sorbets are easier to make than ice creams (no tempering!) and also usually fat free, since they lack cream.  This sorbet has only four ingredients: mangoes, sugar, water, and lime juice.  Cool off after a scorcher with this one.

To cube a mango, run your knife along the pit to make two halves.  Then make crisscross cuts on each half, turn them inside-out, and remove the fruit.  Cut the remaining fruit along the stone as best you can.  Puree it in a food processor, and add the sugar-water and lime juice.  I love this ice cream machine.  It's big and heavy, since it's got a built-in compressor, which means no advance chilling of bowls necessary.

Lick the beater, anyone?  I made a double batch and put it through the machine in two runs.  The finished product is ready to eat but should go in the freezer for another two hours.  I should note to the uninitiated that ice creams and sorbets are not an instant gratification thing.  You prepare all the ingredients, and that usually requires some level of cooking to dissolve the sugar and slightly cook any eggs in the recipe.  Then the mixture must chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, and overnight is better.  For a quick fix, 7-Eleven is still the way to go.

And those strawberries from my last post?  I was excited to find they're blushing a slight red and will soon be ready for the pickin'.

Citrus Tart

If you like lemon bars, you'll like this citrus tart.  It's like the lemon bar's lighter, more sophisticated cousin.  At first glance you expect a heavy, rich custard, but the texture is light and the taste tart and tangy.  And it was way more successful than the lemon souffles I made around the new year and would rather forget, after they fell and tasted awful eggy.  But everyone raved about this tart, and my friend Charmie asked if it would "make an appearance on wasb."  "What does that stand for?" I asked.  "What about second breakfast!" she said.  It was so cute, I figure I have to start using the acronym.

On an unrelated note, check out this bottle of vanilla extract!  This monster is 32 ounces of top-quality Madagascar bourbon vanilla, with your usual-sized bottle next to it for comparison.  I was both horrified and excited to get this gift, which is larger than a bottle of cough syrup.