In a season when gluttony prevails, there is nothing like a light and citrusy dessert to cut through all the richness. This dessert is actually inspired by a similar one I had at L’Artusi a year ago and it was surprisingly delicious end to a large meal. And while the idea of an olive oil based dessert may seem strange, in reality it gives a delicate flavor perfectly suited to a citrus or herb pairing (think sage or basil).
Butter a medium cake pan and preheat your oven to 350 F.
Mix the sugar and eggs together until frothy. Pour in the olive oil and vanilla slowly and keep mixing until smooth.
Add the zest and orange juice to the batter and combine.
Sift together the dry ingredients then slowly mix them into the batter (don’t over mix).
Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake until brown and a stick in the center of the cake comes out clean (about 30 minutes).
Let the cake cool then dust with powdered sugar and any additional orange zest. Serve alone or with a drizzle of orange liqueur or even some warmed berry jam. Enjoy!
Cardamom may very well be my favorite spice. Often used in eastern cuisine, it has a rich, warm flavor and is related to ginger. It is grown in pods and boasts many health benefits including improving digestion, lowering cholesterol and curing the hiccups (it’s an anti-spasmodic!).
You typically see cardamom sold ground, but when Merit Trade sent me some of their beautiful whole, green cardamom pods, I was really excited to use it in its original form.
Merit Trade’s Colombian Cardamom
When I first came to New York City, I was friends with a group of Colombians and they introduced me to cardamom coffee (cafe cardamomo), which is coffee with cardamom infused milk. It’s like your normal coffee took on a beautiful earthy spice to it and I was immediately hooked. I figured this would be the perfect way to use my Colombian cardamom! This recipe is for the cardamom coffee but you could really add the cardamom-infused milk to many things (coffee, tea, etc).
I am happy to be giving away two bags of Merit Trade’s Colombian Cardamom to two random readers! To enter simply comment on this post with your favorite way to use cardamom or how you would use it. I will select two winners at random on Sunday, November 24th (I can only ship to folks in the US, sorry international friends!). Please make sure I have a way to get in touch with you – either a link to your blog or email.
Take your coffee to the next level with cardamom infused milk. Earthy, deep and complex - your coffee will never smell the same!
Ingredients
Milk
1 cardamom pod or a pinch of ground cardamom per cup of coffee
Coffee (anything works - French press, drip, instant)
Sugar (if desired)
Instructions
Start by beginning to prepare your coffee in your preferred method.
Take a cardamom pod and crack it open. I used the back of a wooden spoon to give it a 'smack'.
Remove the seeds from the pod (it should smell amazing) and give them a light smush. This will encourage the flavor to come out.
Drop the cardamom seeds into a small sauce pot with some milk (I use about ⅓ cup of 1% cows milk). Simmer for about 5 minutes to let the flavors infuse.
Pour the milk into your coffee mug through a strainer, then add the coffee and sugar to it. Enjoy!
These are the easiest cookies I’ve ever made, and yet the most addictive – a dangerous combination. With a super simple ingredient list, the magic happens when you coat the dough balls in a lot of brown sugar so they caramelize underneath and get this amazing rich crunchy flavor.
Mix the butter, 1.5 cups of sugar and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the egg and the vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix until smooth.
Fill a small bowl with the remaining brown sugar. Take golf ball sized scoops of the dough, and with your hands form them into a sphere.
Coat the dough balls with a generous amount of brown sugar, then place on a lined baking sheet.
Put the cookies in the oven and bake until the tops are cracked and the edges are caramel colored (about 10-12 minutes). For best results rotate the cookies half way through baking. Cool and enjoy!
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