Playing with Flour

Opera Cake, in two acts

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 22:28:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me just how many things there are that makes me say, "I've always wanted to make that!" As much as I've slowly chipped away at that unwritten list over the years, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will never completely check off everything and be done. And that's not a bad thing. I still love a good project, gaining a new experience, learning new techniques, and savoring the satisfaction of creating something tasty that I can share with my family.

Opera cake is one of those iconic French desserts that I've always wanted to make. Seven layers of alternating jocande, or almond sponge cake, with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache, topped with a chocolate glaze - plus, a serious soaking in coffee syrup for the cake layers. Everything melds together for a delectable coffee-chocolate experience.

Maybe with a spurt of New Year energy for learning something new and making more time to do things I enjoy, I recently made not one but two Opera cakes! One of those is the classic version we can hardly resist from pastry shop display cases. Its delicate layers of flavor requires some planning and patience but it's nice sometimes to clear the decks and make time to focus on a (sweet) project or two.

After so many years of wanting to make Opera cake, little did I know it would actually begin with a beautiful, albeit unconventional, layer-cake version I spotted in a gorgeous book I received at Christmas.

It was the inspiration I needed to check Opera cake off my unwritten list and after making the layer cake rendition, with all its many steps, I had the confidence (and heightened curiosity) to tackle the classic. Both were delicious and well worth the effort.

I can't thank passionate cookbook authors (and their photographers) enough for the inspiration and practical know-how they share with us novice, home-bakers. They break down seemingly complicated creations and reveal the secrets to making some of our favorite special treats at home. It's a wonderful feeling to find recipes that do that, and being able to step back, take a breath, and say "wow, I made that."

The classic rendition of the Opera Cake from French Pastry Made Simple

I love learning how something is made and knowing that I could do it. While attempting more complicated pastries is something I'd reserve for special occasions, it makes me appreciate all the more how much time and effort goes into the pastries I pick up at the bakery or patisserie.

There was so much learning along the way to making this multi-layer Opera cake. Molly Wilkinson's book, French Pastry Made Simple, walked me along each step and offered tips (from making sure to thorough soak the cake layers with coffee syrup to how to achieve as smooth a top glaze as possible) for success. Even making French buttercream, which necessitates pulling out a thermometer and making a sugar syrup, felt easy.

Ultimately, when the cake set up, it felt amazing to slice away the sides to reveal the layers of the Opera cake. Tasting the soft almond sponge cake with all the coffee flavor from the coffee syrup and coffee buttercream, together with the chocolate ganache, reminded me of how coffee and chocolate go together so seamlessly and always hits the spot. I could not resist gilding this dessert with some edible gold leaf. If anything warrants a touch of gold, the Opera cake is it.

For the layer-cake rendition of the Opera cake, I followed the recipe from Sweet Paris. I fell in love with this book browsing through it at a bookstore and had to put it on my Christmas wish list.

The book is visually beautiful and distinctive recipes for things likes chestnut and praline cakes really call out to me. Reading through it, I was surprised by how many recipes I'd be interested in making. Recipes are divided according to season, reflecting the way the French cook and eat. Immersing myself in this book, time slows down a bit and I can visualize myself celebrating life and enjoying its sweetness in this thoughtful kind of way. Hopefully, I can be forgiven for making this cake in the winter instead of the fall, as intended, but I think it would have been equally fitting in the celebration chapter of the book. I made it on the first day of the New Year. I thought it was a fitting dessert to celebrate the start of 2023.

I particularly enjoyed learning how to make the chocolate shards that surround the outside of this cake. You spread melted chocolate evenly across a sheet of parchment paper, lay a second sheet of parchment over it, smooth it out, then roll it up and refrigerate. When you unroll it, the chocolate breaks and you essentially have these large shards to use. Since the chocolate is not tempered, it softens at room temperature and doesn't have that lovely snap to it but, that said, it's a great home baker's way to dress up a cake!

* I do want to note that I made a few tweaks to the recipe, mainly reducing the amount of each component. I made half the espresso buttercream recipe (which will call for 2 sticks of butter, more reasonable than the 4 used if you make the full amount) and I found it to be enough for this 3-layer, six-inch round cake. You also don't need nearly the amount of coffee syrup listed in the recipe. I made half and honestly can't see how you'd need more than 1/4 cup unless you really try to drown the cake layers with it (and I'm not sure how that would work out). I made ganache using 8 ounces of chocolate to 1 cup of cream to make the math easier, and had some leftovers. I like adding a spoonful of corn syrup to give the ganache a bit of shine. Lastly, I had plenty of chocolate shards leftover despite making a little less than the recipe; I'd say 4 ounces of melted dark chocolate would be sufficient.

Making both these Opera cakes was a rewarding, sweet, and festive way to start the new year!

Recipes:

Opéra Cake (classic version)

French Pastry Made Simple by Molly Wilkinson

p.111

Gâteau Opéra (more of an American-style layer-cake version)

Sweet Paris by Frank Adrian Barron

p. 122

* please see notes on recipe adaptations I made from my experience

Chinese bakery style chestnut sponge cake

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 12:30:00 +0000

This time of year has me thinking of chestnuts more than ever. Fresh chestnuts as well as jarred and vacuum-packed versions pop up at supermarkets and specialty stores, conjuring up images of chestnuts roasting on an open fire and special chestnut desserts for the holidays.

Chestnuts are one of my favorite things. My love for them is pretty well documented here (type in "chestnuts" in the search bar) and I'd like to add another chestnut dessert to the roster today. This time, I'm exploring a rendition of the classic chestnut sponge cake you'd find at a Chinese bakery.

I am a bonafide chocolate lover but when my birthday rolls around, I find myself picking this chestnut cake as my birthday cake. You can buy one at a Chinese bakery and you'll find them in this identical form across Chinese bakeries - 2 layers of light as air sponge cake (chiffon cake, specifically) between a delicious chestnut paste filling, wrapped around smooth, lightly-sweetened, whipped cream. This cake is probably where my love of chestnut first originated. We go way back and we've celebrated many a birthday together.

So it was with great excitement that I finally attempted to make this cake at home recently. I knew it would be impossible to replicate the exact thing from the bakery but I am happy to say this came pretty close. The chiffon cake layers were a tad denser than they should be but the chestnut paste filling was rather spot on! Next time, I'd make a couple of tweaks - including using lighter cake flour for the cake layers - but this is something this chestnut-lover sees herself making again.

To give you an idea of what this Chinese bakery style chestnut cake typically looks like, here's an example of a past store-bought birthday cake:

Below, you can see the 2 layers of moist chiffon cake, generous filling of chestnut paste, and the whipped cream that brings it all together. The overall effect is a lovely eggy, vanilla-scented cake, with a smooth chestnut filling that is not all too sweet or at all too heavy.

Making the homemade version

The cake layers

For my homemade chestnut cake journey, I used these two blog posts: Chinese Chestnut Cake with the corresponding Chiffon Cake Base recipe from a blog called, Mrs. Ip's Kitchen. I tried to understand the recipes as much as possible and to simplify the steps where I could.

Chiffon cake is one of my favorite cakes and this is the first time I've baked it in a cake pan as opposed to a tube pan. And you really do turn the cake pans upside down to cool, and it works.

I wanted to stay close to the recipe so I used all-purpose (or "plain") flour instead of the usual cake flour I use in my favorite chiffon cake recipe. I used Gold Medal all-purpose flour, which has slightly lower protein content than King Arthur Flour (i.e., lower protein makes for lighter, more tender results). The cake turned out nicely but wasn't quite as airy and moist as I'm used to. Next time around, I will try this cake recipe with lighter, lower protein cake flour and see if I can get a lighter result and make this cake turn out even closer to the bakery ones.

The chestnut filling

The headliner for this cake is the chestnut filling! I've made a similar recipe for mont blanc tartlets but I really thought this recipe made a spot on filling that was just sweet enough.

I used vacuum-packed chestnuts from Trader Joe's (unfortunately, this is a seasonal product so this is the time to go and find some before it's gone); I used two 6.5 oz. (184 g.) packages and I found this made more than enough chestnut paste to generously fill the 8 inch cake as well as leave plenty extra for decorating the top.

After cooking/warming up the chestnuts in water, make a simple syrup with that chestnut water and blend the chestnuts with that, along with a little melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract. It is absolutely delicious and this is a filling that can be used for other desserts such as a log cake and many other possibilities! I'll be keeping this one in my back pocket.

Putting the cake together

I made lightly sweetened whipped cream using 1 cup of heavy cream. I found this is enough for the cake but I was a little stingy in the application and I regret that. Oftentimes when I'm eating the bakery-bought version, I find it has a little too much whipped cream for my taste and I thought I could make it more to my own liking at home. Surprise to me, I realized I needed a bit more whipped cream on my cake to add that extra bit of moisture and creaminess.

I placed a cake layer on a stand, then spread it with some whipped cream. The chestnut filling is next and I found it works really well to place the filling in a large piping/sandwich bag, cut a relatively large opening to it, and pipe rings around the cake that you can then just smooth out with an offset spatula.

I spread whipped cream on the second layer of cake before inverting it over the chestnut filling (just wish I did it a little more generously) before coating the entire cake with whipped cream.

Finally, I took the extra chestnut filling to pipe a border on top. I was going for a shell border but it turned out looking more like an interesting leaf/ribbon effect. I used a 1M piping tip for this and probably should have gone for another open star tip but, frankly, we can blame my incompetent cake-decorating/piping skills for this. So please pardon the messy look of that border!

Happily, the end result was a very tasty (even if not perfect) imitation of the real deal. Next go round, I'm trying cake flour for the chiffon cake layers and being a little more generous with the whipped cream.

When I take a bite out of this cake, I thought it tastes like birthdays, which certainly made me smile...and eat more cake!

Chinese Bakery Style Chestnut Cake
Adapted from Mrs. Ip's Kitchen (with chiffon cake layer recipe here)

- For an two-layer 8" round cake -

For chiffon cake layers:

4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
50 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
75 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
75 ml warm canola or vegetable oil
110 ml warm water
150 g all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

* I used Gold Medal brand all-purpose flour. Next time, I would try using cake flour for a lighter result

For chestnut filling:

13 oz. (368g) vacuum-packed chestnuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar (could also use caster/superfine sugar)
1/2 cup water (use water used in cooking chestnuts)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

For whipped cream frosting:

1 cup (8 oz.) cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make cake layers: Prep two 8 inch round cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper (do not grease). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, start whipping the egg whites. When large bubbles form, add cream of tartar and whip until egg whites turn white in color. Gradually add the 50g of caster sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, until egg whites are stiff.

Place egg yolks, salt, 75g caster sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Gradually whisk in the warm oil, then the warm water. Sift the flour and baking powder together over the egg yolk mixture and gently fold in and combine using a rubber spatula. Fold in the whipped egg whites, half at a time. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when gently touched and a cake tester comes out clean. Invert the cake pans onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

Make chestnut filling: Place chestnuts in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the chestnuts. Bring to a boil, then lower the flame, and let cook for a few minutes (you are essentially just warming up the cooked chestnuts and softening them a bit more). Remove chestnuts with a slotted spoon and place into a food processor.

Remove 1/2 cup of the still-warm chestnut cooking water and place into a measuring cup. Stir in the sugar to make a simple syrup. Add the simple syrup, melted butter, and milk into the food processor with the chestnuts and blend until a smooth paste forms (add a bit more milk, if necessary). Scrape the sides of the bowl, as needed, to make sure the paste is well mixed. Scrape the chestnut paste into a bowl and let cool.

Whip cream: Start whipping heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract and whip until it just reaches stiff peaks.

Finish the cake: Run a knife around the sides of the cooled cakes, then turn cakes out of the pans, removing the parchment paper. Place one layer of the cake on to a cake stand or plate (I placed it bottom side up). Spread a relatively thin layer of whipped cream on the cake layer. Place approximately 2/3 to 3/4 of the chestnut paste filling into a large piping or sandwich bag, snipping a fairly large opening at the corner. Pipe thick rounds of the filling over the whipped cream to cover the cake. Using a small offset spatula, gently smooth out the chestnut filling evenly.

Spread another thin layer of whipped cream over the second cake layer. Invert this (whipped cream side down) onto the chestnut filling. Use the remaining whipped cream to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Use remaining chestnut filling to pipe a border around the cake. Place the filling inside a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (in this post, I used a 1M tip) and pipe, as desired.

Store cake in the refrigerator. Slice and serve when ready.

Thin, crisp chocolate chip cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 01:41:00 +0000

It's been a minute since I've posted here! Despite the quiet, we're keeping busy in the kitchen, with plenty of cooking and baking taking place in "real life" (along with a decent amount of takeout, too). It's incredible to think the holidays are almost upon us. I've started taking stock and making a list of all the ingredients and supplies I need to have on hand for all the holiday bakes.

In the meantime, I've been wanting to drop in here and spread the word on some seriously amazing thin, crisp chocolate chip cookies. I've attempted this kind of cookie before but leave it to the amazing David Lebovitz to really deliver on a thin, crisp chocolate chip cookie that is exactly that.

Even if you think you prefer the soft, thick, chewy kind of chocolate chip cookie (like we generally do at my house), believe me when I say these are more than worthy of a place in your chocolate-chip-cookie-eating rotation. I have made these numerous times since early last year and it has become a real family favorite. These nice-sized cookies spread and caramelize beautifully in the oven, leaving you with a delectable butterscotch flavor. They're thin, they're crispy, and packed with amazing caramel flavor and a generous proportion of chocolate chips.

I love making these and sitting down with my fellas to marvel at how good they are, over and over again!

David Lebovitz actually adapted this recipe from Joanne Chang's recipe in Pastry Love. I love visiting Joanne's Flour bakeries in the Boston area when I get the opportunity and her recipes are excellent but if you've followed David for a while and made as many of his recipes as I've had the pleasure to, you know to trust him. His adaptations are always spot-on delicious, and I seriously can't picture these cookies being any better.

So please consider this my PSA to all chocolate chip cookie lovers - this is a must-try! Keep extra cookie dough balls in your freezer so you can bake these cookies up on the fly and enjoy them fresh. Your kitchen will smell amazing and you'll be in awe by how delicious these thin, crisp chocolate chip cookies truly are.

Recipe:

Thin, Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies
From David Lebovitz (adapted from Joanne Chang's recipe in Pastry Love)

- Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies -

8 ounces (225g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
1/2 cup (100g) firmly-packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 tablespoons (45g) water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup (245g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if using Morton's kosher salt instead of Diamond Crystal, use 3/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (280g, 10oz.) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (I follow David and use Guittard extra-dark chocolate chips; I now keep them in my pantry specifically for this recipe!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-speed until light and creamy, about 5 minutes.

Stop the mixer and scrap down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg, water, and vanilla extract, beating until just combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add chocolate chip and toss to combine. On low speed, add the flour and chocolate chip mixture and stir together until combined (I like to lightly mix everything together in the stand mixer, then finish by hand with the rubber spatula). Cover the bowl and refrigerator the cookie dough for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight (and up to 4 days).

When it's time to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position an oven rack in the upper third position (I have not had an issue with baking the cookies in the middle rack but this is to ensure the bottoms don't get too dark before the tops get browned).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form 1 1/4 inch dough balls (45 grams each) and place them at least 3" apart on the prepared baking sheet, leaving room for the cookies to spread while baking (no more than 5-6 cookies per baking sheet). Gently press down slightly on each cookie dough ball and bake until the cookies have spread, the edges are browned, and there is virtually no light patches across the center. Rotate the pan midway through baking, which should take 13-14 minutes but watch closely during the last few minutes.

Remove baking sheet from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes before removing the cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool completely so they get a chance to get nice and crispy. Enjoy!

Wrapping up 2020 on a sweet note

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:30:00 +0000

While this holiday season is certainly different, I feel very lucky that it's still been a source of light and a cause for celebration.

Continuing from my last post about holiday baking, I managed a few more bakes including making a batch of these must-have tri-color cookies. I think my husband and son would be sorely disappointed if I didn't make these cookies, and every time I make and taste them, I'm really thankful I did. They are just incredible and something we look forward to every Christmas.

Mixing in the familiar is a touch of the new. I tried my hand at making a Buche de Noel, or Yule log!

I've made a couple of basic roll cakes before but this was the first time I attempted the traditional, decorated, Christmas Yule log. I mainly followed the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction though I filled mine with cocoa whipped cream (instead of cocoa hazelnut) and simplified my decorations.

It's a light chocolate sponge cake (I'd have loved an even deeper chocolate flavor, like this one), filled with cocoa whipped cream (here), and topped with chocolate ganache (I made it with 5 ounces of chocolate, melted with an equal amount of cream and I found that to be enough). I saved a lot of time on the decorations by shaping a few simple marzipan mushrooms instead of making meringues. Finished with a few candied cherries and decorative tree toppers, it was a festive start to our Christmas break!

It certainly succeeded in putting a smile on our faces. Plus, we enjoyed slicing up our log and eating it, too!

Circling back to cookies - as we inevitably must at this time of year - I snuck in a batch of Danish butter cookies. At this time of year, I am into making all sorts of simple butter-shortbread type cookies and these taste just like the ones in that classic blue tin I grew up enjoying (in other words, delicious). I really like this recipe from Martha Stewart (which I'll list at the end of the post) and I highly recommend sprinkling the top of the cookies with sanding sugar before baking for a lovely sweet crunch.

I also decorated a second batch of sugar cookies before Christmas arrived. These were packed up for my nephews. Typically, we'd have a Christmas party at some point in December and cap off the night with hot chocolate and sugar cookies for the youngsters. This year, the sugar cookies and treats were boxed up and delivered. We're all doing things a little different this year but making the most of it and appreciating how lucky we are.

Before we knew it, Christmas morning arrived. Somewhere along the way, we adapted the cinnamon-rolls-on-Christmas-morning tradition and it is a keeper! After opening presents, we tore into our cinnamon rolls, filled with chocolate and orange zest, topped with a simple icing of confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and vanilla.

To wash it down, I make another Christmas morning tradition: Barcelona hot chocolate. This is one of my favorite hot chocolates (maybe second only to Angelina's "African" hot chocolate) - made with a combination of chocolate, coffee, cocoa, milk, brown sugar, and orange zest. It is an amazing cup!

While we sat around the table on Christmas morning with our sugar highs, we appreciated how lucky we are and gave thanks for family, friends, our health, and all the comforts we have. As challenging and dark as 2020 was, I have been heartened by the humanity, too. From healthcare workers to delivery people, grocery store workers to teachers, and many, many more - so many heroes showed up during these unprecedented times to keep us going and inspire us with their bravery. It was also great to see social media being used in a positive way to connect with one another and provide much needed distraction; I truly appreciated people like David Lebovitz hosting daily Instagram lives as a way to connect. On a more local level, touching base with friends, and smiles and waves from neighbors on the street as we went for our walks helped brighten and lighten the days.

Like everyone else, we are really looking forward to saying goodbye to 2020, as we look forward to 2021 with hope for a much better year. Here's to good health and happiness in the New Year. May 2021 be a year of light, filled with reunions, gatherings, laughter, and freedom! Let it be peaceful, kind, and fair, too. Cheers!

Recipe:

Danish Butter Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart

- Makes about 2 dozen cookies -

2 sticks high-quality salted butter (this is where I like to use a rich European butter), softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I like to use a combination of vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract)

1 large egg, room temperature

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees with oven racks positioned in the upper and lower third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter and confectioners' sugar together on medium-speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating until combined. Scrap the sides and bottom of the bowl, as needed. Gradually add flour, beating until evenly incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with 7/16 inch star tip (such as Ateco #825; I use Ateco #864, which is about a 1/2 inch wide; a wider tip will be easier to pipe). Pipe 2 to 2 1/2 inch rounds on the baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the top of the cookies with sanding sugar.

Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly golden around the edges but still light on top, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks, let cool for a few minutes before removing the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Orangettes

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 23:06:00 +0000

As essential as cookies are, I love trying a candy or confection recipe every holiday season. Whether it be toffee or a nut brittle or marshmallows, it's fun to mix things up and learn something new. This year, I landed on Orangettes, or candied orange peels dipped in chocolate.

As someone who loves the combination of chocolate and orange, I adore Orangettes and buy them occasionally as a treat (they do tend to be on the pricey side). When I stumbled upon a recipe for them, I thought this was a perfect project for me to try right now. I highly recommend it!

Small batch recipes abound these days and that's right up my alley - especially when it comes to tackling a new project like this for the first time. I found the inspiration and recipe from eat live travel write. Making Orangettes is surprisingly easy; it does involve several steps and an overnight wait (for the candied peels to dry) but since we have time on our hands these days, I don't think that's a problem. The reward is a new skill and a bundle of delicious candied orange peels dipped in chocolate. Delicious!

Start with an organic orange. Also pick a thick skinned one because thicker peels will be easier to work with. Prep the orange by slicing each end off the orange (so that you have two flat ends). To remove the peel, score the orange from top to bottom so you have 4 vertical segments, then peel them away. Trim any excess white from the peel and slice into strips, about 1/4 inch wide. I was concerned that the thick white part of the orange peel would be bitter in the final result but that was not an issue at all.

Put the peels into a pot of cold water, just covering. We need to blanch the peels twice to remove the bitterness. Bring the pan to a boil on high heat, then cook for 5 minutes. Repeat the process a second time.

After the second blanching, let the peels cool while preparing a simple syrup of 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring the simple syrup to a simmer, stirring well to dissolve. Add peels and lower the heat to low. Cover the pot and let the peels simmer for 1 hour, keeping an eye on them and stirring every so often.

Remove the candied orange peels and set them, spaced apart, on a wire rack to cool. This is where patience comes in; allow the candied peels to dry completely overnight.

The next day, it's time to finish the candied peels by dipping them in chocolate. I used dark chocolate and I got this notion that I wanted to use Guittard brand chocolate, specifically (I was thinking about William Sonoma's peppermint bark, which are so good in part due to Guittard chocolate). Since the only Guittard chocolate I have on hand are their dark chocolate chips, I melted some for dipping these orange peels in.

Thinking on it afterwards, I think it would have been wiser to chop up and melt a chocolate bar rather than chips. Using "couverture" chocolate (companies like Callebaut offer them specifically) that's designed for dipping, which have a thinner, more fluid consistency would be ideal. Nevertheless...while my chocolate was on the thick side and not as smooth as it could be, it was surely delicious. The orange really makes the chocolate pop. Just make sure to use a delicious chocolate and you'll be set.

These Orangettes turned out better than I expected. My husband (who I boxed these up to "gift" to) loved them and even our teenage son was an unexpected fan! I was really pleasantly surprised. Texture and flavor wise, the homemade peels were soft, chewy, and sweet - bursting with orange flavor that contrasts yet harmonizes with the chocolate so well. The Orangettes are also beautiful to look at; I like leaving part of the orange peel showing so you can see the vibrant jewel-orange color of them, shiny and glistening with sugar, looking almost like jewels.

Recipe:

Orangettes (Candied Orange Peels dipped in Chocolate)
Adapted from Eat.Live.Travel.Write

- Makes approximately 30 Orangettes -

1 organic orange, preferably thick-skinned

For simple syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

For dipping:

Approximately 3 ounces dark chocolate (more or less depending on how much of each candied peel you wish to dip in chocolate), melted

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set a rack on top. Set aside.

Prep orange and blanch (twice): Prep orange by slicing each end off to make a flat surface. Score the orange from top to bottom so you have 4 vertical segments, then peel. Trim any excess white from the peel and slice into strips, about 1/4 inch wide.

Place peels in a pot and fill it with cold water, just covering. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, drain the water and refill the pan again with fresh cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and blanch again for 5 minutes. Drain the peels and set aside while preparing the next step.

Cook in sugar syrup and cool: Place sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Add peels, stir, and lower the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer the peels for 1 hour, checking on it now and then, giving it a stir. After the peels have been "candied", place them individually on the prepared baking sheet so they are not touching. Allow the peels to dry overnight.

Dip peels in chocolate: Line a new baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over just simmering water and stir until just melted. Carefully dip each candied peel in chocolate, then set on parchment-lined sheet. Allow chocolate to set fully before storing the orangettes in single layers (with wax paper or parchment between layers), in an airtight container.

Christmas in the making, 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 20:52:00 +0000

This sure is one unusual holiday season, to put it mildly! So many things are different this year, and as we stay cautious during these times, I'm thankful for the holiday season. Frankly, it's a welcome distraction, and keeping busy making Christmas cookies and treats is a tradition that I'm happy (and grateful) to keep up with.

So despite everything, our kitchen is humming along and I've been busy making some of our favorite Christmas cookies. My love of almond paste is well documented and it's surely the time of year for a batch of chewy, fragrant cherry almond macaroons.

There's no neglecting peppermint this time of year. My son is a big fan of all things chocolate-and-peppermint so we've been enjoying these peppermint brownies....

and a batch of chocolate cookies with peppermint chunks. I use this recipe but instead of white chocolate chunks, I substitute peppermint chunks along with semisweet chocolate chunks. A touch of peppermint extract in the chocolate cookie dough adds plenty of cool holiday flavor.

Naturally, we're all about "sugar, spice, and everything nice" during the holidays season. Personally, I crave the combination of gingerbread and chocolate. It's become the taste of the holiday season for me. So to kick things off, I made a loaf of chocolate gingerbread loaf. It's chock full of gingerbread flavors (from fresh and dried ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves), made sweet and moist from dark brown sugar and molasses, and studded with chocolate flavor with a little cocoa powder as well as chocolate chunks that somehow turn into bits of fudgy pudding baked in the cake.

As if that wasn't enough, I can't let Christmas go without a batch of soft & chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies. I'm savoring them as we speak!

Thus far, I've also whipped up a batch of hazelnut biscotti to share with my sister. This year, family gatherings and holiday parties have been shelved but I'm still planning to share a little bit of sweetness in the form of homemade treats with my family.

It also means I'm still making and decorating classic sugar cookies. They are a big part of the holidays and a favorite with the younger ones in our extended family. I'm packing some up and sharing with the loved ones I'm often thinking about.

And speaking of classic, I think of simple butter cookies during this time of year. I recently made vanilla bean sables; since they are long gone, I might well make another version before the holiday season wraps up.

There's still plenty of cooking, baking, and holiday-making left to do! Despite everything, it's good to keep some sense of normalcy with these rituals.

Happy Holidays!

Food and cooking in 2020...

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 01:32:00 +0000

What a wild ride the last 8 months and counting have been! Like everyone else, we've been staying home as much as possible, taking things day by day. There are far too many emotions boiling just beneath the surface to address properly here but for what it's worth, keeping busy, focusing on basics like food and our meals, has been a much-needed distraction, particularly during the early days of the lockdown.

That said, I have to admit that cooking/baking fatigue set in by around week 12 for me. Cooking three meals a day, plus snacks and treats, for three straight months got a little exhausting. Nevertheless, I can't express enough how grateful I am to be able to get groceries, and to have the luxury of cooking for my family and myself, during this time.

Luckily, businesses began to open up and the occasional takeout became part of life and provided a reprieve to the non-stop cooking. I also learned to ease up and get back to basics more often. Because in the early days of mid-March through April and May, meals were more elaborate than normal, as a way to both comfort and distract us. I was doing things like making fresh crepes for afternoon snack (the recipe Dominique Ansel shared online was a hit at our house). If it wasn't crepes, cake, or cookies, I was making things like chouquettes dipped in chocolate sauce...

...and craquelin-topped cream puffs - some of which were filled with chocolate cream and others made into profiteroles stuffed with ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce.

Like a lot of other people, I was concerned about my store of yeast (and flour) because I was baking bread and making English muffins...

I had a successful attempt at making soft, fluffy Japanese milk bread for the first time.

There was even a session of pretzel-making in my kitchen. Back in April, I finally made my almond crunch pretzel daydreams come true. They were an homage to ones my husband and I would often get at the mall back in the day. I was happy with how well they turned out.

Beyond sweets and treats, there were all those daily main meals we all needed and craved. I put most of my focus there and experimented with recipes to keep things interesting, and myself motivated. At the beginning of the pandemic, I found myself posting each meal I made on my Instagram page as a kind of journaling (because actually keeping a written journal seemed - and still feels like - something of a scary prospect)...after a while, I relaxed it into the occasional summary via picture collages. I've since dropped the regimen, as meals have fallen largely back into more of a norm and become more repetitive, but it's neat to look back at all the goings on happening in the kitchen and dining room table during the past few months.

Some of the recipes I tackled included homemade noodles. It's a bit of work rolling and cutting the dough by hand but, somehow, the process of working with dough always feels relaxing and therapeutic.

The noodles and the spicy peanut sauce they were tossed in were winners. Incidentally, I learned to roast tofu with teriyaki or another asian-style sauce and was doing it often to top grain bowls, noodles, and whatnot for lunch.

I heard about King Arthur Flour's 2020 Recipe of the Year in the form of their crispy cheesy pan pizza. I have a major pizza lover in the house in the form of our 15 year old so I'm always interested in a good, easy pizza recipe. This dough is truly a cinch to make and I called on this recipe multiple times during the lockdown.

When I had a hankering for sushi, I decided to try making it myself. After ordering a few sushi-making tools, we had shrimp-avocado rolls one afternoon. Another fun, reward session in the kitchen!

Speaking of ordering things, I suspect I'm not the only one who ordered a lot of random things (beyond necessities like toilet paper!) online during this time. For instance, I ordered a musubi mold so I could make spam musubi. Those of us who can't help but like spam might understand my motivation. We ate these pretending we were snacking in Hawaii.

Sometimes I'd reminisce about past vacations by doing things like making a Spanish omelet for lunch.

And I enjoyed delving into cookbooks like Jubilee for ideas and to learn new things. Red rice was one of the recipes I really enjoyed trying; it was at once familiar yet different from the rice dishes we normally eat. Cooking different foods brings a lot of conversation to the dinner table - one of my favorite things.

With all the meals we were cooking and eating every day, being creative and trying new recipes was a great motivator, particularly in those early days.

And interspersed between new recipes were all the tried and true, no-recipe needed, family favorites and the familiar that we cooked and ate as we checked off meal after meal. Thank goodness for both the familiar and the new! I've definitely picked up a handful of recipes (both on the sweet as well as savory side) that I've made multiple times and will continue to make for a long time to come. All of which again brings me back to being incredibly thankful for the ability to cook and eat with my family. Essential workers, including grocery store workers and all those involved with the entire food supply chain, have made it possible for us to be able to secure the food and supplies we need, and I am eternally grateful.

During this weird time, we've celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones, with food being the backdrop for everything.

We're keeping busy and staying hopeful for the future even though we know these next few months will be difficult. We sure look forward to the time when we can eat together with extended family and friends again. Hopefully, that time won't be too far away. In the meantime, here's to staying well and safe. Here's to sharing meals at home with your immediate loved ones, whether cooked from scratch in your kitchen or thanks to takeout from a local restaurant.

We're gearing up for a highly unusual holiday season but we're looking forward to enjoying it as much as possible. The good news is all rules are out the window! The new game plan is to do what you like - as much, or as little, as you want. Focus on joy and positivity.

Be well!

Valentine's Day interlude

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 11:30:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been a long week here at our house and Valentine's Day is a bright pink light I'm focusing on and hanging dearly to! So I'm having a little Valentine's Day interlude here and savoring the excuse to celebrate love (of all kinds) and eat lots of chocolate today!

We'll be starting the day with some heart-shape buttermilk pancakes (recipe here). I formed the rough heart-shapes by placing the pancake batter into a piping bag and piping out the shapes onto the griddle. In all likelihood, these will hit the table with a heart-shaped dollop of chocolate hazelnut spread in the middle.

I plan to make pasta with lobster and shrimp for dinner at home with my fellas tonight. For dessert, I made chocolate covered ice cream hearts (recipe and idea inspired by the Food Network). A small word of warning...as with most ice cream projects, it's never quite as easy as it sounds or looks. It's a reminder that ice cream melts, and melts very quickly. In other words, it gets messy fast.

I served up these red velvet cupcakes (this recipe) last weekend. With mini chocolate chips in the cupcakes, chocolate ganache frosting (my family's preference over classic cream cheese frosting) and white-chocolate hearts (I melted white chocolate chips and piped out heart shapes) to decorate on top, there was no shortage of chocolate!

I made the cupcakes ahead of time so we could spread the Valentine's Day treats around. As you know, everyone's stash of chocolates goes up on Valentine's Day so let's make room to enjoy them!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours! For me, Valentine's Day is all about love and chocolate. Hope your day is filled with plenty of both!

Chocolate snack cake

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 11:30:00 +0000

Sometimes, all you need is chocolate. At least, all you want is chocolate! Once again, it's time to celebrate chocolate - one of my greatest loves - in this month of February and ahead of Valentine's day in a few days.

So for no more necessary reason beyond my love of chocolate and for making, eating, and sharing chocolate cake, I'd like to present this simple chocolate snack cake that's good for any occasion or for just any ordinary day.

I have certainly baked many a chocolate cake and generally enjoy them all. For an excuse to keep making chocolate cake throughout the year(s), I'm always happy to try a new twist. In this case, I was captivated (and immediately motivated) by Now, Forager's chocolate sprinkle snack cake; her photographer is stunning and one look at her gorgeous cake had me itching to make one of my own! It's simple, classic and just a happy cake to bake - and eat - any time of year.

This cake is familiar in its lineup of ingredients - cocoa powder and coffee for chocolate flavor, sour cream and oil for moisture. An interesting note on the frosting - this dark chocolate frosting has a relatively small amount of powdered sugar in it relative to most buttercream frosting recipes. I actually worried it might be a bit too little but it works, which opened my eyes to new possibilities. The smaller amount of powdered sugar makes for a creamier, silkier frosting where you can really taste the chocolate. That is definitely a good thing.

Sprinkles are optional, or maybe not. I know that colorful sprinkles always makes me smile - the hard part is deciding which sprinkles to use! My family and I are also partial to chocolate sprinkles on our chocolate cake. But whether you like it plain or bespeckled with sprinkle confetti, you won't regret this chocolate interlude!

Another note on the frosting, the original recipe's intention is to pile a lot of the soft, creamy frosting on top of this single-layer cake in big swoops. As amazing as that is, I practiced some restraint and took a more practical approach, with half the frosting. I can assure you that it's plenty.

But if, however, you choose to go for it and make more frosting, I'm sure you'll find a way to mound a little extra onto this cake and save some leftover for other treats. Come to think of it, it would be a good excuse to make more treats!

Happy Valentine's Day, 2020! Here's to love, happiness, and lots of chocolate!!

Recipe:

Chocolate Snack Cake
Adapted from Now, Forager

- For one single-layer 8" square cake -

For cake:
5 oz. (142g) all-purpose flour
7 oz. (199g) sugar
1 1/2 oz (42g) Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 oz. (113g) sour cream
2 oz (57g) canola oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz. (113g) freshly brewed hot espresso or strong coffee (I used coffee)

For dark chocolate frosting:
4 oz. (114g) high-quality dark chocolate, 60-70% cacao, chopped
1/2 oz. (14g) Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 oz. (28ml) boiling water
4 oz. (114g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 oz. (28g) powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch of fine sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: sprinkles for decorating

Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides (for easy removal later).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, oil, egg, and vanilla extract.

Using the paddle attachment, on low speed, add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. On low speed, gradually add the hot coffee or espresso, and mix until incorporated. Give the batter a stir with the rubber spatula, then transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with very little crumbs. Remove pan from the oven, set on a wire rack and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Using the parchment overhang, lift the cake out of the pan and set onto the rack to let cool to room temperature.

Make frosting: Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set on top of a pan of just simmering water (or use the microwave, melting the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until just melted). Set aside until cool to the touch.

In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder with the boiling water until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Place butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until butter is light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and salt. Mix on low until combined, then raise speed to medium-high and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, as needed.

On low speed, add melted chocolate and mix until combined. Scrape down the bowl, add the cocoa mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. The frosting should be soft (if you prefer a firmer frosting, set it in the refrigerator to firm up, checking on it often and giving it a stir until it reaches your desired texture).

Frost and finish cake: Place dollops of the frosting on top of the cake. Using an offset spatula, lightly spread the frosting around the cake, making swoops on the surface as you go. If desired, finish the cake by topping it with sprinkles of your choice.

Brioche Veneziana

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 19:52:00 +0000

For those of us who like to cook and bake, trying new dishes and recipes keep it fun and interesting even if we rely on family favorites most of the time. Recently, I tried my hand at making Brioche Veneziana, an Italian brioche that's usually filled with custard cream and covered with coarse sugar grains. These buns are usually enjoyed at breakfast with coffee, like you would do with croissant (or a cornetto if we're staying on the Italian pastry theme).

Brioche Veneziana filled with chestnut cream (left) and Nutella (right)

My fascination with these buns, or brioche Veneziana, started a few months ago on a breakfast outing with my husband. The mall near our home opened up an Italian food hall not long ago. I like the coffee there and we stopped by for coffee and a pastry before starting our day one morning. Somehow the puffy round brioche bun coated in coarse sugar (shown below) - which I'd come to find out are known as brioche Veneziana - captivated me.

Not only did they look good, they tasted good...sweet and buttery but not overly so, with a tasty vanilla custard middle. They were light and airy - perfect with a cappuccino in the morning.

The buns kept swirling in my mind and I found myself looking up information on them online. I found a seemingly simple recipe in English that I just had to try. Since it wasn't particularly demanding (mainly wait/proof time), I didn't think I had a lot to lose.

Brioche Veneziana filled with Nutella after baking

Based on family preference and also since I was not confident how they would turn out, I took another shortcut by filling the baked brioche with chestnut cream (which I have left over from holiday baking) and Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, rather than custard. I think they're both Italian pastry-appropriate fillings and delicious alternatives to custard.

Filled with Chestnut Cream

The homemade brioche I've made thus far were not nearly as light and airy as the ones we can pick up at the Italian market. I've attempted these buns twice. After they turned out on the dense side during the first go, I did a little more research and thought maybe a longer knead time would help. My family and I all agree that the second batch did turn out better (a bit lighter) but, in fairness, still not as puffed and lofty as the model I had in mind.

Despite not being "perfect", both batches of these brioches were quickly polished off. They freeze quite well. I froze leftovers (unfilled) and when I was ready to serve them again, I left them out on the counter overnight, then warmed them up in the oven. I cut a small hole in the middle of these buns and fill them with their filling right before serving. While they're certainly not the best brioche Veneziana you can get, I like them so much that I just might keep on trying to get them better and better...wish me luck!

There is something magical and truly satisfying about baking with yeast - making bread of any kind.

This recipe uses active dry yeast. The main ingredients you'll likely have to gather will be the "00" flour and coarse sugar (like the Swedish pearl sugar I use here). While you could try making these with all purpose or cake flour, the "00" flour has a lovely fine texture that's worth seeking it out for. It's fairly easy to find now at Whole Foods and online.

I'm still figuring my way around the recipe. For now, I knead the dough with the dough hook of my stand mixer for about 10 minutes after incorporating the ingredients. I then let it rest for about 2 hours during the first rise. I seem to need a longer rest time than the recipe calls for and I suspect an overnight rest in the fridge would do well for this dough (something I'd like to try next time).

After the first rise, I shape the dough into small rounds, about 65 grams each, making 7 buns. I have not been able to get the 9 suggested in the recipe.

Let the shaped dough rest for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Right before going into the oven, brush the tops of the brioche buns with an egg wash made of egg yolk beaten with a teaspoon or so of whole milk. Top with coarse sugar pearls.

The buns are done in about 13-15 minutes. I let them cool and before serving, cut a small round in the middle of the bun and fill it with either chestnut cream or chocolate-hazelnut spread. Filling them with traditional pastry cream is wonderful, as is anything else you like including jam or lemon curd, to name a couple other suggestions. One of the nice things about cooking at home is being able to customize things to your own liking.

I am really excited that we plan to go to Italy during Spring break this year! Hopefully, my family and I will get to taste all the wonderful cornettos, brioche Veneziana, not to mention pasta, pizza, coffee, and gelato that Italy has to offer!

I'm sure I'll be reinvigorated to give these brioche buns another go by then! In the meantime, it was really fun to make and taste these little homemade versions.

Recipe:

Brioche Veneziana
Adapted from Browsing Rome

- Makes approximately 7 brioche buns -

200 grams "00" flour
3.5 grams (half a packet) active dry yeast
50 grams sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 grams butter, melted
100-125ml warm milk (you may not have to use it all)
For egg wash: egg yolk beaten with 1-2 teaspoons milk
Coarse pearl sugar, for topping
Optional fillings: chestnut cream, chocolate-hazelnut spread, etc.

Sift flour and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Form a well in the center and add the sugar, vanilla, egg, salt, and melted butter. Mix well with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Place bowl into the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add milk, a little at a time, until dough comes together into a homogenous smooth dough (you don't have to use all the milk). Scrape down the sides of the bowl, use your hands to feel the dough. Knead the dough using the hook attachment for about 10 minutes.

Cover the dough and let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours, until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and form small rounds, about 65 grams each, placing them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Let sit to rise another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the tops of each dough round with egg wash and top with coarse pearl sugar. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

If desired, once cooled and ready to serve, cut a small circle in the middle of the brioche bun and fill with your choice of fillings.

Fortnum & Mason's scone recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 11:30:00 +0000

After the holidays, it's nice to have a lighter schedule. I'm enjoying the slower pace and having time to do things, like read, again. That said, I'm happily staying busy in the kitchen in the new year. In fact, I've been paying attention to satisfying all my random food cravings!

These cravings run the gamut, from steel cut oatmeal to veggie stews, to, of course, chocolate. One recent craving I've been having was for scones. I think it may have something to do with my vague idea for a Christmas afternoon tea of sorts during the holidays that I couldn't manage to make happen. So with more time to cook more random things, it was time to make another batch of scones!

I have developed a preference for British-style scones (which are lighter, more cake-like than the American counterpart), particularly after having an amazing afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London a couple of years ago. I came home from that trip to London and wrote about making Battenberg cake and jammy dodgers and I realized I never posted about Fortnum's scones, which I've made a few times as well.

I started making them after Fortnum published their scone recipe in their cookbook published in 2017. I had to get my hands on some '00' flour first. This superfine flour is common in Italian cooking, for making things like pasta; I'm happy to note that it's a lot easier to find this flour now and I can pick up a bag at my local Whole Foods.

I am admittedly quite shaky (i.e., bad) at making things like scones, biscuits, and pie dough. But, somehow, I keep trying. So my Fortnum scones don't come out quite as lofty, or uniform, or nearly as beautiful as the real deal. However, they still taste wonderful! These scones are delicate in a way - light and soft in texture, and sweet. They are less buttery and heavy than American scones and more cake-like; they almost melt in your mouth. After eating the latest batch this past weekend, I realize why I've been craving them!

When I make British scones, I always get the urge to make a small batch of lemon curd to go with it. I did just that this past weekend. It felt so nice to sit down, split open a freshly-baked scone, and slather it with a little homemade lemon curd. As much as I was enjoying the combination, I couldn't help but think how much I like these scones all by themselves, just enjoying the taste and texture of them. Needless to say, I was really happy I paid attention to this particular craving and wanted to put down the recipe here.

What's the "secret" to Fortnum's scones? It might well be the '00' flour, or maybe it's the short rest times you give the dough.

For my small family, I typically make half the published recipe at a time, which makes for about five 2 1/2 inch round scones. For whatever reason, I always end up with less in terms of quantity than I expect when I make things like scones and biscuits. Sometimes, I like to cut some smaller size scones as well to mix it up.

I have adjusted the published recipe a little bit after baking these a couple of times. I use a little less sugar and I find that I have to use a bit more milk to bring the dough together. I also like to roll the dough out a bit thicker than suggested.

You can make the scones ahead of time, freeze them to bake whenever you're ready. I highly recommend a small batch of lemon curd (I use the small-batch recipe I discovered for these biscuits: here) but they are good with the usual accompaniments of jam, butter, clotted cream, and/or honey.

This literally was a breakfast of my daydreams. I love that I can satisfy my cravings and enjoy Fortnum's scones right here in my own home. Whatever you're craving, I hope you pay attention and plan to treat yourself soon, and often!

Recipe:

Fortnum's Scones

Adapted from Fortnum & Mason, published in the The Cook Book

- Makes about ten to twelve 2 1/2 inch round scones -

400 grams '00' Flour

20 grams baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

115 grams unsalted butter, diced and cold

70 grams caster (superfine) sugar (original recipe calls for 80g if you prefer sweeter)

Approximately 225 ml whole milk, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add butter and rub together with your fingertips until fine crumbs form (texture should be like breadcrumbs, without large pieces, as shown here).

Stir in the sugar. Add milk, starting with 175 ml, adding more milk, as needed, until a soft dough comes together. Avoid over-mixing the dough, which could make it heavy. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into about a 3/4" thickness. Cut out scone rounds using a 2 or 2 1/2 inch round cutter. Re-rolling scrapes where necessary. Place scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let rest for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the tops of scones with the lightly beaten egg and bake for about 12-15 minutes, until scones have risen and are lightly golden on top. Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Scones are delicious on their own and irresistible when split and filled with things like lemon curd, jam, butter, clotted cream, and/or honey.

Holiday baking, 2019 (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 11:30:00 +0000

It's almost time to hang up the oven mitts and get down to the business of properly relaxing (at least for a couple of days)! I hope it's been a sweet holiday season despite the inevitable stress and time crunch that comes along with it.

I've had a lot of fun cocooning myself up in the kitchen and baking up a storm this holiday season. I think we'll be finding sparkling sugar and bits of nuts and chocolates around the kitchen for a while yet. So while I continue the cleanup, I'd love to share the final (part 2) recap of my recent holiday baking whirlwind.

First up - I finally gave "the" cookies a try. If you're on social media and into baking, you'll likely have heard of Allison Roman's "Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies", which were so popular, they essentially went viral and became dubbed "the" cookies. I saw these cookies on my Instagram feed repeatedly for ever so long and have kept them in the back of my mind. Since Christmastime is a great time to make shortbread cookies, it was time I gave them a try.

I can tell you the salted chocolate shortbread cookies are mighty tasty and they were not as tricky to make as I feared. In my mind, you can't go wrong with adding chocolate to most things and inserting them into salty, buttery shortbread certainly works. The salt stands out here; don't forget to add the flaky sea salt on top before baking...the extra bite of salt intensifies the flavor. The edge of crunchy turbinado sugar not only brings a touch of glamor, they add a lovely sweet crunch. It's a great holiday shortbread to bring to the party.

In addition to Allison Roman's salted chocolate shortbread, I made the vanilla sablé cookies that I made last holiday season. This is going to become a holiday tradition because my family and I really, really adore these simple vanilla recipe by Dorie Greenspan. They are a beautiful balance of sweet and slightly-salty, crisp and sandy yet tender, with that extra skirt of crunchy, sparkly sugar that adds to their elegance (and deliciousness).

There are so many classic cookies to make and enjoy over the holidays but I also love taking the opportunity during the holidays to try making things I've never done before. This year, I made marshmallows for the first time!

And it worked! I essentially halved Ina Garten's recipe (set in an 8" square pan), with help and tips from Thomas Joseph, America's Test Kitchen, and The Kitchn.

They were lovely and squishy; they tasted great and melted very nicely. Of course, we floated homemade marshmallows in hot chocolate...

...and toasted some up for s'mores! It was a lot of fun and again, I learned that marshmallows are yet another thing that isn't all that hard to make yourself.

On the topic of making new things, I also made nut brittle. I love making candy during the holidays. It's the time for special treats and it's fun to mix things up beyond cookies (though we need lots and lots of cookies)!

This is the salted nut brittle recipe from Food and Wine. I used a mix of salted peanuts and cashews. Candy thermometer and fresh baking soda in hand, it was pretty easy to make this big pile of nut brittle, great for gifting and nibbling.

Jumping from the new back to the classics, I had to have the soft and chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies. It's a tough call but these are my favorite Christmas cookies and I really savor them this time of year. Luckily, there's some tucked away in the freezer so I'll be baking them up and enjoying them this week.

If I can't go without the chocolate-gingerbread cookies, the fellas at my house need to have their tri-color cookies. Talk about Christmas traditions! We all love these intensely around here.

With all this baking, I often found myself with a leftover egg yolk or egg white now and then. One night, I used an egg whites to make yet another cookie - actually, Nigella Lawson's "Merookies". A mix between meringue and cookie, they're also called "Forgotten Cookies" because you put them in a hot oven, which you immediately turn off, then leave them overnight.

These meringue cookies are filled with miniature chocolate chips and pistachios. Sprinkling the tops with some of the pistachios and a dust of sparkling sugar makes them so pretty. While I've never been good at whipping meringue and they always turn out too flat (as it did here), I had a lot of fun putting my extra egg white to very good use in this way. I found the sweet meringue cookies - which shatter on contact but are soft and chewy inside - addictively fun to eat. It helps that every mouthful is filled chocolate chips and nutty pistachios!

I'll wrap things up on another familiar note - sugar cookies! I whipped up the usual crew for my annual family Christmas gathering. I love to see my son and his cousins dig into these with some hot chocolate at the end of the night.

No matter the time crunch or how "messy" I tend to be, I always find myself smiling when my batch of sugar cookies are decorated and sitting on the cooling rack. They are a true classic that brings a lot of smiles to the holidays.

Here's to a wonderful holiday and to the new decade ahead! May 2020 and the new decade be spectacular, filled with the makings of many happy memories!

Holiday baking, 2019 (part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 19:02:00 +0000

The holiday season is my favorite excuse to amp up on baking. It's a year-round sport for me but come late November through the month of December, baking takes on a whole extra level of sweetness. I'm savoring this time in the kitchen, and I thought it'd be fun to once again cobble together pics of some of the baking that's been going on in my kitchen. We're baking plenty of family-favorites, with some new recipes mixed in.

Let's start with the peppermint-chocolate macarons shown above. I'm no stranger to trying macaron recipes and even though it's always a high-wire act with uncertain results, I can't help myself. Since it's the holidays, it's all about the peppermint - my son's favorite flavor this time of year - so I went with the chocolate and peppermint combo using Martha Stewart's recipe in her latest book, Cookie Perfection. I wish I could say my macarons were perfection but I did have some cracked shells. Overall, though, we ended up with a solid batch of macarons. It was the first time I flavored the macaron shells with peppermint (as opposed to adding it in the chocolate ganache filing) and we really liked the result.

Did I mention it's all about the chocolate-peppermint right now? I snuck in an early batch of my son's favorite peppermint brownies a few weeks ago. By request, I'm actually making another batch today as I type this.

For me, it's time to stock up on almond paste during the holidays. A batch of pignoli cookies hit the table this season and I also made the cherry-almond macaroons just yesterday.

They bake up, and disappear, very quickly. I love having almond paste around and making some version of these chewy almond macaroons whenever I have extra egg whites on hand.

During this season of warm drinks, it's also nice to have simple cookies like hazelnut biscotti around for dipping. I love a dry, crunchy biscotti filled with nuts! It's also a great option when you want something a little less rich - that way, you have space for all the other chocolates and treats around us this time of year.

It's not long before we circle back to...chocolate and peppermint! These chocolate cookies with dark chocolate and peppermint chunks have become another of my son's favorites. And since he's our favorite, I love to make them for him! I take Ina Garten's chocolate cookie recipe and put a peppermint twist on them by adding peppermint chunks and a little peppermint extract to the dough.

Switching course a little, I turned out a little jelly roll cake recently after seeing this recipe and unique technique from Stella Parks at Serious Eats. What if I told you that you can make a jelly roll cake without dealing with the worse parts - the rolling it up in a confectioner sugar-coated towel and unrolling, then filling and re-rolling? Stella explains her technique here and I had to try it! I made half her recipe for a small version and I can tell you the technique worked! No towels and no cracks in sight! It was fascinating.

In terms of other Christmas classics, there have been chocolate crackles or crinkle cookies. I went with classic chocolate, with a hint of almond extract, but I rotate between a few varieties - all good.

A personal favorite, I kicked off the season with a loaf of chocolate-gingerbread cake. I can't stress enough the deliciousness of gingerbread with chocolate! This loaf cake is packed with gingerbread spices; it's moist and studded with chocolate chunks. I had a blast savoring slices of this with my family.

Aside from all the cookies, sometimes we break for simple pleasures like a hot chocolate affogato! Take some hot chocolate and plop in a scoop (or three) of ice cream. We like mint chocolate chip (of course) but anything goes and it's a great treat during the winter holiday season.

Before holiday treat fatigue sets in, I'll pause here with some holiday chocolate chip cookies. I basically just took chocolate chip cookies (I like many chocolate chip cookie recipes, including this olive oil chocolate chip cookies recipes I used here) and added some seasonal red & green M&M's and white chocolate chips, with the usual dark chocolate chips, for a little festive flare. These looked quite merry in my cookie jar and I was very happy I made them.

It's mind-boggling how many wonderful treats there are to bake, eat, and share. When I think about how many treats we make and devour, I think about all the things I didn't get a chance to make and had to "skip". But never fear, there's still time for more treats. I'm heading back to the kitchen now to continue the fun!

Happy Holidays!

To be continued...

Chestnut fondant

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 12:21:00 +0000

Holiday time is all about sugar, spice, and everything nice. It conjures up all sorts of cozy images and makes me crave many kinds of foods, like chestnuts. It's one of my favorite things and this is the time of year when fresh chestnuts pop up at the grocery stores. I love eating good fresh chestnuts, and I also adore chestnut flavored desserts. My love of chestnut desserts has been pretty well documented here but I'm always on the lookout for more.

So I'm back with yet another chestnut dessert, a little treat I shared with my husband recently. It was a very simple chestnut fondant - the French style of cake that is nearly flourless, usually quite rich and moist. The recipe comes from Paris Chez Sharon; I have seen her post the chestnut fondants from the Parisian market, Marché Maubert, on her Instagram account and drooled over them for a long time so I was thrilled when she shared her recipe for it over at her blog.

And chestnut cream (or chestnut spread) is again our direct path to a simple chestnut dessert. Think of this mini fondant loaf cake as mostly chestnut cream, enhanced with a smidgen of dark chocolate, a dab of butter, some egg yolks, and held together with just a spoonful of flour. This fondant is similar to a flourless chocolate-chestnut cream cake I've made before; I'd say this fondant really lets the chestnut dominate, and I love it all the more for it.

Because there are lots of Christmas cookies and treats to be devoured this month, I made a "baby" loaf (half the original recipe) in a paper loaf pan about 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch in size. The mini loaf is perfect for my husband and I to tuck into and share as an after-dinner treat for a couple of nights. This way, I also have leftover chestnut cream to use for a host of other delicious purposes (like in financiers slated this weekend).

With so much deep chestnut flavor, a small wedge (or two) is really satisfying. I love the depth of sweet, nutty, chestnut flavor. The fondant is super moist, a little chewy, and every little compact bite is a wonderful seasonal gift to the chestnut lover. I am so happy to discover this recipe!

The star ingredient for this chestnut dessert is, again, chestnut cream or "chestnut spread". I highly recommend the one made by Clement Faugier, as shown below. This was the last can in my pantry and I'll have to restock soon; luckily, it's available via amazon.

The star ingredient that provides the flavor, sweetness, and moisture to the cake; incidentally, the fresh chestnuts were my lunch for the day.

Ingredient proportions are small since I'm making half the recipe, filling the batter into a 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" paper loaf pan. The handful of ingredients are simply stirred together. I added one and a half egg yolks and about a tablespoon of flour into the chestnut cream. On the side, I melted about a tablespoon of butter with less than an ounce of dark chocolate (I used 70% cacao) and a pinch of salt.

Stir together and you have the batter for this little chestnut fondant. It's a joy to make simple, delicious, things like this during the busy holiday season.

My mini loaf took about 35 minutes or so to bake. It's done when the cake is set but still looks soft. A cake tester inserted into the cake should come out dry, not wet with crumbs attached to it.

I thought the cake absolutely delicious on its own so I could savor the sweet chestnut flavor. While the cake is plenty sweet and flavorful, it's not at all overly sweet. I just love the intense chestnut flavor in this confectionery form!

Recipe:

Chestnut Fondant
Adapted from Paris Chez Sharon

- For one mini 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf (half of original recipe) -

15 grams unsalted butter
20 grams dark chocolate (at least 64% cacao; I used 70% Scharffen Berger)
Small pinch of fleur del sel or other flaky sea salt
240 grams chestnut spread
1 1/2 egg yolks (I simply separate 2 yolks and spoon out half of the second one)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, I added for an extra boost of vanilla; you could even add a touch of rum)
10 grams all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 338 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius). If using a mini disposable paper loaf pan like I did, simply set it on top of a small baking sheet. Otherwise, grease your loaf pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.

Place butter, chocolate, and salt into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, on half-power, until just melted, stirring frequently.

In a bowl, combine the chestnut spread, egg yolks, and flour. Add the melted butter and chocolate mixture and stir together until well combined.

Spread batter evenly into the loaf pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until cake is set but still soft. A cake tester inserted into the cake should come out dry. When testing, if batter is still wet with moist crumbs attached to the tester, return it to the oven for a few more minutes.

Let cool before slicing and serving. I like the cake as is but you could serve it with a touch of softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate mint crunch bars

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 11:30:00 +0000

Baking is a year-round "sport" for me but there's an added layer of purpose and excitement around it when we start talking about holiday baking! I must start thinking about Christmas cookies, and holiday baking in general, the minute the temps start dropping. Peppermint things start popping up in the kitchen, and it's been happening already. It's also no coincidence that chocolate and mint is one of my son's favorite combos.

A new and simple chocolate-mint idea popped up into our kitchen last week, and it was inspired by my teen. We keep a candy dish near our door, with a mixture of small chocolates. The other day, my son took a small Nestle Crunch, then followed it with an Andes Mint; he then started raving about how delicious the combination was! It gave us all a good laugh but it got me thinking...

...I could easily make that combination happen for him! So I went out shopping for some puffed cereal and this 3-ingredient chocolate mint crunch bar came to life.

I literally chopped up a mix of semi-sweet chocolate and Andes Mint candies, melted it down, and stirred in puff cereal before setting it into a pan to set. Using Andes Mint packs a strong minty punch and eliminates the possible issue of the melted chocolate seizing if you were to add peppermint extract to it instead.

This fun little happenstance project was a hit with the teen, who was tempted to write to Nestle requesting a mint version of their Crunch bar! He was very pleasantly surprised when I presented him with his inspiration. We can all vouch that a chocolate-mint crunch bar is a very delicious thing, and we're happy to make and eat our own homespun version of it for now.

For my first on-the-fly experimentation of these chocolate mint crunch bars, I made a small batch using a loaf pan. This will yield the 6 small bars you see I cut them into. You can easily double the recipe and set the chocolate in an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Additionally, I wanted my bars to be on the thinner side (my family and I prefer it that way) but you can adjust the ingredients and thickness based on your preference.

I chopped 2 1/2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 3 ounces of Andes Mints (total of 5 1/2 ounces), and melted them together in a bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water. This amount of chocolate to Andes Mint gave the bars a distinct minty personality; you can adjust according to your taste.

Once all the chocolate has melted, simply stir in the puffed cereal. I used 2/3 cup of cereal. You can use a bit less if you prefer, or, on the flip side, go with more if you want to pack in more crunch per bite.

All you have to do is spread the mixture into a parchment lined loaf pan (this way, you can lift the bar right out of the pan after it sets). Place the pan in the refrigerator for the chocolate to set, about half an hour, before slicing.

I packed my bars into a tin and stored it in the fridge, bringing them out to room temperature before eating. They went quick!

This was such a fun idea and I loved how it was inspired by my son, who, along with my husband, is my favorite taste-tester. This little project got me thinking about making chocolate-orange crunch bars (chocolate-orange being one of my personal favorite combinations) and other no-doubt delicious possibilities!

Happy baking, cooking, and sharing this holiday season!

Recipe:

Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Basic homemade crunch bar adapted from recipes such as this and this; the mint/Andes Mint twist inspired by my son

- For 6 small bars set in a 8" x 4 1/2" loaf pan -

2 1/2 ounces semis-weet chocolate, chopped

3 ounces Andes Mint, chopped

2/3 cup puffed cereal

Line a 8" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.

Set the chocolate and Andes Mint into a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir together until completely melted. Take chocolate off the heat, immediately stir in the puffed cereal until combined. Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly across. Place the pan in the fridge to allow chocolate to set, about 30 minutes.

Remove chocolate from the pan using the parchment paper. Slice into bars, or simply break into irregular pieces (like you would with chocolate bark). I stored the chocolate in a tin, in the refrigerator.

Berry pretty raspberry soufflés

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 14:31:00 +0000

Fall is undoubtedly cookie-making month for me. With cooler temps and more time at home now that we're back on the school schedule (more time for me, that is, but busier-than-ever for our high school freshman), I find myself whipping up batches of cookies on the regular. It's a comforting routine - a mix of baking therapy and a way of expressing love and nurture in a small way. So I'm all for cookies. But that said, I try to mix in a little something different once in a while. Cue the soufflés!

I've made soufflés a number of times but they're definitely not something I do on the regular. In some ways, you have to hype yourself up a little bit and focus. It's a little bit of magic and when the spell works, it's a great trick.

A few months back, I spotted a trio of beautiful soufflés on Erin McDowell's Instagram account. You can see a photo and the recipe, here. Is it any wonder I ran out and bought a bag of frozen raspberries right away to make sure I try it at home?

I do have this nagging thought that I should've went with the blueberry version to see if I could reproduce that gorgeous purple-blue hue, especially when I realize I'd made raspberry soufflés once before (albeit different), but pink and raspberry won out. This raspberry soufflé recipe is different from the other I've tried in that it requires an extra step - pureeing the fruit and passing it through a sieve to remove the seeds so that you have a beautiful, smooth, bright red raspberry puree to infuse your soufflés with. It results in the more even pink hue throughout the soufflé.

That extra step of pureeing the fruit does take some time and patience but it was worth it. And when the recipe works just as written, with the soufflés rising steadily and calmly (no tipping over), you feel such a thrill of success. It's a great sight to behold but, alas, it is a very quick "high", as soufflés begin to deflate as soon as they come out of the oven. But that's alright...sometimes you just have to life for the moment (and just hope there will be lots and lots of "moments").

To start, I prepared the raspberry puree the night before. I was making half the recipe so I needed 8 oz. of frozen raspberries, thawed. Puree the fruit in a blender (or small food processor) and strain it through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. I was very proud of the resulting smooth raspberry puree and so relieved I managed it without getting any on myself!

Show time! It's time to make the 2 main components - the raspberry base, that includes the puree, whisked with egg yolks and a combination of cornstarch and sugar...

and whipping the egg whites, with some sugar, to a nice medium peak.

Gently fold the egg whites into the raspberry base, a bit at a time, and the batter is ready.

It's time to fill our ramekins that have been greased with butter and coated with sugar.

They take about 25 minutes or so in the oven. I was watching with baited breath, and thrilled to see them rising steadily and without tipping over! I was wishing I had cleaned the window to my oven door!

Viola! The soufflés were done and out of the oven!

It was a race to get them out of the oven, dusted with confectioners' sugar, and put in place for their "beauty shots". It's hard to capture and, needless to say again, they do begin to deflate almost immediately. That said, it's worth the effort to enjoy soufflés at home once in a while. Things like soufflés always make me appreciate the magic of eggs, in baking, and otherwise. It also makes me appreciate the ability to learn from others and to try different things in the kitchen!

These soufflés are unmistakingly filled with a sweet, almost candy-like, rasberry flavor. They were berry nice indeed!

Recipe:

Berry Pretty Raspberry Soufflés

From Erin McDowell via PureWow

- For 3 raspberry soufflés (half the original recipe)

Unsalted butter, softened, for coating ramekins

1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided (for soufflés as well as prepping ramekins)

8 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed*

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Pinch of fine sea salt

3 large egg yolks

3 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

* You can substitute with blueberries or blackberries

In a blender or small food processor, puree the thawed raspberries until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds (I recommend doing this step the day before). You should end up with 1/2 cup of puree. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Prepare three 6-oz. ramekins by coating the bottom and sides of each with butter and then dusting with a couple teaspoons of the granulated sugar, tapping out the excess. Set on top of a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with the cornstarch and salt. Stir this mixture into the raspberry puree, then whisk in the egg yolks.

Place egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high to combine. Gradually add 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream, and continue whipping until egg whites reach reach medium-peaks, 4-6 minutes (be careful not to over-whip the whites).

Add about a fourth of the egg whites into the raspberry puree and egg yolk mixture, mixing to combine (it's okay to be a bit more vigorous in this step in order to incorporate the egg whites). Now, gently fold in the remaining egg whites in 2-3 additions until just combined.

Divide batter into the prepared ramekins, smoothing over the top (I also like to run my thumb around the edge of the soufflés to help them rise more evenly). Place into the oven and bake, undisturbed (do not open oven door), until soufflés have risen and are browned on top, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, quickly dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve immediately, as they will begin to deflate almost immediately. Enjoy!

Ice cream sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 11:30:00 +0000

I know fall is fast-approaching and it's time for pumpkins and earth tones but can we squeeze in one more summer treat? Let's sit back and have an ice cream sandwich, as we flip through our summer photos and reminisce (because it already feels like a long time ago).

I finally made ice cream sandwiches this summer. My son adores a good ice cream sandwich and it's one of those things I've been meaning to make - instead of buy - for so long now. After tackling ice cream tacos, I figured it was past time. And really, this is just a matter of making the thin, brownie-like, cake layer, then a little quick work (and okay, a teeny bit of mess) spreading some good ice cream in between. Extra credit if you feel like adding some chocolate magic shell and sprinkles.

I went with a recipe from The New York Times - it's really simple and I liked the appeal of thin brownie-like cake that's soft, slightly fudgy and chewy, as the cap between some good vanilla ice cream. And when I conferred with my son, we agreed that a classic vanilla ice cream is the best choice for an ice cream sandwich; it's hard to beat that simple contrast between chocolate and vanilla that somehow seems to make both taste better.

If you want to make it a real project, homemade ice cream is an option, but to save a ton of time, buy a high-quality ice cream to use here. You want the denser kind that has a higher fat content and less air/overage. Not only will the ice cream sandwich taste better and be more substantial, it will be easier to work with and less mess, as the ice cream melts a bit slower. We liked Haagen Dazs ice cream best for this job; Ben & Jerry's is a good second choice in this case.

You'll feel great having these treats wrapped up and stocked in your freezer. They will go quick!

I make half the original recipe and bake the thin cake layer in a jelly roll pan (it's just slightly larger than a quarter-sheet pan and you can really use either). After the cake bakes and cools, slice the cake in half crosswise.

I made these ice cream sandwiches twice. The first time, the cake layer turned out a little too salty. While I don't rule out error on my part, I remade it a second time, tweaking down the amount of salt, and we preferred the result the second time around. (That said, the first round of ice cream sandwiches were readily devoured; I made them the first time for a family gathering and when I realized the cake was a bit on the salty side, rushed to prep some sugar cookies for the kids, too. Happily, it turned out the kids had no problems polishing off both slightly-salty ice cream sandwiches and sugar cookies.)

Back to the recipe...I'll eventually cut the portions into 8 small ice cream sandwiches. A pint of ice cream will just about do but if possible, I like a little more so I have a nice generous portion of ice cream in the sandwiches. Soften the ice cream in the refrigerator (I find it softens more evenly than placing it on the counter) and scoop balls of ice cream over the top of one piece of the cake, taking a small offset spatula to press down and spread the ice cream evenly around before placing the second cake layer on top. Work as swiftly as possible. Wrap the large ice cream sandwich in plastic and freeze until firm (best overnight) before cutting, and, if desire, dipping in chocolate magic shell.

Since I saved a lot of time using store-bought ice-cream, I decided to have a little fun customizing the ice cream sandwiches by coating them in chocolate magic shell. It's easy enough to make the coating with chocolate chips and coconut oil. And anytime you coat something in chocolate, reaching for the sprinkles seems to be a reflex action.

You can surely be a purist and keep the ice cream sandwiches plain and classic. But I find that most people prefer the extra chocolate and crunch the magic shell adds. I think everyone who had one with us agreed. And while classic is great, I can't help but think how fun it would be to make ice cream sandwiches with more exotic ice cream flavors. There's room for whatever you wish to do.

I do miss summer - the weather (when it wasn't pouring rain/thunder-storming), the eats, the road trips and carefree attitude that just comes with it. But I do look forward to cozy days and nights, the holidays coming up, and that sort of routine, too. It's also reassuring to know that we can eat summery things like ice cream sandwiches any time we want. Make your own and it's an even better reason to indulge!

Recipe:

Ice Cream Sandwiches
Adapted from recipe by Samantha Seneviratna via The New York Times

- For 8 small ice cream sandwiches -

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more at room temperature for the pan
1/2 cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons (37.5 grams) cocoa powder
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint (or a bit more for good measure) high-quality vanilla ice cream

For dipping (optional):
Magic shell: 3 ounces dark chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Sprinkles

Butter a jelly roll pan (about 14 1/2 x 10 inches; you can also use a quarter-sheet pan, which is generally slightly smaller) and line it with parchment paper, leaving a small border of parchment paper around the edges. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together.

In a large bowl, whisk melted butter and sugar together until creamy. Add egg, and beat until smooth (I use a stiff rubber spatula). Beat in vanilla. Add the dry mixture and beat until combined.

Scrape the thick batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly into a thin layer using an offset spatula. Bake until cake is set, 10-12 minutes. Transfer pan to a cooling rack to cool.

Before you're ready to assemble, place ice cream in the refrigerator to soften slightly (the ice cream softens more evenly than if left on the counter). Carefully lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper, onto a cutting board. Cut cake in half crosswise into 2 pieces. Using an ice cream scoop, place ice cream evenly over the top of one half of the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the ice cream into an even layer. Place the remaining cake layer, top facing down, on to the ice cream. Immediately wrap the large sandwich cake with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 8 hours.

Remove the large sandwich from the freezer. Remove plastic wrap and cut into 8 small ice cream sandwiches. If leaving as is, wrap individually for storage.

If dipping ice cream sandwiches in chocolate magic shell, place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring well after each, until melted and smooth. Let cool a few minutes before using.

Take each ice cream sandwich and dip in the magic shell (or coat, using a spoon), then quickly top with sprinkles, if desired. Place finished ice cream sandwiches on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer until magic shell hardens, then wrap ice cream sandwiches in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.

Levain Bakery style cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Somehow we went from June to September! Summer break flashed by all too quickly despite our best efforts to slow it down.

Copycat Levain Bakery style cookies I make at home

It was a busy summer! We savored the break, took a couple of trips, and got a lot of things done in between. The big guy started high school!! I spent the summer trying to come to terms with this huge milestone and all that goes with it. Now, my nerves are settling down and we're adjusting to fall routines and life with a busy high schooler. I'm thinking about warm comfort foods - like big, warm, melty chocolate chip cookies!

If you live around New York City or ask New Yorkers about places for great chocolate chip cookies, you're likely to hear about Levain Bakery. Known for their big cookies (and I do mean, big, as they weigh in at 6 ounces a piece), typically served up still warm from the oven, they have a serious cult following. To me, the Levain cookies are all about texture. The huge cookies are crisp on the outside and so soft, gooey, and melty in the center. This divine texture - served up in a big way - is what makes me crave them. And as big as they are, these cookies go down easy and are quite easily habit-forming.

Actual Levain Bakery cookies. A box of these were recently gifted to us (what a treat!) so we finally had the chance to taste all four varieties made by the bakery.

Levain only makes 4 kinds of cookies (shown above): chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, dark chocolate peanut butter chip, and oatmeal raisin.

I had my first Levain cookies in 2017 (photos of their chocolate chip walnut cookie from that day below) when we stopped by one of their NYC locations (miraculously, no line at the time) and bought the chocolate chip walnut and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Recently, we received a box of each as a gift and got to try them all.

I have to say that my favorite is the chocolate chip walnut and it's my favorite one to mimic at home! I've also made the chocolate peanut butter chip because I couldn't get it out of my head after someone mentioned it was their favorite of the lineup; I made a version before I even had the chance to try the real thing!

So I'd like to share the two copycat versions of these cookies I make at home. They are great for when you're in the mood for some seriously hearty, delicious cookies to warm up your fall and winter days ahead. You can find different renditions of these cookies but I'm happy with the following two recipes I landed on, which are now firmly in my cookie-baking repertoire.

Levain Bakery style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

I stumbled upon the recipe for this Levain Bakery style chocolate chip cookie in a surprising place - Giada De Laurentiis' latest book, Giada's Italy. The cookie has no relations to Italian food but as a fan of the Levain cookie herself, Giada offered up her copy of it. I was struck by how simple the recipe was and gave it a try (with a couple of tweaks) and the rest is history.

I use a little more chocolate than Giada's recipe and, more importantly, I added chopped walnuts (which her recipe did not include). The Levain original has walnuts (there is no nut-free option in the basic chocolate chip) and I find that the nuts are critical. Not only is it delicious (if you're a fan of nuts in baked goods, like I am), adding both flavor and texture, but the walnuts also give the cookie structure so that they bake up with the height/thickness you're looking for. When I first tried the recipe, I made cookies with and without walnuts. The ones without walnuts spread more and baked up flatter than the ones with walnuts. I also prefer the added taste, especially toasting the walnuts to really boost their flavor.

I realize now looking at comparison photos of the real deal and my copycat versions at home that they look quite different. I tend to make mine slightly smaller (around 4.5 to 5 ounces vs. 6 ounces for the real deal). I also like to splurge and use really great chocolate - generally, Valhrona chocolate feves - in my homemade version. I love the look and taste of the wide pools of chocolate it creates. Levain uses seemingly basic chocolate chips (also no vanilla extract and doesn't seem to toast their walnuts) - a testament to their amazing technique, which requires no frills.

This chocolate chip cookie quickly became one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes and I've made it several times for my family and will continue to do so regularly. I highly recommend it!

Levain Bakery style Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Now, on to the dark chocolate cookies. Admittedly, the cookies might not look like the most attractive things but this will be a surefire hit with any chocolate-peanut butter lover. Picture a thick, moist (preferably, still warm), slightly fudgy chocolate cookie...with pops of peanut butter thrown in. If that entices you, it's time to start baking!

In my search for a copycat recipe for the chocolate peanut butter chip cookies, I learned that when baking with peanut butter chips, one *must* use Reese's peanut butter chips so that's precisely what I use and I was happy with the solid peanut butter taste they provide.

Not only do you want plenty of peanut butter flavor in a chocolate-peanut butter cookie, the peanut butter chips also give the cookies structure and help them to bake up nice and thick. I go with a scant 2 cups in the recipe listed below but I've seen recipes that call for even more. You'll surely need a full bag of peanut butter chips for the recipe and I'd grab an extra to be safe.

The family and I generally prefer classic chocolate chip cookies so we're a bit biased on that side but both these recipes were winners. Frankly, the chocolate chip walnut cookies have become a favorite and I've made them a few times. To pretend I'm practicing some restraint, I usually make half a recipe, yielding 5-6 large (not quite mammoth proportion) cookies. That really just means that I quickly find myself plotting the next batch.

When in New York City, I highly suggest a visit to Levain Bakery to try their highly lauded cookies. But even if you haven't had them, these wonderfully large cookies are a textural delight that I highly recommend you try at home.

Here's to cookies and messy fingers sticky with melted chocolate (or peanut butter)! Also to fall baking and staying cozy!

Recipes:

Levain Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Adapted from Giada's Italy by Giada De Laurentiis

- For 8 to 12 large cookies (Levain Bakery cookies are huge, at 6 ounces per cookie; I tend to make mine a bit smaller, around 4.5 oz. each)

3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, chilled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped dark chocolate, or chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, toasted and very coarsely chopped

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

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 1 minute on medium speed to soften slightly. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing on medium-low speed until mixture separates. Turn machine off, add the dry ingredients, and mix until the dough just comes together. Fold chocolate chips and walnuts into the dough with a rubber spatula.

Place large cookie mounds on parchment-lined baking sheets (Levain cookies weigh in at 6 ounces each; I tend to make mine a bit smaller, about 4.5 ounces each). Freeze the cookie dough mounds for 1 hour so they firm up and won't spread as much when baking. [Make ahead: you can freeze the cookie dough at this point for baking another day.]

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take cookie dough straight from the freezer and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown along the edges and the tops are starting to brown (the center should be slightly under-baked so that it's moist and chewy in the interior). Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool further. They are delicious slightly warm!

Levain Bakery Style Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Adapted from Modern Honey

- For 8 to 12 large cookies (Levain Bakery cookies are huge, at 6 ounces per cookie; I tend to make mine a bit smaller, around 4.5 oz. each)

1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, chilled
Approximately 2 cups peanut butter chips (use Reese's brand; one bag is 10 oz. or 1 2/3 cup, which should suffice if you don't want to open an extra bag)

Whisk cake flour, all-purpose flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together on medium speed for about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the dry ingredients, then mix until dough just comes together. Fold in the peanut butter chips with a rubber spatula.

Place large cookie mounds on parchment-lined baking sheets (Levain cookies weigh in at 6 ounces each; I tend to make mine a bit smaller, about 4.5 ounces each). Chill the cookie dough for 10 minutes before baking (if there's time, I like to make ahead and freeze the dough for at least an hour).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are set and the center is slightly under-baked (it's difficult to know visually when cookies are done; sometimes I reduce the oven temp to 375 for the last couple of minutes and watch them closely). Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove the cookies to cool on wire racks. They are delicious slightly warm!

Ice cream tacos and life in June

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 14:39:00 +0000

June is always a busy month around here, with my son's birthday, Father's Day, and the buzz and activities surrounding the end of the school year falling on this special month. This year, my son turned 14...

...and he graduated from middle school!

These last 3 years have flown by! You realize time will go fast going in but it still surprises you. And it's incredible how much change and growth has taken place during that time. The kids have worked hard and my husband and I are so particularly proud of our kiddo, who is rapidly growing up before our eyes!

So we've been pretty busy celebrating around here! We don't want to stop but exhaustion is starting to seep in and we'll take the summer break as a time to chill and relax before gearing up for High School! There's plenty of excitement (and hopefully, celebrations) on the horizon.

And speaking of celebrations, I sit here typing on the first day of summer. Rain is coming down (yet again) but sunshine is expected this afternoon and the entire weekend. It makes me think of upcoming July 4th and what kind of treats we might want to have then. When it's summertime, I always think ice cream so I'm recommending a batch of ice cream tacos!

I recently made these for Memorial Day weekend and they went down a treat. The homemade shells (which are like ice cream cones in the shape of taco shells) can be filled with any flavor ice cream you like; I went with vanilla chocolate chip as well as pistachio ice cream. Topped with some homemade chocolate magic shell and sprinkled with sprinkles or nuts, they are fun to look at and delicious to eat. The ice cream tacos are festive and celebratory, and I'm all for celebrating as much as possible (particularly, with ice cream)!

This ice cream taco recipe and inspiration comes from Molly Yeh; I watched her make them on her cooking show and the rest is history.

I made half the recipe, for 4 ice cream tacos. Getting the shells made is where most of the work is since the rest is a breeze. The batter itself is very simply whisked together and ladled onto a small skillet. It takes a little getting used to but was easy enough to make.

You're aiming for about a 4 inch circle and you want to cook it long enough that it sets firmly but be careful not to burn it.

I thought it was so clever to use the spine of books to shape these! I pressed them down onto the spine of the book for a minute, then let them cool and set. I was very happy they held their shape. The end result is a shell that's softer and chewier than your typical crunchy ice cream cone.

With the shells made and ready to be filled, let the fun begin!

This is the fun part where you can customize the ice cream flavor(s) you want to fill your taco shells with. Is your family a fan of classic flavors or do you want to go with something hard to find anywhere else? I choose vanilla chocolate chip and pistachio ice creams. Soften your ice cream ahead so it's easier to fill into the shells.

Make a quick magic shell by combining some dark chocolate with a little coconut oil. Yes, I finally bought coconut oil for the sake of making chocolate magic shell! Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the ice cream, then have fun topping them with some sprinkles or nuts, or whatever you like!

Another neat trick Molly mentioned was setting the ice cream tacos into an egg carton. It worked perfectly; I set the tacos in the carton, then placed it into the freezer to firm up before wrapping them individually in plastic wrap. That way, they can stay in the freezer until whenever you want to take them out and start eating...and celebrating!

It was a fun project and I was happy I made them. Anyone having one of these ice cream tacos with you will be happy, too!

Recipe:

Ice Cream Tacos

Adapted from Molly Yeh

- Makes 4 ice cream tacos -

For taco shells:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for pan

2 tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg white

For chocolate topping, filling:

3 ounces dark chocolate chips

Scant tablespoon coconut oil

About 2 cups ice cream, flavor of your choice

Other toppings such as sprinkles or chopped nuts

Gather 2 to 4 one-inch thick hardcover books (number of books you need depends on size or how many taco shells you can fit over each). Set them spine side up and lay a piece of parchment paper over each.

Make taco shell batter: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk butter, milk, and the almond and vanilla extracts together. Then whisk in the egg white. Add wet ingredients into the dry, whisking into a smooth batter.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter, then spoon 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter into the pan. Use the back of a spoon to gently spread the batter into about a 4-inch circle. Cook until slightly brown on the bottom, about 3-5 minutes. Flip, cook for another 1-2 more minutes (you want to cook them thoroughly so the shells will firm up). Carefully remove from the skillet and gently fold over the spine of a book to create the taco shell shape. Let cool on the book. Repeat with remaining batter.

For the filling and toppings: Make the chocolate topping by placing chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Let chocolate cool slightly.

Let ice cream soften a bit. Then, fill each taco shill with ice cream, drizzle chocolate topping over, and top with sprinkles or nuts, as desired. You can set the finished ice cream tacos inside an empty egg carton. Place the carton with the ice cream tacos into the freezer to firm up. Once set, wrap each ice cream taco in plastic wrap, store in the freezer until ready to enjoy.

A healthy chocolate chip cookie I really like

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:17:00 +0000

I'm not a big fan of labeling foods "healthy" or "unhealthy" except in extreme cases. To me, I say we use common sense and maintain a happy relationship with food as something that nourishes us and provides us with a lot of joy. When it comes to dessert, I say enjoy reasonably but also, fully. So I'm not always particularly on the lookout for "healthier" desserts but I am always open to finding delicious recipes that are maybe a bit smarter and utilizes more wholesome ingredients. It's kind of a win-win.

This recipe is one of those win-win's and I'm really excited to have tried it and to now be able to enjoy it going forward!

When I first spotted these "best healthy chocolate chip cookies" on Food52, I might have instinctively done a quick eye-roll but their appearance quickly won my interest. They just looked so good! Eyeing the list of ingredients, I was happy to see some of my favorite things featured - almond butter, oats, walnuts, chocolate chips (of course). I've been renewing my love affair with walnuts in baked goods in particular lately - thanks to making and becoming smitten with a copycat recipe for Levain Bakery style chocolate chip walnut cookies (maybe more on that another day), my whole family has come around to toasted walnuts in treats.

I did go rogue and went off-script a little with this recipe. These cookies were meant to be "gluten-free" but I substituted a couple tablespoons of almond flour for white whole-wheat flour. From past experience, I've just not been a fan of purely almond flour-based baked goods and I'm not adverse to a little whole wheat flour in my cookies and cakes. Since I used salted almond butter instead of unsalted (since that's what I use regularly and have on hand), I adjusted the salt in the recipe down slightly. Sprinkling additional salt on top of the cookies before baking is nice but I find it didn't really need it. I was a little heavy-handed when it came to the chocolate chunks and walnuts I added into the cookies, and it was the right move.

I was so happy these cookies baked up firm and sturdy, not wet and almost falling apart as "healthy" cookies sometimes can be. I was really thrilled when I tasted them! Coconut sugar lends a mild sweetness and the nutty flavors really come through, along with pops of dark chocolate. The texture is crisp along the edges and moist and chewy in the center.

As I was eating these, I would say "I think the oats make it"...then I'd change my mind and think, "the walnuts make it". I finally realized it's the whole package. It's all the elements working really well altogether. I'm satisfied eating one of these cookies. It has me feeling good, not weighed down or sluggish. This really is a cookie I happily get behind; I not only like it, I love it. And the fact that the ingredients are a little wiser, and it's a smarter cookie option than most, is a truly wonderful bonus.

We all love an easy recipe, right? This is one of those - no major equipment required and only a bit of stirring involved. It's a cookie you can whip up on a whim, in mere moments.

My best tips...toast the walnuts (it amps up the flavor tremendously), use high-quality chocolate (the kind you love to eat), and try these soon!

Depending on size, you'll end up with about 8-10 cookies per batch. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon ice cream scoop will yield relatively small, about 2 1/2 inch, cookies. The good news is I find they freeze very well. Once frozen on a baking sheet, wrap individually in plastic wrap, and store in a freezer bag. It's always great to have chocolate chip cookies in the freezer, ready to go. Plus, these cookies taste best fresh, enjoyed same day they're baked.

The bake time range is 10-15 minutes. I find that about 12 minutes worked well for me. A couple of extra minutes will make for a bit of a crispier cookie. At the lower end of the range, you end up with a softer center. The overall texture - crispy edges and chewiness - is one of the great things about this cookie.

I am all out of these cookies but since I have all the ingredients I need on hand, I'll be making another batch, eating these cookies, and restocking my freezer with a few extra ones, very soon!

Recipe:

Best Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Healthier Together: Recipes for Two—Nourish Your Body, Nourish Your Relationships by Liz Moody via Food52

- Approximately 8-10 cookies -

1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy almond butter, well-stirred (I used salted creamy almond butter from Trader Joes)
2 tablespoons almond flour
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour (for gluten-free option, substitute with additional almond flour)
1/8 teaspoon (or a pinch) fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts (I err on the side of being generous)
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Rounded 1/4 cup (I used 2 oz.) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg, vanilla extract, and almond butter until well combined. Stir in almond flour, white whole wheat flour, salt, coconut sugar, and baking soda until mixture is smooth. Add walnuts, oats, and chocolate, stirring well to incorporate the add-in's throughout the thick dough.

Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoon (or desired size) mounds of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, until cookies are set. Baking time depends in part on size of cookies; you will get a crisper cookie baking them longer. Remove cookies from the oven, let cool on baking sheet about 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

The texture of the cookies are best fresh so they're best eaten same day but can be kept uncovered at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also freeze the cookie dough and bake straight from the freezer.

Chocolate rugelach

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:00:00 +0000

It's always wonderful to try something new in the kitchen and so satisfying when it works out and you discover something delicious to share with your family. This time, it was rugelach for me!

I saw Molly Yeh make this recipe for chocolate rugelach on her cooking show recently and I really wanted to give it a try, so I did. I love it when inspiration hits like that - you see something you think you and your family would like to eat, it looks do-able, and actually turns out to be the case.

I've heard of and seen rugelach before but this was a first taste for me. Rugelach might be loosely referred to as a cookie but it's really a pastry filled with, in this case, chocolate, but also with many other possibilities such as jam, nuts, cinnamon-sugar, or fruit. They're a Jewish pastry often made during holidays like Hanukkah but they are surely tasty enough for everyone to enjoy, anytime.

The pastry is buttery and flaky, unique in that it also includes cream cheese which make it extra tender and adds an extra bit of flavor. Rugelach are often crescent shaped but these simple rolled pinwheels seem an easier version for me to tackle.

I tackled it by making a small-batch, which should yield about a dozen rugelach (I ended up with ten but I'll be sure to improve my dough-rolling skills next time because we were clamoring for more). After making the pastry dough and rolling it out to a thin sheet, it was very satisfying to spread it with a layer of chocolate, then rolling it up tightly and slicing into individual portions that reveal the mesmerizing pinwheel swirl inside. Prompted by Molly Yeh's love of sprinkles, I decorated some of mine with chocolate sprinkles as well as colorful sanding sugar.

I had fun making these despite my usual hesitation when it comes to working with pastry dough. They're fun to look at and so tasty to eat. If you like hand pies, pastry, chocolate, and having your kitchen smell like chocolate croissants while this is baking - try a batch of rugelach for yourself some time soon!

I made half the original recipe and while I didn't top this batch of rugelach with sea salt, it is an excellent option for anyone who wants a little salt with their sweet. Next time I make this, I'll shape my dough into more of a rectangular shape before chilling so that when I begin to roll it out, it'll be easier to get the 18 x 9 inch shape we're aiming for; I ended up with too much wasted dough that I trimmed off.

I've seen many rugelach fillings with chocolate that also incorporate a lot of sugar into it. I used melted semi-sweet chocolate and we thought the result was sweet enough without need for anything further. I did think seriously about following Molly's suggestion of grating some almond paste on top of the chocolate but ultimately decided against it in case it made the dough more difficult for me to roll up. I did, however, add the optional almond extract into the dough. That actually gave the pastry a lovely almond flavor and my fellas even thought there was almond paste in the rugelach. Personally, we loved the touch of almond flavor.

Rolling up the thin pastry tightly over the chocolate and seeing the pinwheel pattern inside is a treat! After chilling (which you want to do so you get neat clean slices), brush the log with egg wash, sprinkle over some flaky salt (if you like), or some sprinkles or coarse sugar. They are equally good without anything on top but a colorful pop of color makes them so festive and lovely to look at.

They will also smell amazing - just think buttery pastry and melted chocolate piping away in the oven! Fat from the cookies will bubble and ooze out while these are baking but that subsides and they look delectable out of the oven. They taste as good as they look - rich and full of body and chocolate flavor, along with the hint of almond. Like so many things, the rugelach are best enjoyed fresh from the oven, just cooled, but no one complained eating them several hours after they were done. In fact, the only question I got were how many were left! I know I have a winner when my son asks that and starts taking inventory.

It was a pleasure to meet and get to know the rugelach! This is a great reminder to keep trying new things even when you feel like you've done a lot.

Recipe:

Chocolate Rugelach
Adapted from Molly Yeh

* Makes 12 cookies (this is half the original recipe for chocolate sea salt rugelach by Molly Yeh)

1 1/4 cup (163g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
4 oz. (113g) cream cheese, straight from the fridge
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
3/4 c (130g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate)
Egg wash: 1 egg mixed with a splash of milk
Optional toppings: sprinkles, coarse or sanding sugar, flaky sea salt

Make dough: Combine flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cubed butter, distributing the pieces evenly over the top of the dry ingredients. Dollop in the cream cheese in roughly 1" size dollops. Mix on low-speed until mixture is mostly mealy with some larger chunks of butter and cream cheese intact. Continue mixing and add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using). Mix until dough just comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flattening slightly and shaping it into a rough rectangle. Chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

Form rugelach: Start by melting the chocolate in a double boiler, or in a microwave in 30-second increments, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool slightly while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a wide, 19 x 8 inch, rectangle (trim away any excess so you have straight edges). Using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the long edge farthest from you (work relatively quickly so the chocolate doesn't harden). Brush the 1-inch border with a thin layer of egg wash. Starting on the wide end closest to you, roll the the dough into a tight long log, placing it seam-side down. Transfer to a cutting board or baking sheet and chill for at least an hour, or up to 2 days (cover with plastic wrap if refrigerator for more than a couple of hours).

Bake rugelach: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the top of the log with a thin coating of egg wash. Sprinkle toppings/decorations (sanding sugar, sprinkles, sea salt) over top, if desired. Slice into 1 1/2 inch pieces, placing on to the baking sheet spaced about 1 inch apart.

Bake until golden top brown on top, approximately 24 minutes or so (while baking, some fat will leak out of the cookies; this is normal). Let cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy them warm or cooled; they are best the day they're baked but can be stored at room temperature for several days. (You could also refresh them next day in a low oven for a few minutes.)

Bakery style double chocolate muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 01 May 2019 10:30:00 +0000

Let's return to chocolate, shall we? I think that's always a good idea!

While it's pretty quiet here in this little blog space, my kitchen is keeping busy and continues to turn out a fairly steady stream of baked goods. As always, the majority of what I bake involves chocolate since it's my very favorite thing (and my family is rather partial to it as well). Recently, I discovered this great bakery style chocolate muffin recipe that I can now add to my muffin repertoire. And as far as I'm concerned, one can never have too many muffin recipes since they play versatile roles as breakfast, snack, or dessert!

My muffins are baked in standard size tins but if you make jumbo versions of these, they really could slot right onto a bakery or coffee shop counter. These double chocolate muffins are moist yet sturdy and firm. All importantly, they have that crusty, firm top that I associate with bakery muffins.

We love trying new muffins, especially when they're chocolate ones! These chocolate muffins not only look the part but have plenty of serious chocolate flavor, which is so important. Dark cocoa, a combination of chocolate chunks and chips, as well as a little espresso powder, really drives the chocolate flavor home.

Right now, these bakery style double chocolate muffins have taken their place as a close second favorite to the other double chocolate muffin that I make often. In contrast to these bakery style chocolate muffins, the other ones are more fragile and tender. Those are moist and chocolaty, and I particularly love the combination of whole wheat flour in those that give it an interesting hearty texture and flavor. Warmed slightly, I like to eat those with a little fork.

These bakery style muffins are not only moist and chocolaty, they are ready for prime time and sometimes you really want a sturdy, ready to grab-and-go kind of muffin. Freshly baked, their crunchy tops are something to ooh and aah over. Whenever I have a little extra buttermilk on hand (and that's fairly often), I'll be whipping up a batch of these. Best part is - like many muffin recipes - they are a cinch to make, with no need to bring butter to room temperature. Since they don't require advance planning, these muffins can land on your counter in no time. Then, gather around and dig in. If there's any left, breakfast will be sorted out as well. There's no need to stop by any bakery!

Recipe:

Bakery Style Double Chocolate Muffins
From Pretty. Simple. Sweet.

* Makes 7 standard-size muffins
(I like to batch in small-batches so we can enjoy variety and I can bake more often so this is half the original recipe linked above)

1 cup (140g/5oz) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (38g) unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Dutch processed)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (125g/4.4oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoon (1 oz.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoon canola (or other neutral) oil
1 teaspoon instant coffee, optional (I use 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (85g/3oz) mix of chocolate chunks and chips (reserving some of the chocolate chips to place on top of muffins, if desired)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 7 cups of a standard size muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (you can whisk the ingredients instead of sifting but do sift the cocoa if there are big lumps). Add the granulated sugar and whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk the egg with the buttermilk, butter, oil, instant coffee/espresso (if using) and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing together with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix; the batter should be thick and lumpy. Add the chocolate chunks/chips, stirring to incorporate.

Fill the muffin cups with batter almost all the way to the top. If you've reserved a few chocolate chips to place on top of the muffins, plop them on now. Bake for 3 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees (without opening the oven door). Continue to bake for another 12-17 minutes (15-20 minutes total bake time) until the muffins have puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. [The first time I made these, the muffins sunk slightly after they came out of the oven; I corrected this problem by not opening the oven door too early and making sure the muffins have baked and set up properly.]

Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before transferring the individual muffins to the rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Dabbling in dim sum, continued

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 21:32:00 +0000

After my last post, I continued to dabble some more in dim sum-making at home. It's fun to challenge myself to try something new and, lately, it's been dim sum and Chinese food making beyond what I'm used to.

If you like seafood, chances are steamed shrimp dumplings (or "har gow") are a must when it comes to dim sum. They're sometimes called "crystal shrimp dumplings", referring to their signature translucent skin from which you can see the coral pink of the shrimp peeking through. It's a dim sum classic and something I always get when I'm having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant.

This har gow project was definitely a challenge but worth the effort to, in the end, get to sit down with my husband and enjoy our own homemade har gow in the comfort of home. It's just neat to learn how things are made. And it turns out, the har gow skin is made from a combination of wheat starch and cornstarch; I had to make the dough three times to get it right but it was due to my own error and mix up. In the end, I still found the dough difficult/fragile to handle but using a little extra wheat starch helped the maneuverability and I plowed on...

The filling was a lot simpler to whip together. The shrimp is the star but it's also important to get your hands on a can of bamboo shoots because it's a must in this recipe and not to be omitted, as those bamboo shoots give the har gow a distinct crunch.

The dough being a lot harder (stickier than I expected, easy to break) to maneuver than I expected, I exercised as much patience and care as I could muster in pleating and shaping the har gow and somehow managed to put some into my steamer basket!

Luckily, a lot of flaws are hidden after steaming and I thought my homemade har gow looked the part (admittedly, expectations were low going in). They may not be restaurant-quality (the skin being a little too thick and not as supple as they should be; not to mention general appearance as far as pleating goes) but they were pretty close to the real thing. I loved the flavor of the filling and thought that was spot on.

Now bamboo-steamer expeditions aside, sometimes you order off the menu when you go for dim sum. If it's around the lunch hour, the kitchen opens up to provide heartier fare and they start taking orders for other dishes - particularly noodles. One of my favorites is saucy beef ho fun (flat) noodles.

Noodles come in so many forms but I rarely meet one I don't like. That said, I have to say that flat rice noodles are probably my very favorite kind. For this dish, look for fresh flat noodles at an Asian grocery store. They come in a plastic bag and you'll take it home and slice them to the size you need.

Saucy beef flat noodles (or "ho fun" as the noodles are called in Cantonese) is one of my favorite dim sum lunch dishes. A lot of people prefer the "dry fried" variety of this noodle dish but I particularly love the sauce. It's hard to see the brown sauce in the pictures here but believe me when I say there was just the right amount of brown sauce pooling at the bottom of my plate after the noodles were eaten.

A lot of dim sum dishes go well with some spicy chili oil so I made sure to get some for my husband (I'm a purist in this case). I was really happy eating this dish. I think eating noodles makes me happy, period, but this tasted great - like a healthier/lighter version of my dim sum restaurant favorite. It reminded me that I hadn't had this old-favorite for too long. I'm so pleased I can now make this when the craving hits and I want to enjoy it at home!

So much of the dim sum undertaking - and cooking, in general - is about nostalgia. Re-creating those moments of delight when we eat something that's delicious and brings back happy memories. To that end, I recently made another old-school favorite - this one dating way back to my childhood in Hong Kong and then to early days in New York's chinatown when we'd buy and eat curry fish balls, mainly from street vendors. It is a classic Hong Kong street food (often sold on a stick like I tried to mimic below).

I'm seriously thankful to The Woks of Life for the treasure trove of amazingly authentic Chinese recipes that I've been working my way through (including but not limited to the 3 mentioned here in this post)! In think my husband is particularly thankful! He has a special affinity for curry and saucy dishes that can be eaten with rice. The curry fish balls were a big hit. They tasted just like we remembered they should and all the extra sauce in this recipe was a bonus for a big bowl of rice.

The recipes I mention here were all sensational in their own way - well worth the time and effort to recreate at home. I have been one happy student!

Recipes:

Har Gow (Dim Sum Shrimp Dumplings)
Recipe/instructions from The Woks of Life

Sauce Beef Ho Fun Noodles
Recipe/instructions from The Woks of Life

Hong Kong-style Curry Fish Balls
Recipe/instructions from The Woks of Life

Dabbling in dim sum

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 18:33:00 +0000

Trying new things keeps life interesting in the kitchen. Among the fails and dishes that I'd probably only make once, there's always the possibility of discovering a new family favorite. I also just love learning how my favorite foods are made. It's like uncovering the magician's secret and, oftentimes, the "trick" is not nearly as hard as I imagined (though sometimes, it is).

Most of the time, my cooking experiments are spurred on by things I like to eat, something delicious we had at a restaurant, or some kind of food memory. Inspiration is everywhere and there is no lack of it! One of my inspirations have been the great Chinese-food blog, The Woks of Life. I've been able to re-create some of our favorite Cantonese dishes thanks to their very authentic recipes. Lately, it tempted me into dabbling in a little dim sum-making at home!

First up, Chinese Sausage Buns...

Chinese sausage buns before steaming

Growing up, we routinely went out for dim sum on the weekends. I have to be honest...I often dreaded it because it meant crowds and long waits as hoards of people descend on their favorite/local dim sum spot, which just happens to be yours as well. It's still like that in many places and I don't go out for dim sum all that often but, of course, much of the food is the stuff of my childhood food memories. One such was the Chinese sausage bun. You might not be familiar with it if you didn't grow up eating it. It's now practically extinct; I can't remember the last time I ate one or saw them being offered in a dim sum restaurant or Chinese bakery.

Apparently, other people share my nostalgia because The Woks of Life has a recipe and I thought I'd give it a try. Before this endeavor, I didn't own a bamboo steamer. I quickly equipped myself and began my little dim sum project.

Chinese sausage buns steamed and ready to eat!

Working with yeast dough is always a bit daunting but at least in this case, I could focus on the dough since the Chinese sausages themselves are bought, ready to use after steaming. Once I got the hang of working the dough and rolling it out, these Chinese sausage buns weren't that hard to make! I thought it tasted like childhood - the distinctly sweet yet savory Chinese sausage encased in the soft bun was spot on!

Then I attempted Steamed Roast Pork Buns...

I moved on and thought I'd challenge myself with my son's favorite dim sum item, the roast pork bun. This project did not go quite as well.

I had a hard time with the dough but tried to make it work, with the end result above

Making the filling was relatively easy, as I bought the main ingredient - the roast pork. I had trouble with the dough. It was dry and tough, making it difficult to roll and shape. I wish I could say I knew exactly what I did wrong or could do next time to mitigate the issues but I really can't. I think steamed roast pork buns will have to be enjoyed at dim sum restaurants (luckily, still readily available).

The saving grace is while my homemade buns might not have looked or been like the prototype, they were still infinitely edible. No buns were wasted, and if the buns themselves were a little dense and not fluffy as they were supposed to be, my family (particularly, my husband) insisted they were great. The flavor of the filling and the sweetness was there - I was missing that lofty bun texture. All in, it was a great learning experience and I will be sure to appreciate the roast pork buns a lot more when I next have one at a restaurant.

Beyond dim sum that comes in a bamboo steamer basket, I also recently learned how to make Chinese sticky rice. It's also an item you can often find among the dim sum carts - usually packed into a glass bowl and turned over onto a plate when you pick it out.

While I came to learn that Chinese sticky rice is traditionally stir-fried, I actually make mine in the Instant Pot! I spotted a recipe using my new favorite "toy" and since my husband really likes ordering Chinese sticky rice when we have dim sum, the idea of being able to make it at home was very alluring.

I blended a couple of recipes and there was a little trial-and-error during a couple of attempts (with the amount of liquid that seems to work best) but the Instant Pot version I can now make is definitely good enough for us.

Here again is where you can put Chinese sausages to use. The sticky rice is chock full of flavor from the sausages as well as shiitaki mushrooms and dried shrimp, not to mention soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and other flavorings. It's quite satisfying for very little "work".

These items certainly barely scratches the surface of all the variety of dim sum that await you at a Chinese restaurant on a weekend morning but with these, and maybe a batch of egg tarts or congee on the side, I can daydream about a super small-scale dim sum session right in my own home!

Recipes:

Chinese Sausage Buns
Recipe at: Woks of Life
Notes/My experience: I ended up using more dough than the recipe cited to make each sausage bun. The Chinese sausages I used measure about 6 inches in length and I found I needed a rope of dough about 16 inches long to properly wrap around each sausages. Also, given the richness of the Chinese sausages themselves, we prefer more bun. Using more dough for each, I'd say the recipe makes 7 (as opposed to 10) Chinese sausage buns.

Steamed Roast Pork Buns
Recipe at: Woks of Life
Notes/My experience: As I explained above, I had no problems with the roast pork filling but struggled with the dough. My dough was tough and dry, hard to pull together, and I was hesitant to add too much extra water. In the end, I muddled through the best I could and the taste of the overall steamed pork buns was very good but the bun itself was not as fluffy as it should have been.

Chinese Sticky Rice
Recipe sources: I looked at various recipes I could find online and mainly adapted from Jeanette's Healthy Living and also the version at Woks of Life (which does not use the Instant Pot). It's something I'm likely to continue to tweak next time I make it but here's my version thus far below:

1 teaspoon canola oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced with white and green parts separated (reserve green part of 1 scallion to stir in after cooking)
2-3 Chinese sausages (I use 3 but you can go lighter if you choose), sliced slightly on a bias
6 dried shiitaki mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, then sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons or so of dried shrimp, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
1 1/2 cup sticky rice (also referred to as "glutinous rice" or "sweet rice"; see this), rinsed and drained
Scant 1 1/2 cups liquid (approximately 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup soaking liquid from mushrooms and dried shrimp - see below)
1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
Salt and white pepper, to taste

In a large measuring cup, combine chicken stock and the soaking liquid from the mushrooms and dried shrimp (carefully pour out the mushroom soaking liquid, being sure to leave behind the gritty bottom) to make a scant 1 1/2 cups. Add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, a pinch of salt and sprinkle of white pepper. Stir everything together to combine. Set aside.

Heat up oil using the "saute" mode in the Instant Pot. Stir in scallion whites. Add Chinese sausage and cook for a couple of minutes, letting some of the oils from the sausages release. Stir in the mushrooms and dried shrimp, and let cook for a minute, then stir in two-thirds of the scallion greens. Add rice and stir well. Turn Instant Pot off. Add the liquid into the pan and stir well to combine, scratching up any bits from the bottom and making sure the rice is fully submerged in the liquid.

Cook using the "RICE" function in the Instant Pot (this means 12 minutes under low pressure). When done, turn Instant Pot off (to avoid scorching the bottom of the rice) and let natural release for 5 minutes before doing a quick release. Cover the pot with a dish towel (to absorb the extra moisture) and let sit for 10 minutes. To serve, add reserved scallion greens and stir gently together.

Chestnut croissant

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 02:22:00 +0000

On one of our recent brunch outings, we went to Maialino, where I finally had one of their signature olive oil muffins (it was as good as I expected and it inspired me to bake up a batch back home a few days later). Before going to the restaurant, I looked online at their menu and spotted something really interesting: "chestnut croissant". I was so excited because (1) I love all things chestnut (just type in "chestnut" in my search function on the right-hand side of the page to see what I mean) and (2) I'd never had such a thing, and really wanted to!

But when I next looked back at the menu, the chestnut croissant had disappeared. It sounds crazy but I almost feel like I imagined it! Well...there was only one thing to do since I've never seen chestnut croissant anywhere and that was to make it myself at home. Sometimes an idea gets in my head and I just have to give it a go and this was one of those things.

So I took inspiration from when I last made almond croissants and did a pretty simple version of chestnut croissant for breakfast this weekend. It really helps if you have a stash of chestnut cream in your house like I do (otherwise, you can source it online).

To have your own chestnut croissant, all you have to do is take day-old croissants, split it, and soak it in a rum sugar syrup. Then spread some chestnut cream/spread inside, and brush a little on the surface for fun. Bake for about 15 minutes and you have it! It's really easy since you're mainly working with store-bought ingredients, but with a little twist, you end up with something really special.

I'm here to say chestnut croissant is a really, really good thing!

As I mentioned, I made the chestnut croissants much the way I learned how almond croissants are done. With the chestnut cream in hand, making chestnut croissants is even easier than making almond ones since you already have the filling and there's no need to make it yourself the way you make the almond cream.

Needless to say, start with good-quality croissants. The day before, leave them out (uncovered or very loosely covered) overnight so they have a chance to dry out. This way, they can better absorb the sugar syrup that you'll apply onto them.

Add a little rum to the sugar syrup (just water and a little sugar) or if you want to skip the alcohol, add a touch of vanilla extract. Slice the croissant like you would if you were making a sandwich but don't slice all the way through. Brush the syrup all over the croissant, including the top, inside, ends, and all. While it shouldn't be dripping wet, it should be well moistened.

Next, spread about 2 tablespoons of chestnut cream into the middle.

I thought I'd also spread a little bit of chestnut cream on top of the croissants to mimic what you see with almond croissants. It worked out quite well; the chestnut cream dries out and caramelizes slightly after baking, giving the croissant an extra layer of texture and chestnut flavor.

Bake the assembled croissants in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove them to a wire rack to cool a bit, then serve! Dust the top with a little confectioners' sugar, if you like.

It's no doubt that I love all things chestnut but I was almost surprised by just how much I liked my chestnut croissants! The chestnut cream adds a great dimension of flavor to the buttery pastry - not too much sweetness but a little nutty sweetness that is unique and so lovely for us chestnut lovers!

I am really glad I couldn't let my chestnut croissant daydream go without making it a reality. This is something I would definitely make again!

Recipe:

Chestnut Croissants

Inspired by my cravings and adapted from almond croissant recipe

- For 2 chestnut croissants -

2 day-old croissants (let sit uncovered, or loosely covered, overnight)
About 5 tablespoons chestnut cream
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

For syrup:
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dark rum (to omit alcohol, substitute with about 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Prepare syrup by heating water in the microwave until hot. Stir in sugar until melted. Set aside to cool, then stir in rum (or vanilla extract). If making ahead, refrigerate until needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a serrated knife, slice each croissant open horizontally like you would to make a sandwich but don't slice all the way through. One at a time, brush each croissant generously with the sweetened syrup. Coat the outside, inside, and ends. While they shouldn't be dripping wet, the croissants should be well moistened.

Spread approximately 2 tablespoons of chestnut cream inside each croissant. Also brush the top of each croissant with a little chestnut cream. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, when the chestnut cream on top has firmed and the croissant is set and golden. Remove from the oven, let cool on a wire rack, and dust with confectioners' sugar before serving warm or at room temperature.

Playing with Flour

Opera Cake, in two acts

Chinese bakery style chestnut sponge cake

Chinese Bakery Style Chestnut CakeAdapted from Mrs. Ip's Kitchen (with chiffon cake layer recipe here)

For chiffon cake layers:

4 eggs, separated and at room temperature1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar50 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted1/4 teaspoon salt75 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract75 ml warm canola or vegetable oil110 ml warm water150 g all-purpose flour3/4 teaspoon baking powder

* I used Gold Medal brand all-purpose flour. Next time, I would try using cake flour for a lighter result

13 oz. (368g) vacuum-packed chestnuts1/2 cup granulated sugar (could also use caster/superfine sugar)1/2 cup water (use water used in cooking chestnuts)1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted1 1/2 tablespoons milk

For whipped cream frosting:

1 cup (8 oz.) cold heavy cream3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Thin, crisp chocolate chip cookies

Thin, Crisp Chocolate Chip CookiesFrom David Lebovitz (adapted from Joanne Chang's recipe in Pastry Love)

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A healthy chocolate chip cookie I *really* like

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Dabbling in dim sum, continued

Dabbling in dim sum

Chestnut croissant

Chinese Bakery Style Chestnut Cake
Adapted from Mrs. Ip's Kitchen (with chiffon cake layer recipe here)

4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
50 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
75 g caster/superfine sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
75 ml warm canola or vegetable oil
110 ml warm water
150 g all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

13 oz. (368g) vacuum-packed chestnuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar (could also use caster/superfine sugar)
1/2 cup water (use water used in cooking chestnuts)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 cup (8 oz.) cold heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Thin, Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies
From David Lebovitz (adapted from Joanne Chang's recipe in Pastry Love)

A healthy chocolate chip cookie I really like