It's one of few restaurant desserts that can be made at home with foolproof results, even if you're not a star baker.
While writing this book, my family and I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had great fun exploring a new place and its cuisine. The inspiration for this recipe came late one night when sleep would not. In my mind, it seemed that rich pine nuts and spicy ground chiles would be a fantastic combination in a pound cake. I was right.
One year when I attempted a traditional Christmas cake, I did as required, at least to start off with. The requisite months before, I bought dried fruit, chopped and stirred and steeped the mixture in alcohol. When the time came to make the cake, I was so exhausted with seasonal demands I didn't have the energy left actually to make it. So now I have evolved an easier, process-leaner method. Well, when I say I have evolved it, this is no more than my take on an old boiled fruit cake.
Two kinds of chocolate, dark cocoa, intense vanilla and coffee, and a crunch of almond turn a fine chocolate cake into an opulent one.
Its tender, golden crumb makes this cake a good foundation for a sort of unstructured strawberry shortcake.
This recipe from master baker Norman Love of the Ritz-Carlton brings us this rich, dense pound cake that gets its tang from lemon peel. Easy to make, it's a delightful addition to the holiday buffet and also great for gift giving.
Crumbly but wonderfully moist, this cake has enough surprises of fruity chocolate, nuts and spice to set it far apart from ordinary Christmas fruit cakes. Taste it at its mellow best by baking the Pampepato a week or more before serving. One loaf could become a holiday house gift, while the other is kept for celebrating Christmas with the family.
Pepsi, peanut butter and miniature marshmallows -- what could be better?