Anchovy Crackers with Habanero Honey and Goat Cheese

Savory crackers lightly flavored with anchovy, spicy-sweet honey and creamy goat cheese - perfect with before dinner drinks!

For the anchovy crackers:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, chilled

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

6-8 anchovies in oil, drained

1 tsp ground black pepper

Oven at 400 degrees.  Grease a baking sheet or two.  Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until it comes together into dough.  Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about twenty minutes.  Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutter, or into squares/wedges with a knife.  Place on greased baking sheets, and put in oven for 6-8 minutes, or longer, until golden around the edges.  

For the habanero honey:
1-2 habanero peppers
1 cup honey

Heat honey in a small saucepan until warm and liquid-y.  Meanwhile slice habanero pepper(s) into quarters, removing stem, and seeds if you want, I leave the seeds in.  Add as many quarters to the honey as you would like.  Eight quarters in very very very very spicy!  I only recommend it if you are sure you like spicy food, very spicy food.  I use three quarters. And it is plenty spicy for my taste. Leave the pepper quarters in the honey for a bit, the longer you leave them in the spicier it gets.  Stir and taste often.  When it is spiced enough for your liking, strain the peppers and seeds out.  Let it get to room temperature and thicken up.

To serve:


Arrange the crackers on a platter, alongside the honey and some goat cheese.  I rolled a goat cheese log in fresh cut chives, which was nice.  Habanero honey is good on lots of things - I like it in tea and on peanut butter sandwiches, but try in in place of honey anywhere you see fit!

Lime Cupcakes with Chile-Mango Buttercream

A yummy summer treat, cool lime cupcakes topped with a sweet and spicy buttercream, perfect with iced black tea.

For the cupcakes:

4 egg whites

4 egg yolks

2 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup lime juice

Oven at 350 degrees.  Muffin tins lined or greased and floured.  With a mixer beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.  Cream the butter and slowly add in the sugar.  While the butter and sugar are getting fluffy, sift flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.  Once the butter mixture is light, add egg yolks one at a time, beating well between additions.  Add vanilla extract to butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Add lime juice to the milk.  Using a spoon or spatula, add the flour alternating with the milk, about three additions of each.  Fold in the reserved egg whites.  Fill mini muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Bake.  Mine took about 19-21 minutes if I only had one pan in the oven at a time.  Test them often.  Cool before removing from pan.

For the buttercream:

1 cup butter, unsalted, softened

4+ cups powdered sugar

1/2 - 1 cup pureed mango

chile powder to taste

Cream the butter until fluffy, add about 1/2 cup pureed mango, beat until smooth.  Add powdered sugar gradually until you've added 3-4 cups, then add more pureed mango and the chile powder.  Add more powdered sugar until you reach a consistency you like.  If it is too thick, add some milk.  Done!

Assembly:

Frost cupcakes.  I garnished mine with lime zest and a green fondant rose.  Yay!