22 posts tagged “dessert”

 

 

Do you ever take a bite out of a really sweet, really chocolatey, really decadent dessert and then only eat a few bites because it's "too rich?" I don't.

Those two words do not go together in my vocabulary. Desserts can never, ever be too rich for me. Sometimes when I'm eating the same thing as a person who proclaims it "too rich" I agree with him or her...you know, just so I don't look like a cow. But secretly I am thinking that I could easily polish it off. That maybe I could even finish my portion and the portion of the person who has proclaimed this "too rich."

So, due to my propensity for loving sweets and things that aren't terribly good for me a little too much, for this installment of Eat to the Beat I decided to go with Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" which is really all about wanting things that are bad for you...and maybe overindulging in them, too. I absolutely love Rufus Wainwright and in fact, almost picked this song for EttB #1, but saved it for this time around. If you want to participate in Eat to the Beat, the event that pairs music and food, please check out the details here. The deadline is June 30.  

You can listen to "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" below, but here is a snippet of the lyrics.

Cigarettes and chocolate milk
These are just a couple of my cravings
Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me

If I should buy jellybeans
I have to eat them all in just one sitting
Everything it seems I like's a little bit sweeter, a little bit fatter, a little bit harmful for me

 

You will be happy to know that these cupcakes do not contain nicotine or ashes. But, given the mention of chocolate milk, I decided to make a milk cake with chocolate milk instead of regular milk. Talk about a little bit sweeter and fatter. And then I used chocolate milk in the chocolate frosting. And THEN, I topped these with sugary jelly beans. Too rich? No, no, no. You should have your cupcakes and your chocolate milk, too!  

I could have handled the same amount of sugar the original cake recipe called for, despite the swap of chocolate milk for regular. But for the sake of "normal" people, I reduced the amount of sugar in the cupcakes (and use less sugar than I normally would in the frosting).

And while we are on the subject of rock and food, everyone should check out Cooking with Rockstars, which features videos by some great singers making/talking about some great food. Rufus is actually included, too.

 

Chocolate Milk Cupcakes (hold the cigarettes)
Makes 12 cupcakes
adapted from Nigella Lawson

1-1/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup chocolate milk
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2/3 cup superfine sugar (just pulse granulated a few times in your food processor if you don't have superfine)

Preheat the oven to 325 and grease a muffin tin.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave, just until the butter melts. Stir in the vanilla.

In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the milk mixture. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture with a spatula. Pour the batter into your muffin cups and bake about 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  
 

Chocolate Frosting

I didn't really measure ingredients for this, so this is my best guess. the thing about frosting is that you can always add things to it as you are mixing to make it taste better, give it a different consistency, etc. I actually ended up using too much milk in this so it was a little runny, but I already had a little too much frosting so I didn't feel like wasting more sugar. :)

6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups powdered sugar
chocolate milk (probably around 1/4 cup, but maybe less)

Stir the cocoa powder into the melted butter and then add the vanilla. Alternately add the powdered sugar and a tablespoon or so of the milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

 

Tom:  Whoa, this actually looks like a Boston Cream Pie
Me:  What do you mean?  That's what it is.
Tom:  I know, but remember the German Chocolate Cake?  This thing looks real.  Just like the picture on my container of Yoplait!

 

I'm sure I sound like a broken record here, but I am so NOT a baker. Just the process of it--the precise measuring, the science, the rules--is too much for me. And then you have to worry about all the possible problems--overmixing, overbaking, underbaking, bad baking soda, sunken cakes, deep fried aardvarks. Fuggetaboutit! Not to mention that no matter how little or much I bake, I always manage to get about 2 lbs. of flour all over the kitchen and myself, in Lucille Ball-like fashion.

But, because I sometimes like to torture myself, I continue to make attempts at becoming a better baker. You may remember the fiasco that was Tom's birthday cake (err..trifle) last year. Yeah, that didn't turn out so well. So this year I wanted to actually make a proper cake for my husband's birthday.

German chocolate cake on my hit list, I looked around some favorite recipe sights to see if another type of cake caught my eye. When I came across the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Boston cream pie, I knew it had to be the one. Tom likes yellow cake with chocolate frosting, so this was pretty similar. And, I'm not going to lie--I personally love Boston cream pie. And I was going to be eating some of it too, afterall.

But this cake instilled fear in me, just as the German chocolate cake had. This one required pastry cream. I've never made pastry cream before and I do have a bit of a fear of all things involving egg tempering and the like. It took me a while to perfect avgolemono and pastry cream is even scarier because you actually cook the eggs on the stovetop slowly. And as we know, I have an unlevel stovetop that has two settings for the burners: insanely high and so-low-the-flame-will-go-out-6-times-while-you're cooking. And then there's the cake itself. First of all a sponge cake requires precise folding of all ingredients, soft (not overmixed!) peaks of egg whites and the like. Oh and then you have to actually get it out of the oven at the right time and invert it onto a plate and then a rack without half of it staying in the pan.

When I finished making the pastry cream and it was a perfect consistency, tasted great, and looked even better, I did an internal dance of joy. When I properly folded the sponge cake batter, took the cakes out of the oven before they were overbaked and got BOTH of them out of the pan in one piece, I did an external dance of joy.  

Seriously, I am so proud of myself. Some of you seasoned bakers probably feel sorry for me for being so excited over pastry cream and sponge cakes but this is a big step for me!

The cake turned out perfect. I never bothered to make sure we have rum because we always do. Of course when I went to get the bottle from the bar, all we had was 151 and I didn't really feel like using that in the custard, so I just used extra vanilla. I also used a more straightforward ganache rather than the CI version (which uses vanilla and corn syrup). Other than that, I stayed true to the recipe and this cake was delicious!

These pictures didn't turn out as great as I would like, which is sad because I wish it looked as good as it tasted! Also the chocolate ganache that swoops down into the cake when you are slicing it doesn't photograph quite as well as the perfect piece Cook's Illustrated managed to get with the help of their food stylists and photoshopping. But puh-lease! I was able to make pastry cream, sponge cakes (and not just any sponge cakes...the kind that actually came out of the pan in one piece), ganache and put it all together to make a delicious layer cake. Finally.

 

 

Boston Cream Pie
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Sponge Cakes
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sald
3 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

Pastry Cream
2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/4 cup corn starch, sifted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (optional)

Ganache
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Make the pastry cream first. Heat milk in a small sauce pan until hot but not simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in another large saucepan until mixture is thick and lemon colored, 3-4 minutes. Add cornstarch and whisk to combine.

Slowly whisk in hot milk. Cook mixture of medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping pan sides and bottoms as you stir, until mixture becomes thick and pudding-like consistency, about 10 minutes. Off the heat stir in the vanilla and butter (if using). Pour the pastry cream into a clean bowl and immediately place plastic wrap so that it is touching the top of the cream, so a skin doesn't form. Let the mixture cool at room temperature for a bit before moving it to the fridge to cool completely, a few hours (or overnight).

Then make the cakes. Adjust oven rack in the lower-right position and preheat the oven to 350. Cut out two pieces of parchment paper to fit over the bottoms of the pans (8 or 9" round cake pans). Grease & place a parchment round in each pan.

Sift together flours, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Cover and keep warm. 

Separate 3 of the eggs, placing the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another (put either or both in your mixing bowl, if you are using a stand mixer). Place the remaining two eggs in the same bowl as the yolks.  Beat the 3 whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add in 6 Tbsp. of sugar, continuing to beat whites to soft, moist peaks. Do not overbeat.

Beat the egg yolks and 2 eggs along with the remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar on medium-high until eggs are very thick and pale in color, about 5 minutes (will take longer if hand mixing). Add beaten eggs to whites.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the beaten eggs and whites. Fold very gently 12 times with a large rubber spatula. Make a well in one side of the batter and pour milk mixture into bowl. Continue folding until batter shows no trace of flour and whites and eggs are evenly mixed, about 8 more times.

Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 16 minutes for 9" pans and about 20 minutes for 8" pans. Immediately run a knife around the perimeter of the cakes to loosen. Invert the cakes onto a large plate. Peel off the wax paper, and then invert them onto a cooling rack (next time I will just invert them right onto the cooling rack; no reason to risk breaking them twice!).

Finally, make your ganache. Place your chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring the butter and cream to a boil in a saucepan.  Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let it sit another minute or two to become more pourable.

Ready to assemble the cake? Place some parchment or wax paper strips on a large plate or stand (something easy to pull out from under the cake). Place one of the cakes on the plate. Top with the pastry cream and spread the cream to the edge of the cake in an even layer.  Place the second cake on top of the cream. Pour the ganache right in the center of the cake, and let it ooze around the cake and down the sides. Smooth with an offset spatula (which, of course, I don't have) or something else that will allow you to get an even layer of the ganache.

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

 

 

There are so many great, inspiring blog events being hosted right now. One of those (that I am posting about just under the wire!) is hosted by Holly, the Phe/MOM/enon, to raise awareness of the Little Wonders March for Babies. Be sure to check out her Blogging for Babies event. Even if you don't have time to participate, it is definitely inspiring to read her story and possibly help to reach her donation goal, if you can. Thanks, Holly, for sharing your story!

A couple of weeks ago I had dinner with a coworker at Tallulah and it was great. For dessert, I had the pistachio cheesecake with tart cherry compote and it was fab. The cheesecake was a little firmer than usual and I loved that the pistachio flavor was in the filling and not in the topping or crust. It also helps that I love anything with pistachios or pistachio flavored (especially ice cream and pudding) and I love cherries.

So, I set out to make something similar. All I did here was take a basic cheesecake and add toasted/chopped pistachios to it. I wanted to add pistachio extract to it but I couldn't find it at any store and I didn't really feel like ordering it online, considering I probably wouldn't use it often and it cost twice as much to ship as it did to buy. But if I make this again, I will definitely use pistachio extract because mine was not quite as pistachio-y as the one at the restaurant, and I would like it to be.

I have a hodge podge of mini pans, so I used 2 tart pans that are about 4 or 4.5" and 2 smaller 2" tartlettes. Next time I'd just use two of the larger ones and make them a little thicker.

I'm hoping for one more blog entry before leaving for Michigan this week to spend some time with my family for Greek Easter. I have been so busy and haven't been making my usual rounds of blogs, so I apologize. I'm not ignoring you!

 

Pistachio Cheesecake
Makes 2 4" tarts; double to make 9x13 pan of bars or quadruple to make a standard cheesecake in a 9" springform pan (you will probably only need to double the graham crackers, though)

3.5 graham cracker sheets
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 (8 oz.) packge cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or pistachio extract)
1 egg
1/4 cup toasted and finely chopped pistachios
*I really don't have a recipe for the compote. I just threw some cherries, a little sugar, and a splash of water and a drizzle of in a saucepan and called it a day*

Preheat the oven to 350. (If you are using a springform pan, wrap foil around the bottom and up the edges.)

Crush the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and then beat with a heavy object :). Stir in the butter. Press the graham cracker picture into the tart pans to form a crust. Bake for about 7-10 minutes (depending on the size of your pans) or until it's aromatic and golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Beat in the egg. Fold the pistachios into the mixture. Pour the mixture over the cooled tart pans.  

Pour hot water in a large baking dish. If you are using a springform pan, place it inside the pan with the water (it should come up about halfway) and then place in the oven. If you are doing bars or mini tarts, place the hot water on the bottom of the oven and then place your tarts on the rack above it. Cook until the edges are set and puffed, but the middle still jiggles slightly (about 13 minutes for the 2" tarts and 16 minutes for the 4" ones). Set aside to cool completely, and then refrigerate before serving.

 

 

 

Want to know more about Little Wonders March for Babies Team? Fantastic!! Here is the Team Page. Any amount that you can sponsor is extremely appreciated. Please, please help spread the word and sponsor Little Wonders if you can! Thank you!

 

 

as I walk along and stumble
trains rumble in my head
as I breeze along and grumble
think about you instead
a piece of pecan pie
and you...that's all I want
just a piece of pecan pie
and all I want is you
just a little whipped cream
and honey, I'm on my way
with a piece of pecan pie...

 You'd think since I came up with the whole Eat to the Beat event, I would have an idea from the start...and you'd be wrong. I pretty much gave up all my immediate (somewhat obvious) ideas in my original post and then I was left wondering what to create, myself. It's not that I don't ALWAYS listen to music, and I very often associate songs with certain events, cuisines, etc. But still, I was stumped (trying to find the *perfect* entry no doubt). I didn't really want to bake anything since I prefer cooking and I also don't need all the calories. But, it turns out there are way more songs about sugar and chocolate than there are about grilled chicken and asparagus.

One of my favorite bands is Wilco. Tom and I just saw them again last week and, as always, it was a great show. As a result, I've been on a bit of a Wilco kick lately so I tried really, really hard to come up with a song of theirs to use for this event. Well, I got nowhere. I was about to throw in the towel and make something else (a good entry, still, but I wasn't that excited about it), when it hit me. Golden Smog! Golden Smog is composed of members from various bands (including, depending on the time, Wilco, Soul Asylum, The Jayhawks, The Replacements to name a few). I used to listen to Down by the Old Mainstream in college all the time (the album actually came out a couple years earlier, but I was late to the Golden Smog party). Anyhow, fast forward to my remembering the song "Pecan Pie," by Golden Smog (written and sung by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy) and you have...ta-da! My entry to Eat to the Beat. It helps that pecan pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts.

I adapted a recipe from Joy of Baking, based on what I had at home. I used light brown sugar and a mixture of corn syrup and molasses since I didn't have any Lyle's golden syrup (and figuring that extra molasses would give a little more oomph to the light brown sugar). This was delicious. So good. I love pecan pie and this is my first time making it. Actually, this is also my first time making a pie crust and this was a GOOD pie crust. Plus, so easy. I will never use a store-bought crust again.  

I decided to make mini tarts and got 2 larger (maybe 4") and 4 smaller (maybe 2.5"?) tartlettes out of the crust dough. I did roll it slightly thinner than I would have for the pie, but it worked out well.

 

Pecan Pie
adapted from Joy of Baking

Pate Brisee (short crust pastry)
1.25 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1" pieces
1/8--1/4 cup ice water (I used about 1/4 cup)

Pecan Filling (this made a LOT of filling for my mini pans so if I were to do this again, I would probably make 2/3 of the recipe since it's fairly easy to alter)
1 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
2/3 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (I used 1/2 cup corn syrup and 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. unsulphered molasses)
1 Tbsp. rum or bourbon (I used bourbon)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 -- 2 cups pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Maple Whipped Cream
1.5 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream
I also added a couple pinches of sugar

To make the crust:
Place the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Slowly add the water in a steady stream while pulsing, adding just enough so that when you pinch the dough, it holds together. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather it into a ball. Flatten it into a disk, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes.

After that time, lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a 13" circle (if you are making a 9" pan) or a little bigger if you are making individual tarts/pies. Give the dough a quarter turn frequently, so it doesn't stick. Place the dough in a pie pan and brush off any extra flour and crimp the edges. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350 and place your rack on the lower third of your oven. 

To make the filling:
Heat the brown sugar, syrup, bourbon and butter in a saucepan until it boils. Remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly,  until tepid. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl. Mix in the eggs, salt and cream to the syrup mixture.

Put the pecans over the pie crust (or divide evenly between your mini pans), and then pour the syrup over them. Bake for 45-50 minutes (or about 30-35 minutes for the mini pies) or until the filling has set and a toothpick inserted comes out clear. Place on a wire rack to cool.

To make the maple whipped cream:
Whip the cream and maple syrup until soft peaks form. Add a little sugar (if desired) and whip until a little stiffer.

 

 

Tom and I aren't really big on Valentine's Day. When we were dating, our anniversary fell 5 days after Valentine's Day so we celebrated that instead. But, to be honest, I think we would feel the same way if our anniversary was in June.

Our very romantic, exciting Valentine's Day consisted of me throwing some beef stew into the crockpot before work this morning and defrosting and reheating some biscuits from my freezer. Oh, and did I mention that we ate in front of the television? Yep, we are real romantics.

Still, this morning I thought to myself that I should at least make a dessert of some sort. I had all the usual baking staples at home, and I had some leftover chocolate bars from Christmas that never got used. I figured I could make a chocolate cake or some brownies. I started flipping through my copy of Nigella Lawson's Feast and came across her chocolate raspberry heart cake. I am not really one for hearts, in all honesty, but something about this cake was just entirely too cute. As a bonus, the only thing I was really missing from the recipe was some heavy cream.

That said, I did change the recipe quite a bit. For starters, I halved the recipe and baked it in a square baking dish before cutting out heart shapes with my cookie cutter. I also changed her filling up (I can't believe Nigella, of all people, goddess of all things too-rich and, well, too much in general, didn't add sugar or some framboise to her cream!) and the ganache, too. Oh, and I added some berry sauce. OK so basically I kept the recipe for the cake. I did find this link to her original recipe, if you want to check it out. I have to say I wasn't looking for a healthy dessert by any means,  but this one actually isn't THAT bad. The entire recipe only has half a tablespoon of butter and each cake only ends up with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream in the center. It's a basic hot milk cake that is chocolate flavored. The ganache is a pretty small portion, too. So, you don't  have to feel that guilty eating it (nevermind the fact that I also ate the scraps...you know, the parts of the cake that didn't make it into hearts).
 

Individual Chocolate Raspberry Heart Cakes
Makes 4
Inspired by Nigella Lawson

Cake
1/3 cup milk
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
1.5 eggs (I beat an egg and then throw half out to achieve "half" an egg)
1/2 cup superfine sugar (if you don't have this, process some granulated sugar in your food processor until it is finer)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1.5 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Raspberry Cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 Tbsp. Framboise
1/2 cup raspberries

Chocolate Ganache
2 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
raspberries, for garnish

Raspberry Sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rasperries, fresh or frozen & thawed (I used a triple berry mixture I had in the freezer of blueberries, raspberries & blackberries)

To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325 and grease an 8" square baking dish with cooking oil or butter.

Heat the milk and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave, just until the butter is melted. Stir the vanilla into the hot mixture. Mix the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar until very light and frothy. Beat in the milk mixture until incorporated. Mix in (I just use a rubber spatula for this part) the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until everything is combined.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, in the baking dish. Then, invert the cake onto some parchment paper that you have placed on top of the cooling rack. Cool completely.

To make the raspberry cream:
Crush the raspberries slightly with a fork, or pulse just once or twice in your food processor to break them up a bit.

In a separate bowl, start beating the cream. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and Framboise. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Carefully fold in the crushed raspberries (and their juices) so as not to deflate the cream.

To make the ganache:
In a double boiler (or a stainless steel bowl on top of a smaller pot of simmering water), melt the chocolate and the cream together. When almost completely melted together, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk the mixture a few times until glossy.

To make the raspberry sauce:
Make a simple syrup by bringing the water to a boil in a small saucepan, and then stirring in the sugar to dissolve.  Add the berries and the simple syrup mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.

To assemble the cakes:
Using a 3" or 3.5" cookie cutter, cut the cake into 4 hearts (or whatever shape you want). Slice through each heart  horizontally to form two parts. Add 1/4 of the raspberry cream to the bottom heart and then sandwich with the top heart. Spread 1/4 of the ganache over the top of the individual cake and top with raspberries for garnish. Repeat with the other 3 cakes. Drizzle with raspberry sauce.

 

 

 

A while back, I was talking to Peabody, and I asked her to make some loukoumades so I could live vicariously through her blog.  One, because I don't make doughnuts and two, because I already look like I wear a doughnut around my waist so I don't need to be eating said doughnuts. Loukoumades are Greek doughnuts/fritters that are doused in (what else) a honey syrup and served warm with cinnamon and walnuts (or whatever you want, really). If you haven't guessed by the description, they are delicious. Then, the other day, I came across this Time to Make the Doughnuts event hosted by Peabody and Helen of Tartelette and decided this was my chance. Loukoumades, here I come!

Well...there is a small problem with me making loukoumades. Okay, there are a few. For one, I have never worked with yeast, or at least, not yeast that hasn't been manipulated in a bread machine. I'm actually pretty terrified of yeast. But, working with yeast was one of my 2008 cooking resolutions, so why not knock it out in February?

Second, frying and I do not get along. When Tom and I were first dating, I decided to make some homemade french fries for him. He was really amazed by this, like no one ever makes fries at home. Well, somewhere in between my saying, "Oh, it's no big deal!" and "Really, it's not hard. My grandma and I would always make these growing up!" I managed to burn the &*_$%@# out of my wrist when grease splattered all over it. Five years later, the scar is still noticeable. That wasn't the first time I had deep fried anything...but it was the last.

When I decided to tackle both these fears, my next step was finding a recipe for loukoumades--not an easy task, apparently. I must have looked at 4 dozen recipes for loukoumades and I'm pretty sure no two were alike. Now, with cooking recipes, this isn't a problem. I know what works and what doesn't, at least for my tastes. With baking (which I am not good at) and yeast (which I have never worked with) I'm not quite as confident in combining recipes to make the right one. There were recipes with milk, recipes without. Recipes that called for one packet of yeast and 4 cups of flour while others called for a packet of yeast and 2 cups of flour. Out of nowhere came a recipe with vanilla and, even more surprisingly, a recipe with eggs. My head was starting to spin. I frantically searched Peter 1's blog, Peter 2's blog, Ivy's blog, Laurie's blog..surely one of these great Greek bloggers has made loukoumades. I know I can trust their recipes. No dice! Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Eventually I went with this recipe from recipezaar of all places. I halved the recipe. I also used more flour and omitted  the oil because it was the only recipe I saw that had oil in it. Otherwise, I followed the recipe for the doughnuts (I always make my honey syrup for everything the same way so I didn't even bother looking at that portion of any of the recipes).

After a couple hours my dough had risen! Hooray! Elly: 1, Yeast: 0.

Now, the frying...eh. For one I don't have a candy thermometer. I used the wooden spoon trick (you know, if it bubbles around it, it's ready to go) which worked. But by the end I think the oil got too hot because the doughnuts were a tad soggy. But that's ok! They get that way with the syrup anyway.

What I did not get and what I STILL do not get is how to make these things actually look the cute little dough balls I get at the Greek festivals and church, all the same shape. This batter was the consistency of a thick pancake batter so I couldn't exactly shape it before dropping it into the oil. I got all kinds of crazy shapes, although most of them looked like animals.

This one sort of looks like a rooster, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this one, a bit like an aardvark, perhaps?

 

 

 

 

 

This resembles a seahorse. Or maybe a dead zebra. I'm not too sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some turned out better than others, obviously, but you get the point. Still, I will take misshapen fritters to check "work with yeast" off my 2008 list any day.

 

Loukoumades

Batter
1 package dry active yeast
1 cup warm (100-110 degrees) water
1/2 cup milk (brought to room temperature)
2-1/4 cups flour (maybe more) 
1.5 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Syrup (you may or may not want to reduce this to 1/2 cup of each of the following; it did make a little too much but it all depends how syrup-y you want your loukoumades)
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup sugar

Vegetable/neutral oil for frying
cinnamon and chopped walnuts for garnish

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add that, along with the milk, to the  yeast. Add more flour if necessary to achieve a thick pancake batter like consistency. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm place (80-85 degrees) for about 2 hours.

When the batter has risen (it will be about 3 times its original size) heat your oil to about 365 degrees (if you have a candy thermometer) and drop the batter by the teaspoonfull into the hot oil. Fry until just golden brown and then put them on a cooling rack placed over a pan (to catch the oil).

To make the syrup, bring the honey, sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Boil for a couple minutes to thicken slightly and then skim the foam off the top. Pour the mixture over the fritters. Top with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.

 

Oops, this was not supposed to  happen...

 

 

 

 

My coworker's birthday was this weekend, so I wanted to bake something to take to work for her this morning. At first, I thought pound cake. Hell, marbled pound cake. Delicious, easier to transport than cupcakes or a layer cake (especially for me, since I take public trans), no frosting =  less time consuming and less room for error. But then I thought,I have never made a pound cake before. And cake is risky. I mean, I can't exactly try a piece of the cake before taking it into work. What if it doesn't taste good? Tom suggested I make two pound cakes and keep one; a good idea but 1) that would mean there would be seriously buttery, fatty marble pound cake around that I would devour and 2) I would be using 12 eggs and a truckload of butter for two pound cakes. No thanks.

So then I thought cupcakes. Not terribly easy to transport, but easy enough to taste-test before taking into work. Plus, while I am definitely a waaaaaaaaay better cook than a baker, the things I usually manage to bake without screwing up are muffins and cupcakes. I can rock out the tasty cupcakes when I need to. And, I'll use a Joy of Baking recipe, I thought. Everything I've made from there is foolproof. Yes, of course. Cupcakes it is!

Well, I jinxed myself. Somehow, these cupcakes were just tough and not really moist at all. I figure one of two things happened: I overmixed them or I overbaked them. Since I have more of a tendency to do the latter than the former, that could definitely be it. It probably doesn't help that my oven is around three times older than I am. It's not level, it runs hot, and the door doesn't seal completely so heat spews out of the sides. I am so over apartment living. But they don't really look overbaked, so it's also possible I overworked the batter. I don't usually pull out my stand mixer unless I am doing a lot of baking, but I did get it out this time. So, maybe I just let it go too long. 

Either way, while these vanilla cupcakes weren't awful and they were tasty, they were definitely tough. They were not my best venture in baking (though certainly not my worst, either). Luckily, the frosting is good. And, they turned out looking nice, at least. As for how the coworker liked them? Well, she called in sick today. :P

 

 

 

I decided I wanted something fruity to stick in my holiday tins, and landed on yet another Joy of Baking recipe; this time for raspberry oatmeal squares. I don't have a whole lot to say about this recipe other than it's really easy and it's really good for being so simple. What more can you ask for?

 

 

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares
Joy of Baking

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups old fashioned oats, divided
1 cup raspberry preserves (or jam)

Preheat your oven to 350 and position the rack to the middle of the oven. Grease a 9" square pan with butter or cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until incorporated. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well combined, and stir in 1.75 cups of the oats.

Press 2/3 of the mixture into your baking pan to form a crust. Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the crust. To the remaining mixture, add the remaining 1/4 cup oats. Crumble that mixture over the jam.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

 

 

Any recipe that starts out with one pound of butter has got to be good. I'm sorry, but it's just a fact. Kourambiedes are another one of my favorite cookies. They are basically the Greek's version of shortbread cookies, and are rolled in powdered sugar. The cookies are really similar to Mexican wedding cookies/Russian tea cakes. If you were thinking maybe the pound of butter wasn't rich enough, then surely the dousing of the cookies in powdered sugar adds that extra sweetness you want :)

The last time I made these, we were out of ouzo and brandy, so I used about 1 tsp. of almond extract and they were still really good, and more almond-y. I say this in case you tend not to keep liquor around the house and want to know if something can be substituted.  But today, I went the traditional route since I have a just-opened bottle of ouzo in the liquor cabinet.

I'm submitting these cookies over to Susan at FoodBlogga who is hosting a Christmas cookies event. New cookies are being added constantly, and I have been drooling over a large portion of them for days.

Kourambiedes
makes about 4 dozen

1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 shot ouzo, brandy, or cognac
3.5 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup roasted and crushed almonds
additional confectioners sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350.

Beat the butter until very creamy, a good 10-15 minutes. Add the sugar and cream together. Beat in the egg yolks, one a a time, until well incorporated and finally, mix in the vanilla and the ouzo.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture slowly, until incorporated and a relatively stiff dough forms. Add more flour, if necessary. Knead in the almonds, and knead the dough 5 or 6 times.

Using tablespoon sized portions, roll the dough into whatever shape you want (I did crescents; in my famly, crescents, rounds and esses were the most popular) and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for about 24 minutes or until done. Cookies should be slightly browned, but not too dark.

Let the cookies cool for ten minutes or so before rollling in powdered sugar.

 

 

Melomakarona are one of my favorite cookies on the planet. Like most Greek desserts, they have honey, cinnamon, and walnuts. What can I say? We don't like to mess with a good thing.  But, it's this mixture that makes them perfect for the holidays (or really, year round, if you're me!).

The dough for this cookie is pretty basic, but what makes them unique is the honey/simple syrup mixture the cookies are dunked into and the texture that arises from that process. The dipped cookies are pretty soft, due to the syrup, but are not chewy. The finished cookie has sweetness from the honey and sugar, a little spice from the cinnamon and cloves, and a nice crunch from the walnuts. That's why they're pretty much my perfect cookie.

 

 

 

Melomakarona
makes 4-5 dozen cookies

Cookie Dough
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1.5 cups vegetable oil
6 cups flour
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Syrup/topping
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups honey
1/2 lb. walnuts, crushed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves

 

To make the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated. Add the oil and orange juice, mixing until smooth and combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. If necessary, add more flour to make a workable dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll cookies into oval shapes with the palm of your hand and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Press the cookies down slightly with your fingertips, and then prick them with a fork several times. Bake the cookies for about 25 minutes or until done. Set aside to cool completely.

To dip the cookies:
Mix the walnuts, cinnamon and cloves together in a bowl and set aside.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, start making your syrup. Bring the water, honey and sugar to a boil in a large sauce or saute pan (I like using a high saute pan, the bigger surface area across will let you dip more cookies at once). After it has boiled for a minute or two and thickened slightly, skim the foam off the top. Turn burner to low, just to keep the syrup warm.

In batches, dunk the cookies in the honey syrup. Leave them in there for about 40-50 seconds or so, before removing them with a slotted spatula and placing them on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.  Top the dipped cookies with the walnut mixture.

Store these in an airtight container and they should keep for quite a while (if they last that long :)