Tag: baking therapy

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Recipes

baking therapy: a double chocolate birthday cake

We celebrated Jordan’s birthday this past weekend. On Friday night, we went over to our friends Alexa and Matt’s house for a delightful dinner party. It was also Matt’s birthday and so we were doubly celebrating. We took turns making cocktails and ate delicious baked risotto and scallops. I brought the cake.

Jordan’s Favorite Chocolate Cake, adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

This cake is one of Jordan’s favorites. The coffee in the batter really makes the dessert. The cake is super moist and has a really delightful texture. I made it with a chocolate buttercream frosting, but I think just some whipped cream, a vanilla buttercream or even a peanut butter frosting could also be really excellent.

For the cake:

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 inch round pans.

Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir to combine. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add the coffee. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Cool before frosting.

For the chocolate buttercream:

6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 sticks butter, softened
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 cup powered sugar
1 T instant coffee powered, dissolved in 2 T hot water (we didn’t have this and so I omitted it, but Jordan thinks it really makes the frosting – so add it if you can)

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Let cool to room temperature. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat to combine. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar. Add the chocolate and coffee. Mix until blended. Spread on cooled cake.

-Emily

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Recipes

the best thing …………….. in the world

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

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

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

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

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

Without further adieu …

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

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Scant 1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

¾ cup plus 1 Tbs whole milk

2 Tbs buttermilk

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

¾ cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar

2 large eggs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Emily

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

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Randomness

treats

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

Yum!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: brownies, continued continued

Yep, another brownie attempt. I am very determined.  And some good news: I’m almost there. The recipe below, plus a few tweaks, may just be the one. I’m not going to rejoice yet, but I am feeling pretty good.

Classic Chocolate Brownies, adapted from Ghirardelli Chocolate
Makes 16 brownies
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Guittard)
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (I used Scharffen-Berger semi-sweet baking chocolate bar)
1/2 c butter, cut into pieces
1 t vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 c plus 2 T flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Chop the 4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate bars into 1-inch pieces. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chopped chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Stir the brown sugar and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and mix well. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, mixing well until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Conclusions: Crusty top! Chewy sides! Fudgy middle! Pretty darn good. I even wanted to eat more than one (which is my true test of a good dessert – I’m usually pretty burnt out after one serving so if I want another, it must be really good). BUT, since I’ve decide to be really picky about this project, the top could be crustier, the brownie chewier and the middle a little less fudgy.

The Tweaks

1. Use all Guittard chocolate chips (or other lesser-quality, but still decent baking chocolate) instead of the 4 oz of Scharffen-Berger. The Scharffen-Berger chocolate is just too good (I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I think it may be true) and makes the brownies a bit too chocolatey.

2. Cook those little guys for even longer. The original recipe recommended 25 – 30 minutes. I did 45 and they were still a bit mushy. The extra cooking time hopefully should make the brownies a bit crustier and chewier, and less fudgy.

I think I will give my updated recipe a try this weekend for the Superbowl. You know I’ll be reporting back!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: brownies, continued

After last week’s brownie baking adventure (with the end result of brownies that were more like chocolate cake), I decided to give it another go. This time I went to Martha.

Whole-Wheat Brownies, from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food
6 T unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 1/4 t baking powder
1 t coarse salt
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce
8 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 8 inch square dish.

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

In a large bowl, stir together applesauce, sugar and egg. Place butter and 6 oz of chocolate over a double boiler to melt. Stir chocolate into sugar mixture. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into pan and top with remaining 2 oz of chocolate.

Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

Conclusions: Also delicious (and perfectly complimented by vanilla ice cream – oh so comforting), but still on the edge of cake territory. These brownies were closer, but I still long for a brownie with chewy edges, a fudgey middle and a flaky top.  Ahhhh.

After two attempts, I now have a very strong compulsion to make the perfect brownie and fulfill my fantasy. Up next: Ghiradelli’s Classic Chocolate Brownie. Let’s hope this one makes the cut!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: brownies

I came home from work today and really wanted to bake. And when the mood strikes … I’m thankful I have an above average supply of butter on hand.

Jordan and I have also been hitting the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook pretty hard lately. Thomas Keller works magic in the kitchen and this cookbook compiles his family style recipes.  Thanks Liz and Kyle for this awesome book!

Brownies, from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home
Note: Below are the measurements for the whole recipe. I halved the recipe because I didn’t think it was wise for Jordan and I to eat an entire tray of brownies in two days (the recommended period of freshness).
3/4 c flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t kosher salt
3/4 lb unsalted butter, cut into 1 T pieces
3 eggs
1/2 t vanilla paste or extract (I used extract, although vanilla paste sounds awesome)
6 oz 61% – 64% chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces (I used some Scharffen-Berger I had laying around from a previous dessert)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9″ x 9″ baking dish (I used a loaf pan because I halved the recipe).

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt.

Melt half the butter in a small saucepan. Pour the melted butter over the cold butter. Stir to melt the butter. There will be some butter chunks. These are awesome.

In a mixer, mix eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add in 1/3 of dry ingredients alternating with 1/3 of the butter. Continue with remaining dry mixture and butter. Last, add in chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared dish and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until the center when poked with a tester has just a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Cool in the pan until a bit warmer than room temperature.

Invert and cut into pieces. Dust the tops with powered sugar before serving.

Conclusions: Quite good, but more of a cake-like texture then a brownie texture. The little gooey bits of dark chocolate definitely made the dessert!

Still searching for a brownie recipe!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: nonnie’s carrot cake

Because I’ve neglected you all for so long, I’ll start this out right … with a Nonnie recipe. As many of you know, Nonnie’s recipes aren’t something I’ll put out there just any time or make for just anyone … they are unfailingly that good.

This carrot cake is perfect. Moist, delicately spiced, and easy to make. The cream cheese frosting is also divine, and good on just about anything!

Nonnie’s Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 t each baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon
1/2 t each ginger, nutmeg, salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup carrot, grated
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2/3 cup oil
1 t vanilla

Preheat an over to 350 degrees and grease a 7″ by 11″ pan. Mix dry ingredients. Add eggs, pineapple, carrot, pecans, oil and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes.

Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla
dash of salt
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted (especially if you live in damp SF)

Cream butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Frost just about anything and I guarantee you’ll love it!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: chocolate chiffon cake

I recently purchased the Tartine Bakery cookbook and it is wonderful! The recipes are well written and clear, the photos are beautiful and now I get to learn the secrets behind of the tasty delights from Tartine that I love so much!

For our second Thanksgiving dinner with Jordan’s parents, my parents and their neighbors, I spearheaded the dessert course armed with my new cookbook. There are so many wonderful things to choose from, but I decide to go with something relatively easy.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Vanilla Pastry Cream

I’ll briefly describe the recipe. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix egg yolks, water, and oil. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Add lemon juice and zest. Fold these three mixtures together and pour into a springform pan. Bake for about an hour in a 325 degree oven. Let cool and then unmold.

You’ll end up with a four inch tall, very impressive looking cake. I was pretty proud when that puppy came out of the oven … and didn’t collapse.

The pastry cream is like making any sort of custard. Whole milk, salt, eggs, sugar, vanilla bean, and cornstarch plus heat. Also fairly easy, but requires a great deal of attention. There is no going back from burnt milk or curdled eggs!

Conclusions: The cake was good – chocolatey, moist, of the appropriate density. The vanilla bean pastry cream might just be my new favorite accompaniment. I can’t really think of anything that wouldn’t be good with it! A sprinkling of fresh berries would have made this dessert outstanding. Next time!

-Emily

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Recipes

baking therapy: banana cream pie

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

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

I followed a Martha Stewart recipe for the pie.

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

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

-Emily

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Recipes

chocolate mousse: trial and error

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

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

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

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

Still on the hunt for the perfect chocolate mousse …

-Emily