Sweet Melissa Sundays - Irish Soda Bread

I hope I don't get booted out of the group for doing this but for this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick I decided to be a rebel and choose another recipe.  This week's actual pick was a pretty fine one - Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Julie of A Little Bit of Everything.  Make sure to check out her blog for the recipe as the cake looks quite tasty.

Having just made carrot cake a few weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to make an Irish Soda Bread recipe in the breakfast section of the book since St. Patty's Day is only a few days away.

I'm a bread making virgin.  But told myself that this year I wanted to get more into making homemade bread.  I figured this one would be a great way to start since it is not a yeast bread.  The process of making it from start to finish is simple and straight forward - mix the dry, add the butter, add the wet, form into a ball and bake.

What I probably should have done differently is try some Irish Soda Bread to have an idea of what it should taste like.  Nonetheless, I thought it tasted great.  As you probably already noticed from the picture, the dried fruit is noticeable missing but I'm not a raisins and currents kinda gal.  (My coworker Karen, born and raised in Ireland, would probably cringe at this since she specifically told me on Friday that all Irish Soda Bread has some sort of dried fruit in it...Sorry Karen.)  I also omitted the caraway seeds because I didn't have any on hand and they were optional.

This bread would make a great accompaniment to a cup of afternoon tea - slightly dense and crumbly with a tab bit of sweet in the background.  The ground cloves also gave it a nice aromatic feel.  If you want to take a baby step into bread making, make sure to give this recipe a try.

Now I have to go find myself some store-bought Irish Soda Bread to see how this compares.





Irish Soda Bread
From:  Sweet Melissa Baking Book
By:  Melissa Murphy
Yield:  One 3-pound Loaf

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup black currents
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk

Position a rack in the center of your oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In a medium bowl, combine the raisins and currents.  Pour boiling water over to cover and set aside to reconstitute.  In a bowl of of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cloves.  Add the cold butter pieces and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of small peas.  Add the caraway seeds, if using, and mix to blend.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.  Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to combine thoroughly.  Do not over mix.  Drain the raisins and currants thoroughly. Add them to the dough and mix on low speed for 20 seconds.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Kneed the dough gently, until the ingredients are fully incorporated.  Using a little flour, if needed, form the dough into one large round - or divide it in half to form two small rounds.

Place the round (rounds) on the prepared baking sheet.  Using a sharp knife, cut the traditional "X" cutting about 1 1/2 inches deep into the top.  Bake for 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes for the large loaf, or 10 minutes for the smaller loaves.  The loaves will be golden, and a wooden skewer inserted into the center wil come out clean.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Irish soda bread is best eaten the day it is made, but it can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for two days.  For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to five days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to three weeks.  Defrost still wrapped at room temperature.

Latin Flair - An Interview with Chef Daisy Martinez

Celebrity Chef Daisy Martinez and star of Food Network's Viva Daisy released her new book a couple of weeks ago - Daisy Morning, Noon and Night.  I took a shot in the dark and one day sent her an email via her website requesting to interview her about her career and new cookbook.  This chica never thought she would hear back.  Not only did I hear back from her publicist but a week later, got the chance to chat with Daisy herself over the phone.  The experience was humbling and made me even more proud to be a member of the Latino community.  Read on to learn more about this wonderful chef.

ACB:  I really liked your first book but I absolutely love your new one.  I especially love the multi-cultural approach you took with it.  Talk to me about why that was important to you and how this book came about.

DM:  What I hope to accomplish with this book is two-fold.  First, I want to educate the mainstream and teach them that Latin food is more than tacos and burritos.  The book also serves as validation for Latinos to see their food beautifully displayed.

Daisy:  Morning, Noon and Night came about came about from my family vacations.  Once my youngest turned eight, Santa Claus stopped visiting the house.  My husband and I decided that instead of giving the kids gifts, we would give them memories and travel to a different Latin American country every year during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  The book is a collection of recipes for many the foods we enjoyed as a family as we explored Latin America.  It’s a love letter for a mom to leave her kids.  It’s memories documented by recipes.

ACB:  How do your kids feel about the book?

DM:  They love it.  I try to make my kids a part of everything that I do whether it’s the show or the book because my mom hat is the biggest one I wear.  My entire family is incredibly supportive.  So as far as I’m concerned, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

ACB:  How important is the food of our childhood?

DM:  The food of our childhood is very important.  It encompasses your first food memories that are tied to love, security and sense of self.  This is what the food of my childhood means to me and I always knew I wanted to recreate that for my children.

ACB:  Do you think that for you your food memories were even more so important because you are the daughter of Latino immigrants?

DM:  Working in the kitchen as a young Latina was a matter of necessity for me.  I was the oldest of five, so I had to help my mother.  But it was fortuitous that I enjoyed the kitchen. The fact that my mother and my grandmother were so well versed in the kitchen served as inspiration.  And I wanted to follow in their footsteps no matter what career I chose.  So for me, as a Latina, my food memories weren’t exclusive to my culture as many ethnicities experience the security of cooking at home.

ACB:  How did cooking at home compare to cooking at French Culinary Institute (FCI)?

DM:  Attending FCI was one of the best experiences of my life.  I couldn’t get there early enough in the day and I was always the last one to leave.  My instructors wondered if I ever went home.

Cooking at home is very different though.  With my grandmother and my mother, you learn by watching which works in the everyday kitchen were you can improvise.  In a professional kitchen, you can’t do that.  Because the trick is to duplicate what you do every day so that when a customer comes back the next day, their dish is as delicious as the day before.

More than anything, what FCI taught me was classic technique and art of organization in the kitchen whether you’re cooking for six or 600.  I’m incredibly grateful to FCI for the organizational skills they taught me.  I used to be unorganized in my kitchen.  Now, I take out a half sheet pan, put everything that I need right on it (mise en place) and there is no running around at the last minute; I have everything that I need right there and that really helps.

ACB:  How does cooking at home compare to cooking on TV?

DM:  That is a horse of a different color.  When I cook at home, I have the iPod or a movie on, I’m hopping around the kitchen while I’m cooking and I’m in my comfort zone.  When I’m cooking on television, I have to think of a million things at once.  It’s like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time.  It takes some doing but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

ACB:  Are you going to be filming another season?

DM:  Food television is changing with the development of the Cooking Channel, which will compete with the Food Network.  I am waiting to see where I fit in but I am by no means limiting myself.  My passion is to share this love that I have for the Cocina Latina, which is very personal for me. 

ACB:  So what's next for you?

DM:  Believe it or not, I have already been offered another book deal.  I will be doing festive food for the holidays.  I'm really excited about that and I am shopping the new show.

This is an exciting time for Latin food.  People are discovering more than just chilies and burritos.  I read a statistic that said by the year 2025, the country is going to be 28% Latino; c'mon, that stands for something.  I believe we have a lot to offer.  Young Latinos are being classically trained in culinary school and presenting ingredients indigenous to their countries in creative, artistic and upscale ways.  So no, you're not curing cancer.  But you are showing pride in your craft, pride in your heritage, pride in yourself.

ACB:  Let’s shift gears a bit and talk about my love – the sweet stuff.  Talk to me about some of your experiences with Latino Desserts.

DM:  Growing up in a Puerto Rican family, we didn't do a lot of baking.  In the Caribbean, many families cook in a wood-burning stoves outside of the house, which doesn't leave room for baking.  But in these tropical climates, there was nothing better than going to your grandmother's backyard and getting quenepas straight off the tree or mangos the size of footballs that fell off the mango tree onto the roof of the house or pineapples from Arecibo where my mother is from.  There is no dessert better than that

With regards to making dessert, I research a lot of traditional recipes.  And what works for me is that once you have a couple of very basic recipes, anything you add to them will make them turn out wonderful.  I really like making panna cottas because I love their texture and they really lend themselves beautifully to all sorts of fruits and sauces.  Like a coconut panna cotta I made for a party that I paired with a chocolate rum sauce that completely elevated the dessert or a passion fruit mango panna cotta that I dress with a raspberry coulis.  It’s beautiful, dramatic, tastes like a million dollars and it feels like a gazillion dollars on your tongue because that's a sexy dessert.  Those are the kinds of desserts that get me excited.

ACB:  What are your favorite Latino desserts?

DM:  I love, love, love, love my flan recipe.  The texture is miraculous with that gorgeous caramel dripping down the side.  A close second is my coconut panna cotta with tropical fruit.

I also like flavors that put me in a certain place in a certain time.  Like one called cigarro de banana tibia that I had in Buenos Aires.  Served warm it was puff pastry filled with bananas and dulce de leche.  Oh my sweet lord, it was delicious.  I loved it so much that I used it as inspiration for a banana dulce de leche strudel recipe, which is one of my favorite desserts in the new book.

A formal review of Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night will follow in a future post.  What I will say for now is that the book is a wonderful collection of the different sassy flavors of Latin America.  For those of you who don't have a copy, go out and get it.  I have read the book from cover to cover (yes, I read cookbooks like novels) and have a bunch of recipes, both sweet and savory, tagged to try.  If you are in the NY tri-state area, following are some dates from Daisy Martinez's book tour (she will be visiting a bunch of other cities so make sure to look for her at a bookstore near you):

• March 15, Borders Columbus Circle, 7pm
• March 18, Barnes & Noble Park Slope, 7:30pm
• March 24, Sur La Tale Manhasset (ticketed cooking class), 6pm
• March 27, Chef Central Paramus, NJ, 12pm
• March 27, Chef Central Hartsdale, NY, 3pm

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie

How do you like your cookies?

Most people have very strong convictions over what makes the perfect cookie. Chewy or Crunchy? Light or Dense? Homemade or Store-Bought? Filled or Unfilled? Round or Bars? Chocolate Chip vs. Everything Else? The list can go on and on.

Why such strong and varying beliefs? Well, cookies are the quintessential treat. They are easy to mix, easy to bake and even easier to eat - no utensils required.

I happen to like them all but have a "soft" spot in my heart for the crunchy and nutty variation. I crave texture and crunch when I think cookies. I don't like chocolate very much but mix it with nuts and I go well, nuts. So you can imagine how my heart fluttered when I came across this recipe for a crunchy cookie studded with hazelnuts and flavored with Nutella (one of the best food creations of all time).

The cookie gods got together and had a serious pow-wow when this recipe was put together. These cookies are sweet but nuts give them a salty undertone and not to mention great texture. They look dense but as they bake and then cool, lovely air pockets form inside giving the perfect crispness and sublime airiness. And let's not get into the Nutella flavor. I know what I am about to say may be a bit vague but the flavor is just right in this cookie.

I could go on and about this cookie. But I will leave it at that so that you can gather up the ingredients and make them for yourself.
 






Chocolate Hazeltnut Biscotti (they are called biscotti in the book but to me, they are really cookies)
By:  Giada De Laurentis
From:  Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites
Yield:  36 cookies

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread such as Nutella
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped, toasted, skinless hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir until just combined.

Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie dough. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Latin Flair - Savory Latin Pastries

Tomorrow, February 27^th, is Independence Day in the Dominican Republic.  While I was born in the US, my Latino heritage is very much a part of who I am.   Nothing gets me going like some merengue or bachata music.  And Latino food, both sweet and savory, satisfies me like no other.  So to all my US-born Dominican brothers and sisters reading this – I ask you to never forget the homeland.  Dust off your flag and wave it a few times tomorrow in honor of Quisqueya La Bella and while you do so, bust a few moves and eat some of these pastries.

What in the world is a Savory Latin Pastry?  Well, an empanada of course! 

For some, empanadas are all about the filling.  For others, a perfectly fried yet not oily crust is what takes them over the top.  This chica is caught in the middle.  Although they can be baked, there is something irresistible about a lighted browned, crispy fritter with lovely little dimples.  If done right, after the first bite comes a plethora of steam, aromas and tastes that please all the senses! 

In the Dominican Republic, what is commonly known in the rest of the world as an empanada is referred to as a “pastelito”.  I had to make mention of that because I know my sisters are reading this thinking I’m getting it all wrong.  We do have something we call an empanada, but they are made out of yuca dough (and will come in a later post).  For now, I will continue to refer to them as empanadas.

Empanadas have been a part of my life for as long as I have memory.  However, until about eight years ago, I never made one at home.  They made appearances at all of my family gatherings but they always came from somewhere else.  Somewhere else usually meant the “empanada lady” that made a great living selling them all over the neighborhood.  Over the years, there were several empanada ladies.  My most memorable one was a woman named Argentina.  She filled her shopping cart with tons of empanadas and went around what seemed like all Washington Heights selling them.  She was a bit of a celeb in the neighborhood.  I saw her mostly on Saturdays when she stopped by my hair salon.  Getting my hair yanked in all directions didn’t seem so bad if I was eating one of Argentina’s chicken empanadas.

Thanks to my baby sister, I discovered a product (which I’m convinced Argentina bought tons of wholesale) that took the mystery out of empanada making.  What I am about to make is a HUGE reveal because for years now, many have asked and I have kept it locked up in my bag of tricks.  So here they are – Goya Discos - my secret for the perfect empanada.

Inexpensive and readily available in the Latin frozen food section of most supermarkets, Goya Discos take all the trouble out of empanada making and will give you a perfectly crispy, dimpled empanada crust every time.  Making pastry dough at home comes with its challenges, particularly figuring out how to mix its ingredients while not breaking down the butter too much, keeping the butter cold…and yada yada yada.  With Goya Discos, all you have to worry about is making a tasty filling, stuffing it into the pockets, frying and you’re done.

The process of making empanadas is simple with these discos in your life.  Available in two sizes (4in and 6in), each pack has 10 discos separated by wax paper.  Since I make these in large batches, I usually cut a disco in half.  Simply add a dollup of your filling to the center of your dough, fold over and crimp closed with a fork.  It is imporant to keep the discos cold so that they don't dry out.  For frying, I use canola or vegetable oil and they come out perfect every time.

As for the secret to my chicken filling….I’m not quite ready to reveal that  just yet.  But I do encourage you to play around with some of your own recipes, as I’m sure most of them, meat or vegetarian, can be made into fillings.  Here I used chicken breast which I lightly pulsed in my food processor with some special seasonings.  

What I will say is that the secret to any good filling is to make sure that it is moist to make sure that the additional cooking time to fry or bake the crust doesn’t dry out the goodness inside.

So run out and get yourself a pack or two of Goya discos and you too can become an expert empanada maker.

Sweet Melissa Sundays - Strawberry Lemonade

This is going to be a short post because well, sometimes it's best to keep things simple.  This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick was brought to us by Jessica of My Baking Heart and what a great pick is was.

Take simple syrup and add water, lemon juice, an easy strawberry sauce (made by blending strawberries with a touch of sugar, lemon juice and water) and voila! - strawberry lemonade is born.   I used frozen since strawberries are not in season right now and hella expensive in NYC.  And if you don't like your juice too sweet, just lessen the amount of sugar like I did.

It's sweet, tart and oh so refreshing - just the drink you need right now to get you through the last few weeks of this dreaded winter.  This drink will help me get through the rest of the winter and rejoice throughout the summer.

For the recipe, make sure to visit Jessica's blog or pick up a copy of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

Thomas Keller's Carrot Cake

As much as I like to try out new desserts, there are some old stand bys that I always go back to. Like this carrot cake, this red velvet cake, this oatmeal cookie, this chocolate cake, this flan, these muffins...the list goes on. Since these guys are not broken, I don't try to fix them. But then how do I evolve as a baker?

Take this carrot cake for example, that I blogged about last April. It's more than just an incredibly delicious cake. It's the first layer cake I ever made. Cream cheese frosting was also the first frosting I ever made. And this was the first cake I ever made for family. So I am very emotionally attached to this baby. So much so that I never thought I would make a different one. This was THE carrot cake recipe of all carrot cake recipes and as far as I was concerned, there was no need to try a new one.

Well, one of my new year's resolutions along with making new desserts and stepping out of my comfort zone is testing out new recipes for my favorites. Enter this carrot cake -

My husband got me Thomas Keller's coveted Ad Hoc at Home cookbook for Christmas (a review of this wonderful book will come in a future post). When I opened to the dessert section, it opened straight to a recipe for carrot cake cupcakes. I took it as a sign and a few weeks later gathered up the ingredients and made it into a layer cake.

The Verdict - Outstanding!  This cake is up there in flavor and texture with my old favorite.  I may even go as far as saying that it is slightly better, as the use of canola oil over peanut oil kept it moist without being greasy.  The cake also held up great in the fridge 5+ days after baking.  It's everything a carrot cake should be and more - robust, moist, spicy, nutty and simply delicious with tangy cream cheese frosting.

If cream cheese frosting isn't your thing, go ahead and make it without as I did with some left over batter in this mini loaf pan (I love all things mini).

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
From:  Ad Hoc at Home
By:  Thomas Keller
Yield:  24 cupcakes (I made this into a layer cake)

Cupcakes
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting (makes about 3 cups)
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.

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

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla and both sugars until smooth.  Beat in the oil.  Slowly, add the dry ingredients.  Mix in the carrots and 1 cup of the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter among with lined cupcake cups.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate the pan and bake for another 10 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth.  Add the butter and mix until smooth.  Beat in the powdered sugar, then add the vanilla.  Scrape down the sides and beat for 30 seconds on high speed.

Spread the tops of the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with the remaining chopped walnuts.  The cupcakes are best frosted and eaten the day they are baked, but they can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before serving. (Note that my cake last for longer than this in the refrigerator)

Coconut Cake with Chocolate Chunks and Coconut Drizzle

When it comes to sweets there are a few things I cannot live without.  As many of you know, one of them is lemons.  Tied for first place alongside lemons is coconut.

When I saw this recipe featured in Bon Appetit magazine I knew I had to replicate it.  Not just for my love of coconut, but for my love of Mounds chocolate bars as well, as this cake was beautifully studded with chunks of bittersweet chocolate.

But this cake did more than just help me indulge in my love of coconut and Mounds.  It was dense and moist without being heavy.  The bittersweet chocolate gave it right amount of sweetness.  And if you are a chocolate addict, go crazy and add more.  Between the chocolate chunks and toasted coconut on top, the texture of this cake was like a little party in my mouth.

As if all of this wasn't enough, the touch of orange zest warmed up your mouth with every bite.  This is certainly not your everyday cake; but something for when you are craving more than just yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

And it was a wonderful end to my first Valentine's as a married woman.

Coconut Cake with Chocolate Chunks and Coconut Drizzle
from:  Bon Appetit, January 2010

For the Cake

1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped (or 9 ounces if you are a chocolate lover)

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, or 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut tossed with 1 teaspoon agave until all coconut is coated and ever so slightly damp

For the Coconut Drizzle

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9 inch spring-form cake pan. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Stir in 1 cup coconut. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with coconut milk in 2 additions, mixing until just combined with each addition. Fold 3 ounces of the chocolate chunks into batter using a rubber spatula. (I didn't pay close attention to the recipe and dumped all the chocolate at this point.  Which is why the top of my cake doesn't have chunks and chocolate shavings instead.)  Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula. Sprinkle remaining 3 ounces of chocolate as evenly as you can on top of the batter, top with 1/2 cup of coconut. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Check cake at around 40 minutes. If it looks like it is browning too quickly, place a foil tent over the pan. Remove cake from oven when a tester placed in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Coconut Drizzle

Whisk together sugar, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk. Add more coconut milk as needed until mixture is pourable.

This Chica Met Dorie Greenspan

That's right folks, I met Dorie Greenspan today and as a result, I was in heaven for most of my lunch hour. For those of you who don't know who she is here's the scoop.

Dorie Greenspan is an incredible cookbook author and winner of numerous awards. She authored Baking with Julia, which won a James Beard Award and an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Award. Among others she also authored Desserts by Pierre Herme, which was named IACP Cookbook of the Year.

Because I was living under a rock for most of my life, I only learned about her right before starting this blog in relation to her popular book Baking: From My Home To Yours. The recipe for my last cupcake post came from this book and for the last two years, every Tuesday food bloggers are baking their way through the book via Tuesdays with Dorie.

Last week I learned that Dorie and her son would be setting up a pop up shop as a trial run for a possible cookie shop in NYC and I knew I had to stop by not only to meet the legend but try some of her stuff. It's called Cookie Bar and if you are in NYC and did not stop by today please, please, please go tomorrow (or the day after). I promise you won't be disappointed.

Because I am a true believer in trying multiple items before reviewing a food establishment I bought at least one of every cookie Dorie was selling today.  (I had to buy two of the ones I knew my husband would like because when it comes to cookies, we are not too good with sharing) I don't have photos of the actual cookies because by the time I got home my lighting was all off. But here are my thoughts on them in the order they appear above:

• Peanut Butter Crisscrosses - quite frankly this is the best peanut butter cookie I have ever had; the peanut butter flavor is prominent without being overpowering and the chopped salted peanuts gave it awesome texture
• Molasses Spice Cookies - I didn't think I was going to like this one but the spices worked great here; thin and chewy; could definitely taste the molasses but they didn't have that "molassesy" flavor that is often a turnoff (for me at least); very warm and inviting
• Best Chocolate Chip Cookie - the name says it all; it is the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had, which is probably because Dorie used hand chopped premium chocolate - Valrhona; thin and chewy and definitely packs the flavor
• World Peace Cookie - these have Valrhona cocoa, Valrhona bittersweet chocolate and fleur de sel which equals AMAZING FLAVOR; salted chocolate is incredible and it is definitely the chocolate that takes this cookie over the top
• Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread - with more of a crunchy texture, this is a great cookie for coffee lovers
• Chocolate Chunkers - if you like a cookies that different flavors and textures, this one's for you; with Valrhona bittersweet, semisweet and milk chocolates, salted cashews and dried cherries you are definitely going to want more than one
• Sable - this sugar-topped sugar cookie was my least favorite; but that's because I'm not a sugar cookie fan; still tasty though
  
• Coconut Lime Cookies - but add coconut and lime zest to a sable and helllloooooo - absolutely incredible flavor combination and texture; this was my favorite of all and I will definitely be stopping by tomorrow to grab a couple of these; in the meantime, I will have sweet dreams about it
  

Hope those of you in NYC get a chance to stop by and try some of these for yourself. CookieBar will be open until Saturday so if you are looking for something special to get your loved one for V-Day, ditch the box of chocolates for a few of these cookies.

And Dorie (if you're reading this) - I hope this turns into a full-time shop for you. You are incredibly talented and NYC needs a real baker to de-thrown all of these sub-par cupcakes that have taken over the city.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make These Perfect Party Cupcakes

… You can still make lemonade. But why make lemonade when you can make these cupcakes!

The recipe comes from master baker Dorie Greenspan and what a wonderful recipe it is. In her book, Baking: From My Home to Yours, it appears as a lemon cake layered with raspberry jam and frosted with lemon swiss meringue buttercream. I made the cake some time ago and raspberry/lemon combination is sick (as in good) – clean, refreshing, tart and sweet. This time I was only craving lemon so I nixed the jam and went for cupcakes instead.

What is about lemon that so many of us love? For me, it’s all about the tartness. Add a few drops of lemon juice or a bit of lemon zest to pretty much anything both sweet and savory and that little bit of acidity takes it over the top and wakes just about anything out of its slumber.

Lemon and other citrus flavors have made quite a few star appearances on A Chica Bakes over the last year in the form of this pound cake, this other pound cake, this cheesecake, these cupcakes, this sorbet and these scones. (And this is not to mention all the other times when citrus is a secret ingredient) So yes, I’m partial to lemon (and orange and lime….) but my taste buds can’t help it.

However lemon isn’t the only thing about these party cupcakes that makes them special. The cake part is heavenly and will soon become my go-to cake base for future cakes. Not only is it moist and just a tad bit sweet (just how I like it) but the use of cake flour instead of all purpose and ample amount of baking powder makes it super light and fluffy, which makes me super happy.

If you’re not nuts over lemon like me, leave it out of the frosting. But don’t mess with the lemon in the cake. Or you will seriously be missing out.





Perfect Party Cake
From: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 12-14 servings

For the Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves, stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

To Make the Buttercream: Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or other large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.
To Assemble the Cake: Using a sharp, serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with the third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream left over). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving: The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but it’s best to let it set for a couple of hours in a cool room. Serve it at room temperature with anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing: The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to 2 days.

Sweet Melissa Sundays (Rewind) - Snickerdoodles

I've been living under a rock for the last 29 years. Because until making these a couple of weeks ago, I had never tasted a snickerdoodle. And I only started hearing about them last year when I started following other foodies online, despite the fact I have a plethora of recipes for them at home in my many cookbooks.

Snickerdoodles were a Sweet Melissa Sundays pick from last August chosen by Spike Bakes. I couldn't make the recipe then because I was preparing for my wedding but knew I had to revisit the pick for several reasons. First - cookies are the baked good of choice at my house and we love them in all their lovely forms. So I couldn't figure out how the heck had we never heard of snickerdoodles. And to add insult to injury, the more foodies I came across online, the more I learned about the (well-deserved) hype surrounding this treat.

I almost want to say this is the best snickerdoodle I have ever tasted but I have nothing else to base it on. However, any other one I make after this is going to have some big cookie shoes to fill. It's perfectly crispy on the outside with just the right amount of give and chew on the inside. And the cinnamon sugar exterior gives it just the right amount of sweet and warmth. They are perfect right out of the oven and taste just as good after a three-night stay in my cookie jar. And because they could not be easier to make, make sure to check out Spike Bakes for the recipe and clear out your cookie jar for this one.

If you want to see this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays pick of Butterscotch Pudding, make sure to check out Jennifer's blog, Maple N' Cornbread. Or pick up a copy of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book for these and more wonderful recipes.