This week marks the second anniversary of Tuesdays with Dorie, the awesome blogger baking group that is baking it’s way through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking…From My Home to Yours. To celebrate the occasion Laurie, the founder of the group, let the bloggers decide which recipe to make and chose a second one as another option.
I made the Tarte Tatin for the non-chocolate dessert option at my supposed-to-be-vegetarian Christmas Eve dinner. Darn, those parents! Anyway, the tarte was easy to make and used simple ingredients. You caramelize apples in a pan and then cover the apples with puff pastry (what I used) or tart dough and bake it in the oven. Once done, you flip it and the apples are on top. And, YAY!, all my apples behaved.
I, of course, served it with homemade ice cream. I made the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert. See the flecks! Love it.
I really liked the Tarte Tatin. It wasn’t too sweet and it was light and flaky. I’ll definitely make it again, maybe using different fruits.
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I made the Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake for Olivia’s first birthday party. Olivia is my best friend’s daughter. I made it for the sole purpose of destruction. I made half the recipe and baked it in three 4-inch round pans. I froze two of the little cakes and split the third to make layers. The cake was a big success with Olivia. See the photo montage below.
Thank you so much to Laurie for starting Tuesdays with Dorie 2 years ago. It’s been so much fun and I’ve met and have become friends with so many new people since I joined. If you would like the recipes for both, please buy the book or visit Laurie’s blog.
Pink Stripes 
Ciao ! I love all your doings, I bet the baby was the happiest !!
Your tarte and cake look wonderful. I made the Tarte and found it to be delicious! And not as hard as I thought it would be.
Aww, 1st birthdays are the best! Soooo cute. Im glad both recipes worked for you. They both look perfect. Thanks so much for baking along with me! xo
Great looking tarte tatin! And successful flipping. Congratulations!
Your daughter is adorable with all the chocolate all over her face! So cute.
Happy 2 years! Love the photos, too cute!
Ooh, your first photo of the tatin looks de-lish. I couldn’t get a nice picture of mine!
And I LOVE the photos of the kidlet enjoying the cake!
Having a giveaway on my blog today!
awwwww what a cuuuuuute babyy!
Way to go you! you made both! I only managed to squeek out the tarte. and boy am i glad that i did 🙂 haven’t posted it yet. but it’ll be up today.
cross your fingers for me 🙂
It all sound so good, but that ice cream is what really caught my eye- Those ample vanilla bean specks! I can practically taste it now..!
Love that tarte tatin! Perfect with the ice cream. Delish!
Your tarte tatin turned out perfect! And little Olivia loves her cake! – mary
Olivia is absolutely adorable! The tarte tartin looks perfect, almost as perfect as that scoop of homemade vanilla ice-cream 😀
Love the tarte and the pictures of Olivia smashing up the cake 🙂
Awwwh! It looks like she really loved that cake.
I made the tarte, it was wonderful.
Look at how cute little Olivia is! It looks like she enjoys that cake! Both of them look amazing – your tarte tatin is absolute perfection!
Your tarte looks EXACTLY like Dories! Beautiful! I will definately be using puff pastry next time!
looks like both were a hit! Great job- I love the pic of the tarte with the ice cream!
nice job with both desserts! i love baking special cakes for first bdays–i made the cake for my best friend’s daughter too:)
Two great looking desserts honoring 2 years of TWD! I need to get a cast iron, or at least oven safe pan so I can make the tarte tatin.
love the cake destruction pictures! 1st b-days are the best and how nice of you to provide the cake.
Your tarte tatin looks fantastic too. very pretty
Both look lovely! Adorable photos!
First b-day are the cutest! I wish I could devour the cake like that and get away with it…
1st birthdays are the cutest. Love all the pictures.
Your tarte tatin is beautiful and I’m sure it was extra-delicious with the ice cream. And the cake looks like it got rave reviews. How cute!
Smash cakes are so fun for the birthday babes! Your tarte looks wonderful and so does the ice cream. I received an ice cream maker for Christmas…may have to try that recipe. Did the offensive ham leave the premises? 🙂
Happy TWD Anniversary to us all! Lucky birthday girl..>I hear once you go Dorie, you can’t go back!
There are plenty of cultures that have exited/exist where men modify and adorn their bodies, often more than women. Before the fundies chime in, we can see how well Western masculinity works in the news every day. It’s not a freak flag you should wave, you are just human :)And you have beautiful nails!-An angpooholrtist
Wow, you made both as well as ice cream?? You are a superstar 🙂 They both look amazing and it appears that little Olivia was a huge fan of the cake!
Yup, the chocolate cake was a hit! Your tarte tatin looks perfect, too. I loved the photos of Olivia (but Diego still has my heart!)
Glad these both turned out so well. Love the smash cake for Olivia (Happy Birthday!) and the ice cream with the tarte. Yum!
I made the Tarte Tatin and loved it, though I really wished I had had vanilla ice cream with it! I’ll definitely have to try the recipe you made, I love everything I’ve ever made from Pure Dessert. The cake is adorable and looks delicious, I hope to make it sometime soon!
Aww – such a cutie! Bet she loved her own special cake.
I really wish I had made the tart instead of the cake – I haven’t seen one negative comment so far.
I never had the nerve to give my babies a whole cake on their birthdays, but a 4″ one makes for a perfect baby celebration! Love the way both of your desserts turned out. And how did the Medrich vanilla ice cream measure up to other vanilla ice creams you’ve churned?
My second night, I got my act together and served this tarte tatin with homemade ice cream. So good! Yours looks gorgeous.
yum yum–they both look so good! i would totally pull an olivia and shove that cake in my face, too! 🙂
Double success! It’s nice to be back to TWD to see what people are baking.
Those pictures of Olivia and her little cake are too precious! Your tarte tatin looks amazing too, especially with ice cream!
Great job on both!! Your tarte looks AMAZING! I loved this tarte so much! And that cake for Olivia is perfect!!! What a cutie! Happy New Year!
The tarte tatin looks divine but it’s sweet Olivia that steals the show!
~ingrid
Both the tarte and the cake are beautiful. But not as beautiful as that little cutie on her 1st BD.
I always made my little ones their own little cakes for the first couple of years. I knew most of it would end up on their outsides, not their insides.
Beautiful job on both! And so sweet that you made her 1st birthday cake.
What a good friend you are. =) The cake looks like it was very well received. And the tarte looks delicious, too. You can’t go wrong with vanilla bean ice cream.
Perfect, perfect, both of them. Cute little photos of Olivia. Who started this tradition of kids destroying cakes at age 1??? I am always amazed by this tradition, like who did it and why do we keep passing it on? Very strange, but she looks like she had a great time doing it. When they do it at 17 it’s probably not that cute. Not that I would know as mine have not done it, but just saying…