It's been weeks since I've visited a new bakery to try their Sugar Lovin goodies. Although I'm not having sugar withdrawals given the massive amount of recipe testing that's been taking place at home and at work in the past month, I miss trying new things at new places.
On my list for Pittsburgh this coming month?
1. La Gourmandine
2. Oakmont Bakery
3. Nancy B's
4. Simmons Farm and/or Trax Farms
But for now, I'll just have to dream of the incredible pastries as my busy month gears up. My next two posts explore the richest, most disgustingly indulgent cream pie I've ever made and a rum banana chocolate bread pudding.
Then, as we head into a sweet October, we'll have to start talking about apples and perhaps take a turn or two on spiced apple cider- perhaps my favorite drink of all time.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sweets for my sweets- thoughts on food as love
For some reason this week, I have felt extra sentimental. I find myself in a state of wonderment and awe at my great fortune of friends, family, and love. I dig this feeling; it's humbling and comforting and empowering all at the same time.
I once read that to receive love, you must give love. I don't know who said it or wrote it, but it's the kind of quote that sticks with you. And as a young girl wrote in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, "when it comes down to it, we all just want to be loved."
So, the question is, how can you give love? Let me count the ways: hugs, kisses, hand squeezes, smiles, gifts, happy energy, healing energy, laughter, cuddles, massages, love letters, food, time, friendship, and more. One of my favorite ways to give love is to give Sugar Lovin food or share food with someone. So today, I'm going to imagine all the sweet treats I would give to my sweets.
For my babe, my future hubs: a peaches 'n' cream pie with a heart of raspberries
Not just because I know he loves peaches, pie, and raspberries but because in China, where peaches originated, peaches are thought to bring luck, abundance and protection and raspberries are known for being rich in antioxidants. I would begin with a whole wheat & oats pie crust that I flavor with peach schnapps and raspberry vodka instead of water. I would bake the crust and then fill it with a rich, vanilla pastry cream. Then, I would mix freshly peeled, sliced, and pitted peaches with honey, lemon zest and flour and saute it in a small saucepan until the peaches cooked down a little. I would top my pastry cream with the peaches and then form a heart out of fresh raspberries for the center. Find the recipe here.
For la mia famiglia: dulce de oh my god brownie sundaes
Because chocolate is a staple in our household and because we are too spicy and fun to be just plain chocolate, I would give heart shaped chocolate and cinnamon brownies topped with dulce de leche ice cream, fresh caramel, and toasted chopped cashews (we also love cashews). It's a complex dessert, who's flavors are balanced and creative, just like my family. I would start with a recipe for the best brownies ever and add some spicy cinnamon. I would use a heart shaped cookie cutter to portion the brownies and then I would top it with either homemade dulce de leche ice cream (if there were time) or Haagen Daaz (R) brand (a great option when you are short on time). Next, I would make a deep, amber caramel sauce and drizzle it lightly over the top. Finally, I would toast salted cashews in the oven and then roughly chop them and sprinkle them to finish this fun and decadent dessert.
For my friends: maple macademia nut cookies
Because I like the name macademia, which to me has a little bit of crazy and a little bit of fun and they have a whole lot of taste. Because I love the natural, smoky, sweetness of maple syrup. And because together, we are a sweet little cake of many flavor that all complement each other. I would start with a basic drop cookie recipe, but decrease the amount of brown sugar to add maple syrup and increase the flour to make sure the dough is not too wet. For fun, I might add in white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips. Find this recipe here.
My friends, my family and my babe: if there were ever any doubt that giving food was the same as giving love, I hope it's gone. My Sugar Lovin brain has gone into overload coming up with these foodie love gifts for you!
Now, we'll just have to see if I make them for you or not.
I once read that to receive love, you must give love. I don't know who said it or wrote it, but it's the kind of quote that sticks with you. And as a young girl wrote in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, "when it comes down to it, we all just want to be loved."
So, the question is, how can you give love? Let me count the ways: hugs, kisses, hand squeezes, smiles, gifts, happy energy, healing energy, laughter, cuddles, massages, love letters, food, time, friendship, and more. One of my favorite ways to give love is to give Sugar Lovin food or share food with someone. So today, I'm going to imagine all the sweet treats I would give to my sweets.
For my babe, my future hubs: a peaches 'n' cream pie with a heart of raspberries
Not just because I know he loves peaches, pie, and raspberries but because in China, where peaches originated, peaches are thought to bring luck, abundance and protection and raspberries are known for being rich in antioxidants. I would begin with a whole wheat & oats pie crust that I flavor with peach schnapps and raspberry vodka instead of water. I would bake the crust and then fill it with a rich, vanilla pastry cream. Then, I would mix freshly peeled, sliced, and pitted peaches with honey, lemon zest and flour and saute it in a small saucepan until the peaches cooked down a little. I would top my pastry cream with the peaches and then form a heart out of fresh raspberries for the center. Find the recipe here.
For la mia famiglia: dulce de oh my god brownie sundaes
Because chocolate is a staple in our household and because we are too spicy and fun to be just plain chocolate, I would give heart shaped chocolate and cinnamon brownies topped with dulce de leche ice cream, fresh caramel, and toasted chopped cashews (we also love cashews). It's a complex dessert, who's flavors are balanced and creative, just like my family. I would start with a recipe for the best brownies ever and add some spicy cinnamon. I would use a heart shaped cookie cutter to portion the brownies and then I would top it with either homemade dulce de leche ice cream (if there were time) or Haagen Daaz (R) brand (a great option when you are short on time). Next, I would make a deep, amber caramel sauce and drizzle it lightly over the top. Finally, I would toast salted cashews in the oven and then roughly chop them and sprinkle them to finish this fun and decadent dessert.
For my friends: maple macademia nut cookies
Because I like the name macademia, which to me has a little bit of crazy and a little bit of fun and they have a whole lot of taste. Because I love the natural, smoky, sweetness of maple syrup. And because together, we are a sweet little cake of many flavor that all complement each other. I would start with a basic drop cookie recipe, but decrease the amount of brown sugar to add maple syrup and increase the flour to make sure the dough is not too wet. For fun, I might add in white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips. Find this recipe here.
My friends, my family and my babe: if there were ever any doubt that giving food was the same as giving love, I hope it's gone. My Sugar Lovin brain has gone into overload coming up with these foodie love gifts for you!
Now, we'll just have to see if I make them for you or not.
Maple Macademia Nut Cookies
This cookie is not too sweet, but very complex in flavor, thanks to the maple syrup. Make it your own by adding white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips to the recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Butter flavor shortening
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1 Large egg
1 Large egg yok
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Chopped, toasted macademia nuts
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, sugar and syrup until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk and extract.
2. Carefully mix in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Add in nuts, mix until thoroughly dispersed.
3. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, form 1 in balls on cookie sheet and lightly press down with palms of hands. Bake for 10 minutes or just until the edges are set. Allow to rest on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Butter flavor shortening
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Maple syrup
1 Large egg
1 Large egg yok
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Chopped, toasted macademia nuts
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, sugar and syrup until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk and extract.
2. Carefully mix in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Add in nuts, mix until thoroughly dispersed.
3. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, form 1 in balls on cookie sheet and lightly press down with palms of hands. Bake for 10 minutes or just until the edges are set. Allow to rest on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool.
Homemade caramel sauce
It might be easy to buy at the store, but take one look at the ingredients on a store bought jar and you'll be glad you made it at home. Caramel is easy to make, though it does require you to watch it boil to get it just right.
Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
2 1/4 cup Heavy cream
1 Tbsp Butter
1/8 tsp Salt
Method:
1. In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar and water together over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to high and bring to boil. Watch for the mixture to reach the caramel stage- when the color turns to a lovely deep amber. Gently swirl the pan for even coloring.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the cream, butter, and salt. Stir until smooth.
That's it! That's all it takes to make delicious, homemade caramel sauce.
Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
2 1/4 cup Heavy cream
1 Tbsp Butter
1/8 tsp Salt
Method:
1. In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar and water together over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to high and bring to boil. Watch for the mixture to reach the caramel stage- when the color turns to a lovely deep amber. Gently swirl the pan for even coloring.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the cream, butter, and salt. Stir until smooth.
That's it! That's all it takes to make delicious, homemade caramel sauce.
Best brownies ever
This brownie recipe is delightful mix of cakey texture and fudgy texture, and it packs a serious chocolate punch.
Ingredients:
11 oz Semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups Butter
6 Eggs
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Cake flour
1/2 cup Cocoa powder
Method:
1. Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Place chocolate and butter in stainless steel bowl and place bowl over simmering bowl of water. Slowly melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Whisk in eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Add in flour and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until edges are set, but center is still moist. Allow to cool before serving.
TIP: Experiment with the flavor of the brownies by adding a teaspoon of different spices here and there. Try a tsp of cinnamon or cayenne pepper or freshly chopped mint.
Ingredients:
11 oz Semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups Butter
6 Eggs
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Cake flour
1/2 cup Cocoa powder
Method:
1. Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Place chocolate and butter in stainless steel bowl and place bowl over simmering bowl of water. Slowly melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Whisk in eggs, sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Add in flour and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until edges are set, but center is still moist. Allow to cool before serving.
TIP: Experiment with the flavor of the brownies by adding a teaspoon of different spices here and there. Try a tsp of cinnamon or cayenne pepper or freshly chopped mint.
Peaches n Cream Raspberry Heart Pie
This pie is chock full of lots of good nutritional things like peaches, raspberries, whole wheat, oats...and then of course, it has lots of sugar and butter too to make it Sugar Lovin worthy.
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Rolled oats
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup COLD butter, cubed
3/4 cup COLD butter flavor shortening
2-4 Tbsp Peach Schnapps
2-4 Tbsp Raspberry vodka
Pastry Cream Filling
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/8 tsp Salt
6 Large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Butter
Peach & Raspberry topping
6 Medium peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced
1/2 cup Honey
2 tsp Lemon zest
3 Tbsp AP flour
1 pint Fresh raspberries
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In bowl of stand mixer or food processor, combine flours, oats, and salt. Add in cubed cold butter and shortening, mix until you have a crumbly, mealy texture.
2. Add a tablespoon of peach schnapps and then a tablespoon of raspberry vodka and mix. If pie dough comes together and scrapes the bowl clean, you don't need to add anymore to the dough. If not, continue to add them alternating flavor 1 Tbsp at a time.
3. On a well floured, clean surface, roll out pie dough to fit 8 in pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until pie crust is warmed and golden. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks. Whisk until sugars dissolve. Heat milk and vanilla extract in large saucepan over high heat until it just boils. Remove from heat.
5. Add 1 cup of hot milk to egg yolk mixture and whisk in slowly to temper the eggs. Then, add entire egg yolk mixture in with milk and over medium low heat, stir constantly until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Add in butter. Cover and refrigerate.
6. Place peaches, honey, lemon zest and flour in small saucepan over medium heat. Allow mixture to cook until a glaze forms over the peaches and the peaches have softened. Set aside.
7. Assemble the pie: take pastry cream and fill pie crust 2/3 full. Then, take raspberries and form a heart shape in the center of your pie. Carefully arrange the peaches around the heart shape to cover the remaining pastry cream. Keep refrigerated until you serve!
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Rolled oats
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup COLD butter, cubed
3/4 cup COLD butter flavor shortening
2-4 Tbsp Peach Schnapps
2-4 Tbsp Raspberry vodka
Pastry Cream Filling
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/8 tsp Salt
6 Large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Butter
Peach & Raspberry topping
6 Medium peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced
1/2 cup Honey
2 tsp Lemon zest
3 Tbsp AP flour
1 pint Fresh raspberries
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In bowl of stand mixer or food processor, combine flours, oats, and salt. Add in cubed cold butter and shortening, mix until you have a crumbly, mealy texture.
2. Add a tablespoon of peach schnapps and then a tablespoon of raspberry vodka and mix. If pie dough comes together and scrapes the bowl clean, you don't need to add anymore to the dough. If not, continue to add them alternating flavor 1 Tbsp at a time.
3. On a well floured, clean surface, roll out pie dough to fit 8 in pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until pie crust is warmed and golden. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks. Whisk until sugars dissolve. Heat milk and vanilla extract in large saucepan over high heat until it just boils. Remove from heat.
5. Add 1 cup of hot milk to egg yolk mixture and whisk in slowly to temper the eggs. Then, add entire egg yolk mixture in with milk and over medium low heat, stir constantly until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Add in butter. Cover and refrigerate.
6. Place peaches, honey, lemon zest and flour in small saucepan over medium heat. Allow mixture to cook until a glaze forms over the peaches and the peaches have softened. Set aside.
7. Assemble the pie: take pastry cream and fill pie crust 2/3 full. Then, take raspberries and form a heart shape in the center of your pie. Carefully arrange the peaches around the heart shape to cover the remaining pastry cream. Keep refrigerated until you serve!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Peeeeeanut, peanut butter, and cookies, done two ways.
Can you hear the song just ringing in your head? Good. Now you are ready to explore the Sugar Lovin favorite, peanut butter cookies.
Peanut butter cookies are a tradition and a longstanding favorite for many. They are an American original, pioneered by George Washington Carver who is best known for promoting peanuts as the replacement crop for cotton in the south. In his 1916 research bulletin on ways to use peanuts for human consumptions, Carver listed 3 recipes for cookies using peanuts. It wasn't until 1923, however, that peanut butter was listed as ingredient for cookies.
Pillsbury's Balanced Recipes contained a recipe for Peanut Butter Balls. Though it's hard to find now, we do know that this is the first time you were instructed to use a fork to press the cookie down, giving peanut butter cookies their famous cross-hatch markings.
There are many ways to make a peanut butter cookie. Paula Deen and The Galway Girl blog prescribe a recipe that requires no flour- just peanut butter, eggs and sugar. I call it the macaroon method- as it's very similar to making a coconut macaroon, which is just coconut, sugar and egg whites.
The macaroon method is a far cry easier than the recipe I normally make, which is similar to a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but there are a couple of do's and don'ts to keep in mind when making your peanut butter cookies this way:
DO:
- Have flour (or rice flour if you are going gluten free) on hand to help you roll out the cookies. The dough is really sticky, so coat your hands with flour to roll the cookies into balls. Neither Paula nor Galway Girl mention this and its a huge PAIN if you don't know to do it.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Again, stickiness issue
- Use a high quality peanut butter. I recommend Honey Roasted Peanut Butter from Whole Foods (the kind you roast and grind right in the store). It will shine through in this recipe
DON'T
- Use natural peanut butters where the oil is separated on top. It just doesn't turn out right.
- Use granulated sugar. Use brown sugar instead. Molasses is the perfect complement to peanut butter.
Sugar Love's verdict on the macaroon method? Easy & fast.
So fast, in fact, that while I was doing my research, I decided to make them and try them and still finished this post in under an hour from start to finish.
It's also incredibly moist, which is a bonus given so many version of peanut butter cookies are dry. It also packs a ridiculous peanut butter flavor punch, which again, is often lacking from a peanut butter cookie. Here's my version of the recipe.
My favorite peanut butter cookies are made by my Aunt Theresa who uses a cookie press, and only at Christmas. They are unlike any peanut butter cookie I've seen- they are long and thin and wavy and bear no resemblance to the traditional looking cross-hatch-or-Hershey-kiss peanut butter cookie we always see:
I wish I could say I make them too or that the other peanut butter cookie recipe I'm sharing is hers, but alas, it's a family secret that I've not been let in on yet. I'm hoping that for Christmas this year, Aunt T. gives me the recipe and a cookie press...hint, hint!
In the meantime, we can talk about the other method for making peanut butter cookies, which is the drop cookie method. If you've ever made chocolate chip cookies, you can make peanut butter cookies with no issues.
Again, there are some basic do's and don'ts.
DO:
- Use high quality peanut butter
- Use butter AND butter flavor shortening. It will keep your cookies from spreading too thin and becoming rock hard.
DON'T:
- Use the natural peanut butter with the oil on top. Same story as above
- Over-bake these cookies. Peanut butter cookies get exceptionally hard and crumbly when over-baked.
This method is by far the most common version of peanut butter cookies you'll find. It's the one that most bakeries use and most grocery stores sell. It's a great way to make them, and the dough will keep when frozen for six months if you don't feel like making what you prepared all at once.
Find my recipe here.
So what's your favorite way?
Peanut butter cookies are a tradition and a longstanding favorite for many. They are an American original, pioneered by George Washington Carver who is best known for promoting peanuts as the replacement crop for cotton in the south. In his 1916 research bulletin on ways to use peanuts for human consumptions, Carver listed 3 recipes for cookies using peanuts. It wasn't until 1923, however, that peanut butter was listed as ingredient for cookies.
Pillsbury's Balanced Recipes contained a recipe for Peanut Butter Balls. Though it's hard to find now, we do know that this is the first time you were instructed to use a fork to press the cookie down, giving peanut butter cookies their famous cross-hatch markings.
There are many ways to make a peanut butter cookie. Paula Deen and The Galway Girl blog prescribe a recipe that requires no flour- just peanut butter, eggs and sugar. I call it the macaroon method- as it's very similar to making a coconut macaroon, which is just coconut, sugar and egg whites.
The macaroon method is a far cry easier than the recipe I normally make, which is similar to a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but there are a couple of do's and don'ts to keep in mind when making your peanut butter cookies this way:
DO:
- Have flour (or rice flour if you are going gluten free) on hand to help you roll out the cookies. The dough is really sticky, so coat your hands with flour to roll the cookies into balls. Neither Paula nor Galway Girl mention this and its a huge PAIN if you don't know to do it.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Again, stickiness issue
- Use a high quality peanut butter. I recommend Honey Roasted Peanut Butter from Whole Foods (the kind you roast and grind right in the store). It will shine through in this recipe
DON'T
- Use natural peanut butters where the oil is separated on top. It just doesn't turn out right.
- Use granulated sugar. Use brown sugar instead. Molasses is the perfect complement to peanut butter.
Sugar Love's verdict on the macaroon method? Easy & fast.
So fast, in fact, that while I was doing my research, I decided to make them and try them and still finished this post in under an hour from start to finish.
It's also incredibly moist, which is a bonus given so many version of peanut butter cookies are dry. It also packs a ridiculous peanut butter flavor punch, which again, is often lacking from a peanut butter cookie. Here's my version of the recipe.
My favorite peanut butter cookies are made by my Aunt Theresa who uses a cookie press, and only at Christmas. They are unlike any peanut butter cookie I've seen- they are long and thin and wavy and bear no resemblance to the traditional looking cross-hatch-or-Hershey-kiss peanut butter cookie we always see:
I wish I could say I make them too or that the other peanut butter cookie recipe I'm sharing is hers, but alas, it's a family secret that I've not been let in on yet. I'm hoping that for Christmas this year, Aunt T. gives me the recipe and a cookie press...hint, hint!
In the meantime, we can talk about the other method for making peanut butter cookies, which is the drop cookie method. If you've ever made chocolate chip cookies, you can make peanut butter cookies with no issues.
Again, there are some basic do's and don'ts.
DO:
- Use high quality peanut butter
- Use butter AND butter flavor shortening. It will keep your cookies from spreading too thin and becoming rock hard.
DON'T:
- Use the natural peanut butter with the oil on top. Same story as above
- Over-bake these cookies. Peanut butter cookies get exceptionally hard and crumbly when over-baked.
This method is by far the most common version of peanut butter cookies you'll find. It's the one that most bakeries use and most grocery stores sell. It's a great way to make them, and the dough will keep when frozen for six months if you don't feel like making what you prepared all at once.
Find my recipe here.
So what's your favorite way?
Peanut butter cookies- the drop cookie method
Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut butter
1/2 cup Butter
1/4 cup Butter flavor shortening (to prevent that cookie spread!)
1 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp Molasses
2 Large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 bag Chocolate chips or butterscotch chips
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment, set aside. In bowl of mixer, beat peanut butter, butter, and shortening using paddle attachment. Add in sugar and molasses, beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs, one at a time and beat until full combined. Add in vanilla, mix well. All at once, add in your flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Add in chocolate chips, mix until well distributed.
3. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, form 1 inch balls and place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Press down with spoon or hands, lightly. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to rest on baking sheet for 2 or 3 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool. Repeat until all cookie dough has been used.
Peanut butter cookies- the macaroon method
This recipe is so easy, so fast, and so delicious it might just become your new go to.
Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut butter
1 cup Brown sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
Flour, for coating hands when rolling cookies
1 cup Granulated sugar (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bowl of mixer, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla (if desired). Beat until well mixed.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. *** Pour granulated sugar into low bowl. Coat your hands generously with flour and roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar, place on cookie sheet. Press down cookie with back of spoon.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, remove and cool on wire rack. Eat and enjoy!
TIP: While the cookies are still warm from the oven, use your thumb to press down in the center of the cookie. You can either put a little bit of your favorite jam for a PB & J cookie or pour in a little chocolate ganache.
*** Note! I didn't have any parchment paper left, so I greased my cookie sheet with shortening and sprinkled it with flour.
Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut butter
1 cup Brown sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
Flour, for coating hands when rolling cookies
1 cup Granulated sugar (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bowl of mixer, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla (if desired). Beat until well mixed.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. *** Pour granulated sugar into low bowl. Coat your hands generously with flour and roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar, place on cookie sheet. Press down cookie with back of spoon.
TIP: While the cookies are still warm from the oven, use your thumb to press down in the center of the cookie. You can either put a little bit of your favorite jam for a PB & J cookie or pour in a little chocolate ganache.
*** Note! I didn't have any parchment paper left, so I greased my cookie sheet with shortening and sprinkled it with flour.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Breadmaking 101
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| Demi Baguette |
Months ago (back in March I think), I signed up for a Pittsburgh Groupon with the Gaynor's School of Cooking. By the way, if you aren't on Groupon's mailing list or Living Social's mailing list, sign up stat. Great deals for all kinds of stuff.
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| Pain au mie |
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| Pita rounds |
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| Onion Oregano bread |
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| Rosemary foccacia |
My class began at 10 am today (and I was late, ugh!) and in 4 short hours, 4 women made 4 demi-baguettes, 8 bagels, rosemary foccacia bread, onion and oregano loaf, pain au mie, sunflower seed bread, pita bread and challah. From scratch I might add.
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| Garlic Salt Bagel |
It was a wonderful class- and it's not something you need experience or lots of baking know-how to do. Gaynor, the owner, is a wonderful teacher and the class has a very laid-back feel to it. Plus, you get to take home the freshly baked breads which makes the money spent completely worth it.
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| Sunflower seed bread, one of my favorites! |
Of course, I can't share the recipes I learned here. This is something better learned by patronizing a great local cooking school. I will say that I believe bread is more intensive than some types of baking, but it's also more forgiving. If you measure a cake out wrong, it really won't work. But with bread, you can self correct along the way by adding more flour or more water. For instance, today, our flour was a little moist, so we had to add much more than our recipes called for.
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| Challah |
Bread, it might not be super sweet, but it's Sugar Lovin worthy!
Crisp, ever the afterthought dessert
Yesterday I decided at the last minute I was going to make a quick dessert for a friend's Steelers party. Whenever I do anything last minute, I almost inevitably end up doing a drop cookie or a shortbread cookie because the ingredients are easy to grab and after a while, you can make them in your sleep.
However, yesterday I had a lot of fruit that needed to be used and a crisp seemed like the perfect fall dessert (incidentally, I also made a peanut butter cookie, but that's for another post).
Cooks Illustrated last month did an article on apple crisp and how it's always just ok, but not great, because crisp is an easy, afterthought dessert. Food Network magazine also did a spread on fruit crisps a few months ago. You essentially need fruit, sugar, flour, butter, brown sugar, a nut and a grain. The different varieties of crisp possible from this formula are endless.
For instance, yesterday I made a crisp of cherries, blueberries and Italian plums with a hit of allspice and topped it with an almond oatmeal crumble and brought fresh cinnamon whipped cream. I thought it turned out great, except that it was overly juicy. If I had to do it again, I would bake it like this recipe calls for, which has you cook the fruit on the stove top first and then bake it, but when you are in a hurry, these extra steps aren't really necessary.
You could also do a decadent pear crisp with a walnut, flax and oat streusel topping. Or a raspberry and blackberry crisp with a pecan, honey, and cornmeal streusel. See what I mean?
Your options are limitless once you learn the basic formula for crisp. For your basic crisp formula, go here, to the Food Network guide. They teach you the basics really well in this handy little article.
If you aren't in the mood to make crisp at home, but do so love a fruit crisp as all Sugar Lovin people must, crisp is fairly easy to get anywhere you go. Here in Pittsburgh, the Pie Place has a cherry crisp and an apple crisp daily, and occasionally does a peach crisp or a mixed berry crisp.
This is also a common restaurant dessert. My favorite is from Eleven in the strip. They do an apple crumble pie which is delectable. In reality, it's a new take on a dutch apple pie, but then that's kind of what apple crisp is to begin with.
In Chicago, at Hot Chocolate in the Wicker Park neighborhood, pastry chef Mindy Segal has dreamed up everything from a raspberry crisp (summer seasonal dessert) to her glorious apple for the fall (notice the apple theme is going to start ringing loud and clear now that we've entered the fall).
In a pinch, make a fruit crisp. They are quick, easy and super-tasty as long as you can get the basics down. Plus, in a worst-case scenario, you can always top the crisp with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream to disguise the flaws!
However, yesterday I had a lot of fruit that needed to be used and a crisp seemed like the perfect fall dessert (incidentally, I also made a peanut butter cookie, but that's for another post).
Cooks Illustrated last month did an article on apple crisp and how it's always just ok, but not great, because crisp is an easy, afterthought dessert. Food Network magazine also did a spread on fruit crisps a few months ago. You essentially need fruit, sugar, flour, butter, brown sugar, a nut and a grain. The different varieties of crisp possible from this formula are endless.
For instance, yesterday I made a crisp of cherries, blueberries and Italian plums with a hit of allspice and topped it with an almond oatmeal crumble and brought fresh cinnamon whipped cream. I thought it turned out great, except that it was overly juicy. If I had to do it again, I would bake it like this recipe calls for, which has you cook the fruit on the stove top first and then bake it, but when you are in a hurry, these extra steps aren't really necessary.
You could also do a decadent pear crisp with a walnut, flax and oat streusel topping. Or a raspberry and blackberry crisp with a pecan, honey, and cornmeal streusel. See what I mean?
Your options are limitless once you learn the basic formula for crisp. For your basic crisp formula, go here, to the Food Network guide. They teach you the basics really well in this handy little article.
If you aren't in the mood to make crisp at home, but do so love a fruit crisp as all Sugar Lovin people must, crisp is fairly easy to get anywhere you go. Here in Pittsburgh, the Pie Place has a cherry crisp and an apple crisp daily, and occasionally does a peach crisp or a mixed berry crisp.
This is also a common restaurant dessert. My favorite is from Eleven in the strip. They do an apple crumble pie which is delectable. In reality, it's a new take on a dutch apple pie, but then that's kind of what apple crisp is to begin with.
In Chicago, at Hot Chocolate in the Wicker Park neighborhood, pastry chef Mindy Segal has dreamed up everything from a raspberry crisp (summer seasonal dessert) to her glorious apple for the fall (notice the apple theme is going to start ringing loud and clear now that we've entered the fall).
In a pinch, make a fruit crisp. They are quick, easy and super-tasty as long as you can get the basics down. Plus, in a worst-case scenario, you can always top the crisp with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream to disguise the flaws!
Blueberry, cherry and plum crisp
This crisp is easy to make and has a sweet flavor with a hint of savory spiciness from the all spice. It might look like a lot of ingredients, but it comes together quickly, especially if you use frozen fruit!
Ingredients:
2 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen)
6 Italian plums, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup Brown sugar
3 Tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Ground allspice
3/4 cup Shelled, sliced almonds
1/2 cup Rolled oats
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Brown sugar
8 Tbsp Butter, cubed, softened
Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2 qt baking dish (8x8) or eight 6-oz ramekins. Combine blueberries, cherries, plums, brown sugar flour and allspice. Mix well and place in large saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until sugars dissolve. Strain fruit through fine sieve, reserving the juices. Divide fruit among ramekins or place in baking dish, set aside.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine almonds, oats, flours and sugar. Mix with paddle attachment on low. Add in cubed butter and allow mixture to become fully moistened and crumbly. Top fruit with crumble.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Meanwhile, take reserved fruit juices and cook in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half. Juice should become more like a syrup.
4. To serve, leave in ramekins or divide among six bowls and top with easy whipped cream made with a tsp of cinnamon and then drizzle with fruit juice reduction.
Ingredients:
2 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen)
6 Italian plums, pitted and quartered
1/2 cup Brown sugar
3 Tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Ground allspice
3/4 cup Shelled, sliced almonds
1/2 cup Rolled oats
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Brown sugar
8 Tbsp Butter, cubed, softened
Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 2 qt baking dish (8x8) or eight 6-oz ramekins. Combine blueberries, cherries, plums, brown sugar flour and allspice. Mix well and place in large saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until sugars dissolve. Strain fruit through fine sieve, reserving the juices. Divide fruit among ramekins or place in baking dish, set aside.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine almonds, oats, flours and sugar. Mix with paddle attachment on low. Add in cubed butter and allow mixture to become fully moistened and crumbly. Top fruit with crumble.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Meanwhile, take reserved fruit juices and cook in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half. Juice should become more like a syrup.
4. To serve, leave in ramekins or divide among six bowls and top with easy whipped cream made with a tsp of cinnamon and then drizzle with fruit juice reduction.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Banana pudding
Dreamland does their banana pudding the traditional way- served with vanilla wafer cookies, sliced bananas, vanilla pudding and fresh whipped cream. And you can really tell that the pudding is made the traditional way. It's creamy, it's bursting with flavor and it melts in your mouth. It's heaven in banana pudding world.
Pudding is basically a form of custard. It's easy to make and it doesn't require many strange ingredients, but it does require patience and at least 10 minutes of your time where you can stand at the stove and stir, stir, stir.
You won't find many bakeries that serve pudding as it's a custard that will only hold for about three days, and banana pudding is even more rare. Pie bakeries across the states are beginning to pay homage to the banana creme pie, which is essentially banana pudding in a pie shell, but this special dessert is primarily a southern treat.
Still, if you find yourself craving banana pudding and remembering how your Mom used to make it for you, Sugar Love can help you out. First, a recipe for banana pudding:
Ingredients:
1 Ripe banana
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/8 tsp Salt
6 Egg yolks
2 1/2 cups Half and half
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Butter
Method:
1. Peel banana and place in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Mash banana, strain juices through fine sieve, reserving banana itself and set aside.
2. In large bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in egg yolks.
3. Bring the milk, vanilla and banana juice to a boil over medium heat. SLOWLY pour the hot milk into the eggs in thirds, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture just reaches a boil. Strain into bowl, stir in butter.
4. Allow to cool a little, then stir in the mashed banana. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
I must stress that you have to stir the whole time, otherwise you are likely going to burn your pudding, and burnt pudding is just no good.
Now, the easy thing to do to serve your banana pudding would be to line a small goblet glass or wine glass with vanilla wafers and sliced, fresh banana, top with chilled pudding and serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream (easy recipe here).
I recommend making a homemade vanilla wafer type cookie that takes the form of a homemade fortune cookie (recipe here), then adding the fresh, sliced banana and whipped cream.
Don't want to make your own? Then just head south to Tuscaloosa for the weekend.
Fortune cookies
The batter for these cookies is very simple, however the baking process is time intensive and requires a quick, steady hand. I wouldn't call this easy, but if you are feeling adventurous and want to try your hand at fortune cookies (they make a GREAT gift), here's my recipe.
Ingredients:
5 Tbsp Unsalted butter
4 Egg whites
1 cup Sugar
1 cup AP flour
1 pinch Salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare your stove and counter top by having a clean surface to do the folding and mini muffin pan to allow the cookies to set nearby. Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Set aside.
2. Beat egg whites and sugar in bowl until well combined. Add in flour and salt. Mix in heavy cream and vanilla and then add melted butter.
3. Take a cookie sheet and flip over so that the lip is facing down. Liberally spray the cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray. Using a tablespoon, carefully measure out batter and spread in a thin circle, with approximately a 2 inch diameter. I recommend only doing 1 or 2 cookies at a time to start until you get the hang of it.
4. Set your timer to 5 minutes and put the oven light on. Bake for 5 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Working quickly, pull out the cookies and using a spatula and thin, food safe gloves, fold the cookie in half and then in half again to form fortune cookie. Place the ends down into muffin tin and move quickly to your next cookie. Repeat until all the batter is used.
If you are going to place a fortune in your cookie, you can either do so while you are folding the cookie, or just fold the cookie lightly enough so that there is an area for you to slip it in once it's cooled.
Ingredients:
5 Tbsp Unsalted butter
4 Egg whites
1 cup Sugar
1 cup AP flour
1 pinch Salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare your stove and counter top by having a clean surface to do the folding and mini muffin pan to allow the cookies to set nearby. Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Set aside.
2. Beat egg whites and sugar in bowl until well combined. Add in flour and salt. Mix in heavy cream and vanilla and then add melted butter.
3. Take a cookie sheet and flip over so that the lip is facing down. Liberally spray the cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray. Using a tablespoon, carefully measure out batter and spread in a thin circle, with approximately a 2 inch diameter. I recommend only doing 1 or 2 cookies at a time to start until you get the hang of it.
4. Set your timer to 5 minutes and put the oven light on. Bake for 5 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Working quickly, pull out the cookies and using a spatula and thin, food safe gloves, fold the cookie in half and then in half again to form fortune cookie. Place the ends down into muffin tin and move quickly to your next cookie. Repeat until all the batter is used.
If you are going to place a fortune in your cookie, you can either do so while you are folding the cookie, or just fold the cookie lightly enough so that there is an area for you to slip it in once it's cooled.
Fresh whipped cream recipe
This is seriously the easiest "pastry" oriented thing you can make and once you do, you'll never go back to Cool Whip or Redi Whip. You need 2 ingredients, a stainless steel bowl and at the least, a hand mixer.
Ingredients:
1 cup Heavy cream
1/3 cup Confectioners sugar
Method:
1. Place stainless steel bowl and whisk attachment(s) of mixer in freezer for 2 minutes.
2. In stainless steel bowl, combine cream and sugar. Mix on high until stiff peaks form.
That's it. That's whipped cream.
If you wanted to make it more interesting, you could certainly add a touch of something here and there.
Lemon zest, orange zest, vanilla extract, almond extract, raspberry extract, coconut extract, lime zest, cinnamon, chocolate syrup, etc. These all pair well with whipped cream and can be added to the stainless steel bowl while whipping.
Ingredients:
1 cup Heavy cream
1/3 cup Confectioners sugar
Method:
1. Place stainless steel bowl and whisk attachment(s) of mixer in freezer for 2 minutes.
2. In stainless steel bowl, combine cream and sugar. Mix on high until stiff peaks form.
That's it. That's whipped cream.
If you wanted to make it more interesting, you could certainly add a touch of something here and there.
Lemon zest, orange zest, vanilla extract, almond extract, raspberry extract, coconut extract, lime zest, cinnamon, chocolate syrup, etc. These all pair well with whipped cream and can be added to the stainless steel bowl while whipping.
Bad bakery behavior
85% percent of my customers at the bakery are just wonderful. They are decisive, sweet, and friendly and I love waiting on them. However, there are so many others I could just do without.
Maybe this post stems from the fact that I just finished reading Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain and Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica, but I have a few things to share about bakery etiquette.
Readers, please don't commit these bakery sins when you go buy a pastry.
1. Don't ask me for a recommendation or to describe a certain item and then upon hearing the description or recommendation make a disgusted face or say ew. Now I really don't want to wait on you and you've insulted me. Yes, I know, you just don't like that dessert. But the way you've portrayed it is insulting to me and my craft. If you don't like my recommendation or don't want it, just politely say, "I don't really like chocolate and peanut butter together. What else might you recommend?"
2. Don't point out exactly which cookie or which pie or which tart you want. You are screwing with the First In First Out inventory management and now you are a pain in my ass. If you don't want a lot of crust on your tart, either don't eat all the crust, or simply ask me to choose one that doesn't have a lot of crust on it. Don't want it to have anything that is a darker brown? Tell me you are buying the item for a child who won't eat it if it looks burnt. Again, I'll pick a good one out for you.
3. Stop telling me that the cake in front or the pie in front or the roll in front is bigger and you want that one. Of course it looks bigger to you- it's closer to you. For god's sake- it's a professional bakery. We portion everything equally.
4. Don't let your kids touch the glass display case. Or lick it. Or put their faces on it. Or lean on it. Or bang on it. It's bad behavior in public and now I have their body prints all over my glass which means I have to clean it. Again.
5. YOU don't touch the glass. You are an adult. You should know better.
6. Speaking of kids. Don't let them take food from the counter. Just because it's within their reach doesn't mean they are supposed to grab it themselves. That's a food safety issue- and yes, I did just watch your child pick his nose.
7. YOU don't take food from the counter. Same issue as number 6.
8. Don't let your young kids roll on the floor while you eat. This might be something you do at home, but you are in a place of business and your child is now rolling on a floor that has had all kinds of crap stomped on it all day.
9. Stop letting your kids use the restroom on their own if they don't know how to do it. I came into the bathroom tonight after two five year old kids used it and found our glass bottles with stoppers strewn about, paper towels everywhere and pee all over the floor. You wonder why they were in there for 10 minutes? Now you know. Not cool.
10. Buying a cookie and then walking directly back to the restroom with a newspaper tucked under your arm? Come on man. This isn't your house. This is a public place of business. We have one restroom. Don't blow out my bathroom and think that the $.50 you just spent at the bakery has earned you that right.
11. If you are going to change my arrangement of chairs and tables, put them back when you leave. Period.
12. Unless you grew up in a barn, push in your chairs when you are done eating and bring your plate to the counter. You see me baking, working the front and cleaning simultaneously while you eat and then you leave your crap all over the store for me to go find? I swear, one night I found a plate and fork behind the coffee urn. Why?
13. When I ask you what you want, try to give your order all at once. I'm happy when you keep adding things on- this is a bigger sale for me now. But when I have to rebox or rebag three times because you are pausing so much in between or changing your order a lot, I've now soiled 3 perfectly good boxes.
14. Please, please, please stop standing at the window to the kitchen and staring at me while I work. I know it seems really cool and if you want to look quickly or glance from afar, fine. But when you stand an inch from the window and just stare, I feel like I'm in a zoo and can't work.
15. When I have 10 people in line and you order a LARGE bone dry cappuccino, don't give me a dirty look when I ask you to take a seat so I can help other people and make your cappuccino at the same time. This isn't starbucks, I'm not a barista. I'm a pastry chef. I understand you want coffee- and I'm happy to make you a latte. But a cappuccino requires me to froth and froth and froth the milk so all you have is foam. It's going to take a long while and I can help other people while doing it so I don't lose customers to make you a cappuccino that costs $3.
16. When you come in within 10 minutes of the store closing, don't eat in. This isn't a restaurant, it's a bakery. I can't refuse the customers who see you eating in my store with the story that we're closed. I would obviously be lying. And then you've just sentenced me to another hour there where I can't clean up and pull the food because I'm waiting on the never ending stream of late night customers you've invited in.
17. When the store is obviously busy, don't ask a hundred questions to buy a cookie and then walk out. This is the information age- there is a website. Read it. You actually cost me money by wasting 20 minutes of my time debating the strudel or the cake, then buying neither but getting a $1 truffle for the road.
18. If you come in and I'm stuck answering a hundred questions from customer #17, making a milkshake, scooping a pint of ice cream, frothing milk for a large cappuccino or filling a complicated request, don't get irritated and storm out because I couldn't help you right away. I'll get to you and I promise I'll be quick about it, but some things just take the time they take. It's annoying, I know, but just know that one day, you too will be that annoying customer making someone else wait when they are in a hurry.
19. Calling me at noon to ask me to make you a specialty cake by 3pm isn't going to work. If you are lucky, I'll have the kind of cake you want in stock, but chances are, I won't be able to write on it because I've already decorated it for the case. If you've procrastinated that much, you'll have to call your local grocery store and see if they have a dry cake they can customize for you.
20. Just because I work at a bakery doesn't mean I'm not smart enough to get a "real job". I'm not a deadbeat. I graduated in 3 years with honors with a degree in French and business. I did the corporate thing for a while and found out how much I disliked it and how much I liked baking. So don't talk down to me because your boss screamed at you earlier that day and disdain me publicly in my place of work for not "having a real job". It's a career, thank you very much.
And no, I'm not angry. I still love my job. Everyday, I'm thankful that I get to create Sugar Lovin goodies and make someone else's day with that goodie. Some days some customers just eat at you.
Maybe this post stems from the fact that I just finished reading Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain and Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica, but I have a few things to share about bakery etiquette.
Readers, please don't commit these bakery sins when you go buy a pastry.
1. Don't ask me for a recommendation or to describe a certain item and then upon hearing the description or recommendation make a disgusted face or say ew. Now I really don't want to wait on you and you've insulted me. Yes, I know, you just don't like that dessert. But the way you've portrayed it is insulting to me and my craft. If you don't like my recommendation or don't want it, just politely say, "I don't really like chocolate and peanut butter together. What else might you recommend?"
2. Don't point out exactly which cookie or which pie or which tart you want. You are screwing with the First In First Out inventory management and now you are a pain in my ass. If you don't want a lot of crust on your tart, either don't eat all the crust, or simply ask me to choose one that doesn't have a lot of crust on it. Don't want it to have anything that is a darker brown? Tell me you are buying the item for a child who won't eat it if it looks burnt. Again, I'll pick a good one out for you.
3. Stop telling me that the cake in front or the pie in front or the roll in front is bigger and you want that one. Of course it looks bigger to you- it's closer to you. For god's sake- it's a professional bakery. We portion everything equally.
4. Don't let your kids touch the glass display case. Or lick it. Or put their faces on it. Or lean on it. Or bang on it. It's bad behavior in public and now I have their body prints all over my glass which means I have to clean it. Again.
5. YOU don't touch the glass. You are an adult. You should know better.
6. Speaking of kids. Don't let them take food from the counter. Just because it's within their reach doesn't mean they are supposed to grab it themselves. That's a food safety issue- and yes, I did just watch your child pick his nose.
7. YOU don't take food from the counter. Same issue as number 6.
8. Don't let your young kids roll on the floor while you eat. This might be something you do at home, but you are in a place of business and your child is now rolling on a floor that has had all kinds of crap stomped on it all day.
9. Stop letting your kids use the restroom on their own if they don't know how to do it. I came into the bathroom tonight after two five year old kids used it and found our glass bottles with stoppers strewn about, paper towels everywhere and pee all over the floor. You wonder why they were in there for 10 minutes? Now you know. Not cool.
10. Buying a cookie and then walking directly back to the restroom with a newspaper tucked under your arm? Come on man. This isn't your house. This is a public place of business. We have one restroom. Don't blow out my bathroom and think that the $.50 you just spent at the bakery has earned you that right.
11. If you are going to change my arrangement of chairs and tables, put them back when you leave. Period.
12. Unless you grew up in a barn, push in your chairs when you are done eating and bring your plate to the counter. You see me baking, working the front and cleaning simultaneously while you eat and then you leave your crap all over the store for me to go find? I swear, one night I found a plate and fork behind the coffee urn. Why?
13. When I ask you what you want, try to give your order all at once. I'm happy when you keep adding things on- this is a bigger sale for me now. But when I have to rebox or rebag three times because you are pausing so much in between or changing your order a lot, I've now soiled 3 perfectly good boxes.
14. Please, please, please stop standing at the window to the kitchen and staring at me while I work. I know it seems really cool and if you want to look quickly or glance from afar, fine. But when you stand an inch from the window and just stare, I feel like I'm in a zoo and can't work.
15. When I have 10 people in line and you order a LARGE bone dry cappuccino, don't give me a dirty look when I ask you to take a seat so I can help other people and make your cappuccino at the same time. This isn't starbucks, I'm not a barista. I'm a pastry chef. I understand you want coffee- and I'm happy to make you a latte. But a cappuccino requires me to froth and froth and froth the milk so all you have is foam. It's going to take a long while and I can help other people while doing it so I don't lose customers to make you a cappuccino that costs $3.
16. When you come in within 10 minutes of the store closing, don't eat in. This isn't a restaurant, it's a bakery. I can't refuse the customers who see you eating in my store with the story that we're closed. I would obviously be lying. And then you've just sentenced me to another hour there where I can't clean up and pull the food because I'm waiting on the never ending stream of late night customers you've invited in.
17. When the store is obviously busy, don't ask a hundred questions to buy a cookie and then walk out. This is the information age- there is a website. Read it. You actually cost me money by wasting 20 minutes of my time debating the strudel or the cake, then buying neither but getting a $1 truffle for the road.
18. If you come in and I'm stuck answering a hundred questions from customer #17, making a milkshake, scooping a pint of ice cream, frothing milk for a large cappuccino or filling a complicated request, don't get irritated and storm out because I couldn't help you right away. I'll get to you and I promise I'll be quick about it, but some things just take the time they take. It's annoying, I know, but just know that one day, you too will be that annoying customer making someone else wait when they are in a hurry.
19. Calling me at noon to ask me to make you a specialty cake by 3pm isn't going to work. If you are lucky, I'll have the kind of cake you want in stock, but chances are, I won't be able to write on it because I've already decorated it for the case. If you've procrastinated that much, you'll have to call your local grocery store and see if they have a dry cake they can customize for you.
20. Just because I work at a bakery doesn't mean I'm not smart enough to get a "real job". I'm not a deadbeat. I graduated in 3 years with honors with a degree in French and business. I did the corporate thing for a while and found out how much I disliked it and how much I liked baking. So don't talk down to me because your boss screamed at you earlier that day and disdain me publicly in my place of work for not "having a real job". It's a career, thank you very much.
And no, I'm not angry. I still love my job. Everyday, I'm thankful that I get to create Sugar Lovin goodies and make someone else's day with that goodie. Some days some customers just eat at you.
Friday, September 17, 2010
A bad baking kind of day
It seems fitting that the day I published my last Examiner article was one of the single worst baking days I've ever had.
I've made bad stuff, I've had things fall apart or refuse to come together, I've dropped cakes before. But all of the previous times, I've been baking at home because I felt like it or had a way to fix it by heading to a bakery to buy a dessert to replace what I screwed up.
Tonight, I had no such option. I had to make a giant cupcake cake for a customer who was picking it up the next morning.
The first try to decorate is a big a struggle, but it begins to come together. I pick it up to move it to the turntable and then promptly drop it.
Crap.
So I quickly mix a new batch and put the cake in the oven. It seemingly takes forever to bake, but I finally get it out of the oven and give it 30 minutes to cool down. I suddenly note that it is 8:30 and we close in 30 minutes.
Bigger sense of urgency and growing nervousness and more "oh crap".
I begin to depan the freshly baked cake...and the bottom half of the cupcake breaks in half.
Now we are onto "oh S*#@!"
I call my fiancee in a frenzy, but what is he going to do? He's away for the weekend and even if he weren't, it's not as if he could magically put the bottom back together.
In moments like these, I often wonder what business I have being a pastry chef. I'm ready to quit and give up, when an idea flashes into my head. The cupcake mold looks like this. The bottom half is actually about the same size as a 6-in round cake. I have some undecorated 6-inchers with the same batter ready, and I go into hyper-decorating mode.
My dogs have already been alone for hours on end and if I don't get this cake done quick, fast and in a hurry and close the bakery before 10, not only am I coming home to a torn up house, but I'm probably going to lose my mind.
3 layers down, ice with vanilla buttercream, run chocolate sprinkles up the side. Place top of cupcake on, use star tip to ice the top half. Now place fondant decorations and lettering on. It's still missing something. The bottom half only kind of looks like it's a cupcake. My options at this point are rolling out more fondant and coloring it....or ribbon. Ribbon...ribbon is good.
It's 9:15 and I'm done with the cake.
Holy crap. I didn't know I could decorate that fast.
It's no Buddy Valastro cake, ,and it's probably not the best cake I've ever done... but I think it looks pretty decent- don't you?
It saved my sanity tonight regardless, though sadly it did not save my house from my dogs. Poor guys.
I've made bad stuff, I've had things fall apart or refuse to come together, I've dropped cakes before. But all of the previous times, I've been baking at home because I felt like it or had a way to fix it by heading to a bakery to buy a dessert to replace what I screwed up.
Tonight, I had no such option. I had to make a giant cupcake cake for a customer who was picking it up the next morning.
The first try to decorate is a big a struggle, but it begins to come together. I pick it up to move it to the turntable and then promptly drop it.
Crap.
So I quickly mix a new batch and put the cake in the oven. It seemingly takes forever to bake, but I finally get it out of the oven and give it 30 minutes to cool down. I suddenly note that it is 8:30 and we close in 30 minutes.
Bigger sense of urgency and growing nervousness and more "oh crap".
I begin to depan the freshly baked cake...and the bottom half of the cupcake breaks in half.
Now we are onto "oh S*#@!"
I call my fiancee in a frenzy, but what is he going to do? He's away for the weekend and even if he weren't, it's not as if he could magically put the bottom back together.
In moments like these, I often wonder what business I have being a pastry chef. I'm ready to quit and give up, when an idea flashes into my head. The cupcake mold looks like this. The bottom half is actually about the same size as a 6-in round cake. I have some undecorated 6-inchers with the same batter ready, and I go into hyper-decorating mode.
My dogs have already been alone for hours on end and if I don't get this cake done quick, fast and in a hurry and close the bakery before 10, not only am I coming home to a torn up house, but I'm probably going to lose my mind.
3 layers down, ice with vanilla buttercream, run chocolate sprinkles up the side. Place top of cupcake on, use star tip to ice the top half. Now place fondant decorations and lettering on. It's still missing something. The bottom half only kind of looks like it's a cupcake. My options at this point are rolling out more fondant and coloring it....or ribbon. Ribbon...ribbon is good.
It's 9:15 and I'm done with the cake.
Holy crap. I didn't know I could decorate that fast.
It's no Buddy Valastro cake, ,and it's probably not the best cake I've ever done... but I think it looks pretty decent- don't you?
It saved my sanity tonight regardless, though sadly it did not save my house from my dogs. Poor guys.
The Carmelo's "biscuit fiasco"
I had the lucky opportunity to visit Tuscaloosa, AL this past weekend and went on a little hunt for yummy baked goods while there. The tough thing about sweet treats in Tuscaloosa is that they are hard to find- but they are well worth the search. You won't find them in your traditional bakery on campus, but at little restaurants here and there. Later this week, I'll be talking about a to-die-for banana pudding. But I digress.
On Sunday, we went in search of brunch and found it a little area downtown at a nice little place called Carmelo's. Carmelo's menu is described as American, Southern, and Soul- which makes sense given that many entrees are more American grill or cafe than Southern, but they are served with smoked gouda grits to give it a southern flair. On this particular day, they had written on their chalkboard menu that they were serving grilled salmon black bean biscuits. They also had croissant french toast. I was torn by the savory vs. the sweet, but when I learned that the french toast stuffing was plain old cream cheese, I thought I would try out their savory biscuits instead. Besides, according to the waiter, this biscuit was made with salmon and black beans, which was unusual and adventurous. I was sold.
Well, what arrived was definitely playing it fast and loose with the word biscuit. It was definitely a wrap with grilled salmon and black beans, not a biscuit. So I inquired with the waiter a little just so I could understand how the chef was interpreting this wrap as a "biscuit". Maybe I was missing something.
It turns out, they just wrote the menu wrong. The menu was supposed to say burrito, not biscuit. Not 3 minutes later, an annoyed waitress marched over to the menu and practically broke her chalk as she scratched out the word biscuit for burrito and harumphed back to service her other tables.
Regardless, my burrito was good, but I had been left with no biscuit, no baked good to savor over my brunch. At this point, I wasn't going to order dessert (probably best to avoid when you can clearly tell your server is annoyed with you), but it got my wheels turning about grilled salmon and black bean biscuits and biscuits in general.
Biscuits, because of their lack of sugar don't normally fall into a Sugar Lovin category, but biscuits are the savory version of scones and an easy and essential building block in baking. You need dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt- butter, and wet ingredients- buttermilk or sour milk. Mix these all together and you've got biscuit dough.
The south is known for great biscuits. Take the Loveless Cafe in Nashville. Their biscuits, made by the irrepressible Carol Fay, are so famous that Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay featured them. Biscuits and gravy is an essential part of southern breakfast. You can't get away from biscuits in the south.
In Pittsburgh, we seem to be lacking a great place to buy biscuits. They aren't really bread, they aren't really pastry. Our big bread bakeries in town- Mancini's, Cibrone's, Allegro Hearth, Breadworks- they don't do biscuits. You have a lot of artisan breads, rustic loaves and Italian-style breads, but no biscuits. Bakeries are doing sweets and confections. And our lack of Southern cuisine here is rather appalling. Big Momma's House of Soul in the Strip District had to close due to some issues with customers having nowhere to park.
So rather than reaching for the Pillsbury can, since biscuits are so easy to make, try making a biscuit or two on your own. Check out this recipe from Alton Brown at the Food Network for your basic biscuit. You can also try Bobby Flay's biscuit recipe that beat out the famed Loveless Cafe version.
And my "biscuit" from Carmelo's? Well it inspired me to try making a salmon and black bean biscuit.
Check out my recipe here.
On Sunday, we went in search of brunch and found it a little area downtown at a nice little place called Carmelo's. Carmelo's menu is described as American, Southern, and Soul- which makes sense given that many entrees are more American grill or cafe than Southern, but they are served with smoked gouda grits to give it a southern flair. On this particular day, they had written on their chalkboard menu that they were serving grilled salmon black bean biscuits. They also had croissant french toast. I was torn by the savory vs. the sweet, but when I learned that the french toast stuffing was plain old cream cheese, I thought I would try out their savory biscuits instead. Besides, according to the waiter, this biscuit was made with salmon and black beans, which was unusual and adventurous. I was sold.
Well, what arrived was definitely playing it fast and loose with the word biscuit. It was definitely a wrap with grilled salmon and black beans, not a biscuit. So I inquired with the waiter a little just so I could understand how the chef was interpreting this wrap as a "biscuit". Maybe I was missing something.
Regardless, my burrito was good, but I had been left with no biscuit, no baked good to savor over my brunch. At this point, I wasn't going to order dessert (probably best to avoid when you can clearly tell your server is annoyed with you), but it got my wheels turning about grilled salmon and black bean biscuits and biscuits in general.Biscuits, because of their lack of sugar don't normally fall into a Sugar Lovin category, but biscuits are the savory version of scones and an easy and essential building block in baking. You need dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt- butter, and wet ingredients- buttermilk or sour milk. Mix these all together and you've got biscuit dough.
The south is known for great biscuits. Take the Loveless Cafe in Nashville. Their biscuits, made by the irrepressible Carol Fay, are so famous that Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay featured them. Biscuits and gravy is an essential part of southern breakfast. You can't get away from biscuits in the south.
In Pittsburgh, we seem to be lacking a great place to buy biscuits. They aren't really bread, they aren't really pastry. Our big bread bakeries in town- Mancini's, Cibrone's, Allegro Hearth, Breadworks- they don't do biscuits. You have a lot of artisan breads, rustic loaves and Italian-style breads, but no biscuits. Bakeries are doing sweets and confections. And our lack of Southern cuisine here is rather appalling. Big Momma's House of Soul in the Strip District had to close due to some issues with customers having nowhere to park.
So rather than reaching for the Pillsbury can, since biscuits are so easy to make, try making a biscuit or two on your own. Check out this recipe from Alton Brown at the Food Network for your basic biscuit. You can also try Bobby Flay's biscuit recipe that beat out the famed Loveless Cafe version.
And my "biscuit" from Carmelo's? Well it inspired me to try making a salmon and black bean biscuit.
Check out my recipe here.
Cinnamon-y treats
There is something about cinnamon that just screams fall. Right or wrong, I will almost immediately catalogue any dessert with a hint of cinnamon as a fall dessert. Maybe it's the close connection it has with pumpkin pie or apple pie, maybe it has to do with the cinnamon spiced ciders only available after October at most coffee shops. Either way, I think cinnamon, I think fall. I also think about cinnamon coffee cake. And cinnamon rolls. And Jean Marc Chatellier's cinnamon croissants.
In the meantime, I've mentally gained 5 pounds as I salivate over these Cinnamon Sugar Lovin Sweets.
We'll start with cinnamon coffee cake, or crumb cake as you may know it. This is the cake you'll recognize by the delicious cinnamon-brown sugar streusel topping, usually covered in powdered sugar. To a New Yorker, a crumb cake is a yeast raised cake with a crumb topping. This particular kind is native to the German-Jewish bakeries in particular. Outside of New York City, most bakeries are making a yellow or white cake of some kind and finishing it with a streusel topping. This method for making crumb cake is far less time-consuming than a yeast raised cake and has a more mainstream flavor. Yeast in cake just isn't something we are used to these days.
One of the better places for crumb cake (other than my Grandma's kitchen, of course)? Starbucks. It seems lame, but they have a very good coffee/crumb cake. Just ignore the calories in it and you'll be fine. Coffee shops in general have a very good crumb cakes- they kind of need to since it goes oh so well with a hot cup of java.
In Pittsburgh, your best bet for amazing coffee cake is at Aldo Coffee in Mt. Lebanon. They also have really great lattes and coffee with amazingly knowledgeable baristas. Just beware, if you aren't a regular, you might not enjoy the kindest of service.
If you are feeling brave, here's a great coffee cake recipe from a blog I follow regularly, Smitten Kitchen. I would eliminate the rhubarb and fruit altogether myself, but to each their own!
Other cinnamon Sugar Lovin fall treats to try? The oh-so-obvious cinnamon rolls. Now, with cinnamon rolls, your best bet is just to find a really good bakery and let them do the hard work for you. A real cinnamon roll is a lot of time and effort and it's truly hard to take a shortcut and get the same result. In Pittsburgh, we have no shortage of great cinnamon rolls. The Pie Place makes a delectable cinnamon rolls, with the classic confectioner sugar glaze. Others who are looking for a cream cheese iced cinnamon roll might want to try Prantl's.
If you really wanted to make one at home, try this recipe. It's faster than the traditional cinnamon roll, and manages to make a tasty cinnamon sugar treat.
The last cinnamon goodie you must try is a cinnamon croissant from Jean Marc Chatellier's in Millvale. You've probably all had a chocolate croissant or an almond croissant, but a cinnamon croissant is unique and delicious, especially when it comes from Jean Marc's little French bakery.
Cinnamon sweets are back again to grace the fall season. Make sure to try at least one and honor that Cinnamon Sugar Lovin fall craving!
Jean Marc Chatellier's Cinnamon Croissant on the Sugar Love Scale
Taste ♥♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥♥
Oatmeal cookies, the other part
The fall weather this weekend has me ready to jump straight into my favorite jeans (wow, they are tight after a summer of eating pastries), throw on a scarf and sit outside at my favorite coffee shops nibbling on coffee cake and sipping something caffeinated with spicy fall flavor, like a chai tea latte.
I am quickly reminded that it is still technically summer, by the 80-degree days that follow the 65-degree days, However, I'm stuck on fall pastries now, so we can explore, at least a little, the deeply complex flavors of fall in Sugar Lovin goodies.
While summer flavors tend to focus on fruits and the light, refreshing side of sweets, fall explores the depth of a late summer harvest and the headiness that a well placed spice can give a sweet treat. We'll begin with "fall-light" pastries. Something that can easily straddle both sides of the summer/fall fence based on the recipe you choose-an oatmeal cookie.
The summer side of an oatmeal cookie begins by adding a touch of honey and nixing those traditional raisins. With dried fruit abundantly available, you could easily go with apricots or cherries to give it a summery flair.
Try this recipe for a summery oatmeal cookie to help you transition to fall.
For the fall end of the spectrum, we go back to our traditional oatmeal raisin recipe. But this time, we are going to add some cinnamon and some cloves to amp up the seasonal flavor. Raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and walnuts all go so very well in the fall version of this cookie.
Try this recipe for the fall version of the oatmeal cookie.
While we are talking about cookies, in general, we should probably discuss the fact that cookie bakeries are fast becoming the new cupcake bakery. Milk and Cookies in NYC and Cookie Bar in Chicago are showing us that specialty baking doesn't start and end with cupcakes. And if you'll notice, both places have the classic oatmeal raisin cookies, though Cookie Bar is taking oatmeal cookies in all kinds of fun places with their Red, White and Blue cookie and the Oatmeal Chili Mango Macadaemia cookie.
Here in Pittsburgh, we don't have a cookie bakery per se, but we certainly have a few shops known for outrageously delicious cookies. Nancy B's in Homestead was rated the best chocolate chip cookie in all of Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Magazine, but she also boasts a long menu of different cookies to try. I'd recommend her oatmeal raisin. It's pretty delicious.
While I would typically recommend avoiding the traditional bakeshops for cookies (Potomac Bakery and Prantl's come to mind- their cookies just aren't a point of focus and it shows), Bethel Bakery does do a pretty good job with most of their cookies. The oatmeal raisin is a solid choice.
Shockingly, Giant Eagle Market District does a nice oatmeal cookie. You can get oatmeal raisin, oatmeal cranberry, and more. They usually are fresh and have a nice buttery, spicy flavor.
Light and summery or spicy and delightful, an oatmeal cookie is a great place to start when beginning to explore the fall spectrum of Sugar Lovin goodies. We have many more fall items to explore this week, so stay tuned!
Giant Eagle Market District's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I am quickly reminded that it is still technically summer, by the 80-degree days that follow the 65-degree days, However, I'm stuck on fall pastries now, so we can explore, at least a little, the deeply complex flavors of fall in Sugar Lovin goodies.
While summer flavors tend to focus on fruits and the light, refreshing side of sweets, fall explores the depth of a late summer harvest and the headiness that a well placed spice can give a sweet treat. We'll begin with "fall-light" pastries. Something that can easily straddle both sides of the summer/fall fence based on the recipe you choose-an oatmeal cookie.
The summer side of an oatmeal cookie begins by adding a touch of honey and nixing those traditional raisins. With dried fruit abundantly available, you could easily go with apricots or cherries to give it a summery flair.
Try this recipe for a summery oatmeal cookie to help you transition to fall.
For the fall end of the spectrum, we go back to our traditional oatmeal raisin recipe. But this time, we are going to add some cinnamon and some cloves to amp up the seasonal flavor. Raisins, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and walnuts all go so very well in the fall version of this cookie.
Try this recipe for the fall version of the oatmeal cookie.
While we are talking about cookies, in general, we should probably discuss the fact that cookie bakeries are fast becoming the new cupcake bakery. Milk and Cookies in NYC and Cookie Bar in Chicago are showing us that specialty baking doesn't start and end with cupcakes. And if you'll notice, both places have the classic oatmeal raisin cookies, though Cookie Bar is taking oatmeal cookies in all kinds of fun places with their Red, White and Blue cookie and the Oatmeal Chili Mango Macadaemia cookie.
Here in Pittsburgh, we don't have a cookie bakery per se, but we certainly have a few shops known for outrageously delicious cookies. Nancy B's in Homestead was rated the best chocolate chip cookie in all of Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Magazine, but she also boasts a long menu of different cookies to try. I'd recommend her oatmeal raisin. It's pretty delicious.
While I would typically recommend avoiding the traditional bakeshops for cookies (Potomac Bakery and Prantl's come to mind- their cookies just aren't a point of focus and it shows), Bethel Bakery does do a pretty good job with most of their cookies. The oatmeal raisin is a solid choice.
Shockingly, Giant Eagle Market District does a nice oatmeal cookie. You can get oatmeal raisin, oatmeal cranberry, and more. They usually are fresh and have a nice buttery, spicy flavor.
Light and summery or spicy and delightful, an oatmeal cookie is a great place to start when beginning to explore the fall spectrum of Sugar Lovin goodies. We have many more fall items to explore this week, so stay tuned!
Giant Eagle Market District's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Vegetables in your sweets
As the summers fresh harvest is drawing to a close, you might find that if your plants survived the heat, you are overloaded with vegetables like zucchini. Zucchini is one of those vegetables that's very versatile, but let's face it, we get sick of eating it all the time.
Thankfully, some creative mother ages ago (back in the medieval times to be exact) came up with a great way to disguise vegetables in layers of sugar and spice. The real story is that during medieval times, sweeteners were expensive and scarce, so in order to make a sweet bread, they used carrots, which is the vegetable with the highest amount of natural sugar after sugar beets. This is how carrot cake was born.
Although it's called carrot cake, it's actually a misnomer. Carrot cake, like zucchini bread, is a quick bread, which means it's a bread made with a chemical leavener, such as baking powder or baking soda, instead of yeast. In making quick breads, you mix all your wet ingredients together and then all your dry ingredients together. You add the wet to the dry and allow it to mix for several minutes.
Beyond carrot cake, zucchini cake, zucchini bread, muffins, and scones are just a few ways to blend the wholesome goodness of summer vegetables into the folds of deliciously sweet goodies made for early fall eating. In August's Bon Appetit magazine, you can find a great recipe for a zucchini pecan cake to get you ready for fall flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Here are some other great recipes for some vegetables-masquerading-as-sweets concoctions:
Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing: I would add 1 cup of raisins or crushed pineapple to this recipe to make it a little bit more moist.
Sweet Potato & Zucchini Bread: A slightly more interesting version of plain old zucchini bread.
Carrot Muffins: Made with a little bit of whole wheat flour!
Carrot Ginger Scones: My recipe- a little bit of a twist on a popular ginger scone.
Around Pittsburgh, there are some amazing choices for carrot cake. Nearly every bakery in town has carrot cake or a carrot cake cupcake. The Pie Place, Bethel Bakery, Priory Not-So-Fine Pastries, Vanilla Pastry Studio, Oakmont Bakery, etc. Carrot cake has a nice place that sits between a traditional german style bakery and a newer, specialty bakery, so you are apt to find it many places. My favorite so far is the Whole Foods Market carrot cake, with the Pie Place's coming in close second.
Summer is coming to a fast close, with that 60 degree weather right around the corner, so get your veggies now, just hide them in a cake!
Whole Foods Market Carrot Cake on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥.75
Thankfully, some creative mother ages ago (back in the medieval times to be exact) came up with a great way to disguise vegetables in layers of sugar and spice. The real story is that during medieval times, sweeteners were expensive and scarce, so in order to make a sweet bread, they used carrots, which is the vegetable with the highest amount of natural sugar after sugar beets. This is how carrot cake was born.
Although it's called carrot cake, it's actually a misnomer. Carrot cake, like zucchini bread, is a quick bread, which means it's a bread made with a chemical leavener, such as baking powder or baking soda, instead of yeast. In making quick breads, you mix all your wet ingredients together and then all your dry ingredients together. You add the wet to the dry and allow it to mix for several minutes.
Beyond carrot cake, zucchini cake, zucchini bread, muffins, and scones are just a few ways to blend the wholesome goodness of summer vegetables into the folds of deliciously sweet goodies made for early fall eating. In August's Bon Appetit magazine, you can find a great recipe for a zucchini pecan cake to get you ready for fall flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Here are some other great recipes for some vegetables-masquerading-as-sweets concoctions:
Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing: I would add 1 cup of raisins or crushed pineapple to this recipe to make it a little bit more moist.
Sweet Potato & Zucchini Bread: A slightly more interesting version of plain old zucchini bread.
Carrot Muffins: Made with a little bit of whole wheat flour!
Carrot Ginger Scones: My recipe- a little bit of a twist on a popular ginger scone.
Around Pittsburgh, there are some amazing choices for carrot cake. Nearly every bakery in town has carrot cake or a carrot cake cupcake. The Pie Place, Bethel Bakery, Priory Not-So-Fine Pastries, Vanilla Pastry Studio, Oakmont Bakery, etc. Carrot cake has a nice place that sits between a traditional german style bakery and a newer, specialty bakery, so you are apt to find it many places. My favorite so far is the Whole Foods Market carrot cake, with the Pie Place's coming in close second.
Summer is coming to a fast close, with that 60 degree weather right around the corner, so get your veggies now, just hide them in a cake!
Whole Foods Market Carrot Cake on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥♥
Appearance ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥.75
Chocolate and spice and everything nice
Trending hugely right now in chocolate pastries and confections: adding a little something unexpected. Right now, you'll see a lot of bacon & chocolate combos (don't shy away- these are usually amazing), vanilla salt & chocolate combos, and spice & chocolate combos. Today, we'll devote some time to explore spice & chocolate and why Sugar Love finds it oh so nice.
The spices you'll find in chocolate today cover a pretty decent spectrum. Cumin, paprika, chipotle, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice are popping up in pastries and candies across the country. The way these spices mingle with the sweet taste of chocolate differs greatly, but all add a spectacular depth and new interest to a standard flavor.
Cayenne pepper spiked dark chocolate treats combine bittersweet flavors with heat. The heat is latent, it hits you right as you swallow and stays with you a little bit longer after that. But the next bite of chocolate soothes the heat. Cinnamon with semi-sweet chocolate adds a heady fall flavor to a regular treat. These flavors are everywhere- candies, cakes, ganaches, fudge, tarts- and they are worth a try.
Let's start with candies and confections.
At your local grocery store, try the candy aisle and look for the more gourmet candy bars. Lake Champlain Chocolates is selling a Grace Under Fire bar that combines dark chocolate, pistachios, red pepper, vanilla and cinnamon flavors in a chocolate bar. Online, try Vosges Chocolates. They have every spice imaginable combined with chocolate it seems. In Pittsburgh, check out Mon Aimee Chocolat in the Strip District. They have a ton of different flavor selections right now themed for spicy chocolate.
At Tamari in Lawrenceville, occasionally for dessert you'll find them serving a chocolate spiced tart. It begins with a dark chocolate cookie crust and then it's filled with a bittersweet chocolate fudge-like ganache cake that is laced with cayenne and cumin. It doesn't hit you until just as you are about to swallow but the spices take the flavor and let it carry just a little bit further. Such a wonderfully fun and spicy tart.
In bakeries across the country, you'll find that Asian 5 spice chocolate cakes are becoming quite popular, as well chocolate chai spice cakes. The trend has made it's way to Pittsburgh, but only weekly at the Dozen Bake shop, who sells a Chocolate Chai cupcake. I tend to find that their daily cupcakes are dry and overly sweet, but it might be worth a shot to try it on a random Wednesday, the only day of the week they sell it.
You might be better off trying to bake a little at your own home. I recommend this recipe from VanillaGarlic.com. They even offer a boxed mix option for the less enthusiastic bakers. Food and Wine Magazine also shares the recipe secrets of Joan Coukos, the head chocolatier at Chocolat Moderne in NYC. These truffles are shockingly easy to make and would be an excellent gift or snacking candy.
My own recipe for chocolate and spicey nice things can be found here. These spiced pear cups are really delicious and are a great cocktail party dessert.
Tamari's Chocolate Spiced Tart on the Sugar Love Scale
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥.5
The spices you'll find in chocolate today cover a pretty decent spectrum. Cumin, paprika, chipotle, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice are popping up in pastries and candies across the country. The way these spices mingle with the sweet taste of chocolate differs greatly, but all add a spectacular depth and new interest to a standard flavor.
Cayenne pepper spiked dark chocolate treats combine bittersweet flavors with heat. The heat is latent, it hits you right as you swallow and stays with you a little bit longer after that. But the next bite of chocolate soothes the heat. Cinnamon with semi-sweet chocolate adds a heady fall flavor to a regular treat. These flavors are everywhere- candies, cakes, ganaches, fudge, tarts- and they are worth a try.
Let's start with candies and confections.
At your local grocery store, try the candy aisle and look for the more gourmet candy bars. Lake Champlain Chocolates is selling a Grace Under Fire bar that combines dark chocolate, pistachios, red pepper, vanilla and cinnamon flavors in a chocolate bar. Online, try Vosges Chocolates. They have every spice imaginable combined with chocolate it seems. In Pittsburgh, check out Mon Aimee Chocolat in the Strip District. They have a ton of different flavor selections right now themed for spicy chocolate.
At Tamari in Lawrenceville, occasionally for dessert you'll find them serving a chocolate spiced tart. It begins with a dark chocolate cookie crust and then it's filled with a bittersweet chocolate fudge-like ganache cake that is laced with cayenne and cumin. It doesn't hit you until just as you are about to swallow but the spices take the flavor and let it carry just a little bit further. Such a wonderfully fun and spicy tart.
In bakeries across the country, you'll find that Asian 5 spice chocolate cakes are becoming quite popular, as well chocolate chai spice cakes. The trend has made it's way to Pittsburgh, but only weekly at the Dozen Bake shop, who sells a Chocolate Chai cupcake. I tend to find that their daily cupcakes are dry and overly sweet, but it might be worth a shot to try it on a random Wednesday, the only day of the week they sell it.
You might be better off trying to bake a little at your own home. I recommend this recipe from VanillaGarlic.com. They even offer a boxed mix option for the less enthusiastic bakers. Food and Wine Magazine also shares the recipe secrets of Joan Coukos, the head chocolatier at Chocolat Moderne in NYC. These truffles are shockingly easy to make and would be an excellent gift or snacking candy.
My own recipe for chocolate and spicey nice things can be found here. These spiced pear cups are really delicious and are a great cocktail party dessert.
Tamari's Chocolate Spiced Tart on the Sugar Love Scale
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥.5
Red Velvet Cake- the basics
There are a lot of good box cakes. It's something you can make in a pinch when you are short on time and ingredients and need to bring a dessert. You can even doctor up box cakes to make them into something extra delicious by adding canned fruit, sour cream, applesauce, etc. But red velvet cake is just not something that can come from a box.
For starters, a good red velvet cake recipe uses buttermilk or sour milk (vinegar + milk) and a small dose of baking soda and vinegar to give it a slightly tangy, sour taste. Your red velvet box mix contains sugar, flour, shortening, cocoa powder and baking soda, plus a lot of stabilizers and preservatives. It only calls for eggs, oil, and water. So no matter what, you are going to miss that delightful hint of tang that a true red velvet cake gives you. And although the box might say it's moist and delightful, it's not going to hold a candle to a true red velvet cake.
The other key piece that makes a made-from-scratch red velvet cake so much better is the proportion of cocoa powder to flour. In a box cake, you are kind of stuck with what they think tastes best, but at home, you can play a little bit more to decide how much cocoa flavor you really want in the cake.
The origin of red velvet cake is unknown, but it's been around for a while. In the 1920's, it was the signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Legend has it that in the 1960's a patron asked for the recipe and she received it, but was billed a LARGE amount for it. She payed it, but then spread the recipe in a chain letter. Whether or not this is true, remains to be seen, but red velvet cake has since made it's way onto menus and into bakeries across the country.
My preferred red velvet cake recipe is here. It's really moist and delicious and pairs well with a buttercream icing or a cream cheese icing. It also makes a nice base for red velvet gobbs, although you need to add an extra egg and more flour for it to bind correctly.
If I've convinced you to abandon box cake mix for red velvet cake, but you still aren't in the mood to make your own, there are certainly a few places in town with a great red velvet cake.
Vanilla Pastry Studio: they don't always have the "Elvis has left the building" red velvet cupcake, so you might want to call ahead, but April Simpson-Gruver makes a killer red velvet cake.
The Pie Place: they always have cupcakes and they sometimes have cake. Call ahead to have them set aside for you- they go fast!
Oakmont Bakery: be prepared to be here staring at all the options and salivating for hours. But also know that they have red velvet cake and red velvet cupcakes all the time. The red velvet cupcakes are known as Red Carpet cupcakes and are superbly worthy of Sugar Loving cravings.
Oakmont Bakery’s Red Carpet Cupcake on the Sugar Love Scale
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
For starters, a good red velvet cake recipe uses buttermilk or sour milk (vinegar + milk) and a small dose of baking soda and vinegar to give it a slightly tangy, sour taste. Your red velvet box mix contains sugar, flour, shortening, cocoa powder and baking soda, plus a lot of stabilizers and preservatives. It only calls for eggs, oil, and water. So no matter what, you are going to miss that delightful hint of tang that a true red velvet cake gives you. And although the box might say it's moist and delightful, it's not going to hold a candle to a true red velvet cake.
The other key piece that makes a made-from-scratch red velvet cake so much better is the proportion of cocoa powder to flour. In a box cake, you are kind of stuck with what they think tastes best, but at home, you can play a little bit more to decide how much cocoa flavor you really want in the cake.
The origin of red velvet cake is unknown, but it's been around for a while. In the 1920's, it was the signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Legend has it that in the 1960's a patron asked for the recipe and she received it, but was billed a LARGE amount for it. She payed it, but then spread the recipe in a chain letter. Whether or not this is true, remains to be seen, but red velvet cake has since made it's way onto menus and into bakeries across the country.
My preferred red velvet cake recipe is here. It's really moist and delicious and pairs well with a buttercream icing or a cream cheese icing. It also makes a nice base for red velvet gobbs, although you need to add an extra egg and more flour for it to bind correctly.
If I've convinced you to abandon box cake mix for red velvet cake, but you still aren't in the mood to make your own, there are certainly a few places in town with a great red velvet cake.
Vanilla Pastry Studio: they don't always have the "Elvis has left the building" red velvet cupcake, so you might want to call ahead, but April Simpson-Gruver makes a killer red velvet cake.
The Pie Place: they always have cupcakes and they sometimes have cake. Call ahead to have them set aside for you- they go fast!
Oakmont Bakery: be prepared to be here staring at all the options and salivating for hours. But also know that they have red velvet cake and red velvet cupcakes all the time. The red velvet cupcakes are known as Red Carpet cupcakes and are superbly worthy of Sugar Loving cravings.
Oakmont Bakery’s Red Carpet Cupcake on the Sugar Love Scale
Taste ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Texture ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Appearance ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Peachy Sweet Pastries
Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach crisp, peach ice cream, peach preserves on a warm biscuit, peach cookies...this list could go on and on. Peaches have a natural and delicious sweetness that makes them delightful when eaten plain and even better when eaten as part of a treat.
There are four main varieties of peaches- freestone yellow, freestone white, clingstone yellow and clingstone white. They are rather self explanatory varieties- the freestone yellow, for instance, has a yellow inside that easily is removed from the pit or "stone". The flavors vacillate between very sweet with little tang (mostly yellow varieties) to very sweet with a lot of tang (mostly white varieties), and although most are fine for baking, bakers tend to prefer freestone varieties due to the ease of removing the fruit from the stone.
Whatever variety you choose, peaches are best purchased fresh in the summer, or frozen during anytime of the year. For a fun summer afternoon outing, you could go to Simmons Farm in McMurray and pick your own peaches!
Once you have your bushel, you'll need a few ideas for quick and easy delicious peach treats:
Grilled Peaches with Whipped Cream
Peach & Pecan Bars
Peach Almond Crumble
Around Pittsburgh, you can indulge your Sugar Lovin craving for a peachy treat at any of these local bakeries:
The Pie Place: Great place to stop for a individual peach tart, a peach raspberry torte, or a slice of peach crisp. Order warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream a la mode!
Sweet Tammy's: Yes, let's just get past the fact that I'm not in love with this bakery....but she does make a really nice brown sugar peach pie. Think of it like dutch apple pie, but with peaches instead.
Chik Fil A: So no, it's not local, but they do a killer peach milkshake all summer long that you shouldn't miss out on.
Happy Peachy Eating!
Chik Fil A's Peach Milkshake on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥.5
Appearnce ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥.5
There are four main varieties of peaches- freestone yellow, freestone white, clingstone yellow and clingstone white. They are rather self explanatory varieties- the freestone yellow, for instance, has a yellow inside that easily is removed from the pit or "stone". The flavors vacillate between very sweet with little tang (mostly yellow varieties) to very sweet with a lot of tang (mostly white varieties), and although most are fine for baking, bakers tend to prefer freestone varieties due to the ease of removing the fruit from the stone.
Whatever variety you choose, peaches are best purchased fresh in the summer, or frozen during anytime of the year. For a fun summer afternoon outing, you could go to Simmons Farm in McMurray and pick your own peaches!
Once you have your bushel, you'll need a few ideas for quick and easy delicious peach treats:
Grilled Peaches with Whipped Cream
Peach & Pecan Bars
Peach Almond Crumble
Around Pittsburgh, you can indulge your Sugar Lovin craving for a peachy treat at any of these local bakeries:
The Pie Place: Great place to stop for a individual peach tart, a peach raspberry torte, or a slice of peach crisp. Order warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream a la mode!
Sweet Tammy's: Yes, let's just get past the fact that I'm not in love with this bakery....but she does make a really nice brown sugar peach pie. Think of it like dutch apple pie, but with peaches instead.
Chik Fil A: So no, it's not local, but they do a killer peach milkshake all summer long that you shouldn't miss out on.
Happy Peachy Eating!
Chik Fil A's Peach Milkshake on the Sugar Love Scale:
Taste ♥♥♥♥
Texture ♥♥♥.5
Appearnce ♥♥♥
Overall ♥♥♥.5
Grilled salmon and black bean biscuits.
Unlike Carmelo's in Tuscaloosa, I swear it can be done! And they are pretty delicious, I must say.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp COLD butter
1 cup Whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
1 cup Cake flour
1 Tbsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
2 tsp Fresh minced cilantro
2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup Shredded grilled salmon or smoked salmon
1/2 cup Drained, rinsed black beans from a can
1 cup Buttermilk or soured milk (milk + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
1 cup Shredded smoked gruyere or gouda
Method:
1. Cube butter, place in 3/4 cup in freezer. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor.
2. Add 3/4 cup of butter and mix on low with paddle attachment of stand mixer until crumbly or blend in food processor until crumbly. Carefully mix in shredded salmon and beans.
3. SLOWLY add milk to mixture while the mixer runs on low. Add a little at a time until the dough forms solid ball. Do not add all the milk at once or your biscuits will never work!
4. Form the dough into a disk using your hands, adding buttermilk if necessary. If time allows, let dough rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, covered. On a well floured, clean surface, knead dough about 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1-in thickness. Using black bean can or biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place on baking sheet. Reroll scraps and repeat until all dough is used.
5. Brush tops of biscuits with remaining buttermilk if desired and dot with remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes, add the shredded cheese to the tops of the biscuits and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack.
Now the key to this recipe is what you serve these biscuits with. They taste good alone, but they taste great when served with a "gravy" masquerading as a corn chowder. Try this recipe from Ina Garten at Food Network, but swap out the cheddar for more of that smoke gruyere or gouda to blend the flavors better!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp COLD butter
1 cup Whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour1 cup Cake flour
1 Tbsp Baking powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
2 tsp Fresh minced cilantro
2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup Shredded grilled salmon or smoked salmon
1/2 cup Drained, rinsed black beans from a can
1 cup Buttermilk or soured milk (milk + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
1 cup Shredded smoked gruyere or gouda
Method:
1. Cube butter, place in 3/4 cup in freezer. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor.
2. Add 3/4 cup of butter and mix on low with paddle attachment of stand mixer until crumbly or blend in food processor until crumbly. Carefully mix in shredded salmon and beans.
3. SLOWLY add milk to mixture while the mixer runs on low. Add a little at a time until the dough forms solid ball. Do not add all the milk at once or your biscuits will never work!
4. Form the dough into a disk using your hands, adding buttermilk if necessary. If time allows, let dough rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, covered. On a well floured, clean surface, knead dough about 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1-in thickness. Using black bean can or biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and place on baking sheet. Reroll scraps and repeat until all dough is used.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Easy mini cinnamon rolls
True cinnamon rolls require a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of patience. These cinnamon rolls aren't quite the same, but they are easy, delicious, and best of all, homemade! Enjoy the smell and cinnamon and sugar wafting throughout your entire house when you make these.
Easy Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 12 rolls
Ingredients:
Rolls
16 Tbsp Unsalted butter, divided (2 sticks)
1 cup Brown sugar, divided
3 Tbsp Cinnamon, divided
1 pkg Frozen puff pastry, defrosted (2 sheets)
2 Tbsp Heavy cream
Glaze
3 Tbsp Confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp Milk
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place 12 muffin tin pan on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Divide your butter, 12 Tbsp for now, 4 Tbsp for later. Divide brown sugar, 1/3 cup for now, 2/3 cup for later. Divide cinnamon, 1 Tbsp for now, 2 tbsp for later. In bowl of mixer, beat 12 tbsp of butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 Tbsp of cinnamon until smooth. Drop 1 Tbsp of mixture into each muffin tin.
2. Take 1 puff pastry sheet and place on floured surface. Melt 2 tbsp of your remaining 4 Tbsp of butter and use half to brush the puff pastry sheet with it. Melt and cool the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and mix with remaining brown sugar, cinnamon and heavy cream. Spread half of it evenly over puff pastry sheet.
3. Roll the puff pastry sheet length-wise, like you would a jellyroll cake and finish with the seam side down. Cut roll in half and then cut each half in thirds, to make 6 pieces. Place each piece in a muffin tin. Repeat with second puff pastry sheet.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed and golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then carefully invert pan onto parchment lined baking sheet. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Mix confectioner sugar with milk and brush the tops of the cinnamon rolls. Serve warm!
Thoughts on a summery oatmeal cookie
Oatmeal cookies- not just with raisins and cinnamon any more! Try these summer oatmeal honey apricot cookies for a fun twist on a classic recipe. Then, when the wind gets chillier and you feel October really coming on, try my spicy oatmeal cranberry white chocolate cookies.
Summer Oatmeal Honey Apricot Cookies
Yield: About 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Unsalted butter
1/4 cup Butter flavor shortening ***
3/4 cup Packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp Molasses
1/4 cup Honey
2 Large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking soda
3 cups Old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups Chopped dried apricots
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and shortening on medium until smooth. Beat in sugar, molasses and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beat until smooth. Add in vanilla.
2. In large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and oats. Slowly beat into butter mixture, in three additions. Add in chopped apricots and mix until well combined.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookies (about 2 Tbsp a piece) onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges of cookies are set. Remove from oven and allow to rest on pans for 5 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool.
*** Why shortening and why butter flavor shortening?
I don't normally recommend using shortening in baking. However, with cookies, shortening does two things- it provides a very smooth texture and it increases the temperature at which the fats (the butter and shortening) in your cookies melt. This keeps your cookies from spreading too thin during baking and allows your cookies to stay chewy and soft.
I use butter flavor shortening to at least mimic the rich flavor of real butter since I'm using an otherwise flavorless, highly processed ingredient.
Don't worry, regular shortening will work too and if you only have butter and don't wish to use shortening, that's ok too. Just be prepared for a thinner cookie!
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