Plum Recipe Throwdown: Red or Purple? You Choose for Plum Tatin Cake

September 27, 2010 in Desserts

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Ina Garten's Plum Tatin Cake with Purple Plums

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Ina Garten's Plum Tatin Cake with Red Plums

I love plums in early fall! I was craving plum desserts, so I decided to try Martha Stewart’s skillet plum cake. This turned out to be a 100 per cent, total disaster. The plums sank into the cake instead of floating on top like it showed in Martha’s picture, and the cake texture was tough and coarse like cornbread. Martha, if you’re reading this blog – and I hope that you are – take this recipe out of your repertoire! It is unworthy of you!

Undaunted, I hunted for another plum cake to try. A few weeks ago I was watching Ina Garten make her plum tatin cake. It looked so amazing, and I love Ina’s simple elegance. And, I have always loved the rich comforting taste of the slow-braised apples in a classic Tarte Tatin. Why not plums? BUT. Which plums to chose? I tried both red and purple, and the clear winner in Donna’s Test Kitchen weekly Sunday taste testing was: purple! They give the cake a richer taste and are prettier that the red plums.

This cake was a huge hit! It is easy, flavorful and so beautiful on a serving platter. You MUST try this for a fabulous ending to a fall feast!

Happy Monday to all you Meatless Monday fans!

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Another French Dessert Made Easy: Shortcut Individual Tart Tatin Recipe

January 21, 2010 in Desserts

Individual Shortcut Tart Tatins

Individual Shortcut Tart Tatins

Julia Child was not the only master of French Desserts – before Julia were the Tatin sisters. They created the now famous apple dessert recipe “Tart Tatin”  that has stumped many accomplished home cooks and even chefs for several generations now – including me!

I love this dessert so much, I decided to come up with a fool-proof version – perfect for your superbowl buffet or a special sweetheart dessert – this is your stress-free Valentine’s Day recipe!

I used three basic steps (I remember it by “CAP”): C) caramel in the bottom, A) apple slices next, then P) pastry on top. I used purchased frozen puff pastry here for convenience, or you can make this dish even more frugally by making up a batch of my Five Minute Puff Pastry!

If you are not an actual French pastry chef yourself, these little yummies will fool you – the taste is that close to the Real Deal!  And, instead of hours of frustration, usually involving tears and cursing, you will be singing and smiling because they are a snap to throw together! The apples have that same slow-braised taste and the crust stays crispy and delicious!

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