Look at me....I'm a baker!

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I love to cook, but I don't bake.  I grew up thinking that you did one or the other.  My grandmere was an excellent cook, but she never baked.  Crepes Suzette the only thing that came close to baking for her (well, there is a batter involved).  I got my passion for cooking from her, along with my intuitive approach to it.  My Irish Grandma on the other hand was a wonderful baker:  cakes, muffins, breads, cupcakes.  I still dream about the hard sauce (frosting) that she used to make for her cupcakes.  But (sorry, Grandma) her cooking left a lot to be desired (literally... like something else to eat!).  In good Irish fashion, she boiled everything, often to the point where it was no longer clear what it had been in it's original form.  But man, could she bake!

My sister caught the baking gene, but doesn't have the same passion for cooking that I do.  I fell in love with cooking, and since you either do one or the other, I left baking to her and others like her.  Now I know there are people who can excel at both, but I have not attempted to be one.  Baking is too precise, too much of a science, no room for errror.  AND you don't know if you've been successful until it comes out of the oven; then what do you do if it doesn't turn out (great, now I have to go to Safeway!)?  It's not like with cooking; I can taste my food along the way and fix almost anything.

But I do wish I had a little more of the baking bug.  So when, Chef Maria, one of the instructors at Bauman began telling the class about the easiest baked dessert she ever made, my ears perked up. I was a little too busy prepping ingredients to pay attention, but I got the recipe and gave it a try.  And now, I'm officially successful! And she's right, it couldn't be easier.  Tell me "even a monkey" can make it, and I'm in!  I'm a monkey.

She got the recipe from a woman named Ms. Combash, and kindly passed it along.  Got to give credit where credit is due.  It's a delicious almond "torte", which I think is a bit of a misnomer, because tradtitionally tortes are multi-layered desserts filled with creams, mousses, or jams.  This is just a single layer cake, but in the torte tradition it's made with ground nuts, in this case, almond meal.  It's a moist, sweet, nutty plate of yum.

Since I always like to put my own spin on things, and bring in all the goodness that the season has to offer, I sauteed a pint of fresh blueberries in a little coconut oil for about 15 minutes until they released their sweet juices and created a perfect, naturally sweetened and syrupy (is that a word?) topping for the "torte."

This is defintely one I'll be playing more with (I already added lemon zest and a little salt and coated the pie pan with butter to give it a beautiful browning on the edges; I'm going to try hazelnut meal next time).  This will surely be my go-to dessert when I'm in a pinch.  If you're wondering just how good it is, here's what I was left with after my class tonight with 7 people; I barely had a nibble:

Almond Cake with Blueberry Sauce
Serves 8 (or maybe 2!)

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup maple syrup (I recommend grade B - it's cultivated later than grade A and therefore has more nutrients)
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 pint blueberries

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Mix almond meal, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, zest and salt in a large bowl until smooth.
• Grease pie plate (including sides) with butter and pour in the batter.
• Bake 20 minutes until firm and set through.
• While cake is baking, melt coconut oil in a medium saucepan and add blueberries.
• Cook over medium heat, sirring occassionally, for 15-20 minutes until juices release and a light syrup is created.
• Remove cake from oven and let cool slightly.  Pour blueberry sauce over the top, spreading to cover.

Yum it up!  And plan on seconds!