Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker

Bring your pie skills!

2012-01-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

At the St. Paul's Parish in Cambridge, Mass!

Consider Bardwell Goat Cheese Cheesecake!

2012-01-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

For more video demos, check out www.gesine.com's video section.

Holiday Treat-a-palooza Round-Up

2011-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

This isn't an exhaustive list of the holiday offerings here but a nice collection

to get you playing.

Mandelkränzchen

Drunken Figgy Pudding Log

Rugelach

Minty Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Cookies

Nutella Chevre Brownies

Carrot Cake

Starry Starry Nights

http://confectionsofamasterbaker.blogspot.com/2011/12/deck-halls-with-wreaths-of-almond-yum.html

Merry. Jolly. Happy. Gingerbread.

2011-12-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

Merry. Jolly. Happy.

Gingerbread

(makes about 30 letter cookies and 2 large snowflakes)

For the cookies:

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup organic barley malt syrup

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (peel a nub of fresh ginger and use a microplaner to grate)

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

PROCEDURE

•Preheat oven to 350º

•In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, white pepper, salt, nutmeg and chives. Set aside.

•In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and barley malt syrup until light and fluffy.

•Add egg, continue to beat until completely incorporated. Add vanilla.

•Slowly add dry ingredients, fresh ginger and orange zest. Mix until just combined.

•Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

•Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick. Stamp out letters and place on a parchment lined sheetpan.

•Place sheetpan with letters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges.

•While the cookies are still hot, poke a hole into the tops of the letters with a skewer, large enough that a string can fit through. Allow to cool completely.

For the royal icing:

INGREDIENTS

1 egg white

confectioners sugar

PROCEDURE

•In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment (*see note*), add egg white and 1 cup of confectioners sugar. Beat until smooth. Raise the paddle head to check the consistency of the icing. If it drips from the paddle, slowly add more confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until the icing is thick, smooth and doesn't drip from the paddle.

•Immediately transfer the icing to a pastry bag fit with a small open tip. Decorate letters as you see fit. Allow the icing to crust over and harden completely before hanging.

*NOTE: Do use a mixer and paddle attachment. This insures that the icing is totally smooth and any clumps of confectioner's sugar are eradicated. Otherwise, as you're piping, the opening of the pastry tip with get clogged. That's a major pain.*

These Are Just Ducky, Santa!

2011-12-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

We have chickens. I never bake in fear of being egg-less. Our sweet hens provide us with an abundance and we've taken their labor for granted.

Until today.

It's cold at Freegrace.

It's cold. When it's cold, they stop laying. It's not in me to artificially force them into producing when they'd rather snuggle with each other and keep warm.

Meet the Quackers. They keep laying through the frost. The geese, they may never lay.

The ducks, on the other hand, they ducks keep on keeping on. And while their eggs are fattier, contain more protein and make for a "stiffer" dough, I was thinking this might behoove my chocolate chip cookie preferences. You see, this added protein makes the finished product chewier yet allowing for a decent cooking time so that the edges can brown enough to develop a lovely crispness along the cookie perimeter.

Crispy on the edges, chewy in the center. Just ducky.

Oh Santa, you'll be so pleased with your ducky cookies this year.

Ducky Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sea salt (if using traditional salt, just 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 sticks butter
2 duck eggs ( you can substitute 2 extra large hen eggs)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

PROCEDURE

•Preheat oven to 350º.
•In a large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
•In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Microwave the butter and sugar together on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for another minute. Stir. If the sugar isn't completely melted, nuke for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a stand mix bowl.
•In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until the bowl is cool to the touch. Add eggs, one at a time. Make sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next. And scrape the bowl, including the very bottom, to insure the butter and eggs cream evenly.
•With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until JUST combined.
•Stir the chocolate into the batter with a wooden spoon.
•Using a medium sized cookie scoop, place the cookie dough on a parchment lined 1/2 sheetpan, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently press the cookies down so they aren't completely rounded.
•Bake for 5 minutes. Open the oven and with your hands in an oven mitt, grab the sheet pan and SLAM it down on the oven rack so the cookies delate. Bake for 5 minutes more. Open oven, slam and continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes more or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown.

happy and merry!

You had me at chocolate covered...

2011-12-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

I stole a box of Oreos from the Colemans when I was a minor. I add the age clarification in the event the authorities want to haul me in on grand theft charges. And you can read the extended version of this story in my baking memoir My Life From Scratch. See how I've managed to keep myself out of jail AND plug my book in just two sentences?

It took a minute to decide whether to shove the cellophane wrapped treasure under my sweatshirt. In the end, there was only one sane decision. Grab and run.

Now, had those Oreos been chocolate covered, well that's another matter entirely. I'd not have hesitated for a minute. Not even for a second. A rational girl doesn't second guess petty theft of ANYTHING chocolate covered. As long as you lift the stuff from a very nice neighbor. Can't have you manacled in front of the Jiffy Mart for palming a package of Twix now, can we?

Add mint to the mix and I'd even break into an armored vehicle to get at them.

Or just make them at home.

Criminally Good Minty Chocolate Cookies

(makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies)

For the chocolate cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder. The darker the better.

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

-Preheat oven to 325º. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder and salt. Set aside.

-Melt chocolate with the butter in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water.

-Put melted chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium until combined. Reduce speed and slowly add flour mixture.

–When combined, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough has stiffened enough to handle.

-Roll the dough into a long log, around 16 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment and then seal with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

-Slice 1/4" thick slices from the roll. Manipulate each piece as well as you can to insure that it's as round as possible and each piece is the same size and thickness. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. You'll need 2 or 3 baking sheets.

-Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes more.

-Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies crack slightly. Slam the cookies on your work surface as you take them out if they are puffing a bit in the middle. You want them flat for stacking.

-Cool completely.

For the mint fondant filling:

INGREDIENTS

(adapted from my book Sugar Baby)

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter

1-2 drops peppermint extract

1/4 cup corn starch

PROCEDURE

-Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar has completely melted. Brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to eradicate any sugar crystals that are clinging to the sides of the pan. Turn the heat to high, attach a sugar thermometer and heat to 245ºF.

-Pour the sugar syrup into a mixing bowl fit with the paddle attachment. Add the butter. Beat the mixture on high for a minute and then add the few drops of peppermint extract. Continue beating until the syrup begins to thicken and JUST starts to look as if it's drying out.

-Scrap the mixture out onto a work surface dusted with the corn starch. Knead the mass until smooth. WORK QUICKLY! IT DRIES OUT SUPER DUPER FAST.

-Using a rolling pin dusted with cornstarch, roll out the mint fondant until it's under 1/4 inch thick. Take a 2 inch cutter and cut rounds. You can't re-knead the fondant, it will be to dry, so make your rounds as close together as possible.

To assemble:

For the topping:

INGREDIENTS

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut into very small pieces

1 tablespoon shortening

PROCEDURE

-Melt together the chocolate and shortening in 30 second short bursts in the microwave, stir between blasts. Otherwise, melt in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stirring constantly until completely melted.

-Take two cookies that are as dimensionally similar as possible and sandwich a round of fondant between them. Gently dip the cookie into the chocolate to coat the bottom and using a spoon, cover the top and sides of the cookie with the chocolate. Gently tap the cookie on the fork over the bowl to removes excess chocolate. Transfer to a piece of parchment to allow to set completely. Continue with remaining cookies. You may need to make another batch of topping to continue covering every cookie.

To finish:

Royal Icing

INGREDIENTS

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon dried egg white powder

enough water to make a thick paste

PROCEDURE

-Stir together the confectioner's sugar, egg white powder and a bit of water at a time until you have a thick and smooth paste. Add more confectioners or water, depending on consistency. You want the royal icing to hold its shape when piped. Transfer the royal icing to a pastry bag fit with a small open tip.

-Once the chocolate coating is COMPLETELY set and dry, decorate as you see fit!

Deck the Halls with Wreaths of Almond, Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum, Yum Yum Yum Yum: Mandelkränzchen

2011-12-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

I bought a box of confectionary tennis balls for a cute racquet savant when I was 13. Four gorgeous, life-sized orbs of marzipan for a hunky boy in Nürnberg.

I ate them, every one.

A young woman must follow her true passion, after all.

Now that I bake for a joyful living, I stock 10 pound canisters of almond paste just because I can. When I'm not eating straight from the container, I do my best to create lovely pastries that I happily share with my true love, Ray.

What better time to spread the sweet joy than during the holidays?

Mandelkränzchen

These are mandelhoernchen writ round, which means they are packed with almond flavor, slightly crispy on the outside and vaguely chewy on the inside.

Ingredients

1 pound almond paste

4 ounces granulated sugar + 1/4 cup set aside for finishing

3 egg whites + 1 egg white set aside for finishing

1/2 cup All Purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 ounces sliced almonds, preferably with skins still on (see picture)

1. Combine almond paste, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl using paddle attachment. Slowly add eggs whites, until a thick, sticky paste like dough is created. You may not need ALL of the egg whites, only enough to create a thick paste that holds its shape and is smooth. An alternative is to mix the paste and sugar in a food processor with a blade attachment and add egg whites while it's running.

2. Sprinkle the flour on a clean surface and rub some on your hands to make sure the almond dough doesn't stick to you. Gently knead the sticky almond dough into the flour until the mixture is less tacky and holds it's shape very well

3. Sprinkle half of the remaining 1/4 of sugar on your work surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and roll each into a log about 15 inches long on your sugared surface. Use only enough sugar to keep the paste from sticking to the table and to coat the piece. Cut the log into 13 pieces.

4. Roll each of the dough pieces in the sugar, making sure they stay shaped as little ropes. And make sure the sugar sticks all around. Keep rolling the logs until they are about 5 inches long.

5. Bend the pieces into circle, pinching the ends together to seal and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush each circle with the additional egg white.

6. Place overlapping almond slices all along the circle and along the sides.

7. Brush the almond slivers gently with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

8. Allow them to dry at room temperature for 3 hours.

9. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or golden brown. Allow to cool completely

10. Store in an airtight container up to a week or freeze in an airtight container up to a month.

Pumpkin Mousse Pullman Surprise!

2011-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

If you've got a pullman loaf pan, you can make some extra special desserts. Just mix and match a few recipes and, voila, clean lines and fancy designs.

This combines 3 recipes already available on this blog:

(1) Joconde Decor Sides: Measure the bottom and sides (length and width) of your pullman loaf and cut your joconde to size and line the pan.

(2) Chocolate/Almond Roulade Cake: This applications requires the actual jelly roll alone and not the filling in the original recipe, so just follow that portion of the recipe/post for "the cake." And you just have to roll it up and cut it to the size (length) of the pullman.

(3) Mascarpone Pumpkin Mousse:

This recipe is the perfect amount for this one cake.

PROCEDURE:

(1) Make the joconde sides. For this pattern, I used what's called a "decor grill" which is simply a template with holes in it over which you apply the tuile paste. You then remove the template and freeze the tuile as you would in the traditional recipe and proceed with the remaining instructions from there.

(2) Line the pullman loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap falls over the sides so you have something to grab onto when you take the cake out of the pullman loaf pan.

(3) Make the roulade and allow to cool.

(4) Make the pumpkin mousse.

(5) Line the bottom and sides of the pullman loaf with the joconde decor.

(6) Place half the mousse inside the pullman loaf

(7) Place the trimmed roulade onto the mousse in the center of the pan.

(8) Add remaining mousse and, using a small offset spatula, smooth out the top of the mousse so that it's perfectly flat.

(9) Freeze the mousse overnight to set.

(10) Turn the pullman pan upside down on a serving platter. Gently warm the sides with a heat gun or blow dryer. Use the plastic wrap overhang to gently help release the cake onto the platter. Refrigerate to allow the mousse to thaw enough to comfortably slice through the cake, about 2 hours.

Pumpkin Chronicles

2011-11-17T07:36:00.000-08:00

Mousse

I wanted to get you oriented, as I've posted quite a few pumpkin recipes through the years. Pick and choose!

cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Mousse

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Pudding Cake

Pumpkin Eclairs (with Pumpkin Pastry Cream)

Sweet Potato Sweet Bread (can be adapted with 1 to 1 ration replacement with pumpkin purée)

For leftover pumpkin purée, gnocchi!

Steam Your Buns Off!

2011-11-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to natter on in this post. We just don't have time for storytelling when it's already mid-November...with American Thanksgiving just a week away. Maybe it's just me but time seems to be accelerating, with each successive new year racing behind us with lightening speed when we've only just celebrated the last. And that it's 2012 coming in for a landing, Mayan doom prophecies and apocalyptic John Cusack films dancing in my head, isn't making this holiday season any easier.

Buns. Steamed and waiting for filling.

So I've spent the afternoon making steamed Chinese buns, in anticipation of Thanksgiving leftovers. It may seem too soon to start my post-turkey day prep but believe me, you'll be thrilled to have these puppies waiting for you in the freezer with leftover turkey is languishing in the fridge. The texture of Chinese steamed buns is so contrary to traditional Thanksgiving offerings that your roast bird will shine when nestled in these fluffy and gorgeously chewy buns. And to mix it up entirely, pull and toss your turkey in homemade BBQ sauce and chop up some crispy slaw and your leftovers will easily outshine your Thanksgiving meal. The chewy of the bun, the succulence of the turkey, the crispy spice of the slaw and the sweet comfort of the sauce will delight you and all your senses.

STEAMED CHINESE PULLED TURKEY BBQ BUNS WITH SPICY SLAW

The Steamed Buns
makes 36
(inspired by Momofuku's gorgeous pork buns)

INGREDIENTS

4 cups bread flour (I use King Arthur Flour)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (1 and 1/3 packet) instant yeast
1 cup non-fat milk
1/2 cup of water (held in reserve)
1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup duck fat
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

PROCEDURE

•In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the hook attachment, add the non-fat milk, sweetened condensed milk and duck fat.

•In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer running on slow, patiently add the flour mixture. Mix for a few minutes and if the dough looks dry, slowly add the reserve water, adding just enough to form a smooth, soft dough that pulls from the sides of the bowl. Mix until smooth and shiny, about 10 to 15 minutes.

•Spray a large mixing bowl with non-stick cooking spray and transfer your dough to the bowl. Spray the top of the dough with non-stick spray as well and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm corner of your kitchen to proof for about an hour The dough should double in size.

•Punch down the dough and divide the dough into thirds. Roll each third of dough into a rope and divide each rope into 9 EVEN pieces. Weigh the pieces of dough if you must to make sure they are even. Roll each piece into a tight ball and place on a sheetpan lined with parchment. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow your little dough balls to rest for a half hour.

•While the dough is resting, cut 36 small squares of parchment about 3" x 3" upon which you will rest your buns.

•With the heel of your palm, flatten the ball of dough and then using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an oval. Place a chopstick, greased with a bit of duck fat, in the middle of the oval. Fold the dough over to create a half-moon and press gently. Remove the chopstick and place your bun on your pre-cut piece of tiny parchment. Place the buns on a sheetpan and cover with plastic wrap as you work. The buns dry out easily so keep them covered as you work.

•Once you've folded all of your buns and covered them with plastic, allow them to rest for 1/2 hour to rise a bit.

•Fill a wok with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer. Place a bamboo steamer over the water. Steam small batches of buns at a time. I have a large bamboo steamer and place 5 buns on each level. Steam for 11 minutes.

Steamy.

•Continue until you've steamed all your buns. Put aside those buns that you are going to eat immediately. The rest, tightly seal in freezer safe Ziploc bags and freeze. (To refresh the buns after freezing, allow to thaw in the fridge for a 1/2 hour and then steam for a few minutes in a bamboo steamer to perk them up again).

For the slaw

INGREDIENTS

2 cups green cabbage, finely chopped
2 cups red cabbage, finely chopped
1/2 a sweet onion, finely chopped
1 small jar pimenton, juices drained, finely chopped
1/4 cup jarred jalapeños, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons jalapeño juice (from the jarred jalapeños)
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

•Stir everything together. Taste for seasoning.

For the BBQ sauce:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons Balsamic glaze
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt to taste

PROCEDURE

•Stir BBQ ingredients together until smooth.
•Gently pull apart your remaining turkey meat from Thanksgiving into small, bite-sized pieces. Stir together the sauce and turkey until the meat is coated.

To assemble:

•Gently split your buns and fill with a few tablespoons of pulled turkey and top with a few tablespoons of slaw.

Scaaaary Story: Snowballs of the Undead

2011-10-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

You can have your apparitions, ax murderers and zombies, I've lived through something far more harrowing than the undead chasing me down dead-end alley ways in pursuit of my succulent gray matter. Oh yes. I've lived through a living nightmare and survived:

It snowed 6 inches of the white stuff on the 29th of October, 2 whole days before All Hallow's Eve, and covered my artfully carved pumpkins.

At least the snow geese were happy.

I'm not sure I'll ever recover from the shock.

SNOWBALLS OF THE UNDEAD

(Makes 12 snowballs)

To help promote recovery from my bloodcurdling experience, I called upon pastry therapy. And what better sweet to facilitate healing than coconut snowballs filled with dulce de leche. These puppies should take the edge off the early chill.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

8 eggs, room temperature and separated

3 cups cake flour

1 can organic coconut milk (13.5 ounces)

2/3 cup unrefined organic coconut oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract

For the filling:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

For the frosting:

1 batch vanilla buttercream, add 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste just as you add the butter

To finish:

2 cups sweetened, flake coconut

PROCEDURE

For the cake:

•Preheat oven to 325º.

•Place the jar of coconut oil in a pan of simmering water until the oil has melted. Measure out the oil and combined with the egg yolks and 1 cup of the sugar.

•Whisk together the oil, sugar and egg yolks until combined in a stand mixer. Add the coconut milk and whisk until just combined

•Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift a second time over the mixing bowl with the batter. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the flour until the batter is smooth.

•Transfer the batter to a clean bowl and wash your mixing bowl and whisk attachment until sparkling and squeaky clean!

•Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the clean stand mixing bowl and whisk until foamy. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk on high until you achieve medium-soft peaks.

•Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites to the bowl with the batter. Stir with a rubber spatula until the batter is "lightened" and no streaks of white remain.

add 1/3 of the egg whites

stir until combined

•Add remaining egg whites and gently fold the egg whites into the batter until completely combined.

•Spray a silicon dome mold with non-stick cooking spray and dust with flour. Fill each cavity just a bit more than 3/4 full.

•Bake for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently poked. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling:

•While the cake is cooling, pour the sweetened condensed milk into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium-low heat with a heat proof rubber spatula CONSTANTLY, until the the condensed milk thickens to the point that it adheres to the spoon and won't easily come off. Allow to cool.

To finish:

•Hollow out two half moons of cake and place a large dollop of dulce de leche in the cavity. Place the two halves together. Continue with the remaining cake and dulce de leche.

Make the buttercream:

•Using a small offset spatula, cover each cake orb with 2 - 3 tablespoons of buttercream (no need to be persnickety about it, you don't have to smooth the buttercream as you're going to be coating the buttercream with flake coconut.

•Press the coconut flakes in an even layer over the entire cake.

•Serve immediately and pray to the weather gods that we don't get any more snow until WINTER!

Sweet Letters to a Daughter

2011-10-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

If there was ever any doubt that I was born to play with butter, flour and sugar (and really how, could there be) my mother's recipe box is incontrovertible physical evidence of my sweet destiny.

Mom's recipe box.

Packed inside are decades worth of recipes, by and large for pastry, that she'd torn from the pages of the Washington Post's food section. Alongside the newsprint are hand written letters from my Omi, her mother, dense with details for German classics like Stollen and Butterzeug. My grandmother signed the bottom of each international pastry missive: Mutti, which only makes sense because a family recipe is a love letter, a message of comfort and abiding affection from one generation to another that endures long after the original baker has left us.

sweet letter from a mother to her daughter

Among the gems in my mom's collection is a business envelope re-purposed into the mother of all recipe cards. The original intent of the California based non-profit's message isn't entirely clear but the business sized envelope has my mother's name and address manually typed in the center and the pre-printed return address reads "Christian Anti-Communism Crusade." Mom presumably found the correspondence off-putting and crossed out her name and address and wrote a big fat lie, "Return to Sender Addressee moved. New address unknown."

She must have seen past her initial dismay at the letter (and apparently read it and tossed it. The thing is sadly empty of it's anti-communist contents) and filled the untarnished surface of the envelope with detailed instructions for making a Gateau St. Honoré. Like I said, incontrovertible evidence.

It's taken me years to find the courage to confront the emotional onslaught that is my mother's recipe box, every page is either laced with her hand writing or simply evidence of the great joy she found in surprising her family with gorgeous gastronomy. But now that I'm going through the brittle pages, one by one, scanning and preserving wonderful memories and buttery pronouncements of love and culinary aspiration, I am compelled to bake something from her prized collection immediately. And it appears, the recipe for the birthday cake I requested for years as a teenager, a chocolate bombe swarming with glorious cocoa and almond spirals and filled with smooth, black as ink bittersweet chocolate. It was a monumental pain in my mother's backside due to the labor intensive nature of the pastry itself and the added bad luck of Mittens the cat batting the cake off the counter on the morning of March 6th, 1986, just after mom had finally unmolded and added the finishing touches to the pastry albatross. There could be no better way to commune with Helga.

The original recipe

In honor of my wonderful mother, Helga, I give you an adapted version of "Jimmy Schmidt's London Chop House Chocolate-Almond Cake with Mousse Filling," a cake that's insanely decadent AND gluten free!

I also ask that if you have it in your heart, contribute to my run in her honor to benefit the American Cancer Society because not a day goes by where I regret not sharing time with her in my own kitchen since she was taken by cancer.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

9 eggs separated, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder

14 ounces (two tubes) almond paste

1/2 cup coffee + 1/2 cup sugar, heated together until the sugar melts (the original recipe calls for Amaretto, feel free to use either)

powdered sugar

For the chocolate filling:

The official description of the recipe is truly misguiding as it calls this filling "mousse" which is utter malarkey. This is ganache, pure and simple. There's not one thing about this filling that can claim relation to a mousse of any kind.

28 ounces Lindt 70% chocolate (the original recipe calls for Tobler extra bittersweet) chopped

My Omi's favorite chocolate!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 quart whipping cream (unwhipped)

(This is per the original recipe but I ended up making another half batch so that the cake pan was more fully filled)

PROCEDURE

For the cake:

•Roll the almond paste between two sheets of parchment paper into a 9 x 14 inch rectangle. Set aside.

•Line a jelly roll pan/half-sheetpan with parchment and spray with non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 350º.

•In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the whisk attachment, beat together the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until just foamy. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the sugar and beat on high until you achieve stiff peaks but be careful not to over whip otherwise the egg whites will become dry and clumpy and difficult to fold into the remaining ingredients.

•Transfer the egg whites to a large, clean bowl.

•Add the yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla to the mixing bowl in which you beat the egg whites (you needn't clean it after whisking egg whites in it) and whisk on high until the egg yolks are pale yellow and ribbon when you lift the whisk from the batter.

ribboning egg yolks

•Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Sift the cocoa powder over the egg mixture and fold into the batter until just combined. Spread the batter evenly on your prepared jelly roll pan with a large off-set spatula and bake for 25 minutes.

Yummy batter.

•Place the rectangle of almond paste onto one end of the cake. Using the kitchen towel to help you, roll the cake into a jellyroll and allow to cool completely.

•Using a medium sized bowl (or as the original recipe suggests, a 10 inch springform cake pan), cut the jelly roll into 1/3" thick rounds and line your chosen receptacle by dipping one side of each slice quickly into the coffee simple syrup (or amaretto) and line the bowl or springform, starting at the middle, with the jelly roll rounds, placing them soaked side down and tightly together. Set aside.

lining my bowl with swirly happiness...and isn't it just a lovely coincidence that they look like "g"s?

For the filling:

•The original recipe instructs you to melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler until melted and then immediately add the cream in three additions, gently stirring until well combined and then you pour into the cake-lined bowl or pan. I prefer to place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl and then bring the butter and cream to a simmer in a large saucepan. Pour the cream/butter mixture over the chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes undisturbed. Then stir the mixture gently until the mixture is smooth and totally combined.

•Refrigerate until set. This takes a few hours. Terribly frustrating, I know.

***NOTE*** I ended up pouring in the ganache and finding that I still had quite a bit of cake left naked along the sides. So I made another half batch of ganache to fill it up almost to the edge of the cake.

•Trim edges of the cake even with the filling. Invert the cake onto a serving platter. Use a blow dryer or heat gun to gently warm the sides of the bowl or cake pan to release the cake cleanly (but not so much that you melt the filling).

•I prefer NOT to finish the cake with anything since it's such a kaleidoscope of pastry as-is but the original recipe recommends you decoratively pipe whipped cream along the edge.

Harvest Baguette: The Epi Revisited

2011-09-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just after the Autumnal Equinox, as the harvest rolls around with its gorgeous moon and lovely sweater weather, I'm compelled to break out my scissors and snip away at perfectly good baguettes waiting for their turn in the oven.

Does this culinary elective surgery provide any meaningful flavor enhancement? No. Does it elevate a standard loaf of bread to a crusty symbol of seasonal fecundity? Why yes, yes indeed it does.

You too can make your very own épi de blé, the baguette sliced to mimic a sheath of wheat in honor of the harvest. Just follow my tutorial and snip away to Autumnal happiness, sweet people!

épi

I use my standard sourdough recipe for baguettes with a minor adjustment: I use a French flour for optimal baguette gluten ratios. Leave it to King Arthur Flour to make the stuff so that we can bake the crispy, airy, chewy stuff in our very own kitchens without flying to Paris. Yes, I know that traditionally baguettes aren't made with a sourdough starter but if you had the 20 quart behemoth that was my mother sponge in your bakery, you'd think twice before making any breads without it.

Follow sourdough bread procedure but do the following hootchie koochie bread dance with your scissors to make it extra special:

First, divide the dough into three even pieces.

Second, flatten each piece to release any air bubbles.

Third, roll the dough into a tight cylinder, making sure that the seam faces down (pinch the seam to keep it tight and secure).

Forth, gently roll the dough into a long baguette, starting at the middle and working gently outwards. Place the baguette onto a cornmeal dusted sheetpan.

Fifth, holding your scissors at a 20º angle, slice into the baguette a few inches from the tail end.

Continue slicing every few inches and gently pulling each piece to the side, alternating sides between each snip.

I prefer to make the cuts before the second proof, just after I've formed the loaf, as opposed to cutting the pieces just before it's ready to go into the oven but you may slice away just prior if you wish. I find that if I slice before to the bread is proofed, the final product has starker "wheat sheath" appearance but that could just be me.

WANTED! Candy Corn! Dead or Alive!

2011-09-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from SugarBaby extolling my love of candy corn:

My favorite halloween costume was a death trap: seven feet of chicken wire slathered in papier maché, festooned in flammable white, orange and yellow oil paint, made mobile with four shimmying grocery cart wheels, and equipped with a sticky trap door for candy deposits. I was the envy of every kid at Woodmont Elementary. I was the biggest candy corn on earth.

Sadly, there was no ventilation, it tipped whenever I tried to negotiate a curb, and the built-in mesh window was inches to low for my gangly frame. But I was happy to withstand any discomfort for a giant candy corn, even if it wasn't edible. Luckily, I usually got a few pounds of the real stuff deposited into the bucked attached precariously to the inside of the costume. Today, I bypass trick-or-treating and death-trap costumes and simply make my favorite ghoulish treat at home and in any shape I desire.

I also love chocolate cake and nougat filling.

Put it all together and you better believe you'll be in a sugar coma for a week. But I guarantee you'll be smiling!

Everything in this sweet cake can be found in SugarBaby. The chocolate cake's on page 216.

The innards of my fudgey chocolate cake are filled with vanilla nougat, which you can find on page 120 of SugarBaby.

The ghostly veil is candy corn (page 66).

Here's how I put it all together.

For the cake insides, I take half the fudgey chocolate cake recipe . I make a dozen cupcakes with the batter (they are baked for 15 to 20 minutes).

I then make half the vanilla nougat recipe while the cupcakes cool.

I level the tops of the cupcakes and put the tops aside.

level all of the cupcakes

I take a melon or teaspoon cookie scoop and scoop the middle of each cup cake out.

scoop the innards of the cakes. just enough to make a divet for the filling.

I then scoop nougat filling into the cake cavities!

I put one cupcake atop the other. Smush them together gently.

I then take the small slice we leveled off from one of the cakes and trim it to size to fit on top of our little cake tower and then place it on top and gently smush again. The cake is so moist, you'll find that everything adheres just fine.

and here's what it looks like sliced in half. Yummy.

Make the candy corn recipe per the instructions in SugarBaby. Divide the candy corn into three even pieces while the candy is still quite warm (this differs from the book instructions because we want to work with the stuff while it's still pliable and easily draped into ghostly shapes).

Keep one piece plain and die one piece orange and the other yellow.

Roll the plain piece into a foot long rope.

Divide the orange and yellow pieces and roll them all into foot long ropes. Put the orange pieces on either side of the plain rope and the yellow pieces on either side of the orange ropes.

Make sure there's a fine layer of either corn starch or confectioner's sugar on your table and lightly dust a rolling pin with the same. Roll the ropes together into a 6" wide x 36" long strip. Stamp out 6, 6" rounds.

Gently cover each cake with the 6 inch round of candy corn.

Use a medium sized open pastry tip to cut out ghoulish eyes and a large pastry tip for the mouth.

If you like, fill the spooky eye and mouth cavities with melted chocolate or leave them deeply vacant with the promise of the deadly sweetness within.

Bakin' and Eggs: Irene, A Few Beautiful Birds and a Tasty Birthday Cake

2011-09-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm a lucky woman. Irene came and left, leaving destruction in my beautiful Green Mountain State. My sweet house on the hill still stands, unharmed. The same cannot be said for thousands of other Vermonters.

One of our neighbors, Suzy, has lost her house and her farm. The river rose and swept away her life. Where she once had thousands of chickens, she now has a few hundred. Her home is now uninhabitable. She has no power and no water. So how can she care for any remaining animals?

And from this great sadness it seems I've received a boon. If only temporary. One of Suzy's great joys is keeping Indian Runner Ducks and a gaggle of geese. The Indian Runners, well you simply have to watch them run and you'll understand why.

The Indian Runners

As for the geese, well Suzy hadn't intended to keep any. Not until a lone Canadian goose decided to break off from her mates and hang out with Suzy's comic ducks. That was over a year ago. And now, Goosey the (Canadian) Goose has 5 friends with whom she frolics, thanks to Suzy who is such a wonderful water fowl mother that she couldn't leave Goosey to spend her days on the farm without some goose company.

Goosey the (Canadian) Goose

I'm fostering Suzy's ducks and geese until she can patch her family's life together again. I'm going to have a hard time watching them go when the time comes; I'm already horribly attached. But I hope that it's soon, that a life so altered by a single storm is quickly restored. But I see water fowl in permanent residence on the homestead in the near future once they have to leave us.

Gesine Fosters Geese from Raymond Prado on Vimeo.

In the meantime, I collect the duck eggs (geese aren't laying right now) and I'm baking some beautiful pastries from the flock's collective labor, including but not limited to my Raymond's birthday cake.

My Raymond's Ducky Birthday Cake.

Yes, you can bake with duck eggs. They only taste marginally different from hen eggs but you can't discern the slight variance in most baked products. When fried, the consensus is that duck eggs cook up more firmly than hen eggs and have a slightly oily consistency. But this can be used to your advantage in baking if it doesn't appeal to you in a straight fried egg.

The adjustments you have to account for are that duck eggs contain more protein and usually have a higher volume than hen eggs.

The obvious difference is in size. For baking purposes, a standard hen egg weighs 1.6 ounces (the white 1 ounce and yolk .6 ounces). If you'd like to replace hen eggs with duck eggs, multiply the number of eggs called for in the recipe by 1.6 to get your weight measure. Weigh out the duck eggs (crack the eggs, don't weigh the shell) until you hit the approximate hen egg weight (a little over isn't going to kill you).

The other change you'll make when working with duck eggs is you'll have a hard time cracking the egg on a flat surface (as I'm sure you know, the standard practice for health and safety reasons is to crack a hen egg on a flat surface to minimize the risk of salmonella contamination. If you crack the egg on the side of the bowl, you force shell up into the egg and it's the shell that contains the ugly stuff). However, duck egg shells are rather tough and rubbery, so you'll likely have to use the corner of a bowl to finagle the good stuff out.

And one more thing to keep in mind is the higher protein levels in duck eggs. If a recipe calls for all purpose flour, I will only use half the amount of all purpose called for and replace the other half with cake flour (all purpose contains more gluten than cake flour and by halving the amount of all purpose, you help level out the protein ratios in the recipe).

This is a delicious recipe for using any duck eggs you happen to come across.

INGREDIENTS

(makes {3} 8" cake layers)

2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted, butter (preferably European which contains a high butterfat content and less moisture than standard butter)
4 duck eggs (weighing approximate 9 ounces)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup buttermilk (non-fat or low fat)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 - 6 lemons depending on how juicy they are)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon extract

PROCEDURE
•Preheat oven to 325º
•In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
•Stir together the buttermilk and lemon juice. Set aside.
•Spray 8" cake pans with non stick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with a round of parchment and spray the parchment with non stick spray.
•Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high with the whisk attachment.
•Add duck eggs, one at a time, beating about a minute between each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to integrate all of the butter and sugar.
•Add the zest and lemon extract. Whisk on high until combined.
•With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture and then 1/2 of the buttermilk/lemon juice mixture. Mix until just combined. Add another 1/3 of the flour and then the remaining buttermilk/lemon juice mixture. Mix until just combined. Add the remaining amount of flour and mix on slow until the flour is completely integrated.
•Divide the batter evenly among the three cake pans and bake for 1/2 hour or until the cake just springs back when you poke it.

I filled Ray's birthday cake with lemon curd, local blueberries and lightly sweetened whipped cream and iced with lemon laced buttercream. You can do the same or fill with anything that strikes your fancy. Either way, you'll love how moist and supple this lovely cake is.

P.S. Thank you Toby for the title!

ILOVermont

2011-08-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

I had to run the back roads to get to Quechee Village and this is what I saw...our sweet bridge has definitely seen better days. But what I didn't capture was the village coming together to clean the mess up!

Hurricane Irene. Damn you. Damn you for flooding our state, ripping apart our historic covered bridges, creating untold homelessness and decimating our local businesses. Not cool, lady.

Within HOURS of Irene's exit, the ferociously bad assed Green Mountain locals were cleaning and repairing the damage. While our state digs itself out from under inches of silt and water, there are many more who have nothing to save, their houses and lives have been swept away entirely. For them, there are organizations like The Vermont Food Bank and Vermont Red Cross who provide food and shelter for those most in need. You can text FOODNOW to 52000 and Vermont Food Bank will turn your $10 donation to $60 in food for those in need.

Thank you for all your lovely prayers and good wishes. We can feel the love!

a tart to savor

2011-07-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Some words won't be translated. German words find themselves particularly difficult to render into English with all their subtlety and depth. My little German cousin, brilliant little five-year-old toehead that she was, once used a word that spoke volumes of a single pastry. She sat on a picnic blanket on the edge of a small Alpine lake, her spindly legs tucked neatly beneath her, a tart cradled reverently in her delicate hands and she made a pronouncement: "Ich würde sie natürlich richtig genießen." The rough translation is "Of course I will enjoy this properly."

It's that one word, genießen, that I silently repeat to myself when confronted with a singularly glorious treat; a reminder of that sweet girl so long ago who knew at such a tender age what it meant to be in the presence of a beautifully made confection. "Enjoy" doesn't cut it. "Savor" is perhaps closer." "Revere" is probably on the mark but may seem a bit overwrought in reference to consuming a luscious trifle. Either way, it's meaning is plain when you're tucking into something worthy of such consideration. And that's just what I did today. I grabbed my sharpest knife and ran it under scalding water. I dried it quickly and sliced into my lovely tart with conviction And just before my fork made a mess of it, I said to my petite treat: "Ich würde sie natürlich richtig genießen."

Coconut, Caramel, Bittersweet Tart

PROCEDURE

This tart is made up of elements we've already visited here on this blog, simply reconsidered.

For instance, the crust is my coconut macaroon batter gently wrangled and pressed into a rectangular tart form. The only change is I halve the recipe and I make sure to generously spray the tart form with non-stick cooking spray. Bake the crust at 350º for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover the top of the shell with a piece of parchment and fill with pie weights, pressing down gently. Bake for 20 minutes more or until the shell is deep golden brown. While the shell is still warm, remove it from the tart form and bake for 10 minutes more (this is important, to remove the tart while warm because it really starts to stick to the metal form as it cools). Set aside and allow to cool completely.

The filling is caramel studded with toasted pecans. I use the caramel sauce version from the blog post but I also take more care with the details. I use 1 cup of sugar, 2 drops of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 cup of water and melt the sugar over low heat. I raise the heat to high once the sugar has melted and allow the caramel to become a medium amber and I make sure to cook the caramel to 245º and then add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of cream. Allow the caramel to cool slightly.

Pour the caramel into the prepared coconut shell and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of toasted pecans that have been roughly chopped.

Coat the top with an even layer of ganache. I halve this recipe and pour over the top of the tart when the ganache is still very viscous and warm. Allow the ganache to set completely and then dust the top with cocoa powder.

It's Been Zany!

2011-07-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've been glaringly absent these past few weeks.

I swear I have a good excuse.

Or two.

Or three.

Maybe four, if I get to really thinking.

what on earth am I doing? you'll find out in Pie It Forward!

I've been finishing up my second cookbook, Pie It Forward. The writing, testing/re-testing, photo shoot and finish editing have been wonderful and time consuming. I can't complain. The brilliant Tina Rupp photographed the book, she did SugarBaby. I don't have to tell you that those pictures were beautiful.

happy girl on a pie crawl.

By way of research for savory pie recipes in Pie It Forward, I just HAD to go to England to double check that I was getting it right. Who needs a pub crawl when a pie crawl is where it's at, baby!

Treats for the Today Show: rocket pops, brittle, popcorn balls, taffy, rock candy and fudge...oh my!

I've also been doing SugarBaby press in the midst of the Pie It Forward hijinks. Here's a link to my 2nd Today Show Appearance. Find the recipes in SugarBaby or the Today Show site!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43559123/ns/today-food/t/boardwalk-treats-spicy-brittle-pudding-pops/

I'm in love.

I also shot a lovely thing for a possible future endeavor. What I can say about it is that I got to visit the goats at Consider Bardwell Farm. I'm in love, with the goats AND their cheese. A few lady goats are in our family's future. I've been brushing up on my home cheese making skills in anticipation.

New and exciting recipes and posts coming soon, I promise! In the meantime, Happy Fourth!

Fourth of July greetings from Freegrace! This will be her 217th Independence Day celebration!!!

A Yin Yang Cheesecake for the Modern Dad

2011-06-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

Modern dads must be all things to all people. On the one hand, they must be MEN who are resoundingly masculine and capable of of wielding power tools with confidence and safety. On the other, they're required to be sensitive and emotive. They must be all things to all people. They must seamlessly balance their yin with their yang.

In honor of those wonderful papas on father's day, I give you the yin/yang cheesecake: a creamy delight of the darkest "brute" chocolate cheesecake that's dense and fudgy matched with the fruitiest of berry cheesecakes that's delicate and fluffy.

Happy father's day.

Yin Yang Cheesecake

This cake requires a yin yang cake mold, available online from quite a few bakery resources. Just put in your order now....father's day is fast approaching.

INGREDIENTS

For the base:

2 cups chocolate cookie wafers
1/4 cup melted butter

Procedure for the base:

-Preheat oven to 325º.

-Grind the wafers in a food processor. Slowly add the butter, adding just enough so that the crust comes together when you pinch some between your fingers. You may not need all the butter, so check after you've added a few tablespoons.

-The "S" mid section that actually creates the separate yin and yangs is removable. Remove it for this part of the process. Place the cake ring that remains on a parchment lined sheetpan. Spray the sides and the parchment bottom with nonstick cooking spray.

-Pat the crust crumb so that it creates an even layer on the bottom of the cake pan.

-Bake the crust for 5 minutes.

For the filling:

(3) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberry puree
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped and melted
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I use Callebaut extra brute)

Procedure for the filling:

-In a mixer fit with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and the sugar until smooth.

-Add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition.

-Fold in the flour and the salt.

-Divide the batter into two bowls, put slightly more into one than the other, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more.

-Stir the raspberry puree into the bowl with MORE batter and the chocolate and cocoa powder into the other.

-Reinsert the "S" separator back into the cake ring, pressing very gently so that the "S" touches the crust but doesn't slice all the way through it but do make sure that it has a firm grip on the crust to create an impenetrable barrier. Spray both sides of the "S" with nonstick cooking spray.

-Carefully pour the batters into the two separate sides, pouring the chocolate first. You'll notice that the chocolate batter will be noticeably THICKER than the raspberry. The chocolate seizes and stiffens the batter. This is normal. Make sure to keep the batter confined in its compartment. You'll need to coax the batter into the pointy part of the yin/yang mold. I use a wooden skewer to guide the batter into that hard to reach area. Use a small offset spatula to smooth the top. You may have extra batter. If you do, don't try to pile the batter higher than the sides of the mold. Just bake in a little ramekin for a snack.

-Fill the raspberry side.

-Place the cheesecake in the 325º oven. Close the doors and immediately turn the heat down to 225º.

-Bake for an hour or until the cheesecake is just set. What you'll notice is that when you give the sheetpan a nudge, the raspberry cheesecake will give a barely perceptible wiggle (the chocolate is so thick that it won't budge). Turn off the heat, open the oven door just slightly and allow the cheesecake to cool slowly.

-When the cheesecake is completely cool, CAREFULLY remove the mold by using a VERY thin knife ( I use a boning knife) along the edges of the mold, including the "S", to release the cheesecake from the mold. Sometimes the tips of the yin and yang fall off. Save them and reattach with a little melted chocolate.

-For the "dots" use one naked raspberry and paint the other with a very thin layer of melted chocolate or ganache.

Trend Schmend

2011-05-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

My husband, working for a few weeks in L.A., mentioned an

alarming trend in men's fashion. Every man within the 20 mile radius of Sunset and Vine was channeling the cowboy in the Village People.

Our young (and not so young) trendsters start with a slim fitting, Western inspired plaid shirt, often but not always bedazzled with pearlescent buttons, the breast pockets stitched with Merle Haggard flair . The look requires snug dungarees and a neutral pair of boots, neither full Frye, sh*t kicking nor jazz flat, something vaguely straddling that sphere and slightly scuffed. Of course the hair matters, it's closely shorn but artfully messy and the facial landscaping requires a mist of neer do well scruff. On occasion, A Clockwork Orange is consulted for sartorial inspiration and our ensemble is accessorized with a jaunty pair of black suspenders.

On a quick trip to New York this past week, I noticed the trend had spread to the east coast, infecting bouncing baby hipsters from Williamsburg to Noho. It's not an unattractive look but to see Howdy Couture gracing the boney shoulders of East Coast emo soldiers and West Coast actors/baristas is creepy.

The same can be said for food culture, once a trend hits, it hits hard and wends it's way onto pastry cases and dessert menus nationwide. Cupcakes, macaron, black pepper with vanilla, Thai basil with fruit and bacon with chocolate. Mini this, pop that.

But hell, in the case of fashion, if your skinny male posterior can carry off the hipster cowboy look, god speed. It's certainly more attractive than anything of the 70s gems you'll find here.

And so what if a food fad is ubiquitous and over done. Does it really matter if the result is tasty? Of course not. Especially chocolate and bacon, it's a combination that may even survive being a trend and simply become a time honored flavor pairing.

So don your bedazzled Western blouse and break out the bacon and chocolate, we're embracing our inner Village Person today.

Brownies with a Dose of Trendy Bacon

For the Brownies:

INGREDIENTS

1 stick or 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped ( I use Callebaut 60/40)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Callebaut Extra Brute)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 scant teaspoon baking powder (when you measure, level off the teaspoon aggressively so that instead of the baking powder being leveled evenly, you create a slight divet in the mixture to give you just a little less than 1/2 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons espresso
1 tablespoon flake sea salt (optional), for sprinkling

For the caramel:

http://confectionsofamasterbaker.blogspot.com/2008/07/sweet-and-sticky-caramel-recipe.html (made with the heavy cream)

To finish:

bacon, fried until crispy

vanilla ice cream

nuts!

PROCEDURE:

-Preheat oven to 325º

-Melt the chocolate, butter, espresso powder and vanilla bean extract together in a heat proof bowl over simmering water (a bain marie) until completely melted. Set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the eggs until broken apart. Add the sugar and whisk until the egg mixture/sugar mixture is well combined.

-In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder until well combined. Add half the flour mixture to the butter and sugar. Mix briefly. Add all of the chocolate mixture, mix briefly. And then add the remaining flour mixture. Mixing just until the ingredients are well combined.

-Gently stir the batter with a large rubber spatula to incorporate any errant bits of flour/cocoa.

-Transfer the mixture to a brownie pan (like mine in the picture) or a traditional Pyrex 8x8 of 9x9 baking pan.

-Sprinkle the top of the batter with bits of flake sea salt.

-Bake for 20 - 25 minutes if your using a Baker's Edge brownie pan. 30 - 35 minutes for a traditional pan. DO NOT OVER BAKE! If you insert a toothpick, small crumbs should still come off (but there shouldn't be a coating of wet batter either).

-Slice and top your brownie with ice cream, nuts, caramel and bacon. Crumbling the bacon is a lovely way to evenly distribute the flavors but brandishing a slice really screams "I'M A TRENDY PIECE OF BACON ON A CHOCOLATE DESSERT. DEAL WITH IT."

Flourless Chocolate Passover Hearts

2011-04-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Of the many sweets that flew out of the pastry case at my bakery in Montpelier, flourless chocolate hearts were among the most fleet of confectionary foot. They'd have hit the display no more than a moment that they'd be swiped from their platter, stuffed into beribboned boxes and rushed out the door. And at no time was there a speedier sugary exodus than at Passover.

Flourless chocolate hearts have the blessed benefit of being gluten free and unleavened with the bonus that they are delicious no matter the day, holy or otherwise.

Happy Passover!

Flourless Chocolate Passover Hearts

(makes approximately 24 small chocolate hearts or {1} 10" cake)

preheat oven to 350º

Ingredients

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup dark/high quality cocoa powder (I use Callebaut extra brute or Valrhona)
1 cup sugar (you can replace with one cup agave nectar, the cake will not form a satisfying crust over the top but will still be tender and delicious)
6 eggs
8 ounces/16 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
3 tablespoon freshly brewed espresso or very strong coffee

right out of the oven

Procedure

-Over a double boiler, gently melt chocolate, butter and espresso/coffee.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together eggs, sugar (or agave), cocoa powder, salt and vanilla. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to insure that the cocoa powder has not clumped together in a dry mass. Continue to mix and scrape until you are sure that the cocoa powder is well and truly mixed into the the initial batter.

-With the mixer on low, slowly pour the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl. If the mixer isn't running, you'll come out with chocolatey scrambled eggs. Continue to mix until the batter is smooth.

-Spray a heart shaped silicon (or metal ) baking pan or 10" cake pan with non-stick cooking spray (make sure that the spray doesn't contain flour). My silicone heart mold contains 8 cavities, so I make this in batches. The batter thickens as it cools, this is normal. Fill the cavities half way full and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (they should spring back when you poke them and keep an eye on the center of the cake that it's set). A 10" cake will take 45 to 50 minutes to bake. It's not uncommon for the cake to settle a bit as it cools.

Hot Cross Buns, New England style!

2011-04-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hot cross buns are magical.

If you don't believe me, just get a load of the superstitions that cling to the sweet morsel to this day:

(1) Hot cross buns, if baked and served on Good Friday, will keep for a year without getting moldy.
(2) They are medicinal.
(3) Sharing a hot cross bun guarantees a solid friendship for an ENTIRE YEAR!
(4) Taken on a cruise, they guard against shipwreck (and if you are to believe #2, will also keep away the rampant gastrointestinal tom foolery that seems to attack Carnival Cruisers the world over).
(5) Hang them ornamentally in the kitchen and they prevent fires all year long!

All these wondrous benefits and they are awfully tasty. So I wish you a very healthy, non-shipwrecked, friendship filled and fire free year.

New England Hot Cross Buns

Maple. Cranberry. That's what makes for the New England in the bun!

Ingredients

1 pound bread flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

generous pinch of ground cloves

1/2 ounce dry (not instant) yeast (2 packets)
1 cup whole milk, warm
pinch sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 stick (4 ounces/8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup dried cranberries

Egg wash: 1 egg and 2 tablespoons water, beaten together

1/4 cup demerara or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Icing for the cross: 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar blended with 1 tablespoon whole milk.

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400º

-Combine yeast, warm milk and pinch sugar. Stir and allow to bloom
-In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the sugar, maple syrup, the vanilla bean paste, zest and the egg. Add the bloomed yeast.
-Add the dry ingredients, the flour, salt and spices and mix with the dough hook just combined. Add the softened butter in small pieces until completely incorporated.
-Continue to mix until the gluten develops and the dough is shiny and comes away from the bowl cleanly.

-Add the cranberries and mix until they are well incorporated and evenly distributed.
-Place the dough in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray the top of the dough as well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
-Divide the dough into 15 even pieces.

the claw!

-Using the "claw," roll each ball into a tight ball. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cut a cross into each ball of dough.

-Allow to rise, covered loosely with a piece of plastic wrap, until the buns have not quite doubled in size
-Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara (or turbinado sugar)

-Bake at 400º for about 20 minutes, until deep golden brown.
-Allow to cool slightly and then drizzle or pipe icing inside the cross.

Big Sweet Winners! Sugar Baby is here!

2011-04-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

Today is the official publication date of Sugar Baby!

It's also the day the random number generator worked its little butt off and chose three lucky winners!

Congratulations Sweet People!

If you didn't win, you can still buy Sugar Baby because it's ON SALE NOW!

And now, drumroll please!

The lucky recipients of a signed copy of Sugar Baby, a super-duper Maverick digital thermometer and a Gesine Confectionary t-shirt are.......

Diane who wrote "Count me in! I pre-ordered your book in Jan! So excited to get my hands on your book." Written on March 11th.

Kristin M. (You left your email! Woohoo! Easy Peasy!)

and

Alejandra Ramos who wrote "Fingers crossed! I'm dying to get my hands that book (and my candy thermometer is on its last sticky legs definitely use another one." Written on March 20th.

For those who didn't leave me their email (Diane and Alejandra) write me at gesineconfectionary@gmail.com with your address and your shirt size! The shirts are made for women and slightly fitted so you may want to size up.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!

Sugar Baby on the Today Show!

2011-03-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Click here to watch Sugar Baby on Today!

I had a great time buzzing through Parisian macaron on the Today Show. Don't buy them...MAKE THEM! The recipe's in Sugar Baby!

SugarBaby Companion Site!

2011-03-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for tips and tricks or just more pictures from SugarBaby, come visit me at www.sugarbabycookbook.com for some sugaring fun!

SUGARBABY!

2011-03-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the intrepid bakers over at my baking forum, I was informed that SugarBaby was slipping out earlier than April 1st.

And then my friend Jay emailed a picture of the book in his hot little hands, fresh from a bookstore in Baltimore.

I'm wondering if this is some nefarious plot to confuse me as to when exactly I'm supposed to celebrate, keeping the local cache of champagne safe from my sticky little sugar hands.

Either way, this has led to my releasing the privacy clutches around the sugar baby website. I'm still working on a few posts...and will continue to post ideas and demos as needed.

NOW GO GET SOME SUGAR, BABY!

Hot Pockets of Purim: The Sugaring Hamantaschen!

2011-03-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Purim is upon us at just the right moment...when we Vermonters are in the thick of sugaring.

That means the Hamantaschen are going to be maple infused this year, whether you like it or not.

I have a sneaking suspicion you'll like it.

Hamantaschen, the tri-cornered cookie hat of victory and goodness, are traditionally stuffed with poppyseed or fruity fillings. But when I see a sweet vessel, perfectly pinched in such a manner that a host of fillings might happily (and safely) reside in her buttery embrace, my mind goes straight to custard.

And so it is that my Hamantaschen became maple custard infused (and apricot topped).

Maple Custard Hamantaschen

(Makes about 25 cookies)

For the dough

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces, 12 tablespoons)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
pinch nutmeg

Procedure

-Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with the paddle attachment. Add the egg, vanilla, salt and nutmeg and continue to mix until the egg is completely incorporated and the batter is once again smooth.

-Add the flour and mix until the dough JUST comes together. Don't over mix.

-Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Press the dough into a tight, flat round. Cover entirely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour.

For the custard

Ingredients

1 cup cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup of maple syrup
2 tablespoons corn starch
pinch salt
pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean extract

Procedure

-Whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a metal bowl. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.

-Continue whisking the mixture over a bain marie until the maple custard thickens. Immediately pour through a sieve into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap so the custard doesn't form a skin. Refrigerate until completely cool.

To Assemble

You'll need: egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water)

-Preheat oven to 350º.

-Roll the dough about 1/8 thick and using a cookie cutter/ biscuit cutter/cake round, cut into 2" rounds.

-Brush the rounds with egg wash.

-Dollop about 1 - 2 teaspoons onto the middle of each round.

-Pinch the sides of the round on three sides to form a tri-cornered vessel that completely contains the custard. Pinch rather aggressively, otherwise the cookies will come apart in the oven.

-Brush the outsides of the Hamantaschen with egg wash.

-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Maple Custard Goodness.

-I've topped my little hot pockets with heart shaped dried apricots. This adds a little fruity flavor and gives the treats a nice pop of color.

To Japan, With Love...

2011-03-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Donate @ www.forjapanwithlove.com

Japanese Friends

2011-03-11T19:04:00.001-08:00

Dear Japan,

Know that you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Love,
the bakers

SugarBaby Contest!

2011-03-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Sugar Baby is coming April 1st! I'm so darn excited about the prospect of you learning to play with sugar that I'm going to give away 3 signed copies of Sugar Baby on the publication date. But that's not all!

You see! That's the thermometer up there, in the pictures, on the upper left hand side in the book! And that's the my very own Maverick, just waiting to get dipped in hot sugar again!

The kind people at Maverick, the makers of my all time favorite candy thermometer, were so kind as to give me three super duper digital thermometers to do with as I saw fit. And I see fit to give them away with the 3 books!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! The three lucky winners will also get a Gesine Confectionary t-shirt! AHHHHH! Can you even take it???

Here's how you enter. Simply leave a comment on this blog post until midnight March 31st (one entry per person. I'm paying attention!). On April 1st, I'll select the 3 winners by using a random number generator (thank you Tracy!). Once I announce the winners, the lucky sweet peeps will simply have to send me their addresses, their shirt size (ladies sizes only, sorry gents) and sit back and await delivery of their goodies.

Good luck!

P.S. This contest is INTERNATIONAL! I'll send the goods anywhere! Don't sign in anonymously and if you do, put your name on your entry. Even better, put your name and last initial or a silly nickname to differentiate yourself. And remember, comments are moderated so they won't appear immediately. Just be patient and they will be posted, so there's no need to double and triple comment.

Chocolate Stout Pudding!

2011-03-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've had a bottle of Chocolate Stout languishing in my fridge since October. It came in a Harpoon Brewery multi-pack. We drank everything else, leaving one lone beer that no one wanted. This made me feel guilty. I needed to drink it or use it before St. Patrick's Day rolled around.

I had a spot of maple syrup left from last year's tapping just lolling at the bottom of a bottle at the back of the fridge. We're working on this year's batch. With about 1/2 cup of amber sitting around just as I'm boiling down gallons of sap, I was feeling guilty. I needed to drink it straight from the bottle or use it.

And then it came to me: pudding. I was going to make pudding and put all the ingredients to use.

How about some donut with that pudding?

The beauty of pudding is that you can eat it straight, shove it into a donut or use it as a tart filling. For a multi-tasking baker lady, it's the perfect treat to have hanging around as Fasching and St. Patty's day roll around.

Chocolate Stout Pudding

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use Callebaut Extra Brute)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 bottle chocolate stout (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

PROCEDURE

Cocoa powder and cornstarch waiting for the rest of their friends.

-Whisk together cocoa powder, maple syrup, cornstarch, chocolate stout, egg yolks, salt and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment.

-In a large saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer.

-With the mixer running on low, carefully pour the hot cream into the cocoa powder mixture. Whisk until completely combined.

Transfer from the mixer back into the saucepan.

-Transfer the liquid back into the saucepan and whisk over medium heat until the pudding thickens.

Getting there...just not thick enough, though.

That's what I'm talking about!

-Ladle the pudding into serving glasses. Cover the tops with a small piece of plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming, making sure the wrap touches the surface of the pudding.

Ladle!

-Refrigerate until completely cool.

CHILL!

-Top with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

King Cake for Our Queen

2011-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Tallulah the Catahoula came to us by way of Louisiana. We had not planned on adopting another fur baby. We'd recently lost our beloved April the Boston Terrier. We were busy smothering our remaining pups with love. It seemed callous to bring a new pawed soul into our home so soon after the little one's passing.

I'm such a sucker for those baby blues.

But as these things happen, a grey pip squeak managed to squirrel her way into Ray's heart when he happened upon her during his travels in Louisiana. He had only meant to leave the Bayou State with an LSU t-shirt and a tailgate hangover. Instead, he brought home a puppy.

I thank him every day for his foresight and curse him that I love her so that I let her sprawl in the bed next to me, stealing the covers and leaving my toes exposed.

Catahoula's are a Louisiana native. Their proper name is Catahoula Leopard Cur and they boast a grand lineage, descending from the Spanish Conquistador war dogs who were left behind with the American natives, who then bred them with the local wolf population. Apparently, they also taught them to like cake and snuggles.

So it's with the pelican state in my heart and Tallulah begging at my feet for some of her hometown cooking that I make the King Cake...and of course I let her choose the first piece.

Laissez les bon temps roulez, y'all.

King Cake

My recipe is a lush sweet roll, intertwined with bourbon cinnamon laced pastry cream. It's great any time of the year, not just Mardi Gras.

INGREDIENTS

5 cups bread flour (plus a cup more just in case the dough is too sticky...)
1 tablespoon INSTANT yeast
2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups whole milk
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
4 tablespoons/2 ounces room temperature unsalted butter

2 egg whites, set aside in a small bowl

To doctor the pastry cream: 2 tablespoons bourbon & 1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the glaze: 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, divided among three bowls. 1 - 2 tablespoons of milk per individual bowl and 1 drop dye each of green, yellow and purple in each bowl. Mix until smooth.

For the baby: 1 pecan

PROCEDURE

Preheat oven to 350º

-Make the pastry cream per the directions in this post. Allow to cool completely.

-Place flour, yeast and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the dough hook attachment. Stir the dry ingredients together.

-Whisk together the maple syrup, 2 eggs, milk, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste.

-With the mixer on low, add the wet ingredients. When the wet ingredients are just combined, slowly add bits of the butter.

-Mix the dough until it starts to pull from the sides of the bowl and is very shiny. If the dough is very sticky, slowly add more flour from the extra cup. The mixing process can take quite a while, up to 15 minutes. Be patient.

When the dough looks rough like this, it needs quite a bit more time in the mixer.

Better. Shinier. Almost there.

-Bulk proof the dough in a large bowl, spray with non-stick spray, until the dough doubles in size.

Starting out...not risen. Bulk proofing means letting all the dough rise together in a big heap.

Almost there!

-Punch down the dough and roll out into a rough rectangle, approximately 24" long and 10" to 12" wide.

Slathered with pastry cream.

-Mix the bourbon and cinnamon into the pastry cream, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Spread the pastry cream over the rectangle of dough.

-Roll the dough, starting with the long edge closest to you, into a jelly roll.

-Form the jelly roll into a circle, pinching the cut ends together gently.

Slice it up.

-Every few inches, make a cut into the top of the cake and brush the entirety with egg white.

Let it rise again!

-Allow to rise until doubled in size. Brush again with egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
-Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Golden

-Allow to cool completely. Hide a pecan in the cake by sticking it gently in one of the cut openings.

hide a pecan!

-Paint glaze stripes willy nilly.

Tallulah Enjoys! She's not really licking the actual cake, it just looks like it. I swear.

An Update...

2011-02-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

Psychedelic Sugar Bowl! You too can make edible pottery ... just follow the recipe in SugarBaby and get extra guidance on the companion website.

I love pictures, especially in cookbooks. And if there isn't a picture to go along with a recipe, I'm despondent.

But I understand it's impractical and cost prohibitive to laden a cookbook with color photographs of every single recipe along with detailed photo tutorials for making the goodies. That was certainly the case when we were working on putting together SugarBaby.

There will be a video demo for making French Macaron. Even instruction on how to pipe them into hearts. These are green tea guava. I just ate one. They are delicious.

Photo tutorial for fleur de sel caramel spirals on the site too!

But I'm here to reassure you that you will never be alone because alongside the publication of the book on April 1st, I will launch a companion website with photographs and tutorials, both photo and video, to supplement the book.

Quilted Lollipops. Photo tutorial on the site.

So bookmark www.sugarbabycookbook.com, it's not live yet so you won't be able to peruse it until April 1st but I wanted you to have everything in your sweet arsenal the moment you get the cookbook in your hot little hands.

( ***Remember, it's not live so if you click on the link, at the moment it will say you are not invited. But everyone's invited April 1st***)

Video demo will be on the companion website! Well, you can also catch me slinging sugar on the sugarbaby trailer.

Alles Gute Zum Geburtstag, Mutti. Helga's Birthday Wish!

2011-02-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Today is my mother's birthday. I won't tell you how old she'd have been; she'd find a way to haunt me if I disclosed her age...even if it's one she never reached.

If you've read my book Confections of a Closet Master Baker/My Life from Scratch, you are well aware of Helga's baking influence on her daughter. There's not a day that I don't think of her when I'm in my bakery, regretting that we never shared my professional pastry life. She'd have been a force in my kitchen. Perhaps she still is.

Take some time today to remember those you've lost who nourished your heart and your belly. That's what I'll be doing today. Thinking of my mother, my Omi and all the sweet souls who took time to feed me.

And while you're at it, you can show your love through a donation to the American Cancer Society. I'm running as many marathons as it takes to raise $64,000 in honor of my mom, that's $1,000 for every year she lived (Sorry mom. But you were a great looking 64, even with the crappy cancer).

King Arthur Flour Class! SUGARBABY!!!

2011-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'll be teaching at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont May 6 (demo) and 7th (hands on!).

We'll be playing with sugar for hours, right out of the pages of Sugar Baby!

Come Join Us!

The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me Cake

2011-02-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

Continuing as I have been, honoring modern day St. Valentines with cakes that most suit their loving personalities, I would be remiss if I didn't include the greatest romantic of our modern age:

Kermit the Frog.

It's not just any amphibian who would wrangle a bango onto a lily pad, serenading all and sundry swamp creatures in ear shot.

It's not just any amphibian who would hold fast to a porcine hellian, to a swine both vain and unpredictably violent with unwavering love and support. Miss Piggy is one lucky oinker.

It's not just any amphibian who made it look so easy to be green, when we all know it isn't.

And it's not just any amphibian who can sing of rainbows and dreams with an utter lack of cynicism and turn us all into believers.

So for Kermit, I make a cake built for the lovers, the dreamers and you.

The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me Cake

For the cake:

1 pound (4 sticks) room temperature, unsalted butter
4 cups sugar
10 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons lemon extract
6 cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 cups non-fat buttermilk

Procedure

-Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

-Slowly add eggs, one at a time. Beat for 1 minute between each incorporation. Add lemon extract
-Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt

-Add 1/4 of the butter milk and then 1/3 of the flour mixture. Continue alternating between each until both are completely incorporated. Don't over mix.

-Divide the batter between 7 bowls, approximately 2 cups of batter in each bowl.

-I mix and match my dyes to come up with the following colors, Deep purple, lighter purple, blue, green, orange, yellow and red. 2 drops of dye should be enough for each bowl.

-line a jelly roll pan or half sheet pan with parchment. Using a ruler, measuring along the width (the shorter side) of the pan, Divide the pan into 1/2. Fill a pastry bag fit with a large open tip with the red batter. Pipe the batter on half the sheetpan. You'll use all the batter. Clean the tip and bag (unless you use disposable bags), and fill the clean bag with orange batter. Fill the remaining 1/2 of the sheetpan with orange batter.

I fit all the batter on to my mondo sheetpan. But you'll divide among half sheet pans.

-Continue dividing sheetpans with batter. There will be one sheet pan since there are 7 colors in all, that will only be half filled. The batter is rather sturdy and won't really spread to badly but if you fear spreading, use a square cake pan or pyrex to act as a dam.

-Bake at 350º for about 25 - 30 minutes. Poke the cake and if it springs back, it's done.

-Allow the cakes to cool completely. While they are cooling, make a batch of cream cheese frosting.

-once the cakes of cooled, trim each cake to 4 1/2 -5 inch wide strips. Trim the end of the cakes as well. Transfer the red layer to a clean sheetpan lined with parchment. Apply a very thin and even layer of frosting over the red layer and then carefully transfer the orange layer and place on top of the red frosted layer. Continue frosting and layer with the yellow, green, blue and purples. Freeze the cake for 1/2 hour to stabilize it.

Not looking so stable at the moment. But freeze for a bit and it's all good.

-Remove the cake from the freezer and trip the sides and ends with a very sharp serrated knife. The sides need to be perfectly level so be slow and steady. Apply a thing crumb coat of frosting on all sides of the cake and freeze again for a half hour.

-Remove the cake from the freezer and gently transfer the cake to a serving platter. You can leave the cake with the layers lying horizontally. Or , if you prefer vertical layers (as I do), turn the cake over on its side. Apply a thin layer of frosting to the newly exposed side of the cake and freeze for 10 minutes until the frosting has set.

-Apply a finished coat of frosting over the entirety of the cake.

-If you have extra pieces of cake (I like to use the red), I put them on a sheetpan and bake at 225º until the cake has dried (but not browned). I cool the cake and then pulse to a fine crumb in the food processor.

-Fold a piece of parchment in half and cut varied sized hearts from the parchment and apply to the top of the cake. Pat the cake crumbs along the sides and top of the cake and brush away any excess. Make sure to brush the crumbs from the top of the parchment hearts so that the crumbs don't tumble onto the pristine outlines of the hearts. Gently remove the parchment.

The cake crumbs give the cake a little "muppet" shag.

-You can simply slice the cake and serve as is. But if you like the heart shaped slice, after you've cut a normal slice and use a heart shaped cake ring or cookie cutter to stamp out a heart shape.

Because You're Mine Cake

2011-02-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

When I think of music loaded with romance, that pulls at the molten ganache core of my soft, pliant heart, my internal radio dial immediately tunes itself to the Man in Black. Johnny Cash.

Volumes of love balladeers cater to schmaltz and treacly sentiments. Not Mr. Cash, he struck the bull's-eye of love. He walked the line.

In honor of the Man in Black, a modern day St. Valentine if there ever was one, I present to you the "Because You're Mine Cake" because Johnny Cash was a stand-up man. He walked the line when it came to the cause of true love. His memory deserves a cake that does the same.

Because You're Mine Cake

Makes One Cake

This cake requires five separate elements. A vanilla cake that acts as base and top. Ganache for sealant and decoration. Chocolate roulade for the vertical layers. Sweetened, vanilla whipped cream for the roulade filling. And vanilla bean buttercream to hold it all together.

Click "ganache" and "buttercream" for the links on this site for those recipes. (For the buttercream, instead of adding juices or purées, simply add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. You'll also make a smaller batch. Follow the procedure however you'll only need 5 egg whites, 1 cup sugar , 1/3 cup water and 10 ounces of unsalted butter).

For the Vanilla Cake

Do you know the Golden Egg Cake? Of course you do. This is a version of that lovely pastry, the ratio is smaller than what you'll be used to.

Ingredients

4 ounces (one stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs (medium sized. Grab the smallest you can find)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract

Procedure
-Preheat oven to 350º.
-Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This takes a few minutes. Patience, people.
-Add eggs, one at a time. Don't add another egg until the last is COMPLETELY incorporated. Wait a minute. At least. Add vanilla bean paste.
-Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add 1/3 of the flour and then 1/2 buttermilk. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and then the remainder of the buttermilk and finish of with the remaining flour. Mix until just incorporated. Don't overmix!
-Spray a 10" cake pan or ring with non-stick cake spray and line the bottom with parchment. Fill the pan with batter and bake for 20 minutes, until done. Poke that cake and make sure it springs back to insure it's done.
-Allow to cool completely. Remove from pan and carefully cut the cake in half. Set aside.

For the Roulade
Ingredients

4 1/2 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 ounces cocoa powder (Dutch process. I use Callebaut Extra Brute)
6 ounces sugar
24 egg yolks (I KNOW! Don't even get me started. )
8 egg whites (I KNOW! So many more yolks than whites! But make meringues with the rest OR just freeze the whites for later use. I do.)
1 teaspoons vanilla bean extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons coffee extract (optional)

Procedure
-preheat oven to 400º
-line two half sheet pans/jelly roll pans with parchment and spray with non-stick spray. I use a full sheetpan (see the picture) but I have a professional, gigantic oven. So you'll divide the batter evenly among the two half sheets.
-Whisk together the egg yolks, 1/2 the sugar and the vanilla bean extract and coffee extract until the mixtures lightens to a pale yellow
-Whip the egg whites with the salt until foamy and then slowly add the remaining sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form.
-Whisk together the flour and the cocoa powder.
-Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten. Then gently fold in the remaining whites. Sift the cocoa/flour mixture over the eggs and continue to gently fold the until the flour/cocoa mixture is evenly distributed (pockets of cocoa/flour will stick around for a while so make sure to turn the bowl as you go to get into ever crevice where the flour may hide).

This is my monster pan that can hold all the batter. You'll use two.

-Divide the batter evenly among the pans and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the cake springs back when you poke it. Let it cool completely.

For the whipped cream:

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (optional)
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

-whisk together until you achieve stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge.

To assemble:

-Cut both roulades into long strips, 3" wide (you'll get 4 strips from each pan). I notch the top and the bottom of the cake at the 3" mark and then use a ruler to keep the strips even.

Getting ready to make my first cut, using the ruler as a guide to keep it even.

-Divide the whipped cream in half among the two cakes. Spread a very thin and even layer of whipped cream over the entirety of both cakes.
-Roll the first strip, the cream side in, into a tight roll. Move the strip over to the start of the next strip, and continue rolling, the end of the first roll touching the beginning of the second, and you'll keep add strips to make a big fat spiral of cake! A snowball effect but in cake! You may have more cake than you need. Stop when you're spiral is 10" wide.

SPIRAL!

-Add a thin layer of ganache to one of the yellow cake layers(make sure the ganache is spreadable before starting). Just enough to cover the top. Place your giant spiral on top of the ganache.

Thin layer of ganache. Only enough to cover the top of the yellow cake but just enough to adhere the giant spiral!

-Schmear a thin layer of ganache over the top of the spiral cake and top with the remaining layer of yellow cake.

Top layer!

If you have a 10 inch cake ring, to keep protect the cake while it sets. Otherwise, wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for an hour to set.

The ring keeps it all together.

-When the cake has set, remove the cake ring or plastic wrap and cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Put in the fridge to set. Put some buttercream aside in a pastry bag fit with a small, open tip for decorating the cake later.
-When the cake has set, spread a thin layer of ganache (again, make sure that it's spreadable. If it has hardened, warm it gently over a water bath) over the top of the cake. If you aren't confident with your skills, attach a parchment strip to the sides of the cake to keep the ganache from flowing over onto the sides. Once the top is covered, remove the parchment if using and transfer the cake to the fridge to set.
-Place the remaining ganache in a pastry bag fit with a medium open tip. Place a piece of parchment on a sheetpan and pipe hearts onto the parchment paper. Freeze the hearts until set.

If the hearts won't stick, add a little extra ganache to the back to make 'em stick.

-When the ganache has hardened, both on the top of the cake and the individual hearts, remove the hearts with a small offset spatula and apply to the sides of the cake. If you're having trouble getting them to stick, add a little extra ganache to the back of the hearts as glue.
-Pipe your loving sentiment with the remaining buttercream on top.

Happy Valentine's Day! Now go listen to some Johnny Cash to set the mood.

Love is Patient Cake: Pomegranate/Key Lime Chiffon Puzzle Cake

2011-02-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

Pomegranate/Key Lime "Love is Patient Cake"

Green Tea/Cassis "Love is Patient Cake"

In elementary school, we took a few hours the week of Valentine's Day to craft something special. We'd mangle craft paper with child safety scissors and adorn the soft paper with globules of paste. We'd wantonly sprinkle glitter and sequins in the general direction of our project. We'd weave heart shaped baskets to contain any sentimental missives we might receive as well. We took care and pleasure in our work, relishing in the possibility of making someone happy.

But to woo with any mastery, you must take time with your gifts of love. You must have patience.

This cake, requires both: love and patience. But if you master it, your sweet declaration will be very well received.

Love Is Patient Cake

For this puzzle of a cake, you'll need layers and layers of chiffon cake to assemble this properly. You may think to yourself that there's possibly too much cake involved. And I'd agree with you if you were already adept at making this. Otherwise, you'll thank me that you have extra with which to play.

Before we start, keep in mind that for a single cake, you're going to need 3 layers of pomegranate chiffon and 2 layers of key lime chiffon (or 3 layers green tea and 2 layers cassis). Each layer will be 1/2 inch thick. Repeat this to yourself, 3 layers pomegranate and 2 layers key lime chiffon. 1/2 inch thick. Before you start, make sure you have the following handy: (1) cardboard cake rounds or similar to hold all your layers (2) toothpicks (3) a large, very sharp, serrated knife (4) a revolving cake stand (5) 2 10" cake rounds (6) patience.

For the Chiffon Layers

Chiffon is made with oil. This means it's perfect for freezing. And because this cake takes such a long time to make, you can build it ahead of time, frost it and then cover & freeze until the big reveal.

Makes (2) 10" layers

Preheat oven to 375º (350º convection)

Ingredients

(NOTE: This recipe is for the white and pink cake, the green and purple cake is green tea/cassis. If you'd prefer this flavor combo, you'll need 3 layers of green tea cake and 2 layers cassis chiffon. In this case, for the green tea chiffon use 1 cup green tea +1 tablespoon matcha powder instead of the 1 cup juice along with a drop of green dye. For the cassis, use 1/2 cup cassis purée mixed with 1/2 cup water)

*** You'll need to make this recipe TWICE, once for pomegranate and once for key lime. So remember, you'll need double this amount in ingredients***

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 eggs, room temperature and separated
2/3 cup vegetable oil (Canola is perfect as well)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pomegranate juice (for the key lime chiffon, you'll use 1/2 cup key lime juice and 1/2 cup water)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 drop red dye for the pomegranate cake (optional)

Procedure

-Prepare your cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment sprayed with non-stick spray. DO NOT SPRAY THE SIDES OF THE CAKE PAN WITH NON-STICK SPRAY! You don't want the cake to pull from the sides, this helps the cake from collapsing before it cools and keeps the size of the cakes uniform. (I use cake rings, that are bottomless. I place parchment on a sheetpan and spray that and then plop the rings down so none of the spray touches the sides).

-In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together 8 egg yolks and oil until combined. Add pomegranate juice and dye if using (or key lime) slowly until just combined.

-Sift together the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to the egg yolk mixture and whisk for about 40 seconds. Set aside.

-In a CLEAN and DRY mixing bowl fit with a CLEAN whisk attachment, whisk egg whites until foamy. Slowly add remaining 1 cup of sugar and whisk on high until you achieve, stiff white peaks. Make sure not to over whip to the point of chunky dryness.

-Gently fold in the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture with a rubber spatula, until fully combined.

-Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cake bounces back when you poke it.

-Repeat with the key lime chiffon.

Wait until the cake is cool and run a thin, sharp knife along the sides to release the cake

-You'll have 2 cake rounds each of pomegranate chiffon and key lime chiffon. Allow the cakes to cool before you release them from the pan with a very thin, sharp knife run along the very edge of the pan. If you release the cakes too soon, they may collapse. PATIENCE!

-While your cakes are cooling make the buttercream.

BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 cups water
squirt of lemon
15 egg whites
pinch of salt
2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferable a little cooler than room temperature, if possible)
1/4 cup pomegranate juice (if you're making the green tea/ cassis version, replace with 1/4 cup cassis purée)
1 drop red dye

You'll need: A sugar thermometer

Procedure

-In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine sugar, water and squirt of lemon. Make sure the sugar is completely saturated so that it looks like wet sand an no dry spots can be seen. Place over medium low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has completely melted. With a pastry brush dipped in water, brush the sides of the pan to remove any sugar crystals clinging to the sides. Stop stirring, turn of the heat to high, attach the sugar thermometer and heat to 234º (soft ball).

-While you're tending your sugar, whisk the egg whites and salt together until they are foamy. When the sugar has come to temperature, very carefully transfer the HOT sugar syrup to the mixer and while the mixer is running on medium/medium high, SLOWLY and CAREFULLY pour the hot sugar mixture down the SIDE of the bowl and into the egg whites. Add all the sugar and whisk on high until the meringue achieves stiff peaks and the mixing bowl is cool to the touch (this is important, if the meringue is warm, the butter will melt and the buttercream won't come together. If think this has happened, put the bowl in the freezer for minute and then start mixing again).

-Slowly add bits of butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time. There's a chance you won't need all of the butter. Keep an eye out for the texture of the buttercream, it's takes some time to come together. But a visual cue is when it looks as if its starting to separate or curdle. This is an indication that with a little more whisking, the buttercream will smooth out and be ready.

-slowly add pomegranate juice and dye and whisk until fully combined.

See, it looks a bit nasty and curdled. Just a few more seconds of whisking and it will be ready!

SEE! It's ready!

ASSEMBLY

You'll need: Simple Syrup (microwave together 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water until the sugar has completely melted into the water).

This is what's going to blow your mind and your patience. But first, let's measure.

OK, we want 3 layers of pomegranate and 2 layers of key lime. You have 2 cake layers of each kind.

Take one layer and measure out 1/2 inch along the perimeter, placing toothpicks ever 2 inches or so along the perimeter and then measure out 1 inch thick. It's painstaking but if you're not a pro at eye balling and cutting layers, you'll thank me.

(helpful hint: Once the layers of chiffon are cooled and you've released them from the pan, put them in the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes. This will make the slicing easier.)

Measure and insert toothpicks!

Take your very sharp serrated knife and place it horizontally on the edge of the cake where the one inch marker is. The trick is to keep the knife perfectly level, using the toothpicks as a guide. Put one hand on top of the cake and spin the cake on the cake stand slowly and just keep the knife level. Let the spinning motion to the hard work, don't move the knife. Keep spinning and let the knife naturally cut into the cake. Don't saw, just let it keep spinning and applying small pressure to the knife, keeping it level, so that it slices cleanly through the cake, making an even layer.

Put the top layer aside on a cardboard cake round. Continue with the second layer, so you end up with 3 layers total. Do this with the remaining (3) cake rounds.

Keep the knife level and let the spinning of the cake platter do most of the work.

So if you're counting, you've got 12 layers of cake. But chances are, not all of them are perfect, are they? I didn't think so. If they are, then you could ostensibly make 2 separate cakes but I've got a feeling you're looking at the mess before you and you're thanking St. Valentine that you've got the extra.

Choose the BEST and most even layers of cake: 3 layers of pomegranate and 2 layers of key lime. Brush the top of each with simple syrup.

Take a layer of pomegranate and spread about 1 cup of butter cream evenly over the entire cake. It should be about 1/8" thick. Place a key lime layer on top of the buttercream layer and then add another 1/8" layer to that. Continue like this with another pomegranate layer and then another key lime layer. So now you have a 4 layer cake sitting in front of you. Phew. The easy part is over. Place this cake in the fridge until the butter cream has completely set. For about an hour.

Take a deep breath. Now take another. Find an 8" round cake pan or even a 8" pot lid. You need a guide, that's all. Set aside. Get a REALLY sharp, thin knife. It can be serrated or not. Get a tall glass of very hot water and dip the knife in the water. Take the cake out of the fridge and center the 8" circle guide on top of the cake and using your knife, draw a very shallow guide line. Again, this is just a marker, not a deep cut. And with a sharp knife in your hand and a prayer on your lips...

This is my crater. See, it's not perfect. I'm going to be schmearing this with a layer of buttercream anyway.

Remove your guide and place your knife at an angle, about 45 degrees, and cut along the 8" guide into the cake. you are taking out a cone shaped chunk of cake from the middle of the cake and you may feel the knife hit the bottom. That's ok. Just keep it steady and even as you cut at an angle INTO the cake. When you've gotten all the way around, take another cake round and place it on top of the cake and invert it so that the cone piece you've cut comes out. If it's perfect, the narrowest end of the cone will measure bout 2" across. But if it's not perfect, don't worry. Set the cone piece of cake aside.

The crater is schmeared and waiting to be topped with the last pomegranate layer.

Invert the original cake, now with a hole, back to it's original position so you're staring at a cake with a crater dug into it. Take a deep breath. Layer the crater and the top rim of cake with an 1/8" layer of butter cream. Take that 3rd layer of pomegranate cake that's been hanging around and place on top of the cratered cake so it sits on top. Don't press on it. You want this lying flat. Quickly grab a cake cardboard circle, place on top of the pomegranate layer and invert the cake, so that the pomegranate layer is now the bottom of the cake. Press GENTLY on the center of the cake so that you reverse the crater. It may crack a little, that's ok. Keep pressing along the top until you've created an indentation at the middle of the cake that mimics your original crater. It's scary to be shoving a cake into place but that's what you need to do.

Spread another 1/8" layer of buttercream into the crater and along the rim. Now grab the cone of cake you set aside and insert it into your newly formed crater. Press gently. Apply a thin layer (a crumb coat) of buttercream onto the top and sides of the cake and refrigerate until set.

Take a look around. It's a mess. but chances are you'll have a few cake bits lying around. I take the key lime bits and cut off any browned areas and place on a sheetpan. I dry out those pieces in a 200 - 250 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I cool the cake pieces and then pulverized in a food processor. I use those fine crumbs to coat the sides of the cake! You see, there is another use for all that extra!

Smooth the remaining buttercream on the cake in a smooth, finished layer. Cut hearts from parchment and smooth them onto the top and the sides of the cake until they are firmly attached. Gently press the cake crumbs on the cake until it's covered evenly. Brush off any areas where the crumbs have clumped and then carefully removed the parchment pieces.

Breath a sigh of relief.

Running in Circles

2011-01-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

that's me. No, not one of the dudes. The one with the white hat. No, not the dude with the green tank top. I'm the one with the blue tank top. Sheesh

Because I'm not cramming enough onto my plate, there's another blog that I'll now be nurturing. If you're looking for alternative baking recipes, ones that tend towards a super healthy bent, this is the place for you too.

Here's a the link if you're inclined to check it out. The focus of this blog is to follow my fundraising journey for American Cancer Society. I'll be running as many marathons as it takes to raise $64,000, that's $1,000 for each year my mother lived.

Manna Bread. See, this is the kind of stuff you'll find there!

Along the way, I'll be baking things for long run sustenance not just for fun. No worries, I plan on making fun every day.

And since I bake as much as I do, running keeps the extra muffin tops off my muffin top.

And if you've ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I'd love to run a marathon one day but I don't think I can." Let me tell you, barring major physical impairment, you can. You don't have to win. You just have to run. And the experience is like no other. Especially when you run for people you love and for a cause you believe in.

Time Flies Like an Arrow. Fruit Flies Like a Banana.

2011-01-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

With three brown bananas languishing on the kitchen counter, I had little choice but to toss them or pulverize them in the name of pastry.

I went the more destructive route and puréed those puppies in my food processor with a banana's closest chum, spiced rum.

It's the rare occasion that a food stuff's flavor is enlivened by a good dose of incipient rot but you can count bananas as the lucky benefactor of heightened piquancy by way of decay. As long as you don't mind the army of fruit flies setting up camp in your kitchen to enjoy the show.

While banana bread might be the cornerstone of overripe banana usage, I had pound cake on the brain and a pullman loaf pan begging for some action. So I give to you, one of the easiest recipes known to man: the banana pound cake.

Banana Pound Cake

Yes, pound cake is named quite justly, with a pound of each of four ingredients making up the whole. 1 pound butter, 1 pound sugar, 1 pound egg and 1 pound of flour. Some Americans add sour cream. Some folks trade out some of the butter for margarine. Others add some baking powder, though just a skosh. I add bananas. While most recipes call for less than a pound of each ingredient (it's quite a bit of batter in the end) I use a pullman loaf pan for pound cakes, which is a vessel large enough to take in all the batter and its perfect shape makes for a gorgeous finished cake.

Preheat oven to 350º (convection to 325º)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound unsalted butter (4 sticks)
1 pound brown sugar (one box of Domino's brown sugar is a pound)
1 pound eggs (9 large, usually)
1 pound AP flour (best to weight it out. Trust me).
3 large, overripe bananas
3 tablespoons Cap't Morgan's Spiced Dark Rum
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

PROCEDURE

-In a food processor, pulverize the bananas, rum and vanilla until completely smooth. Set aside.
-With the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next.
-Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
-With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour and then 1/3 of the banana purée. Keep alternating between the two until they are completely incorporated.

-Spray the pullman loaf with non stick spray. Line with parchment and spray the parchment again. Make sure the parchment hangs over the sides of the pan so that you have something to grab when you remove the cake
-Pour the batter into the loaf pan, schmearing so that it's evenly distributed. Bake for one hour to an 1 1/2 hours. Definitely check the cake with a toothpick after one hour to see if the toothpick comes away clean. The sides of the cake tend to over brown if you leave in the oven too long but even if this happens, the cake itself will stay beautifully moist.
-For a Valentines touch, I use a petite four heart cutter, stamp out a lovely heart and then fill the void with caramel.

SugarBaby Book Trailer

2011-01-25T14:12:00.001-08:00

The SugarBaby book trailer is here!

Sugar Baby Book Trailer from Raymond Prado on Vimeo.

Meringue for the Resolute

2011-01-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

If I had but one morsel to tide me over for a lifetime, if some cruel cosmic joke required me to make a decision wherein I could only choose a solitary confection among the thousands I adore, I would tap meringue.

In my dessert doomsday scenario, I would adopt a pastry that's allowed to be many things at once.

Meringue is an island: Ile Flottante!

Meringue is multi-cultural: Swiss, Italian, French! Oh my!

Meringue is the tops: Lemon Meringue pie!

Meringue is a ballerina: Pavlova!

Meringue is fancy: macaron!

Meringue is svelte: It's fat free!

During this one month in which we cling to a misguided belief that we can be resolute in our culinary restrictions, let's not forget that meringue is there to sweeten the dog days of caloric restraint (granted, it's full of sugar but let's ignore that for now).

Resolute Meringue

This is a riff of a traditional Pavlova: schmear a blob of meringue onto a baking sheet, with out any real care for presentation. Once it's baked you slather with whipped cream and top with fruit.

In the spirit of parsimony and structure, I prefer to pipe the meringue in tight circles and sandwich with a lightly sweetened greek yogurt. The presentation, however, if entirely up to you.

For the meringue:
preheat oven to 250º

Ingredients

5 ounces egg whites (approximately 5 egg whites)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 pinch salt

Procedure

-Whisk together egg whites, vinegar and pinch salt until foamy
-Stir together sugar and cornstarch and slowly pour into the egg white mixture with the mixer beating on medium high.
-Whisk on high until you achieve medium stiff peaks. Be very careful not to over beat the meringue that it becomes dry.

-Draw out 4" circles on a piece of parchment (I draw out 8 circles. This may require two sheetpans). Flip the parchment over onto a sheetpan so that the ink or pencil is face down ( you don't want it to transfer to the meringue) but your still able to see the outline of the circle.

-Fill a large piping bag fit with a medium open tip with the meringue and pipe disks within the confines of the circles. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes.

-On another sheetpan, lined with parchment, pipe small hearts with remaining meringue. Bake the hearts for 15 to 20 minutes.

For the filling:

Ingredients

1 cup greek style yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 pint raspberries

Procedure
-Drain excess yogurt water away. Mix yogurt and honey together well and chill.
-Layer one meringue disk (that's completely cool) with 3 tablespoons yogurt, making sure to leave room along the edges for the raspberries. Line the perimeter with raspberries and top with another disk of meringue.
-Pipe a small dollop of yogurt onto the center of the top disk and apply a small meringue heart.
-Serve immediately.

Keeping it Simple for Santa: The Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

2010-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

He doesn't have the time or the patience to maneuver through elaborate culinary trickery. He wants it tasty and easy, a convenient nosh just out of the chimney flue to bolster him for the trip back out into the blustery night.

And it better be tasty.

So here's my recipe for what I believe is the perfect chocolate chip or anything chip cookie. It's chewy, flavorful and comes with an edge of crisp to tease your molars.

The Cookie

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup bread flour
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 large egg white
11 ounces (22 tablespoons or just over 2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (I use European)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

add ins

I divided the dough in half, putting 1 cup chocolate chips in one and 1/2 cup each of chopped macadamia nuts, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips in the other.

Procedure
preheat oven to 350º

-Cream together butter and sugar.
-Add eggs and egg white, one at a time.
-whisk together dry ingredients and slowly add to the mixer, being VERY careful not to over mix.

-fold in the add ins (this dough may require the use of your hands. Don't be afraid to use them).

-I used a VERY large cookie scoop and spaced the cookies 3 inches apart. Then I flattened them with the palm of my hand.

-Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until slightly golden (you know how you like your cookies. I prefer just a wee bit underbaked).

Here's the trick, though. During the baking, about every 5 minutes, I pull on an oven mitt, open the oven and grab the cookie sheet and SLAM it down. You see, I notice that the cookies are starting to puff a little. Of course they are, they have leavening in them. But I also want them CHEWY and flat. So every 5 minutes I slam the cookie sheet to counteract the leavening puff. Sounds absurd but I swear, this is what makes them super special.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and general happiness and well being, sweet people.

Drunken Figgy Pudding Log

2010-12-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite cake. I can't help it. The way it starts off, with the figs soaking in a brew of hot coffee and rum is absurd in its evil glory. And when it bakes, a blast of luscious aroma infuses everything and leads to the compulsion to check the oven every 2 minutes, "is it done yet? is it done yet? is it done yet?"

And once it's out of the oven, the flavor doesn't disappoint and paired with maple cream cheese frosting, this puppy is a damn fine beginning, middle or end to your day.

Figgy Pudding

3 cups brown sugar
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
7 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups chopped dried fig
3/4 cup hot coffee
1/4 cup cap't morgan's spiced rum
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

-Chop the figs and soak in the hot coffee and rum

I use a measuring cup with a spout to easily pour off the coffee/rum mixture when the times comes.

-Cream together the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy.
-Add eggs, one at a time and then add vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
-Drain the coffee/rum liquids from the figs but keep the liquid.
-Combine the coffee/rum reserved liquid with the heavy cream and stir to combine.
-Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder
-Add the flour and the coffee/cream liquids slowly, alternating between the two until they are just incorporated.
-Fold in the figs and pour the batter into a half sheet pan that's lined with parchment and has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
-Bake at 350º until golden brown, about 30 minutes. The cake should spring back when you poke it.

For the frosting
-Follow the directions for the cream cheese frosting but substitute maple sugar for the confectioner's sugar.

To assemble:

Cut the rings using a guide, if you don't have the appropriate sized cake rings.

-Cut (6) 6" circles from the cake. Fill the cakes with 1/3 cup frosting so you're left with three, double tiered cakes. Freeze until set.
-Using a small offset spatula, roughly frost the sides of the cakes with frosting to simulate bark. Refrigerate to set.
-While the cakes are setting, melt 1 cup of chopped chocolate and transfer to a pastry bag fit with a small open tip. Pipe tree rings on the top of each cake.
-Stack in a zig zag configuration. Impale the cakes with a wooden skewer if you're afraid that the cakes are unstable.

The Whoopie Claus

2010-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not entirely comfortable with baking Santa. I'm even less comfortable with the thought of eating poor St. Nick. But I've had this mold for years. It was a gift and I had gingerbread cake batter ready and waiting for some use. So here he sits, warm from the oven and smelling of gingerbread.

I've hedged my bets, knowing I'd be hard pressed not to break off a piece of his face and chow down immediately, only to feel a guilt last felt on the Donner Pass (if only a wee bit tastier guilt). So I made some whoopie pies with my remaining batter. I filled them with vanilla bean cream cheese icing just to make them that much more irresistible. I'll save the cake for some kids who'll feel far less remorse at cannibalizing the jolly gingerbread man.

Gingerbread Cake

1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of English breakfast tea, cooled to room temperature

-Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add molasses and honey and beat until well incorporated.
-Add eggs, one at a time and then slowly pour in the tea and vanilla.
-Whisk together the dry ingredients and slowly add, being careful not to over work the batter.

-I used about 3/4 of the batter for the Santa mold. I baked him at 350º for about and hour and 15 minutes. These old molds have a front and back, so you fill the batter with Santa face down and then put his back on and hope that there's enough batter to fill up out his jeans. For the whoopies, I used a large cookie scoop and scooped the batter directly onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I baked these for 20 minutes at 350º. With 1/4 of the batter left, I got a total of 3 whoopies. If I'd just gone ahead and gone all whoopie, I'm guessing I'd have ended up with 12 total.

With Delusions of Sugarplums...

2010-12-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

I danced with the fire and intensity of a thousand suns. I pirouetted, I jettéd, I pliéd and arabesqued. I did all these things with the lumpy grace of an ardvark.

I never fathomed that the euphoria and beauty that I felt as I spun and sprung didn't manifest into physical divinity. I relished the glee and never bothered to look in the gargantuan mirror that lined the entirety of the studio of the dance academy on Wisconsin Ave. Had I chanced a peak, I'd have seen a schlumpy, slouchy dervish with a manic grin plastered to her face.

I should have sensed that my talents did not lie in dance when I auditioned for the Washington Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker but I felt nothing but pride when I scampered into my mother's warm car and squealed, "I'm a rat! I'm a rat!"

That my dance instructors deciphered my corporeal movements as that of a rodent didn't squash my delusion one bit. I had a part!

It took some time, perhaps a year, for me to discover the truth. After a solo dance performance during my Junior High's annual musical production, my boyfriend broke up with me. He said, and I quote, "Man, that was just too embarrassing."

So it came to be that I would never dance the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.

I can, however, make a sugar plum.

Sugar Plums for Pavlova

Anna Pavlova was a glorious dancer, one famed for dancing the role of the Sugarplum Fairy. So she had that going for her. Oh, and then someone named a fabulous dessert after her.

In honor of her injudicious fabulousness, I've built a pavlova bowl to house the sugar plums.

For the bowl

INGREDIENTS
4 egg whites
1 cups sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 - 2 tablespoons cassis purée

PROCEDURE

Whisk the egg whites, purée, cream of tartar and salt until the egg whites start to foam. Slowly pour in the sugar and beat the meringue until you achieve very stiff peaks.

Pipe the meringues first into 3 disks: one 3 inches in diameter, one a 1/2 inch smaller and a third 1/2 smaller than the last.

Then pipe "flower" rounds. One 4" in diameter and increase the size from there, making each circle about 1/2 to 1 inch larger than the last. I've only used 3 disks and 3 florets to make a very shallow bowl. Any more and the whole thing can become very unstable. So I often pipe a few disks that are the same size and pick whichever looks the best and then eat the rest.

Bake at 225º - 250º for an hour and 15 minutes (or until the meringues harden). Monitor the meringues to make sure they aren't browning. Any hint of browning and you should lower the heat in your oven.

To assemble the bowl, stack the disks so the largest is first and then the middle and then the smallest is on top. The smallest "flower" disk will sit on top of the smallest regular disk and you'll add increasing larger flower disks to create your bowl. Stack as many as you dare.

For the Sugar plums

Sugar plums were originally simply sugar covered coriander and developed into a more involved confection as time passed. Now, it can include plums but needn't. The general ingredient list is dried fruits, spices, nuts and honey. I've added a bit more binding to the mix to keep the balls chewy and compact. Use which ever nuts and dried fruits you like best, you can even use prunes.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 cup dried apricots, finely diced
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (plus extra for coating the sugar plums)
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon powdered vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon all spice
zest of 1/2 a lemon
pinch salt

PROCEDURE
***make sure to have a heat proof rubber spatula coated with non stick cooking spray (or a metal spoon coated with non-stick cooking spray) handy because you are going to need it immediately after your sugar syrup is ready.

-toss the nuts, dried fruits, zest and dry spices and salt in a bowl until the fruits and nuts are coated
-in a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat turbinado sugar with 1/4 cup water and the bourbon over low heat, stirring until the sugar has melted.

-increase the heat to medium high and cook the sugar until you reach "soft ball" on a candy thermometer or 234º. Stir in the honey and allow to dissolve into the sugar syrup. Take from the heat and pour the mixture evenly over the nuts and dried fruit. Immediately and very quickly use your spatula or spoon to stir the mixture so that they are all evenly coated.

-coat your hands with non-stick spray and grab small portions of the mixture and squeeze into golf ball sized orbs. Squeeze hard so that the stuff sticks together and holds it's shape. Roll in the turbinado sugar to coat and wrap in wax paper and store in a cool dry place or display for a short time in a Pavlova bowl to get the full sugar plum effect.

A Bird in the Hand Isn't Worth 2 Buches

2010-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of using relatively inappropriate tools to great effect in pastry. Especially for home baking. I have tools that work beautifully for large production but they don't translate well when you have a smaller oven and sheet pans. So when I find something that works the same but on a smaller scale, even if I find it in the paint section at Home Depot, I do a happy dance.

As a matter of fact, I was in the paint section at the Home Depot this past Sunday and found the mother lode. The Martha Stewart paint effects collection. I immediately knew that I would use two of the tools to make buche. Run, don't walk, to your nearest Home Depot for some fabulous pastry supplies.

BUCHE, two ways

stripe and wood grain tool.

The buche I made with the wood grain effect was made with the decor sides and Helga Cake recipe for the interior cake, which I baked in a half sheet pan. I filled it with 2 cups of whipped cream, sweetened with 1/8 cup of maple syrup and flavored with 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste. I colored the decor paste with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.

For the chocolate and peppermint buche:

For the decor: follow directions in the blog post. When using the wood grain tool, follow directions that come along with the paint decor set. Be careful to press down very firmly when using the wood grain tool and clean it thoroughly between "swipes."

INGREDIENTS

for the cake
preheat oven to 350º

6 room temperature eggs, separated
12 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coffee
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

PROCEDURE

for the cake

-whisk together the egg yolks, 6 tablespoons sugar, coffee, corn starch and cocoa powder until incorporated.
-in a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until foamy. Slowly add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and whisk on high until you achieve medium firm peaks.
-stir 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
-Spray a parchment lined half sheet pan with non stick spray. Using an offset spatula, evenly and carefully spread the cake batter over the half sheet pan
-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cake springs back when you poke it. Do not over bake. You want the cake very moist so that it doesn't crack when you roll it.

For the filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint oil

whisk until you achieve firm peaks

To assemble:

thin layer of whipped cream on the decor side

add remaining cream to the chocolate layer

-If you are using decor. place the decor strip decor side DOWN on a piece of parchment. Spread a very small amount of whipped cream over the decor sheet to act as an adhesive. Gently place the chocolate cake on top of the decor.
-evenly spread the remaining whipped cream over the chocolate layer. Use the parchment under the decor sheet to help your gently roll the cake. Do not roll the cake too tightly, otherwise you'll crack the cake. Freeze the cake for 1/2 hour until set. Trim the ends.

Snap Out of It! Macadamia Rum Snaps for the Holiday Baking Blues

2010-12-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

Want fast? Want tipsy? Want to potentially burn off your fingerprints?

Welcome to the snaps.

Also referred to as lace cookies or Florentines, these sweet crispies are fast and furious. So fast, in fact, that you'll be inclined to do something fancy with them as I have.

Macadamia Snaps

INGREDIENTS

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup glucose syrup (or corn syrup)
2 tablespoons Capt Morgan's Spiced Rum
1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup cake flour

PROCEDURE

-place sugar, butter, glucose (or corn) syrup, rum, vanilla bean extract and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar and butter have completely melted.
-stir in the nuts and flour and refrigerate the batter for an hour.
-scoop the dough with a 1 1/2 teaspoon scoop (spray the scoop with non-stick spray to make it easier), spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart (they spread) and bake at 350º for 10 minutes, turning the tray in the middle of the baking time, until the cookies brown.

to the left, a cone mold. The top cookie has the shiny side down. Place the cone on top of that cookie and wrap around the cone. The shiny side (bottom cookie has the shiny/bumby side up) will then show.

-to make into cones, cool the cookies no more than a minute. When they just come from the oven, they won't hold their shape. When they cool too much, they'll crack when you bend them. Using a metal cone mold bend the cookie over the mold, the cookies will be very hot but you can take it. Work quickly making sure that you wrap the cookie so that the shiny and bumpy side faces OUT. Allow to cool.
-Fill with lightened pastry cream or sweetened whipped cream and fruits.

Pepper Nuts: The Gold Standard

2010-12-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time it was impossible to purchase a 20 pound tub of Kirkland brand cinnamon for a fiver at Costco. In fact, spices were a commodity held as precious as gold. Sometimes more so.

Back in the day during the holidays, the gentry broke out the big guns (or rather, they paid the menial class to break out the big guns) and seasonings found their way into all manner of comestible where otherwise they'd be absent. And in Germany, no other morsel found itself as soused in gewürtz as pfeffernüsse. Drunk on pepper, ginger, cardamom and a bevy of goodies shipped at great expense from the East, the little pepper nut is a confectionary piece of historical Christmas excess. Enjoy it today at a fraction of the price.

Pfeffernüsse

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter (8 ounces)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

(confectioner's sugar for dusting)

PROCEDURE
-With the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla bean extract and honey and beat until well combined.
-Stir together dry ingredients and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture until the dough begins to clump.
–Turn out the dough on to a very lightly floured work surface and gently knead the dough until all the ingredients are incorporated, being careful not to overwork the dough. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

-Scoop the dough with a 1 1/2 teaspoon cookie scooper or hand roll small pieces of dough. Space on a parchment lined sheet pan an inch apart and bake at 350º for 10 minutes, turning the sheet pan half way through the baking process. The cookies should be firm to the touch and golden brown on the bottom.
-Allow the cookies to completely cook and dust liberally with confectioner's sugar.

Carrot Cake

2010-12-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

With all the holiday tasties coming out of the woodwork, it's easy to forget everyday treats that pack as much festive, spicy punch as "once a year" fare. A few sparkly flourishes and you can bring carrot cake to the party.

It doesn't have to be a three tiered colossus. Pick your favorite shape and bake.

Carrot Cake

This recipe can be found in my book "My Life from Scratch" but because I'm feeling generous and giving, I'm sharing it with you here. Doesn't mean I don't want you to buy the book. I do. But I also want you to bake scrumptious things right now

INGREDIENTS

for the cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmet

3 cups finely grated, peeled carrots (about 1 pound)

for the frosting

4 cups (2 boxes) confectioner's sugar

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract

PROCEDURE

for the cake

-preheat oven to 325º. Lightly grease your baking form

-beat together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition.

-sift together dry ingredients and add slowly to the sugar, oil and egg mixture.

-fold in the carrots.

-pour the batter into your prepared pans. Bake until the tops are golden brown and the cake springs back when you poke it. Timing depends on the size of your baking vessel. Check after 15 to 20 minutes.

for the frosting

-beat all the ingredients together until smooth and cream. Refrigerate to stiffen a bit.

Dollop and pipe at will. Make sure the cake has cooled completely and you don't have any extraneous lumps in the frosting to make piping breezy.

Dominosteine für Helga

2010-12-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

I make things for my mother. She's been gone for close to eleven years and I still bake to please her.

While this brings with it great sadness and regret, it also brings her closer.

And nothing draws her more near than marzipan and chocolate.

Dominosteine littered our house during Christmas. The package from Germany would arrive early in the month and we'd be knee deep in those ginger cake, marzipan, currant and chocolate squares for days.

I know I can buy them in the states now; I don't have to beg my family to ship them across the pond. But I'd rather conjure a batch that recalls the best of my mother's favorite things, so that the sweet smell of baking almonds can reach high to her perch and surround her with earthly baking love.

Helgasteine

INGREDIENTS

for the cake

2 packages (14 ounces total) almond paste
1 cup sugar
2 sticks (8 ounces) softened, unsalted butter
2 ounces honey
6 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 ounces all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch clove
pinch white pepper
(1 tablespoon black current purée, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder)

-Beat together almond paste, butter and sugar until smooth. I know this is against store policy but dammit if almond paste isn't often dry, so I surreptitiously squeeze the box to make sure the stuff is fresh and malleable before I buy it.

-Add eggs, one at a time and then add the spices.

-Fold in the flour, salt and baking powder until just incorporated. Divide the batter between three bowls. Leave one bowl plain, mix the tablespoon of black currant to one bowl and the cocoa to the third bowl. Mix until incorporated.

-On a sheet pan lined with parchment and sprayed with non stick spray, spread the batters so that each batter takes up 1/3 of the pan (spread with the long side of the sheet pan facing you). The batters will touch while baking but we'll trim those edges. Your main objective is to have three individual blocks of cake: one plain, one currant flavored and one cocoa. One way to make it cleaner is to pipe the batters out with a pastry bag fit with a large open tip.

-Bake at 325º for about 20 minutes or until the cake just springs back and begins to slightly brown.

-Allow to cool completely.

To assemble

You'll need
-1 jar currant (or raspberry) preserves (no seeds) 15 ounce jar
-2 packages of almond paste, rolled into a thin sheet about 1/8 inch thick), approximately the size of the finished stacked layers
-1/2 batch of simple ganache (make sure it's still warm and spreadable)
-simple syrup (1 cup sugar and 1cup water, sugar dissolved completely in the water and cooled)

-Using a sharp knife, separate the plain, cocoa and currant cakes, trimming the edges so the cakes have clean edges and are equal in size. Place the cocoa layer on a cake board and gently brush a thin layer of simple syrup with a pastry brush over the layer.
-Spread 1/3 of the jar of preserves with a small offset spatula over the cocoa layer and top with the plain layer. Brush the plain layer with simple syrup and 1/3 of the preserves and top that with the currant layer. Brush that again with simple syrup and add a few tablespoons of the preserves and using the offset, spread a very thin layer of the preserves over the surface to act as an adhesive.
-Double check to see that your rolled almond paste is large enough to cover the top of the assembled layers. If it's too large, trim it. Place it on top of the currant layer and spread a thin layer of ganache over the almond layer, about 1/8 thick.
-Chill in the freezer for about 1/2 hour. Dip a sharp knife in a glass of very hot water and dry. Score the ganache into 2" squares (I grab a ruler for this job. I can't be trusted to eyeball anything with accuracy). Clean the knife in the hot water often, making sure to dry completely. Once you have the top scored, dip your knife in the hot water, dry it off and cut the squares, cleaning the knife between every cut to keep the layers clean.

"Cookie. Earl Grey." Holiday Cookies from the Last Frontier

2010-12-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

If you are of a certain nature, you'll get the reference. Even if it's a little skewed.

For those of you who studiously avoided any contact with that compendium of programming comprising the Star Trek oeuvre for fear of nerd contagion, you'll be clueless.

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot," was a command uttered often and to the pathetic delight of Capt. Picard fans worldwide (that would have been a pubscent me). When Next Generation episodes air on BBCAmerica, my husband will pause on the station and observe me for any signs of geekish delight unbecoming of a grown woman. I comport myself beautifully, if only on the outside.

This doesn't stop me for craving a cup of Earl Grey.

Or at the very least, infusing lovely tuille fortune cookies with a splash of fragrant bergamot.

Cookie. Earl Grey.

BERGAMOT INFUSED HOLIDAY FORTUNES
(makes about 20 cookies)

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Earl Grey Tea (pour a small amount of boiling water, a little over 3 tablespoons, over the tea bag and let it steep until the tea cools. This creates a nice concentration of Bergamot flavor)

PROCEDURE

-Preheat oven to 400º
-whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt
-combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with the paddle attachment until a smooth paste forms.

-On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, spread a tablespoon of batter with an offset spatula into a 4 inch circle. Only make about 4 circles of batter per sheet pan until you get proficient at making the cookies quickly. Space them evenly apart.

-Bake for about 6 minutes or until the edges of the cookie just start to brown, turning the sheet pan half way through the cooking time.

-using an offset spatula, carefully pick up a round and fold in half and bend the cookie at the center, drawing the two ends toward each other.

-I don't have the moxy to put fortunes in during the folding, so I have them printed out and thread them through once I've finished.

Happy St. Nikolaus Tag

2010-12-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

It started with a blender.

I knew what mom was working on for dinner. Whatever it was, it never required that particular appliance but it made an awful racket and that's what she needed for her supterfuge. I sat still in the living room, goofy grin on my face, paying scant attention to whichever stop motion animation special was playing and waited for the blender to stop.

Then I'd listen for her declaration from the kitchen, "I think I heard something outside! You might want to check the front door!"

And I ran, 0 to 60 in 2 seconds, from ass planted on the carpet to feet scampering on the hardwood in record speed, to open the door.

I knew that she knew that I knew that she was the culprit, the mad woman in the brisk evening who ran around the entire house and bolted up the front stairs to put stockings at the door and sprinted back through the kitchen door to turn off the blender and make her holy pronouncement. And I loved her more for it, that she kept up such a lovely ruse when I was far too old to fall for it. As long as lived under her roof, until I was 18, she played St. Nikolaus and well after, she still sent care packages to mark the day.

So I wish everyone a happy St. Nikolaus Tag. Especially the wonderful moms and dads who take care to make moments magical for their children, no matter their age.

Spekulatius: St. Nikolaus' Cookie

Spekulatius is one of my favorite cookies, no matter the season. It is crisp and spicy. I'm partial to those with almond, although there are varieties without. But they all are thin, crunchy and delightfully spicy.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup almond flour

3/4 cup well packed brown sugar

2 sticks (8 ounces/16 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 egg

(extra flour for dusting work surface. Corn starch for dusting springerle mold)

PROCEDURE

-whisk together AP flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder and spices. Set aside.

-cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Add egg, almond extract and vanilla bean paste. Mix until combined.

-slowly add flour mixture until JUST combined and turn over on a work surface and gently knead until the flour is evenly distributed into the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.

-Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough until it's 1/4 inch thick, if you are using a springerle roller or mold. Otherwise, if you are using cookie cutters, roll to about 1/8 inch thick and cut the cookies and bake at 350º for 15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned and crisp.

–If using a springerle mold, liberally dust with corn starch (don't use flour, it won't coat the mold properly and the dough will stick in the crevices). Press the mold into the dough evenly. The pressure from the mold should result in the dough being about 1/8 thick all around. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.