Melissa Clark's Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake

Melissa Clark, confident that her whims can improve on perfection, attempted to surpass Marian Burros' plum torte for Rosh Hashana with a whole wheat variation. There is a reason that Burros' plum torte is the most requested New York Times recipe.  It is the most perfect of fall desserts. It is soft, filled with unctuous tart plums and feels decadent without being too heavy.  And it is really simple.

In the same week, Sam sent me this and LT made it.  Since the granola granted Melissa Clark a few weeks of amnesty, plums are still in season, and I had a bag of whole wheat flour lying around (does anyone know the average expiration date of that stuff?), I decided to give Melissa another chance.
 

So much of cooking is creative: constant editing and tweaking to taste and to whatever is in your refrigerator that day.  Baking is less forgiving.  The chemistry is fragile.  Proportions and even the order of operations can really impact the outcome. This cake is very similar to the original, which is an impressive feat of chemistry.  I wouldn't call the top "crunchy" and there isn't much more fruit than the original.  The big difference is the whole wheat-milk batter.

For a "healthier" dessert, this isn't bad.  The whole wheat cake is pretty similar to whole wheat bread.  Served with cream, it was an acceptable dessert. I like white flour. I think it has its time and place.  And that place is homemade baked goods.  As a leftover for breakfast, I was much more open-minded. This cake was sort of like eating toast with plum jam baked within.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

I am not embarrassed that I made this fudge.  I am proud.  I have reasons and justifications:

1. Mike Pollan, in In Defense of Food, argues that any food is okay to eat so long as you bother to make it yourself.  If its true for french fries and twinkies (his examples) then why not this?
2. It is not dissimilar from my planned late night dessert: chocolate ice cream with melted peanut butter.
3. Sweetened condensed milk is an excellent source of calcium

mise en place for this ambitious project

When I saw the recipe for this fudge on Chow, I was outraged.  It seemed like a direct plug for all Nestle products.  I doubted Aida Mollenkamp's integrity.  And since this recipe doesn’t involve actually baking anything (just throwing everything in a bowl, heating it, and then chilling), I felt the recipe was miscategorized under “bake sale treats.”  Nonetheless, when I wandered into my bodega, in search of JIF and hagan daaz 5 chocolate or vanilla, I remembered the recipe. It was 11:30 pm on a weeknight, not really the hour to start a cooking project.  But the ingredients were memorable and the idea of licking the pot while watching Mad Men seemed very appealing.

This type of recipe reminds me a lot of the foods my friends swore by in Michigan: puppy chow or casseroles involving mushroom soup, broccoli, and a potato chip topping. I was always pretty snobby about these foods; yet, they do have a place in world.  There shouldn’t be anything wrong with a quick assembly although I do have a problem with the high concentration of sugar from multiple processed sources.

Anyways, about the fudge.  This isn’t anything special.  It tastes exactly like the ingredients of which it is composed.  But sometimes it is fun just to melt a bunch of things together and pretend that you baked.  It really wasn’t much more work than my usual dessert, and, again,  is an excellent source of calcium.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes cookies are required.  Those days when you can predict really nothing will go right, so, why not have on hand, a fresh baked cookie so that you don't have to run to the coffee shop only to be disappointed that their cookies are stale, made with shortening (I believe in butter), or worst of all, sold out.  For this reason, cookies have become a regular Sunday night baking tradition.

This time, however, I couldn't locate my favorite recipe (from Gourmet's Best Desserts) which has equal parts dark brown sugar and white sugar.  I misplaced my recipe folder when I did a massive housecleaning.  It will show up.  I'm not worried. So I thought I would take this opportunity to try another similar yet different classic.

These cookies were way too salty.  Its hard to say more.  I even cut the amount of salt, because Luisa noted that they were too salty.  I will find my recipe and post it, because these cookies aren't worth one bowl of trouble.

Melissa Clark’s Olive Oil Granola With Dried Apricots and Pistachios

I have friends who love granola.   They eat it often, sometimes using this snack as a substitute for a real meal.  I’ve never found granola that compelling.  It has always reminded me of trail mix, minus the chocolate, only less portable and more expensive. About a year ago, Melissa Clark, in her generally tedious column, “A Good Appetite,” wrote about the granola at Bklyn Larder.   I read it, ignored it, and moved on to other more exciting food endeavors. 

But then my friend Hannah made it. And I could finally see the appeal.  Salty, sweet, and with the wise addition of cardamom, slightly exotic. With pistachios and apricots, it avoided the traditional cliché of cranberries and almond.  Plus, it is made with olive oil, delicious and healthy, which contributes significantly to the granola’s Mediterranean nod.

So this morning, the first time in a while where having the oven on didn’t seem like torture, I made it.  And it is delectable and addictive, just as Melissa describes.  But, I must warn you all, making it at home is no bargain.  I actually think Bklyn Larder might lose money selling the stuff for $9 a bag.  My batch, which is probably 32 oz, cost $23.  And that excludes the cost of the olive oil, since I cannot remember how much I paid at Fairway for the nicer stuff.  So, savor every bite, this is the white truffle equivalent of a breakfast treat.

Welcome

Welcome to my 3^rd attempt at blogging!  

If this attempt is unlike the two prior and is tribute to regular communication and discipline, I will upgrade the format and do something more web savvy and in keeping with my very refined sense of aesthetics.  Stay tuned and thank you for participating in this Internet experience.