Simply Delicious

Green Tea Strawberry Coconut Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:01:00 +0000

I've been testing out flavor combinations lately—in preparation for the not-so-soon grand opening of my cupcake bakery. It'll happen one day. But for now, I'll just concentrate on creating and perfecting out-of-this-world cupcakes.

My latest flavor test were these green tea strawberry coconut cupcakes...what a mouthful. They components are green tea cake, strawberry jam filling, strawberry swiss meringue, and a toasted coconut rim. In all honesty....these cupcakes are AMAZING! The cake isn't very sweet and the earthy flavor of matcha really shines through even with the tartness and sweetness of the strawberry swiss meringue.

I contemplated for a while what kind of buttercream I wanted to use for these cakes. At first, I was going to just go for a simple American buttercream. However, I realized that it would be too dense and way too sweet for the matcha. I also thought of a french buttercream, but thought that it would be too rich and buttery. My final decision was a swiss meringue because of it's lightness and smooth texture. Swiss meringue buttercream also isn't very sweet and allows other flavors to shine through.

Recipe Review:

Taste: I used two tablespoons of matcha, so the flavor really comes through, even with all the other components. The buttercream has a very nice strawberry flavor and isn't too sweet.
Texture: The toasted coconut rim makes all the difference. It adds a wonderful crunch and is slightly smoky. The cake itself is very moist and fluffy. The buttercream melts in your mouth and is so light and airy.
Appearance: See for yourself! Aren't these cupcakes just the cutest? I love the contrast of the light pink against the earthy green. These cupcakes kind of remind me of bird's nests.
Level of difficulty: This is a fairly simple recipe. As with all my recipes that include swiss meringue, the only "difficult" part would be the time it takes to make the buttercream.

Green Tea Cupcakes
Adapted from Billy's Bakery & Martha Stewart
makes 12 cupcakes

ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoon matcha powder
1/2 cup whole milk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:
Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. Then add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed, until it is well combined.

In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha powder. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Be sure not to overmix!

Fill the liners until 2/3 full. Bake the cakes for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through the baking process to ensure even cakes.

Toasted Coconut

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:
Toast the coconut for 15 minutes, or until golden brown, while the cupcakes are baking.

Once cooled, break up the coconut using your hands. You want the pieces to be small.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue
makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

ingredients:
3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
2 sticks + 6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup strained strawberry preserves
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Slightly whisk the egg whites and sugar in a small bowl and place it over simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Heat mixture to 160°F, whisking constantly.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed until the mixture doubles in volume and forms stiff peaks. This will take about 10-12 minutes.

Once the mixture has doubled in volume and is cooled down, slowly add the butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. At first, the mixture will look curdled. Don't worry, this is normal. Just keep mixing and it will become smooth and creamy. Once it has all come together, add in the vanilla extract and strawberry preserves. Mix until fully incorporated.

Assembly:

Hollow out the cupcakes using an apple corer or knife. (Or any tool you prefer.) Add about 1 ½ tsp of strawberry preserves into the center. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcake. I like to use an Ateco#827 tip. Put enough coconut to fill the cup of your palm and cover the outside of the buttercream. Let the excess fall off.

These cupcakes are so delicious that my mom, who isn't even a big fan of sweets, couldn't resist inhaling an entire cupcake after dinner. She was instantly hooked. Like I said, the cake isn't very sweet and pairs wonderfully with the slightly sweeter strawberry buttercream. The toasted coconut ties the entire cake together. It's the perfect cupcake! The addition of the heart sprinkles makes it the perfect Valentine treat as well. So be sure to makes these for the special person(s) in your life :)

As always, happy baking!

Chocolate Pudding Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 02:08:00 +0000

No, sadly these aren't cookies stuffed with chocolate pudding. (That would be a fantastic idea though....) They are still absolutely phenomenal!!

These cookies are perfect for the secret, or not so secret, chocolate lover inside of you. There are three types of chocolate in these wonderfully fudgy cookies: cocoa powder, chocolate pudding mix, and a plethora of chocolate chips. It's chocolate madness!!

If you're wondering if you can omit the chocolate pudding aspect of this recipe, the answer is NO! (Please excuse my rudeness.) The chocolate pudding mix is what makes these cookies so nice and fudgy. It keeps the cookies nice and soft as well. Brown sugar also helps make these cookies nice and chewy.

I have to say, I had some trouble trying to pry these cookies out of my greedy brother's hands. I think he might have eaten four or five cookies in one sitting. That's really saying something considering how rich and decadent these treats are.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you regarding the consumption of these cookies, it's to eat them after having let them cool for a maximum of 10 minutes. That way they're still warm and the chocolate chips still ooze their way out of the cookie and onto your tastebuds.

To. Die. For

Recipe Review:

Taste: So much chocolate! Contrary to what you may believe, these cookies aren't that sweet. They have a deep chocolate taste from all the different types of chocolate added.
Texture: Very moist and and fudgy. It's a thicker cookie because it does not spread out much in the oven.
Appearance: They have a beautifully rich brown color and once you break them open, you can see the lovely specks of chocolate.
Level of Difficulty: It's an extremely simple dough to make. The "hardest" part, as with many of these recipes, is waiting for the cookies to cool.

Chocolate Pudding Cookies
Adapted from Averie Cooks
makes 15-20 medium cookies

ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 packet instant chocolate pudding mix, about 3.7 to 3.9 ounces (not sugar-free and not 'cook & serve')
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Then add the egg and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined.

In a small bowl, sift the pudding mix and cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl, and add the pudding mix and cocoa and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.

In the same small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Next, add the chocolate chips and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. (If you find the chocolate chips are not incorporated well, mix them in with a spatula.

Transfer the dough into a bowl that will fit in your refrigerator and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days. This is an important step! Without it your cookies will just flatten in the oven.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands. Roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Place the dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked and glossy in the center. Don't over bake, which is easy to do with dark cookies. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving.

These cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week but I really doubt they'll even last that long. Heck, who knows if they'll even last 1 hour....or even 10 minutes. If you're thinking of baking anytime soon, be sure to add this to your list. You won't regret it!

As always, happy baking!!

Earl Grey Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 23:28:00 +0000

I’ve become quite the tea fanatic in the recent months. There’s nothing like a hot cup of earl grey or jasmine green tea to warm the body and the soul. (That sounded very spiritual.) Those two are my favorite teas as of now. There are still so many I have yet to try.

My brother actually introduced me to earl grey tea when I decided to make afternoon tea for my family almost a year ago. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. Which is why I came up with the idea of making earl grey tea cupcakes. I mean, I love cupcakes and I love tea. It’s a match made in heaven.

I knew that I wanted to make an early grey cupcake, but I didn’t know what kind of frosting to pair it with. I had a swiss meringue buttercream in mind because it’s just light and fluffy enough to not overpower the mild earl grey flavor. Suddenly, I remembered having had the most amazing food experience at Le Cirque in Manhattan.

We were brought a complimentary earl grey panna cotta served in a caviar container. At first we were in complete shock, thinking we had just received an ENTIRE TIN of caviar. Then the waiter opened the lid and it still looked like we had received and ENTIRE TIN of caviar. However, he explained it was an earl grey panna cotta with tapioca “caviar”. We had a good laugh after being completely fooled. I tasted the product and it was good but it was definitely missing something. The waiter then put a nice dollop of lemon meringue on top of the panna cotta and the result was a flavor explosion that made more sense than I can even explain. The lemon meringue really enhanced everything and made the dish so extremely composed.

That’s where my decision to pair the cupcake with a lemon swiss meringue stemmed from. The end result was a cupcake with a mild earl grey flavor. I was hoping for a bigger pop of earl grey after having steeped 4 tea bags for hours. However, there was enough to detect some earl grey in the cake. The lemon frosting was the icing on the cake. It added a refreshing burst of citrus to the earthy earl grey flavor. My mom liked it so much that she ate two within two minutes. I think this is definitely something I’ll have to make again.

Recipe Review:

Taste: There wasn’t as much early grey flavor as I would have liked. Next time I will either use more tea bags or steep them longer. The lemon buttercream was very bright and refreshing.

Texture: The cake is slightly dense but still very moist. The buttercream is light and very smooth. It practically melts in your mouth.

Appearance: There are tiny specks of early grey tealeaves all throughout the cake. It’s so pretty to look at, especially with the slightly purple tinted buttercream.

Level of Difficulty: This is a very simple recipe. It’s a standard vanilla cake. There’s just some waiting to be done with the steeping of the tea bags and the making of the buttercream. Other than that, it is very simple.

Earl Grey Cupcakes
makes 18 cupcakes

ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
4 earl grey tea bags
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the whole milk in a saucepan until it simmers around the edges. Place the tea bags in the scalded milk. Steep in the fridge for 4 hours or preferably overnight.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Alternate adding the milk and flour mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely.

Lemon Swiss Meringue
makes approx. 3 cups a
adapted from Baker's Royale

ingredients:
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Slightly whisk the egg whites and sugar in a small bowl and place it over simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Heat mixture to 160 degree°F, whisking constantly.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed until mixture doubles in volume and forms stiff peaks. This will take about 10-12 minutes.

Once the mixture has doubled in volume and is cooled down, slowly add the butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. At first, the mixture will look curdled. Don't worry, this is normal. Just keep mixing and it will become smooth and creamy. Once it has all come together, add in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix until fully incorporated.

Once you've made the cupcakes and the frosting you can frost and decorate however you wish. As usual, I use my favorite tip which is the Ateco#827. I added just a touch of purple gel food coloring to match the rest of the cupcake, but that's completely optional.

These cupcakes are great for a tea party or a cute picnic. You can also make them just for the heck of it. They’ll go so quickly, so be sure to make enough for everyone!

As always, Happy Baking!!

Chocolate Ganache Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 03:51:00 +0000

Do you ever have an intense craving?

You know, one of those cravings that don’t go away no matter how hard you try to resist.

I did.

This morning.

I had the deepest, most intense desire for a rich chocolate cake. At first I thought that I could just ignore it like I usually do. The next thing I knew, I was on Google searching for pictures of chocolate cake. I was torturing myself. I quickly closed my browser and tried to erase the images from my mind. In the blink of an eye, I was at the kitchen counter measuring flour and cocoa powder. I caved.

Truthfully, I have no regrets whatsoever for caving. The result of my cravings was quite possibly the most sinfully delicious cake I’ve ever made. The best part is that it was also the simplest cake I’ve ever made. It only consists of two things: chocolate cake and chocolate ganache.

I’m not a chocolate addict. Usually a fun size snickers bar is all it takes for me to not need chocolate for months. But there’s just something about this cake that is irresistible. Maybe it's the ridiculously moist chocolate cake. Maybe it’s the velvety smooth chocolate ganache. Whatever it is, I know that I don’t want it to ever leave. I want this chocolate cake in my life forever…till death do us part.

Recipe Review:

Taste: There is a deep chocolate flavor from the extra brute cocoa powder I use for the cake and the E. Guittard chocolate disks I use for the ganache.

Texture: So rich and moist. The cake has a nice crumb and the ganache is so smooth.

Appearance: I wanted the cake to look a bit more rustic so I left the exterior looking extra “homemade”. The inside has four lovely layers of cake and thin layers of chocolate ganache in between. It is sheer perfection.

Level of Difficulty: This cake is very simple to make. The ganache takes a few hours to cool, but assembly is a cinch.

Chocolate Ganache

ingredients:
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) heavy cream
24 ounces (3 cups) semi sweet chocolate (I used E. Guittard, 61% cacao)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream until just simmering. Put the chocolate in a large bowl and pour in the heavy cream. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is evenly combined and there are no lumps. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure that the surface of the mixture is covered and put in the refrigerator until it has cooled to a spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Cake

yields 2, 8-inch cakes

ingredients:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature
3/4 cup brewed coffee, lukewarm
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare 2, 8-inch baking pans with cooking spray and parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, coffee, oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Once mixed, divide the batter evenly among the prepared baking pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't forget to rotate the pans halfway through the baking process to ensure an evenly baked cake. Cool completely.

Assembly:

Once the cake layers have cooled completely, invert them onto a cutting board and peel off the parchment. Slice of the domed tops and then divide each layer in half, leaving you with 4 thin layers.

Place the first layer of cake on a cake board and spread a thin layer of ganache on top. Repeat with the next two layers. Once you've done that, place the last cake layer on top and spread the rest of the ganache all over the cake. Voilà!

I highly recommend you make this if you’re a chocolate addict. You will never get tired of it. If you aren’t a chocolate addict, this cake will definitely make you one. Just be sure to never share. Just this once, be gluttonous.

As always,

Happy Baking!

Apple Walnut Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 01:02:00 +0000

I want to open a bakery.

I've wanted to open a bakery ever since I was ten years old. Now that I'm twenty, it seems that the desire to open one is getting stronger every day. That means it's time to start making and perfecting recipes that I can use in the future.

I’m not sure why, but when I think about baked goods and breakfast at a bakery scones pop into my head. For some reason, I think of scones as the quintessential breakfast pastry. They seem very timeless to me. What’s great about them is that you have the base recipe and with that you can transform simple dough into something amazing. That’s what I did with this scone recipe. I simply took a base recipe and added my own spin to it. Although it isn’t currently apple season, I had a hankering for apples, despite my unfortunate allergy towards them.

It wasn’t until recently that I developed an appreciation for baked apples. I used to find them unappetizing, as they lost their sweetness and became very tart and hard to stomach. However, I could have just had some bad apple pie back in the day. It wasn’t until I made Tyler Florence’s “Ultimate Apple Pie”, that I decided apple pie is freaking awesome.

Fortunately, I had some apples on hand that were waiting to be baked into buttery and flaky scones. So I grabbed a couple and I got to work.

Recipe Review:

Taste: Not too sweet and the cinnamon and nutmeg adds a nice spiciness. The apples are slightly tart but still have their innate sweetness. The walnuts add a nice nuttiness to the pastry as well.

Texture: The apples add a nice bite but the addition of the walnuts is what makes it. They give the scone a lovely crunch.

Appearance: They are so cute to look at. There are little specks of cinnamon all over and some apples popping out the sides.
Level of difficulty: Extremely easy. Probably the easiest recipe I’ve posted on this blog.

Scones

yields approx. 10 scones

ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

2 large eggs

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 apples, finely diced (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Heavy cream

Sanding sugar

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Work in the cubed butter evenly throughout the flour until the mixture is crumbly. The crumbs should be pea sized.

In a measuring cup, mix the eggs, applesauce, heavy cream, vanilla, and apples. Add the liquid mixture into the butter and flour and mix until evenly incorporated. Lastly, mix in the chopped walnuts.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it out into a rectangle, about 3/4" thick. Cut the dough into roughly 10, 2 inch squares (or however large you want them to be).

Place the scones onto the lined baking sheet and chill in the freezer for one hour. This yields the best texture and a higher rise.

While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 400°F. Take the scones out of the freezer and lightly brush them with heavy cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let cool.

These scones are best eaten slightly warm with some of your favorite jam. I ate mine with some raspberry jam and they were to die for. They are very buttery and flaky and the chunks of apple and walnut add a great texture. I think these scones will definitely be a great hit for my bakery one day!

As always, Happy Baking!

Cookies and Cream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:06:00 +0000

It's no secret that I am a fan of supermarket cakes. They're good, what can I say? My favorite by far is a good ol' fashioned cookies and cream cake. I love the light and fluffy Oreo cream layered in between rich and light chocolate cake. It's the perfect combination. And one day, I realized that I could certainly make my own version of this cake. So I did!

To mimic the fluffy buttercream they use in the supermarkets, I made an Oreo swiss meringue. I found this to be the best choice because American buttercream always seems to be too sweet for my choice and it can be very dense. With a swiss meringue buttercream, the texture is always fluffy and smooth and it is just sweet enough.

Having realized I did not make enough buttercream to both fill and ice the cake, I decide to fill the cake with a chocolate whipped cream instead. To do that, I just whipped up some cream and added melted chocolate and some crushed Oreos. I think that was a good mistake on my part. The whipped cream added an even lighter texture to the entire cake and really made it that much better!

Here's what the entire cake consists of: Three chocolate cake layers, chocolate whipped buttercream with crushed Oreo filling, Oreo swiss meringue buttercream exterior, Oreo rim, chocolate ganache topping. It's heavenly, to say the least.

Recipe Review:

Taste: Rich chocolate flavor from the cake and a mildly sweet swiss meringue buttercream
Texture: The cake is very moist and the buttercream is so smooth and fluffy, as well as the whipped cream.
Appearance: Just look at the pictures ;)
Level of difficulty: Very easy, but time consuming with all the components.

Chocolate cake:
yields 3, 8-inch cake layers

ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup hot coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray and line 3, 8-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together buttermilk, coffee, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among 3, 8-inch cake pans.

Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway. Cool completely.

Oreo swiss meringue buttercream

yields approx. 3 1/2 cups

ingredients:

5 large egg whites

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

10 Oreos, finely crushed

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:
Combine egg whites and sugar in a small bowl and place it over simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Heat mixture to 160°F while whisking constantly.

Transfer mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed until mixture cools, doubles in volume and forms stiff peaks. This will take 8-10 minutes.

Slowly add in the butter, mixing to incorporate after each addition. Don't be afraid to add in big clumps at a time. At this point, the mixture may appear clumpy and almost curdled looking at first. Don't worry, this is to be expected. Just keep mixing and it will become even and smooth again.

Once the mixture is completely smooth, add in the crushed Oreos and mix until combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Chocolate Oreo Whipped Cream

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
6 0z. chocolate, melted and cooled
6 Oreos, finely crushed
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixture, fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar on high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Add the melted chocolate and crushed Oreos and beat until just combined.

Assembly:

Put a dollop of buttercream in the center of a cake board. Lay the first layer of cake on the bottom. Pipe a buttercream rim around the edge of the cake and spread half of the chocolate whipped cream within the rim, spread evenly. Lay another cake slice on top and pipe another rim and spread the remaining whipped cream on the second layer. Place the third layer on top. Spread the swiss meringue buttercream all over the cake until completely covered. Using an Ateco#827 tip, pipe 6 swirls around the border of the cake. Top each swirl with half of an Oreo cookie. If you wish, pour some lukewarm chocolate ganache in the center and give it some help to drip over the sides.

Viola! You now have the most delicious cookies and cream cake ever. What is so fantastic about this cake is that even though it looks extremely sweet with the Oreos and buttercream and whipped cream, it really isn't at all. I would say it's appropriately an "adult" cake because it isn't so sweet. It's perfect for adult parties and kids' parties as well. Everyone will be satisfied with a big slice of this delicious cake. So go! go! go! What are you waiting for?

As always, happy baking!

Strawberry Cupcakes: Take 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 15:52:00 +0000

Strawberry season is inching its way towards us—the perfect time to start making delicious strawberry cupcakes! In this recipe, I only use fresh strawberries in the compote filling and as a decoration but that doesn't stop them from being absolutely to-die-for cupcakes. The combination of the tart compote and sweet frosting all brought together with a deliciously moist cake is what you would call, heavenly. The tender and not-overly sweet yellow cake really contrasts the wonderful natural tartness of the filling. Not to mention the strawberry jam adds a wonderful strawberry flavor to the smooth and fluffy buttercream.

This recipe differs from my other strawberry cupcake recipe in many ways:

The cake: it's slightly denser but has a great texture to it
There is a filling-a strawberry compote filling to be exact
The buttercream: it's a classic American buttercream. No whipping of egg whites necessary

One thing that really makes this cupcake great is the buttercream. The trick is to whip the butter for 5 minutes. That’s right, five whole minutes. This ensures an extremely aerated and fluffy buttercream that will leave you begging for more. The hardest part about making this cupcake is resisting the temptation to eat the whole bowl of buttercream before it even reaches the cake.

Recipe Review:

Taste: Perfect balance of sweet and tart. The compote has a natural tartness to it and the jam lends to the sweetness.

Texture: The buttercream is extremely smooth and fluffy and the cake has a nice bite to it. The cake isn't too sweet and is buttery and moist.

Level of difficulty: So easy. If you've never made cupcakes before, this is definitely a recipe you can handle!

Appearance: Beautiful! The halved strawberry adds a beautifully fresh touch that makes you want Spring to be more like...Spring!

Strawberry Compote

makes enough to fill 24 cupcakes

ingredients:

1 cup strawberries (about 8-10 strawberries), hulled and diced into small chunks

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2-2 tsp cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Combine the strawberries, sugar and water in a small pot. Let that come to a simmer. Then, add in the cornstarch and cook until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Cake

ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cups milk

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.

Alternate adding the milk and flour mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely before filling and frosting

Strawberry buttercream

ingredients:

4 sticks (2 cups) butter, softened

5 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ strawberry Jam

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In an electric mixture, beat the butter until light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes. In 1-cup intervals, slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Start on a low speed to make sure no powdered sugar gets out of the bowl. Add in the vanilla and strawberry jam and mix until fully incorporated.

If the buttercream is not your desired color of pink, feel free to add a drop of red food coloring.

Assembly:

Hollow out the cupcakes using an apple corer or knife. (Or any tool you prefer.) Add about 1 ½ tsp of strawberry Jam into the center. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcake. If you wish, top the cupcake with half a strawberry.

These cupcakes are great for any occasion, especially since they are so simple to make. You will fool all your friends and family into thinking you spent days on this when in fact it took only an hour. It’s the perfect cupcake in every way. But if you don't want to share them, well I really don't blame you. Be selfish, just this once :)

As always, happy baking!

Danish pastry-The classic sweet roll

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 20:55:00 +0000

I've always been mesmerized by these light and airy pastries filled with sweet jam. They just look so beautiful--almost too lovely to eat. Ah, but these pastries live to be eaten. They live to be enjoyed by people all over the world. That was my goal exactly with these danishes. I wanted to make them look too good to eat, but so enticing that you can't help but devour them. I think I achieved that if I do say so myself.

I decided to add a little twist into these pastries by adding a thin layer of hazelnut cream, very similar to a frangipane, between the two layers of dough. The result is a deliciously nutty and earthy note added to each bite. The danish dough itself is so flaky and buttery, which is everything you would want in a danish. The butteriness stems from the addition of a butter block into the dough. This process is called "laminating" the dough. I'll discuss this further in the recipe section of this post.

Overall, this danish is not all too difficult to make. I highly recommend beginners to buy puff pastry dough rather than making danish dough from scratch. The laminating of the butter is the hardest and most tedious part of making the dough. If you aren't interested in waiting around hours to make a simple slab of dough, buying puff pastry dough is definitely a healthy alternative. However, if you're up for the challenge, by all means go ahead!

Recipe Review:

Taste: The addition of hazelnut cream adds a wonderful nutty note to the pastry. The jam has the perfect amount of tartness that contrasts the sweetness of the icing and butteriness of the pastry itself.
Texture: It is very flaky and light. There is a nice bite even though it virtually melts in your mouth....which is a good thing!
Level of difficulty: This is definitely not a beginner's recipe if you want to make the dough from scratch. The hardest part is making sure the butter is correctly added to the dough. The rest is a piece of cake.
Appearance: It is a beautiful golden pillow topped with a rich and dark raspberry jam.

Black Raspberry Danish
makes approx 14 danishes
adapted from Joe Pastry

Pastry Dough
ingredients:
5.5 ounces (2/3 cup) milk
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons (6 grams) instant yeast
10 ounces (2 cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg

Butter Slab
ingredients:
8 oz unsalted butter, left at room temperature for 15 minutes
2 tablespoons flour
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Combine the first six ingredients into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the ingredients until they come together and becomes smooth and uniform, about five minutes. Transfer the dough into a greased bowl and let it rise for a half hour at room temperature. Then, leave the dough in a fridge for a minimum of two hours or overnight.

When you are ready to use the dough, begin making the butter slab. Put the butter on top of two layers of plastic wrap, with 1 tablespoon of flour under the butter and one tablespoon over the butter. Wrap the plastic over the butter and, using a rolling pin, begin beating the butter.....to death. You really want to flatten the butter. Once it is flat, cut the dough into a rough square and pile the scraps on top of the square. Then keep beating. Repeat this process until the butter is pale and dull looking. If it beings to shine, the butter is too soft. If that's the case, put the butter back into the fridge to let it firm up again. Once the butter is pale and dull, it is ready to be laminated into the dough. Make sure it is a square shape.

Now it is time to laminate the butter. Take out your dough and roll it into a square slightly larger than the size of the butter slab. The rest of this recipe is easier to see than it is to write. Therefore, I will now direct you to Joe Pastry's instructions.

Hazelnut Cream

ingredients:

1/2 cup ground hazelnuts

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Combine all the ingredients into a food processor and process until a creamy paste in formed. Leave in the fridge until ready for use.

Sweet Roll
ingredients:
1 recipe danish pastry dough
1 recipe hazelnut cream
1 jar of jam--your preference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Begin by rolling about a pound and a half of Danish dough out into a square about 1/4-inch thick (the actual dimensions don’t really matter). Spread a thin layer of hazelnut cream on half of the dough. Fold the other half over to enclose the hazelnut cream. Then, cut the dough into 1 inch strips.

Now, gently stretch the dough and pinch one end and begin twisting the opposite end. Now, still holding one end of the dough strip down, drape the strip down and around the center point in a curlicue. Tuck the end under the pastry so it doesn't unravel in the oven. Put them on parchment paper and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Keep at room temperature for 2 hours, until the dough is soft and airy to the touch.

After two hours, the danishes are now ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Using a spoon, indent the center of the pastry and lay about a teaspoon of jam in the middle. Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool and drizzle them with powdered sugar icing. Enjoy!

*Visuals can be seen at Joe Pastry

As you can see, this recipe is extremely time consuming. The dough alone takes 4 hours to proof. This definitely is not a recipe for those in a rush. A whole day must be dedicated to making these danishes. However, the end product is definitely worth the effort and trouble. I highly recommend making a trip to Joe Pastry because he provides many wonderful step-by-step photos. If you are interested in a new baking adventure, this is the recipe for you. So go ahead and give it a try! You won't regret it.

As always, Happy Baking!

Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:41:00 +0000

Finally, I can check something off of my baking bucket list: homemade brownie mix. I've always wanted to make my own mix, just like Duncan Hines or Pillsbury. It just so happened to be my friend's birthday, so I thought that to be the perfect opportunity. It turns out that making a mix is just as easily done as it is said. At first I thought that maybe there might be some technical problems with the order of the ingredients, but I encountered no problems when I made a test batch.

One thing I love about this mix is not only does it make for a great gift, but it also yields killer brownies. I kid you not-these are the best brownies I have ever made. Please, make these. It'll be the best decision you make all day. I have never been one to enjoy extremely gooey brownies. I always found the texture to be unpleasant. My kind of brownie is a chewy and somewhat denser brownie. These brownies are just that. To increase the chocolate flavor, I recommend using extra dark cocoa powder, not Nestle and definitely not Hershey's.

As you can see in the photos, there are six layers. Originally there would be four layers but in order to increase aesthetic appeal, I split the cocoa powder and sugar in two. This created two layers of both instead of one thick and boring layer of sugar and one of cocoa powder. What's great about giving this as a gift is that it only requires three more simple ingredients to make D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S brownies: eggs, butter and vanilla. I cannot express enough just how good these brownies are. They are so chewy and chocolatey and wonderful all around.

Recipe Review:

Taste: So chocolatey. It isn't overly sweet which is really nice. The overall flavor you get is a good quality chocolate.

Texture: Chewy and soft. Not loose and fudgy, which is something I fear most in brownies. It is very moist despite its lack of undercooked qualities that most brownies possess.

Level of difficulty: Easiest brownie recipe ever.

Appearance: There is a slight shine on the top, but not as much as I would like. However, it does not crumble every where. It definitely holds its shape.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

makes 24 brownies

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Start with a glass jar that has been properly sterilized. You can find instructions here.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Carefully layer that mixture on the bottom of the jar. Lightly tap the jar in order to level the ingredients.

Next, sift the cocoa powder and the sugar in different bowls. Layer them alternately: 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 cup sugar. Be sure to level them after layering. Also, after layering the cocoa powder, use a damp paper towel to wipe the insides of the jar.

Lastly, layer the chocolate chips until it reaches the top. The amount of chips might vary depending on how large your jar is. Give the jar one last tap and seal tightly.

Final assembly:

Attach a tag or print a sticker on your computer with the following instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees °F.

2. Grease and flour a 9x13inch baking pan.

3. Empty jar of brownie mix into a large mixing bowl, and whisk slightly. Mix in 1 cup melted butter, 3 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.

4. Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

So there you have it, brownie mix in a jar. As you can see, it's extremely simple and is a great gift for friends and family alike. Hopefully you give it a try and hopefully you LOVE it! One last note, I made the sticker on the front of the jar on Jam Labelizer. It's super easy and free for all users. Give it a try!

As always, Happy Baking!

Funfetti Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 22:48:00 +0000

One of my deepest and darkest secrets is that........I love love LOVE boxed cake mix. I'm just slightly embarrassed to admit it, since I usually make everything from scratch, but there's just something so nostalgic about it. The memories of my childhood and my first baking adventures flood my mind whenever I sink my teeth into the fluffy and moist cake. So I thought that I would bring myself back to the good ol' days, but raise the ante by baking Funfetti cupcakes from scratch!

This particular recipe is pretty simple to make. It is vanilla cake made with egg whites which create a lighter cake. I used regular rainbow sprinkles or jimmies in my batter but you can use any type of sprinkles or nonpareils you want. Also, instead of pairing these cute cakes with a boring vanilla buttercream I thought that I would make it a bit more interesting and top it off with a delicious and simple strawberry buttercream. With the buttercream, I whipped up a simple American buttercream and added about 1/4 cup of pureed strawberries. The strawberries added just the right amount of tartness to balance out the sweetness of the powdered sugar.

I love just how cute these cupcakes are! The rainbow sprinkles peaking out of the white cake are so festive. They're perfect for a child's birthday party for even for an office party. After all, cupcakes are perfect for any occasion.

Recipe Review:

Taste: The cake itself is not too sweet and you can't really taste the sprinkles themselves, but it adds a bit of a crunch, for lack of a better word. The strawberry is very prominent in the buttercream and the buttercream itself is smooth and creamy.
Texture: The cake is so fluffy because of the egg whites. It's also extremely moist from the addition of buttercream. However, you can always just use regular milk but it won't result in such a moist cake.
Level of difficulty: This is quite possibly the easiest cupcake recipe to make. It is a standard cream the butter and sugar and add the wet and dry ingredients after kind of recipe. The buttercream is even more simple. All there is to do is cream all the ingredients together.
Appearance: The exterior of the cake is a nice and light golden yellow. The interior is beautifully off-white and has a plethora of rainbow sprinkles poking through.

Funfetti Cupcakes
makes approximately 20 standard sized cupcakes
adapted from Stephanie

Funfetti Cake
ingredients:
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk (you can substitute this for regular milk)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg whites and set aside.

In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat for 2 minutes, until pale and creamy. Then, mix in the vanilla extract.

Alternate adding 1/3 of flour mixture and 1/2 of buttermilk mixture to mixing bowl, beating until just incorporated in between (begin and end with flour mixture). Beat for 1 more minute.

Add sprinkles and stir until distributed through batter.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden brown. Let cool.

Strawberry Buttercream

ingredients:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 fresh strawberry puree

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. You want it to be creamy and pale. Next, add in all the sifted powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on low to ensure that none of the sugar flies out of the bowl. Once it is mostly incorporated, add in the strawberry puree. Beat until thoroughly combined.

Pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes however you wish to. As usual, I used an Ateco#827 tip. I find that it creates the nicest looking swirls.

These cupcakes sold in in about 10 minutes when I brought them back to college. Not to mention, they got rave reviews. All my friends adored them and I'm sure you will to. I assure you, you won't be disappointed!

As always, Happy Baking!

Matcha Swiss Roll

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 15:52:00 +0000

Alright, you got me.

I'm obsessed with matcha.

Obsessed.

Maybe it's the mossy green color. Maybe it's the deep, musky flavor. Whatever it is, it's got me permanently hooked--and for good reason too. Matcha is a wonderful addition to any dessert you wish to make. It adds a great depth to everything and anything. What I have chosen to use with it this time is a matcha Swiss roll.

Ah, good 'ol Swiss roll. I honestly never thought this day would come, where I would attempt to make a swiss roll. But alas, the day has finally arrived. And to my surprise, I made a wonderful discovery: SWISS ROLLS ARE REALLY NOT THAT HARD TO MAKE! :D So why I have always been so afraid to make them, I really do not know. It's probably the actually rolling of the cake; the fear that every inch of the delicate cake with crack and tear. However, if done properly, the cake will turn out just beautifully.

As I was rolling the cake, my lungs almost collapsed from holding my breath in fear and anticipation. Please please please please please please PLEASE let this come out well. Please don't let this whole cake crumble into nothingness. Oh my.....oh my gosh.....did it work? It actually worked! Yes! I made a Swiss roll!!!!!!!

I made a swiss roll. Successfully.

What more can I say? I finally achieved something I've strayed away from for so long. None of the filling spilled out, the cake stayed in place, it had a nice shape, and it tasted absolutely delicious. A cake this good could only originate from a recipe that I borrowed from Keiko. Her recipes are flawless and so easy to follow. I will forever trust her expertise.

She calls her recipe a Souffle Swiss Roll, which makes perfect sense because the end result is a cake that is so fluffy like a souffle. However, what makes this recipe extremely unique from those I've seen before is that this recipe includes a choux pastry. The overall process for the cake batter consists of three elements: choux pastry, meringue, and an egg yolk mixture.

As usual, I've added a few of my own personal touches to the recipe. In this cake, I added matcha powder and toasted walnuts to the whipped cream filling. Who would've thought that walnuts pair so well with matcha? Looks like it's time for another recipe review.

Recipe Review:

Taste: This cake is perfect for those of you who want dessert but don't have the biggest sweet tooth. The cake itself is just sweet enough to be called a dessert and the filling has enough sugar to make it taste more than just whipped up cream. The matcha is subtle, which doesn't make it taste bitter or dry.
Texture: So spongy and fluffy. The whipping of the egg whites really increase the fluffiness and sponginess of this cake. It is very moist and the walnuts add a nice crunchy texture to the dessert.
Level of difficulty: Although I previously said that Swiss roll really isn't that difficult to make, I wouldn't recommend a beginner make this cake. It can be a little hard to roll and can easily be over-baked which results in a dry and brittle cake. However, if baked the appropriate amount of time, it will be very easy to roll and assemble. Also, this recipe has many steps, which can be somewhat confusing.
Appearance: It's beautiful! A nice, tight roll with walnuts and whipped cream peaking out in every slice. This could easily be served in the most elegant of bakeries.

Matcha Swiss Roll
adapted from Keikos Cake
makes 1 cake

Matcha Cake
ingredients:

a) 120g milk

35g butter

40g flour, sifted

70g egg, beaten

b) 70g egg yolk
35g sugar

c) 120g egg white

75g sugar

Filling
ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Matcha cake:

Prepare a 12x12 inch pan. (I used a Drommar 15x10 inch pan.) Coat the bottom of the pan with butter and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.

a) Combine 80g milk with butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the milk begins to boil, add the sifted flour all at once. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir the mixture until all the flour is incorporated. Mix until the batter has thickened slightly and has formed into a ball shape. If a thin film appears on the bottom of the pan, don't be alarmed. That is completely normal.

Put the mixture into a separate bowl and gradually add the remaining 40g of milk, making sure to incorporate all the milk thoroughly. Once all the milk is incorporated, begin the same process with the beaten egg. Set the choux pastry aside.

b) In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites. Gradually add the sugar once the whites become foamy. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

c) In another bowl, combine the egg yolks and the sugar. Beat the mixture until it becomes pale and thick. This might take a few minutes.

Now that all three elements are done, it's time to combine them. First, preheat your oven to 325°F. Combine the choux pastry and the egg yolk mixture. Once that is thoroughly combined, add the meringue in thirds, making sure to fold in the meringue and not to deflate it.

Spread the batter onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. After baking, immediately remove the cake from the pan but don't remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely.

Filling:
In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and powdered sugar. Whip the mixture on high until stiff peaks are formed. Be careful not to over beat or you will make butter. Once stiff peaks are reached, fold in the chopped walnuts.

Assembly:
Remove the parchment paper from the cake and place the cake on a new sheet of parchment. Spread the filling over the cake. Now it's time to roll the cake. With the short end facing you, make a small roll. Then, holding the tips of the parchment paper, slowly roll up the rest of the cake. The parchment paper should be used to push the cake and roll it. Wrap the cake with the parchment and 'tie' up the ends, like a hard candy. Place it in the fridge to set for about 45 minutes.

So as you can see, a Swiss roll really isn't that complicated to make. Although there may be a few steps to take, it generally is a pretty easy cake to make. If you're afraid to come face-to-face with a Swiss roll like I used to be, well my best advice for that is, don't be. One day, you'll have to overcome your fear and conquer the Swiss roll! If things don't go as planned, don't be discouraged. Just keep trying, like I did with macarons. So I hope you do try this recipe out and I hope all goes well.

As always,
Happy Baking!

Strawberry Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 22:15:00 +0000

Crap.

These strawberries are about to go bad.

What do I do? What do I do?

Okay, okay, I'll just puree them and think of what to make later. It'll be fine.

I really didn't think at all while pureeing the strawberries, but it turns out that strawberry puree is great for making fresh strawberry cupcakes. No artificial coloring or strawberry Jell-O needed. In fact, I think these look and taste much better than the strawberry cakes that are made with Jell-O. You can really taste the freshness of the pureed strawberries rather than tasting the artificial sweetness of the Jell-O.

I searched everywhere for a good recipe. A lot of the ones I found used strawberry Jell-O or needed diced strawberries that would be folded into the batter. However, since I already pureed my strawberries, I kept searching for one that could work with what I already had. Finally, after about an hour or reading through recipes, I found the perfect one...at Confections of a Foodie Bride.

I knew, the second I saw their finished product, that this recipe was going to help me create a fantastic strawberry cake. I could tell just by looking at their pictures. The color and texture of the cake reminded me of a certain strawberry cake my family always bought during special occasions. I'm talking about the cake from Yeh's Bakery in Flushing, NY. It is absolutely the most divine strawberry cake I have ever had.

Realistically, no cake will ever compare to the cake from Yeh's Bakery. However, for a self-taught baker baking at home, this recipe comes pretty close. I decided to make a swiss meringue buttercream in fear that making a cream cheese frosting would overpower the delicate strawberry flavor and the cake itself. Although a swiss meringue buttercream isn't the easiest to make, it really does complement the cake well. Let's review this recipe, shall we?

Recipe Review:

Taste: You can definitely taste strawberry in this cake. In fact, you can just smell the fresh strawberry while mixing the batter. It isn't too sweet either. Even the buttercream doesn't make it extremely sweet.
Texture: It is extremely moist, with a nice crumb. The cake is very fluffy because of the addition of egg whites only. However, if you seek a denser cake, you can use whole eggs instead.
Level of difficulty: This cake could easily be one of the simplest cakes to make. It's not a one-bowl recipe, but it definitely is not difficult. All you need is a mixer, stand or hand-held will do. The "difficult" part of the recipe would definitely be the making of the buttercream.
Appearance: Beautifully light pink. For those of you who desire a darker shade of pink, you can add a drop or two of pink food coloring. I liked the natural shade of pink though.

Strawberry cupcakes
makes approx 20 standard sized cupcakes

Strawberry Puree
ingredients:
24 oz ripe strawberries, hulled, cut in half
1 tablespoon sugar

Strawberry cake
ingredients:
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
6 eggs whites, at room temperature; or 4 whole eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperatur, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons strawberry jam

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

For the puree:
Combine the halved strawberries and the sugar in a bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes to let the juices from the strawberry come out. This is called macerating.

Put the strawberries in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line two cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the milk, egg whites, vanilla, and strawberry puree and mix lightly with a fork. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix, with a paddle attachment, until the dry ingredients are just combined.
Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add wet ingredients and strawberry jam and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. At this point, if the color of the batter is not to your liking, add some food coloring.

Divide the batter evenly among the lined tins. Fill each tin about 2/3 of the way up. These cakes rise a bit. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking process to ensure even baking. Let the cupcakes rest in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercrean
ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks of butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
1/2 cup strawberry puree
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, constantly whisking, until the mixture reaches 160°F or until all the sugar has dissolved. Transfer the mixture into the bowl of your mixer.

With the whisk attachment, whisk the mixture on medium-high speed until it reaches stiff peaks and is thick and glossy. Then slowly add in the butter and continue beating until everything is evenly combined. The buttercream should be extremely smooth and silky. Lastly, beat in the strawberry puree until fully mixed in.

Pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes however you wish to. I used an Ateco#827 and topped the cupcakes with royal icing flowers.

Make. These. Cupcakes. I promise you, you will not regret it. They have so much strawberry flavor and are so light and delicate. They are beautiful too, especially for a little girl's birthday party or a tea party.

As always, Happy Baking!

Summer fruit tart

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 19:27:00 +0000

There's just something so different between the fruits of summer and the fruits of winter. Summer fruits are so much more refreshing and clean, for lack of a better word. The desserts that you make with them reflect the fruits themselves. That's what I love about this tart. All the fruits are raw, crisp, and super fruity.

The fruits that are in season during Summer are just too beautiful: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, blackberries, etc. They are so vibrant and just bursting with flavor. I couldn't think of anything better than to make a refreshing fruit tart, which is actually quite simple to make. It consists of only pâte sucrée, lemon pastry cream, and your choice of seasonal fruits. You can even make the pâte sucrée and pastry cream a few days ahead. They keep well in the refrigerator.

Originally, I was just going to make a plain vanilla pastry cream, but then I realized that adding lemon zest would really enhance the refreshing fruits. I think I made a pretty good decision because the addition of the lemon zest really added a nice burst of citrus and acidity. I would recommend adding the zest rather than the juice of a lemon since the zest carries more flavor than the juice. Also, it wouldn't mess with the consistency of the pastry cream.

As for the fruits, you can really choose to use any fruits that are in season. I chose strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries because I had them all on hand. Any combination of fruits that you enjoy will suffice, though. You really can't go wrong.

Summer Fruit Tart
makes 1, 10-inch tart

Lemon Pastry Cream
adapted from Christine Beanie
ingredients:

2 cups milk

1/4 cup white sugar

2 egg yolks

1 egg

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, egg, and 1/3 cup of sugar until thick and pale. This should take about 5 minutes of vigorous whisking. Then stir in the cornstarch. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle one ladle full of it into the egg mixture. This is called tempering. Once mixed, pour the egg mixture into the the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely chilled, about 4 hours.

Pâte Sucrée
ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

On a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix until just combined.

Next, with the mixer on low, slowly add the cubed butter. "Beat" the mixture until the butter resembles the size of peas. While the mixer is still running, add the egg and egg yolk. Keep the mixer running until the dough mixture forms a ball. Take the ball of dough out of the mixer and knead until the dough is no longer crumbly, it should take only 5-7 kneads. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Make sure that the dough is about 2 inches wider than the diameter of the pan. Gently place the rolled out dough into the tart pan. Trim the edges of the dough by rolling the rolling pin over the edges of the pan or by using a knife. Prick the dough with a fork. Chill the dough for another 45 minutes or place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the tart on a baking sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. If you want, rotate the pan halfway into the baking process to ensure even browning. Cool the crust in the pan, completely, before you fill it with the pastry cream.

Assembly:
Place the cooled tart shell onto a cake stand. Fill the shell with the lemon pastry cream. (I used a piping bag fitted with a round tip). Smooth out the cream and make sure that there are no gaps. Top the tart with your choice of fruits. (I started with layering blueberries, then added raspberries and blackberries on top of any gaps, and then placed a few strawberries randomly to add more color). Finished!

Like I said, this tart really is quite simple. The only "difficult" part is waiting for all the elements to cool down. It is also so forgiving. If you crack the tart shell just a bit, no worries, because the pastry cream will cover it all up. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as my family did.

As always,
Happy Baking!

Mini matcha and earl grey madeleines

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 02:02:00 +0000

Madeleines have been on my list of things to bake for quite some time now. For some strange and incomprehensible reason, these dainty little treats have intimidated me. In my mind, the simpler the recipe is, the more difficult it is to make the treat. I guess because it is so simple to make, people become overconfident and can easily mess up. However, madeleines require such few ingredients and really are so simple to make. I don't know why I was so scared.

My brother was coming home for a day after traveling for six months, so I decided it would be nice to treat him to an afternoon tea. This was the perfect excuse for me to finally make madeleines. I also have to admit that I have been sucked into the vortex that is…matcha. Matcha is simply a green tea powder and it adds a wonderful earthy depth to anything you put it in. So for this afternoon tea, I made matcha madeleines [and also earl grey madeleines].

Seeing as I only have a mini madeleine pan on hand, I was forced to make mini madeleines. At first I was a bit frustrated with this, but when the madeleines came out of the oven, they were just the cutest little cakes ever. They don't have the brightest green color. In fact, I like the earthy, slightly pale green color they have. If you wanted to make them more vibrant, I suppose you could add some green food coloring.

One more thing that I didn't do and what I would recommend for you to do is to add some milk or lemon juice to the batter; maybe about 1 tablespoon because the cakes were just a tad on the dry side. Other than that, they were delicious. The matcha flavor came through just enough to not be overpowering. The earl grey was also so floral. I think I prefer the earl grey to the matcha, but they were both delicious. If you are ever in the mood for afternoon tea or want to make use of your matcha, I highly recommend making these madeleienes.

Matcha [and Earl Grey] Madeleines
makes approx 50 mini madeleines

Base batter
ingredient:
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

On a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, combine the sugar and eggs. Beat the mixture for 5-6 minutes, or until thick and pale. Once pale, add the vanilla. (At this point you would want to add about 1 tablespoon of milk or lemon juice.

Gently fold in the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Then add the melted and cooled butter. Mix until all the ingredients are incorporated thoroughly.

Now, divide the batter in half into two medium bowls. In one bowl, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of matcha. In the other, add 2 teaspoons of finely ground earl grey tea leaves. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. This step allows the madeleines the form their signature humps.

After the batter has been refrigerated for long enough, preheat the oven to 400°F. Spoon the mixture into greased pans. Fill them about 3/4 of the way up, approximately 1- 1 1/2 teaspoons. Flatten the tops just slightly. If you overfill the pans, the batter will spill over and the madeleines will bake into each other. Bake the cakes for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just golden brown. Cool completely. Once they are completely cooled, just tap the pans onto a sheet tray and the madeleines should pop out easily.

These little cakes are so delicious when dipped into a nice cup of hot tea. Any tea is fine. Choose your favorite. The earl grey madeleines are so wonderfully floral and the matcha madeleines are extremely rich and earthy. I really do hope you enjoy them!

As always, Happy baking!!

Almond Financiers with Honey-Mint Poached Pears

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:43:00 +0000

Financiers have always reminded me of madeleines. They have that golden brown color and they look extremely spongy and moist. Often, financiers are mistaken for pastries when in fact, they are small French cakes. Typically, they are made with almond flour or powder. One key trait of financiers is that they include browned butter, which is extremely simple to make.

Financiers have a similar texture to sponge cakes. I would say that they are slightly denser and have a nice nutty flavor because of the almond flour. I also added slivered almonds which enhanced the almond flavor and added some texture to the cake. What ever you choose to add to the financiers, they always have the same five ingredients: almond flour, powdered sugar, flour, egg whites, and [browned] butter.

After thinking about it, I realized that just making financiers alone would be too boring. So I decided that I would add a little flare to them. What I did was poach some pears in honey, water and mint. The honey made the pears even sweeter and even caramelized them a bit. I think it was the perfect touch the the delicate financiers.

I adapted Pastry Pal, Irina's recipe. The recipe for the financiers is word for word, but the pears are different. Instead of rosemary, I used mint and instead of wine I simply used water. I know the wine would have added more flavor, but I didn't have any wine on hand so I had to make do. I topped the finished product with a fresh mint leaf and brushed the entire surface with syrup, which gave it a beautiful shimmer.

The final result was a beautiful honey mint poached pear almond financier. The top of the cake had a light crust and the inside was chewy but moist. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet and the pear was perfectly tender. I would really recommend making this if you're in the mood for a delicate treat.

Honey Mint Poached Pear Almond Financier
makes approx 8-10 (4" diam., 1 1/4" high) cakes

Financier
adapted from Irina
ingredients:
1 stick (4 oz, or 112 g) unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups (200 g) powdered sugar
1/3 cup (42 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (42 g) almond flour
4 large (about 1/2 cup, or 125 ml) egg whites
1/2 cup slivered almonds
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F

In a large bowl, stir up the powdered sugar, flour and almond flour. Pour in the egg whites and whisk the mixture until smooth. Set the mixture aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over high heat and watch it melt. Keep your eye on it as you do not want it to burn. The color you are aiming for it a chestnut brown. Once you smell a nice and nutty aroma, the butter is done. It will take about 5-7 minutes. Make sure the butter does not start smoking, that's when you know it is burnt.

Slowly incorporate the browned butter into the flour and egg white mixture. There will be some blackish milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan. Make sure not to pour that into the batter. It will make it taste bitter. Just leave that in the pan.

Now it's time to bake the financiers. I used mini tart pans from Williams-Sonoma, but you don't have to. You can use cupcake tins or mini brioche pans. Spray the pans with cooking spray or coat them with butter. Fill the pans until halfway full. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool as we prepare the pears.

Honey-mint poached pears
ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 ripe bartlett pears, peeled
1/2 cup (125 ml) honey
2-3 sprigs of fresh mint
1/4 cup water
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
directions:

Cut the pears along the four sides. Try to get most of the fruit off, cutting close to the core.

Heat a saute pan over high heat and pour in the oil once the pan is heated. Toss in the pears and allow them to sit for 30 seconds before stirring. Cook the pears for about 5 minutes. If desired, move them around to get each both sides seared.

Once the pears have cooked for a while, add in the honey and mint. Stir the ingredients together and allow the pears to release their juices while taking in the honey and mint as well. Let them cook in the honey for about 5-7 minutes. If the edges of the pan seem to be too caramelized and start to look burnt, add some water. After about 5-7 minutes, poke the pears to test their tenderness. If they are still hard and the liquid is evaporating too quickly, add more water and honey and turn the heat to medium. Once the pears are tender (test by poking a toothpick or fork into the center), pour them into a sheet tray and let cool. Reserve any left over syrup.

Assembly:
Take the cooled financiers out of their pans and place them onto small doilies or onto a small plate. Cut the pears into thin strips. Place the sliced pears, in their original shape, onto a financier. Gently top each pear with a fresh mint leaf and brush the entire surface of the dessert with the left over syrup from the pears. Done. Now it's time to enjoy them.

I do wish I had the chance to try one of these, but they were gone before I could even have a bite. The description of the cakes come from my family, but I trust them enough to say they are accurate descriptions. Either way, they look delicious, so they must taste delicious as well!

As always, Happy baking!!

Raspberry Pistachio Tarts

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:23:00 +0000

I love making tarts. They're so wonderful to look at and to eat. Especially those with many components and contrasting flavors and textures. Such as my raspberry pistachio tarts. They are the perfect combination of sweet, tart, crunchy and creamy. What's in them, exactly? Well, I'll tell you: pâte sucrée, almond cream, pistachio whipped cream, raspberries, and chopped pistachios.

What I love most about these tarts is the beautiful pop of red against the pastel green. They're just so beautiful to look at. And best of all, if you somehow manage to not finish them in one go, they can be refrigerated for up to one week.

Lately, I've been obsessing over pistachios in desserts. In one week I managed to make these tarts, pistachio cake, and pistachio ice cream. I guess I love pistachios more than I thought. These tarts are very similar to my strawberry tarts. The shell (pate sucree) and almond cream both come from that recipe. Speaking of recipes, why don't I share this recipe with you now?

Raspberry Pistachio Tarts
makes approximately 6 small tarts or 1 large tart

Tart Shell
Almond Cream
(Follow the same procedure as the strawberry tarts)

Pistachio whipped cream
adapted from Wendy
ingredients:
70gm pistachios
10gm cornstarch
2 egg yolks
100gm heavy cream
1 drop food coloring

200gm whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp gelatin
1 Tbsp water

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

To make powdered pistachios: In a food processor, combine the pistachios and cornstarch. Blitz until finely ground; approx 20 seconds. Set aside.

For the pastry cream: Combine the egg yolks and heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until slightly warmed. Next, stir in the powdered pistachios and continue to cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Once the mixture has thickened, transfer it into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

Once the mixture is completely cool, begin the whipped cream process. In a small bowl, combine the water and gelatin. Let the gelatin bloom. Next, put the small bowl into a bowl filled with hot water or a microwave and melt the gelatin. This process should only take 10-15 seconds.

In a chilled mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and beat until streaks start to show. Then, add in the gelatin and continue to beat until stiff peaks are formed. Remove the cold pastry cream from the fridge and fold some whipped cream into it. Once incorporated, fold the rest of the whipped cream into the pastry cream. If needed, add some green food coloring to brighten the green color. Use immediately or chill before using.

Garnishes:
2 pints raspberries (I picked out the nicest ones)
chopped pistachios

Assembly:
Pipe a swirl of pistachio whipped cream onto the cooled tart base (I used an Ateco #827 tip). Next, place the raspberries around the pistachio cream. Finally, sprinkle some chopped pistachios on the cream.

May I just say...these tarts are absolutely delicious. The raspberry adds just the right amount of tartness to the sweet almond cream and whipped cream. The tart shell is just crispy enough to add texture without overwhelming the delicate cream. It was a big hit in my family and I hope it is a big hit in yours too!

As always, Happy Baking!!

Strawberry Tarts

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 02:39:00 +0000

It saddens me to say that I am allergic to strawberries. Such a horrible fruit to be allergic to. They are beautifully red and deliciously sweet and juicy. Yet, that does not stop me from using strawberries in my baked goods. What I have chosen to make with them are gorgeous strawberry tarts. I wish that I could take the credit for this recipe but sadly, I have borrowed it from Keiko's Cakes. If you are someone who is very serious about baking, I would highly recommend becoming a member of this 'cooking school'. Keiko is a master pastry chef who really knows what she is doing. I found her videos to be extremely helpful and even though the recipes may look tough, they are not too difficult to follow. I definitely would not recommend beginners to use these recipes though.

Now back to the tarts. What I love about these tarts is that they are perfectly balanced in terms of textures and flavors. The tart shell has just the right amount of crunch and density to hold the smooth custard. The custard has just the right thickness to hold the strawberries. And the strawberries...well they are just the right amount of wonderful. Using pistachios to cover the edge of the strawberries is not only aesthetically pleasing but they also add a nice kick of saltiness. From bottom to top the tart is made up of: tart shell, almond cream, pastry cream, strawberries, whipped cream, pistachios. The whole tart is sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy, light and...well why don't you just make it and see for yourself.

Strawberry Tarts
adapted from Keikos Cakes
makes approx 6 small tarts or 1 large tart

Tart shell
ingredients:
Butter 110 g (cold)
Icing sugar 75 g
Flour 185 g
Almond powder 25 g
Egg 50 g (one medium size egg)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, icing sugar, and almond powder. Blitz for 10 seconds. Then, add in the cold butter and process until you have fine crumbs. Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and slowly work in the egg. Once the mixture starts to come together, transfer it onto a flat work surface and knead until all the ingredients have fully incorporated. Work the mixture into a ball, flatten it, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put the dough into the fridge for one hour.

After one hour, roll out the dough to a 3 mm (0.1 inches) sheet and place the dough in the tart pan. Make sure not to stretch out the dough in this process. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out round sheets with a ring cutter slightly larger than the size of your tartlet pan. Place the dough sheets in the tartlet pan. Again, do not stretch the dough. Cut the excess dough with a knife. Prick the bottoms with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes in your pre-heated oven at 375°F.

Almond Cream
ingredients:
Butter 140 g
Sugar 140 g
Egg 140 g, beaten
Almond powder 140 g, sifted
Flour 20 g, sifted

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In a stand mixture, cream the butter until it is pale and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix. Then, add the egg little by little. Mix well after each addition. Finally, fold the sifted almond powder and flour into the batter.

Fill the almond cream into a pastry bag and pipe out a large spiral onto the baked large tart shell. Also fill the small tart shells with almond cream. Bake the filled tart for another 20 minutes in your pre-heated oven at 350°F. After baking, remove the tarts from the tart pans and let them cool down completely.

Pastry Cream

ingredients:

Milk 300g
Butter 20g
Sugar 60g
Egg yolk 60g

1/2 Vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
Flour 35g

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Combine the milk with the scraped vanilla pod, 1/4 of the sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. When the milk starts boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and cover it with a plate. Leave it for 5 minutes to let the vanilla flavors infuse into the milk.

In the meantime, mix the egg yolk and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Mix until the egg mixture is thick, pale, and creamy. Next, add the sifted flour and mix well. Pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk and mix gently. Remove the vanilla bean and pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Put the saucepan back on medium head and stir until the pastry cream thickens. Pour the hot pastry cream into a flat pan and let it cool completely.

Garnishes:

Strawberries, sliced in half

Whipped cream

Chopped pistachios

Melted apricot preserves

Assembly:

Pipe the cooled pastry cream into the tart shell until it reaches the rim. Then, gently place the sliced strawberries in the middle of the tart (refer to the pictures). Brush the strawberries with the melted apricot preserves. This gives the strawberries a nice shine and also preserves them. Next, pipe a small swirl of whipped cream on top of the strawberries. Last, but not least, cover the edge of the strawberries with the crush pistachios.

Voilà! You now have successfully made strawberry tarts. Granted, this recipe is extremely time consuming and can be a little bit difficult. However, the results are well worth the effort. Good luck!

Happy Baking!!

Éclairs

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:36:00 +0000

After coming home from my two week adventure in Europe, I found myself craving some french pastries. Pierre Herme definitely changed me. Well, he changed the way I view baked goods, at least. My oh my were his pastries divine. I can still taste the creamy and rich Infiniment Vanille Tart. My mouth waters just thinking about it. But I know that I do not have the skills to attempt to recreate such a masterpiece, so I settled for something that was easier but equally as delicious-Éclairs!

Regretfully, I did not have an opportunity to try an eclair in Paris. I wish that I had been able to taste an eclair from Fauchon. They have a wide selection of beautifully decorated and delicious looking eclairs. They come in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. Basically eclairs in Paris are equivalent to cupcakes in America. They're the latest craze...and I can see why.

The most basic eclair consists of a light Pâte à choux base, a sweet and luscious pastry cream filling, and a rich dark chocolate glaze. They require a few different components but they are all fairly simple to make. I'd say the most difficult part is making the perfect pate a choux, which consists of only 4 simple ingredients- butter, water, flour, and eggs. The difficult part is making sure enough moisture is employed to create the most steam and the puffiest/hollowest pastry. It is crucial that the finished product results in a light pastry with a hollow center.

The recipe I used comes from Raiza of Dulce Delight. I love watching all her videos and following her blog. She really knows what she's doing and is really knowledgeable about baking. Her recipes are very straightforward and simple if you follow her directions. Her recipe uses a Cream Légère. It's simply a pastry cream with whipped cream folded in to make an extremely light and airy filling. I found that it was better to make the cream the night before and leave it in the fridge to chill overnight.

Eclairs

adapted from Dulce Delight

makes approx 15 3-inch eclairs

Pâte à choux

ingredients:

250g water
110g butter, cubed
pinch of salt and sugar
140g all purpose flour
3 to 5 eggs, depending on the dough's consistency (I used 4 eggs)

egg wash:
1 egg
2 tbs milk

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside

In a medium saucepan add the water, butter, salt, and sugar and allow the mixture to come to a simmer.

Once the mixture has come to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the flour. Stir and once the flour is combined, turn the heat back on. Cook the flour mixture for about 2-3 minutes or until a slight film forms on the side of the pan.

Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the dough on medium speed for 3 minutes to allow it to cool down. Then add the eggs one by one. (Be careful not to add too many eggs. The dough should be able to fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.)

Fill a pastry bag with the dough and pipe the eclairs (I used an Ateco#808 tip). Beat the egg and the milk in a small bowl and brush the mixture over each eclair. Bake the pâte à choux for 35-40 minutes or until they are golden brown. After the 40 minutes, turn off the oven, and keep the oven door open using a wooden spoon. Let the eclair shells sit in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Cream Légère

makes enough to fill approx 15 eclairs

ingredients:

500g milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
75g sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
100 ml cold heavy cream

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to a simmer. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Add the flour and cornstarch.

Pour some of the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture and stir. This step is called tempering. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook everything until the mixture has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the cream into a small bowl. Cover the cream with plastic wrap directly on top so a skin does not form. Chill the mixture for 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Right before you're ready to use the pastry cream, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed. Fold in half the whipped cream into the pastry to lighten the cream. Once incorporated fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Chocolate glaze

ingredients:

60g bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp hot water

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Microwave the chocolate and heavy cream for about 1 minute, or until melted. Incorporate the honey and water. Stir until fully combined.

Assembly:

Using a small pastry tip, poke two wholes under each eclair shell. Starting on one end fill the eclair shell until cream comes out the other hole. Then dip the eclair into the chocolate glaze. Let sit for 15 minutes until set. Serve immediately.

Happy Baking!

Classic Butter Cupcakes with whipped vanilla frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:22:00 +0000

I love cupcakes. I love making them, eating them, even just looking at them. They're delightful and delicious. So when my brother asked me to make his bosses some baked goods in return for giving me free perfume, I knew that I had to make cupcakes. I scouted for hours for the perfect recipe. At first I thought I'd make devil's food cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream. However, as I started searching through recipes, that idea slowly disintegrated. Chocolate cupcakes just didn't seem as appealing for some reason. I think that was mostly because of my decorations. I envisioned the cupcakes topped with my fondant decorations and decided that the dark brown wouldn't compliment my pastel flowers or royal blue "University of Michigan" buttons.

My first instinct was to go onto Tastespotting; my newest obsession. But as I scrolled through the endless submissions, I couldn't seem to find a cupcake that caught my eye. Then I thought of Rosie from Sweetapolita. She's a baking wizard. I absolutely adore all her recipes and pictures. Plus, her two daughters are absolutely adorable. Rosie's obsession, I think, is vanilla cake. She has over 10 different recipes for vanilla cake, each with their own unique taste and techniques. In the end I decided to combine her classic butter cake with her whipped vanilla bean frosting. I also added my own caramel swiss meringue buttercream filling, but I won't be posting a recipe for that since I just combined some left over caramel with some left over SMB.

Shall we move onto the recipe?

I think we shall.

Classic Butter Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Frosting

adapted from Sweetapolita

makes 28 cupcakes

Classic Butter Cake

ingredients:

4 large eggs (separated), at room temperature

3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (I used half cake flour and half AP flour)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar, divided

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup milk, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside

While eggs are still cold, separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl. Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture.

In a clean bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then fold in the remaining whites until combined. Do not over-mix the batter or it will deflate.

Fill each prepared muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are just firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, about 1 hour.

Whipped vanilla frosting

makes enough to frost 28 cupcakes

ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt (optional)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed, until very pale and creamy Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy.

*I used an Ateco #808 tip to pipe the frosting

You can top each cupcakes with some sprinkles, or jimmies, if you want for an added flare. I think they added a nice touch to an otherwise bland looking cupcake. These cupcake are perfectly moist and delicious. The frosting is extremely light and fluffing due to the long periods of creaming and whipping.

I hope you like these cupcakes if you do try to make them and as always....

Happy Baking!

My obsession and Oreo Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:25:00 +0000

I have an obsession. It's pretty bad really. I'm obsessed with baking. If my parents let me, I'd probably bake every single day. There's just something satisfying about baking and knowing that what I bake is tasty. Sometimes I feel empty inside if I have the urge to bake and I don't end up baking. This must sound silly but it's true. A few days ago that urge came back and I didn't ignore it this time...well that and the fact that there was a pack of left over oreos just sitting on my counter for a month. It was bothering me. I knew I had to use it because I didn't ever feel like just eating oreos. I never really like just eating oreos...I think it's the cream inside. What is it made out of anyway? It's so sweet and, well, gross. I've always been the kind of person to take the cream out and just eat the cookie portion of the oreo. Is that strange?

Anyway, instead of eating the oreos, I decided to make oreo cupcakes. I planned on making these cupcakes for a while now, but I tried my hardest to resist the urge to bake. Why? That's because every time I bake in the summer my dad gets mad at me for "making the house too hot." The funny thing is that he never complains when he finally gets a taste of what I baked.

These oreo cupcakes are really easy to make. They don't even require a stand mixer. You can just use an old-school whisk. The chocolate cake recipe I used came from The Butch Bakery Cookbook by David Arrick. It's a lovely book. The recipes are extremely easy to follow and the end results are to die for. All the cupcake recipes I've tried were moist and just sweet enough. I highly recommend you buy this book and try some of the recipes. The buttercream recipe also came from this book but I changed it up a little to suit this cupcake. I hope you give this recipe a try.

Oreo Cupcakes

adapted from The Butch Bakery Cookbook

makes approx 16 cupcakes

ingredients:

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon espresso powder (this isn't necessary, but it brings out the chocolate)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

16 oreos halves, with cream filling still attached

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Twist Oreos in half and set aside the extra cookies for later. Place the side with cream filling in the bottom of each cupcake liner, cream-side facing up.

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and espresso powder, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool, about 20 minutes.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs, oil, Kahlua (optional), vanilla, and the chocolate/espresso mixture to the bowl, whisking just until all of the ingredients are completely incorporated.

Fill each prepared muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are just firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, about 1 hour.

Oreo buttercream

makes enough to top 16 cupcakes

ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

l6 oreo halves, left over from the batter, finely crushed

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla, and finely crushed oreos. Beat until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Topping:

8 oreo cookies, split in half

Assembly:

Fill a piping bag fitted with a tip (I used an Ateco 808) and top each cupcake with buttercream. Then top each cupcake with an oreo half.

Congratulations! You have now successfully made delicious oreo cupcakes. There's just one question left to ask yourself-to share or not to share? The decision is yours.

Happy Baking!

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 04:01:00 +0000

I've been chasing this forever. I've been trying to get one of my posts published onto TasteSpotting for the longest time. So many failures and I'm really hoping that this post can make it onto it's newest *Feature*. What is the *Feature* you may ask? TasteSpotting is partnering up with Edy's Ice Cream for a celebration...after all, July is national ice cream month! As soon as I found out about this, I tried my best to come up with an interesting ice cream dish that I could post onto my blog and the website.

Here's my newest concoction.

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwiches. This recipe consists of chewy graham cookies, melted chocolate, and toasted marshmallow ice cream.

It took me two tries to make the ice cream. The first try was a complete disaster that left me very frustrated. I don't know what happened but the eggs curdled and everything just separated from each other. I threw the mixture into the sink and just stood their in anger and disappointment. After I gathered myself together, I decided to not give up and give the ice cream another try. The second try was a complete success!

The cookie resembles a snickerdoodle. In fact, I think it's basically a snickerdoodle. Who cares what it's called though. It's absolutely delicious nonetheless. As for the ice cream, you can definitely taste the toasted marshmallow. It has a nice spongy and fluffy texture due to the marshmallows. I substituted the vanilla bean for vanilla bean paste. There was a lot of vanilla flavor in the ice cream which I love. You can even see all the specks from the vanilla bean.

I highly recommend making the ice cream a day or two earlier. I made everything in one day and it took a long time for the ice cream to harden completely. I was in a big rush. Thankfully everything turned out just fine. These ice cream sandwiches even look like they could be sold in a shop.

Now...time for the main event. The recipe!

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwiches

makes approx 14 sandwiches

Chewy Graham Cookies

adapted from mykitchenaddiction

makes 28 1-ounce cookies

ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

topping:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl and set aside.

For the cookie dough, cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, honey, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add the egg and beat until incorporated into the creamed mixture. Stir in the flour.

Form the dough into 1-ounce portions, roll them into balls, and dip them in the topping mixture. Place each one on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookie is just set and golden brown.

Allow the cookies to cool. Once they are cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the bottom of each cookie and let the chocolate solidify. Set aside until ready to use.

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

makes approx 1 quart

ingredients:

10 oz bag marshmallows

1 vanilla bean (I used 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste)

2 cups milk (I used 1%)

5 large egg yolks

scant 1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Spread the marshmallows in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toast the marshmallows with a kitchen torch, flipping them to toast all sides (be careful when flipping, they'll be hot). If you don't have a torch, you could probably also toast the marshmallows using the flame on a gas stove or under the broiler in your oven. If you use the broiler, keep a close eye on the marshmallows. Set the marshmallows aside.

Use a small paring knife to split the vanilla bean down the middle. Scrape the bean with the back of the knife to remove the seeds. Add the seeds and the vanilla bean to a medium saucepan along with the milk. Set over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a heatproof bowl. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour back into the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170-175 F on an instant read thermometer). Strain the custard into a heatproof bowl.

Let the mixture cool for a few minutes (you can stir it vigorously to cool it faster). Add the toasted marshmallows to your blender, and once it's cooled slightly, add the custard to the blender too (my blender was almost filled to the top, but it worked out fine - you could do it in batches if you'd rather). Blend until the marshmallows are completely broken down and the mixture is smooth. Add the heavy cream and vanilla to the blender and blend to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (overnight is best). Before churning, whisk the mixture vigorously until the custard is smooth and has a pourable consistency (it might be slightly spongy when you first pull it from the fridge). Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

assembly:

Take two of the chocolate-dipped graham cookies and sandwich a heaping 1/4 cup of the toasted marshmallow ice cream. Enjoy!

It takes a lot of time to make this recipe but that's mainly because of the freezing time for the ice cream. It's very much worth the time and effort because this tasted a lot like a delicious s'mores sandwich you'd make over the campfire. I highly recommend you make this and share it with your friends and family....or don't :)

Until next time....Happy Baking!

Samoas Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:40:00 +0000

I can guarantee that I'm not the only one who secretly loves Girl Scout cookies. My favorite?...Samoas! I love the wonderfully rich vanilla cookie and the chewy chocolate coconut coating. I think what really makes it is the chocolate coating and drizzle. It just ties everything together and makes the cookie oh-so delicious.

There are a lot of bloggers who have already made their cupcake version of the popular cookie. At first I wanted to make the recipe from Top with cinnamon. Izy is only 16, but her food looks so sophisticated and delicious. However, after thinking for quite some time, I decided to make my very own original recipe. I was building on recipes. I used Magnolia bakery's vanilla cupcake, chocolate ganache, and Rosie's caramel swiss meringue buttercream from Sweetapolita. You should check out both blogs. They're absolutely wonderful.

These cupcake took some time, but mostly because of cooling time. There are a lot of different parts to the recipe, but overall it's not a difficult cupcake to make. It consists of: vanilla cake, whipped chocolate ganache filling, chocolate ganache coating, toasted coconut rim, and caramel buttercream.

Samoas Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

ingredients:

cake:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

chocolate ganache:

adapted from Sweetapolita

4 oz milk chocolate

4 oz dark chocolate (I used 60% cacao)

1 cup heavy cream

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream until it's gently simmering. Once it's simmering, pour it over the chocolate. Set aside until room temperature and thickened.

caramel buttercream:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large egg whites

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Place 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan to a boil over medium heat. Brush down the sides of the pot with a dampened pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Stop stirring and cook until caramel is dark amber, gently swirling from time to time. Remove from heat, and slowly add cream, whisking by hand until smooth. It will be splatter, so be careful. Whisk in sea salt and vanilla. (I left out these two ingredients) Let cool.

Place butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer clean with lemon juice, and place egg whites and remaining sugar into bowl over a pot of simmering water (not boiling–you don’t want to cook the eggs). Whisk occasionally and gently until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160° on a candy thermometer.

Remove the bowl from heat, and place back onto the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form (about 5-6 minutes). Once the bottom of the bowl is neutral and no longer warm to the touch, reduce speed to medium-low, and add beaten butter, one cup at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, add cooled caramel, and beat until smooth (about 3-5 minutes).

Toasted Coconut:

Spread 1 cup of shredded coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 300F for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure that the coconut browns evenly.

Assembly:

Using a small paring knife, or cupcake corer, core out the middle of the cupcake and either discard or eat. Fill the core with 1/2 of the ganache. (I took the amount and chilled it, then whipped it slightly.) Dip the cupcake into the remaining ganache. Rim the cupcake with toasted coconut. Let the ganache set for about 25 minutes. Once the ganache is set, top the cupcake with the caramel swiss meringue buttercream. (I used an Ateco #827 tip.)

These cupcakes are definitely bake-sale worthy. I think you could even fool people into thinking you bought them from a bakery. I really hope you do try this recipe. You'll absolutely love it!

Happy Baking!

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:45:00 +0000

For the longest time, I've been searching for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. I've tried countless recipes, each better than the last. For a while now I've declared Deb's recipe from Smitten Kitchen the best chocolate chip cookie ever. Well I'm sad and happy to say that I've found a new recipe that is by far the greatest chocolate chip cookie I've ever had and made. Where did I find this recipe, you may ask? I found it from the most boring place you could look for.....the New York Times. Me being your average teenager, I find the newspaper to be extremely boring, especially the NYT. Never would I have expected to find such a fantastic recipe from a newspaper.

What makes these cookies so special is that they require both cake flour and bread flour. They're two ingredients that most people don't have in their pantry. Luckily I did have KAF bread flour hiding in my pantry. As for the cake flour, it was nowhere to be found. However, you can easily substitute cake flour with AP flour and cornstarch*. I bet you could just use AP flour but I don't think the cookies would have the same texture or shape. They just wouldn't be as delicious.

I decided to put on a little experiment. I wanted to see how the cookies were different after different intervals of chilling the dough. According to the recipe, this dough can be chilled for up to 72 hours. I baked off my cookies after 1 hour, 24 hours, and 48 hours.

I baked this cookie after chilling the dough for only 1 hour. It tasted delicious, but wasn't amazing. It was just missing something.

I baked this cookie after 24 hours. The texture was chewier than the 1 hour-chilled cookie. There was also a much richer flavor, but it still seemed like it was missing something.

This cookie was the winner. It had a wonderful crisp exterior and delectable chewy interior. It had the best color and the texture was out of this world. Chilling for 48 hours is definitely the secret to this recipe.

You can just see the difference in the three cookies. The 48 hour-chilled cookie is much darker and the edges are more defined. It was just so much more delicious. I weighed out all these cookies and baked them for the same amount of time. They were all 5.2 ounces. I made all the other cookies 3 ounces. I even packaged some of them for my teachers for the last day of school.

Here's the recipe!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 18 very large cookies or 31 smaller cookies

ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (I used sea salt)

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks)

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) packed light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

20 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

extra chocolate chips, optional

sea salt (optional)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). I just scraped mine through a fine strainer/sieve since my sifter isn't all that great. Set aside.

Use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugars- mixing until the mixture is very light, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low, add the dry ingredients and, mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place the dough in an airtight container and refrigerate a minimum of 24 to 36 hours before baking (and up to 72 hours).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. For 5-inch cookies, scoop six 3.25 ounce mounds of dough- giant golf ball-sized (I rolled mine into balls) onto a baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Don't try to fit more on the sheet or you'll end up with cookies baking into each other. Dot some extra chocolate chips on top, if desired. Sprinkle each ball of dough with a small pinch of sea salt, if desired.

Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is lighter and soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

I really do hope you try making these cookies. The recipe itself is extremely simple. The only "tough part" about this recipe is the waiting period. As I always say, the wait is well worth it. These cookies are fantastic! I highly recommend you try making these cookies. You won't regret it.

Happy Baking!

*For every 1 cup of AP flour, take out 2 tablespoons and replace those 2 tablespoons with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Frosted Sugar Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:56:00 +0000

Every time I walk into my local Waldbaum's I see these wonderful looking cookies. They're soft and chewy sugar cookies frosted with bright and vibrant frosting. They look so adorable and festive, especially when topped with sprinkles. Each time I want to buy a pack and devour them all...but my conscience tells me not to, so I listen to it.

But one day, when I was home with nothing to do, I had the greatest desire to make these festive treats. So I did. And they were delicious. They're chewy, soft, and not overly sweet. The frosting adds just the right amount of flavor. Let's face it...frosting makes everything better. Just like bacon.

I wish I could say that this is my own original recipe, but sadly it is not. I borrowed this recipe from the lovely Annie of Annie's Eats. I love her blog and her recipes are easy and delicious. She's also an excellent photographer. The pictures she takes make her food look just that much more delectable.

Well, I guess it's time for the recipe. It's extremely simple, but it requires that you chill the cookies for 1 hour. I know, I know. A whole extra hour of waiting is needed in order to dig into these cookies. You must resist temptation, however, because the chill-time is what gives these cookies such great texture.

Frosted Sugar Cookies

makes about 2 dozen cookies

Cookie
ingredients:

4½ cups all-purpose flour

4½ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ cups sugar

3 large eggs

5 tsp. vanilla extract

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

for the cookies: preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients mixing just until incorporated and evenly mixed. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop a scant quarter cup of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake about 10-12 minutes or just until set. (Do not overbake! The edges should be no more than very lightly browned if at all.) Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting
ingredients:

5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)

Food coloring (optional)

Sprinkles (optional)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

To frost the cookies, place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in additional milk as necessary, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Use an offset spatula or spoon to frost the cooled cookies. (If the frosting begins to thicken as you decorate, just continue to whisk in small amounts of milk to keep it workable.) Top with sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container.

If you do choose to make these cookies, which I highly recommend you do, don't share them with your friends. You'll never be able to taste one. They'll sell out instantly. Trust me, I made that mistake. They're absolutely delicious and buttery. You won't be able to make them just once.

Happy Baking!

French Macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly M) — Sat, 05 May 2012 02:25:00 +0000

They should change the phrase to, "fourth time's the charm." That's how many times it took me to finally be able to make a decent looking macaron. For years I've been fascinated with these little french treats, but I've been too afraid to make them myself. But recently, I've been obsessed and I had to give them a try.

The perfect macaron consists of three key aspects:

1. They must have feet! It's the key to a beautiful looking macaron. It's what makes you do a double take when you pass by a french patisserie.

2. The exterior must be crunchy and glossy! You know you have a beautiful macaron when the exterior shell has a good crunch when you bite into it. Also, they must have a nice shine to it. Food is half aesthetics....isn't it?

3. The interior should have a soft, meringue texture! A perfect macaron always has a smooth and chewy interior. It should be soft but still have a nice bite to it.

My first attempt was a total flop. The macarons were mishapen, deflated, and lacked the proper "feet." The had a nice chew inside, but the shells were cracked and they looked like they had just been through an earthquake. The next two attempts were no more successful than the first. Both times I became so frustrated that I threw the batter into the sink in rage. After the third attempt, I swore to myself that I would never make macarons again. Then came Thursday, May 3, 2012.

I spent most of the night studying macarons. I watched all the videos and learned all the proper techniques: don't over whip your egg whites, make sure to use room temperature egg whites, weigh your ingredients, add a pinch of cream of tartar into your egg whites to help stabilize them, let your piped shells rest for 1 hour to create a proper coating. After having watched all those tutorials, my will power had diminished. I had to try one more time. I knew that I would succeed this time...I simply had to.

The final result? Why don't you see for yourself?

I finally made beautiful macarons with feet, a crispy exterior, and a chewy interior. They had great flavor and were the perfect late-night snack. I was so happy that I literally took a victory lap around my kitchen.

If you're a brave soul and you want to try to make your own macarons, here's the recipe. I used Dulce Delight's recipe:

Hazelnut macarons with Nutella buttercream

adapted from Dulce Delight

Shell

ingredients:

55g raw almonds

55g raw hazelnuts

200g confectioners sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

90g egg whites- aged for 2 days in your refrigerator

pinch of cream of tartar

40g granulated sugar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

Grind the almonds, hazelnuts, confectioners sugar, and cocoa powder in a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely ground and well mixed.

Using a stand mixer, whip the aged egg whites until frothy. Once they become frothy, add a pinch of cream and tartar and gradually add the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, whip the egg whites until you reach stiff peaks. (You know you've reached stiff peaks when none of the whites fall out of the bowl if you put the bowl over your head)

Sift your dry ingredients into the egg whites. Then, gently fold the ingredients together. (You don't have to be extremely careful at this stage. You want to get some of the air out, but not enough to deflate the whole mixture.) This step is called macaronage. To see if you've mixed enough, put a dollop of the mixture onto a clean plate. If the batter spreads out within 10 seconds and doesn't have a peak, it's ready. If there is still a peak, keep mixing the batter for another 10-15 seconds.

Once your mixture is thoroughly mixed, pour the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe either 1 or 1.5 inch rounds onto a baking sheet lined with silipat or parchment paper.

The next step is crucial!

Let your piped macarons dry at room temperature for 1 hour. This step ensures that your macarons get a crispy exterior and form those lovely feet.

50 minutes into the drying process, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.

After 1 hour, bake your macarons for 15-20 minutes. You want the shells to look glossy and opaque. Cool completely.

Nutella buttercream
ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup nutella

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

directions:

In a stand mixer, whip the butter until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners sugar. Whip until nice and airy, about 5 minutes. Add the nutella and keep whipping until the color is light brown and airy, about 3 minutes on medium speed.

Assembly:

Fill the one shell with about 1 tablespoon of nutella buttercream. Sandwich another shell on top, twisting slightly as you go.

Viola! You have now made delicious french macarons!

Now...if your macarons don't come out as expected the first time, I advise you to never give up. It takes time and practice to perfect these little treats. Never get discouraged...and never have a mental break down like I did.

I really hope you give this recipe a try and I hope you're happy with the results.

Happy baking!