Pâtisserie Natalie

Dose Market Chicago

2012-02-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm here in the Chicago area on my mid-winter break. So far, I'm having a good time just relaxing, baking, and seeing some family. I went into the city on Sunday to Dose Market, which was a blast. It's an arts, fashion, & food market that picks the best of the best from all those areas from around the city. If anyone has the chance to go to this, it's once a month and tickets are under $10, so I highly suggest it.

Drinks from Jo Sno & Gelato from Zingerman's

I tried a butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and crushed walnuts from Ripasso. They had a much fancier name for it, but I have absolutely not idea what it was. I also had a freshly made lavender soda from Jo Sno, and Chocolate Balsamic Strawberry Gelato from Zingerman's Creamery. I tried little samples from a lot of different places, as well, but who wouldn't?

vintage & food at dose market

The whole event was really lively, full of great fashion, food, and energy. I hope Seattle gets an indoor version of this soon because we could really use it with our unpredictable weather throughout the year. The next dose market is in early March, so if you're in Chicago, hit it up!

Winter Session 2012

2012-02-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

I got back from winter break in early january, but instead of returning for my second semester I got a little break from my grueling foundation year here at RISD. Instead, I took two elective classes, one of which was an artists book class that I absolutely loved. It really inspired me and I fell in love with book arts. I highly recommend taking a class anywhere you can get a chance to in the subject. We studied different bindings, types of paper, presses, printmaking, and all other book-y things. I learned so much and had a blast. These are some of the books I made during the winter session, but my teachers are still grading my final project, so pictures of that will be up in a few weeks. I'm off to Chicago tomorrow to visit family and friends, as well as visit some fun food spots, so there will be some great photo opportunities there. Check back for those soon.

I also wanted to put up some pictures of my dorm room here at RISD. I love industrial farmhouse, so I tried to bring some of that with me from home.

Linoleum block printed moleskin journal and hotstamped moleskin planner.

Why Do We Like What We Like? Open assignment.

Every Six Weeks She Draws From Me and Asks Me More Questions Than the People Who Sleep Next to Me. I Am Reminded That I Am Human; There Is No God.

Practice tunnel book.

Shhhh, eat, stuck. Assignment: Make 3 books starting with the sentences: I am...; I fear...; I like...

cold. is it just me, or is it cold in here? just me. assignment: create an edition of 20 books. exchanged among classmates.

Hope everyone gets inspired to go make some books. Check back soon for some Chicago pictures. Enjoy your winter!

Farmstead Inc.

2012-01-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Let the first east coast post commence! There are a few places here in Providence that I want to revisit now that I have this project in mind, but this is a place I've had on my radar to try for quite a while. Farmstead Inc. is the gourmet cheese shop and deli located in Wayland square, on the east side of Providence. Farmstead is open for lunch and the store is open into the evening. However, in the night time, its other half, La Laiterie, is open and has a full dinner menu. I have yet to try La Laiterie, but I look forward to it.

The menu is seasonal, which guarantees a fresh and unique experience. During our visit, we tried the following:

autumn salad gruyere, apples, roasted onions, candied, walnuts, cornichon, cider vinagrette, & a warm cheesemongers' croute
butternut squash soup purréd with cream and root vegetables
cheesemongers' grilled cheese with onions lots & lots of cheese, bourbon melted onions

Everything was delightful and presented beautifully and rustically-- from wood platters to paper baskets.

The rest of Farmstead is a gourmet market that stocks a wide variety of crackers, meats, cheeses, breads, among other deli items. There are a few prepared items, as well. The store is great for specialty items that can't be found at other markets in the area, but it also carries things like individual wooden cheese boards that are no bigger than 5" long for entertaining.

Farmstead also comes to the Providence Farmers' Market".

The New England architecture is so striking. It's similar to some houses back home, but the colors and patterns on these buildings are too good to just pass by.

We made a stop at a pet store carrying items designed only by RISD graduates and made two new beagle friends by the names of Pin & Stripe. We were big fans and will most likely return.

holiday party

2012-01-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while. To anyone who still checks the blog or to new visitors, I have some good news. I will be updating more frequently. However, the blog will be taking a different direction. Since I am at school and baking/styling is really pretty difficult, I will be doing more of an east coast/west coast food and travel blog that shows some delicious places to hit up if you're on either side of the country. Whether you're just looking for the best cup of coffee or some pictures of tasty looking cupcakes, then this is the blog for you. There might be the occasional natalie-baked item up here with a recipe, so keep on the lookout for that also.

Here are some pictures from my holiday party when i was back home in seattle. it was a really great time with family and friends. i made vanilla-cinnamon apple and cranberry-apple galettes with whipped cream. i also went a little crazy with the decorating, much of which was inspired by the creative geniuses over at Kinfolk Magazine. Seriously, check them out. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting to all their new years resolutions―psych! Resolutions are dumb: always push yourselves to be your best, y'all.

Apple Cranberry Galettes
-makes about 4 8-inch Galettes -
Dough ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter + 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
sanding sugar

Filling Ingredients
4 large granny smith apples
2/3 cup fresh cranberries
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
note: for vanilla-cinnamon, use 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 scraped vanilla bean.

Procedure
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in food processor.
Add 12 tablespoons of butter; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours.
While you're chilling the dough, you might want to prepare the filling (procedure below).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface 1/2" thick. Cut into 8" diameter circles and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Place about 1/3 of a cup of the filling in the center of the circle and fold up edges of the dough in one direction. Place a 1/2 tablespoon of butter on the filling.
Beat the egg in a small bowl and add cream. Using a pastry brush, paint the sides of the galette with an eggwash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

Filling Procedure:
Peel and cut apples into very thin slices, about 1/4" thick, then set aside.
In a large saucepan, turn on medium heat and melt butter. While the butter is melting, combine lemon juice, sugar, and spices in a small bowl. Pour into the saucepan.
Cook the cranberries in the pan first, without the apples. Wait until they start to make "popping" sounds, then remove from the pan, leaving the juice in the pan.
Cook apples just until they are easily sliced with a little pressure from a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and toss the cranberries in. Stir the fruits in with the sauce until everything is nice and covered.

Old and New

2011-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I've got an update for you. As you might have noticed, there really hasn't been much going on with this blog for a while. I've lost a bit of interest in it, and when something isn't fun anymore, I think it's good to just cut the strings and let it go. I've started a tumblr which you can follow here that will be a collection of my artwork, baking photography (no recipes, no stories), and other media that I like. It will have a completely different feel from my blog, so I understand if I lose some of my readers, and I'm sorry for that, but I hope some of you will follow me on my adventure to college and continuing study of food and art.

Till next time!
Natalie

http://whatyouneednatalie.tumblr.com/

Birthday and Update

2011-06-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. As most of you are aware, it's been over a year since I've done a full post. I know, I know: I've been really bad. My last year of high school has sort of needed my attention what with this little thing called college. Oh, yeah! College. Some of you might be wondering where I've decided to go and I'm proud to say that I've decided to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. It's a fantastic school and I'm a little nervous, but I'm really excited to start there in the fall. It's an extremely challenging school, so I have a feeling baking may have to take the backseat (again!) for a while, but I know that it's something I'll love to do for my entire life and it will come in and out of focus.
The post I'm putting up today is about my birthday I recently celebrated. My actual birthday fell on a Sunday this year. While I didn't celebrate on my actual birthday, I decided to host a Sunday brunch for all my girlfriends and go on a baking + decorating binge. A couple rooms of my house were decorated in entirely pink and gold (this was my color palette, duh!) as were the invitations and party favors. We used an instant camera to take pictures during the party, which was fun because everyone was dressed up nicely. As party favors, people got to take home two photos, along with some jelly beans.

I've mentioned this before, but not in detail, but i am obsessed with Martha Stewart. Everything from scone recipes to her not-so-secret cattyness. For my party, I basically scoured Martha Stewart.com for hours finding ideas, photo galleries, and how-tos. Some of you might recognize the tissue paper pompoms that you can buy online from her site. I made mine using a tutorial on marthastewart.com since I'm pretty crafty (see, art school) and hung them from the ceiling using thread, duct tape, and medical tape (to hide the duct tape).

The brunch was practically an ode to Martha. Almost every recipe was one I've adapted from her. Here was the menu:

Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
Spiced Banana Bread
Orange-Poppy Scones with Butter + Jam
Blueberry Coffee Cake
Bacon
Asparagus, Potato, Cheddar, & Leek Frittata
Doughnuts from Mighty O
Cranberry Sparklers
Sparkling Cider with Cara Cara Orange Punch
Pink Grapefruit Margaritas

The drinks above are links to the pages on Marthastewart.com where you can find the recipes.

Glazed Lemon Poundcake
Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon zest
2/3 cup lemon juice
5 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together in a large bowl thoroughly, and set aside.In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth.
In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Add the eggs to the butter and sugar one at a time, beating in between each addition.
With the mixer on a low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the yogurt mixture in 2 parts. Start and end with the flour mixture. Grease and flour a 9" bundt pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the top begins to brown slightly. Let cake cool for at least 2 hours before glazing.

Glaze
Juice from 1 lemon (not exact)
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Mix using a fork until a paste forms and brush on the cooled cake.

Blueberry Coffee Cake
Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla, and beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture and the sour cream, and beat just until well combined. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Crumb topping
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, salt, sugar, and flour. Cut in the butter using your pastry cutter until well combined. Put aside or refrigerate until use.

Orange-Poppy Scones
From Martha Stewart Everyday Food
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 fresh squeezed orange juice
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry cutter, work butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. With a fork, stir in 1/2 cup buttermilk, orange zest and juice, egg yolk, and poppy seeds until just combined.

On a lightly floured, surface, turn out dough and knead several times. Form dough into a 7-inch square; cut into 9 squares, then cut each in half diagonally. Transfer dough triangles to two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Brush tops with buttermilk; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until scones are pale golden, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on wire racks. Serve with butter and jam.

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat sugar and butter together in a mixer. Add mashed bananas and eggs one at a time. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and whisk until well blended. Add to butter mixture and beat in mixture just until combined. Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan for 45-50 minutes.

Three Cookies

2010-11-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've done a post. Unfortunately, this won't be a full post. Life is just a little crazy right now, but I hope to be able to do some full posts for you in the not-so-distant future. Today, I have some pictures of ginger cookies, rosemary butter cookies, and chai tea shortbread. Have a nice weekend.

Hiatus

2010-09-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long summer break. Thanks for being patient with me during this time when I haven't put any recipes up. I was away at the Rhode Island School of Design for 6 weeks, and returned in early August. To be honest, I haven't had the time to bake, style, and photograph anything since I got back. I hope I get some time and will be able to show you some new stuff soon, but right now, I'm just a little too busy. I hope you understand. Wishing everyone a good end of summer.

Plum Crumble with Strawberry Ice Cream

2010-06-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

School is coming to a close, which means I have tons of work to do. Ah! I have under 3 weeks of school left, but the day after I get out of school I'm leaving to go to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. It's one of my favorite places and the theater is wonderful. If you've never been, I recommend you go at some time in your life.

Then, just a few days after I get back from that, I'm off to Rhode Island to spend 6 weeks at the Rhode Island School of Design to study graphic design. I've never been more excited about anything in my whole life! I probably won't be baking much during those 6 weeks, so there won't be many/any new recipes. But I will try to update Pâtisserie Natalie with my graphic design work that I do in my classes, and other photography that I do.

I'm working on a baking project that I hope to show everyone at the end of the summer, but for now, enjoy this plum crumble with strawberry ice cream and the beginnings of summer!

For the strawberry ice cream, go to my Neapolitan Ice Cream Cakes.

Plum Crisp

Crumble
200 grams unsalted butter, chilled
200 grams sugar
200 grams flour
100 grams roasted almonds
1 teaspoon salt

In a food processor, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse several times to mix. Add almonds and pulse twice, just to break up the nuts. Add the butter in small cubes and pulse until crumble is sandy with small chunks of butter.

Filling
3 lbs prunes
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel prunes, then cut into slices. In a medium bowl, combine sliced prunes, sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Toss until fruit is lightly covered. Let macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour into a 8" by 8" square glass baking pan.

Pour crumble topping on top and bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crumble is golden brown, darker towards the edges of the pan. Remove from oven and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving with homemade strawberry ice cream.

Items I used:

THAW 2010

2010-05-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, May 6, I packed up 600 mini cupcakes and hauled them over to Sodo in Seattle. Why? Because I was a sponsor of THAW 2010. THAW is a fashion show and fund raiser for Huntington's disease. To visit the event's website, click here. The auction that they held raised over $26,000. It was a very successful event and I am glad to have been a part of it.

Some of the other sponsors were: Via Tribunali, Beauty.com, Vitamin Water, Smart Water, Cafe Vita, and Absolut Vodka. If you go to THAW's website and click on "sponsors," my name is up there with all the other big ones!

These were the guys from Via Tribunali, a fabulous local pizza place. They were making individual pizzas all night that were just delicious. I highly recommend them.

Smart Water and Vitamin Water were sponsors of the events, so there were no shortages of tasty Vitamin Water Zeros or ice cold water.

There was even a Vitamin Water Zero lounge to kick back, relax, and drink some Vitamin Water in. Fun!

Now, for the dessert. I made 3 different kinds of mini cupcakes for the event: lemon poundcake with blackberry buttercream, chocolate cake with bailey's buttercream, and carrot cake with spiced cream cheese frosting. People kept coming back for more, so I guess that means they liked them. I had a table set up in the VIP section of the event, which was upstairs, alongside swankily lit lounges and tables from other local restaurants and bars.

I set up my table early, and then I got to walk around and look at all the other sponsors who had set up tables. A Seattle restaurant called Tango was also set up in the VIP section, and the pastry chef came over and told me she had seen my blog. I was so excited. It reminded me to thank all my readers for coming to my blog. Having readers who visit my blog and leave such nice comments is a real treat. So, thank you!

Also, the editor of Seattle magazine, Rachel Hart, stopped by, along with the owner of Trophy Cupcakes (my former employer), Jennifer Shea. They gave me great encouragement and said really nice things about my cupcakes and the typography of the signs I made.

Overall, I can't even imagine how the event could have gone any better. I had a great time, helped benefit an important cause, got to bake a ton, and got the word out about my blog. I hope if you're in Seattle around this time next year, you attend the event.

Have a nice weekend!

Also, for recipes:

the lemon+blackberry cupcakes were the recipe used for my cakespy feature: here

The chocolate+bailey's is my chocolate cupcake: here

Bailey's Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons coffee extract
1 tablespoon whiskey

Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, coffee extract, and whiskey. Beat thoroughly and transfer to a piping bag to frost cupcakes.

And here are the carrot cupcakes: here

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Happy mother's day to all the moms out there. My mom gets a lot of baking gifts, as you might have guessed, and today was no exception. I made some lemon scones which were spread with homemade (not by me) blackberry jam. I also put together a fruit salad of mango, blackberry, and bananas, and a split-shot latte. If you are a mom, have a nice, relaxing day and if you have a mom in your life, be extra nice.

I have an obsession with packaging and so if I have any excuse to wrap gifts, I go to town. The wrapping in this picture is just done with some purple tissue paper, brown kraft paper, a kraft takeout box, and some striped bands that I made really quickly. I also made a little square card for my mom.

Also, this last Thursday, was the Seattle THAW 2010. It's a charity event that benefits the hdsa (huntington's disease society of america). If you don't know much about the disease or organization, check it out because it's a really great cause. I was sponsor of the event and provided 600 mini cupcakes, the flavors being bailey, lemon blackberry, and spiced carrot cake. I will create a post all about the event, so that is coming soon.

Anyways, happy mother's day!

Vanilla Chai Cookies

2010-04-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from the east coast to look at colleges. I'm on my spring break right now, which happens to be two weeks long (woo hoo!). Of course the first thing I did when I got back was to start baking. I've always been a fan of little cookies (here, here, here, & here). I think it's nice to be able to have a small treat when you want something sugary, but you don't want to eat an entire cheesecake.

These cookies taste just like a sweet chai latte. These would be great for a little tea time snack. Or any snack time for that matter.

Also, on another note, you may have noticed that Pâtisserie Natalie looks a little different. I've updated the layout for spring 2010. As you probably know, I design and code all my own layouts, and I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. Being on spring break gave me some time to work on this new layout, which took a while to get right. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Vanilla Chai Sable Cookie

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Combine butter and sugar in stand mixer until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and mix well. Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until barely combined. Using your hands, use a kneading motion inside the bowl so that the dough starts to come together. Flour your hands if the dough is sticking to you. Divide into two parts, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Take out one of the disks and roll out to 1/4" thick on a flour surface. Using a scalloped cookie cutter (see link at the bottom) about 1 3/4" in diameter. Cut out cookies (I also cut out a little shape in the middle of half the cookies) and bake for 8 minutes, until edges are just slightly golden brown.

Cardamom Cream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until soft and smooth. Transfer to a piping bag with plain tip about 1/2" in diameter. Sandwich cream in between two cookies.

What I used:

Cupcake Camp Part II

2010-04-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Woah. Cupcake camp was crazy. I've never seen so many cupcake-crazed people in my life. Overall, it was a fun event that benefited a good cause. I think everyone who brought cupcakes deserves a pat on the back. Or at least a nice, firm handshake. New cupcakes were supposed to be brought out every 15 minutes, but things didn't go as planned. Hundreds of people showed up for this thing. Which is great because that means the Hope Heart Institute made over $5000! Bravo, cupcake-eaters.

After about two hours, the quantity of cupcakes is visually represented by the image below (chocolate cupcake with salted caramel frosting by cupcake royale, the same flavor I brought!):

mostly because people took this amount of cupcakes:

I'm not going to lie, it was pretty frightening. There was a line out the building, around the block. I honestly thought maybe 300 people would show up to this thing over the course of the whole day. Boy was I wrong.

The next couple pictures are of the cupcakes I brought, carrot with spiced cream cheese frosting and chocolate salted caramel. I had to be sneaky taking pictures because I didn't want to get yelled at or be accused of trying to cut in line to steal the cupcakes. Or seem like a stalker for randomly taking pictures of people. The pictures aren't really in focus at all because I had to be so sneaky, but you can see them on people's plates or in the cute pink boxes I brought them in.

In terms of attendance, cupcake camp seattle was a huge success. the event planners (bella cupcake couture) tried to remind people to only take 5-8 cupcakes, but people simply didn't listen. no one could have anticipated how many people would come and the hosts did the best that they could.

This picture is kind of random. I just thought it was cool that someone made a little milk sculpture.

Cupcake Camp Part I

2010-04-06T19:40:00.001-07:00

As some of you may have heard, Seattle is having its first ever Cupcake Camp. It isn't the kind of camp where little kids make lanyards. It's the kind of camp like boot camp: it is intense. But the intensity comes from the amount of cupcakes! I am proud to say that I am a sponsor of Cupcake Camp Seattle. I will be at the event with my cupcakes, so those of you who live in Seattle should come by and say hello (and eat tons of cupcakes, of course). Several dessert experts will be there: Trophy Cupcakes, Cakespy, Cupcake Royale, and the whole camp is sponsored by Bella Cupcake Couture

I will be making Carrot Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese and Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes (all minis). Both of these recipes are in my recipe index, so if you come by and try them, and like them, you can make either recipe at home.

The event is on April 10th from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM at the 415 Westlake building (415 Westlake Ave N) in South Lake Union. The event is free, but a $10 donation is suggested, but once you've donated, go crazy on the cupcakes. The event benefits the Hope Heart Institute.

This fun event is for a great cause, and I really hope to see some of you there.

Click the button below to go to the Seattle Cupcake Camp website.

Peanut Butter Sandwiches

2010-03-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, Girl Scout Cookie season has arrived. For most people, that is great news. For me, not so much. I find them pretty gross and artificial-tasting. The only thing I think Girl Scout cookies are good for is reinvention. I think the cookies sometimes have good flavor combinations and can be used in other desserts. This idea got me thinking about taking other commercial baked goods with bad quality ingredients and remaking them using good recipes and ingredients. I would be lying if I said I didn't like Nutter Butters. They're good. But they could taste so much better. The filling in a Nutter Butter tastes kind of like an Oreo's: bleck. Using natural peanut butter that has only two ingredients (peanuts and salt) makes for a healthier and tastier filling.

I want to apologize for how few posts I've been doing. Believe me, I would do more if I could. I expect the next several weeks (months) to be equally as busy, so there won't be an abundance of posting in the near future. I will do posts whenever I can.

Peanut Butter Shortbread

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300 F. Beat butter and peanut butter together until thoroughly combined. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy and smooth. Add vanilla extract and salt, then flour. Beat until a dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Once chilled, roll on a floured surface until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the cookies are firm to the touch. Let cool for 2 hours before filling.

Peanut Butter Filling
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup cream peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine butter and peanut butter well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Sandwich two cookies together, with filling in between.

Sorry!

2010-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Life has just been a little crazy with homework, college visits, and being social. Hopefully I will have something up soon.

Carrot Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-02-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

I made a small carrot cake for a get together at my house and used the extra batter for cupcakes. A lot of people tell me I'm strange because of this, but, I don't really like cake. I often will make a dessert and serve it and people ask, "Aren't you going to try it?" And I almost always say no. It's a funny thing to be a baker (and a teenager) without much of a sweet tooth. To me, baking is a lot more about the process. I like coming up with flavor combos and designing the look of whatever it is I make more than I actually enjoy eating it. This is not to say I don't have food weaknesses, believe me, I do. Sugar just isn't it.

I've been making a lot of cupcakes lately, and planning them, too. If you're ever in Seattle, I strongly suggest that you visit Trophy Cupcakes. They are the best cupcakes you can buy in Seattle (in my opinion). I worked at Trophy in 2008, when I was 15. I got really inspired by their productivity and creativity. They combine beautiful visual presentation with cake that actually tastes good. There is so much bad cake out there. If anyone can combine form and function as well as Trophy, then they are on the road to success.

Carrot Cake

4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/8 cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups grated carrot

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together eggs, both sugars, melted butter, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix thoroughly.
With either a grater or a food processor, grate until you have 3 cups of shredded carrot.
Fold egg mixture into the dry ingredients, just until mixed, then add carrots. Mix until fully incorporated.
For cupcakes, line a muffin tin with paper liners and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. For a 5" springform cake, divide evenly into pans and line the bottom with parchment. For a 6" cake, divide batter evenly between to pans, and bake for 28-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing off the dome of each cake.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine cream cheese and butter in a mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually, alternating with vanilla extract. Add spices. Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost cakes/cupcakes.

Terms of Use

2010-01-25T21:39:00.001-08:00

This is just a page I wanted to add to my sidebar, so that if anyone has questions about using my images, you can look here.

I do this for fun, not for profit, so I love to see my images on other sites. My only request is that you ask before you use them, so I can keep track of who is using the images. That's all!

S'il vous plaît demander avant d'utiliser mes images. Je vais probablement dire oui.

Bitte fragen Sie vor der Verwendung meiner Bilder. Wahrscheinlich werde ich sagen, ja.

Por favor, pregunte antes de usar mis imágenes. Probablemente dirá que sí.

Strawberry Lemonade Macarons

2010-01-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

After many trials, I finally made some successful macarons. They're still not perfect, but they're heading in the right direction and they taste great, so I consider that a mini-success. Citrus right now is at its best, so I've been trying to use it as much as possible. When my parents had friends over, I made them meyer lemon ice cream, pistachio crumble, and a blackberry compote. Unfortunately, I didn't get to photograph it, but hopefully I well get to make it again, with some photos. For these macarons, I didn't use meyer lemons, but I'm sure they would do well with this recipe.

A little while ago, I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, Cannelle et Vanille, when I came across a recipe for raspberry macarons that used raspberry powder. I did a little research to find out that it was dehydrated raspberries crushed into a powder. The macarons sounded so good, I knew I had to make them, or at least try to. But raspberry powder is a tricky thing to find anywhere but online. I was a little defeated and kind of gave up on the idea, as I didn't really want to order anything online at that moment.

So, one day I was at Trader Joe's, just getting some groceries, when I noticed they had a selection of dehydrated fruits, like strawberries and bananas. I threw some in the basket and didn't use them for a couple months. But then, the other day, I saw them at the back of the cabinet and decided I would try out my idea. I took the dehydrated strawberries and finely chopped them, then used a bench scraper to pulverize the strawberries and I was left with a fine powder. I proceeded to make the macarons, and they turned out well. They have a nice, subtle strawberry flavor. If you happen to see any other kinds of dehydrated fruits, I suggest you try them out!

Strawberry Macarons
Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille

140 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
80 grams sugar
180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
2 grams salt
8 grams dehydrated strawberry powder
2 drops red gel food coloring

Let the egg whites come to room temperature, uncovered, overnight.

Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and strawberry powder.

Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer with the egg white powder until frothy, and almost to stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually while whipping. Add the red food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a spatula until a shiny meringue forms. The batter should make ribbons when the whisk attachment is pulled off the mixer.

Once you have the right consistency, place the batter in a pastry bag with a large, circular tip. Pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. You can use a cookie cutter or other template to draw perfect circles on the other side of the parchment paper. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour. The top should be shiny and dry before being put in the oven.

Preheat the oven 300 degrees F. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and bake for 8 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 2-3 minutes.

For amazing, very specific directions, I suggest you go to Tartelette's Macaron Tutorial. It is about half way down the main page, on the right side.

Lemon Curd

1 stick butter
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a double broiler, melt butter completely, then remove top of double broiler from heat, but leave the water to boil.

Add lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, and salt to melted butter and stir thoroughly. Put back over heating water, and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add egg yolks to the mixture, and continue to whisk over medium heat until it is a custard consistency and coats the back of a wooden spoon and leaves a clean trail when a finger is dragged across. Do not let it boil.

Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover surface with plastic wrap, pressing down so that a skin does not form on the top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using.

You will have a little left over if using this recipe for the buttercream (below).

Lemon Curd Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup lemon curd
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (or more for correct consistency)

Combine ingredients in a stand mixer until smooth. You may need more powdered sugar for a frosting consistency that you can pipe.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

2009-12-27T20:55:00.000-08:00

Living in Seattle, coffee is everywhere. I take it for granted that there is a coffee shop on every third block. I'm often surprised when I visit other cities and all that's there is a starbucks. In my neighborhood, I counted, there are about 13 coffee shops, in a 6 block radius. when i visited new york city this last spring, i went on a jog for blocks and blocks trying to find a coffee shop, and ending up running for quite a while. I was shocked: no decent coffee on every other block? What is this world coming to? I eventually found a coffee, so all was well in the end.

But it's fair to say that there is quite a coffee culture here, and I've definitely been sucked into it. I started drinking coffee was I was 11, which wasn't unusual in my class at all. My addiction has only grown stronger since then, until the point that I tried a sludge cup: drip coffee with shots in it. Any self-respecting-Seattlite-coffee-addict drinks drip coffee strong. Very strong. However, I overestimated my caffeine tolerance and tried a triple-shot sludge cup before an exam. Let's just say I was a little jittery and didn't get much sleep that night, even though I had the drink at 8:00 AM.

I've recently been coffee-sober for 2 weeks, which is a new record, as I often can't go a day without it.

Mocha Cupcakes

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee extract (only if you have it, not crucial if you don't)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 14 minutes, minis for 10 (depending on your oven.)

Peppermint Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Couple drops peppermint oil (to taste)
couple drops spearmint oil (to taste)
Sprinkles

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in lemon oil and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle!

Holidays and Cookies

2009-12-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

As Christmas is around the corner, i've been sending out our holiday cookies to family and friends. I decided to make our tags this year with some new software I got. I have a font-downloading addiction.

In our holiday cookie bags/boxes there were: vanilla-chocolate swirls, white chocolate cranberry walnut cookies, vanilla sugar cookies, orange pecan shortbread, & chocolate chip shortbread.

When i did a holiday crafts fair (i sold holiday cookie bags) earlier this month, i also did a lemon shortbread & white chocolate-dipped chocolate peppermint cookies.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, whether you celebrate Christmas, or not.

Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake

2009-12-21T22:13:00.000-08:00

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts. The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough at school. There isn't a lot of time for baking when there's homework to do, friends to see, going to the gym, etc. But now I'm on winter break, so there should be more time for holiday baking. We just got together our holiday cookie bags, so hopefully I can get a couple shots of those up soon.

We had a holiday party at my house for my mom's work group; I was asked to do a chocolate dessert. I hadn't made a cheesecake in a while, and I wanted to do something creamy. I've always thought coffee or espresso flavored cheesecakes were just the best. I'm definitely a fan of the plain with graham cracker crust, but it's not terribly exciting. I haven't made anything chocolaty in a while, so this was the perfect chance. Also, I don't have a ton of occasions where I get to make one big dessert for a lot of people, which was exciting.

I also got to use one of my favorite techniques: chocolate transfers. I think this technique adds a lot to the dessert's visual tastiness, without over-decorating it or making it look cheesy, in the style of grocery store cakes.

I hope everyone is baking and having a happy holidays!

Chocolate Cookie Crust

9 oz chocolate shortbread-type cookie
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients in a food processor until a coarse meal. Using fingers or a spoon, press into an even layer on the bottom of a 10" spring form pan, and however high up the sides you wish. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Filling

4- 8oz packages of cream cheese (organic, if you like), room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 tablespoons light molasses
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and soft. Add sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the flour.

In a small bowl, mix together the vanilla extract, Kahlua, molasses, and instant espresso powder until everything is dissolved.

Pour into the chilled crust, and smooth out using a spatula.

Bake for around 40 minutes, but watch carefully after about 30 minutes. There should be cracks on the surface, and wiggle a little in the center when it is done.

Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, running a knife around the edges first. It will have sunk down a fair amount. Let cool for 1 hour.

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream
4 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat cream until steam rises off it. Pour over chocolate and let sit without stirring for 2 minutes, then stir until chocolate is melted.

Assembly

Place cooled cheesecake back in its pan, and line the pan sides with acetate. Snap the pan closed. Pour ganache on top, and let drizzle down the sides if there is space between the cheesecake and the acetate.

Place in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Lemon Ginger Sandwich Cookies

2009-11-21T19:41:00.001-08:00

I'm not much of a tea drinker. I usually think it smells kind of weird and makes the back of my tongue feel scratchy. But all that is changing. I had a sip of my friend's chai tea the other day (we snuck it into a movie, shh!) and it was tasty. So that night I had some peppermint tea. It was so refreshing and reminded me of the holidays coming up.

I saw a cup of Lemon Ginger tea on the counter, and I tried that. As soon as I tasted it, I knew that whatever I made this weekend was going to have those flavors. The acidity of the lemon goes perfectly with the gentle earthy flavors of ginger. I wasn't loving the idea of a lemon ginger cake at the time, although I'm sure it would be interesting, so I went with cookies.

I love making roll-out cookies because you can get those nice crisp shapes. Again, I don't usually love roll-out cookies, but I tasted a little of this cookie and it is good all by itself. If you like that kind of cookie better, then just don't frost them. You will be pleasantly surprised. You will see a lot of cookies soon because I'm going to be running a booth at a holiday crafts fair with my cookies. I'll try and take pictures when I make the bags, but no guarantees because I will probably be covered in flour and entirely frantic by the time I will be ready to photograph them. Have a nice weekend!

Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup mild molasses

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, then set aside. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then, add the molasses. Once smooth, add dry ingredients and mix well. Transfer the dough onto some plastic wrap, and pack tightly. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

After chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll the dough out on a floured piece of parchment paper until 1/4" thick. Using a cutter of your choice, cut out shape and transfer to parchment lined sheet pans. Bake for around 12 minutes, until only slightly darker around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream

1.5 sticks butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon lemon oil
Zest of one medium lemon

Combine ingredients in a stand mixer. Transfer to a piping bag with a small, plain, tip.

Assembly
Ice a circle slightly inside the border of the cookie and fill the circle. Place another cookie on top and press lightly. These store well in the fridge up to a week.

Fall Guest Post for Cakespy

2009-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

For a dinner party at my house this past weekend I made apple cranberry galettes with honey cinnamon ice cream. I rarely eat anything I bake, but it was reported back to me that they were delicious. This is a great fall recipe, so check it out at Cakespy.

Halloween Cupcakes

2009-10-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

These halloween cupcakes were very last minute. I made the the chocolate vanilla "ghosts" on Thursday night and the pumpkin spice ones on Halloween itself. I think that with Halloween, there has to be a little chocolate, and pumpkins are basically the symbol of Halloween, so you've got to have that. I've found that people tend to enjoy the mini cupcakes the most. First, they're irresistibly cute and they just pop into your mouth so easily.

When a regular size cupcake is presented to someone they will most likely eat it, but feel rather sick afterward. To avoid that bad feeling being associated with cupcakes, I usually make these little guys. The frosting/cake ratio also seems to work a little better with the minis.

Chocolate Cake

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake minis for about 10 minutes.

Vanilla Buttercream

1-1-½ stick unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1-1-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Sanding sugar or sprinkles

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in vanilla extract and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with orange sprinkles or any other decorations of choice.

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin puree in mixer until thoroughly combined.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix together well. Add to the wet mixture. Do not overmix.

Butter and flour mini muffin tins. Fill each cup 1/2 way with batter. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix ingredients together in mixer until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Upside Down Apple Cakes

2009-10-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I visited Lopez, one of the San Juan Islands, with my friend. Her family has a lovely house there, including apple and pear trees. The Northwest is known for those two fall fruits, and I certainly know why. I picked one of the apples and cut it open then and there. It was unbelievably crisp and juicy. As soon as I tasted it I knew I had to make something. Not being at home, I had to be a little more creative with what was there. I had a nice selection of tools, but no Kitchen Aid stand mixer! I got some help making the cakes from my friend's little sister, so she deserves some credit. I rarely bake with other people, so it was nice to have a hand.

Cake
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter for 10 seconds, until soft. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly in between.

Beat in dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk, in two parts. Start and end with the flour. Try not to overmix. Set aside.

Apples
6-7 medium apples, preferably tart variety
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and cut apples into thin, 1/4" slices. Toss in sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let macerate for 15 minutes in the fridge. In a large sauté pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter, and turn on medium heat. Once butter is melted, add apples and cook until the apples are cut through easily, but not browned.

Assembly
Lay apples in the bottom of the muffin tins that have been buttered and floured. Fill the remainder of the muffin cup with cake batter. Bake for 14-16 minutes, depending on your oven.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches

2009-10-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

My school is a little weird in that it divides the year into 5 parts. My first "quint" is ending, which means teachers decide to pile on the work. All at one time. The last week of the quint is always a little insane; everyone's very stressed and a little grouchy. But there is reward to the difficult week. We get a couple days off to recuperate, which means I'll most likely have time for an extra post (woot woot). I've been doing a lot of college searching lately, and I'm completely falling in love with the courses I've been looking up. I'm not exactly sure what I want to, but graphic design has always been a love of mine. I get really excited whenever I start to research it. There's a lot of anxiety involved in picking out what you want to be for the rest of your life. But there's a lot of fun involved, too. Seeing the types of things I'll get to do in a couple of years, eases the pressure, as it looks like so much fun. I know I love my web designing, photography, and baking, so that's what I'll stick to for now!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

1 cup pumpkin purée
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg yolks

Combine pumpkin and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup of cream and 1/2 cup brown sugar until thick.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream. Heat on low until sugar is dissolved and steam rises, continually mixing.

Add 1/2 cup of hot cream into egg mixture gradually, whisking thoroughly.
Pour egg mixture into saucepan and heat on medium-low until mixture is thickened, but does not boil.

Pour through a strainer and let cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes, then mix in pumpkin. Cover in an airtight container for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Transfer mixture to ice cream maker and use manufacturer's in structions.

Gingerbread Cake
adapted from martha stewart

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a half sheetpan with cooking spray and line with parchment. Spray parchment and use a paper towel to spread. Flour well and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together spices, salt, sugar, and flour.

In another bowl, whisk together molasses, egs, canola oil, and buttermilk.

Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.

Gently fold in molasses and water mixtures into the dry ingredients until a batter is formed. Pour into prepared sheetpan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cake springs back with a light touch, depending on your oven.

Let cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to remove. Once cooled, use a ruler or other straight edge to cut equal size squares. remove the squares and each cut in half, producing two rectangles.

Assembly

Once the ice cream is made, spread it in a sheetpan lined with parchment into one even layer. Let set up in freezer for at least 3 hours. Once hardened, use a ruler to cut ice cream squares the same size as the cake.

Just before serving, stack ice cream on top of one piece of cake, layering another on top of the ice cream. You can make a little powdered sugar+cream glaze to drizzle on top, and pecans go nicely with this.

Asian Pear Coffee Cake

2009-10-11T19:59:00.001-07:00

It has finally gotten chilly around here. I am so excited to wake up each morning and be freezing. I know I'm a little weird for loving to be cold. Over the past couple of days it has actually become fall, which means new flavors. Fall is my favorite season, not to mention its flavor profiles. The warm spices and crisp apples are just a few of the many perks. I decided on this asian pear coffee cake because of some lovely asian pears picked by family friends at their farm. Pears like that don't just come around all the time, so I knew I had to take advantage of them. I find that both apples and pears taste the best slow cooked with a cake or crumble. Since I wanted to make something that combined the three, I went with a coffee cake. This recipe is moist, but not too dense. It has a delicious crumble on top and the cinnamon pears add a nice texture and juice to the cake. This is great for breakfast, dessert, snack, whatever. Enjoy your first days of fall!

Crumble

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
6 oz butter, cold & unsalted

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until there are only small lumps of butter.

Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick butter, unsalted
1 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 medium asian pears

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well in a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla extract until combined.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Do not overmix batter.

Peel and slice asian pears very thinly, about 1/4"-1/8" thick. Toss with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg. Let macerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, butter a 9" bundt cake pan thoroughly. Pour 1/2 the batter on the bottom, using a spatula to spread. Layer macerated pears on top. Layer the rest of the batter
on top. Remove crumble from refrigerator and pour evenly on top.

Bake for about 50 minutes, depending on your oven, until the top is dark golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before removing from pan.

Chocolate Caramel Tarts

2009-10-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe how long it's been since I've been able to put up a post. I missed it, trust me. What with going to school, playing sports, and staying social, the time to bake, photograph, and blog is very limited. But I had some time this weekend, and because baking is a calming thing for me, I decided that was what I was going to do. I chose this recipe by looking through Donna Hay magazine. Yes, my friends make fun of me for reading Donna Hay and Martha Stewart, but I love those ladies! The food styling in Donna Hay magazine is to die for. I buy every $10 issue from Australia because it is just so beautiful to look at, let alone make recipes from it. I guess this post goes to my favorite women in the industry, too perfect for their own good.

I decided just to put up a little quad of an apple pie I made with some butter pecan ice cream. I won't be putting a recipe up, but I thought it captured the autumn spirit, so enjoy the cold weather (woo hoo!).

Short crust pastry
from Martha Stewart

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, and salt on medium-low speed to combine. Add butter, and continue mixing until coarse crumbs form. Add egg yolk; mix just until dough comes together. Form into a ball and place in plastic wrap. Tightly wrap sides. Use a rolling pin to flatten as much as possible, without pushing to dough out of the plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

On a floured work-surface, roll the dough 1/2" thick. Press into tart pans and place in freezer for 20 minutes. Line with parchment paper and weights and bake for 13 minutes. Let cool.

Caramel Filling

396g can sweetened condensed milk
60g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan on low heat until melted. Let thicken slightly, then pour into cooled tart shells. Let sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

200g dark chocolate
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine in a small saucepan until melted and pour on top of chilled caramel filling, spreading if needed. Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel and let chill just until serving.

Sorry for the delay

2009-09-05T12:35:00.001-07:00

I've missed my blog so much! What with reconnecting with friends after the summer and losing my camera charger, the amount of posts being put up has gone down. I promise to put something up as soon as my new charger arrives in the mail. Until then, I'm sorry and I hope you're enjoying the last few days of nice weather.

EDIT! With the shortage of posts, I decided right now would be an excellent time to put up the new layout I've been developing. It's not so different from the last one, but I wanted to keep the same sort of style, but updating for the fall. Hope you like.

Earl Grey Honey Madelines

2009-08-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe the summer went by so fast. I still have a couple weeks left until school, but I start soccer next week, and from there, the hours of free time begin to shrink. The summer always goes by in a flash, but it still takes me by surprise. I got to work on this blog a lot, which has been a gift. I'm glad I could continue to develop and understand my interests. I think that's really important. Once you figure out that you love to do something, it will only continue to become more fun, and the product will be better. However, I am still a teenager, and enjoy things like seeing friends and..Getting my license! I've been putting it off for a while. I'm not that into driving, and I could have gotten it a while ago if I'd really cared about it, but I just didn't get around to it. But now I'm seeing the perks of not having to take the bus everywhere. Driving is pretty scary when you think about it. It's a big responsibility to keep yourself and other people safe. But that's part of getting older, as is figuring out who you are and what you like. This year of school is pretty big in terms of really starting to make decisions about the future. This blog has really helped me figure out what I want to do, so thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way. These madelines weren't really inspired by anything in particular, other than trying to get a recipe right. I've been working on tea-infused madelines and was having some issues with texture, and getting "the lump". I once read on David Lebovitz's blog that true Parisian madelines have a little "hump." I finally got that down, and success after many fails is always nice.

Earl Grey Honey Madelines

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup +2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, melt butter completely. Add tea leafs and cover with tin foil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Using a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick and slightly lighter in color. Do not over-whip. Add honey and vanilla, and beat for 1 additional minute.

Gently fold the dry ingredients into the mixture.

Strain the butter through a fine sieve to clarify the butter and remove tea leafs. Then fold in the the butter. Drop a teaspoon of the tea leafs that were in the butter into the batter and mix.

Cover the batter with saran wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

After chilled, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush a madeline tin with butter and lightly flour. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the batter into each mold. It will spread in the oven. Bake madelines about 7-9 minutes, depending on your oven. They should be golden brown around the edges and a large lump should form in the middle of the cake.

Remove from tin shortly after they are out of the oven. Cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

Guest Post for Cakespy!

2009-08-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! After a few days of hiking in storms at Mount Rainier, I'm back with a guest post for cakespy. I've long been a reader of cakespy, so when Jessie asked me to do a post, I can't even describe how excited this made me. I made lemon poundcake cupcakes with raspberry and blackberry buttercream frosting. Go check it out at cakespy.com, here.

Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Bars

2009-08-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

The Seattle weather is finally back. It's overcast and cold. My favorite. This last Friday was the last day of my 5 week art program. I'm said to say goodbye to some of the amazing people I met, and it was overall a great experience. My class' work will be up at the Seattle Art Museum starting in September or October, so you should take a look. There are some really talented young artists in the class. I will get a more specific date soon. Now that I have more time, I will try and make up for the dwindling number of posts that went up this last month. I figured a good place to start would ice cream sandwiches. I wanted to do something less like a sandwich, so I did a layer of brownie on the bottom, coffee ice cream layered on top of that, and covered in a dark chocolate shell. I've made something similar to this in the past, but I changed one big thing: the coffee flavor. So often in coffee ice cream, I feel like I'm only getting a little taste of coffee, with some cream. I wanted this ice cream to scream, "This is coffee ice cream!". I think I got a nice flavor in the end, and these are a great summer treat. The days are getting colder, so make them while you can.

Brownies

2 sticks unsalted butter
5 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate; chopped
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a square cake pan with walls, flour the sides. Line with parchment, leaving a 2" overhang on the long side of the pan. Grease and flour the parchment. Spray sheet-pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment, spray parchment. Melt butter and chocolate in a double broiler. When melted, set aside and let cool to room temp. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar until mixture is thick and lemon-colored. Next, add the vanilla. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar, mixing thoroughly. Sift flour and fold gently into batter, mixing just till blended. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for about 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Allow brownies to cool in pan for 20 minutes before taking out of pan.

Coffee Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons coffee extract
2 cups heavy cream

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually add 1/2 the hot milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, do not allow the custard to boil.

Whisk the instant espresso powder into the cream until dissolved. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set into cream and stir in the vanilla and the coffee extract. Refrigerate until cold [at least 2 hours]

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Chocolate Coating
6.5 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between until melted. Stir in vegetable oil thoroughly. Let cool

Assembly

Once the brownies are cool, use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan, and remove from cake pan. Place back inside cake pan. Once ice cream has gone through the ice cream maker, spread evenly on top of brownies in cake pan. Freeze overnight.

When the ice cream has hardened, make the chocolate coating. Take the cake pan out of the freezer and remove brownie/ice cream onto a cutting board. Cut into even squares, then return to freezer for 15 minutes. Prepare a pan lined with parchment and a cooling rack resting on top. Place ice cream bars on the cooling rack and ladle chocolate coating on top of bars. Top with crushed almonds if desired.

Cupcake Duo

2009-07-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

This was definitely one of the more frantic baking orders I've done. It's all thanks to this darn heat. It's not supposed to get this hot here. Several things went wrong, starting with the frosting. Seeing as it rarely goes above 70 degrees here, I didn't plan on any difficulties with making buttercream frosting at 2:00 in the afternoon. Wrong. I made two batches of peach frosting, using my delicious, ripe peaches from Pike Place Market, only to find the butter breaking down. I didn't figure that out until the second batch of frosting. I'd already made the cakes earlier in the day, before it got too hot, but I couldn't make the frosting until late at night when it cooled off. I also needed to make recipe cards, as it was for a little in-office cook off at the University of Washington, for my aunt. It was too hot to do anything (for me, at least), so I slept. Then I realized I hadn't made the recipe cards, and did so frantically. They were all printed and ready to go when I realized I would have to make different frostings because of the heat and my wasted peaches :( . I quickly made new ones, after I had frosted my cupcakes with their final frostings: chocolate peanut butter and lemon (with drops of peach puree on the cake). While the recipe cards ended up being kind of ugly, due to it being 12:30 at night, the cupcakes turned out well, which is what mattered in the end.

Lemon, Peach & Blueberry Cupcakes

Vanilla Blueberry Buttercake

1 stick unsalted butter
1- ¼ + 2 tablespoons cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 medium peaches

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin, or mini muffin tin with paper liners. Sift 1-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. In a stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, and the milk in 2 parts, starting and ending with the flour. Beat just intil combined. Toss the blueberries in 2 tablespoons of flour to coat. Add the batter and mix in by hand. Fill each cupcake liner to the top (whether standard or mini sized). Bake standard cupcakes for about 18 minutes and minis for 12 minutes.
In a food processor, puree peaches until liquid consistency. Pour through a sieve to remove chunks. Spoon ½ teaspoon of peach puree on tops of cupcakes.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

1-1-½ stick unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1-1-½ teaspoons lemon oil
Sanding sugar (for sprinkling)

In a stand mixer, beat softened butter and powdered sugar, then salt, and mix thoroughly. Add in lemon oil and mix. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle sanding sugar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water and pour into batter. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 12 minutes, minis for 8 (depending on your oven.)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter; softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1- 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.

Rainier Cherry Tarts

2009-07-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Phew. It is hot here. Being a Seattle "shade plant", I really have no tolerance for heat. But that hasn't stopped me from baking! I may have to take a break this week because I am sweating just typing this post. The inspiration for these tarts came from...no where. They were completely spur of the moment. My parents and their friend went out to dinner, and I decided to make a secret dessert for them when they came back. They had no idea what was coming, although I did have to warn them not to get dessert at the restaurant. I'd been to Pike Place Market earlier in the day to get ingredients for a cupcake order for Monday. But once you get to the market, it's sort of hard to control yourself from buying all the amazing fruits there. We ended up buying 2 lbs of rainier cherries. While some might complain that living in Seattle means too much rain (not me), there are many perks. One of which is that we get the best rainier cherries, not to mention, delicious apples all year long. I can't eat fruit, and we had 2 lbs of cherries in the fridge. They were calling to me! I decided to make a cherry-centered tart. I hope you try this if you can get rainier cherries (or any other type of cherries, really).

Sweet Tart Dough
From Tartine

1 cup+ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; room temp
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs; room temp
3 1/2 cups AP Flour

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in 1 egg. Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until incorporates.
On a lightly floured surface, divid the dough into 4 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk 1/2" thick. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cherries

3/4 lb rainier cherries
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Take 1/2 lb cherries and puree in a food processor until smooth. Pour through a sieve into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 4 minutes (this will make the puree denser).

Combine 1/4 lb cherries, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.

Vanilla Cherry Pastry Cream
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean seeds, cherry puree, and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisking, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until it has been incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
Add the butter, and beat on medium speed until the butter melts and the mixture cools, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth (you can also whisk by hand).

Walnut Crumble

85 grams of unsalted butter; chilled, cubed
85 grams of flour
40 grams of sugar
40 grams brown sugar
135 grams of walnuts

Combine flour and sugar in a food processor. Add butter cubes until cornmeal consistency. Add the almonds and pulse, but don't make it into almond flour, you want the chunks. Spread on a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes. Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 5 minutes. Use tongs to move around the crumble and bake for additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least one hour before using.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out the chilled dough to 1/4" thick. Cut a circle with a 2" overhang to fit your tart pan. Gently press into tart pan and remove excess from the top. Chill in freezer for 1 hour. Once chilled, remove from freezer and use a fork to make holes in the bottom of your tart. Blind bake for 9 minutes. Remove pie weights/filling and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours.

Just before serving, fill the tart shells with the pastry cream, then the macerated cherries. Top with the walnut crumble.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-07-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

When I first started blogging, I didn't realize how much I'd love it. I'm doing an intensive art program right now for 5 weeks, 8 hours a day. Do I have a lot of extra time to bake? No, not really. It's a very hard balance trying to get exercise, enjoy the summer, have fun, stay sharp, and do the things you love. And I really do love baking, food styling, and photography. I've been wanting to make something, anything. I don't have the time or energy to make the things I want to during the week, and I've been enjoying the great outdoors on the weekends. But this weekend I am staying home, and I have an order for cupcakes, so expect a new post Sunday or Monday.

I thought I would throw in a picture I took on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula, in the good ol' Pacific Northwest.

My little cousins are coming to visit soon, and my aunt wanted some cookies to have for them. Oatmeal raisin? NO! Raisins are gross, kids don't like them. :) I went with chocolate chips instead. I've tried at least 6 different variations of recipes to find the perfect oatmeal raisin/chocolate chip/whatever cookie, and this time I found it. Crunchy on the outside, a little soft and chewy with the oatmeal. Mmm...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

A teensy bit less than 2 cups AP flour [will replace this with weight in g soon]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter; softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Combine butter and sugars in stand mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs one at time, beating well in after each one. Scrape down the paddle attachment and remove bowl from mixer. Hand mix the oats and chocolate chips into the batter [this prevents the oats and chips from getting broken into small pieces]. Line 2 sheetpans with parchment. Using a batter-scoop, scoop even size cookies into the tray, getting about 12 on each sheet with a 1.5" scoop. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pan after 6 minutes. Once golden brown on the tops, remove from oven and let cool.

Orange, Vanilla, Blackberries, & Raspberries

2009-07-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a nice fourth of july. it's gotten really hot the past couple of days, so my friends and I went onto my roof in hopes of seeing the fireworks, but there were too many trees blocking our view, so we decided to go walk down and see them. it was a fun, low-key, little celebration. But to me, what defines a holiday, is that there might be other people at our house who I can make something for. i hadn't made a cake in a while, and with four other teenagers in the house, I knew a substantial amount would get eaten. I used blackberries and raspberries since those are in season right now, and you gotta use them while you can. Our neighbors have raspberry plants, and brought some fresh berries by. They were so fragrant, so i knew they were good. They saved me from having to buy some and I'm sure the quality of the home-grown berries far exceeds the quality of store berries.

I start my art program this week, so baking will be something I can only do in free time here and there. It has school-like hours, so by the time I get home, it's rather late. I'm hoping I can fit smaller projects in [i always find a way].

Orange Buttercake

2 sticks butter
6 oz cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange
4 eggs
1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup self-rising flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2- 7" springform pans with parchment.Butter and flour the pan sides and the parchment. Cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add in orange zest and eggs. Sift the flours together and add them to batter until just combined. Pour into pans, diving the mixture in half, using an offset spatula to spread. Make for 40 minutes (depending on oven), spinning the pans around every 10 minutes or so. Remove from pan and let cool for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean; scraped

Combine butter and cream cheese in stand mixer and add powdered sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla bean seeds until they speckle the mixture.

Assembly

Once the cake is cool, use a serated knife to remove to domes formed on both cakes. Split both of the cakes into 2 even layers. Clean one of the pans you use to make the cake in, and set the bottom of the springform pan inside. Using a 4" strip of acetate, line the cake pan's rims. Place a bottom layer of cake inside the pan. Using a piping bag, pipe a rim around the outermost edge of the cake, making sure to be piping along the acetate sheet. Fill in the rest with frosting and spread evenly. Lay another layer of cake on top, and repeats steps until your last layer of cake. Frost the top layer, too. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and remove from the springfrom pan and remove the acetate. Frost a crumb-coat [very lightly] on the cake and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator. Frost another thick layer of frosting onto the cake, so that none of it shows through. Place macerated berries on top just before serving, and mint leafs for decoration.

Lemon Cupcakes with lemon curd and raspberry buttercream

2009-07-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

I got the amazing opportunity to work with a professional photographer to help me with my photography. I went to his studio and got to use his fancy lenses and software. I learned a lot about lighting and how to enhance photos to their full potential. I can't wait to use his helpful suggestions in future photos. The only photo in this post is the one at the top because I worked with only one main style at his studio, and by the time I got home, it was too dark to take photos. I wanted the cupcakes to get eaten soon because that's when they're best, so I gave them to neighbors. Have a happy 4th of july!

Lemon Buttercake

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons lemon oil
2 medium lemons; zested
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until combined and creamy (about 2 minutes). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the lemon oil and zest and beat for 2 more minutes. ON low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture ad mixing just until the flour is incorporates and the batter looked smooth. Fill the cake pans equally and shake to smooth top. Bake for about 12 minutes, depending on your oven. When the cake tops are dark-golden brown and a tester comes out clean, remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. After at least 2 hours, you can frost the cupcakes.

Lemon Curd

2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter; chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Combine sugar and lemon zest with a fork in a small bowl until very fragrant. Combine lemon sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and whisk together for 30 seconds. Place the bowl over simmering water and immediately begin whisking, continuing for 15 seconds, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon and limes juices and cook, whisking continuously for about 5 minutes. Insert a thermometer. The curd is done when it has a consistency of sour cream and a temperature of 160 degrees F. Whisk in the butter cubes. Strain through a sieve and set in an ice bath to cool. Cover with plastic film to prevent a skin from forming.

Raspberry Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 cups fresh raspberries

Combine the butter and sugar in your stand mixture until smooth, and set aside. In a food processor, blend berries to a puree consistency. Sieve the raspberry mixture into your butter and sugar mixture, to remove the seeds. In your mixer, mix until smooth.

Assembly

Once your cupcakes are cool, use a small but deep cutter to make a hole in the center of your cupcake. You may need a knife to prod out the cylinder of cake being removed. Transfer your lemon curd into a piping bag and pipe it into the holes in your cupcakes. Transfer your frosting into a piping bag with a plain tip and pipe a ring around the outside rim of your cupcake, continue working upwards in a spiraling motion. Top with a little sprinkle or fondant cutout [this is what I used].

Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tarts

2009-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

This is my first Daring Baker's challenge I've been able to participate in! I was so excited to try this. I'd never even heard of anything like this: essentially, a tart with almond cake baked inside of it. I knew I had to try this as soon as I read about it. The only thing that bugged me was that it seemed a little...flavorless. With both an almond dough and cake, I knew I had to put something more than just a layer of jam at the bottom. The seasonal fruits that are available during the summer are just too good not to include, so I added peaches into the mix. I wanted to maintain the cake feeling of the dessert, but get sort of fruit tart thing in there, too. I ended up layering the peaches on top of the raspberry "jam."

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Filling

5 medium white peaches; pitted, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium sauté pan, mix peaches, sugar, and lemon juice. Turn heat on medium-high, and wait for the peach juice to fill the pan. Stir frequently with a spoon until when put pressure on, the peaches cut very easily. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and cook 1 minute more, and stir. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.

For the raspberries, use the same procedure as for the peaches, but omitting the nutmeg and cinnamon. Once cooked, transfer to a food processor, blend until smooth.

Assembly
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Next, layer peaches on top, and end with a layer of frangipane almost to the top of the tart shell. Smooth the top and place one raspberry in the middle and press it slightly into frangipane. Cook for about 25 minutes if making tartlets. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Nectarine Cherry Almond Crisp & Maple Butter-Pecan Ice Cream

2009-06-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, from the east coast! I got in yesterday, and I had some free time this morning, so I thought I'd finish up my post. I had recently gotten some nectarines from Whole Foods (yum!) and some Tieton cherries from the farmer's market by my house. I couldn't remember ever trying something that combined those two, and what better way to combine fruits than a crisp? I went with an almond crisp because almonds give great texture, but don't have an overwhelming flavor. The only thing about crisps is that in order to really enjoy it, there must be ice cream along with it. I went with a maple butter-pecan, as it has great subtle flavors, but really lets the fruits from the crisp shine.

Nectarine Cherry Almond Crisp

Almond Crisp

85g flour
85g butter
80g butter
110g whole almonds

Combine ingredients in a food processor until a coarse meal.

Filling

4 medium nectarines
3/4 lb cherries
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut nectarines into small pieces and pit cherries. Toss in a bowl with sugar and let macerate for 30 minutes. Pour into a 9"x9" glass/ceramic pan. Sprinkle crisp over fruit and bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven.

This was the first time I felt a made a successful ice cream. The other times I'd made ice cream the custard either got over cooked or undercooked, and this time it was just right. Everyone who tried it thought it was rather addicting, so I guess they thought it was a success, too.

Maple Butter-Pecan Ice Cream

3/4 cup whole pecans
2 tablespoons butter; unsalted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup maple syrup
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

For the buttered pecans, chopped the pecans into small pieces. In a small frying pan, melt two tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add chopped pecans and mix, to coat the pecans. Stir frequently so the pecans don't burn. Once you smell the slightly toasted nuts and they have browned a little, immediately remove from pan and put into a bowl to cool.

IN A SAUCEPAN OVER MEDIUM HEAT, WARM THE MILK UNTIL STEAM BEGINS TO RISE FROM THE SURFACE.

IN A HEATPROOF BOWL, WHISK TOGETHER THE EGG YOLKS, maple syrup AND SALT UNTIL BLENDED. GRADUALLY ADD 1/2 THE HOT MILK, WHISKING CONSTANTLY UNTIL FULLY INCORPORATED. TRANSFER THE MIXTURE BACK TO THE SAUCEPAN AND SET OVER MEDIUM-LOW HEAT. COOK, STIRRING CONSTANTLY WITH A WOODEN SPOON OR SPATULA, UNTIL THE CUSTARD IS THICK ENOUGH TO COAT THE BACK OF THE SPOON AND LEAVES A CLEAR TRAIL WHEN A FINGER IS DRAWN THROUGH IT, 8 TO 10 MINUTES; DO NOT ALLOW THE CUSTARD TO BOIL.

POUR THE CUSTARD THROUGH A FINE-MESH SIEVE SET OVER A CLEAN BOWL AND STIR IN VANILLA. NESTLE THE BOWL IN A LARGER ONE FILLED HALFWAY WITH ICE AND WATER AND COOL THE CUSTARD TO ROOM TEMPERATURE, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY. REFRIGERATE UNTIL COLD [AT LEAST 2 HOURS]

TRANSFER THE CUSTARD TO AN ICE CREAM MAKER AND FREEZE ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS. Add the buttered pecans by hand, mixing thoroughly. TRANSFER THE ICE CREAM TO AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER. CHILL AT LEAST 3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING. MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-06-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

It just hit me today that I only have 1 more day of school left until summer. This school year seemed to go by so quickly; I can't even believe it. It will be nice to have lots of time to bake delicious summery treats. I leave on Sunday for some East-Coast college touring, so no baking next week, but after that, I'm around for a while, so there will most likely be a lot of desserts. I bought some really fragrant nectarines today, and I'm dying to make something with them.

I decided on these salted caramel chocolate cupcakes because I find that combination really irresistible. However, I've never had a cupcake that was those flavors, and I wanted to try it. Caramel is one of my favorite candy/dessert flavors, but I didn't want to make caramel cake. I wasn't sure how the buttercream would hold up, with the caramel mixed directly into it, but it worked just fine.

Chocolate Cupcakes

4.25 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter; softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from water and let cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the melted chocolate until incorporated. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture has changed to a slightly lighter color. Mix in the yogurt until completely blended. Dissolve espresso powder into water. Add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the water, in 2 parts. Mix on low speed just until smooth. Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray the whole pan with vegetable oil [to prevent sticking]. Fill each cup almost to the top. Bake regular sized cupcakes for aprox. 12 minutes, minis for 8 (depending on your oven.)

Caramel Buttercream

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fleur de Sel

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium heat until dissolved. Once dissolved, let boil without stirring, only swirling the pan to mix. Add salt. Once amber colored, remove from heat.

In a mixer bowl, beat softened butter just to break down. Add powdered sugar slowly. Pour in caramel until thoroughly mixed. Add more powdered sugar if the consistency is too thin. Transfer to a piping bag and evenly pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, should you like.

Neapolitan Cakes

2009-06-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Phew! It is getting hot here. Hot for me anyways. Being a native Seattle-ite, I despise weather over 65 degrees and overcast is always a plus. But hot weather does create some good inspiration for ice cream treats. When I was really little, I would go to this outdoor pool with friends and I always wanted a neapolitan ice cream sandwich. Such a good combination: the chocolate cake/cookie(?) and the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice creams. I wanted to make this a little differently, as I now despise the milky chocolate ice cream. I also wanted to make a thin flourless chocolate cake. Since the chocolate cake was so chocolatey, I decide to forgo the dark chocolate ice cream, as it seemed like overkill. These started out as cakes, but since their size seemed a little scary on their own, I made some half sized ones as well.

The chocolate cake recipe is from a past daring bakers challenge that I didn't participate in, but the recipe looked so good, I had to try it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your sheetpan and line with parchment, then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
Whip the egg whites in a grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed, making sure not to overwhip, as this dries out the cake.
Beat the egg yolks together. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan's bottom, and bake at 375F/190C for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Once cool, remove the cake from the pan onto a clean work surface. Let cool for at least 1 hour. After an hour, use a circular cutter and cut as many shapes as possible from your sheet.

Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups hulled strawberries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

Wash and hull 2 cups of strawberries. Place in a food processor until you get a smooth puree.

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually add 1/2 the hot milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 8 to 10 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until cold [at least 2 hours]

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a sheetpan lined with parchment and spread in an even, thin layer. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Use the same instructions and ingredients above, but omit the strawberry puree. Split and scrape one vanilla bean. Put the seeds and pod into the milk when first heating. Make sure to remove the vanilla bean just before pouring into the ice cream machine. Use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Assembly

Using the same cutter as you did for the cake, cut circles from the sheets of ice cream. Place on top of each other in alternating order.

Bake Sale

2009-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry! I baked 6 kinds of cookies for a bake sale I held on Wednesday for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation, but it was too dark to photograph. I just didn't have time to do it in the morning, so instead, I post a photo-less entry. Makes me so sad. I made chocolate sandwich cookies, vanilla-lemon sandwich cookies, chocolate caramel shortbread, chocolate chip cookies (got help with these as I was about to fall asleep and cry from exhaustion at 10:00 pm), lemon bars, & vanilla raspberry sandwich cookies. I made some money for the foundation, which was great, but I still wish I'd been able to show how nice they looked all together. I hope I can make something soon, but these next couple weeks are my finals, so I'll be going crazy as is. Hope you're enjoying summer so far.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

2009-05-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from my camping trip with my class. It was pouring rain the first night, and my tent was on the small side, but by the end it was sunny and warm. I had a good time, regardless of the little things that were unpleasant. Lemon seems like one of those spring+summer flavors. I don't really know why, since they're available all year long, but eating lemon desserts in December seems a little funny to me (although, you'd be hard pressed to find someone to turn down a dessert simply because it was lemon). It's been really warm these past couple days, so I decided to start using a bag of lemons I had in the fridge. I made some lemon pound cakes, but I haven't had the light to photograph them yet, so they're coming soon.
I'm having a bake sale at my school next week for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation, so I've been testing out a lot of cookies. These were ones that I've been wanting to try for a while, with the interesting method of piping the dough. Apparently they were very tasty, so they might be in the running for the bake sale.

Cookie Dough
Adapted from Modern Classics 2 by Donna Hay

6 oz butter; softened
1/4 confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon lemon oil
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butter, confectioner's sugar, and lemon oil in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and cornstrach into the bowl and mix until combined. Place the mixture in a piping bag with a fluted nozzle. Pipe 1" rounds onto a baking tray lined with parchment. Cook for 12 minutes (depending on your oven), or until golden.

Lemon Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter; softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon lemon oil
1/2 teaspoon orange oil

Combine the ingredients in your mixer until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4 plain tip. Pipe onto smooth side of cookie and sandwich together. Tada!

Recipe Index

2009-05-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

S'mores
Orange Almond Madelines
Rosemary Lavender Butter cookies
Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Earl Grey Honey Madelines
Lemon Ginger Sandwich Cookies
Strawberry Lemonade Macarons

Lemon Tart with Berries
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Orange Mousse with Blackberry Tart
Chocolate Mousse with Almond Crumble Tart
Apple Pear Galette
Bakewell Tarts
Rainier Cherry Tarts
Chocolate Caramel Tart
Apple Cranberry Galettes

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream
Simple Vanilla Ice Cream
Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Meyer Lemon Sorbet
Neapolitan Ice Cream Cakes
Maple Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream Bars
Pumpkin Gingerbread Ice Cream sandwiches

Coconut Cupcakes
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes
Lemon Curd Raspberry Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Mini Cupcakes
Lemon Peach Blueberry Cupcakes
Lemon Berry Cupcakes
Halloween Cupcakes (chocolate/vanilla buttercream & pumpkin/spiced cream cheese)
Upside Down Apple Cakes
Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Orange Buttercake with Lime Mousse
Vanilla Buttercake with Chocolate Buttercream
Mixed Berry Shortcakes
Neapolitan Ice Cream Cakes
Orange-Vanilla Black & Raspberry Cake
Asian Pear Coffee cake
Carrot Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Tiramisu
Nectarine Cherry Crisp
Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake

S'mores Cookies

2009-05-09T14:49:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to make these for a long time. For some reason, I just could not get the marshmallows to work. I realized it was that I couldn't get the temperature of the sugar/water/corn syrup to the soft-ball stage. I was using this small thermometer that involved holding it over the burner for long periods of time. I'd end up burned and frustrated. It hurt so badly, I'd just call it done. But this is a very important step, so buy yourself a good candy thermometer if you ever want to make marshmallows. As summer starts to make its appearance in Seattle, I start thinking about camping and being outdoors. I'm leaving for a school trip involving camping next week, which also inspired me to make these. While best served warm, these s'mores are a good cookie interpretation. Next time, I would make the marshmallow much thinner. These were sort of unmanageably large. But they worked, so I thought I'd post them.

Marshmallows
From Martha Stewart

2 envelopes (each 1 scant tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; line with parchment paper. Spray parchment; set aside. Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle with gelatin; let mixture soften, about 5 minutes.
Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover; bring to a boil. Remove lid; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes.
With mixer on low speed, whisk gelatin mixture, and slowly pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl (to avoid splattering). Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is thick, white, and has almost tripled in volume, about 12 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat 30 seconds to combine.
Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; smooth with an offset spatula. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Coat cookie cutter with cooking spray to prevent it from sticking. Cut out as many individual marshmallows as possible; coat cutter with more spray as needed. Use marshmallows immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Graham Crackers
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup honey
5 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in food processor in order of the ingredients listed above. Once combined, remove dough from food processor and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours. Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out to 1/4" thickness on a floured surface. Using same cutters used for marshmallows, cut out the dough and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 oz dark chocolate
4 teaspoons vegetable oil

Melt chocolate over a double broiler. Once melted, add vegetable oil until combined completely.

Assembly:

Dab a little chocolate on the inside of 2 graham crackers. Stick one cut-out marshmallow in between and place on sheet pan. Do this for all your graham crackers/marshmallows. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, so the chocolate can stiffen a little. After 20 minutes, take out your sheet pans, and dip the graham crackers/marshmallows into the chocolate glaze (dip however much of the cookie into the chocolate as you like, I did about half the cookie). Make sure your sheet pans have parchment or wax paper on them, and place the dipped cookies on the sheet pan. Place bake into refrigerator until glaze has hardened.

I didn't try heating them back up to serve, but I got that suggestion from a couple people, and thought that was a great idea.

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart & Pizzaz!

2009-05-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've just been getting home too late to make anything interesting. No worries though, 'cause I'm back with a double dose. For a family gathering, I made strawberry rhubarb tarts accompanied by vanilla cinnamon brown sugar ice cream. Berries and rhubarb is a favorite combo for a lot of people. Not to mention, it's seasonal (right now), and not making something out of rhubarb would be a shame.
Making the tarts was a little stressful because I was also making a lemon tart with mixed berries for a fundraiser for my school. I've been experimenting with different doughs for a couple weeks, and ended up using Tartine's Sweet Tart Dough. I was having some problems with the dough sliding down the sides of my tart rings, but this dough held perfectly. I was going to use a large tart ring for the Pizzaz! tart, but I decided at the last minute to use a fluted one, not sure why. They turned out really nicely, and I took them over to the fundraiser. I was expecting the other desserts to have been made by other people associated with my school, but I was pleasantly surprised. My tart got to stand next to various desserts from Macrina Bakery, Simply Desserts, and Cupcake Royale. Some of the finest bakeries in Seattle donated desserts to the fundraiser, and I got to be a part of that. I was so excited (still am).

Lemon Tart with mixed berries:

Sweet Tart Dough
From Tartine

1 cup+ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; room temp
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs; room temp
3 1/2 cups AP Flour

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in 1 egg. Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until incorporates.
On a lightly floured surface, divid the dough into 4 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk 1/2" thick. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Filling:
4 eggs; room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons butter; room temperature/soft
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat the eggs until foamy. Gradually add sugar until thick and lemon colored. Add lemon juice, zest, and butter until combined. Add the heavy cream.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll out the chilled dough to 1/8" thick. Cut a circle with a 2" overhang to fit your tart ring (pan). Gently press into tart pan and remove excess from the top. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. Once chilled, remove from freezer and use a fork to make holes in the bottom of your tart. Bake for 8 minutes. Pour filling into crust and return to oven for an addition 8-12 minutes. It's done when you shake it and the center moves just a little. Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. Place berries on top and serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb Tartlets:

Dough:
See above.

Filling:
1 lb. fresh rhubarb; sliced 1" thick
1 pint strawberries
300 g sugar+ 3 tablespoons
600 g water
5 tablespoons of butter

To poach the rhubarb, make a simple syrup by combining 300g sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Once simmering, add the sliced rhubarb in the syrup and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from syrup and place in a bowl, set aside.
Cut strawberries into quarters and toss in 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let macerate for 15 minutes. Add the rhubarb to the strawberries. Using a sharp knife, run it through the bowl until the rhubarb and strawberries kind of mix together.
Bake in a glass/ceramic pan for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F. Leave at room temperature until serving.

Vanilla Cinnamon Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Cinnamon Ice Cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean; scraped
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk egg yolks and brown sugar together. Heat the milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds & pod in a saucepan to a simmer. Pour half the mixture into the egg yolks. Make sure to continue whisking, so the eggs don't cook. Pour the egg yolk/milk mixture back into the saucepan and heat until the mixture has thickened a little and coats the back of your spoon.
Pour into your ice cream maker and use manufacturer's instructions.

Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean; halved, seeds removed

Whisk ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Place in refrigerator to let vanilla seeds infuse into the cream, for 1 hour. Place in ice cream machine and churn for the amount of time given by manufacturer. Remove from machine and place in air-tight container overnight to harden.

Mix the two ice creams together just a little. I put mine into molds, but putting the mixture into an airtight container is just fine, too.

Back, with a cake

2009-04-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did when I got up after having returned from New York the previous night was to make a cake! It was a birthday cake request for a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. I have a recipe that everyone seems to really love, so I made the same Bumblebee cake, which I have previously posted. My favorite thing about baking, especially cakes, is the amount of design and creativity that goes into the appearance. I assure you, there are a lot of sketches for this cake. I ended up going with some chocolate flowers on little buttercream "bubbles."

While we were in New York, visited a lot of bakeries. I had excellent cookies at City Bakery and little assortments from Dean & Deluca, which was fun. I wish I'd taken more photos of all the little treats we got, but for the most part, everything disappeared within seconds.

I used exactly the same recipe for this cake, as I did in my previous post, here. Also, we got flowers from a friend and I thought they were too pretty not to take a picture of:

Simple Orange and Almond Madelines

2009-04-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever stuck your nose in a bottle of almond extract? Yum...I think that is one of the best smells. If you've had amaretti you know what I'm talking about. Madelines are sort of controversial: cake or cookie? I'm definitely on the cake side. What defines a cookie, to me, is it has a relatively crunchy exterior, and madelines are all cake. Although, a good madeline does have an ever so slightly crunchy, buttery top. Hmmm. Well, they taste good, so that's all that really matters. I've been doing a lot of orange recipes lately because I bought too many one day and had nothing to do with them. I good cook wastes nothing, so I decided to have a heavy orange theme this week. On another note, I will be in New York starting Friday, so no new baking posts until I get back! I will probably put up some pictures of some of the sweets I ate there, but nothing I made. I had some extra time today and made these simple madelines, using my excess orange and that amazing almond flavor.

Madelines

170 g clarified butter*
2 eggs
200 g sugar
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon almond extract
Zest of one orange

*To clarify the butter, melt and let it cool. A white foam will rise to the surface. Using a shallow spoon, remove the foam as best you can. It will keep your madelines from browning too much in the oven.

Melt and allow your clarified butter to cool. On top of a double broiler, heat eggs and sugar, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Whisk until thick, light, and creamy. When cooled, sift in the cake flour, a little at a time. Once flour is incorporated, stream in the melted butter, then the brandy, the almond extract, and the orange zest. Scoop a scant tablespoon of batter into each mold of a greased and floured madeline pan. Transfer to the freezer for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and bake until the tops of your madelines are golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Coconut Cupcakes Two Ways

2009-04-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

I recently got a request for some coconut cupcakes, without the shredded coconut texture, seeing as many people dislike it. I really love the flavor and crunch of toasted coconut, especially when it's a little burned. I found this recipe while flipping through my Bon Appétit. It uses condensed coconut milk in both the cake and the frosting. This gets us that delicious coconut flavor, without the dreaded texture. They are extremely moist and buttery, with a crunchy top, as all cupcakes should be. I made my usual buttercream, but decreased the butter a little because the condensed coconut milk is pretty thick. In my last post, I mentioned getting some new savarin molds. I used them today and I really love the look. I think I will try it with a spongier cake next time, so I'll get more even results.

For the reduced coconut milk:

2 13-to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk* (preferably organic)

Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to mediumlow; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill.

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature

Preheat to 350°F. Line muffin cups with paper liners (I used mini's). Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

Note: I used mini cupcakes for this recipe, so the baking time is about half (20-24 min) what it would if this recipe were made in a standard muffin pan

For the frosting:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Toasted coconut for garnish

Beat butter and sugar together gradually, on a low speed. Add coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a piping bag.

Orange Buttercakes with Lime Mousse

2009-04-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had such warm weather, I thought some more fruity flavors were in order. I went with a citrus theme: orange and lime. I love the tang of limes, so I made sure the mousse was really limey. I got some new molds this weekend using a gift card I got as a compensation for a box of broken cookies. I had a great time and spent way too long in the store deciding what to get, but I ended up buying some ring molds, some savarin molds, and a new candy thermometer. All will be put to good use shortly. I am a fan of both covered and uncovered cakes. By this, I mean I like seeing the inside of the cake, without anything covering the sides. Seeing the stripes of the layers is really beautiful, I think. The orange buttercake has been a hit with many people, and has some big fans. It's nice that it's so easy to make and super moist.

Orange buttercake

2 sticks butter
6 oz cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange
4 eggs
1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup self-rising flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add in orange zest and eggs. Sift the flours together and add them to batter until just combined. Pour into sheet pan, using an offset spatula to spread. Make for 11 minutes (depending on oven). Remove from pan and let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Lime Mousse

1 cup Lime curd
1 cup heavy cream

Beat cream to stiff peaks. Incorporate lime curd (use attached recipe using only lime juice and zest). Transfer to a piping bag with a plain tip 1/4-1/2" in diameter.

Assembly
Using ring mold as a cutter, cut circles of cake out from sheet cake. For the first layer in the mold, use cake. Pipe an even layer of lime mousse on top. Add another layer of cake and mousse. Repeat until you reach the top of the mold, making sure to end with a mousse layer; smooth the top. Place molds on a sheet pan in freezer for 1 hour. Apply pressure from bottom to remove from mold.
I put candied orange and lime on the top, as well.

Tiramisu and lady fingers

2009-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, spring break. I have two weeks of freedom. This first week, I am staying around just to relax and get in some quality baking time. This past week was rather lacking because of the end of semester craziness. Tiramisu is a lot of people's favorite dessert, and I can understand why. , an unbaked italian cheesecake and coffee-soaked cookies. If there's one thing I love, it's coffee. I'm pretty much a zombie without it. I have at least one a day. I try to only have one because getting addicted to caffeine at my age is not the best thing. But sometimes, I slip and have a couple in one day...I needed to do a coffee dessert because it really is a true love of mine.

Lady fingers
3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
60 grams sugar
40 grams powdered sugar
65 grams AP flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a pencil and ruler to make 3" high banners across the parchment paper. Leave about 1" in between each banner. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip.

In your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and 30 grams white sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow (ribbon stage). Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift the cake flour into a medium bowl with cinnamon. Sift again over the batter, but do not fold in.

In a clean bowl (or washing your old one), with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 30 grams white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form and the whites are glossy. Fold the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture in three additions, mixing only until incorporated.

Transfer the batter to the pastry bag and pipe the batter into 3" long ladyfingers, using the lines drawn on the parchment paper. Pipe the batter leaving about a 1" of space between the cookies.

When you have piped all the cookies, place the powdered sugar in a wire strainer, and lightly sift the sugar over the tops of the cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but barely browned and are still spongy when pressed with a finger.

Remove the baking sheets from the oven and slide the parchment paper from the baking sheets onto a wire rack. Let the ladyfingers cool for a few minutes and release them from the parchment paper, with a flat spatula, while they are still warm.

Filling
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-oz) container mascarpone cheese (1 scant cup)
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 cups very strong brewed coffee or brewed espresso, cooled to room temperature
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Beat in mascarpone until just combined.

Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl with cleaned beaters until they just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, then continue to beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks.
Beat cream in another bowl with cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold cream into mascarpone mixture gently but thoroughly, then fold in whites.
Stir together coffee and Kahlua in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 ladyfinger in coffee mixture, soaking it about for a few seconds on each side, and transfer to glass dish/individual glasses. Repeat with more ladyfingers and arrange in bottom of dish, trimming as needed to fit snugly. Spread half 1 1/2" high of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers. Make another layer in same manner with remaining ladyfingers and mascarpone mixture. Chill tiramisu, covered, at least 6 hours.

Two Types of Tarts

2009-03-23T18:35:00.001-07:00

Phew. Busy week. Really no time to bake at all. But the weekend is here, which means I have a little more time. It's the end of my semester, so all the work is starting to pile up. But after that is spring break, so for a week there will be baking galore. This weekend I really wanted to make tarts and mousse. I decided to combine the two and make mousse tarts (genius, I know). I made one that was fruity and one chocolate. I haven't had a chance to show off my new camera, which is amazing, so I'm excited to put up this post. Have a good weekend!

Orange Curd Mousse Tart with Blackberry Sauce

Orange Curd
Adapted from The Secrets of Baking

2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter; chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Combine sugar and orange zest with a fork in a small bowl until very fragrant. Combine orange sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and whisk together for 30 seconds. Place the bowl over simmering water and immediately begin whisking, continuing for 15 seconds, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon and limes juices and cook, whisking continuously for about 5 minutes. Insert a thermometer. The curd is done when it has a consistency of sour cream and a temperature of 160 degrees F. Whisk in the butter cubes. Strain through a sieve and set in an ice bath to cool. Cover with plastic film to prevent a skin from forming.

Orange Curd Mousse

1 cup orange curd
1 cup heavy cream

Whip the heavy cream to firm peaks. Fold in orange curd. Refrigerate until use.

Sugar Dough

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick of butter
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups AP flour; sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in the vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Chill the dough 3-4 hours before rolling.

Blackberry Sauce

2 cups blackberries
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a food processor. Don't over-process, since the sauce is best a little chunky.

Assembling the tarts
Roll out the sugar dough very thinly, about 1/8" - 1/16" thick on a floured work surface. Using a tart ring or a tallish cutter, cut out a circle of the dough. Place it on a parchment lined sheet pan. Cut a long strip the same height as your cutter and wrap around the inside as the wall of your tart. Lightly press into the bottom circle. Using foil, cover the entire surface area of your tart and fill with pie weights/rice. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and bake for 9 minutes (depending on your oven). Remove faux-filling and bake additional 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing from tart ring. Let the shells cool at least 2 hours before adding a filling.

Just before serving:
Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of blackberry sauce into bottom of tart shell, spread the back of a small spoon. Spoon mousse into tart and garnish with blackberries.

Chocolate Mousse Tarts with Almond Crumble

Sugar Dough
(same as above, along with assembly)

Chocolate Mousse

155 grams whipping cream
85 grams bittersweet chocolate

Melt chocolate in a double broiler. Whip cream to firm peaks, reserving 1/3 of cream to pour into melted chocolate to make a ganache-like mixture. Pour chocolate mixture into cream and whip on low speed for 15 seconds.

Almond Crumble

85 grams of unsalted butter; chilled, cubed
85 grams of flour
80 grams of sugar
135 grams of almonds

Combine flour and sugar in a food processor. Add butter cubes until cornmeal consistency. Add the almonds and pulse, but don't make it into almond flour, you want the chunks. Spread on a sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes. Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 5 minutes. Use tongs to move around the crumble and bake for additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool at least one hour before using.
Sprinkle on top of your tarts.

Testimonials

2009-03-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

It's been recommended to me by several people that I start a testimonials section for everyone who tries my desserts and has something nice to say. I thought I'd start now, and hopefully this section will grow. :)

"Natalie - Thank you for the delicious custard! Dad really enjoyed it. Eventually he was willing to share a bite or two. Keep on baking!"
- Rebecca

"She is SPECIAL. It's a terrific thing she's doing and it's nice to observe a young person with such passion. All she needs now is the shop (and I'll be saying "I ate her early work")."
- Carrie

"This is incredible - it looks and sounds like a pastry chef's blog for a subscription audience. i'm willing to invest now - let's start posting the youtube baking videos, design the line of baking clothing, and launch the actual bakery by next year - the heck with college."
- Michael

Apple Pear Galette with Vanilla Sides

2009-03-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

While apples and pears are considered more fall-like, we get pretty decent apples and pears all year long. I've never met anyone who didn't love something like apple crisp. While this doesn't have the "crisp" part, the dough does bake like a tart and is slightly crunchy, but more flaky. I made the vanilla ice cream because you simply can't have a dessert like this without it. The two are a pair and cannot be separated.
I made the custards for my aunt's friend, whose father is recovering from a surgery. The only thing he can eat is soft food like puddings and custards. They just wanted vanilla for now, but maybe more flavors in the future.

For the galette dough:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
[eggwash+sanding sugar]

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface 1/2" thick. Cut into 8" diameter circles and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Place 1/3 of a cup of the filling in the center of the circle and fold up edges in one direction. Place a 1/2" cube of butter on the filling. Using a pastry brush, paint the sides of the galette with an eggwash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

For the filling:

3 crisp apples
3 crisp pears
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablesooon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Slice apples and pears thinly. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

For the vanilla bean ice cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean; halved, seeds removed

Whisk ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Place in refrigerator to let vanilla seeds infuse into the cream, for 1 hour. Place in ice cream machine and churn for the amount of time given by manufacturer. Remove from machine and place in air-tight container overnight to harden.

For the vanilla bean custard:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1-inch piece vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

Combine milk, half and half and sugar in saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk mixture; add bean. Bring to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Cover and steep 30 minutes.
Strain mixture into medium bowl; cool to lukewarm. Whisk eggs and yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk milk mixture into eggs. Chill until cold.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk custard; pour into caramel-coated dish. Place in large baking pan. Fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of dish. Cover pan completely with foil, sealing at edges. Bake until center 3 inches of custard moves only slightly when dish is shaken, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand covered 10 minutes. Remove from water; chill overnight.

Bumblebee Cake

2009-03-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in the world is San Francisco. More specifically, the Ferry Terminal Building. Home to Miette Pâtisserie, Schaffen Berger chocolate, and other independent organic farmers. It's basically a foodie heaven. Miette Pâtisserie is my all-time favorite place to get a sweet. It combines beautiful designs with really delicious flavors. One of their cakes I've always thought looked super moist and tasty was their Bumblebee cake- A buttery vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. Not an unusual cake, but this one is just so pretty and classically scrumptious. A friend of mine has a birthday tomorrow, so I thought I'd make this cake, which he mentioned he loved the flavors of.

I'm not thrilled with the photos I took, mainly because I had to shoot them at night. I didn't finish the cake until then, and I won't be home when it next gets light. However, an exciting update: I just ordered my Canon Rebel Xsi and 50mm/1.8 lens. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. The new camera will take my photos to the next level, so don't be shocked! :)

For the buttercake:
Adapted from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans

2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8" cake pan bottoms and line with parchment. Grease parchment and flour. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until combined and creamy (about 2 minutes). Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes. ON low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture ad mixing just until the flour is incorporates and the batter looked smooth. Fill the cake pans equally and shake to smooth top. Bake for about 30 minutes, depending on your oven. [Having a convection oven really helps in this case.] When the cake tops are dark-golden brown and a tester comes out clean, remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. After at least 2 hours, you can slice the domed tops of the cakes off, and split the layers.

I am a believer that the best buttercream has very little powdered sugar. It should be soft, and not ridiculously sweet. I get compliments about my frosting all the time about how it doesn't give people a head-rush from all the sugar and isn't stiff as a brick.

For the chocolate buttercream:

3 sticks unsalted butter; soft
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat butter in electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder in small increments as slowly as possible [if you start the mixer too high, your frosting will end up on your kitchen walls]. Increase the speed after it looks like your frosting won't fly everywhere.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

Combine equal weights of chopped chocolate and heavy cream. Heat cream in a small saucepan to a simmer. Pour over chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let it sit and cover the chocolate for 2 minutes, then stir.
Wait until the chocolate is room temperature before you pour it over your iced cake. Don't put it in the fridge or it will form a crust on the surface.

Mixed Berry Shortcakes

2009-03-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. Busy weekend. Barely a moment to sit down, but always time to bake. I decided on mixed berry shortcakes because I actually have never made any kind of shortcake before. I've had it plenty of times, just never made it. I used one of my favorite books, Tartine. The pictures are just gorgeous and the recipes are to die for. I went with mixed berry (strawberry, blueberry & raspberry) because I'm fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest, where there is an abundance of berry farms so close by.
It actually snowed this morning, which was odd. I want spring to come and I'm hoping by making spring/summer-friendly desserts, it will come just that much sooner.

For the shortcake:
From Tartine

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

100g unsalted butter; very cold

1 cup heavy cream; very cold

~2 tablespoons sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a baking sheet. To make biscuit, sift flour and baking powder together into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt, whisk together. Cut the butter into small cubes and scatter over dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into dry ingredients. You want to end up with a coarse mixture with pea-sized lumps of butter visible. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in cream. Gently mix the dough together with your hands, but don't overmix. It should look a bit shaggy at this point. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and pat into a smooth ball. Dust the top with flour and roll out gently until 1 inch thick [or thinner, they tend to about double in height]. Using a cutter of your choice, cut out as many of that shape as possible. Gather the scraps, reroll them, and cut out additional shapes. Place the circles on the prepared sheet pan and brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the biscuits until tops are golden, 8-12 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before use. Split lengthwise to serve.

For the berries:

3 cups of washed berries of your choice

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 vanilla beat split and scraped

Cuts sliced berries thinly if needed. Toss with sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Let it sit for 5 minutes at room temperature. Take a sharp knife and cut the mixture. It should look like a compote almost. Place in the refrigerator, 15 minutes before use let sit at room temperature.

Brownie Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

2009-03-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

So basically, I've been sick for about 5 days, which is a record for me. I hardly ever get sick, but I'm not getting better. The good thing about being sick is...TIME TO BAKE! Some people are like, "Ew, you made this when you were sick." But actually, the way colds are transfered from person to person is through the eyes, so no worries. Making ice cream sandwiches is a multi-day project because you have to spread it on a sheet-pan and let it harden before you cut it out. But today is the day I put them all together. This was sort of an experiment because I've never baked brownies in a sheet-pan before. It turned out quite well, I just had to watch the baking time since I was starting from ground zero.

For the brownies:
Adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

2 sticks unsalted butter
5 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate; chopped
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray sheet-pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment, spray parchment. Melt butter and chocolate in a double broiler. When melted, set aside and let cool to room temp. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar until mixture is thick and lemon-colored. Next, add the vanilla. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar, mixing thoroughly. Sift flour and fold gently into batter, mixing just till blended. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for about 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Allow brownies to cool in pan for 15 minutes before taking out of pan. Wait at least an hour before attempting to use cutters to make ice cream sandwich bases.

For the coffee ice cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

2 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Combine chilled cream and milk with whisk. Add sugar and instant espresso powder. Mix together for a few turns, then let sit for 30 seconds (this lets the espresso powder soften). Using whisk, mix together well and pour until ice cream maker. Use manufacturer's instructions.

Meyer Lemon Sorbet on Rosemary Lavender Butter Cookies

2009-03-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Pâtisserie Natalie. This is my very first post, so to anyone reading, I hope you enjoy. This will be a baking blog where I post pictures and recipes of all the stuff I make. I am a student, so I won't be posting every day, but I pretty much bake in all my free time, so I'll be posting often enough. While it is in fact still snowing a little here and there, I felt like I needed to hurry spring in with summer fruit. While winter is my favorite season, this slushy "transition" season is madness, so here's my first post:

Meyer Lemon Sorbet on Rosemary Lavender Cookies with Fresh Strawberries

For the butter cookies:

adapted from Martha Stewart

2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1.5 teaspoons lavender extract

2 1/2 + 2 tablespoons AP flour; sifted

1 teaspoon salt

1 sprig fresh rosemary

In the bowl of your electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and lavender extract, beat to combine, Add the flour and salt, mixing on low speed until combined. Pull off rosemary leaves and chop finely. Add to batter and combine by turning mixer on low for 20 seconds. Turn dough out onto saran-wrap and cover. Form into a disc and place dough in refrigerator for around 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. After dough is refrigerated, place on clean work-surface that is floured. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Use cutters of your choice for cookie shape. Place on sheetpans lined with parchment and cook for about 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven, or until edges turn golden brown. Cool before use.

For the meyer lemon sorbet:

450 grams of simple syrup

395 grams meyer lemon juice

Combine two ingredients in a bowl and chill in refrigerator for an hour. Place in ice cream maker and use manufacturers instructions. Put in an air-tight container and place in freezer overnight.

For the strawberries:

Thinly slice as many strawberries as you like and toss in 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch. Place on top of sorbet.