½ cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
4 cups of flour
½ cup sugar
1 jar raspberry jam
Directions:
Mix the yeast into the warm water and let rise for 10 minutes. While that’s rising, melt the butter in the milk. Sift the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast, milk, and butter to the flour mix and knead until it doesn’t stick to the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 15 minutes. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Divide dough into two balls. Pat into the cake pans. Prick with a fork, cover with the kitchen towel, and let rise for 15 minutes. Drizzle with raspberry jam and bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. If desired, glaze with vanilla frosting (recipe below) as soon as you remove from the oven. Allow to cool before serving. Slice and enjoy!
Frosting:
1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup milk
Directions:
Whip butter, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until blended. Drizzle over warm Danish.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped to ½ inch dice
1½ cups chicken stock
2 precooked chicken breasts, chopped
2 ears of fresh corn, shucked and kernels stripped, or 1 (11 oz.) box of frozen corn
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
½ bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons cream
1 box angel hair pasta, cooked al dente
Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat in a large frying pan. Sauté onions for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add tomatoes and sauté for 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil. When boiling, add chopped chicken and corn. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until ready to serve. Just before serving mix cornstarch and water in a separate container. Add to sauce to thicken. Stir in cilantro and cream. Serve over angel hair pasta. Delicious served hot or cold.
Ingredients:
10–12 whole figs
1 package of thick-cut bacon
1 12 oz. container of goat cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
A healthy shake of salt and pepper
Directions:
Wash and slice figs in half. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper together. Drizzle sauce over figs. Top with a spoonful of goat cheese. Wrap a slice (or two if you have large figs) of bacon around the fig halves. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 cups whole milk
1 cup of granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 whole vanilla bean
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
Freshly grated nutmeg and ground cinnamon
Directions:
Pour milk in a saucepan and place the cinnamon stick in the pan, heat on low, stirring occasionally. Separate eggs. Save whites in bowl for later. Whisk egg yolks with sugar and add cornstarch. Remove the cinnamon stick from the warm milk. Add the egg mixture to the warm milk and heat until it boils and thickens, stirring frequently. Slice vanilla bean, add seeds to the mixture, and add the teaspoon of Mexican vanilla. Remove from heat. In a large bowl beat egg whites until stiff and fluffy. Fold these into the mixture. Chill in parfait glasses. Garnish with fresh nutmeg and ground cinnamon.
* Carlos places a day-old biscuit in the bottom of his parfait glass before filling it with the pudding. The biscuit will absorb moisture as the custard chills. He calls this Spanish trifle.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
1 cup ground hazelnuts (plus 10–15 whole hazelnuts for garnish)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Separate eggs. Save egg yolks for later. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until they form soft peaks then add sugar and beat to stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until they turn pale yellow. Add almond extract, ground nuts, and flour. Fold egg whites into yolk mixture. Pour into springform pan or two 9-inch round pans. Bake at 350 degrees until set, 25–30 minutes. Allow to cool and slice cakes horizontally into four or six layers. Reserve the best layer for the top of the cake.
Mocha Buttercream Frosting:
3 sticks of butter
1 teaspoon instant coffee
2 eggs
1 pound confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
Apricot jam or preserves
Hazelnuts for garnish
Directions:
Beat eggs and coffee in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium-low heat until well mixed. Then stir in sugar, stirring continually. Heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat, add chocolate and butter while still warm. Cool frosting to room temperature before assembling torte.
Assemble by frosting each layer and then frost the sides. Leave an extra lip around the top layer or pipe an edge around it. Do not frost top layer. Strain apricot jam or preserves through a sieve. Spread jam on top layer. Garnish ring edge of top layer with whole hazelnuts.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup sugar
½ cup dry white wine
1 lemon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups of fresh peaches, sliced and peeled
1 package frozen puff pastry dough
Egg white
Sugar in the raw
Directions:
Remove pastry dough from freezer. Jules likes to thaw hers by resting it near the stove while working on the filling. Peel and slice peaches. Warm butter in a skillet on low heat. Add wine, sugar, spices, and peaches. Grate lemon rind and squeeze juice into the mixture. Allow to simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes. Once pastry dough is thawed, roll out both sheets and cut into four squares. Scoop peaches onto one square. Then, fold another square on the top, pinching the corners. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar in the raw. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
* If your peach sauce is too runny, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water and add to the sauce to help thicken.
Ingredients:
1 egg
⅓ cup olive oil
⅔ cup heavy cream
1½ cups tapioca flour
½ cup grated farmer’s cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Add flour first, followed by remaining ingredients, to a blender and blend on low speed until the mixture is thin and creamy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tray. Fill muffin tins with batter and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the muffins puff up.
Jules likes to add a variety of fillings to these muffins. Try some of her favorite combinations by pressing into the center of the batter before baking: jalapeños, black olives and cheddar cheese, rosemary and garlic, and goat cheese and sundried tomatoes.
Andy’s fiery creation was a hit in Ashland with tourists and townsfolk alike.
Ingredients:
Good quality espresso (Jules and Mom serve Stumptown at Torte)
2 % milk
2 tablespoons dark chocolate sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
Directions:
Prepare espresso and steam milk. Once milk is steamed add chocolate sauce and mix together. Pour over espresso. Add pepper and chili powder and stir together. Top with whipped cream and shaved dark chocolate.
Read on for an excerpt of the next installment in the Bakeshop Mystery Series
A Batter of Life and Death
Available in July 2015 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks!
They say that time heals a broken heart. I’ve noticed that no one mentions exactly how
much
time it takes, though. A week? A month? A year? Having a solid number might have made me feel better, since my heart was mending slowly.
While I waited for the heartache to subside, I busied myself with building a new life in my sweet hometown of Ashland, Oregon. The summer breezed by in a whirlwind of activity. Ashland is home to the world-famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a playground for outdoor enthusiasts with sunny mountains and rivers. During the summer months, our little town bursts at the seams with tourists, actors, playwrights, backpackers, and whitewater guides. Torte, our family bakeshop, sits right in the middle of downtown.
But Torte still needed updating and a serious influx of cash. The steady throng of tourists in and out the front door this summer had helped. We’d been so slammed for the last few months that I was actually looking forward to the off-season so we that we could spend some time mapping out a long-term plan for Torte’s future.
That’s what we’ll focus on today
, I thought as I laced up my tennis shoes and grabbed a jacket off the hook hanging by my front door. The October sun greeted me as I headed down the stairs from my apartment and out onto the main square. Downtown Ashland is like a little village with a collection of shops, restaurants and the famed OSF theater complex an easy walk up the hill. Lithia Park, the jewel of town, flanks one end of the downtown. Its meandering pathways, ancient trees, and natural streams make it one of my favorite places on the planet.
I smiled and waved as I passed Elevation’s front door. My apartment is above the outdoor store and I’ve gotten to know the owners. They keep promising to take me climbing once things slow down. From the look of the store this morning, climbing would have to wait. A group of tourists were bunched near the front of the store, waiting for a turn on the indoor climbing wall.
Sulfur fountains bubbled in the square. Visitors drink the fizzy mineral water, pumped in from Lithia Springs, for good health and good luck. I stopped and watched as a teenager, eager to impress two young girls, drank in a mouthful of the water and then quickly proceeded to spit it out all over himself. It’s definitely an acquired taste.
I continued on toward Torte. Its bright red and teal awning swayed in the slight midday breeze. Flower boxes with clematis cascading down the side hung below the windows. I greeted customers enjoying their pastries at the bistro tables on the sidewalk, and checked to make sure their coffee was fresh before heading inside.
Usually I arrive at the bakeshop much, much earlier than this, but last night I had stayed late to have dinner with a TV producer in town from California. Mom told me to sleep in. Things were starting to slow down as we eased into the off-season.
I felt surprisingly excited to share my news from last night’s dinner with everyone. As I swung open the front door, the familiar smell of rising yeast and espresso made me pause and take in a deep breath. Torte is the kind of place that lifts your mood. The space is inviting with corrugated metal siding, royal teal and red accent colors, and concrete floors. A giant chalkboard menu with rotating daily specials fills the far wall. Each table and the booths along the windows had been polished and held bright fall bouquets. A preschooler noshed on a cookie the size of his head while he scribbled on the bottom of the chalkboard—a space Mom reserves exclusively for our youngest customers. In the far corner, a writer tapped on her laptop while downing a latte. Tourists ogled the glass pastry cases at the front counter.
Yep, this is the place for me
, I thought as I snagged an apron with our Torte logo from the wall and wrapped it around my waist.
I passed the chalkboard on my way to the open kitchen in the back. It read:
THEY ARE ALL BUT STOMACHS, AND WE ARE ALL BUT FOOD.
“Nice quote, Mom.” I walked up behind her and pinched her on the waist.
She jumped, sending flour flying in the air. “Jules! You startled me.”
“You need hearing aids, Mom.”
“I’m much too young for hearing aids, honey.” She brushed flour from her apron and studied me. “You look refreshed. How was the dinner?”
I glanced toward the front of the shop where Andy, our resident coffee geek and college student, stood at the espresso machine, pulling shots. His boyish good looks and easygoing attitude charmed a customer waiting for her drinks. Quite an impressive feat. I’ve found that people tend to be chatty and polite
after
they’ve consumed a cup of our delicious brew, but Andy has mastered the art of coffee talk. He’d also mastered coffee art. I watched as he poured the shot into a mug and designed a foam leaf on top.
Sterling manned the cash register and pastry case. Andy’s signature concoctions have become legendary around town and with tourists, who keep coming back to Torte for more. Lately, he’s been experimenting with fall flavors—amaretto, caramel, and an organic pumpkin pie latte made with real pumpkin puree.
Mom flicked me with a dish towel. “Jules, you with me? How was dinner?”
I returned my attention to her. “Sorry. It was good. Really good. I want to tell everyone about it, though. How about if we try to call a team meeting once this mid-morning rush dies down?”
Mom brushed a tray of pies with an egg wash and sprinkled the crusts with crystalized sugar. “You want to throw these in the oven?”
I took the tray of pies and opened the oven door. We used to have two industrial ovens, but one had been on the fritz since July. We’d been getting by with one, but Mom and I were pinching pennies to upgrade. If we were going to take Torte to the next level, it was going to cost a chunk of cash.
Autumn aromas permeated the bakeshop. Mom chopped apples and pears for individual fruit crisps that we’d serve warm in ramekins with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Stephanie mixed snicker doodle cookie dough.