rainy weekend

this weekend i made brioche. victory! with the leftover dough, i made cinnamon rolls. and then i made gingersnaps. and jenny made pumpkin ice cream. delicious all. recipes and photos coming!

brioches a tete, from saveur magazine

1/3 c milk, heated to 105°–110°
1/4 c sugar
1 1/4-oz packet active dry yeast
5 eggs, at room temperature
4 c flour
1 t fine salt
1/2 lb unsalted butter, plus more as needed, at room temperature

dissolve yeast in milk with a pinch of sugar. ;et stand until foamy. whisk together the flour, salt, and remaining sugar in the base of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. mix in the milk mixture. add in 4 of the eggs, mixing after each addition. cut butter into 2 tablespoon portions. with the mixer on medium, add the butter one piece at a time and mix until dough comes together. it will be shiny and smooth and will clean the sides of the bowl. transfer to a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise 90-120 minutes in a warm place, until doubled in size. punch down. let rise another hour. shape brioche to fill mini brioche tins, let rise another 30 minutes. apply egg wash, bake 25-30 minutes at 375, until the brioches feel hollow and dense. voila!

i made 6 mini brioches, and with the rest of the dough, made cinnamon rolls. to do this: chill remaining dough, then roll it into a square, about 1/4"-1/2" thick. spread with butter. sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (and any other desired fillings), and roll tightly starting at the side closest to you, moving away. gently slice into 1" rolls. let rise one more time, until fluffy and doubled (rolls will most likely touch each other) before baking. i gave mine a simple powdered sugar glaze when they came out.

if you have time, try making the brioche. it is extremely satisfying! beautiful, fun, and delicious. mmmmmmm!


raw cinnamon rolls


getting bigger


finished products

tis the season

fall, my absolute favorite season, is upon us, and with it come all things warm, cozy, and smelling good! that means lots of baking.

i recently made a brown sugar bundt cake and... pumpkin donuts! the quintessential fall treat, i think.

pumpkin donuts:

3 1/2 c flour
4 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t nutmeg
1 c sugar
3 T butter
1 whole egg, two yolks
1 t vanilla
1/2 c buttermilk
1 c canned pumpkin

whisk together dry ingredients. cream butter and sugar. add egg, yolks, vanilla, then buttermilk and pumpkin. combine with dry. form dough into the shape of your liking. heat about 6 inches of vegetable oil in a large, but not tall, pot, to 365 degrees. with a skimmer, drop doughnuts into oil and let cook until deep golden brown. flip once. you are looking for color as an indicator of when to flip/take out of the oil. let cooked doughnuts sit on power towels to drain excess oil. roll or dip in cinnamon sugar.

savory AND sweet

yesterday i made ratatouille, a provencal fish soup, and a totally un-related caramel-peanut-chocolate tart. here are the photos. recipes after the pictures.

soup prep.


the finished soup.


ratatouille prep.


rataouille.


this is the tart before the chocolate ganache was poured on top.


fish soup:
1 fennel bulb, diced
2 leeks, sliced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 large baby leaves
3 cloes garlic, sliced
2 T tomato paste
1 c wine
4 tomatoes, chopped
3 lbs fish (i used cod and sea bass)
1 pinch saffron
6 c liquid (combo of chicken stock and water

saute first six ingredients in olive oil until soft. add tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, and saffron. bring to boil. add fish and stock, simmer until fish is falling apart.

ratatouille:

4 small zucchini, sliced
3 yellow squash, sliced
1 large onion, slice (half rings)
1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, in strips
1 large eggplant, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 c fresh basil, ripped
1 T fresh thyme
2 T red wine vinegar

roast eggplant in a 400 degree oven, covered with foil, for about 20 minutes. set aside. saute onions until they begin to caramelize, then add bell pepper. allow them to caramelize together. add red wine vinegar, scraping up bits from sides and bottom of pan. simmer until liquid cooks off. set aside. saute zucchini and squash until soft. add tomatoes, cook until their liquid begins to simmer. add all other ingredients into the pot, along with the thyme. fold in basil before serving.

cherry streusel coffee cake

adapted from martha stewart



1/2 c butter
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 1/4 t salt
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
2 t vanilla
1 c sour cream
2 c sour cherries

for streusel:
2 c flour
3/4 c brown sugar
2 1/4 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 stick butter

cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. alternate the addition of dry ingredients with the sour cream. spoon about half the batter into a tube pan, layer cherries on top, top with remaining batter, making sure to smooth it. sprinkle with streusel. bake until cake springs back and no longer jiggles, about 35-40 minutes.

cinnamon whoopie pies

cinnamon whoopie pies begat homemade cinnamon toast crunch begat a better version of cinnamon whoopie pies. details to come...!

almond jam bars

this was adapted from a martha stewart recipe. sorry, no photos!

1 stick butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cardamom
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 c peach jam, or jam of your choosing.

whisk together dry ingredients. cream butter and sugars. add egg yolk, scraping down the sides. add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stir in almonds.

line an 8x8 inch pan with greased/sprayed foil. pat half of the dough into the bottom of the pan, cover with jam, leaving a small jam-less border. crumble the remaining dough on top, and pat into a more solid later. bake at 350, about 30 minutes. when cool, cut into bars.

truffles

i made truffles. three of them. because that's how much ganache i had leftover from the german chocolate cake... left to right: cocoa powder, ginger nibs, coconut.

german chocolate cake

because i'm feeling lazy, i'll just tell you that this recipe is from epicurious-- it's called "inside out german chocolate cake." can we all agree that when the coconut/dulce de leche/pecan is on the outside, it kind of looks gross?? oh- i took a shortcut with this. i bought dulce de leche, rather than boiling or slow-cooking condensed milk-- i used 2 13 oz cans, and they worked great. it just needs to be softened/warmed on the stovetop before the rest of the filling ingredients are mixed in. and use good quality chocolate for the ganache. oh, and definitely make sure that you have a sweet boy to help you transport the finished product during weekend rush hour on western avenue.

molasses whoopie pies

this was a little bit tricker than the chocolate whoopie pies. i found a recipe from martha stewart for molasses sandwich cookies, but they seemed to be crisp and more ginger snap-y than i would want. the recipe wasn't tooooo too different from the chocolate whoopie pie one, so i just made a few changes (increased flour, baking soda, added buttermilk...) and this is what i ended with:

2 c flour
1 1/8 t baking soda
1 1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c light brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
1 t vanilla
3/4 c buttermilk

same procedure as with chocolate cookies.

chocolate whoopie pies

alright, here goes. 2007 was the year of the brownie. 2008 looks to be the year of the whoopie pie. only seven months left to perfect my art!

it's hard to find a good, basic recipe for whoopie pies-- filling or cake. through my "research," i've discovered that shortening is favored in both elements of these tasty treats, which doesn't seem necessary (or appealing) to me at the moment. i've settled on 2 good (and very different) shortening-free fillings. now i'm accumulating some good ideas for cake. i'd like to have at least three or four cake flavors, working off of the same basic recipe-- the chocolate pie, my recipe for which was adapted from epicurious.

here's the chocolate recipe:

2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 1/4 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 stick butter
1 c br sugar
1 egg

combine dry ingredients; combine buttermilk and vanilla. cream butter and sugar. mix in egg. keeping mixer running, but scraping down sides of bowl as necessary,alternate additions of wet and dry ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. spoon onto lined cookie sheet (tablespoons of batter). bake at 350 until cakes are springy.

lacy almond cookies

easy, yummy, candy.

beginning to melt and bubble, almost at full melty potential


an experiment in shaping


1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/4 c light corn syrup
1/3 c flour
1/2 c sliced chopped almonds

stir first three ingredients together over heat until smooth. stir in flour an almonds. drop scant teaspoons onto silpat or parchment paper, 2 inches apart. cook until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. let cool a few minutes on sheet, then transfer to rack (or mold around cup or bowl, then move to rack)!

chewy chocolate gingerbread

these are a martha stewart recipe- she has better photo stylists than i do! i was hoping to use crystallized ginger rather than fresh but couldn't find any at my market. next time i'll either increase the ginger even more, or make sure i can get my hands on crystallized!

dough, rolled into balls, dipped in sugar


the finished chewy, crackly goodness.


1.5 c flour
1 1/4 t ground ginger
1 t cinnamon
1 T cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 t baking soda

whisk together dry ingredients. beat butter until whitened, about 4 minutes. add brown sugar and mix until combined. add molasses and mix until combined. dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 t boiling water. mix half of dry ingredients into batter. beat in bakning soda mixture, then rest of the dry ingredients. mix in ginger and 7 oz chocolate chips. refrigerate dough in discs till firm. make balls, roll in sugar. bake 10-12 minute at 325.

bubbie's coffee cake

whoopie pies

you heard it here first. i strongly maintain that whoopie pies are the new donut are the new cupcake. watch out, world! this is like when i predicted that max would be a leap baby.

the cake of these is deliciously spongy. it reminds me of something, but i can't put my finger on it exactly... taste testers? where are you? i need your help. anyhow, yummy, and a nice filling, too.

"pies"/"cakes"/"cookies" about to go in the oven.


finished product. didn't want to fill all the sandwiches prematurely...