Key Lime Tartlets

Actually, it's a lime-lemon curd and it packs a real punch, reminding me of the sour sweets I used to enjoy when I was a child. I used "Nellie and Joes Key West Lime Juice," which I purchased from Citarella, and regular lemon zest. So far I have not seen key lime fruits in New York. Just being able to pour the juice instead of laborsome lime squeezing is a benefit in itself.

The recipe is very easy, the only time consuming element being the 20-25 minute stirring at the stove once all the ingredients are added.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, cut into ounces

3/4 cup Nellie and Joes Key West Lime Juice

1 TBS. lemon zest (regular lime zest is too bitter for my taste)

2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Place the sugar, butter, lime juice, lemon zest in the top of a double boiler, stir over medium-high heat until butter melts. Mix 2 tablespoons hot lime mixture into the eggs and stir to blend.

2. Reduce heat to medium until water simmers. Slowly whisk egg mixture into the lime mixture. Cook over the double boiler until lime mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 20 t0 25 minutes. Cool slightly, then spoon lime curd into a clean, glass jar (or place Saran Wrap right against the curd in a bowl.) It seems that key lime juice is quite yellow.

Bench Notes: Tried recipe again, this time with 1/2 cup lime juice plus 1/4 cup water added, only 1 tsp lemon zest and an additional 2 Tbs. sugar. This went over better with people who,unlike me, do not like mouth-puckering sour.

Chocolate Biscotti - Tuesdays with Dorie

Only a week late but I am getting construction work done in my apartment so am giving myself a little credit for being able to function at all.

I like these biscotti. They taste really good after they have sat for a night, are nice and chewy and certainly pack a chocolate punch! Ghirardelli cocoa powder and Nestle's semi-sweet mini morsels are responsible for that punch. Some white chocolate squiggled on the biscotti is a good contrast to the deep chocolate taste.

They are a bit difficult to slice - as stated in the recipe the logs form cracks, rather fissures, in the first baking. One thing I will make sure to do next time (they are definitely on my list for a next time) is to read the recipe properly and shape the logs into a 12x2 inch size (I was trying to make two kinds of biscotti at once and misread the size, making them too short and fat). The recipe is here.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes

I found this recipe on a blog while I was coasting around like a shark looking to see what I could capture. It's a very good red velvet recipe; I particularly like that it calls for 2 ozs. of the red coloring. It comes out a beautiful red.

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 teasp. baking powder

3/4 teasp. salt

2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa

2 ozs. (2 bottles) red food coloring (tasteless)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. baking soda

Directions

Oven at 350 degrees. Use 2 - 12 cup muffin pans for regular cupcakes,2 - 24 cup muffin pans for minis. Line with stiff textured cupcake liners.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt into mixing bowl. In smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa to form a thin paste without lumps.

Beat butter and sugar (3 mins.). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add 1/3 of flour mix to butter mix, beat slowly well, then beat in 1/2 of buttermilk. Beat in another 3rd of flour, then 2nd half of buttermilk. Beat in last 1/3 of flour mix, until well combined.

In small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add to cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cups a little under 3/4 full.

Bake about 20 minutes for full size, about 16 mins for minis, rotating pans. Use spring up test or toothpick test. Cool in tins on wire rack for 10 mins. then remove. Cool completely before frosting.

Bench notes - Buy the Wilton taste-free red coloring (the regular red coloring will give the cupcakes a metallic flavor as one has to use so much of it.)For minis bake about 16 mins. Use 1 level Tbs. batter for each cup. Put some oil or crisco on edges of cups so any overflow does not stick; use stiff cupcake cups - the dough is quite thin and light paper cups will not hold it well.Cups must be a little under 3/4 full.

Blueberry-Blackberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake - TWD

This pic was taken early this morning and looks a bit like stacked logs as it is in the carrier already. The cake was a rave; I served whipped cream with it (I think it's a bit plain otherwise) and quite a few people came back for seconds.

I added some blackberries to the blueberries (8 ozs. in all), which gave it an extra moist texture. So easy, so delicious to go with morning tea or coffee. I think it might be nice with peaches or pears as well.

This week's pick came from Cindy - thank you; it's a perfect choice. The recipe for the cake is on Cindy's blog: Everyday Insanity.