Tag Archives: cardamom recipes

Saffron Poached Pear Cakes

Posted on by February 12, 2015

These gorgeous little Saffron Poached Pear Cakes are the culmination of a lot of different ideas and inspirations. They started as a little inkling in the back of my mind when I was perusing cookbooks at Terrain last Christmas and came across Homemade Winter, by Yvette van Boven. The gorgeous photo of a pear cake on the cover stuck with me, even after I’d read the recipe and decided not to make it (white chocolate just isn’t my thing). Then, months later when paging through Jerusalem, I loved the recipe for Saffron Cardamom Poached Pears and was reminded of the image from Homemade. While the pears are absolutely a lovely dessert on their own, they also seemed perfect for sinking inside a moist, flavorful cake. I played around with different versions of cake that would work with but not overpower the strong yet subtle flavor of saffron and I think this cake strikes the perfect balance. The slightly floral aromatic qualities of the almond flour, orange zest and marmalade work well with the saffron and cardamom. There’s a lot going on, but it’s well balanced and the result is beautiful Saffron Poached Pear Cakes that are full of a golden … Continue reading →

Refrigerator Jam

Posted on by October 27, 2014

Refrigerator Jam is just another reason that I have serious love for the $1.00 fruit bin at my market this time of year. It’s full of all sorts of amazing fruit that doesn’t look perfect but is perfect for making sauces, jams, purees, etc. This week, I bought two huge bags of past their prime peaches and one box of almost perfect raspberries for $3.00. I then threw them in a pot with a little water and a little more sugar and they cooked down while I made dinner, ate dinner and watched a movie with Marc. Right before bed, the jam was ready. I stuck it in the fridge and didn’t even bother to preserve it. I trust us to eat the Refrigerator Jam before it goes bad. 3 pounds fruit that’s seen better days 1 cup sugar ¼ cup water (omit if the peaches are so juicy that there’s liquid in the bottom of the pot) 1+ tablespoons lemon juice seeds from 4 cardamom pods Rinse the fruit and remove the stones. Cut away any parts of the fruit that are molding. Keep the bruises and the skins. There’s nothing wrong with those parts for a rustic fruity jam. … Continue reading →

Cardamom Panna Cotta with Berries

Posted on by February 12, 2015

This week, the local strawberries came to market in Philly, and that meant I wanted to buy them all, and not simply to make Cardamom Panna Cotta with Berries. I love these very special little berries that taste how all strawberries should taste. I think about these berries all year long, and then when the season hits, it’s on! I think of as many ways to eat them as possible aside from eating them on their own by the pint for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This Cardamom Panna Cotta with Berries came about as a perfect dessert to pair with my prized strawberries. Marc said, “Will you make dessert?” and the next thing I knew, we were enjoying Cardamom Panna Cotta with Berries. Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite that simple, but I knew I wanted something to enhance, but not distract from the special fruits. The tiny local strawberries were so beautiful and flavorful and definitely worth a special effort to showcase them. I had some leftover goat yogurt hanging around that needed to be used up. Once I decided to add cardamom- my favorite spice- rose water syrup begged to join the party. This dessert is really quick and … Continue reading →