mix, mix…stir, stir

I have been huiming the theme song to Gilligan’s Island for days now. I know MaryAnn made coconut cream pies, but banana cream pie is apparently close enough for my brain to be fixated on the tune.

I don’t recall that I have ever made a banana cream pie before this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie baking assignment. It was delicious because it wasn’t overly sweet and the pastry cream spread between the layers of banana had a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg adding a nice flavor interest. Dorie did a cleaver thing with the whipped cream topping by adding a couple of tablespoons of sour cream to it. That little bit of sour cream adds a remarkable richness that boosts the mouth-feel satisfaction. Sometimes I find whipped cream toppings or frostings to be so puffy and airy that it doesn’t stand up to the other components in the dessert, but this was perfect. The top of the pie is garnished with a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Last month I bought a bottle of Armagnac for the Chocolate Armagnac cake this group baked, so now I am on the lookout for ways to use the rest of the bottle. I added it rather than vanilla to the pastry cream and the whipped cream topping. Like the Chocolate Armagnac cake, I couldn’t taste it. I thought for sure it would stand up in this recipe because it was added after all the cooking was completed. When I first mixed it in the pastry cream I could taste it, but the flavor disappeared by the time the pie was served. I did only add 2 teaspoons for fear of thinning out the pastry cream too much, which wasn’t a problem in hindsight. I am a little perplexed by Armagnac because to taste it straight it packs a punch. My friend Julie confirmed that there wasn’t a hint of Armagnac in the pie, but told me she made a chicken dish that was cooked with Armagnac soaked prunes that was delicious and delivered a good Armagnac flavor, so it can be done.

Besides over baking the pie crust a bit, this was a really nice banana cream pie. Thanks to Amy, of Sing for your Supper, for picking this week’s recipe; if you want to hum the theme to Gilligan’s Island for a few days and enjoy some tasty pie, visit Amy’s blog for the recipe.

I, along with over 350 other baking bloggers are baking our way thorough Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours . 68 recipes completed 153 to go!

There were snowflakes falling in Seattle just five days ago on April first, no joke. Today it is sunny and 70 degrees! Everyone in the city is silly with joy and finding any excuse to get outside. This taste of spring weather sent me to the refrigerator to see what sort of refreshment I could create to punctuate this delightful change in weather.

Sparkling Grapefruit Refresh-mint

Place 4-5 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a drinking glass.
Add 5-6 ice cubes and using the handle of a wooden spoon, muddle the mint leaves to bruise and release their flavor.
Fill the glass half-full with grapefruit juice.
Fill the rest of the glass with seltzer water.
Mix and enjoy!
(If you prefer a sweet drink add simple syrup or agave syrup to taste.)

The tart bite of grapefruit juice is crisp and refreshing with the mint adding a summery aroma and a smooth minty finish to every sip. In addition to sipping this on a beautiful spring or summer day, it would make a simple, yet sophisticated, non-alcoholic drink to serve at cocktail party.

On my birthday I love to indulge in experimental baking knowing full well that it might not result in anything fit to serve. For me it’s more about the process than the end result, so it works out just fine even if I make a dud. This year was a success, almost.

For some reason I have been fixated on dragon fruit lately. I tasted it for the first time last summer while in Hong Kong, and it was delicious but also stunningly beautiful. I decided to create the dragon fruit look in a citrus chiffon cake using poppy seeds.  I have also had grapefruit on my mind and stumbled across  Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit-Cream Cheese Frosting in Gale Gand’s book Butter Sugar Flour Eggs.

This was all the inspiration I needed to get working on my birthday creation; a citrus poppy seed chiffon cake with grapefruit curd filling, cream cheese frosting, and candied grapefruit peel. Over all a success, but not quite perfected enough to post the recipe yet. It was too sweet and the grapefruit curd was too soft.  I will re-work my formulations and post the recipe as soon as I get the kinks worked out and the sweetness toned down.

The candied grapefruit rind turned out beautifully. I only wish I had figured out how I planned to use the rind before starting because I would have cut it much more uniformly. It was chewy and sweet, but with the distinctive grapefruit tartness that is a bit numbing in the mouth.

Candied Grapefruit Rind

This recipe is adapted from Kate Zuckerman’s method for candying citrus rind in The Sweet Life.

Slice the peel from a grapefruit retaining the white part of the peel. Slice into strips about 1/4″ wide or small squares.

Place rind in pan of boiling water for about 1 minute, strain, and then rinse with cold water. Repeat, boiling for another minute in fresh water, strain, and rinse with cold water. Repeat a third time again with fresh boiling water. This triple blanching removes the bitter flavors from the rind.

In a medium sauce pan, dissolve 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup in 1/3 cup water. Add the grapefruit rind and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Once the rind has finished simmering, scoop it from the poaching syrup and lay it out on the lined sheet pan. Bake for 10 about minutes. It should be very bubbly.

Remove the pieces of rind from the hot pan onto a cooling rack, leaving behind any excess syrup that has pooled around the pieces of rind. Cool at room temperature for a few hours or overnight. Toss the pieces of rind in granulated sugar to coat. Store in an airtight container.

The best way to cut candied rind into smaller pieces is with kitchen shears.