The Queen of Tarts

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are countless recipes for chocolate chip cookies - everyone seems to have their favorite, and of course there is the great debate over chewy or crispy. I have always loved chocolate chip cookies, and truth be told, I have never EVER met anyone who did not like them. They come in all shapes and sizes and textures as well. I remember driving around in the summer as a child and eating Famous Amos cookies from the brown bags they came in. There was something delectable about that crunch from such a small cookie. The very first time I had a Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookie was in La Jolla, CA and I was about 14 years old - friends of my parents let me have one, and to this day it stands out as being one of the best cookies I have ever had (or maybe it just tasted better because I had a major crush on their son...) To this day I have never had a Mrs. Fields that tastes as good as the ones I had back in La Jolla.

I have made many versions of this American classic, and the ones that remain chewy are preferable. In recent weeks I have turned back to baking as the weather in our new home, Abu Dhabi, has started to cool enough for me to even want to contenplate turning the oven on. I found a recipe in Cooks Illustrated for chewy chocolate chip cookies, and provided me with a full-on reason as to WHY they reminded chewy (the melted butter and extra egg yolk). I could not resist. Of course like almost every other recipe, I put in my edits. For example, I used three different kinds of chocolate from chocolate bars (which I chopped up) instead of chips. I like the uneven melting and the subtle flavor differences. I am also very heavy handed with the vanilla, and tend to cut back a bit on the sugar. I also doubled the recipe, which turned the whole thing into a bit of a math project due to the metric conversions over here. However, they are amazing, and it is hard to not eat the all of the dough from the bowl.

Enjoy! 

4 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

24 tbsp salted butter melted and cooled

2 cup packed brown sugar (light)

2 large egg plus 2 egg yolks

3 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups chopped chocolate (for best flavor, mix up the variety with milk, semi-sweet, and dark)

Preheat oven to 325 F and line baking sheets (2) with parchment paper or cooking spray. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, and set aside. Mix the butter and sugar together in a bowl and then beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add the dry ingredients until all incorporated. Finally, add in the chips. Use either a measuring cup or a cookie scoop and measure out about 1/4 cup for each cookie and shape into a ball. Pull the ball apart with your hands, and rotate the hands 90 degrees so the jagged ends are facing up - then press together. Place the dough on the cookie sheet jaggedside up about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 11-13 minutes until about golden brown. 

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. Makes about 16 large cookies.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

 
 
When I think of chocolate and marshmallow together I think of s'mores - that decadent summer (or anytime really) treat with chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers that is best made over a campfire in the woods right before tucking into the tent for a nice cozy night after a long day of fishing and/or hiking.

Right.

Who I am kidding? I am not the type to camp. I did it when I was a kid, but I find waking up in a tent a bit clauterphobic, and I know for a fact that many of you out there feel exactly the same way. Sometime ago in my early teens (or younger) I realized that I could take a marshmallow, put it on the end of a fork, and warm it up over the flames of our gas stove. Done - life became instantly better. Of course there was a lot of explaining to do when the sugary mess fell into the burner, but that is a different story for a different time.

My sister thought about making marshmallows years ago - YEARS before the whole gourmet marshmallow craze at organic and high end markets commenced. She was way ahead of the curve, and still makes flavors that surpass those found in your favorite high end stores.

We found this recipe from Maida Heatter, who is one of the best bakers of all times. I decided to take it a step further and cover the little delights in dark chocolate. The combination made for a great treat and the dark chocolate evened out the sweetness of the marshmallow. While I made plain marshmallows, you could add a hint of peppermint extract to the batch (or any other combination that sounds good to you...) to mix things up.

So much better than camping!

I N G R E D I E N T S
Vegetable shortening (Crisco recommended) for preparing the pan 
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cornstarch (for coating the marshmallows) 

12 oz dark (60%) high quality chocolate for tempering

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows (Marshmallow Recipe from Maida Heatter)
1. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan as follows. Invert the pan. Cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the foil over the inverted pan and fold down the sides and corners just to shape. Remove the foil and turn the pan right side up. Place the foil in the pan and press it gently into place. With a pastry brush or crumpled wax paper coat the foil thoroughly but lightly with vegetable shortening. Set aside. 

2. Place 1/2 cup cold water in the large bowl of an electric mixer, Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and set aside. 

3. Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and the other 1/2 cup water in a heavy 1-1/2 quart or 2 quart saucepan over moderately low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Ideally, you should let the syrup boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 240 degrees. I tend to watch for a boil, and decide that it is good to go - however, most people are not as relaxed as I am about their baking/cooking so feel free to follow the instructions properly. All things aside it is important that you do not overcook the sugar syrup. Once the boil occurs, remove from the heat. 

4. Beating constantly at medium speed, slowly pour the syrup into the gelatin mixture - it is hot so do not try to touch it etc. That would be really dumb! After all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and beat for 20 minutes until the mixture white and the consistency of marshmallow fluff, adding the vanilla a few minutes before the end of the beating. (During the beating, occasionally scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. The marshmallow will thicken and get sticky and messy- it is marshmallow after all...) This is a good time to taste the mixture - or spread it on some bread with peanut butter etc...

5. Pour marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the marshmallow with the spatula or your fingers or whatever you find works best. 

6. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for about 12 hours.

7. Turn the pan upside down and cut the marshmallow into pieces (I like 2 inches by 2 inches) that suit you. Gently dust or roll each piece in cornstarch. This will ensure that the pieces are less sticky.

Set the pieces aside in a large bowl or plate. 

Place about 8 oz of the chocolate (chopped) in a double boiler over medium heat. Be careful to not allow any water in the chocolate - this will affect the tempering process. Use a rubber spatula and slowly stir the chocolate as it melts. You want the chocolate to reach a temperate of about 112F. Once it gets to this temperature, remove it from the heat, and add the remaining chocolate that you have set aside (a few pieces at a time) stirring constantly. This process is a pain, but it will produce the shiny coat on the finished product that will make your guests look at you in awe.

Continue to stir and add in chocolate until the temperature comes down to about 86F. Remove the remaining unmelted chocolate and set it aside. Place the marshmallow on the end of a skewer and dip into the chocolate. Ensure that it is evenly covered and allow the excess to drip off. Place the covered marshmallows on a piece of wax paper. You will need to work quickly so that the temperature of the chocolate does not drop. If it does, warm it up.

 

Once finished, place the marshmallows (on the wax paper) on a plate or cookie sheet, and allow them to cook in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until you see a nice sheen on the outside.

Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving. These will last for about 3-4 days (or a few longer if kept in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Hazelnut Tarlets

Forgive me in advance for my lack of precision.  We have several sets of measuring cups in a kitchen drawer.  We have two sets of measuring spoons.  We have a kitchen scale.  All of this aside, I like to cook by taste.  I do not really measure.  Well, when I am making quick breads, cookies, and those sorts of things, I will measure the flour and butter, but the rest just gets thrown in.  Vanilla - a pour will do. Cinnamon?  Depending on the recipe a heavy handed shake or a gentle sift will often take the recipe to a better place.  And when it comes to chocolate and cream?  I just kind of make it happen.  Sometimes my ganache is a little soft for the truffles, but they are going into one's mouth, so who really cares?  I do not run a pastry shop, and I am not a trained chef.  I am a person who loves to be in the kitchen and play with the ingredients that I have around me.  After all, if I spent my live measuring every last drop my life would not be very fun.

However, there times when measuring is critical, and making any kind of pastry dough is one of those times. Dr. H gave me Joanne Chang's Flour Cookbook as a birthday present, and I ordered a set of tartlet pans for myself, so thought that her pâte sucrée recipe would be the perfect fit for the pans and that the tartlets filled with a hazelnut ganache would work perfectly for a party we had some time ago.  No surprise - her recipe was a success, and not difficult to make.  The dough tastes like a mix between shortbread and pie crust, and has a wonderful buttery flavor and delicate crumble when bitten.

I chose to make a hazelnut ganache for the filling because I love the flavor of the liquor with the melted chocolate, and it is just strong enough to cause a bit of attention.  You can make a plain chocolate ganache, use amaretto, rum, etc.  While the ration for ganache tends to be 8 oz of chocolate to 4 oz of heavy cream, if you are going to use liquor to flavor the ganache, cut back on the cream a little bit (this is where my measuring because a little less than exact to say the least...)

Joanne's recipe was for a large tart - I made it per her instructions, but just filled out the smaller pans.  Due to the fact that it is a crust, I made several pricks in the bottom of the tartlet pan with fork tines, and halfway thru baking, I gently pressed the crust back into the tarts as is does rise a bit.

Pâte Sucrée Recipe

• 1/2 cup (1 stick/114 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (140 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale and light. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds. The mixture will look like wet sand. Add the egg yolk and continue to mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough comes together.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap (I like Glad Cling Wrap) and refrigerate for about 1 hour. (If you are not going to use this straight away, you can place in a Freezer Safe bag and freeze for up to a month.) Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to soften for about 30 minutes. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work space (I like our marble slab in the kitchen because it keep the cool temperature). Once you roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick, take the little tart pans and turn them over on the dough. Press them down like cookie cutters to get the exact shape and size you need.

Press the pan down and shake it gently to losen the dough, then flip the pan back right-side-up. 

Mold the dough into little tartlet pans - I like to use various shapes to add a variety...

Once you place the dough in the pans, place in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the dough can rest. Once the dough is rested, place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until the dough starts to turn golden brown.  If necessary, check about halfway through, and press the dough down into the pan if it is rising too high.

Once baked, place the pans on a cooling rack and allow to completely cool before filling.

Hazelnut Ganache

8 ounces high quality dark chocolate (I like Callebaut chocolate - 60% and buy most of my chocolate at Chocosphere) chopped into small pieces

3 1/2 ounces heavy cream

3-5 tbsp of Frangelico (depending on taste)

Place the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl.  Heat the cream until it is almost boiling, and then pour the cream over the chocolate.  Stir the chocolate and cream until well combined and the all of the chocolate has melted.  Once the chocolate is melted, add the Frangelico and mix well until everything is combined (it does not hurt to taste along the way in order to ensure you have added the right amount of liquor...)  Once the ganache has cooled, cover and allow it to set.

Using a pastry bag, pipe the ganache into the cooled pastry shells.  Allow the ganache to set in the shells, and then serve.  They are best if eaten the same day!

Hector's Cake (Chocolate Cake with Vanilla - Rum Buttercream)

 

Several years ago I had a surprise birthday party for my husband, and I needed to have the perfect birthday cake. I found a moist chocolate cake recipe that had a rich creamy chocolate icing - it stood up perfectly to that warm August afternoon. Since that day, this has been my "go-to" recipe when I needed to impress. From time to time I change the recipe and make it more my own depending on my mood or the situation. 

We recently had friends over who got married several month ago. I turned to this cake to celebrate their marriage (it did not hurt that we had a 10 year old bottle of Dom Perignon as well...). I played with the recipe a bit to make it healthier, but let's be real - it is chocolate cake. When I eat chocolate cake I want sweet, dense, richness in ever single bite. So while the amount of white flour is significantly reduced here, and I swapped out whole milk for 1%, you will not miss a thing. This cake is sure to please your toughest critics. I doubled the recipe and made a drop-dead vanilla-rum buttercream filling for the layers. Really, I should have just served the cake for dinner with a few forks. I am still not sure why we even bothered with the main course...

Preheat your over to 350 Degrees. Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans (or 4 if you double the recipe), and set them aside.

• 1 2/3 cups organic cane sugar
• 1-3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup Cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, and then in the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix together. Once mixed, slowly add in the water. The mixture will be very thin - don't worry about it. It will all work out! Once everything is pulled together, divide the mixture between the cake pans, and gently tap the bottom of the pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for about 29-33 minutes (until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan). Allow the cake to cool in the pan on racks for roughly 10 minutes, then invert the pans and let the cakes cool completely before frosting and assembling.

Frosting (for the outside) - again, this can be easily doubled...

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Now for the middle of the cake - the layers - I made a vanilla-rum buttercream. I tend to be the worst kind of baker when it comes to things that I am comfortable with, which means that I do not really measure. However this means that there is a lot more room for innovation, invention, and fun as far as I am concerned. Here is what I did, more or less, and play around to make it your own...

Vanilla-Rum (for the layers)

2 cups vegetable shortening (I like the Organic Kind - Spectrum)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup dark rum (don't be cheap, use the good stuff!)
3 tbsp milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Put the shortening in a mixing bowl, and gradually add in the confectionary sugar until it is all incorporated. Add in the rum, milk, and vanilla. The frosting should be thick, but not too thick that you cannot spread it on the cake. If it is too thin, add more sugar. Once it is all mixed, allow to cool in the fridge for about a 30 minutes.

Place the first layer down on your cake stand, and then top it off with some of the vanilla-rum buttercream.

Place the second layer on top. If you have more than 2 layers, continue to fill and stack the cakes until all layers are done - do not put the vanilla-rum buttercream on the top layer.

Frost the cake with a thin- VERY THIN- layer of the chocolate frosting. This is a messy layer often called dirty icing. Let this layer sit and harder (best is to chill the cake in the fridge for an hour or two). Once the icing is hardened, place the final layer of icing on the cake and try to make it look pretty. Who cares if it is a mess anyway, it will still taste good!

Chocolate Spiced Torte

It was a formidable task, and one that I was not sure I could take on.  However, I had spent most of the past 10 days sitting around - literally.  After undergoing a serious knee operation, my Dr told me that I could not place any weight on my right leg for almost two months.  However when the December Bon Appetit magazine arrived in the mail, I knew that the cake on the cover would take center stage at Christmas dinner.  I needed to figure out a way to both make and assemble the cake. So my husband and I took on this task, and managed to have fun doing it...

I was nervous - making a complicated torte that consisted of layers, ganache, glaze, and chocolate ribbons would not be easy on one leg.  It looked so gorgeous that it had to be done.  Perhaps it was the fact that I could not last very long standing on one leg, but I found that this cake was best done in stages - we did the layers on day and the buttercream the next.  We then assembled everything the day before we wanted to serve it.  The ribbons on top proved to me a new challenge in the kitchen, but one that was fun and something that I plan to do again.

When our family saw the cake there were lots of "oohhhs" and "aaahhhhs", and it actually tasted as good as it looked (I have to admit, I was not really sure how it would taste... After all, I am not a big fan of this particular kind of buttercream, and when I was assembling everything, the torte seemed overly dry. The ribbons themselves do not have a lot of flavor but pull the whole thing together. I will use this technique again for creating chocolate ribbons.

Spiced Chocolate Torte from Bon Appetit - December

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 8 eggs, seperated, room temperature
• 10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), melted, lukewarm
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, sifted (measured, then sifted)
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cream of tartar

Chocolate Buttercream

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 4 jumbo egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature
• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), melted and cooled (but still pourable)
• 1/4 cup dark rum

Chocolate Glaze

• 12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder

Chocolate "Ribbons"

• 14 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped (the original recipe calls for 7 ounces but I did not find that it was enough)
• 1 cup light corn syrup, divided
• 14 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), broken into pieces (same thing here re:  the amount as in the white chocolate...)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 11/2-inch-high sides. 

Using electric mixer, cream butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in egg yolks 1 at a time. Blend in melted chocolate. Slowly mix in pecans, vanilla, and spices. Gradually add in flour in 3 batches (batter will be very thick and dense).

Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar in another large bowl until medium peaks form. Gently fold 1/4 of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites. Divide batter among prepared pans, spreading evenly. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Run knife around sides of each cake. Let stand 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks. Cool to room temperature. The cakes can be made in advance and frozen if wrapped well (up to several wks...)

Chocolate Buttercream

• Stir sugar and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil 1 minute. Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat egg yolks in medium bowl until pale and thick. Gradually beat in hot sugar syrup; continue beating until mixture is completely cool, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter a few (2) pieces at a time, incorporating the pieces completely before adding next. Blend in melted chocolate, then rum. (If buttercream looks broken or curdled, place bowl with buttercream over medium heat on stove burner and whisk 5 to 10 seconds to warm mixture slightly, then remove from heat and beat mixture again on medium speed. Repeat warming and beating as many times as needed until buttercream is smooth.)
• Reserve 1/2 cup buttercream. Set 1 cake layer, flat side up, on rack; spread with half of remaining buttercream. Top with second cake layer; spread with remaining buttercream. Top with third cake layer; use reserved 1/2 cup buttercream to fill in seam where cake layers meet. Freeze cake until buttercream is firm, about 2 hours.

Chocolate Glaze

• Stir all ingredients in top of double boiler over gently simmering water until mixture is smooth. Remove from over water. Stir until glaze is thickened, about 5 minutes (do not allow glaze to set).
• Pour 3/4 of glaze over top of cake. Carefully and quickly tilt cake back and forth so glaze coats sides; smooth sides with spatula, adding some of remaining glaze where necessary. Chill cake until glaze is set.

Chocolate Ribbons

• Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over gently simmering water; stir until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup corn syrup. Pour onto baking sheet. Chill until firm, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer white chocolate to work surface and knead several minutes. Shape white chocolate dough into ball. Wrap in plastic. Let white chocolate dough stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Repeat with bittersweet chocolate and remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup.
• Cut white chocolate dough into 4 pieces. Flatten 1 piece into rectangle. Turn pasta machine to widest setting (if you do not have a pasta machine, use a french rolling pin - you will be fine, no worries!). Run chocolate through 3 times, folding into thirds before each run. Adjust machine to next narrower setting. Run chocolate through machine without folding. If chocolate is more than 1/16 inch thick, run through next narrower setting. Lay chocolate piece on rimless baking sheet. Repeat flattening, folding, and rolling with remaining chocolate pieces. Repeat process with bittersweet chocolate dough.
  The recipe called for several technical details with regard to assembling the ribbons so that they looked just like the cover recipe... We went our own way and had fun.  You will want (and need) and ruler for this.  Have fun with the ribbons and arrange them in a way that makes sense for you.  

Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Creme Cookies...aka "Oreos"

Sure I liked oreos when I was a kid, but they were by no means my favorite cookie.  I did not like how crunchy the cookie was, it crumbled everywhere and made a mess.  I also never found the cookie too satisfying.  I tend to lean toward double chocolate chip, chocolate chip, molasses ginger, or even the vanilla oreo cookies.  I just had a problem with the chocolate cookie - I preferred the chocolate covered cookies with the thin mint cream inside - fresh from the freezer.  But people go crazy over these little oreos.

We never really had them around the house when I was a kid.  Occasionally, I would eat a few of the double-stuffed oreos, but once the cream filling was gone, I left the chocolate cookies on the plate with the half-empty glass of milk and I went about my business.  About two months Dr. H and I stopped by Flour to bring a box of treats to my parents' house and I saw a plate of gorgeous chocolate cream-filled cookies.  Joanne Chang had outdone herself again with her rendition of the oreo. These were definitely NOT the oreos that I grew up with.  The crust was sweet, crunchy, and had a hint of salt.  The cream was silky and ultra rich.  And the two together tasted like lust and the most gorgeous dirty secret your best friend ever told you.  I mean these were so good that my father was thinking about how to make them last - should we freeze them, and eat them frozen?  Should we try to cut them in half?  And then I found him and my nephew hidden reading books and sitting together with a plate of the cookies like 2 yrs old laughing.  They were nothing less than pure joy.

About two weeks ago I received King Arthur Flour's weekly email and the message contained a recipe for "Faux-Reos" and let me tell you, there is nothing FAUX about these cookies.  They tasted quite a bit like Ms. Chang's and this is the highest compliment.  After reading through the recipe, I figured out that they were easy enough to make and would probably make a great hostess gift to a dinner party that Dr. H and I were attending.  So, the decision was made.

The cookie itself is dark chocolate and cold also be used for a pie crust (think ice cream cake, cheese cake, etc). And as for the cream filling?  Well it tasted almost exactly like my wedding cake frosting which left me speechless - in the best possible way.  Do not overmix the frosting, or it will become too soft.  Less is more here.  However, you can always put it in the fridge to stiffen up.  We decided that these taste the best the day after as the filling has the chance to soften the cookies a bit and stiffen up.  I also like the combination of sweet/savory so I increased the salt from the King Arthur Flour recipe.

Cookie: (makes about 22-25 cookies - or 11 to 12 sandwiches)

1 cup sugar

¾ cup butter

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 large egg

1 tablespoon cold water

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup black cocoa (can be found at King Arthur Flour)or Dutch-process cocoa (I like a combination of ½ C of black cocoa & ¼ C of dutch-processed)

Cream Filling:

2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cold water

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat sheet.

Mix together the butter, sugar, salt, and espresso powder in a bowl.  Once combined, add in the egg, water, vanilla, flour, and cocoa powder (the dough will be very stiff).  Once the dough is mixed, start to fill the cookie sheet.  Each cookie should be about 2 tablespoons worth of dough.  I like to use a cookie scoop to make this easier.  Roll each piece into a ball.  Line the sheets with the dough leaving about 1 1/2 inches in between each cookie.  

 

Use the bottom of a glass to flatten out the cookies.  If you place a piece of wax paper underneath the glass, the cookie will not stick to the glass.  

Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes.  It is important that you do not over bake them, as they will be too crunchy once you assemble them.

As the cookies are baking, you can make the filling.  Beat together the sugar, shortening, and vanilla until smooth (again, do not over mix).  If needed, add the water.  You want to have a stiff frosting. Once the cookies have cooled completely, you can fill them.  Put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of frosting in between each cookie.

Enjoy!

A Primer on Funeral Cake

I got a lot more than a college education when I spent 4 years in Dallas, TX for college.  My freshman roommate, Margaret was from Shreveport, Louisiana, and she was not shy about letting people know it. All things that one might attribute to the South and Southern hospitality, I learned from Margaret (and from being in a sorority at SMU...but even Margaret played a huge part in helping with that).

I had my first fish fry with her (and am embarrassed to say that it did not go over as well as her father might have liked), I learned how to two-step at Mama Marias while holding some kind of alcoholic drink in a big red plastic cup.  I also learned that people do in fact drink and drive in Louisiana.  In fact, it is almost sanctioned - there are drive through margarita shacks.  There is a season for alligator hunting, the words "Sir" and "M'am" are ALWAYS used no matter what, and life really is easier if you somehow got yourself into the "right" sorority.  Luckily for us, Margaret and I managed to get into the right greek houses and have fun with it.  So on one weekend, when we drove from SMU in Dallas to LSU in Baton Rouge, we stopped in Shreveport and her mother handed us a cake to take with us on the road.  As we drove through the state, the deep chocolate smell from the still-warm cake permeated Margaret's red VW Fox.  When I asked what kind of cake it was, Margaret simply responded in her sexy southern drawl:

"Why, it's funeral cake."

"Funeral cake?  What the hell is a funeral cake?"

"Well, when someone dies, you have to bring something - you know like a casserole?  My mother also brings this cake.  So it's funeral cake."

I thought about that for a while.  Funeral cake... it was kind of morbid to name a cake after an event associated with death, but then again, we were in the South, and people are just more hospitable in the South, and if you are going to bring a casserole to a funeral, why not bring a cake as well, right?

To this day, Funeral Cake is one of my favorite cakes.  It is incredibly easy, and let me put it out there right now, there is nothing, and I mean nothing that is healthy about this cake.  You are not going to find the words "organic" in the ingredients.  However, it is an honest-to-goodness fantastic cake, and you do not need the sad occasion of a funeral to make it.  However be warned, once this cake comes out of the oven, it will not last long.  I have changed it ever so slightly and boozed it up. However, giving that I have added copious amounts of bourbon to the original recipe, I think that I would only make my friends in Louisiana proud.

Laissez les bon temps roulez - and thank you Margaret and Mrs. Sale!

 

Funeral Cake (adapted from THE SALES)

Preheat over to 350 F and grease a bundt pan

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Box Chocolate Instant Jello-Pudding Mix
8 oz sour cream
1/3 cup good quality Bourbon (or rum if it hits you...)
2/3 cup water
3 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
12 oz chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly grease the pan.
• Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
• Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester (or thin knife) inserted comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack and then remove the  from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

 

Bewildered by Bacon

I used to eat it.  In fact, I liked it quite a bit.  It had to be cooked extra crispy - not burnt - but extra crispy so that it would crunch each time my teeth bit into the extra salty bits.  At some point it touched the sweetness of maple syrup when they both mingled on a plate years ago, and then I took my bacon with a touch a sweetness.  However, as time went on, I lost my taste for bacon.  And bacon was really the only pork item I ever really liked, so I now stay away from all pork products.  The texture, the smell, the taste... there is really nothing about this particular food item that I find appealing.

Shocking - I know.  Perhaps I am an anomoly.  A one of a kind.  People love this cut of meat - there is truly an obsession around bacon, and I just for the life of me cannot understand it.  I fully understand the allure of all things pork - I mean I do not think that there is any other animal that can offer so many different kinds of cuts.  However recently, there has been a disturbingly high amount of buzz around what can be "done" with bacon, and I know for a fact that I am not the only one who finds this buzz bizarre (Steevy...)

Take, for example, chocolate.  Pure, rich, and smooth.  OK, so someone somewhere thought it would be a good idea to throw in some bacon.  Add a little smokey flavor, a little crunch, and I am all for the sweet/savory thing.  But it has not stopped there.

Next came the cupcake.  There is an obsession with cupcakes, and with it comes the growing need to improve on an already great thing.  So why not add bacon?  Well, because it just sounds wrong.  OK - no, I have not tried it and I have no intention of trying it.  I have already had one open heart surgery and have no plans for another. Bacon, butter, oil, sugar, more butter, flour, more sugar, chocolate, more bacon.  No, there is just something truly wrong with this concept.

 

(photo from Mr. Baconpants http://www.mrbaconpants.com/about/)

If sweet is not your thing, I came across a heart stopping (literally) artery clogging dish called "Bacon Explosion".  Essentially it is bacon and sausage all rolled up (or "weaved together - and here I thought weaving was only for baskets and hair) and rubbed down with your favorite BBQ sauce (make sure that you use your favorite, because it could very well be your last meal).  And then it is bake in the oven or cooked on a BBQ.  Not sure why it is baked.  At this point, the whole thing should just be deep fried...

http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/

If people love bacon so much, why can't you just eat it as is?  The taste is complex enough that it does not need to be "weaved" into a sausage roll up.  Yes, a good BLT is something to write home about, but why add all this extra stuff with it?  My husband loves the stuff, he loves pork, and I often hear the phrase "Bacon makes it better..." but I really do not buy it.    

But don't be upset with me - think about it - it only means that there is just that much more bacon for the rest of you.

Flying Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have never meet anyone who has not liked chocolate chip cookies.  I have met many people whose opinion differs as to what kind of chocolate chip cookie they like - chewy, crispy, full of chips, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, etc.  But never, ever, have I met anyone who has not liked them.  With this post, I am sure that they will make themselves known, but until they do, I will hold tight to my convictions.

I have tried many, many different kinds of chocolate chip cookie recipes in my 30+ years, and have found some that I like more than others.  Perhaps the best kind are those that are made with someone else, whether it be a good friend, or the help of little hands...

I recently started baking with more non-traditional ingredients and incorporating these into my cookies, cakes, and confections.  Whether it be agave nectar for sugar, whole wheat flour for white flour, or even coconut oil for butter, I wanted to see what I could do to "bake better" for myself.  Sure, I am positive that many people would disagree, and tell me that it is a waste of time, money, and energy to stray away from butter and eggs and good old flour.  But I actually enjoy the chemistry that goes into finding out why the ingredients react - or fail to react - based on what goes into the mix.  I also tell myself that I am doing something good for myself, and whether this is the case or not, that is my story, and I am sticking to it so there!

It actually all started with a chocolate chip cookie you know... A coconut chocolate chip cookie that led me down the path to baking without eggs, and trying out alternative recipes.  I then stumbled on the Baby Cakes NYC Cookbook and made several batches of those cupcakes, which are perfect little snacks (I make mini unfrosted ones, keep them in the freezer, and defrost a few when I need something sweet).  For full disclosure, following my Baby Cakes post, I was contacted by a publicist for the new cookbook "The Flying Apron", which is a vegan and gluten free bakery out in Seattle.  I received a copy of the book, and looked through it nightly for several weeks until today, when I opened it up and finally decided to make the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I had the ingredients all collected, so I really had no excuse to not give it a go.

Following recipes to the 1/8 of a teaspoon in gluten free / vegan baking is critical, and I tend to not be the best at that.  I like to add a little here and a little there, and make things up as I go.  However, if I plan to post things on a blog, and expect people to follow a recipe, that will not really work.  So, when I opened up the Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book I already started to see substitutes for ingredients listed in my mind... coconut oil instead of the recommended canola oil.  Agave nectar instead of the recommended organic cane sugar, almond milk instead of the recommended rice milk etc.  So there was really only one solution - I have both recipes below for you... you can do either one, or you can make them both!  I made the one in purple, and the cookie is not the crispy one that you might find with heaps of butter, but the result is a cookie, a substantial cookie, with a small hint of the coconut and crispy edges, with a soft middle.  Enjoy, from the bottom of my heart...

Flying Apron Chocolate Chip Cookies (with adaptations...)

2 3/4 cups brown rice flour

1 1/2 cups + 1tbsp garbanzo bean flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 c canola oil [1/2 c canola oil+1/2 c coconut oil]

1 c organic whole cane sugar [2/3 c agave nectar]

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c rice milk [1 c almond milk]

1 c vegan chocolate chips [1 1/2 c vegan chocolate chips]

optional: 1/4 c chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  The a standing bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment add the oil(s), sugar (agave nectar), and vanilla and combine until well mixed.  With the speed on low, add the flour mixture and the milk (almond or rice) and mix until well combined - this will take about 2 minutes.  Add in the chocolate and nuts if you are using them.  Scoop out the dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart...

and bake for about 14-16 minutes until the top is golden brown. (I like to under bake my cookies, so I bake them for 14 minutes).

An Introduction to Babycakes NYC

I love to bake.  My cupboards are filled with flours, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, oils, shortening, and then in the fridge there are always the necessary eggs and milk when needed.  However more and more I am turning about from baking and cooking with animal products and trying out vegetarian and vegan recipes.  I have never been a huge meat eater, but there is something that is so simple and clean about eating a diet that is animal free.  Moreover, I have several friends who eat this way and also have food sensitivities and/or allergies so I am always looking for alternative recipes.  I recently stumbled across the Babycakes-NYC cookbook and did not have to think for more than a few seconds before marching up to the register and bring home my latest purchase.

I have tried many gluten-free desserts, however they are in the cookie form for the most part, and I have bought them in the supermarket.  I have made some gluten-free desserts (black bean brownies), but none have involved multiple types of specialty flours, xanthun gum, and coconut oil.  After reading through the Babycakes-NYC cookbook several times (It will pull you in and you will have a hard time letting go...), I had to give the recipes a go!

I learned very quickly that it is critical that you read over the recipe FIRST and ensure that you have every single ingredient.  The specialty flours are a bit pricier that regular flours, however you are creating a high quality ingredient treat.  Your body (and taste buds) will thank you. Do not leave anything out, there is a reason that all of these items are included below!

Chocolate Cupcakes - adapted from the Babycakes-NYC

1 3/4 C garbanzo-fava bean flour

1/2 C potato starch

1 C unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp vanilla extract

1 C hot water

1/4 C arrowroot

1 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp salt

1 C coconut oil

1 1/3 C agave nectar

3/4 C applesauce (unsweetened)

Preheat the oven to 325F and line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.  Mix the dry ingredients together and then add in the oil, vanilla, agave nectar, and applesauce.  Stir batter until smooth.  Spoon out about 1/3 cup into each of the muffin tins so that they are almost full.  Bake the cupcakes for 22 minutes, rotating the tin 180 degrees after 15 minutes.  The cupcakes should bounce back to the touch when light pressure is applied when they are done.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the tin for 20 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the tin.

Frosting:

If you have a favorite frosting, and you do not have to use a vegan one, go for it.  However, this frosting is rich, creamy, and has a hint of coconut flavor with a buttercream texture. Make sure that you allow the frosting sit in the fridge so that it will harden BEFORE you frost it.  However, if you want to pipe it on, you will then want it to warm up just a bit after it hardens - it is kind of a science to get it just right.

1 1/2 C unsweetened soy milk

1/2 C dry soy milk

1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp coconut flour

1/4 C agave nectar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 C coconut oil

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a blender or food processor, combine soy milk, soy powder, cocoa powder, cocoa flour, agave nectar, and vanilla.  Once the ingredients are well incorporated, add in the coconut oil and lemon juice and mix.  Pour the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for 6 hrs up to 1 month.