Posts from the ‘Features, Articles and Recipes’ Category

May 25

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Not Re-Inventing The Wheel And A Garden

Chocolate chip cookies are iconic, delicious and probably the most made cookie in the US. There are probably as many recipes as there are cookies made, well maybe not but close. I have a couple of recipes that I like to use and they always produce a great cookie. The other day I got an email from King Arthur flour, The Bakers Catalog disecting, demystifying and decoding the chocolate chip cookie.

It is actually a great article with suggestions for different types of cookies from chewy and soft to crisp and crunchy. I decided that I would make her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and see what all the hype is about. I was a little put off that it contains some shortening, mind you I have nothing against vegetable shortening but really like my cookies made using only butter for the most part. This uses butter and shortening. The method is also very different,creaming the butter straight from the fridge (love not having to bring to room temp) with shortening, vinegar, baking soda, sugars and vanilla.

The cookies are really fantastic crispy edges with a soft middle. You know that the butter is there but using some shortening gives the cookies a wonderful texture. All in all a really good recipe that I will add to my favorites and will be making again.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe by PJ Hamel for King Arthur Flour

2/3 cup light brown sugar packed

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup, 1 stick, 8 tbs or 4 oz butter straight from the refrigerator

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 tsp salt or 1/2 tsp if you used salted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 large egg

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups chocolate chunks or chips (I mixed milk and dark chocolate)

In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment mix the butter, sugars, shortening, salt, vanilla. baking soda, and vinegar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and contine mixing until combined. Add the flour and mix gently only until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Remove bowl from stand and mix in chocolate by hand. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour before baking. Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s while dough chills and line baking sheet with parchment or silpat.

Scoop onto baking sheet using a 1 1/4 inch scoop placing each ball about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-12 minutes edges will be golden brown.

In closing I wanted to share photo’s of the garden which right now is in full bloom. The flowers are just beautiful and I have hundreds of beautiful fragrant roses, peonies and the annuals that I bought. I am also very excited that my tomato plants are doing well and already have those yellow blossoms.

May 23

64 Comments

Community Meeting, Half Marathon, Bark Fest And a Noodle Bowl

It has been a crazy few weeks. Have to say it is kind of a blur. Our neighborhood has been fighting a proposal by DOT to change Clinton Ave a two way street into a one way street with TWO buffered bike lanes. Safety for everyone on that stretch came into question. There are many big coop buildings with MANY elderly and disabled residents and we saw flaws in the plan because (in a nutshell) they did not take into account emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles, access-a-ride- fire trucks, sanitation trucks not to mention how the elderly and disabled can cross two bike lanes to get to their vehicles or service car. The plan was ONLY considering cyclists. The 2 way (NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN BROOKLYN) buffered bike lane would be curbside thereby eliminating curb side parking for residents with cars, the city has long been trying to make it as difficult, unsavory and as expensive as possible for those who drive. Limited parking would be in the middle of the street and the one lane would be going north bound. Traffic from the eliminated lane would be diverted to my street and one other. My opposition to this plan is because of safety issues for the residents but also the block I live on CANNOT safely sustain any more traffic, it is already a bumper to bumper traffic nightmare during certain times of the day and it would get much much worse.

Even the elected’s had concerns

I don’t own a car, I walk, take public transporation or even bike from time to time and I am all for safety for cyclists but this plan is only taking them into consideration and not the needs of the community as a whole. We fought back and fought back hard, opposition was HUGE and loud and it got ugly because the people from Transporation Alternatives, a very powerful and wealthy lobbying group for the cyclists were there to try to discredit us. In the end DOT temporarily withdrew their proposal and promised to go back to the drawing board, we will see but we are still mobilizing and fighting because the battle is has not been won there is only a short reprieve. More to come on this one.

Brooklyn Half Marathon

I had the honor and priviledge of holding the tape for the winners of the Air Bnb Brooklyn Half Marathon. What a great day it was, beautiful weather for running and over 27,000 runners started at the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway and the race ended at Coney Island. The race started at 7AM and I had to be at the finish line before 7:30AM, a very early morning, Percy is not used to having his morning walk at 5AM but he was a really good sport.

Bark Fest

Percy is ready for bark fest

My friend Carla and I took our dogs, Percy and Olive to Bark Fest. It was in Manhattan on Pier 97 on the west side of the city. We bought VIP tickets which gave us some perks. It was my first bark fest, last year Nando was very ill and I couldn’t go, I have heard it’s fun so thought we would give it a try.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot a little over cast which was good for the dogs. I would have preferred it were held in a park with grass rather than a concrete pier. The people from Bark Box were the people who organized it. Honestly, it was ok but we were a little disappointed, It was packed there were thousands of people there, only 2 food trucks we had to wait in line almost 2 hours to get something to eat, there was a long line for everything. We got there right when it opened at 2 PM and got a few minutes in the VIP lounge but after that there was over a 1 hour wait to get in. Would I go again? Doubt it.

Spring Roll Bowl

I saw this on Pure Wow and thought it looked easy, delicious, light and fresh and I wanted to immediately make it. I did just that and it was really good, so good in fact that I had to make it again and tweak a bit. The first one I made I used chicken which I sauteed in sesame oil as called for in the recipe, the second time I marinated a pork tenderloin in soy sauce, lime, sesame oil and ginger. It really is a wonderful light meal.

Spring roll bowl with chicken

SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

¾ cup smooth peanut butter

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

⅓ cup water

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon agave or honey

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Sriracha

Salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender or food processor, combine the ingredients for the peanut sauce and process until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Set aside.

carrot, cucumber,watermelon radish spiralized

The bowl

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or you can use pork tenderloin

sesame oil

boston lettuce

scallions

carrots ( I spiralized a purple carrot you can grate or cut into strips

straight thin cut rice noodles

cucumbers cut into strips

Avocado cut into slices

sesame rice crackers (optional)

Place some rice noodles in a bowl and fill with boiling water add some salt, add a little salt and let sit until noodles soften.

Clean lettuce and place in bowl, saute the chicken in sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and slice.

Cut cucumber into strips, spiralize or cut carrot into strips.

toasted cashews chopped as a garnish

lime wedges

Add whatever you like, avocado, eliminate meat entirely if you like. Drizzle with peanut sauce and enjoy.

The second time I made it I used pork tenderloin which I marinated in sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger and pan seared then finished in the oven. Takes only minutes.

May 16

87 Comments

Looking For Inspiration And Sorry No Recipes…….

My neighbors lilacs

When I want inspiration I go no further than the neighborhood I live in. Walking around and talking to people, looking at the shops and restaurants, visiting the farmers market on a Saturday morning all serve as a source of inspiration for me. Every morning I walk Percy and we are out for an hour and a half to two hours. It’s a long slow walk and has become a morning ritual. He decides which way to go and we never go the same way 2 days in a row. It’s hysterical.

This week is going to be very busy, I wanted to give you all a little something, sorry no recipes or cooking I simply have too much going on. Today and tomorrow I am prepping for a big community meeting which will take place tomorrow evening and then again on Thursday evening. On Saturday I was chosen by Air bnb to hold the banner at the finish line of the Brooklyn Half Marathon, and then on Sunday my friend and I are taking our dogs to Bark Fest. In between I am working at my real job, hosting air bnb guests that are staying with me and then there is the stuff that we all do daily, shopping, cleaning etc…

I love this house, it's so cozy and beautiful

I love this house, it’s so beautiful

Percy admires the beautiful flowers in the tree pit

It has been pretty crazy around here, lots going on in the neighborhood, we are fighting the DOT regarding sweeping and ridiculous changes they want to make to the beautiful streets in our neighborhood which will result in major traffic nighmares on my block. We organized a town hall meeting at a local church last Thursday to prepare for the community board meeting this Tuesday. We are getting letters, petitions, affidavits whatever we can but fighting city hall is hard especially with the current administration. We had about 200 people come to the meeting, it was standing room only. I spent the better part of Sunday working with my neighbors to put together notebooks with petitions, letters from the community and other information to hand out to our electeds and community board. Tomorrow, Tuesday is the big meeting and it should be rowdy and loud and contentious. This is going on all over the city and is a hotly contested issue, even Woody Allen has gotten involved.

I went to the farmers market this morning and inspiration fell flat, sort of. I really hoped to see stands full of vegetables, fruits, strawberries etc and there was almost nothing there. Some apples left over from the Fall, some vegetables, herbs and flowers in pots.

Flowers

So I bought some basil since mine has died, some flowers and I found some nice looking cherry tomatoes, asparagus and cucumbers.

I also bought some flowers, geraniums, pansies and others that I thought were pretty. On my way home I stopped at a dear friends house, she is a big time animal lover like me and she told me should bought Percy a gift. She had a little hat custom made on Etsy and I went to pick it up. What a great gift, thank you so much Morrissa.

Percy’s hat

I was really hoping to be blown away with inspiring stands full of fruit and vegetables that I would use to make something wonderful for Fiesta Friday. Instead of cooking I planted the flowers and put the basil in the same pot as the basil that has a DNR, pretty sad looking.

sad basil and some thyme

love flowers

May 10

75 Comments

Flank Steak With Chimichurri

These last few weeks have been really kind of crazy busy. With the Continuing Ed classes I had to take, my work schedule and community work, I barely had time to breathe. With all that I discovered I am not great at multi tasking, that I am the type that does one thing at a time and when there is too much to do instead of going with the flow and tackling the multitude of tasks I become flustered and end up not doing anything well. During all this hoopla I felt bad about not blogging and made a cake which was a HUGE flop, so bad it ended up in the trash. At that point I decided to concentrate on my courses and I neglected not just my blog but all of yours as well and I am sorry about that. I had to focus and thankfully it paid off I finished the course and some of the planning for a big community meeting, as well as scheduling a block association meeting (another group I neglected). I feel like I am getting back on track, Percy is a dream dog, so well behaved and such a sweetheart, because he is so easy going it allows me time to do the things I need to do.

I don’t eat a lot of meat, I am not vegetarian but my choice of food for the most part is meatless, however when I want meat this is one of my favorites. The chimichurri is taken from a recipe I developed for Food52 back when I first joined their site. It was my first contest win and this recipe was added to their second cookbook. I made a sandwich using thick cut brioche buttered and grilled, marinated flank steak, tomato, mayo mixed with chimichurri. It’s a really good sandwich, big and juicy and thick, my Flank Steak On Texas Toast With Chimichurri was what I wanted but I did not want the calories/carbs from that thick bread so I just made the steak marinated in chimichurri and served with mashed potatoes and salad.

I like to let the steak rest in the marinade overnight, the flavor is pretty incredible when it sits that long in the chimichurri. My steak was uneven in thickness, thin in some parts and quite thick in others. I let it cook almost 5 minutes on each side. The thickest part was a nice medium rare.

The chimichurri and flank steak:
1 1 1/2 to 2-pound flank steak
1 cup flat leaf parsley cleaned and large stems removed, finely chopped (by hand or use food processor)
1/2 cup baby arugula, finely chopped (by hand or use food processor)
2 cloves garlic, minced (you can add to parsley and arugula in food processor)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
For chimichurri, place the parsley, arugula, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, olive oil and red wine vinegar in the bowl of the food processor, pulse until everything is chopped and somewhat homogenous, when done scrape into a bowl. Cover both sides of the steak with some of the chimichurri, put in ziplock bag and refrigerate for one or two hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate the rest of the chimichurri.

Remove steak from refrigerator approximately 30-45 minutes before you are going to cook it. Scrape off some of the chimichurri, salt the steak and let rest. To sear the steak: First with a paper towel pat the steak to remove any excess moisture. In a very hot fry pan lay steak, let it sear without disturbing it. Cook approximately 3-5 minutes on each side for a medium rare steak. (You will have to judge exactly how long to sear based on the thickness of the steak.) Remove from pan, lay on cutting board, pepper the steak now, let rest 5-10 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

4 large yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into thick slices

sour cream- full fat (approximately 1/3-1/2 cup)

Butter (approximately 4 tbs)

Snipped chives to garnish optional

salt and pepper

Place potato slices in cold salted water and bring a boil. Continue to boil until the potatoes are fork tender. You can mash however your preferred method is. I use a food mill scooping out the cooked potatoes and grinding in the food mill using the finest disc. I don’t like lumps unless I choose a rough mash. Add the butter first to the potatoes stir to make sure butter is melted, now add the sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. I keep the potatoes in a warm oven covered with foil until ready to serve.

Spoon some of the chimichurri that you didn’t used for the marinade onto the steak and enjoy!!

Apr 29

103 Comments

Turkey Zucchini Burgers With Creamy Sumac Sauce And Great Hummus Recipe

I have been extremely busy lately, haven’t really had the time to spend in the kitchen or on the blog for that matter. Honestly, I have been struggling to find inspiration, feeling like I did not have anything new and exciting to offer. As I was sitting with Percy the other day and I looked at my stack of cookbooks that are collecting dust and I grabbed my copy of Jerusalem by the divine team of Ottolenghi and Tamimi. Thumbing through the book this recipe leaped out at me, it sounds delicious and simple to make full of flavor and texture. I doubled the recipe using ground turkey and turkey breast. Below is the recipe as written in the cookbook.

I am bringing the burgers, hummus and fixings to Fiesta Friday #117 this week. Angie always manages to throw an incredible party and this week to help her the co hosts are: Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Scarlett @ Unwed Housewife

Turkey Zucchini Burgers

Recipe from Jerusalem by Ottolenghi and Tamimi

Makes 18 small burgers (I doubled the recipe and made bigger ones and got 18)

1 lb ground turkey

1 large zucchini coursely grated (a scant 2 cups)

2 green onions thinly sliced

1 large free range egg

2 tbs chopped mint

2 tbs chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

about 6 1/2 tbs sunflower oil for searing

Sour Cream and Sumac Sauce

scant 1/2 cup sour cream

scant 2/3 cup greek yogurt

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 small clove garlic crushed

1 1/2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs sumac

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

First make the sour cream sauce by placing all the ingredients in a small bowl.

hummus with pita

This is such an easy recipe. It’s on food52 and they use dry chickpeas but I can’t really be bothered soaking them etc… so I used canned in the interest of time and my hunger. What’s a bit different about this is that the garlic is processed peel and all with the lemon juice, left to sit for a few minutes then strained and the garlicky lemony liquid is used to flavor the hummus. It’s such a nice recipe, for the one on Food52 just click on the link above.

Hummus

3 cloves garlic with skin on

A generous 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

pinch of salt

2/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup ice water

1 15.5 oz can chick peas drained

1/4 tsp cummin

Olive oil and sumac to garnish

In the bowl of the food processor add the garlic and lemon juice and process until the garlic is completely pulverized. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then pour through a sieve leaving the solids behind. Pour the liquid back in the processor and add the tahini, process and add the ice water a tbs at a time. It will sieze but thats ok keep going until all the water is added and its smooth. Now add the chick peas, salt and cumin and process until smooth and creamy. Serve with vegetables, crackers or bread. Generously pour olive oil on top and I like to sprinkle with sumac.

Apr 8

72 Comments

A #Not Recipe With Zoodles And The Real Deal At Food52 Pasta Night

Zoodles

This a #not recipe. I’m having fun posting on Food52’s new app and decided to share this, it’s really more of an idea than a recipe I guess you could say.

It started with zoodles, you know zucchini noodles, some oven roasted tomatoes, burrata and shaved parmigiana. Simple right?

Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add some garlic sliced thinly and cook until garlic is softened but not brown. Add the zoodles, season with salt and pepper and may be a little crushed red pepper and toss them around in the olive oil and garlic until the zoodles are warmed, I let them cook about 5 minutes. Remove and place in your bowl or on your plate.

If your burrata is not room temperature put in the microwave for about 20 seconds. In the same pan heat your tomatoes if they have been refrigerated or if you made the tomatoes and they are still warm just spoon on top of the zoodles. Take some of the lovely burrata and place on top of the tomatoes, spoon some of the tomato juices that are mixed with olive oil on top of the burrata. Shave some parmigiana or romano on top and enjoy.

Make sure each layer is seasoned with salt and pepper.

This dish is low carb, delicious and nutritious and also really quick and easy to put together.

Pasta Night

Last night I went to the Food52 HQ in Chelsea to enjoy an evening of great food and company. First of all the offices that house Food52 are incredible, light filled, lofty and beautiful. The space is designed so well, it works beautifully and gives the feeling of home rather than office. I could not get any photo’s of the completed pasta dishes for ambiance the light was very dim and it just didn’t work with my iphone. The tables were set up communal style, the dishes and flatware were exactly what you will find in the food52 shop, beautiful. Their kitchen is a dream, so beautiful and practical at the same time.

Filming for snap chat

Menu, drool worthy food

Gorgeous kitchen

Food and drink

My fizzy aperol cocktail

I love everything but for me the star of the show was dessert, so simple but the combination was amazing. Olive oil gelato, crumbled biscotti, beautiful sliced oranges all of this drizzled with good olive oil and chiffonade of basil. Profoundly delicious. I begged for the gelato recipe and Amanda said it is a community recipe that will be in the new Ice Cream cookbook. Really it’s the best olive oil gelato I have ever had.

Apr 4

132 Comments

Lemon Meringue Tart

I’ve been wanting lemon meringue pie or tart for a while now. I planned on making it last week but got sick. I have had this recipe in my to do pile for a while now and since lemon is one of my favorite flavors it went straight to the top of recipes I wanted to try. Usually when I make a lemon tart I use the tartine lemon cream recipe, It has the perfect consistency and holds up beautifully giving a perfect slice. Most recipes for lemon meringue pie that I have tried have been really tasty but are a bit on the runny side. When I saw the photo that came with this recipe I thought I had found nirvana, a lemon meringue pie that looks perfect, produces a clean slice and sounds like it’s very tasty. This recipe is all that except that it is still a bit on the runny side even after sitting overnight in the refrigerator. Don’t get me wrong it tastes amazing but it does not produce a clean slice. Next time I will add more cornstarch, while I was making it my gut instinct was to add more but I held myself back. Oh well, should have gone with my gut.

Pate Sucré

Makes 9 inch tart or 6 tartlets
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
3 egg yolks from large eggs
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Put the flour, salt and sugar in the food processor, pulse to combine, add the butter and pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and cream and pulse until the dough comes together, it will be shaggy but thats ok, test it by pinching a piece and if it holds together it’s fine. Divide in two, press into disks and refrigerate for an hour. Pre heat the oven to 375, line tart pan or tartlet pans, prick with fork and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Place a piece of parchment in the tart pan or pans and pour in pie weights or beans. Bake 20 minutes remove the parchment and weights and place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on rack.

Lemon Filling

Fills a 9 inch pie or tart

1 cup water

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch (Next time I would add an additional 1-2tbs of cornstarch)

pinch of salt

4 eggs separated – the yolks are for the filling and whites for meringue

5 tbs cold unsalted butter

4 tsp lemon zest

In medium sauce pan add the water. lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and salt and whisk to combine so there are no lumps. Turn heat to medium and cook stirring constantly until mixture is thick, Whisk the egg yolks and slowely add the hot lemon mixture whisking while adding. Pour back into the pan and cook for 60 seconds (1 minute). Remove from heat and add the butter and lemon zest. Let come to room temparature and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Swiss Meringue

4 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl of the stand mixer over a double boiler and cook, stirring occasionally, until the egg whites are very warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. Whip the egg whites on medium-high until stiff peaks form. Add in the salt and vanilla extract and whip to combine.

A little runny but delicious

Apr 1

101 Comments

Lemon Posset, A Vanilla Shortage And Fiesta Friday

Last night I had company for dinner, I’ve known about this for a while and had grand plans to make a lovely meal but unfortunately, I have been sick for the last few days, a stomach virus. I haven’t eaten much of anything and generally felt really bad. I was not really inspired to cook. I opted for a starter salad, simple roasted chicken with roasted vegetables, let the oven do the work I say. My plan was to make a lemon meringue tart but I didn’t have the energy so I remembered this quick and easy recipe by Mrs. Larkin on Food52 for lemon posset. A magical concoction, tart and sweet and creamy and a lovely light dessert. It couldn’t be simpler to make and most of the time it’s sitting in the fridge setting.

vanilla

I have been stocking up on vanilla extract. Have you noticed rising prices? Evidently there was a bad crop in Madagascar which basically decimated the entire vanilla crop leaving a huge shortage, there is always high demand for vanilla, it’s in almost everything. This has caused prices to rise, I went to several sites and noticed a price change of anwhere from 2-10 dollar price increase per bottle. I usually use Nielsen- Massey, it’s my vanilla of choice but have been know to use the big bottle from Costco which is good as well as King Arthurs brand of vanilla extract. So I found the 4 oz bottle at the same price at my usual shopping site and bought 4 bottles which should last until the next crop which they are saying should be ok.

This Fiesta Friday which by the way is #113 I am bringing Lemon Posset and a bottle of vanilla extract as a hostess gift for Angie. Our lovely co hosts this week are two of my favorite bloggers welcome Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Laurie @ ten.times.tea.

Lemon Posset

Serves 4 – Recipe by Liz Larkin for Food52

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

5 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest of 1 whole lemon (I added that it’s not in the recipe)

Place cream and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring so that the sugar dissolves. Let boil for 5 minutes watching carefully and adjusting temperature so it doesn’t boil over. After 5 minutes remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest. Let sit for about 15 minutes to cool. Pour into serving dishes, sprinkle top with a little more lemon zest and refrigerate at least 4 hours, I like overnight. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, I put a few raspberries on top as well.

Mar 27

105 Comments

Happy Easter Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes ever. Nothing fancy, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I don’t know what it is about the combination but I love it. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate cake with white frosting are both divine. This cake recipe is one my Mother developed for me when I was just a little girl. I have made a couple of very minor changes but really it is exactly as my Mom wrote it. I remember this cake in several variations growing up, my favorite and most requested was Boston Cream Pie. The cake does not contain butter but vegetable oil and the eggs are separated and the whites beat until billowy and folded into the batter. The resululting cake is moist and flavorful and very very light. Because I was not using a fruit filling for this cake I gave it a little bit of soaking syrup before frosting, I made a tangerine simple syrup and dabbed it on each layer.

The frosting is a variation of a recipe for Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting by Chef Amy@Come Cook With Me a I hope everyone is having a great day, spending time with friends and family a very Happy Easter to all from Percy and me!!

Tender Yellow Cake

Makes two 9 inch layers or 24 cupcakes

3 large eggs separated and at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar divided
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup + 1 tbs vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 cup whole milk (1 or 2% work also)
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Line your pans with a parchment round, butter the bottom of the pan, lay the parchment then butter again on bottom and sides and then flour the pans.

Beat egg whites until frothy then add 1/2 cup of the sugar (reserving the rest) a tablespoon at a time until egg whites are stiff and glossy

Sift flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt into large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. If using a stand mixer use the paddle attachment.I actually prefer to use my hand held mixer for this recipe. Add the oil, the milk, the egg yolk and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, mixture will be quite thick. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans dividing evenly, bake for 30-35 minutes. Cake will be golden brown. Be careful not to overbake start checking the cake at 30 minutes. Cake tester will come out clean.

Note: I made 3 8 inch layers baking time is approximately 25 minutes.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack remove parchment and cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream

8 oz cream cheese softened at room temperature

8 oz mascarpone softened to room temperature

8 oz unsalted butter softened to room temperature

6 oz dark chocolate melted

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

3 -3 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter, mascarpone and cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the confectioners sugar a cup at a time beating betweeen each addition. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and vanilla and whip until completely incorporated. Frost the cake immediately.

Happy Easter from Percy and me!

Mar 24

90 Comments

Hot Cross Buns And New Food52 App

This recipe comes from The Bakers Catalogue/King Arthur Flour. I am working my way to Easter and Hot Cross Buns are an Easter tradition for many. I have never made them before, I’ve bought and eaten them and love them but never tried making them myself. This recipe sounds easy enough, I love the boozy fruit in the buns and am a sucker for that sweet cross on the top of the bun.

They turned out just beautiful, soft and pillowy, they smell amazing and have a very good rise. They are really delicious and made only a few minor changes mainly with the dried fruit and the soaking liquid and they turned out so good that I will do it again just as I made them.

On a completely unrelated topic, Food52 launched a new app for ipad and iPhone that I am having so much fun with, it’s all about cooking without a recipe or #notrecipes. Half of what I make does not involve a recipe except for baking. It’s a fun app, you interact with other cooks and there are great food52 contests as well. Try it out, it’s very cool, a real source of inspiration and it’s free.

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Makes 12-14 buns

Buns

1/4 cup apple juice or rum(I used Poire William)
1/2 cup mixed dried fruit(apricots, golden raisins, cherries,cranberries,pears)
1/2 cup raisins or dried currants(didn’t use currants used golden raisins)
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature (Used 2% but recommend whole milk)
3 large eggs, 1 separated
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice (I used allspice)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Topping

1 large egg white, reserved from above
1 tablespoon milk

Icing

1 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4 teaspoons milk, or enough to make a thick, pipeable icing (It was very thick but was better thick than too thin)

Directions

Lightly grease a 10″ square pan or 9″ x 13″ pan. (I used a sheet pan lined with parchment)
Mix the rum or apple juice with the dried fruit and raisins, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave briefly, just till the fruit and liquid are very warm, and the plastic starts to “shrink wrap” itself over the top of the bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Note: If you worry about using plastic wrap in your microwave, simply cover the bowl with a glass lid. I don’t microwave plastic at all, heated in a saucepan, poured into a bowl, covered and sat aside.
When the fruit is cool, mix together all of the dough ingredients except the fruit, and knead, using an electric mixer or bread machine, till the dough is soft and elastic. Mix in the fruit and any liquid not absorbed.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour, covered. It should become puffy, though may not double in bulk.
Divide the dough into billiard ball-sized pieces, about 3 3/4 ounces each. A heaped muffin scoop (about 1/3 cup) makes about the right portion. You’ll make 12 to 14 buns. Use your greased hands to round them into balls. Arrange them in the prepared pan.
Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for 1 hour, or until they’ve puffed up and are touching one another. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Now this is not included in the recipe but I saw several that all do this, with a knife or razor blade slice a cross on top of each bun, not a deep cut really just the surface only.
Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it over the buns.
Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.