Cheesecake brownies

This is a heavenly chocolate recipe - dense, rich brownies paired with a not-as-sweet, creamy cream cheese mix.  The chocolate and the cream cheese balance each other out - that's the key.  Adapted from a Cooks Illustrated recipe, per this website.  Note: I can't get unsweetened baking chocolate in the UK, so I've substitute cocoa powder and butter, per the conversion on this website, it worked just fine.

Ingredients

For the brownie batter

2/3 c flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
120 g bittersweet chocolate (I used 85% cocoa chocolate)
35 g cocoa powder
125 g lightly salted buter
1 c sugar
2 t vanilla extract
3 large eggs

For the cheesecake batter

450g cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 egg yolk
1/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 165C/325F.  Coat the bottom of an 8" square baking pan with baking spray, lay down an 8x16" piece of foil to coat the bottom and sides (folding over the sides for handles), and coat the inside of the foil with baking spray.
2) Whisk cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
3) Combine bittersweet chocolate and butter together in a microwave-safe bowl, and melt gently until silky smooth.
4) Whisk in 1 c sugar, 2 t vanilla, and eggs (one at a time).
5) Whisk in dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated - do not overmix.
6) In another bowl, mix cream cheese, 1/4 c sugar, 1 t vanilla, and egg yolk.
7) Pour half of brownie batter into prepared pan, then drop half the cream cheese mixture throughout the batter in spoonfulls, distributing evenly. Swirl cream cheese mixture through batter with a a table knife or spoon.
8) Pour remaining half of brownie batter into pan, drop remaining cream cheese filling throughout, and swirl, creating a marbled effect.
9) Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes, until brownies have puffed slightly, and a knife inserted into the middle comes out with moist crumbs (or a tiny amount of batter).  The center should feel not quite firm - it's better to have them come out undercooked than overcooked.  Cool 5 minutes before eating.

Vanilla mascarpone ice cream

I made this ice cream without an ice cream maker - the custard base keeps it from forming ice crystals that are too big.  Adapted from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
100g golden caster sugar
300ml full-fat milk
250g mascarpone
seeds ½ vanilla pod (or 2 t vanilla extract)

Instructions

1. Put the yolks and sugar into a large bowl, and beat together until pale and thick.
2. Put milk, mascarpone, and vanilla into medium saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to combine
3. Once just boiling, take off the heat and whisk this gradually into the bowl with egg mix to make a custard.
4. Pour custard back into saucepan, and cook gently for 15 mins, stirring constantly until mix is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (approximately 65-70C). Don’t let it boil or the eggs will scramble. 
5. Freeze  custard for approx. 4 hrs in a container, stirring and breaking up the crystals every hour until thick and smooth. 

Coconut cardamom panna cotta

I originally made this as a vegan dessert with soy milk, but I've adapted it here for regular milk.  Panna cotta is deceptively simple, and this recipe adds a special twist with flavors of coconut and cardamom.  Adapted from BBC Good Food

Ingredients 

serves 4

4 leaves of gelatin (1.25 t powder, can be substituted with the appropriate quantity of agar agar)
250 ml milk (whole or semi-skimmed)
250 ml cream of coconut
1 vanilla pod, split down the middle
splash (1 cap-full) of brandy
1-2 dried cardamom pods (2 for more flavor)
1/4 c caster sugar
pinch of salt
fruit or nuts to garnish - try pineapple, pistachio, or blueberries

Instructions

1. Combine milk, cream of coconut, and gelatin in saucepan - let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into cream/coconut mixture, then add the vanilla pod, brandy, and cardamom
3. Heat over medium-high, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved - remove from heat when when mixture is about 135F/57C (do not let it boil)
4. Stir in salt and sugar, and mix until they are dissolved
5. Strain vanilla bean and cardamom pods - then pour mixture into small ramekins and cover with plastic wrap
6. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours, until the panna cotta is set
7. Optional: unmold panna cotta by dipping each ramekin in boiling water for 3 seconds, running a moistened finger or knife around the edge of the custard to gently pull it away from the side of the ramekin, then inverting the custard over your hand and gently easing it onto a plate

White Chocolate, Apricot, and Cashew Biscotti

A delicious, nutty and fruity take on the traditional biscotti.  The recipe is a bit time intensive because of the double baking, but the result is totally worth it.  This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen.

Ingredients

2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 c sugar
4 T salted butter
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c apricots, chopped (into small slivers, or pieces roughly the size of chocolate chips)
1/2 c cashews, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175 C - then combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
2. In another large bowl, beat together sugar and butter until creamy, about 3-4 minutes.  
3. Add eggs (preferably one and at a time) and extract, beating after each addition.
4. Combine flour mixture with butter/sugar mixture, either by hand or with the mixer speed on low.
5. By hand, add in white chocolate, apricots, and cashews - mix to combine.  The dough will be lumpy and a little bit sticky.
6. Prepare a baking sheet - either line with parchment paper or with a think layer of butter/oil spray.
7. Using floured hands, split dough in half - shape each half into a long loaf, approximately 2x13".  Place each loaf size by side on the baking sheet, with at least 1 inch between them.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until loaves are gold brown and tops are just beginning to crack.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes, preferably on a cooling rack or a cutting board.
10. Lower oven temperature to 160, transfer loafs to a cutting board, and slice each loaf into 1/2" slices (a serrated knife works well for this).
11. Bake biscotti slices on an ungreased/unprepared tray for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and firm (the biscotti will continue hardening out of the oven).

Light and fluffy scones

This recipe produces light and fluffy buttermilk scones - they can be mixed with any sort of dried fruit, or even fresh fruit.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

2.75 c lour
1/3 c sugar
1 T baking powder (if you are using fresh fruit, use aluminum free baking powder)
1 t baking soda
6 ounces (170 g) cold butter
1 c buttermilk (or 1/2 c buttermilk and 1/2 c cream)
1 c of your favorite dried or fresh fruit (if using fresh, reduce total liquid amount to 3/4 c)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170, and combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl
2. Combine butter and flour mixture, and mix until it is the texture of course sand - you can do this in a food processor with short bursts, or with a pastry cutter.
3. Fold in fruit and buttermilk by hand - combine until dough just comes together.
4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead gently to make a ball - then roll it out into an approximately 1/2" thick circle and cut into 8-10 triangles (you can also make the scones into little balls or whatever shape you want - just don't overwork the dough).
5. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Poached pears in red wine

This is a good recipe for using leftover red wine or ripe pears.  You can experiment with throwing in extra flavorings in addition to (or in place of) the vanilla...rosemary, thyme, orange zest, etc.   Adapted from http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/rosemary-red-wine-poached-pears/

Ingredients

4-6 ripe pears
1.5 c red wine
1 cinnamon stick
2 t real vanilla extract
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c mascarpone cheese
1/4 c cream cheese
1 t honey
walnuts for garnish

Instructions

1) Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then slice vertically and remove cores.
2) In a large saucepan, combine red wine, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to simmer, gently add pears - simmer for 10 minutes, the flip over and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until pears are tender.
4) Take pan off heat and let pears sit in wine sauce for 30 minutes (if you want to speed things up, you can skip this step).
5) Remove pears from wine sauce with a slotted spoon and place on a small plate - do not discard the liquid!
6) Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until liquid has reduced by half.  (This is where you can add herbs or spices - let them simmer with the wine reduction, and remove when done.)
7) Combine mascarpone, cream cheese, and honey until light and fluffy.
8) To service, place pears on plates, add a small spoonful of filling into the center of each pear, top with a walnut, and drizzle with red wine syrup.

The best pumpkin pie

This is a wonderfully tangy alternative to the standard pumpkin pie - the creme fraiche adds a light and creamy texture.  Adapted from The Traveler's Lunch and Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

For the crust

12 graham crackers/digestive biscuits ground finely
70 g (5 T) butter
40 g sugar

For the filling

1 can/1.5 c pumpkin puree
1.5 c creme fraiche
3 large eggs
1.5 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
pinch cloves
1/2 salt
1/2 c (100g) dark brown sugar
1/2 c (100g) white sugar
1 T cornstarch

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 175 C.  Combine graham crackers/digestives with sugar and butter, and combine until the mixtures is the texture of wet sand.
2) Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate, and bake crust until it is dry and set, about 12 minutes.
3) While the crust is cooking, in a large bowl combine all of the pie filling ingredients except for the sugars and cornstarch.
4) In a small bowl, combine the sugars and corn starch until no lumps remain.
5) Combine pumpkin and sugar mixtures, and pour into parbaked crust.  Lower oven temperature to 160C and bake until the filling is puffed and set, about an hour.

Plum cake

In this recipe, the tartness of the plums balances out the sweetness of the cake beautifully.  I adapted this recipe to be a slightly darker, more aromatic cake using brown sugar and more cinnamon.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

1.5 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1.5 t cinnamon
5 T unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c packed brown sugar (dark is best)
2 eggs
1/3 c canola oil
2 t vanilla extract
8-12 purple plums, sliced into half moon chunks

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350F/180C, and generously butter a medium sized baking pan.
2) Sprinkle half of the sliced plums over the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with a bit of brown sugar.
3) Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
4) Mix brown sugar (break up the clumps beforehand) and sugar in a large bowl - if doing this by hand whisk vigorously to incorporate some air, and if doing this by mixer beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until soft and creamy.
5) Add eggs and mix well.
6) Add oil and vanilla, and mix until the batter looks smooth and almost satiny.  Again, if doing this by hand, make sure to mix well to incorporate some air into the batter.
7) Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet - stir well but do not overcombine.  (My batter was very thick - this is okay, but if you want a thinner batter you can add a T or two of water.)
8) Pour batter over the pan/plums, and spread evenly.  Then sprinkle the rest of the plums over the top of the batter (in a random or decorative pattern, however you like).
9) Bake 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown and puffed, and the plums are starting to dimple/caramelize.  Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Spiced Pear Bread

This is a nice alternative to banana bread, and has a consistency similar to apple cake.  Note: this recipe makes about two loaf pans worth of bread - it's a lot!  Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 T cinnamon
2 t powdered ginger
1 c chopped walnuts (optional, but highly encouraged)
3/4 c vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar (use less if your pears are very ripe)
3-4 firm and ripe pears
2 t vanilla

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 350F/175C, and lightly grease a loaf pan
2) Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nuts, and stir with a fork to mix.
3) Peel and core the pears (or cut away the core), and chop into small pieces.
4) In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs, sugar, pear, and vanilla, and mix everything well (I use a mixer, but if you want to preserve the texture of the pears mix by hand).
5) Gently combine the pear and flour mixture, and stir just until the flour disappears.  (If the batter is too dry, you can add a bit of milk to keep it moistened.)
6) Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for about an hour, until the bread is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out dry.

Apple Cake

From Smitten Kitchen, this is an easy and cinnamon-y apple cake.

Ingredients

6 apples, cored and chopped into smallish pieces

1 T cinnamon

5 T sugar

2.75 c flour

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 c vegetable oil (or melted butter)

2 c sugar

1/4 c orange juice

2.5 t vanilla

4 eggs

1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 180.  Toss apples with cinnamon and 5 T sugar and set aside.

2) Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3) Combine oil, orange juice, sugar, and vanilla.

4) Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients, then add the eggs one at a time.

5) Grease a pan, pour 1/2 the batter, then cover with 1/2 the apples, then pour the other 1/2 of the batter and layer the top of the cake with apples.

6) Bake ~1.5 hours, until a tester comes out clean.

Crispy Gingersnap Cookies

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated - I used golden syrup instead of molasses because it's hard to find the latter around here.  Also, the instructions have been adapted to use a hand mixer instead of a food processor.

Ingredients

3 c flour
3/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 T ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt
3/4 t baking soda
12 T butter, softened and cut
3/4 c golden syrup
2 T milk

Instructions

1) Combine flour, spices, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
2) Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add golden syrup and beat until combined.
3) Slowly beat dry ingredients, in 2-3 portions, into butter/sugar/syrup mixture.  Add milk to give the dough a slightly wetter consistency.
4) Refrigerate for 30 minutes, and preheat oven to 180C.
5) Drop cookies onto a greased or lined sheet, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until slightly darkened.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.  This is absolutely the best chocolate cupcake recipe I've made - it's adapted from a double chocolate layer cake, and it produces moist, extremely chocolaty cupcakes without any complicated steps.  They're great with frosting, and also delicious on their own.

Ingredients

100g high-quality dark chocolate (I use 70% Green & Blacks)
1.5 c hot brewed coffee
3 c sugar
2.5 c flour
1.5 c cocoa powder (not Dutch processed - Cadbury works well)
2 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder
1.25 t salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c vegetable oil
1.5 c buttermilk (make your own with 1 c milk + 1 T white vinegar, let stand for ~5 minutes)
1 t vanilla

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 180C.  Line cupcake tin with liners, or grease the wells with butter.
2) Finely chop the chocolate, and combine it with the hot coffee.  Stir until the chocolate is well melted.
3) Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt.
4) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy, then slowly add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and then the chocolate mixture.
5) Slowly add the sugar mixture and beat on medium until just combined.
6) Divide the batter into the cupcake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Ingredients

1 c flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 c oats

1 c shredded carrots

2/3 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c maple syrup or honey

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 t grated fresh ginger

Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease or line a pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Add the nuts and carrots.

2) In a smaller bowl, combine the maple syrup, oil, and ginger.

3) Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

4) Drop small balls, about 1 T, of dough onto the prepared pan, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Berry Crumble

This is take two on crumble recipes...it's got the same great crunchy texture as the "Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble", but it's got a guest appearance by oats and almonds. Adapted from 101 Cookbooks and Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

For the Crumble

2/3 c oats

3/4 c self-raising flour (if using all-purpose, add 3/4 t baking powder)

1/2 c sugar

1/2 t salt

3/4 c sliced or slivered almonds

6 T butter, melted

For the Berries

3-4 c fresh berries

1/2 c sugar (adjust as needed for whatever sweetness you want)

1 T corn starch

juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 190C. Combine dry crumble ingredients, then stir in the butter, and mix until well combined and texture resembles sand.

2) Mix berries, sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice.

3) Spread berry mixture in a 9x9 inch pan, and then sprinkle crumble (you may have to break it up in your hands) over mixture. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until crumble topping is golden brown but not burned.

"Everyday" Chocolate Cake

This is an easy chocolate cake, as the recipe name suggests. It is not as chocolatey as cakes that use melted bakers or bittersweet chocolate, but because it uses cocoa powder, it makes a good and quick substitute for more chocaholic versions. Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 c buttermilk (or yogurt)

1 t vanilla

1.5 c flour

3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder (for natural cocoa powder, omit baking powder and use 1/2 t baking soda)

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 325F, and prepare 9x5x3 inch loaf pan (or something comparably sized). In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, beat well, and then add buttermilk and vanilla.

2) Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder, then mix into wet ingredients. Combine until well-blended, but do not overmix.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

This is far and away the best crumble topping that I have ever found. It challenges the Moosewood Apple Krisp as my favorite easy-to-throw-together recipe. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen. This recipe can also be made with any fruits that you might have laying around - just remember to adjust the amount of sugar that you use in the fruit filling.

Ingredients

Topping

1 1/3 c flour

1 t baking powder

3 T sugar

3 T demerara or raw sugar

1 stick butter, melted

Fruit Filling

1.5 c rhubarb, chopped

~4 c strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

pinch of salt

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 375F. To prepare topping, mix flour, baking soda, and sugars, then combine with butter until the texture is like clumpy, wet sand.

2) Toss together fruit, cornstarch, salt, and sugar.

3) Spread fruit mixture evenly in a pyrex dish, then sprinkle with the topping. Bake until fruit is bubbling and topping is gold brown, 40-50 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

The Ultimate Fudgy Brownies

It's kind of surprising that you can make such delicious brownies with cocoa powder. I always though you had to use high-quality baker's chocolate. But I stand corrected. Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

10T butter

1 rounded cup sugar

3/4c + 2T cocoa powder

1/4t salt (if not using salted butter)

1t vanilla

2 large eggs

1/2c flour

your favorite chocolate bar, chopped into small pieces

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 325F. Melt butter, combine with eggs and sugar, then add vanilla.

2) Combine cocoa powder, salt, and flour.

3) Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in chopped chocolate.

4) Pour batter into a greased 8x8" pan. Bake brownies 20-25 minutes, until a knife or toothpick emerges slightly covered in batter. (This cooking time varies from oven to oven, so make sure to check your brownies often to make sure they are not overcooked.)

Fresh Blackberry Pie

This is a recipe for an improvised pie made from fresh blackberries hat I picked with some friends in a meadow near Oxford. I used the berries frozen, although I'm sure it would turn out well with fresh berries. This is a combination of several recipes - a butter crust pastry, a thick and sweet filling, and a crumbly oat topping. If I were going to make this again, I would follow Mark Bittman's recipe for pie crust.




Ingredients

Crust

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups flour, more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling

5-6 cups blackberries (depending on the size of the berry, use more for smaller berries)
1/3 to 1/2 sugar (depending on how sweet the berries are)
4 T lemon juice
1/4 flour

Topping

1/2 cup flour
2 T white sugar
2 T brown sugar
4 T butter, softened

Instructions

Crust

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch or similar-size baking dish; set aside. In a food processor, combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, the salt and 2 tablespoons sugar; pulse once or twice.
2) Add butter and turn on machine; process until butter and flour are blended and mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 15 to 20 seconds.
3) Slowly add 1/4 cup ice water through feed tube and process until just combined.
4) Form dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can refrigerate dough for up to a couple of days, or freeze it, tightly wrapped, for up to a couple of weeks.)

Pie

1) For the filling: Mix berries, sugar, lemon juice, and flour together in a bowl and set aside.
Note: If you want the "perfect" pie, thicken the mixture with a combination of 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (ground) and one peeled and grated apple. The combination will yield a filling that is neither gummy nor runny.
2) For the topping: Mix butter into flour and sugars.
3) Spread the pie dough into the butter pie dish. Fill with blackberry mixture, and sprinkle with topping. Back 20-30 minutes, until pie filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

Lemon Tart

From Cooks Illustrated. This is an impressive looking tart, but the best thing about it really is the lemon filling - the lemon zest makes it really zing. The filling is a lemon curd adapted for this tart. A few tips: Once the lemon curd ingredients have been combined, cook the curd immediately; otherwise it will have a grainy finished texture. To prevent the curd from acquiring a metallic taste, make absolutely sure that all utensils coming into contact with it--bowls, whisk, saucepan, and strainer--are made of non- reactive stainless steel or glass.


Ingredients

Tart Shell

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick, very cold), cut into twenty-four 3/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour for dusting

Lemon Curd

7 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice from 4 to 5 medium lemons
1/4 cup grated lemon zest
pinch table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Tart Shell

1) Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl; set aside. Pulse to combine 1 1/4 cups flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 25 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2) Unwrap dough; lightly flour large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place dough in center. Roll out dough and line tart pan. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, adjust one oven rack to upper-middle position and other rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chilled tart shell on cookie sheet; press 12-inch square of foil inside tart shell and fill with metal or ceramic pie weights. Bake on lower rack 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out. Transfer cookie sheet with tart shell to upper rack and continue to bake until shell is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Lemon Curd

1) Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place tart pan with shell on cookie sheet.
2) In medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together yolks and whole eggs until combined, about 5 seconds. Add sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium non-reactive saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until curd thickens to thin saucelike consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour curd through single-mesh stainless steel strainer set over clean non-reactive bowl. Stir in heavy cream; pour curd into warm tart shell immediately.
3) Bake until filling is shiny and opaque and until the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Remove outer metal ring, slide thin metal spatula between bottom crust and tart pan bottom to release, then slip tart onto cardboard round or serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Moist Banana Bread

From Cooks Illustrated. Many, many people have asked me for this recipe - when a common thing like banana bread stands out, you can tell it's a winner.


Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts , chopped coarse (about 1 cup)
3 very ripe bananas , soft, darkly speckled, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs , beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1) Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside.
2) Combine first five ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.
3) Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.
4) Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky.
5) Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.