Tag: dessert

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Recipes

a confession

What did I, Miss Butter, Miss Baking, make for my dear sweet Jordan on his birthday?

Rice crispy treats. Yep, that’s right folks. Rice crispy treats.

Just in case you need the recipe, here it is …

Rice Crispy Treats

4 T butter
6 cups marshmallows
8 cups rice crispy cereal

Butter a baking dish and set aside. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows. Stirring constantly, melt marshmallows into a super-sticky paste. Add rice cereal and stir to combine. Pour into baking dish and press evenly into dish using wax paper or buttery hands.

And you know what? Rice crispy treats are delicious. I love Jet-Puffed marshmallows, despite the fact they are made entirely of high fructose corn syrup – my enemy in most other contexts.

Happy Birthday to Jordan, “the butter to my bread”, the bacon to my mac & cheese, and my absolute favorite.

With any luck and more butter, he’ll get a more adventurous birthday treat this weekend.

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: blood orange olive oil cake

I’ve never made or eaten an olive oil cake, but I generally like all things in loaf form and this recipe from Smitten Kitchen was absolutely irresistible. A special thanks to Deb of Smitten Kitchen for doing all of the legwork and finding the most perfect olive oil cake. This cake is delightful, moist, citrusy and balanced with a delicate olive oil flavor – a wonderful dessert or breakfast. Without a doubt, I’m adding it to the permanent repertoire.

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake with Citrus Compote, adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the cake:
Butter for greasing the pan
2 blood oranges
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

Whipped cream and orange-honey compote,  for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Grate zest of 2 oranges into a bowl. Add sugar and mix with your hands to evenly distribute zest.

Halve one of the oranges and juice it into another bowl. Add buttermilk. Pour mixture into the sugar-zest mixture and whisk well. Whisk in olive oil and eggs.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ones. Mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then unmold. Serve with orange-honey compote and whipped cream.

For the compote:
2 blood oranges
2 navel oranges, tangelos, or other citrus fruit
1 – 2 T honey

Supreme the 4 oranges. Cut off bottom and top of fruit so it sits upright on the cutting board. Cut away the peel and pith following the curve of the fruit. Cut the orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Drizzle with honey and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir and serve with cake.

-Emily

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Recipes

the best thing …………….. in the world

First, this post is dedicated to my good friend Miykaelah because without her (and her obsession with a tiny cafe called Baked & Wired in Washington, D.C.) I would have never consumed the life-changing pastry I’m about to tell you all about.

What is this magical pastry, you ask. It is the donut-muffin!

Donut + muffin = Life-changing, cinammon-sugar-coated deliciousness.

Like I mentioned previously, my first and only (up until this weekend) donut-muffin was from Baked & Wired. Jordan and I had to wake up early and trudge down to the cafe in order to get our hands on two of their famed donut-muffins. So delicious are these donut-muffins, they sell out before 10 am! But boy am I glad we did! These pastries are beyond good. The perfect crumb, a crunchy-donuty exterior, 360 degrees and 3 dimensions of cinnamon sugar heaven. WOW was pretty much all I could think at the time. And then I moved 3,000 miles away from the delicious donut-muffin bakers, doomed to never eat a hybrid pastry so perfect again.

Flash forward to last Thursday. I was walking home from work and listening to the Spilled Milk Podcast. The theme of the episode was muffins. I was causally listening and laughing along with Matthew and Molly when I heard the words donut and muffin in quick succession. My recipe brain was on high alert! And, in a matter of seconds, I learned the secret key to making the donut- muffin!!! My baking life was changed! I stormed into the apartment happier than I had been all week and shared my discovery with Jordan. His life was also changed! Donut-muffins have special powers. You’ll see once you eat one.

Without further adieu …

Nutmeg Donut-Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Crust, borrowed from Molly Wizenburg of Orangette with tremendous gratitude

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Scant 1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

¾ cup plus 1 Tbs whole milk

2 Tbs buttermilk

1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and set a rack to the middle position. Butter a standard-size muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, and whisk to mix them thoroughly. Set aside. (I followed her recipe here, but Jordan and I both think that next time we’ll also throw a little cinnamon in the batter).

Combine the milk and the buttermilk in a cup or little dish, and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for a few seconds, until the butter is soft and creamy. With the motor running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture increases in volume and lightens. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until they are just combined.

With a wooden spoon, mix 1/4 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture. Continue to add the dry and wet ingredients alternately. Mix until the dough is smooth and well combined, but do not overmix. This batter has more flour than typical muffins – it is a muffin/scone/biscuit batter hybrid. So many converging pastries!

Divide the batter between the cups of the muffin tin. My muffin tins were overflowing, but it all turned out just fine. Bake until the muffins are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

AND NOW FOR THE SUPER SECRET TRICK THAT TURNS AN EVERYDAY MUFFIN INTO A MAGICAL DONUT-MUFFIN …

Melt 4 T butter. In another bow, mix 1 t cinnamon with 4 T sugar. Using a pastry brush, one by one brush the still warm muffins all over with butter. Toss in the cinnamon sugar. TAH DAH! You have a fresh and delicious donut-muffin!!!! That easy!!!  I’m not a science whiz or anything, but there is some perfect chemical reaction going on between warm muffin, warm butter and cinnamon sugar that cannot be missed. WOW.

Make this recipe. They are so good, it is *almost* beyond words.

-Emily

P.S. I had one for dessert, and then breakfast, and then dessert again. Rarely do I eat that many portions of my baked goods. THEY ARE THAT GOOD.

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Recipes Uncategorized

cinnamon sugar cupcakes with tangelo glaze

I made these cupcakes for a coworker’s birthday last week. I had high hopes for them – cinnamon + sugar + cake = awesome, right? Well, sadly, Martha failed me this time. The cupcakes were a little too dense, a little too dry and only tasted good the first day. However, the tangelo glaze that Jordan improvised to replace the meringue frosting recommended by Martha was awesome. I’ll post that recipe instead and you all can go glaze your hearts content.

Also, I took all these photos to make a cute photo recipe entry for the blog. I think the photos turned out pretty well, so I’m going to post them even though the recipe was less than stellar.

Tangelo Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 t citrus zest, we used a tangelo, but you could make this with any citrus

3 T fresh citrus juice, we used a tangelo, but you could make this with any citrus

Whisk together all ingredients. Use immediately.

-Emily

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Randomness

treats

Why do I love having fairly decent baking skills … because when I’m sitting at the kitchen table watching Jordan bustle around cooking dinner and I’m stuck with a sudden desire to consume carrot cake, instead of suppressing that urge, I bake and actually eat this delightful carrot cake in less than an hour.  Awesome. Not that I should always cook and eat desserts like that – with great power comes great responsibility – but still, it feels pretty good. (Aside: Jordan is going to kill me for posting that quote).

Yum!

-Emily

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Recipes

passionfruit mousse

Here is the recipe for the passionfruit mousse that we served at our last dinner party. It is based on a recipe that I learned while in Argentina. I love passionfruit and this dessert will not disappoint!

Passionfruit Mousse – Mousse de Maracuyá

2 packets (2 T) unsweetened gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup passion fruit pulp
1 T lime juice
1 1/2 c sugar
1 2/3 cup heavy cream
6 egg whites
1/2 t cream of tartar

In a heatproof bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 c water and let sit for 5 minutes.

Combine passionfruit pulp, lime juice and sugar in a large sauce pan. Heat lightly until the sugar dissolves. This will only take a moment or two. Set aside to cool. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture for use as topping when serving.

Heat gelatin over a pot of simmering water until it melts. Take of the heat and add the passionfruit mixture. Let cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge.

Take passionfruit – gelatin mixture out of the fridge and pull of any skin that may have formed. It will have thickened slightly.

Whip the cream until peaks form and then mix this into the passionfruit mixture with a spoon.

Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the passionfruit mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites carefully.

Spoon into dishes and refrigerate for several hours.

Top with reserved passionfruit-sugar mixture to serve and enjoy! Passionfruit is amazing and this desert achieves the perfect balance between sweet and tart, light and creamy. I love it!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: chocolate ganache tart

Another week full of coworker birthdays! Why so many birthdays? Well, as my coworker Noah pointed out, this week is 9 months after Valentine’s Day. 😉

I always ask the birthday boy or girl if they have any allergies (I don’t want to kill anyone on their birthday) and Joel replied, “I’m allergic to anything that’s not sweet, fattening or chocolate”.  Sounds good to me!

I decided to make a chocolate ganache tart because it looked so pretty and fancy in the picture, but the recipe was super simple.

Chocolate Ganache Tart, from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food
3 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
6 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest (I did lemon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make dough: In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground. Add sugar, flour, zest (if desired), and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter, pulsing until coarse crumbs form with no large butter lumps. I don’t have a food processor, so I grated the butter on the cheese grater and cut it in with 2 knives.

Immediately transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a measuring cup, evenly press dough in bottom and up sides of pan.

Bake in center of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. (At 20 minutes, my crust was still really soft so I let it go longer, but upon eating the next day it seemed too crunchy). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make ganache: Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream until just about to boil. Pour hot cream, through a sieve, over chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture. Mix in vanilla. (As we learned in the chocolate mousse adventure, be careful not to torture the chocolate).

Pour chocolate mixture into center of cooled tart shell. Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or chill for 1 hour.

I served it with fresh raspberries.

Conclusions: It was rich, chocolatey and decadent. The acidity of the berries was a perfect accompaniment. I wasn’t thrilled with the crunchiness of the crust and may try a different crust recipe next time. The coworkers all really enjoyed it and I’m pretty sure I saw someone go in for thirds.

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: banana cream pie

Oh pate brisee, why did you torture me so! I lovingly and carefully incorporated your flour, butter and water, painstakingly chopping the butter into tiny bits, and all you do to thank me is collapse upon yourself in the oven.

Not a terribly successful weekend for desserts. I decided to make a banana cream pie for my coworker’s birthday (she requested a banana dessert) and wanted to make the pie crust from scratch. I followed a recipe that used all butter, because crisco sort of freaks me out, but sadly, only one of the two pie crusts was even usable after baking (and the usable one was definitely ugly).

I followed a Martha Stewart recipe for the pie.

Despite the aforementioned crust issues, making the vanilla custard went smoothly. And once the pie crust was topped with sliced bananas and vanilla custard, you could hardly tell it was an once ugly. I served it with a dollop of whipped cream.

Conclusions: All of my coworkers loved it, even the ones that don’t like banana cream pie (myself included). Surprising myself, I would make it again and recommend you all to try it.

-Emily

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Recipes

chocolate mousse: trial and error

This is a lesson on how to make chocolate mousse, and also how not to make chocolate mousse. It took Jordan and I two tries to turn out an edible product for our Sunday party, and sadly, we can’t say we’re thrilled with the end result of this recipe.

Eggs, cream, chocolate … all delicate ingredients that don’t respond well to harsh treatment. We were harsh. On our first attempt, we’re fairly certain we burnt the ingredients every step of the way. The result: a chunky, grainy, chocolate goop.

A side-by-side comparison of a correct custard (smooth and creamy) and an incorrect custard (burnt and grainy).

While we successfully passed the custard stage on on our second attempt, we over-chilled the chocolate custard, which resulted in an overly dense mousse even 1.5 cups of whipped cream couldn’t save. It was edible certainly, but too rich to be throughly enjoyed.

Still on the hunt for the perfect chocolate mousse …

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: angel food cake with lemon cream

Another coworker’s birthday, another delicious treat to break up the workday. I decided to make an angel food cake for a couple of reasons …  because my mom found an angel food cake pan at a garage sale and brought it down to me last weekend, because I’ve never make angel food from scratch, and because I’ve already brought cheesecake, chocolate cake, yellow cake, and banana bread to work.

I must say, baking this cake was quite the adventure. I made a huge mess of my kitchen (mostly because I didn’t realize just how voluminous 12 egg whites can become – very voluminous) and later was thrilled when my cake popped right out of the mold after the two hour cooling period, despite looking totally stuck to the pan.

Angel Food Cake with Lemon Cream and Fresh Berries, adapted from Martha Stewart Living

FOR THE CAKE
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 large egg whites
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in lower third of oven. Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and juice, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt; continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining cup sugar.

Increase speed to medium-high; continue whisking until firm, not stiff, peaks form, about 2 minutes. (At this point my mixer was overflowing with egg whites!) Sprinkle whites with 1/3 of the flour-sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Sprinkle remaining flour-sugar mixture over whites in 2 additions; gently fold to combine.

Transfer batter to an UNGREASED (very important!) 10-inch angel food cake pan with legs. Gently run a knife through the center of the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake 45 to 50 minutes.

FOR THE LEMON CREAM
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

While the cake is baking, make the lemon cream. Prepare an ice-water bath (this really does help). Whisk lemon juice, sugar, flour, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; whisk constantly for 1 minute, until it thickens. Transfer to a heatproof bowl set in ice-water bath to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk cream and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into juice mixture in thirds. Refrigerate lemon cream, up to overnight.

Remove cake from oven, and invert onto its cooling legs (if your tube pan doesn’t have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool); let cool, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Yes, you let it cool upside down … the cake won’t just plop out of the pan so don’t worry like I did). Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove. Invert onto a serving platter. (Use a knife to separate cake from bottom of pan.)

Frost with whipped cream, serve with fresh berries.

Conclusions: Delicious! Light, lemony and spongy … an angel food cake success! My coworkers all enjoyed it, especially the addition of the lemon zest.

-Emily