Buckwheat Strawberry Shortcakes

I have that jittery anxious feeling in my stomach today. I used to get it the night before summer camp or exciting school field trips. I have it today because I’m starting my last 1o weeks of classes in a few hours.

I think this quarter is going to be the quarter when I learn the most.  I’m taking three classes: Advanced Patisserie and Display Cakes; Chocolates, Confections and Showpieces; and Food Styling.  Although I’m going to miss the bag of bread I used to bring home every week, I’m looking forward to using more of my creativity and artistic skills to make beautiful, delicious things.

Ok, I’m writing too much!  I have to pack up my knife kit and get on the Metro.  But before I do, let me say something about these shortcakes.  They are so, so good.  The biscuits are made with heavy cream so they’re soft and rich.  The buckwheat gives them a nutty, earthy flavor that the sweet, juicy strawberries balance perfectly.  And don’t you dare skip the whipped cream.

from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Shortcakes

1 cup, plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup, plus 2 Tablespoons buckwheat flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing

Filling

2-3 pints strawberries, washed, dried, hulled, and sliced
Sugar to taste
1 1/4 cup heavy cream (although since I didn’t eat the whole batch at once, I just whipped cream as I needed it)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour cream into it. Use a rubber spatula to push the dry ingredients into the cream, with a folding motion, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The dough will look shaggy.
3. Gather the dough into a ball and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead once or twice just until loose pieces of dough come together. Pat dough into a 6×6 inch square.  Trim edges with a sharp knife and a firm downward motion (this helps the biscuits rise more).  Cut into 9 smaller squares.
4. Place them 1 inch apart on baking sheet and brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake biscuits until they are golden brown, 12-15 minutes.  Remove from sheet and cool on wire rack.
6. While biscuits are baking, whip cream in a chilled bowl (sweeten slightly if desired with granulated or powdered sugar) and reserve in refrigerator. If it separates a little, just whisk gently before serving.
7. Sweeten sliced berries if desired.
8. To assemble, slice each shortcake in half and place bottom half on a plate.  Spoon a generous amount of berries making sure everyone gets some juice.  Plop some whipped cream on top of berries and place top half of biscuit on the cream.  This dessert is so beautiful and fresh tasting!  You will love it.

Raspberry Lemon Pound Cake

Happy holiday weekend everyone!  I’m super excited to be in Washington, DC, for the Fourth of July this year because the fireworks display is supposed to be amazing.  Our house is only a couple of blocks from the national mall, and we’re scheming about how to get our upstairs neighbors to let us up on the roof.  Last time we got up there a shower curtain rod was ripped out of the wall.

I gave them half of this pound cake and am planning on baking more bribes for them this weekend.  In my opinion, this cake is tasty enough to make up for a minor house repair.

I have kept my promise of lighter baked goods with this cake.  It is made with fat-free yogurt and lots of berries.  You can tell it’s lighter because it makes a good breakfast and doesn’t weigh you down like a traditional pound cake would.

adapted heavily from Weight Watchers (sorry again, no link to the original)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
10 Tblsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz fat-free lemon flavored yogurt
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 cups frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Coat a 12 cup tube pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Gently beat the eggs and egg whites together in a small bowl and slowly add to the butter mixture.  I do this by pouring a little bit in, mixing until combined and scraping the bowl if needed.  I usually do it in about 4 additions. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
5. In the same bowl the eggs were in, mix the yogurt with the milk.
6. Add the four mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mix. Very gently, fold in the raspberries.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until thin knife or wooden toothpick comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.  Cool cake in pan on wire rack for at least 10 minutes.  To get the cake to come out, you will need to loosen the edges with a knife, especially around the center tube.  Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely.

Almond Cloud Cookies

Well, the inevitable has happened, and it’s my Cake and Bread classes’ fault.  I gained 10 pounds.  I’m not usually that concerned about my weight (my giant sweet tooth is more persuasive than my vanity), but I recognize that if I’m going to happily and successfully complete my journey toward becoming a pastry chef, I’ll need to keep my health a priority.  Tight chef’s pant aren’t comfortable no matter how many people say they’re like pajama pants.

So while I get myself to the gym more often, I hope y’all don’t mind a few lighter recipes on the blog this summer.  It won’t be bad, I promise.  No diet soda cakes, or weird fat-free ingredients used, just lots of fresh fruit and smaller slices of cake!

Don’t think of these cookies as diet food. Think of them as French Macarons without the filling, or surprise your gluten-sensitive friends with these delicious gluten-free cookies!  They’re crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside from the almond flour.  The secret ingredient is the cinnamon.  I never would have thought about adding cinnamon to merginue cookies, but the spice is so delicious with the intense sweetness that meringue cookies can have.

adapted from Weight Watchers (sorry I can’t link to the original recipe)

3 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond meal

1. Preheat over to 250°.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with non-stick spray.
2. Beat whites, salt and cinnamon to a soft foam.
3. Add sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in almond meal.
4. Pipe or spoon batter into 1-inch mounds or rosettes.
5. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until firm and dry to the touch.  Let cool on sheet and then gently lift off the pan.

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Pie with Strawberries

I just got back from an incredible trip to New York with John and my parents.  Our reason for traveling there was to see my brother graduate from college.  I, however, had a secret mission to visit as many bakeries as possible.

My brother successfully walked across the stage, and I successfully stuffed my face with baked goods.  We went to bakeries all over the city.  If there was a baguette or a biscuit in the window of a shop between Brooklyn and the Bronx, I was there.  I tried bread sticks, cookies, croissants, pies and muffins.  Ironically, I found my favorite place on the same block as my brother’s apartment in Williamsburg.

The Blue Stove is a vintage-y coffee shop and bakery that specializes in pies.  I was in the city for four days and visited this place three times.  They had rich bacon and caramelized onion quiche, creative little hand pies filled with pears and blue cheese and big blueberry muffins.  I ended up buying three pies because they make them in a mini size, and who can resist bringing one of those home with your coffee.

Before we left on this trip I made my first pie of the summer.  I had been drooling over all the rhubarb recipes I was seeing and couldn’t wait to decide on one when I finally found some of the bright pink stalks at the farmers’ market.

The chunky rhubarb filling is a delicious surprise under the creamy cheese custard, and the fresh strawberries on top are a must.  I think the pie is best served chilled, which is perfect for the steamy days ahead.

from Rustic Fruit Desserts

1 9″ pie crust, prebaked and cooled

Rhubarb Filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced

Custard

12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Topping

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced or halved or whatever you want
confectioners sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl and add the rhubarb.  Toss until evenly coated.
3. Spoon rhubarb mixture into pie crust and bake for 15 minutes, remove pie from oven and turn temperature down to 350°F.
4. Meanwhile, make the custard by beating the cream cheese and sugar in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Beat the eggs slightly in a small bowl and add them a little at a time to the cream cheese.  Beat until smooth after each addition and scrape sides of bowl often.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.
6. Pour the custard  into the pie and spread evenly over the rhubarb. Return pie to oven and bake 25-30 minutes.  Custard will puff up and still be slightly wobbly in the center.  Cool to room temperature on wire rack.
7. Pie can be served at room temperature or chilled until ready.  Top with the sliced strawberries and dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Walnut Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting

Sometimes I like to think of myself as a high-powered career woman.  I’m officially addicted to coffee,  I work (or go to school) 7 days a week, and I have a conference call to be on this morning.  I’m constantly scolding my subordinate, Motu, for her lack of focus and reward-centered mentality.

Never mind the fact that I’m in my pajamas right now and the conference call is about a cupcake shop.

These cupcakes perfectly represent my life right now.  Lots of butter, sugar and eggs, with some coffee on top to get you through it.

adapted from Muffins Galore (although I would never call these muffins)

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1/3 cup walnut halves
11 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 egg whites
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

For the frosting:
3 Tbsp milk or cream
1 Tbsp butter
3 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
12 walnut halves for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease each cup.
2. Finely chop 1/3 cup walnut halves.
3. Melt the butter and sugar over low heat until it simmers.  Simmer for 2 minutes stirring constantly.  Set aside to cool.
4. Add egg yolks to warm (but not hot) butter mixture and whisk to combine.  Stir in the vanilla.  Add walnuts and dry ingredients. Stir to make a thick batter.
5. Whip egg whites to medium-stiff peaks in the bowl of an electric mixer.
6. Add the egg whites in 3 additions.  For the first addition, stir the egg whites into the batter to lighten it.  Gently fold in the next two additions of egg whites.
7. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and a tester inserted comes out clean.  Cool in pan for a few minutes and then cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
8. To make the frosting, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl.  Heat the cream, butter and coffee granules until butter is melted in coffee is dissolved.  Add the vanilla and pour mixture into the bowl with the powdered sugar.  Stir until smooth.  Add a dash of milk or powdered sugar to reach the consistency you like.  Spread on top of cooled cupcakes and decorate with a walnut half.

Lemongrass Coconut Bars

I haven’t been able to come up with many words for you today.  I think maybe I have too many things to tell you so they are clogging up my brain.

I will however tell you a little about these cookies.  They are a nice subtle change from the ordinary lemon bar.  They aren’t as tart, and the lemongrass gives them a nice floral flavor.  I also thought the coconut in the crust was perfect.  It added flavor and some nice chewy texture underneath the creamy filling.

If you decide to make these, and I think you should, make sure your lemongrass has the white bulbous end.  Unfortunately some grocery stores trim this part off thinking it is the unusable part when actually that is the only part you can really chop up and eat.

from Bon Appetit

Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons, unsalted butter, at room temperature

Filling

1 1/4 cup sugar
3 lemongrass stalks, bottom 4 inches only, tough outer layer removed
5 tablespoons lemon juice
3 eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt
powdered sugar, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Butter a 13×9 inch baking pan.
2. Finely chop the trimmed lemongrass, it should measure about 1/2 cup.
3. In electric mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, coconut, powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until well blended.
4. Add butter and beat on low speed until dough comes together in large clumps.  Press dough into bottom of pan and 1/2 inch up the sides.  Bake crust until golden and slightly dark on edges, about 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, put sugar and lemongrass in a food processor.  Pulse until lemongrass is finely ground and sugar is moist.  Add lemon juice and process until well blended.  Add eggs and process to blend, 10-15 seconds.  Add flour and a pinch of salt. Pulse until smooth.
6. When crust is removed from oven, reduce temperature to 325° F.  Pour filling over hot crust and bake until filling is firm, 22-23 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
7. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into desired bar sizes.

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Ever since my kitchen started overflowing with bread items, I knew I wanted to make some bread pudding.  Bread pudding is not something I have always liked.  I remember my dad loved it, but I always thought it sounded weird and probably tasted gross.  Kids are so dumb sometimes because how could bread, milk, sugar and eggs taste bad?  Maybe it was the raisins that turned me off.

Now that I am older and more mature, I also know that bourbon makes things taste good.  So good in fact, that I talked to my clean plate after making this.  That’s a funny thing about blogging.  I have to take pictures early in the day to get good light, so I often end up making a fancy plate of dessert for a photo and then eating it for lunch.  If it was just what I was craving, then Motu and my spoon will hear about it.

This recipe came from my textbook.  It’s similar to many other bread pudding recipes on the internet but I’m really into weighing my ingredients these days.  Especially cubes of bread.  I don’t see how 6 cups of cubed bread could be an accurate measurement at all.  I have a small Weight Watcher’s kitchen scale and I love it.  I use it when I am watching my portion sizes of cake and now more often to measure ingredients.  If you want to make this without using weights, I would suggest using this one from Simply Recipes.  Actually, I just compared the two recipes and I think they are almost exactly the same.

adapted from On Baking

Serves 8-10

4 oz Raisins
2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Unsalted butter, melted
12 oz Day old white bread
1 cup Heavy cream
3 cups Milk
3 eggs
10 oz Granulated sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
Bourbon Sauce as needed (see recipe below)
Whipped cream

1. Combine raisins and bourbon in a small saucepan and heat just to a simmer.  Cover and set aside.
2. Use some of the melted butter to coat a 9×13 casserole dish (or two smaller dishes so you can take one to your neighbor).  Reserve the remaining butter.
3. Cut the bread into 1 x 1 in cubes and place in a large bowl.  Pour the cream and milk over the bread and let it sit until soft.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until smooth and thick.  Add the vanilla, the remaining melted butter, and raisins and bourbon.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and toss gently to combine.  Pour into the buttered dish and bake at 350 until browned and almost set, about 45-60 minutes.  It should still be slightly jiggly in the center.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream and bourbon sauce.  Or eat it cold straight out of the dish.  Both ways are delicious.

Bourbon Sauce

4 oz Unsalted butter
8 oz Granulated sugar
1 Egg
3 oz Bourbon

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Stir together the egg and sugar and add to the melted butter.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  It will foam and bubble up so watch out.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon.  Strain if necessary. (My sauce had bits of burnt sugar and cooked eggs in it, so I recommend straining it.)