Tag: chocolate

Can’t…stop…crunching

I’m going to admit up front that I’m stretching what could be a single post into two.  But really, this first part should stand alone.  And, since Septemberish appears to have become the month of crunches (rainbow and cinnamon toast crunch crunch), why stop now?

We begin with good quality bittersweet chocolate.  And while it is gently melting with some butter, go ahead and bust out the…

Nutella.

Oh that’s right, I went there.  Nutella has made several appearances on this blog.  In fact, Nutella is to the Misanthropic Hostess what is Alec Baldwin is to hosting SNL; always a really good idea (the same could be said of Steve Martin and Christopher Walken).

Do you want to hear a confession?  Nutella is the singular foodstuff not allowed in our house on a casual basis.  I have pounds of varying varieties of chocolate stored in the pantry and at least three kinds of peanut butter in there as well.  No problemo.  However, introduce this little elliptical tub of chocolate hazelnut manna into our household and I swear, I can hear it whispering to me while I’m at work.  So, sadly, I’ve learned that I can only buy it when I have an immediate use for it.

Once the chocolate and butter are melted and combined, the nutella is added and the whole mess is whisked until smooth.

And here is where the crunch comes in.

Once the crispy rice is incorporated everything goes into the freezer for a pause.  Then, break the mass into smaller pieces and let your imagination run wild.  On top of ice cream?  Yes!  Yogurt?  Yup!  As a fancy add-in to granola?  You betcha!

My only suggestion is that you store the crunch in a sealed zip-lock in the fridge or freezer.  The recipe doesn’t include any stabilizers and so the melt-point is very low (read: if you store it in the pantry and think you’re going to be able to sneak bites here and there, think again, your chocolately fingertips will give you away).

While all the suggestions for use provided above are equally tantalizing, I had other plans for this crunch.  Here is a hint.

If you like this, you might like these

Nutella Cookies

The Bella Bar

Soundtrack

Give this young lady a listen:

L.A. Girlfriend

Hazelnut Crunch

Bon Appetit, September 2012

Ingredients

  • 1/4 C  hazelnuts
  • 2 oz (about 1/3 C) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
  • 2 TBS (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 C Nutella
  • 3 C toasted rice cereal
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line baking pan or a dish that will fit in your freezer with parchment.
  3. Spread hazelnuts out on sheet pan and toast until fragrant (6-8 minutes).
  4. Coursely chop nuts, set aside to let cool.
  5. Add chocolate and butter to medium heatproof bowl (or smaller heatproof pan).  Set over large saucepan of simmering water.  Heat mixture stirring often until butter and chocolate are melted and smooth.
  6. Remove bowl or smaller pan from over larger saucepan. Stir-in Nutella and then hazelnuts.  Fold-in rice cereal.
  7. Spread mixture into prepared parchment lined pan or dish, freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
  8. When set, break into smaller pieces with hands.  Crunch can be made in advance and store in the freezer in a airtight container.
  9. Try not to eat it all before using it on or with something.

 

You had me at browned butter

I’m always on the lookout for a good chocolate chip cookie variation. So, when I came across one that included browned butter I said, ‘yes please and thank you.’  To add to the sophistication (this isn’t your kindergartner’s chocolate chip cookie), I added toasted walnuts and used super dark chocolate chunks.

Not a lot of process photos here because, well, browned butter isn’t very attractive on its own and at its core, this recipe follows basic chocolate chip cookie protocol (go here if you really need additional photos on how to make this cookie).

Two notes. Browned butter will form some sediment during the delicious smelling browning process.  To keep this out of the dough I strained the cooled butter before using.  Second, I prefer to toast my nuts in a pan rather than in the oven so that I can keep an eye on them (I know, I know).  Heat a large pan over medium head, add nuts tossing occasionally until the start to smell toasty.

 Soundtrack

….aaaaaand we’re back to Coldplay.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I get a weekly recipe email for Southern Food from Diana Rattray.  Who knows why I get the email but I always look at the recipes…mostly because I am amazed by what people eat in the South (at least according to Diana Rattray and Paula Dean).  This recipe is adapted from one of those weekly emails.  Who knew?

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, browned and slightly cooled
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temp
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temp
  • 2 TBS milk
  • 1 TBS vanilla
  • 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 TSP baking soda
  • 1 TSP kosher salt
  • 2 C dark chocolate chunks (chips would do as well of course)
  • I C toasted walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped (about the same size as your chunks or chips)

Directions

  1. To brown butter,  heat in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter begins to simmer. Continue cooking, stirring, just until butter begins to turn golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off into a measuring cup or bowl, leaving darkest sediment behind. Let the butter cool to room temperature.
  2. While butter is browning, toast nuts in a pan on the stovetop or in the oven (350 degrees about 10 minutes).  Let cool, chop roughly.
  3. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat the browned butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until well blended.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture, mixing on low speed, until a soft dough forms. Scrape the bowl a few times. Stir in the chocolate chunks/chips and walnuts. Cover and chill for about an hour.
  5. Heat the oven to 375°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto  parchment, allowing about 2 to 3 inches in between the cookies.
  6. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes, until browned around the edges. Cool completely and transfer to an airtight container for storage.
  7. Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

 

It would be evil to eat these….without a little vino

I don’t know about you, but I like having a little trick with my treat.  And this, is a good one.

You know that orange spice up there?  Guess what it is.

Okay fine.  Let’s back up.  You can tell what is in the next photo right?

That’s right, chocolate.  And, from the this photo, I bet you can guess where we are going (any references to the movie the Sandbox will be completely ignored.  This isn’t that kind of trick).

Returning to the orange stuff.  Have you guessed what it is yet?  Give up? It’s cayenne pepper. Yes.  With chocolate.  And, it makes another appearance below with sugar and a pinch of fleur de sel.  Before refrigerating or freezing, the log of dough above gets a nice roll in this stuff.

Followed by a nice wrap.  Here, I’ve split a paper towel tube down the middle, wrapped the dough in parchment and then placed it in its little dough cozy to help keep its shape.  Yes, I realize this is something your grandmother might do.  It is surprisingly effective.  If you can remember to save the paper towel tubes that is.

You want to give the dough at least a couple of hours in the fridge.  Like most “icebox” cookies, this dough will save nicely in the freezer for a couple of months.  When ready to use, cut 1/4 disks with a sharp knife.

Then, bake.

Remember the trick?  Well.  The cayenne sort of grows on you as the cookie is nibbled.  You won’t notice it at first.  However, slowly the heat will develop until you decide it’s a really good idea to chase it with a sip of a nice, light red wine.  Trick-or treat indeed!

Soundtrack

Colin Hay.  Without his working men.

Chocolate Cayenne Cocktail Cookies

adapted from Food and Wine, November 2011

the original calls for neither the spicy sugar roll or mini chocolate chips, revert at your own risk

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder (TMH note:use Valhrona.  Trust me)
  • 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp fleur de sel, finely ground
  • 1/2 lb butter
  • 1/2 C confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 TBS granulated sugar + more for rolling
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/2 C mini chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Sift flour, cocoa, first 1/2 tsp cayenne and first 1/2 tsp salt into a bowl, whisk to combine.
  2. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, beat butter with both sugars at low speed until creamy.  Add in the egg yolk and beat until smooth.  Reduce speed to low and add-in flour mixture.  Mix until just incorporated.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead gently until it comes together.  Then, gently roll dough into a log (mine was about 1 1/2 inch diameter and 15 inches long).  I find that roughly forming a log and then gently rolling it back and forth along a sheet of parchment works well.  In a small bowl pour sugar for rolling.  Start by adding 1/8 tsp fleur de sel and 1/8 tsp cayenne.  Mix into the sugar and taste.  Adjust spice as needed. Sprinkle parchment with sugar mixture and roll the dough log over and gently press the sugar into the log all the way around.  Roll in parchment and cool in fridge at least 2 hours.  If you are planning to freeze the dough, wrap securely in plastic wrap and then a freezer bag and freeze on an even, flat surface.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a sharp knife, cut log into disks 1/4 inch thick.  Arrange on cookie sheets (you should get about 24).
  5. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Cookies are ready when they appear just firm.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for at least 3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

What’s orange and brown and oh so in the season?

This cake!

Things start to get a little frenetic around this time of year what with the big holiday season approaching.  So, here’s what were going to do:  two-a-weeks from here through the end of 2011.  We’ve got a lot to cover.  So, sit-up, pay attention and let’s do this.

I love Halloween.  Well, I love fall in general, but especially Halloween.  It’s fun, there are costumes, it’s a little scary.  I like a little scary.  Of course, there are lots and lots of treats. And this one is probably more for the grown-ups than the kiddos.

This recipe starts with zest. Lots of it: 1/4 of a cup (that’s about four large ones).

This is a pound-cake recipe. This isn’t some springy-light garden party recipe (though it would be great at a garden party, Andy Bernard).  This is a hearty, stick to your ribs, get ready for the cold cake.

And here comes the surprise…chocolate.  Chocolate and orange together are intensely and gorgeously delicious.

Orange, orange cake and chocolate chunks.  Are you picking-up what I am putting down?

And, if the zest of many oranges isn’t orange enough, the still warm cake gets a nice soaking of orange syrup.

While we are talking about topping things, make room for some chocolate ganache.  Because really, there is always room for chocolate ganache.

Of course, skip the food coloring and this bundt  is no less addictive.

Soundtrack

Al Green.  The Kitchen Gods requested it.

Barefoot Contessa Orange Chocolate

Chunk Cake

from Ina Garten

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound (16 TBS) unsalted butter at room temp.
  • 2 C sugar
  • 4 extra-large eggs at room temp.
  • 1/4 C grated orange zest (4 large oranges)
  • 3 C plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salte
  • 1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3/4 C buttermilk at room temp.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 C good semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  • Orange food coloring (optional)

for the syrup

  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1/4 C orange juice

for the ganache

  • 8 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 C heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl or standing mixer (with a paddle attachment) for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one-at-a-time, then the orange zest and food coloring if desired.

Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.  Toss the chocolate chunks w/ 2 TBS flour and add to the batter.  Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup.  In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves.  Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake.  Allow the cake to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.  Drizzle over the top of the cake.

A tribute to the great Mary See

Who is Mary See?  Funny you should ask.

It seems like most families have their own sort of internal economy complete with a currency and policies toward compensation, incentive and, of course, debt.  In my own family, the economy is ruled by the all mighty See.  Well, See’s Candy.  This “old fashioned” West-coast purveyor of confections plays a role in many of my childhood memories.  The grandchildren at my maternal grandmother’s Thanksgiving table were always exceptionally well-behaved in hopes of earning one of the coveted chocolate See’s turkeys.  World series games and professional golf tournaments were watched in nervous anticipation because a pound or two of See’s candies were always on the line.  So great was their love for these chocolate-covered goodies that my mother, aunts and grandmother would make regular pilgramages to the See’s store in Santa Barbara because their home town of Santa Maria did not have a shop of its own.

Does it surprise you at all that I come from a family willing to drive four hours round-trip for a chocolate?

Ninety years after the first store was opened in Los Angeles, See’s offers something for everyone; from suckers to truffles to bridge mix to chocolate turkeys. For me that something is very specific.  The Bordeaux.  Brown sugar and buttercream covered in either milk or dark chocolate and smothered in chocolate sprinkles.  Want my heart?  I’ll trade you for a Bordeaux.  It’s the sprinkles.  But then, its always been the sprinkles.

Which may help explain why, when I was at my favorite cooking supply store a couple of weeks ago and saw a huge container of those little jimmies, I immediately thought: Bordeaux cupcakes (well, I had to have some way of justifying the purchase).

And so I bring you my interpretation of the Bordeaux in little cake form.

I started with Martha Stewart’s near ubiquitous brown sugar cupcake recipe.  Really, try Googling “brown sugar cupcakes.”  Pretty much all brown sugar roads lead to Martha Stewart (yes, I know, I just stepped into that one, TD.  Go ahead, say what you will).  This recipe is lean on ingredients and comes together in a flash.

The recipe says it makes between 28 and 30 and that the cups should be filled to three-quarters.  As ever, Martha is serious about this.  I fudged the 28-30 into 24 cupcakes and of course, over-filled and had some spreading.  I hate it when that happens.

While the cakes were in the oven, I turned my attention to the brown sugar buttercream.  While I tossed around the idea of filling the cupcakes with the cream, I eventually decided to spread a layer on the top of the cakes before frosting.  Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

A little research revealed the centers of the bordeaux candy, while described by See’s as a buttercream is actually  penuche or a type of fudge.  So, to make, I combined brown sugar and butter in a heavy pan.

Let it melt.

Then let it boil (note–there is no candy thermometer in the photo because the recipe doesn’t need one).

Then let it cool.

And finally, added a ridiculous amount of confectioner’s sugar.

The result is a paste that once cool, is very easy to mold.

For each (cooled) cupcake, I rolled-out a little ball (probably half-an-ounce).

Then I flattened it and molded it to the top of the cake.

Then, I generously topped each cupcake with a layer of bittersweet ganache.  Half of the linked recipe will cover two-dozen cupcakes (even if you have a very heavy frosting hand as I do).

Which brings me to the sprinkles.  If you are planning ahead for this recipe or any other that might call for food decoration, for heaven’s sake, do not buy them at the grocery store or even a regular retail outlet such as Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table.  You’ll pay way, way too much.  Three ounces at my local grocery is about four-dollars.  Yikes.

If you happen to live in the Los Angeles area, Surfas is a great place to buy decorations (and just about anything else food related).  My 12 ounce jar of chocolate sprinkles is about $8 there.  If you don’t happen to live in the area, you can mail-order from them via the same link.  If you don’t need a pound of chocolate sprinkles, Off the Beaten Path has a staggering array of sprinkles, sanding sugars and edible glitter in smaller sizes.

Now for he piece de resistance.  Pour a generous amount of the sprinkles into a shallow dish.  Then, quickly up-end the frosted cupcake and gently press the frosted side into the sprinkles.

The result will be quite satisfying

And very tasty.  Thank you Mary See!

Bordeaux Cupcakes

makes 28-30

Cupcakes

Recipe credit: Martha Stewart

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Line cupcake pans with wrappers.  Whisk together dry ingredients.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one-at-a time.

Reduce mixer speed to low.  Alternating dry ingredients and buttermilk, add to butter mixture in three parts beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Fill cupcakes to 3/4 full.  Bake until a tester comer out clean (15-25 minutes).

Brown Sugar Penuche

Recipe adapted from Stephanie Paschal

Ingredients

  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1/4 C whipping cream
  • 1/2 tsp instant coffee
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 C confectioner’s sugar

Directions

Melt butter and brown sugar together in heavy pan.  Bring mixture to a boil and let roll for two minutes.  Stir in cream, coffee, salt and bring to boil again stirring constantly for 30 seconds.  Pull off heat and let cool for 10 minutes.  Stir-in confectioner’s sugar.  Chill until paste holds shape of a ball.

Note: half this recipe will be enough to cover the entire batch of cakes.

To assemble cupcakes

Roll penuche into small balls and then mold to the tops of the cupcakes.  Pour chocolate sprinkles into a shallow bowl or dish.  Frost cupcakes as desired.  Carefully dip each cupcake into the sprinkles, adding sprinkles to the bowl as you go.

Oh those crazy Irish

They say the Irish have  a wicked sense of humor.  Case in point: this recipe.

Lets see if you can figure out what the ingredients in the following photos ultimately made.

Okay.  Let’s stop here a moment.  For those of you keeping track, we’ve seen mashed potatoes, egg yolks, grated chocolate and soft-peaked egg whites.  Not to mention the almond flour I forgot to photograph.

I swear, this is one of those recipes where someone’s (Irish?) grandmother opened the pantry and decided to add a little of this and a little of that.  What’s that you say?  Those are the best kinds of recipes?  I have to agree.

Behold, the potato cake!

It’s got potatoes but doesn’t taste potatoey.  It also has chocolate…but doesn’t taste particularly chocolatey.  Huh.

This cake is pretty fantastic with just a dusting of powdered sugar.

Or, assuming this really was someone’s grandmother’s recipe, take it one step further (as my own grandmother would have done).  And take some of this:

And add it to some of this:

To make some of this:

Either way, you can’t go wrong even if the recipe has you wondering if its author might have kissed the blarney stone one too many times.

Irish Potato Cake

Original source: Traditional Irish Cookbook; Full and Plenty (1960), Maura Laverty

pilfered and adapted by TMH from www.europeancuisines.com
Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb (225g) butter
  • 2 1/3 C (450g) granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs (separate the whites and yolks, keep both)
  • 3 standard squares (90g) baking chocolate
  • 5 TBS (50 g) almond flour/ ground almonds
  • 1 C (150g) cold mashed potatoes
  • 2 1/2 C (300g) cake flour
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2/3 C (150 ml) milk
  • additional flour/cocoa for prepping pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare a bundt or tube pan by buttering and then “flouring”

Grate the chocolate with a fine grater or food processor.

Sift the flour once by itself and a second time with the cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Cream butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in egg yolks one-at-a-time beating well after each.  Stir in the grated chocolate and ground almonds. Add in flour alternating with milk beginning and ending with the flour.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into cake batter.

Spoon batter (it will be very thick) into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick or skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for at least 20 minutes.  Cool on rack and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Chocolate Whiskey Icing

  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
  • 1/4 C cream
  • 1 TBS whiskey (or to taste)

Bring cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan.  Turn off heat and add chocolate.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Gently whisk until chocolate is combined.  Stir in whiskey.

Chocolate Stout Cake

Let’s get this month started properly.

Guinness Stout.  Chocolate.  Buttercream.

Shall I continue?

A work colleague (and fantastic baker) introduced me to this cake recipe several years ago. And I’ve been exploiting it ever since.  This is by far my favorite way to make chocolate cake.  It is dark and not as sweet as some chocolate cakes, which makes it a perfect foil for the globs of buttercream I like to slather on top.  And, if you are so inclined (as I am from time to time), it gives you a good excuse to pop the little widget on the Guinness can or bottle and enjoy a pint or two while baking.

This cake recipe is a little unusual in that you start it by boiling together a couple of cups of a good stout beer, butter and cocoa.  Strange brew indeed.

While the brew cools a bit, beat together eggs and sour cream.

Then the beer mixture is added to the sour cream.

After this, the dry ingredients are incorporated.

The result is a gorgeous, silky cake batter.  I’ve made layer cakes, sheet cakes and cupcakes with this recipe.

Here is the do what I say, not what I do portion of the post.  I thought it would be cute to make mini cupcakes without the wrappers so that when I topped them with the frosting they’d look like little beers.  Good idea in theory, a little short-sighted in operation.  First, if making cupcakes, only fill each cup about 2/3 full.  In the picture below they are filled to the top.  Not a good idea.  Second, these guys need wrappers.  Despite oiling the already non-stick pan, I had a heck of a time getting the little buggers out of the pan. This recipe will make about three dozen full-sized cupcakes, six dozen babies or two eight-to-nine inch cakes.

While this cake would be fantastic topped with a cream cheese or sour cream frosting, my go to is an Italian buttercream recipe from Gourmet magazine.  Hey–you know how some people have the dates of their deceased loved-ones in decals across the back windows of their cars.  Do you suppose there is a foodie out there with a Gourmet Magazine RIP on their car?  Just wondering.

Anyhow, Italian buttercream starts by creating a sugar syrup.  Yes, you’ll need your candy thermometer.

While the syrup is coming up to temp, egg whites get whipped into soft peaks with a little sugar and salt.

Then things get really fun.  Start up your standing mixer and slowly add the hot syrup in a steady stream.

This is going to heat things up a bit.  Don’t worry though, keep that whisk attachment (or handmixer) going.

It wouldn’t be buttercream without the butter. The butter gets added a tablespoon at a time.

At some point it will start to look like something has gone horribly wrong.  It hasn’t, keep on whisking.

A little later you’ll think, really, this isn’t right.  It is.

Eventually, the whole mess will come together and you’ll have beautiful, smooth butter cream frosting.

What you do after is up to you.  Me?  I topped my little stout cupcakes with a dollup of butter cream and dusting of sanding sugar.

If what TD says is true about there being a sandwich in every beer, there is definitely a cake in every pint!

Chocolate Stout Cake

Bon Appetit, September 2002

Ingredients

  • 2 C stout (such as Guinness)
  • 2 C (4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 C all purpose flour
  • 4 C sugar
  • 1 1/2 t salt
  • 1 T baking soda
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/3 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pans

In a saucepan, bring stout and butter to a simmer over medium heat.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth.  Cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl.  In a separate bowl or standing mixer, beat eggs and sour cream to blend.  Add stout mixture to egg mixture and beat to combine.  Add-in flour mixture and blend briefly on slow speed until just combined.  Divide batter as desired.  Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes our clean, 18-35 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream

Gourmet, January 2004

This recipe makes about 6 cups frosting

Ingredients

  • 4 large egg whites at room tempurature
  • Rounded 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 2/3 C water
  • 1 1/3 plus 2 T sugar
  • 4 sticks (2 C) butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
  • 2 t vanilla

Combine whites and salt in a very large bowl. Stir together water and 1 1/3 cups sugar in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, without stirring, brushing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.

When syrup reaches a boil, start beating egg whites with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until frothy, then gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat at medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready.)

Meanwhile, put thermometer into sugar syrup and continue boiling until syrup registers 238 to 242°F. Immediately remove from heat and, with mixer at high speed, slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into whites, beating constantly. Beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes in a standing mixer or 15 with a handheld. (It is important that meringue is properly cooled before proceeding.)

With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (Buttercream will look soupy after some butter is added if meringue is still warm. If so, briefly chill bottom of bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.) Add vanilla and beat 1 minute more.

Note: buttercream will freeze very well in an air-tight ziplock bag.

Two ways to world peace

I love this cookie recipe.  Like, cookie monster style love it.  It is so simple and elegant and universally delicious that I really, really wish I had invented it.  But I didn’t.   Pierre Herme did.  And then Dorie Greenspan re-christened the recipe with its current namesake.  For that, they both  may very well deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.  Or at least a nomination.

This cookie is effectively a chocolate sable.  It is buttery, crumbly and very, very chocolatey.  The best part?  You can make up few batches, store them in the freezer and then bake them off at will.

The recipe starts with cocoa.  My weapon of choice when it comes to cocoa is this valrhona cocoa powder I buy by the pound at Surfas in Culver City, CA.

At the end we’ll add some chopped chocolate (or in my case, teeny tiny chocolate chips).

So where were we?  Oh yes, the middle.  Butter and sugar are creamed in the usual way.  And then the secret ingredient is added: Fleur de sel.  French sea salt.  If you don’t have any in your pantry, it is well worth the small investment I promise!  Following this, the remaining dry ingredients are added and mixed in either a standing mixer or by hand until just combined.

Then, it’s time to get brawny.  A few more folds by hand until the flour disappears (but really, just barely).

Add in the chocolate (chips, chunks, or nuggets).

Roll into a log and then into the fridge (or freezer if you don’t plan to bake them in the immediate).

When ready to bake, slice the log and place dough disks on baking sheets.

And in about ten minutes, you’ve got nirvana.

These are truly perfect as-is.  Really.  But then I started thinking.  If  willing to compromise the sandy texture just slightly, I bet they’d make fantastic sandwich cookies.

So, once I got to the part where the dough should have been rolled into a log, I just rolled it into a ball and chilled the dough.  Out of the fridge, I rolled-out the dough (between two pieces of parchment–you do not want to add extra flour) and punched out circles.  Working the dough in this way does make them less crumbly and more cookie-like.

And that’s why I added some chocolate-nutella frosting in the middle.

World peace: two ways.

World Peace Cookies

This recipe has appeared in a variety of venues.  Dorie Greenspan/Pierre Herme

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I’ve used kosher with equal success)
  • 5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate chopped into small pieces (or tiny chocolate chips)

Sift together flour, cocoa and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  In a standing mixer or using an electric hand-held mixer, beat butter until smooth but not fluffy.  Beat in both sugars, vanilla and salt until fluffy; about 2 minutes.  With beater speed on low, add flour mixture and mix until dough just starts to form.  Switch to a spatula and fold dough a few more times until all flour is integrated.  Fold in chocolate.  Roll dough into a log (or two if you want smaller cookies).  Wrap in plastic and chill until firms, at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment.  Using a sharp knife, cut logs crosswise into 1/2 inch-thick rounds.  Space 1-inch apart on baking sheets and bake until cookies appear dry (11-12 minutes).  Let cool.

If making sandwich cookies (a TMH variation)

Follow steps through forming a log with the dough.  Instead, form dough into a flattened ball and chill for at least 3 hours.   Once firm, roll-out dough 1/4 at a time (it will be tough to work with at first).  The chocolate bits will work as a thickness guide.  Punch-out cookies with a circular cookie cutter.  Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 9-10 minutes (less than the original because they will be cooler).

You can fill these with anything.  I just added about 4 TBS of nutella to a cup of this ganache in the pictures above (I happened to already have the ganache in the fridge).

(insert your favorite nut here) toffee

If, by some remote chance you happen to be my Aunt Kris, please stop reading now.  Every year about this time, TD and I wait in hungry anticipation for a package with a Santa Maria, CA postmark to arrive so that we can demolish the wrapping and dive into the tin of my Aunt Kris’  homemade almond toffee.  More than once TD and I have nearly come to physical blows over the last little crumbly bits stuck to the bottom of the bag (because really, what says holiday season more than boxing for caramelized sugar detritus).

After much begging, cajoling and general harassment from TD,  I’ve finally  figured out how to make it myself.  But, don’t tell my Aunt Kris because while I may have cracked the crackle code, I still prefer hers.

Since the original maker of this crunchy delight is my Aunt Kris and not yours (unless you are my brother), she probably doesn’t send you any.  So, I’ll show you how to make your own.  And, if your name is Kris, perhaps you can start a holiday tradition by sending it to your niece and her husband.

I’m not sure where I found the original recipe but was able to hunt-down a comparable one on Sunset magazine’s website.  Do not be afraid of the candy thermometer.  If you find the need for a thermometer daunting, think of it this way: they sell them in grocery stores.  If normal people weren’t meant to use them, they wouldn’t have them out right next to the bamboo skewers and disposable muffin tins.  Would they?

This recipe starts with a heavy saucepan, said thermometer, sugar, butter and water.  Put items two through four into item number one and turn on the burner to medium.

While the sugar is working on its chemistry, go ahead and toast up some of your favorite nuts.  This year I made separate batches with pecans and almonds.  When the nuts are toasted and cool to the touch, give them a rough chop.  You can do it by hand, but it’s very quick in a food processor or mini-prep.

Now it is time to sit back and watch the pot boil.

And boil.  While you are waiting, make sure your pan and nuts are at the ready (yeah, yeah, that’s what she said).

Once everything is nice and golden brown and the smell nearly drives you mad with its buttery goodness AND the thermometer reads 310, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped nuts using a wooden spoon.  At first, the caramel will be angry but quickly calm down.

Now, take a deep breath and carefully, pour out the caramely, nutty, super-hot liquid into your pan.

Before the next step, the toffee needs a bit of a cooling-off period.  In my case, this means it is time to clean the burner (there may or may have not been a tiny little fire caused but some stray sugar with one of the batches.  But, I’m not talking and you can’t prove anything).

The final step starts with what all good final steps should begin with: chocolate.

Give it a chop and then into a double boiler it goes to slowly melt.  Once your toffee is cool to the touch and your chocolate is melted, spread an even layer of the chocolate over the surface of the toffee.  An off-set spatula works well for the job.  The instructions in the recipe below say to refrigerate at this point but I don’t.  I like to let the chocolate cool at room temperature so that it doesn’t bloom and give me gray chocolate.

With the chocolate set, the  real fun begin as you get to break-up the toffee (I do it by hand but a little hammer could be fun too).  This recipe makes a generous batch–which is genius because I predict only about half of every batch ever gets to its intended destination.

The great thing  about this recipe is that it will last a good month if properly stored.  This means that you can make this well in advance of the holiday push.  Of course, this also means that you will have it around the house…which is probably why my dentist owns my soul.

Nut Toffee

Slightly adapted from Sunset Magazine

Yield: Makes 1 pan (10 by 15 in.); 40 pieces (serving size: one 2- by 2-in. square)

Ingredients

  • 2  cups  pecan halves
  • 3 1/2  cups  sugar
  • 1 1/2  cups  butter
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
  • 12  ounces  bittersweet chocolate
  • 2  teaspoons  fleur de sel (see Notes) or coarse sea salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Put nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted, about 8 minutes. When cool enough to handle, chop roughly. Divide into 2 batches; chop 1 batch finely. Set both batches aside.

2. Put sugar, butter, salt, and 3/4 cup water in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. When butter and sugar are melted, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is deep golden brown and measures 310° on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla (mixture will bubble up) and finely chopped pecans. Pour into a 10- by 15-in. rimmed baking sheet. Let toffee cool until set, at least 30 minutes.

3. Chop chocolate and melt in a double boiler. Pour over toffee; with a knife or offset spatula, spread evenly. Sprinkle chocolate with roughly chopped pecans. Let sit 20 minutes, or until chocolate is cool but still a bit soft. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Chill until set, about 1 hour.

4. To remove, gently twist pan to release toffee, then chop or break into chunks. Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (or Bars) Cockaigne

That’s right…I said cockaigne.  Sounds dirty doesn’t it?

I originally found this cookie recipe while thumbing through the Joy of Cooking and thought it was a nice alternative to the classic chocolate chip cookie.  It has some additional ingredients like ground oatmeal and a second kind of chocolate that make it kind of special.  Kind of cockaigney don’t you think?

Okay, okay, I had no idea what cockaigne meant when I first came across the recipe. Though, I did have a fantasy that the recipe was developed in a tiny village in the South of France where the baker lived alone save for her trusted and loyal pet rooster.  A little research revealed no such romantic tale.  In fact, my little research revealed very little about the word and its relationship to food.  According to the OED, the term refers to a mythical land of plenty and good (not the other way around).  Another source revealed that at some point in the last 200 years, it was used specifically to describe the city of London.  As in cockney.

Okay.

Not real sure what all that has to do with a cookie recipe, gov’ner.

A little more digging and I’ve come to suspect that the use of the word cockaigne is related more to the authors of the Joy of Cooking than the recipe’s origin as it appears in a couple other recipe titles.  So in a culinary context, I suppose the adjective cockaigne is a little something like “supreme” or “surprise.”

Works for me.

In the photos below, I’m making them as bars and have one-and-a-halved the recipe. I needed to make a lot of bars.  The same principles apply to the bar version as they do to the original cookie version.

I started at the end because it involved the food processor (that’s right, Bessy was in the house).  First, I ground up some quick oats.

Then I ground up some white chocolate.  The original recipe calls for milk chocolate but I thought I’d be rebellious and go white (if white chocolate is actually really chocolate at all…it’s kind of like a panda bear in that way).

I then looked around for something else to grind.  Alas, finding nothing but my teeth (oh come on, you knew I was going to say this), I moved on to creaming together butter and sugar.  I then added in the dry ingredients…but obviously didn’t take any pictures of it.

No need to rest or refrigerate the dough.  Right into the pan (or onto the sheet it goes).

Into the oven and out it comes golden brown and definitely cockaigne.

Let cool and cut as desired.  I realize this blog has been very bar heavy as of late.  I’ve got two more bar recipes to share and then we’ll move on.  Perhaps to the rhombus.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Cockaigne

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¾ C sugar
  • 2/3 C golden brown sugar
  • 1 egg (I use extra large)
  • 1 1/2 TBS milk
  • 1 TBS vanilla
  • 1 2/3 C flour
  • 1 ¼ t baking soda
  • ¾ t baking powder
  • ¼ t salt
  • 1 1/3 C ground quick oats (grind them in the food processor)
  • 1 C chocolate chips
  • 3 oz grated milk chocolate (I use ground white chocolate…though its good both ways)

Cream butter until light and fluffy.  Add in sugars and cream. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla.

While butter is creaming, in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  Set aside.

Once wet ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add in flour mixture and combine until dough just comes together. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and milk/white chocolate until just combined.

For cookies: spoon on to parchment-lined baking sheets, two inches apart and bake until golden, 8-12 minutes.

For bars: oil and line with parchment 9X13 baking pan.  Spread-out dough evenly (I find that the parchment likes to scrunch around.  To keep it from moving, I hold it in place in one corner with a finger and the carefully spread the dough using a spatula with the other hand)  Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.