Taking Your Baking Up a Notch with Dorie Greenspan

One of the loveliest things about Dorie Greenspan as a cookbook author/food writer is that she’s very chatty and encouraging and gives detailed explanations that are sufficiently fun to read that you don’t skip over them. Learning should always be this easy.

This wonderfully conversational food coach will be featured in a Zoom conversation hosted by the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 4 p.m. She will be chatting with another famous foodie, Priscilla Martel; mostly they will be talking about Greenspan’s new (and 14th) book, “Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple.”

If you want to give Greenspan a test drive before the Zoom, we have two recipes from the cookbook here on our website, below.

A caramel-apple crisp, it will give you an excuse to the go a farmstand near you and buy some of the apple bounty that our region is offering right now. It’s also a more sophisticated and surprising version of something we all love (apple crisp), that’s a little less sweet, a little more complex and less “white,” with whole wheat flour and old-fashioned rolled oats.

To register for the Zoom talk, go to www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org/event/baking.

These two recipes are Excerpted from “BAKING WITH DORIE: Sweet, Salty, & Simple” © 2021 by Dorie Greenspan. Photography © 2021 by Mark Weinberg. Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Caramel-Apple Crisp

Makes 6 to 8 servings

WHEN YOU BAKE APPLES with caramel sauce, you get a juicy mixture—juicier than a traditional apple pie filling, because there are no thickeners. You also get one that’s less sweet— “burning” the sugar to caramelize it gives it pleasantly bitter undertones. These are the characteristics that make this filling a good match for a topping that’s sweet, earthy and crunchy. It’s a topping that began life as streusel and ended by welcoming whole wheat flour (the earthy element) and oatmeal. You can swap the apples for pears or make this with quinces or, better yet, a combination of quinces, apples and/or pears. While you’re fiddling, think about adding toasted nuts (walnuts or pecans) to the mix.

FOR THE TOPPING

½ cup (68 grams) all-purpose flour

¼ cup (34 grams) whole wheat flour

¼ cup (50 grams) packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons; 4 ounces; 113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup (40 grams) oats (not instant)

FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

¾ (180 ml) heavy cream, warmed or at room temperature

½ teaspoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

About 2½ pounds (a generous kilo) apples (4 or 5 large), peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks

Ice cream for serving (optional)

A WORD ON THE APPLES: Just about any apple can be used except McIntosh, which would get too soft. I like to use an assortment. For example, think about a mix of Fuji, Gala and Golden Delicious, and maybe throw in a Granny Smith. If you’d like, leave the peel on some of the apples.

AND A WORD ABOUT WORKING AHEAD: You can make the caramel sauce and topping well in advance. Even better, you can assemble the crisp, slide it into the freezer and wait for it to freeze solid, then cover it tightly and store it there for up to 2 months. Let it sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven. It may need a few more minutes in the oven.

TO MAKE THE TOPPING: Whisk both flours, both sugars, the cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Drop in the pieces of butter and press, mash and schmoosh the ingredients together until you’ve got moist clumps that hold together when pressed. Sprinkle over the vanilla, then add the oats and use a flexible spatula—or your hands—to mix them in. (Alternatively, you can do this in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment—after the mixture comes together, break it into clumps with your fingers.) Cover the bowl and refrigerate the topping for at least 1 hour, or freeze it while you make the caramel sauce and prepare the apples. (The topping can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.)

TO MAKE THE CARAMEL SAUCE: Pour the sugar, water and corn syrup into a medium heavybottomed saucepan, put the pan over medium-high heat and cook without stirring. Once the sugar melts and starts coloring, swirl the pan. Then cook until the caramel, which will boil and may even smoke, turns a medium amber color. You can check the color by dropping some on a white plate. As the caramel cooks, it might spatter onto the sides of the pan—wash down the spatters with a silicone pastry brush dipped in cold water.

Turn off the heat, stand back and add the cream, salt and butter. The mixture will sputter dramatically, but it will quickly calm down, and when it does, stir it until it is smooth and creamy. If, as you’re stirring, you feel as though there are lumps (or something not melted at the bottom of the pan), return the pan to medium heat and stir for another minute or two to smooth things out. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the sauce into a heatproof bowl or container and cover when cool. (The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. Reheat gently, thinning with a little cream if necessary before using.)

TO PREPARE THE APPLES AND ASSEMBLE THE CRISP: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat—you’ll need the liner to catch drips. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan.

Put the apple chunks in a large bowl and pour over ⅔ cup of the caramel sauce. (You’ll have caramel sauce left over; save it for another use.) Turn the apples around until they’re evenly coated with sauce and then scrape them into the pie pan, mounding them in the center.

Cover the apples with the topping, pinching off pieces as you drop them on top of the fruit—the topping may look precarious, but once it’s in the oven, the heat will secure the clumps. (The assembled crisp can be frozen for up to 2 months; see headnote.)

Bake the crisp for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. (Check it after 30 minutes, and if it looks as though it’s browning too quickly, tent it loosely with parchment or foil.) The bubbling’s important—when the juices are bubbling in the center, you know the crisp is done. Transfer to a rack and let the crisp sit until it’s just warm or has come to room temperature before serving.

If you’re serving a scoop of ice cream with each portion of crisp, think about drizzling a little of the leftover caramel sauce over it.

STORING: Like pie, this is best the day it’s made. If you’ve got leftovers, cover, refrigerate and serve them cold the next day.

Mocha-Walnut Torte

Makes 10 to 12 servings

This is the kind of cake served in Italian caffès, French bistros and Austrian coffeehouses. You can find renditions of it, usually made with almonds, around the Mediterranean and on Passover tables all over the world (there’s no leavening, so it’s perfect for the holiday). It’s a simple, unfussy and unfussed over cake, a slim torte made with just three ingredients: eggs, sugar and nuts (there’s no wheat, so it’s gluten-free). Here I use walnuts, which have a pleasantly bitter side to them. Playing to the nuts’ strengths, I’ve included a few other flavorful ingredients—most important, chocolate and ground coffee (preferably espresso), as well as a touch of cinnamon and vanilla.

The cake is an excellent keeper and, because it’s sturdy, a good traveler—make it for a friend or take it to a potluck. It’s good plain and good with whipped cream or crème fraîche. And if you want to dress it up, it takes nicely to a drizzle of chocolate ganache.

FOR THE CAKE

1½ cups (200 grams) walnuts (whole or pieces)

1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons ground coffee, preferably espresso

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ recipe Chocolate Ganache (page 363) for finishing (optional)

Toasted walnuts for sprinkling (optional)

Whipped cream, crème fraîche and/ or confectioners’ sugar for serving (optional)

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- or 9.-inch springform pan, or use baker’s spray. Line the bottom with parchment and butter or spray the parchment, then dust the pan with cocoa powder. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat.

Put the nuts, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the chocolate, coffee and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl often and taking care that you don’t process for so long that the walnuts become a paste and the chocolate melts. You want to end up with a bread-crumb–like mixture—it’s better to have some discernible morsels than to overdo it. Set aside.

Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a large bowl and the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl that you can use with a hand mixer.

Working with a whisk, beat the yolks until they’re homogeneous. Gradually whisk in ¾ cup (150 grams) of the sugar and then beat for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is pale and your whisk leaves tracks. Beat in the vanilla. Switch to a flexible spatula and stir in the walnut mixture.

Add the salt to the whites. Attach the bowl to the mixer stand, if using, and fit it with the whisk attachment. Beat the whites until they are foamy, opaque and just a bit thick. Beat in the remaining ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar, adding it a tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar is in, the whites should be thick and glossy—lift the beater(s), and the meringue should hold a pretty peak.

Using a flexible spatula, scoop out about a quarter of the meringue and add it to the bowl with the egg yolk mixture. Stir everything together energetically so that the whites lighten the thick mixture. Scrape the rest of the meringue into the bowl and, being gentle, stir and fold it in. Without overdoing it, you want to get as much of the meringue into the nut mixture as quickly as possible. If there are a few white streaks, it’s fine (better to have streaks than to knock all the air out of the meringue). Scrape the batter into the pan, swiveling the pan from side to side to settle the batter evenly.

Bake for 43 to 48 minutes, or until the cake feels firm to the touch and has risen. The rise might be higher around the edges, but the middle should lift too; a tester inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then run a table knife between the cake and the sides of the pan to release the cake; remove the sides of the springform and allow the cake to cool to room temperature on the rack.

When the cake is cool, invert it, remove the base of the pan and the parchment and turn the cake right side up onto the rack. If you want to glaze the cake, now’s the time. Put a piece of foil or other dripcatcher under the rack, pour the ganache over the cake and use an offset spatula or knife to smooth it over the top. Alternatively, you can drizzle the ganache over the cake. And if you’re using toasted walnuts, sprinkle them over the glaze while it’s still warm. Refrigerate the cake until chilled, wrapping it well once it’s cold.

The cake is good at room temperature, but I prefer it straight from the fridge. It also cuts better when it’s cold. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche or, if you prefer, dust the top with confectioners’ sugar. Or don’t—it’s fine just the way it is.

STORING: Wrapped well, the cake will keep for about a week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer; thaw in the wrapper.

Caramel-Apple Crisp Photo by Mark Weinberg

Mocha-Walnut Torte Photo by Mark Weinberg

Caramel-Apple Crisp Photo by Mark Weinberg